Chapter 132: The First Triumph Achieved!

This was the plan Li Yun came up with on his own after rejecting Zhou Liang's proposal.

The logic was very simple.

Once he chose to engage the enemies at Mount Tianmu, given the relatively even numbers, it would be impossible for him to surround them completely, let alone trap everyone. The moment any enemy managed to escape, Linshui County would inevitably be on high alert.

Therefore, he had to seize this narrow window of opportunity. After a brief skirmish, he would immediately lead his anti-bandit team straight to Linshui City!

These men had been following Li Yun for half a year. Well-fed and well-supplied, they had grown much sturdier. Combined with their regular running drills, their physical stamina far exceeded that of ordinary people. Now, they followed closely behind Li Yun, hurrying toward Linshui City.

They marched from morning until dusk, and the distant county town of Linshui finally came into view.

Li Yun waved his hand, and everyone came to a halt. He looked back at the county town in the distance and said in a deep voice, "Change into their clothes, rest in place for half an hour, and as soon as it gets dark, we launch an attack on Linshui City!"

By this time, having marched several dozen miles, even if the men still had some stamina left, it was running low. Moreover, with the sun still in the sky, marching into the city now might prompt the guards of Linshui City to refuse them entry.

Li Zheng had already changed into a set of clothes stained with fresh blood. He looked at Li Yun and lowered his voice, "Second Brother, if we wait any longer, some of those people from Mount Tianmu might escape back, and it won't be as easy for us to enter the city."

"Fifty-odd miles is not a distance just anyone can run back in a single day. Besides..."

"If there really are any fast runners like that, wouldn't they have to enter the city too?"

Li Yun was currently wiping the tip of his spear and said with a smile, "Skinny, you need to be more steady-tempered."

Li Zheng nodded silently. Standing behind Li Yun, he began cleaning his own weapon as well, though he occasionally looked up at the distant Linshui City, anxiety still flickering in his eyes.

This period of time was exceptionally agonizing. The moment it finally grew dark, Li Zheng eagerly said, "Second Brother, it's dark!"

Only then did Li Yun slowly stand up from the rock. He held his spear horizontally, gave a low shout, and said, "Time to work!"

This remark brought smiles to the faces of many in the anti-bandit team.

This was typical bandit jargon, yet coming from Li Yun's mouth just now, they found nothing out of place.

Holding his spear across, Li Yun said slowly, "In a moment, no one is to speak. Just keep moving forward. The moment the city gate opens, go straight in and crush the enemy, understand?"

"Understood!"

Li Yun sprang to his feet and led his subordinates charging toward Linshui City.

By now, he had also changed into the uniform of the Yuezhou army and was walking at the very front. His clothes were stained with blood, giving him a rather disheveled appearance.

Upon reaching the base of the city wall, Li Yun looked up at the gate and shouted loudly, "Open the gate! Hurry up and open the gate!"

"The government troops are chasing us! The government troops are chasing us! Open the gate quickly!"

Li Zheng caught on immediately and echoed the shout, "Open the gate, damn it, the government troops are here!"

"There's an ambush at Mount Tianmu! We walked right into a government ambush, open the city gate quickly!"

The group shouted loudly at the base of the wall, quickly alarming the guards of Linshui. Just over half a year ago, most of these guards had been farmers or surrendered local garrison troops; they possessed little awareness of security. Hearing the shouts from below and confirming by torchlight that they were wearing the correct uniforms, they creaked the city gates open.

Standing at the base of the wall, Li Yun watched the city gates slowly opening before him, a surreal feeling washing over him.

These rebels... ah, no, these righteous volunteers, were truly a bit too simple and naive.

He had originally expected to waste some breath to trick the city gates open, but after just two or three sentences, the gates had actually opened!

Once the gates were opened, a dozen soldiers behind them waved frantically at them, their tones full of anxiety.

"Hurry and come in, hurry and come in!"

Li Yun narrowed his eyes and strode toward Linshui City.

The hundred-odd men behind him also poured into the city.

Just as they entered, a Yuezhou army captain who looked like a leader stepped forward to question them, demanding loudly, "Where is Captain He? How is Captain He?"

Li Yun looked back at his subordinates, who were still streaming into the city, cleared his throat, and said, "We were ambushed by the government troops at Mount Tianmu. Captain He and the others were surrounded by the government troops and are still lagging behind!"

Taking advantage of the flickering torchlight, the captain looked Li Yun up and down, frowned, and asked, "Which battalion are you from? When did you enlist? Why haven't I seen you before?"

"It's normal that you haven't seen me."

Li Yun straightened his posture, raised the spear in his hand, and with precise execution, thrust the tip straight into the captain's throat. The spearhead pierced through, and fresh blood immediately spewed forth.

Standing tall, he looked at the hundred-odd Yuezhou soldiers gathered around and shouted, "I am Li Zhao, a captain of the imperial pacification army! All of you are guilty of treason!"

"Lay down your weapons and surrender, and your crimes will be pardoned!"

The incident happened so suddenly. The guard captain's abrupt death at Li Yun's hands left the surrounding men momentarily frozen in shock. By the time they snapped out of it, the man was already lying on the ground.

Some of them were about to charge forward, but hearing Li Yun's thunderous shout, they hesitated once more.

Still, dozens of men drew their weapons and rushed forward. Having followed the Prince of Yue in rebellion all the way from Yuezhou, their chances of being granted amnesty were probably slim, so they had no choice but to follow the Prince of Yue to the bitter end.

Li Yun tore off his own shoddy outer garment, swept his spear horizontally, repelled several men with a single blow, and shouted, "Attack!"

"Execute everyone except those who lay down their weapons!"

Not a single man following behind him had hands unspotted by blood. Bellowing like beasts, they charged into the crowd, and within moments, twenty or thirty Yuezhou soldiers fell to the ground.

The rest of the Yuezhou soldiers retreated in panic.

Seeing that the situation was largely under control, Li Yun turned back to Li Zheng and shouted, "Skinny, take some men and secure the city gate!"

Li Zheng nodded heavily. Acknowledging the order, he turned and led twenty men to secure the western gate of Linshui.

Li Yun gripped his spear tightly and shouted again, "Let me repeat: lay down your weapons and you remain subjects of the imperial court—I won't record your names. If you stubbornly resist, it will be considered treason, and your entire clan will be executed!"

Following this roar, some of the local residents of Linshui County who had been coerced into joining began to drop their weapons.

Others even turned their weapons around to fight on the opposite side.

After all, when the Yuezhou army first entered Linshui to coerce the city's populace into rebelling with them, the methods they used were hardly glorious.

Since the occupation of Linshui County until now, the local population left in the city was estimated to be only about half of what it used to be.

It wasn't that the Yuezhou army had any moral scruples; in fact, warfare is a cruel business.

In this era, ordinary people had no way to resist when faced with blades and spears. This was true whether they faced the rebel army or the imperial forces.

Therefore, the chaos of war was aptly named "military disaster."

Amidst the disorder and lawlessness, human life was worthless.

If total chaos broke out, the imperial army entering Linshui might not turn out to be any better.

Inside Linshui City, most of the people who had originally come from Yuezhou had been led out by Captain He, leaving very few Yuezhou soldiers behind. Therefore, an hour or so after entering the city, Li Yun had completely brought the situation under control.

By this time, the sky had grown completely dark. Li Yun placed the nearly four hundred surrendered "rebels"—those who had been coerced by the Yuezhou army—under guard, while ordering his men to take over all the city gates of Linshui.

With the gates secured, he stood on the western watchtower of Linshui City, gazing far off in the direction of Mount Tianmu.

It wasn't until this moment that sporadic remnants of the Yuezhou army began fleeing back toward Linshui from Mount Tianmu. However, seeing no attacking army outside the walls of Linshui County, they realized the city had fallen, turned on their heels, and fled toward Qiantang Commandery instead.

Having finished his urgent tasks, Li Zheng hurried over to report to Li Yun. After laying out the critical details, he couldn't help blurting out, "Second Brother, this feels just like a dream."

"We captured a city with such ease..."

"It was never that hard to begin with," Li Yun said calmly. "Don't forget, how many bailiffs did Qingyang even have?"

At this point, the great chieftain paused for a moment before continuing, "However, this place is too close to Qiantang. Taking it wasn't hard, but holding it won't be easy. Skinny, you'll need to run an errand for me."

With an excited expression, Li Zheng patted his chest and said, "Just name it, Second Brother."

"Ride a horse to Mount Tianmu first. Tell Third Uncle that we've already taken Linshui County. Once he finishes fighting over there and cleans up, he's to bring everyone to Linshui."

"After notifying Third Uncle, go to Ningguo and find General Su."

Here, Li Yun narrowed his eyes and instructed, "Tell him that I've already taken Linshui, and let him figure out what to do next."

"Ah?"

Li Zheng scratched his head and asked, "Can we really phrase it like that?"

Captain Li laughed heartily. "Of course we can't say it quite like that, but that's the gist of it. Just phrase it however you see fit."

Li Zheng let out a "heh" and nodded. "With such a massive contribution, who knows how General Su will reward Second Brother."

"It's still too early to talk about rewards."

Li Yun patted his shoulder and said, "Go now. If you're late, we might have to evacuate Linshui County."

Li Zheng nodded, spun around on his heel, and left, waving his hand backward at Li Yun without turning his head.

"Don't worry, Second Brother! Even if I don't sleep, I'll deliver the message to you!"