People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 447 Who Dares to Surrender?
Xun You thought that after the demise of Wei, Xiahou Dun's remaining forces would be very sad, but he did not expect them to be so sad. Facing Lu Ping's attack, the Wei army did not collapse at the first touch. After all, their military advantage was huge enough.

But all Xiahou Dun could do was to keep it from breaking.

With an army of more than 70,000 soldiers facing off against the Yellow Turbans' 20,000 soldiers, it was not something to be proud of, and it was even a bit shameful. This situation was getting worse as time went by, and the morale of the Wei army was rapidly declining.

It was not until more than ten days later that Xiahou Dun, under the oppression of the Yellow Turbans, retreated all the way from Lanling to Langya. Only after he retreated back to the city did the situation finally ease.

Lu Ping led a large army to station outside the city to confront Xiahou Dun. Although it was difficult for an army of 20,000 to attack the city, they still kept Xiahou Dun immobilized.

The temporary stability did not make Xiahou Dun and Xun You feel at ease at all. They both knew that greater dangers were still ahead. Every day, they patrolled the city walls and observed the movements in the distance.

Who will arrive first? Will it be the reinforcements from Wu or Han, or the main force of the Yellow Turbans?
Xun You could only try to be optimistic about this: "I thought our reinforcements should arrive first. After Xuchang fell, Sun Quan and Liu Bei would rush to Xuzhou for support as soon as possible, whether for the sake of the overall situation or to win over the generals. Although the Yellow Turbans took Xuchang, their marching speed was definitely not as fast as Wu Han's reinforcements."

Xiahou Dun looked into the distance and could not see any movement there. Only the Yellow Turban positions nearby were stationed in silence.

He sighed quietly, "I hope so. If they arrive too late, they will only be able to collect my body. By then, Xuzhou will also be taken by the Yellow Turbans, and they will be powerless to save the situation, so they can't blame anyone."

Xun You sighed, "I think they are not that stupid. Saving us now is also saving themselves."

There was silence on the city wall for a moment. The two men looked at each other and shook their heads without saying anything.

Although the soldiers on the city walls were maintaining the city defense, in fact the atmosphere both on the city walls and inside the city was depressed. The soldiers had long lost their desire to fight and were merely following the basic order of the army.

Even the emperor was captured, and the soldiers suffered repeated losses in the battles in the past few days, which made the soldiers more afraid of the Yellow Turbans. If they had not retreated back to the city in time, Xun You and Xiahou Dun could not even imagine what the situation would be like now.

Xiahou Dun can no longer boost the morale of the soldiers. No matter how big a promise he makes to them, it is impossible to inspire these soldiers who are already terrified of the Yellow Turbans.

All Xiahou Dun could do was to strengthen the supervision team and force the soldiers to fight with knives when necessary.

At this time, whichever reinforcement arrived first, the Yellow Turbans or the Han and Wu countries, would mean the difference between life and death for them.

If the main force of the Yellow Turbans arrived first, with their current morale, an all-out attack by the Yellow Turbans would cause the entire army to collapse. The soldiers would have no will to fight, and even the strongest city walls would be useless.

If the Han and Wu reinforcements arrived first, they could at least help stabilize the situation, and then they would have a chance to fight when the main force of the Yellow Turbans arrived later.

The two men stood silently on the top of the city wall. Their fate was no longer determined by themselves, but by the Yellow Turbans and the Han-Wu coalition. The only thing they could do at this time was to wait.

Perhaps God sensed their anxious and anxious mood, and not long after, a long black line really rose up on the distant skyline.

"Here it comes!" Xun You's pupils suddenly shrank and he made a sound subconsciously.

Xiahou Dun put his hands on the parapet and leaned forward, his eyes wide open as if to see clearly, but the distance was too far to judge, so he could only wait nervously: "Who could it be, the Yellow Turbans? Or the reinforcements from Han and Wu?"

In fact, it was not just them. The soldiers on the city wall also started to get agitated, apparently having noticed the movement in the distance.

For a moment, there were endless figures on the city wall, and countless people were looking into the distance.

Even the soldiers knew that the identity of the newcomer would directly determine the fate of this battle and even their own. In the tense atmosphere, even the air seemed to freeze, and countless eyes gathered in the distance. They watched the dark shadow in the sky getting closer and closer, and gradually becoming clearer.

"It's our reinforcements, it's our reinforcements, we are saved!"

"No, that's the Yellow Turban. We're done!"

"It's over, it's over, there's no hope, just wait to die!"

"What Yellow Turbans? I think they are our reinforcements."

Before long, the top of the city became noisy. Before anyone could see clearly, the soldiers began to shout and yell. All kinds of noises began to come out, and people's hearts became restless.

However, Xun You and Xiahou Dun were completely indifferent to this and did nothing to stop the soldiers from shouting.

It's not that they don't understand the importance of stabilizing the morale of the army, they just know that there is no need for it, because they all see at the same time that a flag is gradually becoming clear among the black lines, and that is a yellow flag.

The first to arrive were the Yellow Turbans.
Xun You gave a bitter smile, then sat down on the ground, looking disheartened. He had already foreseen that this place would soon be conquered by the Yellow Turbans.

The city wall gradually became quiet. Apparently, even the soldiers slowly realized who was coming. Pessimistic mood spread to the entire city wall.

The soldiers looked at each other with extremely complicated expressions. They no longer had the will to fight to the death with the Yellow Turbans, but they were about to start a life-and-death battle with the Yellow Turbans again, which undoubtedly made them despair.

Die in battle, or surrender.
A strange tacit understanding began to spread in the quiet atmosphere. When things became inevitable, the soldiers who had completely lost the will to fight inevitably began to consider the possibility of surrender. However, this decision made them very uneasy, and no one knew what their fate would be after surrendering.

Not only the soldiers felt the same way, Xun You also had the same uncontrollable thought.

Things have already come to this, and I can't change my fate, so I might as well lie down and enjoy it.

Being a smart man, he was already thinking about his escape plan, and the first person that popped into his mind was naturally Xun Chen. At this time, he began to feel fortunate that someone in his family had prepared for the future and made the right bet.

After surrendering, at least I can still rely on this uncle.

Xiahou Dun, the only one with no way out, was now in despair. Even though the morale of the entire army had collapsed, he was still unwilling to accept his fate.

He drew out his sword and looked to the side, where a deputy general stood in a daze.

Xiahou Dun said sorry in his heart, his eyes turned cold, and he slashed the deputy general's neck. With blood spurting out, the head rolled down. The surrounding soldiers were shocked and looked over. Then they heard Xiahou Dun's gloomy voice.

"He dared to persuade me to surrender in front of him when facing a powerful enemy. Damn it!"

After that, Xiahou Dun looked at the soldiers coldly and said, "Anyone who dares to talk about surrender again will be beheaded like him!"

(End of this chapter)