The Marquis Is Innocent

In the northwest part of the Huai River that flows into Xiaodi, there was a ten-mile dam called Anle.

At that time, despite the decline of the Han Dynasty, the imperial power still existed, so the governor of Xiaodi mobilized the people to build it for three years. Whenever the Huai River flooded, this dam protected 72 villages in eight counties downstream, including Xiaodi. The local people named the dam “Anle” in honor of the governor’s name.

T/N: Anle (安乐）means peace and joy.

The Huai River washed the Anle dam for decades. Although it gradually aged and fell into disrepair with occasional leaks, it can still hold generally.

The people in the vicinity of this dam relied on the Anle dam to ensure their safety.

But today, the dam named Anle is no longer peaceful and joyful as before.

Yesterday, Xuzhou ruler, Xue Tai, pretended to continue the siege to confuse Yang Xin and secretly sent two generals under his command, Cao Xu and Zhang Biao, with a thousand soldiers and horses quietly surrounding this area. They forced many people along the back slope to dig the dam.

These people were local. They knew the water would pour in, and their homes and fields downstream would be reduced to nothing if the dam was ruined.

What’s more frightening was once the dam was dug, the Huai water would immediately pour in. They are two-legged people. How can they escape the flood engulfed?

Since yesterday, the people have been begging Cao Xu and Zhang Biao, but they refused. They killed all those who argued and threw them into the Huai River. The rest of the people swallowed their hatred, dared not resist, and dug the dam with pickaxes. Despite the cold weather, a ditch had stretched up to a mile in the back slope of the dam. The Huai River may gush in from these weak places at any time. The situation was dangerous.

Many villagers nearby the dam came when they heard about the situation, all in tears and pleading on their knees. Cao Xu and Zhang Biao did not listen. They ordered soldiers to beat the villagers while whipping those who did not continue to dig deeper and stopped the pickaxe.

Under the Anle dam, scolding and shouting were mixed, and the scene became chaotic.

Xue Tai gave Cao Xu and Zhang Biao deadly orders. No matter what, they must finish digging out before dark today. Seeing the sun slowly slanting in the west, these people began a rebellion. The nearby people also gathered more. Cao Xu was agitated. When he saw a gray-haired old man moving sluggishly, he kicked him to the ground, drew a whip, and whipped a few times while gritting his teeth.

Zhang Biao saw the people stop. They looked over with fearful eyes. He thought ‘kill the chicken to make an example for the monkey’ was the most effective. He drew his sword, thrusting it down towards the old man on the ground amidst the crowd’s shouts.

He was about to drop his arm when someone suddenly clamped him from behind.

“General is powerful! Against an unarmed old man with such a vicious hand?”

Lei Yan said.

Zhang Biao did not recognize Lei Yan, but he knew this man was from the army. His arm strength was good. He could not thrust the sword because he pinned him and angrily said in the presence of everyone: “Who are you? How dare you interfere with my Lord’s important matter?”

Lei Yan sneered, “I’ll tell you who I am after I take your head!”

Zhang Biao was furious and struggled to break free. He wielded his sword to fight Lei Yan in one place. The soldiers nearby tried to help, but they were fighting close together, and no one could intervene. They only cheered for Zhang Biao.

After several rounds, Zhang Biao shouted. Lei Yan cut one of his arms off.

Zhang Biao fell to the ground, clutching his amputated arm and crying painfully. Cao Xu, who had heard the news, was alarmed and hastily gathered his soldiers.

Without any fear, Lei Yan unfolded a bright Wei token in his hand and shouted, “I am Lei Yan under the account of Marquis Yan of the Wei Clan of Youzhou! My Lord, the Marquis of Yan, is passing by here today. He heard Xue Tai unscrupulous and disregarded the safety of thousands of people in eight counties and 72 villages downstream of the Huai River to fight for a tiny piece of land. And try to break the dam to divert the water! How can we sit back and watch such a rebellious act? Don’t be afraid, villagers! Everything is in the hands of my Lord!”

The crowd was astonished and turned their heads to look. They saw a man standing tall on a hill not far away. He had a sword in one hand and a solemn face. Behind him stood more than ten saber-wearing guards. At that moment, the wind blew his clothes. The man’s majestic appearance and imposing aura forced people to look.

The Wei family of Youzhou defended itself against the Xiongnu for generations. In this generation, the Marquis of Yan, Wei Shao, swallowed Jizhou, unified the north, and made a name for himself in the last two years.

Six months ago, Xue Tai allied with Chen Xiang to attack Yanzhou. However, Wei Shao broke the alliance, and Yang Xin almost took over his nest, Xuzhou. These two families had a long-standing grudge against each other. It was because one was in the north and one was in the south, so they didn’t fight each other head-on.