Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

Chapter 2735 Zhang Ning Appointed as Envoy to the Xiongnu

Zhang Liao, having disengaged from the battle, quickly rejoined the main army at the designated location. After a headcount, the battle losses were tallied:

Forty-three thousand seven hundred elite soldiers were killed in action, fifty-seven thousand four hundred were lightly wounded... There were no seriously wounded, since those who were seriously wounded were mostly killed in action.

Forty thousand casualties… This figure sent a shockwave through Zhang Liao. These were all his trusted elite troops, his long-time subordinates, and fellow villagers he had brought from Yanmen County in Bingzhou… Now, with forty thousand gone… how could he not be heartbroken?!

He only led his troops in one charge, without even engaging in a fierce battle with the enemy, yet he paid such a heavy price...

"Xiao Qing, you take three men and stay here. Take off your armor and go to Cao Cao's camp," Zhang Liao ordered after a moment of reminiscence.

"General, what brings you to Cao Cao's camp?" the lieutenant asked.

"Let's go find Cao Cao and get back the remains of our comrades!" Zhang Liao said firmly.

"General, will Cao Cao give it to us?" Everyone else was shocked upon hearing this.

"Let's give it a try," Zhang Liao said solemnly. He knew that Cao Cao had lost more soldiers and suffered greater losses, but they were fighting for their respective masters and there was nothing they could do.

"promise!"

"We'll wait for you at that location south of Zhongmu City," Zhang Liao said.

After that, he led his troops to continue their retreat.

The very next day, Zhang Liao received a reply.

Cao Cao actually sent back the remains of 40,000 Bingzhou cavalrymen intact!

Without setting any conditions, they arranged the remains neatly in a valley and let them move them.

They initially thought it was a trick by Cao Cao, but after some investigation, they discovered that Cao Cao had actually gone south!

Following Sun Jian, Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei, Lin Mu, and others, Cao Cao also left the Guandong Coalition camp.

Lin Mu, who had just woken up and finished washing up, received the latest military report.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei all returned to camp wounded, with Zhang Fei being the most seriously injured, having been slashed in the chest.

As for the enemy's situation, that remains unknown for now. Liu Bei and his men haven't revealed anything either…

The plan to hunt down Guan Yu failed as expected.

“It’s Zhang Fei who’s seriously injured. I thought it was Liu Bei…” Lin Mu raised an eyebrow.

“Borrowing luck is borrowing luck after all, it’s not really his luck… or rather, Liu Bei’s borrowing of luck played a role at a crucial moment, not during the process…” Lin Mu guessed, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"My lord, Liu Bei has sent a message asking us to return to Suanzao to ask Yuan Shu for grain..." Just then, Wang Yue walked in and said.

Liu Bei still had tens of thousands of soldiers under his command, and these people were also starving and in dire need of food.

“Oh…that’s fine…but there’s no need to be so eager. Those extraordinary individuals can still support an army like Liu Bei’s.” Lin Mu nodded slightly, speaking meaningfully.

"This time, I'll go back and take a look myself," Lin Mu said meaningfully.

"My lord, there are two more messages..." Wang Yue ignored everything else and handed two letters to Lin Mu with a gloomy expression.

Upon seeing this, Lin Mu felt a bad feeling arise in his mind.

"The plan has been postponed? Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao sent the messages almost simultaneously?" Lin Mu said with a grim face after reading the two letters.

He knew that Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao were no longer in a hurry! But he was anxious!

He was anxious because he feared that the alien race would bind all the resurrection slots of that resurrection artifact and then send those people to cause trouble in the vassal territories they established on the grasslands outside Youzhou.

“Dong Zhuo isn’t in a hurry because the Guandong Coalition is advancing, and the pressure from all sides is increasing, so Dong Zhuo can’t produce many high-level generals… But what about Yuan Shao… Why isn’t he in a hurry?” Lin Mu analyzed with his eyes closed.

"Could it be..." Lin Mu suddenly thought of a possibility and exclaimed.

"Could it be what?" Wang Yue asked in surprise.

"Could it be that Yuan Shao wants to keep it all to himself, sending Yan Liang and Wen Chou with their strategists to secretly enter the grasslands and retrieve the resurrection artifact?!"

The barbarian tribes in Bingzhou collapsed faster than expected. Yan Liang and Wen Chou should no longer have any reason to stay in Bingzhou. But will they return to the Guandong Coalition? No... because they didn't participate in any of the campaigns against Dong Zhuo.

Perhaps Yan Liang and Wen Chou also invaded the grasslands in their past lives... "It's really possible..." Wang Yue believed Lin Mu's judgment.

"Without them, the plan is on hold. Our Great Wilderness Territory needs manpower in various places, and we cannot spare any for the time being to send them to the Great Grassland," Lin Mu sighed softly.

The territory controlled by the Great Wilderness Territory is expanding, and there are more and more places to guard. It's no longer like before, where all the fierce generals like Dian Wei and Huang Zhong could be quickly assembled with a single call.

"Alright... let's focus on suppressing Dong for now. Let Wenze and the others keep an eye on the situation on the grasslands," Lin Mu said solemnly.

"Yes!" Wang Yue replied.

……

Just as Lin Mu had predicted, Yuan Shao wanted to monopolize the spoils. However, he wasn't going alone; he also had members of the Wei family with him…

As the situation in Bingzhou gradually stabilized, Yu Jin and Zang Ba, seeing that things had settled down, moved on to Youzhou to besiege the million-strong alien cavalry.

Dian Wei continued to be stationed on the border of Bingzhou.

Ma Teng's troops returned to the Kwantung Army.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou's troops have disappeared...

As for Zhang Ning of the Taiping Dao, she led her troops from Yanmen County all the way to Taiyuan County, and even entered Shangdang County. She was the most active force in annihilating the foreign tribes.

However, in terms of military achievements, Yan Liang and Wen Chou were the most outstanding.

After wiping out the barbarian tribes in Bingzhou, Zhang Ning led his troops into Xihe County and then temporarily disappeared...

However, after the extermination of the barbarian tribes in Bingzhou was completed, an imperial edict was issued.

Zhang Ning is hereby appointed as General of the Central Army as an envoy to the Xiongnu!

That's right, Dong Zhuo actually appointed Zhang Ning, a remnant of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Holy Maiden of the Way of Peace, to a fourth-rank official position!
Even Lin Mu, who heard the news, was taken aback by this.

However, he didn't take the matter too seriously; Zhang Ning wouldn't cause any trouble.

At this moment, Lin Mu is rushing back to Suanzao City. Even with the teleportation array, it will still take him quite a while to get back.

As soon as he entered Yuan Shu's tent, he heard a loud voice:

"General Yuan, my general has achieved a great victory at Sishui Pass, beheading the traitor Hu Zhen and scaling the city walls of Sishui Pass. He has made outstanding contributions and it will only be a matter of time before we take the pass. However, the army is currently short of food and supplies. I hope that you will send out food and supplies as soon as possible so that we can break into Sishui Pass, enter the capital, and capture Dong Zhuo."

"General Sun's reputation as a military genius is well-deserved."

"My general pays his respects to Lord Yuan and hopes that Lord Yuan will send the provisions soon."

"Go back to the camp and report to General Sun that the supplies will arrive soon."

"Thank you, General."

"My lord, the grain supplies..."

“Since Sun Jian’s camp is short of food, it is natural to allocate some to him, but…”

"But if Sun Jian were to break through Sishui Pass, all the heroes would lose face."

"That is exactly what I was worried about."

“My lord, Sun Wentai is a fierce tiger of Jiangdong. If we attack Sishui Pass, break through Luoyang, and kill Dong Zhuo, it will be no different from getting rid of a wolf and adding a tiger. It would be better not to give him any food and let his army disperse on its own. Wouldn’t that remove a formidable enemy who would compete for merit for my lord?”

"It makes sense."

Sun Jian's demand for grain was still ongoing... and Lin Mu, even from a great distance, could hear Yuan Shu and the others talking. Their 'open and aboveboard' attitude reflected their arrogance.

After waiting for a while, Lin Mu arrived at the hall with his attendants and met Yuan Shu, who was sitting at the head of the table with a large sword and a broadsword.

The Guandong army has already set off, while Yuan Shu is still enjoying himself here.

"I wonder if Dong Zhuo has sent anyone to attack Suanzao City and cut off the Guandong Coalition's supplies," Lin Mu thought to himself as he looked at Yuan Shu.

If so, that would be beautiful.

(End of this chapter)