Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 245 Yuan Shao's Defeat

Tiger Guards camp.

It was late at night, but Zhang He, Gao Lan and Cui Yan were still awake. They were standing on the watchtower, looking at Qinghe County, which was quietly dormant in the night.

"Ji Gui, is your brother really sure that he can convince the noble families and powerful people in Qinghe County? Will there be any problems?"

Zhang He withdrew his gaze from the Qinghe County wall, looking somewhat worried.

Before they arrived in Qinghe County, Cui Lin had already entered Qinghe County. The two sides agreed to take action three days later, which was at midnight tonight.

Cui Lin would unite with the major families to kill the county governor, and then open the city gate to welcome the royal army into the city.

However, Zhang He felt that it was somewhat unreliable.

Because he has never fought such an easy battle.

Sending someone into the city and talking a little bit can incite the noble families inside to rebel and capture a city?
He didn't quite believe it.

Cui Yan was dressed in brocade clothes and had a handsome face. At this moment, he did not look like a soldier marching to war, but rather like a rich young man going out for fun.

Hearing Zhang He's words, Cui Yan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Weiwei. My Qinghe Cui family still has some prestige and appeal in Qinghe."

"What's more, the royal army has arrived. If the noble families of Qinghe do not turn against us, will they live and die with Qinghe? The military commander has overestimated them. They will not be so stupid."

Born into a prominent family, Cui Yan knew the personalities of these families best. They all put profit above all else and would never support Yuan Shao at all costs.

The most important thing is that the army is outside the city. How many defenders are there in Qinghe County? Can they stop the 5,000 Yulin Guards and Huben Army?
This is the most elite army under the emperor!
Even if they can stop it, won't they be worried?
Resisting the emperor is definitely a traitor.

The general trend and justice were on his side, so Cui Yan was not panicked at all and was full of confidence.

After hearing this, Zhang He and Gao Lan finally calmed down and chose to wait patiently with Cui Yan for the signal from the Qinghe County wall.

……

At this moment, in the city.

Cui Lin has summoned the heads of all the major families in the city to his house to make final arrangements for the upcoming operation.

Over the past three days, he secretly lobbied the heads of these aristocratic families and successfully persuaded 90% of them to agree to surrender to the court.

The remaining 10% who were unwilling to surrender were secretly slaughtered by the major families.

However, there are still two thousand defenders in the city. It is not so easy for them to open the city gate and surrender, or to kill the county magistrate, so a detailed plan needs to be made.

"Master Fang, lead a hundred men to start a fire at the east and west gates to attract the attention of the defenders."

"Master Zhang will lead 200 people to attack the county governor's mansion. Even if we cannot capture the county governor, we must try to delay the time and not give the county governor a chance to dispatch orders."

"I will take 400 guards to the south gate, kill the commander and soldiers guarding the city, open the gate, and welcome the king's army into the city!"

Cui Lin quickly explained everyone's responsibilities.

He now has only 700 men at his disposal, all of whom were drawn from major families to serve as guards.

Although these people are not regular troops, many of them are veterans from the battlefield, and some of them are equipped with weapons and armor, so their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

Anyway, their goal was not to defeat all the defenders, they just needed to open the south gate, and seven hundred people were more than enough.

"understand!"

The heads of the Zhang and Fang families all nodded.

Cui Lin said in a deep voice: "Everyone, show your loyalty to His Majesty tonight! As long as we take Qinghe, everyone will have the merit of surrendering the city, and His Majesty will not be stingy with rewards!"

"Let's get started!"

After boosting morale, Cui Lin stopped wasting time and started to act separately with everyone. One team rushed to the east gate and west gate, one team rushed to the county governor's mansion, and he led 400 guards to the south wall!
Not long after, flames shot up from the east and west gates. They were extremely eye-catching in the dark night and instantly attracted the attention of the defenders on the city wall.

"What's going on? Why did the water suddenly break out?"

"Isn't it the enemy attacking the city?"

"Quickly notify someone to put out the fire!"

"I'll report to the governor!"

……

Just as many defenders at the South Gate were attracted by the fire at the other two gates and rushed to put out the fire, Cui Lin led 400 guards to charge towards the city wall.

Without further ado, they launched an attack on the defenders!
Due to the reduction in troop strength and the sudden attack, the hundreds of remaining defenders at the South Gate were simply unable to resist the sudden offensive, and many were killed and wounded in one battle.

But Cui Lin's goal was not to kill all the defenders. After gaining a certain advantage, he immediately ordered his men to open the South Gate and led the rest of the men to guard the switch of the city gate.

Outside Qinghe County.

Zhang He, Cui Yan and others also saw the fire burning in the city, and their spirits were lifted - because this was the signal they agreed on!

"Notify the entire army! Prepare to enter the city!"

Zhang He gave the order directly, and then walked down the watchtower with Gao Lan and Cui Yan, and each mobilized their troops to rush towards the south gate of Qinghe County.

At this time, the south gate of Qinghe County was wide open and the city wall was in chaos. The defenders were unable to organize an effective defense. Zhang He and his two men led the Yulin Guards and the Huben Army and easily entered the city without any obstruction.

The fall of Qinghe is a foregone conclusion.

……

Julu City, County Magistrate’s Office.

The governor of Julu County looked at the pile of letters on the table with an extremely ugly expression on his face. He shouted at the group of officials standing below: "How dare you! You dare to communicate with the enemy secretly! Exchange letters!"

"Tell me! Whose letters are these?"

The prefect of Julu County was extremely angry.

Just a few days ago, the imperial court sent an army of 10,000 to attack Julu County. The other side sent an envoy saying that many soldiers and even officials in Julu City had secretly surrendered, and Julu City would undoubtedly be broken. They asked him to give up futile resistance and surrender as soon as possible, and he might still be pardoned by the emperor.

He just thought it was a divisive ploy by the other party, so he ignored it, until today when the pile of letters was shot into the city by arrows.

All the names and key information in the letter were erased, but the specific content was about how to seize Julu and how to cooperate in breaking the city when the imperial army attacked the city.

Reading each letter made him tremble with fear.

He originally thought that with the solidity of Julu City and its food reserves, it would be no problem for him to hold out for several months, but after seeing these letters he began to doubt himself.

Among his subordinates alone, there were at least five people who were secretly communicating with the enemy army, not to mention the city defense troops and the guards at the city gates?

He didn't dare to imagine what the situation would be like if a war really broke out. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to last even for a few days, let alone months!
So he must find out the traitor!

"Tell me! Who is it!"

The Julu County Magistrate swept his vicious gaze over the dozen or so subordinates below him. All the subordinates lowered their heads deeply, feeling terrified.

Seeing that no one took the initiative to stand up and admit it, the Julu City Guard sneered: "Okay! Since no one wants to admit it, then I will study these letters carefully. I will always be able to find some clues from them!"

"If you admit it now, I can spare your life, but when I find it myself, the whole family of the traitor will be implicated!"

The tone of the Julu County Magistrate was full of murderous intent. After saying this, he picked up the pile of letters and left angrily.

Only at this point did the officials breathe a sigh of relief.

The county magistrate could not help but sigh and said, "How could the county magistrate believe such an obvious plot to sow discord? Moreover, if there were really so many people in the city secretly communicating with the enemy, the army outside the city would have already started attacking the city, so why would they wait and not move?"

This strategy of sowing discord was really clumsy.

But the problem was that the prefect of Julu County was a suspicious person by nature, and with the pressure of the army approaching and Julu City being isolated and helpless, he would believe such a plan.

The chief secretary also said bitterly: "This morning, the county governor has killed a city gate guard and two deputy generals. If this continues, it will be our turn sooner or later."

"By then, everyone in the city will be in danger, and Julu will probably fall without a fight."

As soon as these words came out, all the subordinates showed fear. After all, no one knew who the next person the Julu County Governor would suspect would be. "County Secretary, Chief Secretary, can you persuade the County Governor?"

"Oh, what can we do?"

"I just took in a third concubine last month. I don't want to die..."

"I think Julu City can't be defended."

"Yes, there are 10,000 soldiers outside the city, and they are the imperial army. How can we resist them? In the end, if we die, our families will be implicated as well."

"What can I do? What can I do?"

"We might as well open the city and surrender."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the sounds in the room disappeared, and everyone turned their eyes to the official who had spoken.

The latter then realized that he had said the wrong thing, his forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he waved his hands repeatedly and said: "I, I just said it casually, I am not an insider!"

The county magistrate and the chief secretary looked at each other.

They both saw the twinkle in each other's eyes.

……

Outside the city, the Xuzhou army camp.

Yuan Xi paced back and forth in the tent, as anxious as an ant on hot pot; while Jia Xu was cooking wine in the red stove and reading a book, looking contented.

The two formed a stark contrast.

Looking at the leisurely Jia Xu, Yuan Xi hesitated again and again, and finally asked: "Mr. Jia... Zhongshu Ling, isn't your plan of alienation too obvious? Will it really work?"

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not doubting you. It's just that we have been sitting here for eight days and the tenth day is coming soon."

Yuan Xi reminded gently and carefully.

That day he saw Jia Xu forge a stack of letters with his own hands, then erased information such as names, and shot them into the city with arrows. He was stunned.

What kind of alienation plot is this?

Jia Xu drank his wine and said leisurely, "Why are you in such a hurry? It's not even ten days yet. I know what's going on. Don't worry, Second Young Master."

Hearing this familiar name, Yuan Xi couldn't help but shudder, and quickly waved his hand and said, "No, no, just call me General of Chariots and Cavalry. I have severed my relationship with Yuan Shao."

Whenever he heard Jia Xu call him the Second Young Master, he felt uncomfortable and always thought of the time when he was tricked by Jia Xu.

While the two were discussing, Taishi Ci walked into the military tent and said to Jia Xu with a happy face, "Report to the military supervisor! The gate of Julu County has been opened, and the county magistrate has taken the head of the Julu County Magistrate out of the city to surrender!"

This sudden news caught Yuan Xi off guard. He couldn't help but widen his eyes, wondering if he had heard it wrong.

The Julu County Magistrate...is dead?
Yuan Xi was confused and shocked. How could the governor be dead? How could the enemy open the city and surrender? What happened?

"Dead?"

Jia Xu put down the wine bottle in his hand, shook his head and said: "I thought they would hold out for a few more days, it seems I overestimated their courage."

"Let's go and take over Julu City."

Having said that, Jia Xu stood up and walked out of the tent.

Only Yuan Xi was left standing inside the tent.

He looked at Jia Xu's departing figure and felt a bone-chilling chill rising from the soles of his feet. Even though the stove in the tent was burning and as warm as spring, it was difficult to resist the cold.

……

Plain County.

Zhang Liao was commanding his army to cut off the flow of the moat surrounding Pingyuan City and cut off the water supply to the city. Guo Jia was watching this scene and couldn't help but sigh.

"Why is the Zhongcheng sighing?"

Seeing this, Zhang Liao couldn't help but ask curiously.

Guo Jia said with a complicated expression: "Although Pingyuan City is strong, it is not big. But if we throw feces and rotten corpses into the water source, they will break into the city in ten days at most..."

"But doing so will inevitably result in many casualties, which will be a disgrace to your majesty and more likely to cause a plague, so I will only cut off the water and food supply."

"Although this would reduce casualties, it would take a month to capture the city, which is a real waste of time."

If he had not been worried that too many casualties would affect Liu Xie's reputation, he would have chosen the first method, but now he could only choose the second one.

In this way, breaking the city will definitely be much slower than other places.

Zhang Liao was stunned for a moment, and felt that Guo Jia was quite kind-hearted and would not harm the common people. Just as he was about to speak a few words to comfort him, he saw Huang Zhong coming over.

"Zhongcheng, I have brought all the relatives, wives and children of the officials in Pingyuan City that you asked me to capture."

Huang Zhong pointed to the escort team not far away.

There were hundreds of people.

Although Pingyuan City was the seat of Pingyuan County, it was not very large, and many of the officials' relatives lived in other cities.

Guo Jia asked people to investigate one by one, and then asked Huang Zhong to capture the relatives and clansmen of those officials who were away. They are all here now.

"Thank you, General Huang."

Guo Jia smiled gently, then glanced at the crying old men, women and children, and ordered: "Drag them outside the city and kill them. If they don't surrender in one day, kill ten. If they don't surrender in two days, kill twenty. If they don't surrender in three days, kill thirty."

"Let the horses drag him to death. Make sure it's as tragic as possible, so that everyone in the city can see clearly what happens to those who rebel against the king's army."

Although Guo Jia's tone was light, his words made Zhang Liao feel a chill.

He looked at Guo Jia deeply, and completely put away his previous idea that Guo Jia was kind-hearted. He had a completely new understanding of the Chief Censor in his heart.

This person is definitely not a good person.

……

Anping County, Xindu.

This city, once the seat of a county, could only hold out for eight days under the attack of Lu Bu's army before it was declared destroyed.

The prefect of Anping held the seal and led a group of officials to kneel outside the city of Xindu. He was trembling all over and his face was extremely pale.

In front of him, Lu Bu, riding on the Red Hare, stepped on the blood and corpses on the ground, and led a large number of soldiers and horses slowly.

Seeing the horses stop in front of him, the Anping County Magistrate lowered his head and said in a trembling voice: "Please, please accept the surrender, Lord Wen!"

As he spoke, he raised the seal in his hand a little higher.

But Lu Bu didn't even look at it. He just swung the blood-stained Fang Tian Huaji in his hand and cut off the head of the Anping County Magistrate!
"I gave you a chance eight days ago, but you refused to surrender. Now that the city has been captured, there is no need to surrender!"

"You are traitors, you shall be killed!"

As he finished speaking, the numerous soldiers behind him, as ferocious as wolves and tigers, rushed forward and slaughtered all the Anping County officials who had left the city to surrender!

Leave no one behind!
Chen Gong followed behind Lu Bu and did not stop him from killing the surrendered soldiers, because he had already been given the opportunity on the day of the siege eight days ago.

If these people didn’t surrender at that time, they would be traitors!
Traitors should be killed!

After killing all the officials in Anping County, Lu Bu wanted to lead his troops directly into the city to appease the people.

But at this moment, Gao Shun came hurriedly on horseback.

"Report to the general, Yuan Shao's army has been spotted ten miles away!"

(End of this chapter)