strictlysupreme Chapter 233 Everywhere
Chapter 233 Everywhere
Chapter 233 Everywhere
Tao Qian was already trapped in Langya County, unable to advance or retreat, with wolves in front and tigers behind. Now Lu Bu openly attacked Langya County and surrounded Kaiyang. This was a disaster!
Zang Ba and Zhao Yu wanted to defend the city, but they had few soldiers and little food inside, and no reinforcements from outside. How could they hold on against Lu Bu's 20,000 troops?
Zang Ba and Zhao Yu were discussing countermeasures, but Lu Bu outside the city couldn't wait any longer.
He looked at Gao Shun and others beside him and shouted: "How can a mere Kaiyang County stop me, Lu Bu? Gao Shun, prepare to attack the city!"
"Yes, sir!" Gao Shun raised his hand and said. He was always taciturn and valued his superiors' orders the most. After receiving the token, he began to mobilize the troops.
Gao Shun was also a veteran of battles. He surrounded the enemy on three sides and left one man empty, focusing on attacking the south gate. He had a total of 5,000 men, and they were preparing in an orderly manner.
Cheng Lian came up to Lu Bu and said, "My lord, I think I can persuade him to surrender in half a day at most."
Lu Bu looked proud and said, "I don't need them to surrender, I need Tao Qian's head!"
Cheng Lian was startled and asked, "What does the lord mean?"
Lü Bu laughed heartily and said, "The Han Dynasty is about to end. This is the time for heroes to show their talents. How can I, Lü Bu, remain under someone else's command for long?"
Cheng Lian looked at Lu Bu, his heart suddenly trembled, and he immediately raised his hand and said loudly: "I am willing to follow the lord and accomplish great things!"
Cheng Lian also realized it later. When Lu Bu asked them to change the address to "Lord", it actually indicated that Lu Bu was no longer a "servant".
Lu Bu laughed even louder, and the white horse under him neighed even louder, as if it could sense its master's emotions and could not help but charge into battle.
Not long after, Gao Shun was ready. With a command, thousands of people rushed straight to the south gate of Kaiyang.
Kaiyang was just a small county town with a small city wall and a small gate. With thousands of people attacking the city, it immediately began to crumble.
Zang Ba stood on the top of the city wall, waving his sword and shouting at the top of his lungs: "Kill them! Kill them all!"
There were less than a thousand soldiers on the city gate, but they all knew the consequences of the city being broken, so no one retreated and they fought desperately to defend the city.
As for the other three gates, Lu Bu's troops did not attack, but were ready to attack the city. The soldiers on the gates were very nervous and dared not breathe.
Zhao Yu had a gloomy expression as he patrolled the city back and forth, not daring to be careless in the slightest.
The fighting at the South Gate became increasingly fierce. Lu Bu's troops had already reached the top of the city and were fighting for it.
At the city gate, there was a group of people holding battering rams and banging on the gate again and again.
The gate was shaking and the ground was shaking. Inside the city gate, the officers and soldiers were leaning against the long wooden beams, blocking the gate tightly.
Zang Ba shouted angrily on the top of the city wall, hacked to death a retreating man, and yelled: "Stop them! Once the rebels enter the city, everyone will die!"
The government troops shouted and fought desperately.
But after all, the enemy outnumbered us and the Kaiyang city was in danger of falling in less than half an hour.
Not far away, Lü Bu rode his horse back and forth, his face full of arrogance and disdain, and said, "How can a mere Kaiyang stop me, Lü Bu!"
Cheng Lian did not ride a horse, but stood aside and said, "My lord, I will lead people to the north gate to prevent them from escaping!"
Lu Bu nodded indifferently and said, "Order Gao Shun to intensify the attack. We must break through Kaiyang today!"
"Yes!"
The messenger responded and ran to deliver the message.
Gao Shun received the order and immediately sent reinforcements to attack the South Gate.
On the city wall, the few soldiers who were already there had lost more than half of them. The young and strong men in the city picked up weapons on the ground and hacked and killed clumsily, but they also fell to the ground one by one.
Zang Ba's eyes were red, he roared and his body was covered in blood, but he still refused to retreat.
Zhao Yu rushed over with his men, fought with the charging Lu Bu's troops, and held on with all his might.
"Why are you here!?" Zang Ba yelled.
Although Zhao Yu was a civil servant, he also picked up his knife and resisted with difficulty, shouting: "We can't hold on any longer!"
Zang Ba's face was ferocious. He didn't say any more words and continued to hack and kill.
Zhao Yu’s words were very simple. If the South Gate could not be defended, the city would be broken. Drawing troops from the other three gates was a last resort in a desperate situation.
"Your Majesty!"
Suddenly, Zhao Yu saw it out of the corner of his eye and lost his voice in surprise.
Tao Qian, who was pale and seriously ill, was seen slowly going up to the city gate with the help of soldiers.
Tao Qian arrived at the Arrow Pavilion with a bitter face, and said to Zhao Yu who came over: "Tao Qian is incompetent and exhausted the three armies."
Zhao Yu originally wanted to persuade Tao Qian to leave, but when he heard this, he was suddenly speechless and didn't know what to say.
Tao Qian was a "benevolent official", "honest official", and a man of high moral standing, but for the current Xuzhou, he had no achievements and was indeed incompetent.
If he had a little courage, he wouldn't have ended up like this.
Outside the city, Lu Bu rode his horse and slowly walked towards the south gate.
At most, it will take a moment or two to breach the Kaiyang South Gate.
嘭
The city gate, which had been damaged for a long time, was suddenly knocked open, and fell to the ground in pieces, stirring up countless dust.
"Come on!"
Lu Bu's army was in high spirits. They fought desperately on the city walls and at the city gates and rushed into Kaiyang City.
"kill!"
Lu Bu spurred his horse and led his army straight to the city gate.
Tao Qian, who was in the Arrow Pavilion, turned extremely pale when he saw this. He could hardly stand. He called Zang Ba and Zhao Yu over and said with all his might, "Forget it. Cut off my head and give it to Lu Bu. Save your own lives and the lives of as many people in the city as possible."
Zang Ba angrily cursed: "Bullshit, I am not the kind of person who would sell out my master just to survive!"
Zhao Yu also had a sullen face and said, "Sir, Zhao Yu has no moral integrity, but he will not live in disgrace. He would rather die under Lu Bu's sword than surrender to the enemy!"
Tao Qian looked at the two of them, feeling more and more bitter. He could only sigh helplessly, looked up at the sky, and said sadly: "I am a great Han with virtue and prestige, why did I end up like this..."
"kill!"
Lu Bu had already entered the city, leading the way and charging in without leaving any room for anyone to stop him.
Zang Ba had no time to pay attention to Tao Qian's self-pity and walked towards the entrance of the tower with a big knife in hand, his face ferocious, ready to fight a bloody battle with Lu Bu.
Zhao Yu also knew that now was not the time to feel sentimental, so he held the knife and protected Tao Qian.
Lu Bu did not rush up to kill, but ordered Gao Shun, Cheng Lian and others to continue killing and forcing the enemy to land, and he had no intention of doing it himself.
At the same time, in a dense forest not far from Kaiyang County, there were no birds and no sound.
Next to a big tree, Zhang Chao, the former governor of Xia Pi and Guangling, stood and looked towards Kaiyang.
Beside him stood the tall, majestic and powerful Guangling Gongcao Zang Hong.
Zang Hong said with a stern expression, "General, Lu Bu has broken into the city."
Zhang Chao was not tall, with a broad face, like a simple and honest rich man. At this moment, his face was full of coldness, and he said, "Zang Hong, obey my orders!"
"I'm here!" Zang Hong immediately raised his hand.
Zhang Chao pulled the horse over, climbed on top, and said, "I order you to lead 2,000 soldiers to attack Lu Bu's camp and burn Lu Bu's food supplies. The rest of you, follow me to rescue General Xu!"
"I obey your command!" Zang Hong said in a deep voice.
Before Zang Hong could finish his words, Zhang Chao, holding a long sword, shouted, "Kill the traitors!"
"Kill!" The army behind Zhang Chao followed him and rushed out like a tide, killing towards Kaiyang City.
Zang Hong did not delay and led two thousand soldiers straight to Lu Bu's camp.
At this moment, Gao Shun, Cheng Lian and others had already reached the top of the city wall and besieged Tao Qian, Zang Ba, Zhao Yu and others in the Arrow Pavilion, and they were about to die.
The sudden shouting from the east of the city startled everyone.
Gao Shun looked over quickly, and saw that the whole mountain was filled with government troops rushing out of the woods. There was no end in sight and no estimate of their number.
"My lord, some of them are running towards the camp!" Cheng Lian suddenly said urgently.
For the current army, food and grass are more precious than gold. Probably except for the Han Dynasty and the governors who have the support of the great families, almost everyone's food and grass are obtained by looting.
These include Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu and Cao Cao!
Lu Bu stood on the top of the city wall, grabbed the long-haired man fiercely, went down the tower, and shouted: "Watch them, and make a decision after I kill them!"
Tao Qian was the governor of Xuzhou after all and was still very useful, so Lu Bu didn't want to kill him.
Lu Bu's troops responded and surrounded the Arrow Pavilion.
Tao Qian watched Lü Bu leave, turned around and saw no reinforcements. He coughed and asked in confusion, "Did you find reinforcements?"
Zhao Yu was also puzzled and said, "I wrote the letter, but it shouldn't be so fast."
Zang Ba even shook his head. With his background as a bandit, how could he have any friends in official circles?
Tao Qian was leaning on a crutch, looking towards the east. Although he was confused, he also felt a little excited.
"The people in the city may be saved."
Lu Bu was a skilled and courageous man. He led his troops out of the city and directly confronted Zhang Chao.
"Zhang Chao? Kill him without leaving any one alive!"
Lu Bu and Zhang Chao were old acquaintances, and Xia Pi was snatched from Zhang Chao.
He rode a tall horse, holding a spear, looking very majestic and moving as fast as thunder and wind.
Zhang Chao had not expected that Lu Bu would be so bold. He looked back, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Kill the thief!"
Zhang Chao's troops were the ones he brought from Xia Pi to Guangling and then to Langya County. There were a total of 15,000 of them. Although they had no experience in any major battles, they were like a newborn calf who was not afraid of a tiger. In a blink of an eye, they were about to fight with Lu Bu.
"My lord, the warehouse is on fire!" Suddenly, Cao Xing behind Lu Bu shouted anxiously.
Lu Bu, who was riding his horse at full speed, turned his head and saw thick smoke billowing from the direction of the warehouse. Even in the daytime, he could see flames rising into the sky.
"Impossible! How can it be so fast!"
Lu Bu reined in his horse, his face full of astonishment and disbelief.
Judging from the distance, Tao Qian's reinforcements had not even traveled halfway to his granary, so how come the granary caught fire?
Zhang Chao also saw it, but he was overjoyed. Regardless of the reason, he held up his sword and shouted, "The rebels' food and grass have been burned. Soldiers, kill the rebels!"
"kill!"
The morale of Zhang Chao's troops was greatly boosted, and their pace of charge became much faster.
The so-called ups and downs, Zhang Chao's army was in high spirits, and Lu Bu's army, whose food and grass had been burned, suddenly became chaotic and noisy.
Cao Xing panicked even more and asked, "My lord, what should we do?"
The granary caught fire and the army was in chaos. How could we continue the war?
Lu Bu was confident that he could defeat the ignorant Zhang Chao, but the army was already in disarray. Even if he was confident, he had no choice but to give the order: "Retreat!"
Cao Xing was left with a thousand men to block the advancing Zhang Chao, while Lu Bu led more than ten thousand men and rushed towards Xia Pi without looking back.
Naturally, Zhang Chao would not let go of such a good opportunity. He pursued the enemy relentlessly, shouting and killing like thunder.
Gao Shun and others on the top of Kaiyang City wanted to kill Tao Qian and others, but after charging for a while and seeing no effect, they had to withdraw.
After Tao Qian and his companions were freed, they came to the city gate to look around.
"It's Zhang Chao, why is he here?" Zhao Yu asked with some surprise.
After this wave, Tao Qian's coughing became more severe. He looked at the direction where Zhang Chao's army was chasing and said, "I remember that he should be in Guangling, under Ding Shijun's command..."
Until now, Tao Qian still didn't know that Ding Yuan died at the hands of Lu Bu.
Zang Ba didn't care about these. He looked at the flames rising from Lu Bu's camp in the distance and said in surprise, "What a great trick Zhang Chao had. He actually burned Lu Bu's granary? How long has he been lying in ambush?"
Zhao Yu frowned and said, "It shouldn't be like this. If we didn't notice it, how could Lu Bu not notice it? Unless he just arrived not long ago."
Tao Qian coughed repeatedly, holding onto the city wall with one hand, and asked, "How did he suddenly appear in Langya County?"
Zang Ba, Zhao Yu turned to Tao Qian and asked the key question.
While they were wondering, Lu Bu's granary was not far to the south.
Huangfu Jianchang, Cheng Yu, and Shi A were on a big tree, admiring the fire.
Huangfu Jian smacked his lips, looking regretful, and said: "If I hadn't come so hastily, if I had been given another half day, these grains and grass would have been mine..."
Cheng Yu carefully grasped a branch, smiled with admiration and said, "Second Master, it was the Grand Marshal who had foresight to bury Zhang Chao's surprise army. Otherwise, Envoy Tao and the others would have died today."
Huangfu Jian nodded and said, "It's just that I told me a little late. If you had told me earlier, these grains and grass would have been mine..."
Shi A stood holding the sword, glanced at him, and said, "In the letter from the benefactor, you are ordered to escort Envoy Tao and others to the capital. What are your plans?"
Huangfu Jian coughed loudly, straightened his back, and said, "My Imperial City Mansion is not under the jurisdiction of the court, and the Grand Marshal's Mansion can't control me. At most, they can send someone to escort me."
Shi A ignored him, knowing that he was still struggling.
Huangfu Jianchang saw that Lü Bu had been defeated and the siege of Kaiyang had been lifted, so he asked Cheng Yu, "Sir, what should we do now?"
Cheng Yu kept staring at the direction where Lü Bu fled and said, "Second Master, Lü Bu is heading towards Xiapi County. He can either establish his own regime or surrender to Dong Zhuo. Now that Langya County has been saved, the court may send troops to attack Lü Bu. From the direction of Langya County and Guangling, Lü Bu is attacked from all sides. He has no choice but to surrender to Dong Zhuo or Yuan Shu."
"Dong Zhuo is more likely!"
Huangfu Jian's eyes became sharp and he said, "Shall we go to Xiang County?"
Cheng Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Second Master, why don't you go to Yangzhou?"
Huangfu Jianchang said: "Before, the court had no choice but to use Dong Zhuo and others to resist Yuan Shu and delay time. Now the court has recovered and has enough strength to conquer Yuan Shu. Didn't you say that the court's layout is more rigorous and powerful than before? Yuan Shu has a million men, and he will be there in the next two years, right? Then why should we care about him? Naturally, we have to deal with the more troublesome Dong Zhuo first."
Seeing that Huangfu Jianchang's thoughts were so clear, Cheng Yu asked, "Second Master, can you trust Zhang Chao?"
Zhang Chao is Zhang Miao's younger brother. The year before last, Zhang Miao rebelled and defected to Yuan Shu, but was later killed by Zhao Yun. Instead, it was Zhang Miao's younger brother Zhang Chao who vowed to draw a clear line with Zhang Miao and never take part in the rebellion. He blocked Yuan Shu from entering Xuzhou and was pardoned by the court.
Huangfu Jianchang was also a little hesitant, and after thinking for a while, he said, "If you want to use troops, Guan Yu can be used."
"How many soldiers?" Cheng Yu asked.
Huangfu Jianchang said: "Sanqian, what do you want to do, sir?"
Cheng Yu was silent for a while, then shook his head and said, "It's hard to say for now, but it's always much more convenient to have an army around."
Huangfu Jianchang raised his head and looked towards the north, and suddenly said excitedly: "Sir, what big thing are you going to do? I can transfer 10,000 from Yanzhou, 10,000 from Jizhou, plus those from other places, a total of 30,000!"
Cheng Yu looked at Huangfu Jian with some suspicion.
You know, 30,000 troops is not a small number!
Although Yuan Shu was aggressive and claimed to have an army of 300,000, a closer look revealed that he only had 20,000 to 30,000 elite troops.
This was even more true for Dong Zhuo. The only ones who had real fighting power were the soldiers from Xiliang, which numbered no more than 20,000!
The court's openly available troops were no more than 100,000, but Huangfu Jianchang only asked for 30,000, which might account for nearly 40% of the court's military strength!
Not to mention that Huangfu Jianchang was only a colonel, even if it was the Grand Marshal Huangfu Song, he would have to ask for permission if he wanted to mobilize 30,000 troops, right?
At least, he would not be as arbitrary as Commander Huangfu Jian in deploying 30,000 troops at will!
I fell asleep for a long time, and when I woke up, I saw the manager said that the cute girl came. I thought she was lying to me and was half-believing and half-doubting, but I didn’t expect it to be true!
Thanks to the boss of 'Book Friend 20230722131032567' for the generous reward~ Ahem, well, I've already washed it.
PS: I will update more for the boss tomorrow.