noveltune Chapter 5 The World in Turmoil
Chapter 5 The World in Turmoil
The strength of the Chen family in Xiapi is evident.
However, Chen Yuan was only a minor branch of the Chen clan and was not considered a prominent figure in Sun Jian's eyes.
Moreover, the reason he treated Sun Jian in this way was twofold: firstly, he respected Sun Jian's reputation for slaying pirates and being renowned throughout three counties; secondly, he was well aware that his own abilities were far inferior to Sun Jian's.
Therefore, when Sun Jian took office as the assistant magistrate of Xiapi County, he took the initiative to befriend him, serving him attentively and showing him great hospitality.
"Just kidding?"
Sun Jian turned to Chen Yuan, raising an eyebrow. "Zhongyi, I'm not joking. It's one thing for your county soldiers to be so lax on ordinary days, but if they really encountered bandits, over twenty of them would be slaughtered by some farmers. Where would you, as the county magistrate, put your face then?"
Chen Yuan smiled wryly and cupped his hands, saying, "Brother Wentai, please calm down. As you know, these county soldiers aren't elite troops; they're just civilians on rotation, farming in peacetime and being called up to make up the numbers during wartime. The fact that we've provided them with leather armor already shows that my Chen family has subsidized them quite a bit with money and provisions..."
He paused, glanced at Sun Jian's expression, and then said, "That Li Sheng... according to the county soldiers who escaped, is exceptionally fierce and agile. If Brother Wentai is willing to lend a hand, I will certainly do my best to help. However... please don't tease me about my poor military training anymore; even a skilled cook can't cook without rice."
Sun Jian snorted coldly and sat down again: "They are nothing more than some of the cunning tricks of the Taiping Dao sorcerers, and a bit of brute force. Your soldiers are cowardly in the face of battle, their hands and feet go weak, even if they were armored, they couldn't withstand it."
Chen Yuan nodded repeatedly: "Brother Wentai is right. Then... in Brother Wentai's opinion, how should this matter be handled?"
"How to deal with him? You only need to select ten elite county soldiers, and I'll send ten private soldiers, a total of twenty. I'll personally go and meet that Li Sheng. What kind of sorcerer is this Taiping Dao? I'll kill him with one stroke and see if he's still so monstrous!"
Chen Yuan's eyes lit up, then he hesitated: "Private soldiers? Brother Wentai, Li Sheng only has seven or eight men, is it really necessary to have so many?"
Sun Jian glared at him: "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. That's how I always do things. Besides..."
He stood up, walked to the door, and looked at the gradually receding rain outside. "When I kill thieves, I never mind killing too many. Only by killing them all and eliminating them completely can I prevent future troubles."
Chen Yuan quickly rose and cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Wentai, you are so generous! I will go and make the preparations right away. Armor, swords, and spears—there are still some good ones in the treasury—I will take them with me, Brother Wentai. As for the horses…"
"No need," Sun Jian waved his hand. "Zhongyi, just prepare the ten county soldiers I need. As for the horse, I still have a fine steed at home."
"Yes, sir!" Chen Yuan responded and turned to give instructions when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the tent.
"Report—"
A scout rushed into the tent, knelt on one knee, and presented a silk scroll with both hands: "County Magistrate, urgent military report! A messenger from Luoyang says that it was sent by Zhu Jun, the Duke of Weiming!"
Sun Jian frowned, took the silk scroll, and began to read it carefully.
The tent was quiet for a moment, with only the occasional crackling of the candlelight.
Chen Yuan stood aside and saw Sun Jian's gaze slowly moving across the silk scroll. His expression seemed normal, but the knuckles holding the scroll tightened slightly.
After a moment, Sun Jian put down the silk scroll, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and a slight upturn of his lips, which he then suppressed.
Chen Yuan leaned closer and asked cautiously, "Brother Wentai, what did the letter say?"
Sun Jian did not answer immediately, but handed over the silk scroll: "Zhongyi, take a look."
Chen Yuan took it with both hands and unfolded it to examine it closely.
After reading only a few lines, his expression changed drastically.
After reading the entire text, his hands trembled slightly. He looked up, his voice tight: "The Yellow Turban rebels... rose up in eight prefectures, with hundreds of thousands of followers? This...this..."
He swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he asked, "Brother Wentai, is the world about to descend into chaos?"
Sun Jian did not answer directly, but stood up, walked to the door, looked at the gradually subsiding rain outside, and stood with his hands behind his back.
Chen Yuan composed himself, carefully folded the silk scroll, and returned it with both hands, bowing and saying, "Congratulations, Brother Wentai! Lord Zhu Weiming is personally leading the campaign against the rebels, and this summons of you is a golden opportunity to display your great talents. With your courage and strategy, you will surely achieve great things, be ennobled, and appointed as a general in no time!"
He spoke earnestly.
Sun Jian turned around, glanced at him, and nodded slightly: "I appreciate Zhongyi's kindness."
He sat down again, pondered for a moment, and said, "Lord Zhu is urging me urgently. I must recruit elite troops as soon as possible and go to Yingchuan to join him. I will need Zhongyi's support in this matter."
Chen Yuan immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Wentai, please give your orders! As the county magistrate, it is my duty to recruit soldiers and equip them with weapons. Whatever you need, I will do my best to assist you."
Sun Jian nodded and said solemnly, "I want to recruit brave men from all directions, the more the better. We need to prepare armor, swords, spears, bows and crossbows. I also need to borrow some weapons from the treasury."
After a moment's thought, Chen Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "Alright! I will do my best to raise the funds. However, there are not many armors in the treasury, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to provide them all with armor."
Sun Jian waved his hand: "It's alright. A hundred men who can wear armor are enough, and the rest can wear leather armor. The key is to have strong and brave men who dare to fight; there's no need for those who are just filling in."
"Yes, sir!" Chen Yuan replied readily.
Just as Sun Jian was about to speak again, Chen Yuan suddenly looked worried and hesitated, saying, "Brother Wentai, what about... what should we do with that sorcerer Li Sheng from the Way of Peace?"
He paused, then continued, "This man killed the county magistrate and seized the leather armor. If he takes the opportunity to cause trouble, I will only have two hundred men left under my command, and I'm afraid..."
Upon hearing this, Sun Jian slightly curled his lips, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Zhongyi is overthinking it."
He reached for the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said unhurriedly, "Li Sheng's group was just seven or eight bandits. We killed a few, but they were no match for us. The Yellow Turban Rebellion has spread across eight prefectures, with hundreds of thousands of people. That is the real threat to the court."
He set down the bowl, his gaze sharp: "Lord Zhu's battle against the main Yellow Turban force in Yingchuan was a life-or-death struggle. If I were to delay my journey and miss crucial military plans because of a few mere bandits, that would be a grave mistake. As for Li Sheng..."
He scoffed, "It's nothing but a minor ailment. Once I've quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion with Zhu Gong, I can deal with them when I return. Zhongyi, you just need to hold the county town and prevent him from breaching it. What big waves can a few petty thieves stir up?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan's worries lessened slightly, but he was still somewhat uneasy. However, seeing how confident Sun Jian was, he didn't say anything more and could only cup his hands and say, "Brother Wentai is absolutely right. It seems that we can only let that little thief go for now."
Sun Jian patted him on the shoulder: "Zhongyi, don't worry. If I make a contribution on this trip, I will certainly put in a good word for you with Lord Zhu. Zhongyi, you should guard Xiapi well, and you will be rewarded in the future."
Chen Yuan quickly cupped his hands and smiled, "Then I thank Brother Wentai in advance!"
"Please, Zhongyi, draft a recruitment notice for me as soon as possible!"
"I dare not refuse!"
Just as Sun Jian was busy recruiting soldiers, Li Sheng slowly woke up from his bed.