Double penetration: This Three Kingdoms has dragon energy

Chapter 127 Beliefs and Bonds: Unparalleled Benevolence, Unparalleled Loyalty, Unparalleled Courage, The Oath of the Peach Garden!

Ji Qiu chuckled and said, "It is indeed I, the Marquis. Magistrate Liu gave me quite a surprise at our first meeting."

I never imagined that you three brothers possessed such strength!

"Not at all, Your Excellency flatters me. Compared to you, my two brothers and I are like fireflies vying for the moon's brilliance; we are utterly insignificant!" Liu Bei quickly waved his hand modestly.

Judging from his slightly trembling arms and the blush that quickly spread across his face, he was clearly very pleased and excited by Ji Qiu's praise.

In fact, it wasn't just him who felt pleased and excited; Guan Yu and Zhang Fei felt the same way.

Guan Yu's face was naturally red, so there was no noticeable change.

But his phoenix eyes, which he often squinted, became even narrower.

As for Zhang Fei, he let out a hearty laugh, completely forgetting that he had just been pressed to the ground by Ji Qiu's sword.

This is the effect of status.

For those in positions of power, praising those in positions of power is the most cost-effective way to gain their favor.

A casual compliment can often win someone a lot of goodwill, and may even make them willing to die for him.

Of course, at this time, Ji Qiu's relationship with Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei not only had the effect of a superior on a subordinate, but also the effect of an idol on a fan.

The combined effect of these two effects is undoubtedly stronger.

After they announced their identities to each other, Liu Bei invited Ji Qiu to sit and talk on the grass nearby.

Ji Qiu readily agreed, so Liu Bei ordered three hundred elite soldiers of the White Feather Army to stand by and wait. Then the four of them went to the grassy area beside the official road.

The four sat cross-legged. Ji Qiu waved his arm, and a tea set that looked quite valuable appeared on the grass between them.

Steam was still rising from the teapot.

His personal space allows items to remain undamaged and never deteriorate.

It will remain in the same state as when it was put in.

Therefore, Ji Qiu often puts some freshly brewed tea or freshly made snacks in it so that they can be taken out at any time.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were naturally quite surprised by his ability.

But it wasn't too surprising, since the world of Dragon Qi Three Kingdoms is full of countless Dragon Qi secret techniques, so it's not surprising that any kind of ability would appear.

Ji Qiu holds a high position and wields great power; he certainly possesses not only innate secret techniques but also a large number of acquired ones.

Then they might possess any kind of secret technique.

While the ability to conjure teaware and tea out of thin air is astonishing, it is quite normal to classify it as a kind of dragon energy secret technique.

Ji Qiu poured a cup of tea for each of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, and handed it to them.

All three of them respectfully accepted the gifts with both hands and expressed their gratitude.

Then Ji Qiu said, "Just now I heard Xuande and Yunchang talking about wanting to join the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance to gain fame and embark on an official career."

The idea is good, but it's not very realistic.

"I am unaware of any oversights in this matter, and I humbly request your guidance, my lord," Liu Bei respectfully inquired.

Ji Qiu said calmly, "I wouldn't dare to ask for your advice. I'll just share my thoughts for your reference."

My reasoning is actually very simple.

Reputation is the foundation of a noble family's survival, and they will never give it to others easily.

Even though Xuande was a hero of his time, and his two sworn brothers were both brave enough to fight ten thousand men, it was still difficult to snatch food from their mouths.

In fact, the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance was originally established by the powerful families of Guandong, led by Yuan Shao, in order to gain prestige.

Since it was a ladder they had painstakingly built, why would they hand it over to benefit Xuande?

During the Three Kingdoms period in history, prominent families and scholars all placed great importance on reputation.

According to the Han Dynasty's official selection mechanism, one could become an official if they had a good reputation.

A person of exceptional renown could even directly enter the imperial court and become a high-ranking official, equivalent to one of the Nine Ministers.

They skipped the time allotted for lower-level officials in the imperial court to be tested and appraised.

It's practically a fast track to promotion!

In the Three Kingdoms of Dragon's Breath, the famous scholars of powerful families undoubtedly value reputation even more.

This was not only a fast track to officialdom and promotion, but also a fundamental weapon used by powerful families to resist imperial power.

During the golden age of a dynasty, the emperor controlled the six armies and wielded power over the entire realm.

The powerful and influential families across the land were all suppressed, making it difficult for them to directly develop their military strength.

How could powerful families survive and protect themselves under the emperor's oppression?
Only reputation!

Their reputation represents their spiritual influence on the people, and it also represents the amount of dragon energy they can obtain!
In times of chaos, the importance of this reputation not only did not diminish, but became even more prominent.

During periods of chaos, the legitimacy of the imperial court will rapidly decline, and the people will no longer trust the court, so they will naturally turn to other forces.

This is a huge piece of dragon energy, a piece of fat meat.

Who wouldn't want to come over and have a bite?
How can one get here and snatch a bite?

They both relied on reputation!
At this time, most of the wise people in the world had realized that a chaotic era was coming.

Therefore, they will resort to even more unscrupulous means to gain fame.

Of course, reputation is indeed very important.

The anti-Dong Zhuo alliance was a platform for the powerful families of Guandong to gain prestige, and it's true that they wouldn't easily hand it over to Liu Bei.

However, to say that Liu Bei absolutely could not use this platform to gain great fame would be to deceive people.

Historically, it was through the alliance against Dong Zhuo that Liu Bei gained considerable fame and successfully embarked on the path to becoming a warlord.

There is no way around this.

As the saying goes, it’s up to people to plan things, but it’s up to God to make things happen.

Although the platform was built by the powerful families of Guandong, due to the changing times and the pressure of circumstances, they were forced to make Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei famous.

That's just the way things are, fate.

The development of the Dragon Kingdom world is basically consistent with the historical Three Kingdoms period.

So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it's quite possible that Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei's expedition to oppose Dong Zhuo will actually yield what they desire.

But so what?
Since Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei could not predict the future, they naturally would not have known about this unexpected outcome.

Therefore, when faced with Ji Qiu's analysis, Liu Bei could only lower his head in dismay and sigh softly, "What you say, my lord, is truly a profound and reasonable statement."

But if Bei doesn't join the alliance against Dong Zhuo, where should he go?

“It’s simple, just go back to Gaotang County!” Ji Qiu said calmly.

Liu Bei was taken aback and asked, "Return to Gaotang County? Why is that?"

"Firstly, the lower you are, the less you should try to take shortcuts when you are trying to move up!"

Because the risks of speculation are too great, and you lack the necessary foundation to withstand them.

If you make even the slightest mistake, you will be plunged into an abyss!
Only by choosing the safest approach and taking steady steps can we move forward step by step through the storms!
Therefore, rather than taking the huge risk of joining the anti-Dong alliance to gain fame, it would be better to return to Gaotang County.

You are the magistrate of Gaotang County, an official position granted to you by the imperial court.

It is also the starting point of your career.

You can absolutely build upon Gaotang County as a foundation and develop step by step!

Secondly, I would like to ask Xuande a question: what exactly are your aspirations in life? Ji Qiu asked.

Liu Bei immediately said, "I am a member of the Han imperial family, and my only ambition in this life is to restore the Han dynasty and revive the great Han!"

"Alright, since we are here to restore the Han Dynasty, we should naturally be loyal to the Emperor."

"And now I can tell you, the Emperor needs you to return to Gaotang County!" Ji Qiu said.

"Does the Emperor require me to return to Gaotang County?"

Liu Bei's expression at this moment was no longer one of astonishment, but rather one of disbelief.

He felt that Ji Qiu was fooling him, even though he always talked about his life goal of restoring the Han Dynasty.

But he himself knew that the current emperor had no idea who he was.

There are simply too many members of the Han imperial family in the world.

The number of members of the imperial family and relatives of the Later Han dynasty alone was probably in the hundreds of thousands.

The imperial family of the Former Han Dynasty probably numbered in the millions.

He was insignificant among them, so how could he have attracted the emperor's attention?
Whether he returned to Gaotang County or not, how could it be related to the emperor?
"Xuande doesn't believe me? Then take a look at this!" Ji Qiu glanced at Liu Bei, then took out the imperial edict from his personal space and handed it to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei took the imperial edict with suspicion, opened it, and his expression immediately changed. He then suddenly stood up, pulled Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to kneel down, and bowed, saying, "We never imagined that our Han Dynasty would be in such dire straits, and we never expected that you, my lord, would be so trusted by the Emperor. We three brothers were blind and offended you, my lord. We deserve to die. Please punish us!"

For someone like Liu Bei, whose life goal was to restore the Han Dynasty, this secret imperial edict was absolutely devastating.

He could be subdued almost instantly and made to do anything.

This is the correct way to use the emperor's secret edict, and it is also one of the purposes of Ji Qiu's visit.

"Haha, Xuande, please don't be like that. Please get up quickly. I've already said that it was just a misunderstanding. Since it was a misunderstanding, now that it's cleared up, we won't hold it against you anymore," Ji Qiu said, stepping forward to help Liu Bei up.

Liu Bei said with a face full of guilt, "Your Excellency's magnanimity makes me even more ashamed. I am willing to obey Your Excellency's orders in the future, rescue the Emperor, and restore the Han Dynasty!"

"Good, good! With Xuande's help, what is there to worry about in achieving great things!"
However, let's continue with our previous topic.

As the magistrate of Gaotang County, Xuande naturally had a considerable understanding of the current situation in Qingzhou.

Although I now occupy Qi Commandery and Le'an Commandery in Qingzhou, I am unable to continue expanding and can only stop to focus on internal affairs.

But this is only temporary. Once I have straightened out the administration of the two prefectures, I will continue to expand and bring the entire Qingzhou under my control.

Only in this way can we truly help the emperor!
However, taking over Qingzhou entirely will not be an easy task.

In particular, the Hua family of Pingyuan is currently preparing for war and inviting outside help, all in order to prevent me from taking Pingyuan County!

This is also why I want Xuande to return to Gaomi County.

I hope that Xuande can start from Gaomi County, gradually grow stronger, and eventually eliminate the Hua clan of Pingyuan and take over Pingyuan County!
"This would be a great service to the Emperor and would also partially realize Xuande's life ideal of restoring the Han Dynasty!" Ji Qiu said.

Upon hearing these words, Liu Bei's face showed a mixture of excitement and embarrassment.

The excitement stemmed from the powerful persuasiveness of Ji Qiu's words. They tightly intertwined his life ideals with his personal interests, generating an extremely strong intrinsic motivation within him.

The difficulty stems from practical factors.

Is it that he doesn't want to return to Gaomi County?
He can never go back!
The county seat of Gaomi is now in the hands of the rebel army.

That wasn't a small band of thieves, nor was it a low-strength band of thieves like the Gold Thieves.

Instead, it was a bandit army with tens of thousands of elite soldiers, all fully armored and well-equipped!

Otherwise, even with the combined strength of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, they wouldn't have been defeated so badly.

Faced with such a powerful bandit army, he simply did not have the strength to return to Gaomi County.

If he cannot return to Gaomi County, then wouldn't all the plans that Ji Qiu made for him be just empty talk?
After pondering for a long time, Liu Bei finally sighed and said, "Your words are truly invaluable advice."

Bei also desperately wanted to return to Gaotang County. However… he simply lacked the strength to do so.

"Is Xuande worried about the bandit army entrenched in Gaomi County?" Ji Qiu asked.

Liu Bei exclaimed, "My lord, you truly have discerning eyes!"

"But I wonder, how many troops would Xuande need to take back Gaomi County from these bandits?" Ji Qiu asked again.

Liu Bei thought for a moment and said, "We need at least five thousand soldiers, and they can't be newly recruited soldiers. They must be ordinary soldiers who have undergone some training."

"What's so difficult about that? I'll give you 20,000 fully armed ordinary soldiers, and enough rations to feed them for a year."

"Does Xuande have the confidence to retake Gaomi County and, based on that, seize Pingyuan County?" Ji Qiu chuckled.

In fact, the number of his troops was quite large.

Because Yu Jin's training camp can train 100,000 ordinary soldiers every three months.

However, apart from a few outstanding individuals who were selected to join various elite military battalions, the other soldiers were required to retire and become ordinary civilians.

However, these are all reserve soldiers. Once they are regrouped and given some training, they can become a fairly effective fighting force.

Therefore, providing Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei with ordinary troops, and then letting them use them as a base to take over Pingyuan County, was a risk-free business for Ji Qiu!

Some people might find this strange.

Since Ji Qiu was able to provide Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei with troops and provisions to take Pingyuan County, why didn't he just take Pingyuan County himself?

This involves many considerations.

First, there is the issue of the central tasks.

For any force, at any given stage, there is one and only one central task.

If multiple central tasks arise, they will interfere with each other, reducing overall work efficiency.

For the current Jiqiu forces, the central task is to complete the relocation of the people of Qi County and Le'an County as soon as possible.

Therefore, he could not directly send troops to Pingyuan County to create another central task.

Secondly, there is the issue of difficulty.

The Plains Hua clan actively prepared for war, specifically to guard against the autumn equinox.

If Ji Qiu attacks Pingyuan County directly, it will inevitably provoke fierce resistance from the Hua clan of Pingyuan, which will increase the difficulty of taking Pingyuan County.

However, if Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were to attack and capture Pingyuan County, it would be very simple.

It can be secretly dripped into the village.

By the time the Hua family of Pingyuan realized what was happening, Pingyuan County would probably already be in Liu Bei's hands.

Thirdly, it has an impact on the overall situation of the world.

The Ji Qiu faction is no longer a small force; every move they make affects the entire world order.

Especially the Kwantung Army, one of the two major camps in the world today.

Their decision to launch a full-scale attack on Hulao Pass was based on the judgment that Ji Qiu had already focused all his forces on Qi County and Le'an County and had no time to spare for anything else.

If Ji Qiu continues his large-scale attack on Pingyuan County, it is very likely that the allied forces of the feudal lords will believe that Ji Qiu still has the strength to spare.

Therefore, they dared not openly wage war against Dong Zhuo.

Given this situation, taking Pingyuan County through Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei would certainly be the best option.

Liu Bei, his face filled with excitement, knelt down again and said, "If you, my lord, can truly provide me with 20,000 ordinary soldiers and a year's worth of provisions, I will definitely help you destroy the Hua clan of Pingyuan and take Pingyuan County!"

"Alright! It's a deal then! Once Xuande takes Pingyuan County, I will definitely petition the Emperor to appoint Xuande as the governor of the county!" Ji Qiu said, holding Liu Bei's hands intimately.

Then, taking advantage of Liu Bei's inattention, they planted a dragon seed into Liu Bei's body.

Liu Bei was an exceptionally capable man, especially in his ability to judge character, which was unparalleled in his time.

Perfect for stepping out and taking charge, standing alone in one's own right!
However, this person is too ambitious and unwilling to be subordinate to others.

In fact, he was also a person who betrayed his master many times in history.

In terms of character, he might not be much better than Lü Bu.

However, history often judges heroes by their success or failure, and Liu Bei's historical achievements are enough to erase these stains on his record.

So nobody said anything about him in this regard.

But Ji Qiu was unwilling to let his investment go to waste.

In particular, he knew that his loyalty to the emperor and the Han dynasty was actually not much.

Overthrowing the Han dynasty and establishing a new, powerful empire was basically a consensus among the high-ranking members of his faction.

After Liu Bei joined his forces, he quickly learned of these circumstances.

At that time, the chances of Liu Bei betraying him will probably become extremely high!
Therefore, the first thing he did after taking Liu Bei in was to impregnate Liu Bei with the blood of a dragon to ensure his loyalty!

Liu Bei was the absolute leader of the trio of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. Subduing Liu Bei meant subduing Guan Yu and Zhang Fei!
At this point, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei officially became generals under Ji Qiu.

This had a huge impact on the entire Jiqiu faction and the overall global landscape.

First, Ji Qiu acquired three powerful generals and a powerful warlord who could be sent out to stand alone and govern a region.

This ability to stand alone and to govern a region is not simply about guarding a city or prefecture.

Rather, they are capable of governing at least one continent, or even one country!
After all, with Liu Bei's abilities, he was fully capable of establishing his own government, appointing capable officials, and ruling over a region.

Secondly, the Plains Hua family can be removed from Ji Qiu's target list starting today.

Ji Qiu believed that with Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei around, the mere Hua family of Pingyuan was no longer a concern for him.

Just focus on domestic affairs and wait to take over Plains County.

Third, since Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei no longer joined the coalition against Dong Zhuo, the famous scene of the three heroes fighting Lü Bu is unlikely to happen in history.

Without the alliance of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei against Dong Zhuo, it would be impossible to quickly defeat Lü Bu and seize Hulao Pass.

Thus, the war between the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance and Dong Zhuo will proceed according to Ji Qiu's script.

Ji Qiu then inquired about the three people's secret techniques.

Then it was discovered that the three men's innate secret techniques were unparalleled benevolence, unparalleled loyalty, and unparalleled might!
These are three extremely special belief-based secret techniques.

The so-called "faith magic" refers to the secret techniques that can unleash tremendous power by adhering to a certain belief.

However, at the same time, once this belief is lost, strength will also decline rapidly.

First and foremost, he possessed unparalleled benevolence and righteousness, which was Liu Bei's innate secret skill.

As long as Liu Bei adheres to the path of benevolence and righteousness, and continues to do good deeds, he will be able to continuously enhance his reputation.

The greater his reputation, the stronger his ability to collect spiritual dragon energy, the stronger his attraction to the people, and the higher the loyalty of his civil and military officials!

But if he abandons his beliefs in benevolence and righteousness, he will immediately revert to his original state.

"No wonder he was so eager for fame and did good deeds throughout his life. On his deathbed, he left Liu Shan with the famous saying, 'Do not do evil because it is small, and do not neglect good because it is small.'"

Ji Qiu didn't know whether it was Liu Bei's belief that awakened this innate secret technique.

It was the awakening of this innate secret technique that led Liu Bei to decide to uphold his beliefs.

Perhaps it's a combination of both.

Secondly, his unparalleled loyalty and righteousness were Guan Yu's innate secrets.

This secret technique requires Guan Yu to uphold the principles of loyalty and righteousness and to perform acts of loyalty and righteousness; in this way, his strength will increase by leaps and bounds!
But once he abandoned the path of loyalty and righteousness, his strength immediately plummeted.

Thirdly, he was unparalleled in bravery, which was Zhang Fei's innate secret skill.

Zhang Fei was required to always maintain a firm belief in courage and perseverance, and to dare to charge forward and strike at any powerful enemy.

In this way, Zhang Fei's strength will only increase!
But if he loses this unwavering belief in forging ahead without fear, his strength will decline drastically!

No wonder Zhang Fei charged straight at Ji Qiu the moment they first met.

Courage and recklessness can sometimes be equated!
Besides these three innate belief secret techniques that Ji Qiu encountered for the first time, there was another type of secret technique that Ji Qiu also encountered for the first time, namely the bond secret technique, the Oath of the Peach Garden!

The effect of this secret technique is that it allows the three people to share the dragon energy!
Moreover, this sharing is not simply about three people using a single, superimposed dragon energy.

Instead, it increased the amount of dragon energy within each of the three of them to the sum of their combined dragon energy!
Furthermore, when the three fight together, their synergy will be greatly enhanced, and each of them will gain a 20% increase in combat power.

No wonder the three of them joined forces at Hulao Pass and even defeated Lü Bu.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are both capable of defeating ten thousand men. If their combat power were increased by 20%, they could probably rival Lü Bu individually.

With the three of them working together, defeating Lü Bu was a piece of cake.

Furthermore, the power of this bond technique increases as the game progresses.

As the three become stronger, the amount of dragon energy within each of them increases, and the total amount of dragon energy accumulated naturally grows exponentially.

Imagine in history, while Liu Bei single-handedly defeated Cao Cao in the Battle of Hanzhong, Guan Yu was also able to launch an offensive in Xiangfan and flood the seven armies.

The Shu Han camp essentially defeated Cao Cao on two fronts simultaneously.

This is almost unimaginable in the world of Dragon Kingdom.

However, if the three of them had this secret technique of sworn brotherhood from the Peach Garden Oath, then it would be understandable.

Because if any one of the three of them makes a move, it's equivalent to all three of them making a move at the same time!

Of course, the bond and secret technique of the Oath of the Peach Garden is not all good.

(End of this chapter)