After leaving Liu Yu's residence and returning to his own place, Gongsun Zan looked at the ruins that had once been his home. His face twisted in rage. The little bit of rationality he had left was gone, replaced by pure anger. The fire of fury blazed in his chest, fueling his reckless resolve.
"Let's go! To the military camp!" Gongsun Zan stood in front of his collapsed courtyard, took a deep breath, and then mounted his horse, heading straight for the camp outside the city.
"Gongsun Bogui went to the camp?" Yan Rou was stunned at first, then overjoyed. This was the perfect excuse for him to act! Now he could strike first, and with Gongsun Zan outside the city, there would be no need to worry about civilian casualties. Surrounding Gongsun Zan with an army of over ten thousand would make victory certain.
With this thought, Yan Rou decided not to report to Liu Yu. In his view, Liu Yu was too merciful and would undoubtedly leave Gongsun Zan a way out, which would do nothing to truly punish a man as unrepentant as Gongsun Zan. No, only by eliminating Gongsun Zan once and for all could the threat be removed.
"If you don't kill the snake, it'll bite you back," Yan Rou thought, a cruel gleam flashing in his eyes. Since Liu Yu couldn't make the tough decision, he would do it for him. If the Han court blamed him, he'd flee north to the Hu people. Better that than allowing Gongsun Zan to escape again.
[That's it! I'll take this opportunity to rid my lord of this scourge today!] Yan Rou made up his mind and began issuing orders to prepare for the assault.
"Greetings, my lord!" Zou Dan saluted Gongsun Zan with a bow.
Gongsun Zan glanced at Zou Dan without a word and proceeded to the main tent with his subordinates.
"Sherqi, what's going on?" Zou Dan asked quietly after getting up, pulling Guan Jing aside.
Guan Jing sighed and recounted everything that had happened earlier. By the time he finished, Zou Dan's hair stood on end, his eyes bloodshot with fury. A loyal servant must stand by his lord in times of humiliation, and Zou Dan was enraged beyond measure.
As soon as Gongsun Zan sat down in the tent, Zou Dan knelt before him, his forehead touching the ground, and spoke with tearful eyes, "My lord, I request to fight to the death! I have always believed that when the lord is anxious, the servant must work; when the lord is humiliated, the servant must die. Now that you have been insulted, I feel it deeply and am willing to fight to the death!"
Zou Dan's sincerity was unmistakable. Every lord had his die-hard loyalists, and Zou Dan was one of Gongsun Zan's. The insults from Gan Ning and Liu Yu had driven Zou Dan to a boiling point, and he was consumed with a desire for vengeance.
After Zou Dan spoke, the others could not remain silent. They all rose and shouted, "We request to fight!"
Though Gongsun Zan was seething with rage, he had not lost his senses. They were in Zhuo County, Liu Yu's stronghold, where the local forces numbered over ten thousand, while he had barely a thousand veterans. How could they win such a battle?
"Stand down! We'll deal with this matter later!" Gongsun Zan immediately rejected their proposal. Despite his earlier confusion, he still retained a shred of his former White Horse General dignity.
"My lord!" Zou Dan cried, kneeling and weeping.
Guan Jing helped Zou Dan to his feet and led him out of the camp, fearing that Zou Dan might face punishment from Gongsun Zan. After all, it was clear to anyone with eyes that Gongsun Zan was no match for Liu Yu at the moment—the disparity in their forces was simply too great.
Once outside, Zou Dan said nothing more. He quietly strapped on his sword and walked toward the rear of the camp.
That night, Yan Rou, defying Liu Yu's orders, led his troops to surround Gongsun Zan's camp. Upon hearing the news, Gan Ning and Taishi Ci were stunned.
"Ziyi, what should we do now?" Gan Ning asked as he sat in the restaurant, looking out at the large group of torches in the distance. "Gongsun Bogui wanted to kill Liu Bo'an, and we were supposed to save Liu Bo'an. But now, Liu Bo'an is clearly stronger than Gongsun Bogui. If he's trying to kill Gongsun Bogui, what should we do?"
"This..." Taishi Ci was equally dumbfounded. Liu Bei's orders were to prevent Gongsun Zan from making any mistakes and to take Liu Yu back when the opportunity arose. But now, the situation was reversed—Liu Yu was about to kill Gongsun Zan?
"It seems even the strategist isn't infallible. Gongsun Bogui didn't manage to kill Liu Bo'an, and now he's about to be killed by Liu Bo'an instead," Gan Ning said with a helpless shrug, mimicking Chen Xi's nonchalant attitude. This was beyond his responsibility, so he could only sit back and watch the spectacle. After all, Gongsun Zan's life or death had nothing to do with him.
"Let's wait and see. They've already formed ranks. I can't just charge in alone," Taishi Ci said, resigned. "We'll have to hope that General Gongsun is lucky. If he survives, I might help him out." Taishi Ci was clearly opting for self-preservation.
"Smart!" Gan Ning gave him a thumbs-up.
"Gongsun Zan, surrender quickly! I will spare your life and escort you to the capital to face the emperor. But if you resist, you will be killed without mercy!" Yan Rou, mounted on his horse, rode up to Gongsun Zan's camp and shouted. As for sparing Gongsun Zan's life—what a joke. If Gongsun Zan surrendered, Yan Rou would immediately break his promise to eliminate the threat for good.
"Let Liu Bo'an come out and meet me! I don't trust your words!" Gongsun Zan, though starting to waver, still retained enough sense to know that he couldn't surrender to Yan Rou. If he were to surrender, it should be to Liu Yu.
"Hahaha, my lord is busy with the affairs of the state. Do you think a traitor like you can demand to see him whenever you please? Gongsun Zan, I ask you one more time—will you surrender or not?" Yan Rou taunted, showing no mercy.
"Let Liu Bo'an come out and meet me!" Gongsun Zan, despite being in a position of weakness, still clung to a shred of pride. Even someone as proud as he had to bow in such circumstances.
"It seems you refuse to surrender. All troops, charge!" Yan Rou sneered and, with no real battle experience, foolishly gave the order for an all-out assault.
"Yan Rou, prepare to die!" At that moment, Zou Dan, who had been planning to assassinate Liu Yu that night, hurled a spear with all his might at Yan Rou.
Yan Rou, seeing the spear flying directly at him, was terrified. Having never experienced battle, he didn't think to deflect it with his sword. Instead, he instinctively used a technique he'd learned from the Hu people—he dismounted his horse with a swift roll!
While Yan Rou dodged the spear, the banner behind him wasn't so lucky. The spear pierced straight through it, snapping the banner in two.
For a well-trained army, a banner would be as strong as steel after extensive care and maintenance. But Liu Yu's troops had hardly trained at all, so their banner was as brittle as rotting wood, easily shattered by Zou Dan's spear.
This sight stunned everyone into silence. Then, with a mighty roar, Zou Dan shouted, "Enemy general Yan Rou is dead! Follow me to kill the enemy!" He leaped out of the camp, his blade slicing through several soldiers, and Gongsun Zan's troops, seeing this, were suddenly emboldened. The few hundred men Zou Dan had gathered to assassinate Liu Yu tore through Liu Yu's army like tigers among sheep.
Within moments, Liu Yu's troops began to flee in panic. Before Yan Rou could react, a full-scale rout had begun. Cries of terror echoed through the night as Liu Yu's soldiers desperately tried to escape, some even wishing they had more legs to run with!
Gan Ning nearly spat out his drink at the sight. Could Liu Yu's army be any more pathetic? Could they be any more disgraceful? He exchanged a glance with Taishi Ci, and they both saw the wry smile in each other's eyes. At this rate, Liu Yu was doomed!