Chapter 393 Smooth Escape (2/2)
Yue Jin and Cao Ren scoffed. They did not like this betrayer family.
”You can have them. They are useless here anyway.”
”Thank you for your understanding. Please come inside. We'll transfer back the authority of this city to you, and we'll proceed back to our territory later.”
Yue Jin raised his hand, ”Please wait. Our lord is currently looking for a group of fugitives. We hope that you can also cooperate with us in this searching.”
Kong Rong sneered, ”Oh? Who are you looking for?”
”…”
Both Cao Ren and Yue Jin could not answer. They could not tell Kong Rong that they were searching for the eunuch Wei You, and Sun Jian. Had they confessed, a war might break out right here.
Still, Cao Ren had his wits.
”There is a con artist merchant that pretended to be one of the royal eunuchs from Ye and their bandit bodyguards. Unfortunately, we believe that they might have been wandering around in this territory.”
”Ah, that must have been bad for the locals. Have you caught them yet?”
”… No.”
”I see. Well, good luck.”
”…”
Kong Rong cut the conversation and guided them into the city. All his soldiers and knights took the [Kong] banners down and returned to their camps, getting ready to leave the town per Taishi Ci's order.
.
.
December 1st, 190 A.D.
Winter had hit Langye in full swing. Snow covered all roads and forests, which seemed impossible for anyone to travel.
This was a season that all warlords refrained themselves from mobilizing an army. Yet, Kong Rong ordered his soldiers to leave Langye for Beihai.
Sun Jian and his men blended in Kong Rong's soldiers, leaving the city along with the marching troops.
Wei You also joined with Taishi Ci, disguising as his strategist. As for the latter, he wore a full plate mail, the standard knight uniform that covered his face.
The cold winter tortured all soldiers in the imperial armor. As a result, they wore extra clothes and cloaks to cover their bodies.
The Chen Family had it easy. They traveled along with the logistic forces, so they could use their carriages and wagons to hide from the cold.
From the onlooker's perspective on top of the wall, the marching army looked like a large group of poor refugees from a random city.
Cao Ren and Yue Jin stood in front of the north gate to send them off.
Kong Rong bowed at them, ”Thank you for your hospitality. We'll return to Beihai from here.”
Both generals bowed, ”Take care of yourself. The weather is harsh this season.”
”I know. Goodbye.”
Cao Ren watched Kong Rong and his men leave with a long sigh.
In the end, both Cao Ren and Yue Jin did not dare to assassinate Kong Rong and others since it would trigger a full-scale war between Tong and Cao Cao. They also did not have the courage to report their failure of their assignment, hunting Sun Jian and Wei You.
Cao Ren gritted his teeth, ”We're fucked.”
Yue Jin bit his lower lips, ”At least, we didn't lose Langye. Had we not talked our way inside, our lord would have killed us.”
Cao Ren had goosebumps when he imagined a scenario where both of them lost the city and failed the task. This failure would have been a disaster to Cao Cao's forces.
In the end, Cao Ren mustered his courage and reported everything to Cao Cao via the clan chat.
.
Cao Ren: ”I'm very sorry.”
Cao Cao: ”Don't worry about it. Good job for taking Langye back without harming anyone.”
Cao Ren: ”You're not mad, Mengde?”
Cao Cao: ”I'm fucking pissed, you idiot! Had you lost Langye, I would have killed you on the spot!”
Cao Ren: ”Sorry …”
Cao Cao: ”Anyway, Kong Rong has probably secured Sun Jian and the eunuch with his army. We can't attack him either since we'll be branded a rebel to the public. For now, we'll prepare for the politic games that Zhang Tong will press on us because of Sun Jian.”
Cheng Yu: ”I also have something to report, my lord?”
Cao Cao: ”It is about Sun Jian's family, I assume.”
Cheng Yu: ”Yes.”
Cao Cao: ”Have they escaped?”
Cheng Yu: ”Yes. However, we found that they fled south to Wan City of Yuan Shu instead of heading north to Ye.”
Cao Cao: ”Predictable. Their destination is Lujiang, if Putin's story is correct. Their back-up army is hiding in there. Miaocai, take 20,000 soldiers and capture Shouchun and Lujiang ASAP. Find the [Two Zhangs] and Zhou Yu. Don't let Sun Ce and Sun Fang unite with them.”
Xiahou Yuan: ”Aye. Can I take Guo Jia with me?”
Cao Cao: ”No, I need him here for other tasks. Go alone. Once spring arrives, march south immediately!”
Xiahou Yuan: ”Okay!”