Tiger Guards

Chapter 340 A Night of Chaos

The gatehouse of the General's residence.

Twelve halberd-wielding guards stood with their halberds on their backs, and a campfire was burning on each side.

The guards paced back and forth when they suddenly heard a dog barking.

I turned my head to look at the dark street in the distance, but I couldn't see anything.

Liu A led his army along the walls and courtyards on both sides of the street, with crossbowmen in front and soldiers wearing only leather armor behind.

Sneaking through the night, these leather-armored soldiers made no noise other than their footsteps.

"Fire has broken out!"

Suddenly, people climbed onto rooftops and shouted in the distance. Liu A's entire team became uneasy. Liu A immediately whispered, "These are righteous warriors raising fires as a signal to punish the traitors. Do not hesitate, follow me and go straight for the traitorous minister!"

"Here."

The left and right sides responded, leading the crossbowmen to jog quickly, their footsteps growing louder in the night.

"Stop whoever comes!"

At the gate of the General's residence, the military officers shouted loudly, and as they saw more and more people, they immediately turned around and quickly stepped on the stone steps.

His quick turn and decisive actions meant that a volley of crossbow bolts only managed to hit his calf.

The officer, ignoring the pain from the arrow in his calf, rolled over the threshold and shouted, "Enemy attack! Traitorous ministers are rebelling!"

The twelve halberd-wielding guards followed closely behind, but most of them were hit by arrows, with injuries ranging from minor to serious.

"By imperial decree, we will punish the traitor Lü Bu!"

Liu A shouted loudly, brandishing his sword and charging forward: "Charge!"

However, the wide, heavy gate slowly closed, and suddenly countless heads appeared on the second and third floors of the gatehouse and on both sides of the wall. Immediately, a volley of crossbow bolts was fired at various points in the street.

Screams filled the air. Liu A stopped in his tracks and brandished his sword: "Charge!"

The rear guard pushed forward, and the leather-armored soldiers, wielding spears and halberds, bypassed the crossbowmen and began their charge.

Fires broke out in various parts of the city, and another group of rebels stormed the emperor's palace.

Chen Gong, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, spent the night in a camp near the imperial palace and immediately launched a counterattack and provided relief.

Xun You climbed the ladder to the roof and saw that more and more fires were breaking out in the city, and shouts of battle could be heard throughout the city.

His gaze was calm, so calm that he didn't care about winning or losing tonight.

Even if Lü Bu wins, so what?

The favorable situation collapsed instantly. If a large-scale purge is carried out after the rebellion is quelled, everything will be irreversible.

The kind of patience that Zhao Ji had, who wished he could tear you to pieces but only broke your legs, is not something a normal person could possess.

As Xun You observed the situation, the fire spread and nearly reached half the city.

The soldiers and civilians fighting the fire in the streets, the officials and civilians fleeing the disaster, the rebel army that started the uprising, and the guards who were suppressing the rebellion were all mixed together and killed each other indiscriminately.

The more chaotic the killings are now, the harder it will be to investigate and prosecute those responsible afterward.

At the residence of Grand Secretary Fu Wan, Kong Rong, Mi Heng, Xu Gan, and others also climbed onto the roof.

Kong Rong suddenly realized something and said to Mi Heng and the others, "No wonder the Grand Secretary wanted to hold his birthday banquet earlier than planned."

Mi Heng nodded in agreement. Those who were able to come today were basically all drunk and unconscious, unable to go out and cause trouble, nor able to stop the officials and people from putting out any fires.

In the firelight, who among the people on the street could clearly explain what they did for a living?

Mi Heng sat on the roof ridge, his back to the night wind: "The momentum of the Jian'an Restoration has collapsed, which is truly a pity."

The night wind, now warmed by the fires near and far, was no longer cold against my back.

Even the wind direction has started to change.

At Gao Shun's camp, he climbed to a high point to observe and watch as Zhao Shu's Eagle Army poured out of the camp, fully armed, and headed towards the Emperor's Palace.

There were four or five groups of troops fighting there, probably all there to protect the emperor.

His messenger arrived on horseback and shouted from the watchtower: "General, the east gate is wide open! The Yingchuan troops have entered the city and are causing chaos. Those who attacked the General's gate also speak with a Yingchuan accent!"

"understood."

Gao Shun turned to look at the General's Mansion, a mansion converted from a mansion belonging to a prominent family in the city. At this moment, a bonfire was burning inside, and order was still maintained.

Those who could stand guard in the mansion were all veteran soldiers trusted by Lü Bu. As long as they could block the first wave of attacks, they could easily repel the subsequent attacks.

When the fire broke out in the city, the camps outside the West Gate were ablaze, and Tian Yu's camp was also ablaze with fire, indicating that he was mobilizing troops.

He was slow to realize what was happening, while Zhang Liao had already led his troops to form ranks outside his camp gates and sent a messenger into the camp to demand, "A fire has broken out in the city. General, are you raising troops to create chaos or to put out the fire?"

After exchanging glances with his officers, Tian Yu replied loudly, "I am concerned for the safety of the Emperor, therefore I have ordered my officers and soldiers to don armor."

He kept a dozen paces away from the messenger, watching him warily.

The messenger immediately said, "Since there is no rebellion and no order to mobilize, please, General, restrain your troops and do not move them without authorization!" "Yes!"

No sooner had Tian Yu seen the messenger off than a messenger from General Dong Cheng descended the city wall by rope, and several men quickly approached carrying torches.

When they passed by Zhang Liao's army camp, Zhang Liao did not stop them and allowed them to enter the camp.

They showed Tian Yu Dong Cheng's order, their voices urgent: "The rebel soldiers are setting fires as a signal and are attacking the Emperor's temporary palace. We request that you, General, enter the city to quell the rebellion!"

If they leave the camp now, Zhang Liao will definitely attack them.

Just as Tian Yu hesitated, a military officer on a nearby high platform shouted, "General, the Zhongshan troops are engaged in battle!"

Ignoring Dong Cheng's messenger, Tian Yu quickly climbed up the high platform, where he saw the fire disturbing the Zhongshan military camp on the west bank of the Ying River in the northwest. It was clear that both sides were engaged in a fierce firefight.

Given the intensity of the fire, it was impossible to see who was attacking.

Soon, a dozen knights, representing the Zhongshan soldiers, arrived at the camp gate and shouted to Tian Yu, "General, the Eagle Yang Army has rebelled! Hou Cheng and Hao Meng are leading troops to attack our forces from both sides!"

Tian Yu did not respond, which led to another shout: "If we are destroyed, how can the general's troops survive alone?"

"Tie him up and hand him over to General Zhang outside the camp for disposal."

Tian Yu pointed, and the representative jumped up and cursed. Tian Yu's fellow villagers punched him in the face, beat him up, tied him up, and pushed him out of the camp to be handed over to Zhang Liao's troops.

As for Dong Cheng's messenger, upon seeing this, he did not pursue the matter further and turned to leave.

Zhang Liao ignored these people and watched them sail down the Ying River to find Chen Yu.

At this moment, Chen Yu's camp of more than 3,000 men was also surrounded by the Left Battalion and a part of the Eagle Army led by Wei Xu.

Wei Xu did not have the same confidence as Zhang Liao in surrounding the area so that it was impenetrable.

As for Dong Cheng's envoy, he was captured on the spot by Wei Xu, who planned to use him as a witness later.

The fire in Xudu City spread out of control, and officials and civilians fled, crowding at the gates, which had been reinforced with guards and remained closed.

The officials and civilians who were trying to extinguish the fire could only hide on the city walls, trampling each other in a state of extreme panic.

Yang Jun, who took the initiative to set the fire, also retreated quickly and had already reached the North Gate tower, where he quietly observed the nearby imperial palace.

Yang Jun just felt that something was going to happen tonight, so he set a fire. He had the right to patrol the night, and then quickly left the scene.

Unexpectedly, after he set fire to the place, so many people followed suit and committed arson.

As a result, the order within the city completely collapsed, to the point where right and wrong were no longer distinguishable.

On the western city wall, Han Ji was struck in the left shoulder by a stray arrow of unknown origin. He gazed at the city of Xudu illuminated by fireworks, speechless for a long time.

It is located a dozen miles east of the city, on the east bank of a tributary of the Ying River.

Xun Yu and the others who had run out of the city immediately turned back to look around. After a moment, Xun Yu sighed, "After tonight, we will all be dead. Let's go, don't hesitate any longer."

If they weren't caught, then they were loyal and righteous officials of the imperial court who tragically perished while putting out the fire.

If caught, they would be considered traitors and rebels, implicating their clans and close relatives.

They were all from Yingchuan. They could run away, but their families couldn't. Without any hesitation, the dozens of people rode their horses lightly towards Jibei and disappeared into the night.

Inside Xudu City, at the Emperor's temporary palace.

Liu Xie sat upright in the hall, with Grand Chamberlain Shi Qian standing beside him, and more than twenty newly recruited eunuchs carrying swords on both sides of the hall.

More than a hundred officials had already armed themselves with the palace armory and were now guarding the main hall, clad in armor and wielding halberds.

Dong Cheng strode over and cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, the Grand General has deployed troops to block all the gates, making it difficult for my guards to enter the city."

"Since the Grand General can still control the various gates, it shows that the treacherous minister's hasty rebellion is merely a minor disaster."

After making his judgment, Liu Xie asked, "How is the Grand Master of Ceremonies?"

"The rebels have been repelled, and the Grand Master of Ceremonies is leading troops to extinguish the fire around the palace."

Dong Cheng replied that in such a chaotic situation, the fire could not be extinguished at all.

All Chen Gong could do was direct the troops that arrived on their own to demolish the houses near the palace and create a buffer zone.

Chen Gong was not surprised at all by what happened tonight; in fact, he felt it was a bit late.

Now things are really complicated. Liu Biao has refused to supply grain, and the various armies in Xuchang are rebelling due to famine. They even have a reason to attack Liu Biao.

How many people will die tonight?

Most of the dead were unprepared officials and civilians, men and women. The fire didn't kill many; they either trampled each other to death or were killed by the chaotic army.

In chaotic times, during such riotous moments, an army might get so itchy to slash at a gatepost while passing by that they'd even do it a couple of times, let alone the people who screamed afterward.

After daybreak, given Chen Gong's understanding of Lü Bu, he would most likely execute a group of people to consolidate power and facilitate the campaign against Liu Biao.

As for Xuchang, which was destroyed by war, Lü Bu didn't care and simply handed it over to Cao Cao and Yuan Shu without any regret.

(End of this chapter)