The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

After Liu Bei agreed to let Zhao Yun lead 500 elite soldiers to buy time, Zhao Yun quickly led his men to Xiaqiu.

This place is the border between Xiapi and the governor's office of Yuzhou. It is very close to Yuan Shu's sphere of influence and is one of the important passages for Yuan Shu to attack Xuzhou.

As a strategically important location, Xiapi was guarded by Liu Bei with 300 elite soldiers as soon as he entered the city, which was one-tenth of his total forces.

He had barely entered the city when Yuan Shu's army surrounded Xiaqiu.

"These eight hundred men can hold out for a while. This is the last thing I will do for Lord Xuande!"

Looking at Yuan Shu's massive army outside the city, Zhao Yun thought to himself, "I originally thought Liu Bei was a good lord worth serving, but I changed my mind in Xuzhou in such a short time."

The reason was simple: he had personally witnessed Liu Bei secretly gifting dozens of suits of armor to the Mi family. This made Zhao Yun realize that Liu Bei was not as he appeared on the surface. His master had warned him that what he saw with his own eyes was not necessarily true, and that a true wise ruler would always think of the people of the world.

Although Liu Bei verbally expressed concern for the people, he actually revealed a greater greed for power. As a result, Zhao Yun became somewhat disheartened and wanted to take this opportunity to leave Liu Bei in order to find a true wise ruler.

"General, look, some of them have gone out to fight!" Just as Zhao Yun was lost in thought, the soldier beside him suddenly shouted, pointing to the Yuan army camp outside the city.

Reminded by his subordinate, Zhao Yun also came to his senses, staring intently at the two men, wanting to see what they would do next.

"White-robed guards on the city walls, we are under Lord Yuan's command. If you know what's good for you, surrender now and we'll guarantee your safety. Otherwise, after the city falls, not a single one of you will be spared!"

The speaker was Zhang Xun. He was dressed in armor, riding a horse and holding a tiger-headed broadsword. He looked very intimidating, and anyone who didn't know him would think he was a powerful and fierce general.

When he saw that Xiaqiu only had a garrison of less than a thousand men, he became arrogant and tried to persuade Zhao Yun to surrender in order to open up the road to Xiapi. After all, everyone wants to subdue the enemy without fighting.

"Impossible! If you want to get to Xiapi, you'll have to step over my dead body first! Archers, fire!"

Faced with Zhang Xun's persuasion to surrender, Zhao Yun remained unmoved. At this critical juncture, what was the use of talking so much? It was either you or me. Anyone who believed such naive words would have died on the battlefield long ago.

At Zhao Yun's command, countless arrows flew out like meteors, heading straight for Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui.

"Damn it, retreat!" Seeing the arrows flying towards him, Zhang Xun panicked. He reminded Qiao Rui beside him while quickly spurring his horse back to his own lines.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Although the two reacted quickly, they were no match for the swift arrows. Qiao Rui was shot in the left arm, and the intense pain made him cry out on the spot. Fortunately, Qiao Rui was a tough guy and held on tightly to the reins, which prevented him from falling off his horse.

Otherwise, losing a key general before the battle even begins would be a laughing stock.

"Damn it, I'll make them taste the pain of being pierced by a thousand arrows! Issue my order: attack the city! You must break through Huaipu within one hour! The women inside are yours to enjoy to your heart's content!"

Seeing Qiao Rui wounded in the left arm by an arrow, Zhang Xun was furious.

"Waaaaahh ...

As the earth-shaking bugle calls rang out, 20,000 Yuan troops launched a fierce attack.

They first used catapults to continuously hurle boulders, and then battering rams and siege engines, under the cover of shield bearers, began to slowly move towards the city gate.

In city sieges, the process is almost always the same: first, giant siege engines launch a large number of boulders and fireballs; then, archers unleash a volley of arrows; and finally, soldiers push battering rams and carry siege ladders to begin climbing.

"Brothers, listen to my command, don't panic! Even if we die, we will never retreat!" Facing the Yuan army's frenzied attack, Zhao Yun kept encouraging his eight hundred men, because he knew this was a hopeless battle.

As for why they didn't go out of the city to fight in the open field, it's because infantry would only die faster against cavalry. It only takes one charge from the cavalry to kill eight hundred men.

"Never retreat, fight to the very end!"

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The battle continued until dusk, when the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the battlefield in a crimson hue.

Zhao Yun's eight hundred defenders had been almost entirely wiped out, leaving less than fifty men, all wounded, but they still held their ground on the city wall, not one of them retreating.

This was a defensive battle in which the fighting spirit was carried through to the end. Faced with Zhao Yun's brave and exemplary leadership, not a single one of the eight hundred soldiers from Xuzhou was afraid of death. In the past, they were all seasoned veterans in the army, but this time they abandoned their old rules and became true warriors.

"General, do you think Lord Qin of Xuzhou will send reinforcements to help us?"

During a lull in the fighting, a wounded veteran looked at Zhao Yun, who was covered in dust and exhausted, and asked him a completely unrealistic question.

Was this veteran naive? Didn't he know that Qin Xuan wouldn't come to rescue them?

No, no, ever since they followed Liu Bei here, they knew that Qin Xuan would not come to rescue them.

Perhaps this veteran was reminiscing about the time not long ago when Qin Xuan saved Xuzhou like a god descending to earth, and was simply hoping for a miracle to happen.

"I think so!" Zhao Yun was about to blurt out no, but seeing the old soldier's longing eyes, he changed his mind and uttered a thought he had never dared to consider.

"General, you are a good general, but it's a pity you followed the wrong person!" The old soldier, listening to Zhao Yun's words, spoke his heart:

"If it were Lord Qin of Xuzhou, he would definitely not choose to run away. He would face it together with the soldiers instead of deserting in the face of battle."

Clearly, this veteran was very dissatisfied with Liu Bei's decision to flee without a fight, and instead recalled the difficult days he spent in Tancheng.

"Sigh!" Zhao Yun didn't know how to respond to the old soldier's words, so he could only sigh heavily and avoid this difficult topic.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. To die alongside you on the battlefield is the highest honor for me, Zhao Yun!"

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"Hahahaha!" Looking at the Yuan army soldiers around him, who were trembling with fear and unable to advance, Zhao Yun, who was already surrounded and covered in blood, let out a long roar to the sky. His heart was filled with helplessness and sorrow after exhausting all his strength.

It was only a matter of time before Xiaqiu fell. A small city could not withstand the fierce attack of 20,000 troops. Zhao Yun was also exhausted and unable to fight any longer, and was surrounded.

Faced with an endless stream of troops, even with Zhao Yun's exceptional martial arts skills, his individual strength alone was insufficient.

"Come on, I, Zhao Yun, am right here. If you want to get past me, you'll have to step over my dead body!" Zhao Yun kept waving his long sword, trying to drag a few more people down with him.

Unfortunately, due to exhaustion, his movements looked so comical that the Yuan army soldiers around him dared not step forward to stab him to death. After all, their superiors had given a death order to capture Zhao Yun alive.

Finally, exhausted, Zhao Yun felt a darkness before his eyes and suddenly collapsed to the ground.