Zhang Xin’s brain spun at high speed.
For this escape plan, he had found ten people to join him.
After all, with the chaos of war, the risk of traveling alone with Liu Hua was extremely high.
Out of caution, the people he found were all individuals he had observed for a long time—those who were not so loyal to the Way of Great Peace, or who simply wanted to fish in troubled waters during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
By now, they had all realized that the Yellow Turbans could not last, and they were willing to go with Zhang Xin, so there was no reason for them to betray him.
The shouts outside the courtyard grew louder, accompanied by urgent knocking.
“Since someone is looking for you, hurry and see,” Liu Hua whispered.
Zhang Xin looked at Liu Hua and saw that her face was also filled with worry.
“Wait for me to come back.” Zhang Xin got up, put on his clothes, and opened the courtyard gate.
Outside the door was a young man in his early twenties. Zhang Xin recognized him; his name was Chen Ji, one of General Zhang Bao’s personal guards.
Zhang Xin looked left and right, saw that it was only Chen Ji, and felt a slight sense of relief.
If he had been discovered, given General Zhang Bao’s personality, it wouldn’t have been just one person coming.
“Well, A Xin, no wonder you wouldn’t come out for so long.” Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xin’s slightly disheveled clothes and said enviously, “So you were with your Hua Jie again…”
“What is it?” Zhang Xin interrupted.
Chen Ji pouted, “General of Earth has summoned you for a discussion.”
General Zhang Bao wants to discuss with me?
Zhang Xin felt a bit confused.
Ever since General Zhang Bao sent him to guard the city wall, he had never sought him out again. Why would he think of him now?
Seeing Zhang Xin remain silent for a long time, Chen Ji couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
“A Xin?”
Zhang Xin came back to his senses and asked, “Do you know why General of Earth summoned me?”
“I’m just a personal guard, how would I know that?” Chen Ji smiled, “General of Earth is in a great hurry, you should come with me quickly.”
Zhang Xin went back into the house, explained things to Liu Hua, closed the courtyard gate, and followed behind Chen Ji.
No matter what, if General Zhang Bao called him, he still had to go.
Especially at this crucial moment, when he was preparing to flee, it was best not to arouse suspicion.
Zhang Xin followed Chen Ji to the main hall of the county office and found five other people inside besides General Zhang Bao.
Zhang Xin recognized three of these five people; they were all the Yellow Turbans’ commanding generals in the city, and they had all left their names in historical records.
Zhang Niujiao, Hu Cai, Li Le.
As for the remaining two, Zhang Xin had never seen them.
One was a burly middle-aged man with two long, flowing whiskers at the corners of his mouth. If not for his armor, he looked less like a military general and more like a Daoist immortal with a bone of Daoist grace.
The other was a little girl who looked to be less than ten years old, exquisitely sculpted like a jade figurine, and very adorable.
The little girl sat beside General Zhang Bao, looking at him timidly.
“Why is there a child here?”
Zhang Xin suppressed the confusion in his heart and stepped forward to bow to General Zhang Bao.
“Your subordinate greets General of Earth.”
“A Xin has arrived.” General Zhang Bao smiled slightly, pointed to the long-bearded strong man, and said, “Come, let me introduce you. This is Zuo Bao, originally a Qu Shuai under my elder brother. He possesses the courage to withstand ten thousand men.”
After speaking, General Zhang Bao pointed to Zhang Xin and said to Zuo Bao, “This is Little Commander Zhang Xin, under my command.”
“Xin greets General Zuo.” Zhang Xin bowed to Zuo Bao.
Zuo Bao returned the bow, looking at Zhang Xin with some curiosity.
Why did General of Earth call a mere child over?
Then General Zhang Bao pointed to the little girl and said, “This is my elder brother’s daughter, named Zhang Ning.”
Zhang Jiao’s daughter?
Zhang Xin looked at Zhang Ning with some curiosity.
Zhang Jiao’s daughter was not recorded in official history, but she was mentioned in unofficial histories.
Some said her name was Zhang Ning, others Zhang Meiniang, but no matter the version, they all recorded that she eventually married Wei Yan.
“Xin greets Miss.” Zhang Xin bowed again.
Having been in this era for two years, he had long grown accustomed to the elaborate courtesies of the ancients.
“Ning greets General Zhang.”
Zhang Ning returned the bow somewhat reservedly.
After the greetings, General Zhang Bao asked Zhang Xin to take a seat and inquired, “A Xin, the Han attacked the city today. How is the South Gate, which you are guarding?”
“Still good,” Zhang Xin replied.
General Zhang Bao nodded and continued, “As the commanding general of the South Gate, you should be perfectly clear about the situation in the city. Now our army is trapped in an isolated city, with no reinforcements from outside and no will to fight within. Do you have a strategy to repel the Han?”
“None,” Zhang Xin shook his head. “General Zuo, General Zhang, are both seasoned veterans of war. Why doesn’t the General ask them?”
“Alas,” Zuo Bao, who was beside him, sighed, “To be honest, General Zhang, we had already discussed this before you arrived, and we truly have no good strategy…”
Zhang Xin lowered his head and remained silent upon hearing this.
If he had a way to repel the Han, he wouldn’t be in such a hurry to flee.
The Han outside the city numbered over thirty thousand, all elites. The main general was Huangfu Song, one of the three famous generals of the late Han dynasty, along with great generals like Li Jue, Guo Si, Niu Fu, and Xu Rong.
As for the Yellow Turbans inside the city, though they claimed tens of thousands, after removing the old, weak, sick, and disabled, the actual combat-ready personnel were at most around ten thousand, and they were all poorly trained militiamen.
Even the generals were just these few minor figures from historical records in the hall.
How could they fight?
They would surely die!
He didn’t have a system; could he pull out a mushroom from space and nuke the Han outside?
Silence fell upon the hall.
After a moment, General Zhang Bao sighed and said, “A Xin, you once said that Tang Zhou would betray us, and my elder brother and I didn’t believe it, but it truly came to pass.”
“Tang Zhou’s betrayal and the court’s sudden attack and slaughter of my Zhang clan not only caused my Zhang clan to be cut off, but also forced our army to rise in haste, unprepared, leading to the Han besieging the city today.”
General Zhang Bao gave a self-deprecating smile, “Later, you also told me that Lower Quyang was surrounded by water on three sides, making it difficult for the enemy to advance and for our army to exit, and that it was not suitable for a large army to be stationed here. You were right again.”
“That Guo Dian only brought three thousand troops to guard along the river, yet he made it difficult for our tens of thousands of troops in the city to sally forth. We could only watch as Guangzong fell, my third brother died in battle, and even my elder brother, who had passed away long ago, had his coffin dug up and his corpse desecrated by Huangfu Song…”
“Looking back now, if we had listened to your good advice then, our army would not be in this state!”
General Zhang Bao stood up, walked in front of Zhang Xin, and looked at him.
“A Xin, you have spoken twice, and both times you were correct. I know you have always been resourceful. Now, at this critical juncture, can you devise a good strategy for our army?”
“Guangzong has fallen, and tens of thousands of people were forced by Huangfu Song to drown themselves in the river. If Lower Quyang falls, the people in the city may not survive! If you can provide a good strategy, the entire city’s populace will be endlessly grateful!”
After speaking, General Zhang Bao actually bowed deeply to Zhang Xin.
“General!”
“General!”
Zuo Bao, Zhang Niujiao, and the other four generals exclaimed in alarm.
“General, you must not do this!” Zhang Xin was also startled by General Zhang Bao’s actions and quickly stood up to avoid the bow.
Although he had given up on the Yellow Turbans, no matter what, General Zhang Bao had saved him twice and treated him quite well.
Even though General Zhang Bao sent him to guard the city wall, he did not suppress him. Instead, he repeatedly promoted him, allowing him to rise from an external personal guard to a Little Commander in just a few months, in charge of the South Gate’s defense.
This bow absolutely could not be accepted.
“A Xin!” Zhang Niujiao also stood up, pointed at Zhang Xin, and said, “In the past, General of Earth saved you twice, and now he seeks your help with such a grand gesture. Why don’t you quickly present a good strategy? Are you trying to be an ungrateful person?!”
Zhang Xin helped General Zhang Bao up and sneered, “General Zhang, it’s easy for you to say. If a strategy to repel the army were so easy to come by, why would you come and ask me?”
Faced with Zhang Niujiao’s moral blackmail, Zhang Xin did not humor him and directly retorted.
“You…” Zhang Niujiao was furious.
“Me what?” Zhang Xin snorted, no longer paying attention to him, and said to General Zhang Bao, “General, I truly have no strategy to repel the Han, but if it’s to ensure your life is safe, I do have a plan.”
Zhang Xin had thought of this strategy long ago and originally intended to leave it for General Zhang Bao when he fled, thus completely repaying General Zhang Bao’s kindness.
But in the current situation, he could only reveal it in advance.
“Only to ensure my life is safe?” General Zhang Bao’s face showed disappointment upon hearing this.
Zhang Xin thought for a moment and said, “It can also preserve some of the Yellow Turbans.”
“Oh?” General Zhang Bao’s eyes lit up, and he urgently said, “What good strategy is it? Tell me quickly! If it’s truly as you say, I will give you a great gift!”