knife

Chapter 510 The End of an Era
Same recipe, but different taste.

In order to reach Hanzhong city within two days, Linghu Shili's 5,000 elite troops abandoned many of the routine actions an army should take when operating in enemy-occupied territory, and even lost the most basic vigilance.

But to be honest, we can't really blame them.

The Wei family is currently in a desperate situation, with no way out but to surrender to the Linghu family.

Zhou Xuan's trap was an extension of this, and with Wei Zhengdao's handwritten letter as evidence, Linghu Shili never imagined that a huge death trap was slowly unfolding ahead.

Two days later, at dusk, Linghu Shili arrived at the western city of Hanzhong County as agreed. As promised, the western city gate slowly opened before him, and Zhou Xuan, dressed in military uniform, stood on the top of the city tower to greet Linghu Shili.

Three thousand followers entered the city in turn.

Linghu Shili was already being cautious enough, dividing his followers into two groups and personally leading two thousand men to wait outside the city. However, such precautions were completely ineffective.

His opponents had him figured out perfectly.

When the heavy stone gate, weighing thousands of kilograms, crashed down through the gate opening of the west city gate, and when countless bows and arrows were pointed at the army that had entered the city earlier, a meticulously planned massacre began.

The western part of the city was vacated.

The original residents were all moved to other places, and a large number of troops entered the area, turning the western city into a large slaughterhouse.

The three thousand people who entered the city, no matter where they rushed, were met with death.

You can't imagine that crossbow bolts will suddenly shoot out from the houses on both sides of the road, nor can you imagine that long spears will suddenly pierce out of the walls in the narrow alleys, and you can't imagine the despair you feel when you suddenly see the thick crossbow bolts of the Eight-Ox Crossbow pointed at your group at the end of the street.

The desperate soldiers set fire to the houses, hoping the raging fire would draw out the ambushing enemy and allow them a fair and square battle. But the fire blazed, the thick smoke billowed into the sky, and the battle they longed for never materialized.

The moment the gates were lowered, Linghu Shili knew he had been tricked again. He angrily commanded his two thousand men to ride towards Hanzhong City, hoping to rescue his men.

But what could a mere two thousand people do in the face of towering city walls?

Instead, it was the thunderous drumbeats and rapid hoofbeats behind him that plunged Linghu Shili into despair.

As night fell, torches, as numerous as stars in the sky, spread toward Hanzhong City. The roaring shouts, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, terrified everyone who heard them.

Under Fang Xiaomao's command, tens of thousands of Shu troops surrounded Linghu Shili.

The shouts of battle echoed endlessly within the city. The elite Linghu army refused to surrender, charging towards the city gate time and again, trying to break through the encirclement and escape the city. They believed that their comrades were waiting for them outside the city gate.

But passion and courage can never withstand the tide of events.

Each fierce attack was repelled, leaving more and more corpses on the ground, while fewer and fewer people launched the attack.

Finally, the officers of the troops entering the city abandoned the idea of ​​a general breakout. Relying on their individual martial arts skills, they charged up the city walls, hoping to break through and escape.

By this point, the fighting inside the city was essentially over.

Those officers who fled relying on their individual strength were naturally dealt with, and even if they escaped alone, it had no impact on the overall situation. Outside the city, Fang Xiaomao's army tightly trapped Linghu Shili, with giant shields forming a wall, spears like a forest, and bows like a rain of arrows. Step by step, though slow, they firmly pressed Linghu Shili's men against the tall city walls behind them.

On the city walls, what awaited them was a deluge of arrows.

To advance is to die.

To retreat is to die!

Wu De turned to Zhou Xuan and smiled, "It's over. This battle will at least prevent Linghu Ye from launching another attack on Hanzhong this year."

"Five thousand elite veterans, such a loss would surely be heartbreaking even for Linghu Ye!" Zhou Xuan said.

“This is all thanks to Prefect Zhou!” Wu De said, “However, Prefect, you can also complete this last task.”

The smile on Zhou Xuan's face disappeared. After a moment of silence, he nodded, turned around, and went down the city wall.

Looking at his retreating figure, Wu De smiled.

Now that you've surrendered, you'll naturally have to do some of the menial, tiring, and shady work!
Wei Zhengdao lay on the bed, his mouth dry. He wanted to drink some water, but there was no one around. Outside the closed door, he could hear whispers, which, upon closer listening, turned out to be nothing but vulgar curses.

Because they had to guard him, the guards outside were unable to participate in today's ambush, which caused them to lose a lot of military merits and made them very dissatisfied.

Wei Zhengdao struggled to sit up halfway up the bed and reached for the kettle on the table, but it was too far away. He stretched out his hand as hard as he could, but still couldn't reach it.

His mouth felt like it was on fire, and his lips were cracked. Wei Zhengdao desperately leaned out, trying to reach the kettle. His fingers finally touched the edge of the kettle, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief. However, he didn't expect that leaning halfway out of the bed would cause him to lose his balance. He swayed and fell heavily off the bed, landing on the ground. His hand swept across the kettle on the table, causing it to tip over. The water inside flowed out of the spout, first onto the table, then down the table and onto Wei Zhengdao's head.

Wei Zhengdao's consciousness was slowly fading. He reached out to wipe the water off his face, but halfway up, he collapsed. He seemed to hear the sound of a door opening and a cry of alarm. Then, he was dragged up from the ground and thrown onto the bed.

Wei Zhengdao wanted to drink some water, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't say anything. He made a few gurgling sounds in his throat and then exhaled his last breath heavily.

A once-powerful figure died silently in this side room.

Not long after, Zhou Xuan stepped into the room. Looking at Wei Zhengdao on the bed, he swallowed a few times, then simply bowed and left.

From another room not far from the room where Wei Zhengdao died, the sound of weeping could be heard. That room was where the young emperor Li Ping lived.

Outside, soldiers were piling up firewood, while others were pouring grease onto the pile.

Zhou Xuan remained expressionless, reached out, picked up a fire stick, and strode over. The weeping inside grew louder. Through the window, one could see an old eunuch embracing the weeping young emperor, who collapsed onto the floor in despair.

Zhou Xuan closed his eyes and threw the torch in his hand.

With a loud bang, a huge fire broke out.

(End of this chapter)