Chương 451: Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao

Lu Kang was so excited that his beard trembled: "Your Highness, rest assured, this old minister will do his utmost!"

In this way, Lujiang County was captured smoothly without even a single battle.

In less than a month, of the six prefectures of Yangzhou, only Chen Wen's own Jiujiang Prefecture and the lonely city of Shouchun remained.

...

The army continued its advance towards Shouchun.

As they passed through Wan County, Liu Ce reined in his horse, pointed to the county town by the roadside, and casually asked Lu Kang beside him, "Lord Lu, which county is this?"

Lu Kang quickly cupped his hands and replied, "Your Highness, this is Wan County, which is under the jurisdiction of Lujiang Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ce raised an eyebrow meaningfully and said with a smile:

"Oh? I've heard that the Qiao family in Wan County has two daughters, known as the Qiao Twin Beauties, who are absolutely stunning. Their skin is as white as jade, and their eyes are as clear as autumn water. When they stand together, they are like two white lotuses in full bloom, exuding the gentle and refined charm of the Jiangnan water towns. I wonder if it's true?"

Who is Lu Kang?

He was a seasoned veteran of officialdom; upon hearing this, he immediately understood Liu Ce's meaning.

He remained expressionless, smiling and nodding, "Your Highness is right. The two girls from the Qiao family are indeed famous beauties in Wan County, well-educated, reasonable, and gentle in nature."

Liu Ce smiled, said nothing more, waved his hand, and the army continued its advance.

After parting ways with Liu Ce, Lu Kang immediately found an excuse, took a few personal guards, and rode at full speed straight to the Qiao family in Wan County.

Upon entering, there was no beating around the bush; they went straight to the point:

"Master Qiao, congratulations! Great news has come knocking! His Highness the Prince of Yan passed through Wan County and heard of the beauty and talent of your two daughters. He greatly admires them."

"This is a golden opportunity for your Qiao family to curry favor with the powerful. If you know what's good for you, you'd better make preparations quickly so that once His Highness has pacified Yangzhou, you can send the two young ladies to Luoyang. If you don't know what's good for you, I'll personally 'invite' you there."

The Qiao family was originally a gentry family in Wan County. Being able to climb up to the powerful tree of Liu Ce, the Prince of Yan, was like a pie falling from the sky.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Gong was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, saying:

"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Lu! Thank you, Lord Lu! How could our Qiao family refuse! It is our daughters' blessing to serve His Highness Prince Yan! I will go back and prepare immediately, and I guarantee everything will be perfect!"

The Qiao family members echoed this sentiment, all beaming with joy, afraid that if they were too late, this good thing would slip away.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Lu Kang nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.

He secretly felt pleased with himself: "He does have some insight; I'll also do Liu Ce a favor. Later, when the Qiao family gains power, they won't forget my contribution."

...

When Liu Ce led his army to the city of Shouchun, Chen Wen was sitting in the prefect's mansion, looking at the battle report in his hand, his face ashen.

He never imagined that five of the six prefectures of Yangzhou, which he was so proud of, would be lost within a month.

His troops had either deserted or surrendered, leaving less than 30, 000 old, weak, and disabled soldiers in Shouchun City. This was not enough to even defend the city, let alone contend with Liu Ce's army.

Chen Wen slumped into his chair, muttering to himself, "It's over... it's all over..."

A trusted aide leaned closer and whispered:

"My lord, perhaps... we should surrender? The King of Yan's army has besieged the city; we can't hold it with our small force."

Chen Wen glared at him, wanting to curse, but after opening his mouth, he closed it again.

He knew in his heart that his confidant was telling the truth.

But he couldn't swallow this insult. He came from a prominent family in Runan and was closely related to the Yuan family. Liu Ce had raided the Yuan family's ancestral home and imprisoned Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu in Gongdelin. He remembered this grudge!

"I will not surrender!" Chen Wen slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth.

"I, Chen Wen, as the Governor of Yangzhou of the Han Dynasty, swear to live and die with Shouchun City! Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you, but don't even think about making me surrender!"

Liu Ce's central command tent was set up on a high ground outside Shouchun City.

Looking down at the lonely city of Shouchun, Liu Ce smiled and said to Guo Jia beside him:

"Fengxiao, look at Chen Wen. He still wants to put up a stubborn resistance, but little does he know that he is already trapped like a turtle in a jar and can't escape."

Guo Jia waved his feather fan and laughed, "My lord is right. Shouchun City will fall in an instant. In my opinion, we should give him one last chance and send someone to persuade him to surrender. If he knows what's good for him and opens the city gates to surrender, we can still save his whole family's lives; if he doesn't know what's good for him, it won't be too late to attack the city then."

Liu Ce nodded and immediately sent an envoy into the city to persuade the city to surrender.

As soon as the envoy entered the city, Chen Wen drove him out, uttering harsh words:

"I, Chen Wen, as the Governor of Yangzhou of the Han Dynasty, swear to live and die with Shouchun City! Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you, don't even think about making me surrender!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Chu immediately exploded, rolling up his sleeves and shouting at the top of his lungs:

"My lord! Stop wasting time talking to this old bastard! Give me ten thousand troops, and I guarantee I'll take Shouchun City within half a day and bring that brat Chen Wen here for you! I'll give him a good spanking!"

Liu Ce smiled and waved his hand: "Don't rush. Since he wants to die, let's grant his wish. Pass down the order: a general attack on Shouchun City tomorrow morning!"

...

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the bugle call for the general offensive was sounded.

Dozens of catapults unleashed their power simultaneously, raining down millstone-sized stones onto the city walls of Shouchun.

The deafening roar shook the ground, and in no time, it smashed several large holes in the city wall, sending debris flying and dust billowing everywhere.

Immediately afterwards, tens of thousands of arrows were fired simultaneously, the rain of arrows so dense that even sunlight could not penetrate.

The defenders on the city wall were shot down in an instant, crying and screaming in chaos.

Xu Chu and Dian Wei had been itching to get started for a long time.

Dian Wei, carrying his double halberds, and Xu Chu, wielding his great axe, led their personal guards and charged madly toward the breach in the city wall.

Dian Wei kicked aside the rubble blocking his way and was the first to rush in. He wielded his double halberds like an electric fan, and the defenders in front of him died as soon as they touched them.

Xu Chu followed closely behind, swinging his great axe and cleaving three guards in two with a single blow. With a roar, he leaped onto the city wall.

Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, Xue Rengui, Gongsun Zan, Qu Yi, Xu Huang, Chang Yuchun, and Li Wenzhong followed suit.

Zhao Yun's spear moved like a dragon, and with one thrust, he sent a guard captain flying, the tip of his spear not a drop of blood on it.

Lu Bu swept his halberd across the battlefield, cutting down all who stood in his way, shouting, "Who else dares to challenge me!"

Xue Rengui shot an arrow that pierced the large flag on the city tower, causing the flagpole to break and fall, killing many people.

Xu Huang swung his great axe with tremendous force, blocking the city gate by himself. The defending soldiers couldn't break through and were so anxious they were jumping up and down.

......

Although the cavalrymen did not ride horses, they were fierce in foot combat, their spears causing the defenders to cry out in pain.

The vanguard soldiers were even more fearless, carrying ladders and climbing up the city wall, arrows flying past their ears without even blinking.

When the Han soldiers behind saw their commanders charging forward, their morale soared, and they roared as they stormed into the city.