Chapter 82

When Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang returned to the meeting hall, they had not yet recovered from their grief when they saw a figure already waiting there, anxiously pacing. It was the Yellow Turban soldier who had delivered the message earlier.

As soon as the Yellow Turban saw Zhang Bao approach, he was overjoyed and hurriedly reported, "General of the Earth, I have gathered the information. The northern city gate is marked with the banner of Huangfu, the western side with the Zhu banner. The southern side has the Dong banner and two Yuan banners. The eastern side has the Cao and Sun banners, and finally, there is one Liu banner." His voice gradually faded as he mentioned the last banner.

Zhang Bao naturally did not pay attention to these details. For him, there was no need to worry about Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun; he knew their strength well. As for Dong Zhuo on the southern side, he was even less of a concern, being a defeated enemy. The two Yuan banners were unknown to him and thus not worth worrying about.

However, the most critical issue was the eastern side. Not only was the fierce tiger of Jiangdong, Sun Jian, there, but also Liu Yao, whom Zhang Bao feared the most.

"Send an order to dispatch ten thousand more soldiers to reinforce the eastern gate," Zhang Bao said.

The Yellow Turban, upon receiving the order, immediately went to relay it.

In Guangzong City, at the eastern city gate.

The eastern city gate was now a scene of intense carnage. The sounds of battle and screams filled the air, and many fell every moment, ending their short lives. It was a gruesome sight of blood and flesh.

Cao Cao and Sun Jian led their troops in continuous assaults on the city walls. As for Liu Yao and his five thousand Xianfeng soldiers, they stood back, watching the scene without any intention of joining the fight.

Cao Cao and Sun Jian, of course, knew this, but they were glad Liu Yao did not join. Otherwise, they would have to compete for the credit with Liu Yao's troops, and in the end, they might not even get a bowl of soup.

"Lord, why don't we also attack the city? Are we just going to give all the credit to them?" Shi A asked beside him.

"Hehe, Shi A, you don't understand. As the commander, if I take all the credit and leave nothing for others, what do you think they will think? Besides, I don't care about such small credit. I want to take something bigger, like the heads of Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang," Liu Yao said with a smile.

Shi A nodded somewhat understandingly, but as a wandering knight, he was not very familiar with such matters.

"Charge forward, no retreat!" A Yellow Turban commander directly beheaded a Yellow Turban who tried to flee. He killed seven or eight more in quick succession, finally intimidating the others from fleeing.

These commanders of the four city gates were loyal to Zhang Jue and Zhang Bao, willing to die rather than betray. That's why Zhang Bao entrusted them with such important tasks.

Liu Yao saw that the time was right and turned to look at Huang Zhong.

Huang Zhong understood and took out the pre-prepared signal arrows, shooting them into the sky.

Three whistling sounds pierced the dark sky, and three bright points of light appeared.

At that moment, several Yellow Turbans on the city wall saw the signal, their eyes flashing with a sharp light. One of them quickly approached the commander from behind and beheaded him with a single strike.

The commander, completely unprepared for an attack from his own side, was decapitated and died with his eyes wide open.

The Yellow Turban soldiers, who were still throwing rocks and logs, were stunned to see their commander killed by a comrade.

The Yellow Turban who killed the commander held the head high and shouted, "Brothers, are we going to keep serving this bastard? Look at how many of our brothers he has killed. Instead of serving such a man, why not surrender and save our lives?"

This statement resonated with all the Yellow Turban soldiers. They did not want to fight to the death, but were only intimidated by the commander. Now that he was dead, they had nothing to fear.

"Right, I don't want to die!"

"I have an old mother at home. Who will take care of her if I die?"

"Let's surrender. I believe Lord Liu will keep his word and forgive us."

More voices and the sound of weapons being dropped echoed through the crowd.

With someone leading the way, the other Yellow Turbans who were still hesitating also dropped their weapons and prepared to surrender.

"Let's go down and welcome the imperial army into the city." Another voice rang out, and all the Yellow Turbans on the city wall walked down. The first one to act even turned back and gave a subtle salute to Liu Yao.

Indeed, these people were the elite covert operatives Liu Yao had planted. Although they could not infiltrate the higher ranks due to certain reasons, they played a crucial role today. Unfortunately, their identities were now exposed, and they could no longer act as covert operatives.

Cao Cao and Sun Jian, who were attacking the city from outside, were stunned by the scene and immediately ordered their troops to stop. They turned to look at Liu Yao with a hint of suspicion, sensing that this was his doing.

Liu Yao, seeing their gazes, smiled and nodded.

Sun Jian and Cao Cao exchanged a glance, both seeing the bitter smile in each other's eyes. They never expected that after losing two to three thousand soldiers, they still could not breach the city, while Liu Yao's simple plan directly captured Guangzong City. The difference was indeed significant.

Soon, the massive gate of Guangzong City slowly opened. All the Yellow Turbans guarding the eastern city gate had thrown down their weapons and surrendered to Liu Yao.

"Sun Wen, Mengde, you two go to the northern and western city gates to assist Generals Huangfu and Zhu in capturing the gates. Remember, do not harm the Yellow Turbans who have surrendered," Liu Yao said to Sun Jian and Cao Cao.

"We obey your command," they replied, and then split up to assist Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.

Liu Yao left two thousand Xianfeng soldiers to gather the prisoners and took the remaining three thousand to the city lord's residence where Zhang Jue was.

Inside the city lord's residence of Guangzong City, the same Yellow Turban who had delivered the message burst in, panting heavily, "General, the eastern city gate has been breached by the Han army. They are already in the city."

"What?!" Zhang Bao was shocked. Although the fall of Guangzong was expected, hearing it firsthand still left him in disbelief.

"Brother, stop talking nonsense. If we don't leave now, it will be too late," Zhang Liang pushed the stunned Zhang Bao.

Zhang Bao immediately reacted, his face full of anxiety, and shouted, "Run, yes, run quickly. Brother, which direction should we go?"

"Brother, the eastern city gate is impossible. The northern and western gates are guarded by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, who are not easy to deal with. Let's go south. Dong Zhuo, our defeated enemy, is no threat. We can return to Julu from there, and we might still have a chance."

"Good, I'll follow your advice, Brother. Quickly, let's gather our troops," Zhang Bao said anxiously and rushed out of the city lord's residence. Zhang Liang, after a moment of hesitation, glanced back at the courtyard and then followed Zhang Bao.