Chapter 508: Cooperation

Wu Cian sat blankly in the Baokang County government office. Outside, there were loud shouts and sounds of fighting. He had never thought that at this time of year, when the Huns were already declining, Baokang County would actually were breached by them.

Everything was irreversible. When turmoil began at Beimen, he sent someone to ask for Zheng Shuang, but the news he brought back stunned him. Zheng Shuang had been assassinated. He didn't understand how Zheng Shuang, a general, was assassinated in a heavily guarded home, but it was no longer important. Zheng Shuang's death turned the Hejian soldiers in the city into headless flies and lost their effectiveness. They will become the targets of massacre by the Huns cavalry.

Wu Gang went to the North Gate on his order, and now he has completely lost contact. He doesn't know if Wu Gang is still alive, but it doesn't matter. He just has endless sorrow in his heart. He has worked hard to maintain Baokang County for many years. , will become a thousand miles away.

He knew the style of the Huns. Wherever they passed, they would leave no chickens or dogs behind. They would snatch away all their property and food, and loot all the people except those they killed. The houses would be reduced to ashes in a fire.

Now that I think about it, everything was planned. First, a traitor pretended to be a refugee and sneaked into the city. He assassinated Zheng Shuang and gained money from the North Gate. The other party's large force was hidden not far from Baokang City. The heavy snow and cold weather helped these people hide their whereabouts. , the two missing county soldiers must have fallen into their hands.

The other party has been planning to build Baokang County for a long time, and now they have such a complete arrangement. It's ridiculous that I don't even know anything about it. No, you can't blame yourself, Zheng Shuang, this bastard. As a general of Hejian County, he was responsible for ensuring Kang's safety. Not only did he do nothing, but in the end, his own life was inexplicably involved.

That kind of people. Death is not a pity.

pity. He is going to die soon. The other officials and scribes in the yamen, as well as the yamen servants who had not followed Wu Gang out, had already dispersed. When the tree fell and the hozens scattered, Wu Ci'an smiled bitterly, whatever, I hope they can escape with their lives. In any case, it was his failure as county magistrate that allowed the Huns to take advantage of him. However, with the Huns' style, could they escape?

The county government must be the focus of the opponent's attack. Wu Ci'an knew this clearly. As the supreme leader of Baokang, he decided to die here. As for his wife and children at home, he sighed. When the nest is overturned, how can there be any eggs?

There was a violent banging on the door from outside. Wu Ci'an's head was shaken. It was finally coming. He quietly pulled out the short knife from his arms and put it between his chest and abdomen. The reason why he hadn't committed suicide yet was because he had There are too many doubts in my heart, where did this Huns come from? Given the current situation the Huns were in, how could they gather enough troops to brazenly attack Dayan County? He wanted to figure this out.

Even if you die, you have to be a wise man.

With a bang, the door was opened, and the sound of chaotic footsteps came all the way, heading straight to the lobby. Wu Cian straightened his body and made himself sit as dignified as possible. He was an official of Dayan, so he naturally had to be different from these barbarians. .

The lobby of the county government office was very large, but the lights were very dim. The silence, avoidance, and those big sticks on both sides were all submerged in the darkness at this moment. Wu Cian stood up alone and sat behind the big case, staring at the door.

A man appeared in front of the gate. Behind him, two rows of soldiers poured in. The hall was inspected by these soldiers in an instant. It was a young general, holding the sword on his waist and walking steadily towards Wu Cian.

Looking at this man's appearance, Wu Cian was surprised, because this was not a Huns, but a Central Plains person. And among the soldiers who just came in to search, they were all Central Plains people. They stayed in Baokang. After so many years, he could tell the Huns from the Central Plains people at a glance.

"Master Wu, County Magistrate Wu?" The young general looked at Wu Cian, frowning at first, then a smile appeared on his face, and he handed over his hand very politely.

Wu Cian looked at him in shock, "You are not a Huns, who are you, who are you?"

The young general smiled and said, "Magistrate Wu, before I ask your question, can you take the knife away from your chest? I think we need to have a good talk?"

Wu Cian's body was shaken, "How do you know I have a knife in my hand?"

The young general smiled and said: "Magistrate Wu's body posture told me, Magistrate Wu, although the festival of death is worthy of admiration, but if you let go like this and leave the life and death of the people in this city, then it is not good." Isn’t it a bit contrary to your beliefs?”

"The Huns have entered the city. How can the people in this city survive? What can we talk about?" Wu Ci'an sighed: "You are from the Central Plains, don't you think you would actually help the Huns? Even though you destroyed Baokang City, , but you won’t be proud for long. Lord Yan, the lord of Hejian County, will definitely send troops into the grassland immediately to find and eliminate you.”

The young general laughed, "Yan Shenghao? Let's not talk about him first. Magistrate Wu, if you die, the people in this city may really suffer. We have to move them away, but if you are still alive and cooperate with us If so, then I can guarantee that our generals will make no mistakes!”

Wu Cian blinked and looked at him, as if he didn't hear the other person's words clearly, and the other person didn't urge him, just looked at him with a smile. After a long while, Wu Cian reacted, "Do you think I'm so easy to fool? I've been in Baokang for more than ten years, how can I not know what the Huns do?"

"You just said that I don't look like a Hun, so there are naturally some differences in our behavior." The young general smiled. "So, you'd better stay alive. Now, can you take down the knife?"

Staring at the young general, Wu Cian thought for a moment, and finally gently put the knife against his chest on the table in front of him, but within reach.

"Very good, County Magistrate Wu, we have a good start. Let me introduce myself first. I am Tang Ming." The young general smiled.

"Who are you?"

"It's not that important who we are. At present, our banner is the Xiongnu Gongsun tribe. It's enough for you to know this." Tang Ming smiled and said, "The first thing the county magistrate needs to do now is to write a public notice, stamp it with the county government's seal and your private seal, and at dawn. I hope such a notice can be posted all over the city and sent to each village in Baokang County."

"Public notice?" Wu Cian was puzzled. When did the Xiongnu write public notices?

"Yes, public notices. Lord Wu is famous in Baokang County. With your public notice, I think Baokang can restore peace in the shortest time!" Tang Ming said.

Wu Cian suddenly realized what the other party wanted to do. He stared at the other party in astonishment, "You, you actually want to occupy Baokang for a long time?"

"What Lord Wu said is right. From today on, Baokang is our territory, and you, County Magistrate Wu, will still be the county magistrate of Baokang!" Tang Ming said with a smile, "With the help of such a great talent as County Magistrate Wu, I believe Baokang will soon regain its vitality."

"Don't even think about it!" Wu Cian slammed the table and stood up, "You want me to serve you barbarians, that's a dream."

Tang Ming's expression remained unchanged. "Not to serve us, but to serve tens of thousands of people in Baokang. County Magistrate Wu, the lives and property of these tens of thousands of people are all in your hands. If you cooperate, they will be safe. If you refuse, then I can't guarantee it."

Wu Cian sat back heavily. These people wanted to hold the people hostage to cooperate with him, but could he refuse? If he refused, who knows what these barbarians who have no etiquette and discipline will do?

Outside the county government office, the sound of shouting and killing continued. It was the Fufeng army that entered the city and the Hejian County soldiers who were stubbornly resisting. However, this was no longer important to Tang Ming. It would not take long for these people to be wiped out.

Footsteps were heard outside again. Fully armed soldiers led a group of dejected people in. Seeing these people, Wu Ci'an opened his mouth wide. These people were all subordinates, yamen runners, and constables in his county government office.

"Sir Wu, these people are all your subordinates in the county government, right? Now I have sent them to you. I think you can start working now. After you write the notice to reassure the people, you need people to copy dozens of copies. This workload is not small! We hope that the county government can complete this work by dawn." Tang Ming clapped his hands, and the soldiers retreated, leaving a group of panicked subordinates in the middle.

"Sir Wu, from now on, the safety of the entire county government will be taken over by us, and your safety will also be our responsibility." Tang Ming shook his head slightly, and the two soldiers pressed their hands. Waist knife, walked straight behind Wu Cian.

Tang Ming smiled and bowed to Wu Cian, turned around and strode out. A small number of soldiers stood still, but most of the soldiers followed Tang Ming out. When they reached the door, Tang Ming suddenly turned his head and said, "By the way, I forgot to tell you one thing. We have sent soldiers to your house to protect it to avoid accidental injuries. So Sir Wu can do his work with peace of mind and don't worry about home."

Watching Tang Ming disappear, Wu Cian was stunned. After a while, he looked at the group of officials who escaped and were caught again, and asked, "What's going on outside?"

Baokang Chief Clerk was filled with shame. He had previously abandoned the county magistrate and fled, but now he was detained again. It seemed that he had not been beheaded by these people because of the face of County Magistrate Wu. "Sir, all the Hejian County soldiers have collapsed. The four city gates have been occupied. The entire Baokang has been sealed off by them. A small number of the remaining Hejian County soldiers are still resisting, and most of them have surrendered."

"I'm not asking about this. I'm asking about the people in the city!" Wu Ci'an shouted.

"It's strange that the Xiongnu who broke in this time didn't plunder. They just looked for Hejian County soldiers everywhere and attacked The military camps, government warehouses, and other places did not break into the homes of the people." The chief clerk himself was also surprised.

Wu Cian was still in doubt, looking at the panicked officials, and sighed, "Okay, you can rest assured. Since this is the case, I think your family will not be in any danger."

"Sir, what about the notice to reassure the people?" The chief clerk asked in a low voice.

"What else can I do? I will write it, and then you will copy it!" Wu Cian said sadly.

"Sir, if this happens, you will be blamed for colluding with the Huns when they retreat in the future!" The chief clerk reminded carefully.

“I know.” Wu Ci’an glared at him, “But if I don’t write it, the city will be in chaos, and God knows what these barbarians will do. Compared with my reputation, the lives of the people in this city are more important.”