Chapter 343

Chapter 343 – Gongsun Du's Betrayal

= Seven days after the death of Hua s.h.i.+ =

Liyang County

This county left a dark spot in Tong's heart as he ma.s.sacred all population here a few years ago . Now, many people migrated into the county as it was a part of Ye Commandery governance .

Towns and buildings had been rebuilt, and merchants restored the county's economy .

Life came back to Liyang County again .

Gongsun Zan, Lu Zhi, Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and their army finally reached here after a long journey .

Lu Zhi's face grimaced as he worried about his favorite disciple .

'Tong has been quiet since then . Will he be alright?'

The most worry Lu Zhi had was Tong's retaliation against the Sun Clan . If Tong lost his rationality, he might order his armies to wage war to the south .

Once it happened, it would spell calamity to his future country . Many warlords would not miss this chance to counter-attack against Tong and steal his territories in one swoop . .

No matter how talented his subordinates were, they would not be able to display their 100% potential if the king possessed ill judgment .

'I should wait for him in Ye . I'll be by his side until he recovers . '

Lu Zhi sighed again .

Gongsun Zan had noticed Lu Zhi's odd behavior a long time ago . He turned to his mentor .

"What's wrong, master? You look kinda sad . "

"Ai, I'm sad . I'll tell you a secret . You junior disciple's wife has pa.s.sed away . "

"Huh?"

Gongsun Zan was not ignorant . He knew about Tong's two wives .

Hua s.h.i.+, the G.o.ddess of Death

Xiao Wu, the Spear G.o.ddess

Both immortals had spread their names, valor, and beauty . At the Northern Provinces, no men never heard about those two ideal women . They were the object of men's desire .

'One of them died!? But they are immortals! Just how … Wait, how does he know about this!?'

Gongsun Zan stared at his mentor, "How did you know about this? We both use the same messengers and intelligence agents . How come I didn't know about this news?"

"We communicate through a clan chat . "

"Clan … chat?"

"A sorcery device that unites us as one organization . I'll ask Tong to invite you into our clan the next year . "

"Err, okay . "

.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yun and Tian Yu served as bodyguards of Empress He and Liu Xie . Both of them rode alongside the royal caravan as they teased Liu Xie, who waved at them .

"He's learning fast, isn't he?"

"Ah, he's a son of heaven for a reason . "

Tian Yu and Zhao Yun laughed and played with Liu Xie .

While Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and Liu Xie were playing on horseback, a messenger from Gongsun Zan and Lu Zhi arrived .

He knelt down in front of He Xing's palanquin wheeled carriage .

"Your majesty, lord Gongsun said that we will rest in this county for a day, and we shall continue our journey to Ye City . "

He Xing opened her palanquin curtain to see the messenger, "Tell them I understand . We'll do as they asked . "

"Thank you, your majesty . "

The messenger left, and they continued heading to Liyang .

When they reached Liyang County, Zhao Yun stared at the town with a complicated expression .

This place was a deciding factor if he should serve Tong . The slaughtering of Liyang's population was still in Zhao Yan's mind, and he believed that it was a wrong decision .

However, the restoration of the town astonished Zhao Yun . The former desolated city had been rebuilt, and people migrated into the county .

Merchants came and went .

Scholars inspected the county and commented on their thoughts .

Peasants wandered around the town, working .

Farmers went out of the city, tending their borrowed farms .

Militia guards stood on the wall .

Zhao Yun could not believe his eyes . Typically, it would take ages before a deserted town could come back to life . Yet, it took Ye Commandery a few years to restore this county back to its former glory .

Everything that happened in Liyang was the work of Xun Yu . As one of the most talented advisors and officers, he combined his experiences and Te Langpu's economic system into the surrounding regions, giving the riches to the people .

However, Zhao Yun mistook it as Tong's ability since this county was owned by Tong's forces .

Zhao Yun bit his lower lips .

'Eradicate the resistance, then rebuild . On the top of graveyards, new forests bloomed . '

Those were the conclusion that Zhao Yun evaluated Tong's past actions toward Liyang County .

Zhao Yun nodded as he decided . Tong was the right lord for him .

'I'll work for you, lord Zhang Tong . '

.

The next day, Gongsun Zan Army departed from Liyang County . They expected to reach Ye City within a week .

As they traveled forth, they encountered another troop with the banner of Gongsun . In front of the 5,000 man group, someone whom Gongsun Zan knew rode toward the caravan with a white flag .

Gongsun Zan rode forward to greet this battalion's leader .

"Shengji, what are you doing here?"

Shengji or Gongsun Du, a clan member under Gongsun Zan, came to greet his clan leader .

.

In history, Gongsun Du did not partic.i.p.ate in the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance .

However, during the time when Dong Zhuo reigned in power, Dong Zhuo commanded Gongsun Du to expand their territories, which Gongsun Du took the helm this expedition army .

He was a talented warlord at that time as he successfully took control of the present-day Daifang and Lelang district .

Gongsun Du also sent his clan members and his relatives to attack Korea by the sea while he personally seized Xiangping as his headquarter for his clan, establis.h.i.+ng the foundation for the Gongsun Clan in the next generations .

During the conflict between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, Gongsun Du stayed out of the battle and claimed that he took no part in the Gongsun Clan's movement .

After Yuan Shao was victorious, Yuan Shao did not care for the far north and oversea lands . Meanwhile, Gongsun Du focused on conquering Korea .

As a result, Gongsun Du and Yuan Shao did not fight against each other as they had no interest in the other's territory .

Gongsun Du died in the year 204 from a natural cause, and his son, Gongsun Kang, succeeded his legacy .

Gongsun Kang surrendered his father's territories to the Wei Kingdom and also pa.s.sed on his legacy to his son, Gongsun Yuan .

Following years, Sima Yi led his forces to eradicate Gongsun Clan when they staged a rebellion against the Wei Empire, ending the powerhouse of the north .

Scholars commented on Gongsun Du's decision for not partic.i.p.ate in the civil war struggle . Because of his choice, the Gongsun Clan remained independence throughout of the pre-Three Kingdoms Period .

Unfortunately, this world's Gongsun Du was not sent to Korea . He remained behind to fight in this grand civil war .

.

"We've heard about her majesty, so we've come to help you escorting her . "

"Ah, I'm already here . That isn't really necessary . "

"It is . How could you not allowing us to seek an audience with her majesty? Please let us see her, too . "

"Hey, you sounded impudence just now . Her majesty is not someone you can meet any time you want . "

Gongsun Du stopped talking . He simply smiled at his clan lord .

"I've discovered a secret of the Xiongnu . Unfortunately, I can't reveal this in public . Can you lean over? I'll tell you this personally, so no spy can hear us . "

Gongsun Zan frowned and puzzled by his subordinate's action, but he followed this person's instruction anyway .

Gongsun Zan rode a bit further . Both men's head almost touched the other's ear .

"Now, tell me . "

"Yes, lord . Actually, we allied with the Xiongnu, and our clan decided to disown you . "

"YOU!!"

*SOEK*

A knife pierced Gongsun Zan's neck . On the knife handle, Gongsun Du clenched it with all his strength .

"I also heard that the empress is still alive . Don't worry, my lord . I'll make her surrender Zhang Tong's territories to our clan . Then, our Gongsun Clan will rule the north!"

Gongsun Du twisted his blade, sealing the fate of Gongsun Zan .

"AGH"

"Also, I'm the new clan head . Treat me with a bit of respect in h.e.l.l, my lord . "

Gongsun Zan could not speak . He glared at the betrayer with resentment before his consciousness faded .

Slowly collapsing on the ground, Gongsun Zan body fell from the horse .

Without hesitation, Gongsun Du bellowed, "SOUND THE HORN!"

*BWOO*

Instead of having only 5,000 soldiers, another 10,000 hors.e.m.e.n appeared from the east and west, charging at the marching army of Gongsun Zan .

The main force of Gongsun Zan consisted of 30,000 cavalries with Tong's previous iron equipment . They looked around in a panic when an ambush appeared .

Lu Zhi, who was marching in the middle of the troops, heard the chaotic sounds from the front . It was not hard to tell that they were under attack .

"Sounds the alarm! Gather everyone into arrays! Get ready for defensive battle formation!"

*GONG*

*GONG*

War gongs and war-drums echoed through the open field . All Gongsun Zan's soldiers from the back heard it and rushed to the front, forming platoons of formations as they were trained .

Zhao Yun and Tian Yu hurried to the side of He Xing and Liu Xie, fearing for their safety .

Within less than a minute, the front marching troops were slaughtered before they could defend themselves .

5,000 of 30,000 men fell instantly from the ambus.h.i.+ng cavalry charge .

However, Lu Zhi was not someone who can be easily beaten in terms of troops commanding . Within that same minute, two battalions formed a phalanx formation, creating a large square with s.h.i.+elds and spears as walls .

12,000 spearmen were ready for the horse charge .

Also, Lu Zhi opened a box behind his horseback . A shotgun that Tong gave everyone was in there .

Lu Zhi loaded the shotgun .

*CLICK*

"Bring it . "