Chapter 296: Two Heroes Crying, Sun Ce's Death Looking at the sad Sun Ce in front of him, Zhou Yu finally expressed his thoughts. Surrender now, while they still have a chance to surrender, and before Liu Bei's troops attack the city. From beginning to end, Zhou Yu never thought of betraying Sun Ce, but that doesn't mean he didn't have his own ideas. Indeed, there are still thousands of soldiers in the city, and even Wu County has tens of thousands of troops! If Sun Ce was really determined to hold on, they could just retreat to Wu County and hold their ground. With his and Sun Ce's abilities, it would be no problem for them to hold out for several months. They could even replicate Lu Kang's defense of Lujiang in the past and starve most of the people in the city to death. Until Wu County was completely turned into a dead city, it was handed over to Liu Bei. This is certainly possible, and he can ensure his absolute loyalty to Sun Ce until the end. But as the lively figures around him passed away one by one, Zhou Yu felt very painful!

He found that unknowingly, the goals he had been striving for in the past became meaningless. In other words, from the moment Liu Bei defeated Sun Ce, their fight became meaningless, and why did they continue to hold on? Is it for Sun Ce's ambition? I think Cheng Pu and others also think so. But in the end, these people all died in the war with Liu Bei. Now Liu Bei has gained all the advantages. Even if they hold on to Wu County, they have no chance of turning the tables. Similarly, the reason why Qin Zhen, Liu Ye and other advisers blocked Kuaiji early was to prevent them from going south. Even with an army of tens of thousands at their disposal, they were unable to escape. With only a few isolated cities left, can they really escape from Liu Bei's hands? Therefore, even though Zhou Yu was a man of strong character, he couldn't help but have the idea of ​​surrendering. Although many people have died in the battle, it may still be possible to surrender now. He did not seek to be granted a title or become a prime minister. He and Sun Ce would just return to the fields with their families and be good brothers for the rest of their lives. Isn't this a much easier way than fighting tenaciously now? With this thought in mind, he raised his head and looked at Sun Ce, pleading with red eyes: "Brother, forgive me for being blunt, but it is not too late to surrender now." "Even if it's not for the sake of the soldiers under your command, it's for the sake of our family. Just surrender!" He was tired of fighting like this and just wanted to retire to the countryside and not worry about worldly affairs. After he said this, Sun Ce stopped crying, looked at him with red eyes and said: "Gongjin, are you saying that we will leave Cheng Gong and his men alone and surrender to old Liu Bei?" "If Mr. Cheng and others saw us like this, what would they think?" "My dear brother, do you still remember Chen Zilie, Dong Yuandai, Song Boli, Ling Shangjie, Huang Gongfu and others? If we surrender, who will avenge them?" "When they ask us a hundred years later, what shall we say?"

"Brother, do you really think I want to see them die for me one by one?" "I always think of you guys and wish I could die for you. But before you die, you guys will die before me." "Brother, do you really think I am such a selfish person?" "But now the hatred between our army and Liu Bei is as deep as the sea. If you don't take revenge, I will never dare to surrender." As he spoke, his eyes were filled with tears. How could he not know whether this battle could actually be won? But the problem is that he is now on the fire and can't get down. As early as the beginning of the Battle of Shouchun, he was destined to defeat Liu Bei and avenge Chen Wu and others. This continued until the Battle of Crossing the Yangtze River broke out, adding another layer of blood feud. Later, in the battlefield of Fanchang, Huang Gai and Han Dang died one after another, and the hatred between them had reached the sky. When Xu Yi and Lu Fan were both killed in battle, Sun Ce knew that he was powerless to save the situation, but he could not give up. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, he wanted to kill Liu Bei with his own hands and avenge his brothers who died in battle. This becomes a vicious cycle. The more people die, the more he wants revenge. The more he wants revenge, the more he needs to resist, and the more people will die. He wished he had died last night, so that at least he could die with a clear conscience. His subordinates no longer need to be coerced by him and can surrender calmly to save their lives. Although the vengeance was not taken, at least he would not feel guilty towards those who died for him. Now Zhou Yu advises him to surrender. If he surrenders, wouldn’t it be a mockery to Cheng Pu, Lu Meng and others who died in the battle yesterday? So he couldn't surrender, and even if he did, he wouldn't surrender alive. If he continues to live like this, Sun Bofu will feel guilty for the rest of his life! These words cannot be said to anyone else, only to Zhou Yu, but he did not say them to blame him, but to express his attitude. After expressing his views, he held Zhou Yu's hand tightly and said emotionally: "If Gongjin wants to surrender, I will not blame him, I just ask him to kill me first!" "Well, when we get to the underworld, if Mr. Cheng asks about it, I will have something to say!" Zhou Yu originally wanted to persuade Sun Ce to surrender in order to save his life. He never expected that the other party's condition for his surrender was to kill him first. And could he attack Sun Ce? This was obviously impossible! Seeing Sun Ce begging him like this, Zhou Yu wiped away his tears and said: "If I had known your intention earlier, how could I have dared to persuade you to surrender?" "Forget it. If you don't want to surrender, I will order the troops to withdraw." "We will defend Wu County as long as we can!" After saying this, he was about to get up and leave, but Sun Ce grabbed him tightly and said:

"No, my dear brother, I bear great hatred for you, so you cannot surrender!" "My dear brother, you have never made a decision and have no such concerns. Why don't you surrender?" "I know you are concerned about brotherhood, but you and I both have families, so what's wrong with surrendering for the sake of our families?" "As long as you can protect our family, I will die with no regrets!" "Now that my life is at stake, since you and I have been friends since childhood, why not be my brother for once?" "It is better for you to die at my hands than for me to die at Liu Bei's hands!" Zhou Yu felt so angry when he heard this that he covered his ears and said: "Brother, you are telling lies. I don't want to hear them. Let go immediately. I will go and prepare the troops!" Sun Ce was determined to die, and he held Zhou Yu and begged him, refusing to let go. As the two were pulling each other like this, Sun Ce suddenly felt a fishy taste in his throat and vomited blood. Zhou Yu was shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly supported him. Then he saw Sun Ce forced a smile and said: "My heart is dead, my organs are weak, even if you don't kill me, it will be hard for me to survive!" "You and I have been brothers for ten years. Can't you lend me a helping hand?" He smiled to himself, with blood all over his lips and tongue, and there was a hint of openness in his sadness. Zhou Yu felt a pang in his heart and shook his head repeatedly, trying to persuade the man. Unexpectedly, at this moment, footsteps were heard outside the house, and then a soldier came in and shouted: "My lord, something terrible has happened. Yesterday, an enemy army raided Wuxi." "General Wu Jing was caught off guard and the city has been taken by the enemy!" As soon as this voice came out, Zhou Yu's face changed and he thought to himself that this was not good. Sun Ce was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Yes, even if none of my men rebelled, Liu Bei would kill us all!" "Now that Wuxi has fallen, we have no way to escape. If we were not defeated yesterday, we will be defeated today and tomorrow." "If you don't take action, my dear brother, it will be too late to surrender when the enemy attacks the city!" However, when Zhou Yu heard this, he stood up with a cold expression and said: "Bofu, don't say any more. You and I are brothers. If we are going to die today, we'll die together!" "Brother, please stay here and stop talking nonsense. I will go and gather the troops and escort you out of the city!" "Even if we have to wander between rivers and seas from now on, I will not let my brother die here!" Having said this, he walked straight out without responding to Sun Ce's call. When he reached the gate, he was afraid that Sun Ce would commit suicide, so he hurriedly ordered his guards to say: "Guard this place well. If you see any unusual behavior from the lord, stop him immediately." "Don't let the master touch sharp weapons. Make sure to keep an eye on him at all times." The guards could naturally hear what the two had just said, and they immediately responded.

After making these arrangements, Zhou Yu headed out of the mansion. When he reached the door, he saw Zhu Zhi rushing towards him. "Grand Commander, it's bad, the enemy has surrounded the city!" "I'm afraid they really want to storm this city. We have less than 5,000 soldiers in the city." "If the enemy attacks from all sides, how can our army hold on?" When Zhou Yu heard this, he changed his attitude and said coldly with a gloomy face: "The enemy army is only 20,000 or 30,000 people. Why should we be afraid? You are a great general and yet you are like this. How can the officers under your command be at ease?" "Quickly mobilize your troops and prepare to follow me and Bo Fu to break out of the city!" When Zhu Zhi heard that Zhou Yu was planning to break out, he was immediately horrified and said: "If the governor wants to break out, why not do it at night? It's daytime now, how can we break out of the encirclement?" At this moment, Zhou Yu was no longer as gentle and courteous as before. He just said in a deep voice: "General, you may not know that Wuxi has fallen into the hands of the enemy!" "If we wait until night, the enemy will be ambushed everywhere and our army will have no chance of escaping." "As soon as the day breaks, I will lead the army straight south, and the general can lead Bo Fu to march southeast." "As for Wu County, take my family and I to Lou County to take a boat out to sea, and don't come back!" "Even if I die here, you must help Bofu escape from here!" As he spoke, he had already decided to sacrifice himself to save Sun Ce. Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhi was filled with awe and bowed, saying: "The governor is truly a righteous man, and truly has the demeanor of a scholar from ancient times." "Since the governor has made up his mind, I will follow his will!" He was a die-hard fan of Sun Jian and could understand Zhou Yu's mentality, so he turned around and left to prepare his troops. After Zhou Yu finished making the arrangements, he looked back at the county government and walked towards the city wall. He originally wanted to check the deployment of Liu Bei's army outside the city first, but as soon as he entered the city, he saw several soldiers gathered together, seemingly looking at something. "The enemy is right outside the city. What are you all looking at?" As he walked forward, he saw several soldiers standing up and saluting: "Governor, we are watching the notice sent from the city." "We are illiterate, we just want to discuss the value of this item!" The soldier's hand held a notice from Liu Bei's army, which read: "General Liu, the General of the Eastern Expedition, is hereby ordered to attack Sun Ce. If Sun Ce surrenders, his body will be intact. If he resists, his entire family will be killed." "From the officers to the common people, anyone who can capture Sun Ce and bring him back will be given a high rank and reward." "Everyone should be aware of this notice. The deadline is one day. No more waiting after the time is up!" "We will attack the city at noon tomorrow. Anyone who surrenders after the city is broken will be killed without mercy!" These words are too harsh and don't even seem like they came from Liu Bei's army.

But when Zhou Yu read the letter, he was shocked and asked all the soldiers: "When will this book be sent? Is there only one copy, or will it be distributed to all schools?" The soldier quickly replied that Liu Bei's army had shot hundreds of arrows, with more than ten at each city gate. Zhou Yu saw this and hurriedly ordered his city gate guards to come forward. Suddenly, he heard a loud shout in the distance: "Commander-in-chief, the commanders of the two southeast gates have led their troops towards the city!" Zhou Yu was horrified when he heard this, and shouted angrily: "Liu Bei is such a vicious old villain, he wants to kill my brother!" After shouting, he led his troops towards the city. At this moment, inside the county government, a group of soldiers had surrounded Sun Ce's house. Sun Ce walked out of the room tremblingly, glanced at everyone with his tiger eyes and said with a smile: "Do you want to ask for my head and go out to collect the reward?" When he came out, although his upper body was covered with bandages, he frightened everyone and made them retreat: "My lord, you have misunderstood. We dare not wait. We only hope that you will surrender!" But Sun Ce looked at everyone, chuckled, and leaned against the door and said: "If I refuse to surrender, do you know what crime I have committed?" "Leading a group to rebel and attempt to kill their master is a capital crime!" When everyone saw him like this and heard his words, they hesitated for a while. The two leading generals immediately knelt down with a plop and shouted: "My lord, surrender! We have no other choice!" As soon as the two of them knelt, all the soldiers knelt down: "Please, my lord, give us some advice and let us surrender!" Everyone knelt down in front of Sun Ce, causing him to smile miserably and say: “I never thought that I, Sun Bofu, would reach the state I am in today!” "But if you want me to surrender, I certainly can't do that. But I'm just going to die, and I'm not afraid!" Having said this, he pointed to a junior officer in front of him and said: "What's your name? Can you come forward?" The lieutenant heard this and stood up tremblingly and said: "My lord, I am Ma Zhong. I wonder what you want me to do?" Unexpectedly, as he approached, Sun Ce glared at him and said in a deep voice: "Since you have the intention to rebel, why should you be afraid? Stand up straight and answer me!" After he shouted, Ma Zhong straightened up, but Sun Ce suddenly smiled kindly: "Good boy, this is a manly behavior. Can you tell me something?" "And tell Gongjin that there is no need to feel guilty, just surrender." "If I knew that he had not surrendered, I would never have an easy time with him in the future!" After giving these instructions, he drew out Ma Zhong's sword and slashed it towards his neck without hesitation. With a burst of blood spurting out, Sun Ce fell to the ground. He was twenty-five years old! After a while, Zhou Yu rushed to the mansion. Seeing this, he knelt down and cried bitterly, heartbroken.

(End of this chapter)