Chapter 607
Chapter 607
Turning back time a little bit. The Yangzhou Army started to move before the sky even turned bright. Hundreds of ships headed from Shiyang towards Jingzhou’s most prosperous province, Nanjun. When Liu Biao entered Jingzhou, he placed the Kuai Family, the Huang Family and the Cai Family in power, pulling the other noble families in as well. That was why there was not much damage besides the Wang Family and the Deng Family. Liu Biao obtained a complete Jingzhou. After that, there were a lot of wars at the Central Plains such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The people who were left homeless as a result of the war all ran to Jingzhou.
Jingzhou had the Yangtze River and also had fertile land. Gradually the population grew to millions. The nobles from Yangzhou and Yuzhou also escaped to Jingzhou, bringing their riches with them. Cao Cao, Yuan Shu and even Yuan Shao also did business with Jingzhou, enriching Jingzhou even more. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Jingzhou was the richest place in the Three Kingdoms.
And where is the most prosperous place in Jingzhou? That was Xiangyang, its capital, which was both its economic and cultural center. It has the governor’s residence, the Lumen Academy, and a lot of merchants.
The prosperity in Xiangyang also caused another place to prosper. That place is Jiangling. Although Jiangling was not as prosperous as Xiangyang, it had both the Yangtze River and the Huarong Road to protect it. With that geographical advantage, it was a good place to defend.
Every family would find themselves an ‘escape route’ for times of danger. Jiangling was Liu Biao’s ‘escape route’. Liu Biao stored a large deposit of wealth there in case Xiangyang could no longer hold. That was why to fully conquer Jingzhou, one would need to capture both Xiangyang and Jiangling. Xiangyang was too far but Jiangling was right in front of them. Unfortunately, the Huarong Road was blocking the way. Yet, there was someone here saying that he knows how to get through Huarong Road. How could Lu Xun not feel excited?
Tens of thousands of troops travelled for half a day and arrived at the entrance of the Huarong Road. It was a swamp filled with the nauseating smell of rot. Those that do not know how to get through Huarong Road was doomed to perish.
“General. Can we really rely on this person?” Huo Jun asked Lu Xun. He looked at Huarong Road nervously as he himself had almost died the last time he entered this place. He went in with over a hundred men and only returned with a dozen. He could not even find their corpses.
One white clothed scholar had suddenly appeared saying he knew the way through Huarong Road. Huo Jun wanted to torture and interrogate him but he was stopped by Lu Xun. Lu Xun did not only believe the scholar. He even brought the whole army out.
Instead of replying to Huo Jun, Lu Xun turned towards the scholar. “You. How do we proceed from here?”
“There are two methods to choose.” The scholar replied.
“Two methods?”
“Yes. Two methods.” The scholar nodded. “The first is to lay down grass. The Huarong Road is full of swamp but if you cover the area with grass, you can pass through.” The problem with the swamp was that it was easy to sink into the soft ground. However, it would not be a problem if the way was paved.
Lu Xun frowned. Though this solution was feasible, it would take a year to reach Jiangling and on top of that, there cannot be any heavy rain for the year. Lu Xun and the others did not have the time or the provisions for this.
“What about the second method?”
“Are you sure you do not want to use the first method? If you mobilized a hundred thousand men and peasants, you should be able to get through in about a month.” The scholar asked.
“No.” Lu Xun shook his head. Mobilizing a hundred thousand peasants was harder than it sounds. Besides that, Spring was coming. They could not allow the fields to be abandoned.
“Then the second method it is! It is to use a narrow road. Let me warn you that it is extremely risky.”
“Extremely risky?”
“Yes. You may sink into the swamp and die in the Huarong Road. Even if you do not sink into the swamp, you may die from the poisonous air, ferocious animals, poisonous snakes and insects.” The scholar warned Lu Xun about the dangers.
Lu Xun frowned. The Huarong Road was more dangerous than he expected. All of these threats were not things that men could compete with. Huo Jun was also silent as he had already encountered this before.
“All of this is not a problem as long as we can get through! Death is common in war!” Lu Xun replied. If he wanted to capture Jiangling, he needed to go through Huarong Road. Initially, they could attack through the river but Jingzhou had a capable person. They sank their own ships and blocked the entire river.
The scholar nodded. “Most importantly, because the path is narrow, you can only take two thousand men.”
“Two thousand men? What are you playing at?” Huo Jun finally spoke up dissatisfied. They were not doing this for fun but to go to war. After getting through Huarong Road, it was likely that only one thousand men would be left. How could they attack Jiangling? Even if they somehow managed to obtain Jiangling, they would still need to defend it.
“Whether you go or not depends on you.” The scholar replied without care.
“General. I think this person is not speaking the truth! Let us interrogate him!” Huo Jun said unhappily. He had always been doubtful of this scholar especially since the scholar appeared right after his failed attempt to get through the Huarong Road.
“If you don’t believe me, I can just take my leave.” The scholar seemed hurt as he cupped his fist at Lu Xun. He shook his head and turned to leave. In his heart he felt bitter. How long must he wait to take revenge?
“You want to leave? Do you think you can come and go whenever you want? Men! Arrest him!” Huo Jun ordered his men.
“What do you want to do?” The scholar became alert.
“What do I want to do? You better tell me who sent you!” Huo Jun said imposingly. He was about to grab the scholar when Lu Xun stopped him.
“Stop!”
“General?” Huo Jun looked at Lu Xun doubtfully. This scholar was too suspicious.
“Let go of this woman.” Lu Xun ordered.
“But General…” Huo Jun was about to object when he stopped. “Woman?”
“Haha. Miss. Do you still intend to continue dressing like this?” Lu Xun asked the scholar with a laugh.
“How did you know?”
“Miss. Before you dress like a man, you should first make an Adam’s apple.” Lu Xun replied to the scholar.
“So it was the Adam’s apple!” The woman finally realized that Lu Xun noticed her gender from the start.
Lu Xun laughed. He initially had his suspicion because the scholar looked too delicate. Lu Xun had seen elegant and graceful men like Zhou Yu before. In fact, Lu Xun himself belonged to this category. However, this scholar’s Adam’s apple did not move at all as she spoke. In other words, it was not there at all.
The scholar undid her tied hair since she was already exposed. Her captivating long hair dropped down after that.
“So it was a woman!” Huo Jun said with disdain. Women should just do embroidery instead of meddling with the army.
“Milady. What is it that you want?” Lu Xun asked with a smile. “The military is not a joking matter. Without a proper explanation, I cannot allow you to leave.” Lu Xun had already brought out the army. He could not just send them back without saying anything.
“If I say what I want, can you give it to me?” The woman asked coldly.
“If you do not say it, how would we know?” Lu Xun asked back. He was certain that this woman had some other purpose bringing them out to the Huarong Road as if he did not stop Huo Jun, this woman would have been tortured and humiliated. Since this woman came despite the risk, it would mean that her objective matched with the Yangzhou Army.
“I want Dong Zhi’s head. Can you give it to me?” The woman replied without showing Lu Xun any face.
“Dong Zhi’s head?” Lu Xun asked blankly. Who was this Dong Zhi?
“Are you talking about Jiangling’s governor?” Huo Jun asked, as he helped Lu Xun identify the name. He was once in the Jingzhou Navy so he could remember some names. He remembered Dong Zhi because he had to obtain provisions at Jiangling in the past.
“Why do you want to kill Jiangling’s governor?” Lu Xun asked skeptically.
“You do not need to care about this.” The woman replied irritably. “I just need to know if you want Jiangling. If so, you better listen to me. Otherwise, we walk different paths.”
The scholar who wanted Dong Zhi dead was obviously the Wu Family’s daughter, Wu Mi. After burying her family, she went down the Yangtze River. Instead of going to the Huang Family, she went towards the Yangzhou Navy. The reason for this is because the culprits is Liu Biao’s own nephew Liu Pan. So she would not be able to deal with Dong Zhi by going to the Huang Family. After all, it was unlikely for the Huang Family to attack Jiangling. Even if the Huang Family would seek justice for the Wu Family, it would take a really long time. The quickest and most direct way would be to rely on the Yangzhou Army.
“Why do you refuse to answer our General’s question?” Huo Jun probed.
“Zhongmiao. You can withdraw.” Lu Xun waved his hand. He did not want Huo Jun to get into an argument with this girl. Lu Xun did not know why this person wanted Dong Zhi dead but he could tell that her hatred was genuine. It must be a blood debt.
“Are you guys going or not!” Wu Mi asked Lu Xun.
“General. We shouldn’t trust a woman with unknown origins!” Huo Jun advised.
“We will go!” Lu Xun replied to Wu Mi without heeding Huo Jun’s advice.
“General!”
“You trust me?” Wu Mi asked skeptically.
“No. I simply believe that you would not joke with your own life.” Lu Xun laughed. Lu Xun himself doubted the woman. Why did she want Jiangling’s governor dead? How did she know how to get through Huarong Road? All of these questions were problems but Lu Xun did not have the time to think about it. He knew that there was no other way.
They have military orders to attack Nanjun. However, this could not be done quickly enough if they did not go through Huarong Road. They had to attack before Jingzhou could form an army. But there was a chance that Wu Mi was actually capable of leading them through the Huarong Road. It was the only choice Lu Xun had.
“Zhongmiao. Prepare two thousand elites for me and enough rations for several days. We need to get ready to set off!” Lu Xun said to Huo Jun.
“Are you going to lead the troops personally?” Wu Mi asked with her eyes wide.
“What else?” Lu Xun laughed.
“General! You can’t!” Huo Jun immediately advised. “You are the commander-in-chief! If you leave, the army would be without a leader! Let me go!”
“Zhongmiao. I may be the commander but you are the one who knows the army the best!” Lu Xun replied. He knew of the dangers of the Huarong Road. For an operation with such huge consequences, he needed someone who can command personally on the field. The only two people that could do this was Huo Jun and himself.
Though Lu Xun may be of higher rank, it was Huo Jun who knew the troops better as most of them were from the Jiangxia Navy. As a result, Lu Xun had to be the one to go. Without Huo Jun, these newly surrendered troops may rebel.
“But…!”
“No. This is my decision.” Lu Xun shook his head.
Soon, two thousand elites were ready. Lu Xun looked at them and nodded with satisfaction.
“Milady. Is there anything else we need to prepare?” Lu Xun asked. He had followed Wu Mi’s instructions and prepared a lot of leather and rope.
“No. There is nothing else. We can set off now.” Wu Mi nodded at Lu Xun.
“Good! Let us set out!” Lu Xun shouted at the soldiers. The soldiers started to advance into the Huarong Road.
“Zhongmiao. If I do not return, wait for new orders to come from Lujiang before proceeding!” Lu Xun said before following the troops into the Huarong Road.
***
“Milady. Do you really know how to proceed from here?” Lu Xun asked. They had been in the Huarong Road for a few days. They have also encountered all sorts of wildlife and lost many men. Each day, they lost over dozens of men. This already totaled up to over a hundred. Thinking that the end was near, their casualties seemed acceptable. However, Lu Xun was at the end of his patience. This is because in front of him was a yellow cloth Lu Xun had placed the day before. In other words, they had spent a whole day and a few lives but did not progress at all.
“I… I do not know.” Wu Mi replied anxiously. At anywhere else, one could stumble their way out if they got lost. However, at the Huarong Road, it would only lead to their deaths. Wu Mi had a valuable map created from the sacrifice of past victims that she snuck out of Jiangling but this map did not lead them out of the Huarong Road.
“Let me see!” Lu Xun said to Wu Mi but she still resisted. That is because the map was her trump card. They listened to her because she has it and feared that she would throw the map away. If she handed over the map to Lu Xun, she could no longer make use of the Yangzhou Army. At worse, they would even abandon her here.
“Milady. Don’t you want to get out of this swamp?” Lu Xun asked.
“I do! But I cannot hand this over to you!” Wu Mi replied resolutely.
“Haha! Then can you lead us out?” Lu Xun asked indignantly.
Wu Mi shook her head. If she could do that, they would have long left this place instead of walk around in circles.
“Then give me the map. We will look at it together!” Lu Xun said as he stretched out his hands.
Wu Mi was still reluctant.
“Milady. If I wanted to kill you, do you think you can resist?” Lu Xun asked. He may have lost some soldiers but he still have over a thousand and eight hundred men. How could they lose to one woman?
“You wouldn’t dare to kill me. If you kill me, you wouldn’t be able to get out of this swamp!” Wu Mi shook her head. If they were lose this map, all of them would die.
“It’s good that you know this. Right now, we have a common goal. Neither of us can lose the other. If we die, who would help you take revenge? If you die, how would we get out of this swamp? So right now, our objectives align. We both need to get to Jiangling. We want Jiangling, and you want Dong Zhi’s head. The faster we get out of here, the faster you can get your revenge.” Lu Xun persuaded.
Wu Mi was somewhat persuaded enough to let her guard down. At this moment, Lu Xun quickly snatched the map away from her.
“What are you doing? Give it back!” Wu Mi wanted to snatch back the map but she ended up slipping and falling into the swamp. It was like a pit swallowing over half her body.
“He, help!” Wu Mi struggled. However, the more she struggled, the faster she sank.
“Quickly save her!” Lu Xun shouted loudly.
“General?” The 1000-men commander hesitated. This is because the map was what is important. They already had the map so the woman was useless. In fact, she was from the enemy’s side. It was better to let her die here to avoid unnecessary troubles in the future.
“I am telling you to save her so just save her!” Lu Xun did not bother looking at the map. One soldier immediately stretched out his hand to pull her up but he could not reach.
“Here! Use this!” A rope was thrown over. The soldier quickly tied his waist and jumped in to save Wu Mi
The soldiers then started to pull the both of them up. It was evident that Wu Mi was now terrified. Anyone would be like this after a close shave with death. In fact, she would have died if Lu Xun did not order the soldiers to save her. Her fear caused her to struggle.
“Do not move! Do not struggle!” Lu Xun shouted loudly. The more a person struggles, the faster they would sink. If a person’s head sink’s underneath the swamp, then all hope of rescuing him is lost.
Though Lu Xun had shouted this, Wu Mi could not hear it and struggled even harder. Both the soldier and Wu Mi sank even more. Seeing this, the soldier tied the rope to Wu Mi and told the rest to save her first. “General! Quickly pull!”
The girl was quickly pulled up as one person was lighter than two.
“There is one more! Quickly throw the rope!” Lu Xun shouted loudly and the rope was thrown again. However, it was too late. The swamp had claimed another.
Wu Mi was still crying in fear. Lu Xun silently approached her and then slapped her in the face.
“You! You!” Wu Mi stared at Lu Xun with wide eyes.
“Are you satisfied now? He died to save you!” Lu Xun shouted angrily. “Take out the map!”
Wu Mi was scared witless at Lu Xun’s anger and could only do as asked.
After looking at the map, Lu Xun understood why they could not leave the swamp. This map was sixty years old. During that time, the mud would have already concealed some of the paths. It was already good enough that Wu Mi could bring them up to here without wiping out the entire army.
“Tell me. Who are you?” Lu Xun asked as he kept the map.
“You will know when you reach Jiangling.”
“When we reach Jiangling? With a map over sixty years old?” Lu Xun asked angrily. It was his fault for believing her. This was a dead end. Huarong Road had already changed.
“I…” Wu Mi did not know how to explain.
“General. How about we just kill her?” The 1000-men officer suggested fiercely. The people that died were his subordinates and now they found out the map was sixty years old. They might not escape here alive. Only by killing her can they vent their anger.
“Kill her? That is too good for her!” Lu Xun replied.
“What do you want to do?” Wu Mi started to panic. She no longer had the map so she was now useless. It was likely that she would be killed.
“We lost someone just to save her. How can she die like this? She has to live for his sake!” Lu Xun then turned back to Wu Mi. “Tell us quickly! Who are you? Otherwise, my men would not let you live even if I spare you!”
“I am Wu Mi. I am from the Wu Family.” Wu Mi revealed her identity.
“The Wu Family from Jiangling?” Lu Xun remembered. The Lu Family had close ties with the Wu Family. They did business with each other and their ancestors were connected by marriage. If it was not because the Lu Family were defeated, they would still be in contact with each other.
“Who is your father?” Lu Xun asked.
“My father is Wu Fan.” Wu Mi replied.
“Wu Fan? The head of the Wu Family? You are Uncle Wu’s daughter?”
“Uncle Wu?” Wu Mi could not understand. This was Yangzhou’s commander, Lu Xun. What relation does he have with her family?
“If you are indeed Wu Fan’s daughter, then I would be your older cousin!” Lu Xun said bitterly. The Wu Family and the Lu Family were connected by marriage. Wu Fan had even carried Lu Xun when he was a baby. After the Lu Family was wiped out by Sun Ce, Lu Xun had even thought of going to Wu Fan to ask for revenge but gave up when he saw Jingzhou’s state of affairs. He did not expect to find his cousin here.
“Why are you here? Why do you want to kill Jiangling’s governor? Could it be…” Lu Xun did not understand. The Wu Family was an influential family in Jiangling. He also heard that they were important to the Huang Family. Besides that, Huang Zu was under Liu Biao’s direct command. Could it be that Wu Mi was really here to impede their progress? If that is the case, Wu Fan was really willing to sacrifice a lot.
“My father is dead.” Wu Mi said while lowering her head.
“Uncle Wu is dead?” Lu Xun was in disbelief. Who could kill Wu Fan? Even those that wanted him dead had to give face to the Huang Family.
“The people who killed my father is Jiangling’s governor Dong Zhi and Liu Pan!” Wu Mi said hatefully and told Lu Xun about what happened at her residence.
“Liu Biao’s nephew Liu Pan?” Lu Xun frowned. He knew about Liu Pan but he did not know why Liu Pan wanted to wipe out the Wu Family. The Wu Family was very influential. He had Wu Lin be given a title partly to make Jingzhou’s people suspicious of each other and partly to show the Wu Family some respect. He did not expect Liu Pan to exterminate the Wu Family without even caring about the Huang Family.
“Cousin. You must help me avenge the Wu Family!” After finding out that Lu Xun was her cousin, Wu Mi requested while kowtowing towards Lu Xun.
“Get up quickly!” Lu Xun quickly helped her up. He was no longer vigilant towards Wu Mi after finding out about her identity. Killing Dong Zhi and Liu Pan would also not be a problem if they could get out of this place. He looked at the surroundings and at the sixty year old map. It would be great if they could actually get out of the swamp.
“Tell the others that we are almost out! Have them persevere a little longer.” Lu Xun ordered. The soldiers were already exhausted as they were on edge the entire time, afraid they would fall into the swamp. Most of the officers and soldiers were already about to collapse. They would rather die on the battlefield.
“Understood!” The 1000-men commander quickly left to pass down the words.
“Cousin. Have you found the way out?” Wu Mi asked.
“Of course not!” Lu Xun shook his head bitterly. He only did this to raise the morale a little. It would be of no use if their morale plummeted before they could get out.
“Let us do this step by step.” Lu Xun stood up and followed the map.