My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 138 Sun Ce Breaks Through the Gate
The armored soldiers behind him quickly followed and protected Liu Ye.

Yuan Sui had noticed Liu Ye earlier, but didn't know who he was.

Seeing him approach, she naturally asked, "Who are you?"

"Junior Liu Ye greets Mr. Bo'an."

Yuan Sui nodded, then asked the same question again: "Who are you?"

"He was a literary official personally recruited by Liu Bei, the governor of Xuzhou, and came to Guangling to join the rebellion on the orders of the governor."

Liu Ye bowed respectfully to Yuan Sui, and after introducing himself, he took the initiative to say, "Mr. Bo'an is a renowned scholar of Guangling, famous throughout Xuzhou. He has always been relied upon by the prefect and acts as the prefect in charge of prefectural affairs. I am not talented, but I would like to ask Mr. Bo'an why you brought outsiders into my Xuzhou. Yuan Gonglu is greedy and extravagant, and has squandered money without restraint. He has already ruined the vast prefecture of Nanyang, leaving the people impoverished and the cities in ruins."

"Now that we've come to Yangzhou, they're levying exorbitant taxes and levies like hungry tigers and eagles, their desires insatiable."

"Sir, you disregard your hometown and insist on supporting General Zuo. What are your true intentions?"

Liu Ye's righteous and stern rebuke echoed throughout the two gates of the prefectural government. Whether it was the attacking Li family's troops and soldiers, or the defending prefectural officials and their subordinates, they all began to whisper among themselves.

Clearly, everyone was already aware of Yuan Gonglu's notorious reputation and was quite worried about him.

Yuan Sui also fell silent; he was actually quite conflicted inside.

On the one hand, he also shares the surname Yuan and belongs to the Yuan clan of Guangling. Although he is not from the Yuan clan of Runan, they are indeed of the same lineage, so they naturally have an innate sense of closeness.

The world is in great chaos, and we have long entered an era of great strife. How could Yuan Sui not see this with his insight?
Although Yuan Shu was not very capable, he was still one of the most powerful warlords in the south. From this perspective, Yuan Sui's desire for Yuan Shu to take control of Guangling could be seen as serving both public and private purposes.

But now that Liu Ye has publicly shouted this out, Yuan Shu's reputation has indeed been ruined again, which makes Yuan Sui quite uncomfortable.

Yuan Sui remained silent for a moment before speaking, "In that case, you may open the south gate and let the prefect and the others leave. Guangling City will be yours to keep."

In Guangling City, almost all the officials supported Yuan Shu.

Since they were officials sent to Guangling, which was not their hometown, who would object to exchanging Guangling for the benefits offered by Yuan Shu, especially since the local gentry and powerful families in Guangling also agreed?

If Liu Ye hadn't arrived first and persuaded the Li family to switch sides, by the time the Xuzhou army arrived a few days later, the city walls would probably already be adorned with Yuan's army flags.

Yuan Sui's request was not only not excessive, but it was also a godsend for the Li family. They could neither kill nor arrest Yuan Sui, so it would be perfect if he were willing to leave.

So the Li family immediately agreed.

Yuan Sui turned to go back, but after a few steps, he stopped and looked back at Liu Ye: "Ziyang, you act recklessly, relying on your outstanding abilities, always thinking you can turn danger into safety. Today's events show this. But I advise you, the way of Heaven is constant, it may be delayed because of human power, but it will never be wrong. Always leave room for maneuver, otherwise if you fail one day, you will at least be devastated, or at worst lose your life."

After saying this, Yuan Sui didn't wait for Liu Ye's reaction and went back to his residence on his own.

Liu Ye stood behind him, his expression shifting between light and shadow, clearly indicating that Yuan Sui's words had still had some effect on him.

The county officials, including Geng Zhao, who were inside the second gate of the prefecture, thought they were doomed. Unexpectedly, Yuan Sui went out for a while and brought back the good news that they could leave freely. They were overjoyed and wept with joy.

Without daring to delay, the group hastily packed their belongings and, under the watchful eyes of Li's retainers, left the prefectural capital and headed towards the south gate.

The Li brothers and Liu Ye both showed joy on their faces; this important matter had finally been accomplished.

Once Yuan Sui and his men have left, we can seal the city gates, secure the city, and wait for the Xuzhou army to arrive, at which point our mission will be accomplished.

Guangling was one of the best fortified cities. The powerful clans and gentry in the Li family camp had three or four thousand retainers, plus four thousand county soldiers, making a total of seven or eight thousand men defending the city. Even if Yuan Shu's army came to the city, it would take at least a year or two, leaving behind tens of thousands of corpses, before they could possibly breach the city.

Yuan Sui, Geng Zhao, and others were very honest, and even voluntarily handed over their weapons to the Li family's retainers who were guarding them.

With the battle over, the entire city of Guangling returned to silence.

Some daring civilians secretly opened their windows and found the streets full of soldiers, who had blocked all the intersections and strictly prohibited people from going out.

Soon, the Li brothers and Liu Ye escorted Yuan Sui and the others to the South Gate.

As the city gates slowly opened, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

The Li brothers and Liu Ye naturally felt that the situation was settled, and they had finally secured this tremendous achievement. Yuan Sui and Geng Zhao also felt that the Li brothers were still sensible and were indeed willing to let them leave, thus maintaining a dignified relationship between the two sides.

After the city gates opened, the city was brightly lit, but the area outside was pitch black, like the gaping maw of a monster, as if some kind of demon might pounce in at any moment.

Li Luo glanced at Liu Ye, then stepped forward and advised, "Lord Yuan, Lord Geng, why don't you stay here tonight and rest in the city for the night, then leave when it's light tomorrow?"

Yuan Sui and Geng Zhao exchanged a hesitant glance, as if what Li Luo said made sense.

How about we leave tomorrow?

Just then, a cold arrow suddenly shot out from the shadows and hit Geng Zhao squarely.

Geng Zhao let out a scream and fell backward to the ground.

In an instant, dozens more arrows shot in from outside the city gate, and screams rang out from the city gate.

"Oh no! Someone's attacking the city!"

Liu Ye was shocked and quickly hid behind a guard holding a shield, shouting loudly to Li Zhang, "There's an attack! Close the city gates immediately!"

Upon hearing Liu Ye's shout, Li Zhang reacted. He quickly pulled his brother Li Luo back, then ordered his troops to raise their shields and meet the enemy. At the same time, he sent someone back to report the news and dispatch other troops to rush to the south gate for reinforcement.

From the shadows of the open doorway, many fully armed soldiers rushed out, each one fierce and daring. As soon as they made contact, the Li family suffered a great loss.

These armored soldiers were fierce, skilled in combat, and extremely experienced; they were clearly veterans who had fought in many battles.

The Li family's troops usually only protected the family's caravans and fought a few battles with bandits. Although they were trained, they were no match for these veteran soldiers.

In a single clash, the Li family lost several times more men than the opposing side.

Li Zhang was a smart man. Seeing that the scattered troops were no match for the enemy, he shouted, "Form ranks! Form ranks!"

Li's troops, having the advantage of defending the city gate, quickly assembled and blocked the opposing force in an open area near the city gate.

Meanwhile, archers from the Li family's forces also climbed onto the city gate and began firing downwards, attempting to suppress the enemy's offensive.

Just as the situation was about to be brought under control, a clear, cheerful young man's laughter came from the doorway: "Uncle Huang, the right side is yours, Uncle Cheng, the left side is yours, and I'll break through the middle. Let's make a bet: if I break through first, you two uncles will each give me a good horse, how about it?"

"Let's go, follow me!"

As the young man shouted, a figure as swift as a dragon rushed out of the doorway. This young man was heroic and outstanding, fierce and unparalleled. He rode a splendid yellow horse and held a black spear, charging straight at the Li family's troops.

As the warhorses galloped towards them, the Li family's troops immediately panicked.

Although they managed to maintain their formation despite the officers' shouts, their underlying weakness was clearly exposed.

The young man laughed loudly, and as he rushed to the front of the battle line, he pulled on his horse's hooves, causing the horse's front hooves to leap into the air. Then, with a heavy stomp, he kicked a soldier holding a shield in front of him away.

At the same time, the young man sprang into action, his spear moving nimbly, thrusting, parrying, smashing, and circling, tearing open a gash in the blink of an eye.

"Gentlemen, please follow me! Today, I, Sun Ce, will clear the way for you!"

It turns out that this young man was none other than Sun Jian's son, Sun Ce, whom Yuan Shu wished he could adopt as his son.

Sun Ce shouted loudly, then spurred his warhorse and charged into the Li family's ranks.

Several more knights followed behind Sun Ce, covering the young man's reckless charge, causing the Li family army's formation to become unstable.

The veterans who had rushed in first were overjoyed and shouted, charging even more fiercely.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Li family's great formation showed faint signs of collapse.

Sun Ce fought with increasing ferocity, shouting battle cries, and the number of Li family retainers who died at his hands had already reached double digits.

If it weren't for the reinforcements from Li's troops constantly arriving at the battlefield from various places and joining the position, the great formation would probably have been broken through by Sun Ce long ago.

Even so, the great formation had already become distorted and deformed, and had retreated a considerable distance.

Meanwhile, the powerful bows and crossbows of the Sun family army directly clashed with the archers of the Li family's troops on the city wall. Although they were inferior to the superior, they were surprisingly not at a disadvantage, which was extremely fierce.

Liu Ye stared blankly as Sun Ce galloped back and forth, displaying unparalleled bravery and skill; no general could withstand a single blow from him.

"Is this man Sun Bofu?"

Liu Ye recalled the rumors he had heard before: Sun Jian's son, Sun Ce, inherited his father's bravery and fierceness. Although he was only twenty years old, he was already brave and skilled in battle, and his courage and skill were remarkable.

Liu Ye initially didn't quite believe it, but reality has now taught him a lesson. Sun Ce, single-handedly, is suppressing the superior forces of the Li family's troops. What's even more terrifying is that the Li family's troops, who are now outnumbered and outmatched, are struggling to hold on with the constant arrival of reinforcements.

If the situation doesn't change, the Li family's troops will be the first to collapse.

"Uncle, quickly send men to break open the door and pile up flammable materials in the middle of the road. Let our troops retreat slowly. Once they are behind the flammable materials, set them on fire to block the enemy and buy our troops time to regroup."

Liu Ye realized that although the Li family's troops had a large number of men, many of them were not very effective. He suggested that it would be better to allocate some of their manpower to build defensive fortifications in order to buy some time for them to recover.

Upon hearing this, Li Zhang immediately nodded in agreement and hurriedly instructed his military academy subordinates to carry it out.

The soldiers of Guangling County and the Li family's troops were, after all, local troops of Guangling, and were local strongmen in the city. They quickly knocked on the doors of the people's homes, took out firewood, coal, firewood, planks and other flammable materials, and piled them up behind the city gate square.

At this point, the Li family's troops' lines had become severely deformed.

Although the Sun family troops on both flanks launched frequent fierce attacks under the leadership of two valiant generals, the situation was still under control.

Before the middle, Sun Bofu's momentum was unmatched, and no one could stop him. It looked like he was about to break through the formation.

Helpless, Li Zhangming knew that once he gave the order to retreat, it would likely cause the entire unit to collapse, but he still had no choice but to bite the bullet and order the unit to retreat slowly.

"Hahaha, the enemy has retreated! They couldn't stop us, they're running away!"

Sun Ce keenly sensed the retreat of Li's troops and immediately shouted loudly.

The dozen or so guards around him also joined in the shouting, and the morale of Li's troops instantly plummeted. Soldiers began to desert and flee.

Just as the formation was about to collapse completely, Liu Ye suddenly rushed out, drew his long sword, and with a swift stroke, cut down several soldiers who had just started to flee.

Anyone who dares to flee will be executed!

"Today, there are no enemies but me, and no enemies but me! Victory means life, defeat means death."

Liu Ye, holding his blood-stained sword, shouted, "Drive the enemy out of the city! Every soldier will be rewarded with two thousand coins and a bolt of silk! Those who perform meritorious service will be rewarded separately!"

Liu Ye was enforcing military law while also bestowing rewards.

Strict military law coupled with generous rewards finally rallied morale.

Just as the Li family's troops were gradually stabilizing, a sudden panic broke out, and then a magnificent yellow horse broke through the formation.

Upon closer inspection, Liu Ye realized that the man was none other than Sun Ce, Sun Bofu.

"Are you an enemy general?"

After breaking through the enemy lines, Sun Ce did not rush to retreat, but instead looked at the enemy chieftain dressed in scholar's robes with a strange expression.

Liu Ye gripped his long sword tightly, his entire body on high alert as he stared intently at his opponent.

Don't mistake Liu Ye for a weak scholar. In fact, he was skilled in swordsmanship and had great strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to kill his father's trusted servant at the age of thirteen.

Sun Ce noticed Liu Ye's nervousness, smiled, raised his black spear, and pointed it at Liu Ye from afar.

"Be careful not to die in the chaos of battle. Once I capture you alive, you'll work for me!"

It turns out that Sun Ce had just witnessed Liu Ye's act of risking his life to encourage morale, and he greatly admired Liu Ye, developing a desire to recruit him, which is why he made this statement.

Having said that, Sun Ce turned his horse around and charged back.

Back and forth they went, and no one could stop them.

This time, the Li family's troops could no longer hold out. They could not withstand Sun Ce's repeated surprise attacks and began to collapse.

Many soldiers, no longer afraid of military law, turned tail and ran.

A few of the bolder ones knew to pull their soldiers together and retreat, while those at the front who couldn't escape simply knelt down and begged for surrender.

Seeing that things were not going well, Liu Ye quickly ran backwards, shouting as he ran, "Light the fire! Light the fire now!"

Fortunately, the guards here were brought by Liu Ye, and Li Zhang had given them a strict order to protect Liu Ye, so they were still hesitating about whether to run away.

Now that Liu Ye has escaped back, we naturally have to obey Liu Ye's orders.

So the armored soldiers went straight up and set it on fire.

Because both materials are flammable, the fire was quickly ignited and gradually grew larger.

As Liu Ye shouted, he ordered the fleeing soldiers to go around the fire barrier from both sides and then regroup behind them, while nervously watching the Sun family army that was following behind.

Sun Ce reappeared at the front of the formation and was somewhat surprised to see that the pursuit route was blocked by the fire barrier.

He looked at Liu Ye opposite him and shouted loudly, "I see that you are not a warrior, but a scholar. Do you know your honorable name, sir?"

Liu Ye glanced at Sun Ce and thought that the man was heroic and brave, truly a tiger general.

In this city of Guangling, there is no one who can rival him.

No, let alone match them, they couldn't even last a few rounds.

There were also brave warriors among Li's troops. Previously, two platoon leaders tried to lead men to stop Sun Ce, but he killed them one by one with a spear, almost causing the army to collapse.

"Sir, my name is Sun Ce, son of Sun Jian, the former General Who Destroyed the Enemy and Governor of Yu Province of the Han Dynasty. I wish to know your name."

Liu Ye's performance increasingly aroused Sun Ce's curiosity. At this time, he had no capable strategists by his side and was often puzzled but had no one to solve his problems.

It should be noted that even the two Zhang brothers of Jiangdong did not follow him at this time, let alone the many civil and military officials who would follow him later.

At this time, Sun Ce's most capable generals were still veterans like Huang Gai and Cheng Pu, as well as the more than one thousand close followers that Yuan Shu had just returned to him from his father.

These troops are formidable in combat, loyal and reliable, and their military strength is sufficient for the time being.

However, no one was ever qualified to serve as the advisor and strategist in matters of literature.

Today, upon meeting Liu Ye, I saw that this scholar was still young, yet he dared to boost morale on the battlefield and devised a plan to set fire to the enemy's camp to hinder Sun's pursuit.

He was brave, resourceful, loyal, and courageous, a stark contrast to the pedantic scholars, which greatly impressed Sun Ce.

Sun Ce, seeing an opportunity, was delighted and wanted to capture Liu Ye alive so that Liu Ye could serve him.

Feeling the immense pressure from Sun Ce, Liu Ye felt a sense of unease.

He's no longer thinking about making a name for himself; he's thinking about whether he can get away safely.

Liu Ye couldn't help but recall what Yuan Sui had just said to him that evening.

He is prone to taking risks, relies on his outstanding abilities, and always believes that he can turn danger into safety.

But now he truly understands what it means for the ways of heaven to be unpredictable.

Who could have imagined that one moment they were so confident and invincible, and the next they would be utterly defeated and at their wits' end?

Seeing that escape was the only option left, Sun Ce, the opponent, was still playing with him like a cat toying with a mouse, asking for his name.

Have you not heard that a scholar can be killed but not humiliated?
Liu Ye was furious. He didn't know that Sun Ce wanted to recruit him; he only felt that Sun Ce was humiliating him.

Mocking him is pointless and won't salvage the situation.

"Sun Bofu, don't be so arrogant! I, Liu Ziyang, will avenge this!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce was initially puzzled, but then realized that Liu Ziyang must have misunderstood his sincere intentions.

However, there was no way to explain it on the battlefield; they could only wait until the enemy was captured before properly comforting and explaining it to them.

"Pass on my order: Gentlemen, you must not harm the white-robed scholar opposite us. Anyone who captures him alive will be richly rewarded. Those who injure him will not be rewarded, and those who kill him will die with him."

Left with no other choice, Sun Ce could only order that the life of the person he valued be guaranteed. He had a premonition that this person must be a great talent, and Sun Ce was determined to acquire him.

He urged his guards to spread out orders to ensure Liu Ye's safety; otherwise, if Liu Ye were killed in the chaos of war, he would be devastated.

Liu Ye was naturally unaware of this and was working hard to integrate the Li family's troops, retreating towards the south gate, hoping to rely on the city gate's defenses to continue the resistance and hold out until the Xuzhou vanguard arrived.

If Yuanlong does not appear, what is there for Bofu to fear?
Hopefully, the debut of Little Tyrant will satisfy you all. Thank you.
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(End of this chapter)