Toward evening, Zhang Xing arrived east of Liaocheng. Several chiefs came to meet him, and they gathered on the official road.
Before even dismounting, Zhang Xing asked directly.
The others all seemed somewhat uneasy. Only Zhou Xingfan, his armor and clothes in disarray, stepped forward to speak.
Zhang Xing breathed a sigh of relief, asked where Dan Tonghai was, and led his men over to meet him. Seeing the man still looking about from horseback with his shoulder bandaged, he finally felt reassured.
Seeing Zhang Xing approach, Dan Tonghai also jumped down from his horse and joined them on the official road, but could not help asking:
Zhang Xing answered seriously.
Cheng Zhili, still stained with blood and sweat, also came forward to ask, though his voice was somewhat lower.
Zhang Xing continued.
Holding his shoulder and frowning, Dan Tonghai asked, his voice finally dropping.
Niu Da answered with a dark expression.
Zhang Xing was utterly speechless.
Niu Da was plainly unwilling to accept it either.
Fan Bao interjected as well.
The men nearby paused briefly, but soon the Cavalry Army chiefs who had fought that day realized Fan Bao was right. If Qutu Da had intended to fight, he should have personally led the cavalry at the front from the outset, gathering the other two core-condensing experts in the army together with Qin Bao to demonstrate his determination to fight to the death. His failure to pursue when Fan Bao and Cheng Zhili brought Dan Tonghai out after the successful surprise attack also said something.
After this account, Chen Bin finally spoke, answering from beside them with an equally dark expression, since some responsibility for the troop movements had to fall on him.
Seeing that the Cavalry Army and the reinforcements were about to
start discussing responsibility again, Zhang