Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 534 The oriole is behind
More than ten miles northeast of Changzi City, there are mountains everywhere.

In a mountain forest that was originally sparsely populated, there was now a large group of people who looked like soldiers stationed there.

A middle-aged man was sitting on a rock, holding a roasted leg of lamb in his hand and eating it in big mouthfuls.

One of the men next to him glanced at the man, and seemed to want to say something but hesitated several times. Finally, he bit his lip and stood up.

"General Zhang, we have taken Gao Lan's food and weapons, and promised to help him capture Shangdang. Why are we waiting here for so long? If Gao Lan asks us about it in the future, won't it be troublesome?"

It turned out that the middle-aged man was Zhang Niujiao.

That day, he and Gao Lan "escaped from prison" and returned to Taihang Mountains, where they soon found the place where Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Army was stationed.

He secretly found a group of his old subordinates, who were overjoyed and very excited to see him.

These old subordinates had always been suspected and excluded by Zhang Yan. Whenever the Black Mountain Army had a harvest, they would first distribute it to Zhang Yan's cronies, leaving some things that no one wanted before they could get their turn. And every time there was a battle, their troops were sent to fight first, so everyone was dissatisfied with Zhang Yan.

Zhang Niujiao's sudden return soon won the loyalty of these generals.

Once when Zhang Yan personally led his troops down the mountain to plunder supplies, these generals suddenly appeared in the mountain stronghold with Zhang Niu Jiao.

Most of the remaining tens of thousands of soldiers in the stronghold chose to surrender, and those who were unwilling to surrender were all killed by Zhang Niujiao. He thus successfully occupied the stronghold that Zhang Yan had painstakingly managed for many years, and took away all the family members of the Black Mountain Army soldiers who remained in the stronghold as hostages.

After Zhang Yan learned the news, he was naturally extremely surprised and angry. However, due to the large number of hostages, including his own wife and children, being in the hands of Zhang Niujiao, he could only choose to swallow his anger and temporarily stay on other hills, not daring to compete with Zhang Niujiao.

A few days ago, Gao Lan sent someone to deliver a letter to the mountain, delivering the supplies promised to Zhang Niu Jiao, and at the same time asking him to send troops to Shangdang to assist in the attack. Zhang Niu Jiao readily agreed at the time, and in front of the messenger, he assembled 20,000 soldiers and horses, rewarded the three armies, and then sent his troops down the mountain.

However, after arriving at the forest on the northeast side of Changzi City, he suddenly ordered the entire army to stay there, neither advancing nor retreating, and to wait and see the situation, which puzzled several of his generals.

Zhang Niujiao looked at his subordinate and wiped the oil off his mouth.

"You, after following Chu Feiyan, your knowledge has become even more limited."

The subordinate still didn't understand: "Please give me some advice, General."

Zhang Niujiao said, "We both know the strength of the Bingzhou army. Zhang Yan has come down the mountain to attack us several times, but he has always fled in panic. This general has just returned to the mountain with only 40,000 to 50,000 troops. This time, I am bringing 20,000 troops down the mountain. If we are as stupid as Zhang Yan and rush out rashly, we will be annihilated if we are defeated. Even if we win, we will suffer heavy losses and casualties. Have you ever thought about what will happen then?"

The subordinate's face showed some understanding: "By then, the good situation you have worked so hard to create will be destroyed. Suffering such a loss in the first battle will surely make your brothers feel disheartened."

"Yes!" Zhang Niujiao slapped his thigh and said, "I will let everyone know that following Zhang Yan will lead to defeat and death, and only by following me, Zhang Niujiao, can one save life and turn the tide. In this way, Zhang Yan's men will naturally come to join me."

"The general is wise!"

The subordinate took the opportunity to flatter him.

"But we accepted their kindness but ignored it. If Jizhou comes to question us in the future, what should we do? Yuan Shao can't beat Liu He, but it's not difficult for him to punish us."

Zhang Niujiao glared at him and said, "Who said we should ignore it?"

The subordinates were even more puzzled when they heard this: "Then what the general means is..."

Zhang Niujiao smiled mysteriously: "Don't worry, as long as you follow me, not only will you not be blamed by Jizhou, but after I take care of you, Jizhou will also send you a big gift to thank you."

At this time, a soldier ran over.

"General, when Zhang He was retreating, he was ambushed by Ye Xiang's army and his entire army was wiped out. Zhang He fled back to Huguan alone, but he didn't expect that Huguan had been captured by Zhu Ye. Zhang He was captured as soon as he entered the pass. Ye Xiang led his army back, and Guan Yu opened the city gates and attacked from both sides. Gao Lan's army of 50,000 was now doomed to fail."

"it is good!"

Zhang Niujiao threw the lamb leg away and stood up.

"Gather all the brothers and prepare to go down the mountain! Guan Yu and his men are catching cicadas, so let's be the oriole, haha!"

Yuanyang County was the county that suffered the most severe flooding after the dam burst.

This morning, another section of the river outside the city was washed away, and Liu He personally led thousands of people to fight on the front line. The heavy rain in the sky fueled the turbulent and surging river.

"Quick, bring the sandbags over!"

Liu He didn't even wear a straw raincoat, and his whole body was already soaked, but he seemed unaware of it. He carried two sandbags on each shoulder and ran all the way to the river bank.

He was a great general and fought so hard. Others were inspired and became more motivated as well.

After a whole day of hard work, until late at night, the gap was finally temporarily blocked, and Liu He and others were able to go back and rest.

Qian Li hurriedly brought over ginger soup and hot porridge. He shook his head as he looked at Liu He, who was taking a bath in a wooden tub, fell asleep leaning against the edge of the tub, and was not awakened until his head accidentally slipped into the water.

"My Lord, why do you have to do this yourself? If something happens to you, wouldn't it be..."

Liu He interrupted him, "The war in Shangdang is under the care of my second brother and his men. I don't need to intervene. I have divine power, so I should do something. Otherwise, how can I be worthy of the people of Bingzhou? They have always trusted me, which is our foundation. That's why those villains are targeting me. I have harmed them, so I should help them."

Qian Li knew that nothing he said could change Liu He's mind, so he could only sigh and bring the ginger soup and hot porridge to Liu He.

Liu He picked up the towel and wiped his face. He did not come out of the wooden barrel. Instead, he reached out and took the ginger soup, tilted his head back and drank it all. Then he took the hot porridge and drank it all in a few mouthfuls like a glutton.

"My lord, you have been tired all day and have not eaten a single grain of rice. Why don't you eat some meat to restore your strength?"

Qian Li originally prepared chicken, duck, fish and meat for Liu He, but was stopped by Liu He.

"The people are suffering from the disaster. I don't know how many victims are starving. How can I be the only one to enjoy myself?"

"But……"

"Okay, let's stop talking about this. Is there any news from Shangdang?"

Qian Li nodded and said, "The news came at noon today, but the master was busy on the river bank at that time, so I didn't dare to disturb him."

"Oh? That must be good news."

Liu He knew that if Guan Yu lost the battle, Qian Li would report it to him immediately regardless of everything. Moreover, he had made so many careful arrangements that there was no possibility of losing the battle.

Qian Li smiled and said, "My lord, you are very good at predicting things. Jizhou was defeated and Zhang He was captured alive by General Dehui. Of Jizhou's 70,000 soldiers, nearly 20,000 were killed and more than 20,000 were captured. It's a pity that Zhang Niujiao suddenly led his troops to rescue them and broke a gap in the encirclement of General Guan and his men, allowing Gao Lan to escape with the remnants. Otherwise, all 70,000 troops would have to stay in Shangdang."

Liu He did not show any regret at this news.

"Let them escape. I let Gao Lan and Zhang Niu Jiao go on purpose. It would be useful to keep them. It might not be a good thing if my second brother and his men caught Gao Lan so quickly. Zhang Niu Jiao has been imprisoned in Yinguan City for many years. It seems that he has become more capable. He knows how to gain the greatest benefit at the lowest cost. He has improved much more than I expected. I will hold my troops in place first, and when we are about to win a great victory, I will take advantage of my second brother and his men's relaxed vigilance and suddenly charge out. There will be no major losses, and Gao Lan will be rescued, which is a great achievement. Hehe, I'm afraid that in a few days, Jizhou will have to send another batch of food, fodder and military equipment to Taihang Mountain."

"No matter how much trouble they make, they can't escape the lord's grasp in the end."

"Okay, there's no need to flatter me. Now, go back and have a rest."

"Yes." Qian Li put away the bowl and chopsticks, bowed and walked out.

Liu He narrowed his eyes, put his hands on the bathtub, and pondered for a while.

"It seems that the time has come for the foreshadowing I have prepared for years to deal with Yuan Shao to be put into action. Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao, I wonder how you can escape this disaster I have carefully prepared for you."

He had just laid down and was about to go to sleep when he suddenly heard a noise outside. He hurriedly opened the door and ran out.

"What happened?" Liu He stopped someone and asked.

"I have seen the general. Another breach has been opened in Meiji County."

When Liu He heard this, he grabbed his clothes and put them on while running out.

"Prepare the horses and go to Meiji County immediately."

(End of this chapter)