Looming Danger
Chapter 36 – Looming Danger
February 24th, 181 A.D., Julu County.
Sima Xin returned back to his home base and immediately requested an audience with Guo Dian, he wanted to report the incidents he had been through right away.
Guo Dian agreed to meet him and invited him in. He then received the report.
Sima Xin framed Zhang Jiao and his men with his report, stating that the Taoist sect they were in was a part of an evil cult, which also had been planning to rebel against the Han Imperial Court.
Because the messenger group was discovered, the 20 men that were with Sima Xin were all killed. Only he managed to come back alive with a couple wounds on his elbow and shoulder.
Sima Xin also mixed in the fact in the report that Zhang Jiao had two military camps that housed over 2,000 men, which was abnormal for a small physician family.
Only nobles with the imperial official status could afford to hire over 1,000 soldiers because of the limited rations and expensive weaponry. For a non-noble to be able to upkeep all those soldiers, Zhang Jiao should have a shady business that the government didn't know or they had a mysterious backer.
Guo Dian frowned after he read the scroll report. He didn't believe in the report of a child, even though he was a son of his acquaintance.
He wanted to affirm the source of this information, so he dispatched another scout team to obtain more information about the Zhang family and their military activities.
...
…
March 10th, 181 A.D.
The scout returned with shocking information. The Zhang family indeed had over 2,000 troops in the middle of training, they also had moved eastward to Anping County and settled their base there.
One of the two camps also had unusual soldiers that were as disciplined and well-built as imperial elite troops. The scout assumed that they were the elites of the Zhang family.
Moreover, there were other several sources indicated that majority of the troops had a bounty on each of their head. They were ex-thieves and ex-bandits.
Most importantly, the leader of the elite camp proclaimed himself as an immortal. The person was the only successor of the Zhang family, Zhang Tong.
And Hua Shi whom Guo Dian suspected to be an evil cultist practitioner, was also Zhang Tong's fiancé. Both of them lived together in the same Manor.
The overall report appeared to be similar to Sima Xin's report, but with more proofs and details.
Guo Dian made the decision. He sent a letter to Liu Yan, the House Governor of Ji District, asking him to borrow his troops for reinforcement against the rebel bandits.
If Liu Yan agreed to send reinforcement, they would take at least a month for the army to arrive here in Julu District.
Guo Dian made a plan. He would rally his men in September to October when the harvest season arrived so he could get provisions and grain for cheap. He could also enlist volunteers and drafted more soldiers into this campaign with small budgets.
The preparation should last for a month or two after he acquired the necessary funding. By the end of October, Guo Dian would march with his troops to Anping County to subjugate the potential rebels, hoping to obtain more achievements and promotions from this war.
War was expensive, but the career promotion was worth it. By increasing the title by one rank could increase his income by 500 to 1,000 gold a year.
One the next day, Guo Dian sent out his decree. In October, they would go to war!
…
…
Sima Xin also received his summon from Guo Dian. Because of his achievement from reporting the rebel activities, he would be promoted to a hundred men commander. Sima Xin could now lead a hundred soldiers of the imperial army.
His soldiers would be assigned to him later after the conscription in June had been completed.
Sima Xin was elated. The promotion meant a better life for him. And with more subordinates, he had more confident dealing with fellow otherworlders.
He used this chance to randomize a new quest. He had a hunch that the system always gave him missions that related to his lifestyle and environment.
And his hunch was correct.
…
*********************************************
**Main Mission No.19**
Guo Dian will march an army against Zhang Jiao and his men in a few months. Go and assist them.
Your best friend, Zhang Tong will be there. Kill him if you can and you will get additional rewards.
Clear Condition: Kill at least one hundred Yellow Turban soldiers
Failure Condition: Guo Dian is killed or the campaign fails.
Clearing Reward:
- 10,000 lifespan for completing priority mission
- 10,000 lifespan per one general of the Yellow Turban killed.
- 1,000 lifespan per every 100 additional soldiers killed after completed the clear condition.
- 1,000,000 lifespans if Hua Shi or Zhang Tong is killed.
- One shopping pass.
Mission Failure: Your location will be revealed in the HUD map for all otherworlders.
System Note: You must kill the soldiers yourself to complete the clearing condition.
*********************************************
…
Sima Xin smiled. A chance for payback arrived sooner than he expected.
Sima Xin then checked his status. He completed his last mission by killing a handful of yellow cloth men, so he should have more lifespans to buy more ammunition.
…
*********************************************
**Status**
Name: Sima Xin
Age: 16
Lifespan: 15,479 Years
Shopping Pass: 1
*Skill List*
[Supreme Nightsight] Cannot be leveled up
- Host can see in the dark.
- Host's vision can be zoomed in or out. The maximum distance is two kilometers
*********************************************
…
Sima Xin killed six yellow cloths men, resulting him gaining additional of 6,000 lifespans.
Sima Xin opened the shop menu and bought a hundred bullet package, which cost him 15,000 years of lifespans, leaving him 479 years remaining.
His heart bled, but he was confident that the investment would be paid off once he completed the next mission.
…
…
March 15th, 181 A.D.
Administrative Bureau Secretary officials finalized the budgets for the mobilization. It was expected that Guo Dian would have enough fund to conscript over 20,000 civilians into militias by this October.
However, Guo Dian viewed it as excessive for dealing with a 2,000 men bandits. So he allocated budget for enlisting 3,500 militias. With 1,000 armored infantry and 500 light cavalries that Guo Dian had as his private troops, they would have 5,000 men prepared for this battle.
Using 5,000 Men to attack 2,000 bandits was more than enough. The rest of the leftover money would naturally fill the pockets of his and other officials.
After Guo Dian announced his budget and future plans, the officials understood his intention. They grinned from ear to ear. Serving an understanding governor was the best.
...
April 2nd, 181 A.D.
The reply letter from Liu Yan arrived. They would send an experienced general with 3,000 men to aid him in this battle. Zou Jing and his troops would come to Julu later on September.
Hearing that Liu Yan sent him a veteran general, Guo Dian was elated. He became more confident that there was no way in hell that they would lose the next battle against bandits.
...
April 15th, 181 A.D.
A piece of disturbing news from the spy in Nan Pi arrived. Zhang Jiao visited the Yuan family in Nan Pi and formed business cooperation.
Zhang Jiao and his caravan went back to his village with 12,000 gold, which was astronomical sum even for the governor like Guo Dian.
The details about the deal were unknown. The Yuan family had a deep background and processed elite teams of counter-intelligence agents and many talented servants. They couldn't get more information.
Guo Dian frowned in worried. What was the connection between the Yuan family and the bandits? Were they colluded in this together or it was just a business deal.
Although Guo Dian was concerned about the Yuan family, his greed outweighed his concerned. The 12,000 gold that Zhang Jiao had was not a small sum.
This war had become more meaningful and could be profitable for him.
However, it was too late to reallocated the budget now because the cake had been splitted among the officials. There was no fund left to conscript further troops unless he used his own money.
...
June 1st, 181 A.D.
The scout team came back from spying the Anping County and Zhang Manor. More concerning news arrived.
Zhang Jiao went to Nanpi again and came back with not just gold, but weapons and armors. Several craftsmen and Yuan family guards also escorted Zhang Jiao's caravan back home, too.
Blood was drained from Guo Dian's face. They indeed colluded together.
If he attacked Zhang Jiao and his men, would he offend the Yuan family?
He was about to cancel the raid campaign, but then he saw the details of the report. Within Zhang Jiao's caravan, there was over 50,000 gold in them.
This caused Guo Dian's eyes to almost pop out of the sockets. His county annual income taxes and tributes were only 20,000 to 30,000 gold a year. This number was assumed that the year had a bumper harvest.
Guo Dian's greed overwhelmed him, and he wanted to risk for it even if he offended the Yuan family. The gold he could plunder was enough for him to buy a high ranking position in the imperial court. Then even Yuan family would be helpless against him.
Guo Dian was no longer afraid of the consequences of his actions.