Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 261 Seizing the Gate
The men Jia Xu sent ignored the fire and focused solely on rescuing the jailers trapped in it.

Cui Lie was not an expert in dealing with fires, and seeing that the fire could not be contained, he followed suit and abandoned firefighting, ordering his men to focus on rescuing people from the prison.

Especially Empress He.

The court officials and jailers were actually very hardworking.

However, since Jia Xu's men also put out a fire while rescuing people, the situation in the prison became quite troublesome.

The VIP cell where the Empress resided was located at the very back of the imperial prison, with the longest route.

The imperial prison was a dark and enclosed space. Once the fire started, the entire prison was filled with thick smoke that could not be dissipated, making it impossible to see or breathe.

To rescue someone, one can only cover their nose with a wet cloth, hold their breath, and grope around with difficulty. Rescuers can only stay inside for a short time, making it very difficult to save someone.

The warden, who was already on sick leave, rushed over with his water tanker team upon hearing that the imperial prison was on fire—he was most familiar with the prison's internal structure.

Furthermore, the warden mentioned to Choi Yeol the deadly gossip he had heard that day…

Cui Lie immediately understood why the imperial prison had caught fire... and quickly ordered the warden to rescue the Empress and the Yuan family no matter what.

The warden was indeed a professional; he personally led his men into the fire.

But when he and the jailers finally managed to rescue Empress He, she was already blackened by smoke.

The empress wasn't directly burned by the fire, but it's certain she's out of breath—anyone would suffocate to death if exposed to thick smoke for half an hour in such a confined environment.

As for the two members of the Yuan family, only Yuan Ji was rescued, and he was also a corpse, almost like dried meat.

Yuan Wei has gone missing, and rescuers have not been able to find him.

Moreover, the warden was certain that the fire started in Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji's cell, and when he went in, their cells were almost completely burned down...

That was the source of the fire, the place where the fire was at its worst. The warden really did his best to pull Yuan Ji's body out.

The prison was filled with thick smoke and flames, and it could collapse at any moment. Rescue workers could no longer enter; everyone's lives were at stake.

After the empress's body was retrieved, the fire in the imperial prison was completely out of control.

The Empress had already been suffocated, and the young and vigorous Yuan Ji had turned into dried meat... but the elderly and frail Yuan Kui had disappeared, and his body had not been found...

Adding to that the deadly gossip the warden overheard—Cui Lie felt he understood.

Cui Lie instructed the prison warden to keep a close watch on the Empress's body, while he himself slipped away to the Yang family mansion in the south of the city to find Yang Biao.

When the warden, a professional, arrived, Jia Xu, who had assisted in putting out the fire, had already retreated anonymously.

But when Jia Xu retreated, he had his men carry away a 'jailer' whose face was covered in soot.

That was Yuan Wei.

Jia Xu rescued the man right away, and he did so early that Yuan Kui was still barely alive... but the old man was indeed weak and was choked by the smoke, almost going into shock.

However, Jia Xu didn't carry Yuan Wei too far; he abandoned him halfway through.

Then they rushed to the Vermilion Bird Gate of the North Palace where Liu Bei was located, a place only two miles away from the Imperial Prison.

……

At this time, a large number of soldiers rushed towards the North Palace, and also surrounded the Luoyang Prison near the North Palace.

These are He Jin's troops.

After receiving news from Yuan Shao, He Jin led his troops to Beigong as quickly as possible, believing that Yuan Shao would soon arrive with a large number of reinforcements.

The messages that Yuan Shao could receive, He Jin could also receive the vast majority of.

But Yuan Shao's thoughts...

He Jin, however, knew nothing about it.

Upon seeing the fire at Luoyang Prison, He Jin rushed to the prison, only to find the warden guarding Empress He's corpse.

Almost simultaneously, He Jin's men discovered Yuan Kui lying in an alley behind the imperial prison—it appeared that Yuan Kui had set the fire and fled alone, but collapsed on the way due to exhaustion.

He Jin was not angry, but seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He ordered his men to capture the prison warden and interrogate him carefully, and continued to send troops to attack the Vermilion Bird Gate of the North Palace.

At this time, several large fires had broken out in Luoyang City.

The Imperial Prison is one place, the Nine Dragon Gate of the Southern Palace is another, and the Vermilion Bird Gate of the Northern Palace is yet another.

He Jin's troops have already started setting fire to the gate.

This is also the most common way to breach a gate when there are no siege weapons... or rather, a way to force the defenders to be afraid to block the gate with all their might, making it easier to ram it.

Liu Bei was inside the Vermilion Bird Gate, directing his men to block the gate with sandbags.

"My lord, we have encountered an enemy at Nangong. It is Yuan Shao leading an army of over five thousand!"

A guard from the South Palace rushed down the corridor to the North Palace to deliver the message.

"Send a message to Zu Mao: hold out for one hour, then retreat to the North Palace... Wenhe, go and send a message to Dong Zhongying, telling him to come to the North Palace immediately and defeat He Jin!"

Liu Bei knew that He Jin and Yuan Shao would most likely resort to desperate measures, so it wasn't too surprising. He didn't take Liu Xie back to the South Palace because the North Palace was safer—Guan Yu was currently guarding the Xia Gate, and the side gate of the North Palace was right next to the Xia Gate, which was the fastest way out.

Although Beigong had He Jin's troops, they were not strong and their numbers were not large.

As long as Dong Zhuo's troops arrive, Liu Bei is confident that he can defeat He Jin's army within an hour.

But shortly after the order was given, a subordinate of Jian Shuo came to report: "Lord Liu... Zhang Yang has rebelled! Commandant Jian has been killed by Zhang Yang! Marquis Shi has fallen into Zhang Yang's hands..."

Where is Zhang Yang right now?!

There are always things that people don't foresee. Although Liu Bei knew that Zhang Yang could not be loyal to Jian Shuo, he really did not expect that Zhang Yang would do such a strange thing after personally capturing the empress.

"It seems that Yuan Shao and Ding Yuan had been colluding for some time..."

Jia Xu hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

Liu Bei and Jia Xu could plot in secret, and Yuan Shao naturally had his own clandestine collusion unknown to them; there were unforeseen circumstances on both sides. "Zhang Yang is still in Nangong, but Colonel Jian has been harmed, and Marquis Zu is also trapped by him. In addition, Yuan Shao's army is attacking the gates. Nangong may fall at any time!"

The messenger was Wang Fu, the head of the imperial guards under Jian Shuo and also a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate.

The Yellow Gate Attendant was not a eunuch, but a close attendant of the emperor. Originally, the emperor was always stationed in the Chongde Hall.

"Zilong, come with me to rescue Zu Mao and Shi Hou... Wenhe and Zijing, hold this place and send a message to Yunchang for reinforcements. Once General Dong arrives, we will quickly defeat He Jin..."

Liu Bei quickly turned around and gave the order.

"Elder brother, shouldn't we summon Yide into the city?"

He beckoned and asked.

"No need to make any changes... Just guard the North Palace and protect the Crown Prince. The Yuan family will naturally open the gate for Zhang Fei..."

Liu Bei shook his head after a moment's thought and led Zhao Yun and his guards down the corridor to Chongde Hall.

"...Yuan Shao has committed such a treasonous act, so naturally he would not allow his clan to remain in Luoyang. He would definitely lead his entire clan out of the East Gate. It would be the fastest way for Yide to break through the East Gate and enter the city. We only need to send a few people to meet Yide and let him come to our aid."

Jia Xu explained to Qian Zhao.

……

Given clear information, Jia Xu's judgments are usually correct.

The Yuan family mansion in the east of the city was already bustling with activity. Thousands of swordsmen were protecting nearly a thousand members of the Yuan family, preparing to leave Luoyang through the east gate.

Outside the East Gate was the main road leading to Runan. If one wanted to go to Yuzhou, heavily laden carriages would have to go through the East Gate.

But as soon as the city gates opened and the moat suspension bridge was lowered, the sound of war drums was heard.

Zhang Fei, who had been waiting for a long time, rode out of the East Gate camp, rushed onto the suspension bridge, and killed the two swordsmen who had just lowered the suspension bridge over the moat with two spears.

Zhang Fei's troops swarmed forward, blocking the city gate and launching a fierce attack.

Zhang Fei's previous instructions were—not to release anyone.

Luoyang will not be open for the next two days. It is nighttime now, so of course no innocent people will come out of the East Gate. Zhang Fei will show no mercy to anyone who tries to leave the city.

The swordsmen under the Yuan family are highly skilled, and they also have many loyal followers, making them a formidable force.

But they were not a regular army after all.

These people were indeed skilled in assassination or martial arts contests.

However, when facing a well-organized, fully armored regular army, it becomes a one-sided situation.

Zhang Fei, clad in heavy armor, charged towards the city gate despite being attacked by several swordsmen, and almost single-handedly sealed off the gate.

The Yuan family suffered heavy casualties.

Zhang Fei captured the East Gate in just half an hour and forced the elderly, weak, women and children of the Yuan family back into Luoyang City, where they were imprisoned in the Yuan family mansion again.

……

At the same time, Yuan Shao also broke through the Nine Dragon Gate of Nangong, joined forces with Zhang Yang, and captured Liu Bian.

When Liu Bei arrived at Chongde Hall, Zu Mao was fighting Zhang Yang. He only had 150 men with him, and more than half of them had been killed or wounded.

Seeing Liu Bei arrive to help, Zu Mao was greatly encouraged and rushed towards Zhang Yang, ready to fight to the death.

"Zumao, stop fighting... let's go!"

Liu Bei and Zhao Yun charged forward and, together with Zu Mao, repelled Zhang Yang's forces. However, Liu Bian had already disappeared, and Yuan Shao's troops were entering the palace.

Seeing that the enemy was increasing in number, Liu Bei quickly led Zu Mao back and burned down the corridor between the North and South Palaces.

Yuan Shao led his army to the corridor, but found that the six towers and the suspended corridor were all on fire, making it impossible to cross the palace. He had no choice but to give up.

"General, a fire has broken out in the imperial prison, the Empress has perished there, and Grand Master Yuan has also died... In addition... something has happened at the East Gate..."

Someone came to report to Yuan Shao.

"Go to the East Gate? What happened?"

Yuan Shao ignored the news of the Empress and Yuan Ji's deaths, but he immediately became anxious upon hearing that something had happened at the East Gate.

"Liu Bei's subordinate Zhang Fei suddenly appeared from the east of the city. The East Gate had already been occupied by Zhang Fei, and the clan members, carriages, horses, and valuables were all blocked in the East Courtyard..."

The swordsman who came to report explained things quite clearly.

"What a clever move Liu Bei made... he actually kept this in mind!"

Yuan Shao clenched his fists, turned around and called to his troops, "Let's go!"

"Elder brother, are we not sending reinforcements to the General?"

Chunyu Qiong asked.

"The Empress is dead, and Marquis Shi has been captured. What's the point of aiding him? Let's get out of Luoyang first and let He Jin fight Liu Bei to the death..."

Yuan Shao shook his head, then looked at Zhang Yang: "Brother Zhang, please ask Lord Ding to join me in planning this important matter..."

"General Yuan, Lord Ding is only willing to obey the Emperor's orders... Only after the new Emperor ascends the throne and orders all the troops in the country to punish the rebels can Lord Ding fully assist him."

Zhang Yang said in a low voice, "General, why don't you hurry to Nanyang and help Marquis Shi ascend to the throne as soon as possible... Isn't Pingcheng Gate currently in your hands, General?"

Nanyang is the hometown and place where Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu rose to power. It is indeed a good place to support a new emperor and establish himself.

"Although Nanyang is the hometown of the emperor, it is not the capital. If we abandon Luoyang, then we can hardly be considered the legitimate ruler!"

Yuan Shao shook his head: "If Ding Yuan is unwilling to obtain this unparalleled achievement, then so be it... Let's go through the valley gate to Xiaopingjin and first take He Jin's elite troops for use!"

(End of this chapter)