Chapter 42: Back to Chu State

  The city of Chu State after the war was in ruins.

  Although the Jin army did not enter the city, their catapults' giant stones destroyed many houses inside the city. In the first few days of fighting, due to many soldiers being unable to fight on the city walls due to illness, the military forcibly recruited many civilians to join the battle. After several days, their casualties were no less than those of the soldiers. Now, almost every household in Chu State is mourning. People are immersed in post-war pain.

  Yue Yun and his group walked into the city, looking at the miserable situation in the city, and they couldn't help but feel sad and sorrowful.

  Just as they had just arrived at the entrance of the Han Mansion, they happened to meet Han Yanzhi rushing out. Seeing Yue Yun and others return, he was overjoyed in his heart and hurriedly said: "Brother Yue, you are all back safely! I have been worried about you..."

  "Yanzhao, what's with the formalities between us? Is everything all right in the city? Has the plague been eradicated?" Yue Yun asked with a faint smile.

  Han Yan said with a sigh, "Brother Yue, we followed your method and 'isolated' the sick soldiers and civilians in the city... I think that's what it's called?"

  "Right! It's called 'isolation', these methods for preventing the spread of disease are a closely guarded secret, I had to use all my strength to get that wandering doctor to teach me!" Yue Yun said with a straight face and without batting an eyelid.

  Han Yan was obviously not very interested in this wandering gentleman, and he continued: "I heard from my father that according to your method, after 'isolating' the sick people in the city, the plague did not spread again. The plague in the city began to subside two days ago, and the originally ill soldiers and civilians have been recovering one after another. As of today, seven or eight out of ten patients have recovered, and the rest have also improved greatly. Otherwise, we would not be able to hold this Chu State City... However, although the plague has retreated, some turmoil has arisen in the city, almost causing a great chaos!"

  "Ah! What's going on?" Yue Yun exclaimed in surprise.

  "Three days ago, Jin Jun sent an archer to the city wall at the junction of the east and south sides with a secret letter for General Geng, but it was picked up by one of General Hu's men and handed over to his superior, who then passed it on to my father..." Han Yan now recounted the whole story of the letter that implicated Geng in private dealings with Jin.

  Yue Yun shook his head repeatedly after hearing this and said, "What this letter says is not true. We didn't encounter any interception by the Jin army on our way here. This letter must be a scheme by the Jin army to sow discord!"

  Han Yan was overjoyed when he heard this, and repeatedly said: "Mr. Yu also said the same thing at that time, but unfortunately my father did not adopt it. Now many of General Geng's subordinates are dissatisfied, and they are currently petitioning in front of the mansion to ask for General Geng's release. My father is worried about this matter. Brother Yue, please explain it to my father!"

  Yue Yun nodded and walked into the main hall of Han's mansion with Han Yanzi.

  Only four or five generals in uniform were arguing with Hu Zhen in the center of the hall. On one side, Yu Yunwen and a middle-aged general he didn't know were also talking to Han Shizhong.

  Yue Yun walked into the hall and saw everyone talking to each other, so he went up to Han Shizhong and bowed: "Uncle Han, I'm back! Fortunately, I didn't disappoint you, we successfully took down Suzhou! And killed Wanyan Zongmin!"

  Han Shizhong saw that Yue Yun had returned safely and was originally smiling, but after hearing his words, he was even more surprised and delighted: "Yue Xianzhong, you really killed Wanyan Zongmin? You are truly a hero who can turn the tide!"

  On that day, he saw the arrival of Wang De's reinforcements and the Jin army began to retreat. After hiding in the city for a few days, most of the soldiers had recovered, and Han Shizhong naturally would not miss the opportunity to avenge himself, so he immediately ordered the opening of the city gates to pursue and attack.

  During the pursuit, some Jin captives were caught by the vanguard of the army. Among these captives, there were people who claimed that Wanyan Zongmin was killed by a group of Song soldiers. Han Shizhong also had doubts until he confirmed it through Yue Yun's mouth and finally dispelled his suspicions.

  At this moment, the two men's conversation was heard. The generals in the hall also looked at Yue Yun with surprised and admiring eyes. This was the highest-ranking Jin general killed by the Song army in history.

  "Alas! Actually, I was also lucky and had good fortune!" said Yue Yun with a humble tone.

  "Where did you learn this, young nephew? You're really a tiger from the same mountain gate! You have quite a bit of your father's air about you. By comparison, I'm just a poor dog!" Han Shizhong sighed.

  "It was all thanks to General Wang De's timely arrival that we were able to defeat the enemy in Chu State. If not for him, it would have taken us much longer to defeat the Jin army. Your contribution is no less than mine!" Yuke Yun hastily said with courtesy.

  Han Yan was embarrassed and said, "This actually relied on Mr. Yu's clever plan, otherwise I wouldn't have known how to explain it to General Wang De. Fortunately, General Wang De understood the situation clearly, took a risk and sent troops to rescue Chu State from danger, or else the outcome of this battle would be hard to predict..."

  "Alright, alright! You two can stop flattering each other now." Han Shizhong chuckled and pointed to the middle-aged general beside him, saying to Yue Yun: "Yue Xianzhong, let me introduce you. This is General Wang De! He's one of your Uncle Han's most admired brave generals, and he's also a man of honor, cleverer than anyone else. Unfortunately, he was under Zhang Jun's command, who snatched away many of his merits! Otherwise, General Wang wouldn't have been relegated to just being a Cishi!"

  Yue Yun heard and went to Wang Dewang, only to see that he was a burly man, about forty years old, wearing a black iron chain armor, with a bunch of thick whiskers under his chin, each one as thick as a steel needle, with dense eyebrows and a wide mouth, having a heroic air.

  He hastily stepped forward, bowed and said: "General Yue Yun has seen General Wang, long heard that General Wang is brave in battle and righteous. Today, I finally see General Wang's demeanor, it really makes me feel that my trip to Chu State was not in vain."

  "General Yue is too polite," Wang De hastily returned the courtesy, "Wang De is just a rough and unrefined warrior, how can I bear such an honor? It's actually your esteemed father who, in order to save the people, didn't mind delaying the withdrawal of troops, that truly makes us warriors admire him!"

  He said, "General Yue, I heard from General Han that you want to borrow grain. Is it true that your army is running out of food?"

  Yue Yun sighed and said, "Originally, the Yue family army was not short of food, but now all the people in Central Plains want to follow our army back to Southern Song. The people from several nearby states have gathered in Zhuxian Town, with a population of tens of thousands... Most of these people did not bring much food, and there are still two months until the autumn harvest, so it is really difficult to get through this!"

  Wang De heard this and a look of admiration flashed across his face. He immediately said resolutely, "Although Wang is foolish, he also knows to report to the superior and love the common people. Although Huai state's grain and fodder are not many, since General Yue has made such a move to protect the people, how can Wang stand by and do nothing? Fortunately, the war in Chu state has ended, so I will return to Huai state and try to collect some grain for General Yue!"

  Yue Yun was overjoyed when he heard this and thanked him again, saying: "Yue Yun thanks General Wang on behalf of the people of Zhu Xian Town for his righteous act!"

  Wang De hastily helped Yu Yun up, and after another brief exchange, Yu Yun turned to Han Shizhong and asked: "Uncle Han, I heard that during the Jin army's attack on the city, they shot an arrow with a letter into the city?"

  As soon as Yue Yun said this sentence, the atmosphere in the hall immediately became strange.

  The several leaders beside him immediately exclaimed: "General Yue, this is a trick of the Jin envoys to frame our General Geng! What is Kong Yanxun? A three-surname family slave, how could our General Geng possibly have any dealings with him?"

  Han Yanzi stepped forward and said, "Father, I heard that the letter from the Jin people mentioned that they had sent troops to intercept the cavalry of General Yue. But just now I asked General Yue, and they did not encounter any Jin army on their way, so it can be seen that what was said in the letter is all a lie! General Geng is being wronged!"

  Yue Yun hastily echoed in agreement, acknowledging that this was indeed the case.

  Liu Bao and Wang De also said: "General Geng has made many military achievements over the years, and the Jin people hate him to the bone. It is expected that they will design a trap for him. Have you forgotten Marshal Han's three thoughts?"

  Han Shizhong stroked his chin whiskers, silent and speechless, with some indecision in his heart.

  That Hú Fǎng's face turned extremely ugly after hearing this, he saw Han Shizhong hesitating and hastily bowed to Han Shizhong: "Commander-in-chief, even if Young Master Yue didn't encounter the Jurchen army's interception, it is highly possible that they missed each other midway, and the Jurchen army was unable to intercept them. Although the Jurchen army has retreated for now, who knows what actions they will take next? Moreover, the Jurchen army indeed followed the secret letter's words and did not launch a fierce attack on the south gate on the second day. Therefore, I suggest that we should still investigate cautiously!"

  As soon as he said this, several leaders under Geng Zhuo immediately burst into loud curses! They knew very well that Geng Zhuo and Hu Xiu had never gotten along, and this time Geng Zhuo was caught because of a letter Hu Xiu took to inform on him.

  "Damn it! Brother Geng has been locked up, and it's all because of your frame-up, Hu Zhuan!"

  "Right! Who says that we are secretly in league with the Jin people? I think eight or nine out of ten it's you! You're jealous of General Geng's brilliant military achievements, which surpass yours, Hu Zhennan!"

  “……”

  These leaders were originally bandits and had a violent temper. They hated Hu Xian more than anyone else, and when they scolded him, one was worse than the other.

  "That's enough! All of you, shut up! There are still General Yue and General Wang here. Do you still remember the hierarchy?!" Han Shizhong saw that these officers actually dared to scold loudly in front of Yue Yun and Wang De, which made him lose face greatly. He couldn't help but shout to stop them.

  Yue Yun suddenly had an idea and remembered something that might be able to clear Geng's name. He stepped forward two steps, bowed to Han Shizhong, and said: "Uncle Han, I've thought of something that might be able to clarify the reason for that secret letter, whether General Geng really colluded with the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty or if it was a plot by the Jin to sow discord."

  "What? What can clarify the truth of this matter? General Yue, please hurry up and bring out the evidence, so that I, General Han, can understand the situation!" As soon as General Han heard this, he was overjoyed. This whole affair had been making him uneasy for days, unable to eat or sleep well.