Liu Xuande would never be a succubus of the Eastern Han Dynasty!

"???"

No, buddy, are you serious?

Fortunately, there were white cloth pants under the skirt, so the Cao family did not lose face.

"Mount."

This time Cao Cao finally got on the horse successfully. At the same time, she pulled Liu Bei behind her with one hand, with a cold face and no words.

He is really a decisive person.

Although his behavior is still a little immature, his heroic spirit cannot be concealed.

Being a woman, coming from a wealthy family, and being under pressure and constraints in the palace... none of these could suppress the rebelliousness in Cao Cao's bones.

If used well, this arrogance can become a sharp sword in the hands of the king, sweeping away all evil things; but if not used well, there is no doubt that this sharp sword will cut oneself.

What an interesting person.

Such a chivalrous and patriotic hero would actually turn into a bear with the intention of conquering the world in just a few decades.

Cao Cao, Meng De, Aman, Jili, Prime Minister, King of Wei, Emperor Wu of Wei... Which one is the real you?

Liu Bei didn't have time to think carefully, he just turned his head and looked at the street ahead.

"Ah, don't kill me!"

On the street, the common people saw Cao Cao charging towards them on horseback and were all frightened and fled in all directions. In the chaos, someone handed the bamboo slips in his hand to Liu Bei who was sitting on the back seat at the moment when the horse passed by.

"..."

Liu Bei did not actually wrap his arms around Cao Cao's waist. He simply used his legs to exert force, easily stabilizing himself on the horse's back.

It was only natural that he unfolded the bamboo slips in his hand, on which was written:

The Jian family wants to depose the emperor and establish themselves as the emperor. The pavilion has been destroyed and the documents have been burned. They have consulted the Cao family. There will be disasters along the way, so it is best to be careful.

This…what is this?!

Even when he learned that Jian Shuo had obtained half of the military affairs in Luoyang, Liu Bei was not too surprised. After all, he had long been accustomed to the emperor's decrees that changed every day. But when he saw this news about the Jian family, he was really shocked.

Jian Shuo was a eunuch, and eunuchs were the emperor's slaves, and eunuchs had no descendants.

Under normal circumstances, the emperor relied on eunuchs to check and balance the officials or relatives, because no matter how much power the eunuchs seized for themselves, they would not be able to achieve anything because they had no descendants.

This original intention was good for the royal family at first. After all, as long as the emperor could grow up, he could easily take back power. But the problem was...

Eunuchs could indeed not threaten the imperial power, but they could cause chaos in the country and erode the foundation of the empire from the root.

For example, Jian Shuo, relying on the favor of Your Majesty, squandered his power, continuously promoted himself to higher titles in order to gain more land, and sold all the farmers in his territory as slaves at low prices.

In this way, the huge amount of money flowed into the pockets of his Jian family.

But these still did not satisfy the Jian family's appetite. On the contrary, they fed this wolf of wealth and made it strong and powerful. Now it is waiting for the opportunity to bite back at its master.

It's so hateful and abominable.

He disrupted the country and wanted to harm his master... These crimes were enough to execute all nine generations of the Jian family!

"In the assassination case, the process was actually very simple."

Cao Cao, now calm, rode on his horse and began to explain, "A few days ago, during the heat of summer, Your Majesty stayed in a sheltered pavilion in the mountains outside Luoyang, and the assassin attacked the day before yesterday."

"Thanks to Jian Shuo's desperate fight, the assassin was forced to retreat. After killing several women, the assassin jumped off a cliff and disappeared."

Hearing this, Liu Bei raised his eyebrows and said, "So, this was a self-directed performance arranged by Jian Shuo?"

"uncertain."

Cao Cao, a man of great suspicion, did not doubt this point, but said directly: "Jian Shuo is just an uneducated eunuch with a height of nine feet. How could he have such a plan?"

"I'm afraid the assassination is true, and Jian Shuo's desperate efforts to protect the emperor are also true. If there is one person who deserves suspicion, it is the Imperial Household Officer at the time."

"Because it was this Imperial Servant Liu who suggested that Your Majesty live in the Bishui Pavilion."

...it's not Jian Shuo? Then why does the letter say it's the Jian family... Wait, Jian Shuo is indeed a member of the Jian family, but the Jian family doesn't necessarily stand in solidarity with Jian Shuo.

Internal conflicts? No, I'm afraid it's far more than that.

As soon as he was involved in this incident, Jian Shuo immediately gained tremendous power. If it weren't for the secret authorization of several noble families, it would probably not have happened so quickly.

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, feeling that it might not just be the Jian family that was involved, but there were many others who had not yet surfaced.

The enemy is the Jian Shuo family, which is favored by His Majesty, and these forces hiding in the dark... and there are only two of them.

A rich boy and a poor boy.

"The incident happened suddenly that day, and the Imperial Guards immediately sealed off the entire area. We are heading there now to search for evidence in the pavilion."

As the two were talking, they had unknowingly left Luoyang City and were on their way to the mountains.

The enemy was hundreds of meters behind them, and the Cao family guards and some government troops followed closely.

Just as Liu Bei was about to say something, Cao Cao's eyes flashed and he blurted out, "There are arrows, lower your heads!"

At the same time, she suddenly lowered her body, almost sticking to the horse's back.

Just at this moment, an arrow shot out from the front and brushed past Liu Bei's cheek.

Blood flowed out and a slight pain came.

Liu Bei did not stand there in a daze, but instead fixed his peach blossom eyes on the figures in front of him.

There were more than a dozen riders in black clothes and iron masks, holding bows and arrows in their hands, and they were aiming in their direction.

This means that the previous attack was just a test.

"Guard, guard!"

Cao Cao also saw the enemy and was about to turn his horse around to look for his guards when a hand came up from behind.

As soon as she turned her head, she saw a pair of peach blossom eyes full of calmness.

"It's too late. We'll be shot the moment Lord Mengde turns around... Well, just keep riding your horse and sprint at full speed. I'll keep you safe."

"Xuan De, this is not nonsense..."

Before Cao Cao could finish his words, he saw Liu Bei kick his feet and fly into the air. When he landed, his feet stepped on the moving horse's back and did not fall off.

"Master Meng De, how could I treat my life as a joke? Just charge ahead, and I will take care of the rest."

Chapter 11: This is the sword technique passed down from generation to generation in my Liu family. You must believe me.

"…Understood."

Cao Cao knew that he could not hesitate at this moment, so he kicked the horse hard and pulled the reins with his hands, increasing the speed again.

If an ordinary horse sensed danger ahead, it would naturally be frightened and stop moving forward. However, the horse Cao Cao was riding was a famous northern horse. Far from being timid, it was actually fighting spirited and its speed was even faster than usual.

In this way, the man and the horse are of one mind, as the saying goes, those who have the same desire will win.

They quickly rushed forward a long distance.

Only then did the arrow arrive.

"It's getting closer, Xuande!"

Cao Cao shouted, and Liu Bei behind him fixed his eyes, then threw his sword forward with force.

"?"

As soon as Cao Cao looked up, he saw the sword that was not even drawn out of its sheath. He couldn't hold back when it appeared in his field of vision.

What are you doing?

Before she could utter a word of doubt, she saw the sword floating in the air, and its unknown material actually reflected the sunlight.

Almost instantly, the light climbed into the sight of everyone present.

The absence of consciousness only lasted for a moment.

At this moment, Cao Cao seemed to see several black figures passing by him. They were obviously running faster than horses even on foot.

Then, I heard...

wow-

The sound of a blade cutting through skin came from the front, accompanied by several muffled groans.

When the feeling of unconsciousness disappeared, Cao Cao found that the dozen assassins in front of him had fallen to the ground powerlessly, and even the horses under them were nowhere to be found.

"Did you do this?"

Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, stopped his horse, and turned his head to stare at Liu Bei's handsome face.

"Yes, yes."

Liu Bei bowed and said modestly, "Although I am not very talented, my ancestors passed down a sword manual to the world, and I have learned a few tricks. I hope you will not blame me if I am not very good at it."

"...Fuck you, what kind of sword manual can kill an enemy from a hundred meters away without even drawing a sword?"

Cao Cao turned halfway around, put one hand on Liu Bei's clothes, and his slender eyes were obviously full of dissatisfaction.

"Even if you, Xuande, can truly accomplish this, then may I ask, where are these people's horses? Where have they gone?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei said solemnly, "This is the horse-slaying sword technique. If it hits the target, all the horses in sight will disappear."

"Then may I ask, what are those black figures that appeared during the process?"

"I don't know, maybe Lord Meng De saw it wrong?"

"You little brat...tsk!"

Seeing that Liu Bei was unmoved, Cao Cao was certain that it was his men who were secretly helping him, but he still had no evidence.

"Since Lord Mengde is so concerned about this, I will definitely explain it to Lord Mengde after this incident is over."

"…Hmph, you better be!"

Cao Cao spat at him and did not choose to ride forward immediately, but waited for the arrival of Cao's guards.

It seems she has learned her lesson this time.

Indeed, since the person behind the scenes tried to assassinate them and failed in the first attack, it is very likely that he will take the next step.

Instead of continuing to rush forward foolishly, you might as well follow the main force.

But if that happens, His Majesty might issue an order to revoke the transfer order...

"That's fine. Even if His Majesty issues an order, I just need not be present at the time."

Perhaps seeing what Liu Bei was thinking, Cao Cao explained, "My Cao family is not a soft place. As long as I am not caught in the act, I will not be punished too severely."

"At most, he'll be put in solitary confinement for a few months, or transferred to another area."

Liu Bei was not very happy when he heard this. Instead, his brows furrowed even more: "Lord Meng De's behavior is no different from that of Jian Shuo."

"What happened?"

Cao Cao did not want to be compared with Jian Shuo, and immediately retorted: "I am not Jian Shuo, and I will never harbor the intention of rebellion. I am doing this for the sake of the people of the world!"

"As long as we can get rid of treacherous officials like Jian Shuo, the process is not important."

"No."

Liu Bei immediately asked, "If you kill a hundred people for a thousand, what's the point of saving them? If your loved ones were among those hundred, what would you do?"

"This is a false statement in itself, because life is not worth testing. Therefore, relying on improper means to protect the world, how long can it protect people?"

As a student of later generations, Liu Bei knew that most of the treacherous ministers throughout history actually did not have evil intentions at the beginning. On the contrary, there were many who wanted to save the people.

However, in order to protect their country, these people used all means to gain greater benefits for themselves. Then they were blinded by these huge benefits and became evil dragons themselves.

Both the process and the result must be just, and justice is about loving others.

The Cao family can destroy the Jian family, but they must never use the means that the Jian family used to come to power, otherwise they will be the next Jian family, and there will be the next Cao family in the future.

But this idea ultimately failed to reach Cao Cao's heart.

She just frowned slightly, probably because she thought Liu Bei was too bookish and not much different from those corrupt scholars.

She was about to speak again when the horse beneath her felt the ground shaking and trembled a few times.

Looking back.

It was like a dark cloud falling to the ground, roughly estimated to be about one or two hundred people.