My Three Kingdoms is not right

On the city tower of Kaiyang Gate, banners fluttered.

Liu Bei stood by the parapet, his hand on the hilt of the "Anhan" sword, his gaze passing through the battlements and looking towards the straight street inside the city.

The once bustling streets and alleys are now deserted, with only a few withered leaves being swept up by the wind and swirling on the bluestone slabs.

Sima Yi, sitting in a wheelchair, was pushed by Sun Yi to a shady spot. A thin blanket covered his legs, and he held a book in his hands, making it seem as if he were out for a stroll.

Liu Bei couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.

His Highness actually sent such a frail and sickly young girl with no official position to "assist" him.

It's really unbelievable.

Today's events will determine the fate of countless people, and may even affect the situation of the imperial court and the entire country.

Is it really reliable to entrust her with such an important task?

Sima Yi seemed to sense her gaze, raised his head, and smiled slightly at her.

Liu Bei subconsciously returned a smile.

Turn your gaze back to the end of the long street.

Since His Highness has chosen to believe her, I have no choice but to believe him as well.

Sima Yi's gaze remained fixed on Liu Bei's profile.

This General Zuo is truly a beautiful and refined woman.

His Highness seems to have an unusual level of trust in her.

When Sima Yi was helping Liu Xun with his plans, he believed that Liu Bei could not be fully trusted and would most likely inform Cao Cao.

Choosing to help Liu Xun was risky and yielded little reward, which did not align with Liu Bei's own interests.

To everyone's surprise, Liu Xun smiled and shook his head, saying, "Since Xuande has promised me, he is absolutely trustworthy."

Sima Yi prided himself on his calculation skills, yet he couldn't fathom their irrational trust.

She pondered for a long time before finding a barely fitting word:

confidant.

His Highness regards Liu Bei as a close friend.

This realization stirred up a complex and indescribable emotion in Sima Yi's heart.

But now is not the time to think about these things.

The noise coming from afar was becoming increasingly clear.

Sima Yi raised his head and saw a dark, imposing procession at the end of the long street.

Then, a large banner with the character "董" (Dong) came into view.

Their armor gleamed, and their swords and spears were like a forest. At a rough glance, there were at least three thousand men.

The procession drew closer and closer, finally coming to a slow stop in front of Kaiyang Gate.

Dong Cheng saw the banners fluttering on the city wall and the soldiers standing ready in battle from afar, and nodded in satisfaction.

However, upon closer inspection, they quickly noticed the tightly closed city gates.

They agreed to close the gate after I left the city, so why did they close it early?

She frowned slightly, but quickly adjusted her expression, spurred her horse forward a few steps, and shouted towards the city wall:

"General Zuo! Please open the city gates immediately!"

Sima Yi cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Fei, who was standing behind Liu Bei, and said softly, "Thank you for your trouble, General Zhang."

Zhang Fei grinned, took a few steps forward, leaned half his body out, and shouted to Dong Cheng below the city:

"General, don't worry! My elder sister is inspecting the area over there and will be here soon."

Dong Cheng frowned deeply: "Open the city gates first!"

"My elder sister said that the door must not be opened without her order. Please wait a moment!" Zhang Fei said, then retreated.

Dong Cheng had no choice but to wait outside the city.

It was said to be just a moment, but in the blink of an eye, half a cup of tea's time had passed, and there was still no movement from the city wall.

Dong Cheng felt extremely anxious.

Our main force is the most important part of today's operation; we must intercept them as soon as possible. If we delay too long and Cao Cao gets wind of our escape, things will become very troublesome.

"Has Liu Bei not arrived yet?!" Her voice already carried a hint of impatience.

Liu Bei turned to look at Sima Yi, and seeing her smiling and bowing to him, he stepped forward and shouted down towards the city walls:

"I've kept General Dong waiting!"

Dong Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing her: "Xuande, Xuande, why did you close the city gates ahead of time?"

"I'm sorry, I was worried that closing the city hastily would cause chaos, so I closed it ahead of schedule."

She turned around and waved to the soldiers behind her: "Go open the door quickly!"

The soldier understood and quickly took the order and left.

Time passed by, second by second.

Dong Cheng waited for a while, but the city gate remained motionless, and a hint of impatience appeared on his face.

She called out again towards the city wall, "Xuande! The military situation is urgent, why are you so slow?"

Standing atop the city wall, Liu Bei said apologetically, "General, please forgive me. The horizontal bolt of the city gate is stuck in the latch and cannot be pulled open. I have already sent someone to find craftsmen, and it will be fixed soon."

Dong Cheng's face darkened completely.

"Liu Bei, what exactly are you up to?"

Prince Fu rode forward and lowered his voice: "General Dong, something's not right. Liu Bei is stalling for time."

Dong Cheng was certainly aware of this as well.

Deep down, however, there was still a sliver of hope.

"Liu Bei!" She drew her sword abruptly, pointing it at the city wall. "How dare you betray the Emperor and surrender to Cao Cao?"

Liu Bei's smile faded, he stood with his hand on his sword, and his voice was calm:

"You are falsely claiming to be acting on imperial orders, intending to rebel. The Emperor's decree is here; will you continue to resist?"

Dong Cheng's face turned ashen.

"Retreat!" She turned her horse around and shouted behind her, "The rear guard becomes the front guard! Retreat out of the main street!"

The column began to turn.

Just then, the dull sound of horses' hooves came from behind.

It sounded like rumbling thunder, shaking the earth.

Dong Cheng turned around, his pupils suddenly contracting.

At the end of the long street, a large number of cavalrymen were pouring out from around the corner.

The first general, clad in silver armor and a white robe, held a long spear and rode a white horse as white as snow.

It was Zhao Yun.

Behind her, thousands of Imperial Guards cavalrymen marched out in formation, their iron torrents rolling and their momentum overwhelming.

Dong Cheng now understood why Liu Bei was stalling for time on the city wall.

"Back up to the sides! Get into the alley!" Dong Cheng shouted.

Standing on a wide, straight street and being charged by cavalry would be a certain death sentence.

She and the troops under Prince Fu's command could be considered elite. Even in a crisis, they were able to obey orders and rushed towards the alleyways on both sides of the main road in a slightly flustered manner.

But just then, a rapid drumbeat sounded from the city wall.

The next second, the figures of the ambushing soldiers appeared on the rooftops and at the alley entrances along the road.

Arrows rained down like locusts, instantly felling a large number of the rebels.

Upon seeing the ambush troops bring out several small ballistae, Dong Cheng's heart sank.

Amidst cries and screams, Zhao Yun and his Imperial Guards had already rushed to the front.

From the city wall, Sima Yi looked down at everything, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Catching a turtle in a jar, how interesting!"

Liu Bei's gaze toward Sima Yi was somewhat complicated.

Although His Highness asked her to "assist" him, she was the one who directed almost all of today's arrangements.

Dong Cheng was a veteran general of the Xiliang army, but she outsmarted him so much that he was powerless to fight back.

The bloody battlefield was "interesting" to her.

That's amazing.

That's scary too.

……

"Elder sister, I want to go down and help!"

Zhang Fei's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Just in case, Guan Yu was assigned to Guangyang Gate. Zhang Fei, seeing the fierce fighting below, had been itching to join in for quite some time.

Seeing that the battle below was settled, Liu Bei nodded slightly: "Go!"

Before long, the city gates opened, and Zhang Fei led a group of men into the battlefield.

"Zhang Yide of Yan is here! Surrender at once!"

She brandished her spear like a goddess descending to earth, and none could stand in her way.

Dong Chengjun's soldiers, whose formation had already been thrown into disarray by the charge of the Imperial Guards cavalry, suddenly saw enemies behind them and completely lost their courage. They no longer cared about military discipline and fled in panic.

Zhang Fei charged forward, and no one could withstand his attacks. He quickly reached the vicinity of Dong Cheng.

"Get out of my way!"

He thrust out his spear, sending the two guards who were blocking his way flying.

Dong Cheng's face turned pale as he tried to parry with his sword.

With a twist of Zhang Fei's spear, she sent her weapon flying.

Immediately afterwards, the spear shaft swept horizontally, striking Dong Cheng heavily on the back and pulling her off her warhorse.

"Tie him up!"