123 The Unfortunate Chunyu Qiong

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After the provisions at Black Nest were burned, the outcome of the Battle of Guandu was already decided.

Yuan Shao’s defeat in this battle could no longer be reversed.

And once defeated, Yuan Shao would have only one avenue of retreat left: holding Ye City to the death.

If Su Ming and the others could truly seize Ye City, they would cut off Yuan Shao’s final escape route completely.

By then, only death would remain for him.

But how easy was it to take Ye City?

Ye City was Yuan Shao’s headquarters. Its walls were high and its fortifications formidable. Forget eight hundred men—even eight thousand might not be enough to capture it.

For that matter, the soldiers stationed in Ye City alone probably numbered more than ten thousand.

Even Zhang Liao, one of the greatest commanders in the realm, could not think of a way to take the city.

“Young master, Ye City will not be easy to attack,” Zhang Liao said with a sigh.

Su Ming looked at him and revealed his plan.

“Attack?”

“Who said anything about attacking?”

“With the handful of men we have, attacking would be no different from throwing an egg against a rock.” After saying this, Su Ming continued, “I have already made inquiries. Ye City is currently under the command of Yuan Shao’s third son, Yuan Shang. We will disguise ourselves as members of the Xu family and enter the city. Once inside, as long as we can break into the government office immediately and seize Yuan Shao, Ye City will be ours.”

After hearing this, Zhang Liao still felt that Su Ming was oversimplifying matters.

The reason they had managed to burn Black Nest so smoothly today was, first, because Xu You had given them a map of the area beforehand, and second, because that fool Chunyu Qiong had gotten drunk and bungled everything.

But Ye City was different.

It was Yuan Shao’s headquarters, and its defenses were certain to be even tighter. Moreover, they had no map of the city.

If they entered Ye City and something went wrong—if their disguise were exposed and precious time were lost—then their eight hundred men would surely be trapped and slaughtered there.

“Young master, the lord’s order was for us to burn Ye City and then hurry back to Guandu,” Zhang Liao said. Seeing that the plan was too crude, he had no choice but to invoke Cao Cao.

Su Ming, however, was unmoved.

“Wenyuan, an opportunity in war can vanish in the blink of an eye. Do you still not understand that a general in the field need not always obey the ruler’s command?”

“Young master, we don’t have enough men!”

“Eight hundred men arriving in Ye City would be like a few drops of water flowing into the sea.” Zhang Liao still tried to persuade him.

When Zhang Liao spoke of their lack of manpower, Su Ming gave him a meaningful glance and lowered his voice.

“As for the manpower, I will find a way once we reach Ye City.”

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“Wenyuan, rest assured. I am seventy or eighty percent confident in this.”

Su Ming said he would find a way to solve the problem of manpower after reaching Ye City. Zhang Liao wondered inwardly, What way could you possibly find?

Once they reached Ye City, the entire place would be filled with Yuan Shao’s soldiers. Could Su Ming possibly scatter beans and summon an army?

Still, since Su Ming was determined, Zhang Liao could not continue arguing.

After all, Su Ming was the commander while he was only the deputy. Once the commander had made his decision, the deputy could only risk his life alongside him.

Su Ming and the others hid in a small valley and rested for nearly half an hour. After eating some dry rations and drinking water to ease their hunger, they prepared to resume their march.

After Black Nest was burned, the defeated soldiers scattered in every direction.

Some fled toward Guandu to report to Yuan Shao, while others ran back to Ye City, their headquarters. In short, they went everywhere.

If Su Ming wanted to seize Ye City, he had to move quickly—he had to reach it before those fleeing soldiers did.

Once the fugitives returned to Ye City and Yuan Shang learned that Black Nest had been burned, he would inevitably raise his guard.

Just as Su Ming and the others were preparing to set out, the scouts sent ahead came rushing back with a report.

“Reporting to the general! There is a troop on the mountain road ahead—roughly five hundred men escorting thirty or forty wagons.”

“They appear to be heading toward Ye City.”

Upon hearing this, Su Ming immediately led his men toward the mountain road to see who they were.

That troop was moving quickly—so quickly that it was about to overtake them.

Su Ming brought his men to the high ground on either side of the road and lay concealed in the grass, observing the situation.

“Chunyu Qiong.”

“The man at the front is Chunyu Qiong, and the one beside him is Lu Xiang.” After getting a clear look at them, Xu Qian hurriedly informed Su Ming.

They had failed to kill Chunyu Qiong last night, and now the fool had delivered himself to their doorstep again.

But Black Nest had already been burned. Whether Chunyu Qiong lived or died no longer mattered.

Su Ming’s objective was no longer to kill him, but to drive the troop back and prevent them from reaching Ye City.

“Pass down my order. Have the brothers circle through the mountains and quickly get ahead of them!”

“Attack them from the front and drive them toward Guandu. Do not let them proceed to Ye City!” Su Ming issued his command.

On the mountain road, Chunyu Qiong’s troops were blackened and disheveled from the fire.

On top of that, they had been marching all night and were utterly exhausted.

Chunyu Qiong’s face was ashen, as though someone owed him a fortune and had refused to repay it.

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Seeing Chunyu Qiong’s grim expression, Lu Xiang hurriedly consoled him.

“General, what is done is done. You should not dwell on it.”

“For now, the most important thing is to return to Ye City, make the necessary connections, and preserve your life.”

“Alas!” Chunyu Qiong let out a heavy sigh. “It seems we have no choice.”

“General, we are heading toward Ye City.”

“There should be no pursuers coming from that direction. Let us rest for a while. The brothers have marched all night and are exhausted,” Lu Xiang continued.

It was not only the soldiers who were tired. Lu Xiang himself was exhausted as well.

In truth, Chunyu Qiong was tired too.

Lu Xiang’s words struck precisely where Chunyu Qiong was most vulnerable.

“Rest!”

“Let the brothers rest!” Chunyu Qiong said, dismounting first.

The men under Chunyu Qiong were truly exhausted. The moment the troop halted, they sprawled across the ground in every direction, like dead pigs.

At that moment, they had no idea that a troop was already concealed in the grass ahead of them.

“When you loose your arrows, pay attention! Do not shoot the horses!”

“If anyone wounds one of my horses, I will ride him all the way to Ye City!” Su Ming shouted his orders to his men.

When Su Ming and the others had come this way, they had been traveling on foot to avoid the battlefield at Guandu and had brought no horses with them.

Now they were still on foot. They were in desperate need of mounts for their rapid journey to Ye City, and Chunyu Qiong had obligingly delivered them.

“General, have some water!” Lu Xiang said, handing Chunyu Qiong a waterskin.

Chunyu Qiong was sitting on a slab of blue-gray stone. He had just reached out to take the waterskin when he suddenly heard a soft splatter. Something had dripped onto his face.

He wiped it away with his hand, and the heavy scent of blood immediately filled the air.

He looked up sharply.

An arrow was lodged in Lu Xiang’s chest, having pierced straight through him.

Then came the sound of arrows slicing through the air—one after another, in a relentless storm. The soldiers around him fell in heaps.

Chunyu Qiong was quick-witted enough to throw himself backward and take cover behind the stone.

[End of Chapter]