Chapter 539

But he simply could not withstand Cai Zhu's enthusiastic hospitality.

Without leaving a drop, Liu Biao drank the soup Cai Zhu brewed for him completely.

Looking at the satisfied Liu Biao, a faint smile appeared on Cai Zhu's face.

……

Three days later,

following Xu Rong's fierce attack, the west city gate of Xiangyang City was about to fall in the midst of swaying wind and rain.

The general guarding this place was Wang Meng, a fellow townsman carefully cultivated by Liu Biao.

Liu Biao was not a fool.

The power in his hands, although occupied quite a bit by the three great Jingzhou aristocratic families,

but in terms of military power, Liu Biao also had to grab some into his own hands.

Wang Meng was specifically sought out by Liu Biao after he entered Jingzhou alone on horseback, by sending people back to his hometown in Shanyang Commandery, Yanzhou.

Although Wang Meng's ability in all aspects was not very outstanding,

he won by being loyal and devoted.

Thus, Liu Biao specifically placed him to guard the west city gate to prevent various emergencies.

However,

Xu Rong's main attack direction was exactly the west city gate.

Wang Meng guarded it very difficultly.

Following the loud sound of the battering ram falling,

the expression on Wang Meng's face became increasingly ugly.

Having no other choice, he had to instruct the guards beside him:

"Quick, go request support from other city gates!"

He thought that the guards beside him, upon hearing his instructions, should immediately get up and head to other city gates.

But what Wang Meng did not expect was,

the guard beside him silently drew the long knife hidden behind his back.

"Pfft!"

The long knife was inserted into Wang Meng's chest.

The sudden assassination meant Wang Meng did not even have the chance to leave his last words.

Subsequently, the guard cut off Wang Meng's head, held it in his hand, and shouted sternly:

"Wei Wenchang of Yiyang is here!"

"The head of the bandit general Wang Meng has already been cut off by me!"

"Brothers on the city tower, follow me to rise for righteousness!"

As the words fell,

over a hundred soldiers followed Wei Yan to open the city gate with all their might.

Xu Rong's army outside the city tower instantly poured in one after another.

And Xu Rong himself was also in the ranks of those entering the city this time.

"Well done, Wei Yan; you are truly worthy of being someone the Chancellor thinks highly of."

Xu Rong patted Wei Yan on the shoulder to show encouragement.

At this time, Wei Yan was only seventeen years old, far from the fierce general of Shu Han in the original history.

But as a transmigrator, how could Gu Yi not recruit this fierce general into his camp in advance?

He did not recruit him before, firstly because Gu Yi was too far from Jingzhou.

Secondly, it was because Wei Yan was too young.

In reality, Wei Yan only joined Liu Biao's camp this spring.

Before this, he had not served any faction.

(PS: Wei Yan's age was far younger than the Five Tiger Generals.)

(According to research, in the year 200 AD of the Battle of Guandu, Wei Yan was at most twenty years old.)

(Some books set Wei Yan to have debuted in the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184 AD; this setting is extremely unreasonable. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Wei Yan was at most four or five years old, still a child playing with mud.)

……

Not long ago, when Gu Yi left Wancheng to return to Chang'an, he had given Xu Rong some instructions.

Recruiting Wei Yan into the army was exactly Gu Yi's instruction.

And Wei Yan's loyalty to Liu Biao... emmm, it could only be said that it was almost equivalent to none.

After all, Wei Yan was just an ordinary soldier forcibly conscripted into the army.

Although his martial arts were outstanding, in Xiangyang City, he was no different from other defenders.

But Xu Rong, out of trust in Gu Yi, specifically sent intelligence guards to infiltrate Xiangyang and extend an olive branch to Wei Yan.

Afterward, there was the matter of Wei Yan defecting and beheading Wang Meng on the west city gate.

Of course, the reason Wei Yan could become a guard beside Wang Meng had to do with some of his own cunning.

With his not-bad martial arts, he specifically displayed his martial arts when Wang Meng passed by before.

When Wang Meng saw it, he immediately transferred him to his side to serve as a guard.

Wei Yan was also a character who dared to fight and struggle.

Although, even without his defection, Xu Rong would sooner or later break through the west city gate.

But Wei Yan, who was eager to express himself, decided to seize the opportunity to finish off Wang Meng in advance!

In this way, he could take Wang Meng's head to establish a great merit.

Facts proved that Wei Yan bet correctly.

In the memorial Xu Rong presented to Gu Yi, he would truthfully report the achievements of Wei Yan in this battle.

In other words,

the days when Wei Yan would be highly valued and fly high were coming.

……

Following Wang Meng's death,

Xu Rong successfully captured the west city gate.

Learning the news that the west city gate was lost, the fighting spirit of the defenders at the other city gates of Xiangyang instantly dropped.

Having no other choice, Liu Biao, after a brief discussion with Kuai Yue and Cai Mao, decided to retreat all defenders to the inner city.

Compared to the outer city, although the inner city was much smaller in area,

the narrow roads and sturdy inner city walls were easier to build defenses.

Just like this, the Xiangyang defenders collectively retreated backward.

But how could Xu Rong, Li Jue, and Guo Si let go of such a once-in-a-thousand-years good opportunity?

Under their call, over one-third of the Xiangyang defenders chose to surrender.

The remaining part, although they did not surrender, their own morale had also fallen to the bottom.

In the City Lord's Mansion,

Liu Biao's face became increasingly ugly.

Suddenly, Cai Zhu came over with another bowl of soup.

She said to Liu Biao with deep affection:

"Darling, drink this chicken soup (Kun soup) quickly." (Dog-head emoji, funny)

"If you tire your body out, that would not be good."

Liu Biao, who was overwhelmed, wanted to open his mouth to refuse.

But in the blink of an eye,

seeing Cai Zhu's aggrieved face like pear blossoms in the rain, Liu Biao's heart could not help but soften.

He picked up the bowl of soup and drank it in one gulp,

but he did not notice at all that the smile on Cai Zhu's face was becoming increasingly twisted.

Five minutes later, Liu Biao's body gradually appeared dizzy.

At first, he thought it was because of too much pressure and too much hard work.

But soon, Liu Biao felt as if his stomach was being twisted by a knife. ===== CHAPTER 540 =====