Chapter 149 Zhang He Intends to Attack Ye City

Yuan Shao felt as though he were enveloped in a shadow, crushed as if Mount Tai were pressing down upon his head.

He looked up and saw his own towering warhorse plunging straight down toward him.

"Ah!"

With a startled cry, Yuan Shao was suddenly met with a deafening crash as the massive steed slammed down directly on top of him.

To be crushed by such a colossal beast would shatter the bones of even mighty warriors like Zhang Fei and Guan Yu.

How much more so for mere Yuan Shao!

It seemed fate had decreed this to be his end.

As cruel luck would have it, the horse landed squarely on Yuan Shao's head, the animal's massive skull crashing right into his.

How could a mortal head ever match the sheer mass of a horse's skull?

The impact struck Yuan Shao's head like a heavy blacksmith's hammer, delivering a devastating blow.

Instantly, a mixture of crimson and white splattered in all directions.

Half of Yuan Shao's skull was utterly smashed away.

There was no need for inspection; Yuan Shao was undoubtedly dead!

With his head shattered, how could anyone possibly survive?

"My Lord!"

"Lord, My Lord!"

Zhang He, Tian Feng, and the other generals brought by Yuan Shao let out a collective cry to the heavens, their voices laden with boundless grief.

Never in their wildest dreams had they expected Yuan Shao to meet his end right at the gates of Ye City.

Even Yuan Shao himself, at the moment of his death, could never have imagined that he would be crushed to death by a horse.

Such a peculiar demise could perhaps only be rivaled by being bludgeoned to death with a frozen fish.

Having crushed Yuan Shao to death with the horse, Su Ming immediately ordered his soldiers, "Quickly, into the city! Into the city!"

"Close the gates! Close the gates!"

Confirming that Yuan Shao was dead, Su Ming led his men inside and promptly bolted the heavy city gates shut.

There were a full five thousand cavalrymen brought by Yuan Shao stationed outside; had they seized the opportunity to launch an assault, Su Ming would have found himself in dire straits.

After all, Su Ming had only eight hundred men of the Camp-Breaching Unit at his disposal. Even counting Xu's private retainers and household guards, he had a grand total of barely over two thousand men.

"Ah!" Zhang He roared at the top of his lungs, his voice trembling with fury, "Kill them! Avenge our lord!"

For a seasoned general, the ultimate humiliation was undoubtedly watching helplessly as his lord was slain right before his eyes!

Zhang He had witnessed Yuan Shao's death with his own eyes. Had he arrived merely a few minutes earlier, he could have saved Yuan Shao's life.

Alas, everything was too late. Yuan Shao was dead, and the dead could not be brought back to life.

By the time Zhang He led his forces charging up to the city gates, the heavy portals were already slowly swinging shut.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

From atop the city walls, a fierce volley of arrows rained down like a storm, cutting down yet another wave of Zhang He's troops.

Being cavalrymen, they possessed no siege equipment nor any means of breaching fortifications.

At that moment, all they could do was gaze up at the towering walls and sigh in despair.

"Zhang He, Yuan Shao is already dead! And Yuan Shang has also been slain by us!"

"Ye City now belongs to our Prime Minister Cao. Wise birds choose their trees to nest in, and wise ministers choose their lords to serve. Zhang He, if you know what's good for you, you should surrender to our Prime Minister Cao right now!" Su Ming stood atop the ramparts, shouting down at Zhang He.

Zhang He had already recognized Su Ming as the Cao general who had single-handedly fought Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Zhao in front of the battle lines days ago.

Seeing Su Ming filled Zhang He with a deep, gnawing hatred.

For Su Ming to have killed Yuan Shao right before his very eyes was the ultimate insult to Zhang He.

Hearing Su Ming's summons to surrender, Zhang He's eyes rolled as a thought struck him. "I beg the general to open the city gates and let us in; I, Zhang He, am willing to surrender."

Was Zhang He truly willing to surrender?

Of course not!

Zhang He was merely trying to trick Su Ming!

The moment Su Ming opened the gates, Zhang He would immediately charge in and recapture Ye City.

From the very fact that Su Ming had rushed inside and bolted the gates immediately after killing Yuan Shao,

Zhang He could already tell that Su Ming's forces were sparse.

And Su Ming was no fool either!

He naturally knew that Zhang He had no genuine intention of surrendering.

Besides, even if Zhang He wished to surrender, would Tian Feng be willing? Would the soldiers under their command wish to surrender?

Naturally, Su Ming would not fall for Zhang He's trickery. He shouted back down from the ramparts, "If General Zhang is truly sincere about surrendering, then turn your horses around and go find Prime Minister Cao."

"Once you meet the Prime Minister and he grants you high office and generous stipends, wouldn't that be a magnificent outcome?"

Zhang He knew that without the city gates opening, their cavalry alone lacked the means to capture Ye City.

With matters standing as they were, their only course of action was to first collect his late lord's remains, and then wait for the infantry to arrive before plotting the retaking of Ye City.

Ten miles outside Ye City.

The Yuan army encampment.

To guard against a surprise night raid by Su Ming and maintain a buffer zone between the two forces, Zhang He had pitched his camp ten miles outside Ye City.

They were simply waiting for the arrival of more than forty thousand infantrymen, after which they would cut down the surrounding trees, construct siege engines, and retake Ye City by force.

Inside the grand commander's tent, both Zhang He and Tian Feng wore deeply troubled expressions, their faces bitter with sorrow.

As for figures like Feng Ji, Guo Tu, and Shen Pei, they had all turned themselves into ostriches, too terrified even to lift their heads.

Their influence had stemmed entirely from Yuan Shao's favor. Now that Yuan Shao was dead and the military command rested entirely in Zhang He's hands, they naturally had no say in matters.

Crucially, both Zhang He and Tian Feng were supporters of the eldest young lord, Yuan Tan, whereas Feng Ji, Shen Pei, and Guo Tu were partisans of the third young lord, Yuan Xi.

Now, not only was Yuan Shao dead, but Yuan Xi was dead as well! Having lost their patrons, they dared not utter another word.

"At most, in a single day, the four infantry divisions under my command will arrive, and we can immediately begin constructing siege engines!"

"I observe that the enemy forces number no more than three thousand men. Within seven days, we will surely capture Ye City and avenge our lord!" Zhang He said in a heavy tone, resting his hand on the coffin placed inside the main tent.

Just as Zhang He finished speaking, Tian Feng stepped forward and said, "General Junyi, our priority right now, aside from avenging our lord, is something else that must be done immediately."

"That is to dispatch messengers to inform the eldest young lord, Yuan Tan, of these events and invite him back to Ye City to take charge of the overall situation."

Having heard Tian Feng's words, Zhang He recognized the truth in the saying that a group of dragons cannot remain long without a leader.

Since the third young lord, Yuan Xi, was already dead, there was no longer anyone who could challenge the eldest young lord Yuan Tan's position.

Now that Zhang He held military authority in his hands, if he declared his support for Yuan Tan, naturally not a single person would dare utter a word of dissent.

Zhang He struck the coffin and declared, "We shall follow Mister Yuanhao's advice. I will dispatch riders immediately to invite the eldest young lord Yuan Tan."

"We must also capture Ye City as swiftly as possible. Once the eldest young lord Yuan Tan arrives, we will present Ye City to him as a gift."

"By doing so, we shall beg the eldest young lord to forgive us for our failure to protect our lord."

Forgive them for what crime?

If Yuan Tan were to find out that his father Yuan Shao had died, he would likely be smiling from ear to ear.

Finally, he would be able to ascend to the succession!

If Yuan Shao hadn't died, when would he ever have had the chance to succeed?

Furthermore, Yuan Shao had always favored the third son, Yuan Xi.

Had this incident not occurred, the succession might never have fallen to him.