NOVPUBGongsun Zan left Liu Yu’s residence and returned to his own dwelling, looking at the all-encompassing ruins, his face became completely contorted, the somewhat remaining rationality of Gongsun Zan was now completely consumed by anger, rage ignited within his chest, evil grew at the courage’s edge!
"Let’s go! To the military camp!" Gongsun Zan stood in front of his collapsed courtyard, took a deep breath, and galloped towards the camp outside the city.
"Gongsun Bogui has gone to the military camp?" Yan Rou was taken aback, then overjoyed. Wasn’t this handing him leverage? How could he not strike first now? And with Gongsun Zan going out of the city, there would be no complaints of disturbing the populace, so wouldn’t everything be settled once the army of over ten thousand surrounded Gongsun Zan?
With this in mind, Yan Rou’s initial intention to report to Liu Yu weakened. In his view, Liu Yu was too benevolent and would surely offer Gongsun Zan a way out. Such an approach would be ineffectual for someone like Gongsun Zan who was unrepentantly wicked, allowing Gongsun Zan to escape punishment once again!
Strike the snake but not kill it, and suffer the backlash – considering this, a ruthless glint flashed in Yan Rou’s eyes. If Liu Yu couldn’t make the decision, then he would replace Liu Yu in doing so. When the time came, he would take all the blame. If the Han Court were to punish him, he would abandon his post in advance and flee, seeking refuge in the territory of the Northern Frontier Barbarians.
[That’s exactly what I’ll do, I’ll seize this opportunity today to help our Lord eradicate such a scourge!] Yan Rou made up his mind and then ordered his subordinates to prepare.
"I greet our Lord!" Zou Dan bowed with a fist in hand.
Gongsun Zan glanced at Zou Dan but did not respond. He simply led his followers straight to the Central Army Tent.
"Shiqi, what’s the situation?" After standing up, Zou Dan quietly inquired to Guan Jing, whom he pulled aside.
Guan Jing sighed and recounted everything that had happened that day, causing Zou Dan’s hair and beard to bristle, with blood-red eyes, for a subject to be disgraced is to die for his lord!
Just as Gongsun Zan had sat down in the tent, Zou Dan stood up, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Gongsun Zan and said, "My Lord, Dan asks to fight to the death! I have always heard, ’When the ruler worries, his vassal labors; when the ruler is disgraced, his vassal dies.’ Today our Lord has been humiliated, and I feel the same as if it were my own disgrace, and therefore, I ask to fight to the death!"
Zou Dan was serious. Every man has die-hard followers, and Zou Dan was Gongsun Zan’s. With Gan Ning and Liu Yu having humiliated Gongsun Zan, Zou Dan was furious, wishing he could taste their flesh, drink their blood!
After Zou Dan spoke out, the others could not remain the proverbial shrinking turtles and all stood up, shouting, "We ask to fight!"
Although Gongsun Zan was furious, he had not lost his senses. They were in Zhuo County, the heart of Liu Yu’s power base, where the local troops alone numbered over ten thousand. How could his thousand-odd seasoned soldiers possibly fight?
"You all stand down, we’ll talk about this matter later!" Gongsun Zan immediately rejected his subordinates’ suggestion. While his head might have been a bit muddled before, during normal times he still retained a bit of that White Horse General’s demeanor.
"My Lord!" Zou Dan knelt on the ground, weeping.
Guan Jing helped Zou Dan up and led him out of the camp. He didn’t want Zou Dan to be reprimanded by Gongsun Zan since now anyone with clear eyes could see that Gongsun Zan was no match for Liu Yu—the discrepancy in military strength was too great.
After standing up, Zou Dan didn’t say another word. He just silently carried his greatsword to the Rear Camp.
That night, Yan Rou ignored Liu Yu’s general’s order and directly led his troops to surround Gongsun Zan’s military camp, which left Gan Ning and Taishi Ci somewhat dumbfounded.
"Ziyi, what should we do at this time?" Gan Ning asked from atop a tavern, looking distantly at the large troops’ torches outside the city. "We should save Liu Bo’an if Gongsun Bogui wants to kill him. Now that Liu Bo’an is obviously much stronger than Gongsun Bogui, what should we do if we are to kill Gongsun Bogui?"
"This..." Taishi Ci was also somewhat dumbfounded. Liu Bei’s order was not to give Gongsun Zan the chance to make a mistake and to take the opportunity to bring Liu Yu back. Now, isn’t the situation reversed? Is Liu Yu going to take out Gongsun Zan?
"It seems that our military advisor isn’t all-powerful either. Instead of Gongsun Bogui killing Liu Bo’an, he’s about to be killed by Liu Bo’an," Gan Ning spread his hands, imitating Chen Xi’s helpless expression. This wasn’t his responsibility; he could only indifferently watch the excitement unfold. Gongsun Zan’s life and death had nothing to do with him.
"Let’s just wait and see. The enemy has already formed up, and it won’t be easy for me alone to break through," Taishi Ci said helplessly. "We can only hope that General Gongsun is blessed with a large fortune. If he’s still alive at the end, I’ll consider helping him out," Taishi Ci tactfully opted for self-preservation.
"Smart!" Gan Ning raised his thumb in approval.
"Gongsun Zan, surrender quickly, and I will spare your life. I will take you to the capital to face the Emperor. Should you resist, there will be no mercy!" Yan Rou, riding his horse, charged directly to the front of Gongsun Zan’s camp and shouted loudly. As for sparing Gongsun Zan’s life, what a joke. If Gongsun Zan dared to surrender, he would immediately betray his word and remove future threats for Liu Yu.
"Let Liu Bo’an come out and see me! I don’t believe a word you say!" Gongsun Zan showed signs of softening, but he still had a bit of sense and knew he couldn’t surrender to Yan Rou. Even if he were to surrender, it had to be to Liu Yu.
"Hehehe, my lord manages myriad affairs daily. How could he meet with you, a rebel who disrespects his superiors, just because you wish it? Gongsun Zan, I ask you again, do you surrender or not?" Yan Rou mocked Gongsun Zan unabashedly.
"Let Liu Bo’an come out and see me!" Under the eaves, one has to bow their head. Even the proud Gongsun Zan became timid at this moment.
"It seems you’re unwilling to surrender then. Charge, all troops!" Yan Rou sneered coldly and, with basically no wartime experience, foolishly gave the order.
"Yan Rou, meet your death!" In the moment of Yan Rou’s cold laughter, Zou Dan, who had been planning to assassinate Liu Yu under cover of night, forcefully threw his short spear at Yan Rou.
Yan Rou, experiencing his first battle and having never faced such a spectacle, was shocked to see the short spear flying towards him. Instead of deflecting it with his sword, he instinctively used the horsemanship skills he learned from the Hu People—rolling off the horse!
All saw Yan Rou roll to evade the incoming short spear, but the command banner behind him wasn’t so agile and was pierced through and broken.
One would think that in a well-drilled army, a constantly nurtured command banner would be as solid as steel. But Liu Yu’s soldiers had hardly drilled at all, and the command banner was merely used on the eve of battle. To the people of this world, it was as brittle as rotting wood; Zou Dan’s short spear easily snapped it.
This sight immediately silenced the entire field, followed by Zou Dan’s loud cry, "The enemy commander Yan Rou is dead, follow me and slay our foes!" Taking the lead, he leaped out from the military camp with his great sword, cutting several enemies in half, sending Gongsun Zan’s morale soaring. The few hundred soldiers who were prepared to join him in killing Liu Yu’s family charged into Liu Yu’s army like tigers into a flock of sheep.
In a few breaths, Liu Yu’s army began to rout, and without waiting for Yan Rou to recover, it turned into a full-blown flight. Cries for fathers and mothers were heard everywhere as Liu Yu’s men wished for extra legs to flee faster!
Witnessing this scene, Gan Ning nearly sprayed out a mouthful of old blood. Could Liu Yu’s army be any more useless? Could they endure any more humiliation? Taishi Ci and Gan Ning exchanged looks, both seeing the bitter smile in each other’s eyes. At this rate, Liu Yu was doomed! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome you to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
