Chapter 46: Luring the Enemy

  After being tormented by the unpredictable and elusive enemy for over ten days, on September 10th at noon, Sun Ce's army finally arrived under the walls of Guangling City and set up a large camp five miles outside the west gate. They began to prepare for the siege. Then, Sun Ce handed over the task of setting up the camp to the experienced old general Cheng Pu, while he led Zhou Yu, Huang Gai, and a team of elite soldiers to rush to the city walls to inspect the defenses and devise a plan to break into the city.

  The city defense of Guangling made both the resourceful Sun Ce and Zhou Yu frown, with walls over 10 meters high that were difficult to climb, and had recently been reinforced, with a thickness of at least 6 meters. All four gates had gatehouses that could serve as a buffer zone. The moat, which had clearly been widened and deepened, was also filled with water from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, making it even more difficult for Sun Ce's army to approach the city walls. Overall, this was a relatively impregnable fortress, and even Sun Ce and Zhou Yu did not have confidence that they could guarantee its capture in one battle.

  Of course, the results of the observation were not all discouraging. Firstly, the terrain around Guangling City was open and flat, which was conducive to Sun Ce's army deploying its forces and forced the defending troops to disperse their forces to guard each section of the wall. At the same time, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu also keenly sensed that the morale and fighting spirit of the Xu state defenders on the walls of Guangling City were not high, and their flags and formations were somewhat disorderly. When they saw Sun Ce leading his troops to scout out the city, the walls were already in a state of **, with shouts and cries ringing out continuously, and the officers and soldiers rushing about in all directions, with chaotic and disorderly commands. This was typical of a second- or third-rate army, and it formed a stark contrast with the dignified and disciplined "junzi" army, which was far removed from Sun Ce's veteran troops.

  Observing up to this point, Zhou Yu also gained some confidence in his heart and said to Sun Ce: "Bo Fu, it seems that our army has a good chance of taking down Guangling City. First, we need to fill the moat and let our cloud ladders and flying bridges reach the city wall, so that our army can exert its close combat advantage. Then, when our army launches a strong attack, we should have a great chance of capturing Guangling City."

  Sun Ce's face was somewhat pale and unhealthy, and after deliberating for a long time, he said: "Although Gongjin's words are reasonable, it's just too wasteful of time. Our army's food and grass can only last for twenty days at most, so we must find a way to break the city as soon as possible."

  "Alas, we can't rush into it." Zhou Yu replied: "Tao is extremely cunning and deceitful. If we use clever tactics to break the city, I'm afraid it will be hard to escape his eyes. The only and best way is to use force to overcome cleverness, and a strong attack is the best approach."

  Sun Ce felt a little dizzy, but was afraid of affecting the morale of the army, so he could only force himself to hold on and nodded: "It can only be like this, order the soldiers to work day and night to build siege weapons, fill the river with earth, and set up the main battlefield at the west gate of Guangling." Zhou Yu and Huang Gai and other generals clasped their fists in response, each going down to make arrangements without further mention.

  At the same time as Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, Lin Qing, a young girl in men's clothing, finally appeared before Tao Ying. However, at this moment, Tao Ying was not on top of the Guangling city wall inspecting the defenses, but rather leading several craftsmen in the rear garden of the governor's mansion, fiddling with a batch of bamboo pipes. Seeing Tao Ying being so derelict in his duties, Lin Qing couldn't help but flare up in anger, rushing to Tao Ying's face, hands on her hips, and scolding: "Bookworm, the enemy has already arrived, the enemy general is also outside the city inspecting the defenses, why haven't you gone up to the city wall to arrange the defenses? What are you doing here?"

  "What's the hurry? Sun Ce's kid won't be attacking the city immediately, will he?" Tao Ying said lazily while using a round chisel to clear the bamboo nodes from the bamboo pipe: "The four gates of Guangling City are all protected by moats. Sun Ce's kid has just arrived and wants to attack the city, at least they need to fill the moat or build a batch of flying bridges (mobile bridges with wheels) first. It won't be a strong attack within one or two days. Even if Sun Ce's kid wants to sneak into the city, he'll have to wait until nightfall to take action. What am I doing going up on the city wall at this time?"

  Good-hearted rush to remind Tao Ying, but ended up with a hot face on a cold butt. Lin Qing's face sank immediately, and she pouted her small mouth. Tao Ying glanced at her again, smiling slyly: "Big sister, why are you wearing men's clothes again? Actually, you look better than anyone in women's clothes, how about changing into a elegant dress?"

  "Pfft! I won't show it to you!" Lin Qinghong spat and turned red in the face, then curiously asked Tao Ying, who was holding a bamboo tube: "What are you doing with bamboo too? A few days ago, Xu Sheng led a group of craftsmen to whittle bamboo every day. Why did you also start working with bamboo when you came back? What's the use of drilling through the bamboo nodes?"

  "Fill it with iron sand, and then I'll beat him up!" Tao Ying smiled and replied: "He owes me a hundred military sticks and has never let me hit him, so as soon as I came back, I hurriedly made a few new-style military law sticks to prepare for his formal beating!"

  Lin Qing's face fell, her small fists clenched with a cracking sound at the joints, and she began to show signs of losing her temper. Tao Ying saw that things were taking a turn for the worse and hastily explained: "I'm not joking with you, I'm making fire guns, preparing them for the soldiers to defend the city."

  "Firearm? What firearm?" Lin Qing finally shifted his attention.

  "A fire-spewing weapon, can be used for defending the city, also can be used for arson." Tao handed over the two-foot-long bamboo tube in his hand to Lin Qing, explaining with gestures: "Pierce this bamboo tube, leaving only the bottom bamboo node, then mix sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal, iron sand and porcelain powder into it, and tie the bamboo tube to a long spear. Light the top end, and the opening of the bamboo tube can spew out flames as long as one zhang."

  "In this way, our soldiers can use flames to burn the enemy's military supplies and food, or directly scorch the enemy's face. Once the enemy's face is burned, the high-temperature iron sand and ceramic powder sprayed out will make him blind, completely losing his combat effectiveness. At the same time, after the flame is sprayed, our generals can also use long spears to continue killing the enemy, or directly stab the already blinded enemy."

  "Really?" Lin Qing was both surprised and delighted, and hastily asked: "Then when the fire is lit, will the bamboo tube also catch fire?"

  "No." Tao Ying shook his head, and brought out a used fire lance, pointing at the bamboo tube: "See? After the bamboo tube spits out fire, only the tip where the fire is spat out is slightly charred, it can still be reloaded with fire medicine and continued to be used."

  "Great stuff!" Lin Qing eagerly examined the flying fire gun, and then coquettishly asked Tao Ying: "Bookworm, such a great weapon, shouldn't you give me one?"

  "I'll give you one, of course, no problem." Tao Ying said with a smile: "But there's one condition, go change into women's clothes and let me take another close look at your elegant ladylike appearance."

  "Pfft! I won't let you see it, I don't want it anymore!" Lin Qing naturally wouldn't fall for it, thinking that after the flying fire gun was made, it would definitely be handed over to Zhang Yi. He wanted to get a few handles to play with, so Lin Qing quickly threw the flying fire gun back at Tao Ying and ran off, disappearing without a trace. Tao Ying was left standing there, shaking his head in disappointment and extreme regret.

  While Sun Ce's army was busy setting up camp, rumors that Sun Ce's army would slaughter the entire city of Guangling after breaking into the city also began to circulate in Guangling City. Although there were a few rational and calm people who did not believe this rumor lightly, most of the people of Guangling still believed it to be true. At the same time, for the sake of their own lives, these people also began to fully support the Xuzhou army's defense of the city, greatly facilitating Zhang Yi and other generals' organization of the people to help defend the city, produce and stockpile defensive materials, and organize some righteous and brave civilians to help defend and patrol the city, thus gaining time for the main force of the defending army to rest.

  At the same time, Sun Ce's army also began to prepare for the siege, rushing to build cloud ladders, flying bridges, battering rams and ant climbing ladders. They also prepared sacks of earth and stones to fill the moat, but since the era did not have the invention of vehicles that could transport large quantities of earth and stones at once, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had no choice but to mentally prepare for the cost of filling the moat. At the same time, Sun Ce's army also hastened to build feathered arrows, preparing to use a large number of bows and arrows to suppress the defenders on the city wall, in order to reduce the pressure on the infantry attacking the city.

  The ninth month of the lunar calendar was already deep autumn, with short days and long nights, and it quickly got dark. Just as Sun Ce's cousin, Sun He, was preparing to lead his infantry out of camp for a night raid on Guangling, a patrol unit from Sun Ce's army brought in a soldier from Xu State who had slipped out of Guangling City that night. The soldier claimed his name was Chen Yi and that he was a trusted confidant of the veteran general Zhang Yi of Xu State, with confidential information to report to General Sun Ce. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were overjoyed at the news, as they were worried about how to quickly capture Guangling, and hastily ordered Chen Yi to be brought into their headquarters tent.

  In an instant, Chen Yi, with a pair of cunning triangular eyes, was escorted into the grand tent. Sun Ce asked him about his intentions and identity. Chen Yi immediately knelt down on both knees, trembling with fear, and replied: "Reporting to General Sun, I am Chen Yi, a personal soldier under General Zhang Zhao of Xuzhou. I have long received great kindness from General Zhang. However, Tao Ying's young son, relying on his status as the second son of the Governor of Xuzhou, repeatedly bullied and humiliated General Zhang. General Zhang was furious and ordered me to leave the city to present a letter to you, surrendering and requesting to be an internal response. Please investigate clearly."

  "Is Zhang Yi preparing to surrender the city?" Sun Ce was secretly delighted and hastily ordered Chen Yi to present the letter. When he opened Zhang Yi's letter again, he saw that Zhang Yi had written: "Zhang Yi, a former minister of Xu State, bows to General Sun Ce, the loyal and righteous commander. I, Zhang Yi, was an old minister of Xu State and received great kindness from Tao Qian. I should not have had any disloyal thoughts, but Tao has been arrogant and self-conceited, abusing his power and punishing the innocent while failing to reward those with merit. As an old minister, I have been humiliated without cause, and my heart is filled with resentment. The soldiers under my command have also suffered many insults from Tao's arrogance. I have long had the intention of betraying him. Now that you, General, are attacking the city, I wish to lead my troops in surrendering to you, in order to achieve merit and wash away my shame. I beg you to believe me, do not doubt me!"

  Zhang Zhao's letter was read over and over again by Sun Ce, who then handed it to Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu on the side to ask for their opinions. After reading it, Zhou Yu burst out laughing and ordered: "Bring this Chen Yi out and behead him, send his head to Guangling City to show the people!"

  "Yes!" The guards in the tent responded in unison, and without saying another word, they went forward to drag away Chen Yi. Chen Yi was so frightened that his soul flew out of his body, and he loudly shouted: "Injustice! Injustice! General, I'm just a messenger, just a messenger! Why do you want to kill me?"

  "Why kill you?" Zhou Yu smiled and said: "You sent a letter of surrender to Zhang Jiao, replacing Zhang Jiao's old man to play tricks on us, shouldn't you be killed?"

  "I'm not surrendering, I'm not surrendering!" Chen Yi was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and repeatedly explained himself. Sun Ce and Huang Gai knew that Zhou Yu was full of schemes, so they didn't say anything either, but patiently waited for Zhou Yu's next move.

  "How dare you quibble?!" Zhou Yu slapped the table in front of him and shouted: "Zhang Yi is a subordinate of Tao Ying, and many of the defenders of Guangling are from his camp. Since he intends to surrender, why not just open the city gates and surrender directly? Why bother sending you to deliver a letter of surrender?"

  "General, it's because of this that General Zhang decided to surrender." Chen Yi called out in distress and explained: "When Tao Yingxiao led the Junzi army to fight against you earlier, he asked General Zhang to hastily manufacture 500,000 arrows and prepare 8,000 catties of tung oil for him to defend the city after his return to Guangling. However, due to insufficient materials, only over 200,000 arrows were manufactured, and only about 5,000 catties of tung oil were collected. After Tao Yingxiao returned to the city, he used the excuse that General Zhang was not prepared for battle to demote him and take away his military power, and also supported several sycophants in taking control of the army. General Zhang was furious and resentful, which is why he sent someone to surrender."

  "Is this really true?" Zhou Yu asked with a mixture of doubt and suspicion.

  "Absolutely true, I dare not deceive the general." Chen Yi bowed and said: "When Tao Yingxiao took over the military power of General Zhang Chong, he publicly claimed that he wanted a strict and disciplined army like an arm, not the undisciplined troops under General Zhang's command. Therefore, he wanted to take over the military power from General Zhang, strictly discipline the army, and turn the undisciplined troops into a fierce and powerful force. Many sycophants echoed Tao Yingxiao, and General Zhang had no choice but to hand over his military power. General Zhang was so angry that he sent me out of the city to surrender."

  The gentleman's army, with discipline so strict it was abnormal, had been witnessed by Sun Ce and Zhou Yu; the lax discipline of the Dan Yang troops and their refusal to listen to orders had also been heard about by Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. Tao Ying being dissatisfied with Zhang Chao's lax discipline was reasonable. So when Chen Yi gave this explanation, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu believed it seven parts out of ten. They exchanged a glance, ordered the soldiers to take Chen Yi out of the commander's tent, and then began discussing whether this matter was true or false.

  "Gong Jin, General Cheng Lao, General Huang Lao, in your opinion, is Zhang Zhao's letter of surrender true or false?" Sun Ce asked, looking at Zhang Zhao's letter again.

  "There should be a 70% chance of this being true." Huang Gai said first: "Tao Ying is young and vigorous, and he thinks highly of himself. He has won battle after battle, and naturally looks down on Chapter Rong, a general who often loses. It's normal for them to conflict with each other. Chapter Rong being angry and deciding to surrender also makes sense."

  "I also think it's believable." Cheng Pu nodded in agreement: "Tao Yingxue is leading the army for the first time, and has never fought alongside others before. He can't get along with Zhang Yi normally. Moreover, the Xu state troops are indeed undisciplined and have low combat effectiveness. It's normal that Tao Yingxue, who created the 'Junzi Army' with his own hands, wants to strictly enforce military discipline and personally take charge of the entire Guangling army."

  "So what does this mean? Can we trust Zhang Zhao's letter of surrender?" Sun Ce, who was worried about the prolonged siege, felt a little delighted, but he also didn't dare to completely let his guard down. He turned his gaze to Zhou Yu and asked: "Gongjin, what do you think?"

  Zhou Yu did not answer immediately, and after deliberating for a long time, Zhou Yu hesitantly said: "I always feel that this matter is somewhat strange. Tao Yingxiao wanting to personally command the entire Guangling army is indeed normal, removing Zhang Liang, such an old general of Xuzhou, to establish prestige, in order to strictly enforce military discipline in Xuzhou, this point also makes sense. However, changing commanders before a battle is a great taboo for military leaders, with Tao Yingxiao's cunning and cleverness, how could he not understand this principle?"

  "So, Zhang Song's surrender letter was just a fake?" Sun Ce also felt that this matter was somewhat strange. Changing generals before a battle is a major taboo in the military, and Tao Ying, who had been entangled with him for days without making a single mistake, how could he make such a big mistake at such a critical moment?

  "It can't be confirmed." Zhou Yu shook his head and analyzed: "Changing the commander before a battle is a big taboo in military tactics, but it's also possible that Tao Yingxiong was indeed dissatisfied with the current situation of the Guangling garrison and decided to take a risk to change it. It's also impossible to rule out that Tao Yingxiong was young and reckless, knowing the danger of changing commanders before a battle, yet insisted on taking down Zhang Yi. Such things are not uncommon in history books."

  "This has put me in a difficult position." Sun Ce frowned and said: "If Zhang Hao is pretending to surrender, then Tao Ying's little trick must still have a follow-up plan. If our army falls for it, we will surely suffer a disastrous defeat. If Zhang Hao is sincere about surrendering, but we don't believe him, then we will miss the great opportunity to quickly capture Guangling. I really can't choose what to do."

  Zhou Yu also furrowed his brow in deep thought, but after a long while, Zhou Yu suddenly had an idea and hastily said: "Bo Fu, do not worry, I have a plan to determine whether Zhang Yi is truly surrendering or faking it!"

  "What clever plan does Gongjin have? Tell me quickly." Sun Ce asked with great joy.

  "It's simple, ask Zhang to hand over the secret of Tao Yingxiao's archery!" Zhou Yu said resolutely: "Tao Yingxiao's Junzi Army shoots arrows while riding and turning their heads, which is his first magic weapon for defeating enemies. How can this be achieved? It must be Tao Yingxiao's first secret! Zhang is Tao Yingxiao's deputy and has been with him for a long time, so he must know the key. Bo Fu, you send a letter to Zhang, asking him to hand over this secret. If Zhang hands it over, then his surrender is true without a doubt! If Zhang makes excuses and refuses to hand over this secret, or says something like 'wait until our army breaks into Guangling City before handing over the secret', then there's no need to say, it's a fake surrender!"

  "Excellent!" Sun Ce slapped his thigh and said with joy: "This plan is exactly what I wanted, let's do it this way! I don't believe Tao Qian would dare to use his most confidential information to deceive our army into believing in his fake surrender!"

  The plan was set, and Sun Ce immediately wrote a letter according to Zhou Yu's plan. He also summoned Chen Yi back to the camp and ordered him to return to the city to deliver the letter. Chen Yi did not decline, but said that after Zhang Yi was demoted by Tao Ying and arranged to be in charge of the northern gate of Guangling, he was responsible for defending the northern gate. He asked Sun Ce to send someone to escort him to the northern gate of Guangling. After Sun Ce agreed, Chen Yi continued: "General Sun, actually, our General Zhang is afraid that the night is long and dreams are many, and even more afraid of leaking secrets. Tonight, we have already made preparations to open the city and welcome your army into the city. If you trust me, a small person, you can secretly send a team with me to the northern gate of Guangling. If our General Zhang does not open the city gate to welcome you in, please behead me."

  Sun Ce looked at the night outside his tent and saw that tonight's weather was not good, with thick dark clouds and no moonlight. It was a great opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the city. He also saw Chen Yi's sincere attitude, which did not seem fake. So he gritted his teeth and said: "Alright, I will personally lead an army to escort you into the city. If Zhang Yi is truly sincere in surrendering, then after breaking into the city, I will heavily reward you."

  "Bo Fu, our army has come from afar and is not yet stable on its feet. We are extremely exhausted." Zhou Yu reminded cautiously.

  "To avoid having too many dreams at night, I'd better go. Sun Ce replied: 'If Zhang Zhao uses deceit, I naturally won't rashly enter the city.'"

  "I'll go with you then." Zhou Yu said, changing his mind.

  Sun Ce nodded in agreement, and that night he gathered three thousand elite soldiers, leaving Cheng Pu to guard the main camp. He led Zhou Yu, Huang Gai, Sun He and other generals, as well as Chen Yi's personal troops, under the cover of darkness, back to the north gate of Guangling to launch a surprise attack on the city. Fortunately, tonight was dark and moonless, and the Guangling army, which had closed its gates and was on high alert, did not send out scouts to patrol. By the time the third watch approached, Sun Ce's army had already stealthily reached the north gate of Guangling, hiding outside the moat, carefully avoiding the range of the city wall's archers.

  At the third watch, there were hardly any voices on top of the north gate of Guangling, only a few soldiers patrolling. With Sun Ce's permission, Chen Yi crept to the edge of the moat and struck his flint three times, producing three sparks. The drawbridge at the north gate slowly descended, and Chen Yi crossed over and climbed down to the bottom of the city wall. Another basket was lowered from above, lifting Chen Yi up onto the city wall, while the drawbridge quickly ascended again. After a long time, the drawbridge was lowered once more, and Chen Yi was let back down with another basket. He rolled and crawled across the moat, handing Sun Ce a saddle: "General Sun, this is what General Zhang wants me to give you. General Zhang said that what you want is also on his saddle; please take a look."

  Sun Ce eagerly snatched the saddle and examined it carefully under the faint light shining from the city wall. Suddenly, he was enlightened - on both sides of the saddle hung a rope with two loops at the end. It turned out that the "gentlemen's army" had been using these ropes to stabilize their bodies while riding horses, allowing them to shoot arrows while galloping. Sun Ce turned his head to look at Zhou Yu and saw him beaming with joy, nodding repeatedly in agreement. Overjoyed, Sun Ce hastily ordered Chen Yi: "General Chen, please report to General Zhang that we can open the city gate now! After our army captures Guangling City, you and General Zhang will both receive generous rewards!"

  "Thank you, General." Chen Yi was also overjoyed and quickly returned to report the news. Sun Ce was on this side urgently arranging troops to prepare for the attack, and also sent someone to quickly return to the main camp to report the news, ordering Cheng Pu to lead the army to reinforce as soon as possible. And this time, the drawbridge of Guangling North Gate was not re-tightened. After Chen Yi was pulled up onto the city wall of Guangling, very quickly, the long-closed Guangling North Gate slowly opened...

  "Heaven helps me!" Sun Ce jumped up, raised his knife and shouted loudly: "Generals, charge into the city! Avenge General Han! Kill!"

  "Kill!" The soldiers of Sun Ce's army, who had never dreamed that things would go so smoothly, were overjoyed, holding up their knives and guns, shouting as they charged towards the north gate of Guangling, directly rushing into the already wide open city gate...

  "Kill! Capture Tao Ying's son alive! Reward of a thousand gold pieces! Promotion by three ranks! Avenge General Han!"

  Seeing the north gate of Guangling open, he also saw the absolutely confidential letter sent by Zhang Zhao, and Sun Ce finally believed that Zhang Zhao was truly surrendering and offering the city. Holding his sword and roaring like thunder, he wanted to lead the charge himself, but his cousin Sun He moved even faster, leading a unit to rush across the drawbridge first and charging straight at the already open north gate of Guangling.

  "Bo Fu, you're injured, I'll hold the array, you charge!" Zhou Yu also pushed Sun Ce away and led a troop to charge towards the city gate. However, before Zhou Yu could even get there, hundreds of Sun Ce's soldiers had already rushed across the drawbridge and charged into the North Gate of Guangling - no choice, these poor Sun Ce soldiers had been tormented by the villainous tactics of the Junzi army for days and were itching to vent their frustrations.

  "Kill!" Zhou Yu's loud shout was no less than Sun Ce's, and he urged the troops to hurry up, lest Tao Ying come to rescue them. However, it was unnecessary for Zhou Yu to urge them on, as Sun Ce's soldiers were like wolves and tigers, holding high their swords and spears, almost like a gust of wind rushing across the drawbridge and storming into the north gate of Guangling.

  "Kill! Kill!" As the shout was heard, Zhou Yu also charged into the city gate of Guangling on horseback, passing through the long and narrow passageway. Just as he did so, a loud crash suddenly came from above his head, an iron portcullis fell down, and Zhou Yu didn't even have time to react before it almost grazed his nose, cutting his warhorse in two. The gushing horse blood instantly splattered all over Zhou Yu's body! Fortunately, at this moment, Zhou Yu did not stretch out his hand; otherwise, no matter which hand he stretched out, that hand would have had to bid him farewell forever!

  "Got it!"

  Before Zhou Yu finished speaking, the city wall was already filled with the sounds of killing, countless torches were raised and thrown into the jar-shaped fortifications that were packed with Sun Ce's soldiers. At the same time, numerous hay and oil were also thrown and poured into the jar-shaped fortifications. Suddenly, a raging fire broke out in the jar-shaped fortifications, and the poor soldiers of Sun Ce's army could neither advance nor retreat, they could only roll around and scream in despair amidst the flames - including Sun He, Sun Ce's cousin.

  "The Master said, 'To govern by virtue is like the North Star, which remains stationary while all the other stars revolve around it.' Meanwhile, the sound of the Junzi Army's slogan echoed, and countless Junzi Army soldiers emerged from the arrow tower, shooting arrows frantically at the crowded bridge where Sun Ce's soldiers were. The number of Sun's soldiers who fell to the ground was uncountable, and those who fell into the water were also too numerous to count. The casualties were extremely heavy."

  "It's a trap! Retreat quickly!" Sun Ce, in the rear, was so anxious that his eyes almost bled as he frantically shouted orders for the front-line soldiers to retreat quickly. It was unbearable for Sun Ce not to be frantic - in order to ensure the success of the surprise attack, Sun Ce had mobilized his elite troops this time, half of whom were the veteran soldiers left behind by his father Sun Jian. Losing even one of them would be enough to make Sun Ce heartbroken for half a day.

  "Kill! Kill!" Sun Ce desperately shouted outside the city moat, while the defenders of Guangling cheered and shouted on top of the city wall, crazily shooting arrows and throwing stones at Sun Ce's soldiers outside the city wall, desperately expanding their gains. As for the Sun Ce soldiers trapped inside the jar-shaped city, they only threw firewood and hay to annihilate them in the most economical way - after all, as long as they used fire attacks, they could burn to death this full jar of enemies.

  Seeing his own soldiers dying one by one under the arrows of the defenders of Guangling, and hearing countless cries of his own soldiers in the flames, Sun Ce was both anxious and enraged, almost shedding tears. Waving his steel knife, he shouted loudly, with a choking tone, "Tao Yingxiao! I swear to kill you! I swear to kill you——!"

  Roaring, Sun Ce, who had been feeling unwell all over for the past few days, suddenly felt a sweetness in his throat, and a mouthful of blood spurted out of his throat. He fell off the war horse and was picked up by his men, who were crying and shouting. However, they saw that Sun Ce's face was pale, his forehead was burning hot, and his limbs were convulsing uncontrollably, just like those soldiers who had been poisoned by the enemy's arrows and died...