New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

"Over the past six months, I have deployed the Xiliang army's forces..."

As Cao Cao confidently explained his strategy for defeating the rebels, a massive, dark army from Xiliang surged towards Chenliu City.

Two riders charged forward at the front. The fierce general on the right was Hua Xiong, and the one on the left must be Hua Ci.

Hua Xiong looked out over the city wall of Chenliu and saw eighteen banners lined up in a row, one of which was embroidered with a huge character "Cao".

He snorted coldly, knowing that Cao Cao must be in the city, and then shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Listen up, you lads on the city walls! I am General Hua Xiong, here to punish the rebels on the orders of the Prime Minister!"

"Whoever can take the head of that treacherous Cao Cao, I will spare your lives!"

The soldier on the city wall, upon hearing this, cursed inwardly.

"Spare you from death? This Hua Xiong probably didn't learn Chinese well."

Everyone knows that a double negative expresses an affirmation; according to his interpretation, it would mean:

If Cao Cao's head were taken off, he could have survived, but now he is certain to die.

"Report!"

Just as Cao Cao was explaining his strategy for defeating the rebels, a messenger rushed in and reported directly to Cao Cao.

"Reporting to the Alliance Leader! Dong Zhuo's vanguard general, Hua Xiong, has led the Xiliang army to the pass and is clamoring to take General Cao's life!"

Interestingly, while the soldier was calling out "Report to the Alliance Leader," he was facing Cao Cao and didn't even glance at Yuan Shao.

It seems this soldier is quite shrewd, as clear-headed as a mirror, knowing that although the leader's surname is Yuan, the one who truly holds the reins is surnamed Cao.

Yuan Shao didn't seem to care. He stroked his beard and asked the other lords around him.

"Who is Hua Xiong? How dare he be so insolent?"

Cao Cao, however, was different. The flattery from the messenger had just pleased him greatly, and he was chuckling to himself. Seeing the assembled lords exchanging bewildered glances, completely unaware of Hua Xiong's background, he smiled and explained.

"This man should not be underestimated. He is from Guanzhong, his courtesy name is Zijian, and he is known as the fourth fierce general under Dong Zhuo."

Just as Yuan Shao was about to press further, Yuan Shu, with a quiet reminder from Liu Bei, read out his lines before he could.

"Fourth? Who are the other three?"

Yuan Shu's move was to regain control of the situation and prevent Yuan Shao from constantly interrupting him. When Cao Cao heard Yuan Shu ask the question, a barely perceptible look of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

Of the three normal people present, only Liu Bei keenly noticed this subtle change. He remained calm, silently memorizing the scene, his face maintaining its expressionless demeanor as if nothing had happened.

"First is Lü Bu, second is Li Jue, third is Guo Si, and fourth is Hua Xiong."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao's expression darkened slightly. He looked around at the assembled lords and spoke loudly.

"Gentlemen, we have just gathered here in righteousness when the Xiliang army has come to challenge us. This is our first battle against the traitor Dong Zhuo, and we must slay his generals and achieve merit to enhance the prestige of our allied forces!"

Guan Yu, standing behind Liu Bei, nodded slightly and was about to step out of the ranks when Liu Bei stopped him.

"This humble general requests permission to go into battle!"

A general, nine feet tall, with sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, and a broad back and powerful build, stepped out from the crowd. He strode forward with the imposing presence of a dragon and a tiger, and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect to Yuan Shao, requesting permission to fight.

Yuan Shu's face paled. He had learned from Liu Bei during their secret conversation in the outhouse that Yu She would volunteer for battle, only to be killed by Hua Xiong with a single blow.

He moved his lips, but ultimately remained silent. He desperately wanted to save Yu She, but he also knew that in order to prevent drastic changes in history and to safeguard the overall situation, he could only watch helplessly as this man went to his death.

Yuan Shu forced a smile and introduced himself to the assembled lords.

"This is my supreme general, Yu She."

Cao Cao nodded, a strange smile creeping onto his lips.

"Very well! Bring wine to send General Yu off on his journey!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately became extremely alert. The moment to verify the truth of the rules had arrived.

[Fourth: Cao Cao's wine is poisonous; drinking it will cause weakness. Do not drink it.]

If Yu She drank Cao Cao's wine and still managed to kill Hua Xiong, then the fourth rule is false. If he drank the wine but was still killed by Hua Xiong, then the fourth rule is true. Of course, there is a third possibility: Yu She drank the wine but wasn't poisoned; he was simply too weak to defeat Hua Xiong.

We'll have to wait and see which one it is.

Liu Bei had changed his position and was now sitting next to Yuan Shu, to prevent any strange occurrences from taking advantage of the situation. If he found an opportunity, he would tell Yuan Shao everything and bring him into the anti-strange alliance as well.

This opportunity won't be far off.

Liu Bei knew perfectly well what was going on. He glanced towards the city gate and waited for news from Yu She.

Outside the city gate, the sun blazed overhead, and the sound of drums shook the heavens. Hua Xiong was resting with his eyes closed.

Suddenly the city gates burst open, and Yu She, spear in hand, spurred his horse out and charged straight toward Hua Xiong.

"Hey!"

Yu She rushed closer, only to find Hua Xiong still with his eyes closed, not even glancing at him. Yu She felt utterly disrespected, and anger surged within him.

"You thief, prepare to die!"

Yu She was spurring his horse forward with his spear when his heart suddenly skipped a beat. In that instant, all his strength seemed to have been drained away, leaving him weak and unable to muster any power.

He knew he was in trouble; the wine was poisoned! He hurriedly tried to rein in his horse and turn back, but then he saw Hua Xiong suddenly open his eyes.

cut!

Hua Xiong's bloodshot eyes narrowed, and he swung his broadsword fiercely. A flash of cold light, and Yu She's head fell to the ground, his body tumbling off his horse, his eyes wide open, dying with unfinished business.

Meanwhile, inside Chenliu City, Cao Cao was still eloquently explaining his strategy for suppressing the rebels. The other lords listened with great interest, as if there was no large army pressing in from outside.

"The elite of the Xiliang army mainly consisted of its cavalry. These more than 100,000 cavalry were divided among the generals Li and Guo..."

"Report!"

A messenger rushed in, interrupting Cao Cao.

Cao Cao clicked his tongue lightly, his face showing displeasure, but he did not retaliate. He simply turned his gaze to the messenger soldier.

"Reporting to the Alliance Leader! General Yu fought Hua Xiong, but was cut down from his horse in less than a single round!"

The feudal lords were greatly alarmed and began to whisper among themselves.

Yuan Shao was also incredulous. Yu She was a general under Yuan Shu, how could he not even last a single round?

But the messenger looked so sincere that he didn't seem to be lying, so Yuan Shao had no choice but to believe him.

"Hua Xiong is indeed brave."

Yuan Shao sighed, his gaze sweeping across the entire room, and said sternly.

"Who dares to challenge Hua Xiong?"

Han Fu looked around and, seeing no one respond, clasped his hands in greeting to Yuan Shao.

"Lord Yuan, I have General Pan Feng!"

"This man wields a hundred-pound axe and possesses the strength of ten thousand men; he is sure to slay Hua Xiong!"

Yuan Shao nodded slightly and raised his voice to the crowd.

Where is General Pan?

"Your subordinate is here!"

A burly man, nine feet tall, stepped out from the crowd. He was strong and robust, with dragon-like eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and a striking red beard.

Yuan Shu sighed inwardly. Pan Feng was not coming back. However, what he wanted was for Pan Feng to never return.

As Xuande said, a victorious army is bound to be arrogant, and an arrogant army is bound to be defeated. Hua Xiong's first act of beheading Yu She already established one layer of arrogance. His subsequent act of beheading Pan Feng added two more. Things rarely happen more than three times; Hua Xiong's defeat is inevitable.

Upon receiving news of the defeat, Liu Bei became even more resolute. No matter what, Guan Yu must not be allowed to touch that cup of poisoned wine. He had to think of a way.

Just as he was pondering this, the messenger bowed and withdrew. Liu Bei glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and saw a piece of paper slip out of the edge of the messenger's pocket, float down to his feet with the breeze.

He was secretly delighted. New rules were coming.

Liu Bei casually bent down and picked it up. After all, no one else could see the words on the rules except him.

Unfold the note; it reads: