Before their successful entry into the city, they had set a time to launch the attack while signaling from the city to the outside.

Looking down from the Drum Tower, they couldn’t see everything in the city clearly, but they could vaguely see several places.

At that time, Qiao Yan was jotting down those places and had instructed Xu Fu to hang up some cloth strips, using the hanging and quantity of the cloth strips as a signal to notify Huangfu Song.

Everything went smoothly, and Huangfu Song arrived as scheduled, which made Xu Fu’s heart surge with excitement.

The big event was about to succeed!

Perhaps because he inherently had the demeanor of a great achiever, he grabbed the small commander’s sword and struck towards another guard on the city wall.

When he successfully reached the winch before the city gate, his hands were unexpectedly steady when holding the weapon.

During his time at Changshe, he had already learned how to lower the drawbridge using the winch.

Now, in this situation, the only difference in Xuyang was that the gate was a bit stronger and the drawbridge was longer.

There was no real difference.

As soon as the drawbridge fell, Huangfu Song’s vanguard cavalry crossed the moat and entered the city.

The pre-arranged battle plan immediately split these cavalry into three groups, heading towards the other three walls of the city.

The anomaly on the east wall of Xuyang, accompanied by the “enemy attack” sounds that a few people had the opportunity to make, was passed on from one wall to the other.

But the urgency and brevity of the message left the defenders on these three walls unaware that the attack was not from outside the city, but had already occurred inside the city.

If it was just an assault from outside the city, with the strong defense of Xuyang, they wouldn’t need to worry too much, let alone make any attempts to lower the gates and escape the city.

However, since they were unable to escape at this moment, they would have no chance to escape later!

The elite troops of the Han Dynasty quickly ascended the city from within and occupied the other three gates, completely blocking the way out for the Yellow Turbans inside the city.

Then, apart from those guarding the gates, the soldiers who had originally occupied the high ground in Xuyang and the others who arrived shortly after, quickly rushed towards the key points in the city.

They were aiming directly for Zhang Bao.

Zhang Bao was still dreaming.

He dreamed that outside the city of Xuyang, for some reason, there were dark clouds of Han troops, but these two sides disagreed.

One side attacked from the east, and the other side came from the west. So, he decisively sent out troops and directly repelled both sides.

After winning this battle, he went joyfully to find his brother to share the glory, only to see his brother’s corpse laid out in Guangzong City, said to have died suddenly from illness.

Dead?

Zhang Bao woke up abruptly.

But as he woke up, he saw the panicked faces of his subordinates.

This commotion made him realize that he was most likely not awakened by a nightmare, but by his subordinates shaking him awake.

“What’s the matter, so panicked?” Zhang Bao asked impatiently.

“The Han army… the Han army is attacking!”

It seemed to be the scene he had just dreamed of!

If the Han army was attacking, let them come.

After all, he was holding the strong city of Xuyang.

What could the Han army do to him? Perhaps it would turn out like in his dream, where there was initially disagreement, but in the end, it became an opportunity for him to achieve merit.

But Zhang Bao’s thoughts were quickly shattered by his subordinates.

The man took a deep breath before gasping out the second half of his sentence, “They have already breached the city!”

Zhang Bao almost thought he had misheard.

But the panic of his subordinates did not seem fake.

He focused and listened outside, hearing a commotion.

It was clearly not something that would normally happen at night, but rather the sound of a troop arriving near his residence.

He couldn’t understand why the defense of Xuyang was so strong, with his patrols clearly not leaving any gaps.

Yet, before he could be alerted to defend the city, the enemy had already breached the city gates!

But now, it was obviously pointless to dwell on these things.

He hastily grabbed his long knife and stepped out, intending to rally his subordinates for a counterattack.

But as he stepped out of the Xuyang Prefectural Government Office, what he saw was not a clash between the entering army and the Yellow Turbans in the city, but a column of troops entering as if into an empty land.

This group of soldiers and horses surrounded his temporary residence, and in the center, surrounded by these people, was an imposing general.

Although Zhang Bao had never seen Huangfu Song in person before, this did not affect his immediate recognition.

At the first glance, he realized that this must be an important figure sent by the Han court to suppress the rebellion.

Huangfu Song looked calmly at Zhang Bao, who was only half-armored, and said, “General Di Gong must be curious why no one has come to rescue you. I won’t say much more. Why don’t you listen to the sounds of the city?”

Zhang Bao listened carefully, and this time, the sounds that were not so clear when he was in the house could now be fully understood.

It was not just the sound of troops moving, but also mixed with people shouting, “The Han army has entered the city, General Di Gong is dead.”

Zhang Bao’s face turned pale.

If it weren’t for these voices, according to the hierarchy within the Taiping Tao, someone would have come to rescue him.

No matter what, it should have caused some trouble for the suddenly attacking Han army, and perhaps even given him a chance to escape.

But now, with this false signal, it was different.

If his subordinates had strong judgment, they would not have been easily swayed by their brothers’ persuasion.

In the past, this was an advantage.

But now it had become a disadvantage.

With the main general in the city dead, those people would not risk confirming his life or death.

They would believe, like any other city that had been attacked and occupied, that there was no chance of resistance in the alleys and streets.

Their only hope of survival was to flee towards one of the city gates.

But if the Han army had really breached the city, and even occupied the walls, Zhang Bao could easily guess that those who tried to flee would not find a way out, but would instead fall into a trap, facing certain death.

“Who are you?” Despite knowing that his situation was hopeless, Zhang Bao couldn’t help but ask.

“I am Huangfu Song, Left General of the Han Dynasty tasked with suppressing the rebellion.”

Upon hearing this name, Zhang Bao realized that not only had there been unexpected changes in Xuyang, but there had also been another astonishing event in Changshe that was beyond his knowledge.

But asking what had happened there now was meaningless, just like Zhang Bao’s realization that if he weren’t a fool, he would have connected the arrival of the new arrivals in the city with the sudden changes in the city—there was no need to ask.

It was futile to curse the stupid Qu Shuai. Since these people had arrived, that guy probably no longer had a chance to live.

How could he blame a dead man!

“May I ask General Huangfu for your instructions?”

The reply that came into Zhang Bao’s ears from Huangfu Song already had an air of victory: “I need to use your head.”

Perhaps Zhang Bao also felt frustrated.

If he had simply camped with the Yellow Turbans, he might not have been defeated so miserably today.

The Yellow Turbans living dispersed throughout the city had not yet received his orders to gather, and they had already been informed of the news of the Han army entering the city and the death of General Zhang Bao.

Then, when they tried to escape through the city gates, they were met with a rain of arrows from the city walls.

The Yellow Turban soldiers who were supposed to be guarding the city walls became targets below the city walls, while the Han army, which should have suffered heavy casualties in the siege, became the ones with the advantage, looking down from a high vantage point.

Before Xu Fu had time to feel sorry for these Yellow Turbans who only sought to escape, he immediately led Dian Wei towards Qiao Yan’s hiding place when Huangfu Song arrived and divided his forces to attack.

Before the outcome of the first round of escape attempts was known, the people already in the city would not choose to hide in houses and alleys.

As Qiao Yan had said.

Although she said it confidently, Xu Fu still felt somewhat uneasy.

Fortunately, when he arrived at the water tank, he saw Qiao Yan safe and sound.

After jumping out of the water tank, the traces of mud and water on her shoes and legs did not affect her calm demeanor at all, which was in stark contrast to the chaos in the city.

When she saw Huangfu Song, she even calmly bowed and congratulated him.

Huangfu Song was quite pleasantly surprised that she emerged from this city-taking event unscathed.

He immediately smiled and said, “I thought you would say ‘I’m just doing my duty.’ Why only congratulate the general?”

“To be able to kill the Yellow Turbans in the city, to take the city gates and not let a single person leave the city, this is the merit of all the generals and soldiers, not Qiao Yan’s merit. General, your decisive plan to come to the rescue was just right, and you deserve this credit.”

Huangfu Song, upon hearing this, felt even more that what he said to Cao Cao when she had just left, “In difficult times, it’s the time and situation that create heroes,” was indeed not wrong.

“You don’t have to be so modest. The strategy to invite the knights into the city was yours, as was the willingness to take risks. After I report this battle, I will definitely credit you again.”

“You have worked hard today, so rest early.”

Seeing that Qiao Yan seemed to have something to say, Huangfu Song preempted her and said, “I know you want to ask how to deal with the Yellow Turbans in the city, but these people followed the three brothers Zhang Jiao, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang. Their stubbornness in rebelling against the Han far exceeds what you imagine, and it’s very different from the situation in Yanzhou and Yuzhou.”

“No… General, you’re overthinking it. I’m not trying to plead for the Yellow Turbans here.” Qiao Yan waved her hand.

She had her own measure of what she could and couldn’t do now.

Moreover, the ones already stationed in the city of Xiqueyang were the direct descendants of Zhang Bao.

If this group of people were not eradicated, it would truly leave Qiao Yan with no chance of saving lives that she might try to preserve later, and it would also cause another wave of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the subsequent interactions.

Huangfu Song must be aware of the adverse effects of the population shortage in Jizhou, otherwise he would not have requested a one-year tax exemption in the future when he served as the governor of Jizhou.

So, sometimes, it’s enough to strike at the most appropriate moment.

Huangfu Song was somewhat surprised by what Qiao Yan said, but then he heard her say, “I want to talk about another matter. Earlier, I heard from Xu Fu that the commander of the small canal in the city has taken the wife of the county magistrate as his own. If I see this lady, I would like to request the commander to spare her life.”

However, what Qiao Yan didn’t expect was that the woman who called herself Lu Yuan made a move that truly surprised her.

During the chaos caused by Huangfu Song’s troops entering the city,

She took the opportunity to gather all the people that the soldiers stationed in their hiding place could gather,

It was to make these people try to counterattack.

She had originally pretended to be obedient in order to assassinate the commander of the small canal, and in the past two months, she had not shown any flaws.

Now, saying this would naturally not arouse anyone’s suspicion.

But after luring the people out of the cellar, she decisively locked the entrance to the cellar and then went to find the Han soldiers patrolling the city.

Her actions undoubtedly saved Huangfu Song a lot of trouble.

Hearing that Qiao Yan wanted to find out about her whereabouts from just a few words,

Lu Yuan raised her eyebrows and followed the soldier looking for her to Qiao Yan and Huangfu Song.

She was indeed a very beautiful woman, but what impressed Qiao Yan was not her appearance, but rather her strong and resolute demeanor.

After hearing her recount her actions, Qiao Yan couldn’t help but praise her and asked, “I wonder, after this matter is over, does Madam Lu have a place to go?”

After the suppression in Xiqueyang, the city would be empty for a short time, which obviously wasn’t suitable for her to stay.

She didn’t seem to be from an ordinary family.

She either had to return to her hometown or find another town to settle near Xiqueyang.

Qiao Yan admired her for taking the opportunity for revenge and succeeding, so naturally, she didn’t hesitate to inquire.

Her answer surprised Qiao Yan a bit.

“Earlier, I heard the official who led the way mention that the ability to break this city relied heavily on the young lady.” Lu Yuan asked, “So I wonder if I can stay by the young lady’s side and be a horse holder and stirrup dropper like that young man?”

Xu Fu: “….?”

How could someone else come and snatch his job?

This job of holding horses and dropping stirrups obviously wasn’t something that this woman who seemed scholarly should be doing, but what disappointed Xu Fu was that, after considering it, Qiao Yan decided to keep her.

However, what she said was not to have Lu Yuan follow her from now on, but rather that since she had such an idea, it was likely that she had nowhere to go in the near future, so it might be better to wait until the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Jizhou was pacified before making a decision.

Before that, it would be much safer by Qiao Yan’s side.

Considering she was also a family member of a Jizhou official and had fallen into this situation because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, she should be given some protection.

Apart from Lu Yuan’s situation, before midnight, the Yellow Turbans in Xiqueyang City had already been completely suppressed, or almost completely eradicated.

Qiao Yan pushed open the window and listened to the outside.

The search and killing outside had gradually disappeared, leaving only the occasional sound of soldiers walking on the street.

However, if one paid a little more attention, they would hear a faint sobbing coming from the room next door, but this sound was quickly suppressed.

Qiao Yan felt that she wouldn’t misjudge her character.

The end of the Han Dynasty was not a time that demanded chastity. So, her crying, rather than being about her forced experience with the bandits, was more like saying goodbye to her past when she chose to follow Qiao Yan.

It was just a ceremony at most.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but ponder over this woman named Lu.

The surname sounded familiar, but the most famous Lu during the Three Kingdoms period was the Lu family from Wu County, which had nothing to do with this Jizhou, one in the south and one in the north.

Anyway, it wasn’t a big deal, so she temporarily stopped delving into it.

What was more important to her was the next marching plan.