Feinting to the East and Striking in the West

In the dead of night, Zhang Mancheng led a massive army to array outside the eastern gate, charging aggressively toward Luan Yi.

Yet, as soon as the battle commenced, he felt something was amiss. Luan Yi clearly had no intention of clashing head-on; he retreated upon the first exchange, fighting all the while as he fell back.

Suspecting that Luan Yi might have laid an ambush ahead, Zhang Mancheng ordered the pursuit halted and withdrew back to his camp, intending to settle accounts with Luan Yi once daylight broke and visibility cleared.

However, could he simply retreat whenever he wished?

Just as the rear guard became the vanguard and they had barely taken a couple of steps, Luan Yi struck again, showering the rear guard with arrows, slaughtering soldiers and setting fires everywhere.

Furious, Zhang Mancheng whirled his horse around to resume the fight. Just as his forces were about to form a tightening encirclement, the Church cavalry slipped away like grease-slicked loaches, threading through the gaps and breaking out. Livid with anger, Zhang Mancheng led his troops in pursuit once more. The longer he chased, the more suspicious he grew, a lingering sense of unease gnawing at him.

Mid-thought, he jerked his head up and cursed, "Damn it! I've fallen for the thief Luan Yi's trick of luring the tiger away from its mountain!"

Panicked, Zhang Mancheng rushed to turn back and rescue his camp, but at that very moment, Luan Yi returned to harass them anew.

Left with no choice, Zhang Mancheng detached a fraction of his forces to hold off Luan Yi while leading the bulk of his army straight back to the camp. Upon arriving at the camp gates and taking in the scene... his heart turned completely cold. The encampment was ablaze with roaring flames, and the din of battle shook the heavens. Shortly after Zhang Mancheng's departure, Xu Shu had led his army crashing into the camp, setting fires and cutting down enemies on all sides.

Qin Jie, the Administrator of Nanyang who had been holding out atop the city walls, caught sight of the blazing fires outside and instantly guessed that reinforcements had arrived. The four gates swung open, and his troops sortied to provide support.

The Church forces and the Nanyang garrison converged into a single formidable army, engaging in a merciless slaughter.

Zhang Mancheng rallied his men and fought desperately to turn the tide, but it was beyond saving.

Right at that juncture, Luan Yi broke through the intercepting rebels, charging into the rear of Zhang Mancheng's formation and carving a bloody path with his iron-shod hooves.

The sight of Luan Yi reduced the rebel soldiers to petrified wrecks, especially when compounded by his intensely terrifying method of execution: his massive hammer whirled through the air, and with a single blow, a once-living man was instantly transformed into a tattered, leaking sack of skin. The gruesome and grotesque manner of death chilled the soul to the bone—leaving a whole corpse behind would be considered fortunate.

"For the glory of the Holy Mother, charge, charge, charge!" The unified roar of the Church guards completely shattered the final line of defense deep within the rebels' minds. Dropping their weapons, they turned tail and bolted. "Ah, Luan the God of Slaughter has come! Run..."

Luan Yi pursued them relentlessly, hacking down fleeing soldiers. "The imperial forces are here! Why do you rebel scum not surrender sooner? Surrender and be spared!"

"Surrender and be spared! Surrender and be spared!" A thousand guards bellowed in unison, prompting countless rebels to cast down their arms and submit.

Utterly helpless, Zhang Mancheng could only watch in despair as the rebels dropped to their knees to beg for mercy, forcing him to lead his remaining troops in an orderly retreat. But where was there left to retreat? Bo Cai had been defeated in Yuzhou, the northern bank of the Yangtze was completely lost, and Wan City was likely in no better state. The Yellow Turban remnants in the south never amounted to much anyway; since even Bo Cai had fallen, how could they possibly withstand the imperial court's grand armies? At present, the main Yellow Turban forces probably retained a foothold only in Hebei!

At this thought, a crushing wave of despair surged through his chest. With nowhere left to run, he might as well die a warrior's death on the battlefield.

He glanced at Luan Yi. Luan Yi's formidable prowess was legendary—he had even slain Peng Tuo. Zhang Mancheng knew well that he was no match for Peng Tuo, let alone Luan Yi. Shifting his gaze to Xu Shu, he noted that although the scholar possessed some skill in swordsmanship, he was definitely no match for him either; yet the martial generals flanking the scholar were terrifyingly powerful, and Zhang Mancheng could not defeat them either! Under such circumstances...

"Qin Jie, forfeit your head!" Driven to madness, Zhang Mancheng led his meager remaining force of just over two thousand men in a desperate charge toward Qin Jie.

Qin Jie sneered disdainfully. "Archers, loose!"

Ten thousand arrows flew simultaneously, their stray shafts resembling dazzling starlight piercing the dark night as they soared into the heavens, cascading down like a torrential downpour into the rebel ranks and piercing straight into Zhang Mancheng's body.

In an instant, Zhang Mancheng was riddled like a hedgehog, blood spurting continuously; block one wound, and others would bleed even more violently. "You..." He pointed a trembling finger at Qin Jie, his lips parting and closing as if accusing Qin Jie of winning an unmanly victory.

Qin Jie scoffed coldly. "Fighting a civil official in martial combat—you certainly had an imagination."

The battle did not subside until the break of dawn. Over ten thousand rebels under Zhang Mancheng's command were executed, and more than twenty thousand surrendered. Beaming with joy over such a glorious victory, Qin Jie showered Luan Yi with profuse expressions of gratitude and warmly invited him into the city.

Luan Yi didn't even need to think to know why Qin Jie was inviting him inside—undoubtedly to host another victory banquet. The mere thought of the smell of alcohol now made him want to retch; he would rather die than drink another drop. Therefore, while Qin Jie extended his invitation, Luan Yi repeatedly declined, finally managing to brush off Qin Jie by using urgent military duties and the necessity of reorganizing his troops as an excuse. He pitched camp outside the city walls, shared quarters with his officers and soldiers, and spent the night drafting an official memorial to report the situation at Nanyang up to Huangfu Song.

By this time, Huangfu Song had already pacified the rebels within Chen State. Upon receiving the memorial, he ordered Luan Yi to rest and regroup in place. Synthesizing the military intelligence gathered over the preceding months, Huangfu Song penned a formal dispatch and submitted it to the imperial court alongside a copied transcript of Luan Yi's memorial.

On the fifteenth day of the first month in the first year of Zhongping for the Han Dynasty, a grand audience was held.

Dressed in brand-new robes following the New Year, civil and martial officials lined up before the Jianshi Hall, removed their shoes outside the threshold, and entered the grand hall in orderly fashion. Seated at the very front of the hall upon the dragon throne—for which countless men had fought and died throughout the ages—was the Son of Heaven, crowned in imperial regalia: Emperor Ling of Han. Today, the Emperor's mood was evidently quite buoyant.

The officials kowtowed and shouted wishes of longevity, then separated into civil and martial ranks, holding their court tablets as they stood on either side of the hall.

At the head of the martial officials stood a man eight chi tall with a robust physique; a thick beard half-concealed a face that faintly radiated an air of heroic might. This was none other than General-in-Chief He Jin, the Emperor's brother-in-law.

At the head of the civil officials stood an elderly man with narrowed eyes, a tall stature, white hair, and wispy beard, exuding the ethereal air of a Daoist immortal. He was Situ Yuan Wei.

Once the officials stood settled, Emperor Ling leaned forward from the dragon throne with an inquiring expression and directed his first question to He Jin, "General-in-Chief, are there any reports of victory today?"

He Jin stepped out of the ranks, bowed deeply, and flattered the Emperor, "Your Majesty's foresight is truly godlike. Indeed there are reports of victory, and not just ordinary ones—this is a grand triumph!"

"Oh? Quick, report it to me!" Emperor Ling smiled so wide the corners of his mouth reached his ears.

He Jin changed the subject slightly, "Before that, there is another piece of good news that must be communicated to Your Majesty."

Emperor Ling said, "General-in-Chief, do not keep Us in suspense. Tell us together!"

"As you command!" He Jin bowed with his court tablet and announced, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Zhang Jiao is dead!"

"Boom..." A wave of profound shock rippled through the officials in the hall, erupting into loud discussions. "Zhang Jiao is actually dead?", "Good riddance!", "He's finally dead!", "Served him right!"

Emperor Ling waved his hands repeatedly. "Quiet, quiet!" He shouted for quite a while, but because his voice was too soft, his words barely crossed the dragon dais before they were completely drowned out by the clamor of discussion!

"Silence! No shouting!"

Pierced by a shrill shriek resembling a goose with its neck stepped on, the hall finally restored its tranquility. The officials didn't even need to look up to know who had shouted; apart from Zhang Rang, no one else in the entire hall could produce such a half-man, half-woman voice.

Emperor Ling was so ecstatic that he simply abandoned the dragon throne and stood up. "General-in-Chief, how did Zhang Jiao die?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, Zhang Jiao died of illness!" He Jin answered respectfully.

"Died of illness? Uh... uh... hahaha..." Emperor Ling laughed heartily without stop. "A fine death, dying of illness is wonderful! Heaven aids Us... Haha! The rebel chieftain is dead; I would like to see how many more days the Yellow Turban rebels can leap about!"

"Your Majesty's boundless fortune matches the heavens!" He Jin shouted, bowing low. The entire court of civil and martial officials likewise bowed and bellowed, "Your Majesty's boundless fortune matches the heavens."

"Haha..." Emperor Ling burst into another fit of laughter. "Right! What was the grand victory the General-in-Chief spoke of earlier?"

"Answering Your Majesty!" He Jin carried himself with rigid propriety, "Resounding victories in Yuzhou and Jingzhou."

"Oh?" Emperor Ling's eyes lit up with spirit. He dropped heavily back onto the dragon throne, assuming a posture of rapt attention. "Report the details."

"As you command!" He Jin read aloud from his court tablet, recounting the entire process of how, after Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were besieged at Changshe, Luan Yi heeded the imperial decree to set out from Jinan for rescue. This included first routing Peng Tuo thoroughly through the stratagem of increasing stoves upon reducing troop visibility, and subsequently breaking Bo Cai's forces with fire alongside Huangfu Song.

Following that, Luan Yi joined forces with Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and the newly arrived Cao Cao, pursuing the retreating rebels all the way to Runan. At that time, Bo Cai had gathered tens of thousands of troops within Runan Commandery once more, seeking a decisive battle with the imperial forces. During the fierce engagement, Luan Yi clashed with the formidable rebel general Peng Tuo, who proved no match and retreated back into his formation. Displaying extraordinary courage, Luan Yi charged alone on horseback into tens of thousands of rebel troops, not only slaying Peng Tuo for fleeing the battlefield, but also hacking down the rebels' grand standard. The rebel army suffered a disastrous defeat, and their chieftain Bo Cai perished amidst the volley of random arrows.

Subsequently, Huangfu Song divided his army into three routes, personally leading one to capture Chen State. Luan Yi led another route, utilizing a feint to the east while attacking the west to lift the siege of Nanyang. Zhu Jun and Cao Cao's route remained locked in a stalemate with the rebel forces in Wan City.

Across these several battles, the imperial army executed a total of 71,914 rebels, while those who surrendered were innumerable.

In the next phase, Huangfu Song prepared to dispatch Luan Yi to Wan City to assist Zhu Jun in the siege. Meanwhile, Huangfu Song himself would lead the main army to Hebei to assist Lu Zhi in annihilating Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao.

"Good, good, excellent!" Emperor Ling uttered three expressions of praise in succession. "Did you just say Luan Yi charged alone into tens of thousands of enemy troops, slew their general, and captured their banner?"

"Indeed so! Tens of thousands of imperial soldiers witnessed this with their own eyes; it cannot be false." To be honest, when He Jin first laid eyes on this battle report, he was initially shocked and then began to suspect its authenticity. For the sake of insurance, he had purposely sent a message to his own people serving under Huangfu Song's banner, only to receive the reply: "It is 100% true. Luan Yi genuinely charged into the enemy formation alone, split Peng Tuo in half with his heavy hammer, and severed the commander's banner with his iron mace." He Jin vividly remembered his own expression upon receiving definitive confirmation: his eyes had widened into saucers, his mouth gaped open, and drool leaked uncontrollably—he looked precisely like Emperor Ling right now.

Emperor Ling sat stunned for a long while before sighing, "My word! Ziqi's valor is unmatched under heaven! A true divine general! Rewards, lavish rewards! Convey Our imperial will: promote Left Zhonglang Jiang Huangfu Song to General of Chariots and Cavalry, and enfeoff him as Marquis of Duxiang. Promote Right Zhonglang Jiang Zhu Jun to Pacifying-The-Rebels Zhonglang Jiang, and enfeoff him as Marquis of Xixiang. Promote General Who Guards the East Luan Yi to Divine-Courage Zhonglang Jiang, and enfeoff him as Marquis of Dongpingling Township. Promote Cavalry Commandant Cao Cao to Court Gentleman." Upon hearing this, Zhang Rang could not help being startled, wondering where the Emperor had learned that the marquisates of Duxiang, Xixiang, and Dongpingling were currently vacant.

Could it be... Zhang Rang's heart skipped a beat. "Could it be that His Majesty intended all along to lavishly reward Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Luan Yi? That is why he sent people in advance to investigate which titles were vacant and prepared his thoughts early, waiting only to announce it today? It must be so..." His eyes narrowed sharply. "His Majesty pays such close attention to Luan Yi... A tree that stands tall in the forest is bound to be battered by the wind. Oh Luan Yi, Luan Yi, do not blame this old servant for being ruthless—who told you not to be one of our people?" At this thought, he subtly cast a glance toward someone seated at the very end of the civil officials' ranks.

Understanding the cue, that official stepped out of the ranks, raised his court tablet, bowed deeply, and cried out anxiously, "Your Majesty must never treat Luan Yi with such excessive favor."