Chapter 393 (1/2)

Linhuai County. It is the name of an ancient county in China. During the Shang Dynasty the county was within Xu County. During the Western Zhou Dynasty till end of Spring Autumn period, it became part of the Xu State and was also its political center.

It was also an ancient capital. Not many people remember Linhuai but most people would know it as Xuyi.

It was located beside Baima Lake and Pengze Lake. In a strict sense, it was at the very border of Yangzhou. As it was separated by Baima Lake and Hongze Lake, it was a place that could not take in soldiers. Linhuai sided with Sun Ce when Cao Cao attacked Yuan Shu. It remain safe because of Sun Ce’s protection even after Yuan Shu death. Unfortunately, Linhuai was across the river so it becomes problematic to manage. It was a situation where they felt it was not worth the trouble but at the same time too wasteful to abandon.

All this time, Linhuai had been in a comfortable position but recently, that position is threatened. The reason for this is because Qin Feng, the governor of Linhuai, was scared witless when Liu Mang conquered Yangzhou. He believed that it was not long before Linhuai is attacked once Liu Mang had occupied Shouchun especially since Linhuai is only about a day’s travel away. Fortunately, Qin Feng was not an idiot. The moment Liu Mang had occupied Yangzhou, he had already reported this to Sun Ce, hoping for help.

Sun Ce had just lost Lujiang and had no other cities across the Yangtze River except for Linhuai. Naturally, he was happy about Linhuai’s existence and immediately sent over three thousand troops along with provisions.

Qin Feng then send those soldiers and provisions to Tuzhong. This is because Tuzhong was the place closest to Shouchun and was also the battle point with Yangzhou. Qin Feng had thought of this very well. If Liu Mang wanted to attack Linhuai, they would not ignore Tuzhong. Tuzhong had already become a fortress that had both men and food. If Tuzhong had fallen, Linhuai would also be unable to hold out. At that time, it would be better to escape to Hongze and then stealthily leave by boat. If he is able to defend Tuzhong, he would be able to live off his influence. This is why he still had not yet acted after Liu Mang won the battle at Yangzhou.

“Little beauty, I am coming!” Qin Feng shouted with an obscene face. This time, Sun Ce did not only sent troops and provisions. He had even sent Qin Feng with three beautiful women to placate the man. Even though Qin Feng was old, he was still strong.

“My King, you are coming!” The three women laughed as they looked at Qin Feng.

“Haha!” Qin Feng threw himself towards the women. For a moment, glamor overflowed from the four within the building.

The few bodyguards that heard the sounds in the room also felt like laughing. One of them spread his hands open, showing five fingers. After a while, he closed one finger, and then another one. He then became satisfied, looked at the other bodyguard and opened his mouth. The one that opened his mouth was simply saying, “At most one more minute.”

The other bodyguard was not to be outdone. He extended another finger. Two minutes. He then opened his other hand showing ten big coins. Basically, the two were gambling.

In comparison to the easygoing atmosphere inside Linhuai, the same could not be said for those outside.

Aside from the rain, the soldiers have not rested at all since rus.h.i.+ng here. They had even crossed difficult tracks just to arrive earlier. The path was extremely rugged but the two days spent was had its reward.

“General. That is the walls of Linhuai City.” A person declared from within the jungle when a majestic city appeared before him.

“N!” Zhang Liao nodded and took out two things. The first was a map of Linhuai and its surroundings that he obtained from Yang Hong. The other was a telescope. He alternated between looking at the telescope and the map. Meanwhile, Zhang Hu and Ge Jun felt envious about the telescope.

“Is this not the place?” Zhang Liao shook his head.