Chapter 81

Just as Huangfu Song and the others left, Zhang Fei immediately jumped up, pointing at Guo Jia and said, "You sly fox! I, Old Zhang, have always taken good care of you. This time, everyone has a task, but why don't I and Zhao Yun have one? Are you looking down on us two?"

Zhao Yun also frowned, though he did not say it out loud like Zhang Fei, he still felt somewhat unhappy.

"Ah, Yi De, don't talk nonsense. With you two great generals, how could Feng Xiao not use you? I'm sure he has some other plans." Liu Yao frowned and said.

Guo Jia gave Zhang Fei a glance and said with a grin, "Still, my lord understands me."

"Ah!!" Zhang Fei scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed, and said, "That, sly fox, I, Old Zhang, have a bad temper, don't take it to heart."

Guo Jia naturally wouldn't argue with someone like Zhang Fei, and said with a smile, "No problem, Yi De, Zhao Long, I'll have to rely on you two next."

"We, Old Zhang (Yun), will follow your orders." The two said in unison, clasping their fists.

The next day, at night, at midnight, inside the city lord's residence.

Normally, Zhang Bao and the others should have been resting at this time. However, since the news of Zhang Jiao's critical illness and impending death spread, the Yellow Turbans' morale had plummeted, and there were frequent mutinies. If not for Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang's iron-fisted suppression, the city of Guangzong would have already been in chaos. This led to the two of them being busy with pacifying the Yellow Turbans, already worn out.

"Second Brother, what should we do? If this continues, we might not be able to suppress it anymore." Zhang Liang said anxiously.

"What else can we do? If we don't use harsh measures, we might be in chaos before Liu Yao even attacks." Zhang Bao said helplessly. He was already at a loss with Liu Yao, and could only take things one step at a time.

Zhang Liang hesitated for a moment and said, "Second Brother, why don't we go and consult with Big Brother?"

"No!!!" Zhang Bao immediately refused, "Big Brother said his time is short, and he has been unconscious more often than awake these past two days. How can you bear to disturb him?"

Zhang Liang also knew that Zhang Jiao's time was short. If not for being at a dead end, he wouldn't have thought of disturbing Zhang Jiao.

"Report...!" A Yellow Turban rushed in, panic-stricken, and stammered, "Reporting to the two generals, the Han army is attacking from all four sides of the city walls."

"What did you say!!!" Zhang Bao was shocked. He paced back and forth, muttering, "That damned Liu Yao, he didn't keep his word. He said three days, but he's attacking today. What should we do, what should we do?"

"Second Brother, calm down." Zhang Liang grabbed the anxious Zhang Bao and stopped him. Then he asked the Yellow Turban, "Do you know what banners the troops on each side are carrying?"

"I don't know, sir." The Yellow Turban said in fear.

"Go and find out, and report back as soon as you know." Zhang Liang frowned and said.

"Yes." The Yellow Turban ran out.

At this moment, Zhang Bao, who was held by Zhang Liang, turned and grabbed Zhang Liang, "Third Brother, what should we do now? You always have good ideas, think of something quickly."

Zhang Liang's face was grim, "Second Brother, what can I do now? Although it's not good for Big Brother, we can only go and consult him."

Zhang Bao hesitated for a moment but then gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, let's go see Big Brother."

Inside a room in the city lord's residence, the air was filled with a strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine. A gaunt, middle-aged man in his forties lay weakly on the bed, and a young Taoist boy was feeding him medicine. This was Zhang Jiao and his young Taoist attendant who took care of him.

"Cough, cough, cough. Spurt." Zhang Jiao had just taken a mouthful of medicine, but then started coughing, and even spat out the medicine, mixed with streaks of blood.

At this moment, the door to the room opened, and Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang walked in, seeing this scene.

The two rushed over, asking anxiously, "Big Brother, are you alright?"

Zhang Jiao勉强 raised his hand to indicate he was fine, and said weakly, "Why are you two here? Has something major happened?"

"This..." Zhang Bao didn't know what to say. After all, Zhang Jiao had entrusted the large city of Guangzong to him, and now it was facing its greatest crisis. Zhang Bao felt ashamed to face Zhang Jiao.

"You can go now." Zhang Liang said to the young Taoist boy by Zhang Jiao's side. The boy quickly left the room.

Now, only the three brothers were left in the room.

"Speak, what has happened? Is Guangzong about to fall?" Zhang Jiao's voice was weak, as if he could die at any moment.

"How did you know?!" The two were shocked. Since Zhang Jiao fell ill, Zhang Bao had ordered that no news be allowed to reach him.

"Ha ha, cough, cough." Zhang Jiao smiled weakly, "If Guangzong wasn't about to fall, why would you two come to trouble me, a dying man?"

"Big Brother, it's like this. That Governor of Youzhou, Liu Yao, somehow discovered that Ye Yuan was your stand-in. That bastard couldn't keep his mouth shut and accidentally leaked the news about your illness. Now everyone in Guangzong knows. Our army's morale has plummeted."

"Moreover, Liu Yao is leading his army to attack from all four sides of Guangzong. With our current strength and morale, we are no match for Liu Yao. The situation is very critical, Big Brother, what should we do?" Zhang Bao asked anxiously.

"Ah!!!" Zhang Jiao sighed deeply, as if relieved but also unwilling. His already frail body became even more gaunt. "Second Brother, Third Brother, don't worry about me. If Guangzong really can't be held, then you should run. As for those Yellow Turban brothers who are willing to surrender, let them go. I believe Liu Yao won't harm them. Everyone has their own fate. I have already wronged them by dragging them into this dangerous situation, and I can't drag them to their deaths with me."

Zhang Jiao naturally knew the consequences of his illness being revealed. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Ye Yuan pretend to be him to stabilize the Yellow Turban army's morale. Now that the news has leaked, it means the end for Guangzong. Whether they can survive or not is up to fate.

"No, Big Brother, we won't abandon you." Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang firmly opposed. The three had grown up together, and their bond was unbreakable. They couldn't bear to leave Zhang Jiao behind.

"There's no need to say more. Go. I don't have much time left anyway. I want to stay here and see if there's a chance to talk with that Han prince, Liu Yao." Zhang Jiao closed his eyes and ignored Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang.

Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang knew that once Zhang Jiao made a decision, no one could change it. They held back their tears, closed the door for Zhang Jiao, and left his room without looking back.

After the two left, Zhang Jiao opened his eyes again, thinking, "Second Brother, Third Brother, I hope you two can survive." Even though Zhang Jiao knew their chances of survival were slim, as brothers, he could only silently pray for them in his heart.

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