Chapter Fifty-two: Occupying Huayin with Joy and Worries Intertwined

  Shi Jin looked at Li Bai Cao's changed expression and knew that something big must have happened, and the outcome was likely to be bad.

  "Chen Dalai had come, but at that time the master of the house was asleep. He didn't have the heart to call you, he just quietly looked for a while and then went to comfort the people." Li Baicao said as she gently patted Shi Jin's lower back, indicating they should move to the front hall to talk.

  Two men went around the backyard, passing by two houses, and arrived at the front hall. They entered from behind, turned around the screen, and reached the main hall. Shi Jin and Li Baicao sat down in order of host and guest, and Li Baicao took a deep breath and said: "Master, this situation is both good and bad, making people feel both happy and sad."

  Li Baicao leaned forward and whispered to Shi Jing, "Chen Da took control of Huayin County at dawn. He killed about a thousand government soldiers, captured the main general and three deputy generals, and another deputy general died from an arrow wound while fleeing. The eastern, southern, and northern gates all surrendered. Chen Da has already posted notices informing the citizens that our troops will not harm them in the slightest."

  Shi Jin nodded in satisfaction and said, "This is good. This is the first city we've taken down, so it's essential to handle matters thoroughly. Chen Da can restrain his subordinates, which is excellent. Bai Cao, what do you think? What attitude do the civilians have towards us?"

  "The common people were deeply influenced by Liu County's teachings, and although they did not openly rebel, just looking at the deserted streets would tell you that they probably didn't have a good impression of us for the time being." Lei Baicao said, turning his head to look around, and continued: "But I heard that most of the participants in the 'Righteous Camp' were common people, and if they died like that, even if it was an accident, there should be some explanation."

  Shi Jin pinched his chin, staring at the floor with both eyes, and after a moment of contemplation, he nodded slightly and turned to look at Li Bai Cao: "This is easy to say, we'll just tell the truth, explain the situation clearly, and when the time comes, the official's responsibility will naturally be unavoidable. But in the end, it's still the common people who suffer."

  "It's not that, you didn't see Chen Da sweeping the battlefield this morning, the whole city was in tears, and the wailing sound lasted for a long time. The tragic scene of wives separated from husbands, children separated from parents, I don't want to see it again...” Lei Baicao said with a deep sigh.

  Shi Jin's face also fell by three points after listening. He slowed down and said, "Bai Cao, if the 'sadness' you spoke of is so cruel, where does the 'happiness' come from?"

  "Alas, great ruler, if the common people don't rebel, this can still be considered 'good fortune', but I haven't spoken of 'misfortune' yet?"

  "What?! Shi Jin nearly jumped out of his chair after hearing this, hastily saying: "If even this counts as 'happiness', then what kind of situation is 'sadness'?"

  "Hey, big boss, don't be in a rush, let me tell you slowly...” Lei Baicao saw Shi Jin's excitement and was worried that his newly recovered injury would worsen again. But the following words were crucial and couldn't be left unsaid. The words had been on the tip of Lei Baicao's tongue for several rounds before he finally stammered them out: “...this 'tragedy' is not an isolated incident, firstly because there are too many wounded, a lack of medicine, and thousands of corpses that need to be properly handled in a timely manner, otherwise it will lead to the outbreak of plague."

  Shi Jin listened and thought it was just a trivial matter, the heavy burden on his mind suddenly collapsed, and he let out a sigh of relief: "I thought it was something serious, but the surrounding mountains and forests are dense with shade, these medicinal materials should not be scarce, just send more people to gather them. As for those corpses, pile up the soldiers' bodies and burn them with fire, and let the family members claim the civilians' bodies and bury them in their own tombs." Shi Jin finished speaking in one breath, but did not see Lei Baicao's expression ease.

  Li Bai Cao sighed and said heavily: "Dàláng, it's not that easy now. We... we are surrounded by heavy troops in the city!"

  "What!" Shi Jin heard this and suddenly stood up, his two eyes wide with surprise: "When did that happen?"

  "Just around noon, Chen Da was still clearing the battlefield when he heard his brother on the city wall say that there was a cloud of dust rising in the southwest. Before long, a large army came charging over. They attacked several times but were all repelled by Chen Da. It's said that after noon, that army set up camp outside the city and surrounded us like an iron bucket..." Li Bai Cao carefully observed Shi Jin's expression, afraid that he would suddenly become anxious and do something unexpected.

  Shi Jin heard that he was surrounded, his heart suddenly ignited, and he didn't care about Li Bai Cao anymore. He rushed out quickly, ran to the back courtyard stable, and without caring whether it was good or bad, he pulled open the reins and galloped away.

  Li Baicao knew he would be anxious, but he didn't expect him to become so anxious. Shi Jin's body was barely recovering, especially the wound on his shoulder had not fully healed. Under this urgent situation, going back to the battlefield to fight again would only hurt his body. Although Li Baicao pitied him, he couldn't keep up with Shi Jin's swift movements, and after chasing him for two steps, seeing him rush out of the door and ride away, he could only give up.

  Shi Jin urged his horse to gallop wildly, heading straight for the West City Gate. This was the direction of Shi's family village and also the route from Putian County, which would certainly be the main battlefield. Shi Jin rode his horse through several small alleys and finally turned onto Yuan Tong Avenue. Although it was dusk, the wide street was desolate, with not a single person in sight. As he headed towards the West City Gate, the bloodstains on the streets became more dense. The bodies of the dead soldiers had been mostly cleared away, leaving only patches of dark red bloodstains on the bluestone-paved road. The walls on both sides of the road were also splattered with blood, which had dried and congealed on the doors of the shops. All this was even more shocking against the backdrop of the sunset.

  Shi Jin arrived at the west gate, hastily dismounted his horse, and threw the reins to the approaching groom. He quickly climbed up the stone stairs leading to the city wall. As soon as Shi Jin reached the top of the wall, he saw that everyone's head was crowded together, with swords drawn and bows stretched. Shi Jin turned around two arrow towers and hurriedly walked towards the edge of the tower. The soldiers guarding the city saw that Shi Jin had arrived, and their spirits were immediately lifted. They felt more at ease when they looked out at the government army outside the city.

  Shi Jin walked into the city building, only to see Chen Da and Shi Qian standing around a wooden table. The gatekeeper reported the arrival of the visitor, and Chen Da and Shi Qian hastily turned around upon hearing the news. As soon as Chen Da saw Shi Jin, he exclaimed: "Big brother, your injury hasn't healed yet, how did you come here?"

  "A minor injury, no big deal. At this point in time, what's there to care about?" Shi Jin said as he walked up to the table.

  On the table lay a hastily drawn map of Huayin, with the county of Huayin surrounded by mountains on all sides, like a wooden ladle, vast and spacious, filling the inside to the brim.