Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 719: The Fall of Xuzhou City
Not long after Liu Bei led his troops out of the city, before he had time to reunite with Zhang Fei and others, tens of thousands of Cao's troops suddenly attacked.

Liu Bei looked behind him, his face gloomy: "Cao is a hateful villain. He actually blocked our way back to the city."

Jian Yong and others on the city wall stamped their feet in anxiety.

"This is troublesome. Lord Xuande is blocked outside the city by Cao's army. I'm afraid the city will fall tonight."

Chen Deng looked helpless.

It was already completely dark at this time, but both sides were still fighting desperately with the help of the light of torches.

Liu Bei led his army to fight all the way. He first joined forces with Taishi Ci, and then the two of them ran towards the direction where Jiang Huan was.

Jiang Huan and Zhang Fei were surprised and happy when they saw this. They gave up the enemy in front of them and turned around to rush towards Liu Bei.

The four of them quickly gathered together, and the Cao army behind them had also approached.

Liu Bei looked at his two brothers and said, "It has been a long time since we three brothers have fought together."

Jiang Huan smiled and said, "Brother is right. Since arriving in Donglai County, the three of us have mostly fought separately. Today, we are able to work together again. I am filled with emotion."

"Hey, brothers, why are you talking like this? Look at the number of heads of Cao's army. I have to go first."

Zhang Fei howled and rushed forward with his 18-foot-long snake spear in hand.

Liu Bei and Jiang Huan also hurried to catch up, and Taishi Ci supported them from the rear, continuously shooting and killing the enemy troops approaching Liu Bei and his two companions with his bow and arrows.

Cao Cao looked at the melee here, sneered, and then waved to Cao Hong beside him.

Cao Hong nodded in acceptance of the order, and called out to the army behind him. Thirty thousand soldiers marched towards the city gate in a mighty force.

"Quick, hold on!"

Although Chen Deng shouted at the top of his lungs, he was helpless when he saw the exhausted and powerless soldiers defending the city on the city wall.

More and more Cao's soldiers climbed up the city wall, and the city wall was about to be lost.

Mi Zhu was so anxious that he jumped up and down: "What should I do..."

Chen Deng gritted his teeth and said, "The only solution now is to abandon the city and flee. This way, we can still save our family and the family of the Lord. Xuzhou is so big that even if Pengcheng is lost, there are still other cities to settle in."

Mi Zhu said: "But where can we escape to?"

Jian Yong's eyes lit up. "I think it's better to flee north. My master has his base in Donglai. The two military advisors still have 25,000 elite soldiers in Donglai County. In addition, the governor Kong of the nearby Beihai County also has a good relationship with my master and the governor Tao."

Mi Zhu shook his head repeatedly: "No, didn't Xiahou Dun also invade Chengyang County?"

At this time, Chen Deng suddenly said: "Mr. Jian Yong is right, let's go to Chengyang."

Mi Zhu was surprised and asked, "Why is this?"

Chen Deng explained, "Zi Zhong is right. Xiahou Dun led a large army to invade Chengyang in order to prevent us from retreating northwards. But because of this, they did not expect us to retreat northwards. Although our army was defeated, we still have tens of thousands of troops. At that time, as long as we attack from both sides with the reinforcements from Donglai, Xiahou Dun will be caught off guard by our attack and will definitely be defeated and retreat. In this way, we can recapture Chengyang. At that time, we will use Donglai as our base and confront Cao's army in Chengyang."

Mi Zhu thought about it and nodded in agreement.

"In that case, we will pack up our things immediately, take the Lord with us, and evacuate from the west gate."

"Okay, I'll send someone to inform the lord right away." Jian Yong did not delay and ran down the city wall immediately.

Liu Bei and his three brothers joined forces to fight. For a time, they were extremely brave and quickly reversed the original losing streak. Although Cao's army had more people, the two sides were still evenly matched for a while.

Jiang Huan suddenly shouted, "Brother, listen, that's the sound of the gong."

Liu Bei was slightly stunned and listened carefully. It was indeed the sound of the retreating troops coming from Pengcheng.

"What does this mean? Outside the south gate of the city, there are tens of thousands of Cao's troops blocking the way. It is impossible for us to go back. Why are you sounding the horn now?"

Jiang Huan also fell into deep thought. At this moment, the movement on the distant city wall caught his attention again.

"Brother, there are flames on the city wall."

They were originally more than ten miles away from the gate of Pengcheng. After Liu Bei arrived, they tried their best to rush to the city gate. At this time, the distance to the city gate was only five or six miles. In the dark night, the continuous series of flames on the city wall naturally allowed them to see clearly.

Liu Bei was surprised and asked, "It's not surprising to see torches on the city wall, but why are all these torches moving towards the west gate?"

Zhang Fei ignored it and said: "Hey, who cares what he is doing? We will fight our way out of the siege and kill Cao Cao, and then everything will be fine."

Jiang Huan hurriedly stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, Yide. I think something might have happened here. Look, Cao's army has launched another attack at the east gate. The city will not be able to hold out with its current defenses. I think Yuanlong and his men are ready to evacuate Pengcheng."

Liu Bei suddenly realized: "Ah, that's right. The sounding of the horn means to withdraw the troops, and the torches pointing west means to notify us to head west of the city and meet them at the west gate."

Zhang Fei was very unwilling: "Why are we retreating? I will poke a hundred holes in Cao Cao's body."

Liu Bei glared at him and said, "Yide, don't make trouble. The battle is going badly. It would be the best strategy to retreat safely."

Although Zhang Fei was not happy, he had no choice but to obey since his two brothers had spoken. Liu Bei raised his double-edged sword high and said, "Soldiers, break out to the west!"

As soon as there was movement here, Cao Cao got the news.

He leaned on the sword with both hands, raised his eyes slightly to look in the direction of Liu Bei, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Zixiao, you lead the troops to garrison Pengcheng. As for Liu Bei and the others, humph, want to escape? It won't be that easy."

Liu Bei and his companions fought bloody battles and exerted great efforts. They finally broke through the encirclement of Cao's army and reached the west of Pengcheng. As expected, they saw Chen Deng and others rushing out of the west gate under the protection of a group of soldiers and their own guards.

“Yuanlong…”

Liu Bei ran over quickly and saw a carriage next to Chen Deng at a glance.

"Could this be Governor Tao?"

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a man stuck his head out. It was Tao Qian. At this moment, he looked extremely weak.

"Ahem... Lord Xuande... My Xuzhou has suffered such an unexpected disaster, and I didn't want to cause Lord Xuande to suffer a great disaster. I really... ahem... I really can't bear it..."

Liu Bei stepped forward and held Tao Qian's hands: "Why do you say that, my lord? Your reputation for benevolence is known to all the world. Cao Cao is ambitious and is plotting to seize Xuzhou. For the sake of the welfare of the people and the dignity of the court, I cannot sit idly by."

Tao Qian was deeply moved: "Lord Xuande is so kind and righteous. If Xuzhou is ruled by Lord Xuande, then... ahem... it will truly be a blessing for all the people."

A gleam of light flashed in Liu Bei's eyes.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to do this. For now, it is better to evacuate quickly."

Jian Yong said, "After discussion, we think that retreating northward and attacking Xiahou Dun by surprise is the best strategy."

Liu Bei nodded and said, "Well, Xianhe's words are very good. In this case, let's set off immediately."

The sound of Cao's army behind them was getting closer and closer. No one dared to delay and hurriedly fled north.

Everyone ran wildly all the way, and I don’t know if it was because they were running for their lives that they ran faster, but before they knew it, they had left Cao’s army far behind.

"Huh... Fortunately... Fortunately, Cao's army didn't catch up..."

Mi Zhu stroked his chest and breathed heavily.

Liu Bei looked behind him and said, "We should not let our guard down. I think Cao Cao is extremely cunning. I'm afraid it won't be that easy..."

"Kill...capture Tao Qian and Liu Bei alive!"

Suddenly, a large number of soldiers rushed out from the dark woods on both sides and surrounded Liu Bei and others in a blink of an eye.

"Oh no, the bandits in Zhongcao ambushed us. No wonder they didn't chase us. It turns out they were well prepared."

Liu Bei was secretly resentful at this time. He had made all kinds of plans and thought that he could take this opportunity to expand his power. However, he was still no match for Cao Cao and instead suffered heavy casualties. Now even he was going to die here.

"Whatever ambush he may be, it will only bring more deaths."

Without saying a word, Zhang Fei rushed forward with his 10-foot-long snake spear.

Jiang Huan was not far behind and led a team of soldiers to try to break through.

In this wilderness, the two sides took advantage of the dim light of the moon and started fighting again.

However, not long after, Liu Bei and others fell into complete despair.

Cao Cao personally led the army and chased after them from behind.

"Old Tao Qian, come and die."

Cao Cao shouted rudely, Tao Qian pushed aside the curtain, walked out of the carriage tremblingly, and glared at Cao Cao.

"Cao Cao, you have used such shameless means to plot against my Xuzhou. I am weak and now I am defeated. I have nothing to say, but I beg you to let Lord Xuande go."

"My lord, I swear to fight this villain to the death!" Liu Bei's tone was very firm. Jiang Huan, Zhang Fei and Taishi Ci immediately stood beside him.

Cao Cao sneered and said, "Did you see that? It's not that I didn't give them a chance, it's that they didn't know their own abilities."

"Cao Cao, you..."

"Shut up! You old thief, you ordered these villains to murder my father. How dare you beg for mercy here? Come on, arrest them all, dead or alive!"

Tens of thousands of Cao's troops surrounded them from all directions with great momentum.

Although Liu Bei and his men brought more than 20,000 soldiers with them, they were still far fewer than Cao's army. Moreover, they were tired and exhausted, and had neither strength nor morale, making it impossible for them to defeat the enemy.

Liu Bei was extremely unwilling: "Oh my God, am I going to die today? I don't accept it, I don't accept it..."

(End of this chapter)