Chapter Thirty-Seven: Beat You Until You're Honest

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  Yan Liang suddenly arrived, amidst a loud shout, his steel knife flashed out.

  Cao Hong didn't have time to think much, and hastily raised his sword to block it.

  Clang!

  In the midst of the starry fire, Cao Hong's body shook violently, his chest churning with blood and energy, almost falling off his horse.

  "This man's ferocity is so extreme, could he be Yan Liang or not?"

  In a state of shock, Cao Hong exerted his utmost effort to suppress the surging blood and energy, and with all his might, he struck out with a backhand knife.

  Yan Liang's long sword slanted over, and he calmly parried it once.

  In the midst of clashing metals, Cao Hong's body shook again, and the knife he struck with all his might was actually rebounded back, while Yan Liang remained calm and composed, extremely relaxed.

  Cao Hong was shocked in his heart, and infinite astonishment surged onto his face.

  After two moves, Yan Liang had not used his full strength, but he had already judged that the enemy general's martial arts were not weak and must be Cao Hong.

  "Cao Ziluan, you have fallen into Baining's trap, and the situation is already lost. Why don't you dismount and surrender?"

  The outcome is already decided, and Yan Liang is also in no hurry to collect Cao Hong, reins his horse, holds his sword horizontally, and coldly persuades him to surrender.

  Cao Hong's expression changed as soon as he heard this, and only then did he realize that Man Chong had already surrendered to Yan Liang, and he himself had fallen into the other's trap.

  "What a pampered dog thief! How hateful!" Cao Hong gritted his teeth and cursed loudly.

  He did not know that Yan Liang's words were intentionally "framing" Man Chong, so that everyone would know that Man Chong had betrayed Cao Cao and surrendered to Yan Liang.

  In this way, Man Chong would have jumped into the Yellow River and still couldn't wash himself clean; he had no choice but to surrender to Yan Liang.

  "I had no intention of being an enemy of General Cao, but you have repeatedly forced me to this point. If you surrender now, I will spare your dignity, otherwise, I will make sure you lose face!"

  Yan Liang's tone was cold and solemn, with an air of unyielding authority.

  Cao Hong's military ability was average, but his status was extremely special. Others could surrender, but as a general of the Cao clan, he had no reason to surrender.

  Yan Liang's words deeply hurt Cao Hong's self-esteem, he was so angry that he violently shouted and rode his horse again to kill Yan Liang.

  "Overestimating one's abilities."

  Yan Liang let out a cold snort, his ape-like arms swung into motion, and the steel knife in his hand shot out like a fierce storm.

  Cao Hong in the novel can hold out against Ma Chao for fifty rounds, his martial arts attack power is not strong, but his defense is first-rate.

  Yan Liang launched a series of over ten attacks in succession, forcing Cao Hong to struggle to keep up, but he still didn't manage to force him to reveal even the slightest opening.

  However, Cao Hong was shocked repeatedly in his heart.

  He had previously heard that Guan Yu and Cao Ren were defeated by Yan Liang, but he did not quite believe it. Today, after seeing it with his own eyes, he finally truly believed that the rumors were not false.

  Yan Liang, the General of Hebei, is indeed a top-notch tiger general in the world. Cao Hong is simply no match for him.

  After more than a dozen rounds, Cao Hong knew that if he continued to fight, he would inevitably lose, and began to think of how to retreat and escape.

  It was just a lifelong timidity in his heart, and as soon as he lost focus for a moment, the knife's momentum would slightly reveal its clumsiness.

  Yan Liang seized the opportunity with his sharp instincts, aiming at a slight weakness, and launched three consecutive attacks with all his might.

  But a loud cry was heard, Cao Hong's steel knife flew out of his hand, and he himself flew out and fell heavily to the ground.

  Cao Hong wanted to wait for the mountain to rise, but a mouthful of blood arrows spurted out, and he was in extreme pain, unable to move again.

  Yan Liang reined in his horse and coldly said: "Tie up that scoundrel Cao Hong for me, and keep a close eye on him."

  The soldiers on both sides rushed up and tied Cao Hong, who was paralyzed on the ground, into a tight bundle.

  At this time, the cavalry and infantry who had joined forces after the battle looked around the battlefield, like a meat grinder, killing 4,000 defeated Cao soldiers, leaving them scattered and wailing.

  At high noon, the loud shouting finally faded away, and the battlefield was littered with corpses, shrouded in a haze of smoke.

  "General, this strategy is indeed brilliant, I am ashamed to be inferior to you."

  Wen Ping galloped up and shouted loudly, his blood-stained face surging with excitement and admiration. After this battle, he had completely surrendered to Yan Liang.

  Yan Liang smiled faintly: "If it weren't for you, Zhong Ye, blocking Cao Hong's fierce attack with your life, even if I had burned down the enemy's camp, it would have been of no use. Zhong Ye, I really didn't misjudge you."

  Having gained Yan Liang's approval, Wen Ping's face showed relief and he bowed his hands, saying: "Now that Cao Hong has been defeated, Wan City is empty. General, why not take advantage of the victory to lead the army northward and capture Wan City, taking all of Nanyang."

  When Wen Ping's power grew, his ambition and appetite also expanded.

  "Wan City is adjacent to Xudu, if we attack and take it down, Cao Cao will definitely go all out against me. For now, preserving our strength is the priority, there's no need to engage in a head-on confrontation with Cao Cao, besides..."

  Yan Liang's gaze turned southward, "......The one in the south is still waiting to reap the benefits, what we need to do now is to go back and teach him a lesson, so that he will be honest from now on and never dare to have any more wild ideas."

  "What the general means is..." Wen Ping's eyes lit up, as if he understood.

  Yan Liang's blood-stained body stirred with renewed killing intent. In a loud voice, he commanded: "Pass on my orders, the entire army will march south immediately!"

  Xiangyang City, Provincial Governor's Office.

  Kuai Yueying leaned on his crutch and limped into the main hall, with a faint bruise still visible on his face.

  "Yi Du, you've finally returned safely." Liu Biao, who was on the platform, was overjoyed and hastily got up from his seat to welcome him.

  Kuai Yue clasped his hands and said: "The defeat of our army is a disadvantage, causing the lord to be humiliated. I am truly ashamed to come before the lord."

  "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in the military, why must you blame yourself? As long as you can return safely, that's all that matters." Liu Biao comforted Kuai Yue by holding his hand, "Besides, the defeat at New Wilds was due to Wen Ping's refusal to fight with all his might, it has nothing to do with you."

  Kuai Yue let out a sigh of relief, but then sighed again: "The lord treated Wen Ping with kindness, yet he didn't expect him to betray the lord and defect to Yan Liang that scoundrel. He truly failed to repay the lord's kindness."

  "It's really hateful to employ petty men!"

  When mentioning Wen Pin, Liu Biao, who was known as a famous scholar, also lost his elegance and refinement, and was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

  Cai Mao and others in the hall also followed suit, all scolding Wen Ping for being ungrateful and disloyal.

  Kuai Yue's eyes flashed with a sly smile, and he suddenly laughed: "Your Excellency need not be angry, I have a plan to eliminate Yan Liang and Wen Ping at the same time, and avenge our previous shame."

  As soon as these words came out, everyone's spirit was immediately lifted.

  Liu Biao was even more excited and asked Kuai Yue what clever plan he had to get rid of Yan Liang, this thorn in his side.

  Kuai Yue stroked his whiskers and smiled slowly: "When I left Xin Ye, I heard that Cao Hong had led a large army to attack Xin Ye from the south. I reckon Yan Liang will surely lead a large army to meet Cao Hong in battle. At this time, our lord can use the name of supporting Yan Liang to send troops northward. Just wait until Yan Liang and Cao Hong are both wounded in battle, then take advantage of the opportunity to retake Xin Ye. Not only can we recover lost territory, but also push Yan Liang into a desperate situation."

  Earlier, Liu Biao had heard the news of Cao Hong's southern expedition. At that time, he only thought of relying on Yan Liang, this newly formed ally, to resist the invasion of Cao's army, and did not expect this turn of events.

  At this point, Liu Biao suddenly realized as if he had been enlightened.

  Cai Mao, who was sitting below, also jumped up and said: "The words of the other side are extremely true. Yan Liang is a cruel and violent warrior. If he is allowed to occupy a stable position in Xin Ye, he will surely be a disaster for Jing Xiang. I beg the lord to give me 20,000 soldiers, and I will definitely take back the lost land for the lord and wash away the shame of before."

  Liu Biao stroked his beard and remained silent, with an excited glint on his aged face, looking as if he was eager to take action.

  At this time, Ji Ping said: "The lord has just formed an alliance with Yan Liang for a few days, and now he suddenly betrays the alliance, which seems to be somewhat inappropriate. Moreover, Yan Liang's military strategy is like a god, if he defeats Cao Hong and then turns his army south to ask for punishment, what should we do?"

  Before his words had fallen, Kuai Yue burst out laughing loudly in the hall, and that laughter was full of disdain.

  "Yan Liang is just a common warrior, now with less than 10,000 soldiers, you are not even as good as Wen Pin. You want to defeat Cao's famous general and also resist the main force of our lord, this is simply impossible. Yi Boji, why are you so afraid of Yan Liang, were you scared by him on that one trip?"

  Cai Mao and others all burst out laughing, each and every one of them looking down on Yan Liang, ridiculing his humble origins.

  He had a fire in his heart, but only smiled faintly, "How capable is Yan Liang after all? How can I compare to Guan Yu who knows him better?"

  This is a veiled satire of Qu Yue's defeat at the hands of Yan Liang and his subsequent capture.

  Kuai Yue's face sank immediately, and his eyes flashed with anger.

  "Alright, stop arguing." Liu Biao finally spoke up, "Yi Du is right. Although Yan Liang is brave, he doesn't have three heads and six arms. I don't believe he can turn the tide under attack from both front and back. De Kui, I'm ordering you to lead 20,000 elite troops to march north to Xin Ye."

  "Yes!" Cai Mao took orders and his spirit was greatly boosted.

  Liu Biao thought for a moment, then said: "I'll trouble you to go to Xinye again and pretend to Yuan Shao that our army is coming to reinforce him, so as not to arouse his suspicion, while covering up Deng Ai's military action."

  He had wanted to persuade him, but now that he saw Liu Biao's mind was made up, he knew it would be useless to say more, and so he accepted the order.

  The order has been given. A faint cold smile appeared on Liu Biao's aged face as he muttered to himself, "You insolent wretch Yan Liang, I'll see how long you can still be so smug..."