Unexpectedly Received Heavy Gifts - Chapter 62 of The Yellow Turban Rebellion

  The silk book has only a few lines of words. Upon closer inspection, the ink marks on the silk book have not yet fully dried, written in the most popular "Fei Bai Ti" style at that time:

  "One hundred swords, one hundred halberds, one hundred strong crossbows, fifteen thousand arrows, one hundred leather armors, ten iron armors, as a congratulatory gift for the relocation."

  Zhang Kuang finished reading and was also shocked in his heart.

  These swords and halberds are nothing, but there are still many stocks in the Tianping Army. However, strong crossbows and helmets are precious goods.

  Although the Han dynasty did not prohibit civilians from owning strong crossbows and armor, these things were always in short supply due to their high cost. The reason why Chen Wang Liu Xiang was able to preserve his fiefdom was precisely because of the intimidation of the thousands of strong crossbows in his hands.

  The Tianping Army has been fighting in Yuzhou, Yanzhou and Xuzhou for several months since its formation. After several victories, they only captured less than 200 strong crossbows and more than 500 pieces of armor. After many battles, the remaining strong crossbows were only over a hundred, and the armor was 380 pieces.

  Now this Zou Zhu, but it's the first meeting, actually sent out such a heavy gift, no wonder even Wang Guo's insight would be shocked. It is worth noting that at present, there are wars breaking out everywhere, and these armed forces, known as "national treasures", have increased in value by five or six times compared to a few months ago!

  This fellow is really generous and clever.

  Look at the momentum of those family members, originally they should be here to support and boost the morale of the wandering warriors invited by Zang Ba. In a critical situation, it's possible that they will even go into battle bare-chested and fight against the Heavenly Army. With this kind of momentum, naturally, they wouldn't bring any gifts.

  Now the situation has changed, and the two sides have reconciled. The Zou family, in order to make up for their previous hostile behavior, actually took off the weapons that were originally equipped on their private soldiers and gave them away as a gift. Zou's decisive action is indeed resolute!

  However, Zhang Kuang did not politely decline this generous gift, but instead handed the receipt to Wang Guo and said to Zou Jue:

  "Zi Gongzi's sincerity has moved others, and Zhang has remembered it in his heart. If it is convenient, would you please invite Zi Gongzi to gather at the fortress?"

  Miao Zhu smiled and shook his head, saying:

  "Zhu is busy with business and has no free time, it's not that he intentionally declined. If there's a day when I have some free time, Zhu will definitely come to visit!"

  Zhang Kuang saw the expression on Miao Zhu's face and knew that there must be some unspoken difficulties, so he didn't insist on staying. At this time, Zang Ba introduced other Tai Shan heroes who came to help, to Zhang Kuang. Zhang Kuang then made an appointment with Miao Zhu and sent him off.

  This turning of enemies into friends has also been a twist and turn. Zhang Kuang specially reserved the "enlightenment" ability until today, and applied it to Zang Ba, which can be said to have gained a lot.

  Of course, there is one more thing, Zhang Kuang must ask.

  "Xuan Gao, on your way here with these heroes, have you encountered the scouts I sent out?"

  Zang Ba heard this and couldn't help but blush. However, as a hero of his generation, he naturally didn't dare to hide the truth and spoke honestly:

  "To be honest with you, my lord, on the way here, we indeed encountered several scouting knights. Although their skills were not bad, after all, they were not locals and were not familiar with the local geography. They were driven away by us and a few of them were mistakenly killed."

  Zhang Kuang's expression changed slightly as he heard this, and he hastily asked:

  "So, have you ever fought with the leader of the scouts?"

  Zang Ba thought for a moment and replied:

  "There was a sturdy man with good martial arts skills who had exchanged blows with the Yin Li brothers. However, after seeing that our side had more people, he retreated on his own initiative."

  Zang Ba called over a man in his thirties who looked somewhat gaunt and introduced him:

  "This is Yin Li, the first of Fei County's heroes, styled Shoulu."

  Yin Li hastily bowed deeply to Zhang Kuang and said respectfully:

  "A rustic fellow, with eyes but no pearls, has offended your noble relatives; I beg of you, General, to pardon his crime..."

  Zhang Kuang hastily returned the courtesy and asked Yin Li again what was going on. Yin Li then said:

  "We were gathering here in the middle of the night, wanting to give Commander Qū a surprise. On the way, we encountered your honorable relatives. Due to a misunderstanding, we ended up fighting..."

  There is a good fellow among your relatives, whose martial arts skills are quite impressive. I and three or four other skilled fighters fought against him together, but we couldn't get the better of him. In the end, it was only with the help of Zang brothers from Langya that we managed to injure one of his arms and drive him back.

  Yin Li shouted towards the wandering warriors beside him:

  "Xiao Xu! Xiao Xu! Come over here!"

  Among the greetings of the crowd, a young man who was nearly seven feet six inches tall and exceptionally thin in build came to Zhang Kuang's side amidst the kind calls and pats on the back from the heroes. Yin Li pulled this small Xu's hand and said:

  "Hurry up and apologize to Commander Qū!"

  Xiao Xu hastily apologized to Zhang Kuang. Although Zhang Kuang was somewhat displeased in his heart, he could not blame others. After all, just an hour ago, the two sides were still at war. Did the other side not have dozens of people killed or injured by their own hands?

  Zang Ba saw Zhang Kuang accept Xiao Xu's apology and intentionally pulled closer the relationship between the two, taking over the conversation said:

  "This young Xū, named Shèng, is a person from Lángyā Guì County. Don't look at his tall and large stature, but he's actually quite young. If calculated, this year he's only 15 years old. At such a young age, he already has excellent martial arts skills, I'm afraid his future achievements won't be below mine!"

  "There, there, I don't dare compare myself with Zang Da Ge."

  Xu Sheng?

  Zhang Kuang secretly thought of this name and couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart.

  Later on, there was a great general in Eastern Wu, named Xu Sheng. Is he the same as this somewhat bewildered young man before us?

  Zhang Kuang decided to ask around.

  "Xu brothers, have you taken your character?"

  Zang Ba heard this and smiled, saying:

  "Xu brothers are only fifteen or sixteen years old this year, how can they take a courtesy name?"

  According to the customs of the Han Dynasty, men held the capping ceremony at the age of 20, representing their coming of age. At the same time, during the capping ceremony, elders or nobles would give a "courtesy name" to the man.

  Of course, this is just a normal situation. In fact, if there are any unexpected events, the "crown ceremony" and taking a "style name" will often be brought forward. Especially for taking a "style name", if a man needs to travel far or go out to work, he will usually take his "style name" one or two years in advance.

  Just like Zang Ba, since the incident of being captured, Zang Jie gave him the courtesy name "Xuan Gao". At that time, Zang Ba was only eighteen years old. However, Xu Sheng is now only fifteen years old and it's indeed not possible for him to have a courtesy name.

  However, Xu Sheng himself said somewhat awkwardly:

  "As it happens, I've already given myself a name for this trip..."

  Zhang Kuang didn't wait for Xu Sheng to finish speaking and asked:

  "But take the character as 'Wen Xiang'?"

  Xu Sheng jumped in fright, as if he had seen a ghost, and took a step back, shouting:

  "How did you know?! I didn't tell anyone......"

  Zhang Kuang looked up at the sky and laughed loudly, his expression extremely joyful. It seems that Shen Gun's cunning and deceitful methods will once again achieve great success!

  "You are the celestial star above, how could I have known!"

  The news left everyone around stunned. Another "Heavenly Star" has arrived?

  "What? Could it be that I, too, can become a 'public enemy'?"

  Xu Sheng was shocked at first, but then suddenly became overjoyed and said this sentence.

  Tian Wei, who was standing beside him, said disdainfully:

  "Little kid, you think 'thousand people enemy' is radish in the soil, one mention one big handful?"

  Zhang Kuang thought for a moment, among the Wu State's generals, only Sun Jian, Sun Ce, Taishi Ci and Gan Ning came to mind, who should be worthy of the title "Enemy of Ten Thousand". As for Xu Sheng in front of him, his martial arts were not bad, but it seemed that he was still a bit short of being an "Enemy of Ten Thousand".

  He also didn't want to dampen Xu Sheng's enthusiasm, so he said gently:

  "Among the heavenly stars, there are also differences in strength. The strong ones are 'enemies of ten thousand people', while the weak ones are 'broken by a thousand people'. Whether or not you can become an 'enemy of ten thousand people' depends on your fate."

  As soon as this was said, many of the surrounding heroes were envious and discussed it endlessly. Even if one couldn't become a "thousand-man slayer", being a "hundred-man slayer" would be enough to dominate an area. Don't you see, in the vast city of Xuzhou, Cao Jiao, who was known as the "number one master", was only a strong "hundred-man slayer".

  "Xu brothers, are you willing to join me in the Heavenly Balance Army and work together with us to achieve great things?"

  Taking advantage of Xu Sheng's excitement, Zhang Kuang quickly began to pull him. If Xu Sheng didn't follow, Zhang Kuang would tie him up and take him along with him.

  Xu Sheng was young in years, but his reaction was quick, and he immediately fell to the ground, shouting loudly:

  Xu Sheng pays his respects to Lord Cao.

  Every move, every gesture, was a perfect imitation of Zang Ba. However, Xu Sheng soon thought of another problem.

  "My parents and younger siblings are all still in our hometown..."

  Tian Wei chimed in from the side:

  "What's difficult about it? Just bring them all here."

  Nowadays, in the Tianping Army, including Taishi Ci and his mother, there are more than 100 old, weak, women and children, most of whom are family members of the soldiers. These old, weak, women and children were organized into a separate hundred-man squad, always under the strictest protection at the rear of the army formation.

  Xu Sheng thought for a moment, after all, he was young and didn't have too much attachment to his hometown, but instead always wanted to go out and make a name for himself. So, Zhang Kuang had Zang Ba help Xu Sheng retrieve his family members to stabilize Xu Sheng's mind.

  Due to Xu Sheng's sudden popularity, those heroes were once again stirred up with great enthusiasm, and they came one after another to report their names and ask if they were "above the heavenly stars". Zhang Kuang, in order to leave a good impression on those around him, had no choice but to patiently receive them one by one.