Chapter 72: Charging into Xudu

  (Thanks for the reward from Brother Yinhen, Brother Abccd and Brother Muyong)

  Jia Xian's subtle facial expression changes could hardly escape Yan Liang's eyes.

  Yan Liang knew that he had seen through the intentions of this poisonous scholar.

  Jia Xu seemed unable to believe that Yan Liang had actually guessed his thoughts, and for a moment he felt somewhat embarrassed.

  But in a twinkling, his expression returned to normal, and he smiled: "How is this possible? Jia Yu is an official of the imperial court, how can he go to surrender to Sun?"

  Jia Xian did not want to admit it.

  Yan Liang smiled faintly and said, "This is indeed a coincidence. Yan is also a loyal minister of the Han court. This time I came to Xudu just to protect the Son of Heaven. It seems that Yan and you are on the same path."

  Jia Yu was at a loss for what to say in response and could only smile awkwardly.

  "Since we are both loyal ministers of the Han court, that means our interests align. I see that you have nowhere to go now, so why not come and sit with me in Xinye? We can discuss ways to support the Han dynasty together."

  Jia Yu heard this and became anxious, opening his mouth as if to speak.

  Yan Liang didn't give him a chance to speak, waving his hand: "Come on, quickly invite Mr. Wen and the others to rest in the rear army, whoever dares to be slow will not be forgiven."

  As soon as he finished speaking, several soldiers came forward and dragged him onto his horse.

  "General, I still have a few words to say, let's not rush..." Jia Yu hastily shouted.

  Yan Liang interrupted with a smile, "There's plenty of time in the future, let's talk slowly after we return to Xin Ye."

  Having said that, he gave a wink and Zhou Cang shouted at a group of soldiers to take Jia Xu away.

  To make Jia Xun this poisonous scholar surrender, it's not just a few words that can persuade him. At present, Yan Liang doesn't have much time to waste on him either, so never mind whether he's willing or not, first "drag" him back to the old nest and then talk about it.

  Jia Xu was captured, and so was Hu Che Er, who had been bound with five flowers. Yan Liang urged his troops to hurry forward, continuing their advance towards Xuchang.

  Before long, Yan Liang led his swift cavalry and finally arrived at Xudu.

  At this time, Xudu City had already become a mess, the news of Guandu's defeat and Cao Cao's order to move west to Guanzhong had plunged the capital of the Han Empire into unprecedented panic.

  The army had long since withdrawn, and Xuchang became an undefended city. Yan Liang's forces entered the city through the south gate with almost no resistance.

  As far as the eye can see, the streets and alleys are filled with refugees, except for those officials who had long been secretly in contact with Yuan Shao, everyone is in a state of extreme fear.

  Yan Liang had originally intended to take advantage of the chaos to capture some of Cao Cao's civil and military talents, but this chaotic situation made it impossible for him to distinguish who was who.

  Helpless, Yan Liang had to give up his primary goal and ordered Zhou Cang to lead the army to rush to the treasury, transport the national treasury's wealth, while ordering Gan Ning's infantry to speed up their march and hurry to Xudu to assist in the transportation.

  Yan Liang led his troops to rush straight to Cao Cao's mansion, hoping to capture Cao Cao's family.

  As for Yan Liang, once Xu Du was defeated, Yuan Shao would become his greatest enemy. As for Cao Cao, if he could gain a foothold in Guanzhong, he might even form an alliance with him to resist Yuan Shao together.

  If Yan Liang could capture Cao Cao's family, it would add a bit of leverage to restrain Cao Cao. Whether Cao Cao is willing or not to join hands with himself, he will have some fear for himself.

  He urged his horse on, galloping wildly until he reached the Prime Minister's residence.

  In sight, Cao Cao's prime minister's mansion was already ablaze with flames soaring into the sky, and inside and outside the gate, swords and soldiers were rising, with hundreds of thousands of people killing each other.

  Yan Liang raised his eyes and took a glance, but saw that the two sides fighting were on one side Cao's soldiers, and on the other side were armed civilians dressed as ordinary servants.

  Yan Liang knew that before the Battle of Guandu, many aristocratic families and powerful clans in Xuchang did not think highly of Cao Cao and secretly colluded with Yuan Shao.

  Now before our eyes, this group of armed civilians must be the powerful and wealthy families who saw Cao Cao's defeat and took advantage of the opportunity to gather their private soldiers and servants to launch a mutiny, attempting to seize Cao Cao's residence.

  "Cao Cao has already left, and now you bunch of turncoats dare to show off your might. Is that impressive?"

  Yan Liang disdained in his heart, immediately swung his sword and horse, led his troops to kill into the Prime Minister's mansion.

  No matter whether you are Cao Jun or Hao Qiang's subordinate, anyone who blocks my way will be killed without mercy.

  Three hundred divine cavalrymen in black armor, like a black iron hammer, charged into the battlefield from behind the main gate and killed all the way to the backyard. Wherever they passed, no one was left alive, and the two groups of fighting men and horses were screaming and howling.

  Yan Liang's sudden intervention left both sides of the battlefield stunned.

  Cao Jun's side originally thought it was a relief army, but before they could even get excited, the cavalry's big knives swooped down, and heads rolled to the ground one after another.

  But those powerful and arrogant guests thought that this troop was an accomplice of some rebel army, who would have thought that the blade would turn to them in the blink of an eye.

  Blood splattered everywhere, limbs flew in all directions, and the magnificent mansion of the Noda family was soon awash with blood.

  All along the way, all I saw was the clash of underlings, and didn't see anyone with a decent appearance.

  "It seems Cao Cao reacted quickly and has already evacuated his family, no need to waste any more time here."

  Yan Liang saw that there was no family of Cao Cao, and he wanted to withdraw his troops to go elsewhere, but unexpectedly got entangled with a group of mobs here.

  Yan Liang gathered his troops and launched a surprise attack from the rear gate.

  The battle outside the back door was still going on, but this melee caught Yan Liang's attention.

  A horse carriage was parked near the left end of the rear gate, surrounded by dozens of strong men from the Hao family, while the remaining Cao army soldiers were desperately protecting the carriage, as if there was an important person on it.

  This place is very close to Xiangfu, and Cao Cao's family members are numerous. Perhaps one of them failed to withdraw in time and was intercepted by the rebels here.

  With this in mind, Yan Liang became excited again on horseback.

  Just as he was thinking, the few remaining Cao troops by the carriage were vastly outnumbered and had been killed by the rebels. Several dozen rebels then swarmed towards the carriage.

  Capturing Cao Cao's family and presenting them to Yuan Shao was naturally the best gift of surrender, and it's no wonder that these rebels were so excited.

  But what they didn't know was that in this chaotic city of Xu Du, a third force, Yan Liang, would suddenly appear.

  Yan Liang let out a loud shout, **the black steed's four hooves flew swiftly, one man and one horse shot out like lightning.

  Moving as fast as the wind, how can it be so quick? That group of rebels didn't even have time to react.

  But just as he saw a black light flash before his eyes, the head of one of the rebels who had just boarded the horse carriage flew into the air, severed at the neck, with fresh blood spraying upwards like a fountain, and the headless body swayed a few times before falling from under the carriage.

  The rebels were shocked and suddenly looked up to see a black armored knight standing tall like an iron tower in front of them.

  Yan Liang looked down on the enemy with disdain, as if looking at ants, and said coldly: "Cao Cao's family members are to be captured by me, how can you intervene? Those who don't want to die should leave quickly."

  The rebels were intimidated by Yan Liang's aura and for a moment they all froze and didn't dare move.

  "Where did this thieving dog come from, daring to rob us of our credit? Everyone rushed forward as one and hacked him into a pulp!"

  Someone in the crowd shouted, and the rebels, as if awakened from a dream, plucked up their courage and charged forward with a battle cry.

  The clay chicken and tile dog are really reckless with their lives.

  Yan Liang's mouth curled up with a cold smile, and the sharp gaze shot out killing intent. The long knife swung out in all directions like the smile of the god of death.

  In an instant, more than a dozen rebels were cut down like tofu, leaving the rest of them frightened and pale, as if they had seen a ghost.

  At this time, the cavalry of Shen Xing Ji rushed over and trampled those rebels like wolves.

  In the blink of an eye, the enemy near the horse carriage was swept away.

  Yan Liang, who was addicted to killing, jumped onto the carriage and swept his long knife, cutting down the curtain of the carriage.

  A woman's shrill cry suddenly came from inside the carriage.

  Yan Liang looked intently, but saw that there were two women in the carriage hugging each other tightly. The one who was screaming was dressed like a maid, and at this moment she had been frightened to the point of looking pale and tearful.

  Another woman, dressed in Chinese attire and looking elegant, was much calmer, like a refined lady from a good family, but her face was pale and she breathed rapidly, as if she were ill.

  "Who are you?" Yan Liang asked loudly.

  His voice was cold and stern, which scared the maid so much that she trembled with fear, crying and daring not to answer.

  The woman in Chinese clothing took a deep breath, her face calm and serene, and softly spoke out her own name.