Chapter 45 You must pay for what you have done! The Zhang brothers were confused: Did Liu Bei fly in?

"General, the situation is hopeless. Let Liu Xuande surrender."

"General, we are begging you to give us, the men of Wuwei, a chance to live."

The Wuwei soldiers on both sides were still kneeling on the ground, begging in tears.

These pleadings were like knives stabbing Zhang Ji's heart.

His sadness and despair gradually turned into extreme anger, and his face became distorted into a hideous shape.

"You cowards, you dare to let Liu Bei humiliate me!"

"Hateful, hateful——"

Zhang Ji roared angrily and drew his sword suddenly.

With a wave of his sword, the two soldiers closest to the front were chopped down to the ground.

Everyone was horrified. They never expected that Zhang Ji would lose his mind and not listen to their advice, but actually try to kill them.

These Wuwei soldiers were both disappointed and frightened, and they all jumped up and retreated.

Zhang Ji held the blood sword, pointed it at everyone, and shouted hoarsely:
"If anyone dares to talk about surrendering to Liu Bei again, don't blame me for being ruthless with my sword!"

"If you are still my Wuwei men, and my soldiers, then follow me and fight the enemy to the death!"

The soldiers looked at each other, but no one responded to Zhang Ji's bold words, and they all fled out of the hall in all directions.

In the huge mansion, everyone fled, leaving only Zhang Ji alone.

Zhang Ji's violent temper disappeared in an instant, and he fell to the ground like an eggplant hit by frost.

The sounds of killing were getting closer and closer, and the figures of Liu’s soldiers could be vaguely seen outside the hall.

Zhang Ji stood up tremblingly, slowly took down the torch on the wall, looked at the blazing flames, and let out a long sigh.

"Lü Bu can't kill me, the emperor can't kill me, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Liu Biao can't kill me either."

"I never thought that today, I, Zhang Ji, would die at the hands of Liu Bei, a mat weaver and shoe seller!"

"Could it be that this is God's retribution for my excessive slaughter and the blood on my hands?"

After a long sigh, Zhang Ji took a deep breath and knocked the oil lamp on the table to the ground.

After a slight hesitation, he threw the torch up weakly.

"Pong!"

The table suddenly burst into flames.

The fire spread rapidly, and in a blink of an eye the entire hall was on fire.

"Save me, save me~~"

Amid the firelight, Zhang Ji's painful and regretful cries were heard.

The remains were quickly engulfed by the flames.

Outside the palace.

Liu Bei was riding a horse and holding a sword.

Dozens of Xiliang surrendered soldiers knelt outside the fire scene, begging for surrender tremblingly.

"Why did the fire start? Where is Zhang Ji?"

Liu Bei pointed his sword at the sea of ​​fire and shouted.

The kneeling Xiliang soldier then explained why Zhang Ji refused to surrender and set himself on fire.

Liu Bei's expression was slightly stern.

Zhang Ji was a general under Dong Zhuo, with countless blood on his hands. When the four generals counterattacked Chang'an, they shattered the last hope of reviving the Han Dynasty.

As a descendant of the Liu family, Liu Bei deeply disliked Zhang Ji.

Now, seeing that Zhang Ji had set himself on fire and would rather die than surrender, his hatred disappeared and a bit of respect appeared on his face.

"Although Zhang Ji is a traitor to the Han Dynasty, he does have some courage."

"Quickly put out the fire, collect his remains, and bury them in peace."

After Liu Bei gave the order, he turned his horse around.

"Order Xu Sheng, Liu Pi, and Gong Du to divide their forces to control each gate and besiege the west gate along the city wall."

"Yide and the rest of the men, follow me through the main street and head straight for the west gate."

Liu Bei rode out of the palace and led more than 4,000 soldiers straight to the west gate of Wancheng.

On the upper floor of Ximen City.

The two brothers Zhang Xiu and Zhang Yan were staring at the night outside the west gate with frowns and suspicion on their faces.

In the darkness of the night, one could vaguely see Liu Jun's battle flags fluttering in the wind.

The sound of drums and shouts of killing were one wave louder than the other.

Judging from the situation, it might be that Liu Bei’s entire army is attacking!
What puzzled the two was that Liu's army was so powerful, but no soldiers came to attack. "What tricks is Liu Bei playing?"

Zhang Yan pounded the battlement with his fist, his words and expression revealing a hint of anxiety.

Zhang Xiu was much calmer and reminded in a low voice:

"No matter what the enemy's intentions are, we should just keep our troops in place and respond to all changes with the same attitude."

Zhang Yan did not appreciate his suggestion and said disapprovingly:
"I don't need your advice, brother. I understand this principle."

Zhang Xiu frowned slightly, but had to swallow his saliva and said no more.

Hu Che'er, who was standing beside him, was already dissatisfied with Zhang Ji's personnel decisions. When he heard Zhang Yan's sarcastic remarks towards Zhang Xiu, he immediately became furious and clenched his fists.

Just when he was about to complain.

Suddenly, shouts of killing arose from the direction of the South Gate, which had been quiet.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the sudden noise and their eyes turned to the South Gate.

"Why are there also sounds of killing coming from the south gate? Could it be that Liu Bei has divided his troops to attack the south gate?"

Zhang Yan looked suspicious and guessed.

Zhang Xiu remained silent. He first looked at the South Gate, then turned his head to look at the loud gongs and drums outside the city, with more and more suspicion in his eyes.

"Oh no, we have fallen into Liu Bei's trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain!"

Zhang Xiu exclaimed, his face changed drastically:

"The enemy's main force must not be outside the west gate, so they are shouting and shouting but delaying the attack, just to lead our main force to the west gate."

"The South Gate is weak at this time, so Liu Bei can take advantage of the situation and lead his army to launch a surprise attack."

"We've fallen into a trap."

After all, Zhang Xiu was a man of rich experience in battle, and at this point, he finally came to his senses.

Zhang Yan took a deep breath, clenched his fist and cursed:

"Liu Bei, a mat weaver and shoe seller, is so cunning that he plays us in his hands. How hateful~~"

Zhang Xiu shook his head and said in a deep voice:
"This plan must not be Liu Bei's. I think it must be the work of Xiao Fang. I have already reminded my uncle that this man is not to be underestimated."

Hearing that Zhang Xiu was so afraid of Xiao Fang, Zhang Yan's eyes flashed with displeasure.

So he suppressed his surprise and snorted coldly:
"In my opinion, this plan is just a trivial one. Why should you panic, brother?"

"Although our main force has been transferred to the west gate, we still have hundreds of soldiers at the south gate. They are not made of paper, so it is no problem for us to hold off the enemy for a while."

"We will immediately send troops to reinforce the South Gate, and that Xiao's scheme will fail!"

The words have not yet fallen.

Hu Che'er suddenly pointed in the direction of the county government and shouted:
"It's on fire! The county government seems to be on fire!"

Zhang Xiu and Zhang Yan were shocked. They looked in the direction Hu Che'er had pointed and saw that the county government was indeed engulfed in flames.

“Why did the county government suddenly catch fire?”

The two men's faces changed drastically, and they looked at each other, with an ominous premonition instantly hanging over their hearts.

Just as the two were feeling anxious, they saw hundreds of defeated Xiliang soldiers fleeing towards the west gate of the main street like stray dogs.

Behind them, countless soldiers and horses were chasing and crushing them like tigers and wolves.

In the light of the fire, a flag with the word "Liu" on it was clearly visible.

It’s Liu Bei’s army!

Liu Bei actually broke into Wancheng?

The faces of the brothers Zhang Xiu and Zhang Yan suddenly changed, and they looked so horrified as if they had seen a ghost.

"This is impossible!"

"Even if there were fewer soldiers at the South Gate, it is impossible for it to be so vulnerable and be breached by Liu Bei so quickly."

"Impossible, this is impossible-"

Zhang Yan shook his head repeatedly, unwilling to accept this unbelievable fact.

Zhang Xiu was also shocked and said in confusion:

"So what methods did Liu Bei use to break through the South Gate so quickly and enter Wancheng?"

While they were stunned, dozens of defeated soldiers had already fled to the city wall, including several of Zhang Ji's personal guards.

Several people knelt on the ground, crying:

"Two major generals, the enemy has entered the county government, and our lord is surrounded and has no way to escape, so he has set himself on fire!"

It was like a bolt from the blue, hitting the top of my head.

Zhang Yan's body stiffened in an instant, his face frozen in horror.

(End of this chapter)