Chapter 435 Zhang He: To be honest, I am Liu Bei's man (Four Thousand)
As the Jizhou cavalry saw that they were about to break through, a hint of joy appeared on their tired faces.

However, the next moment, a flying arrow crushed the hope of escape.

The arrows were as fast as meteors streaking across the night sky. The Jizhou cavalry were already exhausted, and the hope of escape was right in front of them, so close that they seemed within reach.

So under the influence of these two factors, their tense nerves relaxed a little. By the time they realized that someone had shot an arrow at them, they were already a step too slow. Before the sound could come out of their throats, an arrow flashed past their eyes. When they looked again, the arrow hit Zhang He's horse squarely.

Countless panic and fear engulfed the Jizhou cavalry like a tide. Their pupils and hands trembled uncontrollably, and their lips trembled so violently that they lost their voices.

"General!"

Amid the cries of pain from the Jizhou cavalry, the horse under Zhang He fell to the ground with a loud bang, like a camel that had been broken by the last straw.

Zhang He's heart trembled, and he thought to himself: Oh no, I was attacked by a sneak attack!

Fortunately, he is agile and has quick reactions.

The moment his warhorse fell to the ground, he jumped off the horse, rolled on the ground, and released most of the force.

Zhang He quickly stood up and tried to tell the Jizhou cavalry that he was safe and sound, and that they must stay calm and not panic. Unfortunately, a rough voice rang out at this moment, and the voice was so loud that it drowned out Zhang He's words.

"Hahaha, brothers! They are just a bunch of weaklings, follow me!"

The voice came towards Zhang He and the Jizhou cavalry again.

"Why don't you surrender immediately?!"

Zhang He and a group of Jizhou cavalrymen looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a burly man pushing aside the hanging branches and bushes, leading a group of "bandits" and coming with laughter.

The Black Mountain soldiers, who were originally frightened by their killing, suddenly shook off their previous dejection and looked at the sturdy man as if they had seen their backbone.

A Black Mountain soldier cheered, "The arrow just now must have come from Commander Zhang Qu! I recognize the arrowhead!"

"Haha, with Zhang Qushuai leading us personally, how could we be afraid of them?!"

"Brothers, it's time to let the thieves have a taste of our power!"

The Black Mountain Army, which had been like a pile of scattered sand, gathered together again, and their morale was pushed to the highest point.

This made the Jizhou cavalry feel extremely depressed. The escape route that they had worked so hard to open was completely blocked at this moment.

They had no time to grieve, as a Jizhou cavalryman shouted to Zhang He, "General, what should we do?"

What should be done?

Looking at the shining ring-handled swords, the ferocious faces, and the approaching figures, even if Zhang He tried his best, he could not find any weak points to break through. At this moment, the Black Mountain Army was everywhere around him.

The Montenegrin troops were like a huge fishing net, and they were the fish trapped in the net. As the Montenegrin troops got closer step by step, the fishing net gradually shrank until they had no place to breathe.

As for forcing your way in? A fight to the death?
Zhang He immediately rejected this idea. If he really acted in this way, he didn't know whether the net would be broken or not, but the fish would definitely die.

"General, what should we do?"

The Jizhou cavalry were forced back to Zhang He's side by the Black Mountain Army. The dozens of Jizhou cavalry formed a sharp contrast with the large number of Black Mountain Army. The difference in numbers was like a natural moat.

What's worse, Zhang He realized that his own morale had hit rock bottom.

He is not Xiang Ji resurrected, so how can he break out of the siege with just these troops?
"I'll ask you again, do you surrender or not?" Zhang Niujiao, who was respected as the commander of the Black Mountain Army, frowned and shouted.

Zhang He's serious gaze was attracted by Zhang Niujiao's voice. Seeing the annoyance on Zhang Niujiao's face, he thought that perhaps the thief would slaughter them all in the next moment.
Zhang He felt increasingly heavy-hearted, and he tightened his grip on the lance with his hands, which were already tightly clenched, until his knuckles could be clearly seen and made crackling sounds.

This made Zhang Niujiao stretch out his hand to order the Black Mountain Army to stop, and look at Zhang He suspiciously. He had already recognized this man as the leader of the bandits. Judging from his appearance, could he be a tough guy?

Zhang Niujiao's concerns were finally dispelled by Zhang He. Zhang He took a deep breath, let go of the lance in his hand, and let it fall to the ground with a dull sound. His face showed bitterness and a dry and low voice came out of his mouth.

"I surrender."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Jizhou cavalrymen seemed to have lost their souls and hung their heads dejectedly.

Zhang Niujiao breathed a sigh of relief. He waved his hand and ordered his men to tie up the hands of the Jizhou cavalry and Zhang He with hemp ropes, and cover their eyes and mouths with rags.

At the same time, they cleaned up the battlefield, collected the bodies of their Black Mountain Army colleagues, tracked down the war horses that had fled in fear, and set up the dead horses as meat.

The Black Mountain Army stripped the Jizhou Cavalry of their armor and weapons, then reluctantly handed them over to Zhang Niujiao, who distributed them to the brave men. The Black Mountain Army that got some were all delighted, while those that didn't were sad. Zhang Niujiao saw this and waved his hand, "The rest of the brothers, you can't make a wasted trip! I'll pay for the money and food, and I'll reward you brothers when we return to the camp!"

When the Montenegrin soldiers heard this, they finally smiled.

"Brother Zhang."

Zhang Niujiao avoided everyone's sight, pulled Zhang Baique to a secluded place, and said in a low voice: "These thieves will be handed over to Brother Zhang."

"Ok?"

Zhang Baique looked at Zhang Niujiao in surprise. Although Zhang Niujiao had confidently handed over the task of interrogating the thief to him, was he really not going to ask even a question?

As if seeing Zhang Baique's doubt, Zhang Niujiao said sincerely: "If it weren't for Brother Zhang's action, these thieves would have escaped. Besides, Brother Zhang swore an oath in front of me, how could I doubt Brother Zhang? I trust Brother Zhang to do things!"

"I used my mean heart to guess the tolerance of a gentleman!" Zhang Baique could see that Zhang Niujiao didn't seem to be lying, so he pretended to be ashamed and said, "Since Marshal Zhang Qu said so, I won't refuse. I will definitely not let Marshal Zhang Qu down."

"Hahaha, good!" Zhang Niujiao nodded with satisfaction.

Zhang Baique was thinking about how to implement it while making profits for Zhang Feiyan at the same time. As he was thinking, his eyes drifted to Zhang He. Seeing Zhang He tied up, a solemn and puzzled look appeared in his eyes.

Is this person really an old subordinate of Dong the thief?
Thinking back to Zhang He's performance, he always felt that it was not like that. After thinking about it over and over again, he had no clue at all. He shook his head and gave up for the time being. There would be plenty of time to think about it later. "Brothers, let's go back to the camp!"

Following Zhang Niujiao's order, the Black Mountain Army marched towards the camp.

When the Black Mountain Army arrived at the camp, with the rags covering Zhang He and the Jizhou cavalry taken off, they were finally able to see the light of day again. The feeling of trekking through mountains and rivers was not very pleasant at all.

Even Zhang He had a hard time walking because he was exhausted.

However, Zhang He did not really surrender. Along the way, he tried to remember the way to the camp by relying on his sense of feeling and hearing. He knew that it was a pipe dream to want to remember the route by relying on hearing and touch while being blindfolded!
It is good enough to remember some of the characteristic sights on the road.
How could he, a general under Yuan Shao, become a bandit? !
Even if there is little hope, it is still hope.
What's more, he has an important position and Yan Liang in Bingzhou is still waiting for him!
I hope that Yuan Shijun will have time to wipe out the bandits in Taihang Mountain in the future.
Wait a minute
Is there any negligence on my part?
These bandits seem to have mistaken us for others. Aren’t these others the former subordinates of Dong, the bandit we wiped out before?
If someone states his identity
As soon as this thought came to mind, it was hit hard by reality.

Zhang He, who was in the camp, saw a scene that made him and the Jizhou cavalry unbelievable. The common people, who spoke with a Zhongshan accent, began to cut down trees and build houses around the camp under the arrangement of the Black Mountain Army.

And it’s not just one person!
There are people of all ages, women and children!

what does this mean?
Did these bandits plunder Zhongshan Kingdom?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Zhang He had experienced how powerful these people were. It was not impossible to destroy a county with cholera, but to plunder so many people in a short period of time was simply a pipe dream!

If that’s the case, where did these people of Zhongshan Kingdom come from?

A strange yet familiar name immediately emerged in Zhang He’s mind: Gongsun Zan!
Gongsun Zan of Youzhou was the most powerful neighbor of Jizhou. Han Fu, who had previously served as the governor of Jizhou, gave up the position because he was afraid of Gongsun Zan.

It is well known that Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei are as close as brothers. Now that Liu Bei is the General of Wei, how could Gongsun Zan join hands with the generals from Guandong?

Even he could see Liu Bei's intention in replacing Liu Yu with Liu Biao. If he didn't want to reconcile the conflict between Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan, what other intention could there be?
Zhongshan State happened to border Youzhou. The people of Qianshou, who should have been in Zhongshan State, now appeared in large numbers in Taihang Mountains.
broken!

Zhang He suddenly felt something was wrong, and his alarm bells were ringing. Could it be that Gongsun Zan was attacking Jizhou? !

As Zhongshan State fell, the people of Guizhou fled to Changshan State, but were robbed by bandits and taken to the mountains? ? ?
Even Zhang He was shocked by this speculation. He wanted to deny it, but the fact that the people of Zhongshan were in front of him was indisputable.
For a moment, Zhang He didn't know what to do, even his head was buzzing.

Before he knew it, Zhang He was detained in a dungeon by the Black Mountain Army.

A strange man walked up to Zhang He.

"Who are you? Where are you from? Where are you going?"

Zhang He's thoughts were brought back to the present by the man's words. He stared at the man in a daze. The light in the dungeon was a little dim, and he could not see the man's face clearly. He only knew that the man was tall.

The Jizhou cavalry felt a sinking feeling in their hearts and looked at Zhang He with worried eyes.

Zhang He couldn't help but fall into deep thought. How should he answer the man?
These bandits dared to rob the people of Zhongshan and did not take Envoy Yuan seriously at all. If he revealed his identity directly, he would not be able to escape from here, and his life would be in danger.
What if he pretends to be Dong's old subordinate?

Zhang He immediately denied the idea.

We pretended to be the thief Dong in order to mislead the thieves in the mountain. These thieves knew our identities but still attacked us. Some even said they wanted to kill Dong.

This identity is undoubtedly not enough to save one's life, let alone other things.
And slow!

Zhang He suddenly remembered something was wrong with the man. Since the bandits thought we were the thief Dong, why did they beat around the bush when questioning us?
These bandits called themselves the Black Mountain Army. Even if Gongsun Zan conquered Zhongshan State, how could he have robbed the people so quickly without the support of these bandits?
Besides, these thieves treat the people of Guizhou differently from ordinary thieves.
Gongsun Zan and Liu Xuande were as close as brothers.
What if he pretended to be a general under Zhang Yide?
Will Liu Xuande and Zhang Yide be sold three points of thin noodles?

inappropriate!

I am not alone in this prison. The soldiers who have followed me for many years also surrendered with me. If this person is not a lunatic, he can verify it by interrogating my generals.
Is there any way to save me and the rest of the soldiers?
Zhang He kept struggling in his mind, but the man just looked at him without saying anything, as if he was waiting for Zhang He to spit out some ivory.

"I" Zhang He knew that I couldn't think any further. The more I thought, the more confused I would become.

Truth and Lies
Zhang He made up his mind and decided to take them all!

He took a deep breath and said regretfully, "I am a general under Yuan Benchu, named Zhang He."

After these words were spoken, even though Zhang He couldn't see his face clearly, he could feel the man's whole body tense and he was taking him seriously.

Zhang He pretended not to care. He continued, "Although I am a general under Yuan Benchu, I am actually a spy for General Wei."

When these words were spoken, not only the man was stunned, but even the Jizhou cavalry was stunned.

What did they hear?
The general who had followed me for many years turned out to be a traitor???
The man questioned, "A spy? General Zhang, the famous general of Hebei, is Liu Xuande's spy? Don't lie to me, or I will make you suffer!"

"Now that I'm your prey, why should I lie to you?" Zhang He said with a bitter look on his face.

The man's tone was filled with disbelief. "Since you are a spy for Wei Liu Xuande, why are you serving Yuan Benchu ​​so faithfully? And why are you revealing your identity at this moment?"

"Reveal your identity." Zhang He glanced at the soldiers behind him and sighed, "If I am captured by you alone, as a man, I have nothing to fear even if I die! But these soldiers have followed me for many years, and we are like brothers. Now they are in trouble, I really can't bear to let them die with me."

The Jizhou cavalry looked at Zhang He absentmindedly. They never thought that Zhang He revealed his identity for them. More than one person lowered his head in shame. If it wasn't for them, why would the general reveal his identity? If so, his reputation would be ruined! The general was confused!
"As for serving Yuan Benchu, do I have that?"

Zhang He's question startled the man. He answered with a detailed account, "Why not? The battle at Hulao Pass, the pursuit of Zhang Miao, and helping Yuan Benchu ​​take over Jizhou."

Zhang He sneered, "Why was I the only one who survived the battle of Hulao Pass against Huang Hansheng? Why was I defeated by an unknown du Bo when I was hunting down Zhang Miao? It's nonsense to say that I helped Yuan Benchu ​​take over Jizhou. I was just following the orders of General Wei."

The Jizhou cavalry suddenly realized that General Zhang was just working but not putting in any effort!

That would explain everything!

It turned out that he was defeated by the nameless Du Bo because he obeyed the orders of General Wei, and his purpose was to let Zhang Miao go!

After many twists and turns, it turns out that they are actually loyal to the court???

(End of this chapter)