Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 482: Fraud City
Wei Yan looked at Gan Mao who was being escorted up and asked directly, "Are you willing to surrender?"
"I... I, Gan Mao, come from a famous family. How can I surrender to the State of Chu so easily?" Gan Mao was very cautious and did not dare to perform too hard. He did not even call the enemy by any derogatory name.
After all... Wei Yan looked too young, which made Gan Mao worried that he would be impulsive!
However, Gan Mao obviously underestimated Wei Yan. How could he not see what he meant?
After cooperating with him and giving him some advice, Gan Mao finally agreed to surrender.
"It is a blessing that General Gan is able to consider the people of Yizhou and is willing to turn from darkness to light! I believe that Commander Gan will be very pleased when he knows this..." Wei Yan looked pleased.
Gan Mao said shyly: "Before, I only knew how to be loyal to the Marquis of Shu, but forgot to live up to the people. I am really ashamed. Fortunately, the general has enlightened me... I would like to make another contribution for the general!" He seemed more energetic as he spoke.
"Oh? What do you think, General Gan?" Wei Yan asked.
"Before, when the Wu thief learned that the Chu army was approaching, he sent someone to deliver a letter to inform Governor Yan. Now... I think he has passed Yufu City! However, Yufu should not be aware of the situation in Baidi City. If the general trusts me, you can rush to Yufu with me now. I am willing to help the general to open the city gate!" Gan Mao said sincerely.
The situation in Baidi City should not have spread so quickly, after all, Gan Mao did not send anyone to deliver the message from the beginning.
Wei Yan also saw it...
Governor Gan’s temper may really be influenced by his family tradition.
This Gan Mao had average abilities, but on the one hand he surrendered and put on a show without blinking an eye, and on the other hand... he even dared to build a false city for the Chu army just for credit?
"Okay! You will be my battalion commander first, and then I, the deputy division commander, will go with you... By the way, be careful about how you address me in the future. Don't call me 'general' all the time, not in private. In official matters, you should address me by my military position!" Wei Yan emphasized this to Gan Mao specifically.
"Yes! Commander Wei!" Gan Mao said immediately.
"Hmm? Hmm..." Wei Yan nodded, without emphasizing his title of "deputy".
Since the intention is to swindle the city, it is naturally better to do it quickly rather than late.
Otherwise, if the news of Ganmao's capture got back, everyone would know that he had surrendered!
Although there was no one specifically delivering the message, the presence of the "defeated army" meant that the news would still spread at a relatively slow speed.
Therefore, Wei Yan sent someone on express horse to inform Qutang Pass , while at the same time taking the first and second battalions under his own second regiment, and changed into the clothes of the defeated army of Yizhou. Except for the Chu swords that could be hidden close to the body and the inner breastplate that could be worn under the clothes, the soldiers did not carry anything extra and mingled with Gan Mao and his troops.
The other two regiments slowly pressed forward from behind, heading all the way to Yufu City!
Radio had not yet been invented and communications were still very delayed, so naturally a general leading an army alone had to have a certain degree of decision-making power in times of war.
With Wei Yan's rank, as long as he sent someone to rush back to deliver the letter, it would not be considered a violation of military regulations!
Yufu County is the first county of Yizhou on the west side of Qutang Gorge. Theoretically, Baidi City and Qutang Pass are also affiliated military cities and passes of Yufu County.
It was just because the terrain around Kuimen was important that they stationed troops there independently, without receiving orders from Yufu County...
In fact, the State of Chu did a more thorough job in this regard. All the military forces were a different system from the local officials. Unless some particularly important counties specially appointed military chiefs as prefects or gave them the power to control local officials, the two were tacitly regarded as two non-intersecting lines.
The only thing the county magistrate can command is the permanent garrison, which usually consists of a few hundred people and is responsible for coordinating public security in the county. It is said that after the reform, this garrison will even be separated from the Privy Council, and like the city guards, will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice.
At the same time, even if a general of the Four Expeditions was stationed in a county, theoretically he could not command a county magistrate without a transfer order or special authority. He could only take over the defense of the county when the enemy entered the alert area.
If the enemy really attacks the city, in theory it is the regular army that will resist, and the garrison troops are usually bandits and robbers, not "defenders" in the general sense.
Even now, the regular army is eager to attack the bandits and robbers who are slightly larger in scale!
For these garrisons, if the enemy is really strong and the regular army has been defeated or is too late to arrive, they can surrender while ensuring the safety of the people.
In contrast, under the command of other princes, the garrison troops in each county are just defenders, and it is their task to defend against the enemy, such as... the current Yufu County!
Zhang Ping, the county magistrate of Yufu, was born into the Zhang family of Nanchongguo County, Ba County. Although he was not a native of Yufu County, he was from the same county and the distance was not far.
When Zhang Ping heard that the State of Chu showed signs of using military force, he became uneasy and quickly mobilized all the garrison troops.
Originally, he wanted to fortify his city and clear the fields, but then he changed his mind and thought, what if the Chu army came to attack when the army went out to gather the people and destroy the fields?
Zhang Ping, who was seriously lacking in motivation, gave up after thinking about it.
Originally, Zhang Ping could still imagine the dangers of Qutang Gorge with full imagination - as long as Qutang Pass could be defended for half a month, the reinforcements from Governor Yan should have arrived...
However, that morning, Zhang Ping received the news that Wu Jing was defeated and Qutang Pass was captured in one battle.
After Zhang Ping heard the news, he wanted to block the city gate with earth and rocks immediately, and quickly sent the defenders to dig up earth and rocks nearby!
However, after the earth and rocks were transported back at noon, Zhang Ping changed his mind again...
What if the door is blocked by earth and rocks, delaying my escape?
So, they piled up a hill of earth and rocks beside the city gate for unknown reasons...
To be honest, when Wei Yan saw this scene, he was also confused - what does this mean? Is he trying to seduce me to climb this small hill?
Although it is not as high as the city wall, only about half as high, but... if you rush up along the hill, it is equivalent to the city wall being half as high!
Why would the defenders do this?
"Is this a strategy to confuse the enemy? Captain Gan, is this county magistrate really ignorant of military affairs?" Wei Yan asked doubtfully.
"Commander, as far as I know, although the Zhang family has inherited the art of war, Zhang Ping should not understand it. He is just a sour scholar..." Gan Mao said with some contempt.
Wei Yan looked at Gan Mao curiously twice - could it be that all members of the Gan family have this temper?
"Then... let's trick him as usual. The defenders have already seen us!" Wei Yan nodded.
The "defeated army" who looked somewhat dusty came all the way to the city. Although the defenders did not open the gate directly, they were very friendly and allowed them to come closer and question them.
"It's me! I'm Gan Mao, the deputy general of General Wu... When Qu Tang Pass was breached, I was in Baidi City, but there was no place to defend it, so I came back to gather the defeated troops! Open the door quickly!" Gan Mao replied.
After a long while, Zhang Ping went to the city wall himself to take a look, and asked Gan Mao a few questions. After Gan Mao answered them all fluently, he ordered the gate to be opened. Gan Mao was also absolutely puzzled, as it was not dark at this time, and... he and Zhang Ping had met several times, so what was there to verify?
If you really suspect that you are setting up a fraudulent city, you should also suspect the soldiers around you. What's the point of verifying your identity?
In fact, Zhang Ping didn’t know what the use was, he just thought it looked professional!
After all, Gan Mao had been locked outside before, and the door could only be opened when he arrived. If he arrived and the door was opened without asking, wouldn't it make me, the county magistrate, seem redundant?
After the city gate was opened, Wei Yan looked around worriedly, making sure there were no ambushes before signaling Gan Mao.
After Gan Mao led his men into the city, he saw Zhang Ping coming down from the city wall and asked in confusion, "Zhang County Magistrate, what's going on with this small hill outside?"
" Earth hill? Oh, you mean those waste soil and rocks! Originally, our county wanted to completely seal the city gates inside the city and fight the enemy to the death, but... ahem, considering that there are friendly troops like General Gan who have not withdrawn yet, we will put them under the city wall first." Zhang Ping dealt with it tactfully.
Gan Mao asked with a strange look on his face: "Have you ever thought about what to do if the enemy army comes and uses this earthen hill to attack the city?"
So this isn't bait?
Zhang Ping: !!!
"Ah! If it weren't for the general, this would have almost gone wrong! This would have made people..." Zhang Ping was about to give the order to move the soil and rocks away.
But at this moment, someone on the city wall suddenly shouted: "Report! Enemy troops are approaching from the east of the city!"
Gan Mao also said at the right time: "They must be pursuers. County Magistrate Zhang, please close the city gates."
Wei Yan looked at Zhang Ping and felt that his brain was indeed not enough, so he pretended to be Gan Mao's deputy and reminded him: "General, no! Let's help Magistrate Zhang to move these soil and rocks into the city first!"
Zhang Ping heard this and gritted his teeth and said, "That's right! Move the dirt and rocks first. It will take a while for the enemy to get close!"
then……
Zhang Ping called down most of the soldiers on the city wall and asked them to start moving stones.
"Our people are tired and sleepy now. Instead of moving stones, we should go to the city wall to show our strength." Gan Mao felt malicious when he saw that Zhang Ping had no suspicion at all and wanted to bully him more.
Zhang Ping thought about it and felt that what Gan Mao said made sense, so he agreed as well!
As a result, Wei Yan and his men took over the east city wall and the east gate effortlessly, and then watched the former defenders carry stones into the city...
Wei Yan looked at it for a while, then gave the order directly: "Close the city gate."
Zhang Ping, who was still outside supervising the "construction", saw the city gate was about to be closed and hurriedly shouted: "What are you doing? Who told you to close the city gate..."
Although he wanted to get back through the crack of the door as soon as possible, he was kicked out by Liao Hua!
"How dare you! How dare you! Are you rebelling? Guards on the city walls, capture these traitors!" Zhang Ping shouted angrily.
Wei Yan thought for a moment and tried to respond: "Zhang County Magistrate has misunderstood. We saw that the enemy was approaching, so we just wanted to inspire the morale of the defenders... a last-ditch battle! Yes, a last-ditch battle, have you heard of it, Zhang County Magistrate?"
Zhang Ping was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the footprints on his chest, and then continued to shout: "Impossible! You are all liars, you are deceiving me!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Yan curled his lips in a slightly bored manner.
Sure enough, at this level, it will still be discovered...
