The Three Kingdoms: Rise of the Western Liang Cavalry

There are no complicated Han Chinese rituals, only ancient ceremonies belonging to the border regions and grasslands.

Two horn-shaped glasses filled with strong liquor were raised high, and the waiter used a sharp short blade to make a shallow cut on Qin Lie's and Dian Wu's wrists. The blood dripped into the liquor, instantly staining the clear liquid red.

"I, Qin Lie, son of the Qin clan of the North, am of Han blood, but also have half of my blood flowing from the grasslands."

Qin Lie's voice carried far on the wind, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Today, I swear an oath of blood with Dianwu, the hero of my mother's tribe and the leader of the Shaodang Qiang."

"The Wei River bears witness, and Heaven is our judge!"

"From this day forward, the Han and Qiang peoples will be one family, jointly guarding the Guanzhong Plain!"

"The territory under the jurisdiction of the Qin family is open to the Qiang people, and they share the salt and iron; the pastures of the Shaodang Qiang are also the home of the Qin family's warhorses."

"I swear by the sword in my hand that as long as I live, I will never allow anyone to bully my family or my allies without cause!"

Dianwu's gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, yet at this moment it surged with the weight and passion of family kinship.

He raised his cup, shouted in the Qiang language, and then roared in broken but deep Chinese:

"I, Dianwu, am the leader of the Shaodang Qiang! Qin Lie is the eagle my daughter left behind in Han lands!"

"Today, I am not swearing an oath with outsiders, but with my grandchildren, with whom I share blood, and with my eternal kin, the Qiang people!"

"From this day forward, the Han and Qiang are blood relatives, and the Guanzhong Plain is our home!"

"Whoever dares to offend my blood relatives or destroy my home, I, the Shaodang Qiang, will surely face their wrath with my curved sword!"

Having said that, their eyes met, and the bond of blood and the solemnity of their oath intertwined. They simultaneously drank the blood wine in their cups, then smashed the horn cups to the ground!

"roar!"

Below the stage, both Han soldiers and Qiang warriors erupted in thunderous cheers.

This cheer dispelled the bloodshed and hatred that had accumulated between the Han and Qiang people for a century, heralding the arrival of a new era.

Dianwu did not linger in Meiwu. With the alliance concluded, he returned to the depths of Liangzhou, filled with excitement and with a large amount of grain and cloth provided by Qin Lie.

He was going to gather more Qiang and Hu tribes and plant the "Qin" banner all over every grassland in Liangzhou.

Almost at the same time, in Jincheng County, thousands of miles away, Chen Wu's travel-worn figure appeared in front of the residence of General Niu Fu.

Thanks to the prestige accumulated by the Qin family over three generations, and the letter personally written by the renowned Confucian scholar Cai Yong, Chen Wu's persuasion went exceptionally smoothly.

Cai Yong's calligraphy seems to possess a kind of magic; it not only represents cultural orthodoxy but also gives those Xiliang generals who came from humble backgrounds a long-desired sense of dignity.

As Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, Niu Fu became a homeless dog after Dong Zhuo's death.

He retreated to Liangzhou with his remaining troops, living in constant fear. He was afraid that the imperial court in Chang'an would send troops to purge him, and he was also afraid that Han Sui and Ma Teng, who were based in Liangzhou, would take the opportunity to annex him.

When Chen Wu produced Qin Lie's handwritten letter, the once arrogant general's hands trembled.

In the letter, Qin Lie made no mention of any coercion to persuade him to surrender; the entire letter focused on "comradeship" and "the future of Xiliang."

He analyzed the current deadlock and pointed out a way out: unity leads to survival, division to death.

He invited Niu Fu not as a surrendered general, but as a bulwark to guard the homeland of Liangzhou, to jointly shoulder the banner of restoring the prestige of the Western Liang army.

Cai Yong's personally revised text is full of deep emotion and highly persuasive.

It precisely struck at Niu Fu's weakest and most desired spot—he didn't want to be a traitor to the country; he wanted to regain the glory of a Xiliang soldier.

"Captain Qin...do you really say that?"

Niu Fu raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse.

"My captain said that Liangzhou is the home of all the people of Xiliang."

Chen Wu answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"A home needs someone to look after it."

"He was willing to overcome all obstacles in Guanzhong, and he also needed a trustworthy veteran general to protect this home for him and for all the brothers fighting in Guanzhong."

"This person is none other than the general."

"To guard the home..."

Niu Fu muttered to himself, the last trace of hesitation and doubt in his eyes finally vanishing completely in the face of the word "home".

He suddenly stood up, pushed aside the table, and bowed deeply in the direction of Chen Wu and Guanzhong.

"I, Niu Fu, a criminal, am willing to die for Commandant Qin, guarding Liangzhou, even unto death!"

Niu Fu's surrender was like a boulder thrown into a lake, creating a huge wave throughout Liangzhou.

This wave is not about subversion and destruction, but a strange, iron-blooded integration.

Those generals who had once followed Dong Zhuo and were now scattered throughout Liangzhou seemed to have found a lighthouse after losing their way under the banner of Niu Fu.

They were once homeless dogs, living in constant fear, dreading both the purge by the Chang'an court and the potential annexation by local powerful figures like Han Sui and Ma Teng.

Qin Lie's appearance, and his letter that "only talked about comrades and did not mention surrender," gave them a dignified way out and a place to call "home."

Thus, from Jincheng to Wuwei, from Zhangye to Jiuquan, letters of loyalty and waves of surrendering soldiers began to converge on Niu Fu's banner.

Liangzhou, the most unruly land in the Han Dynasty, after experiencing the fervor of Dong Zhuo's rise and the panic of his defeat, has reunited at an unprecedented speed under a brand new banner bearing the character "Qin".

The prestige built up by the Qin family over generations, Chen Wu's tireless efforts, Cai Yong's deeply affectionate writings, and Qin Lie's decisive yet benevolent measures in Guanzhong all wove together an invisible net.

This net firmly captures the remaining embers of the Xiliang army, along with the hearts of the people on this land.

A steady stream of warhorses and selected elite soldiers began to be transported along the Wei River valley towards Guanzhong.

Meiwu, the fortress that once symbolized Dong Zhuo's lust for power and extravagance, is now operating with unprecedented efficiency, like a strong heart pumping fresh blood into the Guanzhong region, a body in dire need of reconstruction.

Qin Lie stood on the city wall of Meiwu, gazing eastward.

The smoke from cooking fires in Guanzhong is gradually thickening, and the crisscrossing paths in the fields are once again revealing their orderly lines; everything is getting better.

However, his gaze seemed to pierce through this newly created tranquility and look toward the natural barrier that separated Guanzhong from Guandong—Hangu Pass.

There, a fierce tiger was entrenched.

A tiger that had just been defeated in the battleground of Kanto, licking its wounds, was still as ferocious as ever.

Lü Bu, Lü Fengxian.

The name itself represents unparalleled martial prowess, and... fickle betrayal.

After being driven out by the combined forces of the warlords of Guandong, he led the remnants of the Bingzhou wolf cavalry back to the gateway to Guanzhong by some strange twist of fate.

He neither ventured westward nor sought refuge with another, but instead quietly remained stationed at Hangu Pass, like a lurking wild beast, observing the true state of Chang'an and also watching Qin Lie, the newly rising ruler of Guanzhong.

Just as Qin Lie was pondering how to deal with the tiger, several fast horses galloped into Meiwu from different directions almost simultaneously.

They brought three letters, and with them came the covetousness and probing of the entire world towards Guanzhong, this power vacuum.