My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 694

At Sun Ce's camp outside Huiji, Sun Ce and the others such as Ling Cao were awake even though it was supposed to be the time to rest. Not only that but the camp was also brightly lit.

“Milord. Why did you summon us at this hour?” Ling Cao asked tiredly. He was in the main attacking force for the past few days. Every time he attacked the walls, the rebels had to expend more effort to defend. In the end, Ling Cao continued to get repelled by the troops under Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao's command and it is mostly because Sun Quan has too many cannon fodders.

“I summoned you all because there is something I need to discuss with you all.” Sun Ce said to the others. Truthfully speaking the only actual ‘general' here was Ling Cao. The others were all obscure nobodies with not particularly good martial strength. The other veteran generals of Jiangdong did not follow Sun Ce to battle. They had all served Sun Jian in the past. If Sun Ce were to fight anyone else, these generals would be the first to jump into battle. But this time, Sun Ce was fighting his little brother Sun Quan.

Both of them were Sun Jian's children. These old generals could not interfere. As a result, only Ling Cao and Lu Meng was here. This is also why Sun Ce is having such a hard time attacking Sun Quan. If Han Dang, Huang Gai and the others were also here, the matter would have been quickly been solved.

But the old generals did not follow Sun Ce to battle and Sun Ce also did not make things difficult for them. He left them all at Jianye.

The past few days have been a siege battle. Sun Ce was having a headache as there was no clear way to win. He can only fight Sun Quan with numbers and see who lasts longer. Unfortunately, it was not possible for Sun Ce's army to outnumber the population of a city. Sun Ce was also unable to ask help from Yangzhou. The moment he does, Sun Quan's life cannot be saved. But if this were to continue then Sun Ce would likely lose.

That is until someone send him some news about Lu Meng.

“Your name was Gao De right? Explain things to them.” Sun Ce said to Gao De.

“Yes. This lowly Gao De greets the generals.” Gao De shouted with a sly smile.

Ling Cao felt disgusted looking at Gao De's appearance as Gao De gave the feeling of someone who only flatters others. Regardless, Ling Cao still needed to listen to what Gao De was about to say.

“Generals. General Lu Meng instructed me to inform you that we have found a collaborator inside Huiji. He hopes that you would coordinate with his forces to distract the reb… I mean, the Second Lord's forces at the North gate so that he could enter the city.” Gao De almost said rebel forces before correcting himself when he remembered Sun Ce was Sun Quan's brother.

“A collaborator?” The other generals started to discuss with each other when they heard this. While cities and fortresses are not impossible to capture, the easiest way was with a collaborator on the inside. Hearing that there was one made the generals happy. By attacking the city from both inside and outside the city, the rebels would surely suffer.

While everyone was discussing on how to proceed, Ling Cao frowned.

Ling Cao was originally unhappy with Gao De. Though Gao De smiled at Ling Cao flatteringly, Ling Cao still had a sharp look.

“Milord. The day Huiji falls is just around the corner. We should immediately send troops to distract Zhang Zhao at the North gate so that Lu Meng can act as he sees fit at the South.” These subordinates already had enough of fighting. Many officers have already fought and died on the walls. Having a way out now was something to be happy about.

Sun Ce nodded. He also wanted to settle this matter quickly. Zhou Yu have already gone to Yangzhou. Sun Ce himself wanted to go to Yangzhou to accompany Zhou Yu.

“Wait!” Ling Cao suddenly said. “When did my brother Lu Meng ever said we have a collaborator in Huiji? I have never heard of this before!” Ling Cao did not trust Gao De at all.

The other generals also realized that Ling Cao was right. If Lu Meng were to say anything, Ling Cao would be the first to know. If Lu Meng did not mention such an important thing ot Ling Cao, then there must be a problem.

Sun Ce furrowed his brows.

“This must be a spy sent by Zhang Zhao to spread false information! Do you want us to fall into Zhang Zhao's ambush?” Ling Cao confidently shouted to Gao De.

“That's right. This person must be a spy. Milord, I suggest we take him for interrogation!” The others started to agree with Ling Cao. After all, it was strange that Lu Meng did not tell Ling Cao but some lowly scout about this vital information.

“No! I'm wrongly accused!” Gao De was nearly frightened to death. What kind of unlucky star was he born under to be caught by Lu Su to become a messenger and nearly get executed by Lu Meng. He was then made into Lu Meng's messenger and is going to get executed by Sun Ce. All this despite Gao De being just a lowly scout.

Sun Ce's guards did not care if Gao De was wrongly accused and was about to arrest him. At a critical moment, Gao De suddenly became wise.

“Wait!”Gao De shouted loudly. He then spoke to Ling Cao with great righteousness. “General. Who are you to say that I am a spy of the rebels?”

“Then I will let you die with a clear mind. Lu Meng is my brother and my brother did not inform me of such an important thing!” Ling Cao sneered.

“What a joke!” Gao De suddenly laughed instead. “You also know Lu Meng is your older brother. But even if Lu Meng is your younger brother it would not be possible for him to tell you everything! Do you think he would tell you when he takes a shit or when he is having sex?” řÃ₦ȯʙЁ𐌔

“Haha!” The other officers started to laugh. Gao De can be considered to be a talent to have enough quick wits to say such a thing. It was also true that Lu Meng would definitely not tell Ling Cao everything.

“You!” Ling Cao became furious after hearing this. “This whelp! You dare to mock me? You are courting death!” Ling Cao was about to advance and kill Gao De himself but Gao De was not afraid. Gao De did not care if he were to die at the hands of an enemy but he did not expect to be treated like this by allies. No matter what kind of person he is, he had a bottom line. Ling Cao had already gone too far.

Gao De was lifted up by Ling Cao but he was not afraid at all.

“You are a spy sent by Zhang Zhao! You want us to be ambushed by Zhang Zhao!” Ling Cao roared.

“Haha. Can you even be ambushed while attacking a city? Perhaps you are afraid of Zhang Zhao? Even if you don't attack the city now, you will still have to attack the city when it is bright. Wouldn't there also be an ambush then? If you do not dare to fight, just say it! What can Zhang Zhao say?” Gao De replied.

“Alright. That's enough!” Sun Ce shouted. “Put Gao De down.”

“Then you explain. Why has Lu Meng not informed me of this?” Ling Cao may have released Gao De but he was still vigilant.

“That is because General Lu Meng himself did not know about it.” Gao De replied.

“How can I believe that?”

“If I say who this person is, you would all become afraid!” Gao De seemed very pleased. “This person is Yangzhou's Minister of Appointment, Lu Su Lu Zijing!”

“What?” Sun Ce immediately stood up from his seat. “Are you speaking the truth?”

“Do I still need to lie to you?” Gao De just spoke without caution. After all, he was about to be cut down anyway.

“Didn't Lu Su return to Yangzhou?” Sun Ce asked puzzled.

“I don't know about that but by the time I came here, that Minister Lu have already led fifteen thousand rebels into General Lu Meng's ambush.”

“He brought fifteen thousand men into an ambush?” Sun Ce knew that the South gate only has thirty to fourty thousand men. Half of them had left. There was really a chance for it to succeed.

“Milord. Why don't we cooperate? It doesn't matter when we fight, in the end, we still need to fight.” Someone suggested.

“Yes. It might be dark but it also means it would be easier to climb the walls.”

“Milord! We must not do this. This must be Zhang Zhao's trick!” Ling Cao was still shouting.

Sun Ce thought about it fo a while before making his decision. “Men! Beat the drums, cook food and gather the troops!”

“Marquis Wu is wise!” Gao De said happily but his smile soon disappeared.

“This time, we would be distracting the enemies at the North gate. Ling Cao, you stay here, rest, and watch over Gao De here. If he acts suspiciously, you can kill him first and then report later!” Sun Ce said and then left with his troops, leaving behind a malicious looking Ling Cao.

***

Sun Ce's main army gathered really quickly and the smoke began to rise from the food they were cooking.

“General. There is fire at Sun Ce's camp.” It was dark, making the smoke even more conspicuous.

“Hm? Are they making food? At this hour?” It was in the middle of the night. What was the point of eating? It was the time to sleep not the time to fight.

“Quickly go and find the Lord and Advisor Zhang Zhao.” The gatekeeper could not understand so he left the thinking to Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao.

“Master Zhang.What does this whelp Sun Ce want?” Sun Quan stood at the side and asked as he looked at the fire. Now, Zhang Zhao was Sun Quan's number one advisor. Sun Quan consult him regarding everything. Sun Quan also stopped calling Sun Ce his brother.

“I also do not know.” Zhang Zhao shook his head. “Do they want to leave after eating?” Zhang Zhao wondered before rejecting this idea. If Sun Ce could have left, he would have done so a long time ago. After all, Sun Ce was no longer the ruler of Jiangdong. He had already surrendered to Liu Mang. As Liu Mang's subordinate, Sun Ce would be forced to fight even if he does not want to.

Soon, the war drums were beaten.

“Is Sun Ce mad? It is not even day time yet!” Sun Quan did not understand his brother's thoughts. Why are you making such a commotion at night? If you want to fight, fight when it is daytime!

“Light up the torches and prepare for battle!” The gatekeeper was about to prepare for battle when he was slapped by Zhang Zhao.

“Are you crazy? You want to light up the torches in the middle of the night? Do you want to become a target?” If the torches on the city wall was lit up, the enemy could see you. It would be courting death.

“Then what should we do?” The gatekeeper also realized that he was wrong and asked Zhang Zhao.

“Perhaps Sun Ce wants to tire out our soldiers?” Zhang Zhao looked at Sun Ce's army in confusion. If it wasn't this, then why are you not sleeping at night?

Once the torches were extinguished, the archers in Sun Ce's army became depressed. If the lights were there, they could have shot arrows up. However, it was bright long enough to see that the enemy's commander had come out.

“My good little brother and that Zhang Zhao has come out?” Sun Ce asked.

“Yes! The Second Lord and the traitor Zhang Zhao was on the city walls!” The scout replied.

“Alright. Let the army rest. Stop the war drums!” Sun Ce ordered.

“Understood!” Soon the drums stopped and the army sat back on the ground to rest.

“It really is a strategy to tire out the troops.” Sun Quan said.

“Is it so simple?” Zhang Zhao frowned. “Liu Song. Stay here and tell me if there is anything.”

“Yes!” The gatekeeper nodded.

Zhang Zhao and the others went back to rest. Liu Song also divided his men into several groups to take turns keeping watch. This way, the enemy's strategy of tiring the troops would be rendered useless.

When Sun Ce saw that there were no movement on the walls, he ordered his men to beat the drums to attack again.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“The enemy is charging the city!” The rebels keeping watch quickly woke up their comrades. One by one, they picked up their weapons to fight. The gatekeeper did not dare to act alone so he also informed Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan.

The moment Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan arrived at the walls, Sun Ce sounded the retreat and the army withdrew.

This happened several times. As long as Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao were absent, the attack would continue as normal. However, once Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao appeared, they would immediately withdraw.

“What is this Sun Ce doing?” Sun Quan was annoyed. He wanted to sleep but he was unable to. It was clearly not a strategy to tire out the troops but a strategy to tire out the commanders. The soldiers on the city walls can take shifts but Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan could not. They had to come to the city walls again and again.

How much benefit does this bring Sun Ce? After a few attacks, Sun Ce lost several hundred men. Both armies were also exhausted. If Sun Ce does this at night, then how would they continue to fight in the morning?

Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan gave the North gate their full attention as they try to figure out Sun Ce's intentions.

At this moment, a messenger came.

“Report! The South gate has been breached! General Cheng Hu is requesting reinforcments!” The messenger was exhausted and covered in blood. He was clearly someone who just fought his way out.

“The South gate has been breached? Impossible!” Sun Quan could not believe it. The South gate had about fifty thousand men. Even if they had little elites, they still had fifty thousand men. Lu Meng only had about ten thousand men. With the help of the city walls and the huge number difference, even a pig can defend the city.

The only possibility of losing is if the defenders left the city to attack the enemy.

“Wasn't Zuo Li in charge of the South gate?” Sun Quan was confused. To put it badly, the person in charge of the South gate was an old cowardly turtle. Unless victory was absolutely certain, this turtle would not stick his head out of his shell. This was also why Sun Quan was relieved to leave the South gate to Zuo Li.

“Prefect Zuo is not on the walls!” The messenger cried mournfully.

“Milord! We forgot about that Young Master Zuo Jie!” Zhang Zhao laughed bitterly as he reminded Sun Quan. The coward Zuo Li would not attack but his useless son Zuo Jie was a different matter.

“Where is Yang Kui?” Zhang Zhao suddenly called out. Yang Kui was a talented person. If it was not because they were besieged, Zhang Zhao would have already recommended Sun Quan make Yang Kui a Prefect.

“That Yang Kui instigatged the Young Master to go out and fight!” The messenger reported to Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao.

“Ah!”

“But even if they were defeated, the gates would not have been breached!” Zhang Zhao continued to ask.

“That Yang Kui… that Yang Kui brought troops and deceived us into opening the gates. Lu Meng's army have already charged in!” The messenger replied. This Yang Kui was unexpectedly collaborating with Sun Ce's army.

“Yang Kui! Who is he?” Zhang Zhao could not figure out who it is.

“I know! It is him! It is definitely him!” Sun Quan's eyes grew wide. “Master Zhang! It is him!”

“Him?” Zhang Zhao thought for a while and then quickly realized who Sun Quan was talking about. “Lu Su Lu Zijing?” Did Lu Su really waited all this time to make Huiji fall?

“Why is he at Jiangdong? Didn't he return to Yangzhou?” Zhang Zhao could not understand. “Besides that, why did he take us to Zhou Yu? Isn't Zhou Yu one of Liu Mang's subordinate?”

“I'm afraid we have been deceived by him!” Sun Quan had found out from Zhang Zhao that Yang Kui was the one who incited Zhang Zhao to rebel. Zhang Zhao who had been in a desperate situation immediately took action.

But now it seems that everything had been a trap. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had not yet pledged allegiance to Yangzhou. They had even tricked Yangzhou into losing money.

Lu Su sneaked into Zhang Zhao's residence and incited a rebellion to cause civil unrest in Jiangdong. With this, Yangzhou would be the one to benefit the most. Later, Sun Ce surrendered because of Zhou Yu and Lu Su needed to help Sun Ce pacify Jiangdong.

“Yang Kui? Haha! I should have thought of it earlier!” Sun Quan laughed.

“Milord! Advisor! Please send troops! The South gate would not hold much longer!” The messenger said to Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao.

“Why should we do so?” Zhang Zhao asked back.

“Milord. The South gate is about to fall! If we don't send troops, the enemy would enter the inner parts of the city!”

“Who said the South gate has been breached?” Zhang Zhao asked again.

“I'm from the South…urk!” The blood covered messenger coughed out even more blood. He died with his eyes wide open and a bleeding neck.

“Master Zhang Zhao! What are you doing?” Sun Quan looked at Zhang Zhao in confusion.

“This man is a spy from Sun Ce's army. He wants to harm the morale of our army! Our South gate is strong and there is also the Prefect Zuo Li along with tens of thousands of troops. How can it be breached?” Zhang Zhao shouted loudly and the other rebels watching began to calm down. When they saw this bloody comrade, they were terrified. It must not be good news. However, Zhang Zhao killed the man and accused him of being a spy. Looking at Zhang Zhao's firm gaze, the others became relieved.

“Soldiers! Follow me to kill the enemy!” Zhang Zhao took out his sword and charged towards one of Sun Ce's soldier. He cut down one soldier before his bodyguards arrived to protect him.

“Advisor Zhang is formidable!” With Zhang Zhao taking the lead, the morale of the others went up.

“Master Zhang? This…” Sun Quan was confused.

“Milord. Do not make this public. This city can no longer be defended.” Zhang Zhao turned grim and looked at Sun Quan. If he did not kill the messenger earlier, their morale would fall. Zhang Zhao then turned to the gatekeeper.

“Liu Song! Stay here and defend the city. The Lord and I will go back and rest. Inform me only if anything serious happened.”

“Understood!” Liu Song nodded.

“Milord. Let us leave quickly.” Zhang Zhao whispered to Sun Quan.

“Where are we going? We cannot defend Huiji anymore so we shall leave by ship.We will get out from either the East or West gates. If we stay here, we will only be killed.” Zhang Zhao said to Sun Quan. Zhang Zhao had betrayed Sun Ce. If he was captured by Sun Ce, he would definitely be killed for instigating his brother into rebelling and even harmed Zhou Yu. Sun Quan could still live if he stays as Sun Ce would have already called the Yangzhou Army to help if Sun Ce wanted his brother dead. However, Sun Quan himself was also unwilling to stay.

“Yes, yes.” Sun Quan was agitated. “It is Master Zhang who knows more! If you keep to the green mountains, you will never need to worry about firewood. Let us go to Jingzhou or Jiaozhou.”

“Let's go!” Zhang Zhao quickly returned to his residence. Sun Quan saw that Zhang Zhao had already made preparations earlier. The Zhang Family have already begun packing up.

Zhang Zhao furrowed his brows seeing this as there were dozens of cart full of properties. They were running for their lives, not going on a trip.

“Leave only some valuables. Throw away everything else!” Zhang Zhao yelled at his family. Zhang Zhao was still very prestigious. With just one shout, many of the others quickly threw away all the heavy things. “Put away your silk clothes and put on the clothes I prepared for you!” The clothes Zhang Zhao prepared were all the rough clothing of the common people.

“Father! I don't want to wear those dirty clothes. They have all been worn by the lower class people!” Zhang Zhao's son whined.

In the past, Zhang Zhao pampered this son and granted whatever requests he may have. However, Zhang Zhao was not the same man that day. He immediately slapped his son and shouted. “Put on these clothes. If you dare to wear silk, you will stay here in Huiji!” Seeing the old man so angry, the others all quickly put on the prepared clothes.

“Milord. I am sorry for you but you need to change into this.” Zhang Zhao also prepared a set for Sun Quan.

Sun Quan nodded gloomily. He had been defeated again but he still needed to change out of his silk clothing if he wanted to keep his life.

“Let's go.”

****

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” The intensity of Sun Ce's attacks grew stronger until Liu Song could no longer hold.

“Report for Marquis Wu! It is good news! Lu Meng and the others have already entered the city! They are now wiping out the rebels and fighting their way to the North gate!” The messenger reported. Lu Su had sent a messenger the moment Lu Meng and Lu Su captured the South gate. He wanted to coordinate with Sun Ce to wipe out the rebel's main army at the North gate.

“They have really breached the South gate?” Sun Ce's eyes turned bright.

“Yes. This is the letter. Please read it.” The messenger knelt and handed the letter over to Sun Ce. Sun Ce read it. The words were Lu Su's. However, the handwriting and the seal belonged to Lu Meng. Lu Meng also reported everything to Sun Ce. It was just as Gao De had said. The letter also said that they have already captured the South gate. They had also split up into two groups. One had gone to the East and West gates. The other would go to the North gate to meet up with Sun Ce before going to the East and West gates together.

“Didn't I already say I am not a spy? I am not a spy!” Gao De was very pleased and even pulled a face at Ling Cao.

“Brother Gao De. It was my misunderstanding. Allow me to apologize.” Ling Cao gave an apologetic face but his actions were anything but apologetic. He patted Gao De in the back so hard that Gao De almost fell to the ground.

“Pass down my orders to attack the city! Also shout loudly and inform the rebels that the South gate has fallen. Tell them that they can still surrender if they do it now. Otherwise, we would not be merciful!” Sun Ce said happily and with full of killing intent.

“Understood!” The army attacked in waves.

“Orders from Marquis Wu! Rebels at the city walls listen up! Your South gate has already fallen to General Lu Meng and Minister Lu Su! Huiji will soon fall! If you have any sense, surrender now! Otherwise, you will die when the city falls!”

The soldiers below the city all shouted this causing the soldiers on the city to become anxious.

“Why are you all panicking! This is the enemy's scheme! How can the South gate fall? Didn't you hear our Strategist and the Lord say so? This must be the enemy's schemes! We just need to the defend the city walls! The enemy cannot fly!” Liu Song tried to raise morale.

The morale of the army was stable but Sun Ce's army were fighting as though they were injected with chicken blood. The gatekeeper was unable to handle this.

“Quick! Go and inform our Strategist and the Lord to come and take charge!” After repelling a wave of attacks, Liu Song wiped his sweat and informed his men to go and wake up Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan. Liu Song would not be able to handle it if this continues.

“Understood!” The men quickly went to Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan's temporary residence but when they arrived, Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan were absent. They went back to report to Liu Song.

“What? The Lord is not here?” Liu Song was dumbfounded. How can the Lord be missing at such a crucial moment? “Where is the Strategist?” Liu Song continued to ask.

“The Strategist is not here either!” The men replied.

“Impossible!” Liu Song could not believe the news. Could it be that Sun Ce's men have been telling the truth? Liu Song's heart was shaken.

“General! Look! Our reinforcements are here!” Someone saw from the city wall that a group of soldiers from the South gate was coming and pulled Liu Song to get his attention.

“Reinforcements? Yes. I already said those Sun Ce's soldiers are lying! The Lord and the Strategist must have called for reinforcements! Brothers, hold on! Our reinforcements are coming!” The gatekeeper continued ot encourage the troops. But then he felt himself getting pulled again. Liu Song was starting to get angry.

“General! Look at their flags!”

“Huh?” Liu Song looked over in confusion. Amongst the approaching soldiers was someone carrying a military banner. It was clearly written Yangzhou on the banner.

“The Yangzhou Army?” No, it was not the Yangzhou Army but the Jiangdong Army who carried Yangzhou's banner. Sun Ce's army was also carrying Yangzhou's banner.

“General! Those are not our reinforcements! Those are the enemy's reinforcements!” The soldiers were crying.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” A group of soldiers came out from within Huiji and was advancing towards the North gate.

“General! What do we do now?” The soldiers all panicked. They could not even defeat the enemy in front of them and now more was appearing from behind.

“Milord. Strategist. Did you really abandon us?” Liu Song felt bitter. Nobody liked being abandoned like this.

The messenger who came to ask for reinforcements had been speaking the truth.

“Put down your weapons and surrender.” Liu Song dropped his weapons and fell to the ground. The others saw their commanding officer drop his weapon and also began to abandon theirs.

“Kill! The first one up the wall gets a hundred gold!” Lu Meng brought his men to the North gate. He even promised rewards to raise their spirits. But once they arrive, they felt like they got to the wrong place. Everyone had already dropped their weapons and were kneeling on the floor.

“They already surrendered?” Lu Meng was shocked but remained vigilant. He had some of his men open the gates to receive Sun Ce while the others would keep watch of the surrendered troops.

Once the gates were open, Sun Ce's army entered.

“Milord.” Lu Meng greeted and knelt.

“Stop calling me Lord. Marquis Wu is enough.” Sun Ce waved his hand. This courtesy cannot be given if Sun Ce wans to go to Yangzhou. Sun Ce was already being envied. If this courtesy was given as well, he would be courting death.

“Have you caught the commanding officer?” Sun Ce asked.

“Move! Quickly!” Liu Song was then quickly brought to Sun Ce.

“Liu Song?” Sun Ce recognized his as one of Yan Baihu's subordinate. He had fought against Sun Ce many times before. When Yan Baihu was defeated, Liu Song did not surrender. Sun Ce then released Liu Song. He did not expect Liu Song to appear again here.

“Marquis Wu.” Liu Song nodded.

“Why is it only you? Where is my little brother and Zhang Zhao?” Sun Ce asked. His eyes were filled with malice when he said Zhang Zhao's name.

“Them?” Liu Song laughed bitterly when the two were mentioned. “They are really not here. All of us at the North gate have been abandoned!” Liu Song said mournfully. Nobody wanted to be abandoned like this. Liu Song had served Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan faithfully. Had they told him to stay behind to guard the rear, Liu Song would have agreed. But they simply left him like this.

“Abandoned?” Sun Ce frowned. Lu Meng then explained that according to Liu Song, Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao killed a messenger asking for reinforcements for the South gate. After that, they disappeared. It was clear that they made Liu Song hold off the enemy long enough for them to escape.

“Hmph! I don't believe you can run far! Men! Throw Liu Song and the others into prison. The rest of you, follow me to the East and West gates!” Sun Ce ordered.

“Understood!” The North gates were closed again but this time the ones guarding it were Sun Ce's men.

When Sun Ce arrived at the East and West gates, he was speechless. The two families who heard news that the South gates were breached also ran way. Both gates were undefended. Some of the common people who had been trapped here were also trying to leave.

“Chase them! If they are dead I want to see their corpse. If they are alive, I want to see them dead!” Sun Ce gnashed his teeth.

“Minister Lu have already pursued them.” Lu Meng said to Sun Ce. Lu Su himself did not expect the two families to run away so quickly. Without any choice, Lu Su simply picked a gate to start pursuing from.

By the time Lu Su returned, it was already night. His men were also covered in blood. The patriach of the Hao Family were also being escorted back dejectedly, along with dozens of carts full of gold and silver.

The patriarch of the Hao Family wanted to escape but he could not escape quickly with all those goods. He was captured by Lu Su after a fierce fight.

“Marquis Wu. Long time no see.” Lu Su cupped his fist at Sun Ce.

Sun Ce felt a bit embarassed looking at Lu Su as Sun Ce was also at fault for Lu Su's current appearance. However, Lu Su's indifference to this gave Sun Ce a sense of guilt and admiration.

The troops who pursued from the other gate also returned but they did not return with good news. Unlike the Hao Family, the Cheng Family's patriarch came back as a dismembered body. If it weren't because they managed to obtain his head, they would not even be able to tell that this was the Cheng Family's patriarch.

“Did you kill him?” Lu Su frowned a little. He had hoped that catch as many of them alive as they were only useful alive. At the very least, they would be able to find their hidden properties. However, killing them would be worthless.

The officer who listened to Lu Su's words did not know Lu Su. He looked at Sun Ce in confusion. “This is Minister Lu!” Sun Ce explained to the officer.

“I greet Minister Lu. To answer your question, we did not kill him.” The officer shook his head. The Cheng Family was as greedy as the Hao Family. But while the Hao Family was escorted by his own private soldiers, the Cheng Family hired the Shanyue bandits. As a group of bandits, they would only care about you if they have shared interest. But now, the Cheng Family is powerless. On top of that, the Cheng Family were carrying lots of gold. What do bandits do? Their original job was robbing people. If you dangle gold in front them, they would obviously rob you. On top of that, these bandits cannot stay in Jiangdong anymore. So they might as well rob them and take the money to enjoy life elsewhere.

So the bandits turned on the Cheng Family's patriarch. Though he also has his own private soldiers who were stronger, the bandits had more people. In the end, the bandits killed all the men and took all the wealth and women. The youngest son of the Cheng Family was even trampled into meat paste by a horse. The body of the Cheng Family's patriarch was the most intact one.

“Sigh. What a waste.” Lu Su shook his head. The Cheng Family, the Hao Family, the Zuo Family and even the Lu Family were all connected. They were all Jiangdong nobles. Even if Liu Mang wanted to take their land, he would not do it for free. He would compensate them. Instead, they did not believe it and tried to rebel. In the end, they only reached a dead end.

Though the Cheng Family and the Hao Family were found, Sun Ce and Lu Su was still faced with a serious problem. Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao were still missing.

“Report to General Sun and Minister Lu. A tunnel was found in Zhang Zhao's residence!” An officer in charge of searching Zhang Zhao's residence ran in and reported. Sun Ce and Lu Su looked at each other for a moment before quickly rushing to Zhang Zhao's residence.