Chapter 277: After all your efforts, you still fell into my hands! In the history books, I am still a loyal minister!

Chen Gong waved his hand, and the archers stopped shooting. They appeared from the darkness one after another, and aimed countless sharp arrows at Hao Meng who was half-kneeling on the ground.

All the personal guards had been shot to death, leaving only Hao Meng, who was shot with several arrows and half-knelt in front of Chen Gong.

"Chen Gong——"

"You call yourself a famous person, but I didn't expect you to be such a despicable person!"

Hao Meng gnashed his teeth and cursed, his eyes full of hatred.

Chen Gong looked cold and indifferent, and said coldly:
"Do you think I don't know that you secretly surrendered to Liu Bei without telling me, and you want to kill me?"

"You are just a coward who only cares about protecting yourself. What qualifications do you have to blame me?"

Hao Meng was speechless.

Logically speaking, both of them were Lu Bu's old subordinates, and they should have been of one mind and worked together, but he secretly surrendered to Liu Bei without discussing it with Chen Gong, which was indeed not a fair thing to do.

"I surrendered to the general secretly. I had no choice. I knew you would never surrender to the general. You were determined to drag me to be buried with the Yuan family!"

"But even if I surrendered to the general, I didn't intend to kill you. Why did you set up an ambush and use such despicable means to kill me?"

After Hao Meng felt a little guilty, he questioned Chen Gong with confidence.

This time it was Chen Gong's turn to be speechless.

But having come to this point, he no longer bothered to explain, nor did he want to explain any more.

So Chen Gong said nothing more, just turned around silently and waved his hand.

The archers immediately took action and shot Hao Meng into a honeycomb.

at this time.

Suddenly, bursts of killing sounds came from the south of the city.

Chen Gong's face changed and he rushed to the outside of the hall. He looked into the distance and was surprised to see a flag with the word "Liu" rising on the south gate tower.

"South Gate? How...how could it be that South Gate?"

Chen Gong's face turned pale with horror, and he was totally confused for a moment.

Hao Meng laughed and said sarcastically:

"Before I came here, I told my subordinates to open the city gates and welcome the general into the city as soon as noon arrives, without waiting for my return!"

"Chen Gong, you think you are smart, but you didn't expect that I would have such a back-up plan, right?"

"Hahaha--"

Chen Gong suddenly woke up, staggered, and took half a step back.

His original plan was to lure Hao Meng to the county government. It would be best if he could convince Hao Meng to stick to his post until the end. But if he couldn't, he would ambush and kill him and seize his military power.

After all, these 3,000 defenders are soldiers of the Yuan family. As long as he paints a rosy picture and deceives them that Yuan Tan will soon lead his troops to rescue them, most of these soldiers will obey his orders and continue to defend Xiaxiang.

What Chen Gong did not expect was that Hao Meng surrendered to Liu so quickly, and they actually agreed to open the city and surrender at noon today.

Moreover, when he came to the county government, he also instructed that the city should be opened and Liu should be surrendered as agreed.

This meant that the killing plan he had carefully planned had become a joke.

So what if I kill Hao Meng?

The South Gate has been lost, and Liu Bei's army has already rushed into Xiaxiang City. How can he resist with his head?

"Hao Meng, you——"

Chen Gong woke up in shock, gnashed his teeth, and turned to Hao Meng angrily.

Hao Meng's body was covered in blood and he was only breathing his last breath, but he forced himself to stand up and sneered at Chen Gong sarcastically.

"Chen Gong, you have planned so many tricks, but in the end you still fell into the hands of a mere warrior like me!"

"Even though I, Hao Meng, will die today, I will drag you down with me to the underworld. It is a good opportunity for us to travel together on the road to the underworld and meet Lord Wen together."

"Hahaha--"

Looking at Hao Meng's crazy and mocking behavior, Chen Gong became furious and drew his sword, rushing towards Hao Meng.

"puff!"

A sword pierced Hao Meng's heart.

"Chen Gong, I...I'll be waiting for you downstairs..."

Blood gushed out of Hao Meng's mouth, his eyes bulged open, and he slowly collapsed to the ground.

Although he was dead, his sad, angry and resentful eyes were still staring at Chen Gong.

That look made Chen Gong shiver, and he couldn't hold the blood sword in his hand anymore, and it fell to the ground.

Inside the palace hall, all the soldiers put down their swords, bows and crossbows, and looked at Chen Gong, whose hands were covered in blood, in panic, not knowing what to do.

"The enemy is coming!"

"Enemy troops from all gates are attacking the city. We can't hold it!"

The soldiers shouted in panic and stumbled in.

Chen Gong shuddered again and suddenly woke up. He quickly grabbed the bloody sword on the ground, jumped on his horse and rushed out of the hall.

Looking around, I saw countless Yuan soldiers on the main street in the south, fleeing towards the county government like frightened lambs.

Behind them, the figures of Liu Jun's cavalry could be clearly seen, approaching like tigers and wolves.

Looking at the four gates again, the three gates in the west, south and north have all raised the flag with the word "Liu" on it, representing the fall of the three gates.

Only the East Gate has not seen the flag change for the time being.

"Break out from the east gate!"

Chen Gong didn't think twice, shouted loudly, whipped his horse and galloped away.

Liu's army of 70,000 surrounded the city, and he only had a hundred soldiers available. Even if he broke through the east gate, his hope was slim.

Chen Gong knew this very well, but he still refused to give up, and ran towards the east gate with a last glimmer of hope.

When he climbed up the city wall panting, he took a breath of cold air, and the last glimmer of hope collapsed in an instant.

At the foot of the East Gate, the city had already been surrounded by the massive Liu army, and tens of thousands of Liu army soldiers were rushing towards the city wall.

The siege is just around the corner.

How could we possibly break through in this situation?

"Am I, Chen Gong, really going to die here today?"

"I am unwilling, I am unwilling——"

Chen Gong gritted his teeth, his face twisted with endless grief and anger.

So he took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and wanted to try another door.

It's too late.

To the north and south, countless soldiers of Liu's army were pouring toward the east gate along the city wall.

On the main street, Liu Jun's cavalry was like a torrent, and in the blink of an eye they reached the city.

Chen Gong and his Yuan soldiers, numbering less than two hundred, were surrounded and killed on the east gate tower.

"The lower phase has been broken, those who surrender will be spared death!"

A general as strong as a tower, riding a horse and holding a sword, killed his way to the top of the city.

With a wave of his sword, two foolish Yuan soldiers were chopped to the ground.

The fighting spirit of the remaining two hundred Yuan soldiers collapsed. They dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground in surrender.

"Don't surrender, pick up your weapons and follow me to break through~~"

Chen Gong was in despair, and seemed to have lost control of his mind. He waved his sword and shouted hysterically.

How could Yuan's soldiers listen to him? They still knelt on the ground in groups, begging for surrender tremblingly.

In the end, he was the only one left on the city wall, leaning against the battlements, still yelling at the kneeling soldiers.

"Chen Gongtai!"

A familiar voice rang out on the city wall like thunder, stinging Chen Gong's eardrums and making him suddenly sober up.

He raised his head tremblingly, and saw a general standing on his horse with a sword in hand not far in front of him, staring at him coldly.

"Zhang... Zhang Liao~~"

Chen Gong called out the name through gritted teeth.

Zhang Liao's expression eased a little, and he began to advise:
"Chen Gongtai, the situation is over. You have no way to escape."

"Give up your futile struggle and surrender to the general."

"Since we worked together in the past, I will ask the general for mercy on your behalf. Perhaps he will spare your life!"

Zhang Liao, mindful of their old friendship, wanted to give Chen Gong a chance to live.

"Zhang Liao, oh Zhang Liao, you are a traitor, what qualifications do you have to persuade me to surrender to Liu Bei?"

Chen Gong, however, not only did not appreciate it, but his desperate face was twisted into a sneer of sarcasm and contempt.

Zhang Liao frowned and snorted coldly:
"I, Zhang Liao, was never Lu Bu's subordinate. Even if I betrayed him, it was only after I was defeated in a fierce battle."

"Lü Bu regarded you as his strategist, but you betrayed him and escaped alone during the battle of Shouchun. What qualifications do you have to mock me here?"

Seeing that Chen Gong was not grateful, Zhang Liao decided to break off relations with him and exposed Chen Gong's dark history in public.

Chen Gong was confronted and his face suddenly became embarrassed, with a hint of guilt flashing in his eyes.

But the guilt only lasted for a moment.

Chen Gong immediately raised his head and said proudly:

"Lü Bu is nothing but a stubborn, capricious man, not even remotely like a hero. He is not worthy of me, Chen Gong, dying for him!"

"As the saying goes, a good minister chooses his master to serve. It is only natural for me, Chen Gong, to abandon him. Why should I feel ashamed?"

Zhang Liao's eyes widened and his expression became one of disbelief.

He seemed unable to believe that Lu Bu had so much trust in Chen Gong, but in the end it was all one-sided and Chen Gong betrayed him with a clear conscience.

The friendship between colleagues that Zhang Liao cared about also disappeared, and his eyes were replaced by contempt and coldness.

"I, Zhang Liao, have finally seen clearly today that you, Chen Gong, claim to be a famous scholar, but you are nothing but a hypocritical and shameless villain!"

Zhang Liao's eyes were filled with murderous intent. He pointed his sword and shouted:
"I'll ask you one last question, will you surrender or not?"

Chen Gong's body shuddered as he felt the strong murderous intent emanating from Zhang Liao.

There is no point in arguing any further. If he dares not surrender today, Zhang Liao will take off his head with his own hands!
Taking a deep breath, Chen Gong leaped onto the battlement in one step, with a proud and conceited look on his face, and looked back at Zhang Liao with a sarcastic look.

"I, Chen Gong, am a famous scholar in the world. How can I surrender to a weaver who only sells mats and shoes?"

"Zhang Liao, do you think that if you surrender to Liu Bei, you will be able to have a bright future as a nobleman or a general?"

"Yuan Benchu ​​has three generations of officials, and his name is known all over the world. Cao Cao is not his opponent, and Liu Bei is even less likely to be his opponent."

"This world will belong to Yuan Benchu ​​sooner or later."

"Whether it's Cao Cao or Liu Bei, they will all die at the hands of Yuan Benchu ​​sooner or later, following in Lu Bu's footsteps."

"Although I, Chen Gong, die today, I will die as a minister of the Yuan family. When the Yuan family gains control of the world in the future, I, Chen Gong, will surely be recorded as a loyal minister in the history books of the future."

"I, Chen Gong, will also cleanse myself of the stain of following Cao Cao and Lu Bu before."

"And you, Zhang Liao, with the fall of Liu Bei, you will forever bear the infamy of being a traitor and be laughed at by future generations!"

After Chen Gong made a self-righteous prediction, he looked up to the sky and laughed:
"Although I die today, my name will go down in history. I died a worthy death. Hahahaha——"

Amidst the sad and wild laughter, Chen Gong kicked off the city wall with both feet.

(End of this chapter)