"What did you say?"
Zhang Ning looked astonished, her eyes wide.
"Say it again?"
"The Grand Marshal isn't dead, oh dear..."
Zhang Niujiao looked at the Yellow Turban Old Guard, "Quick, you tell the Young Lady."
"Understood."
The Yellow Turban Old Guard babbled on...
Zhang Xin was actually quite frustrated.
He had already made all the arrangements.
He would use Cui Yan's imperial order to make Tao Qian retreat, and then use Sun Qian as an envoy to persuade Liu Dai to retreat.
Once these two withdrew, the Qingzhou Soldiers would only have Yuan Yi to face upon their return.
With Zhang Liao as the main general, Xun You as the strategist, and then Zhu Ling, Yue Jin, Yu Jin...
And behind them, Zhao Yun and Xu Rong.
This lineup against a single Yuan Yi?
They could beat the shit out of him and then force him to eat it!
Even if Han Fu, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Yi were tied together, they could still be beaten to a pulp.
Furthermore, if the three factions truly combined their forces to intercept them, it would play right into Zhang Xin's hands.
Gao Shun, Taishi Ci, Zhang Niujiao, Tian Kai, and others in the city could lead troops out to launch a pincer attack with Zhang Liao.
Not to mention, he had also sent Xu He, Guan Hai, Sima Ju, and others to secretly return to Qing Province, hiding among the populace.
With just a single letter, these three could rally the people, and the entire Qing Province would immediately resound with the cry of 'The Sky is Dead, the Yellow Sky Shall Rise'.
Qing Province had millions of Yellow Turbans survivors; raising a hundred thousand troops was no problem at all.
And then they would wipe out Yuan Shao's stronghold.
At that time, Zhang Xin would be in the north, Zhang Liao in the west, Xu He in the south, and Gao Shun in the east.
The allied army would be directly surrounded on all sides.
Upon receiving the news, Yuan Shao would surely lead his troops back to reinforce.
By then, he could rely on the cavalry's advantage to maximize the annihilation of the allied army's effective strength in open battle.
As long as the allied army could be encircled and annihilated in the Pingyuan area, not only could Qing Province be recovered in one battle, but even Ji Province would be within reach.
Unfortunately, imagination was beautiful, but reality was cruel.
When Zhang Xin came out of the grasslands, he inexplicably found himself dead.
That shameless old geezer Dong Zhuo, simply because he obtained a banner, actually sent people to spread rumors everyplace.
At that moment, Zhang Xin secretly thought, 'This is bad.'
He certainly knew how big of a blow this news would be to his plan.
However, by then he had already reached You Province and couldn't fly to Pingyuan to debunk the rumors. He could only send some people back to report his safety while sailing south, lest he fail to capture Yuan Shao's stronghold and lose his own instead.
That would be a net loss.
The Yellow Turban Old Guard finished speaking, slightly out of breath.
Upon hearing that Zhang Xin was not only alive but had also brought nearly ten thousand troops from You Province and was attacking Bohai, Zhang Ning's face first showed an expression of surprise, then turned to grievance, sorrow, excitement...
"I knew it."
Zhang Ning cried and laughed, "My brother is a peerless hero, how could a mere Dong Zhuo kill him?"
"That's right, the General of the Earth's judgment can't be wrong!"
Zhang Niujiao burst into laughter, then cursed, "That old thief Dong Zhuo is too shameless! That banner was clearly given to him by the Grand Marshal, yet he spreads rumors everyplace, not even afraid of being ridiculed by the world."
Queen Uya smiled gently, comforting Zhang Ning.
"I told you, how could the Young General, being so formidable, die so easily?"
Zhang Ning cried for a while, then wiped away the tears from her face and looked at the Yellow Turban Old Guard.
"You've worked hard on this journey. Go rest first. I will send someone to deliver all your rewards to your home later."
"Thank you, Young Lady!"
The Yellow Turban Old Guard quickly bowed.
"Young Lady, then we'll be leaving now."
Zhang Niujiao looked at Queen Uya, "Come on, come on, you come back with me too."
Queen Uya glared at Zhang Niujiao, annoyed, then looked at Zhang Ning.
"I'll go back first?"
Zhang Ning nodded, "Thank you, Sister Queen Uya, this time."
"It's nothing."
Queen Uya smiled slightly and followed Zhang Niujiao home.
"You wretched woman, wait till I get home, I'll deal with you!"
"Come on, who's afraid of whom?"
"Then I'll let you off this time... But next time, you must not take the Young Lady on such risks again..."
"Don't say next time, just this time..."
Watching the two leave, Zhang Ning smiled radiantly and hurried back to the backyard.
She wanted to tell everyone the news that Zhang Xin was still alive.
After leaving the State Prefecture, Zhang Niujiao did not rush to deal with Queen Uya. Instead, he let her go back first, then sent people to summ one last issue remaining.
With the main army deployed, who would be left to guard Pingyuan city?