Chapter 483: Talents of the Civil Official
Chapter 483: Talents of the Civil Official
September 25, 2017
Jiuzhou, Zhao Kingdom.
After receiving the news of Zhang Jiao leading hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Ye City, Lu HaiKong abandoned their original plan to rest and directly continued their journey towards Weizhou.
However, even though Lu HaiKong's group was entirely cavalry, they needed two to three days to reach their destination due to their need for secrecy.
Moreover, upon arriving at the battlefield, Lu HaiKong still required time for intelligence gathering and assessing the battle situation, and could not immediately join the fight.
Considering all these factors, it would take at least five to six days for Lu HaiKong to engage in the battle. They were unsure if Lu Zhi could withstand Zhang Jiao's well-prepared and determined army.
On the second day, while rushing on their journey, Lu HaiKong also took the time to check the camp's exchange list.
To Lu HaiKong's surprise, the list only displayed items that required sufficient merit points to exchange.
In fact, there were quite a few items that Lu HaiKong could exchange with his million merit points, ranging from items, secret manuals, to provisions and money. What left Lu HaiKong astounded was the availability of talent exchange.
The price for a high-level talent varied from 300,000 to 500,000 merit points, depending on their growth potential.
This expensive price fully demonstrated the difficulty of finding a capable general among thousands of soldiers.
Lu HaiKong was overwhelmed by the extensive exchange list, but at this moment, he had no intention of exchanging for anything extravagant. He only wanted to check for one specific item.
He wanted to see if he could exchange for provisions.
In reality, Lu HaiKong's team did not carry much in terms of provisions. After entering Jiuzhou, they mainly replenished their supplies by conquering counties or Mystic Territories.
However, at this moment, Lu HaiKong was in a hurry to reach his destination and did not want to reveal his whereabouts, so he could not afford to attack counties or Mystic Territories to obtain provisions.
Therefore, he wanted to check if these items could be exchanged; otherwise, Lu HaiKong had no choice but to attack counties.
This was the last thing Lu HaiKong wanted to do, as it would undoubtedly expose his location.
Fortunately, Lady Luck smiled upon Lu HaiKong this time. He could exchange merit points for provisions, but he couldn't tell if the price was expensive or cheap.
The provisions needed for one person and one horse for a day required approximately 5 merit points. Lu HaiKong had over 5,000 people, almost 6,000, and five days' worth of provisions would cost 150,000 merit points.
In an instant, the merit points for conquering a county were gone. It seemed that the price was indeed expensive, and ridiculously so, but there was no other choice. In Lu HaiKong's current situation, he couldn't save these 150,000 points; he had to spend them.
Subsequently, Lu HaiKong spent another 50,000 merit points to exchange for a detailed map of Jiuzhou. This casual expenditure further reduced his merit points to 750,000.
After a quick replenishment, Lu HaiKong continued on his journey.
...
Jiuzhou, Ye City.
Zhang Jiao's siege battle continued, and after a full day of fighting, none of Zhang Jiao's three legions achieved any significant results.
On the contrary, the entire day of battle resulted in around 20,000 casualties for the three legions.
Although Lu Zhi's defending forces also suffered casualties, they were undoubtedly much lighter compared to Zhang Jiao's 20,000 losses. The casualties were approximately 3,000 to 4,000.
The most severe casualties occurred on the battlefield where Zhang Liang and Ding Yuan were fighting. The defending forces suffered nearly 3,000 casualties, and the attacking side also lost over 10,000 troops, indicating the intensity of the battle in that area.
According to the current battle situation, Lu Zhi could successfully defend the city and even cause significant damage to the enemy. However, for some unknown reason, Lu Zhi couldn't shake off a feeling of unease. He vaguely sensed that Zhang Jiao seemed to possess some kind of earth-shattering secret power.
This concern wasn't unfounded anxiety or a so-called sixth sense but rather a manifestation of Lu Zhi's Scholar Official talent. While his Combat Strength was stuck at 79, his political strategy had surpassed 80, awakening a talent akin to the Warrior General's.
Ironically, Lu Zhi's Scholar Official talent was 'Clarity of Heart', which could be considered a precognitive ability. In historical records and fictionalized accounts, whether it was refusing bribes from Zuofeng or later confronting Dong Zhuo head-on, he should have been aware of the dangers, yet he still rushed in.
Was he foolish, or was he principled and resolute?
In Ye City of Jiuzhou, Zhang Jiao's main camp.
Today's battle had been intense, and none of the three legions were under Zhang Jiao's direct command.
Human talents are limited. For instance, Lu HaiKong excelled in martial arts and military strategy but fell short in governance.
In the 1619 version of the book!
Zhang Jiao was no different. In reality, he wasn't proficient in military strategy, falling far behind his younger brother, Zhang Liang.
However, the area he excelled in was extraordinary—he was skilled in Daoist Spells.
In historical records and fictionalized accounts, Zhang Jiao's so-called Daoist Spells would likely be attributed to deception or trickery. But in this world, Daoist Spells were genuine and authentic.
Since obtaining the 'Book of Great Peace,' Zhang Jiao had diligently studied Daoist Spells for decades, becoming a master of the art.
If given enough time, Zhang Jiao could single-handedly break through Ye City, but such a feat would come at a tremendous cost.
Of course, with sufficient preparation, this cost could be mitigated.
In the grand military camp, Zhang Jiao, clad in a Daoist robe, had been sitting idly for an entire day.
Outside the camp, an altar was being constructed. Based on the current progress, it would likely be completed by tomorrow.
Within the camp, Zhang Jiao's eyes slightly widened, as if penetrating the tent to observe the altar's construction.
Watching the altar's progress, Zhang Jiao nodded slightly, then fell back into silence.
If all went well, Zhang Jiao would need to sit idly for one more day. The altar would be completed by tomorrow, but it would take additional time for Zhang Jiao to perform his ritual, as other conditions were required besides the altar.
These conditions were stringent, even cruel, for both Zhang Jiao and others.
Nonetheless, he had to initiate this Daoist Spell.
Four months had passed since the Yellow Turban Rebellion began, and Zhang Jiao vaguely sensed that the Yellow Turbans' momentum seemed to be waning.
The defeat in Youzhou was sealed, and both Hanzhou and Yangzhou were on the brink of defeat. In this situation, the Yellow Turbans desperately needed a significant victory to boost morale.
Zhang Jiao planned to achieve this victory the day after tomorrow, accompanied by a divine miracle!
(End of Chapter)
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