Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 291 285. Three Days
On the second day, in Jianye City, as the main high-ranking officials of the Wu army fled, many of the remaining soldiers in the city instantly became scattered. Many people were originally forced to become soldiers and forced to defend the city. Seeing that those high-ranking officials had fled, they simply took off their armor, changed back into plain clothes, and hid back in the civilian population.

Some servants had also left with their masters early on, leaving only about 10,000 Wu soldiers who still obeyed orders in the city. Most of them were not very agile and did not run away yesterday.

Only a thousand or so soldiers who were born in Jianye were unwilling to leave their homes and follow Sun Quan. Instead, they followed Zhang Zhao to guard the city wall. On the one hand, they wanted to ensure that the Han army would not betray their loyalty and continue to pursue Sun Quan. On the other hand, they also wanted to show that they had no suspicion of escaping in the chaos.

Of course, it was quite tormenting for Zhuge Jin's family. They had to eat, drink, defecate and urinate almost all on the city wall. Fortunately, there were several night-scented buckets and temporary toilets surrounded by cloth, so it was not so embarrassing.

The city walls were surrounded by the Han army, but according to Zhang Zhao's request, the Han army still had a buffer distance between them and Zhang Zhao and his men. Moreover, the death order Zhang Zhao gave to his soldiers was that if the Han army dared to attack, Zhuge Jin must be killed immediately.

As for the other Han troops, after most of the Eastern Wu soldiers left through the east gate, they entered Jianye City, issued notices to reassure the people, and handled government affairs.

"Alas, Lord Zibu, I never thought that after devoting most of my life to the Great Wu, I would end up like this."

Zhuge Jin and Zhang Zhao sat on the chairs on the city wall, feeling somewhat dejected. After all, there was nothing on the city wall, and the city was surrounded by the Han army. There was nothing else they could do except chatting with Zhang Zhao.

"Ziyu, don't blame me. National affairs are more important than personal affairs. I have been prepared to stay here. When the three-day deadline is up, the Han army will kill or plunder me, and I will have no complaints."

Zhang Zhao coughed a few times while sitting on the chair. Living in the open air was still a bit strenuous for him at his age, but Zhang Zhao insisted on being treated the same as Zhuge Jin, always exposed to the surveillance of the Han army.

Zhuge Jin shook his head and said nothing more. He was extremely upset. He had done his best for Sun Quan. Even in the most difficult times, he had never thought of betraying Sun Quan. But Sun Quan did as he thought and used his relationship with Kong Ming to make a fuss.

"Lord Zibu, even if we can hold Feng Xiuyuan back for three days in Jianye, we can only survive for three days given the current situation of the Great Wu. What's the point of retreating to Wujun and Kuaijijun? I heard that Li Hui, the governor of Jiaozhou, has completely controlled Nanhai County. Even if Your Majesty continues to move south, it will only lead to a trap."

Zhuge Jin was not optimistic about the situation of Eastern Wu. He wondered what was wrong with Sun Quan's brain to agree to a truce of only three days.

"Haha, maybe your majesty has made his own decision, and it's not your turn or mine to worry about this matter."

Zhang Zhao shook his head, pretending to be ignorant. It was natural that the fewer people who knew about Sun Quan's escape overseas, the better. Yesterday, only a few important officials of the Wu Kingdom knew about this matter in the court.

"Mr. Zibu, you are old, why don't you come down from the city wall? I have prepared a courtyard for you, why don't you move into the city?"

After Feng Xi occupied Jianye City, he also came to the city wall, looked at Zhang Zhao and Zhuge Jin sitting on small stools, and shouted from afar with a loud speaker.

"Thank you for your kindness, Grand Admiral, but both of us feel more at ease here, don't we?"

Zhang Zhao stood up and politely declined Feng Xi's offer. They had stored enough food for a few days, and there were also places to eat, drink, defecate and urinate. As long as three days were up, Zhang Zhao would naturally let the hundreds of Wu soldiers who followed him surrender.

Seeing that Zhang Zhao was so persistent, Feng Xi had no choice but to ask Deng Ai to lead his troops to monitor the movements of Zhang Zhao and his gang, while Feng Xi himself had to deal with the situation in Jianye City.

Because Sun Quan escaped, it was common for the defeated soldiers to riot and break into people's houses in Jianye City. Most of the Han army's energy was focused on stabilizing Jianye City.

Feng Xi was neither hurried nor slow, and seemed not in a hurry to let Sun Quan go. He handled various affairs in Jianye City leisurely.

Time flies, and the agreed three days have passed. "Tzuyu, go. The three days are up, you can leave now."

Zhang Zhao pointed at the Han army that was already ready to move, and signaled Zhuge Jin that he could leave.

"Mr. Zibu, what about you? Why don't you come with me to meet Feng Xiuyuan?"

Zhuge Jin always felt that Zhang Zhao's current condition was not right, and he was not very comfortable letting him stay here alone.

"Why would I, an old man with a fallen nation, go to see the Grand Commander of the Han Dynasty?"

Zhang Zhao sat there with no intention of getting up. At Zhang Zhao's request, the Wu army, which was still holding its breath, laid down their weapons and began to surrender to the Han army.

The Han army, which had surrounded the Wu army on the city wall for three days, slowly gathered together, confiscated weapons, and escorted the Wu army, being extremely cautious.

"Master Zhuge... Sir, please."

Deng Ai did not dare to neglect Zhuge Jin, and personally brought soldiers to escort Zhuge Jin and his family to a safe place, and then return to Jingzhou and go to Chengdu to reunite with Zhuge Ke and Zhuge Liang.

Zhang Zhao, who was sitting nearby, suddenly stood up with a speed that was inconsistent with his usual performance, and even pretended to jump off the city wall.

"Mr. Zibu! What do you mean?"

Unexpectedly, Zhuge Jin on the side was prepared. He immediately pulled Zhang Zhao back and asked Zhang Zhao's intention in horror.

"Zi Yu, you are the brother of the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. You can rest assured whether you are in Wu or Han. Now, I, an old man, have offended the Han Dynasty in order to help Zhong Mou escape. How can I have a good ending?"

Zhang Zhao struggled twice, but to no avail. After all, Zhuge Jin was in his prime and much stronger than the old man Zhang Zhao.

"Why do you say that, Lord Zibu? Emperor Su Wen Zhaolie ruled the country with benevolence and virtue, and he would forgive anyone who was not a traitor or a wicked person. Lord Zibu was just loyal to the Eastern Wu, so why should you care?"

Zhuge Jin understood Zhang Zhao's idea. Zhang Zhao was just judging others by his own experience. He felt that he was holding Zhuge Jin, the brother of the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, hostage to delay the pace of the Han army's eastward expedition. The Han army could not tolerate him, both publicly and privately. It would be better for him to end his life quickly than to be tortured by the Han army.

But Zhang Zhao was just overthinking. No matter whether it was Feng Xi or Liu Chan, or even the deceased Liu, they did not have much resentment towards Zhang Zhao, who was not guilty of heinous crimes. They just served their respective masters, so there was no need for a life-and-death fight.

Moreover, Zhang Zhao was quite familiar with the political affairs and people's livelihood of Eastern Wu. Feng Xi also hoped that Zhang Zhao could assist the Han army in pacifying the Jiangdong area and handling relations with local gentry. How could he possibly blame Zhang Zhao?

After all, Zhuge Jin is Zhuge Liang's brother, not Feng Xi's brother. It shows that Feng Xi cares about bringing Zhuge Jin back.

(End of this chapter)