Chapter 1802: Two Choices

After Liu Yu left the sacrificial altar, he headed out of the palace. He did not notice that two figures were hiding in the shadows, watching him. A man in black said, "My lord, we've been exposed this time. Liu Yu will surely tighten his guard, and it won't be easy to act against him in the future."

Another man in white sighed, "Yes, this time we didn't harm so much as a single hair on his head, and his vigilance has risen considerably."

"My lord, should we retreat first? Our men are all assembled. If you are in danger, we will launch a full-scale attack immediately," the man in black suggested.

The man in white shook his head and said, "No, we must stay here. Liu Yu is the Son of Heaven of the Great Han. If we can seize this chance to eliminate him, we will be the rightful new ruler!"

"But Liu Yu's strength runs deep; killing him will be extremely difficult. If he escapes, it will be greatly disadvantageous to us," the man in black said worriedly.

"No matter — have you forgotten what we're best at? Our men are all top-notch experts," the man in white said with full confidence.

"But..." the man in black hesitated.

"There is no 'but'! Liu Yu's life must be taken by my own hand!" the man in white said resolutely. "You just need to make the preparations."

"Yes, my lord," the man in black agreed.

The man in white then instructed, "Send someone at once to deliver a message to Zhang Liao. Tell him the plan has failed and have him make his preparations!"

The man in black replied, "This subordinate will go and convey my lord's command at once."

"Mm, go quickly," the man in white waved his hand.

The man in black hurried off to make preparations; he now needed to contact Zhang Liao as quickly as possible.

And after Liu Yu returned to his sleeping chambers, he summoned Zhao Yun and the others to his side.

"Your Majesty, you were attacked this time — why didn't the Imperial Guard come out to rescue you!" Lu Bu complained. He had always believed the guards around Liu Yu were far too weak.

Liu Yu paid no heed to Lu Bu's complaint. He said in a deep voice, "After I was assassinated, what do you think we should do?"

Lu Bu and the others all lowered their heads in thought, not daring to speak carelessly. Liu Yu was usually very mild-tempered, but everyone knew he was capricious — if they offended him, the only ones to suffer would be themselves.

Zhao Yun said, "Your Majesty, this time it was Wang Yun colluding with the Western Regions envoy to assassinate Your Majesty. Wang Yun has thoroughly enraged Your Majesty; Your Majesty should immediately dispatch a large army to encircle and annihilate Wang Yun. As for the Western Regions envoy, Your Majesty may leave him to me to deal with — I guarantee his whereabouts will not be leaked."

"Yuanlong's idea is very much to my liking; let us do it then. I want Shouchun City taken within three days!" Liu Yu shouted. Lu Bu asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, you want to take Shouchun City within three days? That is no easy matter."

Liu Yu sneered, "What's so difficult about it? Haven't we done it once before?"

Zhao Yun reminded him, "Your Majesty, in this siege of Shouchun City, we cannot allow ourselves to be caught between enemy attacks from within and without as we were before. This subordinate suggests we adopt a tactic of surrounding a point and striking at reinforcements — first set up camp outside the city, then dispatch elite troops to cut off the grain route inside the city, and then annihilate the enemy's effective forces on the move."

Liu Yu nodded and asked, "Then, generals, who do you think we should send to carry out this task?"

The crowd was silent for a moment, then Lu Bu spoke up, "Your Majesty, this subordinate is willing to lead the troops."

"Good — General Lu is indeed incomparably valiant, but this time I want General Zhao to personally lead the army," Liu Yu said.

Zhao Yun was startled, and quickly knelt, saying, "Your Majesty, this subordinate accepts the order!"

Liu Yu continued, "General Zhao, I give you thirty thousand elite troops — you must take Shouchun City within three days!"

Zhao Yun cupped his fist and replied, "This subordinate obeys the decree!"

After that, Liu Yu arranged other matters, then dismissed everyone.

As Zhao Yun was leaving, he could not help but glance back at Liu Yu. He had a bad premonition in his heart. Although Liu Yu was usually very mild, those who served around him all knew that once he was angered, he would show no mercy whatsoever.

And what followed turned Zhao Yun and the others' bad premonition into reality.

When the man in white and the man in black learned that Liu Yu intended to take Shouchun City within three days, they immediately knew their chance had come.

So the man in white at once sent someone to deliver a message to Zhang Liao.

Zhang Liao was greatly shocked upon receiving the message. He had never expected Liu Yu to launch an attack so hastily. Still, he knew this was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity.

So Zhang Liao immediately took action and began to deploy his troops.

Meanwhile, Liu Yu also began his own operation.

He first sent men to cut off the grain route inside the city, then led thirty thousand elite troops to begin the assault on Shouchun City.

This battle was fought with great ferocity, and both sides paid a tremendous price.

In the end, Zhao Yun led his elite troops around the city wall and launched a surprise attack on the defenders from behind. Caught between two fires, the defenders finally surrendered.

By this time, the man in white had also arrived at Shouchun City with his men.

He looked at Zhao Yun and the others atop the city wall, his heart seething with rage. His original plan had been to intercept and kill Liu Yu on the way, but because the man in black had handled things poorly, Liu Yu had actually escaped.

However, the man in white did not give up because of this. He knew that as long as Liu Yu's great generals were eliminated, Liu Yu himself would not be far behind.

So he immediately ordered the attack.

This battle lasted until the next morning. Although the man in white's men were formidable, they ultimately could not withstand the encirclement by Zhao Yun and the other great generals.

In the end, the man in white was killed by Zhao Yun. His subordinates were all captured as well.

By this time, Liu Yu had finally arrived at Shouchun City. He looked at the corpses and bloodstains on the battlefield and could not help feeling a touch of emotion. He knew that although this battle had been won, it had also come at a tremendous cost.

Still, he knew this was no time for emotion. There were still many things to do — for instance, properly comforting the people and his subordinates. After Liu Yu arrived at Shouchun City, he immediately began handling the follow-up matters.

First, he ordered a search of the entire city, making sure to find all remaining partisans of the men in black and white, to prevent them from continuing to cause trouble. At the same time, he comforted the people, announcing that he would provide them with safety and protection.

Next, Liu Yu began dealing with the prisoners. He ordered all the prisoners to be separated into two groups. One group was the Western Regions envoys, who were locked in the great prison to await interrogation; the other group was the subordinates of the man in white and the man in black, who were 【garbled spam text — original text corrupted by injected advertisement; rendered as: "by Liu Yu — free! group 857.663:4,4! 2 free; fee.' extract:. dimension, 'chicken;? hedgehog, pineapple, see group;; synopsis add q' free! accept, half-price purchase"】.

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When these subordinates had assembled trembling with fear, Liu Yu began to speak: "You traitors — do you know your crimes?"

The subordinates all lowered their heads, not daring to look at Liu Yu. Of course they knew their crimes — betraying the Emperor was an offense punishable by the execution of nine generations of one's family.

Liu Yu continued, "Some of you were blinded, others were greedy for wealth and rank. Do you know that the man in white and the man in black came here to kill me? And yet you helped them — what disloyalty is this?"

The subordinates listened to Liu Yu's reprimand, their hearts filled with boundless remorse. They had originally been loyal subordinates, but because of a momentary greed, or because they had been blinded, they had betrayed their own lord.

Liu Yu continued, "I will give you one chance. If you are willing to thoroughly repent and atone with meritorious service, I may consider sparing your lives."

The subordinates were overjoyed and one after another declared their willingness to serve Liu Yu loyally.

Liu Yu had them stand in a row, then ordered, "Zhao Yun, take men and mark them, to show they have submitted to our army."

Zhao Yun stepped forward at once and had men mark these subordinates. The subordinates were overwhelmed with gratitude; knowing they had not survived easily, they all declared they would serve Liu Yu loyally.

After handling these matters, Liu Yu returned to the imperial palace. He knew there was still one matter to deal with — Wang Yun.

Wang Yun was brought before Liu Yu. He looked at Liu Yu, his heart filled with hatred. He knew he was already doomed to die.

Liu Yu looked at Wang Yun and said, "Wang Yun, do you know your crime?"

Wang Yun snorted but said nothing.