The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

Li Chang took a wooden stick and ran it across the strange black runes.

He suddenly stood up, his brows furrowed tightly.

My master once discussed Taoist magic with a friend, saying that drawing talismans, combined with sleeping pills and incantations to control the body, could turn ordinary people into fearless and incredibly strong, ultimately turning them into mere puppets who only knew how to kill.

He used to think that this was a fabrication by his master to deceive him into practicing Taoism, but he never expected to see it with his own eyes today!

"Fourth brother, what happened?" Liu Bei noticed his unusual expression and quickly stepped forward to ask.

Li Chang withdrew his hand, suppressing the turmoil in his heart:

"It's alright. It's just that these assassins carry strange runes, and Zhang Jiao is not only good at bewitching the people, but he may also be proficient in unorthodox and sinister arts."

The battle of Guangzong was far more dangerous than we had anticipated.

Changing the subject, he laughed and said, "Fortunately, Quyang has been captured and Zhang Bao has been executed. We can say that we have given General Lu a satisfactory answer."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei repeatedly praised it:

"This is all thanks to Fourth Brother! If you hadn't sent Xuanya ahead of time to scout out Zhang Bao's plans and devised a series of brilliant schemes, how could we have captured Quyang so easily?"

Recalling the battles of the past few days, Liu Bei was still shaken.

In these three days, Li Chang used Xuan Ya to find out all of Zhang Bao's plans:

He accurately predicted that Zhang Bao would take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Guo Dian's camp, and he was certain that Guo Dian would be arrogant and reckless. He even calculated the route Zhang Bao would take after his defeat, fleeing from the south gate to Guangzong.

Subsequent plans were all based on this: Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were ordered to lead the main force to ambush on the flank of Guo Dian's camp. When Guo Dian was defeated and Zhang Bao was in full pursuit, they would launch a surprise attack from behind and break through the Yellow Turban formation in one fell swoop!

Then Liu Bei personally led over a thousand elite soldiers, disguised in the armor of defeated Yellow Turban soldiers, and took advantage of the chaos when the south gate guard opened the gate to receive Zhang Bao, tricked the city gate into opening, seized control of the barbican, and then captured Quyang.

Finally, Guan Yu was ordered to ambush Zhang Bao, who was on his way to Guangzong, to intercept and kill him.

With each link tightly connected to the next, tens of thousands of Yellow Turban rebels were under their control.

Liu Bei suddenly thought of Guo Dian, lowered his voice, and looked at Li Chang with a complicated expression:

"Fourth brother, did you... foresee Guo Dian's defeat? Or perhaps... intentionally let him draw Zhang Bao's main force?"

The surroundings fell silent instantly.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun all turned to look at Li Chang, their eyes filled with doubt.

Previously, they only thought the plan was ingenious, but after Liu Bei's reminder, they realized something was amiss: if they really wanted to rescue Guo Dian, why didn't they tell him about Zhang Bao's plan to launch a sneak attack beforehand?

Although they also looked down on Guo Dian.

Li Chang paused slightly, then immediately denied it, without even thinking:

"Why would you think that, brother? Guo Dian is, after all, an official appointed by the imperial court and a general under General Lu. How could I possibly intend to harm him?"

As he spoke, Li Chang turned his head to the side: "Sigh, how could I possibly do such a thing? Who do you think your fourth brother is?"

"Ahem," Li Chang suddenly became serious, though there was still a hint of melancholy in his eyes.

This is the Three Kingdoms period, but it's not my hometown from a past life. Nobody understands my own jokes.

He paused, then explained earnestly:

"Guo Dian will never believe the information we have; he will only regard us as villains like himself!"

I had no other choice but to devise this plan, which would both capture Quyang and rescue Guo Dian. And Guo Dian would only suffer one defeat!

These words were perfectly reasonable; they both absolved Guo Dian of his own accord and highlighted Guo Dian's arrogance and stubbornness.

"Good!" Zhang Fei suddenly roared, "Hmph, it's a pity that brat Guo Dian wasn't hurt at all!"

"Sigh..." Liu Bei sighed, looking at Li Chang's sincere expression, he knew in his heart that it was Guo Dian's fault that the soldiers had lost their lives in vain.

He then explained from the perspective of his fourth brother, Li Chang: "So that's how it is. Guo Dian was too stubborn, which is why he suffered heavy losses."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of chaotic hoofbeats came from afar, mixed with angry shouts and rebukes directed at the soldiers.

Everyone turned to look, and Guo Dian, covered in blood and with disheveled hair, led hundreds of remaining soldiers, rushing menacingly towards them.

He raised his hand, gripped the riding whip tightly, pointed it directly at Liu Bei, and shouted angrily:

"Liu Bei! You despicable villain! You deliberately concealed the enemy's situation, watched our army suffer a crushing defeat, and then seized the opportunity to steal the credit! What exactly are you plotting?!"

Zhang Fei immediately roared, stepped forward, and slammed his eighteen-foot spear heavily into the ground, sending dust flying.

"Hey, isn't this Prefect Guo? What, you can't even defeat the Yellow Turban rebels?"

Zhao Yun frowned as well; even Zhao Yun, who usually disliked swearing, felt like swearing.

"If it weren't for our timely rescue, you and your thousands of brothers would have already perished under Zhang Bao's blade. Not only are you ungrateful, but you dare to slander us!"

"Gratitude?" Guo Dian roared, trembling with rage as he pointed at the corpses of the Yellow Turban rebels scattered on the ground.

"Of my several thousand men, over a thousand have perished! You, on the other hand, reaped the benefits, capturing Quyang and killing Zhang Bao without lifting a finger, and all the credit goes to you! How am I supposed to explain this to General Lu when I get back!"

"You tried to steal the credit yourself, and you were defeated due to incompetence; how can you blame others!"

Zhang Fei's eyes widened in anger, and he was about to step forward and attack.

"Yide!" Liu Bei quickly grabbed him and turned to Guo Dian, saying, "The truth of this matter will be judged by Master Lu. If you are not satisfied, we can go together to see Master Lu."

"Fine! Very well!" Guo Dian gritted his teeth. "I'll go with you to see General Lu right now! I want to see whether General Lu trusts you, a newcomer to the army, or me, a veteran who has followed him for many years!"

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, meeting Guan Yu's cold eyes and Zhang Fei's fierce expression before finally settling on the gleaming silver spear in Zhao Yun's hand.

A sudden tightness gripped my heart, and reason returned abruptly under the threat of death.

The wise mind regained the high ground and drove anger away from its brain.

At this moment, he only had a few hundred remaining soldiers by his side, and if a conflict broke out, he would not be able to resist at all.

With three formidable generals on the other side, our men are probably no match for them!

Guo Dian stared at Liu Bei, then abandoned the idea of ​​suddenly kidnapping him.

He immediately suppressed his arrogance, merely snorted coldly, and reined in his horse to leave.

But at this moment.

In the distance, billowing dust rose as an elite cavalry force galloped towards them. The leading general, clad in armor with a resolute face, was none other than Lu Zhi, the Northern General!

As soon as Lu Zhi approached, Guo Dian immediately dismounted, knelt down with a thud, and cried out loudly:

"General Lu! You must avenge me! Liu Bei deliberately concealed military intelligence, watched me suffer a crushing defeat, and then seized the opportunity to steal the credit for the Battle of Quyang. This man is a despicable and shameless villain!"

Lu Zhi frowned slightly, ignoring the crying Guo Dian, and looked directly at Liu Bei.

Liu Bei quickly stepped forward and respectfully bowed, saying, "Disciple Liu Bei greets my esteemed master. How is Master Lu doing these days?"

Without uttering a single word of explanation or claiming credit, he simply offered a bow and a greeting.

Lu Zhi looked at his disciple, a warmth rising in his eyes, and reached out to help Liu Bei up:

"Rise. I already know the whole story." He was fully aware of the entire process of capturing Quyang. He had come here specifically to prevent Guo Dian from causing trouble and disrupting morale.

Although Liu Bei's side had some ulterior motives, overall, the problem wasn't serious.

"Guo Dian." Lu Zhi turned to look at him, his tone turning colder.

"You were stubborn and self-willed, greedy for merit and reckless, which caused the army to suffer heavy losses. You should be punished according to military law."

Now, instead of repenting, he falsely accuses his colleagues and disrupts morale, making his crime even more serious!

"Effective immediately, you are hereby dismissed from all military posts and escorted back to the Guangzong camp to await further orders! Half of your troops will be placed under the command of Xuande, and the remainder will be led by Vice General Zong Yuan, to continue cooperating with the main army in a pincer attack on Guangzong!"

"What?!" Guo Dian was struck dumb, collapsing to the ground, his face filled with disbelief.

"General Lu! You can't treat me like this! I've followed you in battle for many days; even if I haven't achieved anything, I've still put in the effort!"