The Three Kingdoms: Home Travel

(There's another chapter today, isn't there? Hehe... Don't worry, it'll be here soon.)

In this battle, the East Gate suffered heavy casualties. More than 500 soldiers on the city wall were killed, nearly half of Tao Ying's 800 elite troops were lost, and more than 1,000 soldiers were seriously or lightly wounded. Xuzhou had very few soldiers who could fight.

The Yellow Turban army fared no better, suffering nearly twice the number of casualties as the Xuzhou army, with few seriously wounded and most sustaining minor injuries...

This battle can be described as a true evenly matched contest, and it was only through the soldiers' desperate fighting that the city was able to hold on.

You must understand that the Xuzhou army had the advantage of city walls and superior military equipment and weapons, while what did the Yellow Turbans have? Just a broken spear.

Aside from these, Xuzhou consumed countless amounts of boiling oil, and the corpses beneath the city walls were a gruesome sight.

Furthermore, the battlefield outside the East Gate was littered with corpses, a scene of utter carnage.

Following Jiang Zhe's orders, Chen Deng led five hundred Chen family retainers out of the city to collect the corpses. The corpses of the Xuzhou soldiers were naturally brought back safely, and their families were notified before they were buried by the Chen family.

As for the Yellow Turban Army... well, they'll just stop cutting you a couple more times and give you a proper burial.

However, Jiang Zhe felt a pang of pity. The dead should be respected; they couldn't just be left unclaimed outside the East Gate. But seeing the way the soldiers looked at the Yellow Turban, Jiang Zhe could only sigh inwardly. Fortunately, it was winter; if it were summer, things would be much more complicated.

Unexpectedly, after Zhang Yan returned, he wrote a letter and sent it to Chen Deng.

The messenger was a Yellow Turban guard. Chen Deng originally intended to set out some preparations, such as gathering dozens of heavily armored guards, and then lighting a bronze cauldron in the middle, pouring in water to boil.

Jiang Zhe found it somewhat amusing. He hadn't believed it when he read about this scene in a book in his later life, but now that he saw it, it seemed to be true. "What's the point?" he thought. "What if we encounter someone bold enough to back it up and lose face?" So he gave up.

Fang Yue and Tao Ying insisted on putting down the enemy's momentum, wearing heavy armor and holding long spears to protect Jiang Zhe behind them, with Chen Deng standing beside them.

Jiang Zhe shook his head helplessly and called someone to bring the Yellow Turbans in.

The Yellow Turban guard was not old. He strode into the inner hall and was surprised to see it was empty.

"What brings you here?" Jiang Zhe, sitting in the main seat, naturally spoke first.

Just as the Yellow Turban guard was about to speak, he looked up and saw the two "guards" behind Jiang Zhe glaring at him with imposing presence, which startled him.

Jiang Zhe chuckled inwardly and coughed lightly.

"Uh..." The Yellow Turban guard was no ordinary man either; he glared at Tao Ying and Fang Yue before slowly saying, "This general has sent me to deliver a letter to Chen Deng, Chen Yuanlong!"

"Me?" Chen Deng pointed to himself, somewhat bewildered. He glanced at Jiang Zhe and had no choice but to go up and take the letter.

However, although the letter was received, it was naturally best for Jiang Zhe, the commander-in-chief, to read it. So Chen Deng handed the letter to Jiang Zhe, who opened it and found only a few sentences inside. The gist of the sentence was that the two sides should temporarily cease hostilities, and that Zhang Yan wanted the bodies of the Yellow Turban soldiers back. The following sentences contained a few more words that conveyed the general idea, such as "respect for the dead." Jiang Zhe then read them aloud with a smile.

"Heh!" Tao Ying sneered, "This traitorous general now wants that title? Why didn't he say so when he invaded Xuzhou?"

"Forget it!" Jiang Zhe sighed. "Let them take it back..."

"That's true!" Chen Deng said with a smile, "It doesn't look good to have it like this outside the city..."

"Alright..." Jiang Zhe said to the Yellow Turban messenger, "Have Zhang Yan send five hundred soldiers, and forbid them from carrying weapons..."

"This..." The Yellow Turban guard glanced at Jiang Zhe, thinking to himself, "What if you go back on your word? Wouldn't we lose even more men?"

Jiang Zhe found it amusing and said, "Tell Zhang Yan that we in Xuzhou have said we won't kick someone when they're down, and we won't go back on our word! Also... we hope he'll remember the soldiers' plight and quickly call a truce!"

The Yellow Turban guard glanced at Jiang Zhe suspiciously. Seeing him seated in the main seat with others around him, he immediately asked, "Can you be sure of what you say?"

"Of course!" Jiang Zhe nodded.

"Very well! I'll take my leave!" With that, the Yellow Turban guard left, displaying quite a bit of charisma.

"Wait a minute!" Jiang Zhe said.

"Hmm?" The Yellow Turban guard turned back to look at Jiang Zhe with some suspicion. "Didn't you change your mind?" His face immediately showed a hint of mockery, but there was no fear in his eyes.

"Not at all!" Jiang Zhe shook his head with a smile. "Your presence here is quite remarkable. Wouldn't it be a pity if you didn't leave your name so I could know?"

The Yellow Turban guard was taken aback for a moment before hesitatingly saying, "My surname is Xu, my given name is He, and my given name is Zixie (meaning the same thing)... Farewell!"

"No need to see me out!" Jiang Zhe said slowly.

Xu He? Who is he? Jiang Zhe racked his brains, but couldn't figure out what this person was famous for. But judging from his demeanor, he didn't seem like one of those unknown people!

(Xu He, birth and death dates unknown. A leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in its later stages. After the main force of the Yellow Turban Rebellion was suppressed, Xu He led the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou. In the third year of Chuping (192), most of the Yellow Turban army in Qingzhou was incorporated into Cao Cao's army, but Xu He continued to lead his followers to resist stubbornly, operating in the Jinan and Le'an areas. He was later killed by Xiahou Yuan, a general under Cao Cao.)

Oh well, it seems that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has missed quite a few heroes, like Tao Ying and Fang Yue... There were so many heroes in the Three Kingdoms!

"Teacher?" Chen Deng looked at Jiang Zhe in a daze, puzzled.

"Nothing, nothing!" Jiang Zhe waved his hand, then suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "How is the cleanup work going?"

Chen Deng glanced at Fang Yue, who understood and continued, "I have taken care of all the wounded soldiers, but the weather is cold and their healing is slow. I'm afraid they are too weak to fight again. As for the fallen soldiers..." He frowned, his expression darkening, "their families have all been taken away..."

"Oh..." Jiang Zhe's expression darkened.

Upon seeing this, Chen Deng quickly said, "I have already ordered the Chen family to provide funds for the families of the fallen soldiers, and the Chen family is also prepared to provide them with proper care. Teacher, please do not worry!"

"That's good...that's good..." Jiang Zhe sighed, feeling a little uneasy as he thought of the Xuzhou soldiers who were still there yesterday but were now just corpses.

Looking at Jiang Zhe's expression, Chen Deng frowned and said, "Teacher must be tired. Why don't you go back and rest first? You can leave the rest to me and General Fang."

Tao Ying rolled his eyes at Chen Deng and said, "Yuanlong's words are exactly what I wanted to say. My lord, you should go and rest first!"

Fang Yue nodded repeatedly.

Jiang Zhe wanted to say no, but suddenly felt a little heavy. After thinking about it, he immediately realized that he hadn't felt it before because he was emotionally agitated. Now that the Yellow Turban Army had retreated, he suddenly felt tired.

"Okay! Thank you for your help!"

"We dare not! Farewell, sir (teacher)!" the three said in unison.

Jiang Zhe walked out of the Chen residence, glanced at the gray sky, and was about to go home when he suddenly saw Xiu'er standing to the side with a smile.

"Xiuer?" Jiang Zhe walked over in surprise. "What are you doing here? Why don't you go inside?"

"My husband is inside discussing military matters; it would be improper for me to enter, and very inconvenient..."

"Then...you can't stand here!" Jiang Zhe looked at Xiu'er, took Xiu'er's small hand, and felt a chill. He quickly took off his long robe and put it on Xiu'er.

Although Xiuer repeatedly refused, she couldn't resist Jiang Zhe's persistence in the end, and the thin coat immediately warmed her heart.

"And what about you, my husband..." Xiu'er looked up, her eyes filled with deep affection.

"Me? I'm perfectly healthy!" Jiang Zhe was about to boast when a gust of cold wind blew in, slowing his words by a fraction. "...We'd better hurry home..."

"Mmm..." Xiu'er responded gently, showing no sign of her extraordinary skills.

Jiang Zhe and Xiu'er returned home, and then we'll talk about Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan wasn't upset about this defeat. He had also realized that Xuzhou indeed had many capable people, such as Chen Deng (Chen Yuanlong), Fang Yue (Fang Ziling; I feel that changing Fang Yue's courtesy name, Ziping, doesn't feel quite right, and I will also change the previous ones), and that Tao Ying... who was actually Tao Qian's son? His martial arts skills were probably even stronger than his own, so why didn't he have any reputation? Strange!

While they were pondering this, the guard Xu He, who had gone to deliver the message, returned.

Zhang Yan hurriedly asked, "Zi Xie, what did they say?"

Xu He hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "I agree, but..."

"Just what?" Zhang Yan asked.

"It's just that Zhang Yan can only send five hundred soldiers, and they won't be armed..."

"Hmm?" Zhang Yan frowned and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"...They promised not to take advantage of the situation to attack..."

"Oh?" Zhang Yan thought for a moment and asked, "Who agreed to that? Was it Chen Deng?"

Xu He shook his head, thought for a moment, and said, "I only know that his surname is Jiang, and that he is sitting in the main seat..."

"Master... Jiang... Jiang?" Zhang Yan suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "You said his surname is Jiang?"

Xu He nodded, seemingly puzzled.

"So that's how it is..." Zhang Yan suddenly realized that the plan from a few days ago might have been the work of Chen Deng... Jiang... Jiang Zhe?

Zhang Yan shook her head in annoyance and waved her hand, saying, "The fallen soldiers are the most important. You should select five hundred soldiers to come with me to Xuzhou City. Jiang Zhe... don't break your promise to me..."

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