Yun Qing captures Xicheng effortlessly thanks to Lei Xingmin’s betrayal, kills Chen Wei, rewards Lei, plans attacks and shows mercy to bandits.
After the Lantern Festival, Yun Qing left Yuan Ying to guard Lanzhou City while he led an army of eighty thousand to attack Xicheng.
Yun Qing originally planned to capture Xicheng in one day, but the battle unexpectedly ended in less than two shichen1. It wasn't that they had captured the city by force; it was someone inside who opened the gates for them.
When Yun Qing heard the city gates had been opened, he immediately ordered his troops to enter. Seeing this scene, Cui Mo warned: "General, be careful—it might be a trap." It was indeed very suspicious!
Yun Qing glanced at Cui Mo and said, "Chen Wei isn't that stupid." Their army was advancing with the momentum of splitting bamboo2 and Chen Wei could only rely on Xicheng's strong defences. Given these circumstances, it was inconceivable that he could be the one to open the gates. Yun Qing didn't know why the gates had been opened, but he knew he would be a complete fool if he missed this opportunity.
Cui Mo watched Yun Qing give orders, scratched his head, and thought: 'The one who says to be cautious is the General, and the one who orders us into the city is also the General. I don't know which words to believe anymore.'
Chen Wei realised that the Xicheng garrison soldiers had opened the gates and let the Northwest Army in. He gnashed his teeth in fury. "D*mn it..." If the person who opened the gate were before him, he would definitely tear them apart. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
A subordinate urged, "General, we must retreat now!" No one had expected the people of Xicheng to dare to rebel. They would never have let these men join the battle if they had known. However, there was no time for regret now—the top priority was to flee Xicheng and return to Haocheng.
"Let's go," said Chen Wei. With no strong city walls to protect them, how could his fifty thousand men possibly withstand Yun Qing's attack?
Unfortunately for Chen Wei, he wasn't as lucky as Ji Xuan—he was intercepted by Cui Mo halfway through and behe@ded on the spot. Cui Mo then took his head back to Yun Qing as proof.
Soon after entering the city, Yun Qing met the man who had opened the gates for them—not all of them, just the leader. His name was Lei Xingmin, a company commander in the Xicheng garrison. A company commander was a sixth-rank official, which was considered a fairly high position in a place like Xicheng.
Looking at Lei Xingmin, Yun Qing asked, "Can you tell me why you opened the gates and let us in?" He truly felt that this rebellion was far too easy. He had Sun Shaojian's help in Lanzhou; now, Lei Xingmin had shown up in Xicheng. He wondered if they would receive similar help when they attacked Haocheng.
Yun Qing was very alert and immediately dismissed such thoughts. Although they had easily taken the cities both times, if he lowered his guard and harboured such extravagant hopes, he might not even know how he would die. His own death would not matter, but it would implicate the brothers who were rebelling alongside him, as well as his wife and children who were waiting in Yu City. Therefore, he absolutely must not let down his guard.
Lei Xingmin's face flushed with excitement as he replied, "I have always admired the General. I never imagined I would see the General in my lifetime." In other words, Lei Xingmin was a devoted supporter of Yun Qing.
Yu Cong marvelled inwardly—he hadn't expected that this man had opened the gates simply out of admiration for the General. It really felt surreal!
Upon hearing this, not only did Yun Qing not smile, but he also replied coldly, "You opened the gates just for that reason?" What kind of people is the Imperial Court raising?
Although Yun Qing was rebelling, he was still a general—a commander of troops—and deeply despised such behaviour that lacked seriousness.
Lei Xingmin shook his head, "Of course not. I heard that notices have been posted in Lanzhou, Wucheng and other places, saying that exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous levies will no longer be imposed and encouraging the common folk to open up land for cultivation." Of course, that was only part of the story—there were other reasons Lei Xingmin didn't mention.
Yun Qing wasn't a fool; there was no way he would trust Lei Xingmin so easily. Nevertheless, Lei Xingmin did indeed perform a great service by opening the gates for them. In recognition of this, Yun Qing promoted him to the position of Assistant Battalion Commander of the lower fifth rank.
Excitedly, Lei Xingmin exclaimed, "Thank you, General." He was only twenty-five and already an Assistant Battalion Commander. He believed that serving under General Yun would surely lead to a bright future.
As he watched Lei Xingmin's departing figure, Yu Cong smiled and said, "General, I didn't expect this Lei Xingmin to be one of your admirers, too!" Since Lei Xingmin had opened the city gates and spared them any casualties, awarding him a fifth-rank post seemed modest indeed.
Yun Qing said, "Didn't you hear him? He said he opened the gates because I ordered a reduction in exorbitant taxes and encouraged land cultivation. Those aren't things a commoner would know. Have someone investigate this man's background. He doesn't seem like an ordinary person."
Yun Qing soon found out about Lei Xingmin's background. He wasn't from an ordinary family—his family had a military background. Both his grandfather and father had served in the army. His father had reached the rank of Deputy Battalion Commander by the time he retired, making him second-in-command within the Xicheng Garrison. Unfortunately, he was injured later on, forcing him out of service.
Yu Cong said, "General, Lei Xingmin's father has a good reputation in Xicheng." As long as they hadn't committed any crimes or misconduct, no action would be taken against them.
Yun Qing nodded and instructed, "Check thoroughly."
Yu Cong nodded, "I will." Yun Qing's personal rule was to neither wrong a good person nor let a bad one go unpunished.
After a while, Cui Mo returned. After handing over Chen Wei's head, he said, "General, luckily, we didn't let him get away this time." Allowing Ji Xuan to escape had been his greatest shame.
Smelling the stench, Yun Qing frowned. "Next time, don't bring heads into the room. Kill them if you must, but bringing them here makes the whole place stink of blood."
Cui Mo thought the General had become especially particular since marrying his wife. However, Cui Mo did not dare to argue and merely nodded. "Great General, who was it that opened the gates today?" As it turned out, the Great General's judgment was correct—the wide-open gates were not a trap but a sincere invitation into the city.
Yu Cong explained, "It was a company commander from the Xicheng garrison named Lei Xingmin. The General has already met him and promoted him to two ranks."
Cui Mo commented, "Lei Xingmin—that's an interesting name." One might mistakenly think it meant hoping for the prosperity of ordinary people!🦊
Neither Yun Qing nor Yu Cong responded to this foolish comment. Cui Mo didn't mind—he had just said it casually anyway. Then he asked Yun Qing, "General, when are we going to attack Maicheng?"
Yun Qing replied, "Tomorrow." Seeing the surprised looks on Cui Mo's and Yu Cong's faces, he added, "The Imperial Court has probably already sent reinforcements to support Ji Xuan. We must win quickly and break through Haocheng as soon as possible."
If they couldn't break through Haocheng quickly, and the siege dragged on into the third month, the Northern Barbarians would attack. At that point, they would be fighting on two fronts. Therefore, they had to capture Haocheng swiftly in order to gain the upper hand, and only then could they send troops back to Yu City.
The distance from Xicheng to Maicheng was over 400 li4. Yun Qing led his army there in just two and a half days.
When Guan Tai, leading the vanguard, saw that there wasn't even a single soldier on Maicheng's walls, he immediately reported this unusual situation to Yun Qing. "General, there seems to be no one on the walls. And the gates are open, too."
Yun Qing didn't enter the city right away. Instead, he sent scouts to check for traps. Once it was confirmed that there was no ambush, he led his army into the city.
News of the Northwest Army's execution of corrupt officials and confiscation of their assets had long spread throughout the region. Consequently, when Guan Tai searched Xicheng, there wasn't much wealth left to seize.
Guan Tai reported the amount of silver and other valuables seized to Yun Qing, exclaiming, "General, those b@stards ran off with their treasures as soon as they heard we were coming." If those officials and wealthy merchants had got wind of it and still not fled, knowing it was a dead end, wouldn't that have made them fools?
Yun Qing said, "They can't have taken much with them when they fled. Have the soldiers search carefully. Those people must have hidden their valuables somewhere." Throughout their journey, they conquered cities, executed corrupt officials and confiscated property. In Lanzhou alone, they had seized wealth amounting to over ten million. But in Yun Qing's eyes, this wasn't much at all. Compensating the families of the dead alone would cost over four million taels! Then there was the cost of purchasing warhorses and replacing weapons and equipment — together, these would cost no less than ten million taels. Not to mention all the miscellaneous expenses, which would also be significant. This amount of money really wasn't enough.
Yun Qing used to not care much about money, but he became more concerned about finances ever since he was appointed as the top commander of Yu City. This was particularly true since Yuxi had given him her dowry to spend, for which he felt deeply ashamed. Even a hero could be tripped up by a single coin5. Now, they would save whatever they could—once this chance was gone, there wouldn't be another like it.
Knowing that Yun Qing was preparing to lead troops to attack Yongcheng the next day, Cui Mo said, "General, Maluo Mountain is only over eighty li away from here. I will lead troops to wipe those bandits out." Maluo Mountain only had two thousand men. If he led his cavalry over there, he could annihilate those bandits in less than half a day.
In the past, Yun Qing would have agreed with Cui Mo. However, having been lectured by Yuxi so often, he, too, had begun to feel that completely wiping them out wasn't the right thing to do.
Yun Qing ordered, "Take the troops to Maluo Mountain and just arrest the ringleaders, such as Hong Feihu. If the rest don't resist and agree to return home and farm, let them go."
Cui Mo didn't quite understand and asked, "General, why?" They were now fully capable of slaughtering all the bandits on Maluo Mountain, leaving not even a dog or a chicken alive6.
Yun Qing explained, "Most Maluo Mountain bandits were ordinary people driven to banditry by corrupt officials. In that case, let's give them a chance to live." Since these bandits were forced by desperation, he would give them a chance. However, if they didn't cherish this opportunity, they couldn't blame him for taking a harsher approach.
Yu Cong's face lit up as he exclaimed, "General, you are righteous and benevolent!" If they didn't kill the Maluo Mountain bandits, others might hear about it and disband on their own without needing to be wiped out. Though suppressing bandits was easy for them, it still took time and effort, and no one could guarantee that there would be no casualties. It would naturally be a good thing if the situation could be resolved without fighting.
In the past, Cui Mo would have objected. However, after his experiences in Lanzhou and Xicheng, he now believed that Yun Qing's decisions were always right.
Cui Mo said, "Don't worry, General. As long as they don't resist, I won't kill them."
Although the Maluo Mountain bandits had extorted tolls and robbed travellers over the years, they hadn't slaughtered innocents or bullied nearby villagers. This was why Yun Qing decided to show mercy.
Footnotes Full List
- 时辰 shíchen: 2 hours
- The Chinese idiom 势如破竹 (shì rú pò zhú) describes progress that is swift and effortless, like a sharp knife splitting bamboo along its grain.
- A wordplay on Lei Xingmin's name. Literally, 雷 (léi) means thunder, 兴 (xīng) means prosperity, and 民 (mín) means people. The name sounds like 'thunder brings prosperity to the people'.
- 里 (lǐ), a traditional unit of length, equal to 150 zhang (市丈), and equivalent to 0.5 kilometres or 0.311 miles. Therefore, 400 li equalled approximately 200 kilometres.
- This proverb 一文钱难倒英雄汉 (yī wén qián nán dǎo yīngxióng hàn) means that even the strongest or most capable person can be brought down by a lack of money.
- 鸡犬不留 (jī quǎn bù liú) is a vivid Chinese idiom describing total annihilation or complete slaughter, where nothing is spared.
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