I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 269 A Desperate Alliance (Bonus Chapter)
After Gongsun Zan drove out Zhuge Liang, he began to mobilize the soldiers in the high towers according to Zhuge Liang's method to resist Yuan's army.

Yuan Jun immediately noticed gaps in the defenses of Yijing City, and his mobilization efforts were no longer as smooth and efficient as before, leading him to a sudden suspicion—

"The strategy of sowing discord must have worked!"

Guo Tu, who had come up with the plan, smiled slightly: "Gongsun Zan has long been paranoid, which is why he has secluded himself in the tower and stopped interacting with the world."

"Now that Liu Miao has suddenly sent people to help him defend the city, he must have some concerns. This kind of thing was expected!"

"Afterwards, I urge Lord Yuan to order a full-scale attack! To completely annihilate Gongsun!"

Following Guo Tu's advice, Yuan Shao ordered Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan to lead troops to attack Yijing simultaneously!
Yan Liang and Wen Chou were unparalleled in bravery during battle. They each led heavily armored soldiers to approach the tall building, seize the passageways, and cut off the pulleys on each floor.

While Gongsun Zan was hastily mobilizing his soldiers to defend, Gao Lan led his archers close in and shot him dead in mid-air!

Zhang He, known for his "clever changes," kept a close eye on the situation. Whenever he found a vacancy among the soldiers in a tall building, he would immediately give orders to Yan Liang and Wen Chou to occupy the building. This process was repeated, and in just one day, Yuan's army captured a hundred tall buildings!
The three tactics of charging, laddering, and damming were also brought out again by Yuan's army.

Lighter, but sharper!
A longer, but stronger ladder!
While digging the tunnels, Zhang He abandoned the strategy of launching a decisive attack and achieving a permanent victory, instead opting for a direct assault deep into Yijing. Instead, he used the existing moats within Yijing as boundaries, establishing camps along the moats after each section of the tunnel was dug. He employed a tactic of encircling and disintegrating the city layer by layer from the outside in, advancing slowly but efficiently.

In an instant, Yuan's attack was like that of gods and demons! The sound of drums and horns could be heard from underground, and the sight of rampaging ladders could be seen from above! Looking from the Hundred-Foot Tower in the very center, all the tall buildings seemed to change color, as if the sky had collapsed! As if mountains had crumbled!
Gongsun Zan sat listlessly in the hundred-foot tower, his expression shifting from fear to numbness, and then from numbness to exhaustion.

"How did things get to this point just because Zhuge Liang left?"

Guan Jing sighed and said, "My lord, please don't underestimate yourself."

“Yuan’s attack is clearly several times stronger than the first day’s. Even if Zhuge Liang were still here, he certainly wouldn’t be able to resist Yuan Shao.”

Now that things have come to this, all I can do is say something to find some comfort.

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Zan nodded silently.

"Now that the building is about to collapse, I cannot even protect it, let alone others."

Fortunately, Guan Jing continued to offer advice and strategies to Gongsun Zan.

"When Zhuge Liang left, he had already sent Gongzi Xu to Zhang Yan, the commander of the Black Mountain, to seek help. As long as you hold your ground, breaking Yuan Shao's siege will be a piece of cake!"

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Zan finally regained some composure.

He climbed to a high vantage point and pointed southwest: "I want to lead my elite troops to break through the encirclement and occupy the high mountains in the southwest. That way, when Zhang Yan arrives, we can cut off Yuan Shao's retreat and inflict a crushing defeat on him! What do you think, Shiqi?"

Guan Jing quickly dissuaded him: "Your soldiers are now filled with rebellious thoughts and are no longer able to fight. The reason they are holding on is because they care about their hometowns and their families, and they fight for their lord. If you can hold on for a long time, Yuan Shao will naturally retreat, and the armies from all sides will surely be able to regroup. If you abandon Yijing now, your army will lose its rear guard, and the fall of Yijing will be imminent. If you lose your base and wander in the wilderness, how can you achieve anything?"

Gongsun Zan was already afraid of Yuan Shao, so when he heard Guan Jing's advice, he nodded slightly and did not insist.

That night.

Gongsun Zan was having a dream.

His own towering building collapsed with a deafening roar! The intense feeling of weightlessness immediately jolted Gongsun Zan awake, and even the bedding was soaked with cold sweat!

"The hundred-foot tower has collapsed; is it that Heaven intends to destroy me?"

Gongsun Zan dared not stay in the Hundred-Foot Tower any longer and immediately wrote a letter to his son, Gongsun Xu: "Yuan's attack is like that of gods and demons! You must desperately beg Zhang Yan to bring troops to our aid! The bond between father and son needs no words to be felt. You must immediately take five thousand iron cavalry to the low-lying, damp area to the north and light a fire as a signal. I will then charge out of the city, displaying my might, and fight Yuan Shao to the death there."

As he wrote the final line, fearing his son wouldn't come to his rescue, Gongsun Zan added a special note—

"Otherwise, after I am gone, though the world is vast, it will not be enough to accommodate you!"

Gongsun Zan ordered his trusted subordinate Wen Ze to deliver a message, but Wen Ze was intercepted by Yuan's scouts as soon as he left the city.

Pang Ji immediately wanted to torture Wen Ze, but before the whip could even touch him, Wen Ze had already presented the letter to Pang Ji.

"We all admire Lord Yuan, and we hope that Lord Yuan will spare our lives!"

After personally reviewing Gongsun Zan's letter, Yuan Shao smiled and said, "In that case, Youzhou should be pacified!"

According to the letter, Yuan Shao ordered Yan Liang and Wen Chou to lead elite troops to ambush Gongsun Zan by lighting torches on the north side.

Gongsun Zan fell into the trap as expected and immediately led his cavalry out from the north. But when they got there, he found that Yan Liang and Wen Chou, two great generals, were waiting in front of him!
Gongsun Zan was horrified when he saw this. After a hasty battle, he had no choice but to return to Yijing City.

When Gongsun Zan saw Guan Jing again, there was no light left in his eyes. "My last plan has failed, and my defeat is probably only a matter of time."

Guan Jing, tears streaming down his face, cried out, "No!"

"My lord! When we promised Liu Miao three thousand mares, we had already prepared a large ship capable of crossing the sea!"

"Later, because of the matter of Zhuge Liang, these warhorses were not transported to Qingzhou and remained docked in Youzhou... My lord, why don't you head to the ferry now, board a large ship, and go to Qingzhou!"

Upon hearing this, the light in Gongsun Zan's eyes vanished in an instant.

"I previously expelled Liu Miao's envoy; how can I now have the face to pledge allegiance to him?"

"Besides, if I were the kind of person who could depend on others, wouldn't it have been better for me to have joined Yuan Shao long ago? Why would I need to cross the sea to find Liu Miao?"

Gongsun Zan tore off his tiger tally and seal and handed them to Guan Jing: "But Liu Miao's place is indeed a good place to go."

"After Shi Qi arrived in Qingzhou, he asked Liu Miao to take care of my family, considering that I had helped him and Cao Cao restrain Yuan Shao for so long."

"Besides that, I have nothing else to tell you."

Upon hearing Gongsun Zan's words, Guan Jing guessed Gongsun Zan's decision and burst into tears!
"I am originally from Hebei, but because I am strict in enforcing the law, I have been labeled a 'cruel official' by others!"

"Only my lord disregards my reputation and appoints me as his chief clerk! My lord has shown me great kindness, yet I cannot relieve his worries and troubles. How can I face the world with this disgrace!"

Gongsun Zan sat down, in front of a pillar of the Hundred-Foot Tower.

Looking up at the sky again, Gongsun Zan had a different feeling.

"God, He won't allow people like you and me to take over destiny."

"He was resolute in character, yet he was also afraid of battle."

"He has lofty ambitions, but lacks the necessary skills."

"They hate evil as if it were their enemy, yet they also go along with it."

"..."

Gongsun Zan spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground.

"What a load of bullshit!"

"If it weren't for this chaotic world, how prestigious and renowned would I, Gongsun Zan, be?"

Gongsun Zan closed his eyes and waved his hand to let Guan Jing leave.

"Go find Liu Miao."

"I've never met him, but I always felt that he was shameless in his actions, almost like the great-grandfather."

"Perhaps, only someone like this can become a so-called enlightened ruler?"

Guan Jing wanted to say something more, but Gongsun Zan stopped him.

"Leave me alone for a while."

"Let's stay a little longer."

After Guan Jing escorted Gongsun Zan's wives and concubines away, the Hundred-Foot Tower was engulfed in flames.

The appearance of that raging fire signifies the complete disintegration of the alliance between Liu Miao, Cao Cao, and Gongsun Zan, and also means the complete liberation of Yuan Shao's troops in the north. They can tighten their belts, free their hands, and go to fight Liu Miao and Cao Cao in a decisive battle!
Faced with Yuan Shao's terrifying manpower and resources, Liu Miao and Cao Cao were like candles in the wind and lamps in the rain.

Judging from Emperor Guangwu's unification of China from Hebei, the future of this alliance is now nothing but despair...

　There are two more chapters tonight; I'll try to finish the ones I owe before midnight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)