Chương 367: The gates of the Allied Forces' camp opened

Cao Cao still wore a half-smile, knowing full well what was going on: What's the use of cursing? We're at their mercy now; no amount of bravado will fill our stomachs. Liu Ce is clearly trying to win us over psychologically. Anyone who falls for it is a fool.

Sun Jian was even more straightforward; he simply leaned against the wall, closed his eyes to rest, and didn't bother with the performance of these fools.

Liu Ce listened to the group cursing, but he wasn't angry at all. Instead, he laughed even harder.

After they had finished cursing and were catching their breath, he slowly spoke:

"Finished yelling? Are you thirsty? Should I bring you two jugs of water?"

There was no sound from the top of the wall.

Liu Ce's smile faded, and he said seriously:

"Don't give me that 'loyal and righteous' nonsense. I know exactly what you're thinking!"

"You call it a campaign against Dong Zhuo, but Dong Zhuo has been staying at Hulao Pass for so long. Apart from the few battles you fought, what else did you do but drink, divide the spoils, argue, and fight amongst yourselves at Suanzao?"

"Yuan Benchu and Yuan Gonglu, how many times have you two brothers argued? Do you want me to count for you?"

......

"Sun Jian was fighting desperately at the front, and you cut off his supplies from behind, causing him to lose a major general and almost suffer total annihilation. Is this what you call a righteous army?"

Hearing this from the top of the wall, Sun Jian opened his eyes a crack and gave Yuan Shu a cold glance.

Yuan Shu pretended not to see it.

Liu Ce continued:

"Now look what's happened, they're labeling me a traitor, where's their shame?"

"I'm not going to waste my breath on you; I'll tell you straight up!"

He held up three fingers and said:

"First, Dong Zhuo is currently surrounded by my men at Hulao Pass; he has no way to escape!"

"Secondly, Luoyang and Chang'an are in my hands! Meanwhile, you are surrounded here, and you won't receive any reinforcements!"

"Third, I estimate your camp's provisions will only last three or four days at most! If this drags on any longer, your soldiers will starve to death without me even having to fight them!"

He looked at the pale faces on the wall and said in a softer tone:

"Surrender now, and I'll forgive and forget! Those who are willing to work for me will remain in their original positions and have plenty of food every day! Those who are unwilling will be given travel expenses to retire and live a peaceful life!"

"You've been given a chance, don't be ungrateful."

As soon as these words were spoken, the wall fell silent instantly, so quiet that you could hear the wind.

Yuan Shu, who had been the most vocal in his insults, turned red and white in turns, his lips trembling for a long time before he finally managed to utter:

"Bullshit! We'd rather starve to death than surrender to you, you traitor!"

The remaining feudal lords echoed their sentiments, but their voices had clearly lost their previous confidence, sounding like the buzzing of mosquitoes.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ce simply smiled.

He waved his hand and said:

"Fine, you're being stubborn, aren't you? No problem, I have plenty of time."

"I'll stop here for today. I'll come back and ask again tomorrow or the day after. I want to see if you're just being stubborn, or if your stomachs can hold their hunger."

After saying that, he turned his horse around and led his men back to camp in a grand procession.

Before leaving, he specifically instructed the soldiers:

"Set up ten large pots outside the camp to cook meat and porridge! Let the aroma waft into the Allied forces' camp!"

...

From that day on, Liu Ce did it like clocking in for work, riding his horse to the Allied forces' camp every day without fail to persuade them to surrender.

On his first day, he chatted with the feudal lords for a bit, joking about their past glory.

"Yuan Benchu, you look great today, but your face is a little pale. Did you skip breakfast?"

"Yuan Gonglu, those insults you gave me yesterday were pretty sharp. Want to say a few more today? I'd love to hear them to cheer myself up."

Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, who were on the wall, could still shout a few curses, while Cao Cao and Sun Jian remained silent.

After Liu Ce left, fighting broke out in the camp over the last remaining grain and fodder.

Yuan Shu's hidden grain was stolen by his soldiers, which angered him so much that he killed several soldiers on the spot, but this did nothing to quell the demoralization of the troops.

The next day, Liu Ce simply brought a small stool, sat outside the camp, and while munching on a braised pork knuckle, tried to persuade the enemy to surrender.

Behind them, a large pot was simmering meat, steaming and the aroma wafting into the camp on the wind.

The feudal lords on the wall smelled the aroma of meat, their stomachs rumbled loudly, and their cursing voices trembled.

"Liu Ce... you... you're going too far!" Yuan Shu clutched his stomach, his voice weak and feeble.

Liu Ce took a bite of his pork knuckle and mumbled, "This is too much! I call this winning people over with virtue. If you surrender, I'll immediately send someone to bring you food."

No one responded.

On the third day, as soon as Liu Ce opened his mouth, few people on the wall dared to curse him anymore.

Yuan Shao was deathly pale and could only stand by leaning against the wall; he couldn't utter a single word.

Yuan Shu cursed a couple of times, then clutched his stomach and squatted down, so hungry he was seeing stars and almost fell off the wall.

Only a few stubborn ones were still shouting, but their voices were so soft they were like mosquitoes buzzing, and they would swallow their saliva after shouting.

On the contrary, the soldiers in the camp would peek out from the cracks in the wall every day.

As soon as Liu Ce's proclamation urging surrender was shot into the room, someone secretly picked it up and read it.

"Those who surrender will be provided with all their food... really?"

"Whether it's true or not, it's better than starving to death!"

Every night, groups of soldiers would sneak out of the camp to surrender.

Liu Ce treated them well, providing them with hot meals and ensuring they were well-fed.

More and more people surrendered, day by day.

On the fourth day, when Liu Ce came again, there were only a few lords left on the wall.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu hid in their tents, not daring to come out, and only sent a few personal guards to stand watch on the wall.

Only Cao Cao and Sun Jian remained standing on the wall, looking at Liu Ce, still without saying a word.

But the composure he had shown before was gone from his eyes.

The camp's food supplies were completely exhausted.

After all the horses were killed, the soldiers began digging up grass roots and gnawing on tree bark. Some battalions had already begun to mutini, with soldiers rushing into their generals' tents with knives to grab the last bit of food.

Early on the fifth day.

Liu Ce had just led his men outside the camp, and before he could even speak...

"Squeak..."

The camp gates opened.

Kong Rong and Kong Zhou, with their remaining troops, raised white flags and were the first to surrender.

Kong Rong's old face was filled with shame.

He walked up to Liu Ce's horse, cupped his hands, and said:

"Prince of Yan... I... I surrender..."

Liu Ce dismounted, helped him up, and said with a smile:

"It is a wise move for Master Kong to show signs of surrender. Someone, take Master Kong to dinner!"

Once there's a first, there's bound to be a second.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Miao, Liu Dai, Qiao Mao, Wang Kuang, Bao Xin, Zhang Chao... and a host of other prefects also came out with their men to surrender.

The camp gates were wide open, and surrendered soldiers knelt on the ground.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were so angry that they fainted on the spot and were carried out by their personal guards to surrender.

Their faces were as white as paper, whether from anger or hunger, it was hard to tell.

As Yuan Shao was carried out, he was still muttering:

"My family has held high office for four generations... the Yuan family... is finished..."

Yuan Shu was in an even worse state; he was so hungry that he couldn't even speak and could only roll his eyes and glare at Liu Ce.

Looking at his miserable state, Liu Ce couldn't help but laugh and said:

"Gonglu, you said you'd rather starve than surrender, and I respected you as a true man. What's wrong, starving too much?"