Bai Xiu smiled indifferently, "Brother Zhou, isn't this obvious? Zhu Meng led everyone in a night raid on Xiao Jingyun. If he could break through, he would certainly flee."
"Xiao Jingyun, unaware of the situation, would never dare to pursue, for fear that we would flank him."
"In that case, once Zhu Meng leaves, it would be a piece of cake for him, Xiao Jingyun, to deal with us."
Upon hearing Bai Xiu's analysis, Zhou Fei fell into deep thought.
"Brother, you speak the truth. Winter is fast approaching, and if he doesn't leave, provisions will indeed be a problem."
"Exactly, Brother Zhou, that's why he thought of leaving."
"He might flee, but what about us? What should we do?" Zhou Fei seemed anxious.
Bai Xiu, however, smiled slightly, "Brother, what's so difficult about that? Let him carry out his surprise attack. As soon as Zhu Meng's troops are out, you immediately order the four gates to be closed, cutting off his retreat. Let him fight Xiao Jingyun. If Zhu Meng can escape, then his fate is not yet sealed."
"If Zhu Meng is defeated, we can seize the opportunity to break out of the city and capture Zhu Meng to hand over to Xiao Jingyun, thus earning merit and atonement."
"What if Zhu Meng wins?"
"Brother, the strength of both sides is comparable. Even if Zhu Meng wins, it will be a costly victory. As long as we don't let him into the city, he won't have the troops to attack again. He can only retreat. This Jizhou city will still be under our control."
Listening to Bai Xiu's analysis, everyone present nodded repeatedly.
"Good, let's do it this way."
"Tonight, we brothers will guard the four gates separately. Once Zhu Meng's troops are out, we will immediately close the city gates and cut off their retreat."
At this moment, Zhu Meng was completely unaware of the situation in the Ge family army, and was closely preparing with Zhang Liao.
To avoid suspicion, they dared not bring too many provisions, only ordering each person to prepare three days' worth of food.
It wasn't until the third watch that Zhu Meng's hundred thousand strong army had assembled. Zhu Meng chose to attack from all four directions simultaneously, the idea being to let as many as possible escape.
He also set a rendezvous point at Black Water Bridge, fifty li to the west.
The four gates opened simultaneously, and Zhu Meng's hundred thousand strong army surged out of the city like a tide.
Xiao Jingyun had already issued orders for all forces to be on high alert, so Zhu Meng's army was discovered by scouts as soon as they left the city. The camp quickly became tense, with arrows nocked and swords drawn, awaiting Zhu Meng's arrival.
Zhu Meng took the west gate, which was closest to Black Water Bridge.
He was indeed brave, leading the charge towards Xiao Jingyun's camp. However, about a stone's throw away, he heard a rapid clanging of gongs.
Immediately, a volley of arrows rained down.
Zhu Meng realized something was wrong and hastily halted his advance. Just as he hesitated whether to continue the attack, a fast horse galloped towards him. "General, just after we left, the city gates were closed, and the drawbridge was raised!"
Hearing this, Zhu Meng felt a chill. He hadn't expected his plan to be seen through by Ge Zhuang, who was cutting off his retreat.
With no other option, Zhu Meng waved his banner and ordered his soldiers to charge forward. Today, they would carve out a path to survival, even if it meant piling their bodies high.
Meanwhile, Zhou Fei and the others were watching the fight from the city walls.
Waves of Zhu Meng's soldiers fell in the distance, yet those behind continued to charge forward recklessly.
This scene made Zhou Fei sigh, "Zhu Meng is truly a fierce general of our Great Cang Kingdom. His army is strictly disciplined. If these troops were truly attacking our Jizhou city, we would surely not be able to hold it!"
Bai Xiu, standing beside him, also felt a lingering fear, "Indeed. If they continue to fight like this, at least half of Zhu Meng's troops will be left here."
"If even half can break through, it's worth it for Zhu Meng. This gives him the foundation to rise again!"
Their prediction was correct. Zhu Meng's army charged with such ferocity that Liu Wangye, who was in command, seeing their suicidal charge, suddenly realized.
Zhu Meng wasn't attempting a night raid; he was trying to break out.
As they were about to break into his camp, Liu Wangye had an idea.
"Quickly pass down my order: clear a path, let them through, and we'll pursue them."
The soldier acknowledged the order and immediately created a gap, allowing Zhu Meng and his men to pass.
Seeing the enemy making way, Zhu Meng rejoiced inwardly and urged his men to hurry.
After breaking out of the enemy camp, Zhu Meng was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard someone report from behind, "Marshal, the enemy is catching up."
Zhu Meng dared not rest and ordered his soldiers to continue their charge. However, with them in front and the pursuers behind, shooting arrows became much easier, like chasing rabbits on horseback. In a short while, another thousand men were killed.
The pursuers chased for over thirty li before gradually stopping. Only then did Zhu Meng dare to rest and take stock of his remaining forces.
After counting, Zhu Meng was heartbroken. He had led forty thousand men out of the city, but only a little over ten thousand remained by his side, more than half lost.
However, there was nothing he could do about his regret now. Fortunately, he still had these ten thousand men. Now, he could only wait patiently at Black Water Bridge for the other forces.
At the same time, on the walls of Jizhou city, Zhou Fei, Bai Xiu, and the others saw that all four routes of troops had broken through. They still admired Zhu Meng for the ferocity of his soldiers.
"Gentlemen, from now on, we may have to surrender the city, or Xiao Jingyun will deal with us once he's free."
As they were speaking, someone rushed over.
"Reporting to General Zhou, General Ge's head was found in Zhu Meng's tent."
What?
They looked at each other, and suddenly, they scrambled towards Zhu Meng's camp.
Zhu Meng's camp was in disarray. Soldiers from the city were looting the supplies they had left behind, while outside Zhu Meng's main tent stood over a dozen men, standing solemnly.
Seeing the scene, Zhou Fei let out a cry and drew his sword. With a few swift strokes, he cut down two soldiers looting supplies and declared loudly, "Anyone who dares to loot again will suffer this fate."
The remaining soldiers, seeing this, scattered like birds and beasts and hurried away.
Zhou Fei and Bai Xiu and the others then turned and entered Zhu Meng's tent. On the table in Zhu Meng's tent lay a wooden box. Upon opening it, they found Ge Cun's head inside.
Zhou Fei, with the others, knelt before Ge Cun's head and respectfully kowtowed three times.
After kowtowing, Zhou Fei carefully covered the box and then turned to the others, saying, "I never expected Zhu Meng to be so wicked. He killed our Brother Ge and then pretended to be innocent." Sudan Novel Network
"Alas, what a pity that we let Zhu Meng go. If we had known, we should have killed him."
"Hmph, if I see Zhu Meng again, I will surely chop off his head."
"Kill Zhu Meng, kill Zhu Meng!"
The emotions of the crowd gradually surged, and they began to chant in unison.
Zhou Fei surveyed everyone present, slowly drew his sword, and raised it to the sky, "If I don't kill Zhu Meng, I am not human."