While Tao Shang and Xu Chu’s forces were confronting each other in the Qiao region, an army approached from the southwest, from the direction of Runan.
This army numbered over ten thousand soldiers and set up camp that very night in the Qiong Mountains, not far from Qiao County.
The morale of this army seemed extremely low.
The soldiers huddled together in small groups inside the newly built camp.
Their eyes were dull and lifeless, their expressions dazed, and every one of them looked pale and gaunt, clearly having gone hungry for a long time.
Many people in the army were severely wounded, and some were still suffering from high fevers, yet no one tended to them.
They could only lie in the corners of the camp, muttering deliriously to themselves, like abandoned livestock.
This army already struggled to obtain food, and medicine was entirely unavailable.
The fate of these wounded men would likely be to quietly await death in this dim mountain ravine, accompanied by fear and despair.
In the center of the mountain camp stood a somewhat decent-looking tent, albeit crooked.
Inside the tent there was no brazier, only a pile of hastily gathered straw burning slowly, emitting a faint light and warmth.
The six people gathered around the straw fire were the leaders of this army.
The head was He Man, nicknamed the “Heaven-Severing Yaksha.” The remnant army led by He Man had a separate name: the Floating Cloud Army.
It was a branch of the famous Yellow Turban Army from the end of the Han dynasty.
Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion, led by the General of Heaven, Zhang Jiao, had failed and been suppressed by the imperial court, the prestige of the Han royal house had plummeted as a result.
Small-scale rebellions continued to break out across the land.
The remnants of the Yellow Turbans’ thirty-six commanders became leaders, forming scattered rebel forces throughout the Central Plains.
These included the Black Mountain, White Wave, Yellow Dragon, Left School, Green Ox Horn, Five Deer, Di Root, Li Damu, Left Whisker Eight Feet, Bitter Locust, Liu Shi, Ping Han, Great Flood, White Rao, Border City, Luo Market, Floating Cloud, Thunder Lord, White Lord, Yang Feng, Yu Du, and many others.
The larger forces numbered over a hundred thousand men, while the smaller ones had several thousand.
The Floating Cloud Yellow Turban Army was one of these groups.
The previous year, He Man’s Floating Cloud Army had attempted to attack a city in Jibei to seize grain and supplies to sustain the troops, but their luck was extremely poor.
They ran into Bao Xin, who had risen in Jibei as the Administrator of Jibei to campaign against Dong Zhuo.
Bao Xin was precisely worried about having no one to train his new troops with, so He Man’s Floating Cloud Army delivered themselves right to his doorstep.
Bao Xin, who was often associated with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and others and was deeply respected by them, naturally possessed no ordinary skill in leading troops.
The Floating Cloud Army was merely a branch of the Yellow Turbans.
After only three days of engagement, they were defeated by Bao Xin in six consecutive battles, losing nearly half their troops.
They fled in panic toward the south.
Fortunately, Bao Xin had raised his troops to answer the call to campaign against Dong Zhuo and had no time to waste on He Man.
Otherwise, this “Heaven-Severing Yaksha” would likely have been impaled by Bao Xin on the city wall as an example.
Having narrowly escaped with their lives, the Floating Cloud Army fled south like dogs who had lost their homes.
Along the way, they were blocked by local government troops and suffered further losses.
Like wandering bandits, they finally reached the Qiao region…
Alas, one misstep can lead to eternal regret.
Inside the Yellow Turban command tent, the air seemed to have solidified.
The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive, so stifling that it was hard to breathe.
“General He, have a bowl of congee.” A Yellow Turban colonel ladled out half a bowl of thin porridge that had been scorched on the dry grass and handed it to He Man.
He Man sat cross-legged on the ground, took the chipped, broken bowl, and stared with a deathly pale face at the rice porridge that was almost indistinguishable from plain water.
His entire body trembled violently.
Though the tent was filled with the steaming heat from the burning straw, He Man felt as if he were standing in a world of ice and snow.
“How many more days of military rations do we have left?” The several Yellow Turban colonels at the lower seats looked at each other, all wearing bitter expressions.
“General He, we…
we have no grain left.” “No grain…” These two words struck He Man’s heart like sharp iron spikes.
He still had over ten thousand troops under his command.
Once the cooking fires stopped, the consequences were something He Man dared not even imagine.
“Hurry!
Send people out to scout!
Search the nearby villages…
Before tonight, we must find a way to seize enough grain…
We are already close to He Qushuai at Ge Slope.
We cannot make a mistake at this time…
As long as we can hold on until Runan and link up with our own brothers, the food issue afterward can be resolved!” He Man said through gritted teeth.
One Yellow Turban colonel hurriedly replied, “General He, rest assured.
Two hours ago, we already sent out more than twenty scouts.
I believe it won’t be long before we receive news!” He Man’s expression did not relax because of the colonel’s words; instead, it grew even more gloomy.
“What’s wrong with those brats below?
Can’t they even find a place to raid for grain after two hours?
Utterly useless!” The Yellow Turban colonel forced a smile and said cautiously, “Those brats really have no ability and have disrupted General He’s plans…
When they return, this subordinate will severely punish a few of them!” He Man said coldly, “Whom you punish has nothing to do with me.
I only tell you that if you delay my affairs, you can bring your own head to this bowl later.” The Yellow Turban colonel nodded repeatedly.
“Yes, yes.
General He, rest assured.
This subordinate will personally lead a patrol out to search.
No matter what, I will find a place for the brothers to have a good meal…” Before the Yellow Turban colonel could finish speaking, a sweating Yellow Turban scout rushed into the tent, dropped to one knee, and gasped, “Reporting to General He, this subordinate has found something!” Inside the command tent, including He Man, the Yellow Turban leaders all perked up.
He Man tossed aside the porridge bowl in his hand, stood up quickly, and asked, “How is the scouting?” “General He!
Forty li to the southeast, there is a large manor.
The manor has a thriving population of no fewer than several hundred households.
This subordinate secretly entered the manor to investigate and saw cooking smoke rising from every house, indicating they have surplus grain.
Moreover, many households raise livestock, chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep are all present!
It is enough to sustain our army for more than half a month!” “Good!” He Man stood up abruptly.
A cold, brutal light flashed in his eyes, chilling everyone to the bone.
Those familiar with him knew this was the prelude to the Heaven-Severing Yaksha unleashing his fury and killing.
“Pass the order to all units: Tonight at the hour of Zi, the entire army will raid this manor to seize grain.
Anyone who dares to obstruct or resist will be killed on the spot.
Leave no one alive!” Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
He Man’s Floating Cloud Army wanted to raid the Xu Manor, and the Xuzhou army side was equally restless.
Tao Shang and Mi Fang were also discussing countermeasures overnight.
After all, before Xu Chu returned to the manor, he had made Tao Shang promise to give him an answer within three days: one was to hand over the bandit leader, and the other was to compensate for the losses.
Although Tao Shang had agreed in order to temporarily pacify Xu Chu, the matter had been caused by Mi Fang, and he was the nominal commander of the Xuzhou army.
Therefore, he still needed to discuss it with Mi Fang.
Moreover, since Tao Shang had already given Mi Fang a residence and a hundred mu of farmland as tribute, he should show him sufficient respect.
However, regarding Xu Chu’s conditions, Mi Fang firmly rejected them…
He would not agree!
Compensating for the losses was still a minor issue.
The main point was handing over the bandit leader…
Mi Fang himself was the bandit leader.
How could he tie himself up and deliver himself to Xu Chu?
Mi Fang might be a bit lacking in brains, but he was not completely stupid…
He naturally would not and could not do something that was clearly suicidal.
“Young Master, this matter is absolutely impossible.
Even if our Xuzhou army’s previous actions had some faults, if we hand over people just because that boor demands it, once word spreads, where will our Xuzhou army’s face be?
Where will Inspector Tao’s dignity remain?
How will the people of the world view our Xuzhou soldiers and civilians?
A gentleman’s army cannot afford to lose this kind of face.” Looking at Mi Fang’s righteous and solemn face, Tao Shang could not help but smile.
No matter what, Mi Fang was not too foolish.
At critical moments, he still knew to use the four words “gentleman’s army” as a shield…
Tao Shang did not know whether he should now praise him for being clever and adaptable or curse him for being despicable.
“Since Brother Mi does not intend to accept Xu Chu’s conditions…
do you have any good strategies to resolve this awkward situation?” Mi Fang extended three fingers and spoke eloquently, “Young Master, do not worry.
This general has three plans, upper, middle, and lower, for Young Master to choose from as appropriate!” Tao Shang was somewhat surprised.
“Brother Mi actually has three plans?
Truly impressive.
I would like to hear the upper plan first.” Mi Fang cleared his throat and said seriously, “Young Master praises me so, this subordinate feels deeply ashamed…
As the saying goes, of the thirty-six strategies, fleeing is the best.
The ancients did not deceive me.
In my humble opinion, rather than lingering here arguing with that boor, it would be better to make a decisive move tonight: raise the troops and march straight to Yingchuan to join forces with Kong Zhou, then advance west to campaign against Dong Zhuo!
Xu Chu will not be able to react for a while.
By the time he wants to demand people and grain, we will already be a hundred li away.
Even if he is unreasonable, he can only sigh at the wind and be helpless.” Tao Shang was stunned and did not know how to comment.
Running away was just running away, yet he said so much nonsense…
After being dazed for the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, Tao Shang finally came back to his senses.
He raised his fist to his mouth and coughed awkwardly.
“Brother Mi’s idea is truly extraordinary.
Just the upper plan is already so distinctive.
I think there is no need to listen to the middle and lower plans.” Mi Fang was delighted upon hearing this.
“Young Master thinks the upper plan is feasible?” “I listened to your upper plan and felt extremely wretched.
If you tell me the middle and lower plans, I’m afraid I would want to die.” Tao Shang waved his hand weakly.
To be honest, he was not someone who liked to use his brain.
On the contrary, he was lazier than anyone…
But staying with a guy like Mi Fang, he had no choice but to be diligent.
Otherwise, one day he might be sold off by this kid without even realizing it.
After thinking for a while, Tao Shang spoke slowly, “That Xu Chu possesses the bearing of a fierce warrior and is currently a commoner.
If we can recruit him into our army, he would undoubtedly be a great help.” Mi Fang listened with his eyes wide and mouth agape.
“That Xu Chu is barbaric and unreasonable, and he has a grudge against us.
How could he submit?…
Young Master’s idea seems rather naive, doesn’t it?” Tao Shang sighed deeply, pondered for a moment, and said affirmatively, “Everything depends on human effort!
There will definitely be a way.” Ever since hearing Xu Chu announce his name, Tao Shang had already begun to have this thought.
This was also the main reason he had used a delaying tactic on the battlefield and agreed to Xu Chu’s conditions…
The famous chief bodyguard of Cao Wei.
If he could be added to their side, if nothing else, at least in this chaotic world, his personal safety would be guaranteed.
In this world, the first thing to consider when living is one’s own safety coefficient.
If one were to say what is different between a chaotic world and a peaceful world: In a peaceful world, what brings the most happiness…
is having money!
In a chaotic world, what brings the most happiness…
is money!
And also the life with which to spend that money…
You see how important safety is.