Chapter 46: Break the city and encircle it! Brainwash Zhang Xiu? Xiao Fang's trump card!

Zhang Xiu took a half step back, his face frozen in shock for a moment.

He never expected that Zhang Ji would choose to set himself on fire at the last moment!

Even if he was killed, he still cared about his so-called face and refused to give a way out to thousands of Wuwei disciples.

"Uncle, uncle, why are you doing this?"

"Even if you don't want to surrender to Liu Xuande, just return home and retire. I believe Liu Xuande will not make things difficult for you."

"Ah~~"

Zhang Xiu came back to his senses from his shock, shook his head and sighed with regret.

Zhang Yan suddenly reacted, his face suddenly twisted and deformed, and he cursed in grief and anger:
"Liu Bei, you are just a mat weaver and shoe seller, how dare you force my father to death!"

"I, Zhang Yan, will never forgive you. I will definitely kill you—"

Looking at his cousin who was in a coma, Zhang Xiu just remained silent and watched him go crazy.

Just then.

In the direction of the main street, countless Liu troops have swept in and blocked the road leading to the city from the west gate.

Immediately afterwards, Wei Yan's troops, who were waving flags and shouting outside the city, finally broke out of the darkness and appeared under the city.

On both wings of the city wall, generals Xu Sheng and Liu Pi also led two groups of troops and rushed along the city wall.

In a blink of an eye, troops from all directions surrounded the thousands of Zhang family soldiers at the west gate, making it impossible to get out.

"Second brother, calm down and stop scolding me."

"There are enemies on all sides, we are surrounded!"

Zhang Xiu's face was solemn. He interrupted Zhang Yan's chatter and pointed his finger around.

Zhang Yan's body was shocked, and he finally stopped cursing and looked around.

As expected, Liu's army was surrounded on all sides and there was no way to retreat.

"Zhang's army, listen up, soldiers, hold the west wall and don't retreat even a single step!"

"I want you to risk your lives and live and die with the tower!"

Zhang Yan drew his sword and shouted hoarsely.

The soldiers of the Zhang family army along the city line looked panic-stricken and at a loss, their eyes were all turned to Zhang Xiu.

Although Zhang Xiu was a deputy general, in their eyes, he was still the main general who could truly decide their future direction, rather than Zhang Yan, the nominal young master of the Zhang family army.

Zhang Xiu was silent for a moment and took a deep breath:

"Brother, the situation is hopeless. If we continue to resist, we brothers will die."

"These thousands of Wuwei disciples will also pay for your and my funeral."

"Uncle, after all, Liu Xuande didn't kill him."

"Listen to my advice, let's surrender Liu Xuande!"

When he was in desperate situation, Zhang Xiu brought up the old matter again.

He not only had to find a way to make a living for himself, but also for the thousands of his fellow Wuwei people behind him.

Zhang Yan's face suddenly changed, as if his hair had exploded, and he was about to scold Zhang Xiu.

When the words came to his lips, he suddenly swallowed them back.

With Zhang Xiu's prestige, if he was determined to surrender to Liu Bei, these thousands of brothers would definitely follow Zhang Xiu's lead.

Can I stop it with my own prestige?

After rolling his eyes a few times, Zhang Yan suppressed his anger and said:
"Brother, where can there be any righteous ruler in this world?"

"I guess the letter of persuasion that Quan Er gave you must have been written against his will under the coercion and threat of Liu Bei."

"Perhaps Quan'er has already been killed by Liu Bei. If we surrender to Liu Bei, we will certainly die."

"Brother, please don't be foolish and believe Liu Bei's lies!"

Zhang Xiu's heart was shocked, and hesitation appeared again in his resolute eyes.

He had to admit that Zhang Yan's hypothesis was not impossible.

Thinking back to that day, when I learned that my son was not dead and saw his handwritten letter, I was indeed overjoyed and too emotional.

Now thinking back carefully, it was a bit hasty to conclude that Liu Bei was a benevolent ruler and immediately decide to surrender based on just a letter and a few words from the personal guard.

"Could it be that Quan'er was really threatened by Liu Bei?"

"Perhaps I really have made a mistake. Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence and righteousness is just a facade?"

"Could it be that Quan'er has really been killed by Liu Bei at this time?"

A series of questions arose in Zhang Xiu's mind, and he was already wavering.

In the city, on the main street.

Liu Bei had stopped his horse at the foot of the city, gazing at the west gate tower from afar.

"Brother, we have surrounded Zhang Xiu brother on the west gate wall. You give the order, I will be the first to rush up and kill that Zhang brother!"

Zhang Fei's eyes were bloodshot and he couldn't wait to have a big fight.

Liu Bei shook his head and said:

"Military Advisor Jinglue is right. We are in desperate need of a cavalry unit. We must subdue Zhang Wenjin, a talented cavalry commander."

"Besides, Jinglue also said that Zhang Wenjin might not be unwilling to surrender, but he just had no choice."

Zhang Fei was a little impatient and pointed at the top of the city wall and said:
"If Zhang Xiu really wanted to surrender, he would have come down from the city to surrender by now. Look at how he is preparing for battle. It's clear that he wants to put up a desperate resistance."

"Besides, it's just commanding the cavalry. What's so great about that? I can do it too!"

Zhang Fei patted his chest and boasted about Haikou.

How could Liu Bei take his boasting seriously? He knew his brothers' strengths and weaknesses very well.

After a moment's hesitation, Liu Bei whipped his whip and shouted:

"Pass the order down. All troops shall surround but not attack for the time being. Wait for my order."

"Come here, quickly invite the military advisor to come and discuss a strategy for surrendering Zhang Xiu."

The order was passed down, and nearly 10,000 Liu troops had to surround the city without attacking. One rider galloped out of the city and headed straight for the main camp.

...

Inside the camp.

Xiao Fang was still sleeping soundly.

Zou Wan was still pacing outside the tent, her eyes not looking towards Wancheng.

The faint sound of killing made her feel uneasy.

"who!"

Xu Chu's voice was heard outside the tent, followed by the sound of his sword being unsheathed.

"The Lord has captured Wancheng. Zhang Ji has set himself on fire. Zhang Xiu and several thousand enemy troops are surrounded at the west gate and refuse to surrender."

"My Lord, please ask the military advisor to go to the west gate to discuss the strategy of persuading Zhang Xiu to surrender."

Hearing the news of victory coming from outside, Zou Wan's body trembled suddenly, and she looked at Xiao Fang who was sleeping soundly on the couch with a look of great surprise.

"Zhang Ji is dead? Did Lord Xuande really capture Wancheng so easily?"

"Everything is within his expectations!"

Zou Wan's heart was pounding. She looked at Xiao Fang's figure with amazement. For a moment, she stood there in a trance.

"brush!"

Xu Chu strode in and shouted to Xiao Fang with a hint of excitement:

"Military Advisor, we have won. The Lord has captured Wancheng!"

"Hurry up and get up! The lord wants you to go into the city and persuade Zhang Xiu to surrender!"

His voice was like a tiger's roar, and it finally woke Xiao Fang up from his sweet dream. He sat up reluctantly, yawning.

"Who is yelling so loudly? It doesn't even allow me to sleep peacefully."

Xiao Fang rubbed his sleepy eyes and complained unhappily.

Xu Chu took a step forward and excitedly repeated the whole process, then turned around and gestured to Zou Wan.

Zou Wan finally came to her senses and hurried forward to help Xiao Fang get dressed.

"Did Zhang Ji set himself on fire? He was quite brave. No wonder the lord was able to resolve the battle so quickly..."

Xiao Fang muttered to himself, seemingly not at all surprised by the outcome of the war.

It was not until he put on his clothes and Zou Wan brought wet wipes to wipe Xiao Fang's face that he completely woke up.

"Zhongkang, prepare the horses. We will hurry to Wancheng."

"Also, arrange for someone to invite Zhang Quan to Wancheng as well. Remember, treat him with courtesy!"

Xiao Fang gave instructions as he walked out of the tent.

"promise!"

Xu Chu took the order and arranged for his men to act separately.

Xiao Fang climbed onto his horse and looked back at Zou Wan who had been escorted out of the tent:
"Pack up your belongings and prepare to enter the city."

"The war is over, and you can be reunited with your family."

After saying this, he whipped his horse and rode away in a cloud of dust.

Zou Wan watched Xiao Fang go away, her eyes full of admiration, and murmured with emotion:

"He asked me to pack my belongings last night. It turned out that he was not just saying it casually. Liu Xuande really broke into Wancheng easily..."

After sighing, Zou Wan suddenly remembered Xiao Fang’s last words. She couldn’t help but frown again, and a bit of sadness appeared in her eyes.

"From what he said, could it be that he is disgusted with me and wants to send me away?"

"But everyone knows that I have served him for many days. Who will believe that I am still innocent? How can I face my father and mother?"

"Ah~~"

A faint sigh sounded in the night.

...

At the west gate of Wancheng.

"If we surrender, even if Liu Bei doesn't kill us on the spot, he will definitely settle the score later and wipe us out completely!"

"Besides, my father was forced to death by him, and Quan'er was killed by him. We have an irreconcilable feud with Liu Bei, so how can we surrender to him?"

"Listen to me, there are fewer enemy troops outside the west gate. Let's rush out from the west gate. With our unity, we will fight our way out."

"When the time comes, we can go south to seek refuge with Liu Biao, and then we can borrow his help..."

Zhang Yan continued to talk nonstop, brainwashing Zhang Xiu.

Suddenly, there was a commotion among the soldiers.

Hu Che'er pointed at the city and shouted excitedly:

"It's the little general, it's the little general!"

Zhang Xiu's heart was shocked, and he quickly leaned over the city wall to see, and saw Zhang Quan coming out of Liu's army alone, walking towards the top of the city wall with difficulty.

"Quan'er!"

Zhang Xiu was overjoyed, rushed over and supported Zhang Quan, and shouted excitedly:

"You are still alive, you are really still alive, Quan'er, you are really not dead!"

Zhang Quan took a few breaths and said with gratitude:
"My son was destined to die, but it was Military Advisor Xiao who brought him back to life."

"Lord Xuande treated me with great courtesy and took great care of me, so that I could come to see my father alive!"

Say it.

Zhang Quan half-knelt on the ground with difficulty, clasped his hands and said:
"Father, Lord Xuande is a benevolent and wise ruler. Father should submit to him!"

This statement came out.

Zhang Yan, who was already nervous, felt his heart skip a beat.

(End of this chapter)