Three Kingdoms: Daily settlement helps Liu Bei revive the Shu Han dynasty.

Outside the city,

Upon hearing the various screams from within the city, Zhu Hao's face turned ashen.

But the screams didn't last long and gradually subsided.

Before Zhu Hao and the others could make a decision, more than a dozen rafts suddenly floated out of the water gate.

Zhu Hao and the others looked closely and realized that the raft was carrying human heads!

Beside the severed heads were the flags of various families.

The Hu family, the Xiong family, the Xiong family... all seven major local families are present.

The clansmen who remained behind rushed to the water's edge and saw the head of their respective commanders, bursting into tears.

Only the Hu family searched for a long time but could not find the head of their young master, Hu Pan.

Cries and screams erupted from all sides.

The morale of this group of soldiers, who were originally a patchwork of different groups, has completely collapsed.

Some people even threw down their weapons and turned to run away.

Zhu Hao shouted sternly, "Don't run! Form ranks! Form ranks!"

He then directed the supervisory team to kill more than a dozen deserters before the situation was brought under control.

But just then, the sound of horns came from the direction of the water gate.

The iron gate in the water was pulled up, and Jiang Qin led his navy out to fight his way out!

The warships sailed out of the waterway, with archers standing at the bow, firing arrows toward the shore.

Arrows rained down on the main battleground outside the city, and the private soldiers who had just managed to stand in formation were shot down in an instant.

Zhu Hao gritted his teeth, pointed his sword at Shui Men, and shouted, "Shoot them!"

From within the private army ranks, a sparse volley of arrows was fired in retaliation, ultimately inflicting casualties of more than a dozen men on Jiang Qin's naval forces.

At this moment, Jiang Qin had Hu Pan, whom they had found in a corner of the city wall, brought over.

Hu Pan, covered in blood and with his armor tattered, was carried to the bow of the ship by two sailors.

His eyes were glazed over, his lips were pale, and his legs were shaking so badly he could barely stand.

Jiang Qin shouted towards the shore, "Listen up, Hu family! Your young master is still alive!"

The remaining thousand or so private soldiers of the Hu family immediately stirred up a commotion.

Clan Chief Hu Shen

That is, Hu Pan's father was overjoyed to see that his son Hu Pan was still alive.

He immediately shouted, "General, please don't act rashly! I beg you, General, spare Pan'er's life!"

Jiang Qin continued shouting, "If you retreat, I will spare your young master's life. If you still don't retreat in ten breaths, another head will be added to the Hu family's raft!"

The Hu family's general who led the troops is dead, several of their eldest sons have also died, and the young master has been captured by the enemy.

Such losses have already crippled the Hu family.

I originally thought he was just bringing troops to show off and gain some merit.

As a result, Zhuge Xuan somehow found such powerful support, which terrified everyone.

Hu Shen couldn't care about anything else now; he just wanted to save his son's life as much as possible.

He turned and shouted, "Retreat!"

The Hu family's private soldiers, as if granted a pardon, laid down their weapons and retreated.

Zhu Hao turned around and saw the Hu family retreating, his face turning ashen: "How dare the Hu family—"

Before he could finish speaking,

The Xiong, Liu, and Chen families also sent people to the water's edge to negotiate.

They weren't as lucky as the Hu family.

The commander and his eldest son both died in the chaos.

In fact, shortly after the massacre began in the city, many people on the shore started pushing and trampling each other.

Many people even brandished weapons and attacked their own people in order to clear a path.

People who drowned, were trampled to death, or were killed by their own teammates.

In total, they killed far more people than Jiang Qin's navy.

After Jiang Qin met with these people who had come to negotiate,

His terms were the same as the Hu family's: withdraw your troops and all past transgressions will be forgiven. Those who do not withdraw will have their families confiscated and their clans exterminated!

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the seven great families had completely evaded the order.

Seeing this, the other powerful families dared not linger and quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

Before long, only Zhu Hao and his newly recruited 3,000 troops remained outside the city.

Seeing that his private soldiers had dispersed from the shore, Jiang Qin waved his command flag: "Dock! Land!"

Dozens of warships docked at the same time.

The naval troops jumped off the ships and lined up on the dock.

Zhu Hao gritted his teeth, brandished his sword, and shouted, "Kill! A thousand gold pieces will be awarded to whoever slays the enemy general!"

Zhu Hao's soldiers were all newly recruited troops who had not yet received much training.

Jiang Qin's soldiers, on the other hand, were all people who had been river bandits on the Yangtze River for many years, and killing and robbing were commonplace for them.

Fighting on land is not as convenient as fighting on water.

But in terms of ferocity,

Zhu Hao's new recruits were naturally far inferior.

The two armies clashed.

Jiang Qin slashed down the enemy soldier at the forefront with a single stroke, and the navy surged forward like a tide behind him.

One of Zhu Hao's garrison commanders raised his spear to stab Jiang Qin, but Jiang Qin dodged it by sidestepping.

He then swung his sword backhand to sever the spear shaft, and then slashed at the man's shoulder and neck, causing blood to gush out.

The online trolls, operating in small groups, worked seamlessly together, making killing simple and efficient.

Zhu Hao's hundred-man team was actually scattered by a dozen or so online trolls.

Zhu Hao's soldiers were immediately stunned.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jiang Qin led his personal guards straight into the central army.

Zhu Hao's personal guards were scattered.

He himself was slashed in the left arm by Jiang Qin and fell off his horse.

Fortunately, Deputy General Zhu Hao saw that the situation was not good and led a team to provide support.

After rescuing Zhu Hao, the lieutenant advised, "General, let's retreat! The brothers can't hold on any longer!"

Looking at the routed soldiers around him, Zhu Hao clutched his bleeding arm and said unwillingly, "Retreat!"

Most of the three thousand people fled.

Zhu Hao fled north under the protection of more than a hundred personal guards.

Jiang Qin chased after them for five miles, but seeing that they had run far away, he withdrew his troops and returned to the city.

After a major battle, the city and its surroundings were left in ruins.

The streets inside the city gates were filled with mutilated and mushy corpses, resembling a living hell.

The emperor ordered his men to clean up the battlefield and take a headcount of the prisoners.

More than two thousand private soldiers surrendered outside the city, and Zhu Hao's own troops also captured four or five hundred people.

Jiang Qin walked to the city gate,

Zhuge Xuan, accompanied by his few trusted confidants, came forward and bowed, saying, "Commander Jiang is incredibly brave; I admire him greatly."

Jiang Qin returned the greeting and said, "My lord, after this battle, no noble family in Yuzhang County will dare to defy us. As for Zhu Hao, he is one of Military Advisor Guo's men, and we will deal with him ourselves."

Zhuge Xuan finally revealed a slight smile and said, "I will follow the arrangements of Military Advisor Guo and Colonel Jiang."

In the Battle of Nanchang, Zhu Hao's 15,000-strong army was routed by Jiang Qin's 5,000-strong navy, suffering a crushing defeat.

Fear spread like a plague throughout Yuzhang County.

The Seven Great Families

Because Hu Pan was in Jiang Qin's hands, the Hu family immediately sided with Zhuge Xuan and Jiang Qin.

The other six companies, although they did not directly side with Jiang Qin, also chose to leave Zhu Hao's team.

Those aristocratic families who remained neutral were quick to change their tune, sending people into the city to curry favor with Zhuge Xuan.

Carts loaded with grain, fodder, wine, and meat came and went in an endless stream.

Some even volunteered to persuade Zhu Hao to surrender on Zhuge Xuan's behalf.

Zhu Hao fled in disarray with only a hundred or so personal guards.

They ran for dozens of miles until they reached an abandoned village, where they stopped to catch their breath.

Zhu Hao glanced at his remaining soldiers, his heart filled with grief and indignation. He gritted his teeth and said, "Zhuge Xuan, I swear to kill him!"

Before he finished speaking, more than a dozen arrows suddenly shot out from the village.

Before Zhu Hao's personal guards could react, seven or eight of them were shot down.

Zhu Hao's left arm was already injured, and an arrow struck his right shoulder, causing him to scream and fall off his horse.

The remaining guards hurriedly raised their shields to protect him.

More than ten men dressed in black, armed with crossbows, stormed out of the village.

As they charged toward Zhu Hao, the men raised their crossbows and unleashed another volley of fire.

Five or six more of Zhu Hao's personal guards fell to the ground, while the rest scattered and fled.

The leader, dressed in black and wielding a short knife, charged straight at Zhu Hao.

The lieutenant rushed to stop him, but the man slashed his throat with a knife and he collapsed, clutching his throat.

Zhu Hao struggled to draw his sword.

The man in black gave him no chance, throwing the dagger as a hidden weapon, which struck Zhu Hao squarely in the chest.

Amidst Zhu Hao's agonizing screams,

His head was severed by the man in black.

Then wrap it in a cloth and pack it up to take away.