Chapter 181: The End of the Road

In the distance, black smoke was rising from the bottom of the watchtower. The soldiers on the top floor also became panicked. They shouted and aimed their crossbows in all directions.

If the bottom really catches fire, they won't be able to run away and can only sit and wait for death.

Gongsun Zan and his generals who were watching from the watchtower were all shocked. Was it that Yuan's army was using a fire attack?

Everyone immediately became puzzled. Logically speaking, this shouldn't happen. If they wanted to set fire to the watchtower, they should have piled up firewood and straw on the ground floor and set it on fire. However, there were soldiers guarding the ground floor, so how could they let the other party start a fire so easily?

If we kill all the defenders and then set the fire, wouldn't that be a waste of time?

A sharp-eyed general observed for a while and then exclaimed: "It seems that the fire did not start from the bottom of the watchtower, but was lit from the ground!

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Could it be that when Yuan Shao's army was digging a tunnel, the torches they held accidentally set the surrounding tools on fire?

After hearing this, a general laughed and said, "It's just their bad luck. They deserve it."

Tian Kai frowned, feeling that something was fishy.

The smoke coming out of the ground seemed to dissipate a little. Everyone stared at the watchtower and found that there was no movement, and they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Gongsun Zan's soldiers on the watchtower also felt relieved. They laughed loudly, drew their bows and shot arrows at Yuan's soldiers in the distance. Some of them were still shouting and jumping on the watchtower in provocation.

Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound from the bottom of the watchtower, and the building shook violently.

The soldiers upstairs were so frightened that they stood still.

The next moment, there were continuous cracking sounds at the bottom of the watchtower and it began to slowly tilt.

The soldiers above saw that the whole world seemed to be spinning. They desperately grasped the walls of the watchtower and screamed in fear.

But all this could not stop the watchtower, which was more than ten meters high, from collapsing towards the ground at an accelerated speed.

In extreme panic, the soldiers jumped out of the building one after another, falling from the sky like beans, and then fell to the ground in bloody flowers.

Finally, the watchtower collapsed with a loud bang, leaving a deep trench on the ground, with wood chips and bricks flying everywhere and stirring up a large cloud of smoke.

Several small watchtowers that were affected were either completely crushed or knocked askew by the flying bricks. The people inside were instantly buried underneath and disappeared in the smoke and dust.

The loud noise of the tower collapsing spread throughout Yijing. Gongsun Zan's subordinates turned pale, and someone asked, "Did the foundation collapse, or is the tower itself unstable?"

"If it's the former, how did they do it?"

Yuan Shao's army did not give them time to think. An hour later, another watchtower collapsed.

Two hours later, there was another one.

Hearing the screams of soldiers coming from afar, everyone realized that Yuan's army must have mastered the method of digging down the watchtower!

Why, aren't they afraid of death?

The spies who came later to report the news resolved their doubts.

The spy saw with his own eyes that Yuan's army dug up the foundation of the watchtower, then supported it with thick tree trunks, and then dug up the surrounding soil.

In this way, the weight of the watchtower was supported by the tree trunk. At this time, Yuan's soldiers piled straw and firewood around the tree trunk, poured tung oil on it and set it on fire.

As the tree trunks are burned, there is nothing left to support the bottom of the watchtower, and the watchtower will lose balance and fall down!

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Yuan Jun's method was so vicious that their hope of using the watchtower to suppress Yuan Jun was completely dashed!

It looks like all the watchtowers will be dug down within three days!

The generals secretly looked at Gongsun Zan and found that he had no expression on his face and no reaction. They sighed in their hearts.

Is the former White Horse General finally coming to the end of his road?

The next day, Gongsun Zan's army was defeated by Yuan's underground ground offensive, and loud noises of watchtowers collapsing were heard in the city.

When a watchtower collapsed, it smashed a watchtower next to it. The flying debris of the watchtower bounced and rolled on the ground and hit the watchtower where Gongsun Zan was.

The watchtower shook a few times, and everyone steadied themselves and breathed a sigh of relief when they found that it did not collapse.

One of the generals shouted, "General, lead us out and fight them!"

"Yes, let's fight!"

"General, we will protect you and help you break out!"

However, despite the noise from the crowd, Gongsun Zan remained indifferent and no one knew what he was thinking.

Guan Jing stood up at this time, he walked behind Gongsun Zan, prostrated himself on the ground and bowed deeply.

"That day I suggested that the general stay in Yijing, which turned out to be a big mistake. This is Jing's fault. Today I will repay the general with my own life."

He strode down the stairs, and with several bodyguards, he rushed into the crowd of Yuan's army with swords in hand. Then, like a stone thrown into a pond, he was instantly submerged.

Everyone turned to Gongsun Zan. Tian Kai took two steps forward and heard Gongsun Zan speak.

"Bring my family up here, and surrender to Yuan Shao."

"He values ​​his reputation and will certainly accept you. Go ahead."

As soon as these words came out, all the generals knelt down and shouted, "We will die for you, General!"

Gongsun Zan waved his hand and said no more.

The generals looked at each other, and some of them began to become active.

They have done their best. Seeing Gongsun Zan in this state, do they really want to accompany him to death?

Yuan Shao was sitting in the tent, with Yuan Xi and several other advisers standing below him.

The three generals of Gongsun Zan were brought up, and Yuan Shao asked, "Are you willing to surrender?"

Two of them said in unison: "We are willing to surrender!"

Yuan Shao nodded and said, "I will definitely not treat you unfairly. Go down first."

After the two generals left, the remaining general remained silent, so Ju Su said to him, "My lord asked you a question, why didn't you speak?"

The general did reach his hand into his arms. Zhang He and Yuan Xi reacted very quickly and suddenly stood in front of Yuan Shao, only to see the general take out a dagger.

The guards at the side were immediately panicked. They didn't know how this person hid and managed to avoid their body search!

Yuan Xi and Zhang He looked at each other and held the hilts of their swords. They were not panicked at all. To them who were wearing armor, the opponent's short sword did not pose any threat at all.

Amid the threats from the crowd, the general under Gongsun Zan remained calm and clasped his fists towards Yuan Shao, saying, "I came here not to surrender, but to advise you. If you can spare General Gongsun's life, I will be grateful."

After saying this, he picked up the dagger with his backhand, stabbed it into his heart, and fell to the ground dead.

Everyone was stunned when they saw this. Yuan Shao sighed and said, "This man is loyal. Take him away and give him a proper burial."

The guards carried the body of Gongsun Zan's general out, and everyone fell silent for a moment.

Yuan Shao sighed again: "Gongsun Zan has such generals, but he can't treat them well. He has failed them."

Yuan Xi sighed inwardly, this general is indeed loyal, but if this happens, wouldn't Yuan Shao be even more wary of Gongsun Zan?

He stepped out, cupped his hands and said, "I am willing to persuade Gongsun Zan to surrender on behalf of my lord."

Ju Su shook his head and thought to himself that Yuan Xi was stupid. Couldn't he see what Yuan Shao was thinking?

As expected, Yuan Shao hesitated for a while and said, "The city is too dangerous. What if Gongsun Zan becomes desperate and does something bad to you?"

Yuan Xi said, "I heard that the Yun Tower in the city is about to be completed. I am on the rooftop, away from Gongsun Zan, and I have guards protecting me, so I should be fine."

"If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility."

Ju Su cursed in his heart, this boy is so stupid!

Seeing Yuan Xi's insistence, Yuan Shao said, "Well, I'll write a letter to persuade him to surrender, and you can give it to him for me."

Yuan Xi came out of the tent with a scroll of silk book, found Tian Yu, and said, "It's time for me to fulfill my promise to you."

"I have persuaded my father to surrender General Gongsun, but whether he is willing or not is not up to me to decide."

Tian Yu didn't expect that Yuan Xi actually got the job done. He hadn't had any hope before and thought it was just Yuan Xi's casual remark!

He bowed and said solemnly, "Young Master, you must keep your word. Yu Ming is deeply grateful."

Yuan Xi had Zhao Yun called back and told him his plan, saying, "Brother Zilong, do you want to end things with Gongsun Zan?"

Zhao Yun hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "As you wish, sir."

Taishi Ci said from the side, "I will go too, in case the enemy archers have ill intentions and attack you in a bad way."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "With the two of you in charge, there is really nothing to be afraid of."

Sun Li raised his hand and asked, "What about me? What about me?"

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Put on your armor and block the arrows for me."

Everyone laughed after hearing this. Seeing that the situation had been settled, they felt relieved.

Tian Yu, however, was in a heavy mood. Tian Kai was so stubborn that he would definitely follow Gongsun Zan. If he could persuade Gongsun Zan, he could also save Tian Kai's life.

But is it really possible?

In Yijing City, dozens of watchtowers collapsed, leaving only the highest watchtower in the center, which was crumbling.

Hou's face was pale. She hugged the baby tightly and knelt on the ground begging, "Please, my husband, please give him a chance to live for the sake of his young age!"

Gongsun Zan loosened the rope in his hand, and the corpse in front of him fell heavily to the ground.

This was Gongsun Zan's eldest sister, who had just been strangled to death by him.

In the corner nearby were a dozen or so of Gongsun Zan's family members, all with expressionless faces, as if they had already accepted their fate.

There was only one scholar in his twenties or thirties with his hands tied and an angry look in his eyes.

Gongsun Zan turned to Hou and said calmly, "It's all over."

"They can let my subordinates go, but they won't let you and me go."

"If you don't dare to die, I will come to help you."

Hou shook her head and said, "I have nothing to be afraid of, but the child..."

Gongsun Zan growled, "What child? Do you think they will let my child survive?"

Hou's lips trembled, and her fingers that were tightly holding the swaddling clothes slowly loosened. She staggered forward a few steps and was about to speak.

Suddenly, a voice came from a distance, "Yuan Benchu's sons Yuan Xi and Yuan Xianyi want to see the Marquis of Ji."

"I brought a letter for my father. Please take a look, Lord Ji."

Everyone, including Gongsun Zan, turned their heads to look out the window. They saw a tall cloud tower being slowly approached by the soldiers below.

Standing on the cloud tower were several generals, led by a heroic young man who stepped forward with a scroll of silk book in his hand.

He stood on the cloud tower and asked loudly, "Could the Marquis of Ji show himself?"

"My father promised that if the Marquis of Ji were to bow down, he would be treated as a guest of honor!"