mtlumby2d Chapter 1257 Chengdu in Panic Before the Troops Arrive
Chapter 1257 Chengdu in Panic Before the Troops Arrive
The night was as dark as ink. The people fled without stopping, never hearing the hoofbeats of the Xiliang army behind them. Only when the sky began to lighten and the outline of Luocheng came into view in the distance did these terrified people dare to slow their pace and collapse by the roadside, panting heavily. In the morning light, the mottled yet sturdy city walls of Luocheng stood like a silent barrier, finally giving them a sense of security.
Inside Luocheng, Lei Tong was convening a meeting of his generals. A map was spread out in the tent, and Xu Jing pointed to the location of Mianzhu Pass: "According to the itinerary, we should arrive at the pass this afternoon. Once we join General Dong He, with the natural defenses of Mianzhu, we'll surely be able to hold off the Xiliang army." Zhang Yi, Zhang Yi, and Ma Zhong all nodded in agreement, eager for the battle.
Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the tent, and a guard rushed in: "General, a large number of refugees have arrived from beyond the pass, saying they are fleeing from the direction of Mianzhu Pass!"
Lei Tong's heart sank, and he immediately rose and left the tent. He saw a dense mass of kneeling people outside the city gate, all dressed in rags, their faces streaked with tears. He stepped forward and asked in a deep voice, "Where are you from? Why are you fleeing here?"
An old man shakily raised his head, tears streaming down his face: "General...we were originally people of Jiangyou City. After Jiangyou fell, we fled to Mianzhu Pass, where General Dong and General He took us in. But last night...last night Mianzhu Pass also fell, and General Dong...he died in battle!"
"What?!" Lei Tong felt his head buzz, and his face instantly turned deathly pale. He steadied himself by grabbing the flagpole beside him and asked, "How could Mianzhu Pass, which is so fortified, have fallen overnight? Where is General Dong?"
"The Xiliang army attacked too fiercely..." a woman cried. "They fought from morning till night, and from night till dawn. General Dong led us to defend until the very last moment. Even when all his soldiers were gone, he was still fighting on the city walls... In the end... in the end, he didn't come down..."
The cries of the people rose and fell, each word like a hammer blow to Lei Tongxin's heart. He turned and hurried back to his tent. Xu Jing, noticing his pale face, quickly asked, "General, what has caused such a panic?"
"Mianzhu Pass has fallen! Dong He is dead!" Lei Tong's voice trembled as he pointed outside the tent. "The refugees themselves said it; there's no mistake!"
Xu Jing's wolf-hair brush fell to the table with a "thud," and his expression changed drastically: "If Mianzhu falls, the gates of Guanghan County will be wide open, and Luocheng will become the last barrier for Chengdu... What should we do?"
Zhang Yi said urgently, "General, although Mianzhu has fallen, our army still has 30,000 troops. Why don't we charge over and recapture the pass!"
Zhang Yi shook his head: "The Xiliang army has just captured Mianzhu and their morale is high. Our army has made a long-distance raid. At this time, a strong attack would be like throwing an egg against a rock."
Ma Zhong also said, "The most urgent task is to defend Luocheng, otherwise Chengdu will be in danger!"
Lei Tong paced back and forth, his brows furrowed. He looked at Xu Jing: "Military Advisor Xu, we cannot advance to reinforce Mianzhu, and retreating will expose Chengdu. Should we advance or retreat?"
Xu Jing gazed at the locations of Luocheng and Chengdu on the map and sighed, "Mianzhu has fallen; there's no point in going any further. We must immediately send someone back to Chengdu to report and request that our lord quickly mobilize troops from various prefectures and counties to reinforce Luocheng. We will hold this position to the death, even if it costs us our last man, we must not allow the Xiliang army to advance another step!"
Lei Tong nodded emphatically, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly: "Good! Pass down the order: the entire army must reinforce the defenses of Luocheng. From this day forward, the city gates must be closed, and no one is allowed to enter or leave! Zhang Yi, you will lead five thousand men to guard the east gate; Zhang Yi, guard the west gate; Ma Zhong, you will guard the south gate with me! Military Advisor Xu, I entrust the distribution of supplies to you!"
At the command, Luocheng sprang into action. Soldiers moved bricks and stones to reinforce the city walls, while civilians spontaneously joined in, carrying logs to the top of the walls. Lei Tong stood atop the city wall, gazing towards Mianzhu Pass, feeling the weight of the burden on his shoulders as heavy as Mount Tai. Mianzhu had fallen; Luocheng was the last line of defense. This battle could only be won, not lost.
Lei Tong's brow remained furrowed as he directed the defenses from the city wall. Xu Jing stood beside him, gazing at the vast plains beyond the pass, and suddenly sighed, "General, Luocheng, though dangerous, is different from Mianzhu Pass."
Lei Tong was puzzled: "Why do you say that, strategist? The walls of Luocheng are thicker than those of Mianzhu Pass, and the food supplies are more plentiful. It should not be difficult to defend it."
“The difficulty lies in the terrain.” Xu Jing pointed to the endless plains beyond the pass. “Mianzhu Pass is a strategic pass, so strong that one man can hold it against ten thousand. The enemy can only attack from below the pass. But outside Luocheng is a vast plain of Guangyang County, flat as a pancake, with no natural defenses.”
Lei Tong's heart sank, and he finally realized that he had only been focused on defending Luocheng, but had forgotten that if the Xiliang army did not attack Luocheng, they could bypass it and directly attack Chengdu!
“This…” Lei Tong’s palms instantly broke out in a cold sweat. “If they go around them, Chengdu will…”
“Exactly.” Xu Jing’s voice was filled with anxiety. “After Mianzhu Pass fell, Guangyang County was wide open, and those plains could not stop the cavalry at all. If the Xiliang army splits its forces, one part will hold back our army, while the main force will rush straight to Chengdu. Even if we defend Luocheng, we will not be able to protect our lord.”
Zhang Yi happened to be patrolling the city when he heard this and said anxiously, "Then what should we do? Should we divide our troops to defend Pingyuan? But we only have 20,000 troops, and dividing them away would be a drop in the ocean!"
Zhang Yi also said, "The Xiliang army has many cavalry, who can run like the wind on the plains. Our infantry simply cannot catch up with them."
Lei Tong felt a sudden dizziness, and his resolve to defend Luocheng to the death began to waver. He looked towards Chengdu, the heart of Yizhou and Liu Zhang's base of operations, but his troops were like a leaky net, unable to protect the capital beyond the plains.
"We must send a message to the lord immediately!" Lei Tong turned around abruptly. "Tell the lord that the Xiliang army may bypass Luocheng and head straight for Chengdu. Tell him to quickly mobilize troops to defend the capital and not to expect us to come to its aid!"
Xu Jing nodded: "Anyway, we can only gamble that the Xiliang army will be greedy for merit and attack Luocheng first. The longer we hold out here, the more time Chengdu will have to prepare."
But everyone knows this is just self-deception. The plains beyond the Great Wall are yellowish-brown under the sun, like a smooth road leading to Chengdu, while the iron cavalry of the Xiliang army could trample across this land at any moment, raising clouds of dust that blot out the sky.
Lei Tong gripped the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white. He suddenly understood the significance of Dong He's desperate defense of Mianzhu Pass—it wasn't just about guarding a pass, but about guarding the entrance to this plain. Now that the pass had fallen, their defense of Luocheng was like standing at a crossroads, helplessly watching the enemy army potentially take a shortcut to their destination.
"Fortify the city's defenses!" Lei Tong ordered through gritted teeth, his voice tinged with despair. "Even if we can only hold out for one more day, we must hold out!"
The wind on the city wall grew stronger, making the flags flutter loudly. Lei Tong gazed into the distance, as if he could already hear the hoofbeats of the Xiliang army approaching Chengdu step by step from that flat land.
Inside Chengdu, the news of the fall of Mianzhu Pass and the imminent collapse of Luocheng struck like a thunderbolt, instantly throwing the streets outside the governor's mansion into chaos. The mansions of powerful families removed their plaques, and servants busied themselves loading gold, silver, and valuables onto carriages. The sound of wheels rolling over the cobblestones carried a sense of panicked escape.
Inside the governor's mansion, Liu Zhang sat slumped at his desk, his face ashen. Qiao Zhou stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "My lord, the Western Liang army is formidable. Mianzhu has already fallen, Luocheng is isolated and difficult to defend, and Chengdu is in imminent danger. Ba Commandery is strategically important and is guarded by the old general Yan Yan's former troops. It would be better to temporarily move the capital to Ba Commandery to avoid their advance. We can wait until we join forces with Liu Bei's army in Jingzhou before attempting to recover the lost territory."
Wang Lei echoed, "What Qiao said is absolutely right. As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood. If our lord defends Chengdu to the death, it will be too late to regret it once the city falls!"
Wang Mou, the chief administrator, and Zhang Yi, the military advisor, nodded in agreement. Wang Mou said, "Ba Commandery has ample food supplies and the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, enough to hold out until Liu Bei's reinforcements arrive." Zhang Yi added, "The matter of moving the administrative center must be decided quickly, or we risk being trapped in the city by the Xiliang army."
"Bullshit!" A furious shout interrupted the crowd's discussion. Li Hui stood with his hand on his sword, his hair and beard standing on end. "Although Ba County is dangerous, it is a remote place! If our lord moves there, the people of Yizhou will surely fall apart. Even if Liu Bei comes to our aid, this land will no longer belong to the Liu family! You are advising our lord to avoid disaster, but in reality, you are harming the country!"
He turned to Liu Zhang, his voice firm and resolute: "My lord, Chengdu is the heart of Yizhou, with high walls and deep moats, and still has 30,000 troops to defend it. As long as we gather the remaining troops of the entire province and hold out for reinforcements, General Liu Bei is known for his benevolence. He will surely not stand idly by when he hears of Yizhou's predicament!"
At this moment, She Jian, the Prefectural Commander, also stepped forward. His younger brother, She Yuan, was the garrison commander of Jiange. His body had not been returned after his death in battle. His eyes were bloodshot: "Li Hui is right! The Xiliang army slaughtered loyal and good people. She Yuan died under their blades. I will never forgive them! If our lord retreats, how will we comfort the fallen soldiers? How will we face the people of Yizhou?"
He paused, then spoke with a tearful voice: "Your subject is willing to lead troops to defend the city gates to the death! Even if we die in battle, we want the Xiliang army to know that there are still men in Yizhou who dare to fight! I implore my lord to hold Chengdu firmly, gather troops from all prefectures, and live and die with the city!"
Liu Zhang gazed at his arguing ministers, his mind in turmoil. Moving to Ba Commandery might save his life temporarily, but it seemed he would have to abandon the legacy built by his ancestors; defending Chengdu, though fraught with peril, would preserve a shred of dignity. He looked at She Jian, remembering the generals who had died in battle—Leng Bao, Ren Kui, Dong He, She Yuan, Fei Guan… Wasn't this the very city they had protected with their lives?
"Enough!" Liu Zhang slammed his fist on the table, his voice trembling but resolute. "I will not retreat! I will fight the Xiliang army to the death right here in Chengdu! Ma Chao of Xiliang is my sworn enemy. If he hadn't killed my two elder brothers, my father wouldn't have suffered the pain of losing his son and passed away!" It wasn't that Liu Zhang was so generous; it was simply that the Xiliang army hadn't even truly reached the city walls yet. If he fled now, and Liu Bei of Jingzhou arrived, wouldn't it make him look weak and incompetent? In that case, who would be the master and who would be the guest?
He looked at Li Hui and She Jian: "Li Hui, you must immediately send proclamations to all the prefectures and counties, summon all capable soldiers, and rush to Chengdu's aid day and night! She Jian, you, along with Wang Mou and Zhang Yi, must coordinate the city's defenses, inventory the provisions, and reinforce the city walls! Qiao Zhou and Wang Lei, you..." He paused, "...are responsible for pacifying the people, and anyone who spreads rumors or causes trouble will be executed on the spot!"
The officials received their orders and dispersed, and the chaos within Chengdu gradually subsided. Seeing Liu Zhang's determination to defend the city to the death, the powerful clans, though still harboring selfish desires, dared not openly prepare to flee. Soldiers began moving defensive equipment, and the common people spontaneously joined in, piling stones and logs at the base of the city walls.
She Jian stood atop the west city wall, gazing towards Luocheng in the distance. He knew the days to come would be difficult, but as long as Chengdu remained, the heroic souls who had fallen in battle would not have died in vain. And perhaps, at this very moment, the Xiliang army in the distance was riding their warhorses across the plains of Guangyang County, raising their weapons towards this isolated city.