Chapter 43: Surprised or Not? Surprised and Delighted?

Hoofbeats suddenly rang out beneath the city walls.

Before Zhang Cheng could catch his breath, he shouted urgently up at the ramparts, "The main army is returning, open the gates at once!"

"General Mu gave the order... C-C-Cao... Cao Cao is treacherous; unless the Lord himself appears, no one is permitted to open the gates."

Zhang Cheng was burning with anxiety and had no mind to quibble over the stuttering of the "junior officer" on the wall.

He raised his spear and cursed, "Are you blind in your dog eyes? I am Zhang Cheng!"

"I do not know any Zhang Cheng. General Mu said that unless the Lord appears, no one is allowed to open the gates."

"Call Mu Shun up to the wall!"

"The general is patrolling the northern ramparts to guard against the rebel Chen. I cannot find him."

Damn it!

Down beneath the archway, Chen Cong was already cursing up a storm.

What a greenhorn!

Asking him to shout "Cao rebel" was like asking for his life, and even the word "treacherous" had been forced out after a long, agonizing pause.

Yet he had no trouble at all shouting "Chen rebel"!

Did he not know that a magistrate in office is more powerful than a high official afar?

He would make this fellow feel the harshness of the world later!

Though suspicion flickered in his heart, the main army was rapidly approaching Changzi.

If they were blocked outside the city and the defeat turned into a rout, not even a resurrected military sage could save the situation.

He could only silently memorize the features of the "junior officer" and call out coldly, "Wait right here!"

With that, he anxiously whipped his horse around and spurred away.

...

Amidst the retreating army, Zhang Yang was humbling himself, forcing a flattering smile for Yan Liang.

"Do not take offense, General Yan. Yang truly loses his composure at the mere mention of Chen, which threw our ranks into disarray. The scout who spread the false report has already been executed by me."

"Hmph!"

"Yang has thought it over. Lord Yuan commands a formidable and prestigious army, and Yang is willing to serve humbly as an ordinary clerk in his retinue. As for Shangdang, Lord Yuan may simply choose another worthy talent to serve as commandery governor."

Shangdang!

Hearing this, even Yan Liang’s towering rage had to be temporarily suppressed.

Yuan Shao had ordered him to reinforce Zhang Yang precisely with the ambition of seizing Shangdang.

Since Zhang Yang was sensible enough to clear out on his own, it saved him a great deal of trouble.

"Surely Commandery Governor Zhang does not intend to lead his troops as a mere clerk, does he?"

Though blood was dripping in his heart, Zhang Yang dared not show the slightest trace of it on his face. "My troops will be temporarily placed under General Yan’s unified command, to be discussed later. How does that sound?"

Yan Liang made a rough calculation.

Though they had suffered two consecutive defeats, the army was not yet completely shattered. If the two forces were combined to hold the city, they might still be able to contest Cao Cao once more.

However, Cao's forces were biting closely at their heels.

If they failed to enter the city in time, losing their supplies with nowhere to garrison, that would truly spell disaster.

"If Commandery Governor Zhang leads a detachment of troops to temporarily block the enemy, I will believe you. Otherwise, I shall not enter Changzi, and will instead lead my troops back to report all matters concerning Shangdang to my lord."

"You!"

At that very moment, Zhang Cheng returned to the ranks in a huff and anxiously called out, "Cousin! The captain on the city wall is a stubborn fool who insists that 'unless the Lord appears, the gates will not be opened.' I beg you, Cousin, go beneath the wall and call to him."

Hearing this, Zhang Yang was overjoyed.

He struggled to suppress the upward curve of his lips, then turned to look at Yan Liang. "General Yan, you see..."

Having been thoroughly duped once, Yan Liang was naturally unwilling to trust him so easily.

Suspicious, he asked, "Could it be that you two brothers are playing another trick?"

"If General Yan does not believe me, why not come along?"

After pondering for a moment, Yan Liang raised a hand and pointed straight at Zhang Cheng. "You, lead the troops to cover the rear."

"Cousin?!" Zhang Cheng stared at Zhang Yang.

What more could Zhang Yang do?

Since he had decided to thoroughly defect to Yuan Shao, he certainly could not afford to offend Yan Liang.

"Just go. Once I call open the city gates, I will send men to meet you."

"Alas!~"

...

On top of the city wall, Cao Chun gazed into the distance at the billowing dust, surveyed the scene for a moment, and leaned out over the ramparts.

He reported urgently, "General, they have arrived! About a hundred horsemen. The two at the lead—one has thick facial hair, bushy eyebrows, and a square jaw; the other has a tiger's back and bear's waist, wielding a long saber."

Hearing this, Chen Cong was overjoyed.

He hurriedly pressed, "Does the saber-wielding fellow have wide lips, broad eyes, a yellowish complexion, and a high forehead?"

Cao Chun turned back, narrowed his eyes to observe for a moment, and replied, "Precisely."

"Hahaha! Didn't this just wrap them up neatly in a net?"

While the two were speaking, Zhang Yang had already reached the base of the wall and shouted in a deep voice, "I am Zhang Yang, open the gates at once!"

The moment the words left his mouth, a line of soldiers on the ramparts scrambled and scrambled, rushing down the city wall faster than lightning.

Judging by their demeanor, they wouldn't have been half as eager if they were opening the gates for their own biological fathers...

Yan Liang could not help but marvel in astonishment, "I would never have guessed that Commandery Governor Zhang is held in such deep affection by his soldiers."

"Ah!~ Yang treats the soldiers and people of Shangdang like his own flesh and blood, and parting with them is like carving out my heart. I only hope General Yan will put in a good word for me in the future, to honor today's friendship of exchanging territory."

"Easily done."

The city gates slowly groaned open.

Before anyone stepped out, their voice arrived first.

"Hahaha, Zhang Yang, you really know how to gild your own lily. The soldiers you treat like your own flesh and blood surrendered the city after facing just two rounds of mounted archery; it seems you aren't much of a father figure after all."

While Zhang Yang was still trying to recall whose familiar, gentle voice that was, Yan Liang had already felt a chill in his limbs and whipped his horse around to flee.

The city gates were finally open.

The warrior wielding the halberd led the charge, and elite cavalry streamed out behind him like fish from a net.

Chen Cong! Chen Wudi!!!

A person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree.

The moment he clearly recognized the newcomer, Zhang Yang fell into utter despair.

Had he known his own words would become a prophecy, they couldn't have given him ten extra gouts of courage to dismiss the threat as a mere "rumored approach by Chen Cong"!

You must know—

To guard against Chen Cong, he had specifically ordered a moat to be dug before Hanguan Pass.

He had even mobilized over ten thousand barrels of nightsoil from every district, transporting them all to Hanguan!

Seeing that Zhang Yang offered no resistance, Chen Cong flicked his long halberd, changing his grip from a strike to a hook, and casually dragged him down from his horse.

"Tie him up!"

With that, he whirled his reins and bolted in direct pursuit of Yan Liang.

As for the hundred horsemen surrounding them, those who didn't leap from their saddles and drop to their knees were promptly helped off their horses by the trailing Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

"Old Yan, don't run off. I came all the way to Changzi specifically to look for you."

Pity poor Yan Liang; having already lost his favorite steed, how could an ordinary warhorse possibly outrun Shadow? In less than a hundred paces of galloping, he was overtaken by Shadow.

Realizing flight was impossible, Yan Liang abruptly reined in his horse, leveraged the elevation, raised his saber, and slashed downward.

At the same time, Chen Cong violently yanked his reins.

Nicker!~

Shadow reared its front hooves high, dodging the overhead slash while rising a full two heads taller than Yan Liang.

Chen Cong wielded his halberd with one hand and brought it down in a ferocious, sweeping chop.

Yan Liang’s pupils contracted violently; he dared not take the blow head-on. As a witness to the fierce deity who had fought Lü Bu, he knew all too well what fate awaited anyone who took a blow like that.

However—

He had long ago regarded Chen Cong as his imaginary adversary and was not entirely unprepared.

Gauging the landing point of the long halberd, he gripped his saber with both hands and slammed it outward with the very last ounce of his strength.

Clang!!~~

The flat of the blade crashed heavily against the protruding joint of the Flying Tiger Halberd, instantly shattering into two pieces that flew off in all directions.

Yet the saber, though shortened by half a blade's length, bypassed the halberd and came crashing straight down toward Shadow.

This was the "anti-Chen strategy" Yan Liang had pondered over countless sleepless nights: he did not seek victory, only escape.

Chen Cong let out a light "Oh?", lifted his heel to stomp heavily on the pommel of the Gongbu sword, and the treasured blade sprang out like a cannonball, deflecting the half-blade's trajectory before smoothly returning to its scabbard.

"Not bad, Old Yan. I used to think you were just a half-filled bucket, but look at you sloshing around now! Still, I went to all this trouble to chase you down for a chat, and you greet me with a sword strike? That’s hardly reasonable, is it?"

Yan Liang smiled bitterly, hoisted his broken blade to guard his chest, and said with a solemn gaze, "Chen Wudi, it has been a long time."