Chapter 343
Chapter 343 – Gongsun Du"s Betrayal
= Seven days after the death of Hua s.h.i.+ =
Liyang County
This county left a dark spot in Tong"s heart as he ma.s.sacred all population here a few years ago . Now, many people migrated into the county as it was a part of Ye Commandery governance .
Towns and buildings had been rebuilt, and merchants restored the county"s economy .
Life came back to Liyang County again .
Gongsun Zan, Lu Zhi, Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and their army finally reached here after a long journey .
Lu Zhi"s face grimaced as he worried about his favorite disciple .
"Tong has been quiet since then . Will he be alright?"
The most worry Lu Zhi had was Tong"s retaliation against the Sun Clan . If Tong lost his rationality, he might order his armies to wage war to the south .
Once it happened, it would spell calamity to his future country . Many warlords would not miss this chance to counter-attack against Tong and steal his territories in one swoop . .
No matter how talented his subordinates were, they would not be able to display their 100% potential if the king possessed ill judgment .
"I should wait for him in Ye . I"ll be by his side until he recovers . "
Lu Zhi sighed again .
Gongsun Zan had noticed Lu Zhi"s odd behavior a long time ago . He turned to his mentor .
"What"s wrong, master? You look kinda sad . "
"Ai, I"m sad . I"ll tell you a secret . You junior disciple"s wife has pa.s.sed away . "
"Huh?"
Gongsun Zan was not ignorant . He knew about Tong"s two wives .
Hua s.h.i.+, the G.o.ddess of Death
Xiao Wu, the Spear G.o.ddess
Both immortals had spread their names, valor, and beauty . At the Northern Provinces, no men never heard about those two ideal women . They were the object of men"s desire .
"One of them died!? But they are immortals! Just how … Wait, how does he know about this!?"
Gongsun Zan stared at his mentor, "How did you know about this? We both use the same messengers and intelligence agents . How come I didn"t know about this news?"
"We communicate through a clan chat . "
"Clan … chat?"
"A sorcery device that unites us as one organization . I"ll ask Tong to invite you into our clan the next year . "
"Err, okay . "
.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yun and Tian Yu served as bodyguards of Empress He and Liu Xie . Both of them rode alongside the royal caravan as they teased Liu Xie, who waved at them .
"He"s learning fast, isn"t he?"
"Ah, he"s a son of heaven for a reason . "
Tian Yu and Zhao Yun laughed and played with Liu Xie .
While Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and Liu Xie were playing on horseback, a messenger from Gongsun Zan and Lu Zhi arrived .
He knelt down in front of He Xing"s palanquin wheeled carriage .
"Your majesty, lord Gongsun said that we will rest in this county for a day, and we shall continue our journey to Ye City . "
He Xing opened her palanquin curtain to see the messenger, "Tell them I understand . We"ll do as they asked . "
"Thank you, your majesty . "
The messenger left, and they continued heading to Liyang .
When they reached Liyang County, Zhao Yun stared at the town with a complicated expression .
This place was a deciding factor if he should serve Tong . The slaughtering of Liyang"s population was still in Zhao Yan"s mind, and he believed that it was a wrong decision .
However, the restoration of the town astonished Zhao Yun . The former desolated city had been rebuilt, and people migrated into the county .
Merchants came and went .
Scholars inspected the county and commented on their thoughts .
Peasants wandered around the town, working .
Farmers went out of the city, tending their borrowed farms .
Militia guards stood on the wall .
Zhao Yun could not believe his eyes . Typically, it would take ages before a deserted town could come back to life . Yet, it took Ye Commandery a few years to restore this county back to its former glory .
Everything that happened in Liyang was the work of Xun Yu . As one of the most talented advisors and officers, he combined his experiences and Te Langpu"s economic system into the surrounding regions, giving the riches to the people .
However, Zhao Yun mistook it as Tong"s ability since this county was owned by Tong"s forces .
Zhao Yun bit his lower lips .
"Eradicate the resistance, then rebuild . On the top of graveyards, new forests bloomed . "
Those were the conclusion that Zhao Yun evaluated Tong"s past actions toward Liyang County .
Zhao Yun nodded as he decided . Tong was the right lord for him .
"I"ll work for you, lord Zhang Tong . "
.
The next day, Gongsun Zan Army departed from Liyang County . They expected to reach Ye City within a week .
As they traveled forth, they encountered another troop with the banner of Gongsun . In front of the 5,000 man group, someone whom Gongsun Zan knew rode toward the caravan with a white flag .
Gongsun Zan rode forward to greet this battalion"s leader .
"Shengji, what are you doing here?"
Shengji or Gongsun Du, a clan member under Gongsun Zan, came to greet his clan leader .
.
In history, Gongsun Du did not partic.i.p.ate in the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance .
However, during the time when Dong Zhuo reigned in power, Dong Zhuo commanded Gongsun Du to expand their territories, which Gongsun Du took the helm this expedition army .
He was a talented warlord at that time as he successfully took control of the present-day Daifang and Lelang district .
Gongsun Du also sent his clan members and his relatives to attack Korea by the sea while he personally seized Xiangping as his headquarter for his clan, establis.h.i.+ng the foundation for the Gongsun Clan in the next generations .
During the conflict between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, Gongsun Du stayed out of the battle and claimed that he took no part in the Gongsun Clan"s movement .
After Yuan Shao was victorious, Yuan Shao did not care for the far north and oversea lands . Meanwhile, Gongsun Du focused on conquering Korea .
As a result, Gongsun Du and Yuan Shao did not fight against each other as they had no interest in the other"s territory .
Gongsun Du died in the year 204 from a natural cause, and his son, Gongsun Kang, succeeded his legacy .
Gongsun Kang surrendered his father"s territories to the Wei Kingdom and also pa.s.sed on his legacy to his son, Gongsun Yuan .
Following years, Sima Yi led his forces to eradicate Gongsun Clan when they staged a rebellion against the Wei Empire, ending the powerhouse of the north .
Scholars commented on Gongsun Du"s decision for not partic.i.p.ate in the civil war struggle . Because of his choice, the Gongsun Clan remained independence throughout of the pre-Three Kingdoms Period .
Unfortunately, this world"s Gongsun Du was not sent to Korea . He remained behind to fight in this grand civil war .
.
"We"ve heard about her majesty, so we"ve come to help you escorting her . "
"Ah, I"m already here . That isn"t really necessary . "
"It is . How could you not allowing us to seek an audience with her majesty? Please let us see her, too . "
"Hey, you sounded impudence just now . Her majesty is not someone you can meet any time you want . "
Gongsun Du stopped talking . He simply smiled at his clan lord .
"I"ve discovered a secret of the Xiongnu . Unfortunately, I can"t reveal this in public . Can you lean over? I"ll tell you this personally, so no spy can hear us . "
Gongsun Zan frowned and puzzled by his subordinate"s action, but he followed this person"s instruction anyway .
Gongsun Zan rode a bit further . Both men"s head almost touched the other"s ear .
"Now, tell me . "
"Yes, lord . Actually, we allied with the Xiongnu, and our clan decided to disown you . "
"YOU!!"
*SOEK*
A knife pierced Gongsun Zan"s neck . On the knife handle, Gongsun Du clenched it with all his strength .
"I also heard that the empress is still alive . Don"t worry, my lord . I"ll make her surrender Zhang Tong"s territories to our clan . Then, our Gongsun Clan will rule the north!"
Gongsun Du twisted his blade, sealing the fate of Gongsun Zan .
"AGH"
"Also, I"m the new clan head . Treat me with a bit of respect in h.e.l.l, my lord . "
Gongsun Zan could not speak . He glared at the betrayer with resentment before his consciousness faded .
Slowly collapsing on the ground, Gongsun Zan body fell from the horse .
Without hesitation, Gongsun Du bellowed, "SOUND THE HORN!"
*BWOO*
Instead of having only 5,000 soldiers, another 10,000 hors.e.m.e.n appeared from the east and west, charging at the marching army of Gongsun Zan .
The main force of Gongsun Zan consisted of 30,000 cavalries with Tong"s previous iron equipment . They looked around in a panic when an ambush appeared .
Lu Zhi, who was marching in the middle of the troops, heard the chaotic sounds from the front . It was not hard to tell that they were under attack .
"Sounds the alarm! Gather everyone into arrays! Get ready for defensive battle formation!"
*GONG*
*GONG*
War gongs and war-drums echoed through the open field . All Gongsun Zan"s soldiers from the back heard it and rushed to the front, forming platoons of formations as they were trained .
Zhao Yun and Tian Yu hurried to the side of He Xing and Liu Xie, fearing for their safety .
Within less than a minute, the front marching troops were slaughtered before they could defend themselves .
5,000 of 30,000 men fell instantly from the ambus.h.i.+ng cavalry charge .
However, Lu Zhi was not someone who can be easily beaten in terms of troops commanding . Within that same minute, two battalions formed a phalanx formation, creating a large square with s.h.i.+elds and spears as walls .
12,000 spearmen were ready for the horse charge .
Also, Lu Zhi opened a box behind his horseback . A shotgun that Tong gave everyone was in there .
Lu Zhi loaded the shotgun .
*CLICK*
"Bring it . "