“Useless! Every single one of them are useless!” Pang Tong angrily shouted as he flipped over the tables and chairs. His anger had gone up another level from his plans being foiled again. In front of him was an unconscious but robust man. This unconscious man was Zhang Fei, who he had sent to finish off Liu Mang at the Yangtze River.
Huang She had sent Zhang Fei over in this state. Naturally, it was not Huang She that caused Zhang Fei’s injuries but Huang Ri. Huang Ri wanted to curry favor with his uncle Huang She and so he had tortured Zhang Fei to a state where Zhang Fei was neither living nor dead. Although Zhang Fei was not yet dead, his injuries were in terrible state.
Fortunately, Huang She had appeared early in his preparations to humiliate Liu Mang. This allowed Huang She to realize early that the person in this terrible state was not Liu Mang but Zhang Fei.
If this had been a normal guard, Huang She would have just killed this guard and pretend to not know anything. However, Zhang Fei was Liu Bei’s brother. If people found out that he killed Zhang Fei, it would be Liu Bei instead of Liu Mang going to war against Liu Biao.
Pang Tong looked at the unconscious Zhang Fei and felt both shame and anger. He had dispatched Zhang Fei to kill Liu Mang. He even depended on his ally Huang She to send out a warship with ballista. Instead, Huang She decided to play tricks. As a result, Liu Mang escaped and Zhang Fei was sent back with serious injuries.
Pang Tong was no longer concerned about Liu Mang’s life. He was now more worried about Zhang Fei. If Zhang Fei were to die, his time at the Liu Bei’s Army would be finished. Even if Liu Bei were to forgive him, Guan Yu wouldn’t. He now needed to find a way to explain himself to Liu Bei.
“Men! Go and find me the best doctor in Xiangyang and buy up all the tonics in the market!” Pang Tong was going mad. He was willing to pay any price to ensure that Zhang Fei survives.
“Yes, Military Advisor!” Pang Tong’s subordinate cupped his fist and went off.
“Liu Mang! This is not over! Wait for it!” Pang Tong hissed in anger.
____
Meanwhile, a strategy was also being played over at Linhuai. Zhang Liao had released two thousand of the enemy’s noble troops back to their city. Qin Feng accepted them without question and made placed them at various positions around the city. He even laughed while saying that Zhang Liao was an idiot that only managed to capture Linhuai because he was lucky. Zhang Liao was the only person who would provide the enemy soldiers with aid to enemy soldiers.
What Qin Feng never realized was that these released soldiers have already begun causing trouble everywhere. Nobody dares to punish them or chase them away because they would offend their superiors. Worse still, these soldiers led their new troops astray by doing nonsense such as using a scarecrow to guard the walls while they sleep, or ending their shifts early.
More importantly, these soldiers brought back valuable information about Zhang Liao capturing Linhuai. Since their Lord, Qin Feng, have escaped all the way to Tuzhong, the new recruits that were afraid of death would definitely seek advice from the veterans that fought against Zhang Liao. These prideful veterans would naturally give them actual tips for survival on the battlefield at the start. After that they would then tell them to keep one particular trick a secret. This is to simply drop their weapons and surrender to Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao would not kill them. If they were captured, Zhang Liao would release them and give them food to eat on their journey. They could then run back to their Lords. Just like this, the soldiers in Tuzhong all learned the art of surrendering.
Several days later, Zhang Liao set out once again.
Zhang Liao once again advanced as a heavy cavalry. Xu Sheng and the Black Flag Army followed from behind with catapults as they observed the walls. They did not know whether it was because Qin Feng was afraid of death but for some reason, the walls were extremely tall. It was almost taller than the walls of Shouchun. They also have a moat eight meters wide. There would definitely be heavy casualties if they were to attack this city.
“Go and call out to them!” Zhang Liao shouted as he waited outside Tuzhong. One Xiliang Cavalry soldier went closer to the city before shouting out.
“People of the city! Our General Zhang Liao Zhang Wenyuan and the Xiliang Cavalry is under orders from His Majesty the King of Shu to capture this city! Open the gates and surrender or prepare to be massacred!”
The defenders who heard this became angry. Getting attacked was a common thing during these times but massacring everyone was going too far.
Zhang Hu and Ge Jun was confused and asked, “General. Wouldn’t we make the attack harder by saying this?”
When one declares that they want to massacre the entire city, the citizens and soldiers would become afraid and defend the city harder. This only served to make things more difficult for themselves.
“What I want is for them to become afraid!” Zhang Liao said in disdain. He wanted Qin Feng to become afraid and request help from Jiangdong. Sun Ce would definitely sent help in order to keep popular support. That way he could take this opportunity to destroy the reinforcements. The more help Qin Feng requests from Sun Ce, the better.
“Ignorant Zhang Liao Zhang Wenyuan! Come and attack if you have the ability! You only managed to obtain Linhuai because you do not have a sense of honor and mounted a sneak attack!”
Zhang Liao thought that Qin Feng was so stupid he looked adorable. War is not a child’s game or a noble’s debate. Only winning matters during these turbulent times.
Of course, Zhang Liao intended to siege the city. However, he would not do it yet. He took the Xiliang Cavalry and left the South side of Tuzhong. Once he left, the soldiers inside Tuzhong all cheered. Qin Feng was also overjoyed. He believed that Zhang Liao left because he was afraid. However, he soon heard news that the Xiliang Cavalry appeared at the other three gates.
