Chapter 185 Prophecy

Chapter 185 Prophecy

Chapter 185 Prophecy
It was a quiet night and the sky was dotted with stars.

On the top of Handan City, an old man looked up at the sky. After looking for a long time, he lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.

Shi Chao waited for a long time but he didn't speak. He guessed that he was afraid, so he took his hand and said, "Since Mr. Cui has surrendered to me, he is one of us. Why can't I talk to him?"

Mr. Cui still didn't say anything.

Shi Chao said patiently: "Now that things have come to this, it would be inappropriate to hide it."

Hao Chang, Wang Chan, Lou Quan, Lou Bao and others also looked at Cui Gong curiously and waited quietly.

Cui Gong was originally from Boling. When he was traveling around the country, he was kidnapped by Shi Le and was invited to be his strategist. After Shi Le was defeated, he was about to return home and met Shi Chao, who "invited" him to Handan.

In fact, they were all old acquaintances and had met before. Shao Xun had thought too simply about this matter. Since Ji Sang was under the banner of Gong Shifan, how could he have no connection with Shi Chao and others?

Cui Gong sighed deeply and said, "The meeting of Taibai and Yinghuo is a sign of revolution."

"This..." Shi Chao was shocked and asked, "Mr. Cui is saying that we can rule the world?"

Cui Gong glanced at Shi Chao and asked, "Who is the Taibai Star Spirit?"

Shi Chao concentrated and thought hard.

Wang Chan looked at Hao Chang, his heart pounding.

Mr. Cui was very accomplished in the theory of prophecies and divination, and what he said was highly credible.

Lu Zhi and others told them that there was a rumor in Luoyang that General Shao Xun was the reincarnation of Taibai. They didn't believe it before, but now they believe it 70%, because this person seemed to be born with knowledge, and he was also the bravest among the three armies, winning every battle. How to explain it?
"Can't it be us?" Shi Chao asked unwillingly.

"Yesterday I observed the weather and destiny and concluded that there is nothing the general can do." Lord Cui did not give any face and said bluntly.

"Can this sight alone ruin my future?" Shi Chao asked.

Chao Dixi seemed to want to say something but hesitated and ultimately did not interrupt.

"Yesterday I also saw several yellow gas in the east, standing several feet tall. This must be the Taibai star." Cui Gong added: "The energy is quite strong, and it is faintly suppressing the royal energy of Luoyang. It will come true sooner or later."

Shi Chao choked.

He didn't dare to deny this easily because it had come true not long ago.

When Chen Min was in rebellion, the fortune teller Chen Xun said: "The Chen family has no royal aura, but the royal aura in Luoyang is very strong, and it will be destroyed soon."

Later it came true.

A little further back, during the time of Sun Hao of Wu, a fortune teller said: "The aura of a king in Jingzhou will destroy Yangzhou, but Jianye Palace will be unfavorable."

Sun Hao believed it without a doubt and summoned the Master to dig up the tombs of famous aristocratic families in Jingzhou.

After Shi Dan rebelled in Jianye, Sun Hao killed him. He also sent hundreds of people to Jianye to make a fuss, kill Shi Dan's wife, and claim that the emperor sent troops from Jingzhou to defeat the Yangzhou bandits in response to the fortune teller's words - this was a bit of a forced "fulfillment", and it really didn't work.

With so many people believing it, even if Shi Chao had other ideas, he would be skeptical now.

"Governor." Hao Chang and Wang Chan stood up somewhat embarrassedly.

When Lou Quan, who was standing by, saw this, he was also tempted.

"Shut up." Shi Chao glared at them, then looked at Cui Gong and said, "Liu Yu is leading more than 10,000 soldiers from Yecheng to the north. Cui Gong may as well tell us who will win or lose."

"Why do we need divination?" Cui Gong shook his head and said, "Did the governor hear the geese cry in the evening?"

"I heard it." Shi Chao was stunned.

"The sound of its sad cry can tell us whether it is good or bad." Cui Gong said: "Although the heavens have great powers, they cannot speak. Therefore, they move the spirits of the stars above, and flow the wisdom of the gods below. They test the wind and clouds to show anomalies, and use birds and beasts to communicate with spirits. This is sent by heaven and is a clear sign of nature."

When he said this, Mr. Cui acted like a sage, mysterious and profound. Even if he was talking nonsense, he had already confused Shi Chao and made it impossible for him to think effectively.

"The stars are sharp above, the gods are wise below..." As expected, Shi Chao's intelligence was successfully lowered, and he began to mutter to himself.

But Shi Chao is not the only one shrouded in the aura of reduced intelligence.
Except for Wang Chan who was still relatively sober, everyone else present was a little confused, with faces full of surprise and doubt.

"Commander-in-chief," Wang Chan stepped forward again and said, "You are at the end of your rope, why are you still hesitating? If you had somewhere to go and someone to rely on, why would you have to do this?"

These words were spoken with sincerity and were what Wang Chan really thought.

Who else can you turn to? There is nowhere to go!

Wang Jun? It's good that he didn't tie you up.

Sima Yue? I really don't dare, and I don't want to, because he is my enemy.

Oh, there seems to be another Liu Yuan.

Wang Chan was unwilling to surrender to the Xiongnu, and few scholars had worked for Liu Yuan. The few officials he appointed were basically his classmates when he was studying abroad.

Anyway, if you don't want to die, you have to surrender.

There is almost no need to choose whether to vote for Liu Yu or Shao Xun.

Shi Chao looked up to the sky and sighed, "If you want to leave, go ahead. I won't stop you from waiting."

Wang Chan felt a little reluctant, so he finally bowed, saluted, and left with gritted teeth.

"Governor." Hao Chang stepped forward and stammered.

"Get out!" Shi Chao shouted.

Hao Chang left in disgrace.

Lou Bao and Lou Quan bowed from a distance and hurried downstairs.

Shi Chao shed two lines of tears, turned his head and looked around, there was no one around him.

Wait, no one here? Where's Cui Gong?
Mr. Cui had already reached the foot of the city wall. Although he was old, he could still move very fast.

Wang Chan opened the city gate, gave Cui Gong two horses, and said, "Mr. Cui, are we going to say goodbye now?"

Cui Gong grabbed the horse and said, "Go back and tell Lu Zidao that I have helped as much as I can and I am going back home. We will never see each other again in this life."

After saying this, he jumped on his horse and slowly disappeared into the night.

"What a strange man." Wang Chan praised, and then he looked towards the top of the city wall.

Although he didn't see Shi Chao, he knew that the governor was there.

There was a noise behind them, and a large group of soldiers drove their vehicles, mules and horses out of Handan City and headed east. "General, what are you hesitating about? Hurry up," Lou Quan and Lou Bao called out.

"Let's go now." Wang Chan smiled, took the horse brought by his personal soldiers, and jumped on it.

"General, is Shao Caiguan really the incarnation of the star Taibai?" Hao Chang walked over and asked in a low voice.

"Nine out of ten." Wang Chan replied.

"How do you know?"

"That's what Lu Changshi said."

Hao Chang nodded.

Everyone admires Lu Zhi's talent, and since he said so, it adds a bit of credibility.

Of course he didn't believe it all. But as Wang Chan said before, they had nowhere to go.

If Gou Xi comes again, can we withstand it?
Before King Fanyang died, it was Gou Xi who led his troops and killed people in Hebei. It has only been a short time, but no one has forgotten it.

This is a big killer. It will be difficult to survive if you fall into his hands. It is better to run away as soon as possible.

Well, it’s not called running away, it’s called seeking good fortune and avoiding danger.

******
On the fifth day of August, when Shao Xun arrived in Julu and began to collect grain, he finally received clear news: Wang Chan and four other generals led more than 3,000 people to surrender.

Almost at the same time, Liu Yu led Yao Yuan, Feng Song, Guo Mo and other generals to the south of Handan and began to set up camp.

Liu Yu learned that the defenders of Handan had "fled in all directions."

On the day he arrived, Shi Chao led the crowd to "escape" again.

Liu Yu took advantage of the situation and advanced his troops, but was ambushed on the street, lost nearly a thousand soldiers, and retreated in panic.

Only then did Shi Chao truly escape, heading westward towards Wu'an.

His younger brother Shi Xi led hundreds of people to flee north.

The two brothers fled separately, which made Liu Yu furious.

He also divided his troops into two groups and pursued them separately, but in the end he only captured Shi Chao's group and killed hundreds of people.

Shi Chao led more than a thousand soldiers, crossed the Taihang Mountains and reached Shangdang, but no one knew where he was going.

"Commander Shi must have escaped." On the top of Julu City, Shao Xun pointed his whip to the west and said, "He passed Wu'an and went to Taihang, and he might have joined Liu Yuanhai."

Wu'an is to the west of Handan, and there is a pass leading to Hedong.

"Records of the Grand Historian - Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru" states: "(The Qin army) camped in the west of Wu'an. The Qin army beat drums and called for troops to march. The tiles on the roofs of Wu'an were all shaken."

At that time, the Qin army came through Fukou Pass, the fourth of the eight passes in Taihang Mountains, so there was no doubt that Shi Chao took this route.

Wang Chan and others breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, he is an old brother, and everyone is very happy that he can escape.

"Kill!" A uniform shout rang out outside the city.

Everyone's attention was quickly drawn to the scene, and they all looked over, only to see more than 2,000 Silver Spear Army soldiers in armor, lined up in battle formation, practicing assassination techniques.

Even though they have proven themselves on the battlefield, training is still essential and very rigorous.

At this time, the spear stabbing was almost over. Under the order of the officers, the soldiers drew out the bow tips and began to string the bows.

Soon, team after team of people came out, running quickly and shooting arrows at the straw man.

This is an advanced version of training: shooting straw men while moving.

Archery on foot not only involves shooting while standing still, but also shooting while moving, both of which require testing.

The earliest group of veterans even pulled out their long arrows, found an empty city wall, and practiced shooting arrows at it.

There are also people who play armor-piercing arrows...

In short, the training subjects of each team and each building are different depending on the time of enlistment and training progress.

Eventually, as training progresses, everyone's progress will converge and they will be able to practice as a group.

"How is it?" Shao Xun looked at the four people and asked with a smile.

Lu Zhi remained silent, looking at Wang Chan and the other four people, and then at the Silver Spear Army soldiers under the city.

"General, you are really patient." Wang Chan retracted his gaze and said with a wry smile, "This army costs too much, and it will take at least two or three years to achieve small success, five years to achieve a certain level of success, and seven or eight years to achieve a great success."

Just the skill of a bow and arrow cannot be mastered in just two or three years. It is too difficult.

Shao Xun laughed and said, "As you said, these soldiers are too difficult to train. If you come to join me, I will no longer be short of soldiers and major generals."

Wang Chan and others looked delighted.

Indeed, although the Silver Spear Army is elite once it is well trained, it cannot afford to be destroyed and can only be used in crucial field battles.

Other occasions are where they come in handy.

However, the only thing that is worrying is Shao Xun's identity.

His official rank was not low, after all, he was a fifth-rank general.

But there is no local position, which is a fatal flaw.

Once they join the army, they may have to farm the land after training.

Moreover, Shao Xun had made it clear to them that there would be no rewards, and they could only get enough food to eat. Maybe they would be given something during festivals, but it was impossible for them to be on par with the Silver Spear Army and the Yamen Army.

To put it bluntly, this treatment is almost the same as that of auxiliary soldiers.

If it weren't for the fact that one was at the end of one's rope and was about to be wiped out, surrendering to Shao Xun would not be a good choice.

I can only make do with it for now. With old friends like Lu Changshi and Le Fei around, I won't really end up as a supporting soldier.

(End of this chapter)