Chapter 391 Cao Rens Miscalculation (2/2)
Tong: ”Taishi Ci, keep pretending to be merchants and enter the city using the main road. Don't try to sneak around, or everyone will get caught.”
Taishi Ci: ”Yes, my lord!”
With Tong's confirmation, everyone proceeded to Langye, bracing the dangers.
.
Taishi Ci and others arrived at the south gate of Langye City. As they had expected, Cao Ren set up another check-point.
As soon as they arrived, they found themselves at the back of a long line of merchant wagons and caravans. Taishi Ci and his company were not the only ones who had planned to enter the city.
”How long are they going to take!? It's been days!”
”Can somebody tell the soldiers to hurry up? We'll get caught by the winter at this rate!”
Hearing the complaints of the merchants, Wei You pretended to act as an errand maid. He approached a nearby merchant and asked, ”What happens to the front? Why are we getting stuck here?”
The merchant grumbled, ”The city protector ordered the gatekeepers not to allow anyone inside. This is stupid, you know? I've been here in the long line for three days now, and nobody can get inside! They're trying to freeze us to death this winter!”
”Then, why don't you go back to your previous city or county? It takes only a few weeks.”
”Do you see several guards around here?”
The merchants pointed at patrol guards in the area, who was glaring at them.
”These men told us that we can't travel anywhere, or they will kill every single of us! Can you believe it?”
”Why are they doing that? Won't they hurt their city and its people?”
”They're looking for a group of fugitives. Unless they caught them, they wouldn't allow anyone inside the city.”
”…”
Wei You returned with the piece of bad news. Sun Jian, Taishi Ci, and everybody listened to him in solemn.
Huang Gai and Cheng Pu grumbled, ”What's next? Are we waiting here as well? Our ration is almost out.”
Taishi Ci appeased them, ”We have to wait. Let's wait until our reinforcement arrives. They should be here in a week or so.”
Sun Jian was surprised, ”I didn't see you sending any messenger. How did you know that there will be a reinforcement?”
”Clan chat. Eh, I think you might not know this since you haven't been invited to a clan. We'll tell you once we arrived at Ye City.”
”…”
Sun Jian was astonished. Taishi Ci was still young, but Tong had bestowed him the clan chat ability, which was the same as Sun Fang's.
A weird thought came to Sun Jian's mind, 'Can we join more than one clan at the same time?'
Sun Jian also asked Sun Fang in the clan chat.
Sun Jian: ”Is it possible to join two immortal clans? I'm afraid that his majesty might invite us into his clan.”
Sun Fang: ”I doubt it. The system said that we can only join one.”
Sun Jian had worries. This might spark a misunderstanding between Tong and himself since he did not want to rebel against the Han Dynasty.
Sun Jian: ”Can you dissolve our clan, so we can join his majesty?”
Sun Fang: ”The only way that I can disband this clan is my death.”
This confirmation hammered the final nail in the coffin. Between Sun Jian's family and his ideal, he weighed the former more than the latter.
Sun Jian: ”Gongfu, Demou, Yigong, we will lay low and try not to get involved in Zhang Tong's affair.”
Seeing the clan message, Huang Gai and the others frowned. They glanced at their liege without alarming Wei You and Taishi Ci.
Huang Gai: ”We're not joining Zhang Tong, now?”
Cheng Pu: ”So, we are laying low while we're avoiding getting recruited into another clan?”
Han Dang: ”Is it possible to mediate this issue?”
Sun Jian: ”I don't know. I'll be trying to solve the feud between Fang'er and Zhang Tong. If he insists on killing Fang'er, then we'll retire from his ranks.”
Cheng Pu: ”Won't he try to kill us like Cao Cao?”
Sun Jian: ”I have no idea. Since he's doing his best to get us out of here, let's be on friendly terms with Zhang Tong for now. Once we can escape from Ye and regroup with Bofu and Fang'er, we will do so.”
A back-up plan had emerged during the escape. If Tong insisted on killing Sun Fang or harm the Sun Clan, Sun Jian schemed that they would desert from Tong's ranks and flee to Lujiang, regrouping with Sun Ce and Sun Fang.
For now, Sun Jian wished to negotiate with Tong first.
.
Later that day, Cao Ren deployed all of his troops to search for Sun Jian. Because of Cao Ren and Yue Jin's cautious, all scout teams consisted of 2,000 soldiers.
As a consequence of such large armies, their mobilization terrified the local population.
As Cao Ren and Yue Jin left the city, their subordinates who had surrendered to Cao Ren, Chen Gui, became the new prefect of this Langye.
He and his clan member, Chen Deng, continued Cao Ren's policies, barricading all merchants and travelers from entering or leaving the city.
However, Cao Ren took away most of their local troops and their private soldiers. Only less than 2,000 garrison soldiers maintained the order here. With fewer troops, guards who oversaw the people outside the gates had a hard time suppressing the merchants.
The merchants outside the wall kept demanding and shouting at the guards. They gathered their private troops, bodyguards, and mercenaries to form an army, threatening to siege the city had Chen Gui not opened the gates.
In the end, Chen Gui and Chen Deng agreed to their terms and opened the gates, allowing them to come inside.
Sun Jian, Taishi Ci, and others received the boons from the uproar. All fugitives entered the city without a strict inspection.