Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Inside Wang Lang's tent, the flickering candlelight illuminated his furious and gloomy face, making it appear even more sinister. The defeated generals huddled on the ground, daring not to breathe, as if the air around them had frozen. Wang Lang suddenly kicked over the stool beside him, a loud clang echoing through the tent. His eyes widened, glaring fiercely at his dusty subordinates.

"How can you have the face to come back and see me? Twenty thousand elite soldiers were wiped out so easily by you!" Wang Lang's voice trembled with anger, his hands clenched into fists, and his knuckles turned white.

The leading general raised his head tremblingly, his face filled with fear and guilt, his voice trembling like a dead leaf in the autumn wind: "Sir, we have truly encountered an elaborate ambush arranged by the enemy. They were well prepared, and we were completely defenseless. This is why..."

"Shut up!" Wang Lang roared, his voice like thunder. "Twenty thousand against a few thousand, and you were completely defeated. You are nothing but good-for-nothings!"

The general trembled at the roar, gritted his teeth, and continued, as if summoning all his courage, "Sir, there's something extremely strange about this defeat, and I must report it to you. While we were desperately resisting, we discovered troops dressed in Han uniforms. Their fighting style was completely different from that of the Shanyue people—extremely skilled and ruthless. Furthermore, our soldiers vaguely saw that their flags bore insignia similar to those of Sun Ce's troops in Jiangdong."

"What?" Wang Lang's voice suddenly rose, like the roar of an enraged lion. He shot up from his seat, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets, his face filled with disbelief. "Sun Ce's men? Why are they there?"

The general nodded hurriedly, his forehead covered in sweat. "It's absolutely true, sir. Those Han troops are well-equipped and their tactics are unique, far beyond the reach of the Shanyue. Our soldiers saw it clearly: the pattern on their flag is strikingly similar to that of Sun Ce of Jiangdong."

At this moment, the previously silent staff members in the tent began to whisper to each other, their faces solemn. An older staff member slowly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Sir, in my opinion, there's probably something fishy going on here. Recently, Sun Ce has appeared to be maneuvering between various factions, maintaining a semblance of balance, but in reality, he may be plotting something in the dark. Do you think the Shanyue people, known for their unruly nature, are suddenly carrying out such a large-scale, organized attack? Could it be that Sun Ce is behind this, providing military support and planning?"

Wang Lang frowned, said nothing, and motioned him to continue.

The aide continued, "Although Xu Gong and Sun Ce didn't interact much before, there's no guarantee they weren't secretly colluding. This time, the Shanyue attacked Jiaxing County, and Xu Gong asked us for help. And then we were ambushed right after we dispatched our troops. It's all too coincidental. If Sun Ce and Xu Gong were already colluding, they could have taken advantage of our eagerness to preserve Wu Commandery and our reluctance to allow the Shanyue to grow stronger, luring us into their trap."

Another young aide stepped forward and added, "Sir, we've previously intercepted some unidentified letters. While we haven't deciphered their contents, we now wonder if they could be evidence of a secret connection between Sun Ce and Xu Gong. Furthermore, Sun Ce's power has been rapidly expanding in Jiangdong recently, and the supplies and troops he needs are most likely being financed by Xu Gong. One of them is openly competing for power with you, while the other is secretly gathering strength, waiting to deliver a fatal blow."

Wang Lang paced frantically in the tent, his steps rapid and heavy, as if he were trying to dig deep pits into the ground. His mind raced, and the speculations and evidence from his staff sent terrifying thoughts surging through his mind like a surging tide.

"Could it be... that all this is a carefully orchestrated conspiracy?" Wang Lang's voice was low and sinister, as if it came from the Netherworld. "Sun Ce appears to be maintaining a delicate balance with all parties, but secretly he has long since taken over the lap of that old scoundrel Xu Gong. They're in cahoots, first using the Shanyue people to sow chaos and stir up trouble, intensifying the conflict between Xu Gong and me. Then, they try to subjugate the Shanyue people and use them for their own purposes."

His eyes revealed a hint of fear and resentment as he continued to mutter to himself, "They deliberately allowed the Shanyue people to attack Jiaxing County, luring Xu Gong to ask me for help. And I foolishly fell for their trick and sent troops to help. They then set an ambush along the way, waiting for my 20,000 elite troops to fall into their trap. If they could annihilate my reinforcements, my strength would be severely weakened, and they could easily capture all of Wu County."

Thinking of this, Wang Lang felt a chill run from his feet to his head, and his blood seemed to freeze. He had always prided himself on being the wisest of Wu Commandery, fully aware of the situation, but he had never imagined that he had unknowingly fallen into such a terrible trap.

"Well, Sun Ce, Xu Gong, you're so cruel!" Wang Lang clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, "If it's really as I expected, I will make you pay a heavy price!"

He turned abruptly and looked at the kneeling generals, his eyes revealing a fierceness. "This matter must be kept strictly confidential. Anyone who dares to leak even a single word will be punished by military law! You must immediately reorganize the remaining troops and strengthen vigilance. There must be no slackness. I want to see what tricks Sun Ce and Xu Gong can come up with!"

The generals, as if granted amnesty, kowtowed and hurriedly withdrew. Wang Lang sat alone in his tent, gazing at the flickering candlelight, his heart filled with worry and resentment. He knew the situation in Wu Commandery had become increasingly complex and fraught with danger. He needed to devise a strategy quickly, or else all his years of hard work would be wasted.

Xu Gong stood atop the city wall of Jiaxing, his eyes bloodshot as he stared into the distance, as if Wang Lang's reinforcements would appear in an instant if he stared long enough. A howling wind whipped past, ruffling his tangled hair but unable to dispel the anxiety and despair that filled his heart.

"Where exactly are Wang Lang's reinforcements? Why haven't they appeared yet?" Xu Gong muttered to himself, his voice trembling uncontrollably. The guards beside him lowered their heads, not daring to breathe, fearing to anger their lord, who was now like a trapped beast.

At that moment, a soldier stumbled onto the tower, plopped down on his knees before Xu Gong, and panted, "Sir, the Shanyue people's offensive is getting more intense! They've added more siege equipment, and the defenders at the east gate can't hold on any longer!"

Xu Gong suddenly turned his head, glared at the soldier fiercely, and shouted: "Why are you panicking! Go back and tell them that they must hold on to the death! Reinforcements will be here soon!" The soldier didn't dare to say anything more and crawled down the city wall.

Xu Gong thought this, but as time passed, his hope faded like a candle in the wind. He had no idea that Wang Lang's 20,000 reinforcements had already been ambushed and annihilated by Zhou Yu and his men. He was like a frightened bird, and every cry of killing from outside the city felt like a heavy blow to his heart.

"My lord, we can't just sit here and wait for death!" a general urged anxiously, "Why don't we fight our way out before the Shanyue people completely surround us?"

Xu Gong glared at him fiercely and roared, "Leave the city? Leaving is courting death! Wang Lang will definitely send reinforcements. As long as we hold on a little longer, we can wait for the reinforcements to arrive, and with the help of internal and external forces, we can repel the Shanyue people in one fell swoop!"

However, what Xu Gong didn't know was that Wang Lang had already regarded him and Sun Ce as a group, and believed that they were the culprits who conspired against him.

Inside Jiaxing, Xu Gong waited in vain. Outside, the Shanyue's attack intensified. The siege drums pounded deafeningly, and wave after wave of Shanyue warriors surged forward like a tide. Ladders were thrust against the city walls one after another, leaving the defenders exhausted, men falling screaming in agony.

Xu Gong gazed upon the horrific scene, his legs weakening, and he could barely stand. His heart was filled with fear and despair, his former ambitions vanishing into thin air. "Am I, Xu Gong, going to die here today?" he muttered, his eyes filled with helplessness.

From the towers of Jiaxing City, Xu Gong gazed at the surging Shanyue people outside the city like a mountain torrent, a surge of fear threatening to consume him. But when he recalled the bloody scene of the Shanyue people slaughtering the aristocratic families in Lou County, his fear instantly turned into a frantic determination.

"We can't just sit and wait to die. Surrendering will surely lead to death!" Xu Gong gritted his teeth and squeezed out every word from between his teeth. His eyes were bloodshot and veins bulged on his forehead. He looked like a beast that was forced into a desperate situation and still fought to the death.

He turned around abruptly and roared to the messenger beside him: "Pass my order immediately to transfer all the troops from other counties under my jurisdiction to me! Don't leave any of them alive! Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!" The messenger was frightened by his crazy appearance and his face turned pale as paper. He responded tremblingly and ran down the city wall to deliver the order.

Upon hearing the order, Xu Gong's generals rushed to dissuade him. "My lord, this can't happen!" a white-haired veteran said, his voice distorted with anxiety. "Move all the troops from the other counties here. Those places will become empty and defenseless. If anything goes wrong..."

"Enough!" Xu Gong roared, his eyes wide and glaring. "Now Jiaxing City is almost lost, and we still have time to worry about other counties? If the Shanyue people break into the city, we will all die! Only by concentrating all our forces can we have a chance to repel them!"

Seeing Xu Gong's determination, the generals sighed helplessly, as if their spines had been torn out, and took the order and left. Soon, a series of expedited military orders were galloping out of Jiaxing City on fast horses, rushing towards the various county towns.

A few days later, exhausted troops arrived at Jiaxing City. Suddenly, the city's military strength increased significantly, and morale also rose slightly. Standing on the city wall, Xu Gong looked at the Shanyue people below, and a sense of unprecedented confidence surged in his heart.

At this moment, the Shanyue launched another attack. War drums beat with a deafening roar, and the Shanyue warriors surged toward the city walls like a tide. Xu Gong shouted, "Shoot!" In an instant, a thousand arrows rained down from the walls, raining down upon the Shanyue. Simultaneously, huge rocks were continuously rolled down the walls, crashing down upon the attacking enemy troops with a dull thud.

The Shanyue's offensive momentum was halted by this sudden and fierce resistance. Soldiers in the front row fell one after another, but those behind continued to shout and charge, trying to break through the defenses. However, Xu Gong's soldiers, supported by sufficient manpower, defended even more tenaciously.

Xu Gong ran back and forth on the city wall, holding a long sword, encouraging morale: "Soldiers, our reinforcements have arrived, and victory is at hand! Fight hard and make sure these Shanyue people never return!" The soldiers were encouraged, shouts rose one after another, and they swung their weapons more vigorously.

The Shanyue continued their attack for a long time, but were unable to break through Jiaxing's defenses. Looking at the corpses strewn about the city walls and the demoralized Shanyue, Xu Gong's face cracked with a long-lost smile. He knew that while they had temporarily repelled the Shanyue's offensive, a greater crisis might lie ahead.