Chapter 2944: Directing the Trouble Elsewhere

Gao Sheng’s other personal guards were horrified. Some of them immediately attacked Zu An, but the intimidation aura from a small platoon like this wasn't enough to suppress him. Zu An made quick work of the most loyal guards. The remaining personal guards lost their fighting spirit and fled.

Zu An didn’t bother chasing them. Instead, he stuck Gao Sheng’s head on a flagpole and declared, “Gao Sheng is dead! Gao Sheng is dead! Gao Sheng is dead!”

...

Zu An’s thunderous voice echoed throughout the camp. A few mid-level commanders had been rallying the soldiers together to stage a counterattack when they saw Gao Sheng’s decapitated head and lost their fighting spirit.

Murong Qinghe and the Wuhuans immediately charged over. Tingxue, who was now layered with an army buff, was an unstoppable force. Even a casual swing of her sword unleashed sword ki of over a thousand meters in length. Not a single person survived more than one strike from her.

Even the valiant Wuhuans were horrified. This woman is so ferocious! I bet even the most famous generals in the world also only amount to that.

In Ji County, Yun Jianyue had long noticed the ruckus within the enemy camp. She initially thought that it was a scheme from the Yellow Turban Army to lure them in, but upon closer examination, she realized that their camp was truly in shambles. On top of that, she noticed Tingxue’s unique sword ki. There was no need for further doubt. She immediately mobilized the troops in Ji County to crush the enemy camp.

The Yellow Turban Army crumbled. They could only curse their parents for not giving them more legs to run.

...

By the crack of dawn, the Yellow Turban Army had lost more than ten thousand soldiers. Some escaped, whereas the remaining 30,000 soldiers were captured as prisoners.

Just then, Zu An heard a commotion in the distance and rushed over.

Murong Qinghe’s Wuhuan cavalry was having a stand-off against another cavalry unit. The opposing cavalrymen were all mounted on white steeds, causing quite the visual impact. Despite numbering fewer than the Wuhuans, their aura didn’t pale in comparison.

Zu An had never seen this cavalry before, but he still recognized it right away. It was the famed ‘White Horse Righteous Followers’. These were the reinforcements he had requested from Gongsun Zan a while back. The leader was a well-groomed man with a goatee. From the memories he had of this world, he knew that this man was Gongsun Zan’s younger brother, Gongsun Yue.

“What happened?” Zu An asked.

Murong Qinghe complained to him. Gongsun Yue did the same as well.

Zu An finally got to the bottom of the situation.

Gongsun Zan’s ‘White Horse Righteous Followers’ had forged its fame through hunting ethnic groups. They mainly targeted Xianbeis, but they had frequent clashes with the Wuhuans as well, who resided in the vicinity. It would be a stretch to say that they were arch-enemies, but there was plenty of bad blood between both sides. Naturally, they didn’t welcome each other’s presence. It wasn’t easy for Zu An to placate both sides.

Murong Qinghe approached Zu An in private and explained, “Brother-in-law, my underlings detest the White Horse Righteous Followers and are demanding to return. Furthermore, Zhang Chun has paid us good money to fight on his behalf. If we don’t return soon...”

Zu An understood her difficult position. He supported her decision, but he still tried to persuade her to stay.

Murong Qinghe turned him down. “Brother-in-law, you said that it’ll be much easier for you to collect the soul fragments if you conquer the world. I can help you more by staying with the Wuhuans. I’ll do my best to nurture my aides, so that I can be of greater assistance to you in the future.”

Zu An accepted her decision. They agreed on a medium of communication before reluctantly bidding farewell to each other. He gave her many spoils of war from the Yellow Turban Army.

After Murong Qinghe left with her underlings, Gongsun Yue stepped in and harrumphed. “Those barbarians know no virtue. There’s no point giving them so much.”

Zu An’s head hurt. He could tell that there was no room for reconciliation between both sides. He also shared a portion of the spoils of war with Gongsun Yue to thank him for the reinforcements. Only then did the latter’s expression look slightly better.

The next problem bugging Zu An was how to deal with the captured Yellow Turban Army’s soldiers.

Gongsun Yue’s answer was straightforward. “Isn’t it obvious? We should kill the rebels.”

“It won’t look good for us if we kill surrendered soldiers.” Zu An turned down the suggestion. Putting aside all the lessons he had learned from history, it was also not in his character to execute surrendered soldiers.

“If you release those people, they will just join the rebel army again and continue plundering. More poeple will suffer as a result.” Gongsun Yue frowned.

“Yes, we can’t release them just like that.” Zu An fell into contemplation.

Gongsun Yue frowned. “Are you intending to take them into your fold?” He had noticed some surrendered Yellow Turban Army soldiers in Ji County.

But Zu An understood the realities of the situation. “I don’t have the rations to maintain them.”

It was already a strain on his resources to take in three thousand soldiers, let alone thirty thousand. He had already given away more than half of the rations looted from the Yellow Turban Army to the Wuhuans and the White Horse Righteous Followers as compensation. There wasn’t much of it left anymore. The troops would begin to starve within days if he took all of them in. Furthermore, the rations in this world weren’t ordinary food. They were suffused with ki to replenish one’s blood essence and energy. In other words, Zu An couldn’t just borrow modern knowledge to grow more crops.

“If you can’t raise them, you should just kill them as soon as possible.” Gongsun Yue couldn’t understand why Zu An was hesitating. Why show unnecessary compassion toward the enemy?

“Let me think about it a while more.” Zu An sighed.

Gongsun Yue was displeased that Zu An wasn’t listening to his advice. He didn’t bother persuading Zu An any further, as he thought that the latter would eventually have to kill them all.

Next, Zu An met Yun Jianyue in private and told her about his encounter with Murong Qinghe.

Yun Jianyue was taken aback. “You aren’t just satisfied with conquering the Chu clan’s sisters; you’re even laying your hands on their daughter-in-law? You would have easily qualified as the Holy Son—no, master of the Yin Yang Sect!”

Zu An was speechless.

Tingxue nodded in agreement. “I have never expected to hear you spout something logical.”

Yun Jianyue seethed. “No one will think you’re mute just because you don’t speak.”

Tingxue’s eyes turned cold as her hand fell on her Frost Fair Blade. Yun Jianyue also reached for her serpent spear.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out between the two women, Zu An quickly changed the subject and asked, “How should we deal with the prisoners?”

Tingxue frowned, but she decided not to start a fight.

Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes at Tingxue. “We don’t have the resources to maintain them. You aren’t willing to kill them, but we also can’t release them just like that. Why don’t you negotiate with the Yellow Turban Army’s Earth Duke General? We can ask him to redeem his people with money and rations.”

“What’s the point of asking for money and rations? We can just use this as leverage and demand Zhang Bao go after Zhang Chun instead. This will buy us some time,” Tingxue coldly said.

Zu An’s eyes lit up. That was a decent solution. Even though he had dealt with Gao Sheng’s army, Zhang Bao’s army was still swiftly gathering around them. If Zhang Bao refused to redeem the prisoners, his army morale would plummet, thus greatly reducing his strength. If Zhang Bao accepted the offer, that would be a crisis averted for them.

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