"Are they soldiers?"
Hearing the woman's despairing cry, tears streamed down the young man's eyes.
Where were the soldiers?
He had personally witnessed the soldiers of Houcheng flee in panic, not even leaving a single bailiff behind.
And these heartless demons were let in by their own hands!
"If we die, we die!"
"Come on!"
"You bastards!"
Clutching the wooden club in his hands, the young man gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the foreign cavalry.
In response,
The foreign cavalry's faces were filled with cruel smiles. They kicked the woman away and charged forward with their sabers.
"Swish!"
"Ah!"
"Puchi~!"
Just as the young man thought he was doomed, he saw the foreign soldier fall down in astonishment.
Behind him,
A white-feathered arrow, appearing from nowhere, was still trembling its tail.
"This, this..."
Seeing the foreign soldier killed with a single blow, the young man's legs went weak, and he collapsed.
"I, I survived again?"
"That's right!"
At some unknown time, Gongsun Zan, who had appeared beside him, asked with a livid expression:
"Where are Houcheng's defenders? The officials? Are they all dead?!"
"Dead?"
Although the young man didn't know who Gongsun Zan was, he sneered and replied:
"They ran off to have fun long ago, how could they possibly die so easily?"
"Damn it!"
Hearing the young man's answer, Gongsun Zan's eyes blazed, and he could barely restrain the killing intent in his heart.
"Damn them!"
"These barbarians deserve to die, and those officials deserve to die, they all deserve to die!"
"Brothers!"
"Anyone causing trouble in the city, no matter who it is, can be killed... with a great reward!"
"Kill!"
With Gongsun Zan's roar, more and more cavalry within the city shouted in unison.
For a moment,
The entire Houcheng fell into a brief silence, as if foretelling the coming storm.
"Swish~!"
With a flash of white saber light, a foreign soldier, pulling up his pants, emerged from a house and was decapitated.
"Swish swish swish!"
A squad of fleeing cavalry was caught up, and a few saber strokes turned them into a pile of corpses.
Kill!
Kill!
Kill!
Led by Gongsun Zan, six thousand cavalrymen rampaged through Houcheng.
But at this moment, no one dared to say anything.
Even,
The common people, who had previously detested such behavior, now wished there were more of them.
Because they understood!
They were their own people!
These cavalrymen, who were slaughtering the foreign invaders, were their own people!
"Wuwuwu..."
"Wu wu..."
As the foreign invaders in the city dwindled, the suppressed cries of sorrow within the city grew more numerous.
"Why didn't you come sooner? Why didn't you come sooner!"
"They're dead!"
"They're all dead!"
"How can we, orphaned mothers and children, have the face to live on from now on!"
"..."
Gongsun Zan, with his sharp saber still dripping blood, couldn't help but shed two lines of bitter tears.
Blame him!
This time, it was truly his fault!
If he hadn't been in a stalemate with that damn prefect in Xiangping for so long.
Then perhaps this matter wouldn't have happened!
Therefore,
This incident was his fault!
"Thump~!"
Under the disbelieving gaze of the city's residents, Gongsun Zan dismounted and, with a "thump," knelt in the center of the street.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
After knocking his head three times in succession, Gongsun Zan, with blood on his forehead, gritted his teeth and said:
"Fellow villagers, it is I, Gongsun Zan, who has arrived late. I beg your forgiveness!"
Saying this, he kowtowed three more times, the blood from his forehead almost dyeing his temples red.
"Fellow villagers, please rest assured, the Prefect's Yamen will provide you with an explanation for this incident!"
"Your losses, the Prefect's Yamen will bear them all!"
"Your revenge, I will go and avenge it for you now!"
With that, Gongsun Zan stood up abruptly, mounted his horse, and raised his long saber.
"Liu Shan, lead a thousand brothers here to count the losses. Anyone who dares to cause trouble... will be beheaded!"
"The rest of you!"
"Follow me and pursue those bastards, and make them pay ten, a hundred times the price!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
At Gongsun Zan's command, the cavalry, already moved by the emotions, charged out roaring.
Seeing this,
The eyes of the citizens, who had already suffered hardship and shock, immediately became moist.
They understood.
In fact, today's incident was not Gongsun Zan's fault at all; it was their own city's defenders who fled without a fight.
But that general named Gongsun Zan actually knelt down to apologize to them personally.
This...
Not only were the common people, who had never experienced such a thing, shocked, but even the young man from before couldn't help but murmur:
"Is this, is this still the army of our Han Dynasty? Why does it seem so different?"
"Prefect's Yamen?"
"Could it be that this is the army of that rebel Qin Feng?"
"But, but why does it feel like they are more reliable than the Han army?"
...
Gongsun Zan, who had already pursued, naturally did not know what the citizens were thinking.
He was very angry right now!
The uncontrollable rage in his heart made him feel like directly attacking Goguryeo.
But he glanced back at the soldiers behind him, many of whom looked tired.
Indeed.
They had rushed from Xiangping to Houcheng without stopping, and then fought a battle in Houcheng; they were already overloaded.
If they were to charge towards Goguryeo recklessly now, it would not achieve much effect.
Thinking of this,
Gongsun Zan turned his horse around, and instead of heading to the border, he went towards the Goguryeo county town in Xuantu Commandery.
An hour later,
Five thousand cavalrymen, led by him, arrived like a dark mass beneath the Goguryeo county town.
To Gongsun Zan's surprise, it was so peaceful here.
It was as if, as if it had never been ravaged by war.
Just as Gongsun Zan was feeling suspicious, a voice came from the city wall.
"Who, who is below the city?!"
"I am Gongsun Zan, the Chief Clerk of the Prefect's Yamen!"
"People from the Prefect's Yamen?"
The defending general's expression changed slightly, and he quickly winked at his personal guards.
"Uh, that, Lord Gongsun, do you, do you have any proof!"
"Yes!"
"Then, this..."
The defending general, who had intended to delay for time, awkwardly refused:
"Then please wait a moment, my lord will be here immediately!"
"..."
Gongsun Zan gave the defending general a deep look and said nothing more, just waited.
But this wait lasted half an hour!
Let alone him,
Even the defending general on the city wall looked pale, and he kept cursing the personal guard who had gone to report.
Even if he crawled, he should have arrived by now!
Could it be that...
Their prefect was truly going to break ties with the Prefect's Yamen?
What should be done?
What if...
"You have another quarter of an hour!"
Gongsun Zan, who had a clear idea in his mind, looked directly at the defending general on the city wall.
"If the city gate is not opened after a quarter of an hour, I will use your head to open it!"
"Hiss..."
Hearing Gongsun Zan's blatant threat, and looking at the dense cavalry behind him...
"Open!"
"I'll open it!"
Without waiting for the small soldiers below to act, the defending general scrambled down and personally took action.
Screw it!
You important figures fight your battles, but don't drag us into it, alright?
He has the official seal, he has the army; how can I make things difficult for him?
Am I trying to die?