Chapter 175: Do Not Displease My Lord
Further northeast of Liaodong is Xuantu County, one of the two remaining counties of the Han Dynasty still struggling to hold on in the eastern part of Youzhou.

This place originally belonged to the local forces of Wei Man. It was not until Emperor Wu of Han suppressed them that a direct administrative unit was established here. This is the origin of the Four Counties of the Han Dynasty.

Later, after another merger, only Lelang and Xuantu counties remained. Xuantu County was a county close to the north, adjacent to present-day Goguryeo and Buyeo.

Under the current situation, Xuantu is also a place of refuge for scholars from Liaodong.

The Yellow Turbans advanced eastward and conquered Liaoxi, Liaodong and Liaodong's vassal states. The strength of their army forced a large number of Han scholars to flee eastward. Some went to Lelang County, while others settled in Xuantu.

In recent years, the Yellow Turbans have focused more on governing the newly acquired lands and have not resorted to war again, which has also given Xuantu Lelang a period of peace.

However, this peace was eventually broken. Starting with a group of Xianbei people fleeing from the western border, crisis began to loom over Xuantu County.

"The Yellow Turbans are coming. They will definitely attack Xuantu this time. What should we do?" In a quiet place in the mountains and forests of Xuantu, a tall man with a bright face spoke with a worried tone.

His name was Taishi Ci. He was originally from Donglai. He offended the governor of the state due to official business and had to flee to Liaodong for refuge.

However, before he could gain a firm foothold in Liaodong, he encountered the Yellow Turbans advancing eastward, and was forced to attack Xuantu again. Now he was being attacked by the Yellow Turbans again, which really made him lose his temper. It seemed that he had been busy fleeing in recent years.

In front of Taishi Ci were two famous scholars of the Han Dynasty, Guan Ning and Bing Yuan.

Because these two people admired Taishi Ci's chivalrous character, they took the initiative to make friends with him. The three of them came to Xuantu together to seek refuge. Now, after spending some time together, they have a very close relationship.

"Xu Chen is a ruthless and cruel person. Since he entered Youzhou, all the nobles in Youzhou have suffered great disasters. It's a pity that the court is not stable now and is unable to fight against this villain."

When Bing Yuan talked about Xu Chen, his tone was unfriendly, which was also the general attitude of the scholar group towards Xu Chen.

Seeing the Youzhou nobles' families destroyed one by one under the Yellow Turbans' strong policies, the scholars felt the same way and were terrified. No one knew whether the same thing would happen to them one day.

Now that this worry has become a reality, they can no longer stay in Xuantu, their last refuge.

Guan Ning sighed helplessly, "Misfortunes never come singly. This is exactly what happened. The rest of the country is already in turmoil, and there is even Dong the traitor causing chaos in the center. I don't know when the situation in the Han Dynasty will become clearer."

Taishi Ci was a little anxious. He stood up and paced back and forth: "Gentlemen, don't sigh about these things now. Let's think of a way to deal with the current situation first!"

Guan Ning shook his head: "What can we do? The post of Xuantu County Magistrate has been vacant for many years. It was only when the thief Dong took control of the government that Gongsun Du was appointed. However, Xuantu is a place with few villains, and Gongsun Du has only been in office for a few days. How can we fight against the Yellow Turbans?"

Bing Yuan also echoed pessimistically: "The Yellow Turbans are very sharp in armor and are as powerful as tigers and wolves. Xuantu is indeed powerless to deal with them."

"Are we just going to sit here and wait for death?" Taishi Ci was very disappointed. He came here hoping to rely on the reputation of these two celebrities, but the other party was so pessimistic.

No matter how strong the enemy is, you must fight hard. You can't just wait to die without even making a move.

Honestly speaking, this kind of thing is not something that a refugee like me should worry about. However, the prefect Gongsun Du has just arrived and I'm afraid he can't handle the situation. If I put the life and death in the hands of Gongsun Du, I'm afraid there will be no good results.

Thinking of this, Taishi Ci stopped beating around the bush and directly stated his purpose: "As the two gentlemen said, Xuantu is a small place with few people, but it is precisely because of this that we must be more united and use every bit of strength. Only in this way can we fight the enemy!"

Guan Ning and Bing Yuan looked at each other and asked, "What do you want to do?"

Taishi Ci bowed to the two men and said solemnly, "Gongsun Du is not good enough to convince the people. In this time of crisis, I hope you two gentlemen can stand up and call on the scholars and people of Xuantu to form an army to save the nation!"

Perhaps the two were moved by Taishi Ci's determination and were finally moved.

Finally, Guan Ning sighed and said, "I'm afraid this is the only way. If the Yellow Turbans break through Xuantu, the soldiers and civilians in the city will be in trouble."

Bing Yuan also said to Taishi Ci: "Zi Yi is so chivalrous, how can we not help him? I just hope that our little reputation can be of some use."

Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci was overjoyed. After thanking the two men loudly, he immediately invited them to come out of the mountain.

Now the Xianbei and Yellow Turban cavalry were entangled near Xuantu, and the threat of war was imminent. They dared not delay at all and immediately began to run around in various places in Xuantu to appeal.

Guan Ning and Bing Yuan were indeed very prestigious as famous scholars of the Han Dynasty. In addition, the local gentry in Xuantu were already frightened, so he was able to recruit some troops in the end. After combining them with the army recruited by Gongsun Du, he had a total of 4,000 troops.

Although they acted quickly, it would take more than a day to recruit soldiers and food. It took them five or six days to organize their troops.

Before they could send out troops, very bad news had already arrived.

The Xianbei, who were driven here by the Yellow Turbans, were annihilated a few days ago. In the Xuantu army, Gongsun Du looked at his generals with a gloomy face. Although he now had 4,000 soldiers, this did not give Gongsun Du the slightest sense of security.

Most of the generals below also looked frightened. Only Taishi Ci, the militia leader, was relatively calm, but his face looked unhappy.

"According to the scouts, the Xianbei were completely trapped by the Yellow Turban cavalry after they arrived nearby and could no longer move. Until a few days ago, the Yellow Turban infantry rushed to the battlefield and defeated more than 2,000 Xianbei cavalry with just one charge."

At this point, Gongsun Du couldn't help but take a breath: "It is said that the entire battle was clean and neat, and it was completely over in just two quarters of an hour. The Xianbei leader Jueji was even beheaded on the spot."

When everyone heard this, they felt even more depressed.

It is not surprising that the Yellow Turbans defeated the Xianbei cavalry. They were not unaware of the Yellow Turbans' strength, but it was still too exaggerated that they won the victory in just one charge and two quarters of an hour.

After all, the Xianbei were all cavalry and could not break out and escape, which only showed that the Yellow Turbans had completely controlled the battlefield and did not give the Xianbei any chance.

Even the cavalry is in this situation. Can the 4,000 soldiers that Xuantu hastily recruited really compete with the Yellow Turbans?

In fact, if they had more time, they could recruit many more soldiers, but obviously the Yellow Turbans would not be stupid enough to give them time to prepare, as the crisis was already imminent.

Taishi Ci was the first to stand up and said, "No matter what, our army has no room for compromise or surrender. The only way for you all to go is to work together and fight to the end."

Gongsun Du glanced at Taishi Ci and nodded secretly. In this situation, it is most important to rectify people's hearts. "Ziyi is right. The Yellow Turbans are tyrannical. Even if some people surrender, there will be no good results."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked. In their eyes, there was nothing wrong with what Gongsun Du said.

When the scholar groups outside looked at the Yellow Turbans, they would automatically ignore the Yellow Turbans' policies towards the common people, and instead only focus on the harsh methods used by the Yellow Turbans to punish the gentry. After all, they represented the scholars and could only empathize with the scholars' experiences. No matter how well the common people lived, it would not make any sense to them.

Then in their minds, Xu Chen would become a cruel and ugly person.

No one wants to fall into the hands of the Yellow Turbans, as doing so would not only mean the destruction of their family, but also the loss of their life.

Gongsun Du's warning was very effective. Soon everyone present began to denounce Xu Chen and the Yellow Turbans in righteous words. They looked like they wanted to capture Xu Chen and kill him immediately.

The army did not dare to delay for a moment and immediately set out, and soon stationed in Gaoxian City, Xuantu.

Fortunately, they were fast enough. Soon after they took up garrison, the Yellow Turbans appeared on the wilderness. When everyone looked forward, they all felt a chill in their hearts.

The elite Yellow Turban Corps was silent and dignified, but their powerful aura was like a mountain rushing towards them.

Their army formation was tight, their armor shining, they held spears like a forest, swordmen and shieldmen were defending in the front, and crossbowmen in the back were ready to go. The overall formation was coordinated and beautiful.

This gave them the feeling of a wild beast lying dormant, waiting for the right opportunity to pounce ferociously and tear its prey to pieces.

In fact, the Yellow Turbans had just hunted down a prey not long ago. Two or three thousand Xianbei cavalry were eaten by them without leaving a single drop.

When the Yellow Turban Army approached the city, everyone on the city wall felt like a young wife who had been stripped of her clothes, not knowing when the enemy would pounce on her and ravage her. However, they had no ability to resist and could only endure the fear before the pain came.

The Yellow Turbans, who had just won a great victory, were enough to scare people with their imposing manner.

However, what reassured everyone was that the Yellow Turbans did not rush to attack immediately, but instead stationed on the spot, and stayed there for a long time, with no intention of attacking at all.

They didn't know what the Yellow Turbans were waiting for, but this was certainly a good thing for them. The longer they could delay, the better. It would be best if the Yellow Turbans never attacked.

What are the Yellow Turbans waiting for? Actually, they are waiting for the audience.

During this period, the royal palaces of Buyeo and Goguryeo welcomed guests from the Yellow Turbans.

What Buyeo King Wei Choutai saw was a proud-looking warrior, who was Tian Shitou, the captain of the personal guards beside the Yellow Turban leader.

The warrior was now looking directly at Yuchoutai, showing no awe of the king at all. He just calmly stated his purpose: "Our army defeated the Xianbei not long ago, and now we are going to continue the expedition against Xuantu. We would like to invite your country to watch the battle. What do you think, King?"

At the same time, Ju Su, who was seeking to see King Bogu of Goguryeo, was much more polite. He bowed and saluted, and made a sincere invitation: "My lord has come with a strong army just to make friends. Why don't you follow me to meet him? Otherwise, I am afraid my lord will be unhappy."

　I posted three chapters today, and three chapters tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)