Hearing this, everyone on the city wall lowered their heads, not daring to show panic, fearing they would be used as a sacrifice by the Prefect.
One must know that this was a Two Thousand Stone official, the ruler of the entire Zhuo Commandery, with the authority to execute first and report later.
After Wen Shu saw the city wall quiet down, he let out a cold snort, his sharp gaze still fixed on the area below the city.
Over a thousand Yellow Turbans, gathered in a mighty horde, had already arrived several hundred meters outside the city.
The leader, riding a reddish-brown horse, was burly, held a large saber, and looked arrogantly at the Prefect's retinue on the city wall.
He coldly snorted!
"Wen Shu, you must be on the city wall. This Qu Shuai has come specifically for you."
"I hope you are sensible and open the city to surrender to my Great Virtuous Teacher. He will definitely make good use of you. When this Han Dynasty is overthrown, you will become a trusted subordinate under him. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
The deafening voice echoed throughout the entire city wall, and a cacophony of whispers instantly rose, with many people murmuring amongst themselves.
Some even cast their gazes at Wen Shu, wondering what his thoughts were.
Upon hearing these words, Wen Shu was so enraged he laughed.
How could he, a high-ranking official of the imperial court with a Two Thousand Stone salary, open the city and surrender to these bandits?
His gaze was sharp as he looked down, and he shouted coldly!
"Cheng Yuanzhi, how dare you! As a citizen of the Great Han, instead of diligently farming and living in peace, you follow Zhang Jiao and others in rebellion!"
"Now you even want to persuade this Prefect to surrender? I think you are deluding yourself."
"I'll give you a piece of advice now: immediately surrender to this Prefect and disband your soldiers, and I might spare your life."
"If you dare to remain stubborn, don't blame me when I have you dismembered and your head hung on the city gate for public display."
Cheng Yuanzhi, riding the red horse, heard this and showed a look of disdain on his face, saying coldly!
"Wen Shu, you have a big mouth! This Qu Shuai is right here now. If you have the guts, come and dismember me. If you don't, stop talking nonsense here."
"Who can't boast? You, a cowering turtle, only dare to stay inside the city. If you dared to come outside the city, I would cut you down with one strike and let you know the might of my Yellow Turban army."
Wen Shu, hearing these mocking words, trembled with anger. The dignified ruler of a commandery, being mocked by these bandits, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?
His eyes were sharp as he shouted coldly behind him!
"Prefect Zheng, you lead a thousand soldiers out of the city to capture and kill Cheng Yuanzhi! Cut off his head! I want to hang it on the city wall for public display!"
Zheng Qian, standing beside him, heard this and was slightly stunned.
"Ah... me"?
He glanced left and right, noticing that everyone's eyes were on him.
A bitter smile involuntarily appeared on his face. If he had the ability to kill Cheng Yuanzhi, how could he have remained holed up in the city?
One must know that Cheng Yuanzhi had already amassed over ten thousand troops when he besieged the city some time ago, and he had been recruiting more common people into his army from the surrounding areas, likely reaching twenty thousand.
There were only two to three thousand people inside the city. Even if Champion Marquis Huo Qubing were alive, it would be impossible for two to three thousand to fight twenty thousand. Sending him out to battle was simply sending him to his death.
Wen Shu looked at Zheng Qian, who was still in a daze, raised an eyebrow, and his voice became slightly colder!
"What, Prefect Zheng, didn't you hear me?"
Zheng Qian, hearing this cold voice, dared not pretend he hadn't heard.
Although he was already a prominent figure in the commandery, he dared not provoke the Prefect. Even if the Prefect couldn't remove him from office, giving him some trouble would be enough to make him suffer.
He slowly stepped forward and stammered!
"Please calm your anger, Prefect. The bandits below the city are currently using a provocation tactic, hoping to lure us out of the city to fight them. They want to use their numerical advantage to wipe us out, allowing them to easily occupy the city."
"Prefect, you must not fall for this bandit's scheme. Otherwise, the tens of thousands of common people inside the city will suffer a bloody massacre by the bandits, leading to widespread devastation!"
After saying this, Zheng Qian glanced at several other officials around him, hoping they would step forward to intercede for him and offer some advice.
Several high-ranking officials in the commandery, having received the hint, stepped forward one after another, quietly advising!
"Please calm your anger, Prefect. Prefect Zheng's words are not without reason."
"The enemy forces below the city are numerous and hold the advantage. In contrast, we only have over two thousand soldiers. If we go out to fight them, there is no chance of victory at all."
"If we accidentally suffer a complete defeat or heavy losses, without soldiers to guard the city, it will easily be breached by these Yellow Turbans."
"Rather than that, it is better to defend the city, exhaust the enemy's morale, and then find a way to sally out and wipe out the enemy in one battle."
Wen Shu, hearing everyone's advice, slowly suppressed the anger in his heart.
He was not a fool; he naturally knew that they were outnumbered and outmatched, and fighting outside the city would lead to no victory.
But he just couldn't swallow his pride. How dare mere rebels be so arrogant?
Cheng Yuanzhi, seeing no action from the city, clearly indicating they dared not come out to fight him, continued his arrogant taunts!
"Wen Shu, you cowering turtle! I'll give you a few more days. If you still don't open the city and surrender, don't blame me for leading my army to flatten you all and slaughter every man, woman, and child in the city!"
Wen Shu's face turned terrifyingly grim as he heard these voices, and the sharp blade at his waist trembled slightly.
After a moment of silence, he could only let out a helpless sigh.
He would endure for now, but given the chance, he would definitely kill this bandit to quell the hatred in his heart.
He prepared to leave the city wall with those around him, wanting to pretend he didn't hear, so at least he would feel a little better.
If he stayed on the city wall, listening to those mocking voices, he feared he wouldn't be able to resist personally leading his troops out to fight.
Just then, a messenger rushed towards them, his face filled with excitement, shouting loudly from a distance!
"Prefect, good news has arrived!"
Wen Shu, who was about to step away, heard this and frowned.
With the enemy besieging the city, the bandit leader cursing below the city, and morale low within the city, everything was a bad sign. How could there be good news?
However, he still waved his hand, signaling him to continue.
After receiving permission, the messenger dared not delay and spoke with fervor!
"Reporting to the Prefect, Military Marquis Liu, stationed in Yi County, personally led several hundred soldiers out of the city to fight, defeating two to three thousand Yellow Turbans!"
"Even the Yellow Turban leader Deng Mao was killed on the spot, resolving the Yellow Turban crisis in Yi County!"
The voice echoed throughout the entire city wall, and everyone was filled with shock and surprise, some finding the news hard to believe.
A mere few hundred people actually annihilated two to three thousand Yellow Turbans; it was somewhat astonishing.
Although these Yellow Turbans were not strong, being a disorganized rabble, their numbers were several times greater than the defenders, yet they were annihilated in one battle.
Even Wen Shu, among the crowd, was filled with surprise upon hearing this news.
However, he quickly composed himself, looked at the messenger in front of him, and quickly asked!
"Is the news true? Did Military Marquis Liu fabricate the military report?"
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