Liu Bei handed another sword to Zhao Yun and said, "Guan and Zhang have long ago sworn to live and die together. These two men are strong-willed and will not want to live alone. Zilong must persuade them to stop. A man should die before he has accomplished anything."
Zhao Yun nodded repeatedly, gritting his teeth but unable to speak.
Liu Bei added: "They must remember their original aspirations and loyally assist Liu Qi to revive the Han Dynasty. They must not commit suicide until the traitor Cao is captured and the traitors are destroyed. They must also take care of Adou day and night. I will protect you from the underworld and help you achieve great things."
Zhao Yun took the sword and said with tears in his eyes: "I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse, even if it means sacrificing my life for you."
Liu Qi was excited when he heard this. Liu Bei really understood his two brothers. He entrusted them with righteousness and Liu Chan, giving Guan and Zhang a reason to continue living.
As they were talking, Yi Ji also hurried over. Seeing Liu Bei soaked to the skin and with a black face, he was shocked and asked, "Why are you here, envoy?"
Liu Bei smiled bitterly and sighed, "I regret not listening to you, sir. Dilu is really a hindrance to the master."
Yi Ji said anxiously, "Cai Mao has returned to the city and has closed all four gates. What should we do?"
Liu Bei suddenly shouted: "My dear nephew, you should kill this man to avenge me—"
Before he could finish his words, he spat out another mouthful of black blood and died, his eyes wide open, staring at the sky, full of anger and unwillingness.
"Uncle!" Liu Qi called out twice, and seeing that Liu Bei was indeed dead, he raised his hand and closed his eyelids.
"You bastard Cai Mao, I swear to kill you!" Zhao Yun knelt on the ground, roared to the sky, his eyes bloodshot.
When Cai Mao returned to the city, Liu Qi was worried that Liu Pan could not hold on alone, so he quickly persuaded Zhao Yun to leave a few people to guard Liu Bei's body and lead his troops to Xiangyang for revenge.
Zhao Yun's face was gloomy and murderous, with a spear in hand, he shouted at the foot of the city: "Cai Mao, you bastard, come out and die."
Cai Mao was waiting for news on the city wall, with the city gates closed and the drawbridge pulled high. When he saw that Liu Bei was not there, he and Zhang Yun looked at each other and laughed, feeling very proud.
Zhang Yun had just been humiliated by Zhao Yun, so he looked up to the sky and laughed, "Zhao Yun, Liu Bei is dead, and you are nothing but a lost dog. I wonder how long you can keep being so arrogant?"
Zhao Yun was furious and urged his horse to charge straight towards the moat, intending to jump over it directly. However, his mount was just an ordinary warhorse, and it retreated when it reached the river.
Arrows were fired at the city from all directions. Zhao Yun used his spear to deflect the arrows and was unable to cooperate at all. His mount was hit by several arrows and fled in pain.
"Zhao Zilong of Changshan is no better than this!" Zhang Yun laughed when he saw Zhao Yun retreating in embarrassment.
"I'm so angry!" Zhao Yun jumped off his horse, like a ferocious beast waiting to devour its prey.
"General Zhao, don't worry!" Liu Qi whispered to Zhao Yun, "My cousin Liu Pan is visiting my father in the mansion. When he left the city just now, I asked him to tell my father the news. My father has always respected the emperor's uncle and will definitely send troops to help."
Huang Zhong also nodded and said, "Cai Mao has mobilized all his troops to defend the city. There is no one in the palace. General Liu will definitely succeed."
After pacifying Zhao Yun, Liu Qi rode forward and shouted, "Cai Mao, you murdered the emperor's relatives. Are you planning a rebellion? Why don't you open the city gates immediately?"
Cai Mao stroked his beard and laughed, "Da Lang, why are you colluding with Liu Bei instead of staying at home to recuperate? I am only following the orders of my lord, and it is not your turn to speak."
Liu Qi was furious and said, "You took it upon yourself to murder the emperor's uncle and even dared to frame my father. This is outrageous."
Cai Mao said coldly: "Liu Bei first followed Lu Bu, then served Cao Cao, and recently joined Yuan Shao, but all failed to end. This is enough to show what kind of person he is. The other day he wrote a rebellious poem in the guesthouse, which shows that he has the intention of rebellion. If I don't get rid of him, he will definitely be a trouble in the future."
Yi Ji stepped forward and said, "General Cai, the lord has treated you well, and Envoy Liu is from the same clan, so why did you do such an unjust thing?"
Cai Mao knew that it was Yi Ji who had informed on him, so he shouted, "Old thief Ji Bo, you are a traitor who has repeatedly ruined my plans. I will make sure you die a miserable death. I will go and ask the lord for orders now, and see what you have to say."
Liu Qi wanted to buy time for Liu Pan, so he shouted, "Cai Mao, open the city gate quickly. I will go with you."
Cai Mao sneered and said, "You and Liu Bei are in the same party. How can you face the Lord?"
Liu Qi shouted anxiously, "Everyone, Cai Mao took advantage of my father's illness to assert his power arbitrarily, oppressed me, and even murdered Emperor Liu. Did you turn a blind eye? Is Jingzhou ruled by the Liu family or the Cai family?"
Cai Mao's face changed slightly when he heard this. He looked at the indifferent soldiers around him and said in a deep voice: "Da Lang, you don't have to spread rumors to confuse the people. I am following the lord's words and actions."
Seeing Liu Qi getting furious, Zhang Yun sneered, "Hahaha, is my cousin so sick that he is confused and speaks so childishly?"
Liu Qi, Zhang Yun and Liu Pan were once the best partners. Huang Zhong hated Zhang Yun's betrayal and had murderous intent in his eyes: "Sir, this boy is arrogant. Let me shoot his head with an arrow."
Seeing that there was no movement in the city, Liu Qi shook his head and said, "Brother must be trying his best to persuade my father not to alert the enemy."
In fact, Liu Qi looks more like Liu Biao. Before Cai's instigation, Liu Biao had always been very satisfied with his eldest son. However, due to his old age and frailty, he was gradually marginalized by Cai Mao, and Liu Qi was cowardly and retreated, which made Liu Biao fall into despair.
Before this, Liu Biao was also worried that Cao Cao would go south, and was in a dilemma about who would succeed him. He asked Liu Bei for advice on whether to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest son. However, Liu Bei strongly opposed it and suggested gradually reducing Cai Mao's military power.
This conversation was heard by Mrs. Cai who was hiding behind the screen. Cai Mao also became completely murderous towards Liu Bei. He would never allow any force supporting Liu Qi to emerge.
Liu Bei's sigh of "the flesh on his thigh has grown back" also made Liu Biao realize that the big-eared thief was dissatisfied. Internal and external troubles must have made Liu Biao very anxious.
Letting Liu Pan go to persuade at this time shows Liu Qi's ambition and determination, which should be able to impress Liu Biao.
But just a few words are not enough. If you want to change the views of Liu Biao and the neutrals, you must take action and show your strong side.
Now Yi Ji was beside him, and Liu Qi pointed at the city wall and shouted, "Cai Mao, you bastard, you are plotting for power and trying to kill people. I cannot stand with you."
Cai Mao was startled, then he looked up to the sky and laughed, "Da Lang, everyone here is my people, what do you have to fight me?"
Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of horses and men in the city. A man rode his horse to the city gate and shouted, "Cai Mao, you traitor, why don't you surrender?"
Cai Mao was shocked. When he turned around, he saw Liu Pan, who had arrived with Generals Wen Pin and Wang Wei. He said in a deep voice, "How dare you disobey my orders?"
Liu Pan took out a golden token and shouted, "Here is the order from the lord. Immediately arrest the traitor Cai Mao and open the city to welcome the eldest master."
The soldiers on the city wall were suddenly in an uproar. Cai Mao and Zhang Yun's faces changed drastically. They never expected that Liu Pan had obtained Liu Biao's golden order.
Zhang Yun hurried forward and shouted, "General Wen, don't be fooled by him. The golden decree must have been stolen by Liu Pan. I am the lord's nephew, and the lord trusts me the most."
"Nephew?" Liu Pan smiled coldly: "I am still your nephew, and there is also the eldest son outside the city. Who can I trust the most?"
Zhang Yun's face turned pale. Cai Mao had secretly ordered people to mobilize troops from the other three gates. He drew his sword and shouted, "I am the general of Jingzhou. Who dares to disobey my orders?"
Liu Qi saw that the time had come and immediately ordered Huang Zhong, "Han Sheng, shoot him!"
"I'll shoot with you!" Zhao Yun also took out his bow and arrow.
Zhao Yun's archery skills were not much inferior to Huang Zhong's. The two snipers bent their bows and drew their arrows at the same time. The arrows flew to the top of the city like meteors chasing the moon.
The defenders were shocked and dodged while shouting. Cai Mao had his back to the outside of the city at the time and was unable to react. A soldier rushed forward and knocked him to the ground.
Wen Pin saw the chaos on the city wall and took the opportunity to shout, "Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are committing treason and murdering Emperor Liu. The eldest son is outside the city wall. Follow me to open the city gates to welcome him."
He first raised his sword and rushed towards the city gate, shouting at the defenders to retreat. Anyone who tried to stop him was knocked down by him with his sword, and then he went forward to open the city.
"Kill!" Liu Pan raised his sword and shouted, "Capture Cai Mao and Zhang Yun."
While the defenders on the city were still hesitating, Liu Pan and Wang Wei had already led their troops to climb up the city walls from both sides of the city gate, forcing them to retreat.
Cai Mao got up in a panic. He could hear the sound of fighting from below the city. When he heard the city gate being opened, he ran towards the north gate.