I, Zhou Cang, am the number one tank in the Three Kingdoms.

"I am here on General Guan's orders to escort the laborers back to Runan. You must quickly arrange for guards and soldiers, and do not delay!"

After arriving at the camp in Yan County, Zhou Cang quickly handed over the military orders and handed over the laborers to Pei Yuanshao.

After asking the laborers about the appearance of Cao Cao's spies, he asked for a fast horse and rode back to the village where he had just rested. An hour later, he brought back the fake villager who had been asking about the strategist.

"Strategist! Strategist!" Zhou Cang suppressed his nervousness and called out softly to Shan Fu, who was sitting in the military tent.

When Shan Fu saw Zhou Cang return, he beamed with joy and said as they walked, "Yuan Fu has rendered great service in Wancheng, congratulations!"

When he stepped outside the tent and saw a villager with his hands tied behind his back and his eyes covered next to Zhou Cang, he was slightly surprised and asked, "Yuanfu, who is this?"

Zhou Cang lowered his voice and said, "Strategist, quickly find a place where it's convenient to talk."

Seeing Zhou Cang's secretive behavior, Shan Fu guessed that something important was going on, so he led the two to a side tent where supplies were stored.

Zhou Cang lowered the tent flap, said nothing, and directly drew his knife and held it to the neck of the fake villager.

"Speak! Who sent you? What are you doing here?!"

The fake villager, still clinging to a sliver of hope, shouted, "You scoundrel, you've mistakenly arrested innocent people! I was just trying to comfort you, but you've turned out to be up to no good!"

"A good person? Hmph, why would a good person inquire about the background of our military strategist? Still won't admit it?!" Zhou Cang's eyes widened in anger, and he pressed the knife against the fake villager's neck.

The sharp blade immediately sliced ​​through the fake villager's skin, and blood began to seep out.

When Shan Fu heard that Zhou Cang's inquiry was related to him, he became nervous.

"I'll talk, I'll talk! General, spare my life! I'll tell you everything!" The pain in his neck awakened the fake villager's will to survive.

"Say it!"

"It was Mr. Cheng Yu who asked us to inquire about the background of Liu Bei's strategist," the fake villager said in a panic.

"What?!" Shan Fu was shocked and cried out in disbelief.

Cheng Yu had dealt with him before and knew his background very well.

"What else do you know? Confess now!" Zhou Cang ignored Shan Fu's panic and continued to interrogate the spy.

"I also know that Prime Minister Cao said Liu Bei suffered a great defeat in Xuzhou, but won a series of victories in Runan. He must have been guided by a master..." The spy's voice grew softer and softer.

"You just said that Cheng Yu asked you to inquire about how many of you there are?" Zhou Cang continued his interrogation, but Shan Fu had already leaned against a wooden box and remained silent.

"There are ten of us in total... Five of us went to Runan, and the other five stayed in this area and pretended to be villagers."

"What?!" Zhou Cang was also surprised; Cheng Yu had actually sent so many spies.

"When and where did you all set off?!" Shan Fu, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly asked.

"I departed from Xudu three days ago."

"Where are the rest of them now? Have any of them already returned to Xuchang?"

"I don't know, I don't know..." The spy was so frightened that he was incoherent.

"Huh?!" Zhou Cang snorted angrily and pressed the knife down another half inch.

"General, spare my life! I truly didn't know. Mr. Cheng Yu told us to find out the truth and then return directly to Xuchang to report. I had no contact with anyone else... Everything I've said is true! General, spare my life!"

Upon hearing this, Shan Fu slumped down onto the wooden box.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Cang went outside the tent and called in soldiers to take the spy away and imprison him.

The spy cried out, "General, spare my life! General, spare my life..." and was dragged away.

"Strategist, should we report this to the lord...?" Zhou Cang asked softly, looking at Shan Fu, who had a blank expression.

Dan Fu did not react at all.

"Strategist? Strategist? Why is the strategist like this?" Zhou Cang knew perfectly well what Shan Fu was thinking, but he still pretended to know nothing and patted Shan Fu on the shoulder.

"What's all this commotion?" Liu Bei heard the spies' shouting and followed the sound into the tent.

"My lord!" As soon as Zhou Cang saw Liu Bei enter, he knew that the matter could no longer be kept secret.

"On his way back to camp, I encountered a spy who inquired about the strategist. I captured him and interrogated him, and learned that the spying was done by Cheng Yu, a strategist under Cao Cao." Zhou Cang briefly reported what had just happened.

"Now that the interrogation is complete, just execute him. Why is the strategist so worried?" Liu Bei's gaze quickly locked onto Shan Fu, who remained silent and staring blankly.

Shan Fu suddenly muttered to himself, "This is bad...this is bad!"

Liu Bei and Zhou Cang exchanged a glance, both somewhat puzzled.

"My lord!" Shan Fu cried out and knelt down before Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was startled and quickly went to help him up.

"My lord! Please forgive my deception..."

"I am Xu Shu from Yingchuan, courtesy name Yuanzhi. In my early years, I was arrested by the government for avenging someone, but fortunately I was rescued by a friend and wandered the world."

"To protect myself, I have falsely claimed to be Shan Fu. Please forgive me, Xu Shu, for deceiving you..."

As he spoke, Xu Shu kowtowed to Liu Bei and prostrated himself on the ground.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was taken aback at first, then quickly helped him up and comforted him, saying, "This is a trivial matter, strategist, there's no need for such formality!"

After all, it's quite normal to have a criminal record these days. My second brother, Yun Chang, also committed a crime and fled his hometown, which is why I ran into him.

When Xu Shu raised his head, Liu Bei was surprised to find that Xu Shu was already in tears.

"My lord, you may not know this, but Cheng Yu and I have a past relationship, and he knows my background well."

At this point, Liu Bei still felt there was nothing seriously wrong and had no idea what Xu Shu was so worried about.

"I still have an elderly mother in my old home in Changshe. Cheng Yu is ruthless and vicious. If he knew that I was the one who devised the plan for you, he would definitely plot against my mother..." Xu Shu began to choke up as he spoke.

"Huh?" Liu Bei looked at Xu Shu in surprise, then at Zhou Cang.

Zhou Cang explained, "That scoundrel Cheng Yu sent out ten men to scout, and I only managed to capture one of them... I don't know if the others have already found out the strategist's whereabouts and returned to report."

Sigh... If only I had reminded the strategist before setting out for Wancheng!

How could I not have imagined that this would happen so quickly!

But even if I thought of it, how could I remind them...?

Zhou Cang felt a pang of regret and looked at Xu Shu, asking, "Strategist, what should we do now?"

With the help of Liu Bei and Zhou Cang, Xu Shu knelt and rose to his feet, muttering to himself, "If my mother falls into Cao Cao's camp... this... this makes me..."

Zhou Cang saw that Xu Shu was completely flustered, and looked at Liu Bei, saying, "My lord, I observe that the strategist is a very filial person. How about I go and bring the strategist's mother to Runan?"

Liu Bei also realized what was happening and said to Xu Shu, "That's right. Why don't we send someone to bring your mother to Runan? What do you think, strategist?"

Upon hearing their explanation, Xu Shu suddenly realized and exclaimed, "That's right! They set off from Xuchang three days ago; they still have time...they still have time!"

Zhou Cang stepped forward and grasped Xu Shu's hand, saying solemnly, "Strategist, I am still quite fast on my feet and am willing to share your burdens!"

Xu Shu pressed his hands to his forehead, forcing himself to calm down. He paced back and forth while muttering to himself, as if he were plotting something.

A moment later, Xu Shu wiped the tears from his face and called out to Zhou Cang—

"Yuanfu! Quickly, bring me the map!"