Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 561 Triangle Battle
The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. The snow on the mountains melted quickly, turning into springs that flowed into mountain streams and finally into the rivers leading down the mountain.

One of the rivers flows along the mountain, all the way from Yanmen Pass to Taiyuan County, and finally merges into a large river. People walk along the river all year round, and gradually a road is formed. A few years ago, Liu He built it into an official road connecting Yu County and Yanmen Pass.

The section of this official road within the territory of Lufei County is surrounded by mountains, which is perfect for ambush. Zhang Niujiao ambushed in this forest.

When the snow had just melted, it was freezing cold. Most of the 25,000 men and horses he brought with him were not dressed warmly enough, so they hid in the woods. Many of them were so cold that their teeth were chattering and their lips were turning blue.

Not to mention them, even Zhang Niujiao, who was wearing thick winter clothes, had red ears and cold hands.

But even though they were frozen like this, none of the 25,000 people ran around. All of them were looking at the official road with great anticipation.

Finally, someone next to Zhang Niujiao shouted excitedly: "Here they come!"

Just these two words made everyone around stretch their necks and look over there.

Sure enough, a man on horseback appeared on the official road after turning a corner to the north. Then, one rickshaw and donkey cart appeared one after another.

Zhang Niujiao excitedly clenched the sword in his hand. His hands, which were originally red from the cold, were now covered with cold sweat.

The convoy seemed to be in a hurry to travel. The man on horseback at the head kept looking back and urging the people behind to speed up.

Zhang Niujiao watched the convoy approaching step by step, feeling both nervous and excited.

Finally, this convoy entered the ambush circle they had set up. Zhang Niujiao, who had been holding back for a long time, couldn't wait to shout.

"attack!"

As the order was given, countless arrows, rolling logs, and falling rocks appeared from the woods on both sides and fell onto the middle mountain road.

"There is an enemy attack, be alert immediately!" The leading man quickly raised his sword and shouted behind him.

In this attack, many vehicles were overturned, and the driver and the guards beside them were thrown into chaos.

Zhang Niujiao stared at the things that fell from the overturned vehicles and his eyes widened.

"Food, yes food! And winter clothes. Over there... there are weapons, haha, I'm rich!"

Not only him, but also many bandits who had been waiting here for half a day, immediately forgot the biting cold after seeing these things.

"Kill!"

Twenty-five thousand bandits rushed down the mountain in a menacing manner, wishing they could snatch all the supplies immediately.

"They are bandits. Don't be afraid, follow me and form a formation to kill the enemy!" The leader raised his arms and shouted, and thousands of guards raised their weapons.

In a blink of an eye, the two sides were engaged in a melee on this narrow mountain road.

At the same time, about ten miles outside Zhang Niujiao's stronghold, a large group of people were heading this way.

Not long after, a man ran over from the front at a high speed and came in front of the army.

"General Zhang, you are finally here."

A man pushed through the crowd and walked to the front of the team. It was Zhang Yan.

He looked at the person who came and asked, "How is it? Did Zhang Niujiao really lead the main force to leave?"

The man nodded vigorously. "Yes, there were originally about 90,000 people in the village, including 40,000 warriors and 50,000 elderly, weak, women, children, and the injured. This morning, Zhang Niujiao led 25,000 people to set off, leaving only 15,000 capable people in the village."

Zhang Yan laughed, but then became serious again.

"Fifteen thousand people is still a lot. If I attack by force, I'm afraid I'll suffer heavy losses."

"General Zhang, rest assured. Among these 15,000 men, 5,000 are my trusted followers. The remaining 10,000 are starving and cold due to lack of food and clothing. They have no intention of fighting. General, just listen to me, and I will capture this stronghold."

Zhang Yan smiled and patted the man on the shoulder: "Okay, if you succeed, I'll give you credit for this."

"Thank you, General Zhang!"

After saying this, the man turned around and ran towards the mountain stronghold. Zhang Yan also hurriedly followed with his army.

When we arrived at the gate of Zhangniujiao Village, as expected, the village was completely quiet. No sound was heard and no one was seen walking outside the house.

Zhang Yan nodded to someone next to him, and that person took out a horn from his waist and blew it hard towards the sky.

"Woo...Woo..."

The loud sound of the horn immediately woke up the people who were warming themselves by the fire in the house. Everyone ran out of the house, and when they saw Zhang Yan's appearance, they were all scared silly.

"Oh no! Someone is attacking the mountain... A-choo... stronghold!"

"The boss is leading his army out to grab supplies. How can we...how can we stop them..."

"That... that's Chu Feiyan. It's over. He's here. We're dead... dead..."

Some of the people who had defected from Zhang Yan to join Zhang Niu Jiao suddenly looked ashen. Zhang Yan glanced at the person who had run out of the village to inform him, and the person understood what he meant and strode forward.

"Huh? Isn't that Niu Er? Why is he next to Zhang Yan?"

"Our Boss Niu? He just said he was going out to relieve himself. Could it be that... could it be that he was actually going to lure Zhang Yan to attack the village?"

"It's over. Niu Er has defected to Zhang Yan. He must have leaked the news that the boss is leading the army to the battle."

Just when everyone was in panic, Niu Er walked to the square in the village.

"Brothers, be quiet and listen to me!"

Everyone fell silent and stared at him in amazement.

Niu Er was very proud of this and continued, "We have been suffering a lot since we followed Zhang Niu Jiao. Now it is the middle of winter and everyone is wearing thin clothes. Even if we stay in the house and warm ourselves by the fire, we still feel the cold. Do you still want to live like this?"

After he said this, the bandits, who were already feeling very cold, immediately tightened their limited clothing and sniffed the snot that was about to flow out of their nostrils.

"Many brothers may not know that not only are there not enough winter clothes in the village, but there is also very little food left. At most, there is only enough to last for another month!"

"What?" This news completely panicked many bandits and their families.

"What can I do? Without clothes, I can just stay indoors, but without food, I'll die."

"Didn't the boss go to rob supplies? We just need to wait for him to come back... I think..."

Niu Er listened to everyone's discussion with disdain on his face: "I'm sure everyone knows how dangerous Bingzhou is. How can Zhang Niu Jiao succeed in stealing things from Liu He's territory? Even if he succeeds, how can we resist Liu He when he comes to take revenge?"

His words completely crushed those who still held a glimmer of hope in Zhang Niu Jiao.

"Brothers, it's not that I, Niu Er, am afraid of death and betrayed the leader. It's just that winter in the Taihang Mountains is so difficult that I don't need to say more. Without food and winter clothes, and facing Liu He's revenge, what hope is there in such a terrifying life?"

"General Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Army has brought back enough winter supplies from Youzhou. He has forgiven us and still remembers us, the old brothers who betrayed him. What a broad mind and kindness! I, Niu Er, joined General Zhang not for myself, but for everyone's survival!"

His words gave everyone a glimmer of hope, but looking at Zhang Yan, everyone was still somewhat skeptical, fearing that he would come to settle old scores after they defected to him.

At this time, Zhang Yan came out in person and shouted, "I, Zhang Yan, swear to heaven that as long as you sincerely submit to me, I will forgive you and will never retaliate against you for past events. In addition, as long as you surrender your stronghold today, I, Zhang Yan, have brought food and will cook porridge and meat soup in the stronghold immediately for you to enjoy. After I take you back to my Black Mountain Army's camp, I will distribute winter clothes. How do you think?"

"There's broth to drink? That's great!"

"Winter clothes, I want winter clothes. As long as I have winter clothes to wear, I will do anything!"

These words immediately excited everyone in the village.

Zhang Yan looked at his own achievements, feeling extremely proud: "Zhang Niujiao, ah Zhang Niujiao, you will eventually lose to me!"

He was so pleased with himself at the time that he did not notice that in a corner of the village, a figure looked around, quickly climbed over the fence, and then disappeared into the woods.

Soon after, smoke rose from the village, and the aroma of porridge and broth mixed together and drifted in the air above the village.

Zhang Yan sat on the position originally belonging to Zhang Niujiao with his horse and sword, looking at the several generals who had just surrendered standing below him, feeling very proud and satisfied.

"My Black Mountain Army has 50,000 soldiers. If I take in Zhang Niu Jiao's 15,000 men and horses, I will set up an ambush when he returns to the camp, kill this stinky bull, and annex the troops he brought with him. By then, I will be the most powerful force in Taihang Mountain. What can Xu Huang do? I will destroy him sooner or later."

The following generals began to flatter him.

"Not bad, not bad. General Zhang, you are invincible, wise and brave. How can Zhang Niujiao and Xu Huang be compared with you?"

"I think even if the great and virtuous teacher were resurrected, he would not be as good as you, Zhang Niujiao."

Zhang Yan was completely intoxicated by the flattery.

"Niu Er, you have made the greatest contribution this time. First, you came to deliver the message early this morning, and then you helped me persuade the brothers in the village to surrender. I must reward you well."

Unexpectedly, Niu Er was stunned.

"General, why do you say that? I have never delivered any message to you."

This time it was Zhang Yan's turn to be confused. "What happened? This morning, a letter suddenly hit the gate of the village, saying that Zhang Niujiao led his army down the mountain to plunder supplies in Lufei County, and asked me to take the opportunity to attack. That's why I sent troops and sent someone to contact you to support me. Why, it's not you? Who else could it be?"

Niu Er shook his head like a rattle: "I did think of informing the general, but Zhang Niu Jiao didn't set out yet, so I didn't have the chance. As soon as he left and I was about to deliver the message, your messenger came. I thought you were well-informed."

Zhang Yan was completely stunned in his seat. Suddenly, he looked shocked.

"Oops, I fell into a trap!"

At this time, several figures stumbled over at the door.

"General Zhang, something terrible has happened. Xu Huang personally led an army of 20,000 to attack the mountain stronghold. The brothers in the stronghold were completely unprepared and were caught off guard. Now the stronghold has fallen and most of the brothers have surrendered to the Baibo Army. We had to risk our lives to escape..."

"what!"

(End of this chapter)