Chương 450: Taking Over Half of Yangzhou

Zhang Fei yelled at the top of his lungs, "Second Brother, forget about whether it's cool or not! I just want to get to war! My hands are itching after being in Jiaozhou for so long!"

Zhang Liao smiled calmly: "Yide, you'll be the one to fight the battles. Although the two commanderies of Kuaiji and Yuzhang will most likely surrender, if any of them are foolish enough to resist, we'll still have to rely on you."

Zhang Fei patted his chest and declared, "Absolutely! Anyone who's blind to reason, I'll pierce them with my spear!"

Yue Fei laughed and said, "With you all here, I feel at ease."

......

On the training ground, Yue Fei reined in his horse and shouted to his soldiers:

"Brothers! We're marching north from Jiaozhou, this is our final battle! If we capture Kuaiji and Yuzhang, blocking Chen Wen's retreat, our mission will be complete! After this battle, we can return to Luoyang to collect our rewards and reunite with our families! Do you have confidence?!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The soldiers roared in unison, shaking the leaves that were falling to the ground.

Yue Fei waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"

The army marched north, banners blotting out the sky, dust billowing everywhere.

...

The arrival of the three armies instantly shook the entire city of Yangzhou.

As expected, apart from Chen Wen's core counties of Jiujiang and Danyang, the other counties did not have the slightest intention to resist.

As soon as the army arrived, they immediately opened the city gates and surrendered, more eagerly than going to a market, afraid that if they were late, someone else would steal the credit for their surrender.

Let's start with the group consisting of Yue Fei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhang Liao.

Heading north from Jiaozhou, the journey was smooth and unobstructed, with no one blocking the way.

In the counties along the way, the county magistrate, accompanied by the county assistant and the county constable, would wait at the city gate early in the morning, holding the official seals with utmost respect.

As soon as the army arrived at the border of Yuzhang County, Prefect Zhou Shu led all the civil and military officials of the county, carrying official seals, household registers, and account books, to greet them thirty miles outside the city.

The procession was even more grand than welcoming the emperor.

Upon seeing Yue Fei, Zhou Shu immediately bowed and greeted him, his face crinkling with smiles.

"General Yue! Your humble servant Zhou Shu respectfully welcomes the royal army! The people of Yuzhang County have been eagerly awaiting Your Highness's arrival! Everything has been inventoried; General, you only need to send someone to take over!"

Yue Fei smiled and helped him up, offering a few words of comfort: "Prefect Zhou is very kind. His Highness the Prince of Yan said that as long as one sincerely submits, past transgressions will be forgiven, and one can continue in office. You can continue in your post for now, and the handover will take place when His Highness sends someone."

Zhou Shu thanked him profusely, feeling a great weight lifted from his heart.

Yue Fei left a small contingent of troops to take over Yuzhang and continued to lead his army north to Kuaiji.

Guo Yi, the governor of Kuaiji, was even more decisive.

Hearing that Yue Fei's army was still a hundred li away from Kuaiji, he packed his things and led all the officials of the prefecture to kneel and wait at the city gate, without even bothering to send a letter of surrender.

As soon as Yue Fei's army arrived, he immediately presented the seal with both hands, behaving as obediently as a primary school student.

In less than half a month, Yue Fei successfully captured the two prefectures of Kuaiji and Yuzhang, blocking all of Chen Wen's escape routes to the south, so that not even a bird could fly over them.

Zhang Fei stood on the city wall, looking in the north and south directions, and muttered:

"That's it? It's over before even a single battle was fought? My spear hasn't even been sharpened yet!"

Guan Yu, standing to the side, said calmly, "It's a good thing there's no war. Do you really want rivers of blood to flow?"

Zhang Fei scratched his head and said, "No, it's not that... I just have an itchy hand."

...

On the other side, Qi Jiguang's navy sailed down the river with unstoppable momentum.

As soon as the army arrived in Wu County, the four major clans of Wu County, "Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang," gathered together and discussed the matter all night.

Gu Yong sat in the main seat and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, the situation of the world has been settled. Prince Liu Ce of Yan has already taken twelve provinces, leaving only Yangzhou."

"How long can Chen Wen hold out with his limited abilities? If we resist head-on, the city will fall, we'll all die, and we'll lose everything. It's better to surrender willingly and at least preserve our families."

The head of the Lu family nodded and said, "Brother Gu is right. I've heard that the Prince of Yan doesn't make things difficult for the noble families who have submitted, as long as they don't do evil. Aren't Liu Yu and Liu Yan both doing well?"

The Zhang family patriarch hesitated, saying, "But we don't have any real grudge against Chen Wen. Wouldn't it look bad if we surrendered directly?"

The head of the Zhu family sneered, "Looks good? Can looks feed you? Wait until the army arrives and a knife is at your throat, then you'll know what looks good."

The four of them discussed it all night, and the next morning they "invited" Prefect Sheng Xian out of his residence. In reality, they dragged him out.

Sheng Xian tried to resist, but was carried away by several strong men, shouting, "You are rebelling!" But no one paid him any attention, and they opened the city gates to welcome Qi Jiguang.

Although Sheng Xian was unwilling, he had no choice but to follow the four major clans out of the city after seeing that they had all surrendered.

The four men, led by Gu Yong, bowed to Qi Jiguang and smiled, saying:

"General, we, the people of Wu Commandery, have long awaited the arrival of the royal army! Prefect Sheng has already agreed to surrender, and the entire commandery is at your command!"

Qi Jiguang did not make things difficult for them, and allowed Sheng Xian to continue to serve as the prefect of Wu County temporarily, and to continue to manage the local area as before.

After a brief rest, the army left a small contingent to take over and headed straight for Danyang County.

Zhou Xin, the prefect of Danyang, originally wanted to put up a fight.

He rallied his troops, closed the city gates, and stood on the city walls shouting to the Han army: "I, Zhou Xin, have received the Emperor's great favor; how could I surrender to the traitors! If you have the guts, then come and fight your way in!"

As a result, as soon as Qi Jiguang sent someone with a letter of persuasion to surrender, the generals in the city rebelled.

The group huddled together and discussed: Zhou Xin is trying to wear us down! He has tens of thousands of troops; how can we, with so few men, hold them off?

That night, they secretly opened the city gates, letting Qi Jiguang's army in, and even tied up Zhou Xin and brought him before Qi Jiguang.

Zhou Xin, bound hand and foot, was furious, his face turning green. He cursed at the generals, "You traitors! Shameless!"

The generals lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound.

Qi Jiguang stepped forward, personally untied Zhou Xin's ropes, and said with a smile, "Prefect Zhou, the situation is already settled. Why put up any more futile resistance? His Highness the Prince of Yan is benevolent; as long as you surrender, past transgressions will be forgiven. Look at Liu Yu and Liu Yan; aren't they both enjoying their retirement in Luoyang now?"

Zhou Xin sighed, cupped his hands to Qi Jiguang, and said, "Enough! The fate of the world is sealed, and there is no need for me to put up any more futile resistance. I am willing to surrender and submit to the general's judgment."

Danyang County was also captured without bloodshed.

Gan Ning stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the scenery on the shore, somewhat disappointed:

"It's over without even a fight?"

Cheng Pu patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "Don't worry, there's still Shouchun."

...

The most successful was Lujiang County.

Liu Ce's main army had just arrived at the border between Lujiang and Runan County in Yuzhou, and before they had even set up camp, Prefect Lu Kang led all the officials of the county to the border to welcome them.

Upon seeing Liu Ce, Lu Kang immediately knelt down, tears streaming down his face.

"Your humble servant Lu Kang pays his respects to Your Highness, the Prince of Yan! As a subject of the Han Dynasty, I have longed for peace throughout the land day and night, and today we have finally welcomed Your Highness's royal army! The entire Lujiang Prefecture is willing to submit to Your Highness and follow your lead without question!"

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

"Lord Lu, please rise! Lord Lu has been loyal to the Han Dynasty and has pacified the people of Lujiang for so many years. I know very well how hard you have worked. I will need to trouble you with the affairs of Lujiang in the future."