Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 209 Xing Daorong: I am the Supreme General of Huainan!
"Oh no, something's happened down there!"

The Jingzhou people who were lying in ambush all around were eagerly waiting for Yuan's army to send more men into the city to fall into the ambush, so that they could attack together and make sure that they would not return alive.

But to everyone's surprise, the Yuan army, which had fallen into the ambush, dared to take the initiative and make the first move!
How dare they?

"How could this be? Why did these Yuan soldiers attack immediately upon entering the city? How could they be so certain that there was a trap in the city and that General Xing was not truly surrendering?"

Cai Mao stared incredulously at the Yuan army below the city, then thrust his sword directly at the unsuspecting Liu Pan army, his eyes wide with rage.

"Could it be Xing Daorong? Could it be that, as Zhongmou said, he has been secretly colluding with Yuan Shikai all along, and that his story this time is just a lie to deceive us?"

"Not necessarily. Perhaps that traitor Yuan never truly trusted Xing Daorong. To him, regardless of whether General Xing's surrender tonight was genuine or not, he was prepared to take direct action, giving us no chance to ambush or scheme against him."

Kuai Yue shook his head, his expression extremely solemn. "Besides, things have already come to this point. With such a shocking turn of events, it's no longer important whether General Xing's feelings for us are genuine or not."

For him, with Liu Pan dead, his scheme foiled, and Yuan's heavily armored cavalry within reach, his only chance of survival was to feign surrender and then make it real.

"Impossible! With General Xing's martial prowess, a mere three hundred iron cavalrymen, if he's willing to fight to the death, with that pear blossom axe in his hand..."

However, before Cai Mao could finish speaking, Xing Daorong below the city had already changed his flag and was shouting the name of "Yuan Gong's adopted son," issuing orders to all sides to restore order and punish the traitors as ordered by imperial decree.

"You traitor, how dare you!"

"Xing Daorong! How dare you do this? My lord and I trusted him so much, yet he turns out to be such a disloyal and treacherous villain!"

Cai Mao was furious and cursing, but Kuai Yue didn't care about any of that. He was busy with the other people from Jingzhou, ordering the ambushing soldiers to fire arrows and ordering the city gate soldiers to close the gate immediately.

But now that things have come to this, there's no time to lose.
The archers lying in ambush all around fired their arrows, only to be met head-on by Sun Ce leading three hundred heavy cavalry charging towards them.

Arrows shot into the air only produce a clanging sound like metal clashing; very few are capable of causing injury.

On the contrary, the crossbow formation was easily broken by these iron cavalry. How could flesh and blood, especially the archers responsible for the ambush, withstand the iron torrent?

Although Sun Ce's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry numbered only three hundred, once they disrupted the Jingzhou army's formation, Cheng Pu's soldiers would immediately rush in to fight them.

On the other side, the soldiers who were positioned on the city walls, looking down from above, were also being targeted by the three hundred heavily armored black-armored infantrymen led by Xu Chu.

Although cavalry could not easily break through, the heavily armored infantry were unstoppable. With Xu Chu as the spearhead to break through the enemy lines, Xing Daorong, the Lingling General who claimed to be Yuan Gong's adopted son, ordered the Jingzhou soldiers to surrender while leading the already surrendered soldiers to defect to their allies.

The battle for the city gates was a bloody and fiery meat grinder.

When Kuai Yue realized that things had changed, his first reaction was to close the city gates!

However, even though his reaction was quick enough, he couldn't withstand the close proximity of Han Dang and Huang Gai's troops.

One of them had just passed through the city gate, and the other had just approached it. Working together from the inside and outside, they managed to hold the city gate shut and prevent it from closing.

Thus, one side wanted to close the gate, while the other wanted to open it. As the two sides struggled, troops continuously poured in to fight.

In this chaotic scene, chaos reigned both inside and outside the city gates. Kuai Yue, who had meticulously planned everything and believed he had everything under control tonight, never expected this.

He had clearly come to ambush Yuan's army, but after being attacked first, and with Xing Daorong turning against him, he was caught in a chaotic battle. In a short time, it was really difficult to drive the 10,000 Yuan soldiers and the 5,000 men that Xing Daorong had subdued out of the city.

But it doesn't matter!

In order to wipe out half of Yuan Shu's army in one battle and thwart Yuan Shu's strategy of seizing Jingzhou, he has ambushed more than 50,000 men here tonight. As long as he continues to gather a large army, they can all attack together!
then
"Fire arrows! Fire arrows! Fire arrows!!!"
Reinforcements! Reinforcements! Reinforcements!!!

"Take back the city gate at all costs! Whoever takes back the city gate will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold and promoted three ranks!"

As more and more Jingzhou soldiers who had been lying in ambush poured in, a hail of arrows rained down on Yuan's army.

The numerical disparity was too great. Even if Yuan's army fought desperately, and even if Yuan's army had the upper hand in some local battles such as those against Sun Ce, Xu Chu, and Xing Daorong, the situation was still too dire.

In terms of the overall situation, Yuan's army has been suffering repeated defeats and is almost driven out of the city gates by the overwhelming offensive of Jingzhou troops.

However, there was no time!

Yuan Shu's army outside the city was only an arrow's distance away from the city. Seeing Sun Ce and others in the city make their move, they had no hesitation.

First, three thousand light cavalry charged into the city, wiping out any Jingzhou soldiers they encountered along the open streets.

Secondly, a full 30,000 infantrymen, under Zhou Yu's command, entered the city one after another to provide reinforcements, and fought against the Jingzhou troops sent by Kuai Yue.

Although the Jingzhou army was numerous, the two sides were fighting fiercely at the narrow city gate, making it difficult for them to send their entire armies to rush up. Instead, they reinforced each other's troops to fight for the city gate, resulting in a bloodbath at the gate.

In terms of deploying tens of thousands of troops in a confined space, Kuai Yue was far inferior to Zhou Yu. Moreover, Yuan Shao's soldiers were brave and fierce in battle, while the Jingzhou troops were constantly being recruited and surrendered by Xing Daorong while fighting.

For Xing Daorong, since his plan to ambush them tonight had already been seen through by his adoptive father, his old man, Xing Daorong was now in a difficult situation.

Next, the Jingzhou side will definitely conclude that he is a traitor to Yuan, spouting lies on the surface but actually cooperating with Yuan's camp from within and without, and will absolutely not tolerate him.

The only way out is to turn the charade into reality, cooperate with Yuan Ying's performance, make a great contribution, demonstrate one's value, and seek a glimmer of hope.

So this time, he really put all his strength into his loud voice, making full use of his eloquence to persuade the Jingzhou army to surrender, as a pledge of allegiance and a stepping stone for promotion.

Given Xing Daorong's reputation in Jingzhou and his status as the commander-in-chief there, it goes without saying that he successfully persuaded many soldiers to defect.

With the tides turning and the enemy gaining ground, Kuai Yue's troops were no match for Zhou Yu's. Therefore, although there were 30,000 against 50,000, the Jingzhou troops lying in ambush were actually at a disadvantage and were only able to hold on by relying on their numerical advantage.

How could Kuai Yue not be heartbroken and exhausted upon witnessing this scene?

Damn!

How did it get to this point?

It's clear that tonight's event is a trap to lure you into a snare, a prelude to Yuan's army.

But why did the fighting turn into a siege? Or had it already reached the final stage of the siege, with the city gates breached and the enemy already inside?
In such siege battles, the defending troops have lost the advantage of city defense; all that remains is bloody fighting, risking their lives to build new city gates and drive the enemy out.

But unfortunately, Kuai Yue wasn't a general!
Although he was exceptionally intelligent and had some knowledge of military strategy, he was not a general who specialized in leading troops into battle; he was only capable of devising ingenious schemes and ambushes.

But when it came to the final stage, the most intense attack and defense of the city, he found himself in a bind.

Every time he arranged for men to block one breach, another would attack from a different spot. What troubled him most was that, in order to intensify the battle for the city gates, Yuan's army outside the city had already set up siege ladders, brought in Lu Gong's chariots, and was about to swarm in from all sides of the city walls.

At this moment, Kuai Yue was filled with longing for Sun Quan, recalling the scene when he led a thousand men to help him break through the encirclement, causing the entire army to flee and escape to heaven.

Kuai Yue couldn't help but think that if Sun Quan were to lead a large army and charge into the enemy lines, he might be able to break the deadlock and drive all of Yuan's troops out of the city.

However, at this critical juncture, Sun Quan had nowhere to be found. With the situation so urgent, Kuai Yue had no choice but to force Cai Mao, a naval general, to take charge of the defense of the city walls.

However, the intense battle between the two sides did not last long. Kuai Yue was shocked to hear some terrible news, and he was almost devastated.

A soldier came to report!

“Mr. Kuai, Yuan’s army is attacking from the north gate, and the defending troops are no longer able to resist!”
Requesting backup!

"what?"

However, before Kuai Yue could react and make any further arrangements, another messenger soldier behind the first soldier rushed over as fast as he could.

"The north gate has fallen; there is no need to send reinforcements!"

Yuan's army is attacking! Mr. Kuai, retreat immediately!

"what!!!"

Kuai Yue: "???"

He never imagined that he would be so exhausted here at the South Gate, holding off Yuan's army's offensive while also dealing with Xing Daorong's attempts to win him over and win his heart.

Unexpectedly, he was still able to barely hold on to the situation, but the north gate was the first to fall. The city fell so quickly that he had barely heard the news and couldn't even send troops to support it in time.

It turned out that a large number of troops had already been deployed to hide nearby for tonight's ambush, and during the intense battle just now, more troops were continuously being sent in.

Currently, of the more than 60,000 soldiers in the city, more than 50,000 are concentrated here fighting with Yuan's army, while the remaining 10,000 are divided to guard the three sides of the city wall.

Furthermore, there was not a single general left in the city who could be mobilized to command, so how could the few soldiers guarding the north gate possibly withstand the fierce attack of Zhou Tai leading 20,000 elite Yuan troops?
Zhou Tai was the first to charge into battle, and despite being hit by several arrows, he was still the first to breach the city walls and fight a bloody battle.

The guards at the north gate saw that he was covered in arrows and bleeding profusely, yet they were still slaughtering them like pigs and dogs.

The man was like a demon or a monster, and the defending soldiers were so terrified that they dared not fight.
In contrast, seeing their own general so brave and fierce, Yuan's army became even more fearless, swarming up the city walls like ants, their momentum unstoppable.

As a result, the three or four thousand guards at the north gate were no match for Zhou Tai; they were either frightened by Zhou Tai or killed by the surging Yuan army.

There were no generals stationed here, and the lowly deputy general guarding the gate saw Zhou Tai, this blood-soaked demon god, coming towards him.

Yuan's army of 20,000 men arrived with overwhelming force, and the city gates could no longer be defended. He hurriedly led his personal guards to flee into the city.

With the general fleeing, the remaining soldiers lost all will to fight, and once the rout began, the city gates were breached almost instantly.

Upon hearing the news that the North Gate had fallen and that he was to retreat quickly, Kuai Yue could only manage a bitter smile.

"withdraw?"

Given how dire the situation has become, where else can he retreat to?
If the 70,000-strong anti-Yuan army that the lord had painstakingly assembled were all lost here, what would be the point if he managed to escape alone?
Moreover, he had no choice at the moment, as he was practically chasing after the two messengers who had fled there.

North of the city gates, where Yuan's army and Jingzhou soldiers were locked in a bloody battle, a large banner bearing the character "Yuan" fluttered from within the city walls as a contingent of Yuan's troops rushed in.

The leader, riddled with arrows and covered in blood, charged forward as if nothing had happened, his path clear of all who stood in his way.

Then, the entire 20,000-strong Yuan army, brimming with high morale, pursued and killed the thousands of fleeing soldiers who had escaped from the north gate, until they were incorporated into the Jingzhou army's formation.

Attacked from both sides, surrounded and attacked from all sides, it seemed there was no way to escape!
This is true inside-outside cooperation!

The generals and soldiers of Jingzhou were shocked to see such an enemy army emerge from their own rear city. Like Kuai Yue, they were filled with despair, wondering how they could possibly fight their way out today.

At this time, the most amazing and outstanding performance was actually by General Xing Daorong of Lingling!
The two sides were initially locked in a stalemate, evenly matched. No matter how eloquent Xing Daorong was, he could only occasionally and sparingly persuade some of the Jingzhou soldiers to abandon their allegiance to the Ming.

At that moment, the city had already fallen, and the Jingzhou soldiers were in despair as they were attacked from both sides. Xing Daorong could almost surrender a large number of them with a wave of his hand. He was fat, strong, and had a loud voice, which attracted the most attention in the center of the battlefield.

In particular, the garrison commander who was chased by Zhou Tai from the north gate to the south gate, along with his fleeing soldiers, had been relentlessly pursued by this bloodthirsty demon Zhou Tai. They were already like frightened birds, running for their lives.

Having finally escaped to the main battlefield at the South Gate, they were greeted by their former superior, General Xing Daorong, who was loudly urging them to surrender, saying that he was now Yuan Gong's adopted son and would lead them to punish the rebels on imperial orders.

This garrison commander, who had been fleeing all the way and was only trying to survive, had no reason to suspect anything.
Having just escaped to the South Gate battlefield, he led his men to attack the unsuspecting Jingzhou allies, while shouting loudly to Zhou Tai, who was chasing after him.

"I am Chen Guan, the adopted son of Yuan Gongyi and the garrison commander of the North Gate under General Xing Daorong of Huainan!"

Hey general behind, stop chasing! Don't hurt our friendly forces!
I even drank with General Xing Daorong, the adopted son of your Lord Yuan.

If you accidentally injure me, General Xing, as Lord Yuan's adopted son, will certainly not let you off easily.

Zhou Tai: "???"

Zhou Tai was stunned when he heard this. No, you were just on the city wall, trying to stop me from attacking the city!
Do you see these arrows stuck in my body? Did you have them shot at me?

What kind of friendly force do you think you are?

And Xing Daorong?
As the deputy commander of my lord's personal guard, do you think I don't know whether he is my lord's adopted son or not?

However, seeing how timid and submissive this fellow was when defending the city, but how ruthless and merciless he was when killing the Jingzhou soldiers, Zhou Tai led his troops to change course and temporarily bypass this "friendly force" to attack the other Jingzhou soldiers who were still fighting hard.

Such a scene, where a mere wave of the hand subdued a subordinate general and persuaded three or four thousand people to defect, demonstrated the extraordinary abilities of General Xing Daorong of Huainan in the center of the battlefield, leaving both Jingzhou and Yuan's camp in awe!
Despite Zhou Tai's attack from the north gate to provide inside support and Xing Daorong's defection to the right side, persuading the people to surrender, Jingzhou still had more than 50,000 troops lying in ambush and stockpiling in this area.

Although they are currently in dire straits, suffering defeat after defeat, and seemingly doomed to destruction, it will not be a matter of a moment for Yuan's army to wipe them all out.

The bloody battle continued, with people falling one after another, only to be replaced by newcomers rushing forward to fight.

The fighting never changed; what changed was that Yuan's army, attacking from both sides, had gained a complete advantage over the stubborn Jingzhou soldiers.

(End of this chapter)