Chapter 142: Fire Dragon Burns the Warehouse
Just as Su Ze was thinking about the Queyue Formation, the system scout suddenly sent a warning. Su Ze looked up into the sky again and saw his falcon circling low in the sky. He immediately drew out his sword and said, "There are cavalry approaching, prepare to engage them!"
Yu Jin had become accustomed to serving as Su Ze's deputy. During this period, Su Ze was always able to give early warning and discover the enemy. Yu Jin would immediately pass on the military order to prepare to engage the enemy, and arrange to notify the rear army and deploy the cavalry formation.
Su Ze couldn't help but sigh that a famous general like Yu Jin is really useful.
When Yu Jin first joined the army, his overall ability was roughly the same as that of orange followers like Su Lin and Su Jing, and he was not as good as orange followers in professional military skills.
But now Yu Jin can help Su Ze share the trivial military affairs, quickly convey Su Ze's orders, and help Su Ze arrange routine tactical actions.
When Yu Jin was not around, Su Ze had to personally take care of every detail of the entire army's arrangements. After Yu Jin came along, Su Ze only needed to lay out his tactical intentions, and Yu Jin would be able to transform them into troop deployments, which was much better than the orange followers who could only passively execute military orders.
Su Ze began to think about escorting his people to Xiurong's Murong Shaozong again. He didn't know what level this famous general of the Northern Qi Dynasty, who had blocked the great general Hou Jing in history, had been trained to.
But when a scout holding the Northern Wei army flag rushed out and shouted, "I am under the order of Wuchuan Town General Lou Poqiang to welcome General Li!"
Hearing that the other party introduced themselves as an army under the command of Wuchuan Town General, Su Ze was temporarily relieved, but he also sent people to check the other party's identity, and then let this team of scouts come to him.
When in Baidao City, Su Ze used the [Corrupted Western Merchant] to inquire from the Persian merchants who stopped in Baidao City that the Rouran people had surrounded Wuchuan. Although Su Ze also knew that the Rouran people had no siege equipment and should not be able to capture Wuchuan, he still reported to Li Chong and moved forward.
After being out of Baidao for such a long time, Su Ze finally met the scouts sent by Wuchuan. He was also worried that something happened to Wuchuan, so he quickly asked:
"How is Wuchuan?"
The scout immediately said, "Huaishuo Yang Zhenjiang sent his army commander Heba Yun to rescue Wuchuan. He defeated the Rouran coalition forces outside Wuchuan City. Now the Rouran people who besieged Wuchuan have withdrawn!"
Hearing this good news, Yu Jin beside Su Ze finally smiled. This was the first good news they had heard since entering the Northern Territory.
Heba Yun?
The eldest of the three Heba brothers?
That's right. Huaishuo was the governor's town of the three western towns, and the Huaishuo commander Yang Jun also served as the governor of the three western towns. He sent Heba Yun, who was from Wuchuan, to lead troops to rescue Wuchuan, which was considered to be the right choice of general.
Heba Duba and his three sons were key figures in the early stage of the Six Garrisons Rebellion.
In the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time, during the Six Garrisons Uprising, Heba Duba led his three sons to rescue Yang Jun, the Grand Commander of Huaishuo Town, and joined forces with Dugu Xin to kill the bandit king Wei Kegu.
Heba Duba died soon after, and his three sons defected to Erzhu Rong and became important generals under his command. They performed brilliantly on the historical stage from the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty to the struggle for hegemony between the Western Wei and Northern Qi Dynasties.
The third son, Heba Yue, was not inferior to Gao Huan in military and political talent. If Heba Yue had not died suddenly, it would not be Yuwen Tai but Heba Yue who confronted Gao Huan.
I didn’t expect that as soon as I entered Wuchuan, I would hear the names of the three famous Heba brothers in history. This trip to the northern border was really the right decision!
Su Ze came to the northern border not to "collect stamps" of these famous generals, and he is not qualified to recruit people like Heba Yun now.
Being able to recruit Murong Shaozong was already a pleasant surprise. The Six Garrisons were not in chaos. The Heba family, which had been in the Six Garrisons for generations, had their roots in the Six Garrisons. It was impossible for them to join a small Yu Lin school lieutenant like Su Ze. If they wanted to join, they would have to join a general like Li Chong.
But that didn't stop Su Ze from coming to Liuzhen to gain reputation.
The reason why local heroes like the Heba brothers flocked to Erzhu Rong after the chaos in the Six Garrisons was because Erzhu Rong had money, food, territory, and reputation.
Why do others travel thousands of miles to seek refuge with you? Isn’t it because you are famous? Do others think there is a future in relying on you?
This was also the reason why Su Ze took the risk to defeat the Rouran people in Pingcheng and build a fortress in Baidao City.
Jingguanhui would spread Su Ze's deeds throughout Hengzhou and the Six Towns through the mouths of passing merchants.
When the Six Garrisons are in turmoil in the future, if Su Ze has the opportunity to come to the Six Garrisons again to quell the rebellion, then some people will take the initiative to join him.
As for the other goal, it is naturally to place followers in the six towns.
As long as he deploys enough followers, Su Ze will be able to obtain the latest intelligence on the Six Towns after returning to Luoyang, which will facilitate his layout in Luoyang.
Su Ze also had his flag raised, and said to the Wuchuan scouts who came to greet him: "I am Su Ze, the captain of the Yulin Cavalry Battalion, and the vanguard under General Li. Please return to Wuchuan as soon as possible, and ask General Lou to prepare to welcome the general!"
The scout immediately rode away on horseback, rushing to inform the town commander that he had received the credit. Su Ze then ordered the troops to resume their normal marching sequence and speed up their journey to Wuchuan City.
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"The imperial army is coming! The imperial army is coming!"
The Wuchuan scout galloped on his horse while reporting the news of the arrival of the imperial army. Gao Huan, who was driving away refugees outside the city, looked to the south after hearing the news. Sima Ziru and Hou Jing also came to Gao Huan, and everyone had a smile on their face.
But the smile did not last long, as black smoke suddenly rose from Wuchuan City!
Sima Ziru looked back and his face turned pale. He said to Gao Huan, "He Liuhun! Look! The city is on fire! It's the warehouse!"
Hou Jing's face turned even paler. He had heard that a soldier he knew was sent to guard the warehouse, and he thought it was a good job. He even thought about using his connections to get transferred there. If he hadn't listened to Gao Huan, he would have stopped. Now that the warehouse was on fire, the soldiers guarding the warehouse would be held accountable for violating military discipline and executed even if they didn't die on the spot!
Hou Jing felt cold sweat breaking out on his back. He had just made a great achievement in battle, but he almost had a close call with death.
He looked at Gao Huan and became more determined to hold on to Gao Huan's thighs.
However, Gao Huan showed an incredible expression when he looked at Zhencang, which changed from black smoke to red flames. Although he expected that something would happen to Zhencang, he didn't expect that these guys would be so cruel!
The grain in the town granary was nominally used for disaster relief, but it was also military rations for Li Chong's army. How could those generals in Wuchuan City just burn it all?
This fire also burned away the hope of life for the refugees outside Wuchuan City.
Looking at the raging fire, Gao Huan felt a strong sense of powerlessness in his heart.
(End of this chapter)