Chapter 2274: Dream Breaks
Some, who had long been angry and dissatisfied with the Su family’s army, simply turned around and surrendered, joining Qin Wuyou’s team.
Overnight, Qin Wuyou occupied Hangzhou City at a very small cost. Those who couldn’t escape in time were captured and thrown into jail.
Qin Wuyou took swift actions to consolidate control. He sent people to guard the city and maintain order, posted notices of peace, and captured the remaining members of the Su family’s army.
At sunrise, the moners entering and leaving the city realized they no longer needed to pay the toll.
All the moners cheered.
Shops opened for business as usual, the street market was still bustling, and daily life seemed unaffected.
In fact, the dark clouds overhead had dissipated, and the weight on everyone’s hearts had lifted.
People felt even more relaxed!
That afternoon, another team entered Hangzhou City. Including the original strength and the garrison forces that had surrendered, Qin Wuyou now manded nearly 50,000 troops.
He left 40,000 men to defend the city and ordered his deputy to lead 10,000 men out of Hangzhou City to set up an ambush, planning to catch Su Huai off guard upon his return.
Naturally, some of the Su Clan soldiers who had stayed behind in Hangzhou City took advantage of the chaos to escape and report back to Pujiang. They were certain that Su Huai would return to reclaim Hangzhou City upon receiving the news.
Su Huai and his forces, confident in their plans, intended to use the same strategy to capture Jinhua City and other cities. On the morning they prepared to set off for Jinhua City, the soldiers who had escaped from Hangzhou City arrived in Pujiang and delivered the devastating news that Hangzhou City had been lost.
Su Huai and his manders were stunned.
“What did you say?”
“That can’t be possible!”
“How did this happen? Say it again!”
“Damn it! I knew it wouldn’t be that simple for Zheng Sangge to abandon the city and escape! Bastard!”
Everyone was furious and cursed in exasperation. The pressing question was, “What should we do?”
The only option was clear: they had to fight their way back and retake Hangzhou City.
Hangzhou City was different from other places. If they lost it, they had to take it back. Losing Hangzhou City would mean losing control over a large area, including Jinhua City. Otherwise, capturing Jinhua City would be pointless.
“Who dares to play dirty with me? I’ll kill him! e back with me and take back Hangzhou City!”
Su Huai shouted angrily and immediately set off, leading his army towards Hangzhou City.
Unexpectedly, they were ambushed halfway and suffered a severe defeat.
Almost simultaneously, the civilians who had been forcefully recruited rebelled. They fought against the regular Su family soldiers assigned to guard them, then took advantage of the chaos to escape in all directions.
The Su Family army, disoriented and battered from the ambush, couldn’t even take care of themselves, let alone the fleeing moners.
By the time they had retreated 20 to 30 miles and managed to regroup, they had lost nearly a third of their troops.
Su Huai was nearly breathless with rage. Many of his trusted brothers were injured, including his son.
Everyone had a terrible look on their faces. They cursed Zheng Sangge and Shao Yunduan, wishing they could tear them to pieces!
As for the ladders and catapults used to attack the city, they had been abandoned in the chaos.
The heavy work of moving this equipment had been assigned to the forced laborers. Once the moners fled, the equipment was left behind. At the time, they hadn’t cared, but now they realized they had nothing left.
Everyone felt even more demoralized.
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