Chapter 322: Approaching Shangjun

"Hmph, back then, that old thing Dong Zhuo, after seeing Fengxian's strength, feared that Fengxian would betray him in the future, so his son-in-law Li Ru came up with this despicable trick."

"The purpose was to ruin Fengxian's reputation so that no warlord in the world would dare to take him in."

Zhang Liao's tone was icy; clearly, he was also deeply ashamed of the actions of Dong Zhuo and his cohorts.

"Hiss..."

After hearing Zhang Liao's words, Xi Zhicai gasped; clearly, he was also shocked by such a shameless tactic.

If it were up to him, he would never come up with such a scheme against his own master.

If this matter were to spread and others found out you were such a person, who in the world would ever defect to you!

Since ancient times, those who win the hearts of the people win the world. No one would want to ruin their own reputation, yet Dong Zhuo and his cohorts did exactly that.

For such a person to have almost succeeded in rebelling—who would believe that if they heard it!

"I have only told you about this matter; you must not spread it. This matter still needs to be told by Fengxian himself."

Zhang Liao thought of Lü Bu's temper and immediately warned Xi Zhicai in a serious tone.

"Are you joking? Do I look like someone who would go around talking nonsense? You can rest assured!"

Hearing Zhang Liao's warning, Xi Zhicai immediately patted his chest and assured him.

"That would be best. I'm afraid that Fengxian will be unhappy if he finds out. He is such a proud person; he wouldn't want others talking about his pain."

Seeing Xi Zhicai's expression, Zhang Liao still explained, feeling uneasy.

"Actually, I think this matter is quite simple. As long as General Lü speaks to His Majesty about it and asks His Majesty to issue an imperial edict, wouldn't the matter be resolved?"

Xi Zhicai pondered for a while and said to Zhang Liao, puzzled.

"We told Fengxian about this back then, but he was afraid His Majesty wouldn't believe his words."

Hearing Xi Zhicai's words, Zhang Liao said to him helplessly.

"What's wrong with that? With His Majesty's wisdom and martial prowess, wouldn't he be able to distinguish truth from falsehood?"

In this regard, Xi Zhicai felt that based on Liu Bian's wisdom, he would certainly not disbelieve Lü Bu.

"It's just that we had just defected to His Majesty back then, and later we were all busy cultivating, so the matter was delayed..."

Speaking of this, they really couldn't be blamed. Ever since Liu Bian taught them the cultivation techniques, everyone had been cultivating for their lives and simply had no time to deal with other matters.

"That's true. Not to mention you all, back then, when I first learned about cultivation, I was also shocked."

"After cultivating, I became even more unable to stop. The feeling of possessing powerful strength is too fascinating!"

Xi Zhicai also agreed with Zhang Liao's statement. Thinking back, after he learned the cultivation technique, wasn't he also cultivating for his life?

If a civil official like him was like this, let alone these martial generals; they would only be even crazier.

"Alright, let's not worry about Fengxian's affairs. As for his business, let him speak to His Majesty about it later."

"Let's hurry on our way and try to reach Shangjun before His Majesty reaches Liangzhou."

The two chatted for a while longer, then Zhang Liao interrupted the topic and brought up serious business.

Soon, five days passed in a flash. Liu Bian's army had already reached Youfufeng, and in another three days, they would be able to reach Hanyang Commandery in Liangzhou.

As for Zhang Liao's side, because they were closer to Bingzhou, they had already arrived at the gates of Shangjun City.

"Listen, people in the city! I am the Commander of the Bingzhou Army of the Great Han Empire, Zhang Liao. Tell your defender to come out and speak."

At this moment, Zhang Liao, as the commander of an army, spurred his horse forward and stopped at a distance of one hundred and fifty steps from the gates of Shangjun City.

He shouted loudly and coldly at the soldiers of Shangjun City.

"What should we do? How could the imperial army arrive so quickly!"

"Yes, wasn't it said that it would take three more days to arrive? And with just our two thousand men, how can we resist their fifty thousand!"

"Yes, I wonder how Lord Niu Gao will handle this?"

"We should hurry and notify Lord Niu!"

The soldiers on the city gates were shocked when they heard that the person who had arrived was the Commander of the Bingzhou Army, Zhang Liao.

Seeing that fifty thousand troops had arrived, they immediately lost the will to fight and all became panicked.

Seeing that no one responded, Zhang Liao said impatiently to the city gates: "I will give you half a quarter-hour. If no one comes out to fight, I will order the army to attack the city."

"After half a quarter-hour, whether to fight or surrender, you decide for yourselves!"

After Zhang Liao finished speaking coldly to the city gates, he turned and returned to the front of the army, quietly waiting for the reaction of the people in the city.

At this moment, the soldiers in the city finally reacted and immediately sent someone to invite the defender of Shangjun, Niu Gao.

Soon, the soldier rushed into the Taishou Fu and shouted to Niu Gao, who was enjoying the dancing of several beauties: "My Lord, My Lord, it's bad!"

The soldier's voice was filled with anxiety and fear, and his voice even cracked.

"Bastard, how dare you disturb my pleasure? If you don't give me a clear explanation today, I will definitely make you regret it!"

Niu Gao, whose pleasure was disturbed, immediately slammed the table and shouted angrily at the soldier.

Afterwards, he said gently to the dancers: "My beauties, wait a moment. After I deal with this blind thing, we will continue, hehehe."

After speaking, he shouted angrily at the soldier again: "Speak, what exactly happened?"

"Reporting to My Lord, it is the Commander of the Imperial Bingzhou Army, Zhang Liao, who has led fifty thousand troops to the city gates. At this moment, he is challenging us outside the city!"

The soldier hurriedly told Niu Gao the whole story in one breath.

"What? How could it be so fast? This is fifty thousand troops! With just our two thousand men, there is no way to hold Shangjun City. What should we do!"

Hearing that the imperial army of fifty thousand had arrived at the city gates, Niu Gao was instantly panicked.

"And that Zhang Liao only gave us half a quarter-hour to consider. After half a quarter-hour, if we haven't made a decision, he will order the army to attack the city!"

Seeing that Taishou Niu Gao was also panicked, the soldier was also terrified and conveyed Zhang Liao's words to Niu Gao.

"What? This damn Zhang Liao, he only gave half a quarter-hour! What can be done in half a quarter-hour!"

"Even if we ask for reinforcements from my elder brother in Jinyang, it will take at least five days for reinforcements to arrive. And we only have two thousand men; there is no way to hold the city for five days under the attack of fifty thousand troops."

Niu Gao thought of all the methods he could think of in his mind in an instant.

However, these did not match the current actual situation and were of no use at all.

"It seems there is no other way. I can only abandon Shangjun City. Hurry and leave, otherwise, after the army enters the city, Zhang Liao will definitely not let me go."

In an instant, Niu Gao had the idea of abandoning the city and fleeing. ===== CHAPTER 323 =====