Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 322 Ji Ling of Nanyang, unparalleled in the world!
In Xiaopei City, Zhang Liao gathered the scattered and defeated soldiers, and relying on his martial prowess, led them in a series of charges.

Fortunately, apart from him, everyone else in the city was an unknown figure, with no other generals. The rebels had been his soldiers not long ago and had long feared his reputation.

Seeing Zhang Liao's unparalleled bravery, with few able to withstand even a single blow from him, they were all filled with fear and dread.

While the others dared not risk their lives in battle, Zhang Liao harbored a desperate determination to fight to the death.

Thus, Zhang Liao led his men in a desperate battle, and they fought their way to the east gate, attempting to break through the gate and escape.

"kill!

With a path to survival ahead, why fight to the death?
"All generals, heed my command! Follow me in breaking through the encirclement!"

"I am willing to fight to the death with the general!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Liao led the way, followed by his generals, and charged straight toward the east gate.

Just then, the east gate opened wide, and an old general rode his horse swiftly in from outside!

Zhang Wenyuan!

"By order of the King of Han, I have been waiting for you for quite some time."

As he spoke, Huang Zhong spurred his horse forward and brought his broadsword down with great force!

Zhang Liao was shocked and hurriedly raised his spear to block.

But Huang Zhong was charging forward with the help of his horse and had been gathering his strength. How could Zhang Liao, who was rushing to block him, possibly stop him?

Fortunately, Qin Yilu did not steal the hundred-times-forged iron spear in his hand.

Otherwise, if it were a standard-issue spear, Huang Zhong would have cut it in two with a single stroke, and he would have been torn to pieces as well.

Nevertheless, Zhang Liao felt a tremendous force strike him, bending his iron spear into an arc and nearly kneeling on the ground, his chest tight and aching.

As Huang Zhong drew his sword, Zhang Liao forced a mouthful of blood to his throat, which then seeped out from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing that he was still alive, Huang Zhong let out a soft "Eh," immediately drew his sword, turned his horse, and prepared to attack again.

How could Zhang Liao dare to fight?

After exchanging only two blows, he was horrified, realizing that the person in front of him was no less skilled than Lü Bu.
Zhang Liao was terrified and cried out urgently:

"Could the general coming be Ji Ling of Nanyang?"

Huang Zhong: "."

Huang Zhong's face grew darker, his swordplay became more rapid, and he muttered angrily.

"You should know that today is a good day to teach!"

"The one who will take your head is Huang Hansheng!"

"Huang Hansheng?"

I never imagined that even a master like you would be subordinate to Ji Ling under the command of the King of Han.

I have heard that General Lü was once defeated by Ji Ling. He said that Ji Ling only relied on his cunning and ruthlessness. Liao believed him and did not take it seriously.

I never imagined that seeing your abilities today, Huang Hansheng, would make me realize that the rumors of the past were not unfounded.

"I now believe in Ji Ling's unparalleled reputation."

Huang Zhong: "???"

No, it's me who's beating you up now.
Shouldn't you think I'm amazing and make a name for myself, Huang Hansheng?
Ji Ling, the top general of the Han army, has followed the King of Han since he raised his army, never abandoning him, and is now where he is today.

As someone who surrendered halfway through his career, it would be strange if I didn't submit to him!
Huang Zhong grew angrier and angrier, and his swordsmanship became even more rapid. Zhang Liao narrowly escaped death and barely managed to withstand two more moves. Just when it seemed that Huang Zhong had knocked his weapon away and was about to capture him alive, Zhang Liao was about to be captured.

Just then, a group of soldiers rushed over, risking their lives to protect Zhang Liao.

It turned out that Zhang Liao had just led his troops to attack the east gate, and Huang Zhong rode over on horseback, thus bypassing the crowd to intercept Zhang Liao.

Those guards who followed Zhang Liao in his attempt to seize the east gate saw a dense crowd of at least 10,000 to 20,000 Han soldiers pushing their way through.

The crowd was horrified by the sight and fled in panic, quickly returning at an even faster pace than they had gone to cover Zhang Liao's escape.

In just a few rounds, Zhang Liao nearly lost his life on the spot, but was saved by his personal guards who risked their lives to save him, giving him a chance to catch his breath under Huang Zhong's blade.

He looked up at the Han army pouring in from outside the East Gate, and wondered whether he should curse Wei Xu for his incompetence in surrendering to the Han, or for his cunning and for leaving him no way out.

But he knew that once more and more Han soldiers arrived to help Huang Zhong, he would surely die.

He then hurriedly led the group, fighting and fleeing at the same time.

Seeing that Zhang Liao was about to run away, how could Huang Zhong let him escape?

"Zhang Wenyuan, don't run away!"

"Today, I will surely take your head!"

He urged his horse forward to give chase, confident that Zhang Liao would not escape his blade.

Little did Huang Zhong know that not having a horse had its advantages!
Startled to see him galloping towards them, Zhang Liao led his men over the wall and into the courtyard, forcibly breaking into the house and taking the back paths.

He watched as the great achievement slipped through his fingers, and his warhorse had already stopped in front of the courtyard wall, forcing him to dismount and climb over the wall to chase after it.

Huang Zhong was so angry that he cursed and hurriedly led his soldiers on foot to chase after them, shouting insults as he went.

"You cowardly rat, don't you dare run away!"

At this moment, Zhang Liao had already led his men to climb up the other side of the courtyard wall, and turned back to tease them, saying:

"You old scoundrel with the long beard, don't chase me if you dare!"

"You're the one with a gray beard; I'm in my prime."

The two engaged in a chase, fighting each other in the streets. After several maneuvers, Zhang Liao and his men, relying on their familiarity with the city's terrain, managed to shake off Huang Zhong's pursuers and hurriedly fled towards the south gate.

In the shadows of the alley, gazing at the South Gate not far away, Zhang Liao gritted his teeth.

"Now we face a nine-out-of-ten chance of death. You must fight alongside me to the death and break through the encirclement."

This time, however, some hesitated and were afraid to speak up.

"General, since Huang Hansheng is at the East Gate, this place must be well-defended. If we want to break through, it will be difficult."

"How dare you disrupt the morale of our army?"

As Zhang Liao spoke, he drew his sword and was about to raise his voice to rebuke him when he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and began to cough violently.

It was clear that he had not yet recovered from the serious injuries he sustained in the battle with Huang Zhong.

The guards rushed to help him, and the generals' eyes grew increasingly worried. Seeing this, Zhang Liao quickly pushed the guard aside, snatched the spear from his hand, and the two of them, spear in hand, walked out of the alley.

"If we hide now and wait for the chaos in the city to subside and the Han army to take control, we will only be sitting here waiting to die."

If there is a way to survive, the only option is to fight to the death.

"Those who dare to fight, follow me forward."

Inspired by him, the generals regained their morale and charged toward the south gate.

And so the familiar scene unfolded before them once again: the south gate opened wide, and a man in golden armor rode in on horseback.

"Little Overlord Yuan Bofu is here! Zhang Wenyuan, come quickly and fight me to the death!"

"It's actually Yuan Bofu?"

Upon hearing this renowned name that was famous throughout the land, how could Zhang Liao not be alarmed, and secretly lament his misfortune!
He was already injured in the previous battle with Huang Zhong, and his iron spear was lost in that battle.

With only a makeshift spear, how could he possibly be a match for the first adopted son of the King of Han?
He barely managed to hold out for about ten rounds before retreating while fighting the crowd, eventually escaping by scaling the wall.

After another desperate escape, Zhang Liao reached the North Gate. He felt both despair and a sliver of hope and resentment.

He simply refused to believe that he, Zhang Wenyuan, could not defeat any of the men sent by the Han army to block the gate.
"kill!

"Follow me to break through!"

However, this time there were few responders, and no one followed suit.

All of them were injured and had lost the determination to fight to the death that they had when they first followed him in breaking through the encirclement. All that remained were pairs of eyes staring at the North Gate, filled with despair.

Only Zhang Liao, leaning on a long spear, cast a solitary shadow as he walked toward the north gate, the shadow growing longer and longer in the moonlight.

Thus, the North Gate was opened wide.

"Xu Zhongkang has arrived!"

Zhang Wenyuan's head remains!

Zhang Liao: "."

Seeing Xu Chu charging towards him on horseback once again, Zhang Liao fought desperately with his spear. However, after a long and arduous journey of battles and desperate escapes, he had dragged his heavily wounded body here and had already done his best. How could he possibly be a match for Xu Chu, who was charging on horseback?
He managed to hold out for more than ten rounds before his spear was knocked away again.

Fortunately, Xu Chu had long served as Yuan Shu's bodyguard and knew his intentions best. He understood that the King of Han valued talent and had the idea of ​​adopting Zhang Liao as his son. Therefore, with his last strike, he turned the blade and struck, sending Zhang Liao flying.

Just as he was about to spur his horse forward and capture him alive, he heard shouts from the alleyway:
"We are the general's personal guards. How could we be afraid of death and cling to our lives, sitting idly by and watching our commander be captured?"

"General Zhang has always been very kind to us, and now we should repay his kindness with our lives!"

"If we sit and wait to die, or fight and face death, what is there to fear?"

With shouts, the previously hesitant guards rushed forward again, snatched Zhang Liao, who was lying on the ground with a dazed look in his eyes, and escaped by scaling the wall into the courtyard.

Xu Chu glanced at the direction they fled, then shook his head and did not give chase.

Now the entire city of Xiaopei has been taken over by the Han army. There is no way to escape, no way to flee. Where can they escape to?

Xiaopei West Gate.

Zhang Liao caught his breath and fled with the help of the crowd. When he reached the West Gate, everyone was horrified to see it wide open.

They thought that in an instant, another general would lead his troops to garrison the area, and as soon as they shouted for a breakout, they would come galloping in and take Zhang Liao's head.

Fortunately, this time such a thing did not happen.

Everyone looked at the West Gate, which remained calm and its doors were always open, and felt a sense of unreality.

not coming?

Could it be that there isn't a general rushing in here?
"This must be a strategy of surrounding three sides while leaving one open!"

"Yes! As the military classics say, when besieging a city, there must be a gap!"

"So the way out was right in front of us, but we were just unlucky before?"

Seeing that no Han army was coming to attack, and no sycophantic generals were appearing, the group, clinging to their last hope, excitedly dragged Zhang Liao out the door.

Although deep down I couldn't believe it either, thinking that the whole "surrounding three but missing one" thing was utter nonsense.

With over 100,000 troops under Yuan's command, what's the point of having three sides surrounded but one side missing?
But when he was led out of the west gate by the soldiers, even Zhang Liao couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.

Unfortunately, as soon as they stepped out of the west gate, what they saw before them plunged them into despair once more.

What came into view was a dragon banner fluttering in the wind!

Before the emperor, a thousand generals and a hundred thousand soldiers stood in formation, covering the mountains and plains.

Look at that supreme figure standing beneath the dragon banner, atop a six-horse carriage, a faint smile on his face.

Zhang Liao glanced back at his side; there were only thirty-eight personal guards.

He let out a long sigh, pushed aside the guards who were helping him, and, leaning on his spear like a crutch, stepped forward, surveying the 100,000 Han soldiers with disdain, and said:
"Zhang Wenyuan is here, who dares to fight me!"

The sight of one man stepping forward to challenge 100,000 Han soldiers moved everyone in the Han camp.

Yuan Shu also stared at him closely for a few moments, confirming that Zhang Liao had indeed been severely wounded and half-dead by Sun Ce, Huang Zhong, Xu Chu and others, and was already a man with a severed head.

Only then did he nod in satisfaction and give the order:

"My unparalleled general!"

"Go, capture him alive for me."

"The last general takes command!"

Ji Ling gladly accepted the order and immediately spurred his horse forward.

Seeing him charging towards them, Zhang Liao was already determined to fight to the death, and stood proudly with his spear in hand.

"The general will be named!

Zhang did not kill nameless ghosts under his spear.

Ji Ling laughed loudly, as if announcing to the three armies.

"Ji Ling of Nanyang!"

Ji Ling of Nanyang?

A person gains fame, and a tree gains its shadow!

Upon discovering that the visitor was none other than Ji Ling, the peerless general who had defeated Lü Bu in a single move, Zhang Liao seemed to foresee his defeat even before the battle began.

Even so, he was determined to fight to the death!
"Ji Ling?"
"To be able to fight a master like you before I die, Liao will die without regret."

As he spoke, he burst into laughter and, dragging his crippled body, charged toward Ji Ling.

One man and one horse, charging towards each other.

Zhang Liao's eyes were resolute, as if he had made up his mind to pour all his martial arts skills into this one spear.

"Let Liao, at the pinnacle of his spear skills, witness the legend of martial arts!"

"Good timing!"

"If you can withstand a full-force strike from me, it won't be a disgrace to your name."

The two were about to clash, each giving it their all, when Ji Ling shouted, "Take this!"

Zhang Liao, without blinking, was about to charge forward with his spear, then...
He watched incredulously as Ji Ling, with lightning speed, threw a hidden weapon at him from behind her left hand.

As the hidden weapon exploded, it scattered lime powder all over his face.

Zhang Liao: “???”

Didn't you want me to see a knife?
Didn't I go all out with one strike, to live up to my name?
They're charging in and throwing lime powder, are you there?
Am I, Zhang Wenyuan, not worthy of your drawing of your blade?
No matter how terrified, ashamed, and angry Zhang Liao was at that moment.

When his desperate, final strike was interrupted by Ji Ling's sneak attack, he was now covered in lime powder, unable to open his eyes, and could only wildly swing his spear. Clearly, he was no match for Ji Ling.

As Ji Ling turned his horse back, he reached into a large bag hanging on the horse's belly with his left hand and pulled out a large net, which he then cast to trap Zhang Liao completely.

Zhang Liao put up a few haphazard resistances, but how could he possibly break free?

He was quickly bound by Ji Ling and taken back to the Han camp.

At that moment, Zhang Liao, bound in the net and unable to open his eyes, looking completely bewildered, heard the Han army shout in unison:

General Ji Ling is unparalleled in the world.

"Capture Zhang Wenyuan alive in one move!"

Zhang Liao: “???”

Well, he seems to understand now why someone as invincible as General Lü was defeated by Ji Ling in one move.

To beat a seriously injured person like me and then resort to such despicable means, Ji Ling, aren't you being a little too cautious in order to protect your reputation as the peerless one?
With Zhang Liao captured, the Xiaopei Rebellion was completely quelled by the Han army, and Yuan Shu led his generals into the city.

In the government office, Zhang Liao, having washed his eyes and face, stepped forward bound. Seeing all the surrendered generals standing to his side, and Wei Xu arrogantly holding his head high, displaying a smug and petty demeanor, he rebuked him:

"The King of Qi regards you as a confidant, how can you bear to betray him?"

Wei Xu sneered, "You consider me a confidant? In the battle where a hundred cavalry raided the camp, it was clearly your fault, Zhang Wenyuan, yet you punished me with a cane."

Even I, a trusted confidant, have suffered an unjust accusation; how much more so others?

Zhang Liao remained silent.

Upon arriving at the hall, he saw Yuan Shu dressed in fine clothes, exuding an air of elegance and nobility. He bowed and said:
"A defeated general dares not boast of bravery; he only seeks death!"

"Lu Bu is a fickle traitor, not a wise ruler. I will capture him sooner or later."

The general possesses unparalleled talent and military prowess rarely seen in his time.

"Having yet failed to gain renown among the feudal lords and make a name for myself in the world, how can I bear to let my abundant talent and lofty ambitions be buried with a mediocre ruler, and my soul return to the netherworld?"

As Yuan Shu spoke, he rose, personally untied the man's bonds, took off his clothes and dressed him, and laughed, saying:
"If one had a son like Wen Yuan, what more could one ask for?"
Do you agree, Wen Yuan?

"Now that I have not yet surrendered the city, and have fought to the death without retreating, is the King of Han still willing to adopt me as his son?"

“I adopted you as my son not because of this city, but because I love you.”

Previously, Huang Zhong, Sun Ce, Xu Chu, and Ji Ling had already crushed his pride. In his despair, how could Zhang Liao not be moved by the King of Han's high regard for him?

Having followed Lü Bu for many years and often observed his words and actions, he naturally knew how to speak at this moment, and hurriedly bowed, saying:
"Having wandered for half my life without encountering a wise ruler, I am now grateful to the King of Han for not abandoning me, and I wish to become his godfather."

From this day forward, I will follow my adoptive father, braving fire and water, without hesitation, to assist him in our great undertaking!

Zhang Liao was then adopted as the eighth son of the King of Han, and later he was tasked with pacifying the troops of Xiaopei and the various counties of Xuzhou.

(End of this chapter)