My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 286 Disintegration
Rewind to evening, and many mid- to high-ranking military officers from Shouchun City arrived at Zhou Yu's camp.

Among those present were Lei Bo's younger brother Lei Xu, Chen Lan's nephew Chen Kang, Mei Yu's son Mei Qian, Zhang Xun's deputy general Zhang Qian, and Ji Ling's deputy general Quan Zheng.

The fact that they were able to invite these people to the banquet demonstrates the status of the Zhou and Sun families within Yuan Shu's group.

Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui have always been Sun Ce's most devoted admirers. Although they are much older than Sun Ce, they are extremely enthusiastic about him and have recommended him to Yuan Shu on more than one occasion.

When they were besieging Lu Kang, Qiao Rui fought for more than a year without success, so Yuan Shu asked Sun Ce for help.

When Sun Ce arrived at the front lines, he immediately switched sides and became the commander-in-chief, while the original commander-in-chief, Qiao Rui, willingly became Sun Ce's subordinate.

In official history, Qiao Rui died in the Battle of Qiyang, while Zhang Xun, after Yuan Shu's death, resolutely led his troops to cross the river and join Sun Ce.

When Yuan Shu died, his subordinates split into two factions. His son-in-law Huang Yi and cousin Yuan Yin, driven by personal motives, wanted to defect to Liu Xun in Lujiang. Zhang Xun, Yang Hong, and others, on the other hand, wanted to defect to Sun Ce in Jiangdong.

At that time, most of the military power in Shouchun City was in the hands of Zhang Xun, and Yang Hong could represent political appeal. Therefore, in the end, Yuan Shu's son-in-law Huang Yi and his cousin Yuan Yin only took Yuan Shu's coffin, Yuan Shu's wife and daughters, and their personal troops to join Liu Xun.

But here's the problem: the journey from Shouchun to Lujiang is obviously shorter and more convenient, and Zhang Xun, Yang Hong, and others traveled at a slower pace due to the large number of people in their group.

After Huang Yi and Yuan Yin arrived in Lujiang, they leaked information about Zhang Xun, Yang Hong, and others to Liu Xun.

Liu Xun, having gone this far, decided to ambush them halfway through their journey, annihilating Zhang Xun and Yang Hong's forces and successfully capturing tens of thousands of people and countless amounts of gold and silver.

Therefore, Zhang Xun and the Sun family had always maintained a very good relationship. When Sun Xiang's deputy and cousin Sun Luyi invited him, Zhang Xun's deputy Zhang Qian brought his mid- to high-ranking officers from the army to the banquet.

Similarly, the Zhou family, the most powerful clan in Jianghuai, was also highly valued by the people of Jianghuai. The Lei, Chen, and Mei families, as well as Quan Zheng, Ji Ling's deputy general, who were invited by Zhou Dao, all attended, which can be said to have given Zhou Yu and Zhou Dao a lot of face.

Zhou Yu's elder brother Zhou Dao and his son, as well as Sun Xiang's cousin Sun Lu, served as hosts, preparing fine wine and delicacies for them, and purchasing a large amount of meat and fresh fish, so that the host and guests enjoyed themselves to the fullest.

Just as everyone had finished their meal, Zhou Dao suddenly spoke up: "Gentlemen, I have now discovered a way to get promoted and make a fortune. I dare not keep it to myself and wish to share it with you all. What do you all think?"

All of these people present came from powerful families and had been scheming against each other and vying for power in their hometown since childhood.

As they grew up, they lived in a chaotic world, with constant warfare everywhere. Almost everyone present had been through the battlefield, and there were hardly any fools among them.

Zhou Dao's words were both sudden and strange, and the atmosphere in the tent immediately became tense.

Those present looked at each other, their eyes filled with suspicion and wariness. Finally, their gazes all focused on Zhou Dao.

"Brother Zhou, what do you mean by that?"

Finally, Mei Qian, who was closer to the Zhou family, spoke up and asked, "I wonder what good thing Brother Zhou wants to do for us?"

The Mei family is a powerful clan in Lujiang. Mei Qian's father, Mei Yu, is also acquainted with Zhou Yu's father and is currently serving under Yuan Shu.

At this time, Mei Yu was entertaining Yuan Shu at the palace, so he sent his son Mei Qian to attend the Zhou family's banquet on his behalf.

Originally, it was thought that the Zhou family simply wanted to strengthen their relationship, since everyone might be facing a tough battle ahead. But now it seems the Zhou family has ulterior motives.

Zhou Dao smiled and said, "I would like to invite you all to meet someone."

At this moment, hurried footsteps could be heard outside the tent, indicating that the entire tent had been surrounded.

The hearts of everyone in the tent were in their throats. Even though they knew that Zhou Dao wouldn't actually kill them after saying that, they still couldn't relax.

Soon, the curtain of the main tent was lifted, and two burly men in iron armor entered first, then stepped aside to hold the curtain closed.

Then, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old walked in.

The young man was tall and clad in iron armor. His left hand rested on his sword, his eyes shone like stars, and his face was as white as powder. What a handsome and heroic young man!

"Gentlemen, I am late."

As he spoke, the handsome young man walked to the head of the table and sat down, and Zhou Dao, who was originally sitting there, had already moved aside.

Then, the handsome young man raised the new wine cup that Zhou Dao had replaced for him, filled it, and said to everyone, "I am Liu Zisheng. I am fortunate to be appointed by the Emperor as the General Who Conquers the South. My father, Liu Xuande, is the General of the Cavalry of the Great Han Dynasty, the Marquis of Qiao, and in charge of the affairs of the three provinces of Yu, Xu, and Yang."

It turned out that this handsome and dashing young man was none other than Liu Feng.

Upon hearing this, the tent fell into complete silence, with only the crackling of the burning torches remaining.

The faces of everyone on the field were stiff, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Those who reacted quickly realized that the Zhou and Sun families had likely already pledged allegiance to Liu Bei, and that their arrival in Shouchun was to act as inside agents.

Even those who react slowly know that they are in imminent danger, and their lives are already in someone else's hands.

Liu Feng raised his wine cup, circled around the crowd, and said, "Gentlemen, I have a request to make. I wonder if you would be willing to grant it?"

Lei Xu, Mei Qian, Zhang Qian, Chen Kang, Quan Zheng and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. Finally, Mei Qian, who was closest to the Zhou family, spoke up: "So it was Liu Zhengnan in person. We were blind and have no right to judge. Please forgive us, Zhengnan."

"Commander Mei, you are too polite."

Liu Feng smiled and changed the subject again, saying, "I have a favor to ask of you all. I wonder if you would be willing to help?"

Liu Feng pressed him for answers twice, and everyone understood that he was determined to get what he wanted and wouldn't give up.

Therefore, Lei Xu and the others nodded and said, "Liu Zhengnan, please give your orders, and we will obey without question."

"good!"

Liu Feng praised him, then said, "I will not hide anything from you gentlemen. This time, the Emperor issued an edict to remove the Left General from all his official positions and titles, and to designate him as an enemy of the court. This is because Yuan Gonglu disrespects the court and the Emperor, and has brought disaster upon the local area. He has only himself to blame. You gentlemen are heroes of Jianghuai. Are you just going to sit idly by and watch your homeland be ruined by Yuan Gonglu?"

"Take Shouchun City for example. At its peak, it had a population of over 100,000, with merchants coming and going, and markets teeming with people. What a prosperous scene it was! But look at it now, don't you gentlemen feel any shame?"

Liu Feng, holding his wine cup, spoke louder and louder: "Aren't you all afraid that your elders and fellow villagers will point at your backs and curse you as people who sell out their ancestors for personal gain?"

Circumstances dictate that Liu Feng's words occupied the moral high ground, delivering a condescending and angry rebuke that left most of the attendees sweating profusely.

In particular, Lei Xu, Chen Kang, Mei Qian, and Zhang Qian were all native Jianghuai people, either powerful figures from Jiujiang or gentry from Lujiang.

Since Yuan Shu came to Shouchun, the decline of the Jianghuai region has been obvious to everyone.

No one could argue that what Liu Feng said was wrong.

Moreover, Liu Feng also mentioned what they feared most: being accused by all the villagers of betraying their ancestors for personal gain.

That's a worse outcome than losing your life.

“Yuan Shu is powerful, holds a title from the court, and has the imperial staff in his hand. We have no other choice.”

Lei Xu stepped forward and bowed to Liu Feng, saying, "We have long admired Lord Xuande's benevolence and virtue, but we regret that we cannot serve Liu Biaoji. Now that we have met Zheng Nan, it is like a new life for us. We are willing to serve Zheng Nan and restore our hometown."

Liu Feng glanced at Lei Xu with some surprise. This was truly a clever man. Considering his historical background of not submitting to either Cao Cao or Sun Quan, Liu Feng stood up, put down his wine cup, and stepped forward to help him up personally: "Commander Lei, please rise."

Historically, it was Lei Xu who led tens of thousands of people to join Liu Bei, greatly boosting Liu Bei's prestige.

He then inspected the other people.

Mei Gan, Chen Kang, and others also rose and knelt down: "What Commander Lei said is exactly what we have heard from the bottom of our hearts. Now that we have met Zheng Nan, it is like a new life. How could we not be willing to die for Zheng Nan?"

Liu Feng's gaze fell on Zhang Qian and Quan Zheng. These two men could no longer hold on and could only step forward and say, "We have been subdued by Zheng Nan. We only beg Zheng Nan to spare our captain's life."

Zhang Qian is Zhang Xun's cousin, and Quan Zheng is Ji Ling's confidant.

Zhang Xun and Ji Ling were both Yuan Shu's trusted and beloved generals, which was definitely different from peripheral generals like Lei Bo, Chen Lan, and Mei Yu.

They said they wanted to surrender and turn against us, but Liu Feng had to believe them.

"it is good!"

Liu Feng turned around, picked up his wine cup again, and said, revealing his true intentions, "Gentlemen, I ask that you return to your camps later. I do not ask that you help me succeed, but please guard your camps and do not go out. Is that alright?"

"Those who wish to help me may drink this cup to their heart's content!"

Liu Feng's gaze swept across the faces of the crowd like lightning: "Those who are unwilling to help me may leave. We will settle our differences on the battlefield, and life and death are in our own hands!"

Lei Xu was the first to jump up again, raising his wine cup and saying to Liu Feng, "I am not talented, but I have two thousand troops under my command. I am willing to join the southern expedition, pacify the Jianghuai region, and protect my hometown."

Mei Qian and Chen Kang were annoyed, realizing they had been a step too slow, and quickly followed suit, saying, "We are also willing to serve the Southern Expedition like Commander Lei." Zhang Qian and Quan Zheng naturally could not leave the tent. Even if Liu Feng was telling the truth, they understood that Yuan Shu was doomed.

He didn't even know that Liu Feng had entered Shouchun City. He was still holding a grand banquet in the palace to welcome the enemy who had infiltrated the city.

Even if Zhang Qian and Quan Zheng were extremely optimistic, they wouldn't believe that Liu Feng would lose.

But they were different from the other three. Lei Xu, Chen Kang, and Mei Qian could, to some extent, replace their lord, but Zhang Qian and Quan Zheng could not.

After much deliberation, the two made a difficult decision.

"I earnestly request that the troops sent from the south accompany me into the camp to take control of the overall situation."

Zhang Qian and Quan Zheng knew that with their prestige, they couldn't possibly suppress the troops in the camp. If they tried to forcefully suppress them, they might lose their own lives first.

Since that's the case, we might as well just surrender and use that to save the life of the general in the palace.

"We are willing to surrender to the Southern Expedition, only asking that the Southern Expedition spare our captain's life."

"good!"

Liu Feng naturally readily accepted Zhang Qian and Quan Zheng's opinions.

The defection of Lei Xu and the other two directly reversed the troop strength ratio from 17,000 to 18,000 to 23,000 to 12,000.

Now that Zhang Qian and Quan Zheng are willing to surrender, Zhang Xun and Ji Ling's four thousand men are no longer a threat.

Finally, what remained were the eight thousand personal guards in Yuan Shu's palace.

That's 23,000 against 8,000, almost three times the enemy's strength.

It was a case of being prepared for an attack but not for being prepared. If it weren't for the fear of fate playing tricks on him, Liu Feng would have wanted to shout, "How could we lose when the flying dragon was charging right at our faces?"

"In that case, Commander Lei, the three of you shall return to your respective camps and be responsible for disarming Quan Zheng's troops. Zhang Qian's troops will be disarmed by our troops personally."

Seeing that Lei Xu and the other two were very enthusiastic and eager to make a contribution, and considering their historical choices, Liu Feng decided to trust them for the time being and give them a chance to make a contribution.

However, Liu Feng also had a backup plan. If Lei Xu and his group wanted to play dirty tricks, Liu Feng would not be polite to them.

"If there are no other problems."

Liu Feng raised his wine cup high again: "In that case, gentlemen, please drink to victory!"

"Thank you, Zhengnan!"

This time, Lei Xu and the others did not encounter any accidents. They all drank the wine in their cups in one gulp, but none of them remembered what the wine tasted like.

After drinking their wine, the group went their separate ways.

Xu Sheng led his troops to follow Zhang Qian, while Zhang Xun's troops were stationed south of the city, with Xiangguo City being a key stronghold. This is why Liu Feng sent Lei Xu and others to disarm Ji Ling's troops, leaving Zhang Qian to deal with himself.

At this time, the south gate of Shouchun City had been fully opened, and bonfires were lit on the city walls to illuminate the way for Xu Huang, who was arriving from afar.

Zhou Dao's troops remained in the main camp to monitor Lei Xu and his men's movements.

If Lei Xu and his men are truly surrendering, after disarming Ji Ling's troops, they can remain in Ji Ling's camp to guard Ji Ling's troops. If there are any other deployments, someone will be sent separately to deliver the orders.

After disarming Zhang Xun's troops, Xu Sheng's forces left 1,000 men to garrison Xiangguo City and guard the prisoners, while the rest of the troops reinforced the palace.

After Xu Huang's troops enter the city, they can go directly to the palace to provide reinforcements.

Finally, Liu Feng led the troops of Pan Zhang, Zhou Tai, and Jiang Qin straight into the palace to suppress Yuan Shu's personal guards, providing support for Zhang Liao, Zhou Yu, Xu Chu, and others to capture Yuan Shu.

After the tasks were assigned, the generals accepted the orders and set off.

Liu Feng personally led Pan Zhang, Zhou Tai, and their respective troops to the palace.

At this moment, Jiang Qin was guarding the palace gate. His task was to guard the palace gate and receive Zhang Liao, who was going to enter the palace to arrest Yuan Shu, as well as Liu Feng, who was going to enter the palace later.

Jiang Qin stood at the city gate, his expression solemn.

He divided the 500 troops into three groups, with 200 of them positioned on the city wall, mostly armed with bows and crossbows, to cover both the inside and outside.

The remaining three hundred people were divided into two groups: one hundred were outside the palace and two hundred were inside. Jiang Qin himself, along with a few close followers, stood on the palace gate.

Upon seeing Liu Feng's troops arrive, Jiang Qin immediately descended from the city wall and greeted Liu Feng.

"Gongyi, how is the situation?"

Liu Feng watched as Pan Zhang and Zhou Tai directed their troops to continuously enter the palace, while inquiring about the situation inside Jiang Qin's palace.

Jiang Qin immediately replied, "General Zhang has been inside for a quarter of an hour. We just heard shouts of battle coming from inside, but we don't know the specifics."

Liu Feng nodded and gave Jiang Qin the task: "Okay, Gongyi, I'm entrusting this gate to you."

Jiang Qin immediately assured him, "Please rest assured, General, unless I die, I will never allow anyone to enter through this gate."

"good!"

Liu Feng praised him, then instructed, "Wen Xiang's troops will come to reinforce us later. Gong Yi can receive them and bring them into the palace."

"Yes! Please rest assured, Zheng Nan, Qin will definitely receive Wen Xiang and bring him into the palace to provide reinforcements."

As the two were talking, suddenly a fierce battle cry erupted from the main hall of the banquet deep within the palace, its sound deafening.

Liu Feng and Jiang Qin exchanged a glance, realizing that Zhang Liao must have made the move.

Liu Feng immediately ordered the entire army to rush to Zhang Liao's aid. If they encountered Yuan Shu's soldiers along the way, they should simply scatter them without pursuing them. Reinforcing Zhang Liao was the top priority.

********
After Zhang Liao captured the city gate, he and Xu Chu followed behind Zhou Yu, and the group headed towards the inner palace.

Fuling Palace is not large, only a few hundred thousand square meters.

Yuan Shu was hosting a banquet for his important officials in the main hall at that time, while Zhou Yu and Sun Xiang used the excuse of changing clothes to slip away.

Two thousand armored soldiers were on duty in the palace, responsible for protecting Yuan Shu's safety.

Of these two thousand armored soldiers, one thousand were stationed at various posts, and another one thousand were on patrol.

According to Zhou Yu, of the thousand armored soldiers on guard duty, five hundred were stationed inside and outside the main hall of the banquet palace, another two hundred guarded the palace gates, and the remaining three hundred were scattered around on duty.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shu also had a personal guard of two hundred men, all clad in iron armor, divided into four shifts, who stayed by Yuan Shu's side at all times to protect his safety.

"So that means the enemy number less than two thousand?"

Zhang Liao laughed and turned to Xu Chu, saying, "Zhongkang, how about we have a contest?"

The historical Xu Chu was not a reckless man, but a shrewd one; he even knew how to use strategies.

He enjoyed the deep trust of three generations of the Cao family and served as the imperial guard for decades, protecting three generations of Cao emperors.

The claim that Cao Cao's barking and Xu Chu's laughter is a blatant attempt to discredit Xu Chu's intelligence and abilities.

Upon hearing Zhang Liao's words, Xu Chu replied in a low voice, "General, we are here to accomplish great things, not to compete."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao's eyes lit up, and he praised Xu Chu, saying, "Zhongkang is truly a loyal and cautious man."

Then, he stopped mentioning the competition and instead whispered something to Zhou Yu.

"Gongjin, what good plan do you have?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu replied, "In a narrow encounter, the brave prevail. Yuan Shu is right here in the palace, while we are already at the city gates. At this point, there is no room for trickery; we must defeat him by force!"

"good!"

Zhang Liao nodded and immediately issued the order: "Zhongkang, Gongjin, I will give you two hundred men, sixty of whom are armored soldiers. You will stay behind and watch me break through the enemy's lines. Once you see me tear through Yuan Shu's defenses, you two can immediately charge out without any hesitation and go straight into the palace to capture Yuan Shu!"

(End of this chapter)