Chapter Thirty-Three: Advancing on Nanyang

  Bo Zhai and Peng Tuo whipped the horse's buttocks with their lives, a total of 100,000 troops, while the Han army had only more than 40,000 people. Even if they were piled up, they could be piled to death. Unfortunately, there was no chance anymore, they had already lost.

  Looking at the less than three thousand people following behind them, their clothes were tattered and they had no will to fight. The two of them felt a wave of defeat, it's all over, they could only go to seek refuge with Zhang Mancheng in Nanyang.

  Once we get past this mountain, we can reach the Nanyang area. At that time, we can wash away our bad luck and regroup. We will come back again.

  "Where is Bo Zai Pengtuo going? Cao Chun has been waiting here for a long time." Suddenly, a loud arrow sound was heard, and a team of cavalry rushed out from the mountain slope. The big man at the front was none other than Cao Chun's son, Cao Zhang.

  The two of them had no choice but to charge forward, as turning back was no longer an option; only then would they have a way out.

  "Brothers, we can only survive if we charge forward together! Charge!" Bo shouted.

  It's just that if this isn't said, it would be better. Once spoken, the original three thousand plus people suddenly dispersed with a loud cry. Nima, not running away is like having a brain disease. The other side is equipped with well-equipped 3,000 government troops, while our side is just a powerless peasant army. Moreover, it's a peasant army that has been fleeing for half a day, isn't this like hitting an egg against a rock? Not running is stupid.

  With a loud crash, just one exchange later, Bao and Peng Shuai's heads were rolling on the ground.

  It turned out that Cao Cao received information from Zhang Yi's mechanical bird, and Zhang Yi guessed that if the fire started, the Yellow Turban camp would be in chaos. Bo Cai and Peng Tuo would definitely abandon the camp and go to surrender to Zhang Mancheng in Nanyang. So Cao Cao arranged for Cao Chun to lead 3,000 iron cavalry to wait on the road to Nanyang, while Cao Cao himself led 2,000 iron cavalry to coordinate with Huangfu Song's attack.

  The result was indeed guessed by Zhang Rui, and this wave only escaped with Peng Shuai, without caring about the lives of his subordinates. Cao Chun happened to catch them off guard, carrying two bloody heads towards the main camp.

  "Meng De, this victory is all thanks to General Zhang's fire attack plan. If not for his plan, it might be us who are defeated now." said Huangfu Song.

  "Yes, Meng De. This time I, Zhu Jun, almost became a criminal. Luckily, thanks to Zhang Gong's plan, we didn't end up in disaster." said Zhu Jun.

  "Huangfu General and Zhu General were mistaken, but the two generals commanded well, and Mengde brother cooperated well, so they could win a complete victory." Zhang Rui said.

  "We Han people have produced such a brilliant general, truly a blessing for our great Han dynasty." said Huangfu Song.

  "Report, inform the commander-in-chief, the statistics have come out. In this battle, our army has annihilated over 10,000 enemy soldiers and captured over 40,000. Due to the large fire, we only managed to rescue 40 carts of grain."

  This fire just burned out the lives of tens of thousands of people, and it's really true that life is cheaper than grass in this era. Zhang Rui also deeply felt what it means to have one general's achievement at the cost of ten thousand dry bones. Looking at Huangfu Song and Zhu Yan Cao Cao laughing and chatting on the other side, Zhang Rui felt a pang of heartache, but soon he let go, in this era, if you don't kill me, I'll kill you, it's just like that.

  The remaining problem is what to do with the captives, with more than 40,000 prisoners, more than their own troops. Keeping these people is too wasteful of food, and it's also a waste of manpower to guard them. But if they were killed, these people are just unarmed ordinary people, as long as they have something to eat, they will never rebel. In short, they are all pitiful people.

  "General, after the Yellow Turbans' uprising in Yingchuan, a lot of land must have been left unattended. Why don't we distribute this land to these prisoners of war? Once they have their own fields, who would still follow the Yellow Turbans? This way, many problems can be solved, and all we need to do is provide them with some seeds." said Xun Yu.

  "What you said is quite right, but how should this field be divided and how many kinds of seeds should be planted?" Huangfu Song was a military general who obviously had no experience in handling these things.

  "If the Grand Marshal trusts me, Xun Yu, then let me distribute these captives and naturally provide the seeds." said Xun Yu.

  "It's the best as it is, Meng De, I really envy you. The three military strategists under your command are all great talents." Cao Cao hurriedly waved his hand and said a few humble words.

  "Gentlemen, I have called you all here today for another matter. Now that Bo Cai and Peng Tuo are dead, how should we proceed with our military campaign? It is said that the war in the north is intense, and Zhang Jiao's dark magic is powerful, to the point where he can turn mung beans into elite soldiers using his sorcery. These elite soldiers are impervious to blades and gunfire, and do not feel pain, but their destructive power is by no means small. The northern army has suffered significant losses. General He has ordered us to quickly conclude the war in the south, march north, and join forces with them to attack Zhang Jiao." said Huangfu Song.

  "It's just that Nan Yang Zhang Man Cheng is a different story from the likes of Bo Cai Peng Tuo, this person has great strategic thinking and isn't easy to deal with." said Zhu Jun.

  "So let's divide our army into three routes and head south to Nan Yang. If any of the armies encounter any situation, we can still support each other." Xun Yu suggested.

  "Good idea, Zhu Huan listened to the order, appointed you as the commander of the left route army, leading an army of 10,000. Cao Cao listened to the order, appointed you as the commander of the right route army, leading an army of 10,000. The commander-in-chief will lead 20,000 as the central army, and the three armies will support each other, advancing together towards Nanyang." said Huangfu Song.

  In the inner city of Nanyang Prefecture, the governor who should have been sitting in the government office, Governor Chu Gong, had long since died. And now, sitting in the governor's seat was Zhang Mancheng, whom Zhu Jun considered a great threat.

  Zhang Mancheng was a farmer in Nanyang County. Later, Zhang Jiao came to preach and saw that he was down-to-earth and capable, so he took him as his apprentice and taught him the Taoist arts. Zhang Mancheng had a very good reputation in Nanyang, and being honest and from a poor background, he could understand the sufferings of the people. After becoming Zhang Jiao's disciple, he worked diligently to treat illnesses for the common people, helping everyone, and already had a certain prestige among the people.

  Zhang Jue raised the great banner of rebellion in Ji Province, and Zhang Mancheng also quickly raised a rebel army in Nanyang. With the help of the people inside the city, Zhang Mancheng soon captured Wan City and killed the corrupt official Chou Gong.

  Zhang Mancheng did not forget the people who had helped him, so the first thing he did after taking over Wan City was to open up the granary in the governor's mansion and distribute the grain. Some people were happy while others were worried; the ordinary commoners who didn't have enough food to eat were naturally delighted, but the wealthy families of Wan City were in trouble - with so many people, how could the governor's granary possibly be enough?

  What to do if it's not enough? Zhang Mancheng then invited the noble families of Wan City to the governor's mansion, each family paying a protection fee, whatever they wanted - grain, clothes, weapons, money, and so on.

  The various tribal leaders were constrained by the current power of the Yellow Turbans in Wan City, and had to lower their heads. Each of them painfully handed over protection fees.

  Zhang Mancheng's power in Nanyang grew even stronger, and more and more civilians defected to him. He actually managed to gather a force of 700,000 to 800,000 people.

  The team got bigger and it was naturally harder to lead, the Yellow Turban thieves were originally numerous and relatively chaotic, with all sorts of people, some of whom were chicken thieves who were afraid of the hard and bullied ordinary civilians. This brought about some opportunities for the Han army's capture of Wan City later on.