The Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Tan, intercepted Guo Jia's...

Chapter 111 Jiangdong can do without Cheng Pu, but not without Sun Bofu!

Sun Ce trembled as he watched the one-sided massacre within the breach.

It was precisely because of his own mistakes that he fell into Yuan Tan's trap time and time again.

These soldiers, who had followed him in unifying Jiangdong, were now being charged into the ground in droves by the oncoming cavalry.

The entire Jiangdong position had become a disorganized mess.

If it weren't for his usual strictness and kindness, his men would probably have already fled for their lives without a care.

Jiang Qin was dragged back by his personal guards, blood gushing from his wounds.

He stared at the closing gap, at Zhao Yun fighting in the midst of the battle, his lips moved, but no sound came out.

He was starting to doubt his own existence. If it weren't for his shout just now, Jiang Dongjun might not have collapsed.

How could Yuan Tan have such a brilliant plan?

Cheng Pu grabbed Sun Ce: "My lord! This is no use! Retreat immediately!"

Retreat? Where to retreat to?

Not far away, Jia Xu's cavalry patrolled outside, while Guo Jia's infantry had already formed an encirclement.

"Sun Ce! Do you dare to fight Zhao Yi?"

Zhao Yun's voice pierced through the battle cries and came through clearly.

He knocked a Jiangdong bandit leader away, and pointed his silver spear in Sun Ce's direction.

Sun Ce was startled. He looked around.

Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Zhou Tai—each of them bore wounds and wore despair in their eyes.

Looking further into the distance, the Jiangdong youths were routed by the cavalry charge and fell as they were surrounded by the circular formation.

Huainan was not captured, and the Qiao sisters became someone else's possession... Now, even the last seed will be buried here.

Because he acted arbitrarily, because he was enraged.

"Bo Fu...I have no face...to see the elders of Jiangdong again..."

Sun Ce murmured, his eyes vacant.

Am I really going to become the Hegemon-King of Western Chu?

Pooh!

Xiang Yu at least succeeded in destroying the Qin Dynasty, and initially he also easily defeated Liu Bang.

Who do you think you are, to even compare yourself to others?

Fine, fine! You, Yuan Tan, wanted to kill me, didn't you?

Even if I die, I'll take as many people down with me.

Zhao Yun's voice came again:

"I've long heard of the valiant Little Conqueror of Jiangdong, but today I see only a stray dog!"

A stray dog.

Sun Ce's pupils contracted; his fighting spirit had been completely ignited.

He slowly straightened his body and gripped the ancient sword tightly.

"Gongfu, Yigong, Youping," Sun Ce said in a terrifyingly calm voice, "Take Gongyi and the brothers who can still move, head west, along the foot of the mountain, there might be a glimmer of hope."

"My lord!" Cheng Pu exclaimed urgently.

"This is a military order," Sun Ce interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over the three veteran generals. "Jiangdong cannot be wiped out. Let's go."

He stopped looking at them, picked up his sword, strode towards the gap in the battle, towards the direction from which Zhao Yun's voice came.

Cheng Pu gritted his teeth, Han Dang's eyes turned red, and Zhou Tai roared, but the three of them finally lifted the unconscious Jiang Qin and roared as they gathered the remaining troops.

Sun Ce charged forward alone against the retreating soldiers.

When the Jiangdong soldiers saw him, they froze, then silently turned around and followed behind him.

Ten men, twenty men, fifty men... all wounded soldiers, all suicide soldiers.

They formed a small arrowhead and thrust it towards the closed circular formation, towards Zhao Yun within it.

So you're Zhao Yun, huh?

You are the one who caused the slaughter of all the sons of Jiangdong?

Hmph! If I kill you, Yuan Tan will definitely feel heartbroken, won't he?

Don't blame me for ambushing you.

Your master is even more despicable than me!

If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for following the wrong person.

On the other side, Guan Yu's army was under fierce attack from the Jiangdong army as they broke through the encirclement.

Yuan Tan ordered his soldiers to press from the southeast, deliberately leaving pressure in the northwest, so that more Jiangdong troops would rush towards Guan Yu's position.

Guan Yu was surrounded and his Green Dragon Crescent Blade danced like the wind, slaying several men, but he himself was also slightly injured.

A stray arrow struck the joint of his right shoulder armor, causing Guan Yu's body to shudder violently and nearly fall.

"Second Brother!" Zhang Fei led a hundred cavalrymen to the scene and barely managed to stabilize the battle line.

At the crucial moment, Yuan Tan feigned arriving with a large force.

The breach has been plugged.

Of Liu Bei's two thousand soldiers, only one in ten survived.

Guan Yu's face was ashen as he was carried to the rear tent.

Yuan Tan immediately ordered, "Give up my main tent and summon the physician! Use the best medicine!"

Inside the tent, the physician removed the arrowheads from Guan Yu's body.

Yuan Tan stayed by his side, inquiring about his injuries from time to time.

He tested the temperature of the ginseng soup, carefully helped the unconscious Guan Yu up, and had the physician feed him the medicine.

"Has the bleeding stopped?"

"Is the ginseng soup still warm?"

"Go and fetch some more of the best ginseng."

The remaining soldiers of Liu Bei's army inside the tent were all deeply moved by this scene.

"Yuan Qingzhou is truly kind and benevolent."

"General Guan was so badly injured; it was all thanks to Yuan Qingzhou's medical treatment."

"I never expected Yuan Qingzhou to be so devoted to Liu Yuzhou's subordinates."

Standing outside the tent, Zhang Fei watched Yuan Tan guarding Guan Yu's bedside, never taking off his clothes, personally tending to him and feeding him water. His tense expression eased slightly, though his brows remained furrowed as he gazed outside the tent, lost in thought.

Brother! Was it really the right thing for us to side with Yuan Tan back then?

While carefully taking care of Guan Yu, Yuan Tan secretly chuckled to himself.

Even if Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had some complaints about this move, they probably wouldn't have anything to say.

The soldiers could only marvel at their own benevolence.

After all, I personally served you tea and water; I really care about you guys!

Huh? You said your entire army suffered heavy casualties?

So you blame me because you're not good enough?

……

"Zilong! Watch out behind you! A sneak attack!"

Gan Ning, who had been chasing after Sun Ce, suddenly saw him sneakily approaching Zhao Yun and knew that something bad was about to happen.

He quickly shot an arrow to remind him.

Although Zhao Yun's ability to command troops and his martial arts skills far surpassed his own,

He usually seems rather arrogant, as if he doesn't care about his identity as a pirate.

But he didn't want to just watch the other person die.

The thought of Zhao Yun owing me a favor for life is incredibly exciting.

Gan Ning's arrow shot from the back of his horse thirty paces away, aiming straight for Sun Ce's back.

Upon hearing the sound, Zhao Yun instinctively paused in his spear thrust and turned to the side.

During this meal, Sun Ce's Ancient Ding Blade arrived.

The blade did not pierce Zhao Yun's throat, but instead slashed at his back.

In an instant, the armor shattered, and blood splattered all over the ground.

Zhao Yun groaned and fell off his horse.

The silver spear slipped from his hand and stuck into the ground.

Thanks to Gan Ning's arrow, Zhao Yun managed to dodge in time and was not hit in a vital spot.

Otherwise, if Sun Ce had struck with that knife, the banquet might have started immediately.

Sun Ce was also shot in the left arm by an arrow, the arrowhead piercing through. He staggered a step but did not fall.

He was about to go up and finish her off when he found that Gan Ning had already charged at him on horseback.

Left with no other choice, they could only hide among the Jiangdong army behind them.

Unable to find Sun Ce, Gan Ning could only check on Zhao Yun's injuries first:

"Zilong, is he dead?"

Zhao Yun pushed himself up and sat up. The wound on his back was so deep that the bone was visible, and blood soaked through his battle robe.

He was panting, looking at Gan Ning with his usual smug expression:

"It's alright!"

"I saved you, and this is the look you give me?"

Gan Ning didn't turn his head, trying to find Sun Ce in the crowd.

"Consider it a debt I owe you," Zhao Yun coughed up blood. "I will definitely repay you."

"Pah, who cares?" Gan Ning spat. "Hurry up and bandage him, or he'll die."

As the two were talking, Sun Ce slowly retreated.

The Qingzhou soldiers had surrounded them, their spears like a forest.

Sun Ce retreated to a small hill, where Cheng Pu, Zhou Tai, and others fought desperately to protect him.

There were fewer than a hundred people left around, all of them wounded.

There were soldiers in front, cavalry behind, and mountains and rivers on the left and right.

The routed Jiangdong soldiers either surrendered or died, and even the shouts on the battlefield gradually subsided.

"My lord, we can't escape now."

Cheng Pu's voice was hoarse.

Jiang Qin leaned against a rock, his face pale, unable to speak, only shaking his head.

Zhou Tai drew his sword and stood in front, his body bearing several wounds, blood flowing down the hilt of the sword.

Sun Ce looked at them, then at Zhao Yun, who was being carried away by his personal guards in the distance, and at the Qingzhou army that was gathering its troops.

Under the central military banner, Yuan Tan's figure could be vaguely seen.

"It's my fault that I've dragged you all into this," Sun Ce said.

"My lord, why do you say such a thing!" Cheng Pu exclaimed urgently. "Today's defeat is not due to a lack of skill in battle, but rather to Yuan Tan's treachery..."

"Defeat is defeat." Sun Ce interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "Sun Ce is incompetent, causing the deaths of his entire army. The only way to atone for my failure in Jiangdong is to die."

"My lord, you mustn't!" Cheng Pu knelt down with a thud. "Jiangdong can do without Cheng Pu, but it cannot do without Sun Bofu!"

Jiang Qin struggled and tried to kneel down.

Zhou Tai turned around, his eyes bloodshot.

"Demou," Sun Ce helped Cheng Pu up, his voice low, "take the brothers who can still move and surrender. Yuan Tan wants to kill me, so perhaps he will spare you."

"My lord!"

Cheng Pu burst into tears.

Just then, Huang Gai, who had been silent all along, glanced around and then looked at the Qingzhou army that was preparing to encircle them in the distance. His eyes flashed.

"My lord, perhaps... there is another way."

Huang Gai lowered his voice and spoke very quickly.

"The mountains and forests are dense on the right, and the river is swift on the left. Yuan Tan's forces have also been weakened, and the pursuing troops will surely split into two groups, one pursuing the mountains and forests, and the other blocking the riverbank."

He pointed to the mountains and forests:

"Please give me the brocade robe and cloak, my lord. I, along with Yi Gong and Gong Yi, will flee into the mountains in three separate groups, carrying your banner. We will shout loudly to attract the main force of the pursuing troops."

It also refers to river water:

"The lord removed his armor and robes, wearing only a single garment, and took advantage of the chaos to sneak to the riverbank and swim across. There was also a path on the other side that led to the river. As long as he could cross the river, there was hope for survival."