Chapter 386 Internal and External Cooperation

In the military camp outside the city, Yuan Yao held the secret letter and said with a smile: "This Wei Xu is a man who knows the current situation."

"Today, quite a few people died in order to cooperate with his performance, but it was worth it."

"As long as we can open the city gate, the thousands of soldiers inside will be ours. It's still a profit!"

Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui looked at each other and thought that more than 2,000 people were killed or injured in the daytime siege, which was not a small number. Although most of them were injured, most of them would not survive.

Whether it was burns from gold juice, or limbs broken and internal organs injured by the pestle, they were basically left to fend for themselves. After about half a month, they would die one after another. Even if they survived, they could not go to the battlefield.

The least valuable thing in this world is human life. Yuan Xi's extravagant behavior of specially equipping a considerable number of battlefield doctors is, if not unique among the princes, quite rare.

This is also the reason why Yuan Xi's soldiers have high morale. The logistics can be guaranteed, and the chance of survival after being injured can be increased. The soldiers will work together and have few worries.

Of course, there are a lot of extra costs, from herbs to medical supplies.

Although these practices were not ahead of the times, and other princes certainly had the same idea, it all came down to money.

Yuan Xi's decision to go for elite troops was also well considered. It was not that he could not muster a force of tens of thousands of people, as Youzhou had plenty of them, but that there was no need.

These soldiers can indeed conquer many small cities, but the militarism brings many negative effects. For example, a large number of soldiers will empty the food reserves in the territory, the people will not have enough food, and the harvest will be affected, which will affect the combat effectiveness of the soldiers. The poorer the country, the easier it is to lose the battle, and the more battles they lose, the poorer they become, thus falling into a vicious circle.

This is the case with the tens of thousands of troops Yuan Shu mobilized this time.

The main purpose was to gain military merit and build momentum for Yuan Yao. As for such a long expedition, the number of soldiers and civilians recruited, and the amount of food transported, to Yuan Shu, it was just a few tens of thousands of pigs.

Yuan Yao was extremely happy at this moment. His first military expedition went so smoothly!

The city was captured in one day, and the army of Marquis Wen was defeated. After this battle, I will become famous throughout the world like that ferocious tiger, right?

Thinking of the hateful look of Xionghu on the city wall today, Yuan Yao gnashed his teeth in hatred. They were all of similar age, but Xionghu had become increasingly famous in the past two years. Even the subordinates and generals under Yuan Shu, when talking about Xionghu, there were many sighs in their words and awe on their faces.

After all, those he had defeated were all famous generals and overlords in the world, which was definitely not something ordinary people could achieve.

But this man won't be able to jump around for long. Wei Xu will definitely capture Yuan Xi alive and then open the city gate to welcome him into the city. At that time, he will have to kill or chop up the ferocious tiger. It will only take a word for him, right?

Seeing Yuan Yao's happy look, Qiao Rui couldn't help but say, "Sir, it's better to be careful. What if the other side is pretending to surrender?"

"I hope you will think twice, lest you fall into the enemy's trap."

After hearing this, Yuan Yao was a little unhappy and said, "Mr. Qiao is still worrying too much."

"Today, Wei Xu sent the most elite Xianzhen Camp out to die. If he didn't want to show his sincerity, why would he do this?"

"Besides, he was surrounded by my army. How could he have the guts to lie to me?"

"If he lied to me, isn't he afraid that I will kill them all after I break into the city?"

"Or is it because Mr. Qiao is afraid and doesn't dare to enter the city to provide support?"

"Then I'll let Zhang Xun go instead!"

Qiao Rui heard this and broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly said, "I have absolutely no such intention. Please understand me, sir."

Zhang Xun saw this and said, "Mrs. Qiao died early, and she still has a young son to take care of. Let me go."

After hearing this, Yuan Yao became even more unhappy and sneered, "You two are very loyal. I know that the one you respect the most is Sun Ce, right?"

"Especially Mr. Qiao, he always praises the fierce tiger of Jiangdong in front of others, right?" When Yuan Yao said the word fierce tiger, his face became even more unhappy, and everyone called him a tiger!

"Is it true that in Mr. Qiao's mind, Sun Ce is more powerful than his father?"

After hearing this, the two men immediately knelt down and said, "We are loyal to you, my Lord, and we have no second thoughts!"

Qiao Rui kowtowed and said, "I am willing to lead the way for you, sir, and help you!"

When Yuan Yao saw this, he laughed with satisfaction on his face. He thought to himself that his father was about to become emperor, but these people were still so ignorant of the current situation. He had to give them a good beating!

He stepped forward and helped the two of them up, saying, "Since it was all a misunderstanding, it's all over. From now on, we, the master and the servant, will work together to conquer the world!"

He spoke with great ambition and Zhang Xunqiaorui smiled but sighed in his heart.

Yuan Yao's performance was too clumsy. First giving a slap and then giving a sweet treat was indeed a tactic commonly used by a lord, but Yuan Yao used too much force. The previous beating seemed too much like a threat, and the subsequent comforting was illusory, as if it were said in vain.

A thought arose in Qiao Rui's mind: Yuan Shu and his son are far worse than Sun Ce!

Not to mention that Sun Ce was indeed not nice to many aristocratic families, but he was charismatic and sincere to others, which is not something that can be learned simply by imitating.

Yuan Yao, however, was completely unaware of this. He held their hands and asked about their well-being, which made Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui look even more embarrassed.

Suddenly, a soldier ran in quickly, holding a scroll of silk, and said, "An arrow was shot out from the city, and there is a secret letter tied to it!"

After hearing this, Yuan Yao quickly took the silk book from the soldier, unfolded it and read it carefully. Then he was overjoyed and shouted, "It's done!"

He threw the silk letter to Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui, who hurriedly took it and read it. They saw that the letter said that the matter had been accomplished and the evil tiger had been caught!

At present, the city gate has been temporarily controlled, but Chen Gong and Gao Shun seem to be alert and are gathering soldiers to retake the city gate.

Right now Wei Xu is leading his soldiers to resist at the city gate, hoping that Yuan Yaojun will enter the city as soon as possible to support and assist in defeating Chen Gong and Gao Shun. If Yuan Yaojun receives a secret letter asking him to start a fire outside the city as a signal, Wei Xu will open the city gate immediately!

Yuan Yao was overjoyed and said, "This is a great opportunity!"

"Mobilize all the troops. General Qiao will be the vanguard and lead 5,000 soldiers into the city. General Zhang will lead 5,000 soldiers to guard the city gates to prevent the enemy from escaping. I will support the two of you in the center!"

After hearing this, Zhang Xunqiao Rui immediately bowed and accepted the order.

Soon, Yuan Yao's army approached the gate of Huaicheng at night, and they heard the sound of fighting behind the gate, and the clash of weapons sounded like dense rain.

Qiao Rui shouted: "Light the fire!"

Three thousand soldiers lit the torches in their hands in unison, piled the straw and firewood from dozens of baggage carts together, poured tung oil on them and set them on fire. Flames seven or eight feet high rose up in an instant.

The flames suddenly illuminated the city walls, but the people below heard shouting and cursing from the top of the city walls. They looked closely and saw a man tied up and hanging outside the city wall, cursing loudly.

Qiao Rui looked carefully and saw that this was the ferocious tiger on the city wall during the day.

When he saw this man, he felt quite complicated. He didn't expect that this guy was so famous that even he was captured by him. He didn't expect that today he would be called and fall into the hands of a rebel general.

Thinking about how the other party let him go back, even though he might not have had good intentions, he still owed him a favor. But Yuan Yao hated this person to the core and wanted to kill him as soon as possible. It seemed that he could not repay this favor.

The city gate slowly opened, and Qiao Rui saw the two sides fighting at the gate. It was very chaotic. For a moment he was still hesitant, always feeling that something was not right.

The soldier who was gathering information told Yuan Yao about the situation inside the city. Yuan Yao was extremely excited and shouted, "Let Qiao Rui enter the city as soon as possible!"

After hearing the order, Qiao Rui shouted, "Follow me into the city. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

He waved his hand, rode his horse and rushed into the city, and the soldiers behind him poured in like a tide.

Qiao Rui rushed to the city gate and unconsciously looked up at Yuan Xi who was hanging above. After a moment's hesitation, he rode his horse and rushed in.

The soldiers who were fighting in the city were clearly divided into two groups. When one group saw Qiao Rui and his men rushing in, they immediately turned around and fled in all directions.

When the other group saw Qiao Rui's army, they quickly waved and greeted them, and automatically made way on both sides of the city gate to let them in.

Qiao Rui rushed in on horseback, commanding his men to chase the fleeing soldiers. Before they knew it, they had rushed into the long street in the arena. It was pitch black everywhere, and there was no trace of the soldiers who had escaped earlier.

He turned his horse's head and suddenly felt something bad happen.

Why is it so quiet?

When they broke into the city, there would definitely be no sound. It is possible that the people were afraid and dared not make a sound, but what about the cats, dogs, chickens and ducks?

The next moment, a horn sounded, and a dense rain of arrows shot out from the houses on both sides!

Qiao Rui jumped off his horse and dodged immediately. The horse under his crotch was shot into a hedgehog, and the soldiers behind him screamed and fell to the ground.

Qiao Rui immediately realized that he had fallen into a trap!

He shouted, "Get out of the city!"

At this time, dense crowds of soldiers emerged from all directions. Qiao Rui drew his ring-handled sword and shouted, "Follow me!"

He turned around and retreated with his soldiers, and collided with the soldiers who had come in earlier, causing chaos. However, Qiao Rui could not care less. The only plan now was to retreat from the city first!

He was surrounded by soldiers. He pushed the panicked soldiers away with all his might and ran towards the city gate, but he saw hundreds of soldiers in armor flashing coldly, standing in neat formation in front of him.

The leading general raised his sword, pointed at Qiao Rui and said, "Gao Shun from the Xianzhen Camp."

"Put down your weapons and I will spare your life!"

When Qiao Rui heard Gao Shun's name, his heart sank. He then saw the city gate behind him closing again. He knew that he would have no chance of getting out unless he defeated the trap camp in front of him!

He raised his sword and shouted, "Kill them!"

When Zhang Xun outside the city saw the city gate was closed, he knew something bad was going to happen. He ordered his soldiers to charge forward and attack the city gate. However, a shout was heard from the top of the city wall, and dense groups of soldiers popped up, and battering rams and arrows rained down like raindrops.

Zhang Xun's army had no siege equipment for protection and suffered heavy casualties. He gritted his teeth and ordered his soldiers to hold on, because he knew that if they didn't break the city gate, Qiao Rui inside would be finished!

Yuan Xi was on the top of the city wall, and was quite surprised to see the enemy attacking the city gate so desperately. He knew that there were not many soldiers in the city. If Yuan Shu's army filled the city with people recklessly, the city gate might really be unable to be blocked!

He frowned, and a plan came to his mind. He ordered his men to cut off the head of a dead enemy soldier, put it on a long pole on the top of the city wall, and then let the soldiers shout: "The enemy general is dead! The enemy general is dead!"

When Zhang Xun, who was standing outside the city, saw this, he immediately became panic-stricken. He saw that the man had loose hair, and how could he see clearly at night?

Yuan Yao heard the shouting. He saw that there were heavy casualties outside the city. He thought that the city was finished, and now people outside the city were going to be destroyed. How could he face his father?

He was also panicked at this time, and hurriedly ordered his men to sound the horn to retreat. After hearing this, Zhang Xun sighed and led his troops to retreat.

He was riding on his horse and looked back at the top of the city wall. He just saw the ferocious tiger sticking its head out, revealing its extremely hateful face, and waving at him.

Zhang Xun felt depressed. No matter whether Qiao Rui in the city was dead or alive, it seemed that this was the second time he had been defeated by Yuan Xi.

If I didn't know the strength of the ferocious tiger the first time, then the second time, I was simply forced into the trap.