Trapped Camp?!
Li Ye and his son were both startled upon hearing this.
So, this "Mo Saber" and "Willow Leaf Armor" were actually custom equipment for the Trapped Camp!
How could they not have heard of the great name of the Trapped Camp?
That was Zhang Chen's most elite and valiant unit!
What a great honor it was to be able to make armor and weapons for this unit!
Li Ye immediately bowed and said, "Lord, rest assured, my son and I will definitely do our utmost. Even if we exhaust all our skills, we will certainly create these two items for you!"
"Very good! If this matter is successful, you and your son will have rendered a great service!"
"We shall take our leave." The two said, and then withdrew.
Zhang Chen secretly calculated in his heart.
These two items he had were not ordinary!
The Mo Saber was a famous killing weapon of the Great Tang. During the An Lushan Rebellion, Deputy Military Commissioner Li Siyi specifically formed a Mo Saber team of three thousand men. In the Battle of Xiangji Temple, Li Siyi led this Mo Saber team to great slaughter, annihilating sixty thousand enemies in one battle, astonishing the world!
It is said that with one swing of the Mo Saber, it could cut both man and horse into two pieces!
And this "Bu Ren Jia" was the armor worn by the heavy infantry of the Song Dynasty.
Although the Song Dynasty left the impression on later generations of emphasizing civil officials over military, it is little known that the Song Dynasty had the best-protected heavy infantry.
The heaviest armor of the Song Dynasty's heavy infantry could weigh over sixty catties, with over eighteen hundred lamellae. Zhang Chen only mentioned a thousand lamellae, also concerned that the current manufacturing technology might not reach later generations' level.
If Tang Sabers and Song Armor were all equipped on the soldiers of the Trapped Camp, what a terrifying existence they would be!
Just as Zhang Chen was envisioning the shock the newly equipped Trapped Camp would bring him, a runner came in from outside the door, saying that General Xu Huang was requesting an audience and had brought a stranger with him.
Xu Huang?
Zhang Chen couldn't help but feel curious and quickly ordered the runner to invite them in.
A moment later, Xu Huang walked in with a person and stepped forward to greet Zhang Chen.
"Gongming, why have you come today? Huh? General Yang Feng?"
As Zhang Chen was speaking, he caught sight of the person beside Xu Huang. It was none other than Yang Feng, who had come to deliver the challenge on behalf of Guan Hai that day.
Yang Feng took a step forward, knelt on the ground with a thud, and bowed his head, saying, "Guilty General Yang Feng pays respects to Lord."
Seeing this, Zhang Chen was startled: "General Yang, what is the meaning of this?"
Yang Feng bowed his head and said, "Lord, this guilty General previously offended you, deserving ten thousand deaths. Now I sincerely surrender. I earnestly hope Lord will disregard past grievances and allow this guilty General to return to your command to atone for his crimes with meritorious service."
"You wish to surrender to me?" Zhang Chen couldn't help but be slightly taken aback upon hearing this.
Zhang Chen knew deeply that Yang Feng had always been loyal to the Yellow Turbans and Guan Hai. Why would he come to surrender today?
Just as he was thinking, Xu Huang, who was beside him, also knelt down with a thud and said, "Lord, Zhang He dares to guarantee with his life that my sworn brother's turning away from darkness to light this time is a sincere surrender, with absolutely no ulterior motives! I earnestly hope Lord will take him in!"
"Please rise quickly, both of you." Zhang Chen said, "General Yang's coming to surrender fills this official with joy. However, there is one matter I do not understand, and I ask the General to enlighten me."
Lord, please speak.
Zhang Chen said, "I have always known the General to be a loyal and righteous man. In the battle in the valley that day, the General knew the danger but still charged ahead, rushing into the valley to rescue Guan Hai, which this official greatly admired. I do not know why the General wishes to abandon his lord today?"
"I dare not deceive Lord. The Right Protector... he is already dead..."
"What?!"
Zhang Chen and Xu Huang were both startled upon hearing this.
Zhang Chen said suspiciously, "That Guan Hai's skill is extraordinary. Who could kill him?"
"It was precisely the leader of the Yellow Heaven Holy Sect, the Holy Maiden of the Taiping Way, Zhang Ning!"
"What? It was her!" Zhang Chen was startled upon hearing this: "That day, it was she who rescued the two of you. Why would she still kill him?"
“The Holy Maiden... she has already gone mad. She rescued the Right Protector merely to absorb his power. Now, the Holy Maiden has succeeded. The Right Protector, his power taken by her, died when his true qi was exhausted! This matter, this guilty General witnessed with his own eyes!” Yang Feng said, then took out a secret letter from his In arms and handed it to Zhang Chen: “This letter was left by the Right Protector. He said that if anything happened to him, he would have this guilty General bring this letter to see Lord.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen immediately furrowed his brow and opened the letter.
He saw written on the letter:
“To Prefect Lord, this guilty General Guan Hai bows a hundred times. In the battle at Wei Commandery in the past, I was defeated by Lord's hand. Though my heart held resentment, Lord's ability was something I could not match. The Yellow Turban's destiny is exhausted, the will of heaven cannot be defied. My only course is death to repay my teacher's kindness. My junior sister Zhang Ning, the daughter of the Great Virtuous Teacher, was originally kind and good. However, a deviation in her cultivation caused her to become possessed. As things stand, I can only infuse my own true qi to forcefully suppress her demonic nature. I have heard of Lord's benevolence and righteousness, your virtuous name spread throughout the four directions. I earnestly hope Lord will take pity, seek a method to save her, and preserve her life. I, in the netherworld, shall be grateful for Lord's kindness. I bow again and kowtow! The final words of Guilty General Guan Hai.”
Zhang Chen put down the letter, his brows deeply furrowed.
Zhang Ning, in the end, still walked down a path of no return.
"General Yang, you said you saw with your own eyes that it was Zhang Ning who completely absorbed Guan Hai's true qi?"
"Precisely. That day, this guilty General was just outside the door and saw it clearly. The Right Protector was literally sucked dry into a husk and was even struck by the Holy Maiden's palm, turning into flying ash!"
As Yang Feng spoke, his eyes were filled with terror, as if the tragic scene of that day was reappearing before him.
Zhang Chen's heart couldn't help but stir.
Guan Hai had known all along that Zhang Ning would make a move against him, and all of this was precisely his plan. To save Zhang Ning, he didn't even care about his own life!
Truly a loyal and righteous man, alas, what a pity!
Zhang Chen pondered for a moment and said, "General Yang, let me ask you, where is the Yellow Heaven Holy Sect's lair? What are Zhang Ning's next plans?"
Yang Feng said, "The main altar of the Yellow Heaven Holy Sect is in Taiping Manor in Nanhua Mountain in Julu Commandery, but that place is now abandoned. Not long after the fierce battle in the valley, Zhang Yan came to find the Holy Maiden. The two of them spoke about something unknown, and the Holy Maiden ordered the abandonment of Taiping Manor, leading the remaining followers to settle in a village in Nanhua Mountain."
"Village?" Zhang Chen couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where is that village? Do you know?"
Yang Feng, however, shook his head and said, "The periphery of that village is surrounded by dense forest, making it very hidden. Moreover, the forest is filled with mechanisms. There are specific ways to enter and exit, and a slight carelessness will trigger the mechanisms, costing one's life in vain. The Holy Maiden only told us the method to leave the village, but not how to enter. Therefore, even if you find it, you won't be able to get in."
Strange, how could an ordinary village be so hidden and even have mechanisms set up around its periphery?
Unless this village is not simple!
Zhang Chen frowned and asked, "Are there any other villagers in the village? Do you know why they settled there?"
Yang Feng nodded and said, "Yes, when we went, there were villagers living in that village, about three thousand people. They were all strong and robust, and didn't look like ordinary commoners. Moreover, they seemed very respectful towards the Holy Maiden and Zhang Yan."
"Such a thing exists!" Zhang Chen mused to himself, "This village is not simple."
"Furthermore, there is an ancestral hall in the village, and the tablets enshrined inside are precisely those of the three Zhang Jiao brothers, as well as other fallen Yellow Turban Generals!"
"What?!" Zhang Chen was startled upon hearing this.
Looking at it this way, that place is undoubtedly a Yellow Turban lair. It's likely that all those villagers are also remnants of the Yellow Turbans!
Zhang Chen pondered for a moment and said, "General Yang, stay here. I appoint you as Central Army Commandant, to serve under Gongming. If you achieve merit in the future, you will be rewarded separately."
Thank you, Lord, for your grace!
Yang Feng immediately bowed, and then, remembering something, said, "Lord, Zhang He once overheard a conversation between Zhang Yan and the Holy Maiden, but did not hear it clearly. He only vaguely heard words like 'Black Mountain', 'prepared properly', and 'Yellow Heaven Treasure Trove'."
"Yellow Heaven Treasure Trove?" Zhang Chen was startled and immediately perked up: "What is that?"
"Zhang He once heard the Right Protector mention that the 'Yellow Heaven Treasure Trove' is a treasure left behind by the Great Virtuous Teacher, to be used for the future revival of the Yellow Turbans. The Right Protector once said that only the Holy Maiden could open the treasure trove..."
Yellow Heaven Treasure Trove? Treasure?! Unexpectedly, Zhang Jiao actually left behind such a treasure?
