The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 353: Seizing Yecheng
Shen Pei, wearing armor and holding a sword, stood quietly on the city wall, looking at the enemy opposite. A huge military camp appeared outside the city. Looking at the countless soldiers coming and going in it, Shen Pei's face did not look good.

The enemy had already crossed the Zhang River, and Yecheng appeared under the enemy's nose. According to Shen Pei's idea, the best way was to occupy the Zhang River and use it to block the enemy.

Unfortunately, he had too few soldiers and horses. Once they left Yecheng, not only would they not be able to defend the Zhang River, but they would even lose Yecheng.

"Uncle, can we win?"

Shen Rong hesitated.

He still held out a glimmer of hope for Shen Pei. After all, Shen Pei tried his best to resist the Cavalry Army. No one knew whether Qin Shou would cause trouble for Shen Pei in his rage.

If Shen Pei had surrendered in time, the entire Shen family could have been saved. But if Shen Pei was prepared to fight to the death with the Cavalry Army, it might not only be Shen Pei's family that would die, but even Shen Rong would suffer.

"We'll do our best and leave the rest to fate. But if we don't resist now, the three young masters will be in danger." Shen Pei did not notice anything unusual about his nephew.

Upon hearing this, Shen Rong's expression suddenly changed. He clenched his fists and his eyes were filled with anger.

Shen Pei knew clearly that he could not defend Yecheng, but he still led everyone to defend Yecheng to the death and resist the attack of the Cavalry Army. Wasn't he afraid that the Prime Minister would exterminate the entire Shen family in a rage?

You know, when the army enters the city, they will definitely pull out one person to intimidate the whole city. If it's not enough for one person, it may be the whole clan. Prime Minister Qin Cheng is not someone to be trifled with.

No wonder Su You, as a general defending the city, wanted to join the Cavalry Army, and Shen Pei, the fool, even gave up his own family for the so-called loyalty.

"Uncle, once the city is breached, you as the commander-in-chief will probably be liquidated by the Cavalry. Prime Minister Qin is not someone who is easy to talk to. By then, our entire Shen family will suffer!" Shen Rong advised.

"If not this, is there any other way? My master is Yuan, not Qin Shou." Shen Pei said solemnly: "Even if Qin Shou occupies Yecheng, what can it do? Will the people of Hebei welcome him?"

Shen Rong didn't know what to say. It turned out that Shen Pei was not prepared at all. He just sent the entire Shen family to the guillotine with his passion. How could this be possible?

"Even if I die, I, the Shen family, will be known for my loyalty and righteousness, and my name will be passed down through the ages." There was a gleam of light on Shen Pei's face, but in Shen Rong's eyes, the other party was like a madman.

How could they risk the lives of their entire family for the sake of illusory loyalty?
"Uncle, it's not that I don't care about family affection, it's just that you've gone too far. The Yuan family has already declined, and my Shen family has a great and wise master, but I didn't go to seek refuge with him, and instead I was buried with the Yuan family. I have a family to live with, so I won't go crazy with you any more."

Shen Rong was terrified. He and his companions had already offended Qin Shou, and he didn't know how Qin Shou would deal with the aristocratic families in Hebei. Now, if he followed this madman Shen Pei, he might really die and his family would be destroyed.

"My nephew, go and inspect the city first. We can't let the villains collude with the enemy." Seeing that Shen Pei had made the decision, Shen Rong also readily suppressed the guilt in his heart.

Shen Pei had long forgotten everything in order to be loyal to Yuan Shao, but Shen Rong was different.

Shen Pei did not notice anything unusual about his nephew, but waved his hand and asked him to leave.

As for what Shen Rong said just now, he did not take it to heart. He was loyal to Yuan Shao because Yuan Shao was very kind to him. Compared with his previous master Han Fu, Yuan Shao was really too good to him.

Is he really not worried that his resistance will anger Qin Shou?
No, he was a smart man and naturally knew the problems involved, but he no longer had the mind to think about them.

Even if he was killed, he believed that his name of loyalty would be passed down through the ages, and the same would apply to his family.

"It seems that there will be no attack today."

Shen Pei waited on the city wall for a while and found that Qin Shou did not take the opportunity to attack. He was relieved. After today, it seemed that he had bought another day for the three brothers. "Zhengnan, has the enemy launched an attack?"

Su You led his men up the city wall, glanced outside the city, and then said with relief: "It seems that the enemy will not attack Yecheng today. We can have a good rest today, recuperate, and fight tomorrow."

Shen Pei glanced at Su You and said calmly, "Even so, we still have to be careful. The Qin thieves are cunning and no one knows when they will attack. We have fewer troops, so we can't give them any chance."

Shen Pei looked down on Su You. He thought he was just an incompetent general who could not fight for Yuan Shao and could only hide in Yecheng.

Su You saw Shen Pei's expression and was secretly angry, but for the sake of tonight's events, he still agreed obediently.

"What you said is very true. I understand." Su You quickly agreed. After Shen Pei left, he looked at his back coldly.

"The Prime Minister has been so kind to you in releasing your two sons. It would be fine if you were not grateful, but you actually wanted to rebel against the Prime Minister. You are an ungrateful person. I will teach you a lesson tonight."

During the Battle of Guandu, Shen Pei's two sons were captured. However, during the Battle of Cangting, Shen Pei's two sons were released along with Yuan Tan and others among the five hundred elite troops.

Logically, Shen Pei should be grateful to Qin Shou, but the fact was not the case, which seemed to have further strengthened Shen Pei's confidence in defending Yecheng.

At night, Shen Pei had dinner with his two sons, then he lay on the soft mat, quietly thinking about the city's defense. The more he thought about it, the more desperate he felt.

It was unknown how long it had been before Shen Pei woke up from his sleep. He let out a scream, obviously having a nightmare.

However, at this moment, he suddenly heard a cry of killing. Shen Pei's face suddenly changed. He took the sword from the wall and rushed out in a hurry.

The two sons also rushed out in a panic.

"Go and have a look."

Shen Pei felt something was wrong, so he called his two sons and rushed out with his personal guards.

"The imperial army will enter the city. Those who resist will be beheaded. Those who cause chaos to the people will be beheaded."

Waves of shouting were heard and rang in Shen Pei's ears.

Shen Pei felt like he had fallen into an icy cave. The cavalry actually entered the city without any shouting or killing. The only possibility was that someone opened the city gate and surrendered.

"who is it?"

The faces of several people flashed through Shen Pei's mind.

"Shen Pei is here, Shen Pei is here."

There was the sound of horse hooves, and Su You was seen leading a large group of troops charging over, and they quickly surrounded Shen Pei and his two sons.

(End of this chapter)