Chapter 162: Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu

Zhang Ji looked at Dong Zhuo with a trace of surprise upon hearing this, but his expression soon darkened, and he still said, "This general obeys the order." With these words, he led a force of twenty thousand soldiers to the rear to cover Dong Zhuo's retreat. Although Zhang Ji was well aware that Dong Zhuo intended to use him as a disposable scapegoat, covering the rear was inherently a task fraught with mortal danger, let alone using twenty thousand demoralized Liangzhou soldiers to intercept the high-spirited and heavily equipped Youzhou army, especially given the presence of Youzhou's elite cavalry, the Charge Battalion.

This was no longer a situation with a slim chance of survival; it was practically certain death. Yet, Zhang Ji chose to remain without a shred of hesitation. Dong Zhuo had shown him great favor by recognizing and employing his talents, and Zhang Ji was a man who repaid gratitude. A scholar would gladly die for one who truly understood him—such was Zhang Ji's conviction.

"Uncle, Dong Zhuo is clearly sending you to your death! Why must you cover his retreat for him?" Zhang Xiu shouted at Zhang Ji with fierce indignation.

"Silence! Prime Minister Dong has shown me great favor; even if he bids me die, I must go," Zhang Ji rebuked angrily.

Hearing this, Zhang Xiu said no more. Having lost both his parents at a tender age, he had been raised entirely by Zhang Ji. Even if Zhang Ji were to walk into a sea of blades and a mountain of flames, Zhang Xiu would follow without so much as a frown.

"Ding! Expedition against Dong Zhuo, Task Five: Kill Zhang Ji. Reward: Five draws. Task Six: Kill Zhang Xiu. Reward: Ten draws. Does the host accept?" The voice of the ancient book echoed once more in his mind.

"Zhang Xiu!!" Hearing this name, Liu Ya could not help but feel a start of surprise. "Abandon." In the end, Liu Ya seemed to hesitationlessly abandon both tasks. After all, Zhang Xiu was Zhao Yun's senior fellow apprentice. With a bit of luck, he might be able to win Zhang Xiu over through his relationship with Zhao Yun. Even if Zhang Xiu proved unwilling to surrender, it would still count as Liu Ya doing Zhao Yun a favor. Although they currently belonged to opposing camps, killing Zhang Xiu right before Zhao Yun's eyes would inevitably leave a lingering shadow in Zhao Yun's heart, which was the last thing Liu Ya wanted to see.

Liu Ya then looked toward the rear of Dong Zhuo's army. True to expectation, two generals were indeed leading an army of some twenty thousand soldiers, charging fiercely toward his side. They had evidently come to cover the retreat.

At this sight, Liu Ya could not help but sneer inwardly. To come and cover the rear under such circumstances was undoubtedly a mission with nine deaths and no life. Since Dong Zhuo had treated Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu as abandoned pawns, the possibility of winning the two of them over had grown even greater.

When Zhao Yun and the others saw two thousand—no, twenty thousand—cavalry suddenly erupting from the front and charging at them, they could not help but sneer. In battles involving equal numbers of troops, Youzhou's soldiers were undeniably the strongest. What was more, Zhao Yun currently commanded an army of forty thousand, exactly twice the strength of the enemy.

"Charge!!!" Zhao Yun shouted in a booming voice. Then, taking the lead, he spurred his horse forward to meet Zhang Xiu head-on.

Seeing an enemy general clad in white charging straight at him, Zhang Xiu showed no weakness and galloped forward to engage.

"Hundred Birds Courting the Phoenix!" "Hundred Birds Courting the Phoenix!" Amidst two fierce roars, the longspears of Zhang Xiu and Zhao Yun collided violently, producing a continuous barrage of clanging sounds. Although Zhao Yun's martial prowess surpassed Zhang Xiu's by a margin, Zhao Yun had not dedicated himself solely to mastering the Hundred Birds Courting the Phoenix spear technique, whereas Zhang Xiu had practiced it with single-minded devotion. Consequently, their clash ended in a stalemate.

"How do you know the Hundred Birds Courting the Phoenix?!" "This is my sect's spear technique!" Zhao Yun and Zhang Xiu cried out in unison, their faces filled with utter astonishment.

"Senior Brother?" Zhao Yun called out with a hint of excitement. When he was learning martial arts on the mountain under Tong Yuan, he had learned that he had two senior fellow apprentices: Zhang Xiu from Liangzhou and Zhang Ren from Yizhou. It was just that he had never had the chance to meet them, and the one appearing here was undoubtedly Zhang Xiu. Before descending the mountain, Tong Yuan had even expressed the hope that Zhao Yun could gather his three fellow apprentices to accomplish great deeds together. But a moment later, Zhao Yun's expression dimmed. After all, they were currently on a battlefield. On the battlefield, there were no fellow apprentices—only enemies.

"Cease all fighting at once!!!" Seeing this situation, Liu Ya immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.

Though Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, and the Youzhou soldiers were somewhat puzzled by Liu Ya's sudden command, they immediately ordered their troops to halt. After all, Youzhou discipline demanded absolute obedience; any hesitation would bring severe punishment.

"Stop fighting!!" To Liu Ya's surprise, however, upon hearing the shout, Zhang Ji immediately ordered the soldiers under his command to halt as well. Knowing full well that this mission was a one-way trip with no return, he cared little for his own survival anymore. As long as he could buy a little more time for Dong Zhuo, that would be enough. Liu Ya's order to cease fighting happened to align with Zhang Ji's own intentions.

Seeing that the entire army on both sides had suddenly come to a stop, Zhao Yun and Zhang Xiu felt a mixture of relief and anxiety, momentarily at a loss for words. Exchanging a glance, the two of them tacitly turned their horses and rode back to the sides of Zhang Ji and Liu Ya respectively.

"Are the generals opposite us General Zhang Ji and General Zhang Xiu?" Liu Ya asked in a loud voice.

Zhang Ji spurred his horse forward by a step and shouted, "Indeed we are. I wonder what business the Great General has in calling us to a halt? You must remember that we are currently on a battlefield." Though he spoke thus, Zhang Ji was inwardly overjoyed. If he could manage to drag out the time by exchanging idle banter with Liu Ya, Dong Zhuo would have an even greater chance of escape.

How could Liu Ya fail to see through Zhang Ji's intentions? With a smile, he replied, "General Zhang Ji need not bother trying to stall for time. As long as you agree to a single condition of mine, I give you my word that I will no longer pursue Dong Zhuo. What do you say, can we have a proper talk?"

"Lord, how can this be?!" Huang Zhong and Ma Chao cried out simultaneously. In their view, they only needed to dispatch the two men before them, Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu, and Dong Zhuo would have nowhere far to run.

"Hansheng, Mengqi, say no more. I have my own plans," Liu Ya said sternly. After all, Dong Zhuo still had over two hundred thousand troops, while he himself had merely forty thousand cavalry. Even if they could fight ten men each, pushing Dong Zhuo's forces into a desperate, cornered fight would likely leave them with heavy losses.

Furthermore, killing Dong Zhuo right now offered Liu Ya no real advantage. If he killed Dong Zhuo, it would effectively mean saving Emperor Liu Xie of the Han. How was he supposed to handle his own standing then? Therefore, leaving Liu Xie in Dong Zhuo's custody remained the best choice.

Upon hearing Liu Ya's words, Zhang Ji was momentarily stunned, then asked with a degree of urgency, "I wonder what condition the Great General speaks of? If it is something within my power, I will not hesitate even if it shatters my body to pieces."

"It is very simple. As long as you and your nephew Zhang Xiu are willing to join Youzhou, I can give my word to call off the pursuit of Dong Zhuo." Liu Ya directly extended an olive branch.

"My Lord!" Zhao Yun looked at Liu Ya with profound gratitude, assuming that Liu Ya was doing this entirely for his sake. In truth, Zhao Yun was overthinking things; while his relationship was a factor, other reasons weighed much more heavily.

"Uncle," Zhang Xiu also looked at Zhang Ji with a mixture of excitement and longing, hoping the latter would agree. For one thing, he had no desire to fight Zhao Yun; for another, he still harbored deep resentment over Dong Zhuo sending Zhang Ji on a suicide mission to cover the rear. Leaving Dong Zhuo's service seemed like an excellent choice.

"Impossible! A loyal subject does not serve two masters. If I, Zhang Ji, were to betray Prime Minister Dong, what face would I have left to live in this world?" Zhang Ji flew into a rage and immediately rejected the proposal.

Liu Ya sneered upon hearing this and retorted, "According to your logic, then, you are willing to do anything for Dong Zhuo?"

"That's right! Prime Minister Dong has shown me great favor; even if he orders me to die, Zhang Ji will never frown even once!" Zhang Ji declared as if it were only natural.

"Hmph! What a fine 'Zhang Ji'! Dong Zhuo has sent you to act as a rear guard precisely so that his main army could escape. Yet now, such a wonderful opportunity lies right before you—as long as you surrender to me, I will naturally cease my pursuit of Dong Zhuo. Didn't you just say you were willing to die for him? Why are you suddenly so concerned about preserving your petty reputation now? Could it be that your word is worth no more than dog dung?" Liu Ya rebuked fiercely.

"This...!" For a moment, Zhang Ji was left completely speechless by Liu Ya's torrent of words, breaks of cold sweat pouring down his back as he fell into a agonizing dilemma.