Chapter 234 - Tian Feng's Policy
Chapter 234 - Tian Feng's Policy
Chapter 234 – Tian Feng's Policy
As everybody was pondering about Tong's character and his abilities, Te Langpu secretly revealed a faint smile before he controlled his facial expression.
'He's a fox? He's skilled in the direct combat? No, he has cheats! None of you knows about the superpower of the system skills!'
Te Langpu laughed in his mind.
'Well, it doesn't have anything to do with me anymore.'
Ever since Lilith's first nerf when she limited the usage and added the expensive upkeep, Te Langpu did not hesitate to delete all of his skills. As a former president of a prominent country and an expert investor in his previous life, dealing with a setback or making a cut-loss was natural to him.
He was satisfied with his current boon in this life.
…
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Te Langpu
Age: 17
Lifespan: 10,750 Years
Shopping Pass: 0
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…
Ten thousand years to live freely in this ancient world was more than enough to make this chubby man happy.
It did not matter to him about who would win this civil war in the end. He wanted to live a comfortable life as a merchant or a servant of a government to build his wealth.
'Even if I'm not a noble, I have more than enough gold to live for 10,000 years!'
In his warehouses at home, Te Langpu collected over 200,000 gold from his business and his deleted skill. An early retirement was possible for him.
'I'll just play along with this monkey show and keep surrendering to the winner if I need to. I won't join any major clash, so I won't be noticed by the other reincarnators.'
Laughing by himself, Te Langpu continued listening to the show.
…
As everybody was discussing about Tong, Yuan Shao stopped them.
"Let's stop thinking about this youngster for now. I want to hear about the subordinates of Zhang Jiao and Zhang Tong. Any intel?"
Tian Feng recollected his thought as he always sorted his words before he spoke. Feng Ji, who had the data, quickly stepped forward to claim the credit.
"My lord, I have the information."
Tian Feng frowned as it was not Feng Ji's duty in the intelligence field. However, he stepped down and allowed this bootlicking officer to speak. Tian Feng planned to correct the information later after Feng Ji finished talking.
"Speak, give me the report."
Yuan Shao also knew about the rivalry between Tian Feng and Feng Ji. Seeing that Tian Feng stepped down, Yuan Shao secretly nodded in approval.
They had an enemy to fight. This was not the time to quarrel with each other.
"From MY spies, Zhang Jiao and Zhang Tong call themselves [Immortal Yellow Turban]. These people wear yellow scarves and clothes as their uniform. They also use imperial armor that we traded them and also made similar armors from their blacksmiths. They …"
Yuan Shao interrupted, "I knew all of those. I asked for their noteworthy subordinate intel. Do you have it?"
Feng Ji repeatedly nodded, "Yes! Yes, I have. Civil officer-wise, they have employed Lu Zhi, the Minister of Writing from Luo Yang, Sima Fang, another senior officer from Luo Yang, Jia Xu, a minor officer from Luo Yang."
"Wait, everyone is from the Capital?"
"Yes, my lord. I'm also surprised."
"Continue!"
"Yes, yes. There is also Ju Shou of Ye Commandery. He betrayed Han Fu and joined Zhang Jiao, but he disappeared along with the other general if our info isn't wrong. In terms of civil workers, Lu Zhi is the only threat in Julu since he is excelled at strategists and tactics. I think he was behind the stratagems behind the war with the Imperial armies."
The eyebrows of Tian Feng twitched. The info was incorrect.
By the intelligence his men had gathered, the chief strategist of the war was Jia Xu, the former minor official. During the few months, Lu Zhi went back to Luo Yang, but he returned to Julu after the war with his family members. It was impossible for Lu Zhi to be the leading strategist in the previous battle!
Tian Feng withheld his words, allowing Feng Ji to continue to the end.
"As for the military officers, there are brothers of Zhang Jiao, Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao. They went to Zhongshan with Bo Cai, another cavalry general. Aside from Zhang Tong, his wife was also listed as a general in the army."
"What!? His wife!?"
"Y-Yes, my lord. His wife is Hua Shi, the Goddess of Death in the Battle of Anping."
"Ah, I remember. She's the mystic archer, right?"
"Yes, lord. But she's already pregnant. I don't think she will be active next year."
"Ha! This is why you never employ a female general! Continue!"
…
Te Langpu cringed as he listened to Feng Ji.
'Goddess of Death? What kind of title is that? She's just a reincarnator with cheat skills!'
'Bah, none of my business. At least I know the other identity and the location of a dangerous one.'
Te Langpu peered at his status menu at the side. The number [6:6] was there, indicating that there were eleven other reincarnators beside him.
'Six skill users and six retirees. It was [6:4] before. Has someone just born?'
Taking a deep breath, Te Langpu controlled his temper and emotion.
'Only six people that can threaten me. Zhang Tong and this Hua Shi should be part of those six.'
…
Feng Ji gulped and continued reporting, "Zhang Jiao doesn't have other general, but Zhang Tong somehow had many high-rank subordinates. He employed Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu, and Zhou Cang as his subordinate commanders. Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu were once an ordinary 1,000-man-commander from Dong Zhuo Army, but Tong promoted them after they moved to Julu. Zhou Cang's background was a commoner with no military background. He doesn't have any other noteworthy general, my lord. That's all they have."
Yuan Shao stared at the nervous Feng Ji in silence. Meanwhile, other officers began gossiping.
"Zhang Jiao and Zhang Tong are commoners after all. They have no talent in personnel selection."
"That is obvious! They slaughtered nobles and merchants the first day they entered the city. No good scholars or noble will serve them!"
"They had impressive troops and records. In the end, they only relied on Zhang Tong and Hua Shi. No one else is worthy!"
Everyone thought almost the same that all victories the Yellow Turban had up until now was credited by Tong and Hua Shi. However, Tian Feng did not think that way.
'Lu Zhi is well-versed on both military and domestic affair. Sima Fang is a civil officer that excels at judging people. Jia Xu is a talented strategist that has already proved himself in the war. Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu are veteran soldiers from the west border. Zhou Cang and Bo Cai also baptized from the Battle of Anping!'
'What are they all thinking!? Incompetence? No talent? All of those are wrong! The Yellow Turban is a dangerous force that we can't handle alone! Why did this idiot lead them to think this way?'
Tian Feng sighed and shook his head. He glanced at his lord who happened to meet his eyes.
Yuan Shao gestured Tian Feng with his silent language.
[Meet me after meeting.]
Tian Feng was surprised, but he nodded.
…
…
Yuan Shao postponed his decision about his stance and the military movement in spring. He returned to his room.
As his lord had ordered, Tian Feng followed after Yuan Shao and entered his room.
Yuan Shao turned around and sat on his chair.
"What's your opinion?"
Tian Feng shook his head and explained what he had thought and the other intelligence that Feng Ji missed in the reports.
Yuan Shao listened as he massaged his temples.
"In conclusion, we cannot fight this Julu army head-on!" Tian Feng finished his reports.
"Are we trying to trick him into an ambush? Or should we launch a surprise attack and force him in the siege warfare?" Yuan Shao questioned.
"That's impossible. They have two strategists, Lu Zhi and Jia Xu. We won't be able to fool or trick them into making a major mistake. Zhang Tong also likes using his repeating crossbows in ambushes, so we can't use the hit-and-run tactic either."
"Then, what will you do if you were me?"
Tian Feng touched his chin, "First, we will steal their technology, those repeating crossbows! As long as we have the same weapons, they won't have the range advantage. Second, we will use our neighbors to our advantage. We will send messengers to Liu Yan, Sun Jian, and Gongsun Zan to make them attack the Yellow Turban! Third, we will engage the direct battle with the units that Zhang Tong doesn't have, the heavy cavalries!"
"First and third is doable. But manipulating those three will be difficult. They should have realized that Liu Ping is already dead, and they can ignore the edict."
Tian Feng smiled, "My lord, we have a wild card in our army. Do you forget He Jin?"
"That useless fatso? What can we do with him?"
"He can still be useful as a guarantor for the lost prince and his mother."
Yuan Shao's eyes brightened as his intelligence was not much below his advisors. He muttered, "Make someone pose as Liu Xie and He Xing. We are the army that protects the true successor of the throne!"
Tian Feng cupped his fist and bowed with a smile, "Lord is wise!"
…
…
Nanpi City, guest room.
He Jin sat in his room alone lifelessly. He took a wine jar and drank it as if he was drinking water.
Ever since He Xing slipped away from Nanpi, he was treated as a useless officer in Yuan Shao Army. The fall from the grand height of the Grand General of the Court to the ordinary errand boy of a noble family was unreal to him, so he drank away to soothe himself.
While he was drinking, he kept cursing his sister for disobeying his orders.
'S.l.u.t! I've bribed all of my gold so that you became a royal concubine! It was me that helped you that you became the empress of the Han, yet you betrayed me!'
'Damnation to you and your son! Tarnation to your bloodline! You will never be able to live in peace!'
While He Jin was drunk to the point that he almost fainted, a guard knocked on his door.
"Sir He Jin, the Lord has summoned you."
"WHAT!?"
In a panic, He Jin struggled to walk forward. Because of the alcohol in his circulation system, He Jin could not walk straight. He staggered to the sides and hit every furniture that was on his way to the door.
"Tell the Lord, I'll be right there!"
He Jin stumbled on the doorstep and fell face first on the floor.
Beyond the door, outside of He Jin's room, Yuan Shao and Tian Feng were already there. They had a deep frown on their face the moment they caught a whiff of the alcoholic smell.
"Make it tomorrow afternoon. Let him rest."