Chapter Fifteen: Triumphant Return Home

  "Spare my life! Great Master, spare my life!"

  On the other hand, Pei Yuanshao rode his horse and appeared in front of Li Er who was trying to escape in the chaos after a loud noise.

  "Hmph, if I had known today why bother with the past? Li Er relied on that yellow dog thief's power to bully me in front of my family, but I've tolerated you for a long time. Today, I'll collect that old debt!"

  Li Er Zhang's mouth was still wanting to speak, but Pei Yuanshao didn't give him another chance. He raised his big knife and chopped down fiercely. A burst of hot blood splattered everywhere, and Li Er's head immediately fell to the ground.

  "The young master has given the order, these Yellow Scarf soldiers are all rebellious traitors who have committed unforgivable crimes by following Huang Le to do evil. Kill them all!" Pei Yuanshao's face was cold and stern, like Heibai Wuchang, the collector of human lives.

  Huang Le's soldiers saw that Huang Le was dead and wanted to kneel down and surrender, but after hearing Pei Yuanshao's words, they saw no hope of survival and were immediately frightened out of their wits, one by one kneeling down to beg for mercy.

  "Spare our lives! We are just ordinary soldiers, Huang Zhangshi is the real culprit. Now that the evil one has been punished, please spare our lives!!"

  One hundred people will wail and knock their heads to the ground. Yang Dian and Pei Yuanshao looked at Li Qiang together, as if asking for his opinion.

  Li Qiang shook his head and said concisely, "The young master says that this group of soldiers is not clean, they can't be kept."

  As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qiang didn't wait for Yang Dian and Pei Yuanshao to respond. He grasped his double hammers and charged forward in one step, arriving in front of the hundred-man commander. With a swing of his iron hammer, he smashed the commander's chest into pieces.

  "Then let's kill them! Not a single one will be left!" Pei Yuanshao said calmly, also moving his hands. Li Qiang's words represented Wen Han's words, so as the family general 'Pei Yuanshao' would definitely support him.

  Seeing this situation, Yang Dian didn't need to say much, and led the soldiers to kill them. Five hundred people, in a short period of time, quickly turned into cold corpses one by one.

  Yang Dian and Pei Yuanshao immediately withdrew their troops back to camp. The mountain valley, which had been filled with the heat of battle just moments before, suddenly became eerily quiet. A cold wind blew by, and only the corpses scattered about told us that a fierce battle had taken place here just now.

  No, it should be said that it was a one-sided massacre.

  On the other side, inside Wen Han's military camp tent.

  "It's not ordinary. Pei Yuanshao had secretly arranged for his brother to take care of the hidden wealth, and just now, he brought his cousin to the camp, quietly transporting away those gold, silver, and jewels. For safety reasons, he didn't tell him what was being transported, only that it was a military secret that couldn't be revealed to anyone."

  Zhou Leng walked into Wen Han's tent with a dusty wind. As Zhou Leng and Wen Han's relationship became more intimate, Zhou Leng's way of addressing Wen Han also changed, calling him by his name directly.

  Wen Han Zheng was looking at a book on military strategy borrowed from Yang Dian, and after hearing Zhou Long's words, he nodded: "Hmm, thanks for the trouble, Zhou. Can those people be trusted?"

  Long before Huang Le's attack on the mountain, Wen Han deliberately sent Yang Dian to ambush in the valley first, and then secretly found Pei Yuanshao, asked him for a few people, and quickly rushed back to Xie County to find Zhou Leng's younger brother 'Zhou Ping', who came over to transfer Pei Yuanshao's privately hidden wealth.

  This wealth is not easily obtained, so Wen Han must be careful, otherwise he will offend the greedy Yang Hong.

  "For Brother Na, his elder brother is a dull and unsociable person who doesn't know how to get along with others, but he has an extraordinary martial art skill. He usually works at the gambling house of Brother Na and relies on him for support. Therefore, he listens to Brother Na's words and follows his plans. Don't worry, Zhou Ping is a trustworthy person."

  Zhou Luan smiled and said, "However, Pei Yuanshao is indeed not to be underestimated. His methods of accumulating wealth are so sharp. Younger brother, do you know that the private stash of goods he has hidden away, roughly calculated, should amount to over 800 taels? These goods would be enough for me and your sister-in-law to live a lifetime."

  "Big Brother Zhou, Yuan Shao is now a member of my family, just like one of our own. Stop calling him a thief, it's unpleasant to hear. Yuan Shao told me that the wealth was accumulated by several generations of Black Wind Mountain bandits, and most of the money they robbed from others was distributed among them."

  Wen Han frowned, seemingly displeased with Zhou Lun's address of Pei Yuanshao as "thief". Zhou Lun slapped his forehead, repeatedly saying he had forgotten the matter. After chatting a few more sentences with Wen Han, a chaotic mixture of laughter and curses came from outside the camp, indicating that Yang Feng and Pei Yuanshao had returned with their troops.

  Wen Han and Zhou Lian rushed out of the tent to greet them. Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang saw Wen Han's figure, galloped over, stopped in front of Wen Han, dismounted, and knelt down on one knee.

  "We didn't disappoint our orders. Huang's army is completely annihilated!" Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang's voices still carried that scorching killing intent, as if they hadn't had enough of the thrill of taking lives in an instant.

  "Good! Good! You've done very well! Come on, let's celebrate. I have prepared a feast for you to celebrate your great victory." Wen Han warmly grasped the hands of Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang, quickly walking towards the tent where a table of wine and dishes was ready.

  "Alas! Younger brother, how can you be so thick with some and thin with others? You only care about your own family brothers, but not about your elder brother Yang."

  Yang Dian was afraid of falling behind and couldn't drink to his heart's content, so he hurriedly shouted from behind Wen Han and several others, causing everyone to burst out laughing.

  "That day, the hundred jars of wine and water found in the mountain stronghold were all opened today! At present, there is no war, and all brothers drink happily and to their heart's content. Today, whoever dares not to get drunk will have his pants pulled down!!!!!!"

  The whole camp was suddenly filled with joy. After several days of continuous battles, the people and horses of Xie County and Heifeng Mountain were already exhausted, not only physically but also mentally.

  This is the soldier. With a single order from their commander, they will charge forward without regard for their lives and without complaint. However, as soon as they have a jar of wine, they become cheerful and joyful.

  Of course, they became soldiers for a living, and that meager military pay.

  The camp was in an uproar, with everyone drinking to the point of collapse. The men from Black Wind Mountain and the soldiers from Hei County were arm-in-arm, singing folk songs from their hometowns. Although just a few days ago they had been enemies, in this chaotic world where death was as normal as eating three meals a day, they had long since grown accustomed to such ruthlessness.

  On the other side of the banquet, Wen Han, Zhou Long, Yang Dian, Li Qiang and Pei Yuanshao drank dozens of jars of wine. Under Zhou Long's enthusiastic recommendation, Wen Han sang that song "Killing People" again, which spread throughout the military camp, and the soldiers also followed suit, having a great time.

  Everyone continued drinking until they fell down or passed out. It wasn't until the early hours of the second day that the military camp gradually quieted down.

  At noon, Wen Han and Yang Tian, who had woken up, tidied up their troops and headed in the direction of Xie County.

  After several hours, Wen Han finally saw the gate of Xie County and exchanged a smile with Zhou Lin by his side.

  Two battles, under Wen Han's strategy, killed a full two thousand people. He incorporated Pei Yuanshao into his command, obtained three hundred and eighty private soldiers, and smoothly eliminated Huang Le, who hated him to the bone.

  This time, back in Xie County, it was exactly the opportunity for him to show off his skills.

  At the city gate, Yang Hong sent his chief clerk to welcome Wen Han and Yang Dian who were returning triumphantly. After a routine inquiry about their well-being, he announced that Wen Han, Zhou Lin, and Yang Dian should tidy up their troops and report to the county magistrate's office for rewards.

  Yang Dian and Wen Han exchanged a few pleasantries before taking their leave, leading the soldiers from Xie County back to the county's training grounds. In order not to draw attention to themselves, Wen Han and Zhou Long had Pei Yuanshao disperse the 380 Black Wind troops into two groups, one led by Wen Han and the other by Zhou Long, and they separately found several inns within the county to temporarily accommodate them.

  Just after arranging the accommodation for Hei Feng's private soldiers, Wen Han and Zhou Yong rushed to Yang Fu without even reporting back to Zhou Fu.

  Wen Han and Zhou Lian, under the leadership of Huang Guan's family, had just arrived at the main hall of the mansion when they saw Yang Dian's figure. Yang Dian had a look of satisfaction on his face, as if waiting for Yang Hong to issue an order announcing his own promotion.

  Haha. What a remarkable article! I didn't expect that you would be the reincarnation of Zhang Liang, with your extraordinary talent and unparalleled wisdom. In the blink of an eye, not only did you recover the troops from Heifeng Fortress, but also defeated that deceitful scoundrel Huang Le.

  "Good, very good! Wen Fang did a great job!"

  As he spoke, Yang Hong's voice became gloomy, apparently Yang Dian had told him all about the process of this expedition. Since Yang Hong could climb to the position of County Magistrate of Xiezhou, apart from the 'Yang family' behind him, his own intelligence was also not to be underestimated.

  "Could it be that Yang Hong has guessed the underlying mystery?"

  Wen Han's face changed, and he immediately bowed and said: "I am not talented. It was all thanks to General Yang Ya's cooperation that we achieved this great victory. When Huang Le saw us retake Heifeng Mountain, he feared that General Yang would surpass him in merit, so he falsely reported military information to the county magistrate, sending troops to intercept us halfway. I was afraid of being taken advantage of by petty people, so I devised a plan and hope you will understand, sir!"

  Yang Dian sensed the abnormality in Yang Hong's expression and hastily knelt down on one knee: "Master, Wen Xian said it was true. That Huang Le wanted to harm my life, I took the initiative to be strong, and at Heifeng Mountain, I stabbed him to death with a single spear..."

  Yang Hong angrily shouted, forcibly interrupting Yang Dian's words: "You still don't shut your mouth for the county magistrate! How can you be so foolish? The Huang Le outer family 'Cui Shi' is a famous and powerful clan in Xie County, and cannot be offended. Since he falsely reported military information and committed the crime of rebellion, you can capture him and hand him over to the county magistrate to execute him."

  "Why are you so impulsive, killing him?! Aren't you offending the 'Cui family' by doing this?! You're a general of the county magistrate's household, isn't this equivalent to causing trouble for the county magistrate?!"

  Yang Hong pointed at Yang Dian and scolded him in a loud voice, leaving Yang Dian speechless for a moment. Finally, he repeatedly kowtowed and admitted his guilt.

  "Yang Xianling, it was I who devised the plan to kill that Huang Le. It's no wonder Yang Ya Jiang is furious. However, that Huang Le wanted to harm our lives, can we just sit and wait for death? This is something I find hard to accept!"

  Moreover, this time Huang Zhangshi was able to mobilize 1,500 troops, which is enough to threaten Xie County. If we take action to eliminate him, it can also be considered as eliminating a hidden danger for Xie County."

  Wen Han took a step forward, his eyes clear and bright, like a loyal and righteous man who had suffered great injustice. He looked straight at Yang Hong, who narrowed his eyes and said "good" several times before taking a deep breath.

  Yang Hongping calmed down and said coldly, "According to what you just said, shouldn't the county magistrate be grateful to you for eliminating a monster that plagued the county? Isn't that right, Wen Bufan?"

  "I dare not, but I believe that the county magistrate can discern the subtleties and distinguish between loyalty and treachery, and will not chill the hearts of us loyal subjects." Wen Han knew that at this moment, he could not back down, or else Yang Hong would detect that Yang Dian's killing of Huang Le was his own plan to kill by borrowing a knife, which would be troublesome!