Can I get to the other side?

Hu Ben Army Camp.

It was late at night, but Zhang He, Gao Lan and Cui Yan were still awake. They were standing on the watchtower, looking at Qinghe County, which was quietly dormant in the night.

"Ji Gui, is your brother really sure that he can convince the noble families in Qinghe County? Will there be any problems?"

Zhang He withdrew his gaze from the Qinghe County wall, looking a little worried.

Before they arrived at Qinghe County, Cui Lin entered Qinghe County first, and the two sides agreed to act three days later, that is, at midnight tonight.

Cui Lin would join forces with the major noble families to kill the county governor, and then open the city gate to welcome the king's army into the city.

But Zhang He felt that it was a bit unreliable.

Because he had never fought such an easy battle.

Sending someone into the city and talking a little bit could persuade the noble families inside to rebel and take down a city?

He didn't quite believe it.

Cui Yan was wearing a gorgeous robe and a handsome face. He didn't look like a soldier on the march, but a rich young man going out for fun.

Hearing Zhang He's words, Cui Yan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Weiwei. My Qinghe Cui family still has some prestige and appeal in Qinghe."

"What's more, if the royal army has arrived, if the Qinghe family doesn't turn against them, will they live and die with Qinghe? Weiwei overestimated them. They won't be so stupid."

Born in a famous family, Cui Yan knew the nature of these families best. They all put their interests first and would never support Yuan Shao desperately.

The most important thing is that the army is outside the city. How many defenders are there in Qinghe County? Can they stop the 5,000 Yulin Guards and Huben Army?

This is the most elite army under the emperor!

Even if they can stop it, won't they be panicked?

Resisting the emperor, this is definitely a traitor.

The general trend and justice were on his side, so Cui Yan was not panicked at all and was full of confidence.

After hearing this, Zhang He and Gao Lan finally calmed down and chose to wait patiently with Cui Yan for the signal from the Qinghe County wall.

…

At this moment, in the city.

Cui Lin had summoned the heads of the major families in the city to his house to make the final assignment for the action later.

In the past three days, he secretly lobbied these heads of the families and successfully persuaded 90% of them to rebel and agree to surrender to the court.

The remaining 10% who were unwilling to surrender were secretly killed by the major families.

However, there were still 2,000 defenders in the city. It was not so easy for them to open the city gates and surrender, or to kill the county governor, so a detailed plan was needed.

"Master Fang, you lead 100 people to set fire at the east and west gates to attract the attention of the defenders."

"Master Zhang will lead 200 people to attack the county governor's mansion. Even if you can't capture the county governor, you must try to delay time and don't give the county governor a chance to dispatch and command."

"I will take 400 guards to the south gate, kill the guards and soldiers, open the gate, and welcome the king's army into the city!"

Cui Lin quickly explained everyone's responsibilities.

He now has only 700 people to mobilize, all of whom are drawn from major families to guard the courtyard.

Although these people are not regular troops, many of them are veterans who came from the battlefield, and some of them have weapons and armor, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

Anyway, their goal is not to defeat all the defenders, but just to open the south gate, and 700 people are enough.

"Understood!"

The heads of the Zhang and Fang families nodded one after another.

Cui Lin said in a deep voice: "Everyone, show your loyalty to His Majesty tonight! As long as Qinghe is captured, everyone will have contributed to the city, and His Majesty will not be stingy with rewards!"

"Let's start!"

Finally, after encouraging morale, Cui Lin no longer wasted time and started to act separately with everyone. One team rushed to the East Gate and the West Gate, one team rushed to the County Governor's Mansion, and he led 400 guards to kill towards the southern city wall!

Not long after, the East Gate and the West Gate had flames burning up to the sky, which was extremely eye-catching in the dark night and instantly attracted the attention of the defenders on the city wall.

"What's going on? Why did the fire suddenly break out?"

"Is it the enemy attacking the city?"

"Quickly notify people to go and put out the fire!"

"I'll report to the governor!"

...

Just when many defenders at the South Gate were attracted by the water leakage at the other two gates and rushed to put out the fire, Cui Lin led 400 guards to kill towards the city wall.

Without further ado, they launched an attack on the defenders!

Due to the reduction in the number of troops and the sudden attack, the remaining hundreds of defenders at the South Gate were unable to resist the sudden attack, and many were killed and wounded in one battle.

But Cui Lin's goal was not to kill all the defenders. After gaining a certain advantage, he immediately ordered people to open the South Gate and led the remaining people to guard the switch of the city gate.

Outside Qinghe County.

Zhang He, Cui Yan and others also saw the fire in the city, and their spirits were lifted - because this was the signal they agreed on!

"Notify the entire army! Prepare to enter the city!"

Zhang He gave the order directly, and then walked down the watchtower with Gao Lan and Cui Yan, and each mobilized the army to rush to the South Gate of Qinghe County.

At this time, the South Gate of Qinghe County was wide open, and the city wall was in chaos. The defenders could not organize an effective defense at all. Zhang He and the other two led the Yulin Guards and the Huben Army to easily enter the city without any obstruction.

The fall of Qinghe is a foregone conclusion.

…

Julu City, County Governor's Mansion.

The Julu County Warden looked at the pile of letters placed on the case, his face turned extremely ugly, and he scolded a group of subordinates standing below: "You are so brave! How dare you liaise with the enemy! Letters!"

"Say quickly! Whose letters do these belong to?"

Sheriff Julu was extremely angry.

Just a few days ago, the imperial court sent 10,000 troops to Julu County. The other party sent a messenger saying that many soldiers, soldiers and even officials had secretly surrendered to Julu City, and that Julu City would be destroyed without a doubt, and asked him to give up unnecessary resistance. , open the door and surrender as soon as possible, and still be pardoned by the emperor.

He only thought it was the other party's plan to alienate each other, so he ignored it. Until today, this pile of letters was shot into the city by an arrow.

The names and key information in the letter have been erased, but the specific content is how to plot to capture the giant deer, and how they will cooperate to break the city when the imperial army attacks the city.

One letter after another made him tremble with fear.

He thought that with the strength and food reserves of Julu City, it would be no problem to persist for several months, but after seeing these letters, he began to doubt himself.

Just among his subordinates, there are at least five people who have fornicated with the enemy, not to mention the city defense army and the city gate defenders?

He couldn't imagine what it would be like if a war really started. He might not be able to hold on for even a few days, let alone a few months!

So he had to find out the inner ghost!

"Say quickly! Who is it?"

Julu County Sheriff's sinister eyes swept over the dozens of subordinate officials below. All the subordinate officials lowered their heads deeply, feeling fearful and uneasy in their hearts.

Seeing that no one came forward to admit it, the guardian of Julu City sneered and said: "Okay! Since they all refuse to admit it, then I will study these letters carefully and I can always find some clues in them!"

"If you admit it now, I can spare you the death penalty, but when I find out on my own, the whole family of the traitor will be implicated!"

Julu County Sheriff's tone was full of murderous intent. After leaving these words, he picked up the pile of letters and left angrily.

Only then did all the officials heave a sigh of relief.

The county magistrate couldn't help but sigh: "How could the county guard believe such an obvious alienation plan? And if there were really so many people in the city colluding with the enemy, the army outside the city would have already begun to attack the city. How could it be delayed? Stand still."

This alienation plan is really clumsy.

But the terrible thing is that the governor of Julu is a suspicious lord by nature. Coupled with the current pressure of the army pressing down on the border and Julu City being isolated and helpless, even these tactics will be believed.

Chang Shi also said bitterly: "This morning the county guard has killed a city gate guard and two generals. If this continues, sooner or later it will be our turn."

"Everyone in the city will be in danger by then, and the giant deer will probably destroy itself without attacking."

As soon as these words came out, all the officials showed fear. After all, no one knew who the Julu County Governor would be suspicious of next.

"Jun Cheng, Chang Shi, can you please give some advice to the county governor?"

"Oh, what can we do?"

"I just took in my third concubine last month. I don't want to die..."

"I think Julu City can't be defended anymore."

"Yes, there are a total of 10,000 troops outside the city, and they are the royal masters of the imperial court. How can we resist it? In the end, our family will be implicated if we die."

"What can you do, what can you do!"

"We might as well surrender to Kaicheng."

As soon as these words came out, all the sounds in the room disappeared, and everyone turned their attention to the official who spoke.

Only then did the latter realize that he had said the wrong thing, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat. He waved his hands repeatedly and said: "I, I just said it casually, I am not a spy!"

Jun Cheng and Chang Shi looked at each other.

They all saw the twinkling light in each other's eyes.

…

Outside the city, the Xuzhou Army barracks.

Yuan Xi walked back and forth in the camp, as anxious as an ant on a hot pot; while Jia Xu was cooking wine in a red stove, reading a book, and was content.

The two formed complete opposites.

Looking at the leisurely Jia Xu, Yuan Xi hesitated again and again, and finally asked: "Mr. Jia... Zhongshu Ling, is your alienation plan too obvious? Is it really effective?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting you, it's just that we have been standing still here for eight days, and the ten-day period is about to come."

Yuan Xi reminded tactfully and carefully.

That day he saw Jia Xu forging a stack of letters with his own hands, then blacking out information such as names, and shooting arrows into the city. Everyone was stunned.

What kind of divorce plan is this?

Jia Xu drank some wine and Shi Shiran said, "Why are you so anxious? The ten days are not here yet. I know it well, so don't worry, Second Young Master."

Hearing this familiar title, Yuan Xi couldn't help but shudder, and quickly waved his hands and said: "No, just call me Chariot General. I have severed ties with Yuan Shao."

Every time he heard Jia Xu calling him Second Young Master, he felt uncomfortable all over, and he would always think of the time when he was cheated by Jia Xu.

While the two were discussing, Taishi Ci walked into the military tent and said to Jia Xu with a face full of joy: "Report to the supervisor! The gate of Julu County was opened, and the county magistrate took the Julu County Governor's head and took the initiative to go out of the city to ask for surrender. !”

This sudden news caught Yuan Xi off guard, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes, wondering if he had heard it wrong.

Sheriff Julu...is dead?

Yuan Xi's heart was filled with confusion and shock. Why did the county guard die? Why did the enemy surrender in Kaicheng? What happened?

"Dead?"

Jia Xu put down the wine bottle in his hand, shook his head and said: "I thought they would hold on for a few more days, it seems that I overestimated their courage."

"Let's go, take over Julu City."

Jia Xu stood up and walked out of the tent.

Only Yuan Xi was left standing in the tent.

He looked at Jia Xu's leaving figure, and felt a bone-chilling cold rising from the soles of his feet. Even if the stove in the tent was burning and warm as spring, it was difficult to resist this cold.

...

Pingyuan County.

Zhang Liao was commanding the army to cut off the water flow of the moat surrounding Pingyuan City and cut off the water source in the city. Guo Jia watched this scene from the side and couldn't help but sigh.

"Why is the Zhongcheng sighing?"

Zhang Liao saw this and couldn't help but asked curiously.

Guo Jia said with a complicated expression: "Although Pingyuan City is strong, it is not big. But if you throw feces and rotten corpses into the water source, they will break the city in ten days at most..."

"But doing so will inevitably cause many casualties, which will insult your majesty's holy name and is more likely to cause plague, so I only cut off the water source and food."

"But although the casualties are small, it will take a month to break the city, which is a waste of time."

If he was not worried that too many casualties would affect Liu Xie's reputation, he would definitely choose the first method, but now he can only choose the second one.

In this way, breaking the city will definitely be much slower than other places.

Zhang Liao was stunned and felt that Guo Jia was still kind-hearted and unwilling to hurt the people. Just when he was about to say a few words to comfort him, he saw Huang Zhong coming over.

"Zhongcheng, I have brought all the relatives, wives and children of the officials in Pingyuan City that you asked me to capture."

Huang Zhong pointed to the escort team not far away.

There were hundreds of people.

Although Pingyuan City is the seat of Pingyuan County, it is not very big, and many of the officials' relatives live in other cities.

Guo Jia asked someone to investigate one by one, and then asked Huang Zhong to capture the relatives and clansmen of those officials who were outside, and now they are all here.

"Thank you, General Huang."

Guo Jia smiled gently, then glanced at the old, young, and women who were crying, and ordered: "Drag them outside the city and kill them. If they don't surrender in one day, kill ten people, if they don't surrender in two days, kill twenty people, and if they don't surrender in three days, kill thirty people."

"Drag them to death with horses, and make sure they are miserable, so that those people in the city can see clearly the fate of being a rebel and resisting the king's army."

Although Guo Jia's tone was light, his words made Zhang Liao feel a chill.

He looked at Guo Jia deeply, and completely put away his previous idea that Guo Jia was kind-hearted, and had a new understanding of the Chief Censor in his heart.

This person is definitely not a good person.

...

Anping County, Xindu

This former county seat, under the attack of Lv Bu's army, held out for only eight days before it was declared broken.

The governor of Anping County held the seal and led a group of officials to kneel outside Xindu City, trembling all over and looking extremely pale.

In front of him, Lv Bu rode on the Red Hare, stepped on the blood and corpses on the ground, and led many soldiers and horses to come slowly.

Seeing the horse's hooves stop in front of him, the governor of Anping County buried his head deeply and said in a trembling voice: "Please, please accept the surrender, Lord Wen!"

As he said that, he raised the seal in his hand a little higher.

But Lv Bu didn't even look at it, and directly waved the blood-stained Fang Tian Huaji in his hand and cut off the head of the governor of Anping County!

"I gave you a chance eight days ago, but you refused to surrender. Now that the city has been broken, there is no need to surrender!"

"You are traitors, and you should be killed!"

As he said this, many soldiers behind him rushed forward like wolves and tigers, and slaughtered all the Anping County officials who came out of the city to surrender!

No one was left alive!

Chen Gong followed behind Lu Bu, and did not stop him from killing the surrendered, because he had given the opportunity on the day of the siege eight days ago.

If these people did not surrender at that time, they would be rebels!

Rebels should be killed!

After killing all the Anping County officials, Lu Bu wanted to lead his troops directly into the city to appease the people.

But at this moment, Gao Shun hurriedly rode his horse.

"Report to the general, Yuan Shao's army was found ten miles away!"