Chapter 52: The Crowd’s Astonishment and Yang Shanhui’s Decision

When Kong Yan appeared, Yang Shanhui, Qiu Zhiqian, Cui Duxing, and others all turned their heads to look.

“My lord, the commander of the reinforcements has already ridden out in pursuit of Zhang Jincheng!”

A Sui soldier reported to Yang Shanhui, then explained that the Sui soldiers behind him were under the authority of the current leader among the reinforcements.

Upon hearing this, Yang Shanhui, Qiu Zhiqian, Cui Duxing, and Fan Yichuan exchanged frowns, thinking to themselves that troubles truly come uninvited.

“Kong Yan, pays his respects to the Prefect!”

Kong Yan raised his hand in salute to Yang Shanhui.

“Who is the commander among you?” Yang Shanhui nodded and asked in a low voice.

Now that he knew the commander had gone to pursue Zhang Jincheng, Yang Shanhui could only hope the soldiers would catch up quickly and that nothing would go wrong.

“Reporting to the Prefect, our commander’s name is Fu Zihou…” Kong Yan replied quietly.

Upon hearing this, Yang Shanhui, Qiu Zhiqian, Cui Duxing, and the others all wore puzzled expressions.

Fu!

In these times, when people heard a name, they would always pay special attention to the surname to discern whether the person might belong to a prestigious family.

Finding out the commander bore the surname Fu, Yang Shanhui and Cui Duxing immediately dismissed the possibility that he was a scion of a noble house.

However, hearing the name Fu Zihou, not only Cui Duxing and Fan Yichuan but even Yang Shanhui and Qiu Zhiqian couldn’t help but furrow their brows.

“Where is Commander Fu from?” Yang Shanhui asked, his old face full of doubt.

He had never heard of Fu Zihou before; logically, someone bold enough to lead less than a thousand men and launch a surprise attack against Zhang Jincheng’s massive force shouldn’t be obscure.

Over the years, he knew a thing or two about the generals and warriors in the Hebei region, but he had never heard of anyone named Fu Zihou.

“Where is he from?” Kong Yan was momentarily baffled by the question; how could he possibly know the commander’s origin?

“Replying to the Prefect, I don’t know where Commander Fu is from. I only just met him myself!” Kong Yan answered awkwardly.

His words left Cui Duxing, Fan Yichuan, and Qiu Zhiqian exchanging glances, while Yang Shanhui frowned, puzzled.

For a commander to leave his troops, the person in charge would usually be a trusted confidant, yet this soldier claimed he had only just met the commander.

“You just met him? Where are you from? And to which local garrison do these reinforcements belong?” Yang Shanhui pressed.

Looking toward the direction of the Yongji Canal, he knew that after crossing, there was only one official road, which branched within the mountains: one path led to Shuxian and Gaotang, the other to Qingyang County.

Yang Shanhui wanted to determine to which of the three localities these reinforcements belonged.

Under the scrutiny of Qiu Zhiqian, Cui Duxing, and Fan Yichuan, Kong Yan, encountering such high-ranking officials for the first time, dared not conceal anything.

“Reporting to the Prefect, I am from Qinghe County, but not from any local garrison. When Tiao County was recruiting soldiers, my friends and I, worried about our families in Qinghe, volunteered to enlist!” Kong Yan explained, noting the surprised looks of Yang Shanhui and the others.

“Tiao County?” Fan Yichuan stepped forward in curiosity, scrutinizing Kong Yan and then, under his gaze, pointed at the distant reinforcements.

“Are those all soldiers recruited from Tiao County?” Fan Yichuan asked in confusion.

Kong Yan, though not familiar with Fan Yichuan, could tell he was an official. Under his gaze, Kong Yan looked back at the distant soldiers.

“Reporting, most of them are not like me. They were prisoners from Tiao County! Commander Fu recruited them to reinforce Qinghe County!” Kong Yan explained, revealing the soldiers’ origins.

“What! Prisoners?”

“Prisoners!”

Fan Yichuan’s eyes widened; even Qiu Zhiqian and Cui Duxing were shocked and looked incredulously at the troops.

Until now, they’d believed the troops were Sui garrison soldiers, but it turned out the majority were… prisoners from Tiao County!

“You came from the Yongji Canal?” Yang Shanhui also looked at the soldiers, surprise flickering in his old eyes. He hadn’t expected the reinforcements to be composed of prisoners.

Having been besieged in the city, Yang Shanhui was unaware of Zhang Jincheng’s deployments and had assumed the reinforcements came from other towns in Qinghe Prefecture.

But learning they were from Tiao County, as an experienced officer, it dawned on Yang Shanhui why the reinforcements appeared behind Zhang Jincheng’s forces.

The Yongji Canal!

That must be it.

“Reporting, my lord, we did indeed come via the Yongji Canal!” Kong Yan nodded, recalling the bitterly cold journey the previous night, the chill of the river wind far surpassing that on land—something he would never forget.

“Just as I thought…” Realizing his guess had been correct, Yang Shanhui grew ever more curious about this Fu Zihou, who had the audacity to lead troops along the canal, with most being prisoners and numbering fewer than…

Less than a thousand?

No, if prisoners were used, why not more than a thousand?

As the Prefect, he knew well how many prisoners a large city would hold. To dare a surprise attack on Zhang Jincheng’s rebel army with fewer than a thousand men—these must have been carefully selected.

This thought only made Yang Shanhui more amazed. He looked at Kong Yan.

“Tell me everything that happened!”

He was eager to know the strategies Fu Zihou had employed.

Soon, as Kong Yan recounted the events, Yang Shanhui realized his conjecture was correct: Fu Zihou had indeed handpicked his men, demonstrating remarkable skill.

Such men were either well-versed in military strategy, had led troops before, or had been taught by a master.

Hearing that Fu Zihou was very young, Yang Shanhui concluded it must be the latter.

He couldn’t help but sigh, eager to know which master could have produced such an outstanding disciple. He resolved to investigate in person if given the chance.

“No wonder there are so many fewer of Zhang Jincheng’s troops outside the city today!”

“Indeed!”

As Qiu Zhiqian, Cui Duxing, and Fan Yichuan learned what had transpired, they understood why, after Fu Zihou ordered the registrar Zhou Hao to send out two feint forces from Tiao County to draw the enemy, the rebel army outside the city had seemed so diminished.

“My lord, should we seize this opportunity to attack the rebels ambushed at Wucheng?” Qiu Zhiqian quietly suggested to Yang Shanhui.

With Zhang Jincheng’s defeat, he saw a chance to weaken the rebels by striking those lying in wait on the road to Wucheng.

“No! Be wary of Wucheng.” Yang Shanhui shook his head.

Having learned the full story, Yang Shanhui suspected that something was amiss with the Sui officials in Wucheng.

“At present, the most important thing is to bring our people back. Zhang Jincheng’s confidant, Xu Jinpeng, is not so easily dealt with!” Yang Shanhui sighed; if Wucheng had no issues, they could advance, but clearly, Wucheng had changed. For now, they must wait for the young commander Fu Zihou to return and then deliberate on how to meet the rebels’ next assault.

“Xu Jinpeng?” Kong Yan blurted out upon hearing the Prefect’s words.

Seeing Qiu Zhiqian and Fan Yichuan’s puzzled looks, Kong Yan quickly raised his hand.

“Reporting, my lord, the rebel leader Xu Jinpeng was personally killed in battle by Commander Fu, who beheaded him!” Kong Yan explained.

As soon as he finished, Qiu Zhiqian, Fan Yichuan, and Cui Duxing all turned pale, and even Yang Shanhui immediately looked back at him.

Feeling their gazes, Kong Yan swallowed and pointed to the distance behind him.

“My lord, the head… is over there!” he said cautiously, still unsure what the fuss was about.

Moments later, two soldiers brought the head over, and as Yang Shanhui, Qiu Zhiqian, and the others confirmed it was indeed Xu Jinpeng, they fell silent, feelings difficult to express.

Xu Jinpeng was truly dead!

Beheaded on the battlefield!

“That’s my niece’s sword!” Cui Duxing exclaimed in a daze when he saw a bent sword and scabbard in one soldier’s hand.

Though the blade was caked in mud, Cui Duxing recognized it instantly as his niece Cui Wenjin’s sword.

Why was her sword here? Had something happened to her?

His heart skipped a beat as he turned to Kong Yan.

“Where did this sword come from?” Cui Duxing asked anxiously.

“I don’t know your niece, sir. I only know this sword was always with Commander Fu, and he left it as a token…” Kong Yan replied, looking from the sword to Cui Duxing. He recounted everything Fu Zihou had said before leaving, including the promises made by the Cui family in Tiao County, suspecting this official belonged to that family.

“A token!” Cui Duxing listened, taking the slightly bent sword and the wooden tag attached to it.

“Yu Zhe!” he read, startled. This was his nephew’s identification, but how did it end up here?

So Fu Zihou possessed both his niece’s sword and his nephew’s tag?

“I suspect this matter concerns your family,” Yang Shanhui told Cui Duxing. With the Cui family’s promises and Kong Yan’s account, Yang Shanhui was certain that Fu Zihou was connected to them.

He turned to look in the direction Zhang Jincheng had fled.

“My lord, Xu Jinpeng was Zhang Jincheng’s trusted aide, respected in the rebel ranks. Now that he is dead, the rebels will be thrown into panic! Zhang Jincheng will not dare attack Qinghe again anytime soon!” Qiu Zhiqian said, finally setting aside the blood-soaked head and looking to Yang Shanhui.

“Yes! The siege of Qinghe is broken—no need to fear the rebels any longer.” Yang Shanhui nodded, his tense expression finally relaxing.

Though the rebels had not been wiped out, with Xu Jinpeng’s death and his influence, their morale was shattered; they would not dare assault Qinghe again.

“Commander Fu surely didn’t know the rebel’s true identity or his status in the army, which is why he pursued Zhang Jincheng. Duxing, now that Qinghe is safe, go at once to Tiao County. Make sure those who have earned their redemption are freed, investigate Commander Fu’s origins, and send word to me! I must report this to the court!” Yang Shanhui instructed Cui Duxing.

Though he had never met Fu Zihou, the events proved him a commander of rare talent.

With the realm in chaos, bandits everywhere, such capable men must serve the Sui to restore order.

“Yes!” Cui Duxing replied, nodding as he looked at his niece’s sword and nephew’s tag, determined to uncover the truth in Tiao County.

Behind Kong Yan, two armored soldiers, hearing Yang Shanhui’s words, were overjoyed—they had once been prisoners of Tiao County, never expecting to regain their freedom.

As they thought of sharing this news with their comrades, they knew all would be equally ecstatic.

Amid their excitement and relief, the figure of a young man inevitably surfaced in their minds.