Ten!
Nine!
Cao Ang reacted. Despite his worry for Old Huang, he followed Huang Lao’s instructions and silently counted to ten!
Eight!
Seven!
Only four more sounds.
Huang Zhong and He Man were about to collide.
"Dragon Soaring Camp horse archers! Huang Zhong is here!"
"Come and die..." Jietian Yaksha He Man, his long saber already slashed down.
"Hmph!"
Huang Zhong sneered. He didn't even bother to parry with his saber, but instead, holding his great saber, he also chopped down from above. This saber strike was powerful and heavy, yet Huang Zhong wielded it with effortless grace. His speed was more than twice that of He Man!
He Man saw that the situation was unfavorable, so he withdrew his saber and held it across his chest!
"Clang!"
Their weapons met and crossed.
"Six..."
"Five..."
Cao Ang’s silent counting continued, but his heart was now pounding in his chest.
Under the setting sun, the face of "Jietian Yaksha" He Man was grim, his expression vacant. Large drops of sweat fell to the ground. Just as everyone was puzzled, a thin line of blood appeared on his neck!
"Ugh..."
A pig-like scream followed, and then He Man, falling from his horse, crashed to the ground. His wide-open eyes were still filled with shock.
This scene happened too quickly...
Many hadn't even had time to react when Huang Zhong had already taken He Man's head!
That's right, He Man, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, known as "Jietian Yaksha," couldn't even block one move against this horse archer who was over fifty years old and had one foot in the grave.
"Four..."
"Three... Three... Three..."
As Cao Ang counted "three," his whole body trembled...
Let alone counting to ten, even... even to seven, this battle had already ended.
"Leader..."
Seeing their leader beheaded, He Man's three deputy generals immediately abandoned all pretense of order.
The three of them spurred their horses forward, intending to avenge their leader.
However... they had underestimated the man before them!
"Hmph..."
With a cold snort, in just half a breath, the long bow at his waist appeared in Huang Zhong's hand.
Arrows... one, two, three!
"Swish, swish, swish!"
The crisp sounds sliced through the sky, breaking the stillness of the night. The arrow’s momentum was astonishing!
Huh...
Under everyone's astonished gaze, three pitch-black arrows pierced the throats of these three deputy generals.
The arrows passed through their throats, still dripping blood from their tips, making even distant observers turn pale with horror.
Fast...
Too fast!
Huang Zhong killed He Man with one move and then shot three deputy generals with arrows. This scene not only shocked the Yellow Turban Army but also the soldiers of the Dragon Soaring Camp!
The soldiers’ hearts held only one question: The Dragon Soaring Camp, the Dragon Soaring Camp... when... when did such a God of War appear?
Before they could recover from their astonishment, Cao Xiu's lips curved into a subtle smile.
As expected, it was just as Young Master Lu predicted. What so-called "Jietian Yaksha" couldn't even last one move against Old Huang!
Phew...
Cao Xiu let out a breath, and immediately thought of ten words: "Charge forward like lightning, crush the enemy in an instant!"
With this thought in mind... his loud command already echoed out...
"—All troops, charge!"
The flames of war blazed, and countless people let out soul-wrenching roars.
Viewed from high above, the black armored Dragon Soaring Cavalry could be seen mercilessly slaughtering the Yellow Turban soldiers!
The seven hundred black-armored soldiers were like a sharp long knife, piercing directly into the Yellow Turban's central army.
Without a commander, the Yellow Turban Army, which was already poor at fighting uphill battles, collapsed instantly. Even with over ten thousand men, they were visibly being cut open by the Dragon Soaring Cavalry!
This rift continued to widen and spread, like a dam bursting, and the surging tide instantly drowned the enemy soldiers!
Under the dark night, outside Runan...
The tips of the sabers were gilded with moonlight, flashing on the ground. This night belonged to the Dragon Soaring Camp, and to the God of War Huang Zhong!
And this...
Was far from the end. As the Dragon Soaring Camp launched its attack, another force of two thousand righteous soldiers suddenly surged out from behind He Man's army.
Five hundred of them were broad-shouldered and stout, and the one leading them was exceptionally burly. They drew their sabers and joined the fray!
Further tearing open the wounds of the Yellow Turban Army.
"I, Xu Chu, have been waiting for this day for a long time, hahahaha... Charge, all of you! You dared to plunder Runan city, and today, you will all pay for it!"
The charge of this righteous army led by Xu Chu, though composed of infantry, each man was as strong as a wild ox, charging forward with steps that shook the earth.
This almost sounded the requiem for the Yellow Turban Army's demise!
Halberds clashed with sabers.
Long swords clashed with sabers.
Two clusters of extreme brilliance completely enveloped the Yellow Turban Army...
After the outermost ring of Yellow Turban soldiers fell.
Cao Xiu raised his spear and shouted.
"Those who surrender will not be killed!"
With this declaration, the seven hundred Dragon Soaring Cavalry under his command, and the two thousand righteous soldiers under Xu Chu, all shouted in unison. "Those who surrender will not be killed!"
"Those who surrender will not be killed!"
One shout louder than the next, one shout more unified than the next, shaking the heavens and earth!
*Crack...*
Finally, the Yellow Turban Army could no longer withstand such mental pressure, and a group of them began to kneel. And... this sentiment of surrender was always contagious, with more and more Yellow Turban soldiers falling to their knees!
Their leader He Man was already dead... what was the point of resisting any further?
This slaughter did not last long...
Most of the ten thousand Yellow Turban soldiers surrendered to Cao's camp. Even so, blood stained the black armor of the Dragon Soaring Camp, making this cavalry force appear even more menacing.
"Your subordinate Xu Chu pays his respects to Deputy Commander Cao of the Dragon Soaring Camp!"
While clearing the battlefield, Xu Chu bowed to Cao Xiu. Cao Xiu quickly helped him up...
Everything that had happened so far was according to Young Master Lu's plan.
This "Jietian Yaksha" He Man, confident in his martial prowess and hot-tempered, was easily provoked and would surely request a duel...
And the fifty-year-old Huang Zhong, just as Young Master Lu had said, killed the enemy in one move and even shot three deputy generals with an arrow, truly making a name for himself!
Finally, Xu Chu's righteous soldiers would emerge from behind the enemy to reinforce them...
Phew...
Cao Xiu sighed with emotion.
This battle, from beginning to end, had unfolded almost exactly as Young Master Lu had calculated. Young Master Lu was indeed skilled in psychological warfare, and He Man, Huang Zhong, and Xu Chu were all perfectly manipulated by him!
Heh heh...
It was no exaggeration to say that this battle... even a dog could command it and still win!
"You must be Zhongkang, respected sir? I have heard your name for a long time..."
Cao Xiu was exceptionally polite to Xu Chu...
He had noticed during the battle that Xu Chu possessed immense strength and formidable martial arts.
In fact, he vaguely felt that Xu Chu might not be inferior to Dian Wei.
Not out of false modesty, Cao Xiu truly felt that Xu Chu could defeat three of him!
"What great name do I have? I am just an ordinary man. As for General Cao... well, Master Cheng said that if we win this battle, it will be our brothers' pledge of loyalty. General Cao, you must take me to meet Young Master Lu and Lord Cao. I heard that the soldiers of the Dragon Soaring Camp eat three jin of grain and one jin of meat every day, is that true? My brothers are starving!"
"Hahahaha..." Hearing this, Cao Xiu burst into laughter. He hadn't expected that Xu Chu, despite his martial prowess, would speak so humorously.
After such a great victory, not seeking military merits but instead asking for three jin of grain and one jin of meat was truly amusing!
And it truly wasted such meritorious service!
Fortunately, Cao Xiu didn't let Xu Chu hear his thoughts, otherwise, Xu Chu would surely have told him that the well-fed didn't know the hunger of the hungry.
You in Yan Province grew rice and paddy, avoiding this grain shortage...
But other prefectures and counties, especially Runan here, were in famine. Eating a full meal was the norm... let alone Xu Chu and these strong men from Xu Family Village, their appetites were more than three times that of others.
Just as they were discussing this.
"Horse archer Huang Zhong pays his respects to General Cao." Huang Zhong, carrying the head of "Jietian Yaksha" He Man, walked up to Cao Xiu.
He had always been like this...
In Jingnan, he would always be at the forefront of any major battle, taking enemy heads to claim merit!
He would not yield any merit that belonged to him.
But he would not take even a single coin of merit that did not belong to him.
"General Huang..." Cao Xiu quickly stepped forward to help Huang Zhong up. "You have been wronged, General Huang. Young Master Lu said that you would surely achieve great merit in this battle. When we return, you will be rewarded according to your achievements, without any favoritism!"
Others might not know that Huang Zhong was a revered figure, but Cao Xiu did...
Huang Zhong, who had shaken Jingnan? His reputation was not unfounded...
If Old General Huang had not insisted on earning merit on the battlefield, Young Master Lu would not have had to deploy such a scene of an old general killing an enemy!
Regardless, with Huang Zhong joining the Dragon Soaring Camp, it was like adding wings to a tiger!
"A small matter, a small matter!" Huang Zhong stroked his beard...
Xu Chu's eyes darted. "Old man... I saw you just now, you're quite capable! How about we spar tomorrow?"
"I am ready to accompany you at any time!" Huang Zhong narrowed his eyes, not refusing...
Seeing that the two of them still had a tense atmosphere, Cao Xiu quickly changed the subject. "General Xu, Young Master Lu has ordered that Runan City will be temporarily garrisoned by you... but, rest assured, we will provide the army provisions!"
"Oh..." Hearing about food, Xu Chu immediately became happy.
Cao Xiu turned around and continued, "General Huang, Young Master Lu specifically instructed that after conquering Runan, our Dragon Soaring Camp cannot rest and must immediately march north to support Lord Cao in welcoming the Son of Heaven!"
"Hahaha..." Huang Zhong laughed heartily. "Since it is ordered by Young Master Lu, then I, Huang, will lead the charge!"
What confident General Huang...
Seeing him like this, Cao Xiu also laughed out loud.
However, upon hearing about marching north to Luoyang to welcome the Son of Heaven, Xu Chu scratched his head. "General Cao, this is not right... Runan City has four factions of Yellow Turban rebels, but... we have only defeated He Man, and there are still three more. Liu Pi, Huang Shao, He Yi, how can it be that General Cao is not fighting them? And... is already going to Luoyang?"
Hearing this...
Cao Xiu waved his hand. "No need for so much trouble. When we set out in the past, Young Master Lu mentioned that as long as we win this battle against He Man, Runan City will be recovered. The next step is to march north to Luoyang! As for the other three forces, haha, Zhongkang, do not worry, Young Master Lu has already made arrangements!"
Ah... ah...
Xu Chu was still in a daze.
He muttered to himself, was this Young Master Lu divine? How could his words be so incredible, yet these generals believed him so firmly?
Just then.
"Report... Huang Shao's occupied city and county have opened their gates, and the banner with the character 'Cao' is flying on the city walls. He has surrendered!"
"Report... Liu Pi has abandoned the city and fled. Currently... the city and county occupied by Liu Pi is an empty city!"
Huh...
With these two reports, Xu Chu was greatly alarmed!
How... how could this... be so fast?
He certainly didn't know that Lu Yu had not only manipulated Jietian Yaksha He Man based on his personality, but Huang Shao was greedy for wealth, and Liu Pi was opportunistic. Cheng Yu had already contacted Huang Shao in advance and given him a large sum of money...
Although Huang Shao had some reservations at first, after He Man's defeat, what hesitation did he have? Moreover, weren't the Qingzhou soldiers in Cao's camp originally Yellow Turban soldiers?
Immediately... Huang Shao surrendered the city!
And... Liu Pi, seeing this, knew very well that let alone Cao's army, his own troops couldn't even defeat He Man. Resisting futilely was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Instead of waiting to be annihilated... it was better to lead his troops to escape and become a mountain bandit on the mountaintop!
Next, only the last force, He Yi, remained.
Lu Yu had told Cao Xiu about this person before—timid as a mouse!
Heh heh...
At this moment, Cao Xiu blinked his eyes slightly. He muttered to himself, now... it was Cheng Sima's turn to perform.
...
...
Runan is a mountain city, surrounded by mountains on all sides.
Currently, on a low mountain, Cheng Yu and He Yi stood there. Behind them were He Yi's tens of thousands of troops. Feeling the chilling cold from the mountains and witnessing the Dragon Soaring Camp's overwhelming victory,
The moods of the two were completely different...
He Yi felt a bit panicked. He was never a brave person. It was one thing for "Jietian Yaksha" He Man to be defeated, but it was even worse that he was defeated so miserably...
He couldn't even withstand one saber from the opposing general. He Yi didn't think his martial arts were superior to He Man's. It seemed... further resistance would only lead to a dead end.
And at this moment.
Two consecutive reports were like the last straw that would break him.
Huang Shao, with over ten thousand Yellow Turban soldiers, had surrendered;
Liu Pi had fled with his troops...
If we add the two thousand formidable righteous soldiers, it seemed that his own ten thousand plus men were no match for them.
Thinking of this, his emotions were a mixture of flavors...
"Cheng..."
He Yi had just uttered the first character of "Cheng Sima" when Cheng Yu's words came out first.
"What a pity..."
Cheng Yu stroked his beard. With his other arm extended, he pointed towards the bushes below the mountain.
"Brother He, look. In this battle, our Dragon Soaring Camp actually had five thousand armored soldiers ambushing in the bushes! It's a pity... they didn't get to make a move before it ended! What a shame... they didn't get to contribute to this merit."
"Ah, I just didn't expect the 'Jietian Yaksha' to be so weak. I saw that the one sent by our Dragon Soaring Camp was just a horse archer, right? Oh dear... oh dear... this Jietian Yaksha is really too weak."
As Cheng Yu spoke, he shook his head...
With a look of boredom.
The more he acted like this, the more frightened He Yi became. He was already timid, and now, with the facts laid out before him, what... what was there to fight? What was there to resist stubbornly?
The severed head of Jietian Yaksha was his example!
"Cheng... Cheng Sima... I..." He Yi's words were stammering, and he didn't know what to say, feeling quite embarrassed.
"Hahahaha..." Cheng Yu stroked his beard. "Brother He, I heard that half of the soldiers in your army are suffering from typhoid fever, right? Do you know what our Dragon Soaring Camp brought besides over ten thousand cavalry?"
"What?" He Yi quickly asked...
"Fifty physicians!" Cheng Yu's tone became more serious, and his expression became meticulous.
"You've likely heard, Brother He, that not many people died from typhoid fever in our Yan Province. The reason is our Young Master's benevolent heart and superb medical skills. He taught all the physicians in the medical department how to treat typhoid fever! In other words, typhoid fever has been defeated in our area!"
Speaking of this, Cheng Yu turned around and looked back at the group of Yellow Turban soldiers behind him...
"Look at your brothers, their ears are all red from the cold. Oh dear, why bother? We have physicians, and we have hot dumpling soup. The rich aroma of lamb and the thick fragrance of herbs are mouth-watering, aren't they? Why don't we sit down and have a bowl together? Wouldn't that be pleasant! Why fight? Brother He, don't you think so?"
This was the skill of negotiation...
It wasn't a complete suppression by force, but rather a skillful guidance.
It was like offering a lollipop with one hand and a wolf's club with the other, using the Dragon Soaring Camp's victorious momentum to intimidate, while also offering benefits, using the treatment of typhoid fever and dumplings to sway the enemy general's last doubts!
This negotiation, even before it began, was actually... already over. In terms of eloquent debate, Cheng Yu was assured of victory!
As expected...
With a *crack*, He Yi knelt down.
With his kneeling, all the Yellow Turban soldiers behind him also knelt.
"We... we are willing... willing to join Cao's camp, and we hope... we hope Mr. Cheng will recommend us!"
He Yi spoke first...
Then, the armored soldiers behind him followed suit.
Now... who wouldn't want to join Cao's camp?
They heard that the Yellow Turban soldiers in Yan Province had all become Qingzhou soldiers, had all become official soldiers, not only had their identities cleared but it was also said that their families had food, shelter, and land to cultivate!
In such chaotic times, who wouldn't envy such a life?
What's more... they could even cure diseases? And that so-called "dumplings" that sounded so tempting... He Yi's ten thousand Yellow Turban soldiers had long wanted to join Cao's camp.
"We are willing to join Cao's camp, and we hope Mr. Cheng will recommend us!"
"We are willing to join Cao's camp, and we hope Mr. Cheng will recommend us!"
Continuous shouts...
Everyone shouted in unison.
Cheng Yu quickly helped He Yi up, patting him on the shoulder.
"From now on, we are brothers in the same trench, so what's the formality? Let's go down the mountain, and let the physicians treat the brothers for typhoid fever first! Oh right... let's eat dumplings, today we'll eat to our heart's content, let's eat dumplings!"
For Cheng Yu...
Having successfully recruited Xu Chu and successfully recruited Huang Shao, now... he was very experienced in the task of instigating defection!
In fact, he didn't even need to look at the letter Lu Yu left him; he was already very skilled!
Recruiting and instigating defection... wasn't it all the same?
After trying a few times, this task was quite addictive, even more addictive than tomb raiding or grave robbing.
"Hahahaha..."
Cheng Yu stroked his beard and laughed heartily, savoring the current moment.
However, he couldn't stay in Runan Prefecture for too long because... the next target for instigation was in Luoyang City!
According to Young Master Lu's deployment...
Yang Feng's most prominent general was the next target for Cheng Yu to instigate!
The axe of this divine general was extremely sharp!
Phew...
Taking a gentle breath, Cheng Yu could now understand why Lu Yu had told him before his departure that if he handled this task well, he could be enfeoffed as a marquis!
Heh heh, with just a mouth and a letter, mobilizing tens of thousands of troops, how could the merit this time be small?
The key was that the merit this time was not yet over!
It was still on the way!
...
...