Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1154 The Oriole Waits for the Cicada, Lü Meng is Executed

When Lü Meng and Xu Sheng led their remaining troops out of the north gate, Shuxian County was already in complete chaos. The sounds of Xiliang cavalry hooves, the clang of clashing weapons, and the cries of the people mingled together, audible from afar. The two reined in their horses and looked back. The flames from the south gate had already ignited half of the city wall, turning it red. The city they had defended for half a month was now like a punctured beehive, completely disorganized.

"Count the men!" Lu Meng ordered in a hoarse voice, his knuckles turning white from the force. The guards hurriedly counted, and reported back a moment later: "General, those who can keep up... are about 20,000 men."

With nearly 10,000 of his 30,000 elite troops lost, Lü Meng felt a tightness in his chest, almost vomiting blood. He pounded his horse's back, the iron hooves kicking up mud: "If it weren't for that bastard Lü Dai tricking us into opening the city gates, with Zhou Yu's small force, I could have held out for two months using the city's inhabitants as a shield!" He had calculated everything—the amount of rolling stones and logs, the escape route through the underground channels, even the timing of the enemy's possible surprise attack—but he hadn't anticipated that his own men would stab him in the back.

"That traitor Zhou Yu!" Xu Sheng spat, blood seeping from his shoulder wound, but he didn't bother to bandage it. "Fortunately, our elite troops are still intact. Losing Shucheng is nothing. Hurry back to Moling and meet up with Zhang Gong. If all else fails, we'll follow Mr. Zibu's previous plan, withdraw from Nanhai County, and then devise a plan for the future!"

Lu Meng shook his head, his brows furrowing. "Do you think they can easily coerce Lu Dai? I'm afraid things have already changed in Moling. If that old fox Zhang Zhao really wanted to help me, why would he only send someone like Lu Dai?" He turned his horse around and looked southeast. "We're not going back to Moling. We're heading straight for the South China Sea!"

Xu Sheng was taken aback, then realized—if something had truly happened in Moling, returning would be like walking into a trap. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll listen to the general!"

The 20,000 remaining soldiers dared not delay and marched swiftly north under the cover of night. The wind in the forest carried a chill, making their armor feel cold. No one noticed that several dark shadows flashed like ghosts on the treetops above, quietly trailing behind the column.

As they reached a narrow mountain pass, their path was suddenly blocked by a snapped tree trunk. Lü Meng's heart skipped a beat, and just as he was about to order a defensive stance, a deafening battle cry erupted from the dense forest on either side!

"Lu Meng, you scoundrel! Spare your life!"

Taishi Ci's roar pierced the night, followed by a barrage of arrows raining down. Pang De led his ambush troops out from the left, the thunderous hooves of the Xiliang cavalry shaking the mountain valley; on the right slope, Gan Ning's navy had already drawn their bows and nocked their arrows, the tips gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

"We've fallen into their trap!" Lu Meng swung his sword to deflect the arrows, his voice filled with despair. He had planned everything meticulously, but he hadn't expected that the enemy had even calculated their escape route so precisely.

The crisp sound of blades clashing was deafening. Lü Meng parried Taishi Ci's spear with a backhand, and using the momentum of his horse, he sidestepped the spear tip. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the ambush troops around him had been scattered by his own personal guards. These people were just stragglers who had not experienced any real battles. Their swordsmanship was chaotic and their formation was loose. Dragging it out any longer would be a waste of energy.

"Xu Sheng! Don't get entangled with them!" Lu Meng shouted, his blade sliding down the spear shaft, forcing Taishi Ci's wrist to go numb. "Charge out!"

Taishi Ci, however, seemed to have identified him, twirling his spear and relentlessly pursuing him. "Lu Meng, you scoundrel! You shot me with a sneak attack that day, today is the perfect time to settle that score!" His left arm was wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage, but his movements were anything but slow; the tip of his spear flicked like a venomous snake, each strike aimed at Lu Meng's vital points.

The two exchanged blows for thirty or forty rounds, and Lü Meng grew increasingly alarmed—this fellow was fighting despite his injuries, yet he could still maintain such an offensive; he truly was a formidable general. He feinted with his sword and took a half-step back: "Xu Sheng! What are you all standing there for?!"

Xu Sheng, who had just cut down two ambushers, immediately turned his horse around upon hearing this and thrust his long spear straight at Taishi Ci's back. Taishi Ci, however, was prepared. He turned around and forced Xu Sheng back with a single spear thrust, then turned to fight Lü Meng, managing to hold his own against two opponents.

Just then, the earth suddenly trembled, dust billowed in the distance, and the sound of horses' hooves thundered.

Amidst the billowing dust, the banner bearing the character "Horse" pierced the clouds like thunder. Four thousand Xiliang cavalrymen trampled the morning dew, their thunderous hooves shaking the very valleys. Taishi Ci caught sight of the figure in silver armor and white robes, and his blood surged. He swung his spear, forcing Lü Meng back, and roared, "The King of Liang is here! Lü Meng, you scoundrel, surrender now!"

Lu Meng's heart sank, and his sword strike faltered slightly. He watched as the iron cavalry surged into the battle like a tidal wave, the ambush troops were thrown into disarray, and his own soldiers were swept up in the chaos, their formation instantly crumbling. "Retreat! Retreat north quickly!" he roared, turning his horse around. His blade cleaved through two ambushers blocking his path, but Taishi Ci held him firmly—the other man seemed to have exhausted his last strength, his spear tip like a lock, rendering Lu Meng unable to move.

"Trying to leave? Too late!" Taishi Ci's left arm wound reopened, blood soaking half of his armor, yet he grinned menacingly. "Today, you will pay for my arrow wound with your life!"

Ma Chao's iron cavalry had already cut into the melee like sharp blades, tearing apart Lü Meng's army's formation with their first charge. Wherever their iron hooves trampled, severed limbs and fragments of weapons mingled together, and the Xiliang cavalry's spears swept across, felling the fleeing soldiers from their horses. "Split!" Ma Chao swung his silver spear, and his iron cavalry instantly split into three groups, charging left and right, cutting the battlefield into several pieces, and then crushing them one by one.

Seeing the situation was dire, Xu Sheng charged at Ma Chao with his spear, trying to buy Lü Meng a way out: "You treacherous general, stop your madness!" Ma Chao, however, didn't say a word to him. His tiger-headed golden spear flashed, the tip drawing a cold arc in the morning light. In just three exchanges, he knocked Xu Sheng's spear away, and by the fifth exchange, the spear tip was already pressed against Xu Sheng's throat. Xu Sheng groaned and was knocked off his horse. His guards rushed forward to drag him away, but were trampled into a bloody pulp by the following cavalry.

Lu Meng watched helplessly as Xu Sheng fell from his horse, his heart pounding with fear. He desperately forced Taishi Ci back and fled on his horse. Taishi Ci, however, was relentless, using the momentum of his horse to charge forward. His injured left arm gripped the saddle tightly, while his right arm thrust his spear straight at Lu Meng—the spear tip pierced the wind and precisely stabbed into Lu Meng's back.

"Ugh—" Lu Meng cried out in pain, tumbling off his horse. As he landed, he turned his head to look north, his eyes filled with resentment.

Taishi Ci pulled out his blood-stained spear, staggered to his feet, looked at Lü Meng's corpse, suddenly coughed up blood, and then burst into laughter.

The battlefield had become a carnage, with the Xiliang cavalry charging repeatedly and crushing the remaining resistance. Of the 20,000 soldiers brought by Lü Meng, some were dead and some were wounded. The rest, seeing their commander dead, lost all will to fight and threw down their weapons to kneel and surrender. A dark mass of them knelt in pools of blood, trembling in fear.

Ma Chao reined in his horse, his silver spear planted firmly on the ground, drops of blood from the spear tip spreading across the dust. He looked at the mess on the ground, then glanced at Taishi Ci, who was panting and leaning on his spear, and said calmly, "Withdraw the troops and take inventory of the prisoners."

The streets and alleys of Shucheng had shed the ravages of battle. The soldiers guarding the city had been replaced by Zhou Yu's personal guards, who were patrolling methodically. Although the people still looked shaken, they dared to push open half a door and peek out to look at "Zhou Lang," who had reclaimed his homeland. When Ma Chao led his troops into the city, he saw several old men holding freshly steamed rice cakes, stuffing them into the hands of the soldiers. The scene warmed his heart—Zhou Yu, after all, still cared for his hometown.

A victory banquet had already been prepared inside the city lord's mansion. Amidst the clinking of glasses and the laughter of the soldiers, the lanterns hanging from the beams swayed gently. Zhou Yu raised his wine cup, his gaze sweeping over the assembled heroes before finally settling on Ma Chao, his eyes filled with genuine warmth: "Brother, this first cup is for you. If it weren't for your 'inside-outside' plan, Shucheng would probably have been dragged into a sea of ​​fire by that scoundrel Lü Meng."

Ma Chao smiled, clinked glasses with him, and drank it all in one gulp: "Gongjin, what are you saying? We are one, there's no need to distinguish between us."

After a couple of drinks, Ma Chao gave Zhou Yu a wink, and the two of them, under the pretext of changing clothes, left the noisy main hall and went to the warm pavilion in the back garden.

“Brother, do you know,” Zhou Yu poured him a cup of hot tea, his fingertips gently tracing the rim of the cup, “that scoundrel Lü Meng threatened to burn the city to the ground if it fell. If you hadn’t had Pang De seize the city gate in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.” His tone still carried lingering fear; Shucheng was the place where he was born and raised, and every brick and tile held a special place in his heart.

Ma Chao held the teacup, feeling the warmth on his fingertips: "Gongjin, rest assured, Shucheng is now in our hands, and the people will be at peace. As for Moling, most of the powerful families have fled to the South China Sea with their valuables, and I'm afraid you'll have to deal with that in the future."

He paused, looked into Zhou Yu's eyes, and added, "And as for the Sun family, the old lady has already learned the whole story from the secret letter—she knows the truth about Bo Fu's murder."

Zhou Yu's hand holding the teacup trembled violently, splashing scalding tea onto his fingertips, but he was oblivious. His Adam's apple bobbed for a long while before he let out a long sigh: "In the end... we're too late." He gazed at the deep night outside the window, his voice filled with an indescribable sense of loss, "I wonder if Bo Fu, if he were alive, would blame us brothers for not being able to clear his name sooner."

Ma Chao also fell silent, recalling Sun Ce's former glory as he rode through Jiangdong with great vigor, and looking at the current precarious situation, he felt a tightness in his chest. "The dead are gone," he patted Zhou Yu's shoulder, "What we can do is protect what he left behind."

“You’re right.” Zhou Yu took a deep breath, and the melancholy in his eyes gradually turned into determination. “Sun Shao is still in Wu County. We need to bring the child back first.”

“I have already made arrangements,” Ma Chao nodded. “Once the situation stabilizes, we will bring him back to Shucheng. It will be perfectly legitimate to support him as our leader. As for those scattered remnants of aristocratic families, we will have to trouble you, Gongjin, to put in more effort.”

Zhou Yu picked up his teacup and tapped it against Ma Chao's from a distance. The soft sound of the porcelain cups clashing echoed in the warm pavilion. "Brother, rest assured, I will sort out the chaos in Jiangdong bit by bit." He pinched the handle of the cup with his fingertips, his gaze darkening. He changed the subject, "But... now that the truth about Bo Fu's death is clear, what should we do with Sun Quan?"

Ma Chao's hand tightened abruptly around the teacup, his knuckles turning white from the force. The steam rising from the rim of the cup clouded his eyes, but couldn't conceal the chilling aura emanating from it. "Hmph, this heartless bastard!" he sneered, his voice icy. "He actually dared to lay a hand on his own brother for that little bit of power! He's worse than a pig or a dog!"

Zhou Yu's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, his fingertips tracing the cool porcelain surface, his tone tinged with helplessness: "That's true, but what about the old lady..."

Ma Chao remained silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh, loosening his grip on his hands as the tea sloshed gently in his cup. "So be it," he said, gazing at the deep night outside the window, his voice softening slightly, "that the truth can be laid bare, so that Bo Fu may find solace in heaven."

He paused, his gaze falling on the flickering charcoal fire, and his tone became more solemn: "Although the old lady didn't say anything explicitly, we can all see the torment she's going through. After all, she's our blood relative, and we have to consider her feelings. We can't go too far."