Everything Sun Shaojian said about Ji Xuan's crimes was true. He described the times, places, and people involved in such detail that it was as if he had witnessed them first-hand, making it almost impossible for anyone to doubt him.
Ji Xuan narrowed his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to k*ll Sun Shaojian. But shooting him down with a barrage of arrows was impossible unless they opened the city gates and sent troops to kill him. However, a direct confrontation with the Northwest Army would mean an inevitable defeat, so opening the gates was out of the question. That left him with a problem—if he couldn't kill Sun Shaojian, he couldn't silence him either.
After exposing Ji Xuan's many crimes, Sun Shaojian began to talk about Yun Qing's deeds: "General Yun used the confiscated wealth of corrupt officials to pay the salaries of the Northwest Army and the pensions of the soldiers who died in the battle at Yu City..."
At that moment, one of the shield-bearing soldiers at the front suddenly raised his voice and added, "Our General not only takes care of the children of fallen soldiers, making sure they have food to eat and clothes to wear, but he also hires teachers to educate them."
For these soldiers, who lived with their lives on the line, their greatest fear was dying and leaving their families to fend for themselves. Many did not even dare get married and have children. But Yuxi's decision to adopt these children had given them peace of mind. As Teacher Song had once said, Yuxi's actions were a way of winning people's loyalty—and she had succeeded.
Leng Bufeng anxiously said, "General, this is bad. If we let him keep talking, he'll completely shake our soldiers' morale." At that moment, he wished he could strangle Sun Shaojian himself.
Seeing that Ji Xuan remained silent, Leng Bufeng ordered the men beside him to refute Sun Shaojian's claims. But their arguments were weak and unconvincing.
After speaking for a long time, Sun Shaojian felt the time was right and shouted, "Brothers! That old dog Ji has been feeding on our flesh, drinking our blood, and oppressing our families! Why are we still risking our lives for him? If you have even a shred of dignity left, you will stop helping this tyrant!"
Ji Xuan turned his gaze toward Yun Qing and sneered, "They say Yun Qing is a great hero, but I never expected him to resort to such disgraceful tactics. Yun Qing, if you're a real man, come out and fight me one-on-one instead of hiding like a coward!"
Yun Qing wasn't foolish enough to fall for such a provocation. Instead, he called out to the soldiers on the city walls, "If you stop fighting for this tyrant, I promise you we will not harm you. And if you want to go home, I won't stop you."
Some of the soldiers had been forcibly conscripted and never wanted to be there in the first place. When they heard Yun Qing's offer, some started to waver.
Ji Xuan was about to send his personal guards to threaten those thinking of defecting when Yun Qing suddenly gave a sweeping order—"Attack the city!"
This time, Yun Qing did not stay behind to direct the battle; he personally led the attack. Yuan Ying, Feng Dajun and the other commanders followed suit and fought at the front. Meanwhile, Sun Shaojian's speech had lowered the morale of the city's defenders and raised the fighting spirit of the Northwest Army.
Seeing that his soldiers were no longer fighting with the same ferocity, Ji Xuan knew the situation was deteriorating. He immediately ordered Leng Bufeng to lead the troops in resisting the Northwest Army and dispatched his trusted aides to enforce discipline. Any soldier who dared to resist would be executed on the spot.
Sun Shaojian's words had successfully ignited the anger of many defending soldiers. Previously, they had fought desperately, believing the rumours that the Northwest Army was slaughtering, looting and burning everything in sight. But now that they realised the rumours were lies, their resolve wavered. And when the Supervisory Unit1 came and executed over a hundred people, their fury erupted completely.
One soldier, seeing his sworn brother k*lled by the Supervisory Unit, let out a furious roar and shouted, "Kill these bast@rds!" The weapons that had been aimed at the Northwest Army now turned toward the soldiers of the Supervisory Unit.
Once the anger had flared up, it was impossible to extinguish.
Bao Yong, who had watched from above as their own men k*lled the trusted aides he had sent to supervise the troops, turned pale and said, "Daren, we must leave immediately!" If they didn't flee now, they wouldn't even have to wait for the city to fall—these mutinous soldiers would kill them first.
Ji Xuan, a man who feared death, saw the Northwest Army fighting harder while his own forces grew weaker. Gritting his teeth, he ordered, "Retreat."
A quarter of an hour later, Leng Bufeng's trusted aide rushed to report, "General, the Governor has already fled Lanzhou with his troops. General, we should leave as well!" The Northwest Army's attack was too overwhelming, and their soldiers were putting up a feeble resistance. If they continued to fight, they would be doomed. Yun Qing had promised to spare the ordinary soldiers who surrendered, but he had never said that he wouldn't kill them.
Leng Bufeng was also someone who cherished his life—otherwise, he wouldn't have hidden at the rear during the battle. Now that he knew Ji Xuan had fled, he had no interest in continuing the fight. Without hesitation, he gathered his trusted men and fled as well.
Their escape was quickly noticed. Someone immediately shouted, "The Governor-General and General Leng Bufeng have run away!"
With Ji Xuan and Leng Bufeng gone, the remaining fifty thousand defenders had no desire to continue fighting against the Northwest Army. And since Yun Qing had promised that those who surrendered would be spared, they all dropped their weapons and surrendered.
Standing atop the city walls, Feng Dajun looked at the dark mass of soldiers crouching below and remarked, "I never thought it would be so easy to take the city." Even now, he felt a little dazed—the victory had come so quickly that it was almost unbelievable.
Yun Qing gazed at the surrendering soldiers and shouted, "Those who wish to go home can leave tomorrow. Those who wish to stay, I welcome you." His forces were still too few—after adding the prisoners from earlier, they barely numbered seventy thousand. He needed to expand his army.
As soon as he finished speaking, someone among the prisoners shouted, "General, I'm willing to stay!" With steady pay and the assurance that if they died in battle, their children would be cared for and educated, there was little reason to return home.
With the city captured, there was plenty for them to do. Looting the homes of corrupt officials, wealthy merchants, and the gentry was a routine task for Yuan Ying and Guan Tai. They also had to gather supplies such as grain and medicine and figure out how to deal with the surrendering soldiers. Yun Qing's top officers were so busy they barely had time to rest.
As night fell, Cui Mo finally returned. He brought back Leng Bufeng's severed head, but when he met Yun Qing, he looked a little embarrassed and reported, "General, that old dog Ji Xuan has escaped." At this point, everyone under Yun Qing's command had started calling Ji Xuan 'old dog'.
Feng Dajun had just come to discuss military matters with Yun Qing. When he heard that Ji Xuan had escaped, he glared at Cui Mo and scolded, "How could you let Ji Xuan escape?!" Ji Xuan's escape would definitely cause great trouble.
Cui Mo explained, "Ji Xuan had a decoy pose as him while he took a hidden path to escape." It had been a miscalculation—by the time Cui Mo had captured the impostor and returned to chase after Ji Xuan, it was already dark. And since Yun Qing had ordered everyone to return to Lanzhou before nightfall, he hadn't pursued Ji Xuan any further.
Yun Qing said, "I received word this afternoon that Chen Wei is on his way to Lanzhou. Based on the schedule, he should arrive tomorrow." For Yun Qing, ensuring stability was now the priority. If they ventured into unfamiliar terrain and encountered Chen Wei's forces, they could suffer heavy casualties—even with their superior cavalry. And every cavalryman, man and horse, was a valuable asset to the Northwest Army. They couldn't afford any unnecessary sacrifices.
Cui Mo's eyes lit up as he eagerly said, "I just hope he dares to come." The cavalry hadn't played much of a role in the siege, but against Chen Wei, they would finally get their chance.
Of the fifty thousand soldiers who had surrendered in Lanzhou, thirty thousand chose to stay, while twenty thousand wished to return home. When Yun Qing learned of this, he ordered that each departing soldier be given one tael of silver for travel expenses. Inflation had made silver worth far less than it once was, but something was better than nothing.
After taking Lanzhou, Yun Qing did not immediately march off to conquer more territory. Instead, he ordered the army to rest and reorganise. Du Zheng's forces had marched non-stop for half a month before fighting a day-long battle. Even an iron man couldn't endure that without rest.
While Yun Qing handled military affairs, he also had to manage Lanzhou's governance. Military affairs were easy—he was used to them and had his own methods of dealing with them. However, dealing with civil administration was another matter. The position of Provincial Administration Commissioner🔗 was particularly crucial, and he had no trustworthy candidate in mind.
Just when he was feeling overwhelmed, Gao Song informed him that Prefect Tan Tuo had arrived.
When Tan Tuo met Yun Qing, he explained his purpose without waiting to be asked: "Madam sent me here." With that, he took a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Yun Qing with both hands.
The letter was dated the 15th of the twelfth month, three days after Yun Qing's departure. In it, Yuxi instructed him to resign from his post as Prefect of Xinping and go to Yun Qing. However, she did not specify why.
Yun Qing chuckled—he figured Yuxi knew he despised dealing with administrative matters, so she had sent Tan Tuo to help. Looking at Tan Tuo, Yun Qing said, "Perfect timing. I have a pile of work here—help me take care of it." Managing local affairs was a headache for him.
As a prefect, Tan Tuo had experience in running an entire prefecture. With his help, Yun Qing's workload immediately lightened.
Three days later, Yun Qing asked Tan Tuo, "If I appoint you as the Provincial Administration Commissioner🔗 of Gansu, do you think you can handle it?" The Commissioner was the highest-ranking civilian official in the province.
Tan Tuo's heart was pounding excitedly, but years of experience had taught him to hide his emotions. With a calm expression, he replied, "General, if you give me this opportunity, I will govern Gansu well." A Prefect was a fourth-rank official, while the Provincial Administration Commissioner was a second-rank position. This wasn't just a promotion—it was a giant leap.
Yun Qing said, "Since my wife has confidence in you, I'll give you this chance." It wasn't just because of Yuxi's recommendation—Tan Tuo had managed Xinping exceptionally well, which gave Yun Qing confidence in his abilities. Otherwise, no matter how much Yuxi trusted him, Yun Qing wouldn't have dared to entrust him with such a responsibility.
Tan Tuo bowed deeply and said, "I will not disappoint the General and Madam's trust."
Footnotes Full List
- 督战队 dūzhànduì. In modern terms, this unit is called Barrier Troop, blocking unit or anti-retreat troop. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrier_troops.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi