My brothers are all warriors capable of taking on ten thousand men; I'll roam freely in the Thr

Three days later, outside Guangzong City.

Banners fluttered in the wind, and armor clanged in the wind.

Dong Zhuo led 5,000 Xiliang cavalrymen in a grand procession to the city.

The newly appointed General of the Eastern Central Army was about forty years old. He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a face like a red date and a thick beard like steel needles standing on end. He rode a large Xiliang horse and looked quite imposing.

But his eyes were long and narrow, and when he looked at people, they always carried a hint of scrutiny and arrogance.

Ji Xuanyuan stood before the gate, wrapped in a fox fur coat, his face as pale as paper in the morning light.

When he saw Dong Zhuo's banner in the distance, he felt a chill. This treacherous villain who would later disrupt the court and burn down Luoyang could still be considered a "loyal minister and good general" at this moment, but his arrogance was already beginning to show.

"This humble general, Ji Xuanyuan, greets General Dong." Ji Xuanyuan stepped forward and bowed, neither humble nor arrogant.

Dong Zhuo dismounted and stared at Ji Xuanyuan's face for a few moments. His eyes flashed with amazement and surprise. This sickly young man was actually a famous general who had defeated Cheng Yuanzhi and Zhang Jiao.

"General Ji, there's no need for such formalities," Dong Zhuo said in a rough voice.

"I've heard of your illustrious name since I was in Liangzhou. Two thousand defeated fifty thousand—truly a god descended to earth! Seeing you today... heh, you surpass even the rumors!"

These words, though seemingly flattering, actually contained a hidden meaning. Ji Xuanyuan simply smiled faintly and said, "General Dong is too kind. It all depends on the soldiers' bravery."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Dong Zhuo prepared to enter the city to take over its defenses. Ji Xuanyuan took the opportunity to bid farewell: "Guangzong has been pacified. I have been ordered to go south to Yingchuan to assist General Zhu Jun in attacking Zhang Liang. I will depart today and have come to say goodbye."

Dong Zhuo waved his hand dismissively: "In that case, I won't keep you here. After the great victory at Yingchuan, I'll recommend you for credit in Luoyang!"

"Thank you, Zhonglang."

After bidding farewell to Dong Zhuo, Ji Xuanyuan was about to return to his camp when he saw Yang Zaixing and Zhao Yun walking quickly towards him with strange expressions.

"Big Brother!" Yang Zaixing leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Guess who we just saw?"

Ji Xuanyuan raised an eyebrow: "Didn't I tell you to go to the government troops to say goodbye? Who else could you possibly see—it's not Zhang Jiao coming back to life, is it?"

"Even stranger than that!" Yang Zaixing winked.

"Zilong, I told you Big Brother wouldn't have guessed!"

Zhao Yun couldn't help but chuckle, a smile playing on his handsome face: "Big brother, do you remember that straw sandal seller you called Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, and Eighth Brother 'taking care' of in Zhuojun? That's him."

Ji Xuanyuan was taken aback, then his eyes widened: "Holy crap... Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, the straw sandal seller? What's he doing here?"

Before he left, he did give specific instructions—to have his men take good care of Liu Bei's straw sandal business and make sure that "Straw Sandal Liu" became famous in Zhuojun.

While in Qingzhou, I received a letter saying that Liu Bei, unable to bear the harassment, had secretly fled with a few fellow villagers. However, I was too busy with the war to investigate further at the time.

Yang Zaixing laughed loudly: "Brother, how dare you ask! Don't you know what you made your men do? When Liu Bei was in Zhuojun, people would block his door every day to buy straw sandals. After buying them, they insisted that he weave them by hand, and after he finished weaving, they would complain that they weren't good enough and want them to be woven again... I heard that in the end, his straw sandal stall was 'bought' clean, and the hemp rope piled up at home could circle Zhuojun three times!"

Ji Xuanyuan chuckled awkwardly, "I...I was just supporting his business venture, wasn't I? To make it bigger and stronger, to create new glories! The name 'Straw Sandal Liu' is so prestigious...By the way, didn't he run away? What's he doing in Guangzong?"

Zhao Yun said seriously, "What else can we do? Suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, of course. Liu Bei somehow managed to get three or five hundred men, mostly local militia and tenant farmers. When we were saying goodbye, he was reporting to the government troops, but he was talking to someone and didn't see us."

Ji Xuanyuan sighed inwardly: He truly deserves to be called the chosen one of destiny in the original work. Wherever he goes, he can cause a stir. This Liu Bei is like weeds, he can't be trampled to death or burned out. Give him a crack and he'll sprout.

"Never mind, let's ignore him." Ji Xuanyuan waved his hand.

"We still have important business to attend to. Once we're all packed up, we should head south."

On the way back to camp, Ji Xuanyuan had already made up his mind.

Inside the central command tent, all the generals gathered. Ji Xuanyuan, wrapped in a fox fur coat, sat in the main seat. Although he was sick and weak, his eyes were clear as a mirror.

"The Battle of Guangzong is over, but the Yellow Turban Rebellion has not been quelled," he said slowly.

"Zhang Liang commands 100,000 troops in Yingchuan, while Zhang Bao commands 80,000 soldiers in Nanyang. The imperial court has ordered me to march south to Yingchuan to assist General Zhu Jun in defeating the enemy."

The generals listened attentively.

"However..."

Ji Xuanyuan changed the subject: "Our army has been fighting one battle after another, and the soldiers are exhausted. Moreover, the 100,000 shi of grain, 2,500 sets of armor, and 30,000 surrendered soldiers captured in Guangzong need to be escorted back to Zhuojun immediately for reorganization and resettlement."

He glanced at the crowd and said, "My plan is to divide our forces into two groups. One group will head south to Yingchuan, and the other will return north to Zhuojun."

A murmur rippled through the tent.

Ji Xuanyuan continued, "The army returning north will be led by Yunchang and Yide. Jingsi, Zongxing, Yongzeng, and Fengxian will accompany them. As for the troops... they will take two thousand elite soldiers with them, and then escort all the surrendered soldiers, provisions, and weapons back to Zhuojun."

Guan Yu stroked his beard and pondered, "Brother, only three thousand men to go south? There are a hundred thousand Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan..."

"That's enough," Ji Xuanyuan said with a smile.

"The quality of an army is more important than its quantity, and... my trip to Yingchuan is not for a direct assault."

He looked at Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Lu Zhi.

"Yuanhao, Gongyu, and Zigan," Ji Xuanyuan said solemnly.

"Zhuojun is the foundation of our army and cannot be lost. I urge the three gentlemen to return north with the army to take charge of the administration of Zhuojun, reorganize the surrendered soldiers, expand the military, pacify the people, and stockpile grain. These are fundamental matters that cannot be undertaken by anyone but those with great talent."

Tian Feng and Ju Shou exchanged a glance, then bowed in unison, saying, "We dare not disobey!"

Lu Zhi's body trembled slightly.

Ji Xuanyuan entrusted the foundation of Zhuojun to him, a man "with a guilty conscience." This trust was heavier than Mount Tai. He stood up and bowed deeply: "I will certainly live up to your trust."

Ji Xuanyuan nodded, then looked at the remaining generals: "For the army heading south, I will personally lead Dian Wei and Zilong as guards, and Brother Yu... you will also come south with me."

Xiang Yu clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Yes, sir!"

"Only three thousand?" Zhang Fei shouted.

"Brother, this is too little! What about Yingchuan..."

"Yide," Ji Xuanyuan interrupted him, a wise glint in his eyes.

Do you know the current situation of the battle in Yingchuan?

The generals were taken aback.

Ji Xuanyuan slowly said, "Generals Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun have already used fire to decisively defeat the Yellow Turbans. Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao are merely clinging to life. If our army marches south now, at most we can pursue and kill some fleeing remnants, and at best... we can only achieve the merit of beheading Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao."

He paused, then coughed twice: "Is this little bit of credit worth all the effort my entire army went through?"

Silence reigned inside the tent.

The generals then realized—their elder brother had planned this all along!

"Then... why did you go south, brother?" Zhao Yun asked, puzzled.

Ji Xuanyuan smiled slightly, a gleam appearing on his pale face: "Yingchuan is the most culturally vibrant place in the Han Dynasty, home to numerous prominent families such as the Xun, Chen, and Zhong clans, and a wealth of talented individuals. My true purpose in going there is..."

He took out a scroll of bamboo slips from his sleeve and slowly unfurled it. The scroll was covered with names written on it.

"It's for these people."

The generals gasped in shock.

Although most of them were warriors, they knew the weight of these names; they were all extraordinary talents of their time.

"Big brother wants to... recruit them?" Xiang Yu's double pupils flickered.

"Not bad." Ji Xuanyuan put away the bamboo slips.

"In chaotic times, talent is more valuable than a thousand soldiers. I have you, who can defeat ten thousand men, and strategists like Yuan Hao, Gong Yu, and Mr. Lu, but it is not enough. To bring peace to the world, we need to gather the best talents in the world."

He looked north, his gaze distant: "I trust you with the affairs of Zhuojun to the three gentlemen and you. As for the trip to Yingchuan... I will go myself."

"But my lord, your health..." Dian Wei said in a muffled voice, his large, round eyes filled with worry.

"It's alright," Ji Xuanyuan waved his hand.

"With Elai here, and with Zilong and Yudi here, three thousand elite troops are enough. Besides... I'm not going to fight."

He stood up, thin but with an air of authority: "This matter is settled. Yunchang, Yide, you shall set off north tomorrow. Yuanhao, Gongyu, and Mr. Lu, I entrust Zhuojun to you."

"Yes, sir!" the generals shouted in unison.

That night, Ji Xuanyuan left Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Lu Zhi alone.

"Gentlemen, I have a few more words to say about the matter of Zhuojun." Ji Xuanyuan coughed and took out three tokens from his bosom.

"This is the military mobilization order, the money and provisions order, and the official seal of my Xuanyuan Army. Seeing this order is like seeing me."

The three of them accepted it solemnly.

"Of the 30,000 surrendered soldiers, the strong and able-bodied were selected to join the army, while the old and weak were settled in the military farms. Half of the money and grain obtained by Guangzong was used to fund the army, and the other half was used to purchase and store grain—when chaos is imminent, grain is more precious than gold."

"Officials of Zhuojun, keep those who can stay, replace those who cannot, but remember—treat the people well and enforce the law strictly. What I want is the hearts of the people."

"Finally..." Ji Xuanyuan looked at Lu Zhi, "Lord Lu, your name is known throughout the land. Although you have temporarily concealed your identity, your prestige remains. If any powerful families in Zhuojun are dissatisfied, I urge Lord Lu... to win them over with virtue."

Lu Zhi solemnly replied, "Wenlie, rest assured. As long as I remain in Zhuojun, I will ensure the stability of our position."

Tian Feng and Ju Shou also said, "We will certainly not fail in our mission!"

The next morning, the two teams parted ways.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led a large army back north, with banners waving, carriages and horses rumbling, and grain carts stretching for miles. Surrendered soldiers marched in formation, while Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Lu Zhi rode in carriages with the army, occasionally looking back towards the south.

Ji Xuanyuan stood by the roadside, dressed in a white fox fur coat, which appeared even more frail in the morning breeze.

Behind them, Xiang Yu carried the Heavenly Dragon City-Breaking Halberd, Dian Wei stood guard with double halberds, Zhao Yun wore a white robe and carried a silver spear, and three thousand elite troops stood silently.

"Take care, brother!" Zhang Fei shouted from his horse.

"Once I return to Zhuojun and have trained my troops well, I'll come to Yingchuan to find you!"

Guan Yu's phoenix eyes were filled with reluctance: "Brother... please be careful in everything."

Ji Xuanyuan smiled and waved: "Go ahead. See you in Zhuojun."

They watched the army depart into the distance, as the smoke and dust gradually dissipated.

Ji Xuanyuan turned around and looked south.

Yingchuan...a place where literary talent converges.

"Zilong".

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Order the entire army to travel light, with only three days' worth of rations, and march south to Yingchuan."

"promise!"