Chapter 324

Chapter 324

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 10: The World in Chaos, the Time of Struggle Chapter 324: The Death of Huang Zu

The sound of horse hooves shattered the dark night.

Sun Ce’s attack left no room for Huang Zu to resist.

He stationed his troops in Damoshi County of Kuaiji Prefecture, between present-day Quzhou and Jinhua, heading west into the Yushui River basin, straight towards Linru.

The nighttime movement seemed loud, but it avoided detection by the people, preventing Huang Zu’s spies in Kuaiji from knowing Sun Ce’s movements.

This battle was indeed a must-win for him!

Huang Zu’s base in Nanchang, the capital of Yuzhang Prefecture, was surrounded by lakes like Poyang Lake and Junshan Lake, providing an excellent barrier against Sun Ce’s forces from the east.

Sun Ce would not forget that his father died after crossing the Dongting Lake in Jing Province, so he would never follow in his footsteps.

He chose another path to attack Huang Zu—first taking Linru, then turning north to capture Nanchang.

Huang Zu’s defenses in Linru were already weak.

The 700-mile journey from Damoshi to Linru was not flat, and even with cavalry, it would take at least two days, let alone infantry, with almost no cities to resupply along the way.

Unless Sun Ce was out of his mind, he shouldn’t choose this route. Even bypassing the Poyang Lake basin and fighting city by city would consume less manpower than this deep incursion.

But Qiao Yan’s successful campaign provided Sun Ce with an effective model, and his troops, from generals to soldiers, were unwavering in their resolve to avenge Sun Jian.

Such a force cutting deep into Yuzhang Prefecture should not be called a lone army but rather a sharp knife piercing the heart!

The lack of cities was their greatest advantage.

Stopping in this sparsely populated area was hard to detect.

Even if someone noticed, they would be spotted by Sun Ce’s scouts before they could report.

The army only took one long rest along the way. Sun Ce, holding his polished spear, watched the Yushui River flow by and suddenly remembered the conversation he had with his father by the river when his father intended to head north.

He followed the feasible method he discussed with his father, step by step, to become the Governor of Yang Province, but his father’s life remained forever in Jing Province.

But no matter! He would inherit his father’s will and make this army, at least in the south, an invincible force that strikes fear into the hearts of all!

“General Huang Gai, I will not lose this battle,” Sun Ce said, hearing footsteps behind him and turning to see Huang Gai approaching.

“You know what I want to say is not whether you will lose, but…” Huang Gai suddenly stopped himself.

From Sun Ce’s determined expression, he could see that some words were unnecessary.

If he were to suggest that Sun Ce leave the vanguard to them and not take the lead himself, Sun Ce would likely not listen.

If he did that, would he still be Sun Ce?

Huang Gai changed the subject, “General, you need to save your strength for attacking Nanchang. Linru should be left to us subordinates. Otherwise, we who follow you would have no chance to participate in the battle, and it would be a waste of our salaries, don’t you think?”

Sun Ce laughed, “Huang Gai, since you say so, I will watch your performance closely. If the city is taken too slowly, your salary this year will be deducted to aid the disaster-stricken people.”

This joke lightened the fatigue of their journey.

Huang Gai, looking at Sun Ce’s youthful face, couldn’t help but smile.

With such a successor, Sun Jian should rest in peace in the afterlife.

He would surely secure his position as Governor of Yang Province and gradually reclaim all the land of Yang.

When this force suddenly appeared at the gates of Linru, it was midnight.

Due to the harvest season, even the city’s defenders had been granted leave to assist with farming.

The magistrate of Linru, thinking that Kuaiji Prefecture would likely remain quiet during this season, approved the leave.

But this lax defense became their fatal weakness.

Even a well-defended city would struggle to withstand Sun Ce’s assault, let alone Linru in its current state.

Sun Ce didn’t even give them a chance to send out a message before capturing the city.

The city’s defender, Chen Jiu, a trusted aide of Huang Zu, was killed by Huang Gai as a sacrifice when the city fell.

After a brief rest, Sun Ce ordered some of his troops to don the uniforms of the city’s defenders and pretend to be retreating towards Nanchang.

In the ensuing daytime assault, they would keep the city gates open, allowing his cavalry to charge in.

The characteristics of southern soldiers were not much different. Sun Ce’s Yang Province troops and Huang Zu’s Jing Province troops were from neighboring provinces, and with Huang Zu recruiting local soldiers in Yuzhang, there was no obvious flaw.

When these soldiers arrived at the city gates, the defenders of Nanchang let their disheveled comrades in and sent word to Huang Zu.

Little did they know that Sun Ce’s forces were already near Nanchang!

“Linru has fallen?” Huang Zu was startled, sitting up straight.

The exotic parrot by his side, startled by his sudden movement, flapped its wings and flew to a high beam.

“Yes, the fleeing soldiers said so. They claimed they only escaped because they were at the north gate during the fall and were in charge of the stables, allowing them to flee and bring the news to Nanchang, urging you to prepare defenses.”

Sun Ce, Sun Ce!

Huang Zu muttered.

It had been nearly four years since Sun Ce arrived in Yang Province.

Those troublesome Shanyue and the noble families of Wu Commandery, no matter how much they wanted to cause him serious trouble, could only stir up minor ripples as his foundation in Yang grew stronger.

This young man had become the backbone of his army.

Sun Jian’s death had not weakened them but instead turned them into a true force of vengeance!

It was only a matter of time before they attacked Yuzhang!

Even earlier this year, many areas bordering Yuzhang, Lujiang, Danyang, and Kuaiji had already been swallowed up.

Huang Zu had considered abandoning his position as Prefect of Yuzhang and returning to Jiangxia, where he could rely on the support of the Huang Clan and avoid the growing threat from Sun Ce.

But Huang Zu was also reluctant to give up his current life.

In Yuzhang, though he was under Liu Biao’s jurisdiction, being in Yang Province rather than Jing Province gave him a degree of independence.

This made him feel freer than ever before.

But now, this freedom had come back to haunt him, as Sun Ce’s attack proved!

In the face of life and death, freedom and wealth had become trivial to Huang Zu.

“Do I need to teach you? Quickly summon the defenders from Haihun and Yuhan to Nanchang, and send a force south to intercept Sun Ce across the river!”

Huang Zu stood up abruptly. Seeing the messenger soldier hesitate, as if not understanding his orders, he kicked him.

The parrot, previously startled, now flapped its wings and cried, “Deploy troops! Deploy troops!”

The soldier rushed out, but just as he crossed the threshold, Huang Zu shouted, “Wait! Spread the word in the city: every household with able-bodied men must send someone to defend the city!”

But in this brief pause, a shrill alarm signal suddenly sounded from the south gate, echoing through half the city.

It reached Huang Zu’s ears.

His face turned grim.

For he clearly recognized the signal as the highest level of danger he had designated for his subordinates.

At the same time, the faint tremors beneath his feet signaled one thing—

Sun Ce had arrived!

Almost simultaneously with the fleeing soldiers from Linru, he had reached Nanchang!

Why he arrived so quickly was no longer the question.

Perhaps the fleeing soldiers were lazy, or perhaps Sun Ce, driven by vengeance, chose an all-cavalry assault to catch him off guard.

Now, the biggest problem was how to drive Sun Ce out.

“This brat really thinks I’m easy to bully, that he can just waltz into a prefectural capital!” Huang Zu cursed as he stormed out of the house. “His father fell into my trap, does this son think he has an extra head?”

His bold stance was quite impressive, but before he could leave the government office, another person rushed towards him in panic, shouting before he even arrived—

“General, it’s bad, the south gate has been taken!”

Huang Zu stopped in his tracks, feeling as if someone had struck his head from a distance.

How long had it been since the alarm sounded? Why had his supposedly tight defenses fallen so quickly?








The South Gate, which was supposed to be defended to the death, has already been breached?

Years of combat intuition made him realize that this was most likely because the defeated soldiers fleeing from Linru were not his own men, but rather Sun Ce’s inside agents arranged to infiltrate the city!

Unfortunately, discovering this situation now holds little significance for Nanchang City.

He shouted sternly to his personal guards, “Someone! Immediately reinforce the inner city walls. As long as the enemy hasn’t attacked here yet, we still have a chance to counterattack.”

Huang Zu had never been more grateful than at this moment, grateful that he had the idea to differentiate treatment from ordinary civilians, which led him to build an inner city wall between the original outer wall and the prefectural government office.

Even if there were really defending troops fleeing from Linru, they wouldn’t need to enter this inner wall area, leaving him with a final barrier.

He gritted his teeth and immediately issued a second order, “Command Colonel Su to take my son away! Quickly!”

Huang Zu’s anxiety had reached its peak.

Sun Ce’s sudden attack disrupted all his preparations, and because of the enemy’s determination in this offensive, he couldn’t help but feel that he might not wait for someone to persuade Sun Ce to withdraw his troops before the inner city walls would be directly breached.

To prevent facing Sun Ce’s revenge after the city falls, he must ensure his son is in a safe environment!

Taking advantage of the standoff between him and Sun Ce around the inner city walls, he must quickly escape back to Jiangxia!

Huang Zu couldn’t be unaware that sending his son away at this time would be a huge blow to morale.

After all, if even the prefect sends his son away, doesn’t it mean he already feels that defending the city is unlikely to succeed?

But he had to make such preparations in advance.

Thus, Colonel Su, who received his order, also known as Su Fei under Huang Zu, although feeling this move was untimely, immediately led a few people to disguise themselves and mixed Huang Zu’s son, Huang She, among the fleeing citizens.

Su Fei still had some brains for dealing with disasters, and Huang She, unlike his father, loved Cai Yong’s literary talent and had read many books. After some discussion, they knew that leaving the city at this time would undoubtedly make them targets for Sun Ce.

The best chance to escape was to leave when the city gates were wide open and the citizens were fleeing.

Huang She never imagined he would face such a situation.

Hearing the sounds of the siege from the inner city, the panic in his eyes was hard to suppress, “Colonel Su, do you think my father can stop Sun Bofu’s attack?”

Su Fei didn’t know how to answer.

If Nanchang’s outer city hadn’t been instantly breached, with the local defense standards, they might have held out until nearby reinforcements arrived, coordinating with Huang Zu inside the city to at least make Sun Ce withdraw his troops first.

But now, Huang Zu was extremely passive.

The number of people who could retreat into the inner city in time and launch a counterattack on the city walls was already very few, and half of the elite troops had to be removed. Those allowed to live in the inner city by Huang Zu were not as capable as the strong laborers in the outer city.

Perhaps… they couldn’t even hold out for two days.

He could only reply, “Young General, let’s first see when it’s suitable to leave the city.”

As for Huang Zu’s safety, it was no longer something they could concern themselves with.

Huang She was silent for a long time, finally uttering only one word, “Okay.”

He looked towards the inner city walls, his solemn face twitching with a few veins upon hearing the sounds of battle, but he could do nothing.

He could only wait for the most suitable time to escape the city, to save his own life, and one day seek revenge on Sun Ce for this blood debt!

Meanwhile, on the inner city walls, Huang Zu carefully looked out from under the cover of his subordinates, just in time to see Sun Ce riding over, showing no signs of fatigue from continuous travel and combat, but rather a resolute killing intent on his face, which he could only see from a distance.

The next moment, he saw Sun Ce raise his hand.

Arrows shot from afar filled the city walls in an instant.

Huang Zu had just been helped down from the walls by his subordinates to avoid indiscriminate attacks when someone noticed notes tied to the fallen arrows.

When one of these notes was handed to Huang Zu, he was shocked to see it read, “Here to avenge my father, harming no one in Yang Province.”

Huang Zu had just felt relieved because his soldiers’ literacy rate was low when he heard Sun Ce’s troops gathered around loudly shouting this sentence.

With Sun Ce’s temperament, he had no intention of letting others handle his revenge, so he didn’t plan to have the soldiers in the inner city capture Huang Zu and bring him forward.

After this shouting continued for nearly half an hour, Sun Ce suddenly led his troops to launch a fierce attack on Nanchang’s inner city.

The defending soldiers, already dissatisfied with Huang Zu sending his son away before the battle and now facing Sun Ce’s surrender demand, had little will to resist.

In contrast, Sun Ce’s side was fully prepared, and with the enemy who killed Sun Jian just a step away, their morale was overwhelming.

How could Huang Zu’s men stop such an enemy!

The inner wall he built to show wealth and power couldn’t hold either!

The moment the inner wall was breached, Huang Zu tried to escape but was intercepted by Sun Ce, then brought before the young general.

Sun Ce’s long spear pressed against Huang Zu’s throat.

“I’ve thought countless times about how I would act when I captured you, even thought about taking you to where my father died to kill you,”

Sun Ce’s cold gaze looked at Huang Zu’s trembling face, suddenly finding it somewhat boring, “But you don’t even deserve the name of a hero, why should I go to great lengths for you!”

“You go wait for Liu Biao in the underworld!”

He would settle accounts with Liu Biao eventually.

As soon as Sun Ce finished speaking, he thrust his spear through Huang Zu’s throat.

As Huang Zu’s consciousness faded, he heard Sun Ce order, “Someone, go capture all of Huang Zu’s family and descendants, make sure to eliminate them all.”

The consequence of not eliminating the roots is like today, coming here for revenge!

Regardless of whether Huang Zu’s son has the ability like Sun Ce, or the possibility of gathering a force threatening enough in the current situation, in short—

Kill first!

But Sun Ce soon received news that Huang Zu’s eldest son, Huang She, had been taken away by his subordinates when he first started attacking the city.

“Escaped quite fast,” Sun Ce’s eyes darkened, “Take the surrendered soldiers from Huang Zu and search towards Yuzhang County in the direction of Jiangxia! Make sure to bring these people back to me!”

However, Huang She had already escaped the city when Sun Ce launched the final strong attack.

Guessing that Sun Ce would likely choose to search and eliminate, he resolutely decided not to return to Jiangxia but to head north.

The existence of Poyang Lake gave him a great chance to evade Sun Ce’s pursuit, and since Poyang Lake connects to the Yangtze River, if he could find a boat to travel west, he could return to Jing Province in a safer way.

Even if Liu Biao didn’t intend to seek justice for his father, he could contact the Huang clan forces in Jiangxia himself and launch a counterattack against Sun Ce before he fully established himself in Yuzhang County.

But Huang She thought of this escape route, and Sun Ce, who had made countless assumptions about besieging Nanchang, wouldn’t overlook this possibility.

Even though Huang She and Su Fei reached the lakeside quickly, without riding horses to avoid exposure, they were still too slow.

There were soldiers patrolling and comparing portraits by the lake, some of whom were Huang Zu’s former subordinates.

This left no way out!

Retreating would expose them, moving forward would expose them, might as well take a gamble!

Huang She’s gaze swept around, finally settling on a merchant ship docked by the lake in the distance.

“Let’s go!”

He grabbed Su Fei and, taking advantage of the boatmen loading goods, hurriedly boarded one of the cargo ships, hiding inside a cargo box.

Once settled in the box, he finally let out a long breath.

If he wasn’t mistaken, these merchant ships had just undergone an inspection by Sun Ce’s men, so they probably wouldn’t face a second one soon.

As long as these ships set sail quickly, he would be temporarily safe.

No matter where these ships were heading, leaving Poyang Lake and avoiding Sun Ce’s eyes, he had a chance to survive.

Unbeknownst to him, his and Su Fei’s escape was clearly seen by two people on another boat on the lake.

Qiao Ting retracted the telescope from the window and looked at Qiao Lan, who was also there.

In the seven or eight days since Sun Ce launched his attack, the two sisters hadn’t been idle.

With their roles only in the intelligence department, of course, they didn’t have the capability to save Huang Zu. After all, with Sun Ce’s current internal troubles, swallowing Yuzhang County in one go might not be a good thing.

But their observation and patrol weren’t entirely without gain.

“Sister, it seems we’ve caught a big fish.”

Qiao Lan adjusted her male attire for the merchant identity and smiled calmly, “You should call me brother now.”

Yes, they were just a pair of merchants who coincidentally encountered Huang She and Su Fei and had traded with Su Fei in Yuzhang County.

What bad intentions could they have?

They just wanted to play a game of leveraging forces to muddy the waters of Yang Province.