When a few chests of jewels were thrown down, Sun Ce's soldiers began to waver. Sun Ce looked back at his troops and knew what was on their minds. They could easily slack off and not fight with full effort.
Zhou Yu shook his head in exasperation at Sun Ce. Why waste time with words? Just attack. Now, they were stuck between advancing and retreating.
Helpless, Zhou Yu stepped forward. "Lù Kàng, why use the wealth of our army as your guarantee? At this point, you must realize that you can only delay the inevitable. Your family's wealth is already in our grasp. Your so-called reputation and promises are nothing but a joke, merely sending your soldiers to their deaths."
Without waiting for Lù Kàng's response, Zhou Yu turned to his soldiers and shouted, "Listen up! Today, if we take the city, every soldier will receive one guàn in reward, and everyone else will get one diào!" Then, with a deep breath, he bellowed, "Attack!"
The soldiers, hearing Zhou Yu's promise, understood that Zhou Yu wasn't making empty promises. Lù Kàng's promise of daily payments was questionable, while Zhou Yu's rewards were guaranteed. With Han Dang and the others leading the charge, Sun Ce's troops roared and surged forward, giving Lù Kàng no chance to respond.
Retreating to the rear to command, Zhou Yu glanced at the intelligence from Chao Lake and sighed. "I had hoped to fight both Lùjiāng and any reinforcements simultaneously. I didn't expect the first wave of reinforcements to be so formidable."
After putting the report aside, Zhou Yu turned to the messenger, Ling Cao. "Kūntáo, go inform Bofu to come over."
Ling Cao took Zhou Yu's command and went to find Sun Ce. Meanwhile, Zhou Yu looked northeast and sighed again, ordering a messenger to urge Huang Gai and the others to attack quickly.
Following Zhou Yu's orders, Cheng Pu and his comrades didn't focus on just one gate as before. Instead, they launched full-scale assaults on the east, west, and north gates. The exhausted defenders of Lùjiāng were caught off guard, and the city walls began to crumble.
"Demóu, Yìgōng, Gongjin orders us to attack with all our might and take Lùjiāng city as quickly as possible!" Huang Gai, commanding from the northeast, shouted to Cheng Pu and Han Dang after receiving Zhou Yu's orders. The three had been waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Let's charge up now!" Cheng Pu eyed the shaky east gate. "I think it's time. The three of us will lead our personal guards and attack the north gate together. Let's take Lùjiāng city in one go!"
"Agreed!" Han Dang handed his drumsticks to a burly soldier. "Once we charge, you keep beating that drum as loud as you can!"
"Charge!" Huang Gai roared, leading the way with his sword as he rushed towards the city wall. He climbed the ladder, taking three steps at a time, and leaped onto the wall amidst the chaos. Before the defenders could pour boiling oil on him, he swung his sword, cutting down the soldiers around him. Despite the suppression of his internal energy, Huang Gai killed over a dozen men and secured his position.
"A hundred gold to the one who takes Huang Gai's head!" Lù Kàng, seeing Huang Gai, realized the gravity of the situation and shouted from a distance.
"Lù Kàng, prepare to die!" Han Dang followed closely, cutting down an archer about to attack Huang Gai. Cheng Pu also leaped onto the wall, and the three quickly secured a section of the battlements. Their personal guards rushed up the ladders and fought fiercely, clearing the area.
"Counterattack! Shoot them down!" Lù Kàng shouted in panic.
"Take this!" Huang Gai drew his bow and, with a powerful shot, hit Lù Kàng, knocking him to the ground from over a hundred meters away.
"Master, retreat!" The Lù family soldiers, seeing Lù Kàng wounded, knew the situation was dire. A dozen of them blocked the advancing Sun Ce soldiers while others carried Lù Jun and the injured Lù Kàng away.
"Go..." Lù Kàng coughed up blood. Though a loyal servant had blocked part of Huang Gai's arrow, the remaining force had pierced his side. While not fatal, such a wound was dangerous for a seventy-year-old man. Without proper treatment, he wouldn't last long.
"Report! Enemy forces have breached the east and west gates; only the south gate remains unchallenged!" A bloodied retainer shouted.
"Head for the south gate! Zhou Tai has received our family's support for years; he should give us a way out!" Lù Jun, supporting Lù Kàng, ordered.
"Take the south gate and escape to Chao Lake, then head north! Don't go to Jiangdong. The Gu, Zhang, and Zhu families have not sent any aid. If that's the case, let's seek refuge with Liu Xuande!" Lù Kàng, pale but clear-headed, instructed. "Take Sun and Ji, and burn the Lù family estate!"
"Understood!" Lù Jun agreed without hesitation. "What about our shipbuilding knowledge? Even if we reach Chao Lake, we'll have to flee with only our lives!"
"Survive first! Skilled workers can be found again; it's just a matter of experience. As for our family's shipbuilding secrets, I'll teach you everything I know on the way. As long as you remember it, our family can rise again. As for the core craftsmen, dismiss them for now. Once we're safe, we can regroup!" Lù Kàng, coughing, gave his final instructions.
"Understood!" Lù Jun nodded, carrying his father towards the south gate. Lù Xùn and Lù Ji were also taken by the family's guards as they made their escape.
"Boss, are we really going to wipe out the entire Lù family?" A water bandit hesitated and asked.
"Shut up!" Zhou Tai slapped the bandit to the ground. "Get out there and make sure none of our soldiers are looting or committing atrocities. Anyone caught doing so will be executed on the spot!"
After entering through the west gate, Zhou Tai issued the order. His smarter subordinates quickly understood, while the less astute ones were dragged along.
Zhou Tai personally killed a Sun Ce soldier who had tried to assault a Lùjiāng civilian.
"We got out so easily... I didn't expect Zhou Yu not to set an ambush at the south gate!" Lù Jun remarked in surprise.
"Maybe there was an ambush, but someone diverted it!" Lù Xùn, at just eleven years old, was more perceptive.
"Zhou Yòupíng must have done it. Let's not make it difficult for him. We need to leave quickly. Once we reach the Yangtze, even if Sun Ce blocks the waterways, no one can stop us from escaping." Lù Jun, enlightened by his son, sighed, cleaned up his appearance, and rode south.
"Report! General, the Lù family estate is on fire, and General Zhou is executing our soldiers who attacked the city!" A messenger hurried to inform Huang Gai and the others.
"What?!" Huang Gai was stunned. "Yòupíng dares to act like this? Take me there at once!"