The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 484 Guo Jia Dies of Illness
In Jiangxia City, Zhou Yu, dressed in armor and looking panicked, entered a mansion.

"Filial piety."

Looking at the skinny figure on the bed, Zhou Yu blushed slightly. Although the two were rivals in the past, they had been defending Jiangxia together in recent times and had long admired each other.

Although Wei Yan led the army to attack day and night and Jiangxia City was in danger, under the joint command of the two, they still blocked the enemy's multiple attacks.

However, at this critical moment, the frail Guo Jia finally fell ill, and his condition was getting worse and worse. Every time after going down the city wall, the first thing Zhou Yu did was to see Guo Jia.

"Gongjin."

Guo Jia's voice was weak and full of fatigue. He opened his eyes and looked like a candle in the darkness, as if he would collapse at any time. There was no trace of his former romantic and unrestrained personality, which made Zhou Yu's eyes red.

"Fengxiao." Zhou Yu stepped forward and held Guo Jia's hands. It felt as if they were held in ice. Suddenly, a bad idea arose in his mind.

"Back then, when I first came out of seclusion, I wanted to meet Yuan Shao. Unfortunately, Yuan Shao had great ambitions but little wisdom, looked fierce but was timid, was cautious and lacked authority, and was not suitable for being a leader. Later, I met Qin Shou. To be honest, this man's methods were very strange, but he was a good candidate for being a leader."

"It's just that he treated the noble families so badly at the beginning. I thought he was just Xiang Yu. I didn't expect that I, Guo Jia, had misjudged him."

"However, in the end, I met Meng De. Unfortunately, Qin Shou was too brave and won the general trend of the world. Although my wisdom was good, I could not change the general trend."

The more Guo Jia spoke, the better his spirits became. His face flushed and his eyes sparkled with wisdom.

When Zhou Yu saw this, his heart sank to the bottom.

"Final Light!"

A word appeared in Zhou Yu's mind. The scene before him clearly showed that Guo Jia was about to die. This was a sign before his death. Although he had expected this, Zhou Yu was very sad when it came to this.

"Gongjin, Qin Shou, was born as a clerk, not from an aristocratic family. His opponent even opposed the aristocratic families. However, such a person wanted to conquer the world. Yuan Shao, the Lord, Liu Bei, Yuan Shu, the Sun family, etc., four generations of three officials, aristocratic families, and descendants of the Han Dynasty, whose status is not more noble than his, but he can laugh to the end. Do you know why?"

Guo Jia said to himself.

"Maybe this is destiny!" Zhou Yu hesitated.

He didn't know how to explain this matter and could only answer it as fate. Qin Shou's rise to fame was really too strange to make sense of.

"Yes! This may be destiny." Guo Jia said with a wry smile.

Zhou Yu felt bitter in his heart. He also wanted to surrender to Qin Shou at the beginning. If he had surrendered to Qin Shou at the beginning, he should be leading the army, marching south to Jiangdong, following Qin Shou and making great achievements.

"Fengxiao, you should have a good rest!" Zhou Yu said with a wry smile.

"Gongjin, I don't have much time left, and there are some things I must tell you." Guo Jia held Zhou Yu's hand tightly, with a hint of determination in his eyes.

"Fengxiao, you..." Zhou Yu hesitated to speak, a wave of sadness welling up in his heart.

"Although Qin Shou was born in a humble family, he understood the will of the people. He implemented the equal-field system and reduced taxes, allowing the people to recuperate. In contrast, those aristocratic families only cared about their own interests and had long lost the support of the people," Guo Jia said with difficulty.

Zhou Yu remained silent, he knew that Guo Jia was right. Over the years, these aristocratic families had indeed ignored the suffering of the people.

"Gongjin, after I die, Jiangxia will depend on you. If you can't defeat us, don't worry..." Guo Jia's voice became weaker and weaker. "Fengxiao, what do you mean?" Zhou Yu leaned closer, wanting to hear Guo Jia's last words.

However, Guo Jia's eyes had slowly closed, and his breathing had become weak. Zhou Yu's heart tightened, and he hurriedly called out, "Feng Xiao! Feng Xiao!"

But Guo Jia never responded. Zhou Yu held his cold hand, tears streaming down his face. This former rival, now a good friend, had left him just like that.

Zhou Yu took a deep breath and wiped away his tears. He knew that now was not the time to be sad. Jiangxia City was still in danger, and he had to cheer up.

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside. A soldier ran in in a panic and shouted, "Commander-in-chief, it's bad! Wei Yan's army has started to attack the city again!"

Zhou Yu stood up, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes. He took a last look at Guo Jia's body, and a complex expression appeared on his face.

He understood the implication of Guo Jia's words. If he was defeated, he should surrender to the Cavalry Army. Now the situation in the world had been decided. If Zhou Yu followed the trend and surrendered to the Cavalry Army, no one would say anything.

But is Zhou Yu a person who surrenders?
After saying that, Zhou Yu strode out of the room and ran towards the city wall. He knew that the next battle would be even more difficult. But for Jiangxia, no matter what the reason, he had to persevere.

Zhou Yu climbed up the city wall and looked at the dense enemy troops in the distance. He swore in his heart: "Qin Shou, even if you have the destiny, I will never give up easily. This war is far from over!"

He turned around and shouted to the soldiers around him: "Brothers, Military Advisor Guo has left us. But we can't give up! For Jiangxia, for our wives and children, for our land and property, we must fight to the end!"

The soldiers shouted in unison: "We will defend Jiangxia to the death!"

Most of these people were from the Jiangxia clan and had large amounts of land at home, which was an important reason why they were able to resist the Cavalry Army.

Zhou Yu drew his sword, pointed it at the enemy in the distance, and shouted, "Prepare for battle! Let the enemy see the courage of our Jiangxia men!"

Following Zhou Yu's order, the defenders on the city wall quickly entered the battle position. Archers pulled their bowstrings to the full, catapults were ready, and everyone held their breath, waiting for the enemy's attack.

In the distance, Wei Yan's army began to advance slowly. The sound of war drums shook the earth, and the shouts of soldiers rose and fell. Zhou Yu stood on the city wall, calmly observing the enemy's movements.

"Archers, get ready!" Zhou Yu raised his right hand, "Shoot!"

Following his order, countless arrows rained down on the enemy. Although Wei Yan's troops raised their shields for defense, many soldiers were still shot and fell to the ground.

However, the enemy did not retreat. They continued to advance and soon came within the range of the trebuchets.

"Catapults, fire!" Zhou Yu ordered again.

Huge rocks flew towards the enemy, splashing blood everywhere. But Wei Yan's troops still pushed forward tenaciously and soon approached the city wall.

"Prepare for rolling logs and stones!" Zhou Yu shouted.

The defenders quickly moved the prepared logs and stones to the edge of the city wall. When the enemy began to set up the ladder, Zhou Yu gave an order and the logs and stones rained down, knocking the climbing enemy soldiers to the ground.

The battle lasted for a whole hour, and Wei Yan's troops were unable to break through Jiangxia's defenses. Finally, after losing a large number of troops, Wei Yan had to order a retreat.

(End of this chapter)