Chapter Twelve: The Saber (II)

No matter who betrayed Tangzhou City and himself, Li Kuo must rush back to provide aid at all costs!
On one hand, Tangzhou was his foundation—both professionally and personally, he couldn’t easily hand it over. More importantly, every citizen in Tangzhou trusted him deeply, believing that under his protection they could live without worry amidst the chaos. He couldn’t fail them or break the promises he had made.
To stand firm with his sword and defend his homeland—that was Li Kuo’s promise.
Yet as Li Kuo retreated from Ningling, he encountered many difficulties along the way. Since An Qingxu declared himself emperor, the rebels had shifted their strategic focus to Suiyang. Thus, aside from the troops stationed in the two capitals, Taiyuan, and Hebei, almost all rebels were advancing southward. Li Kuo had to ensure he didn’t run into large rebel forces on his way back. It wasn’t out of fear of battle, but to get to Tangzhou as quickly as possible. With Sun Xiaozhe already at the city’s gates, there was no time to hesitate.
Moreover, Tangzhou and Nanyang held strategic importance. Securing these areas would allow access to Huainan through Xiangyang, achieving a similar effect to capturing Suiyang. Therefore, Li Kuo absolutely couldn’t let the rebels break through here!
Avoiding the main enemy forces wouldn’t be difficult, as his army consisted of light cavalry with great mobility. With Xian Yu Cheng’s scouting unit by his side, as long as the sentries were vigilant, it wouldn’t be hard to evade them. However, maintaining high marching speed while gathering accurate intelligence proved challenging.
Still, Li Kuo was a seasoned warrior. During the Battle of Shibao City, he had led his troops in a surprise attack on Fusi City, managing the timing of marches and rests perfectly. After two days of rapid marching, few soldiers complained.
“Seventh Brother, why don’t we rest in the small county town ahead?” Zhou Wucui suggested, pointing to the dark gray city walls not far away. It was nearing dusk. If it were up to the Seventh Brother, they might continue marching all night and camp in the open fields at midnight.
The army had been marching fast for the past two days, with only two hours of rest each day. Though everyone understood the governor’s urgency regarding Tangzhou, rushing like this would exhaust the troops even before any battle.

Since hearing the news that Tangzhou City was under siege, Li Kuo had remained silent. Now, after listening to Zhou Wuzui’s persuasion and taking in the condition of his troops, he sighed lightly and said, “In that case, let’s enter the city and rest for the night.”
“The commander orders us to enter the city and rest tonight! The commander orders us to enter the city and rest tonight!”
The personal guards raced through the ranks on horseback, repeating Li Kuo’s orders over and over, and as expected, it was met with cheers.
“Long live the commander! Long live the commander! Long live the commander…”
This county was called Shangcai, but its origin was unknown.
The entire army had been exhausted after two days and nights of marching. Upon entering the county, they had no time to ponder the origin of its name and simply collapsed on the beds in the military camps inside the city.
To Li Kuo’s relief, Shangcai had not fallen into enemy hands. Although the county magistrate and other officials had been killed by the rebels, a ninth-rank clerk surnamed Feng stepped forward, gathering local volunteers and conscripting able-bodied men to fulfill his duties.
Of course, Shangcai was not a strong fortress; it even appeared more dilapidated than Mian County’s city walls. The southern city wall and a section of the eastern wall had collapsed due to years of rain. Although Clerk Feng had intended to repair those sections, various reasons had delayed the work.
The clerk warmly invited him over, and Li Kuo naturally couldn’t refuse.
A pot of turbid wine, two bowls of sheep jelly, three plates of small dishes, four bowls of mixed noodles—a mix of flavors. (Note 1) Bitter yet touching, poignant and moving.
When Li Kuo saw what was supposed to be the best food in Shangcai served on the table, his eyes welled up with tears. Last year, the rebels swept southward, almost taking away all the grain in Henan Province. With no grain left in the villages, everyone relied on the reserves in the larger county governments to survive. But Henan Province had always been a densely populated area, comparable even to Guanzhong. With so many people to feed, how could they rely solely on the government’s grain stores?
It was only March, and the autumn harvest was still far away—this was a time of scarcity. Everyone could only tighten their belts and persevere.
And it was at such a time that Clerk Feng presented him with such fine food on behalf of all the people in the county. How could Li Kuo not be moved?
“Clerk Feng, you’re too kind. I’m just staying here for one night; I shouldn’t be treated to such extravagance.”
Li Kuo bowed deeply to the thin, dark-skinned ninth-rank clerk as a sign of gratitude. In his eyes, this low-ranking official was far more honest than some high-ranking officials who did nothing but sit in office.

When paths are long, true character is revealed. Those high-ranking officials might add splendor in times of prosperity, but they would never step in to help when the court and the country are in crisis.
“I’d rather betray everyone else than let them betray me!” In times of chaos, all they think of is themselves.
While low-ranking officials like Clerk Feng enjoyed benefits far beyond what they contributed, they organized the townspeople to resist the enemy without complaint—something that filled Li Kuo with deep admiration.
“General Li, you can endure this! You are our savior!”
As he spoke, Clerk Feng knelt down and bowed deeply to Li Kuo.
Although Li Kuo’s rank and title were far higher than Clerk Feng’s, he couldn’t bear to accept such a grand bow from an elder far older than himself.
“Please get up! Please, stand up!”
Li Kuo hurried over to help Clerk Feng up. “Let’s talk calmly. There’s no need for this. I can’t accept it!”
“If you refuse to stay and save the people of Shangcai from disaster, I will kneel here forever!”
Clerk Feng stubbornly stood firm and insisted on his demand.
“Sigh, just speak clearly. I’ll agree to your request!”
Li Kuo helplessly shrugged and gestured for Clerk Feng to stand up so they could discuss things…
After hearing Clerk Feng’s account, Li Kuo was filled with anger. It turned out his concern wasn’t the rebels’ attacks, but a band of ruthless bandits.
“Clerk Feng, how many are these bandits? Are they all locals?”
Li Kuo asked sternly, frowning. Though he was eager to return to Tangzhou, he wouldn’t ignore such a situation.
“Ah, those bandits—on horseback they’re bandits, off horseback they’re commoners. Of course they’re locals. As for their numbers, it varies. Sometimes there are just 1,800, other times as many as 3,000 to 4,000. What’s worst is that they use the rebels’ banners to advance. Ordinary county officials, seeing the banners of the Great Yan State, would be terrified and lose the will to resist. They plunder everything along the way, emptying the granaries of prefectures and counties.”
Clerk Feng was furious yet helpless. Even if he knew they were disguised bandits, what could he do? His voice carried little weight!
“With such bandits around, doesn’t the prefecture do anything?”
Li Kuo grew angrier as he listened.

“Manage them? They can’t even deal with An Lushan’s rebels—how can they have the energy to deal with a bunch of bandits who come and go like the wind?”
Feng, the clerk, sneered lightly. “To put it plainly, if there weren’t someone in the prefecture’s office colluding with these bandits, how could they manage to enter the city through the gaps time and again, burning, killing, and looting?”
Li Kuo’s heart sank. “So what Feng means is, there’s a traitor inside.”
“Sigh, I’ve seen too many such things. In every era, there are always those who embezzle for personal gain. No matter how large the grain reserves, they can’t withstand such plundering—one scoop today, another tomorrow. In peaceful times, it might not be noticeable, but in a time of famine like this, it’s truly deadly.”
Feng shook his head heavily, looking utterly helpless.
“Feng, tell me—what can I do to help you? Since I, Li Kuo, have seen this corruption today, I must see it through to the end!”
Li Kuo clenched his fists tightly and spoke slowly, deliberately.
Feng nodded slightly. “A while back, these bandits passed by the county town. Their leader shot a feathered arrow into the city as a threat to the townspeople, saying that if they didn’t prepare enough grain and young girls next time they came, they would invade and slaughter everyone in the city. You’ve seen the condition of Shangcai City—how could it withstand even one attack from them?”
A cold smile appeared on Li Kuo’s lips. “Is the deadline tomorrow?”
Note 1: Jiaotuan is a specialty dish from the northwest, defined as “a paste made from mixed flour,” especially popular in Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai. There are two main types: Shui Weicheng and Piao Yu Er, including corn jiaotuan and potato jiaotuan. As a glutton, I highly recommend this local delicacy to everyone!