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

More than a month ago, Liu Ye, suffering from a lack of troops and unable to launch a distant expedition, was sent by Cao Cao to Huainan to find a solution to Liu Bei's plan to build Hefei.

Liu Ye was a native of Chengde in Huainan and a descendant of Liu Yan, the Prince of Fuling and son of Emperor Guangwu. He was well-known in the Huainan region.

In the fourth year of Jian'an, Zheng Bao, a local strongman in Huainan, had more than 10,000 soldiers, but he was very afraid of Liu Ye. When he wanted to force the residents of Chaohu to move south, he hoped that Liu Ye would take the lead. Finally, when Cao Cao's envoy came to visit, Liu Ye personally killed Zheng Bao during the banquet and then handed over the tens of thousands of soldiers to Liu Xun, the prefect of Lujiang at the time.

Lei Xu, who, along with Chen Lan, chose to submit to Liu Bei and also received rewards this time, was Zheng Bao's subordinate at the time.

Later, Liu Xun fell into Sun Ce's trap and was defeated by Jiangdong. Liu Ye then followed Liu Xun and led several hundred defeated soldiers to surrender to Cao Cao, where they were highly valued by Cao Cao.

Xun Yu chose Liu Ye to disrupt Liu Bei's plans in Huainan precisely because he recognized Liu Ye's high popularity and resources in the region.

Liu Ye did not go directly to the vicinity of Hefei, but instead found Zhang Xun and Yang Hong, former generals and chief clerks of Yuan Shu, in Shouchun. After Yuan Shu's defeat, the two originally intended to join Sun Ce, but were intercepted and captured by Liu Xun. After Liu Xun's defeat, since Huainan was in a state of chaos, the two gathered a crowd of 10,000 people and wreaked havoc in Shouchun.

Originally, Liu Ye promised to appoint Zhang Xun as the governor of Jiujiang in exchange for conquering Hefei. Zhang Xun and Yang Hong were not tempted by this offer, since going to war with Liu Bei's army was not an easy task for Yuan Shu's former subordinates.

However, when Zhang Xun and his companion saw Cao Cao bestow titles upon civil and military officials throughout the land, especially when they saw the governor of Jiujiang being granted to Pang Tong, a sense of regret at having gained something only to lose it again finally overcame their reason, and they decided to lead 10,000 troops south to sweep away Hefei.

Needless to say, Cao Cao directly appointed Sun Quan as the governor of Yangzhou, which undoubtedly greatly stimulated Sun Quan's ambition for expansion.

Yangzhou governed the two counties of Lujiang and Jiujiang north of the Yangtze River, as well as the four counties of Wu, Kuaiji, Yuzhang, and Danyang south of the Yangtze River. At this time, the four counties south of the Yangtze River had already been occupied by Sun Quan. Although the mountain tribes were still not pacified, Sun Quan was clearly unwilling to see Liu Bei consolidate his power in Lujiang and Jiujiang, and even less willing to watch Hefei, this obstructive wedge, become Liu Bei's bridgehead for conquering him.

Therefore, Zhuge Jin, who was stationed in Chaisang, was recalled. Cheng Pu was appointed as general, and Zhuge Jin and Chen Wu were appointed as deputy generals. They led 20,000 troops westward from Wu County and entered Chaohu to attack the newly built city of Hefei.

Lei Bo, Chen Lan's deputy general, had been disliked by Pang Tong, the highest-ranking official in Huainan, since he joined Liu Bei. He had always harbored some resentment and was not rewarded this time.

Therefore, Lei Bo, as a former colleague of Zhang Xun and Yang Hong, was also moved by Liu Ye's letter promising him the position of Prefect of Lujiang, and led his troops in a rebellion.

Liu Ye, almost single-handedly, in accordance with Cao Cao's edict, stirred up a huge upheaval in Huainan.

Of course, Liu Bei and the others were unaware of this, and simply assumed that it was Cao Cao's edict that had stirred up the commotion.

Therefore, when Xu Shu set off from Runan, although he anticipated that there might be changes in Huainan, he never expected that such a complicated situation would arise in such a short time.

"Yun Chang! Yun Chang is stationed in Wancheng. We also need reinforcements!" The first thing Liu Bei thought of when he saw Jian Yong's urgent report was his second brother Yun Chang, who was stationed in Lujiang.

The situation in Hefei is critical, and Lujiang Wancheng, as a link between Jingzhou and Hefei, cannot sit idly by.

Although it was not specified how many troops Sun Quan and Zhang Xun had dispatched, or how much impact Lei Bo's rebellion had caused, Liu Bei and Xu Shu quickly reached a consensus that there would be no time to visit the Crouching Dragon this time.

After discussing it overnight, the two decided that since Zhou Cang and Liao Hua had already led troops to provide support, returning to Runan at this time would be of no use. They should instead head directly to Xiakou to seek assistance from Huang Zu.

The next day, Liu Bei and his entourage hurriedly paid a visit to Liu Biao and informed him of the changes in Huainan.

"Regarding the matter of Hefei, I had a prior agreement with my virtuous brother, and I will certainly do my utmost to assist you!" After all, Liu Bei had helped him reclaim the entire territory of Nanyang, but had not yet provided the promised troops. This time, Liu Biao decisively agreed and immediately wrote a letter to Liu Bei, ordering a messenger to urgently report to Jiangxia, requesting Huang Zu to send troops to assist him immediately.

Just as Liu Bei and his entourage were feeling somewhat relieved and preparing to leave, an unexpected little incident occurred.

"My lord, Zhang Liao refuses to surrender and has not eaten or drunk anything for days... Should we send him back to Xuchang?" Kuai Liang asked Liu Biao as he entered.

Zhang Liao?!

Liu Bei, doubting he had misheard, quickly asked, "The Zhang Liao you speak of, sir, could it be Zhang Liao, Zhang Wenyuan, under Cao Cao?"

Kuai Liang was taken aback and replied, "That's right. When I was returning from Wancheng, I encountered this man leading his remaining troops attempting to cross the Yu River to the north. So I rammed and sank his boat and captured him."

Xu Shu recalled the scene when Zhang Xiu and Zhang Fei, who had been fighting fiercely at Gualijin, suddenly appeared and together repelled Zhang Liao's forces that were invading by water. In the end, Zhang Liao escaped by boat.

Liu Bei and Xu Shu both thought that Zhang Liao had escaped back to Xuchang. Unexpectedly, Zhang Liao had fled south downstream in a hurry, intending to sneak across the Yu River and then detour back to Xuchang. However, he accidentally ran into Kuai Liang's navy, who had returned to Jingzhou in a huff because Liu Bei had been appointed "Supervisor of Military Affairs of Jing and Yu Provinces". Zhang Liao was directly rammed by the warship and captured in the water.

Liu Biao had long heard of Zhang Liao's reputation for skill in battle and admired his talent. He had been trying to persuade Zhang Liao to surrender, but Zhang Liao remained resolute in his stance of preferring death to surrender.

Wang Wei, an anti-Cao Cao faction member who returned to Jingzhou with Zhang Liao from Wancheng, advised that if Zhang Liao did not surrender, he should be killed.

However, as Cao Cao indiscriminately granted fiefdoms to the entire country, Han Song, Liu Xian, and others took the opportunity to persuade Liu Biao to release Zhang Liao back to Xuchang, thereby easing the hostile relationship with Cao Cao.

Liu Biao was very unwilling and kept delaying until now, when the Kuai brothers were also somewhat swayed and wanted to persuade Liu Biao to release the people.

"Brother, Zhang Liao is an ally of Cao Cao. We must not allow him to return to Xuchang. I am an old friend of his and I am willing to persuade him to surrender!" Realizing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Liu Bei immediately asked.

"Uh..." Liu Biao hesitated, having discerned Liu Bei's thoughts.

On the contrary, Kuai Liang, who had been recommended by Liu Bei to serve as a court attendant, readily agreed, having received favors from Liu Bei, saying, "My lord, since the magistrate has spoken, why not let him give it a try?"

Seeing that Kuai Liang had no objection, Liu Biao nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble Zirou to take Xuande there."

Less than two miles after leaving Liu Biao's residence, we arrived at a guesthouse, which was where Zhang Liao was being held in captivity.

"Please announce that Liu Bei requests an audience," Liu Bei said politely to his attendant outside the guesthouse.

"My lord, even if we persuade Zhang Liao, Jing Sheng might not be able to tolerate us..." Zhao Yun reminded him.

"I have my own plans, Zilong, please rest assured." Liu Bei was quite confident.

"Lord Liu, please!" A servant hurriedly came out to invite him.

Liu Bei ordered Zhao Yun and Xu Shu to wait outside, while he entered the guesthouse alone. Zhang Liao was sitting on the ground with his clothes off, looking as if he were ready to die.

"Wen Yuan!" Liu Bei called out as he walked up to Zhang Liao, who was disheveled and looked haggard.

"How have you been, my lord?" Zhang Liao said calmly with a smile.

"Wen Yuan, why did you do this?" Liu Bei looked at Zhang Liao with a hint of heartache as he saw the untouched food on the table.

"Does Your Excellency have come as an envoy?" Zhang Liao smiled slightly, his eyes fixed on Liu Bei.

Liu Bei did not evade the question, but sat down directly opposite Zhang Liao on the ground and replied, "That's right."

Zhang Liao closed his eyes and said, "Although I have a past friendship with you, my lord, I am a defeated general who only seeks death. Please return, my lord."

Knowing Zhang Liao's character well, Liu Bei would never be happy to hear him bring up the past incident of pleading for Zhang Liao at White Gate Tower. So, he changed the subject and asked, "General, why would you abandon the greater good for your own selfish reasons?"

Zhang Liao thought to himself, "Isn't this what I said when I persuaded Guan Yu to surrender to Cao Cao at Tushan? Are you trying to convince me with this?"

"Does Your Excellency intend to provoke me with righteous indignation?" Zhang Liao sneered.

"I wonder what Wen Yuan means by righteousness?" Liu Bei asked in return.

"I am but a warrior, and I only know that a subject must not be disloyal or unjust," Zhang Liao replied with his eyes still closed.

"General, these are my heartfelt words. You wish to use your mere courage to achieve a reputation for blind loyalty, while disregarding the lives of the common people. Are you not an unfaithful and unjust person?" Liu Bei suddenly said sternly.

Zhang Liao, angered by Liu Bei's sudden reprimand, opened his eyes wide and retorted, "Prime Minister Cao, disregarding my status as a defeated general, has repeatedly shown me kindness and trust, and has given me important positions in the army. I have repaid him with my life; how can that be considered disloyalty?"

"Now the Han Dynasty is in decline, and the Emperor is in distress. In the past, during the chaos in Chang'an, in that time of crisis, if it were not for the Prime Minister's rescue, how could the Emperor have sat safely in Xuchang? I followed the Prime Minister to quell the bandits and eliminate the wicked, to pacify the four seas, and to bring peace to the world. How is this unjust?"

Zhang Liao spoke louder and louder, and even Xu Shu, Zhao Yun, and others outside the house could hear him.

Hearing the commotion, Zhao Yun frowned, while Xu Shu patted Zhao Yun on the shoulder and laughed, "This man will surely surrender."

Inside the room, facing Zhang Liao's righteous words, Liu Bei laughed and said, "General, you have been imprisoned here for many days. I'm afraid you are unaware of the heinous crimes that Cao Cao has committed in the past month."

Zhang Liao asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Liu Bei then informed Zhang Liao of how Cao Cao had used the emperor's name to bestow titles and rewards upon him in exchange for peace, and how Xu Du had subsequently issued twenty-eight imperial edicts in a short period of time, bestowing titles upon more than thirty people.

Zhang Liao stared in disbelief, and after a long while, he muttered to himself, "Cao Cao has actually done something so absurd..."

Seeing that Zhang Liao had completely lost his previous momentum, Liu Bei brought the topic back: "In my opinion, loyalty and righteousness mean being loyal to the emperor and righteous to the common people."

"In the past, Cao Cao's presumptuous act of hunting at Xutian was witnessed by all under heaven. Today, in order to protect himself, he disregards the people and arbitrarily grants fiefdoms to the whole country, thus instigating trouble and chaos."

"If I were to sit idly by and watch the general be misled by this disloyal and unjust person, to the point of being abandoned by history—I would find it difficult to remain at ease."

After Liu Bei finished speaking, he sighed. Seeing that Zhang Liao had wavered but still made no move, Liu Bei simply stood up and said, "I thought you were loyal and had a good sense of the bigger picture, so I came to advise you. I didn't expect you to be so stubborn. You have truly failed Yun Chang in considering you a friend!"

After Liu Bei finished his tirade, he headed straight for the door. Only then did he hear Zhang Liao sigh behind him and say, "My lord, please wait!"

Liu Bei turned around and saw Zhang Liao with red eyes and moist rims, slumped to the ground, choking back tears, saying, "I understand your intentions, my lord, but Cao Cao has treated me well, and I am not an ungrateful person. How can I bear to turn against him with weapons!"

Suppressing his excitement, Liu Bei helped Zhang Liao up and said, "Since Wen Yuan is determined to abandon darkness and embrace the light, why worry about not having a place to use his talents? Now that the warlords are fighting each other, it is the perfect time for him to realize his grand ambitions!"

Zhang Liao calmed himself down and said, "Please enlighten me, my lord."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei quickly pulled Zhang Liao to the table and said, "Both I and Lord Jing Sheng are members of the Han imperial family and have long ago sworn a blood oath. Now..."

A moment later, a servant rushed into Liu Biao's residence in a panic and shouted to Liu Biao, who was talking with the Kuai brothers, "My lord! Lord Liu has persuaded Zhang Liao to surrender! He is waiting for you at the guesthouse!"

Liu Biao's eyes lit up with joy, and he shouted, "Really? Quickly, prepare the carriage! Hurry!"

The Kuai brothers exchanged a glance upon hearing this.

When Liu Biao arrived at the guesthouse in a grand manner, Zhang Liao had already finished eating and changing, and was waiting for him in the courtyard with Liu Bei and others.

"My lord!" Zhang Liao bowed and said.

Liu Biao quickly stepped forward to help Zhang Liao up, saying, "With you, General, we can secure Jingzhou for ten years!"

Zhang Liao remained kneeling and said, "I have three requests. If you grant them, I will surrender. If not, I only ask that you grant me death."

Liu Biao glanced at Liu Bei and asked, "What three things?"

Zhang Liao said, "Firstly, the only one I surrender to is the Han court. I will serve the emperor above and care for the common people below. If anyone were to use force for personal gain and recklessly wage war, I would never comply."

Liu Biao laughed heartily and said, "Don't you see that the whole country is in turmoil, but only in this Jingxiang region are the people at peace and happy, famous scholars gather here, and people from the north come to join us? Wen Yuan's words are exactly what I want, so I will naturally agree to this matter."

Zhang Liao then said, "Thank you, Your Excellency. Secondly, I have served in the army for more than ten years, serving under Ding Yuan, He Jin, Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu, and Cao Cao. I have participated in more than a hundred battles, large and small. If I surrender this time, I will not be controlled by others."

Liu Biao paused for a moment, then, realizing that none of his generals seemed capable of subduing Zhang Liao, he slowly nodded and said, "This is not difficult, and I agree."

Seeing that Liu Biao finally agreed, Zhang Liao immediately continued, "Thirdly, although Cao Cao has done unjust things, he has still done me a great favor. If one day Jingzhou and Cao Cao start fighting again, please forgive me for refusing to participate in the war."

Upon hearing this, Liu Biao's expression changed instantly, and he stopped answering, clearly indicating his refusal.

At this moment, Kuai Liang stepped forward and said to Liu Biao, "My lord, may I speak with you in private?"

Liu Biao looked at Zhang Liao and said, "I will give this matter some time to consider." Then he went into the inner room with the Kuai brothers.

"Zirou, Yidu, what do you two think?" As soon as he entered the room, Liu Biao looked at the two of them impatiently.

"My lord, I believe this matter can also be agreed to," Kuai Liang said first.

"If I agree, what is my purpose? If Cao Cao raises another fierce army to march south in the future, it's fine if he refuses to participate in the war, but what if he turns against us? Wouldn't that be inviting disaster upon himself?" Liu Biao said, somewhat angrily.

"I think it's fine. If he doesn't want to be an enemy of Cao Cao, then we can make him resist Jiangdong. This will also protect the territory and people of Jingzhou," Kuai Yue replied.

"However, I have entrusted the war in Jiangdong to Huang Zu. He does not want to be controlled by others, and I am afraid that there is no place for him in Jiangxia."

Liu Biao sighed, "Actually, it's not just Huang Zu who can't tolerate Zhang Liao. Liu Biao is also wary of the character of Cai Mao and his family, the naval commander of Jingzhou, and there's absolutely no place for Zhang Liao to stand."

"Why not have him help Liu Bei defend Huainan to resist Jiangdong?" Kuai Liang suggested.

Upon hearing this, Liu Biao realized that this would benefit Liu Bei, which was unacceptable. He quickly refused, saying, "Cao Cao has always cherished talent, hence his many strategists and fierce generals. I intend to use the Zhang Liao incident to demonstrate to the world Jingzhou's eagerness for talent. How can I allow Liu Bei to reap the benefits?"

"No, no! My lord, the best way to avoid disaster is to have him assist Liu Bei in defending Huainan!" Kuai Yue waved his hands repeatedly.

"What do you mean?"