The Price of Betrayal Is Death Alone
I took the lead, chasing down the fleeing enemies and ruthlessly cutting them down.
“Adjutant, after interrogating the prisoners, they say they received orders from Zhang Chao to assemble at Yongqiu.”
Despite being wounded, Li Zheng had fought bravely and even extracted valuable information by questioning the enemy captives.
“Adjutant, look at this.”
This time Cao Ang called for me. When I approached, I found a certain military officer kneeling there.
“Who is this one?”
“Adjutant, look closely at this bastard!”
The moment he saw the man, even Li Zheng cried out in shock and drew his sword.
“This fellow is one of Zhang Chao’s personal retainers.”
“What?”
“Now that I think about it, their equipment looked slightly different from the regular Yan Province troops. These men are Zhang Chao’s private soldiers.”
I already knew that local magnates often recruited famous knights-errant and strongmen to serve as their private armies in order to expand their own power.
After all, when I first entered the Central Plains, wasn’t it the knights-errant under Lu Su in Xu Province who helped rescue Elder Cao Song?
“All of them are Zhang Chao’s private troops? Then this is even better. We’ll interrogate this one and squeeze out everything he knows.”
“Ugh…!”
“Where did your master run off to?”
“Hngh…”
“I know your wound isn’t that deep. Groaning by yourself won’t make this interrogation end any faster.”
I raised my spear and aimed the tip at the man’s thigh.
If he dared to spit out something like “Just kill me” or “I cannot betray my lord,” I would pierce him without hesitation.
“Just tell me where Zhang Chao is.”
“If I speak… will you spare us?”
“That depends on how valuable the information is.”
“T-two days ago we received orders to assemble at Yongqiu County. My lord said that once we escape Yan Province, we would pass through Yu Province and head to Shuchun.”
“Shuchun?”
Yet another familiar name.
I had heard countless place names through merchant channels, but only one thing came to mind when I heard Shuchun.
“Adjutant, isn’t Shuchun Yuan Shu’s territory?”
“Don’t tell me… Yuan Shu is behind this too?”
“That bastard Yuan Shu’s name just keeps popping up, doesn’t it?”
Honestly, among those familiar with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, many would probably think, “Was Yuan Shu really such a major figure pulling strings from behind the scenes?”
Yet the evidence was already overwhelming. From stealing the treasure wagons belonging to Cao Cao’s father Cao Song and his family, to invading Xu Province only to be blocked by Gongsun Zan, and now appearing once again in the Zhang Miao-Zhang Chao rebellion. His name was everywhere.
I had never once seen his face on the battlefield, though I had nearly killed his son. The impression that he was a truly sinister schemer who excelled at plotting from the shadows only grew stronger.
“Besides our unit, five or six more companies received the order to gather at Yongqiu. Combined, they should number around three thousand men.”
“Even if they’re just remnants, three thousand is no small number.”
“It’s fine. No matter what, we still have more troops than they do.”
Cao Ang seemed inwardly concerned after hearing the numbers, but since we had already come this far, we decided to charge straight ahead.
“That is all I know. Will you spare us now?”
“He says so. Zisu, what do you think? Was the information worth keeping them alive?”
“H-huh?”
I had deliberately left many decisions to Cao Ang.
Since he was both a comrade who would stay with me for life and Cao Cao’s eldest son, this was my way of giving him feedback. He would learn much from this first real battle.
Would Cao Ang prove to be a man without blood or tears like his father, or would he show mercy?
“They spoke under the condition that we would spare them… In my opinion, killing them all seems too cruel.”
“Did you hear that? You’ve all been spared. The one who just spoke is the eldest son of Yan Province’s Governor.”
When I pointed at Cao Ang, their eyes widened in shock and they began to tremble.
I singled out one of the officers.
“You.”
“Yes, Adjutant.”
“Take these prisoners directly to Chenliu City. Lord Xun should be there. Make sure to tell him exactly these words: ‘These are prisoners who provided the enemy’s location and were specially spared by Zisu and myself.’”
“Understood.”
If I simply sent them as ordinary prisoners, they would be slaughtered without question. But by leaving room for discretionary judgment, Xun Yu would handle it appropriately.
Though Xun Yu was cold, he was not the type to kill indiscriminately. Their fate would be decided by him.
“Right then. Let’s head back to Yongqiu. Prepare to move out.”
“Yes, Adjutant!”
I quickly organized the troops and decided to race back toward Yongqiu.
At last, the end was in sight.
As we galloped along, Cao Ang riding beside me suddenly spoke.
“Adjutant, there is one thing I wish to ask.”
“You can speak comfortably here.”
“That… they say Zhang Miao and his brother rose in rebellion together with Lu Bu. Where exactly did Lu Bu go?”
“I want to know that too. If I meet that bastard again, I’d love to have a proper fight with him!”
Throughout our pursuit, every force we had crushed belonged to the remnants of the Zhang Miao-Zhang Chao brothers. We had not encountered Lu Bu’s main army at all.
They had called him the vanguard, yet we had only captured the rebel forces inside Yan Province. The true invader and the core of the rebellion, Lu Bu, was nowhere to be seen.
“Perhaps Uncle has gone to face him personally.”
“What?”
“The main army is nowhere in sight, and neither are our uncles on this battlefield, right? It seems Father has gone directly to capture Lu Bu.”
A pincer operation.
While Cao Ang and I led the vanguard to crush the Zhang Miao-Zhang Chao faction, Cao Cao’s main strike force would strike straight at Lu Bu.
This pincer attack would succeed.
Although Lu Bu had intervened, the rebellion had already failed. They had failed to secure any proper strongholds.
And once Cao Ang and I eliminated the Zhang Miao-Zhang Chao forces, there would be no one left in Yan Province capable of opposing Cao Cao’s army.
“For now, focus only on capturing the Zhang Miao-Zhang Chao brothers! If there are other enemies, new orders will come.”
“Alright, that’s what we’ll do!”
Cao Ang and I rode side by side, racing toward Yongqiu County.
Late that night, flames soared above Yongqiu County as a desperate battle raged on.
We had only just arrived at Yongqiu after sunset, yet the enemy was right before our eyes.
Even better, these bastards had thoughtfully gathered all the supplies in the county and set up camp for their march. We could smash them without hesitation.
Everyone was exhausted, but with the enemy commander in sight, they squeezed out the last of their strength and fought.
I too raised my spear and cut down countless foes.
“Zhang Miao! Zhang Chao! Where are y— huh?”
The horse beneath me suddenly lost balance and collapsed. I quickly leaped off its back.
When I checked the animal, I saw it was bleeding from the nose and foaming at the mouth, panting heavily. It had run too far for too long and was completely spent.
“You’re exhausted too, huh? I understand.”
I gently patted the horse that had given everything, then decided to continue the fight on foot.
There were no cavalry units here anyway, and I was far more comfortable fighting with both feet planted firmly on the ground.
“The enemy commander has dismounted! Capture him!”
“Everyone attack! The enemy commander is right there!”
Shouts came from all directions. Rebel soldiers swarmed toward me, but I simply assumed a spear stance and charged straight into their midst.
Shaaack—!
I thrust forward, using raw power to shove them aside.
When blades came flying from the side, I blocked them with my spear. Sparks flew along with the metallic clang.
Yes. This was it.
When I had fought Lu Bu, that monster hadn’t even used the blade of his Fang Tian Hua Ji. He had blocked my strikes using only the metal shaft of his spear and then counterattacked.
I had learned from that fight. Now I used the shaft to maintain distance and deflect the enemy’s attacks.
And when the distance was right, instead of thrusting, I swung the entire spear like a staff and smashed the shaft into their heads.
Since it was essentially an iron bar, anyone hit would have at least a few bones broken.
As I cut down the charging enemies one by one, I finally spotted the enemy commander.
It was Zhang Chao.
The scar on his face from being struck by Cao Cao’s wine cup during the first rebellion was still clearly visible. Both of his eyes were bloodshot.
“Zhang Chao. I’ve finally found you.”
“You little Cao brat… do you truly wish to die?”
Zhang Chao also seemed to realize there was nowhere left to run. He leveled his spear at me.
The ringleader of the Puyang rebellion was finally facing his end.
“I may not have killed Cao Ang, but I’ll at least take his son’s head and yours with me!”
Clang—!
Zhang Chao was different from the other rebels.
His strikes carried real power. A single mistake could have been fatal.
I took a deep breath, dodged his spear, and thrust straight at his throat.
He evaded and swung at my flank. I blocked it with the shaft and immediately counterattacked.
But after exchanging several moves, I realized something.
Zhang Chao was desperately aiming only for my vital points, pushing himself beyond his limits.
Clang—!
Even now, he was thrusting solely at my throat and solar plexus. Once I recognized the pattern, it became much easier to defend.
This man was clearly thinking that if he could just kill me, he might still escape Yan Province.
When he attacked again, instead of meeting his spear head-on as I had been doing, I stepped sideways.
A clear opening appeared beside the spear that sliced through empty air. I immediately thrust into that gap.
“Gah!”
My spear pierced his side. Zhang Chao lost his balance and dropped his weapon.
He clutched the spear still embedded in his body, trembling, then glared at me with hatred.
“Not even Cao Cao… but a mere child of his clan… I…”
“It’s over. Die.”
I twisted the shaft and yanked the spear free. Blood gushed violently from the wound as Zhang Chao’s body collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
I lifted the enemy commander’s head high on the tip of my spear.
“We have captured the enemy commander Zhang Chao! Zhang Chao has died by my hand!”
At that moment, everything came to an end.
“Adjutant!”
When the battle ended and the morning sun rose, Cao Ang came running urgently.
Behind him were surrendered soldiers and a severed head.
“Whose head is that?”
“Adjutant, this is the head of the rebel leader Zhang Miao.”
“Huh?”
We had captured Zhang Chao, but Zhang Miao had been missing. Yet his own subordinates had cut off his head and brought it to us.
“Young master, we caught Zhang Miao as he tried to flee to Yu Province and offer his head in surrender.”
“Just as history recorded.”
“Hm? What did you say? What history?”
Oops. I had muttered it out loud.
When Cao Ang asked, I looked at Zhang Miao’s severed head and replied.
“The end of rebel leaders is always like this. When they fail, they try to run, only to lose their lives to their own subordinates, leaving nothing but a severed head.”
“Ah~ So that’s what you meant. Indeed, the historical fate of traitors…”
And so, after pursuing the Zhang Miao-Zhang Chao brothers, I had obtained both of their heads.
Now I could return to Cao Cao’s main camp with pride. These heads would be preserved in salt and presented to him immediately.
“Zisu.”
“Yes, Adjutant.”
“Enough. The fighting is over, so let’s just speak comfortably from now on.”
We had used formal speech on the battlefield because of rank, but it felt incredibly awkward. I decided to go back to speaking casually.
“Let’s go, Zisu!”
“Yeah. Time to head back.”
Having crushed the rebel leaders and secured the enemy commander’s head, my steps were light and my expectations for rewards high.