In the distance, bursts of black smoke shot out from the bottom of the watchtower, and the soldiers upstairs also became panicked. They shouted and aimed their ballistae and fired indiscriminately.
If the bottom really catches fire, they won't be able to run away even if they want to, so they can only sit and wait for death.
The Gongsun Zan generals who were watching from the upstairs were all shocked. Did Yuan Jun use a fire attack?
Everyone immediately became confused. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be possible. If you want to set fire to the watchtower, you should pile firewood and straw on the bottom floor and light it. But there are sergeants guarding the bottom floor. How can you let the other party easily light the fire?
If we kill all the defenders and then light a fire, isn't that unnecessary?
A sharp-eyed general observed for a while and then lost his voice and said: "It seems that the fire was not lit from the bottom of the watchtower, but from the ground!
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in confusion. Was it because Yuan Shaojun accidentally set the surrounding tools on fire with the torch he held while digging a tunnel?
After hearing this, a general laughed and said, "It's their bad luck. They deserve their misfortune."
Tian Kai frowned, always feeling that something was fishy.
The smoke rising from the ground seemed to have dissipated a bit. Everyone stared closely at the watchtower and breathed a sigh of relief when they found that there was no movement.
Gongsun Zan's sergeants on the watchtower were also relieved. They laughed loudly, drew their bows and fired arrows at Yuan Jun soldiers in the distance. Some people were still shouting and jumping up and down on the watchtower to provoke them.
Suddenly there was a loud clicking noise from the bottom of the watchtower, and the building shook violently.
The soldiers upstairs were suddenly stunned with fear and stopped one after another.
The next moment, the bottom of the watchtower continued to make cracking sounds and began to tilt slowly.
The soldiers above saw that the whole world seemed to be spinning. They desperately clung to the wall of the watchtower and screamed in terror.
But none of this could stop the watchtower, which was more than ten feet high, from slow to fast, accelerating and falling to the ground.
In extreme panic, the soldiers jumped out of the building one after another, falling like beans from a high altitude, and then fell into bloody flowers on the ground.
In the end, the watchtower collapsed, creating a deep trench in the ground, scattering sawdust and bricks, and causing large clouds of smoke.
Several small watchtowers that were affected were either completely crushed or knocked upside down by flying bricks. The people inside were instantly buried underneath and disappeared in the smoke.
The loud noise of the collapse of the watchtower spread throughout Yijing. Gongsun Zan's subordinates turned pale, and someone said, "Is this the foundation that collapsed, or is the watchtower itself unstable?"
"If it's the former, how did they do it?"
Yuan Shaojun did not leave them any time to think. An hour later, another watchtower collapsed.
Two hours later, there was another one.
When the soldiers screamed in the distance, everyone realized that it must be Yuan Jun who had mastered the method of digging down the watchtower!
Why, aren't they afraid of death?
The spies who came to report later solved their doubts.
The spy saw with his own eyes that Yuan Jun dug out the foundation of the watchtower, then used thick tree trunks to support it, and then dug up the surrounding soil.
In this way, the weight of the watchtower was supported by the tree trunk. At this time, Yuan Jun soldiers piled straw and firewood around the tree trunk, poured tung oil on it and lit it.
As the tree trunks are burned away, there is no longer anything to support the bottom of the watchtower, and the watchtower will lose its balance and collapse!
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in shock. Yuan Jun's method was so vicious. Now their hope of using the watchtower to suppress Yuan Jun was completely in vain!
Look at this, within three days, all the watchtowers will be dug down!
The generals secretly looked at Gongsun Zan and found that his face was expressionless and had no reaction. They sighed inwardly.
Is the former White Horse General finally coming to an end?
The next day came, Gongsun Zan's army was retreating steadily under Yuan Jun's underground ground offensive, and a loud noise of the collapse of the watchtower was heard in the city.
When a watchtower fell, it smashed the watchtower next to it. The scattered remains of the watchtower bounced and rolled on the ground, hitting the watchtower where Gongsun Zan was.
The watchtower trembled a few times, and everyone steadied their bodies and breathed a sigh of relief when they found that it had not collapsed.
A general shouted: "General, take us out and fight them!"
"Yes, let's fight!"
"General, we will protect you from breaking out!"
However, everyone was shouting loudly, but Gongsun Zan remained indifferent, not knowing what he was thinking.
Guan Jing stood up at this time, walked behind Gongsun Zan, knelt on the ground and bowed deeply.
"That day I suggested that the general be trapped in Yi Jing, which proved to be a big mistake. This was Jing's fault. I will repay the general with my own life today."
He strode downstairs, led a few personal guards and rushed into the crowd of Yuan Jun with swords raised, and then he was drowned like a pebble thrown into a pond.
Everyone turned to Gongsun Zan. Tian Kai took two steps forward, but heard Gongsun Zan speak.
"Bring all my family members here and surrender to Yuan Shao."
"He cherishes his reputation and will definitely accept you. Go ahead."
As soon as these words came out, all the generals knelt down and yelled: "I died for the general!"
Gongsun Zan waved his hands and stopped talking.
All the generals looked at each other, and some people started to get excited.
They have done their best to be benevolent and righteous. With Gongsun Zan like this, do you really want to accompany him to death?
Yuan Shao was sitting in the tent, and Yuan Xi and several other counselors were standing at the bottom.
Three Gongsun Zan generals were escorted up, and Yuan Shao said, "Are you willing to surrender?"
Two of them said in unison: "I wish I would surrender!"
Yuan Shao nodded and said: "I will definitely not treat you badly. Let's go down first."
After the two generals went out, the remaining general remained silent. Jushu said to him: "My lord asked, why don't you speak?"
The general did reach into his arms. Zhang He and Yuan Xi reacted very quickly and suddenly blocked Yuan Shao, only to see the general take out a short sword.
The guards on the side immediately panicked. They didn't know how this man was hiding, but he actually managed to evade their search!
Yuan Xi and Zhang He looked at each other and pressed their hands on the hilts of their swords, not panicking at all. To them who were wearing armor, the short sword of the opponent did not pose any threat at all.
Amid the intimidation from everyone, Gongsun Zan's expression remained unchanged, he clasped his fists at Yuan Shao and said, "I am not here to surrender, but to remonstrate with you. If I can save General Gongsun's life, I will be grateful."
Not enough."
After saying that, he picked up the dagger with his backhand, stabbed it into his heart, and fell to the ground dead.
Everyone was stunned when they saw this scene. When Yuan Shao saw this, he sighed: "This man is loyal, take him down and give him a good burial."
The guards carried Gongsun Zan's body out, and everyone fell into silence for a while.
Yuan Shao sighed again: "Gongsun Zan has such generals but cannot treat them well. He has failed them."
Yuan Xi secretly sighed, this general was loyal, but in this way, wouldn't Gongsun Zan make Yuan Shao more afraid?
He stepped out, cupped his hands and said, "I would like to persuade Gongsun Zan to surrender."
Jushou shook his head and thought that Yuan Xi was stupid. He couldn't read Yuan Shao's thoughts?
Sure enough, Yuan Shao hesitated for a while and said: "The city is too dangerous. What if Gongsun Zan jumps over the wall in a hurry and it's not good for you?"
Yuan Xi said: "I heard that the Cloud Tower in the city is about to be built. I am on the roof of the building, keeping a distance from Gongsun Zan, and I am protected by guards. I should be fine."
"If something happens to me, I will bear all the responsibility."
Jushou cursed secretly in his heart, this boy is so stupid!
Seeing Yuan Xi's insistence, Yuan Shao had no choice but to say: "That's fine, when I write a letter to persuade you to surrender, you can hand it to him for me."
Yuan Xi came out of the camp with a scroll of silk books, found Tian Yu, and said, "It's time for me to fulfill my promise to you."
"I have persuaded my father to surrender to General Gongsun, but whether he is willing or not is not something I can decide."
Tian Yu didn't expect Yuan Xi to actually get the thing done. He had no expectations before and thought it was just a casual comment from Yuan Xi!
He bowed and said solemnly: "Young Master, you must practice what you say. Yu Ming feels deeply."
Yuan Xi had someone call Zhao Yun back and told him his plan, saying: "Brother Zilong, do you want to end things with Gongsun Zan?"
Zhao Yun pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "I will follow you, Master."
Taishi Ci said from the side: "I will go too, in case the enemy archer has evil intentions and takes action against the Young Master."
Yuan Xi laughed and said, "With two people in charge, there really is nothing to be afraid of."
Sun Li raised his hands and said, "What about me? What about me?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "Wear your armor and block the arrows for me."
Everyone laughed after hearing this. Seeing that the overall situation had been decided, they felt relieved.
However, Tian Yu was in a heavy heart. Tian Kai's arrogant temper definitely meant he would follow Gongsun Zan. If he could persuade Gongsun Zan, he could also save Tian Kai's life.
But can it really be done?
In Yijing City, dozens of watchtowers all collapsed, except for the tallest watchtower in the center that was crumbling.
Mrs. Hou's face was pale. She hugged the baby tightly, knelt on the ground and begged: "Please husband, for the sake of the child's young age, please give him a way to live!"
Gongsun Zan let go of the rope in his hand, and the body in front of him fell heavily to the ground.
This is Gongsun Zan's eldest sister, who was strangled to death by his own hands just now.
There were more than a dozen Gongsun Zan's family members in the corner next to them. They all had dull expressions on their faces, as if they had already accepted their fate.
There was only one scholar in his twenties and thirties with his hands tied and an angry look in his eyes.
Gongsun Zan turned to Hou, with a calm expression on his face: "Everything is over."
"They can let my subordinates go, but they won't let me and you go."
"If you don't dare to die, I will come to help you."
Hou shook his head and said, "I have nothing to be afraid of, but the child..."
Gongsun Zan growled: "What child, do you think they will let my child survive?"
Hou's lips trembled, and her fingers that tightly hugged the baby slowly loosened her grip. She stumbled forward a few steps, and was about to speak.
Suddenly, a voice came from a distance, "Yuan Xi and Yuan Xianyi, the sons of Yuan Benchu, ask to see Jihou."
"This young man has brought a letter for my father, and I would like to invite Marquis Ji to take a look at it."
Everyone, including Gongsun Zan, turned to look out the window and saw a tall cloud tower in the middle, which was being slowly approached by the soldiers below.
Standing on top of the cloud tower were several generals, led by a heroic young man who stepped forward with a silk book in his hand.
He stood on top of the Cloud Tower and said loudly: "Can Jihou show up to see you?"
"My father promised that if Jihou breaks the festival, he will be treated like a distinguished guest!"