Han family achievements

Chapter 584 Persuading Surrender
The atmosphere in Yangzhou was unprecedentedly tense.

After Yuan Shao passed away, the two brothers Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang broke up and fought against each other.

Outside, the imperial army had already surrounded Yangzhou, with armies from Jiaozhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou approaching. There were even more than 30 warships parked on the sea of ​​Kuaiji.

As time went by, rumors were everywhere in Yangzhou. Apart from the death of Yuan Shao, which the two Yuan brothers wanted to blame on each other, the other question was when the imperial army would be dispatched.

Today they talk about tomorrow, tomorrow they talk about the day after tomorrow, the whole of Yangzhou is filled with fear and unrest.

Jiujiang County, Liyang.

Yuan Xi, Zhang He and Gao Gan stationed their troops here to confront Yuan Shang and Ju Yi of Wanling in Danyang County.

Feng Ji frowned, his face full of worry, and said, "The Third Young Master obviously has some sense of propriety."

He said this because although both sides had been preparing for war and accused each other of the grave crime of "parricide", they had not actually started fighting for more than ten days.

Yuan Huan shook his head, more anxious than Feng Ji, and said, "We have sent several waves of people, but the Third Young Master has never replied. If he is unwilling to unite with the Second Young Master, we will be defeated by the court sooner or later."

Yuan Shao had been aggressive in Yangzhou, fighting for years and had accumulated nearly 100,000 elite soldiers. But now the two brothers were divided into two and confronted each other. Wouldn't that be a benefit to the court?

The most uneasy person was probably Yuan Xi. He looked at Feng Ji and Yuan Huan and said, "Although General Zhang defeated Xiahou Dun, the court will definitely not give up. Guan Yu has been eyeing us covetously, but now he is not taking any action. What do you think the court is planning?"

Zhang He was sitting at the lower left. He showed no joy or sadness when he heard the words, but his brows were sharp, like a sword drawn from its sheath.

Gao Gan said angrily: "They are just waiting for you to start fighting so that they can reap the benefits! I thought Yuan Shang was a human being, but I never thought he would do such a beastly thing!"

Yuan Xi glanced at him and said to Feng Ji and Yuan Huan, "Now the Third Brother neither fights nor withdraws his troops, blocking us here. If the imperial court sends troops, what should we do?"

The current situation is that no matter where the imperial court sends troops from, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang will be attacked from both sides and will be caught in a dilemma.

But the two of them were stuck here, and neither of them could retreat first.

Feng Ji and Yuan Huan looked at each other in silence.

The general trend is ahead, and any conspiracy or intrigue is futile.

The imperial court has more than 100,000 soldiers and horses on all sides, with well-trained soldiers and sufficient food. On the other hand, they are about to enter winter, lack clothes and food, the people are in panic, and there are also internal strife. How can they resist the enemy?

Yuan Xi was not stupid. He suppressed his inner fear and said, "Send another person to the third brother. We are all in danger now. I don't believe that he will seek his own death!"

Feng Ji frowned and hesitated to speak.

Yuan Huan noticed it and seemed to be thinking about something.

Zhang He and the senior official had no good ideas and also remained silent.

The atmosphere was depressing and it was hard to breathe.

Yuan Xi couldn't stand this atmosphere, so he found an excuse to "patrol the troops" and left.

Gao Gan and Zhang He followed, and in the small room, only Feng Ji and Yuan Huan were left.

"Brother Feng, what do you want to say?" Yuan Huan asked Feng Ji, looking straight at him.

Feng Ji shook his head helplessly and said, "The Third Young Master will not give up easily. Once he gives in, everyone in Yangzhou will suspect that Lord Yuan's death is really related to him. And Guo Tu will definitely instigate the Third Young Master to send out troops!"

Yuan Huan was horrified and asked, "Really? In this situation, with a powerful enemy at the door, they still want to fight!?"

Feng Ji looked outside and said, "I heard that countless people from Yuzhang fled to Jingzhou."

Yuan Huan's face was gloomy, and he followed Feng Ji's words and said, "People in Yangzhou are scattered, not just in Yuzhang. Brother Feng, is there still hope now?"

Their real threat was not Yuan Shang, but the imperial army that had surrounded them. Liu Bei had been stalling for time, obviously waiting for the right moment. Once he launched his attack, it would be like thunder!

Given Yangzhou's current situation, it is impossible to compete with the imperial court.

Feng Ji remained silent.

Yangzhou has been surrounded from all sides, and the Yuan brothers are still confronting each other. In this situation, how can there be any hope of survival?

Yuan Huan also knew this, and he sighed, saying, "Forget it. Now we can only wait for the Third Young Master to change his mind. With the combined forces of the two of us, with an army of 80,000, we can survive the winter even if we hold on."

This is probably the last hope for the people of Yangzhou.

Feng Ji had nothing to say, so he got up and left, very tired.

Yuan Huan also knew that it was too late to say anything now, and he could only see if Yuan Shang had the overall situation in mind.

Feng Ji returned to Liyang's temporary residence. Before he could sit down, a servant suddenly came to report: "Master, there is a man outside, who claims to be your old friend."

Feng Ji frowned and waved his hand, saying, "Just say I'm asleep."

There have been a lot of people asking to see him recently, some wanting to use him to escape, some wanting to gather information, but none of them were useful.

The servant said, "Master, I have a visiting card from Zhou Ang, the governor of Jiujiang."

Feng Ji's expression changed immediately and he asked, "Zhou Ang? Did he come from Yuzhou or Jingzhou?"

The servant said, "He didn't say."

Feng Ji thought for a moment and said, "Go, take it to the backyard, don't let anyone find out."

The servant responded and left in a hurry.

Not long after, in the back hall.

Feng Ji looked at the person opposite him carefully and said, "Brother, you do look familiar. Please forgive my rudeness, but I really can't remember."

Zhuge Jin smiled slightly and greeted him, "Nanyang Zhuge Jin, nice to meet you, Brother Feng."

Feng Ji suddenly realized what was going on, and returned the greeting, saying, "It turns out to be Brother Zhuge. I haven't seen you for many years, so I really didn't recognize you."

In fact, Feng Ji really couldn't remember where he had seen this person, but as a fellow native of Nanyang and a member of the famous Zhuge family, he should show some respect.

Zhuge Jin put down his hand and said bluntly: "I was favored by the Right Sima Liu Xuande and got a small salary under his command. I came here to make achievements, submit a letter of surrender, prove my ability, and win a good future."

Feng Ji was stunned. What was he talking about?

Zhuge Jin smiled and said, "Zhou Ang is a man of considerable talent, who knows the current affairs and the great principles. I have written a letter for him. He may be able to keep his original position in the future. Although he has no future, at least he will not be in danger of losing his life."

Feng Ji heard it, and the remaining smile disappeared. He said lightly: "Brother Zhuge, are you trying to threaten me?"

"That's right." Zhuge Jin said.

Feng Ji stood there in a daze, his expression stiff, unable to utter a word.

Are you here to persuade us to surrender?
If someone tries to persuade someone to surrender and speaks like this, isn’t he afraid of being chopped into meat paste on the spot?
Zhuge Jin seemed unaware and said, "But Brother Feng is different from Zhou Ang."

Feng Ji looked straight at Zhuge Jin, waiting to see how he would make it right.

Zhuge Jin sat up straighter, raised his head, and pretended to look down at Feng Ji, saying: "Brother Feng, you have been with the bandits for many years and have made many contributions to the bandits. You are a traitor designated by the court. Even if you surrender, the best outcome is that your life will be saved."

(End of this chapter)