Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 565: Lord of Taihang
Yuan Shang stared at Gao Lan, and their eyes confronted fiercely in mid-air.

"General Gao thinks so highly of that ox horn that he believes he is the only candidate for the master of Taihang Mountain?"

"That's right. Among the three major forces in Taihang Mountain, only Zhang Niujiao has the longest experience. Whether it's the environment in the mountains or his prestige among the bandits, he is incomparable to the other two. He and Guan Yu rescued Gao that day, which shows that he is brave, resourceful, and decisive. How can a young junior like Xu Huang compare to him? Most of Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Army are Zhang Niujiao's old subordinates. As long as he makes a little contact and then secretly connects with them, it will not be difficult to destroy the Baibo Army. Maybe he has already attacked the Baibo Army camp now."

"You..." Yuan Shang was very angry, but he couldn't think of anything to refute him. He was speechless for a moment, which made Gao Lan very proud.

At this time, a soldier ran over hurriedly.

"My lord, there is a man outside the palace who wants to see you. He claims to be an envoy from Taihang Mountain and is here to give you a gift."

Gao Lan became more proud after hearing this: "It goes without saying that it must be Zhang Niujiao. Zhang Yan is just a rough man, and Xu Huang has repeatedly sent people to ask for things, but never brought any gifts. It seems that Zhang Niujiao is polite and unlike that barbaric man. Ah, maybe the gift is the heads of Xu Huang and Qian Zhao."

Yuan Shang was so angry when he saw his face.

Yuan Shao took his words to heart and said, "Well, Gong Yu is right. I think among the three of them, only Zhang Niujiao would be so polite. Since he is here, let him in."

"Father, this..." Yuan Shang also thought that it was Zhang Niujiao who sent someone to show his courtesy, and wanted to persuade Yuan Shao to drive the other party out.

"Well, as the saying goes, the more courtesy, the less blame. If the other party comes with sincerity, wouldn't it be unworthy of our noble family to refuse him?"

Yuan Shang saw that his father was determined and had no choice but to give up. Gao Lan, however, was extremely proud.

After a while, the guards in the mansion came in with a sturdy man. The men were holding a cloth bag on the left and right. The things in the bags were obviously square, and the bags had four sharp corners.

"I am Wang Yan, a humble man, and I would like to pay my respects to General Yuan! I wish you great fortune and success soon."

When Yuan Shao saw the man's appearance, square face, curly beard, strong body, and loud voice, especially this sentence was said so appropriately, he couldn't help but feel happy.

"Please stand up, warrior. Seeing your appearance, I believe you must have a high status in Taihang Mountain, right?"

Wang Yan stood up and said respectfully, "Thanks to the general, I have made many achievements and have become a military marquis. My general said that he came to Jizhou to discuss important matters and should have come to visit in person. However, the war has just ended and the military affairs are busy, so he can't get away for the time being. And these two gifts cannot be delayed, so I sent me here. Please forgive me, general."

"Oh? Your army has fought another battle recently? Judging from the warrior's expression and tone, it seems that you have won a great victory. Yuan would like to congratulate you. I wonder what this gift is..."

Yuan Shao stared at the two cloth bags closely.

Yuan Shang, however, found the two bags eye-catching no matter how he looked at them: "What good things can a fool like Zhang Niujiao have?"

"Hey, Third Young Master, why are you in such a hurry to make a conclusion? Since Zhang Niujiao has just won a great victory, he must have captured a lot of spoils. He must have taken out the most exquisite things from the spoils and presented them to the lord. It's rare that he can still think about the benefits of Jizhou so much after the great victory. It can be said that he is thoughtful."

After hearing what he said, Yuan Shao's expression became very kind.

"Thank you General Zhang for your concern. This warrior has come from afar. Shang'er, go and take the gift and then take the warrior down to have a feast."

"Father, my son..." Yuan Shang was very reluctant.

"Hey, Third Young Master, the other party came with sincerity. Jizhou is the great land of the Central Plains, so we should return the favor. Are you unwilling to do so?"

Gao Lan took the opportunity to mock Yuan Shang, and he was extremely proud of himself.

However, at this time Wang Yan suddenly said something that made Gao Lan unable to laugh anymore.

"What is this general talking about? Zhang Niu Jiao? I am not Zhang Niu Jiao's subordinate."

The three of them were stunned. Gao Lan asked hurriedly, "Why? Didn't Zhang Niujiao send you to deliver gifts? Could it be... Could it be Zhang Yan? Yes, he has cooperated with our army many times. I think he has tasted the sweetness. It has been almost a year since our army cooperated with him to capture Taiyuan. I think his life is not easy now, so he wants to please my lord? Humph, a snob."

Wang Yan shook his head again: "No, Zhang Niujiao and Zhang Yan are both dead now, how could I be their subordinate?"

His words were like a huge rock hitting the lake, causing a huge uproar.

"Zhang Niujiao and Zhang Yan are dead?"

Wang Yan nodded solemnly, "I dare not lie. My generals are Xu Huang and Qian Zhao. Two days ago, the two generals attacked separately and captured the mountain stronghold where the two Zhangs were located. They beheaded the two men and returned. The tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in the two mountain strongholds, as well as more than 100,000 families, have all been taken over by our Baibo Army. The two generals were busy dealing with the aftermath, and remembered the agreement with the third son of General Yuan's family that day, so they sent me here, one to give a gift, and the other to show that our army is committed to the alliance."

"Good, you did a great job. You are worthy of being the person my father valued." Yuan Shang felt very proud and gave Gao Lan a provocative look.

Gao Lan seemed to feel a sense of stagnation in his heart, and for a moment he almost couldn't breathe.

"How is it possible... How could this be possible? You must have deceived us. Although the Baibo Army is very powerful, it is impossible for them to attack and destroy two large strongholds at the same time. Yes, Xu Huang must have seen that the mountain is about to be closed due to heavy snow, and it is difficult for us to go into the mountain to investigate carefully, so he came to deceive my master and defraud the supplies. Is that right?"

When he said this, Yuan Shao's eyes suddenly darkened: "The things in my Jizhou are not so easy to take. At the beginning, it was agreed that if Xu Huang could unify Taihang Mountain, I would offer supplies, but now he suddenly came to report that the two Zhangs were dead. How can I prove it?"

Gao Lan said fiercely: "If you can't prove it, I will make sure you die without a burial place today, and the alliance with Xu Huang will be terminated!"

"How can this be possible? How can such a serious matter be decided so hastily?" Yuan Shang became anxious.

"Why not? Xu and Qian dared to deceive the Lord. They have ulterior motives. How can such corrupt people be allies?"

The two were arguing when Wang Yan spoke up, "General, please be gentle with your words. Since my general sent me here, he must be able to prove that what I said is true. You are making such unwarranted assumptions about our Baibo Army without knowing right from wrong. Lord Yuan of Jizhou has a long-standing reputation. Could it be that all his subordinates are such frauds who steal the reputation?"

"How dare you, a little bandit..."

"Well, it's disgraceful to make such a scene in front of the guests. Why don't you leave now?"

Yuan Shao was obviously a little angry. Even though Gao Lan was very unhappy, he had no choice but to obey orders and retreat.

Yuan Shao looked at Wang Yan with a dark face and said, "Since the warrior said he can prove that the two Zhangs are dead, then please prove it for me."

Wang Yan said, "When I first came in, I was going to explain this matter, but the general kept talking nonsense, which delayed the main matter. Since Lord Yuan asked, I will present it to you."

Hearing this man humiliating him so casually, Gao Lan was filled with anger, but he could only swallow his anger.

Wang Yan picked up the two cloth bags and handed them over respectfully.

"The two heads are among them. Once Lord Yuan sees them, he will know whether what I said is true or false."

Yuan Shao was cheered up when he heard this: "Oh? Come on, Shang'er, go get it."

Yuan Shang was in a very good mood at this time. He felt that he had never been so happy as of today since he could remember. His steps became much lighter. He walked quickly forward, took the two cloth bags and placed them on the table in front of Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao personally opened the cloth bag, revealing two wooden boxes wrapped inside. He couldn't wait to open the wooden boxes, and sure enough, he saw two disheveled human heads inside.

"Come on, both of you, come and identify them together. Are these heads really theirs?"

Yuan Shao waved to Yuan Shang and Gao Lan, and the two men walked forward and lifted the hair off the man's head.

"Yes...it's definitely them two..."

Gao Lan said this sentence with great difficulty. Just these few words almost exhausted all his strength. He knew that once Zhang Niujiao died, many of his future plans would fail. Now other generals were in charge of the attack on Qingzhou and Youzhou. If he wanted to gain credit and improve his status, he had to deal with Liu He of Bingzhou. However, once Zhang Niujiao died, it would be extremely difficult for him to capture Bingzhou alone.

Seeing that they had confirmed everything, Wang Yan spoke again, "Mr. Yuan, my general is now the master of Taihang Mountain. May I ask you, Mr. Yuan, whether you should also fulfill the agreement you made that day?"

"Of course, this is right. I originally thought that Generals Xu and Qian were already quite powerful, but today I know that I had greatly underestimated your army. With such an ally to help us, there is no need to worry about the success of my Jizhou plan. Shang'er..."

When Yuan Shao called him, Yuan Shang immediately stood up.

"My child is here, what do you want, father?"

"Take this warrior down to rest and reward him. Then you can prepare the supplies that were agreed upon that day. Take advantage of the clear weather in the next few days and send them up the mountain with this warrior. By the way, discuss with the two generals about attacking Bingzhou in the spring."

Yuan Shang was delighted: "I will obey your command and live up to your trust!"

Yuan Shao stood up, walked to his side, patted his shoulder, and said earnestly: "My son has a unique vision. If you hadn't supported Xu Huang against all odds, I might have made a mistake. It seems that Shang'er has really grown up. Next year, I will send troops from Jizhou to cooperate with Xu Huang to attack Bingzhou. I will allow you to join the army. In addition, the future contact with the Baibo Army will also be left to you."

His words made Yuan Shang ecstatic, while Gao Lan's face turned extremely dark.

(End of this chapter)