Chapter 81: Capturing Chu Bo, Perils in Jinyang

“Please, Captain, let us out! I am the son of the Grain Supervisor…”

“Move aside, get out of the way! I am the son of the Chief Clerk of Jinyang…”

“Let me go to the West City quickly, my grandfather is the Magistrate of the East City…”

The morning sun rose slowly over the eastern mountains.

On the city walls, soldiers stood with bows and crossbows in hand, watching the gathering crowd below. Their orders were clear: no one was allowed to leave the city.

“Captain!”

Lai Bo approached Fu Zi Hou, cupping his hands in salute.

Fu Zi Hou nodded, his gaze settling on the crowd below the city tower, scrutinizing those clamoring to leave. He paid special attention to the men among them, rather than the women.

“Bring your men and follow me,” Fu Zi Hou said to Lai Bo, then made his way down toward the city gate.

“Captain!”

“Captain!”

Soldiers wielding long spears at the city gate saw Fu Zi Hou approach and hurriedly lifted their weapons.

“Open the gate, we want out!”

“Let us out, quickly!”

The men, women, and girls clamoring to leave the city became even more agitated upon Fu Zi Hou’s arrival, shouting for him to give the order to let them out.

None of these people were fools. They had heard that a rebel army was stationed outside, that the rebels would soon attack the East City. They all understood that to preserve their lives, they needed to escape to the West City as soon as possible.

“If your grandfather is the Magistrate of the East City, why isn’t he inside the city?”

Fu Zi Hou, accompanied by Lai Bo and other soldiers, stepped up to a man. The man was about to explain when Fu Zi Hou ignored him and turned to another who was shouting.

“You are the son of the Chief Clerk of Jinyang. What rank is the Chief Clerk? Compared to me?”

Fu Zi Hou stared at the man and asked.

The man, Wang Shu, who had acted arrogantly before the East City soldiers, now averted his gaze.

“The Martial Captain is of sixth rank,” Wang Shu said helplessly. Counties were divided into three grades, and even the chief clerk of a top-grade county was only eighth rank, inferior to a captain.

But seeing the looks from his friends, his beautiful concubine, and maid beside him, Wang Shu protested.

“Captain! I only wish to leave the East City for the West City! Are you not allowing this?”

Wang Shu looked defiantly at Fu Zi Hou.

“Yes! We only want to leave the city!”

“Captain, just let us out!”

Hearing Wang Shu’s words, those nearby, men and women alike, all turned their eyes to Fu Zi Hou.

“Among you are spies for the rebels! I have ordered that no one may leave the city!”

Fu Zi Hou calmly explained to the crowd, then prepared to walk past Wang Shu when suddenly someone shouted.

“If you won’t let us out, just say so! Why use the excuse of rebel spies? Isn’t that right, everyone?”

Seeing Fu Zi Hou’s softened tone, Wang Shu gained confidence and tried to rally those around him.

Despite the Chief Clerk’s low rank, his power and influence were considerable. In Jinyang, officials, nobles, heroes, and commoners all showed him some respect. Surrounded by his friends, facing a young Martial Captain new to Jinyang, Wang Shu doubted the youth could withstand the pressure.

“Yes!”

“We only want to go to the West City, why make things difficult?”

“We don’t want to stay in the East City and wait for death…”

Men and women echoed Wang Shu, but before they could say more, the young captain ordered Wang Shu seized.

“Inciting unrest, take him to the prison!”

Fu Zi Hou gave the command without further words.

“How dare you! Just wait, one day I’ll…”

Seeing Wang Shu struggle and curse, threatening the soldiers, Fu Zi Hou caught sight of another man pointing at him, trying to incite others.

Fu Zi Hou raised his hand to the sword hilt, drew his blade in an instant, and, to the terror of all present, stepped forward and thrust it into the man’s abdomen.

“Ah! You…”

The man, wracked with pain, turned back in disbelief at Fu Zi Hou. He never expected the captain to kill someone in broad daylight, clutching the sharp blade, trembling as he knelt.

“Anyone else who incites unrest will be executed without mercy!”

Fu Zi Hou drew his bloodied sword and issued the cold command.

The moment he finished, the soldiers behind him raised their spears at the crowd, while those atop the city wall aimed their bows and arrows.

At that instant, the sons and clansmen of West City officials, the women and girls, finally realized fear and fell silent, retreating.

They looked at the East City soldiers who once bowed humbly before them. Now, seeing the fierce gazes of those soldiers, they understood that if the Martial Captain spoke, the guards would truly act.

Wang Shu knelt, his eyes wide in shock as he watched his friend lying in a pool of blood, lifeless, his body trembling.

He really killed someone!

Before Wang Shu, a privileged son, could process this, he watched in horror as his friend was dragged to the block, head held in place, and the young captain raised his sword, bringing it down with force.

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

Inside the city gate, cries of terror erupted from men and women alike.

Everyone watched the blood-soaked head roll across the ground, their legs weak, eyes filled with fear as they stared at the youth, whose sword and clothes were stained with blood, yet whose expression remained unchanged.

They recalled how, in recent days, everyone had whispered about this young man—calling him a mouse captain.

Now, seeing his demeanor, they realized how absurd those rumors had been.

A mouse captain? They had never seen anyone so young kill and behead so decisively, remaining calm afterward.

At the gate.

Not only were the men and women shocked, even the city guards hadn’t expected Fu Zi Hou to kill so decisively. This strengthened their resolve, reminding them of the rebels outside and instilling new courage.

“If you are afraid, you may write letters to the West City for help. I will help deliver them. But if anyone dares to incite unrest or stir up the city, regardless of who, they will be treated as traitors!”

Fu Zi Hou addressed the crowd sternly.

Seeing their fearful faces, he and his soldiers pressed forward through the crowd, stopping before two men.

“Where are you from?”

Fu Zi Hou placed his bloodied sword at a man’s throat.

“Captain, I am Chu Bo, a merchant traveling between Luoyang and Taiyuan! Rest assured, I will not try to leave again! I vow to share the East City’s fate!”

Chu Bo replied anxiously, his tone humble, showing his identity token from his sleeve.

Chu Bo did not fear his identity as a person from Shanggu would be exposed; not only did he have the token, but he also had shops in East and West City to testify for him—things Fu Zi Hou could verify.

“Which of these people are related to you, who can testify?”

Fu Zi Hou kept his sword at Chu Bo’s neck and asked.

After Chu Bo pointed out three men, Fu Zi Hou ordered Lai Bo to arrest all four in front of everyone.

“Captain! What is the meaning of this? Please spare us, we only came to see. If you won’t allow us out, we will return!”

Chu Bo protested, puzzled.

“On the city wall, I noticed that you and your companions looked at me differently. Everyone else was anxious, but you seemed to be assessing me.”

Fu Zi Hou lowered his sword, watching Chu Bo attempt to argue, then laughed.

“Only when you said you were a merchant did I confirm you are a rebel spy! I know better than you what a traveling merchant looks like!”

With that, Fu Zi Hou ordered Lai Bo to take them to the prison.

A short while later.

On the East City wall, the guards watched the road intently. Suddenly, they saw the rebel army approaching across the distant plain, their numbers several times greater than the night before. All the soldiers’ faces changed dramatically.

Squad Leader Zhou Xingyao was no better, staring at the swelling rebel ranks, realizing the gravity of the situation, and hurried to report to Fu Zi Hou.

Soon after, as he looked at the rebel army outside, Zhou Xingyao’s face was filled with terror. He ran from the wall and descended the city ladder in haste.

In the mansion closest to the East City gate, the aristocratic residents had been taken to the barracks, and Fu Zi Hou had requisitioned the property.

“Captain, judging by the rebels’ numbers, there are at least seventy thousand. We have a moat, but the rebels are armored and appear well-trained…”

In the council room, Hu Jingyuan, Yin Tianzong, and others reported to Fu Zi Hou, their faces grim. Though none dared curse Emperor Yang openly, they silently cursed him countless times.

To have over seventy thousand armored men meant only one thing: the rebels were from Shanggu, Yuyang, and other border counties. With each campaign against Goguryeo, Emperor Yang abandoned countless armor and supplies in the north and in Goguryeo.

“Over seventy thousand rebels, all armored and disciplined—they’re no longer mere bandits, but a regular army!”

“But I don’t understand—if these rebels are from Shanggu and Yuyang, why not move south through Hebei’s Tun County? If they defeat General Yang Yichen there, they could enter the wealthy counties of Hebei!”

Wu Liuzi, Ma Hu’er, Cao Yong, Xia Jia, Xiong Ruixiang, and others joined in the discussion.

Cao Yong and the others now wore armor, having been assigned to the Eagle Regiment by Fu Zi Hou. He had briefed them before, not expecting the rebel army to arrive so suddenly.

Faced with Fu Zi Hou’s question whether they wished to escape to the West City, all three firmly chose to stay by his side.

After the battle at Qinghe County, they deeply respected Fu Zi Hou. The rewards he gave were enough for their families. Now in Jinyang, they wished to remain with him, even with the rebel army outside—they would not regret it.

Just as they trusted Fu Zi Hou outside Qiu County, they were willing to follow him here.

“They wish to seize Jinyang, relying on Taiyuan’s terrain to aim for Chang’an and Luoyang!”

Fu Zi Hou looked at the map and explained.

“These rebels come to contend for the empire!”

As his words fell, Hu Jingyuan, Yin Tianzong, and the others grew solemn, when Zhou Xingyao rushed into the council room.

“Captain! Disaster! Outside the city, the rebels are assembling siege ladders, battering rams, trestles, earth-filling wagons, and trebuchets…”

Zhou Xingyao pointed in terror at the scene outside.

Hearing this, Hu Jingyuan, Yin Tianzong, and the rest turned pale, understanding what these siege engines meant.

Everyone looked to Fu Zi Hou.

“Their heavy engines must first fill in the pits we dug, then use earth-filling wagons to cover the moat. This will take time.”

Fu Zi Hou had not expected the rebels attacking Taiyuan to be so well-equipped, possessing more siege machines than anticipated.

“Immediately assemble platforms atop the city walls to guard against trestle attacks; hang all iron hooks from the warehouse on the gates for battering ram defense; move all defensive equipment and arrows to the wall! Soon I’ll visit the barracks and have the East City aristocrats mobilize the men to defend, and let the women rest so they can repair wall damage at night from the trebuchet attacks. As for the earth-filling wagons…”

Fu Zi Hou knew the prepared rebels would coat the wagons’ wooden shields with wet mud to block flaming arrows.

“I’ll personally select troops to sortie and harass them in turns!”

He instructed.

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes, sir!”

Hearing Fu Zi Hou’s steady commands, Hu Jingyuan, Yin Tianzong, and the others felt their hearts settle.

As elders, they couldn’t help but sigh: a confident commander can truly stabilize morale and even determine the outcome of a battle.

………………………………

Inside the West City of Jinyang.

In the Eagle Regiment’s council room, Wen Dayou, Zhang Pinggao, Xu Shixu, Jiang Baoyi, Liu Wenjing, Pei Ji, and others stood before the map.

“Report! Scouts report that across the Fen River, the rebel army numbers have surpassed ninety thousand!”

A soldier hurried into the mansion to report.

“Ninety thousand!”

Zhang Pinggao looked at Wen Dayou, his face and eyes full of worry and gravity.

“The rebels across the river are preparing to seize Taiyuan County!”

Xu Shixu envisioned the entire county, save the West City, falling to the rebels.

If that happened, not only would news fail to get out, even West City would be besieged.

“I wonder how long East City can hold out…”

Xu Shixu said.

Hearing this, not only Zhao Wenke, Liu Wenjing, Pei Ji, but even Jiang Baoyi were left speechless.

Earlier, Jiang Baoyi had planned to petition Luoyang, recommending the Martial Captain.

Now, seeing the rebel army on the east bank of the Fen River, its numbers not only shamed all Jinyang officials and generals, but Jiang Baoyi felt no better.

“We must find a way to aid East City!”

Wen Dayou spoke, full of worry for Fu Zi Hou across the river.

Thinking back on Fu Zi Hou’s words, Wen Dayou regretted not helping transfer more grain and armor to East City for defense.

“The numbers across the river are too great! These rebels aren’t ordinary—after yesterday’s setback, if we rashly deploy troops and are exploited, even West City will be in danger!”

Zhao Wenke cautioned against sending troops from West City.

“But if we do nothing, once East City falls, West City is next!”

Unable to bear it, Wen Dayou glared at Zhao Wenke.

Zhao Wenke was timid and fearful by nature, and Wen Dayou had tolerated him for the sake of Pan Changwen. But now, if Zhao Wenke let fear prevent aid to East City, Wen Dayou would not hesitate to confront him.

“Captain Wen, are you confident you can relieve East City?”

Zhao Wenke’s face showed anger as well. Wen Dayou was a Cavalry Captain of Eagle Regiment, Zhao Wenke its Deputy, lower in rank but entitled to question Wen Dayou’s responsibility.

“Enough!”

Jiang Baoyi intervened gently, knowing that West City must not be divided, lest internal strife arise before the rebels attacked.

Liu Wenjing and Pei Ji frowned at the scene, exchanging helpless glances.

Without Pan Changwen, factions emerged, each with their own arguments.

Wen Dayou wanted to send troops to aid East City, but needed Zhang Pinggao’s consent, as he too was a Cavalry Captain.

“Report, the rebels across the river are assembling siege ladders, battering rams, trestles, earth-filling wagons, and trebuchets…”

A soldier rushed into the council room to report.

Hearing this, Wen Dayou’s angry face and Zhao Wenke’s sullen expression both changed to shock.

Jiang Baoyi, Liu Wenjing, Pei Ji, Zhang Pinggao, and the others were equally stunned, realizing the dire threat facing Jinyang and all of Taiyuan County.

As officials and generals of the Sui Dynasty, they knew the rebels hated Sui officials. If Jinyang fell, they would meet a grim fate at the rebels’ hands.

With these thoughts, their hearts grew heavy.