Keyboard Immortal - Chapter 2936

Immortal Chapter 1449 Shifting the Blame West

The surrounding guards were shocked and instinctively rushed forward, but this small group couldn’t possibly affect his aura of military might. With his cultivation level, he easily dispatched his most loyal guards in the blink of an eye.

The remaining guards finally lost their will to fight and fled.

Zu An didn’t pursue them, but instead stood on the flagpole with Gao Sheng’s head in his hand:

“Gao Sheng is dead!”

“Gao Sheng is dead!”

“Gao Sheng is dead!”

…

The thunderous shouts echoed throughout the camp. A few mid-level officers who were still trying to organize a counterattack were now too afraid to resist after seeing their commander’s head in the firelight.

Murong Qinghe, who had been waiting on the outskirts, led the Wuhuan cavalry in a night attack. With the added strength of the army, Ting Xue at the forefront was truly unstoppable. With a casual swing of her cold, beautiful saw, she unleashed thousands of meters of gleaming sword energy, leaving no one in her wake.

Even the valiant Wuhuan people were terrified, thinking that this woman was truly fierce, even the world’s top generals were no match for her.

Yun Jianyue of Ji County noticed the commotion at the military camp outside the city. Initially, she worried it was a trap set by the Yellow Turban Army, but upon closer inspection, she realized the Yellow Turbans were completely in disarray. Noticing Tingxue’s signature sword aura, she had no more doubts and immediately led the city’s troops in a charge.

The Yellow Turban camp collapsed completely, each soldier wishing they had two more legs.

…

At dawn, after tallying the results, the Yellow Turbans had suffered over ten thousand casualties, some had fled, and the remaining thirty thousand were all captured.

While counting the prisoners, a commotion suddenly arose in the distance.

Zu An rushed over and found Murong Qinghe and his Wuhuan cavalry engaged in a tense standoff with another cavalry unit, all riding white horses—a striking sight.

Although slightly outnumbered, their momentum was in no way inferior.

Even though he hadn’t seen them before, Zu An immediately recognized the army:

the world-renowned White Horse Cavalry!

This must be the reinforcements sent after seeking help from Gongsun Zan.

The leader was handsome, most notably with a goatee.

His original memories of this world told him that this was Gongsun Yue, Gongsun Zan’s younger brother.

“What happened?” Zu An hurriedly went over to ask.

Seeing his arrival, Murong Qinghe quickly complained to him.

Gongsun Yue’s side also started shouting.

Zu An finally understood. It turned out that the reason Gongsun Zan and his White Horse Cavalry were famous throughout the land was because they had killed many Hu people.

Although they mainly dealt with the Xianbei, the Wuhuan were also nearby and had clashed with the White Horse Cavalry many times. The two sides were mortal enemies, if not blood enemies.

Now that the enemies had met, they naturally couldn’t stand each other.

Zu An finally managed to persuade both sides to back down. Murong Qinghe approached him and said, “Brother-in-law, my men really hate the White Horse Cavalry and don’t want to be with them. They’re all clamoring to go back, and Zhang Chun has also spent a lot of money to invite us. If we don’t go soon…”

Zu An naturally understood her predicament and supported her decision to leave with her men, but he wanted to persuade her to stay.

Murong Qinghe refused, “Brother-in-law, I heard you talk about collecting those soul fragments before. In this chaotic world, it’s easier to accomplish this by conquering the world. I can play a greater role if I stay with the Wuhuan. After I go back this time, I will work hard to cultivate trusted confidants, hoping they can help you as soon as possible in the future, so that you won’t be as constrained as you are now.”

Zu An ultimately prevailed over reason. They agreed on a way to communicate, and he reluctantly said goodbye to her, giving her many spoils of war from the Yellow Turban Army before leaving.

After she led her team away, Gongsun Yue snorted, “Those barbarians fear power but not virtue. Why give them so much spoils?”

Zu An was at a loss; it seemed the relationship between the White Horse Cavalry and the Wuhuan was irreconcilable.

He also gave some of the spoils to Gongsun Yue as a token of gratitude for their support, which made his expression better.

However, what to do with the Yellow Turban prisoners was a major problem.

Gongsun Yue’s attitude was clear: “Why wait to kill these traitors?”

“Killing surrendered soldiers is inauspicious.” Zu An directly rejected this plan. Not to mention the many lessons of history, killing surrendered soldiers was not in his nature.

“If we release these people, they will gather and form a rebel army. Then they will plunder and cause even more suffering.” Gongsun Yue frowned.

“Of course, we can’t just release them like that.” Zu An fell into thought.

Gongsun Yue’s expression was strange: “You’re not planning to recruit them for your own use, are you?”

He had seen the surrendered Yellow Turban soldiers in Ji County earlier.

Zu An understood the reality: “I can’t afford to feed them.”

He could barely accommodate the three thousand Yellow Turban soldiers, but these tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers consumed astronomical amounts of food daily.

Most of the Yellow Turban army’s original rations were paid to the Wuhuan as wages, and some went to the White Horse Cavalry; now there was very little left. He couldn’t feed them for more than a few days before famine struck.

Although he knew that Cao Cao historically solved his food problem through land reclamation, growing grain took time, and there simply wasn’t enough time now.

Moreover, the grains in this world weren’t ordinary grains like in his previous life; they contained vital energy, capable of replenishing a person’s essence and even vital energy, making it impossible to use chemical fertilizers to increase production.

“Since you can’t afford to feed them, just kill them as soon as possible,” Gongsun Yue couldn’t understand why there was any hesitation; this guy was simply too soft-hearted.

“Let me think about it some more,” Zu An sighed.

Seeing that he wouldn’t listen, Gongsun Yue was also somewhat displeased and didn’t bother to persuade him further. In his view, these people would ultimately have to be killed anyway.

Next, Zu An privately recounted his encounter with Murong Qinghe to Yun Jian Yue.

Yun Jian Yue was astonished: “You not only wiped out the Chu sisters, but now you’re even going to take down the Chu family’s wives? If you had been with our Holy Sect back then, you’d be guaranteed to become the Holy Son of the Hehuan Sect—no, you could directly become the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect!”

Zu An: “…”

Unexpectedly, Ting Xue beside him nodded: “I didn’t expect you could say something so reasonable.”

Yun Jian Yue immediately became angry: “No one will think you’re mute if you don’t speak.”

Ting Xue’s eyes turned cold, and her hand was already on the Cold-Eyed Saw.

Yun Jian Yue, naturally, wasn’t afraid of him either, and also gripped the Eighteen-Foot Serpent Spear.

Seeing that the two were about to fight, Zu An quickly changed the subject: “Let’s think about how to deal with those Yellow Turban prisoners.”

Ting Xue frowned slightly, ultimately deciding against attacking.

Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes at her before saying, “We really can’t afford to support them. If we don’t want to kill them, but also don’t want to release them for nothing, why not negotiate with that Yellow Turban general, using these people as leverage to make him pay money and supplies to ransom them back?”

“What’s the use of money and supplies now? Why not use them as leverage to get Zhang Bao’s army to turn around and attack Zhang Chun? It’ll be

a way to divert the trouble,” Tingxue said coldly. Zu An’s eyes lit up. This was indeed a good solution. Although they had dealt with Gao Sheng’s army, Zhang Bao’s main force was still gathering here.

If Zhang Bao and his men refused to ransom the people, their morale would plummet, greatly reducing their fighting strength.

If they were willing, the impending crisis would be averted.