Three Kingdoms: Intercepting Liu Bei's forces and marrying Lady Mi.

Two hundred cavalrymen were insignificant on the battlefield, but they achieved great results through their ingenious tactics.

The Yellow Turban army, charged by cavalry, began to flee, and Liu Bei's arrival accelerated their defeat.

"No retreat! Form ranks and meet the enemy!"

Cheng Zhiyuan roared.

The Yellow Turban Army ignored Cheng Zhiyuan's orders.

Guan Yu quietly approached Cheng Zhiyuan, like a tiger eyeing its prey.

Cheng Zhiyuan sensed Guan Yu's murderous intent.

"You scoundrel, don't run! Grandpa's here!"

Zhang Fei roared and swung his eighteen-foot spear, cutting the Yellow Turban army to pieces.

Zhang Fei, covered in blood, charged straight at Cheng Zhiyuan.

Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes and charged toward Cheng Zhiyuan.

Cheng Zhiyuan was terrified. He abandoned his routed troops and turned to flee.

Liu Bei led three hundred cavalrymen out to pursue Cheng Zhiyuan, wielding two swords and closely following Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

"Big brother, third brother, don't chase after the fleeing enemy, there might be an ambush!" Chen Ming shouted urgently.

"Whoa—"

Guan Yu reined in his horse and raised his Green Dragon Crescent Blade to block Zhang Fei.

"Third brother, Yun Qing warned us not to pursue, but to retreat!"

"what?"

Zhang Fei was stunned.

He couldn't understand why they didn't press their advantage when the bandit leader was right in front of them.

Zhang Fei had to obey Chen Ming's orders.

"Fine, let this coward go!"

Zhang Fei cursed angrily and turned to walk towards Chen Ming.

Liu Bei, who originally wanted to follow Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to gain benefits, could only leave unwillingly.

Liu Bei was puzzled as to why Chen Ming wanted to stop the pursuit.

If we keep chasing, we'll definitely be able to kill the bandit leader.

Chen Ming would not tell Liu Bei that Cheng Zhiyuan was still useful and that now was not the time to kill him.

Facing 100,000 Yellow Turban soldiers, this battle was only a minor victory.

……

The governor's mansion inside Ji County.

The aroma of wine wafted through the governor's mansion.

Guo Li and Liu Wei, their faces flushed, were entertaining Chen Ming, Gongsun Zan, and others.

Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who had performed exceptionally well that day, were also present at the banquet.

"Haha, the young master is indeed a promising talent. His martial arts skills are superb at such a young age, and he's made friends with so many heroes. Truly admirable! Excellent!"

Guo Xun raised his wine glass to Chen Ming and said, "Come, Yun Qing, drink to your uncle!"

Chen Ming smiled and picked up his wine bowl, and Zhang Fei and Guan Yu also raised their cups.

Their victory greatly inspired everyone.

Guo Xun and Liu Wei had been very worried, but now that they saw that Chen Ming had such capable generals under his command, they were finally relieved.

Therefore, after today's great victory, Guo Xun took the initiative to hold a banquet to celebrate.

Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were also present at the banquet.

Liu Bei was all alone. He was only sitting here because of Gongsun Zan's influence, and also because he had performed very well today.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting here at all.

After a few drinks, the atmosphere at the table became even more lively.

Guo Xun ordered the palace dancers to perform for him.

Zhang Fei stared wide-eyed.

The banquet didn't end until the moon was high in the sky.

Pretending to be drunk, Chen Ming was helped back to the camp by Zhang Fei and Guan Yu.

Inside the governor's mansion, after everyone else had left, Guo Xun, who was also pretending to be drunk, slowly raised his head.

Only Guo Xun and Liu Wei remained in the mansion.

"Has everyone left?"

Liu Wei nodded: "They've all left. Chen Ming is completely drunk, and Chen Xin also drank quite a bit."

Guo Xun nodded, and then had someone cook a bowl of hangover soup.

He was drinking the hangover soup while lost in thought.

"My lord, I don't think the Yellow Turban Army outside is that powerful."

"It won't be long before they collapse on their own, without us even having to lift a finger."

Liu Wei said.

Guo Xun nodded.

He saw it very clearly today.

Although the Yellow Turban Army had a large number of soldiers, they were all ordinary people who knew nothing about fighting.

If Chen Ming and his two brothers put in a little more effort, they could kill the enemy leader.

At that time, the Yellow Turban Army will surely be routed immediately.

Even so, we have no credit.

Guo Xun said solemnly, "In order to resolve the Yellow Turban problem, His Majesty has lifted the ban on political parties."

"If the Chen family of Yingchuan were to enter the imperial court as officials, they would surely occupy the high-ranking positions of the Three Dukes."

"If the imperial court knows that it was Chen Xin and his son Chen Ming who defeated the Yellow Turbans, what use are Youzhou and us then?"

Guo Xun looked at Liu Wei and said.

Liu Wei immediately panicked: "What should we do?"

Guo Xun squinted and said, "We will only have a chance if Chen Xin and his son have no merit."

"No credit?"

Liu Wei was taken aback, not understanding Guo Xun's meaning: "But the defeat of the Yellow Turban Army was entirely due to Chen Xin's county soldiers, how could they not have contributed?"

Guo Xun stared at Liu Wei with a cold look in his eyes.

"Those who are dead have no merit, of course."

"what?"

Liu Wei was initially terrified, but then he suddenly remembered something.

Duan Jiong made great contributions in fighting the Qiang people in Liangzhou, but Guo Hong, the governor of Liangzhou at the time, coveted Duan Jiong's achievements.

He made things difficult for Duan Jiong's subordinates who were detained, and Duan Rong was eventually sentenced to prison.

And this Governor of Liangzhou, Guo Hong, was Guo Xun's elder brother.

The two brothers used the same methods, so Liu Wei wasn't surprised when he realized this.

Guo Hong and Guo Xun were from the eunuch faction, while the Chen family of Yingchuan were from the faction of honest officials; they had always been at odds.

When the emperor lifted the ban on political factions and allowed virtuous officials to enter the court, a struggle against the eunuchs was inevitable.

It's perfectly reasonable for Guo Xun to think this way.

"What should we do?" Liu Wei asked Guo Xun.

Guo Xun squinted and said, "The battlefield is ever-changing; we'll decide when the time comes."

Liu Wei swallowed nervously and nodded.

After pretending to be drunk and being sent back to the camp, Chen Ming went straight back to his own tent.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also followed them into the camp.

"Second Brother, why won't you let me kill that bandit leader?" Zhang Fei asked loudly.

"Third brother, keep your voice down. This isn't Zhuo County. We need to be careful that no one is eavesdropping."

Guan Yu reminded him.

Chen Ming nodded and gestured for the two to sit down.

"Big brother, third brother, there's a reason why I'm not letting you chase after Cheng Zhiyuan today. Let me explain."

Inside the tent, Chen Ming looked at Zhang Fei and Guan Yu.

"Brother, Yide, what do you think of Guo Xun and Liu Wei? Are they good officials?"

Zhang Fei knew his voice was too loud and that it wasn't appropriate to speak directly about this, so he shook his head.

Guan Yu stroked his beard and slowly shook his head: "No."

"When I was in Zhuo County, I heard that after Guo Xun became the governor of Youzhou, the lives of ordinary people became even more difficult, with many exorbitant taxes and levies."

Chen Ming nodded: "Yes, Guo Xun curries favor with the eunuchs, and uses all the money he amassed to bribe the eunuchs in the court."

"There's something else, I don't know if my elder brother and Yide know about it."

"Guo Xun had an older brother named Guo Hong, who served as the governor of Liangzhou and was a treacherous man."

"Duan Jiong made great contributions in suppressing the Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou. Guo Hong framed Duan Jiong for personal gain, which led to Duan Jiong's arrest."

"How could such a despicable thing happen?"

Zhang Fei's eyes widened.

Chen Ming nodded: "That's true."

"Does Yunqing mean that Guo Xun and Liu Wei will also harm us?"

Guan Yu understood Chen Ming's words and asked directly.

"Definitely!"

Chen Ming only answered with two words.

The more enthusiastic Guo Xun was towards them, the more likely he was plotting something.

Guo Xun was a eunuch, while the Chen family were honest officials; they were inherently irreconcilable enemies.

At the dinner table today, Guo Xun kept praising him, which was definitely a deliberate attempt to lull him into a false sense of security.

Chen Ming didn't believe he would be so kind.

"If he had no ulterior motives, why would Guo Xun be so attentive?"

"Moreover, if we succeed in suppressing the rebellion this time, he will not be credited."

"But if my father and I die, all the credit will go to Guo Xun and Liu Wei!"

Chen Ming said with a frown.

"Corrupt official!"

Zhang Fei roared, "I'll go and kill those two corrupt officials right now!"