NOVPUBSeveral chests of jewels were thrown down, and Sun Ce’s soldiers began to waver. Sun Ce glanced back at his men and knew what they were thinking. After all, they wouldn’t have forgotten how to move through water, would they?
Zhou Yu shook his head, feeling helpless about Sun Ce. There was no need for all this talk, just fight already. Now you see you have got yourself into a tough situation.
Left with no choice, Zhou Yu stepped forward himself, "Why should you, Lu Kang, use our army’s wealth as a guarantee? The battle has reached this point, and I presume you also know you can only delay the inevitable. The Lu family’s fortune is but a mere item in our army’s pocket. Your family’s good name, your pledge, Lu Kang, is nothing but a joke, sending them to their deaths."
Then, without paying any further attention to Lu Kang, Zhou Yu turned his head and bellowed at his soldiers, "Listen up, those who take the city today, regular soldiers will be rewarded with one string of coins each, the rest one tenfold string!" Then he took a deep breath and roared, "Attack the city!"
Everyone heard Zhou Yu’s words and naturally understood that he wasn’t just making empty promises. There was uncertainty in acquiring the daily tenfold string of coins Lu Kang offered, whereas Zhou Yu’s guarantee was tangible. Led by Hann Dang and others, Sun Ce’s soldiers charged forward with howling fervor, not even giving Lu Kang a chance to respond.
Retreating to the rear army to command, Zhou Yu sighed upon receiving the intelligence from the direction of Chaohu Lake, "Although I’ve always planned to fight Lujiang on one side and the reinforcements on the other, I didn’t expect the first wave of reinforcements to be this troublesome."
Having said that, Zhou Yu set the intelligence aside and turned to Ling Cao, who had delivered the report, "Kuntao, go to the front and inform Bofu. Tell him to come here."
Ling Cao took Zhou Yu’s command arrow and went to look for Sun Ce, while Zhou Yu looked toward the Northeast and sighed softly, ordering the messenger soldiers to order Huang Gai and others to attack the city with haste.
Cheng Pu and the others did not attack just one side as usual but went all out to attack the East Gate, West Gate, and North Gate. The soldiers of Lujiang, exhausted, were caught off guard, and the city walls teetered on the verge of collapse.
"Demou, Duke Yi, Gongjin has commanded us to take the city with utmost speed, to seize Lujiang City as soon as possible!" bellowed Huang Gai, who was commanding in the northeast corner, upon hearing Zhou Yu’s order. He, along with Cheng Pu and Hann Dang, was mustering troops, waiting for the perfect moment.
"Let’s go for it now!" Cheng Pu stared at the teetering East Gate, "It seems about time. The three of us will take our trusted aides and strike at the North Gate together, seizing Lujiang City in one fell swoop!"
"Good!" Hann Dang threw the drumstick to a sturdy man, "Once we three charge, you pound that drum as hard and as loud as you can!"
"Charge!" Huang Gai yelled, rushing toward Lujiang City with a Great Sword in hand. On the Cloud Ladder, he swiftly made his way up the teetering wall amidst the chaos. Before the Lujiang soldiers could pour boiling oil on him, he cut down a few soldiers beside him, taking out more than a dozen, gaining a firm foothold.
"A reward of a hundred gold pieces for whoever takes down Huang Gai’s head!" Lu Kang, upon seeing Huang Gai, immediately sensed disaster and shouted from afar.
"Lu Kang, meet your end!" Hann Dang stepped on the Cloud Ladder and leaped onto the city wall, chopping down an archer trying to ambush Huang Gai. Then Cheng Pu leaped up as well, and together the three took control of a section of the wall. Their trusted aides followed up the Cloud Ladders, slaughtering their way along the wall and quickly clearing a section.
"Fight back quickly, shoot them down!" Lu Kang shouted in a panic.
"Take this!" Huang Gai notched an arrow to his bow, and with the twang of the bowstring, Lu Kang, standing over a hundred meters away, was struck down by a single arrow.
"Master of the house, make haste!" After Lul Kang was hit by an arrow, the private soldiers of the Lul Family knew in their hearts that something dreadful was afoot. A dozen of the Lul Family’s private soldiers held off the advancing troops of Sunx Ce’s Army, while others carried Lul Jun and Lul Kang and made a dash for the base of the city walls.
"Go..." Lul Kang, spitting blood, managed to speak. Although his retainer had blocked the arrow shot by Huang Gai, the residual force still pierced through his abdomen. It wasn’t fatal, yet for a seventy-year-old elder to suffer such a blow, he feared he wouldn’t last long without potent medicine.
"Report, enemies have flooded in through the East Gate, the West Gate, only the South Gate remains unguarded!" shouted a blood-covered retainer at the top of his lungs.
"Let’s take the South Gate. Zhou Tai has fed off my Lul Family for so many years; it’s time he left a lifeline for us!" Lul Jun, supporting Lul Kang, said to the household generals.
"Through the South Gate, take the detour to Chaohu Lake, and head north! Abandon going to Eastern Wu. Up to this point, not the Gu Family, the Zhang Family, nor the Zhu Family has come to our rescue. Then let us head north to seek Liu Xuande!" Despite his pale countenance, Lul Kang’s mind was still lucid. "Take Xun and Ji with you, torch the Lul residence!"
"Understood!" Lul Jun didn’t hesitate for a moment. "What about our shipbuilding techniques? Even if we make it to Chaohu Lake, I’m afraid we may have to flee alone!"
"Surviving is our first priority! Craftsmen are not the issue; it’s merely a matter of their proficiency. As for the shipbuilding techniques of the Lul Family, as long as I live, I shall teach you everything I know along the way. Commit it to memory, and our family might rise again. As for the most skilled craftsmen, disperse them. Once we’re settled, we can summon them anew!" Lul Kang, supported by his household generals, coughed several times before speaking; he had long made such contingency plans.
"Alright!" Lul Jun nodded, then carrying his father, sprinted towards the South Gate, while Lul Xun and Lul Ji were taken in the arms of the household generals in the same direction.
"Boss, are we truly going to exterminate the Lul family?" a hesitant Water Pirate peeked over and asked.
"Exterminate your sister!" Zhou Tai slapped the Water Pirate to the ground. "Get lost! Go see which soldiers under my command are violating military discipline! I’ll execute on the spot anyone who dares to kill, set fires, or loot!"
Upon issuing this order as he entered from the West Gate, the more astute among Zhou Tai’s men knew what to do, and even the dull ones were dragged away by the sharp-witted.
[Lul Family, this is all the help I can offer you. You have my gratitude. In the future, just don’t make it difficult for me by opposing my lord!] Zhou Tai slew a soldier of Sunx Ce’s Army who intended to violate the people of Lujiang City.
"We’ve escaped so easily; I hadn’t expected Zhou Yu to really leave the South Gate unguarded!" Lul Jun, surprised, remarked.
"I’m afraid it was guarded, but the guards must have been drawn away!" Lul Xun said sternly, his eleven-year-old mind already sharp and meticulous.
"It must be Zhou Youping’s doing. Let’s not make things difficult for him. We should leave quickly. Once we reach the Yangtze River, even if Sunx Ce blocks the waterway, nobody can stop the Lul Family from going where we wish." Realizing what his son implied in an instant, Lul Jun sighed, tidied up his disheveled appearance, hoisted Lul Xun onto the horse, and headed southward.
"Report, General, the Lul residence is on fire, and General Zhou is executing our men who are attacking the city!" A messenger ran over and informed Huang Gai and the others.
"What!" Huang Gai was taken aback. "How dare Youping do such a thing, bring me there at once!"
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com.)
