New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

(This chapter contains 6,000 words, roughly equivalent to three separate updates, enough to satisfy your reading appetite!)

Chen Gong stood in the hall, gazing at Wang Yun's triumphant face. His lips moved, but he ultimately said nothing. He bowed slightly and returned to his seat.

Seeing that no one had any further objections, Wang Yun nodded in satisfaction, his gaze sweeping over the assembled civil and military officials, and called out loudly, "Where is my son, Fengxian?"

Lü Bu rose from his seat, strode to the center of the hall, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and replied in a deep voice, "Your subordinate is here!"

Wang Yun looked down at him, raised his hand, and waved it, his voice full of confident arrogance:

"I order you to immediately lead your troops out of the city to annihilate the remaining 100,000 troops of Li Jue and Guo Si. You must completely wipe out the remnants of Xiliang. There must be no mistakes!"

Lu Bu frowned, a hint of hesitation appearing on his face. He opened his mouth, hesitated, and after a long while, lowered his voice and tentatively asked, "Prime Minister, could we postpone this for a couple of days?"

Wang Yun's eyebrows shot up sharply, and without a second thought, he refused outright, his tone leaving no room for negotiation:

"Two days? No way! Li Jue and Guo Si's men are all elite cavalry from Xiliang, they're as swift as the wind! If they march day and night, they could be at the gates of Chang'an tonight."

"If that happens, we'll be forced to stay inside the city and fight a defensive battle. Wouldn't that be a disgrace to our royal army? Let's set off now!"

Lu Bu clenched his fists in distress, his voice tinged with a bitter, almost pleading tone:

"But Godfather, Dong Zhuo has just died, and Diao Chan is extremely frightened. I wish to comfort her before leaving. If I go, I don't know how long the fighting will last..."

Wang Yun frowned slightly, his mind perfectly clear. Lü Bu's meaning couldn't be clearer: he wanted to spend a few more days with Diao Chan, fearing that once he went on campaign, he didn't know when he would be able to return to see her.

He sighed, softened his tone, and stepped forward to pat Lü Bu on the shoulder earnestly:

"Fengxian, it's not that your godfather wants to break you up, it's those two scoundrels, Li Jue and Guo Si, who are preventing you from getting married!"

"With a major battle imminent, you can't let a woman ruin matters of state. Go quickly and bring back Li Jue and Guo Si's heads, then you can come back and marry Diao Chan, right?"

The other officials chimed in, "The Prime Minister is right!"

"What the Prime Minister says is absolutely right!"

Seeing that he had supporters, Wang Yun became even more enthusiastic. He took half a step forward, lowered his voice, and spoke with a tone full of temptation and promise:

"Fengxian, you must think of the bigger picture. I will pray for your eternal life in the future, and you will have endless time to spend the rest of your life with Diaochan. Why rush things?"

Although Lü Bu was extremely unwilling and had a burning anger inside him, he had no choice but to swallow it down.

He gritted his teeth, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice, "This humble general obeys!"

Wang Yun waved his hand with satisfaction and said loudly:

"Alright, that's all for today. Fengxian, you go and make preparations. Distinguished officials, tonight I will host a banquet at the Prince's residence to celebrate the victory over Dong Zhuo. I urge you all to grace us with your presence!"

The officials smiled and agreed, praising Wang Yun as "a prime minister who governs the country like Xiao He" and "a prime minister who leads troops like Han Xin," as they escorted him out of the hall.

Only Lü Bu turned around, his face ashen, and strode away in the opposite direction.

Not long after Lü Bu stepped out of the main hall, Li Ru emerged from behind a pillar. He glanced deeply in the direction Lü Bu had disappeared, straightened his sleeves, and silently followed.

Not long after, as Lü Bu angrily turned through a moon gate, a figure suddenly appeared from the side, startling him.

He looked closely and saw it was Li Ru. His brows furrowed even more, and he said coldly, "Minister Li, what are you doing here? You startled me. Is something the matter?"

Li Ru smiled, took half a step forward, and asked in a low voice, "Fengxian, do you know why Wang Yun is in such a hurry, insisting that you immediately send troops to suppress Li Jue and Guo Si?"

Lü Bu frowned, then replied without hesitation, "Isn't it because their army marched so fast that they could reach the walls of Chang'an in the dead of night?"

Li Ru slowly shook his head, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips. He lowered his voice even further, as if revealing a huge secret:

"No, no! General Lü, let me tell you a secret. This isn't some urgent military situation at all; it's Wang Yun's scheme to lure you away from Chang'an! His real purpose in luring you out of Chang'an is to seize Diao Chan!"

What?

Lu Bu was shocked and shook his head repeatedly, his voice trembling: "Impossible! Diao Chan is Wang Yun's daughter, how could he seize his own daughter? This is unethical, absolutely impossible!"

Li Ru stroked the few strands of beard under his chin, laughed heartily, and his eyes gleamed with shrewdness: "This is precisely the most ridiculous and pathetic part of the matter! General, why don't you think about it, what did Diao Chan call Wang Yun?"

Lu Bu blurted out instinctively, "Her name is Wang Yun, so of course I call her godfather... um?"

He suddenly stopped, his pupils contracted sharply, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Seeing him frozen in place, Li Ru knew the time was right, so he moved even closer, his voice carrying a lewd chuckle:

"General, Diao Chan is a beauty beyond compare! Wang Yun has now regained his youth, his body has returned to the peak of his twenties, the age when he is full of vigor and his desires are insatiable."

"General, you've led the troops out of the city, leaving Diao Chan, a frail woman, alone at home. She's as beautiful as a fairy; what normal man wouldn't be tempted by her?"

"Hehehe, General, you surely know what will happen next, right? When that time comes, Wang Yun will be freely entering and leaving Diao Chan's boudoir under the guise of being her adoptive father. What can others say then?"

Lu Bu trembled with rage, his teeth grinding together, and he forced out a hoarse roar: "Absolutely not! If Wang Yun dares to lay a finger on Diao Chan, I will kill him with my own hands!"

Li Ru helplessly shrugged, his tone full of sympathy and incitement:

"General, you know perfectly well that Wang Yun is the next Dong Zhuo. His deeds are even more despicable than Dong Zhuo's! He now wields immense power, his spies are everywhere; who dares to oppose him?"

"Only I, Li Ru, would risk my head to tip off the general. Who else would have the guts?"

He paused, then sighed, his tone growing increasingly heavy.

"Not to mention Li Jue and Guo Si's 100,000 iron cavalry, even if it were 100,000 steamed buns, it would take you ten days to half a month to eat them."

"What kind of torment will Miss Diao Chan endure during these ten days? Alas, I dare not even think about it."

"And what about Wang Yun? He only needed to find any reason to say that Diao Chan was killed by assassins sent by Li Jue and Guo Si, and that her body was chopped into mincemeat so that there would be no evidence against her. In reality, he hid her away."

"At that time, General, you are a pure and good man, and you will surely believe it to be true. In your grief and anger, you will fight Li Jue and Guo Si to the death. It is hard to say whether you will come back alive."

"Once the general dies, Wang Yun can rightfully take Diao Chan as his own. He is immortal, with no upper limit to his lifespan, and can possess her forever."

Lu Bu grew angrier and angrier, yelling and grabbing his halberd, ready to rush back to Wanle Palace to stab Wang Yun a thousand times over.

Li Ru reacted swiftly, grabbing his arm and urgently pleading in a low voice, "General, please calm down! I have a plan that can completely free you from Wang Yun's control and allow you to be with Miss Diao Chan forever!"

Lu Bu shuddered, turned around abruptly, and knelt down before Li Ru with a thud. He clasped his hands in a fist salute, his gaze pleading as if he were worshipping a savior: "Please teach me, sir!"

Li Ru stroked his beard and smiled slightly, "General, you can take the military tally and mobilize the army, secretly bring your family, and leave the city ahead of us."

"On the surface, they are still acting on Wang Yun's orders to attack Li Jue and Guo Si, but in reality, they are heading straight for Mei Wu and capturing that city!"

"Mei'wu is stockpiled with grain that Dong Zhuo has accumulated over twenty years, but the garrison is extremely weak. This is because Wang Yun has already transferred 90% of his elite troops to Chang'an, and Mei'wu is now nothing but an empty city. General, taking it will be as easy as turning your hand."

"Once we have occupied Mei'wu, send another trusted confidant with a secret letter to Li Jue and Guo Si, instructing them to march day and night to attack Chang'an."

"General, if you remain inactive and do not send a single soldier to the rescue, the few troops defending Chang'an will not be able to stop the 100,000 Xiliang cavalry."

"By then, that treacherous Wang Yun will surely be dead. Chang'an will fall, Li Jue and Guo Si will gain control of Chang'an, and you, General, will hold Mei'wu. From then on, you can spend the rest of your life with Miss Diaochan without any worries!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu's eyes gleamed with wild joy. He stood up, bowed deeply to Li Ru, his voice trembling slightly with excitement:

"Very well! We'll do as you say, sir! Having you is like Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, getting Fan Zeng!"

Li Ru smiled and nodded, a barely perceptible glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes. He reached out to help Lü Bu up, patted his hand, and urged in a low voice, "There's no time to lose, General, please do as I say!"

Ta-da!

Their secret plot was bound to be overheard. In the shadows, a man playing with a cricket overheard the entire conversation.

The man was Chen Gong. He slowly placed the cricket back into the jar, closed the lid, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

He didn't make a sound, but simply turned around and walked silently toward his home, his steps much faster than when he came.

Lü Bu followed Li Ru's plan. He first sent a trusted confidant with a secret letter out of the city to find Li Jue and Guo Si, and then secretly picked up Diao Chan onto a carriage, leading tens of thousands of troops to the city gate in a grand procession.

He brandished his military tally, deceiving the city's guards, and his army filed out. Once outside the city, he immediately changed direction and headed straight for Mei'wu. Li Ru mingled among the army, never leaving their side.

As expected, Mei'wu was poorly defended, with only a few listless soldiers standing sparsely on the city walls. Li Ru told Lü Bu to use the military tally to trick his way into opening the city gate, just like before.

Following the plan, Lü Bu stepped forward, holding up the military tally, and shouted towards the city wall, "I am here on the orders of the Prime Minister to escort the grain supplies. Open the city gates immediately!"

The garrison commander, however, was more wary than his colleagues in Chang'an. He leaned out halfway and shouted, "General Lü, you were ordered to annihilate Li Jue and Guo Si, why did you detour to my Mei Fortress?"

Lu Bu was speechless for a moment, unsure how to respond. Just as the garrison commander's suspicions began to grow, and he was about to order a defensive maneuver, Li Ru suddenly appeared from behind Lu Bu, pointed at the garrison commander's nose, and began to hurl insults:

"You bunch of idiots! Tens of thousands of troops marching without provisions, what will the soldiers eat? We were ordered to come to Meiwu to transport grain! If this delays military operations, can you take responsibility?!"

The garrison commander recognized Li Ru. Startled by the barrage of angry words, he shrank back and dared not ask any more questions. He quickly smiled apologetically and ordered the city gates to be opened.

Lü Bu's army then swaggered into Mei'wu. Upon entering the city, Lü Bu immediately turned hostile, personally killing the defending general and ordering his trusted men to seal all the city gates, ensuring that no word of the situation leaked out, either inside or outside the city.

Back in Chang'an, Wang Yun was completely unaware of this. He assumed that Lü Bu had already led his army on an expedition and was now comfortably holding a grand banquet in his palace, toasting and drinking with his officials to celebrate his victory.

He drank until nightfall, and only then, supported by two beautiful women, did he stagger back to his bedroom. He took off his robes and fell asleep, snoring loudly.

Not long after, Chen Gong rushed into Wang Yun's bedroom, yanked open the curtains, and saw Wang Yun lying sprawled on the couch, drooling on his pillow.

Chen Gong was so angry his teeth itched. He grabbed a water glass from the table and splashed a full glass of cold water over Wang Yun's face, shouting angrily, "My lord! What time is it? You still have the mind to dream in this harem!"

Wang Yun jumped out of bed with a start, wiped the water droplets from his face, and was about to lash out, but seeing that it was Chen Gong, he couldn't let his anger out on the spot. He just said with a sullen face:

"Gongtai, what are you doing? I've fought wars my whole life, can't I enjoy myself a little?"

Chen Gong was so anxious his eyes almost popped out, and his voice became distorted:

"Li Jue and Guo Si have led an army of 100,000 to the city walls and are currently attacking! We only have 20,000 defenders in the city. If the attack continues like this, Chang'an will surely fall in half an hour, at most half an hour!"

Wang Yun was instantly wide awake, jumping out of bed and staring wide-eyed at Chen Gong, his voice trembling:

"What? Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Where did these 100,000 troops come from? Where did these 100,000 troops come from?!"

He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, grabbed Chen Gong's arm, and asked urgently, "Wait a minute, didn't I send Lü Bu to intercept them? Did Lü Bu lose?"

Chen Gong let out a long sigh, lowering his voice to an extremely low hue, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Li Ru used a divisive tactic to deceive Lü Bu. He told Lü Bu that his lord's urgent summons to the expedition was not for military matters, but to lure him away from Chang'an so that he could seize Diao Chan. Lü Bu believed him."

"He not only believed it, but also took tens of thousands of elite troops from the city. After leaving the city, he went straight to Meiwu, used the military tally to trick the city gates open, killed the garrison commander, and blocked the news. We only just received the news ourselves."

Wang Yun stared blankly at Chen Gong, his lips moving several times, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He staggered back two steps and slumped onto the edge of the bed, his once youthful face now showing utter bewilderment and despair for the first time.

He lowered his head, looking at his slender, pale hands, and suddenly let out a long, hoarse, and bitter sigh:

"It's over, everything is over. I regret not listening to my wise brother's advice that day. It's all my fault for being arrogant when victorious, and arrogant when defeated! It's all fate! One wrong move, and the whole game is lost!"

Chen Gong stepped forward, grabbed Wang Yun's wrist, and pulled him off the edge of the bed, saying sternly:

"My lord, what's the use of saying all this now! Quickly put on your clothes and come with me to the city gate! If the two of us use our strange powers to kill the traitors, perhaps we can still fight for a last glimmer of hope!"

Wang Yun was jolted back to his senses by the tug, and quickly nodded. He then sternly ordered the two beauties, who were already cowering in the corner in fear, to change their clothes.

Before long, the two ascended the city wall of Chang'an. Below the city wall, flames soared into the sky, and the sounds of battle shook the heavens. Countless siege ladders were densely stacked on the crenellations.

The Xiliang soldiers surged upwards like ants, climbing the siege ladders. For every one that fell, ten would immediately take its place.

Wang Yun snorted coldly, activated the strange power within his body, and with a series of swift movements, killed one by one the brave generals who rushed to the top of the battlements, hoping to seize the credit for being the first to scale the walls.

There were just too many people. After killing one batch, another batch would come, and after killing two batches, a third batch would come.

Wang Yun's handsome face was splattered with scarlet blood. The blood-red aura of his arrogant state layered around him, growing thicker and more dazzling.

He grew increasingly frenzied and insane with each kill, throwing his head back and letting out a wild, unrestrained laugh: "I, Wang Yun, am invincible! Invincible! Who can harm me? Who dares to kill me!"

He was so engrossed in the ecstasy of killing that he didn't notice the person who had been silently following him had quietly retreated behind him.

Chen Gong gently lifted the lid of the cricket jar, and an invisible force surged out of the jar. He raised his foot and kicked Wang Yun hard in the back.

Wang Yun's laughter abruptly stopped. He tumbled over the crenellations, arcing through the air in a pathetic fashion before crashing heavily onto the pile of corpses below the city walls.

The Xiliang soldiers below were so frightened by this scene that they retreated one after another, looking at each other in bewilderment, not understanding what was going on for a moment.

Wang Yun, equally bewildered, crawled up from the pile of corpses. He looked up at the slender figure standing with his hands behind his back atop the city wall, his eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and rage. He roared fiercely:

"Chen Gong! What have you done?! Without me, Wang Yun, how can you possibly stop these 100,000 Xiliang cavalry?!"

Standing atop the city wall, Chen Gong looked down at the man below, covered in blood and surrounded by tens of thousands of Xiliang soldiers. He laughed heartily and said casually:

"That's easy. I'll just surrender the city, won't I?"

Before he finished speaking, the Xiliang soldiers around him reacted and surged toward Wang Yun from all directions like a tide.

Wang Yun was furious and desperately tried to unleash the strange power within his body to retaliate.

But no one touched his trigger point, so he couldn't enter his bizarre state. Even using bizarre powers, he couldn't save himself.

[Rule 3: Each character has their own triggers. Please do not touch them, otherwise they will enter a bizarre state.]

He was swallowed up by the throngs of people and stabbed repeatedly until he fell into a pool of blood.

Chen Gong ordered the city gates to be opened. The remaining defenders surrendered, and 100,000 Xiliang cavalry poured into Chang'an. Taking advantage of the chaos, Chen Gong slipped out of the city and rode straight to Meiwu.

The courtyard was covered with festive red paper, and without a doubt, it must be the wedding of Lü Bu and Diao Chan, and the two of them were being affectionate in the house.

The city guards reported that Chen Gong was coming to see him. Lü Bu frowned. He originally didn't want to see him, wanting to immerse himself in Diao Chan's gentle embrace, but under Diao Chan's urging, he had no choice but to get dressed and receive Chen Gong.

Chen Gong recounted the fall of Chang'an to Lü Bu in detail. After listening, Lü Bu remained silent for a long time before finally sighing, feeling a pang of regret for Wang Yun's death.

Chen Gong shook his head, his tone as cold as ice:

"General, today's disaster is all because Wang Yun didn't listen to me. He refused Li and Guo's surrender, which led to this annihilation. He died a worthy death."

He abruptly changed the subject, looking at Lü Bu, his tone suddenly becoming solemn, "General, if you are willing to listen to my plan, Chen Gong is willing to follow you from now on and assist you in achieving great success!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu was overjoyed. He clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply to Chen Gong, saying loudly, "I wish to take you as my military advisor! I will obey your every word and never disobey you!"

Chen Gong nodded, then breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "General, where is Li Ru?"

Lu Bu hesitated for a moment, but still answered truthfully: "Mr. Li has already left Mei'wu. He said he was going north to Qingzhou to join Liu Bei."

Chen Gong frowned slightly, then felt a sense of relief. Good, it saved him the trouble of doing anything else.

He nodded, his expression turning serious, and said to Lü Bu:

"In my opinion, after Li Jue and Guo Si capture Chang'an, the world will inevitably descend into chaos once again. Heroes will rise up and vie for control of the Central Plains."

"General, you are the bravest in the army, and you command tens of thousands of armored soldiers. Why don't we temporarily leave Chang'an, head south to Jingzhou and Xiangyang, find a fortified city as our base, and then recruit more soldiers, conquer cities and territories, strengthen our power, and gradually plan our hegemony!"

Lü Bu was somewhat bewildered and asked in confusion, "Sir, Mei'wu is a fortified city with high walls and deep moats, and its provisions are enough to last for twenty years. Why would we abandon Mei'wu?"

Chen Gong shook his head, pointed his finger heavily on the map, and spoke with a voice full of worry and certainty:

"Li Jue and Guo Si command 100,000 iron cavalry, their military might is too great. After they capture Chang'an, they will surely attack Meiwu as well."

"If they surround Mei'wu, we'll be like fish in a jar, lambs to the slaughter! At that point, we won't be able to escape."

Lu Bu suddenly understood and quickly clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I will follow your advice, sir! I will do whatever you ask me to do!"

Chen Gong nodded, handed the military tally to Lü Bu, and told him to pack his belongings immediately. He then turned and walked towards the main camp to begin mobilizing troops in preparation for heading south.

Thus, Volume One, "The Warlords Against Dong Zhuo and the Grand Tutor's Uproar in the Han Dynasty," is successfully completed!

Volume Two: A Battle of Heroes for Supremacy – The Great War in the Central Plains is About to Begin!

Regarding the first volume, the author has some thoughts to share. I may not have realized them while writing, but I did after a reader pointed them out.

That is, in the later part of the first volume, it seems that anyone can ignore the rules and immediately enter a bizarre state, and the combat power is somewhat broken. This is purely because the author got carried away writing and did not realize it.

In this chapter, the author made a balance adjustment. Wang Yun did not directly enter the bizarre state, but was restricted by the rules. No one could trigger his trigger point, so he could only use the bizarre power.

I will continue to write like this in the future. I hope everyone will point out my mistakes and criticize me, because:

Who in the world is never cursed? Who in the world doesn't curse others?

What is the relationship between the bizarre and the bizarre power?

Let me take Super Beast Armed as an example. The Weird Transformation is Super Beast Armed, while the Weird Power is the ordinary armed state. The difference between the two is huge.

That's basically it. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a message or ask in the author's live stream, where the author will answer them personally.

In the next chapter, Liu Bei returns!