Whether the people present believed Liu Biao's words or not, at this point in time, there was no difference between waiting another five days or not. Thus, they were all indifferent, waiting for the time Liu Biao had mentioned. If Yuan Shu hadn't retreated by then, they all felt it was only right for them to surrender voluntarily! In doing so, they could also thoroughly embarrass Liu Biao, and they would have something to discuss when they went to Yuan Shu.
On the very day Liu Biao made his declaration, Jiangling City nearly fell to the enemy. The city's defences shook on the brink of collapse, and many of Yuan Shu's soldiers killed their way up the walls. If it hadn't been for Huang Zhong killing several of Yuan Shu's military officers with continuous volleys of arrows, followed by Liu Pan leading the reserve troops to block them off, Yuan Shu's army would have perhaps conquered Jiangling City.