Yan Liang was merciful and did not take Man Chong's head.
Even so, just a blow with the back of the knife was powerful enough to make Man Chong spurt blood.
He fell off the horse and struggled to get up. Seeing this, Zhou Cang yelled and stepped forward with a knife, intending to take his life.
Man Chong, whose blood was boiling, saw the fierce blade roaring down in his dizzy vision.
For a moment, Man Chong's mind went blank, all thoughts were lost, and he only thought that his life was at risk.
Dang~~
A cold light flashed, but the blade stopped just in front of Man Chong's forehead.
The surprised Man Chong looked up and was surprised to find that Yan Liang actually used his sword to block Zhou Cang's falling sword at the last moment.
Yan Liang pushed Zhou Cang's knife away with just a slight pick.
Zhou Cang said in surprise: "General, why don't you let the last general take the life of this thief?"
Man Chong was also surprised and wondered why Yan Liang didn't take his life.
"There is no point in killing the defeated general. Let's tie him up and take him back to Ancheng." Yan Liang said calmly.
"But General——"
When Zhou Cang was about to say more, Yan Liang's eyes suddenly focused, and his blade-like gaze burst out with unquestionable majesty, which made Zhou Cang's heart suddenly tremble.
He immediately did not dare to question any more, and hurriedly drank the soldiers and tied up Man Chong.
Man Chong, who had a mouth full of blood, stared at Yan Liang suspiciously. He escaped to death and couldn't figure out why Yan Liang didn't kill him.
As a military general, it is a great achievement to kill the enemy general in battle. If Man Chong had the opportunity, he would not hesitate to kill Yan Liang's head to perform the feat.
But he didn't know that although Yan Liang was nominally a general of the Yuan family, he had already set his sights on the world.
Yan Liang did not kill Man Chong, of course, not out of mercy, but out of love for talents.
In the novel, Guan Yu flooded seven armies and surrounded Fancheng, almost forcing Cao Ren, the first general of the Cao family, to abandon the city. It was Man Chong's persuasion that prompted Cao Ren to stick to Fancheng and prevented Cao Cao from moving the capital to avoid Guan Yu.
Bingfeng.
According to the official history, Man Chong not only had outstanding military ability, but was also a good hand in governing and ensuring the people. Among them, the number of food towns in Wei eventually reached more than 9,000 households, while Cao Rencai only had more than 3,000 households.
Man Chong's talent can be seen from this.
When Yan Liang was recruiting talents, how could Yan Liang be willing to kill such a talented person with great potential in both civil and military fields?
After defeating Cao Ren and capturing Man Chong alive, Yan Liang thought it was not enough and led more than ten thousand cavalry to chase Cao Ren's defeated army for more than 20 miles.
At dusk, the battle ended.
The wilderness to the north of An City was covered with pillows and blood flowed everywhere. There were large swamps of bloody blood everywhere, with bits and pieces of severed heads and limbs scattered on them. The scene was extremely tragic.
Although Yan Liang defeated Cao's army in this battle, after taking inventory of the battlefield, he found that his army's casualties were actually more than those of Cao's army, reaching more than 3,000.
Fortunately, most of the three thousand soldiers and horses lost were Gong Du and his subordinates. These Yellow Turban troops, like their leader Gong Du, were mostly bandits with extremely bad military discipline and difficult to control. It is not a pity to lose them.
Cao's army suffered losses of approximately 2,000 men, more than 500 cavalry, and more than 1,000 infantry.
What Yan Liang was most happy about was naturally getting more than 500 good horses and more than 100 carts of grain and grass.
Being behind enemy lines in Runan, it was difficult to raise military capital. These captured horses and fodder were naturally a great wealth for Yan Liang.
Yan Liang, who had won the first battle, did not take advantage of the situation to advance northward, but returned to the city in triumph with the fighting spirit to win.
The news of the victory spread back to Ancheng, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were all excited. Those powerful people from the Runan family who were still hesitant at first, seeing Yan Liang's victory, immediately stood up to express their support for Yuan Shao, sending food and cloth, and came one after another.
Reward Yan Liang and his soldiers who returned in triumph.
Yan Liang rode back to the city with his head held high, amid the admiration and cheers of the people in the city.
"General Ziyi, look at the people in this city, they all seem to support you." Xu You, who was following him, said with a smile.
After this victory, Xu You also changed his name to Yan Liang as "General Ziyi", seeming to take the initiative to build a relationship with him.
Yan Liang smiled and waved to the people on the roadside, but said disdainfully: "What they support is not me, but the fist in my hand."
Although Yan Liang was in high spirits, he felt like a mirror in his heart.
He knows that this is an era that worships the strong. If you want to win the support of the world, you can only rely on formidable strength.
Xu You's heart was shocked again. When he looked at the calm and calm famous Hebei general next to him, his eyes revealed not only shock, but a kind of admiration from the heart.
In the battle in Ancheng, Yan Liang used the sword in his hand and his decisiveness, which deeply won Xu You's admiration.
With everyone looking up to him, Yan Liang returned to the prefect's mansion.
After entering the hall, Yan Liang ordered the prisoner Man Chong to be brought to the hall.
School swordsmen stood on both sides, and the atmosphere in the lobby was gloomy.
Man Chong, who was bound all over, was escorted up. Faced with the murderous intent in the room, he showed no fear at all and only stared angrily at Yan Liang.
Yan Liang looked down at him and said loudly: "Man Boning, now that you have been captured by my general, are you willing to surrender?"
Man Chong snorted coldly and turned his head to the side, not looking at Yan Liang.
Xu You next to him sneered: "It seems that he also wants to be a loyal minister, General Ziyi. Why not help him and use his head to scare Cao's thieves."
At this time, Xu You still considered things from the perspective of Yuan Shao's ministers. For Yuan Shao, those who refused to surrender and tried to resist his "power of heaven" should naturally be killed.
"Man Boning, did you hear what Mr. Ziyuan said? Surrender is life, refusing to surrender is death. You have to think clearly." Yan Liang's tone gradually contained murderous intent.
Man Chong remained indifferent, neither surrendering nor openly refusing.
In the eyes of others, Man Chong's silence was a sign of resistance to surrender, but Yan Liang saw something else.
If he was really determined to die for the Cao family and wanted to die wholeheartedly, he could have generously refused to surrender and angered Yan Liang to kill him.
He was silent now, seemingly still resisting, but actually he was hesitating in his heart.
Although the reputation of surrendering ministers is not good, people are not saints, and not everyone can choose to die rather than surrender.
Yan Liang noticed Man Chong's hesitation, and suddenly stood up, holding his sword and striding down the steps.
His murderous power made everyone present feel in awe.
Everyone thought that Yan Liang was offended by Man Chong's indifference, and their general planned to kill this ignorant guy with his own hands.
Zheng~~
Yan Liang stepped forward fiercely and unsheathed his sword.
Everyone's hearts tightened, and even Xu You, who was urging the killing, turned his head to the side, unable to bear to see the scene of blood splattering on the scene.
A trace of shock flashed across Man Chong's eyes. He obviously thought that Yan Liang was going to kill him. When things came to an end, he had no choice but to close his eyes and continue to hold on. Life or death was left to fate.
"People say that Man Boning is a loyal man, and he is indeed well-deserved. It is very good. What I appreciate most is a loyal and courageous man like you."
Yan Liang laughed and swung the sword in his hand, cutting off the rope on Man Chong's body.
Everyone present was immediately stunned.
Even Man Chong, who opened his eyes, was also full of surprise. He really didn't understand why Yan Liang stopped at the last moment, and his attitude also changed 180 degrees.
"General Yan, Prime Minister Cao has been kind to Man Mou. The general wants Man Mou to betray the Prime Minister. I'm afraid..."
Man Chong thought that Yan Liang wanted to use this gentle method to surrender to him, so he expressed his feelings tactfully.
Yan Liang had no intention of accepting his favor on the spot. He was not so naive as to think that as soon as his bastard temper was revealed, these historical celebrities would bow to him.
After all, he was facing real people, not virtual characters in the game. Moreover, even the generals in the game would have to be detained for some time, waiting for their loyalty to decline before they could be persuaded to surrender.
Yan Liang said casually: "Bo Ning doesn't have to rush to make a decision whether to surrender or not. Come on, send General Man to rest, treat him well, and don't neglect him."
Yan Liang decided to put Man Chong under house arrest first. After Cao Cao's defeat in the Battle of Guandu, Man Chong lost his allegiance. At that time, he would surrender to him and it would be easier for him psychologically.
Man Chong didn't say anything more and could only walk down the hall with a gloomy expression.
While watching Yan Liang's performance, Xu You first tried hard to force Zhou Cang to surrender, and now he persuaded Man Chong to surrender, but his suspicions became more and more serious.
"This Yan Ziyi, with all his actions, he looks less and less like a general under Yuan Gong, and more like a prince who is hungry for talents. What does he want to do?"