He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Cao Bao's screams stopped abruptly, his body went limp on his horse, and tears of fear still streamed down his face.

"Prime Minister Cao!" a nearby guard exclaimed, his morale plummeting.

Zhang Fei hoisted Cao Bao's corpse onto his shoulder and shouted, "Zhang Fei of Yan is here! Those who are tired of living, hurry up and come here to die!"

Before anyone could answer, he flung Cao Bao's corpse away, knocking several of his personal guards to the ground. He then swung his spear left and right, continuing his frenzied slaughter.

The deceased all had a horrific wound on their chest or abdomen, long and curved, and in some cases, their internal organs had even become filthy, making their deaths chilling.

The remaining people finally couldn't withstand the continuous psychological impact and surrendered one after another.

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After dealing with the surrendered generals of Danyang, Zhang Fei immediately sent more than two hundred soldiers from Xiapi to raid their homes.

Cao Bao is said to be a member of the gentry, and he was trusted by Tao Qian as early as the time of Tao Qian. Needless to say, he was promoted and ennobled, and he was also rewarded in his daily life.

In the third year of the Chuping era, Cao Bao spent a huge sum of money to build a garden and forest in Xiapi City as his residence.

This magnificent mansion was now being invaded by groups of soldiers who kicked open the doors and dragged the sleeping people out. Anyone who resisted was killed on the spot.

Some of the young masters even shouted, "You scoundrels! Do you know where you are? This is the residence of the Prime Minister of Cao State! You—ah!" The only response they received was the blade of a ring-pommel sword.

"We're killing Cao Bao!"

The resistance forces within the courtyard were quickly wiped out, and anyone in the vicinity who wasn't a fool could tell that the families of these Danyang generals were about to suffer a terrible fate.

"The general has ordered that whoever seizes the most property during this raid will receive the most rewards!!"

"Damn it, these Danyang savages have such nice houses, they must have embezzled our money to build them."

"Stop talking nonsense! If you don't want to make money, get out of the way and let your father do it! Don't block the road!"

With everyone's diligent efforts, box after box of goods was carried out. The soldiers who came in first were all beaming with joy, and they didn't forget to show off to their friends who arrived late.

The later ones were unwilling to be subordinate to others, so they began to interrogate the families of the generals of Danyang. After a series of memory restoration techniques, they all vomited up everything they could.

Zhang Fei was delighted by the bustling scene, clapping and cheering as the soldiers carried out box after box of valuables. Nearby, several clerks, who had been 'voluntarily' awakened by the soldiers to check and record the goods, were frantically counting them.

"Report—General, we found many letters in the mansion!" A soldier ran over, carefully wrapping the letters in his clothes to prevent them from getting wet in the rain.

Zhang Fei opened it and took a closer look, and was immediately so angry that he gritted his teeth.

It contained letters not only from Lü Bu and Zang Ba, but also from Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, and most infuriatingly, even from Cao Cao.

Upon opening them, they were basically all instructions to the generals of Danyang to do certain things, promising them something in return.

"You scoundrels! You dogs! My brother valued you so much, but you're all traitors!" Zhang Fei cursed, jumping up and down, wishing he could kill them all right now.

Thinking of Lu Wan's instructions to him, he could only give up.

"Thank goodness for Mr. Lu. If Xiapi were gone, I really wouldn't know how I would face my elder brother," Zhang Fei thought to himself. Now Zhang Fei greatly admired Lu Wan and naturally took Lu Wan's plan even more seriously.

The turmoil at the residences of the generals in Danyang could not be kept secret from outsiders. Nearby, many civilians, though it was late at night, were awakened by the shouts of battle. At first, they thought it was some warlord or bandit who had breached the city, so they began to reinforce their doors, cowering in corners, trembling, praying to the gods for their lives.

Seeing that the raid was nearing its end, Zhang Fei left behind several dozen soldiers to assist the minor officials in continuing the inventory, while he led his team to prepare an ambush for Lü Bu.

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Lu Bu mustered three hundred soldiers and galloped towards Xiapi. Each of the three hundred men had three horses, all for the sake of speed.

We have now reached the city gate. Inside the city, there is a great commotion, while outside, smoke swirls and horses neigh.

Zhang Liao, who had accompanied him, found it strange that the city gates were wide open, but there was no one there.

Logically speaking, there should be a few people to guide you.

His cautious nature led him to advise Lü Bu that they could rest for a while and then send a small force into the city to ascertain the true situation of Xiapi before entering.

Lu Bu rejected Zhang Liao's suggestion, saying that now was not the time to rest, and that speed was of the essence in war. He said that once Xiapi was captured, they could rest however they wanted.

Xu Dan, the Danyang general who had been sent to make contact, also urged, "What the general says is very true. If we wait until the city reacts, it will probably not be so easy to enter the city."

Lü Bu added, "The shouts of battle are deafening inside the city; it must be the Ring-Eyed Bandit fighting Cao Bao. How can we stand idly by?"

Finally, at Zhang Liao's repeated insistence, Lü Bu decided to split into two teams to enter the city.

"Wen Yuan, why are you getting more and more timid? Fine, just wait for me outside the city." Seeing that Zhang Liao was about to persuade him again, Lü Bu quickly led a team towards the city gate.

After passing through the city gate, Lü Bu's heart began to race with excitement. Thinking that he would soon be able to make a comeback, he couldn't help but shout to his Bingzhou cavalry, "Hurry! This city is a place that God has given us to live in."

His cavalrymen immediately spurred their horses to gallop along the road.

"Bang—!!"

The loud clanging of metal behind him froze Lu Bu's smile on his face. A gate separated the inside and outside of the city. Torches were lit on the previously empty White Gate Tower, and the firelight illuminated the figures of the soldiers.

A scholar in blue robes smiled, cupped his hands in greeting to Lü Bu, and said, "Xiaopei is dozens of miles from here. Why is General Lü here?"

Lü Bu, fully aware that he had fallen into a trap, drew his bow and fired. He roared, "Chen Deng! You dare to play me?!"

It turned out that the scholar in blue was Chen Deng, who had been waiting here for most of the night. As soon as Lu Bu made a move, Chen Deng shrank back.

"How rude! Fire the arrows!"

The long-planned rain of arrows immediately poured down on Lü Bu's army.

Lü Bu immediately ordered his men to dismount and capture the White Gate Tower on foot.

What awaited him was a staircase that had been broken by sandbags, and the Xuzhou army had even sent people to set up a long wall of spears to prepare for battle.

Lu Wan considered that Lü Bu's army would definitely become desperate and act recklessly after being imprisoned inside, so he made this suggestion.

Chen Deng felt that this wasn't ruthless enough, so he added his own twist by dismantling the part of the stairs that was close to the ground.

Not only that, but since he had nothing better to do, he specially boiled several pots of gravy, preparing to pour it down when people crowded together.

Lu Bu's army could only grit their teeth and charge forward.

Lu Bu charged ahead, his halberd flashing as he knocked down the incoming arrows.

"General Lü, the enemy's crossbows are too powerful; we can't get through at all!"

A military officer, his face covered in blood and several arrows stuck in his body, shouted at Lü Bu. Lü Bu recognized him as an old comrade he had recruited when he was still in Bingzhou.

Lu Bu never expected to fall from grace so quickly. Just a moment ago, he was still dreaming of conquering Xuzhou and creating new glories. Now, his subordinates of many years were falling down before his eyes like straws blown by a strong wind.

He was now beyond furious. He threw down his halberd and charged toward the steps. The Xuzhou soldiers above saw this and thrust their spears forward.

This was exactly what Lü Bu was waiting for. He grabbed the spear that was thrusting at him and yanked it off, tearing the spear's owner off.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Lü Bu leaped up, grabbed the edge of the steps, and with a push of his feet, stood firmly on the steps.