The Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Tan, intercepted Guo Jia's...

Chapter 107: Where did they learn this outrageous tactic from? It's truly despicable!

"Protect our lord!"

Cheng Pu, Zhou Tai, and others were furious and immediately used their bodies to block Sun Ce. The remaining Jiangdong soldiers also hurriedly shrank their formation and formed a defensive circle with their shields.

But despair was written all over everyone's face.

They had originally planned to ambush others, but it turned out that someone had already laid an ambush here.

Sun Ce was also filled with fear, but he knew that as a commander-in-chief, he had to remain calm. Otherwise, how could he lead his soldiers into battle?

He immediately shoved Cheng Pu aside, who was blocking his way, and roared hoarsely:

"My comrades! So what if that treacherous Yuan Tan plots against me? We are now trapped in a deadly situation. Only by fighting to the death can we have a glimmer of hope! Follow me and fight our way out!"

Seeing that the soldiers were gradually calming down, Sun Ce looked coldly at Jia Xu and asked:

"Since Yuan Tan has already laid an ambush here, I'm afraid there are still quite a few troops waiting for me ahead, aren't there?"

Surrounded by such a large force, Sun Ce remained calm and composed, truly deserving of the title "Little Conqueror of Jiangdong".

If we let him escape today, he might pose a significant obstacle to our lord's great cause in the future. We absolutely cannot let him go.

Jia Xu shouted loudly:

"Sun Bofu, even now, are you still going to use this empty passion to deceive these loyal soldiers, to send them to their deaths for your laughable personal grudges and desires?"

"If you hadn't acted so recklessly, plotted rebellion, and invaded Han territory, General Jiang Qin and thousands of fine men of Jiangdong would not have been buried in this desolate ravine."

"Now, surrounded and at your wits' end, instead of reflecting on your own mistakes, do you still want to drag these remnants of your army down with you to the grave for your already shattered dignity?"

"You keep talking about fighting to the death, is it for the sake of the Sun family's legacy, or for your two Qiao sisters? For two women, you're risking the lives of so many soldiers, risking the future of the six counties of Jiangdong. Sun Tao, you truly deserve the title of lord!"

"You...shut up!"

Sun Ce was so angry that he trembled all over.

Jia Xu's words completely destroyed the morale that had just been boosted.

He knew he couldn't wait any longer, so he forced himself to argue:

"Yuan Tan has insulted my wife and ruined my reputation; this is a matter of national and personal vendetta! I, Sun Ce, raised an army to pacify the world and bring glory to my family, not for personal gain! Today's ambush is due to my poor planning, and has nothing to do with...no one else! Soldiers, do not listen to this old scoundrel's nonsense and disrupt our morale!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Jia Xu sneered, looking at the Jiangdong soldiers before him, and said...

"Your parents, wives, and children are still eagerly awaiting your return in Jiangdong! Should their husbands and sons die in vain in this desolate foreign land, their remains never to be found, all for the sake of saving face for their lord's petty jealousy?!"

"Think of the rolling stones of Eagle's Sorrow Gorge! Think of General Jiang Qin! Think of your fallen comrades!"

Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, the men of Jiangdong looked at Sun Ce with a different expression.

"Release the arrows!"

Sun Ce knew that if he let Jia Xu continue talking, his men would collapse on their own without even having to fight.

When Jia Xu saw that Sun Ce wanted to break through the encirclement, he immediately ordered his soldiers to surround him. At this time, Gan Ning also led his troops to join the battle.

……

"My lord, Jiang Qin's rearguard has collapsed."

Peng An whispered to Yuan Tan.

Damn it! It's not like I'm blind.

Yuan Tan immediately gave the order:

"Send someone to Lujiang and ask Governor Liu to bring troops to provide support."

"Cen Bi leads his soldiers to clear the rubble, then leads his troops to pursue them. Lou Ban, you lead the elite armored soldiers to catch up first, and I will lead the main force to catch up soon."

"Yes! Brother-in-law... oh no! My lord!"

Lou Ban scratched his head, thinking that it was finally his turn to appear again. He had been sidelined for a long time since the last battle in Hefei.

"Could you allow me to lead my elite cavalry to charge forward?"

Damn it! The terrain here is so complicated, there are almost no plains. Sending cavalry to chase the enemy is just sending them to their deaths.

My family in Qingzhou isn't wealthy, and we can't afford your extravagant spending.

Yuan Tan stared into Lou Ban's eyes and said:

"Lou Ban, do you not dare to go into battle without cavalry?"

Zhao Yun smiled upon hearing this and jokingly remarked from the side:

"My lord! Why don't you send me to pursue them? I can capture Sun Ce alive even without cavalry."

Lou Ban, provoked, turned pale and then flushed red, and shouted:

"I'll go capture Sun Ce alive right now!"

After saying that, he led a group of elite armored soldiers and charged forward.

Little brat, so easy to fool!

Yuan Tan shouted at Lou Ban's retreating figure:

"May you capture Sun Ce alive soon! A reward of one coin will be given for capturing Sun Ce alive, and a reward of one hundred gold coins will be given for cutting off Sun Ce's head!"

"..."

Lou Ban stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

"Oh dear, how could you be so careless! Why don't you stay in the back? I'm really worried about you."

"..."

……

Moling.

Yan Liang's 3,000 elite troops from Qingzhou, with the help of Xu Gong's inside help, encountered almost no significant resistance and swiftly breached the outer city, taking control of the main streets, armory, and some docks.

The hastily assembled garrison and yamen runners collapsed at the first contact, plunging the city into chaos.

However, when Yan Liang's troops marched straight toward the inner city, they encountered fierce resistance.

The inner city walls were higher and stronger, and also had a barbican design.

More importantly, Zhou Yu also reacted at this moment and quickly organized a defense!

Zhou Yu remained remarkably calm at this moment.

He had very few troops at his disposal. His main force had already followed Sun Ce to Huainan. Only a small number of rotating county soldiers, yamen runners, and temporarily conscripted young and strong local militia remained in the city, along with some aristocratic retainers who had been roused.

Faced with the menacing Qingzhou soldiers outside the city, these men were so frightened that their legs went weak.

"Loose the arrows! Throw rolling logs and boulders! Quickly!"

Zhou Yu's voice rang out from the inner city. He personally took up his sword to supervise the battle and even shot down two enemy soldiers who tried to approach.

His composure inspired a few, and a few arrows and stones fell from the city wall. Although the casualties were limited, they did delay Yan Liang's army's attempt to directly scale the city wall.

Yan Liang halted his horse outside the inner city moat, gathered his strength, and his voice resounded throughout the city:

"Listen up, garrison troops inside the city! Sun Ce, Sun Bofu, has received the Han's bounty for generations, yet he has no thought of repaying it. Instead, he has seized control of Jiangdong and acted presumptuously! Now he has even brazenly raised an army to invade the Huainan territory under the Emperor's jurisdiction. He is truly a traitor and a rebellious minister!"

"Our lord, in accordance with Heaven's will and the people's wishes, has specially dispatched this general to quell the rebellion and restore the Han Dynasty! You are all subjects of the Han Dynasty, why do you aid the wicked and defend the city for the rebels? Quickly open the city gates and surrender, and you may escape death! If you remain obstinate, when the city falls, we will all perish!"

Yan Liang made these remarks with the guidance of Guo Jia, Jia Xu, and others, thus occupying the moral high ground and directly accusing Sun Ce of "invading Huainan" as an unjust act.

The sound reached the inner city, and the already panicked local militia and county soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment, their morale visibly plummeting.

Yes, it seems General Sun went to attack Huainan without any imperial decree being issued...

Zhou Yu heard everything clearly from the city wall. He cursed Yuan Tan in his heart for his treachery and was even more shocked and angry at how audacious the other party was to dare to cross the river and launch a surprise attack on Moling.

Who taught him this crazy trick?

That's incredibly immoral!

Seeing that morale was wavering, he immediately stepped forward, stood by the railing, and shouted loudly:

"You madman beneath the city walls, how dare you impersonate the royal army and spread heresy to deceive the masses!"

Zhou Yu pointed his halberd at Yan Liang and said sternly,

"Your armor is inconsistent, your banners are chaotic, your language is crude, and your actions are furtive. You are clearly roving river bandits, opportunistic thieves! Seeing that our main force from Jiangdong has set out on an expedition, you use this as a pretext to plunder! Our city of Moling is filled with loyal and righteous men. Our provisions and wealth are all for serving the country and supporting the royal army. How could we possibly provide them to thieves?!"