Chapter 84: Indecision

Somewhere in the mountains between Hua County and Fei County lies a small village.

This village, originally consisting of only a dozen families and a few dilapidated thatched huts, is now being traversed by a team of hundreds.

This team is extremely large, with not only hundreds of vehicles but also hundreds of cavalry and infantry, all armed with well-maintained swords and spears, and each with a piece of blue cloth wrapped around their forehead.

The old village chief, leaning on his wooden staff, tremblingly carried a bowl of eggs to greet these uninvited guests, but he was met with a steel blade.

Zhang Kai returned his sword to its sheath, and with his other hand steadily held the bowl of eggs, only then did the old village chief's body fall into the muddy water.

Zhang Kai turned his head and said to the soldiers behind him, "Kill them all."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers under his command, like wolves and tigers, rushed into the village with their swords, dragging the men and women out of their houses to be killed, acting with great decisiveness and efficiency.

In those chaotic times, the gentry were superior, military generals were normal people, and soldiers were inferior.

As for the common people, they could be tools for cultivating land and growing grain, reserves for soldiers, objects to be plundered, or even food itself, but they were never considered people.

As a commoner, you might die hastily and silently one day, just like the villagers in this village.

The whole process happened extremely quickly, and the villagers didn't even have time to react before the entire village was left with only the sounds of chickens and dogs crowing and barking.

After a while, even the sounds of chickens and dogs were gone.

Zhang Kai peeled an egg with one hand, threw it into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it. Finding his throat a little dry, he took out his waterskin and took a few hearty gulps before jumping off his horse and walking towards the carriage in the middle of the team.

He knocked on the carriage's panel and said, "Lord Cao, would you like an egg?"

The carriage door opened, revealing Cao Song's smiling face, "Commander Zhang, you've worked hard. I'm not hungry yet, so leave it for your subordinates."

Zhang Kai held the egg, but his gaze was fixed on Cao Song's plump concubine, who was trembling behind him, and his gaze lingered for a while.

Cao Song understood and quickly said with a smile, "If the Commander is interested, this woman can be given to the Commander."

Upon hearing this, the concubine's face showed even more horror.

Zhang Kai laughed heartily, "Forget it," he raised the bowl in his hand, "I'm still more interested in eggs."

After speaking, he turned around and left with the bowl.

Only then did the concubine breathe a sigh of relief and complain to Cao Song, "Master, how could you bear to part with me?"

Cao Song's face was gloomy, "Shut up!"

The concubine was so frightened that she quickly fell silent.

Cao Song thought for a moment and asked the concubine to call Cao De, who was in the carriage behind. After a while, a young man in his twenties, holding up the hem of his long shirt, hurried over and got into the carriage.

Seeing the carriage door slam shut, the concubine had no choice but to stand outside.

As the soldiers passed by her, they unscrupulously sized up her plump body wrapped in silk clothes, making her even more terrified and uneasy.

Inside the carriage, Cao Song asked, "Where are we?"

Cao De quickly replied, "We're almost at Fei County."

"After we pass Fei County, heading north all the way, we should be able to meet Ying Shao, the Grand Administrator of Mount Tai, who will come to welcome our team."

"Moreover, my elder brother has already sent troops to attack Mount Tai Commandery and Langya. The main force is nearby, so no matter who we encounter, we should be safe."

Cao Song's face was gloomy, and he said, "We won't make it there."

Cao De was shocked, "Why?"

Cao Song sneered, "When I met this Zhang Kai the other day, I saw that he had ill intentions."

"He claims to be escorting us, but many soldiers are taking the opportunity to knock on the large carts loaded with goods, obviously eyeing the things inside!"

"I'm afraid they'll become greedy for money and kill us all!"

Cao De was shocked, "If that's really the case, we only have a dozen guards, and the rest are all coachmen. How can we resist?"

"How about we give them half of the goods?"

"Fool!" Cao Song's face was gloomy, "If they kill us, they can take everything. Why would they only take half? Would you do that?"

"The reason they haven't acted yet is probably because they're looking for a suitable place to strike."

Cao De was even more alarmed, "Then isn't this place very suitable?"

Cao Song said in a deep voice, "It might be here, or it might be Fei County, but they will definitely not let us go further north."

Cao De asked in confusion, "Why Fei County?"

Cao Song said with disappointment, "If you had half the ability of your elder brother, I wouldn't be so tired!"

"Because they need a place to cover up their actions!"

"This village is too small, and the traces of so many vehicles are not easy to conceal. They are also afraid that your elder brother's cavalry will appear at any time and chase them down!"

"But Fei County is different. It was just massacred, and there must be corpses everywhere in the city."

"When the time comes, they can throw our bodies inside, divide up the goods on the carts, and destroy and burn the carts, and there will be no trace left!"

Upon hearing this, Cao De said anxiously, "Then what should we do?"

Cao Song's face was gloomy, "Once night falls, find a servant to put on your clothes and stay in your carriage. You find a way to get a horse and go north to find someone to save us."

Cao De was horrified, "I can't do it!"

"If you can't do it, we'll all die!" Cao Song whispered.

"Learn from your elder brother, who is always gambling with his life. What about you?"

Cao De didn't dare to say it out loud, but thought to himself that that person is just a rogue. I am the The legitimate son , how can I be the same as him?

Seeing that Cao De looked like he couldn't be helped, Cao Song coldly snorted, "Then you can just stay here and wait for death."

Cao De quickly said, "I'll go!"

He finally understood that if he stayed put, he might die tonight, but if he went out, no matter what, he could at least live a few more days.

Zhang Kai paced back and forth in the house, staring at the hundreds of large carts outside, his eyes flickering.

These people can be killed at any time, the key is how to kill them.

He had set out from Yangping County in Donghai Commandery, originally thinking he could intercept Cao Song's party heading west.

But Cao Song didn't know how he had learned some news in advance, and actually went northwest, which greatly exceeded Zhang Kai's expectations. He ran another two hundred miles north before encountering Cao Song.

But now it was a bit embarrassing, because this place was only a few dozen miles away from Fei County, and there was a possibility of encountering Cao Cao's army at any time.

Although the commoners who had been turned into spies said that Cao Cao's army had suddenly turned north to attack Jimo, Zhang Kai didn't dare to gamble on whether there were any Cao Cao's troops nearby.

After all, he had heard that there was another unit of Cao's army that had appeared in the east!

Zhang Kai was very greedy. He not only wanted to kill Cao Song, but also wanted to take away the wealth. Moreover, he was nominally a subordinate general of Tao Qian, but he had secretly defected to Yuan Shu!

Tao Qian's order to him was to hold Cao Song hostage and return to Yangping. If it was impossible, he could kill Cao Song's family.

But Yuan Shu's order to Zhang Kai was to kill Cao Song!

Zhang Kai knew what Yuan Shu was thinking.

If Cao Song was killed, Cao Cao would fight to the death in Xu Province, and the pressure on Yu Province, where Yuan Shu and Sun Jian were located in the south, would be greatly reduced.

Moreover, if Cao Cao attacked Xu Province, Tao Qian would inevitably be unable to support it, and at that time, he would only be able to obediently offer Xu Province to Yuan Shu!

Zhang Kai had been bought by Yuan Shu a long time ago. He had been indecisive these past few days, but now he had finally made up his mind to betray Tao Qian and join Yuan Shu.

After all, Yuan Shu had the potential to dominate the world, while Tao Qian was far behind in comparison.

But Zhang Kai also had his own calculations. He wanted high office and generous pay, and he also wanted gold and silver treasures.

The problem he was facing now was how to kill Cao Song and then take the hundred carts of wealth, leave Xu Province safely, and join Yuan Shu in Yu Province without being discovered!