novelSusiti Chapter 78 Seven men carried a white flag and waded across the Wei River—Liu Shan cooked a pot of me
Chapter 78 Seven men carried a white flag and waded across the Wei River—Liu Shan cooked a pot of me
The materials yard. Chen Daocha is back.
From the hour of Yin to the hour of Mao. The two people on duty were Liu Qi, a native of Feng'an, who had been assigned to the engineering battalion for three years; and Feng Qu, a surrendered soldier from Chencang, who was assigned to the battalion after the fall of Chencang in the sixth year of Jianxing.
The soldiers who surrendered at Chencang.
Liu Shan tapped the name with his finger.
"Feng Qu".
Chen Dao pulled out the register. "Feng Qu. Formerly the head of the supply corps of the Chencang garrison. Surrendered after the city fell. Assigned to the engineering battalion's materials yard."
Did he leave his post on the day he was on night duty?
"I asked Liu Qi, who was on duty with me. He said that Feng Qu went out to relieve himself at the beginning of the day. He was gone for about fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes. Enough time to bypass the firewall.
Liu Shan was not in a hurry. He closed the register and placed it on the corner of the table.
"Don't move."
Chen waited.
"Have the White Feather Soldiers tonight—sprinkle a thin layer of fine ash on the ground outside the west wall of the supply camp. The kind that leaves a mark when you step on it, but you can't see it."
Chen Dao's brows relaxed.
Footprints. More effective than tracking people.
"I will make the arrangements."
Chen Dao left the tent.
Liu Shan sat back down, his hands resting on his knees.
Zhou Fu. Zhao An. Iron nail. Three joints. The first two broke. The third—Feng Qu. Or maybe not. But a quarter of an hour's gap, plus his status as a surrendered soldier from Chencang, was enough.
There's no rush when fishing. If he's in a rush and you're not, he'll make the same mistake twice.
-
Day 14.
North bank of the Wei River.
The scouts reported back every hour.
"Sima Yi's camp. The amount of smoke from the cooking fires today is 20% less than yesterday."
"On the official road on the north bank, more than thirty scattered soldiers were heading east. They had no banners and no organizational structure."
"At the east gate of Chang'an City, some people left the city in the morning. There were seven oxcarts heading east."
Liu Shan placed the three silk strips on the table.
The smoke from cooking fires has thinned. Scattered soldiers are heading east. The people are leaving the city.
I'm hungry.
We haven't reached the point of starvation yet. But things have already started to fall apart.
Zhao Yun lifted the curtain and entered, carrying a bowl of millet rice. "Eat first."
Liu Shan accepted it. He took a couple of bites. The rice grains were hard, and chewing them was difficult. But it was hot.
"Those stragglers on the north bank—did you stop them?"
Zhao Yun shook his head. "They didn't cross the river. They headed east. It's not our responsibility."
Liu Shan chewed his food and mumbled, "Don't stop him. Let him run. The more people who run, the more panicked those left behind will be."
Zhao Yun leaned his spear against a tent pillar and sat down.
"Today's stove fire—the kitchen staff asked if we want some extra ingredients."
"What's the material?"
"Yesterday, the scouts hunted two wild boars in the mountains to the south. The kitchen wants to make soup. They asked if it could be cooked a little hotter."
Liu Shan put the bowl down.
"Boil. Boil in a big pot. Boil until the oil comes out. When the wind blows north—lift the lid."
Zhao Yun stood up. He took two steps. Then he stopped. He turned around.
"Your Majesty. This—"
"What?"
Zhao Yun shook his head. "It's nothing. I'll go and tell them."
The curtains were drawn.
Liu Shan finished the remaining half bowl of rice. He placed the bowl on the corner of the table.
The sooner the 60,000 men can't hold out and surrender, the fewer will die. If it drags on, starving soldiers will resort to cannibalism. This has been documented in official history. He didn't want to see that happen in his own battle.
-
Day 15.
Something happened on the north bank.
Early in the morning, just as dawn broke, a messenger from the White Feather Army rushed into the tent with a report.
"On the north bank of the Wei River, east of Sima Yi's camp, more than five hundred men, carrying flags, are heading towards the ferry."
Liu Shan sprang up from his military chair.
"What flag?"
"white flag."
Five hundred people. White flag. Heading towards the ferry.
They were not envoys. They were surrendered soldiers.
Liu Shan walked to the tent entrance. He lifted the curtain and looked north. The morning mist hadn't dissipated yet. The Wei River was a vast expanse of white; he couldn't see anything.
But he knew.
The five hundred people were walking towards the river.
"Chen Dao".
Chen Dao ran out from the side tent.
"Take one hundred White Feather Soldiers. Go to the riverbank to meet them. Disarm them. Search them. Put them under centralized guard. Give them food."
Chen Dao turned and left.
"etc."
Chen turned back.
"Find out—did they run away on their own, or was it Sima Yi who released them?"
Chen left.
Liu Shan returned to his desk. He didn't sit. He stood, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the edge of the desk.
If it ran away on its own—Sima Yi couldn't suppress it.
If it was Sima Yi who released them—he was passing the buck. He was throwing food at them, forcing the Shu army to feed five hundred more mouths.
Two different situations. The meanings are completely different.
Half an hour.
Chen returned. His shoes were covered in river mud.
"Received. Four hundred and seventy-two men. Qingzhou soldiers. Below the rank of colonel. No officers or lieutenants."
"How did you get through it?"
"He ran away on his own. He moved in the middle of the night last night. The sentries at the camp gate didn't stop him. They said—the sentries also wanted to run away, but their families were in Luoyang. They didn't dare."
Liu Shan sat down.
It ran away on its own. The sentry didn't stop it.
The camp was in chaos.
It's not a complete explosion. It's a small area. But it's already begun.
"They told me about the situation in the camp now."
Chen Dao pulled out a sheet of paper. An interrogation transcript. Extremely illegible. He read it aloud—
"Grain. Two meals of thin porridge a day. Not a single grain of rice at the bottom of the bowl. The officers' horses have started to be slaughtered. Three were slaughtered yesterday. More will be slaughtered today."
"Morale. Nobody's talking. The camp is eerily quiet. Like a graveyard."
"Sima Yi. He stays in his command tent every day and never comes out. The military advisor went in once, and came out with a livid face."
Liu Shan placed the paper on the table.
Day .
He wrote in his strategy—on the fifth day, he couldn't hold on any longer.
Today is the fifth day.
quasi.
"General Zilong."
Zhao Yun entered from outside the tent.
"Take them to the open space on the south slope. Set up a temporary camp. Give each person two bowls of dry rice. Don't give them meat, just rice."
Zhao Yun accepted the order.
"After they've finished eating—stand on the south slope, facing the north bank."
Zhao Yun's hand paused on the spear shaft.
"What are you doing?"
"Just stand there. Let the people on the north bank see you—come over and you'll get food."
Zhao Yun didn't ask any more questions. He turned and left.
-
afternoon.
Another batch has arrived.
Three hundred men. This time, they were soldiers from Yanzhou. They ran and crawled across the shallows of the Wei River. Several were exhausted and had to be helped ashore by their comrades.
Chen received them as usual. He was searched. He was given food. He was escorted to the south slope.
By evening, the two groups totaled 772 people.
Liu Shan wrote down a number on the table.
Sixty thousand people. Seven hundred and seventy-two ran.
Not many. But—the door has been opened.
There will be more tomorrow.
-
into the night.
Chen Dao's Daily Report.
"Fine dust outside the west wall of the supply depot. This morning's inspection—footprints were found. One person. Coming from the direction of the materials yard. Climbed over the wall. Goed to under an empty truck. Then climbed back over."
Liu Shan took the paper. Footprints were drawn on it.
"Shoe soles. Cloth shoes. Heavy wear on the outside of the left foot. Walks with feet turned outwards."
"Feng Qu's shoes—"
"The soldier in white took a look when he wasn't looking this afternoon. The outside of his left foot—it's almost worn flat."
Liu Shan folded the paper.
It's him.
"Is there something inside the bamboo tube?"
"Yes. A strip of silk. He wrote it."
Chen handed it over.
Unfold. Feng Qu's calligraphy. Different from Zhao An's. Thin. Sharp strokes. Like they were carved with iron nails.
Four words—
"When to make contact?"
Liu Shan stared at the four characters. He ran his finger along the edge of the silk strip.
When to connect.
He asked Zhao An when he would meet with him.
He panicked because Zhao An had suddenly disappeared.
Liu Shan picked up his pen. He pondered for five breaths.
I wrote a line of text. Imitating Zhao An's Founder font.
"Tomorrow at midnight. At the west end of the timber pile in the materials yard."
Stuff the bamboo tube back in.
Chen answered.
"Tomorrow night."
Liu Shan leaned back in his chair.
"How many men will I bring?"
"You're alone. Hidden in the lumber pile. He's coming—let him say a few more words."
Chen Dao clenched his fists.
"What if he has a weapon—"
"You can't even beat a corporal from an engineer battalion?"
Chen didn't say anything. He turned and left.
The curtains fell.
Liu Shan pulled out a strategy from under the table and turned to the last page.
I picked up my pen and added two lines.
"The number of surrendered soldiers is increasing daily. On the seventh day—Sima Yi will either cross the river for a decisive battle or retreat back to Luoyang."
"Iron nails—close the net tomorrow night."
Sign off.
A wind blew in from the north outside the tent, carrying the fishy smell of the Wei River and—a very faint aroma of meat broth.
On the south slope, the large pot in the kitchen was still burning. More than seven hundred surrendered soldiers were eating there.
Sixty thousand people across the street—smell it.
Liu Shan closed his eyes.
The dagger under the pillow wasn't uncomfortable tonight. He moved it to the left side of the pillow.
We can't let our guard down. We have things to do tomorrow.
[End of Chapter]