Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

Jiang Wei didn't speak, but instead looked at the city wall.

Guo Huai then walked up to Jiang Wei's side.

"Boyo, the plan has been exposed. We should go back and prepare for tomorrow's siege."

Jiang Wei hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, this is an opportunity for us. Deng Ai must be focused on putting out the fire right now. The city gates are still open, and we can rush in now."

"Charge in? We only have a little over 20,000 men. You want to charge in now?"

"Deng Ai only had a little over ten thousand men, didn't he?"

Upon hearing Jiang Wei's words, Guo Huai fell silent instantly.

Jiang Wei was right; Deng Ai only had 10,000 men.

"Alright, let's do as you say and attack the city."

With Guo Huai's support, Jiang Wei burst out laughing.

"Everyone, follow me and kill!"

At Jiang Wei's command, more than 20,000 people followed him and rushed into the city.

Just as Jiang Wei had predicted, Deng Ai was indeed organizing firefighting efforts.

Hearing Jiang Wei's battle cries, Deng Ai finally realized that the city gates had not been closed in time.

"This is bad! Everyone, go to the city gates and defend the city!"

The two sides engaged in fierce fighting at the city gate.

However, the fire on the city wall blocked Deng Ai's archers. Without being able to capture the city wall, they could not fire arrows, which caused Deng Ai to lose his advantage in defending the city.

Now the two sides can only engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Deng Ai held the city gate tightly, preventing Jiang Wei and his men from entering.

The narrowness of the city gate restricted the development of both sides' forces. Nearly 40,000 troops from both sides were unable to maneuver freely in this cramped city gate.

The battle between the two sides continued into the daytime.

The battle had now lasted for four hours.

Both sides had reached their physical limits.

The corpses at the city gate had turned into a mountain of corpses.

Soldiers from both sides were vying for positions on the mountaintop.

It's like whoever can reach the top of the mountain wins.

Guo Huai walked up to Jiang Wei.

“I say, Boyo, order a retreat. Continuing to fight is futile. The city gates are too small; our men can’t maneuver properly.”

Jiang Wei looked at the situation before him and felt extremely unwilling.

By this time, the fire on the city wall had long been extinguished, and Deng Ai had already arranged for archers to be on the city wall.

Although the city gates were open, they were blocked by Deng Ai's men, and logs and stones continued to fall from the city walls, along with a rain of arrows.

Jiang Wei estimates that their current losses are around 10,000.

Deng Ai's losses should also be around four thousand people.

Seeing that Jiang Wei remained silent, Guo Huai became somewhat anxious.

“Boyue, the enemy is holding a defensive position. If we continue fighting, we will be wiped out. We must retreat and think of a way to attack the city.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wei sighed and had no choice but to order a retreat.

Jiang Wei had already noticed the problem before Guo Huai ordered a retreat, but he was unwilling to give up and didn't want to waste such a good opportunity.

But the facts left him no room for resentment.

Seeing Jiang Wei retreat, Deng Ai couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He then immediately arranged for his soldiers to remove the corpses from the city gate and close it.

After doing all this, Deng Ai sat down on the ground, panting heavily.

The fight that night had left him extremely exhausted.

After taking a headcount, the number of people who can fight is only about 10,000. As for the supplies for defending the city, they have long been used up, and there are hardly any bows and arrows left.

Deng Ai even had some doubts about whether he could hold out against the next wave of attacks.

Compared to Deng Ai, Jiang Wei was the most frustrated.

With only 15,000 troops left, at this rate, attacking the city would be a complete joke.

Jiang Wei told his men to rest, while he stayed in his tent, gazing at the map of Jiangzhou City before him, lost in thought.

Just then, Guo Huai walked in.

Behind Guo Huai, there was another person.

Deng Ai fell asleep sitting on the city wall. When he woke up, the sun was slowly setting.

"Looks like it's starting again."

No sooner had Deng Ai finished speaking than Jiang Wei led his army to attack the city once again.

However, Deng Ai noticed that Jiang Wei's attack on the city was very small in scale, with only about 10,000 troops in total.

Even without any defensive equipment, Deng Ai was confident that he could defend the city against 10,000 enemy soldiers.

"Everyone, prepare to defend the city!"

Upon hearing Deng Ai's words, everyone took their places and waited quietly for Jiang Wei's arrival.

The siege began soon after.

Deng Ai also joined the battle.

However, just as the two sides were locked in fierce fighting, a deputy general ran to Deng Ai's side in a panic.

"General, something bad has happened! A large number of people have been spotted outside the south gate, and they don't seem to be our reinforcements."

The two sides are currently at war, and since the reinforcements that have arrived are not their own, they must be Jiang Wei's.

Deng Ai hadn't expected that Jiang Ran had a backup plan.

With 10,000 people, defending one city wall is already the maximum they can manage. If another city wall were added, it would be virtually impossible.

"How many people are there on the other side?"

"Approximately 20,000 people."

"Twenty thousand?"

Deng Ai's eyes widened immediately.

He wanted to retreat, but he also knew how important the geographical location of Jiangzhou City was.

Therefore, he cannot leave.

After a moment's hesitation, Deng Ai immediately followed his deputy to the south gate.

When Deng Ai saw that the opposing team was led by Wang Yue, she knew that she might really not be able to hold out this time.

The enemy has more people and stronger generals than us.

"My lord, Shi Zai has failed you!"

Deng Ai knelt down facing the location of Jianwei County and kowtowed three times.

He then stood up and instructed his deputy general, "I'm giving you five thousand soldiers. You must defend this place for me."

Upon hearing this, the lieutenant immediately nodded.

But after Deng Ai left, the deputy general showed a helpless bitter smile.

How could he possibly defend against an enemy force of 20,000 men with only 5,000 men, especially when the enemy had a renowned general?

However, this deputy general had followed Deng Ai for a long time and was extremely loyal to him. Even knowing that he was doomed, he still did not think about leaving.

When Deng Ai returned to the north gate, Jiang Wei and his men had already stormed the city wall.

On the battlefield, capturing the leader first is a general's instinct.

Deng Ai brandished his knife and charged at Jiang Wei.

Although the two had some martial arts skills, neither of them were top-tier, and their fight was evenly matched.

However, some of the soldiers on the north gate were unable to hold out any longer.

With the defense of the city already strained, the loss of 5,000 men left them completely without reserves. Essentially, for every man who died, a breach appeared.

This led to an increasing number of people going up the city wall.

Finally, the archers ran out of arrows, so they simply picked up their swords from the ground and charged at Jiang Wei's men.

Even so, Deng Ai's defeat was only a matter of time.

While fighting Jiang Wei, Deng Ai observed the surrounding situation. When he saw that most of the surrounding troops were Wei soldiers, he panicked and made many mistakes in his moves.

Jiang Wei seized the opportunity and thrust his spear directly at Deng Ai.

Deng Ai's shoulder was pierced directly by the tip of the spear.

"you lose!"

Upon hearing Jiang Wei's words, Deng Ai gritted his teeth, took a few steps back, and removed the wound from the spear tip.

Deng Ai looked around and knew that he was doomed to defeat this time.

Just then, the lieutenant, covered in blood, arrived at Deng Ai's side.

"General, the south gate has fallen. Wang Yue has already led his men onto the city wall."

The south gate has fallen, and the north gate has also been breached. Jiangzhou City now belongs to Jiang Wei.

Deng Ai recalled the solemn promise he had made to Gu Rubing: "As long as the city stands, I will live; if the city is lost, I will die."

"My lord, I will keep my promise."

After saying that, Deng Ai pointed the knife directly at his own throat.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Wei immediately tried to step forward to stop him.

He greatly admired Deng Ai and didn't want him to die like that.

However, Jiang Wei was too far from Deng Ai to save him in time.

However, just as Deng Ai was about to make his move...

A familiar voice came from afar.

"Shi Zai, don't panic, Wei Yan is coming."

Upon hearing this voice, Deng Ai immediately put down the knife in his hand.

Deng Ai collapsed to the ground, staring helplessly into the distance.

Wei Yan has led his army into the city and has begun to retake the lost city walls.

Wei Yan also spotted Deng Ai and was running towards him.

Unfortunately, Wei Yan was quite far from Deng Ai, even further than Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei immediately rushed to Deng Ai and knocked him unconscious with a single palm strike. He then carried Deng Ai down from the city wall.

The moment Wei Yan appeared, Jiang Wei knew that taking Jiangzhou City was obviously impossible. In contrast, capturing Deng Ai might be their chance to turn the tide.

Wei Yan climbed onto the city wall, looked at Jiang Wei's back in the distance, and couldn't help but swing his fist, smashing it directly onto the city wall.

If Deng Ai is lost, the lord will surely be furious.

However, Jiang Wei had already returned to their camp. Wei Yan knew that the reinforcements he brought were only good for defending the city, and were clearly not enough to rush into the enemy's camp to rescue people.

Soon, Wei Yan regained control of Jiangzhou City.

Deng Ai's deputy general came to Wei Yan's side.

"General, Jiangzhou City has been recaptured, but General Deng has been captured. Please find a way to rescue him."

Upon hearing this, Wei Yan waved his hand.

Upon seeing this, the lieutenant immediately turned and left.

Wei Yan also wanted to save people, but he had no idea how to do it.

He brought 20,000 people with him this time. After the great battle just now, there are only about 15,000 left. How can such a small number of people save people?

If I were to actually go and save someone, wouldn't that be suicide?

This is a matter that can only be decided after Gu Rubing returns.

After Jiang Wei brought back the unconscious Deng Ai, Guo Huai looked at Jiang Wei with a surprised expression.

"Boyue, you're really something, managing to capture their commander so quickly?"

After Guo Huai finished speaking, he gave Jiang Wei a thumbs up.

"Alright, enough of this. Hurry up and tie him up. This Deng Ai is a man of some stature; we'll have a use for him if we keep him alive."

"Should we keep it? Shouldn't we send it to the rear?"

"No delivery."

Jiang Wei had a feeling that if Deng Ai were really sent to the rear, although he wouldn't die, he would suffer a lot. At least he could avoid suffering if Deng Ai was in his hands.

Guo Huai looked at Jiang Wei and understood Jiang Wei's thoughts.

“Boyo, I advise you to send the man to the rear. You know your current situation. If someone finds fault with you again, we will be in big trouble.”

“I, Jiang Wei, am upright and honest, so I am naturally not afraid of those rumors and gossip.”

Seeing Jiang Wei's stubbornness, Guo Huai sighed helplessly. If Jiang Wei continued like this, something bad was bound to happen sooner or later.

Just as the two were talking, Wang Yue walked in from outside.

"Generals, how was my support? Was it timely enough?"

Upon hearing this, the two looked at Wang Yue and clasped their hands in a fist salute to him.

"We really have to thank General Wang this time. If it weren't for General Wang, we might have really had to withdraw our troops."

"Haha, easy to say, it's just a bit of a pity that we still couldn't take Jiangzhou. It's all Wei Yan's fault, that guy is so annoying no matter where he is!"

Wang Yue was referring to the time in Youzhou.

The two simply smiled at Wang Yue's complaints and said nothing.

three days later.

News of Deng Ai's arrest had already reached Gu Rubing.

Upon hearing this news, Gu Rubing froze on the spot.

He kept thinking about Deng Ai's current situation.

However, Gu Rubing quickly felt relieved.

In Gu Rubing's view, Deng Ai was an important general in his army, and Cao Cao would not possibly attack Deng Ai. After all, as long as Deng Ai was there, it was like having a gold mine.

Just then, Zhong Hui walked over.

"My lord, Cao Ren's reinforcements are almost upon us. Should we make a move?"

"No, let's talk about it later."

Zhong Hui nodded and instructed his deputy to pass on Gu Rubing's orders, but he himself did not leave.

Gu Rubing looked at Zhong Hui and smiled, "You want to ask about Shi Zai, right?"

"Yes, my lord, I heard that Shi Zai has been arrested. Is that true?"

"It's true, but don't worry, Shi Zai will be fine, as long as Cao Cao isn't stupid."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Hui breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from Gu Rubing's tone, he was certain that he wanted to bring Deng Ai back.

Among the younger generation in Gu Rubing's army, Deng Ai and Zhong Hui had the best relationship.

Naturally, I don't want anything to happen to the other party.

"Alright, get ready. This time our objective has changed. We not only want to drive Cao Ren and his men back, but we also want to find a way to capture a famous general to exchange for Shi Zai."

Zhong Hui nodded immediately.

Cao Ren led his army and was slowly making his way forward.

Cao Ren was cautious along the way, after all, Zhang Liao was said to be nearby, and they dared not be too careless.

Cao Ren glanced at their location and felt that at their current speed, they would be able to enter the city soon. Once they did, it wouldn't be a problem to make arrangements to defend the city in advance.

However, just as Cao Ren was thinking this, a lieutenant came to Cao Ren's side.

"General, the vanguard just sent word that the surrounding woods are too dense and could easily be used to ambush the enemy. We must pass through quickly to avoid any danger." (End of Chapter)