Chapter 34: Divide the Troops into Two Routes

  The Western Liang soldiers who were just about to drag away the woman immediately stopped and turned their heads back.

  On the other side, several Western Liang soldiers revealed a murderous intent and rushed over to chop the loudmouthed man into minced meat.

  "Halt, bring that woman up here."

  Just then, a loud shout came from the main hall.

  Several Western Liang soldiers immediately rushed forward and pushed the woman into the hall.

  The woman still tightly hugged her son in her arms and refused to let go.

  Luo Zheng looked down at the woman from a high place and asked: "Where is Cao Cao's family?"

  The woman fell to the ground crying, "Please spare my son's life, General."

  Luo Zhen said: "Good, as long as you tell me where Cao Cao's family is, this general will spare your mother and son."

  The woman cried and replied: "Cao Cao's family has always been in Luoyang, only the old father lives here."

  Luo Zheng's face immediately lit up with joy, "You say Cao Cao is in this fortress? Where is he?"

  The woman sobbed and replied: "In the cellar."

  "What?"

  Luo Zheng was shocked and immediately shouted: "Pass on the order, search for General Ben!"

  "Understood."

  The guards had long been waiting and responded loudly, rushing out quickly to deliver the military order.

  Xu Zhu said beside him, "My lord, generally speaking, all the strongholds have hidden underground tunnels or escape routes. If not, once the manor is surrounded by a large army, if there are no hidden underground tunnels or escape routes, wouldn't the whole family be exterminated?"

  Lu Zheng said sternly: "I didn't expect this, these landlords and local tyrants are really cunning."

  "General, what shall we do with this woman?" asked one of the soldiers, pointing at the mother and child still kneeling on the ground.

  The woman shuddered all over and turned even paler.

  Luo Zheng glanced at the child in the woman's arms and asked: "What is your son's name?"

  The woman replied: "Cao Ming"

  Luo Zheng thought carefully and it seemed that he had heard of the more famous members of the Cao clan, but there was no one named Cao Ming. He didn't think that this person would become a big problem in the future, so he waved his hand and said: "This general needs to be true to his word, spare the mother and son's lives."

  "Roger."

  The guard responded with a single word and then took the woman and her child out.

  Not good at martial arts, suddenly a fire burst into the sky from afar, and the sound of killing rose again.

  Luo Zheng's eyes suddenly focused and he rushed out of the hall, looking around at the door.

  It wasn't until about half a watch later that the cries of killing gradually subsided.

  Soon, a team of Western Liang soldiers brought in dozens of people, among whom was a fat old man who was an official and had a very smooth and flattering appearance. The rest were all women, mostly young women, with only three or four in their 30s.

  At this moment, all of these people were frightened and pale, shaking with fear.

  "Who are you?"

  Luo Zheng's face was cold as he asked, his icy gaze falling on the fat old man who was forced to kneel on the ground by the Western Liang soldiers.

  The fat old man trembled and said: "I am Cao Song."

  "Cao Song, former Grand Minister of Agriculture Cao Song, hahaha!"

  Luo Zheng looked up at the sky and laughed loudly, "Indeed it is that traitor Cao Aman's old father, truly heaven is helping me!"

  Cao Song's whole body went limp, cold sweat pouring down, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

  Luo Zhen asked: "Cao Song, your son Cao Cao is a great rebel and has committed treason, do you know this?"

  Cao Song wiped away cold sweat and trembled as he said: "I know, General, I beg of you to spare my life."

  Lu Zhen sneered: "Although this general has the intention to spare your life, but what can be done? Your son Cao Cao has dared to collude with a group of rebels to resist the imperial court, and has committed the crime of exterminating nine clans and destroying families. How can this general dare to bend the law for personal reasons?"

  Cao Song's face turned pale with fright and he fell to the ground in a faint.

  "Bring him here and take him out to be executed."

  Luo Zheng let out a loud shout, and two Western Liang soldiers rushed in like wolves, dragging Cao Song out. He was so scared that he lost control of his bowels and bladder, unable to speak. After a faint cry, there was no more sound.

  A group of Western Liang soldiers brought in a bloody head to report back, and more than half of the women fainted.

  "Damn it, Cao Song is really good at enjoying life!"

  Luo Zheng swept his eyes over the crowd of women with good looks in the hall, and couldn't help but reveal a sly smile. "Cao Song that old scoundrel is almost entering his coffin, yet he still keeps so many beautiful women. General, I don't believe the old man's vigor is still there."

  "Hahaha!"

  The crowd of Western Liang military officers burst into laughter, their eyes gleaming with lust.

  Luo Zheng waved his hand, "Take everything away."

  A group of Western Liang soldiers rushed in and dragged all these women out.

  At this time, the sky had darkened, and torches were lit everywhere in the fort, where the Western Liang army was burning corpses.

  Luo Zhen asked Chen Tong, "Has anyone else violated our military discipline recently?"

  Chen Tong thought for a moment and replied: "The general had more than thirty people beheaded that day, and since then no one has dared to violate military discipline."

  Luo Zheng nodded and his eyebrows relaxed.

  Next to him, a small schoolmate smiled slyly and said: "The concubines of Cao Songzi are not bad in appearance, among them there are several young ones who are tender and can squeeze out water. The general has not touched a woman for several months, why not choose a few to relieve the fire."

  "General Luo waved his hand and said, 'I have already established military rules, how can I lead the way in breaking them? Let's not waste words.'"

  That little schoolmaster smiled wryly and backed away with a scowl.

  "Go and discuss matters in the hall."

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and led the way into the main hall.

  More than twenty military school staff rushed in and took their positions.

  Luo Zheng rubbed his brow, pondering for a moment before scanning the military officers and saying slowly: "Our army has been delayed in Yu Province for too long. I plan to set out at dawn tomorrow, advancing into the borders of Xu and Yan provinces. What do you all think?"

  "All troops obey General's orders."

  Lu Xun nodded and said, "This general is preparing to divide the troops into two routes. One route will be led by Li Meng and Wang Fang, with 3,000 cavalrymen going east from Taiqiu, passing through Dan Mountain, via Xiao County, and entering the territory of Xuzhou. The other route will be personally led by this general, advancing through Yingchuan to enter Yanzhou, and making a big stir in both Xuzhou and Yanzhou, to see if Yuan Shao and Cao Cao can still stop Tao Qian and Liu Dai and other lords."

  "I will obey orders."

  Li Meng and Wang Fang were suddenly invigorated, and they both stepped forward in unison, clasped their hands together, and accepted the order.

  Luo Zhen said: "After you two enter Xuzhou, remember not to attack the city strongly, which will only harm our soldiers and horses. Just kill all the local gentry and nobles in Xuzhou, making their bodies scatter everywhere, but absolutely do not harm the common people, otherwise this general will definitely not forgive."

  The two of them said in unison: "General, rest assured, we will take care of it."

  Luo Zheng nodded, got up and walked to the military topographic map hanging on the screen, furrowed his brow for a while, and suddenly said: "You two must remember that after burning, killing and looting in Xuzhou, you must not delay, and you need to lead the army north to Lu County as soon as possible. From Lu County, hurry west to Yangping and meet with me. Don't be late, otherwise I will never forgive you."

  The two were shocked by his words.

  "General," said Wang Fang, scratching his head, "what are we doing going north to Yangping? Aren't we supposed to return to Guanzhong from Nanyang?"

  Lü Bu said coldly, "Once the allied forces of the vassals withdraw from Tiger Trap Pass, they will inevitably turn back to deal with us. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a laughing stock for the whole world? Do you think the vassals of Guandong are all fools? Between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, who is the fool? They will surely set up layers of ambushes on our return route to launch a surprise attack on our army. If General returns by the original route, wouldn't it be like rushing into the trap set by the allied forces?"

  "This..."

  The crowd of military school students was initially stunned, but then they all reacted and stood up straight.

  "So, General Luo has decided not to take the original route. After burning, killing and looting in Xuzhou and Yanzhou, we will cross the Yellow River and advance into Jizhou, and finally from Jizhou, we will head north and turn Jizhou upside down."

  Then heavily pat the northern part of Jizhou, "Finally, from here, lead the army north to Youzhou, go out of Daijun, cross the Great Wall directly into the desert from Daijun, and then enter Guanzhong from Shuofang, go south to Hetou via Hedong, and return to Luoyang. Let the rebels in Dongguan who are blocked in Nanyang, Yingchuan and other places drink northwest wind!"

  "Hahaha!"

  The whole crowd of military schools burst out laughing, each and every one of them was stunned.

  The next morning.

  Before dawn broke, 7,000 Western Liang iron cavalry gathered outside Caojia Fort, ready to depart.

  Luo Zhen gave the order, and personally led 4,000 iron cavalry to head north to Yingchuan. Li Meng and Wang Fang, two generals, led 3,000 iron cavalry to head east to attack Xuzhou. Although the road was a bit far, Xuzhou was quite far from Tiger Trap Pass, so it was relatively safe.

  Two armies wreaked havoc on the Central Plains, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. The aristocratic families suffered a calamity that threatened their very existence.

  As for the civilians, the Western Liang army was completely harmless, and it greatly changed the impression of the Central Plains people towards the Western Liang army.

  It was previously heard that the Western Liang army had a habit of plundering, and it was not much better than those mountain bandits who robbed homes. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be true that hearing is false and seeing is real, and the Western Liang army did not rob the civilians of even a single thread or grain wherever they passed.

  When the Central Plains were in chaos and smoke was rising everywhere, news finally reached the front of Tiger Trap Pass one after another.

  The Allied Forces' camp, where various lords are discussing the deployment of troops and the punishment of the defeated generals.

  One of his attendants suddenly rushed in and said loudly: "Report to the Lord, a soldier from Gong Sun Zan's camp requests an audience."

  Yuan Shao asked: "What is this for?"

  The soldier replied: "I don't know, it seems to be a soldier who followed General Sun Jian on his expedition."

  As soon as the words fell, Gongsun Zan had already jumped up and shouted loudly: "Bring him up quickly."

  The guard looked at Yuan Shao for a moment, saw him nod, and then turned around and rushed out.

  Before long, a dusty and weary Youzhou cavalry officer was brought into the central military tent.

  Xiao Xiao's whole body was covered with dried and congealed blood, his face pale, eyes sunken, he rushed into the military tent, ran to Gong Sun Zhang's front, fell to the ground, wailed loudly, making Gong Sun Zhang's heart tremble with fear.