Chapter 498

Prefect Zhao Zuo was somewhat worried,

"Old General Yan, our army only needs to defend Jiangzhou City well; why go out of the city to fight? Zhang Fei is valiant..."

Yan Yan cupped his hands,

"Prefect, Liu Bei is brave and skilled in battle, and will surely besiege Chengdu. If we don't take this chance to defeat Zhang Fei and remove one of Liu Bei's arms, when will we?"

That very night,

Yan Yan led his troops into Zhang Fei's camp, but unexpectedly, the camp was completely empty, filled only with straw men,

"Oh no, it's a trap!"

"That scoundrel Zhang Fei actually knows how to use strategy!"

Yan Yan doubted his own life; he had actually fallen for Zhang Fei's trick!

Soon,

Ten thousand arrows were fired simultaneously in the darkness, and the sounds of battle shook the heavens,

Yan Yan found himself surrounded instead, trapped in a crisis,

He led his troops to break out, but was blocked by Zhang Fei,

"Old General Yan, since you've come, you might as well stay as a guest for a few more days, haha."

Yan Yan was furious,

"Zhang Fei, you scoundrel, if you have the guts, fight me!"

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up; this was exactly what he wanted,

Soon, Yan Yan was knocked off his horse by Zhang Fei and tied up tightly.

Gan Ning on the other side had also seized Jiangzhou City!

Liu Bei's army did not commit the slightest offense against the people in the city, putting the citizens of Jiangzhou at ease, and they came out one after another to watch.

Yan Yan... I, the old man, have my pride too!

Zhang Fei called for a carriage and took Yan Yan to the Commandery Governor's office.

Yan Yan felt grateful in his heart.

Upon arriving at the office, Prefect Zhao Zuo and a series of other officials had already surrendered.

Yan Yan, however, did not intend to surrender,

"Zhang Fei, didn't you want to eat my flesh? Come on, hurry up and set up the pot and boil the water!"

Zhang Fei... he laughed loudly,

"Old General, you jest; that was just angry talk."

He personally untied Yan Yan,

"Old General, do not be troubled; this was a strategy set by my eldest brother and the military advisor, I was merely executing it."

Zhang Fei helped Yan Yan to the main seat and handed a bamboo slip to him,

"Old General, my eldest brother has appointed you as the Prefect of Ba Commandery, hoping you will continue to protect the one million and eighty thousand people of Ba Commandery."

Yan Yan was moved in his heart,

"Lord Xuande actually trusts us this much."

Yan Yan stood up and bowed deeply,

"General Zhang, I am willing to surrender!"

Zhang Fei laughed heartily,

"I have finally completed the most important task my eldest brother entrusted to me: to persuade the old general."

Everyone laughed.

Yan Yan inspected the entire city and found that order was well-maintained, Liu Bei's troops did not commit the slightest offense, and were even treating the previously wounded soldiers,

He felt ashamed in his heart,

"I was stubborn and ignorant, actually blocking such a benevolent and righteous army."

"General Zhang, I am willing to serve as the vanguard to persuade the defending generals of Guanghan, Mianzhu, and other places to surrender."

Zhang Fei was overjoyed,

"Thank you for your hard work, Prefect Yan."

This army of Zhang Fei's did not commit the slightest offense along the way; the defending troops in Guanghan, Mianzhu, and other places were all former subordinates of Yan Yan, and seeing that Yan Yan had already surrendered, and that Liu Bei was so popular with the people and skilled in battle, they opened their gates and surrendered one after another.

Zhang Fei exclaimed,

"Having an old person at home is like having a treasure!"

This army of his did not encounter any resistance along the way and soon arrived at the foot of Luo City, where they finally set up camp and stopped.

In Chengdu, Liu Zhang was greatly shocked,

"What? Jiangzhou City has fallen, and Yan Yan has also surrendered?!"

"And he is leading troops to persuade others to surrender along the way!"

Liu Zhang cursed loudly, this Yan Yan was also an ungrateful wretch,

In fact, Yan Yan had been a general in Yizhou for decades,

Liu Yan and Liu Zhang, father and son, had only been in control of Yizhou for about ten years in total,

Yan Yan represented the local interests of Ba Commandery, and it was merely a relationship of balance and compromise.

Zhang Song was secretly pleased; Liu Zhang's momentum was gone, and Lord Xuande was truly the one destined by heaven!

Liu Zhang was greatly anxious,

"What should be done!"

Wang Lei cupped his hands,

"My lord, Guangdu and Luo City are the northern and southern barriers of Chengdu; they must not be lost."

"Only by sending great generals to guard the two cities can we resist Liu Bei."

Liu Zhang nodded,

"Zhang Ren, you lead troops to guard Luo City."

"Fei Guan, you lead troops to guard Guangdu; you must guard the city well."

Fei Guan was Liu Yan's son-in-law, and his clan aunt was Liu Zhang's biological mother; he was the father of Fei Yi, one of the four ministers of Shu. With such a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, he naturally had to defect to Liu Bei,

He had actually been in contact with Liu Bei for a long time, intending to defect to him when the time came.

Zhang Song nodded secretly; with the pro-war faction's Zhang Ren sent away, the atmosphere of surrender in Chengdu became even stronger.

Five days later,

Liu Bei led his great army to the foot of Guangdu City,

Fei Guan opened the gates to surrender and welcomed Liu Bei into the city.

"Lord Xuande, I have been waiting for a long time."