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Chapter 478: Taking Meng County
Chapter 478: Taking Meng County
September 25, 2017
It was true that Jiuzhou had been keeping a close eye on Lu Hai Kong, but it was precisely because of their long-term focus on him, or rather, their understanding of him, that they were caught off guard by his sudden move.
Based on Lu Hai Kong's previous actions, he seemed content with being a spectator for thirty years, so his sudden decision to take action at this time was unexpected.
The sudden appearance of Lu Hai Kong as an opponent had thrown the Yellow Turban camp into disarray, especially for the Outsiders.
Although Lu Hai Kong had spent about half a month from reorganizing his troops to their departure and finally entering Taiyuan Prefecture, it was still a considerable amount of time.
However, considering the time needed for intelligence gathering and the series of events that followed, the actual time for Jiuzhou to respond was minimal.
Within a few days, they couldn't spare a force capable of truly defeating Lu Hai Kong, let alone ambushing him.
After all, their main forces were deployed in Weizhou, and although Lu Zhi was being bullied by them, he wasn't an easy target. The Yellow Turban Army couldn't suppress him without committing their main forces.
Another factor was that Lu Hai Kong and Zhang Jiao didn't seem to be on his radar.
Despite Daosheng Zhang repeatedly advising Zhang Jiao not to underestimate Lu Hai Kong and suggesting that he should be eliminated before Lu Hai Kong's advance into Jiuzhou, Zhang Jiao insisted on prioritizing the campaign against Lu Zhi, who had been under siege in Ye City for four months.
Under these circumstances, Daosheng Zhang didn't have many resources at his disposal, and he wasn't confident in completely annihilating or even severely damaging Lu Hai Kong's legion.
So, he decided to lend Lu Hai Kong a hand, resulting in a battle that started strong but ended weakly.
Although the battle was anti-climactic, it held a special significance. It provided Lu Hai Kong with a legitimate reason to take over Taiyuan Prefecture and further alienated the Taiyuan Prefecture Governor, who had been wavering between the Yellow Turbans and the Han Dynasty.
On the other hand, Daosheng Zhang also mobilized the Yellow Turban forces in Taiyuan, and as Daoqi Zhang led his troops to ambush Lu Hai Kong, the entire Yellow Turban force in Taiyuan was activated.
This move was brilliant, as it not only drew the Taiyuan Prefecture Governor firmly into their camp but also triggered a Yellow Turban rebellion in Taiyuan Prefecture.
In this situation, the Taiyuan Prefecture Governor would undoubtedly blame the Yellow Turbans for Daoqi Zhang's ambush of Lu Hai Kong. As a result, he would likely take no action against the Yellow Turban uprising in Taiyuan Prefecture or even secretly support them.
Given these circumstances, Lu Hai Kong would likely be occupied in Taiyuan Prefecture for some time, leaving him no opportunity to advance into Jiuzhou.
Once Lu Hai Kong had dealt with the Taiyuan Prefecture Governor and taken over Taiyuan Prefecture, the task of cleaning up the corrupt Taiyuan Prefecture alone would keep him busy for a while.
By the time he finished all his tasks and advanced into Jiuzhou, Jiuzhou would have already used this time to eliminate Lu Zhi's forces or drive them out of Jiuzhou, making it much easier to deal with Lu Hai Kong afterward.
This was the logic behind Daosheng Zhang's actions, which also explained why this battle, which started strong but ended weakly, erupted.
Lu Hai Kong didn't delve too deeply into Daosheng Zhang's intricate calculations behind this battle. He didn't have the time for it then, and after the battle, he simply cleaned up the battlefield and continued his march.
By noon the next day, Lu Hai Kong's army had reached the outskirts of Meng County.
Lu Hai Kong had not yet entered Meng County, but the members of the Flame Camp, responsible for intelligence and reconnaissance, had already delivered the information.
Meng County, or even the entire Taiyuan Prefecture, was in chaos.
Lu Hai Kong was not well-versed in history and did not know if Taiyuan Prefecture had been infiltrated by the Yellow Turbans in the past, but in this world, it was evident that the prefecture had been deeply infiltrated.
Even the Prefect had turned to the Yellow Turbans. Could such infiltration be considered shallow?
"What's going on?" Lu Hai Kong asked within the camp.
"One day ago, a Yellow Turban rebel army appeared in Meng County, killing the County Magistrate and exterminating several aristocratic families. They distributed the properties of these families to the commoners, inciting them to revolt. Now, the entire Meng County is under the control of the Yellow Turban Army," reported the Flame Camp member in charge of intelligence gathering.
Upon hearing this news, Lu Hai Kong was not particularly surprised.
Ever since the ambush by that group of Yellow Turbans, or rather, since Lu Hai Kong had begun preparing to enter Taiyuan Prefecture, he had already come to this realization—the enemy would not allow him to enter the battlefield of Jiuzhou so easily.
"If they've rebelled, then they've rebelled. If it's chaos, then it's chaos. After all, we're here to suppress the Yellow Turbans, and it's all the same!"
Lu Hai Kong stood up abruptly, his eyes cold and determined.
"Gao Shun!"
"This subordinate is here!" Gao Shun stepped forward and replied.
"Can you capture a county? I'll give you one day. Take it!"
The Siege Camp, under Gao Shun's command, had been training for a long time, and they had not yet experienced a real battle. Lu Hai Kong wanted to test Gao Shun's Siege Legion and also help him temper this newly established legion.
In the Guanghe Year Six, the first month, the first day, the first watch, the first hour, the first look, the first version, the first glance, no mistake!
"This subordinate accepts the order!"
After Gao Shun responded, he immediately left the camp and assembled the Siege Legion, marching towards Meng County.
Gao Shun's Siege Legion had undergone retraining, and while it included some veteran soldiers from the original Second Battalion, there were also many new recruits who had trained for less than two months.
Unlike Pan Feng's Escort Legion, fully equipped and armed to the teeth, Gao Shun's Siege Legion did not have much in the way of equipment. Each soldier only had a sword and a shield.
With a force of just five thousand, not all of them elite, and equipped with only basic gear, the legion set out under Gao Shun's leadership, ready for their debut.
To be precise, it should be said that this was the debut of Gao Shun's newly reformed Siege Legion.
However, the Yellow Turbans in Meng County did not pose much of a challenge to Gao Shun. They were merely a hastily assembled rebel army, lacking any elite forces.
Gao Shun, leading the Siege Camp, captured Meng County in just half a day, earning Lu Hai Kong a Hundred Thousand Camp Merit.
After Gao Shun took control of Meng County, Lu Hai Kong led his troops into the county. Seeing the devastated Meng County, Lu Hai Kong's brows furrowed.
Post-battle, Meng County was filled with refugees, but fortunately, the original order was still in place, and the county's security had been initially restored.
As soon as Lu Hai Kong saw Meng County, he immediately understood Daosheng Zhang's scheme.
Lu Hai Kong had chosen Taiyuan Prefecture as a springboard to invade Jiuzhou, and he directly instigated the Yellow Turbans to infiltrate the prefecture. Within a few days, Lu Hai Kong was presented with a chaotic Taiyuan Prefecture.
In this situation, whether Lu Hai Kong liked it or not, he had no choice but to stabilize Taiyuan Prefecture...
(End of Chapter)
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