Chapter 11: The Great Battle of Fu City

  Liu Zhang sensed the disappointment and despair in Fa Zheng's tone, his expression unchanged. He gazed at the troops fighting valiantly before him for a long time before slowly saying: "Xiao Zhong, it has come to this point; if I truly didn't trust you, do you think you could still stand by my side? With your talent, even when Liu Zhang is in dire straits, he cannot let you serve him, and will undoubtedly kill you."

  Fa Zheng was startled and looked up, "What does your lordship mean?"

  Liu Zhang said in a low voice: "If you want to know why I don't let you go on a mission to Pang Xi, you should think about why I brought 5,000 soldiers and horses to Fu Cheng."

  Fa Zheng pondered for a moment and said: "The lord brought 5,000 troops to Fu City, using himself as bait to lure Zhao Wei to attack, and then annihilate him. However, what Fa Zheng didn't understand was that since the lord had already detected Zhao Wei's treacherous heart, with his exceptional talent and broad vision, he should have stayed in Chengdu

  Taking advantage of the rich human and material resources around Chengdu, expanding the power of the state government, gradually eroding Zhao Wei's influence, and sowing discord between Pang Xi and Zhao Wei, leading to a struggle between the two tigers, is the best strategy. Why take such a great risk alone, bringing 5,000 troops into Wencheng? Fa Zheng thought this move was very unwise, after all, the lord holds justice in his hands, and time is on the lord's side."

  Liu Zhang smiled lightly and said, "Xiao Zhi, I know you are from Fufeng, not a Shu person. Why do your eyes only see one corner of Shu? Now Cao Cao is dominating the Central Plains, with Yuan Shao in Hebei, their swords drawn and bows stretched. Sun Quan has unified Jiangdong, and the aristocracy and people are loyal to him. Must we spend all our time on internal strife?"

  You said that time is on my side, indeed, if I deliberately do so, after three to five years, I will be able to eliminate Zhao Wei and Pang Xi. However, what will the situation be like in three to five years? Cao Cao and Yuan Shao must have one party win out, at that time the entire North, two-thirds of the population of the Great Han, will be entirely in the hands of that northern overlord, what can we use to contend with him?

  The Sun family's power in Jiangdong is deeply rooted, and three to five years later, the power of Jiangdong will be as solid as gold soup. How much more strength do we need to defend against this great threat in the southeast?

  "If we were to settle in a corner, time would be on my side, but looking at the world, it's already not waiting for me. This is the real reason why I brought 5,000 troops to Fu City. I want to quickly defeat Zhao Wei and wipe out this great scourge of Western Shu, so that we can then conquer Jingzhou and Hanzhong, and support the Han Dynasty."

  The night wind was biting, and the moonlight shone like silver on the walls of Fu City, where the ruler and his ministers stood. The wind lifted their wide sleeves, and Fa Zheng stood quietly, his heart thoroughly shaken. He had not expected that Liu Zhang's thoughts were so profound, yet in a desperate situation, he still had a broad vision for the world. This was what a true heroic lord would do. The image of the weak and incompetent ruler that had previously existed in Fa Zheng's eyes completely collapsed, and standing up again was a king worthy of his lifelong devotion.

  Fa Zheng bowed his head and said: "My lord has a high vision, with ambitions that reach the heavens. Fa Zheng wishes to share life and death with my lord. If we survive this great calamity, Fa Zheng will devote his entire life to serving my lord, even if it means sacrificing his own life, in order to help my lord achieve his imperial ambitions."

  Liu Zhang did not look back at Fa Zheng, but instead gazed into the distance. No matter how great one's ambitions are, they must have fate to fulfill them. The current crisis made Liu Zhang dare not confirm that he could get through it, and he could only be a true gambler: if he won, then Shu would be settled; if he lost, then he would die without a place to bury his body.

  "Huang Quan, don't let me down." Liu Zhang said quietly into the distance.

  Zhang Ren personally took to the battlefield, killing enemies and staining his uniform with blood. The city's defenders were nearly wiped out, and gaps began to appear on the walls. Liu Hua led all the soldiers inside the city, including the yamen runners, in a charge up to the top of the wall. Meanwhile, the remaining three sides of the city had already begun to be breached by rebel cavalry pouring into the city, and Fu City was at its most critical moment.

  Lei Tong could no longer afford to harass the rebels in the dark, and joined forces with Deng Xian to launch a fierce attack on Zhao Wei's main camp. He clashed with Pang Le's cavalry, but was blocked by 3,000 cavalrymen and 5,000 infantrymen. Lei Tong charged repeatedly for over ten times, but failed to break through the rebel formation.

  "A small group of rebels has entered the city, Lord Wang is organizing the household troops of the wealthy families to resist, please send reinforcements quickly." A soldier rushed from the inner city to report.

  Liu Zhang let out a sigh and said in a cold voice, "Tell Wang Chong that there will be no reinforcements. Have him bring the officials from Fu City who are willing to pledge their loyalty to me to Dong City. I intend to engage in a battle to the death with Zhao Wei at Dong City."

  The soldier hesitated for a moment, then responded loudly: "Yes." Then he rushed towards the inner city.

  Liu Zhang slowly drew his sword, raised it high towards the sky and shouted loudly: "Officers and soldiers, the rebel army is attacking the city in full force. We are outnumbered, now I am going to fight a decisive battle with the rebels. Those who are afraid, regardless of whether you are officials, strategists, generals or soldiers, I permit you to withdraw to the inner city. Those who are willing to follow me, come with me to kill the enemy and burn the rebels to ashes."

  "I will die loyal to my lord." Zhang Ren beheaded one of the attacking rebels and knelt down with his sword.

  Rather die splashing blood on the city walls than take a single step back.

  Thousands of blood-soaked soldiers raised their long spears high, shouting loudly: "Blood splattered on the walls of Wei City, we will never retreat." "Blood splattered on the walls of Wei City, we will never retreat." "Swear to die for our lord, kill."

  The three armies shouted loudly, their momentum shaking the sky. Even the rebel army besieging the city below changed color, and the defending troops on the city wall regained their morale, fighting bravely at each wall to kill the enemy, and the rebel offensive was repelled once again.

  Zhao Wei, who was getting anxious about the siege of the city, also started to worry about the morale and physical strength of the soldiers. He advised Zhao Wei: "My lord, our four troops have been taking turns attacking the city, each troop has attacked more than three times, their physical strength may not be able to hold on for much longer. I suggest that this time we launch a full-scale attack, with the commando team following behind, but with no retreat allowed, and fight to the death. We will make one final desperate charge, and Fu City will definitely fall in one battle."

  "Good." Zhao Wei agreed immediately with an anxious look.

  More than 10,000 soldiers charged at the same time, and it was impossible to deploy them on the city wall. A rain of arrows flew down from the city head, and a large number of rebel soldiers died after being shot by arrows. However, the momentum of this collective charge was also extremely fierce. All the ladders were used up, and the rebels climbed up from all directions. The defenders on the city wall fought to the death, but they could not withstand the surging tide of rebels. A wall with more than 20 soldiers was completely wiped out, and the rebels finally conquered the city head.

  Liu Zhang didn't think twice, drew his sword and rushed forward, with Fa Zheng shouting behind him, as if he hadn't heard.

  "Protect the lord!" Zhang Ren shouted loudly, leading dozens of soldiers to charge forward. The remaining soldiers saw their lord drawing his sword and joining the battle, their courage doubled, even heavily injured soldiers struggled to get up and resist the rebels.

  Zhang Ren killed a rebel general who was climbing up the city wall with one shot, blood splashing everywhere. The rebels became fearful and Liu Zhang led his soldiers to launch a fierce attack, filling in the gap once again. Half an hour passed, and the east city was still under the control of the defending army, while the rebels showed signs of retreat. Some rebels were exhausted and fainted on the spot, while others were intimidated by the defenders' momentum and ran towards the rear, only to be killed one by one by the disciplinary squad.

  The rebels are now at the end of their strength, and even if a thousand fresh soldiers were to join them, they could still hold the city of Fu. However, there are less than a thousand defenders on the walls, most of whom are wounded, and swinging their spears is already an effort for them; the fall of Fu City is only a matter of time.

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