Chapter 85

"Good! Haha... *cough cough cough!*"

Zhang Jiao couldn't help but laugh heartily, which aggravated his injuries, and he began to cough uncontrollably.

Zhang Ning hurriedly stepped forward and gently patted Zhang Jiao’s back.

After a while, the coughing stopped, and he instructed Zhang Ning: "Remember, call Zhou Cang to me later; he is someone who can be trusted;"

"Afterwards, when you leave the city to see Su Xuan, you will need Zhou Cang to protect you;"

"In addition, there are 10,000 Yellow Turban Warriors in the city. Once you see Su Xuan, you can explain this to him; these warriors can be handed over to him directly. From now on, they belong to Su Xuan!"

Zhang Jiao had seen Su Xuan recruit 4,000 Yellow Turban Warriors, and he didn't know what method he had used, but he had actually corrected many of their flaws and hidden dangers, making them even stronger.

Zhang Jiao was actually very curious about this method.

It was a pity that he no longer had the time.

Otherwise, he would have liked to have a good discussion with Su Xuan about it.

"Yes!"

Zhang Ning, though shocked, nodded and agreed: "I understand!"

"Hmm!"

Zhang Jiao nodded and said immediately: "Go! Call Zhou Cang."

"Yes!"

Zhang Ning went out immediately and sent someone to call Zhou Cang in.

Afterwards, only Zhang Ning and Zhang Jiao knew what was said between Zhang Jiao and Zhou Cang.

After coming out, Zhou Cang bowed to Zhang Ning: "Holy Maiden! From now on, I, Zhou Cang, will take orders from you."

"Let us go and prepare! First, transfer all of the Great Virtuous Teacher’s wealth to the Yellow Turban Warrior army, then have the Yellow Turban Warriors take over the East City Gate and the watchtower, and then we will leave from there to see Su Xuan."

Naturally, they wouldn't go directly; they would first send someone to deliver a letter to agree on a time and place for the meeting.

"Alright! General Zhou, you make the arrangements!"

Zhang Ning nodded.

Immediately, they began to take action.

At this time, Zhang Jiao summoned Zhang Yan.

"Great Virtuous Teacher!"

As soon as Zhang Yan entered, he bowed respectfully to Zhang Jiao.

"Hmm!"

Zhang Jiao nodded, struggled to sit up, looked at Zhang Yan, and said: "Zhang Yan, you are a capable man!"

"Among my Yellow Turban Army, your abilities are also among the most outstanding."

"If the Yellow Turban Army could succeed, your future would be limitless;"

"It is a pity that I am about to die! It will be within these two days!"

"What?"

Zhang Yan was struck as if by a thunderbolt and stood there in shock;

After a long while, he stared blankly at Zhang Jiao and said in disbelief: "Great Virtuous Teacher, you must be joking, right?"

"You are a god-like existence who can summon wind and rain; how could you die?"

He couldn't accept it at all.

He had wanted to move toward glory under Zhang Jiao’s leadership.

And now, he was being told that this was the final glory?

Anyone would find it hard to accept.

"I am not a god, just a mortal who knows some arts, and I am indeed going to die!"

Zhang Jiao shook his head, then looked at Zhang Yan and said: "The Yellow Turban Army has had frequent accidents since the uprising, and in the process, we have coerced the people and killed without restraint; we have long since changed;"

"We have become a tumor more sinful than the Han or the noble clans;"

"Even if I don't die, the Yellow Turban Army will inevitably perish!"

"Alright! Enough of this nonsense!"

Speaking of this, Zhang Jiao waved his hand and turned to say: "After I die, the morale of the Guang Sect Yellow Turban Army will inevitably collapse, and you will not be able to stop Su Xuan outside the city;"

"Therefore, I give you two choices;"

"Either continue to stay in this Guang Sect City and command all the Yellow Turban troops except for the Yellow Turban Warriors. I can hand over their command to you;"

"You will continue to confront Su Xuan and the government army, and live or die with Guang Sect;"

"Or, I will give you all the elite troops in the city. While I still have a breath left and can hold on for two more days, take these elites out of the North Gate tonight, head north into the Zhongshan Kingdom, and then find a foothold in the Heishan Mountains to wait for the future;"

"If, one day in the future, Ning'er sends someone to bring you a letter, you can decide for yourself whether to agree to her request based on the contents of the letter;"

"Of course, I must remind you of one thing: according to my calculations, Ning'er’s future husband is a person of great destiny, and the possibility of him succeeding is extremely high."

"That is all! I give you a quarter of an hour to consider, and then give me your answer."

As he said this, Zhang Jiao’s complexion actually gradually returned to a ruddy state, and he stood up steadily, looking full of vigor.

Zhang Yan was startled and pointed at Zhang Jiao, stuttering: "Great Virtuous Teacher, you... you are..."

Zhang Jiao shook his head with a smile: "I am just forcibly stimulating my life force to temporarily return to my peak state!"

"This will only accelerate my death. Now, I truly have less than two days of life left. You need not hold any illusions."

Zhang Yan was speechless in his heart.

What kind of situation was this?

Great Virtuous Teacher, you still say you aren't a god-like cultivator?

However, Zhang Yan understood at this moment that Zhang Jiao was truly not joking, and he began to think seriously.

After a long time, he sighed, bowed to Zhang Jiao, and said: "Great Virtuous Teacher, I choose to take the troops and leave Guang Sect City to wait for the right time in the Heishan Mountains;"

"I only hope that the Holy Maiden’s letter will come soon; I will be waiting."

This could be considered a disguised pledge of loyalty.

He believed in Zhang Jiao’s calculations and judgment.

As Zhang Jiao’s only daughter, Zhang Jiao would certainly not harm Zhang Ning.

He would definitely give her the best way out.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about asking Zhang Jiao directly to follow Zhang Ning.

But since Zhang Jiao didn't ask him to do so, there must be a reason.

He would just listen.

"Good!"

Zhang Jiao nodded with satisfaction, reached out, and patted Zhang Yan on the shoulder: "You have a good heart! Believe me, as long as you can truly do what you said in the future, you will not regret it;"

"You will have a bright future."

"Go! You can take 100,000 elite troops;"

"You can also take half of the grain and fodder;"

"In addition, I allow and suggest that after you are far from Guang Sect City, you can, based on your own judgment, recruit refugees along the way and commoners willing to follow you to go to the Heishan Mountains together;"

"Even, in the future, when the chaotic times arrive, you can gradually absorb more people to wait for the right time."

Zhang Yan was slightly startled: "Future chaotic times? Do you mean that after the great chaos we have stirred up, there will be more chaotic times for the Han? That it will even completely enter a state of chaos?"

"Correct!"

Zhang Jiao nodded affirmatively. He walked out of the room with his hands behind his back and looked at the distant sky: "That will be a great chaotic era with brilliant stars and rising heroes."

"Go quickly! There is not much time left for you!"

"This is my hand-written order; take it to mobilize the troops!"

Zhang Jiao said, wrote a letter, and handed it to Zhang Yan.

"Understood!"

Zhang Yan took the order and left quickly.

Outside the city, in Su Xuan’s commander’s tent,

"Lord! A person outside the camp claims to be Zhou Cang and has sent a letter, saying it is for you to look over."

At this moment, Jia San walked in quickly, presented a secret letter, and spoke.

"Oh? Zhou Cang? Are you sure that is the name?"

Su Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly and asked.

"Correct!"