Seeing that the city gate was opened and the suspension bridge was lowered, Zhang He walked out of the inside alone, and Zhang Fei grinned.

The outcome of the competition is not important. As long as Zhang He opens the city gate, half of Handan City will be bought, and the remaining half will depend on how Bei Zhan persuades Zhang He to surrender.

Bei Zhan was ordered by Feng Ji to persuade the surrender. He originally planned to enter the city alone, but Zhang Fei changed his plan. He asked Bei Zhan to slow down and invited him to fight in the battle to force Zhang He to leave the city to test his intentions. As far as he knew, the troops led by Zhang He were divided into two parts, one was his private department, about a thousand people, one was the soldiers of Jizhou, up to ten thousand people, and the soldiers of Zhao State, about three to five thousand. Whether Zhang He could offer the city to surrender was not only determined by his own wishes, but also his influence on the soldiers of Jizhou and the soldiers of the county and state. According to Feng Ji's plan, at most, he could not guarantee that Zhang He could successfully surrender the city.

The war is imminent, and Zhang Fei does not want Handan to become a ruin. He wants to accept a complete Handan city and turn Handan into a fortress that blocks the Wu army's southward journey.

When Zhang Fei thought of Wu Jun, his mood was very complicated. Although he knew that this day would come sooner or later, when it came, his feelings were increasing day by day. Thinking of the oath he had made at that time, he felt a little regretful, but he didn't know what he regretted, whether he shouldn't accept Sun Ce's gift, or shouldn't make an oath, or shouldn't leave the Central Plains? He couldn't explain clearly.

But one thing is clear. He urgently hopes to convince Zhang He that he can continue to defend Handan and he can retreat to Wutao. He is unwilling to face Sun Ce, even if it is postponed for a moment.

Zhang He held the reins in one hand and the other hand. Not far from the suspension bridge, he strangled his mount, and stood up with a horse, shouting loudly: "Zhang Yide, come and decide life and death!"

Zhang Fei kicked Wu Zhi lightly, stepped forward slowly, and laughed and said, "Zhang Yi, the Bai people fought, Gao Lan was awarded the head. The King of Wei was frightened and fled here. The huge Wei Kingdom is now only the two cities of Ye and Handan, and the collapse is imminent. The generals are planning their own plans to find a way out. Ru Ying goes to Wu and Jizhou goes to Zhongshan. Even if you are willing to retreat with the King of Wei, shouldn't you consider the soldiers under your command?"

Zhang He was quite surprised. He knew that Zhang Fei might persuade him to surrender, but he didn't expect Zhang Fei to say that. He didn't say anything and watched Zhang Fei perform.

Zhang Fei paused, and then said: "Dong Zhao was defeated in Yanzhou a few years ago, and all the 30,000 soldiers in Jizhou were surrendered. Have you heard of them now? Jizhou is dominated by Yuan’s father and son, and fought with the King of Wu several times. The hatred is deep like the sea, and countless killings are killed. Now the King of Wei is a minister to the King of Wu, but he can rely on his kinship to avoid death. He is rich and fearless. Where will you go?"

Zhang Fei's voice was very loud, and the Wei soldiers on the city could hear it clearly, which immediately aroused the approval of many people. In order to support Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan, the people of Jizhou fought fiercely with Sun Ce several times. In the Battle of Guandu five years ago, the 100,000 troops were completely lost. In the Battle of Yanzhou a year ago, 30,000 Jizhou soldiers were defeated under the leadership of Dong Zhao, and there was no news. Yuan Shao, Yuan Tan was from Ruying, and Dong Zhao was from Yanzhou, all from Henan. These Henan people ruined more than 100,000 elite troops in Hebei. Now Yuan Tan is going to surrender to Sun Ce, and his wealth is still the same. What should we do?

Anger was fermenting rapidly, and the city was silent.

Zhang He looked at Zhang Fei with admiration, but raised the long halberd in his hand and shouted sternly: "Zhang Yide, don't boast, show off your lips and tongue, and want to win Handan, you will defeat the halberd in my palm first." As he said that, he kicked forward, held the long halberd, and headed straight for Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei was overjoyed. Zhang He did not refute him, but he agreed with his opinion, but he could not show it too clearly, let alone surrender voluntarily, otherwise he might not even be able to go back to the city, let alone to offer the city. Zhang Fei didn't say much, urging his horse to push his spear to fight Zhang He.

The two fought together, spears and halberds. After a few rounds, the two horses circled and fought together, and they were hard to distinguish. The soldiers on the city and under the city were excited to see it and beat drums to cheer for their own generals.

In the blink of an eye, there were more than ten rounds. When the masters faced each other, the winner was only a slight loss. Zhang He and Zhang Fei had a few matches, and he knew in his heart that in terms of personal martial arts, Zhang Fei wanted to beat him. The reason why he fought for so long was naturally because Zhang Fei retained his strength and gave him enough prestige to govern his subordinates. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are both well-known warriors in the northern border, known as ten thousand enemies. He had fought with Guan Yu, and now he fought with Zhang Fei again, and he could escape both times. In the eyes of others, he naturally should not be offended lightly.

Zhang He secretly sighed. Guan Yu's reputation is worse than Zhang Fei and his record is stronger than Zhang Fei, but he is too conceited and eccentric, but he is not as sensible as Zhang Fei.

As the two horses intersected, Zhang He glanced at Zhang Fei, fainted his head, swung his halberd, and drove his horse away, heading straight to the city gate. Zhang Fei did not chase him, strangled his mount, and laughed: "Zhang Yanyi, this time there is no victory or defeat, and he will fight again tomorrow."

Zhang He, the general of the Wei army, returned on the city, breathed a sigh of relief, and led the horse for Zhang He. The suspension bridge was lowered, and the city gate was closed behind Zhang He. Zhao Xiang Cui Yu held the hem of his clothes and hurriedly came down from the city, bowed his hand to congratulate Zhang He. Zhang He took off his helmet, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and sighed: "Zhang Fei is worthy of being an enemy of ten thousand people, with superb martial arts, I am not his enemy."

"The general does not need to be humble. He can fight Zhang Fei for dozens of times and is undefeated. The general can be called the champion of Jizhou."

Zhang He knew it well. Cui Yu wanted to know what he thought at the first time, and he also wanted to know what Cui Yu thought. Cui Yu was from Qinghe, Cui Yan's eldest brother, and a young man, but wasted more than ten years as the county magistrate and county magistrate. It was not until Cui Yan became Yuan Tan's confidant that he was able to serve as the prime minister of Zhao and entered the ranks of 2,000 stones. To a certain extent, he represented the ideas of some aristocratic families in southern Hebei.

"Cui Xiangmi praised it and was ashamed of being accused of it. Zhang Fei is no less brave than Guan Yu. Our army is depressed. If we want to defend Handan, Cui Xiang has to support it."

Cui Yu was right in his heart, said a few words of politeness, climbed the city side by side with Zhang He, walked slowly along the city wall, and talked softly. The soldiers on both sides looked at them, and the atmosphere was heavy. When the two entered the city tower, Cui Yu waved his hands quietly, signaling the officers to stay outside and not let others in. Zhang He understood and also signaled that his troops would guard the door.

The two of them took their seats, and a servant brought the drinks. Zhang He raised his glass and drank a few glasses in a row. Cui Yu was still moving and looked at Zhang He quietly. Zhang He looked at Cui Yu in surprise. "Cui Xiang, do you... have something to say?"

"General, don't you think the atmosphere in the city is a bit abnormal?"

"At the time of the war, the soldiers were a little nervous, right?"

Cui Yu shook his head. "Although Zhang Fei is brave, he is not as good as Guan Yu. A few days ago, Guan Yu attacked the city, and the soldiers in the city were calm under the command of the general. Why are they nervous now?"

Zhang He remained silent. Cui Yu paused for a moment, took a sip of wine, and then said, "Do you know the origin of the snake spear in Zhang Fei's hand?"

"I heard it was given by Sun Ce."

"That's right, not only this snake spear, but also Liu Bei's Qingyun, Chixia double swords, and Guan Yu's Qinglong Yanyue Sword. They all served for Sun Ce, but now they have become Sun Ce's strong enemies. Can you tell me why?"

"Just asking for advice."

"There is nothing else. The people in the Central Plains are arrogant and look down on others. They regard me Hebei as barbarians. The general should feel the conceit of Ruying people, right? Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei are raiders in Youzhou. How could they be willing to live under the will of others? It is also expected that resignation from Sun Ce to return north, just as Ruying people abandoned me in Hebei today."

Cui Yu said, patting the table hard to express his righteous indignation and sighed repeatedly.

Zhang He knew in his heart that when he said this, Cui Yu's attitude was already very obvious. Next, it was time for him to express his opinion. "He was a martial artist, but he knew that he could only follow the emperor's order to conquer all directions, and he wanted to assist the wise ruler to determine the world. Now that Jizhou is corrupt, the King of Wei is humiliated, and He is also confused and does not know where to go. Cui is a wise man in Jizhou, so please give him advice."

Cui Yu was overjoyed and bowed: "I hope to work with the general to ensure peace together."

The two hit it off and the next thing was easy to deal with. Cui Yu came forward and contacted the well-known powerful and scholars to explain their interests. He soon reached an agreement and decided to support Zhang He and surrender to Zhang Fei.

Zhang He immediately contacted Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei was overjoyed and sent Bei Zhan to the city to discuss the specific matters of surrender.

——

After receiving Zhang Fei's military report, he learned that Zhang He and Cui Yu surrendered to Handan, Liu Bei was overjoyed, and even Feng Ji was a little surprised.

Although they sent Bei Zhan as a lobbyist, hoping to persuade Zhang He to surrender, they did not expect it to be so smooth, and there was an extra Cui Yu, and Handan was even more intact. Guan Yu fought for more than two months but failed to take Handan. Zhang Fei competed with Zhang He once, and Handan got it.

"If you don't expect to be good, you will also have Xiaozhi." Liu Bei was very pleased.

"Yes, Yide can be of great use." Feng Ji agreed a few words and reminded Liu Bei: "Is it wrong for him to suggest that Zhang He begs to defend Handan? Zhang He surrendered, his army was unstable and his morale was low. Can he face the Wu army directly? The current plan seems to be more appropriate for Yide to defend Handan."

Liu Bei thought about it. "Zhang He is a good general and is highly valued by the father and son of the Yuan family. He abandoned Yuan Tan and surrendered, not because he was defeated in the war, but because he was unwilling to surrender to Sun Ce. Since this is the case, even if he faces Sun Ce, he will not be shaken. Otherwise, why should he betray the title of the Lord today?"

Feng Ji stroked his beard and frowned slightly. His real meaning was not to worry that Zhang He was half-hearted, but to think that Zhang Fei was afraid of fighting and was unwilling to face Sun Ce. This was not a good phenomenon. Sun Ce was Liu Bei's real opponent. If he didn't dare to face Sun Ce, it would be meaningless even if he fought well now. He was just a driving force for Sun Ce.

But he couldn't say it directly, unlike Guan Yu, although Zhang Fei was not surnamed Liu, he was even closer to Liu Bei's relatives than Liu's clan relatives. Zhang Fei and Jian Yong were good friends Liu Bei had when he was a teenager. After Jian Yong abandoned Liu Bei and returned to Taishi Ci, Zhang Fei had a unique meaning to Liu Bei. Saying that Zhang Fei would betray Liu Bei was equivalent to saying that Liu Bei was unpopular and betrayed by everyone, which would destroy Liu Bei's confidence.

A fierce battle is imminent. Not only does Zhang Fei need the courage to face Sun Ce, but Liu Bei also needs it.

Feng Ji thought about it for a long time and thought he would talk to Zhang Fei in person. "King, since Handan has changed hands, he can order Zhang He to lead his troops to stay in Handan, and the other troops are led by Yide to besiege Yecheng."

Liu Bei happily agreed.

Although Zhang Fei persuaded Zhang He to surrender, 10,000 more Jizhou soldiers and filled the gap in the force taken away by Guan Yu, forcing Yecheng to attack Yecheng was still an unlikely task. Feng Ji placed his hopes on the civil strife of the people of Jizhou. He immediately ordered the envoy Cui Jun to rush to Yecheng to meet Yuan Tan, and spread the news that Zhang He had surrendered, conduct lobbying activities, and shake the morale of the army in the city.

——

Cui Jun was a famous scholar in Jizhou. His arrival naturally attracted the attention of the civil and military officials in the city. Although Yuan Tan sent people to accompany him throughout the journey, Cui Jun still spread the news smoothly. Before he walked to Yuan Tan, everyone knew that Zhang He had surrendered, and the whole city was shocked.

There is no doubt that after Gao Lan was killed, Zhang He was the only remaining general in the Wei Kingdom. His surrender had a great impact on the morale of the Wei army, and many people were shaken. When he fought for Zhuo County, Zhang He fought with Liu Bei. Since he could surrender to Liu Bei, no one else could do it.

Cui Jun was very sure of this. When facing Yuan Tan, he was confident and calm. After saluting Yuan Tan, he glanced around, saw Guo Tu, and Tian Feng, but did not see Ju Su, and couldn't help but smile. Feng Ji's plan worked, and the civil and military officials in the city had their own ulterior motives. Although Tian Feng was famous and experienced, he was too upright and had poor popularity. Only Ju Su could mediate from it. Ju Su did not show up, and he was probably busy pacifying the people's hearts. However, after Zhang He surrendered, the hearts of the people in the city had dispersed, and even Ju Su was unable to make the world come true.

"The king, as the saying goes, no help is not guarded. Zhang Junyi has surrendered, Handan has changed hands, Yecheng is just an isolated city, and people's minds have changed. The king should make plans early to make sure everything is done." Cui Jun smiled faintly, his tone was calm, but full of threat.

Yuan Tan sighed. "I defeated Zhang Junyi, but it was not Zhang Junyi who defeated me. I hope that the King of Zhongshan can use people without doubt, so that Junyi can be used to make good use of his power. Speaking of which, Zhang Junyi was the only one who won the victory in the Battle of Guandu. Soon after, the King of Zhongshan would also face the King of Wu, hoping that he could also retain a little face for the King of Zhongshan."

Cui Jun was a little uncomfortable. "The king has troubled. The powerful generals under the command of the King of Zhongshan are not Zhang Junyi. Besides, this is Jizhou, not Guandu."

Yuan Tan smiled. "Yes, Yanyue Sword, Eight Spear, Qingyun Chixia, and Zhongshan King himself is also a powerful general. However, Zhou Ping seemed to have forgotten another sentence: Golden silk armor, overlord kills, and the general is angry and defeated thousands of troops. Although Zhongshan King is brave, he may not be the opponent of the King of Wu."

Cui Jun frowned and said sarcasticly. "I didn't expect that the king was busy with all his life and was so familiar with nursery rhymes. It's a pity that although the King of Wu was good at fighting, he was thousands of miles away, so he was afraid that he could not get rid of the siege of Yecheng."

"Zhouping is too worried. Although Yecheng is small, it is not possible to break it overnight. The King of Wu has a huge ship, even though he is thousands of miles away, and he can reach Yecheng in a few days. I hope that the King of Zhongshan still has the strength to fight the King of Wu again to see if he can make any progress." Yuan Tan laughed and said, "Zhouping, you are also a famous scholar in Jizhou. You should know the general trend of the world, why should you waste your words? Does the Cui family in Anping really place all your hopes on the King of Zhongshan? Mr. Cui is in Chang'an, so he will be unable to sleep at night."

Cui Jun was speechless for a while. His father Cui Lie was in Chang'an. He was very dissatisfied when he heard that their brothers were dependent on Liu Bei. He wrote a letter to express his opposition, especially he had no confidence in Liu Bei. He said that although Liu Bei was named King of Zhongshan by the late emperor, the royal family in Chang'an did not recognize him. The Zongzheng King Chen Liu Chong clearly stated that Liu Bei admitted in front of him that he was not a royal family. Now he claims to be the descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan, it is not true that the tomb of King Jing of Zhongshan was stolen. Perhaps it was God's will to let their brothers not go all the way, and even if they were forced to the situation, they should leave some way out.

Cui Jun himself actually had no good impression of Liu Bei, but Cui Jun made the decision, so he could only beg for the whole story. Now that he was pointed out by Yuan Tan in person, he suddenly lost all his momentum, and instead he was a little worried about the future of the Cui family.

Yuan Tan, Tian Feng and Guo Tu exchanged a look, smiled knowingly, and then shook his head at the same time. Cui Jun is a smart person. He can represent the Jizhou family to a large extent. His hesitation shows that those who follow Liu Bei also have no confidence. Some follow Liu Bei because they have no choice but to give up their existing interests, while others hope to seek wealth and honor in danger. But all this is doomed to fail. Liu Bei cannot be Sun Ce's opponent. The interests that he refuses to give up will eventually be deprived of, and speculation will also be furious. It is better to surrender now.

Cui Jun's persuasion of surrender was fruitless and retreated in a bad mood. Fortunately, he had no hope of persuading Yuan Tan to surrender, spreading the news of Zhang He's surrender, and disrupting the morale of the army in the city had already been achieved. He did not stop for much and soon left the city to repay Liu Bei and Feng Ji.

Of course, the part that he lacks confidence in Liu Bei cannot be mentioned.

Feng Ji was not in a hurry, so he sent a detailed work to contact Shen Ying and others who were guarding the city gates and urged them to make a decision, otherwise they would kill their family. Soon, he received a reply, and Shen Ying and others were willing to cooperate with him to lead Liu Bei into the city. Not only that, they also reported an important news: Ju Su was not in the city, and he had not shown up for a long time. It was very likely that he had gone to see Sun Ce as Yuan Tan's envoy to surrender.

When he received this news, Feng Ji was very happy. At present, the only person in Ye City who could make him afraid of him was Ju Su. Ju Su was not in the city, and no one was his opponent. This was a great opportunity to seize the city. The opportunity must not be missed, and the time would never come again.

Feng Ji suggested that Liu Bei attack Yecheng.

Liu Bei was also worried that there were many dreams in the night and hoped to take down Yecheng before Sun Ce arrived. He immediately contacted Zhang Fei, made an appointment for the time to advance, and sent someone to contact Shen Ying and others in the city, asking them to prepare for the support.

Everything was ready, and Liu Bei issued an order to attack Yecheng. Thirty thousand selected soldiers set out to attack Yecheng and suddenly marched towards Yecheng. At the same time, Zhang Fei also raised his troops from Handan and led a 30,000 army to attack Yecheng.

For a moment, the scouts scattered around Yecheng were like frightened rabbits, and rushed out of their hiding place and rushed to Yecheng with ominous news. Yecheng, which had just been calm for a few days, was in turmoil again, and the war was about to begin.
Chapter completed!