Chapter 104: The Passing-Through Officer of the Guandu Hub

Wang Zhong.

He was a must-mention character in the Cao Wei Camp, yet he was just a background extra, the Marquis of Duting.

He spent his life in the military with no real achievements, except for the fact that he once stole a thousand newly recruited farmers from Lou Gui right after starting his career and directly pledged allegiance to Cao Cao. After that, he lost far more battles than he won.

The reason a general of defeated armies like him managed to become a Marquis was entirely due to his excellent judgment on which side to support.

In the early days of his rise, Cao Cao was just a poor man with a small piece of land. When Wang Zhong pledged allegiance to him, Cao Cao immediately appointed him to the high position of General of the Household. Later, as Cao Cao gradually dominated the Great Han, Wang Zhong followed Xiahou Dun and others to urge Cao Cao to title himself Duke. By the time of Cao Pi, he joined Cao Ren in urging Cao Pi to declare himself Emperor.

The “meritorious officials who followed the dragon” referred to people exactly like Wang Zhong.

However, both generations of the Cao Family knew Wang Zhong’s true capabilities. Unless absolutely forced, they never gave him any important missions. Just like now during the Battle of Guandu, all of Cao Cao’s great generals held important posts, yet Wang Zhong, despite holding the high rank of General of the Household, was assigned to the Rear Camp to manage a group of reserves.

There were plenty of them, totaling over two thousand men, but not a single one of them had been a soldier for more than a year. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them a group of farmers who had just picked up weapons.

Dressed neatly, he led Li Ji and Li Guang by their horses into the Rear Camp to meet Wang Zhong.

Looking at the figure before him that was not much stronger than himself, Mo Xiaobai could not imagine that the general who would determine the outcome of the Battle of Guandu in the eyes of countless Players in his past life was such a person.

With this appearance alone, without even checking his Attribute, Mo Xiaobai could estimate that his Combat Power did not exceed 60.

As for his Commander stat, well, Cao Mengde might have liked to execute talented people, but he rarely wasted talent.

“The only feature worth mentioning must be that pair of fierce eyes, but unfortunately, an intimidating stare works on refugees, not on me.”

Muttering to himself, Mo Xiaobai clasped his hands and bowed: “Your subordinate salutes the General of the Household!”

“My Lord Baron is too polite. We both serve the Minister of Works; there is no need to be so distant.”

Wang Zhong was of average height and had a fierce-looking face, but his voice was surprisingly gentle. He stood up from the Main General’s seat and walked closer with a smile. “I wonder why my Lord Baron has come here today?”

“I wish to serve under the General of the Household!” Although he was unsure if this guy was reliable, Mo Xiaobai thought for a moment and decided to continue with the plan he had already made.

“Oh?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong’s expression immediately turned strange.

He knew his own worth very well, so even though he was not highly valued, he never complained. As long as he did his own duty, that was enough.

But now, during the Battle of Guandu, the army was in desperate need of men. Before him stood a young Baron with the official position of Colonel in the military. Instead of seeking out those elite soldiers and strong generals, he came all the way to the Rear Camp to find him. Wang Zhong suddenly found this unbelievable.

“With my capabilities, someone actually wants to serve under me?”

Wang Zhong could not figure it out, so he immediately asked tentatively: “There are many fine generals under the Minister of Works. Not to mention Miao Cai and Yuanrang, even Gongming and Wenyuan currently hold important positions. If my Lord Baron went to find them, would it not be a better use of his talents?”

That is nonsense!

I certainly know that the Xiahou brothers, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang have more promising futures than you.

But who let these people get locked down on the Guandu battlefield? It is not the decisive battle time yet, and if I want to earn Merit, who else am I supposed to find?

Complaining internally for a couple of seconds, Mo Xiaobai cleared his throat and explained: “Does the General know that the former Grand Administrator of Donghai, Chang Xi, has rebelled again and is now leading troops to threaten Pengcheng?”

“So what? Does it not have Zang Ba guarding Langye and Pengcheng?” Although Wang Zhong’s skills were poor, his information was not closed off. Langye was the territory of Zang Xuangao, the former leader of the Mount Tai bandits.

Chang Xi was just one of Zang Ba’s subordinates back then; was it not simple to deal with a little brother?

“Since the Mount Tai group pledged allegiance to the Minister of Works, Zang Ba and the others have been split up. Sun Guan, Yi Li, and others have all been transferred away. Although Zang Ba holds the high position of Administrator of Langye, his command of troops is not as strong as before.”

Mo Xiaobai briefly explained the situation he knew, and finally revealed the true reason for his visit to the Rear Camp: “Moreover, I heard upon arriving that the envoy sent by Chen Deng has already reached the Minister of Works’ main tent. I presume they are requesting reinforcements.”

Chen Deng of Xu Province asking for help?

Wang Zhong first paused, then sneered.

Smoke of war was rising everywhere in the Battle of Guandu. No matter how chaotic the battlefield in Xu Province was, how could the Minister of Works spare any troops to send out?

Wang Zhong thought this first, but then he sensed something was wrong.

Spare troops?

Hiss~

There really were some!

Didn’t the several thousand soldiers in this Rear Camp count?

Once Wang Zhong thought of this, his two eyes finally turned serious as he stared at Mo Xiaobai and spoke: “Is what my Lord Baron said true? Did Xu Province really send someone to request help?”

“Of course it is true. If my Lord General does not believe it, you can go to the Central Army to investigate. However, it is currently daytime, and going now might be a bit dangerous. It would be more appropriate to go after nightfall.” Mo Xiaobai was telling the truth. This was not a memory from his past life, but something he heard from passing Players when he pushed the supply cart to turn in a quest.

Chen Jiao had brought Chen Deng’s letter of request to Cao Cao, hoping Cao Cao would send troops to the Xu Province battlefield. In the Instance progress of his past life, the reason Wang Zhong was placed at the Guandu Hub by the Players was because he originally had the opportunity to reinforce Xu Province.

Although going to Xu Province might not have made a huge difference, there were still over two thousand troops and horses stationed there. As long as Wang Zhong went, Chang Xi could not capture Pengcheng immediately.

But if Wang Zhong did not go, Chang Xi would lead the bandit forces and the Yuan Shao Camp Players to break through Pengcheng, then proceed to Guangling to attack Chen Deng in a pincer movement with Sun Ce. Once Chen Deng was defeated, Sun Ce could immediately march west.

In this scenario, Cao Ren, who was already forcing Liu Bei to cry, would have to abandon the best opportunity to crush Liu Bei and was forced to retreat to defend Xudu.

Once Cao Ren retreated, the revived Liu Bei and Sun Ce would join forces. Then the Cao Family’s new Liu-Sun Allied Forces would surround Xudu tightly, leaving Cao Ren with one hand to face an enemy army, resulting in him being beaten black and blue.

The Guandu Instance in the past life went off track exactly like this.

Even if the showdown between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had not collapsed, the bottom lane had completely fallen apart, and Cao Cao was already powerless to turn the tide.

Recalling the Instance progress he knew from his past life, Mo Xiaobai waited for Wang Zhong’s response. However, after waiting for a long time, Wang Zhong did not say a word; he just stood there looking troubled, as if suffering from constipation.

“Does the General of the Household have any concerns?”

“My Lord Baron, I have served under the Minister of Works for many years, but I have never commanded troops alone. I fear the Minister of Works would not even consider sending me to Pengcheng.”

Although Wang Zhong explained it this way, Mo Xiaobai immediately understood what he really meant.

Damn it, this guy is afraid of death!

A jerk who was so hungry he would dare to eat human flesh is now so frugal with his life, afraid of dying to this extreme degree!

“Chang Xi is nothing but a mountain bandit. Does the General of the Household not want to earn this military Merit? If the General of the Household goes, you simply need to bring the troops and horses to Pengcheng without losing a single one. With Zang Xuangao there, you do not need to personally go to the battlefield. When the turmoil is pacified, you will be the one leading troops to reinforce, while Zang Ba will only be credited for defending the city successfully. What do you think, my Lord General?”

Mo Xiaobai persuaded Wang Zhong with his words, but he scoffed internally.

In the past life, you hid and refused to go, staying here waiting for the final decisive battle. Even at the final battle, you hid and fought, thinking that avoiding the main battlefield to sweep the dirt mounds and arrow towers set up by the Yuan Shao Camp would be easier, only to die the fastest.

This Lord Baron is saving your life, and yet you hesitate and drag your feet.

It is fitting that you remain a battle-trash for your whole life!