He was merely a Thousand-Stone Sima Xu, insignificant in the eyes of the entire court, still needing to rely on others to survive.
Therefore, he had to appear neither arrogant nor impatient, but gentle and refined, making connections with Generals in the army and high-ranking officials in the court to establish a solid foundation for himself.
Thus, he tallied the military achievements here, cut off Zhang Liang’s head, and ordered a messenger to send it to the Ye City military camp, informing Lord Lu Zhi of all matters truthfully.
The sky grew darker, and many soldiers were already beginning to fall asleep.
After Liu Jin chatted with the Generals for a while, he and they successively returned to their military tents to sleep.
The next morning!
Outside Baixiang County, a force of over a thousand men, bearing the Liu banner, was majestically approaching.
The two leading Generals were Zhang Fei and Han Dang. After receiving the military order yesterday, they rested well for one night and then rushed here without stopping.
Zhang Fei rode a tall horse, holding a spear, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at the city before him, which was surprisingly silent.
A look of doubt arose in his heart, so he asked Han Dang, who was beside him!
“Yi Gong, why do I feel like this city is empty? Is there a trap inside?”
Han Dang looked at the scene before him, observing for a moment, and also felt a little surprised.
The city walls were empty; not a single Yellow Turban soldier was seen.
Just as the two were wondering, the city gate suddenly creaked open.
A large number of common people pushed open the city gate and stood on both sides, respectfully waiting.
The person at the head, with a thin face, dressed in a green robe, slowly walked towards them with a respectful expression!
“Li Li, a county official, greets the arrival of the two Generals.”
Zhang Fei was momentarily stunned by the situation before him. He thought Baixiang County had been occupied by the Yellow Turban, so how could there still be an official here?
He frowned and immediately asked!
“Hey, tell me, where have the Yellow Turban in the city gone?”
Li Li heard this and, without any hesitation, immediately explained!
“Reporting, General, a major battle broke out a dozen li away yesterday. Many Yellow Turban routed soldiers fled here, which also informed the Yellow Turban in Baixiang County. Upon learning that the Yellow Turban leader Zhang Liang was beheaded and the Han Army was marching towards here, they were scared and fled in disarray.”
“Therefore, I gathered the common people in the city, took control of the city, and upon learning of the General’s arrival, led the common people to welcome you.”
Zhang Fei and Han Dang understood the matter instantly upon hearing this.
It turned out that the battle yesterday had scared the Yellow Turban in the city into fleeing in disarray, which was quite normal.
After all, one of the three great Yellow Turban leaders, Zhang Liang, was beheaded, and his army of 30,000 was annihilated. With such terrifying news, it was perfectly normal for them to flee overnight.
Zhang Fei looked at Li Li before him and said loudly!
“We are the Han Army who attacked Zhang Liang’s forces yesterday. Now that this army has been defeated, we need to temporarily garrison in the city. Inform the common people in the city not to worry.”
Li Li heard this and showed no surprise at all, naturally knowing that it was these people who had annihilated Zhang Liang.
He immediately cupped his hands and respectfully said!
“I will now send people to inform all the common people in the city. With you Generals stationed here, the surrounding Yellow Turban will certainly not dare to invade.”
Zhang Fei nodded and immediately led his army into the city, then took control of all the city’s wards.
Afterward, he sent someone back to the valley camp to inform his elder brother that the city had been occupied and they could garrison within it.
A few hours later, an army escorting a large number of captives was majestically approaching, forming a long line.
The leading General was Liu Jin, riding a tall horse, slowly approaching Baixiang County city, surrounded by Generals like Guan Yu.
Upon entering the city, the entire city was quite empty, the streets were dilapidated, and many houses had collapsed. There were even some corpses lying on both sides of the street, clearly having been plundered by the Yellow Turban.
There were not many common people either, scattered on the streets, watching the army slowly enter the city.
Liu Jin frowned. These Yellow Turban, under the guise of pacifying the common people and restoring order to the world, had done things that were worse than mountain bandits and brigands.
Every time they broke through a city, they would plunder it, coerce these common people to rebel with them, and had no productivity whatsoever, only causing destruction.
No wonder their army of a million did not even last a year before being annihilated by the court. Having lost the hearts of the common people, how could they establish themselves?
They merely relied on decades of accumulated reputation to trick the common people into rising in rebellion.
When these common people were hungry, poorly clothed, and lived in constant fear, they would realize that life with the Yellow Turban was worse than before.
Only then would they come to their senses, completely lose faith in these so-called Yellow Turban Army, and thus fled in disarray, having no desire to fight to the death.
Liu Jin looked at the empty city and immediately instructed Guan Yu, who was behind him!
“Yun Chang, imprison all the captives in the city. Feed them once a day, just enough to keep them from starving to death. Afterward, select some able-bodied men to replenish our battle losses. When Lord Lu arrives, hand these captives over to him.”
Guan Yu nodded upon hearing this. Imprisoning them in the city was indeed very convenient.
With city walls on all sides, these captives would not dare to wander around freely. If caught, they would be executed without mercy, which could solve the problem of insufficient manpower.
He immediately directed the soldiers behind him to drive the more than ten thousand captives to the western part of the city, where they were imprisoned.
Liu Jin arrived at the government office. The surroundings were already dilapidated, and many house beams were basically dismantled.
He did not mind it but instructed his personal guards to organize the place, making it his temporary residence.
Just then, Zhang Fei and Han Dang quickly came towards him, immediately bowed, and greeted him!
Liu Jin waved his hand, signaling them not to be so formal.
Zhang Fei then spoke!
“Elder Brother, the Yellow Turban in the city had already fled yesterday. When I arrived, there were no Yellow Turban left in the city.”
“Only Li Li, a county official, maintained order in the city, organized the common people, and then opened the city to welcome us.”
Liu Jin nodded upon hearing this. Although the city had been breached by the Yellow Turban, most officials either fled or surrendered and became common people.
For Li Li to stand out and organize the common people in the city to maintain order after the Yellow Turban fled showed that he was a capable person.
Thinking of this, Liu Jin paused for a moment. The name Li Li felt somewhat familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
After pondering for a moment, his eyes lit up. He seemed to have some reputation in history, being an official under Han Fu.
Historically, when Yuan Shao wanted to seize Ji Province, Li Li and several civil officials advised Han Fu not to give it away, but it was useless, and he ended up being killed.
Being able to advise Han Fu meant his position was definitely not low, indicating that this person still had some ability.
Although not as prominent as the famous scholars of Hebei like Tian Feng and Ju Shou, he was still a rare talent.