My brothers are all warriors capable of taking on ten thousand men; I'll roam freely in the Thr

From October to December of the first year of Jian'an (196 AD), Dong Zhuo fortified Liangzhou.

The autumn wind is getting colder, and the feeling of winter is growing stronger.

Yuan Tan stood on a high point in the camp, gazing at the vast expanse of land to the north, his heart filled with a chill.

For months, he had been "punishing" the Yufuluo tribe.

It was called a campaign, but in reality it was nothing more than a waste of time.

The troops he sent out always followed the Xiongnu's tracks from a distance, driving them away at a leisurely pace.

Today they rush forward ten miles, tomorrow they retreat five miles.

When the Xiongnu robbed his cattle and sheep, he sent men to chase after them, but they were exhausted and had to return.

There has never been a real war.

"General."

Wang Zhao whispered, "Han Sui has sent another envoy."

Yuan Tan didn't turn around, but simply said, "What do you mean?"

Wang Zhao hesitated for a moment, then said, "I urge the general to annihilate Yufuluo as soon as possible, and said... that if the general delays any further, he will be punished according to military law."

Yuan Tan sneered and turned around.

"Military law enforcement? By what right does Han Sui administer military law to me?"

Wang Zhao lowered his head, not daring to reply.

Yuan Tan returned to his tent, sat down at his desk, and stared at the document from Han Sui urging him to fight, remaining silent for a long time.

He knew that Han Sui had become suspicious of him.

He knew that doing so would only make Han Sui even angrier.

But he had no other choice.

He only had 20,000 men.

If he were to truly engage in a direct confrontation with Yufuluo and suffer heavy losses, what would he rely on to establish himself in Liangzhou?

How can he save his wife and daughter?

We can only delay.

We can just wait it out.

Until...until when?

Yuan Tan didn't know.

All he knew was that with each passing day, his hatred for Han Sui would grow stronger.

On the first day of the first month of the second year of Jian'an (197 AD), in Jincheng.

The first day of the new year should be a joyous occasion.

But on this day, a chilling atmosphere hung over Jincheng.

Beneath the city walls, an army of forty thousand stood in formation. Banners blotted out the sun, and armored soldiers stood like a forest.

At the head of the procession was a large banner with a huge character "项" (Xiang) written on it.

Xiang Yu has arrived.

He was clad in black armor, riding a black horse, wielding a halberd, his eyes blazing as he coldly gazed at the city wall.

Behind him, generals Yuwen Chengdu and Zhang Liao stood with their troops at rest.

The phoenix-winged gilded halberd gleamed coldly, while the Azure Dragon Blade exuded murderous intent.

Han Sui climbed the city wall and looked at the menacing army outside the city, his face turning ashen.

"Xiang Yu!"

He shouted sternly, "I am the Governor of Liangzhou and General Who Guards the West, appointed by the imperial court! You are attacking me without cause; are you plotting a rebellion?!"

Below the city, Xiang Yu raised his head and glanced at him.

That gaze was as cold as ice in the twelfth lunar month.

He didn't speak.

He simply took the stiff bow from beside the saddle and nocked an eagle-feathered arrow.

The bow is drawn as full as a moon.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow shot through the air as fast as a shooting star!

Han Sui was shocked and instinctively lowered his head.

"clang!"

The arrow grazed his scalp and struck his helmet.

The exquisite golden helmet was shot away by an arrow and tumbled down the city walls.

Han Sui felt a chill on his scalp. He reached out and touched it; his hair and scalp were still there, but the force of the arrow made his face burn with pain.

"what!"

He cried out in surprise, staggered backward, and almost fell over!

His personal guards rushed forward, protected him, and escorted him down from the city wall.

Below the city, Xiang Yu sheathed his bow, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"waste."

Behind them, forty thousand soldiers cheered in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

Jincheng, Han Sui Prefecture.

Han Sui slumped onto the couch, his face deathly pale, his hands still trembling slightly.

That arrow almost cost him his life.

"Xiang Yu... Xiang Yu..." he murmured, his voice terribly hoarse.

Yang Qiu said urgently, "My lord! Xiang Yu is coming with overwhelming force. Although Jincheng has 100,000 troops, the attack is sudden, and a hasty battle may result in losses! Quickly send someone to Dong Zhuo's camp to summon Yuan Tan back to reinforce!"

Han Sui suddenly looked up, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.

"Yes! Yuan Tan! Yuan Tan still has tens of thousands of men at Dong Zhuo's camp! Let him come to their aid!"

He grabbed Yang Qiu's hand and hissed, "Quick! Send someone! Tell him to return immediately! Tell him that if he comes, I will forgive and forget!"

Yang Qiu accepted the order and left.

Han Sui sat on the couch, panting heavily.

He recalled that arrow, that cold gaze, and an overwhelming sense of fear welled up inside him.

Xiang Yu was a terrifying man.

Will Yuan Tan, that stray dog, come to his rescue?

Dong Zhuo's fortifications were at Yuan Tan's camp.

Han Sui's messenger practically stumbled and crawled into Yuan Tan's tent.

"General Yuan! Something terrible has happened! Xiang Yu has led an army of 40,000 to launch a surprise attack on Jincheng! My lord, I implore you to return to its aid immediately!"

Yuan Tan sat at his desk, his face as calm as still water.

"Xiang Yu launches a surprise attack on Jincheng?"

He said slowly, "I understand."

The messenger urgently said, "General! The military situation is critical! Please dispatch troops immediately!"

Yuan Tan looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"I am unwell and unable to lead the troops."

The messenger was stunned: "General! You..."

Yuan Tan waved his hand, interrupting him:

"Go back and tell General Han that I am ill, and I will come to his aid once I recover."

The envoy's face turned ashen, but he dared not say a word and could only leave dejectedly.

After the messenger left, Wang Zhao stepped forward and whispered, "General, are you really not going?"

Yuan Tan shook his head, his gaze deep: "No, we won't go. Xiang Yu only has 40,000 men, while Jincheng has 100,000. Let them fight first and weaken Han Sui's strength."

Wang Zhao hesitated and said, "But what if Xiang Yu really breaches Jincheng..."

Yuan Tan sneered: "It's better if it's broken."

Wang Zhao opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Jincheng, below the city walls.

Xiang Yu's offensive was as fierce as thunder.

Yuwen Chengdu took the lead, and wherever his phoenix-winged gilded halberd passed, the defenders of Jincheng fell like straw.

Zhang Liao led his troops in a flanking attack, inflicting heavy casualties on the defending soldiers.

Forty thousand elite troops, like forty thousand fierce tigers, frantically tore at Jincheng's defenses.

Three days.

In just three days, Jincheng was almost breached.

The city walls were riddled with gaps.

The defending troops suffered countless casualties, and their morale plummeted to rock bottom.

If it weren't for the high walls and deep moats of Jincheng, and if it weren't for Han Sui's desperate resistance, this city would have already fallen into Xiang Yu's hands.

Standing atop the ruined city tower, Han Sui gazed down at the army below, which resembled a god of death, and an endless despair welled up within him.

Xiang Yu... he was terrifying.

That Yuwen Chengdu is terrifying.

Those 40,000 elite troops are terrifying.

He turned to look at Yang Qiu and hissed, "Where's Yuan Tan?! Hasn't Yuan Tan arrived yet?!"

Yang Qiu's face was deathly pale: "My lord, the messenger we sent has returned... Yuan Tan said... he's unwell and unable to go on the expedition..."

Han Sui was struck dumb, frozen in place.

"Feeling unwell?! Feeling unwell again?!"

He suddenly erupted, kicking over the table beside him and roaring hoarsely, "Yuan Xiansi! I've treated you well! How dare you stand by and watch me die!"

He was breathing heavily, his eyes filled with a frenzied hatred.

"Pass down the order! Send another messenger! Tell him that if he doesn't come, I will take his wife and daughters..."

He didn't finish speaking, but the chill he exuded sent a shiver down Yang Qiu's spine.

Dong Zhuo's fortifications were at Yuan Tan's camp.

Han Sui's envoy arrived once again.

This time, Yuan Tan still did not grant him an audience.

Just as the envoy was about to leave in anger, another group of people quietly arrived at the camp.

That was an envoy sent by Jia Xu.

Inside the main tent, Yuan Tan received Jia Xu's envoy.

The messenger was a middle-aged scholar with a thin face and piercing eyes.

Upon seeing Yuan Tan, he cut to the chase: "General Yuan, I have come on the orders of Lord Jia to persuade you to surrender."

Yuan Tan frowned: "Jia Xu? Jia Xu, the governor of Bing Province?"

The envoy nodded: "Indeed."

Yuan Tan sneered, "Jia Xu sent you to persuade me to surrender? Why should I surrender? My father's killer is none other than Ji Xuanyuan!"

The envoy smiled slightly and said calmly, "General, you are mistaken. Your father died of anger and grief, not because of the Grand Tutor. The Grand Tutor gave your father a chance back in Guandu, but your father insisted on his own way, which led to his defeat and death."

Yuan Tan's expression changed.

The envoy continued, "Moreover, General, you are currently in Liangzhou, living under someone else's roof. Your wife and daughters have been taken hostage, and your life is not in your own hands. Han Sui is only using you. If you help him, you will be going against the tide; if you help the Grand Tutor, you will be going with the tide. The choice is yours."

Yuan Tan remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "My brothers have all been killed by Ji Xuanyuan. If I surrender, will I have a good end?"

The messenger shook his head: "General, you misunderstand. The Grand Tutor did that to eliminate future troubles. But if you surrender, you will no longer be an enemy, but a subject. You should know how the Grand Tutor treats surrendered generals. Zhang He and Gao Lan are now under the Grand Tutor's command; have they been mistreated?"

Yuan Tan was startled.

Zhang He, Gao Lan... they all did indeed surrender.

It is said that Ji Xuanyuan treated them well, entrusted them with important tasks, and treated them all equally.

The envoy looked at him intently: "General, Han Sui holds a grudge against you for disobeying orders twice and will retaliate sooner or later. By then, even if you want to surrender, it will be too late."

Yuan Tan was in a state of utter confusion.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the tent.

A guard rushed in and knelt on one knee: "General! Han Sui's envoy has arrived again! He says... he says that if the general does not return to reinforce, he will... he will punish the lady and young lady!"

Yuan Tan suddenly stood up, his face deathly pale!

"What?!"

Upon seeing this, Jia Xu's messenger suddenly stepped forward and shouted loudly towards the outside of the tent, "General Yuan has surrendered to the Han Dynasty! You all must retreat immediately!"

Yuan Tan was stunned.

The messenger turned to look at him, his gaze profound: "General, things have come to this, do you have any way out?"

Outside the tent, Han Sui's envoy heard the shout, his expression changed drastically, and he turned and ran.

Yuan Tan watched the departing figure, his mind going completely blank.

He thought of his wife, who was being held captive in Jincheng, and his three-year-old daughter.

He had no way out.

There's really no way out.

"Someone come here!"

He suddenly shouted sharply, "Chase after him! Kill that messenger!"

Several guards obeyed the order and left.

A moment later, the head of Han Sui's envoy was presented to Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan looked at the bloody human head, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again, there was a look of resolute determination in them.

"Send the order: All troops assemble! Follow me..."

He paused, then said, word by word, "To punish Han Sui!"

Jincheng, Han Sui Prefecture.

What Han Sui received was not Yuan Tan's reinforcements, but news of Yuan Tan's betrayal.

"Yuan Tan...has rebelled?"

He murmured, his voice terribly hoarse.

Yang Qiu knelt on the ground, his voice trembling, and said, "My lord, Yuan Tan killed our envoy and has rebelled!"

Han Sui slumped back onto the couch, his face ashen.

Xiang Yu was still outside the city walls when Yuan Tan rebelled again...

It's over...it's all over...

He suddenly remembered something and looked up sharply: "Where is Lady Wen? Where is Yuan Tan's daughter?"

Yang Qiu said, "They're still in the backyard."

A flash of crazed hatred crossed Han Sui's eyes: "Bring him up!"

In the backyard, the sound of weeping was deafening.

Lady Wen, holding her daughter, was dragged before Han Sui by the ravenous soldiers.

"Han Sui! What are you doing!" Wen shouted hoarsely.

Han Sui looked at her, then at the trembling little girl, without a trace of pity in his eyes.

"Yuan Tan has rebelled."

He said coldly, "If he dares to rebel, I will let him taste the pain of losing a loved one."

Ms. Wen's face was deathly pale as she held her daughter tightly in her arms.

"No...don't..."

Han Sui waved his hand.

A flash of light appeared.

The screams abruptly stopped.

Two corpses lay in pools of blood.

Han Sui turned and left without looking back.

Behind me, only the cold north wind howled past.

Dong Zhuo's fortifications were at Yuan Tan's camp.

When the news arrived, Yuan Tan was assembling his troops.

"General! Something terrible has happened! The lady and young lady... have been killed by Han Sui!"

Yuan Tan was struck dumb, frozen in place.

"What did you say?"

The soldier knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face: "Han Sui killed the lady and the young lady! Their bodies were thrown outside Jincheng City!"

Yuan Tan's vision went black, and he nearly collapsed.

Ah Wen...

Ah Yue...

He remembered his wife's laughter and his daughter's sweet, childlike voice calling him "Daddy."

He remembered the day he left Jincheng, when A-Yue tugged at his sleeve and asked him when he would come back to pick her up.

He remembered saying, "I'll be back soon."

But he didn't come back.

He will never come back.

"Han Sui!" Yuan Tan roared to the sky.

He drew his longsword, pointed it in the direction of Jincheng, and hissed, "All troops, march forth! Raze Jincheng to the ground! Avenge the Lady and Miss!"

"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!"

Twenty thousand soldiers roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.