Chapter 27

Seeing that they had been discovered by the Yellow Turban rebels, Xun felt his heart pounding so hard that he almost fell off his horse. He looked up at Taishi Ci, who remained calm and composed, and then shouted at the top of his lungs: "The envoy of the Black Mountain Chief Yudu... cough, cough, has arrived!"

Strangely enough, the noise from all sides gradually subsided. It turned out that the Yellow Turban army had just arrived at the foot of Duchang City, and their camps were not yet set up—well, more people didn't have tents and were just wrapped in tattered blankets, sleeping in the open. Suddenly, someone saw two horses charging in and, startled, beat the drum. The drumming caused everyone to think it was an enemy raid, and chaos ensued. Just now, Xun had been so nervous that he had hallucinated, mistaking the surrounding noise for battle cries, when in fact it was just the chaos of a night panic and a camp in disarray...

When Taishi Ci shouted, Xun had never imagined that someone could release all their abdominal energy through their throat in such a way. He was only two horse lengths away from Taishi Ci and felt his ears buzz, almost losing his hearing after the false loss of speech—soon, the Yellow Turban soldiers, who had been running around in fear, quickly calmed down: "Oh, it's not an enemy attack, it's an envoy... The envoy is here to see the chief, it's not our business, let's go back to sleep."

So with just one shout, the entire camp fell silent. After riding another hundred meters, someone in front called out, "Where is the envoy from Black Mountain? Follow me to see the chief." Taishi Ci responded, "Right here." He then raised his spear and swept the man off his horse.

If he had killed the man with his spear, it might have caused another panic, but just sweeping him off the horse left the man lying on the ground groaning. Those who saw it were stunned, wondering if this was an enemy or an accident. In that moment of hesitation, Taishi Ci and Xun had already penetrated the enemy camp and reached the outer side of the moat.

Although Duchang City was not large, it had high walls and a deep moat, with strict defenses. Outside the main wall, along the moat, there was a sheep and horse wall as the first line of defense against enemy attacks. At this moment, many torches were lit on the sheep and horse wall, indicating that soldiers were stationed there. As soon as the two approached the moat, several bows appeared on the wall, and a voice called out, "Who are you? Stop!"

Taishi Ci reported his name, saying he had come to help in gratitude for Kong Rong's kindness. The man sneered, "Who knows if you're a spy for the Yellow Turbans." Xun quickly spurred his horse to stand beside Taishi Ci and shouted, "I am Xun, the nephew of the Chief Clerk. Is there anyone on the wall who recognizes me?"

Shi Yi had been in charge of recruitment and training, and Xun had helped him calculate supplies and had visited the camp several times. As soon as his face appeared in the firelight, someone called out, "It's indeed the Seventh Young Master, I recognize him, let them in." Several others echoed the call.

At this point, the Yellow Turbans also realized something was wrong, and the sound of footsteps and hooves could be heard behind Xun. Taishi Ci had already gripped his spear, ready to turn back, and Xun's hands were drenched in cold sweat. Fortunately, a wooden plank was quickly pushed out to bridge the moat, allowing them to cross. A few arrows were shot to hold off the pursuers.

Only when all four hooves safely crossed the moat did Xun finally breathe a long sigh of relief. He turned his head and glanced back, suddenly noticing a familiar figure among the pursuers. At that moment, the person also saw him and pouted, waving a fist at him.

Xun smiled and waved back.

Soon, the two were brought into the city and met Kong Rong at the county office. Kong Rong was overjoyed, holding Taishi Ci's hand and saying, "Zi Yi is indeed a man of righteousness, I did not misjudge you!"

Shi Yi and his father also came, and Shi Yi, holding Xun's hand, sighed, "Hongfu, why did you have to come to Duchang, deep into the enemy's encirclement?" Xun smiled and said, "With my lord here, how could I not come?" Then he asked about the current situation. Shi Yi, frowning, told him that the Yellow Turbans, with their families, numbered nearly a million, of which about 300,000 were armed, and several ten thousand were capable of fighting. They had just retreated to Duchang in the afternoon, and the Yellow Turbans had caught up by evening. At this moment, there were only about 2,000 soldiers in the city, and even with the help of the civilians, the total was less than 10,000, making the situation extremely dangerous.

Taishi Ci comforted them, saying, "I see that Duchang is small but high, and 2,000 soldiers are enough to defend it. Although the Yellow Turbans are numerous, those who can climb the walls at the same time will not exceed 5,000. Lord, Sir Shi, do not worry."

Kong Rong said he had already sent Wang Xiu to the State of Qi and Wang Xiao to Donglai to request reinforcements, but he did not know when they would arrive. Taishi Ci shook his head lightly, "Although Governor Jiao has troops, he dare not fight the rebels and will not send reinforcements. As for Donglai, to my knowledge, the county only has a few thousand old and weak soldiers, who are unlikely to provide help."

Kong Rong, pacing back and forth, asked what to do. Taishi Ci inquired about the city's food and supplies, but Kong Rong knew nothing about it. Shi Yi, who was more informed, told him that they could last for two to three months.

Taishi Ci said, "With a million rebels, even with the supplies provided by Governor Jiao, they cannot last long. They will surely retreat within two months. Please entrust the city's troops to me for deployment, and we can ensure safety."

Kong Rong looked around and replied, "Zi Yi, you have been on a long journey and must be tired. Why don't you rest first? I expect the rebels will attack tomorrow, and we can discuss the matter in the morning."

Xun glanced at Kong Rong, thinking, "What a pretense, you just don't want to hand over command"—a man who can recognize talent but cannot use it, this famous Kong Rong is indeed just a useless scholar.

Before he came to this world, Xun's impression of Kong Rong was not good. This man was first defeated by the Yellow Turbans and then by Yuan Tan, losing the entire State of Beihai and fleeing to Xuchang to seek refuge with Cao Cao. At that time, Kong Rong was a loyal dog to Cao Cao, as evident from his flattering poems—"Looking eastward, I am sad, dreaming of Cao Cao's return," "From Luoyang to Xu, Cao Cao is selfless and cares for the country." His goal was to get Cao Cao to throw him a few bones to gnaw on.

Unfortunately, Cao Cao was a man who recognized talent and knew that Kong Rong was a master of rhetoric but overestimated himself—"Lü Wang, the old man, was just a product of the times, Guan Zhong, a small prisoner, could still achieve great things"—but had no real skills. Cao Cao, who always "promoted based on talent," would not promote those without talent. So, he gave Kong Rong an empty title. Kong Rong, unhappy, started to cause trouble in front of Cao Cao, criticizing his policies, and gained a reputation as a loyal minister of the Han dynasty. This was unbearable for anyone, so he was eventually beheaded by Cao Cao.

In short, Kong Rong was a typical scholar who talked a lot but had no real skills and brought about his own downfall.

However, after coming to this world and interacting with him for some time, Xun wondered if his impression from books was a bit off. Indeed, Kong Rong was not a hero of the chaotic times. If you held him to the standards of Cao Cao or Liu Bei, not only Kong Rong but most of the famous scholars of the time would not pass the test. While Kong Rong did not turn Beihai into a paradise, he did make some contributions in education and安抚人心 (calming the people). The Yellow Turban leader Zhang Rao would not have withdrawn from Beihai just because of Kong Rong's rhetoric.

But at this point, the evaluation came full circle. It was normal for a scholar like Kong Rong to not understand warfare; you can't expect every scholar to be like Zhuge Liang, who could lead an army the day after living alone in the mountains. However, not understanding warfare is one thing, but he could learn or, more importantly, entrust command to someone who did understand. Kong Rong's refusal to do so, even when Taishi Ci had come to offer his help, was truly frustrating.

The next morning, Kong Rong indeed made various excuses and did not consult them about military matters. Taishi Ci and Xun went directly to the west wall. Xun, glancing around, noticed that most of the soldiers defending the wall were the original Beihai soldiers, and none of the new recruits Shi Yi had recruited in the past six months were to be seen—probably they had already fled.

He then looked down from the wall and saw a sea of heads, like the traffic on the Third Ring Road during rush hour in his previous life. However, unlike traffic, these people faced all directions and were in various positions—squatting, lying, or sitting. At first glance, most seemed to be the elderly, sick, or disabled, the families the Yellow Turbans had brought along. Where were the soldiers?

As if reading his mind, Taishi Ci patted his shoulder and pointed far away. Xun then noticed that among the nearly million people, there were scattered tents, with one area having the densest concentration. In the center stood a huge yellow flag, and people were gradually gathering around it.

Taishi Ci was experienced, able to quickly identify the key figures among a million people. Xun, squinting against the wind, tried to see clearly but could not make out how many people were there or where the general (perhaps Guan Hai) was—how he wished for a telescope, the principle was simple, but he didn't know if this era had clear enough glass or crystal... or he could use crystal if he had the money?

Taishi Ci sneered, "The Yellow Turbans move slowly; they will likely launch their first attack around noon. We can go down from the wall and rest for a while."

His prediction was accurate. By early noon, the sound of drums could be heard outside the city. They had just finished their morning meal and hurried to the wall, where they saw thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers, each holding weapons, with spears and shields in the front and archers in the back, advancing under several yellow flags.

Soon, they engaged the soldiers defending the sheep and horse wall. Arrows flew, weapons clashed, and the cries of the wounded mixed with the shouts of battle. In a short time, nearly a hundred on each side had fallen. Xun, though on the wall, felt his legs tremble, and he almost collapsed if not for holding onto the wall. He encouraged himself, "Don't panic, don't panic. A few years ago, on the wall of Handan, everyone else was lying down, but you and Shi Xun stood firm. Don't let your age regress to the level of a dog, and now be worse than ordinary soldiers!"

The soldiers defending Duchang were mostly veterans who had served for several years and had fought the Yellow Turbans a few times. After the defeat at the city, the newly recruited ruffians had all fled, leaving only these veterans to protect Kong Rong and retreat to Duchang. Their fighting ability was not strong, but they could hold their own for a few rounds against a strong enemy. More importantly, with Duchang surrounded and no way to retreat, people were forced to fight to the death, which greatly increased their combat effectiveness.

Taishi Ci, seeing this, felt his blood boil. He raised his bow and called to Xun, "Let's go out and fight a few rounds, and bring back a few heads of the rebels!"

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