My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 646 The Uprising at Midnight
It was Yang Lu. By this time, he had already joined Meng Huo with over six hundred men under his command, bringing their total strength to over a thousand. Both men were covered in blood, indicating that their journey to this place had not been easy, having already experienced several battles, large and small.

The main forces in the city are now divided into three parts. The first part is the direct troops led by Sima Yi, with a number of about two thousand people.

The second part consisted of the troops personally led by Shi Huan, numbering about four thousand. The losses from the previous Battle of Guangcheng had been fully replenished, but their combat strength was still significantly lower than before.

The last part consists of the remaining Shu troops, including the patrols within Chengdu and the defense forces at several city gates.

At this time, Chengdu's circumference was about twelve li (approximately 6.5 kilometers), and its area reached a massive 1.6 square kilometers. Both in terms of city wall height and city size, it surpassed Chang'an, becoming second only to Luoyang and Wancheng. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wancheng in Nanyang had already fallen into ruin, and Chengdu was undoubtedly the second most important city in the land, surpassing even Yecheng in Hebei, Xiangyang in Jingzhou, and Wuxian in Yangzhou.

Chengdu is not a simple city with a single layout, but rather a classic layout of "one city with two cores, with east and west sides placed side by side" that has been formed since the Qin Dynasty.

The division stemmed from the separation of political functions from the needs of the people. The Great City, also known as the Eastern City, was built as the administrative core and residential area of ​​Shu Commandery, serving as a place for governing and supporting the people, as well as a commercial market. The Lesser City, on the other hand, was built later. It was initially established to garrison Qin troops, but gradually expanded to become a military garrison, official residences, and warehouses, serving as both a military base and a place for governance.

Chengdu has a total of eighteen city gates, with the main city and the smaller city each accounting for half.

The number of guards at these city gates ranged from one or two hundred to three or five hundred, depending on the size and importance of the gate. Among them, the Dongshun Gate, which was controlled by Polo, had two hundred guards and was a secondary passage leading from the main city to the east.

Therefore, the garrison at these eighteen city gates totaled four to five thousand men. Cao Cao's army only controlled the most important northern gates, while the other gates were left to the Shu army.

It wasn't that Cao Cao's army truly trusted the Shu army; rather, it was because of a shortage of troops that they were unwilling to waste their capable field troops on defending the city.

Therefore, on the surface, Cao Cao's forces in Chengdu were far greater than those of Zhang Song, Meng Da, and others.

The key issue is that Chengdu is too large. With such a small force, Cao Cao's army could only suppress the local area by targeting specific areas. Zhang Song and others recommended Meng Da to lead the attack in order to disrupt the situation in the city and hide their real trump card – Dongshun Gate.

Meng Da and Yang Lu joined forces to attack the prefecture capital in order to divert its attention. Moreover, Cao Cao's troops needed to be dispersed throughout the city, and the prefecture capital itself had at most a few hundred men. They might still have a chance to succeed. If they could really capture the prefecture capital and take Sima Yi, the situation in Chengdu would be much more stable.

Meng Da, Yang Lu, and others gathered their troops in the main city, but the prefectural capital was located in the smaller city.

Along the way, even though they were local strongmen in Chengdu, they still had to fight two or three battles. One of them was a patrol of Cao Cao's army, which was very powerful.

Although the enemy only had one hundred men, they dared to confront them head-on and sound the retreat for reinforcements.

Yang Lu and his fellow wandering knights initially tried to use their numerical advantage to defeat the enemy, but their several strong attacks failed in the face of the enemy's lines.

If Meng Da hadn't decisively sent men to infiltrate the walls on both sides and fire crossbows at them, they really wouldn't know how long they would have been trapped in that alley.

This battle also made Meng Da realize that although Yang Lu and his fellow wandering knights were all quite capable individually, they were no match for Cao Cao's army on the battlefield. It wasn't that the wandering knights were incapable of fighting, nor that they were afraid of death, but rather that they were not used to coordinated battle formations and lacked good mid-to-lower-level military command skills.

Their tactics are very effective in brawls and murders, but they are useless in actual combat.

After hearing Yang Lu's words, Meng Da found a corner tower in the nearby market, climbed up, and looked out at the prefectural capital. Meng Da frowned slightly as he looked at the prefectural capital, which was still lit up as usual.

"Something's not right."

"What's wrong?"

Yang Lu was burning with excitement, eager to break through the prefecture and capture Sima Yi alive, but upon hearing Meng Da's words, she immediately became somewhat displeased.

Meng Da didn't mind the other party's attitude, but explained in a good-natured manner: "Look at the lights in the prefecture. They seem normal, but in fact, they are the most suspicious."

Yang Lu, however, couldn't understand at all and pressed for an answer: "Brother Zidu, what do you mean by this?"

Helpless, Meng Da could only say frankly, "The prefecture must have already received news of our uprising, and they should be taking action by now. But right now, everything seems calm and normal, which must be a trap."

Yang Lu suddenly realized, and after thinking for a moment, tentatively asked, "Could it be that the people in the prefecture have been scared away?"

A dark glint flashed in Meng Da's eyes, but he quickly changed his tune and said, "What Brother Bo Xi said is not impossible."

Upon hearing Meng Da's agreement, Yang Lu was overjoyed, but then heard Meng Da continue, "Since that's the case, how about this? I will lead my troops to provide cover from the high ground, while Brother Boyi will lead his own band of outlaws to attack the prefecture. If Cao Cao sends reinforcements, I will block them for you. If Brother Boyi can capture Sima Zhongda alive, the credit will be shared equally with me. What do you think, Brother Boyi?"

Yang Lu was overjoyed with Meng Da's plan and agreed immediately without any objection.

The two then split up to prepare.

Meng Yu, the head of Meng Da's retainers, couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Master, are you really going to give this credit to this guy?"

Meng Da gave a cold laugh and snorted, "Whether it's a blessing or a curse remains to be seen."

Upon hearing this, Meng Yu was immediately startled, and then looked at Yang Lu's back, who was coming downstairs, with a hint of schadenfreude.

Meng Yu is a senior retainer of the Meng family. He has been leading the Meng family's retainers since Meng Da's father was alive. He is also a member of the Meng clan and is related to Meng Da and his son, but they are not related by blood.

Meng Yu could be considered a veteran minister of both his father and son, and he was naturally very clear about the personalities of Meng Da and his son, especially Meng Da, the new head of the family.
He knew his family head's character very well; he was truly hypocritical, outwardly kind and magnanimous, but inwardly vindictive and vengeful.

Judging from Meng Da's current reaction, it's clear that the man surnamed Yang has likely been assassinated by his own family head.

Thinking back to their previous conversation, Meng Yu couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. Could it be that attacking the state capital was not a good thing after all?
Yang Lu was completely unaware of this and was filled with excitement, eager to capture Sima Yi and achieve great success in one fell swoop.

To this end, Yang Lu revealed all his trump cards: in addition to his more than 600 trusted subordinates, he also had dozens of powerful bows and crossbows, as well as hundreds of fine iron short spears.

After Meng Da sent troops to control several high points outside the prefectural capital, Yang Lu began her operation.

He led his trusted general Qian Xiang, along with dozens of warriors armed with swords and shields, towards the main gate.

Although the gates of the prefectural government were tightly closed, the defenses were very weak. They were quickly broken open by Qian Xiang and his men with heavy wooden blocks, and then they rushed in.

The defending Cao army offered only a brief resistance before retreating like a receding tide.

Yang Lu and his men were overjoyed, thinking that Cao Cao's army was exhausted, and they chased after them with shouts of excitement. Before long, Yang Lu and his more than 600 men had all caught up with the army and began to advance along the long corridor.

Meng Yu asked in a low voice, "Patriarch, should we spare some people to guard the main gate?"

"No need."

Meng Da smiled faintly: "If we make a move now, it will only cause Brother Boxi to dislike us. Let's remain calm." As Yang Lu and the others advanced, Cao Jun's defenses began to become more tenacious.

Qian Xiang carried a ring-pommel sword, and although there were two bloody marks on his shoulder, he remained as fierce as ever.

Seeing that Cao's army had retreated into the back courtyard and formed a defensive line, Qian Xiang led his troops to charge several times but failed to break through the enemy's blockade, which made him furious.

"Where is the Flying Spear Team?!"

With a loud shout from Qian Xiang, thirty or forty brave and valiant knights immediately stepped forward. These men were dressed in short-sleeved clothes, with six short spears strapped to their backs. The spearheads were made of fine iron and had white shafts, exuding a chilling murderous aura.

Qian Xiang immediately shouted, "Come with me!"

Having said that, Qian Xiang stepped forward from the crowd, shouted loudly, and threw his short iron spear, which transformed into a sharp light that pierced the air with a sound. In an instant, it pierced through the shield in the hand of a Cao army squad leader and went straight into the man's chest.

Seeing this, Yang Lu's spearmen followed suit, unleashing more than thirty short spears like a torrential rain. The Cao soldiers under the corridor were caught off guard and fell in droves. The remaining soldiers could only cower behind the corridor pillars, raising their shields to defend themselves.

"Charge in! Capture Sima Yi, and the reward will be a hundred gold pieces!"

Yang Lu followed closely, sword in hand, her eyes filled with excitement.

His trusted archers seized the stone steps under the corridor, firing powerful bows and crossbows in succession, the crisp sound of arrows piercing Cao Cao's wooden shields echoing repeatedly. Although Cao Cao's defenses were sturdy, under such fierce attacks, a breach was indeed torn in.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qian Xiang led his swordsmen and shieldmen into the backyard, kicked open the side door of the main hall, and his face immediately froze.

In the main hall of the backyard, three rows of Cao Cao's archers stood in formation, their crossbow bolts gleaming coldly, aimed directly at the gate, yet utterly silent. Only a few oil lamps flickered, casting a cold light on the blue brick floor.

"No! Back away!"

Qian Xiang immediately lay down and shouted a warning, but suddenly heard a clear, metallic sound coming from outside the courtyard.

This golden sound was like a thunderclap, seemingly activating the entire prefecture.

In the next instant, Cao Cao's army poured out from the arrow towers, corners, and dark corners of the corridors around the backyard! Armored soldiers with long halberds lined up on the left and approached from the right, while crossbowmen peered out with their arrows pointed straight into the courtyard; even from the roof of the main hall, dozens of elite soldiers with swords and shields jumped down and split up to attack and kill the scattered wandering knights.

"It's an ambush! Retreat! Retreat now!"

Yang Lu then realized she had been tricked, and her previous excitement was instantly replaced by fear.

However, the backyard was cramped, and with six hundred wandering warriors crammed together, there was no time to retreat.

"shooting!"

A slightly gloomy voice rang out, and the next moment, more than a hundred crossbow bolts were fired simultaneously, directly causing Yang Lu's troops to fall to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, Cao Jun's halberdiers pressed forward step by step, their halberds like a forest, each thrust bringing forth a spray of blood, while the sword and shield warriors, in groups of three or five, slaughtered all the wandering knights scattered outside the main formation.

Although the wandering knights were all brave and fearless, they were ultimately unaccustomed to coordinated battle formations. Some tried to raise their shields for defense but were accidentally wounded by their companions' short spears; others tried to break through but couldn't find a unified direction and ended up bumping into each other.

Yang Lu swung his sword and cut down two Cao soldiers, only to see his trusted confidant Qian Xiang surrounded by three halberd-wielders. He had been struck in the left shoulder by a halberd, and four crossbow bolts were hanging from his body. Blood soaked through his armor, and he almost dropped his ring-pommel sword.

"Money!"

Just as Yang Lu was about to rush forward to help, a cold arrow flew past his ear and embedded itself in the pillar behind him, its fletching still trembling.

"General! Retreat first! As long as we're alive, we can always fight another day!"

A strong archer grabbed Yang Lu's sleeve and pointed towards the back gate.

Yang Lu finally came to her senses and roared, "Retreat! Retreat to the front yard!"

But when they fought their way back to the front yard, the scene before them plunged everyone into an icy abyss.

The state capital gate, which had been smashed open earlier, had now been closed again. A black banner of Cao Cao's army was flying above the gate, and behind the gate stood more than a hundred elite Cao Cao soldiers in armor and carrying shields, who were Sima Yi's personal guards.

The leading officer was none other than Cao Xiong, the military commander Cao Ang had specially left behind to protect Sima Yi. At this moment, he held a long sword, the tip of which was dripping blood, and looked at the courtyard with a cold smile: "Yang Lu, you really have a lot of guts, daring to defy the imperial army. My Grand Commander has been waiting here for a long time, why don't you come in and have a chat?"

"The gate...how could the gate be missing? Where is Meng Da? Where are Meng Da's men?!"

Yang Lu's eyes were bloodshot as she roared towards the door.

He then remembered that Meng Da had said to climb to higher ground for cover, but since they had stormed the backyard, there hadn't been a single bowstring twang or a sound of fighting outside.

This is not a cover-up at all; it's clearly letting them walk into a trap to spy on us.

Upon seeing this, the morale of the wandering knights in the courtyard plummeted, and they were on the verge of collapse.

Some threw down their weapons and tried to escape by climbing over the wall, but were shot through the thigh by an arrow from an archer on the arrow tower and fell to the ground screaming in agony; others knelt down and begged for mercy from Cao's army, but were pierced through the chest by a halberd-wielder.

Qian Xiang stood protectively in front of Yang Lu, his body bearing several wounds, panting heavily: "General... we... we've probably fallen into Sima Yi's trap. Meng Zidu must have seen the situation was bad and abandoned us."

Yang Lu staggered backward, leaning against a pillar, watching his brothers fall one by one, their blood staining the blue bricks of the backyard. He recalled Meng Da's gentle smile and the promise of "sharing the credit equally," and felt a metallic taste rise in his throat.

It turns out that from the very beginning, Meng Da had already given up on himself, only hating himself for being blinded by greed and having his eyes only on achievements.

At this moment, Cao Cao's army had gained an absolute advantage, and Yang Lu, Qian Xiang, and others were surrounded, their lives hanging in the balance.

Sima Yi instructed Cao Xiong to try to persuade them to surrender once, hoping to extract more information, but unexpectedly, Yang Lu and Qian Xiang resolutely refused to surrender.

They had a considerable grudge against Cao Cao's army. Previously, due to Cao Cao's conscription of laborers, the families of these wandering knights had been affected to varying degrees. Moreover, now that they had raised an army in rebellion, surrendering would not be enough to save them from death.

Yang Lu and Qian Xiang not only refused Cao Xiong's offer to surrender, but also tried to break through the encirclement with the remaining three hundred men, but they all died in battle.

(End of this chapter)