Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 328: Shouchun City Falls
“Swish swish!!”

The guards on the Shouchun city wall were desperately pulling their crossbows and shooting, while the Han army crossbowmen below the city were also pulling their bows and shooting arrows at the top of the city walls. For a moment, the battlefield was raining arrows.

Even so, it could not stop the Han army soldiers from wanting to capture the city and gain merit.

All the places in Jiujiang have surrendered upon hearing the news. As long as Shouchun is captured and Yuan Shu is killed, Lujiang County will surely be conquered.

This battle is very likely to be the last one to recover Huainan. If we don’t work hard to make meritorious contributions, how can we share the fertile land in Huainan, as well as receive rewards such as money, fine silk, and millet in the future?
The Huainan soldiers who had surrendered to the Han army could not help but feel their blood boiling when they thought of the land that was about to be distributed. Their hearts were surging like waves. They mustered their energy and vowed to destroy the Yuan family for the King of Han. The people of Huainan had suffered from Yuan Shu for a long time.

"Kill!!"

"Kill Yuan Shu!"

"Kill Yuan Shu and conquer Huainan!"

The soldiers on the battlefield couldn't help but shout loudly, and their voices shook the heaven and earth.

Seeing the soldiers' aggressiveness and murderous intent, Taishi Ci rolled up his fists, bared his sleeves, and impatiently snatched the drumsticks from the soldiers' hands, and beat the drum himself to help in the battle.

"Dong dong dong..."

The sound of the war drums became more rapid and exciting.

Taishi Ci's sudden action stunned Zhou Yu who was standing next to him, and he couldn't help but laugh and shook his head.

If Zhou Yu was the commander-in-chief, he would not have bared his chest and arms and beat the drum to cheer for the army, right?
However, when he heard the drumbeats with a murderous aura, even he could not help but feel his heart surge, and he wished he could just raise his arms, put on armor, ride his horse, and charge at the enemy.

Outside, the Han army's shouts of killing were deafening, and they attacked the walls of Shouchun from several directions. Yuan Shu, who was hiding in his mansion, naturally heard it as well.

Especially when the Han army besieging the city shouted in the authentic Huainan dialect: "Kill Yuan Shu, and conquer Huainan."

He was even more horrified, his face turned pale, and a huge sense of fear came over him. He asked the Chief Clerk Yan Xiang and the Chief Clerk Yang Hong: "Do the people of Huainan hate me, Yuan Shu, so much?!"

He thought for a long time but couldn't figure out what he had done that was so against the will of heaven and earth that the people of Qian hated him so much.

He turned his gaze to Yan Xiang and Yang Hong with sorrow, hoping that his trusted aides could tell him the reason.

Yan Xiang sighed deeply. He was too deeply bound to Yuan Gonglu and had no chance of surrendering.

Seeing that Lord Yuan had not yet come to his senses, he could not help but lament, "Lord Yuan, Lord Yuan, since you came to Huainan, you have often imposed heavy taxes, either repeatedly imposing forced labor or repeatedly conscripting the people as soldiers to attack the princes in all directions. When have you ever given the people a chance to breathe?"

"Mr. Yuan was extravagant and lustful, not caring about the lives of the people. He favored more than 200 beautiful maids, musicians, and dancers, and took them as concubines one after another, like a sex-hungry ghost. Not only that, all his concubines wore fine silk robes and enjoyed a daily diet of fine corn and beef and mutton. In addition, he had to burn incense, ring bells and play music before he could eat."

"The people in Huainan had already suffered from floods and droughts, and were extremely poor. The area between the Yangtze River and the Huai River was completely empty, and the people were eating each other."

"The last ruler of this era is a corrupt ruler who is extremely extravagant and does things without reason. The rulers of Jie and Zhou are no worse than this. Since the Han Dynasty was in chaos, only you can be compared to Jie of Xia and Zhou of Shang!"

Yan Xiang had been holding it in for a long time, and previous persuasions had been futile. Now that he could finally speak it all out, he felt so relieved.

Anyway, he would not be able to escape death if the Han army broke through Shouchun. If he said it now, Yuan Gonglu could kill him if he wanted to. Who knows, he might even leave a good reputation for himself for future generations.

"You, you..." Yuan Shu was dumbfounded. His eyes suddenly widened and he stared at the aide in front of him in disbelief. At this moment, he was still confused and dizzy from being scolded. He couldn't figure out what was going on.

I asked you to explain clearly, not to scold me.

The chief secretary Yang Hong standing next to him was also shocked, his mouth opened wide, and he stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do.

After a while, Yuan Shu suppressed his inner shock, jumped up from his seat, threw the document in his hand to the ground with bloodshot eyes, and shouted angrily: "How dare you!!"

"Do you know that I am your master? How dare you insult Yu Shu like this? Aren't you afraid of death?"

Yuan Shu was so angry that his neck turned red, veins popped out on his forehead, and his face was distorted. He had never thought that someone would dare to scold him in front of him, and it was a trusted aide. Yuan Shu's anger almost burst through his chest, and he held his sword tightly, his eyes full of ferocity.

"Mr. Yuan, wait a minute! Mr. Yuan, wait a minute!"

The Chief Clerk Yang Hong realized that if he did not dissuade them, the situation would be irreversible.

Deng Deng stepped forward quickly, grabbed Yuan Shu's arm, and said anxiously: "Yuan Gong, you can't do this. The Han army is attacking the city. If you kill Yan Jun, you will definitely lose the support of the people."

"If people's hearts are not united, the soldiers will lose their fighting spirit. The Han army can break into the city today. Now Li Ye has crossed the river to persuade Cao Mengde. If Cao Cao leads his army to come, Shouchun will have been broken and all the officials in the city will be killed. After holding out for several months, won't it be a failure?"

"Even if Yuan Gong doesn't think about himself, he should also consider his descendants. He shouldn't ruin things because of a momentary impulse."

Yang Hong advised earnestly.

While Yuan Shu was distracted by his heir, he snatched his sword and threw it out of the hall with all his might.

Only when he heard the clanging sound of the iron sword falling to the ground did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Yang Hong waved his hand to appease the soldiers who rushed in after hearing the noise, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing, quickly leave."

Yuan Shu thought that the soldiers who rushed into the hall would at least act according to his mood. Unexpectedly, after hearing what the Chief Clerk Yang Hong said, the other party immediately bowed and slowly retreated without even looking at him.

This made Yuan Shu feel a chill in his heart. He looked at Yang Hong in horror and said in a lost voice: "Mr. Yang, this...?"

Moreover, why does this soldier look so unfamiliar, as if he has never been seen in the mansion before? Could it be that Yang Hong wants to kill him for treason while Chang Nu and Liu Xiang are supervising the battle on the city wall?
Seeing Yuan Gong's panic-stricken look, Yang Hong guessed that the other party had misunderstood.

He bowed and explained with a wry smile, "Mr. Yuan, please listen to me. Most of the soldiers in the palace are from the Yang family. Since the Han army besieged the city, there have been many soldiers escaping and surrendering at night using ropes. There are not many soldiers left in the city."

"Half of them are from various families. Since Lord Yuan is upset and does not want to manage the affairs of the city, they have not been known recently."

"The war situation is tense now. Soldiers on the city wall should no longer be transferred to guard the mansion, so as to prevent someone from taking risks and rebelling."

Yang Hong bowed to Yuan Shu and spoke earnestly.

However, Yuan Shu could not help but frown. Although he felt that what Yang Hong said made sense, he would not think it was a big deal if those soldiers who fought and risked their lives on the battlefield were kept around him at other times.

But now, within a radius of hundreds of miles, Shouchun is the only isolated city left.

Who knows what these crude warriors will do when they are cornered by the enemy. It is not impossible that they will use his head as a reward.

But in this situation, even the wealthy families cannot be trusted.

Yuan Shu thought for a while, suppressed his inner emotions, turned around, gritted his teeth and said to Yan Xiang: "The situation is urgent at the moment, let's ignore your mistakes today, you should immediately tell Liu Xiang to put down his military duties and lead more than a hundred people to come to see me."

It’s not that Yang Hong is untrustworthy, but for the sake of safety, it is better to find someone to check and balance him.

Otherwise, he would not be able to sleep well if the life and death of his entire family and concubines were in the hands of others.

At the same time, chaotic shouts came from the western city wall of Shouchun, making it difficult to hear clearly.

Yuan Shu, Yang Hong and Yan Xiang could not help but listen carefully, and finally heard clearly what they were shouting. It turned out that they were shouting - the city has been broken!

"What, the city was breached?!"

The three of them looked at each other, and suddenly their vision went dark, and they almost fainted.

"It's over, it's over!!"

(End of this chapter)