The World Online
chapter-717

Chapter 717-Sun Quan Admits Defeat

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

The moment Xunlong Dianxue walked into the city, cannon fire started behind his back.

“Damn it, he really chose to not give me any face!” Xunlong Dianxue did not have the face to return to the manor, so he just chose a corner to lick his wounds.

Sun Quan’s face was similarly ugly.

The cannons blasted a gaping hole in the city wall. The Jiangdong soldiers guarding atop the walls were like grain waiting to be harvested.

Especially the trebuchets on the walls, which were the targets of the enemy attack.

Chaisang City could only threaten the warships through the trebuchets. As for the navy housed there, they were totally destroyed after the first round and retreated into the city.

Along with trebuchet after trebuchet being taken down, the city wall guards fell into despair. The Chaisang surrounded by water was like a tiger without claws; it was there for the taking.

The army had no choice but to retreat from the city walls. Standing there would just be taking free hits and giving free kills.

The cannon fire lasted for an entire day and only ended at nightfall.

Just from the cannon balls alone, Shanhai City had spent 20 to 30 thousand gold, which was enough for Ouyang Shuo to feel heart pained.

The Chaisang City wall was like a raped lady after the cannon fire, torn and tattered. Standing outside, one could even see what was going on within the city.

If they continued to strike, the civilians inside would be the ones to get hit.

Although Chaisang was the governing area of Jiangdong, Sun Quan was not a stubborn person and also thought about escaping. As long as Zhou Yu managed to destroy Yiling, the army in front of them would not pose a threat.

The problem was that Chaisang was surrounded by water.

The Shanhai City Squadron was arranged all around the river, surrounding it all the way. Even a fly could not escape. The current Chaisang was like a lone island; it could not go forward or move backward.

As the night sky fell, white smoke rose from the city.

The smoke was from the various families that were cooking. No matter how worried they were, they still had to feed themselves.

However, when they thought about the possibility of being trapped for a long time, the cooking housewives ended up scooping a lot less rice.

During the day, the various rice stores were emptied out.

The prices of the various resources in the city had skyrocketed and the signs of a riot started to show.

Eating dishes that had no taste, the civilians all felt terrified and panicky. This was the first time that the people of the Three Kingdoms felt the killing strength and power of firearms.

Such weapons were the killing machines of such a chaotic time.

The people of Chaisang spent that night in trepidation.

…

The next day, the sun slowly rose up.

The sunlight shone into Chaisang City through the holes of various sizes in the city walls. There was no one near the city wall. Be it the streets or the communal areas, they were all empty and devoid of signs of life.

Occasionally, stray dogs would cross the streets and jump into the rubbish heaps to search for food.

The civilians did not sleep during the night, and everyone woke up early to welcome the new round of cannon fire. The people who lived near the city walls even moved inward during the night.

Those with relatives spent the night with their relatives. Those without could only sleep on the streets or find a hole in the bridges to stay in.

The various temples in the city became popular areas.

It was winter, and the cold wind was freezing.

Sleeping on the streets, even with a blanket, one still could not manage to take it.

Interestingly, seeing those civilians living near the city walls moving inward, those who were a distance away panicked and followed in fear of losing their shields.

The group mentality of the people was extremely serious.

With someone leading them, the people quickly started a second round of house moving.

With that, it made the people panic even more.

Through the night, the entire Chaisang City truly lacked even a moment of peace.

Till night, there were even sleeping children who were woken up by their parents and were moved further into the city despite the cold rain. Dogs barked, children cried.

“What a punishment!” The civilians lamented.

The various temples in the city were now filled to the brim, and even the bridges became popular places. Many fights occurred over good spots.

“It’s all to survive!”

The most packed place was the streets.

The central street near the Lord’s Manor was filled with people, and even chariots could not pass. In their eyes, it was the safest near the Lord’s Manor.

Sun Quan was not merciless, and he could not bear to chase away the civilians.

During this night, no less than a thousand civilians froze to death on the streets.

The Chaisang under the sunlight was a picture of tragedy.

Even such rare weather in the winter could not chase away this dark cloud in their hearts.

…

Weirdly, it was 9 AM, but there still was not any cannon fire.

On the contrary, this was the second time the Shanhai City envoy entered the city and sent Ouyang Shuo’s request for them to surrender. If Sun Quan did not come out to surrender before noon, he would massacre them.

Such a letter was truly bloody.

This time, the letter was addressed to Sun Quan but shouted out by soldiers and also shot in by the cannons.

With that, the people in the city were in an uproar.

The civilian during the Three Kingdoms Era were not strangers to city-level massacres. Naturally, they believed the message. Thinking about their futures, they felt a chill run down their spines.

Facing the danger of being slain, the civilians looked at the city Lord’s Manor with weird expressions. In truth, even the soldiers’ eyes started to shine.

After all, everyone lived in Chaisang; if Chaisang fell, they were all going to die.

The mental state and determination of the entire city wavered under the letter.

To live or to die was just a simple question.

…

“Jerk!”

Sun Quan’s face turned green; he wanted to lock up the news, but he could not.

“Lord, let’s accept their terms; we have no other choice.” Zhang Zhao once again supported surrendering and said, “If we forcefully fight, we will just increase our casualties. Surrendering is a small matter, losing the hearts of the Jiangdong people is the problem!”

Speaking from conscience, Zhang Zhao was an intelligent person. However, compared to Zhou Yu, he lacked the ability to see the big picture and lacked sharp perception.

“We have no other choice.”

Sun Quan’s sighed; in his heart, he did not want to give up.

Apart from being worried that he would lose the heart of the people, he was worried about the soldiers staging a coup. It was much more terrifying, and they could send them to hell in just a matter of minutes.

Before the battle, Sun Quan would have never imagined that Red Cliff would fall. Inside, they had 50 to 60 thousand troops; outside, they had the Lu Su and Huang Gai Army. However, in the end, they still lost.

If one was not careful, one truly would lose.

“Xiong Ba and the other players are truly trash! Before the battle, they swore to crush Shanhai City. However, they were beaten instead, what a humiliation!” Sun Quan became exceedingly bitter.

However, no matter how he grumbled, he still had to surrender.

At noon, Sun Quan wore a white shirt; he carried his seal and led all his civil servants and generals out to surrender.

Ouyang Shuo did not pick on him and did not humiliate him. He just respectfully invited him onto Dragon Head politely.

One must not forget that Ouyang Shuo still wanted to recruit Zhou Yu and the other Jiangdong generals.

Wasn’t humiliating Sun Quan just making things difficult for himself?

“Please write a letter to General Zhou Yu and let Zhang Zhao personally deliver it to Yiling.” In the guest room, Ouyang Shuo made his request.

Between the two there was some paper and ink.

No matter what, Sun Quan was a prideful person. Since he had surrendered, he was not going to try anything funny. He cleanly raised the brush and wrote a letter.

Then he stamped it.

Ouyang Shuo laughed in delight and took a look at the letter. Seeing that nothing was wrong with it, he ordered his men to put it into a wooden box. Apart from Zhang Zhao, a general from the City Protection Legion would follow him to send the letter.

With Zhang Zhao there, Ouyang Shuo would not be worried that Zhou Yu would not return. Zhang Zhao was a smart person, and he would not dare to play with Sun Quan’s life.

Apart from Sun Quan’s letter, Ouyang Shuo also personally wrote a letter to Zhou Yu. In the letter, he expressed his admiration and described the reason for the Battle of Chaisang.

At the end, he added a sentence, “The life of General Sun lies in your hands!”

Zhou Yu would probably not know whether to laugh or cry when he saw this letter. Who would recruit someone like this? Capturing their old Lord was unheard of.

He was basically a bandit!

…

Sending away the messenger, the Shanhai City Squadron did not spend too long here and returned to Red Cliff the next day. When the people of Chaisang saw them leave, they heaved out sighs of relief; they had just walked out from hell.

Ouyang Shuo decided to return to Red Cliff as the place had sufficient grain. There was also the water fortress there, which was a convenient place to dock the ships.

Secondly, it was near Yiling, so he could return to Yiling if needed.

Ouyang Shuo was thinking that even if the Zhou Yu Army retreated, Di Chen would definitely try something. Hence, the Shanhai City Squadron needed to be ready for another war.

This Battle of Red Cliff saw many different rounds of fighting.

Ouyang Shuo was not worried that Di Chen would hold Zhou Yu back or even kill him. After all, based on the battle map rules, same camp players could not kill the natives.

Especially the historical people, Gaia had all the more protective measures for them.

With that, it prevented Lords from killing them so other Lords could not recruit them. If not, so many people in the battle map would needlessly die.

Following the same logic, Ouyang Shuo could not order Gong Chengshi to go kill Liu Bei.

On this point, it was fair to both sides.