Chapter 690: Zhang Mancheng's Loyalty
Chapter 690: Zhang Mancheng's Loyalty
September 25, 2017
The final move of Zhang Mancheng's chess game was not a coincidence but a deliberate action.
When Lu Haikong first arrived, Zhang Mancheng might not have noticed him, but as Lu Haikong started paying attention to their game, his presence became harder to ignore.
Especially as the game progressed, Lu Haikong's aura of command grew stronger with each move, and his presence became more and more imposing.
This sudden change was noticeable, but Chen Yi, who was fully focused on the game, did not seem to notice it. However, Zhang Mancheng could not have missed Lu Haikong's presence.
When Zhang Mancheng first noticed Lu Haikong, he didn't pay much attention, thinking that Lu Haikong was merely excited by the game.
However, when Lu Haikong's aura started to surge, Zhang Mancheng could no longer remain indifferent. He could see that Lu Haikong was growing at an astonishing rate.
This was a very unusual situation, and Zhang Mancheng had not encountered such a case in the past few decades.
But it was precisely because of this situation that Zhang Mancheng, just as Lu Haikong was about to break through, ended the game, leaving Lu Haikong's command at exactly 79 and freeing him from his trance-like state.
After coming out of this state, the first thing Lu Haikong did was to look at Zhang Mancheng.
Lu Haikong had been fully immersed in the game, and he could feel that in the latter half of the game, Zhang Mancheng's style suddenly changed. He went from a calm and steady pace to a raging storm, ending the game and Lu Haikong's epiphany within just a few minutes.
Because of this, Lu Haikong lost the opportunity to break through the 80th level of Command. He needed to understand the reason.
What Lu Haikong did not expect was that as his gaze fell on Zhang Mancheng, the latter's expression remained calm and composed, and this composure was not the kind of 'dead pig is not afraid of boiling water' or 'broken jar' indifference. It was the kind that came from a clear conscience.
"These things are not suitable for you," Zhang Mancheng spoke first, expressing his honest thoughts.
Zhang Mancheng's words were indeed sincere.
Several months had passed since the fall of the Yellow Turban Sect and the death of Zhang Jiao, which had dealt a significant blow to Zhang Mancheng and the captured historical Yellow Turban generals.
The collapse of their original ideals had also led to a significant change in their mindset.
During these months, although Lu Haikong had not visited much, it did not mean that the surrender negotiations had stopped. The work of persuading them to surrender had continued, just not directly by Lu Haikong.
This surrender work was designed by Xi Zhicai and carried out by the members of the Fire Battalion in various aspects of the captured generals' daily lives. After a few months, it had achieved significant results.
At the very least, when facing Lu Haikong now, Zhang Mancheng no longer held any hostility. When Lu Haikong was about to advance in his military understanding, Zhang Mancheng had stopped him in time.
Lu Haikong could accept Zhang Mancheng's explanation, as he was aware of his own talents and what suited him. Zhang Mancheng's military ideas were indeed not suitable for him.
Moreover, for Lu Haikong, who held two golden free ability points in his hands, raising Command to 80 was just a matter of the blink of an eye. So, at this moment, Lu Haikong did not feel too much regret.
His inquiring gaze was mainly to understand Zhang Mancheng's attitude towards him, or more precisely, the possibility of recruiting Zhang Mancheng.
From the current situation, Lu Haikong was quite satisfied.
"Shall we play a game?"
After roughly understanding the situation, Lu Haikong waved his hand to stop Chen Yi, who had just noticed him and was about to stand up to pay his respects. Lu Haikong then took Chen Yi's place and sat down.
Without saying much, Zhang Mancheng silently nodded in agreement. The two of them then reset the sand table strategic chess game in front of them and began their battle on the chessboard.
To be honest, in terms of pure chess skills, Lu Haikong, who was busy with various affairs and had little free time, was clearly inferior to Zhang Mancheng. So, from the start, the balance of victory tilted towards Zhang Mancheng, and Lu Haikong's performance at this moment was even worse than Chen Yi's.
From the beginning, Lu Haikong's game was on the offensive, while Zhang Mancheng was on the defensive. However, he was not merely defending; he was also gradually building up his chess position.
Even at the peak of Lu Haikong's offense, he could not cause more losses to Zhang Mancheng. When the game was halfway through, and Zhang Mancheng's position was fully established, Lu Haikong's game was completely overpowered. The rest of the game could be summed up in four words: 'Trapped Beast's Struggle'!
Lu Haikong's game was like a beast trapped in a cage, unable to break through Zhang Mancheng's encirclement and suppression.
In this scenario, Lu HaiKong struggled for over ten minutes before eventually succumbing to defeat in the game.
"As expected, I lost," Lu HaiKong said with a smile as he stood up, seemingly unaffected by the outcome of the game.
Zhang Mancheng smiled calmly, not uttering any polite words, but instead quietly observing the chessboard.
At first glance, Zhang Mancheng's victory seemed effortless, but if someone were to stand behind him, they would see that his back was completely soaked in sweat.
Indeed, Zhang Mancheng had won the game effortlessly on the board, but mentally, he had been tense throughout.
However, his concern wasn't about winning or losing, but rather the aura that Lu HaiKong unconsciously exuded while playing, which startled Zhang Mancheng.
Zhang Mancheng could tell that Lu HaiKong's thoughts were completely focused on treating the game as a real war.
The momentum built up from his repeated attacks reminded Zhang Mancheng of that fateful night with Liang Qi, and the terrifying cavalry he had faced, causing Zhang Mancheng's back to be drenched in sweat.
Lu HaiKong noticed Zhang Mancheng's reaction and understood the reason, but didn't pay it much attention.
By the end of the game, Lu HaiKong already knew that his recruitment attempt had essentially succeeded, even though neither of them had spoken much. Almost everything that needed to be said, Zhang Mancheng had expressed through the game.
Lu HaiKong stood up and directly handed over the olive branch, saying, "General Zhang, I have a Fire Battalion under my command, and I would like to invite you to be the strategist and tactics instructor for this battalion. Are you willing to accept this offer?"
Lu HaiKong didn't offer Zhang Mancheng a leadership position, partly because of Zhang Mancheng's subtle indication on the chessboard, and partly due to Lu HaiKong's own considerations.
After all, Zhang Mancheng was a Yellow Turban leader, and although Lu HaiKong was strong, he wouldn't dare to openly use Zhang Mancheng at this time. Such an action would be too brazen.
Moreover, Zhang Mancheng was a top-tier commander, and such talent should be placed in a high position. But at this time, he was merely a captive, so promoting him to a high position would be unreasonable.
Therefore, instead of placing Zhang Mancheng in an unused high command position, Lu HaiKong decided to cultivate his strategic and tactical skills within the Fire Battalion.
The Fire Battalion was essentially Lu HaiKong's military academy, where most of his officers had graduated from. By placing Zhang Mancheng there, Lu HaiKong could also build his authority, and if needed, Zhang Mancheng could be quickly transferred out, ready to lead and engage in battle.
This was Lu HaiKong's calculated move, and although it might seem ridiculous for Lu HaiKong to be making such arrangements before Zhang Mancheng had even pledged allegiance, it was not.
Lu HaiKong was confident that Zhang Mancheng would pledge his loyalty.
Indeed, after Lu HaiKong extended the olive branch, Zhang Mancheng immediately stood up.
"Your subordinate, Zhang Mancheng, pays respects to the Lord!"
With this declaration, the system prompt sounded, and Lu HaiKong's forces gained a top-tier commander.
After Zhang Mancheng's allegiance, the remaining three historical Yellow Turban generals, including Zhang Niujiao, Zhao Hong, and Han Zhong, all pledged their loyalty.
This wave of loyalty directly increased Lu HaiKong's forces by four generals with a strength of 80 or above, and he also received a Legendary Chest and three Gold Chests as rewards.
Lu HaiKong checked their loyalty, which was generally above 75, not absolute loyalty, but still unlikely to betray him. So, Lu HaiKong assigned them their respective positions.
Zhang Niujiao, with his exceptional talent in both strength and command, would be cultivated for a while to build both his abilities and loyalty. After all, once he was ready, he could be released to lead an entire army!
(End of Chapter)
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