Chapter 493: Chapter 493: Apocalyptic Cao Cao
After a brief exchange on the battlefield, everyone’s inner thoughts began to drift towards different ideas, as no one wanted to rush forward and meet their death at this moment.
The key point was, what value was there in dying?
This was completely different from the previous brave charges that would earn Brother Dong’s recognition and rewards. Now, even if you died, no one would remember your efforts.
Moreover, among them, some were considering the vacant position of the City King of Xianfan City now that the boss, Brother Dong, was dead. Should they take the seat?
Yang Xiao saw the enemy’s attack weaken and their hesitation, so he waved his hand,
"Cease firing!"
The archers and the Flying People Team immediately stopped shooting.
Brother Dong’s old troops also ceased their attack.
The fierce battle scene came to a sudden halt.
Yang Xiao shouted loudly at Brother Dong’s old troops:
"My goal here is not to kill you. I just want Shenlongjia. Now that Xue Dong is dead, you should go back and discuss what to do next.
As long as you don’t attack us, I won’t exterminate you. You can rest assured on that point.
However, from now on, Shenlongjia will be under my control, and the nearby genetic stores, a dozen of them, will all be mine. I’ll give you three days to withdraw your troops from the nearby outposts. Once the three days are over, I will clean them up one by one."
There was a man named Cai Yang among Xue Dong’s side, who was usually Brother Dong’s right-hand man and a capable supporter.
Cai Yang looked at Yang Xiao and said loudly:
"Yang Xiao, you’ve trespassed and invaded our territory. Don’t expect us to surrender to you. We’ll remember this enmity and someday pay you back double."
Yang Xiao laughed heartily and asked:
"In this apocalypse, what’s this about invasion? It is the victor who becomes king and the vanquished the bandit! You say I’m invading you, but let me ask you, how did Xue Dong get such a huge territory of Xiangfan City and Shenlongjia? Wasn’t it by defeating others?"
Yang Xiao’s questions struck a chord with Cai Yang, for it was true that Xue Dong had defeated Cai Yang to gain part of the territories of Shenlongjia.
Cai Yang was lost for words and could not reply.
Yang Xiao then said:
"My goal is not to eliminate you. If you think you have the ability to snatch Shenlongjia back from me, you are welcome to try. For now, you can leave in peace; I will not pursue you."
Cai Yang was startled and said:
"Yang Xiao, Shenlongjia is our most important resource territory. Without it, how will we improve our genetic evolution in the future?"
Yang Xiao smiled and said:
"This matter can be discussed later on. We could all cooperate in developing the genetic evolution resources of Shenlongjia. As for the terms of cooperation, I haven’t thought it through yet. You can also propose a suitable plan for cooperation."
Upon hearing this, Cai Yang and his people were immediately confused. How come Yang Xiao was so easy to talk to? He actually agreed to cooperate in developing the evolution resources of Shenlongjia?
Cai Yang and the others were stunned for a moment, then asked:
"Yang Xiao, are you serious about this?"
"Of course. We’re all one family under heaven, sharing resources. But at the moment, I haven’t come up with a suitable plan. We all can find a mutually beneficial way of cooperation.
There are three thousand square kilometers of Primitive Forest in Shenlongjia, teeming with Mutant Monsters. As long as we develop it reasonably, it can be used for a long time. Now, you go back to Xiangfan City, and be careful of the City King from Han Capital launching an attack on you."
Cai Yang and the others were even more surprised when they heard this. Does this kid actually know about that too?
Cai Yang and the others looked at Yang Xiao helplessly, and hurriedly left with the group. They were really afraid that the City King of Han Capital would take the opportunity to strike, and if that happened, they would lose their base of survival.
...
At this moment, under Xiao Lan’s care, Gong Yu had taken two Small Blood Pills and gradually recovered some Qi, already able to stand up.
Ben Yin, Ben Guo, Lan Xin, and others were still preparing for a blood battle. Seeing the retreating figures of Xue Dong’s former subordinates disappearing, they asked:
"Yang Xiao, why didn’t you seize the opportunity to charge at them just now? We could definitely defeat them."
Yang Xiao smiled slightly and said:
"We would indeed win, but it would be a case of ’killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of our own’. I wouldn’t do such a thing. If they had fought to the death just now, we would have had no choice but to resist. That’s what I was most worried about.
Luckily, Xue Dong was killed by Gong Yu. If he hadn’t been killed by Gong Yu, even if they had just a breath left and were snatched by the enemy, they would have fought to the death because they still had hope.
Now that Xue Dong is dead, they have no hope left, their morale is low, and they have no heart for battle."
"Then why did you agree to jointly develop the resources of Shenlongjia with them?"
"Heh, I said it before, we should give the enemy hope, not drive them into a dead end. Only then will they not fight desperately with us. Those who fight desperately with others are generally people with no way out."
"Are we still going to attack Xiangfan City?"
Yang Xiao fell silent for a moment, then said:
"My main target is Shenlongjia. As for Xiangfan City, it depends on luck. While Xue Dong is dead, don’t underestimate the strength of Xue Dong’s old followers. Xiangfan City, together with the surrounding small stronghold points, has a population of at least forty thousand, and those with combat power are also above ten thousand. Our three thousand people attacking against their ten thousand doesn’t give us any advantage."
"What do you mean by luck?"
Yang Xiao smiled and said:
"Luck is the will of heaven. I don’t know if any of you like to read Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"
Everyone was stunned. Among these three thousand elite troops, some were former students of Kongming Academy and Xianan University, who were naturally familiar with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the four great classical novels before the apocalypse.
Yang Xiao, however, had been a fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms since middle school and had many of its wonderful stories and scenes memorized by heart.
Not understanding Yang Xiao’s intention, they asked:
"What does taking Xiangfan City have to do with Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"
"In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is an exciting plot where after Cao Cao attacked the Wuhuan, Yuan Shao’s two sons, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang, took refuge with Gongsun Kang of Liao East. Some advised to immediately send troops to kill them, but Cao Cao said there was no rush. In a few days, someone would deliver the heads of the two Yuans.
At that time, everyone didn’t believe him and thought Cao Cao was delusional, but sure enough, three days later, Gongsun Kang indeed sent the heads of the two Yuans."
Upon hearing this, many were enlightened.
Monk Ben Yin said:
"At that time, Cao Cao’s strategist, Guo Jia, left a posthumous letter for Cao Cao, stating that if Cao Cao sent troops to pursue and kill the two Yuan brothers immediately, Gongsun Kang would join forces with Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang against Cao Cao. If Cao Cao didn’t send troops to pursue, there would be internal conflict between Gongsun Kang and the Yuans. Indeed, Gongsun Kang killed the two Yuan brothers and sent their heads to Cao Cao to express his allegiance."
Yang Xiao nodded and said:
"Exactly, now that Xue Dong has just been killed by me, the entire Xiangfan City is a dragon without a head, but still powerful. If we blindly attack now, they will unite against us. Our three thousand men can hold Shenlongjia without a problem, but to take down Xiangfan City is far from enough.
Now, by voluntarily giving up the attack and telling them that we can jointly develop the Gene Evolution resources of Shenlongjia, we leave them with a way out. Without the immediate external threat, they will inevitably start fighting among themselves after returning, to decide who will be the new City King of Xiangfan.
If we are lucky, after their internal strife, they will be scattered and harboring different intentions, significantly weakened. Maybe someone will even proactively offer Xiangfan City to us, and I too shall become an apocalyptic version of Cao Cao, hehe!"
(Thanks to the book friend ’Lone Shadow in the Wilderness’ for tipping 100 Qidian Coins, and thank you all for the support!)