Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 56 Lei Bu and Chen Lan have come to offer their assistance!
With important matters imminent, there was no time to investigate the rumors. Xiahou Dun and Yue Jin each prepared their troops and were ready to be deployed at any time. Jiang Gan also took up his sword, mounted his horse, and prepared to join the army.

Whether it was Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, Lei Bu, or Chen Lan, they were all persuaded by Jiang Gan. If he were to accompany the army as a middleman, he would obviously be more trustworthy.

While waiting for the right moment, a report suddenly came from the army: "The Yuan camp is on fire!"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Yuan's camp was ablaze, its flames illuminating half the sky.

Xiahou Dun took the lead, pointing his sword at Yuan's camp, and shouted: "The day to defeat Yuan is here! The three armies march out together and charge straight into the enemy camp!"

After Yue Jin led the army, Jiang Gan, who served as the link between the three forces of Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, Lei Bu, Chen Lan and Cao Cao, was protected in the central army, with a boy standing by holding up a large flag with the character "Jiang".

The three armies charged straight into Yuan's camp. Yuan's army was already in turmoil, and with the fire spreading, it was now under heavy attack from Cao's army, and the defense line at the gate collapsed instantly.

Upon entering the camp, Xiahou Dun looked up and indeed saw Zhou Yu, wearing a feather fan and a turban, sitting in the center directing the "Sun family troops" to "fight" with Yuan's army.

During this time, a young general was particularly brave, leading veterans such as Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Huang Gai in a great battle against generals Ji Ling, Li Feng, and Yuan Yin.

However, with few soldiers and generals, despite their valiant fighting, they had already fallen into a state of decline.

Seeing the chaos within Yuan's army, Xiahou Dun was overjoyed and urged his troops to advance deeper into the enemy territory.

"Ji Ling! Do you recognize me, Xiahou Yuanrang? The humiliation I suffered at Qiao County that day cannot be appeased without killing you. Come and fight me now!"

He shouted and charged towards Ji Ling with his spear, also to remind Zhou Yu, Sun Ce and others that Cao Cao's army had arrived to reinforce them and that they should prioritize cooperation.

How could Zhou Yu not know of his military prowess? He immediately mobilized troops to coordinate with Cao Cao's army.

The young general noticed that Cao Cao's offensive was stalled, and without regard for his own safety, he led his troops to the rescue, shouting, "I am Sun Ce of Jiangdong! I have come to help! Allies, do not doubt me!"

Cao Cao's generals and officers all knew that this was a coordinated attack from within and without, intended to assist Sun Ce, so they had no suspicions and immediately let them into the enemy lines.

Unexpectedly, the captain who was leading the troops stepped forward to greet him, but before he could say a word, he was stabbed to death with a spear.

Not only at Sun Ce's place, but also from there, one could hear:

"I am Cheng Pu, a veteran general under General Sun. I have come to provide assistance. Allies, please do not doubt me."

"I am Han Dang, a veteran general under General Sun, who has come to your aid."

"I am Huang Gai, allies, do not doubt me."

The shouts reached Cao Cao's army from all directions. Amidst the cries of "We have come to your aid, our allies, do not doubt us," these "allies" did not hesitate to stab Cao Cao's army in the back. In an instant, five of Cao Cao's mid-level officers and soldiers were killed, and countless soldiers of lower rank were killed or wounded.

In just one engagement, the losses were far greater than those suffered during the previous days of defending the city.

Le Jin was nearly beheaded by Huang Gai, but fortunately, his martial arts skills were excellent and his reaction was quick, so he barely dodged the fatal blow and continued to fight and maneuver with Huang Gai.

Zhou Yu, who was in charge of the central command, laughed loudly.

“Brother Ziyi has lived up to our friendship and is truly trustworthy. With this tremendous achievement as a testament to my loyalty, I am afraid I will have to rely on you in Yuan’s camp in the future.”

Xiahou Dun was shocked by this turn of events, and upon hearing Zhou Yu's words, he knew he had fallen into a trap.
So you were tasked with sowing discord within Yuan's camp, but you ended up being the one sown discord, huh?
"Jiang Ziyi, our lord has treated you well, how dare you betray us and defect to the enemy? I swear to kill you!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and he wanted to turn his horse around and order the army to retreat quickly, but it was too late.

Ji Ling seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, his three-pointed double-edged sword pressing down like a torrential rain, tightly entangled with the enemy.

"Xiahou Yuanrang? Do you recognize me, Ji Ling? You wanted to fight just now, so why are you in such a hurry to leave? Let me see you off!" Xiahou Dun wanted to leave, but Ji Ling stopped him. He wanted to fight, but he couldn't win in his haste.

They were caught in a dilemma, and seeing the "Sun family army" and Yuan army join forces to besiege Cao's army, they were both angry and anxious.

Zhou Yu's words, however, caused Jiang Gan great distress.

The surrounding Cao soldiers had icy eyes and were filled with murderous intent. Jiang Gan was captured on the spot and cursed angrily to the sky.

"Zhou Gongjin, you've got me killed!"
You are fickle and silver-tongued! I trusted you completely because of our years of friendship and promised you immense wealth.

But you are stubborn and have wasted your talents. When Yuan Shu is defeated and killed by my lord, I will laugh at you from the depths of the underworld.

His actions caused Cao Cao's army to hesitate for a moment.

Seeing that they didn't immediately take action in their haste, Jiang Gan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he also harbored genuine hatred for Zhou Yu.

You can't do this to your old classmate! If you had known you were going to pull this stunt, Zhou Gongjin, you should have at least told me beforehand!
If I had been prepared, I wouldn't have been trapped in Cao Cao's army. I treated you with sincerity, but you tried to kill me.
Not far away, Zhou Yu heard Jiang Gan's angry curses filled with resentment, and he felt helpless.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take this opportunity to turn the charade into a real one and lend Jiang Ziyi a hand.

The problem was that the "Sun family soldiers" that Yuan Shu assigned to him were mostly former troops of Liu Xun, Lei Bu, and Chen Lan who had been scattered and reorganized, and had no connection with the Sun or Zhou families whatsoever.

If Lei Bu and Chen Lan were in command, their rallying cry might have created chaos. But Zhou Yu, as a temporary commander, even if he ordered a counterattack against Yuan's army, who would obey?

Moreover, when Yuan Shu mobilized his troops before the battle, he had already informed the three armies that this internal battle was merely a feigned one to create a stir, and that the real target was only Cao Cao's army.

In other words, only the heads of Cao Cao's soldiers could be exchanged for war merit rewards.

Even without orders, they themselves couldn't wait to immediately charge into Cao Cao's army, these walking heroes of war.

Jiang Ziyi, you still expect me, Zhou Gongjin, to help you? But what can I do? Who will help me?

He glanced at the five hundred axemen beside him, who were supposed to be his protectors, knowing that if he made the slightest move, his head would be chopped off in an instant.

Zhou Yu gritted his teeth inwardly. How could you outsiders know how deeply Yuan Gong was wary and fearful of me and Bo Fu? Like a spider weaving a web, the spider silk was layered and bound, how could we, the prey, be allowed to escape?
Severing the last trace of guilt he felt towards his old classmate, Zhou Yu's gaze turned cold, and he waved his hand to give the order.

"Charge the entire army and annihilate Cao Cao's forces!"

As Yuan's army surged forward like a tidal wave, their greedy and eager eyes, fixed on the heads of Cao's soldiers, were like those of wolves and tigers.

The 20,000 troops from the counties and prefectures brought by Le Jin could not hold out for long. Rumors of cannibalism by Yuan's army surfaced in their minds, and they were too terrified to fight.
Amidst the dead, fleeing, and trampling, morale plummeted, and some soldiers dared not even engage Yuan's army in battle, instead turning their swords and spears towards Cao's troops behind them, all in an effort to escape faster than those around them.

Just then, seeing that defeat was imminent, Xiahou Dun finally managed to break free from Ji Ling and attempted to lead the last elite Cao army in a hasty retreat.

Just as they were wondering where to break through the encirclement, they suddenly saw an army leading its troops to attack.

"Brother Ziyi, don't panic! Lei Bu/Chen Lan are on their way to help!"

Unexpectedly, even amidst the chaos of Cao Cao's army, some banners remained standing, held by a boy bearing the character "Jiang"!

"Is it Lei Bu and Chen Lan? You two generals truly trust people!"

Jiang Gan was deeply moved!

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(End of this chapter)