Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

Liu Bei's foundation was rapidly strengthened by constantly plundering the resources and wealth of the Buddhist kingdom.

However, his troops were slowly dwindling. After all, no matter how powerful Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were, they could still kill some of their soldiers if the enemy resisted. Without reinforcements, they couldn't replenish their forces. And without resurrection buildings, each loss was a permanent casualty.

Liu Bei had no territory, so even with abundant funds, he couldn't recruit soldiers.

When he distributed profits to Zuo Rong, he actually mentioned recruiting some local militia in his territory, but Zuo Rong refused.

Now that various warlords are rising up and fighting fiercely, it's all for the sake of vying for territory and population. Zuo Rong will not casually deplete the population reserves within his own territory.

Furthermore, he had already witnessed Liu Bei's strength and vaguely sensed that he could no longer suppress Liu Bei, let alone allow Liu Bei to become even stronger.

In Xiapi City, Xiapi Kingdom, beneath the Nine Mirrors Tower, Zuo Rong watched hundreds of busy carriages disappear into the distance, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.

His move to cooperate with Liu Bei was truly brilliant and worthwhile!
In the past few months, with only 200,000 troops, he has amassed enough resources and money to train an army of millions. Moreover, his pockets are bulging, several times more than the resources and money he embezzled when he was in charge of the three prefectures' canal transport.

"That group of people... came up like hungry wolves to buy the exclusive special products of the Buddhist Kingdom. They are wealthy and their background is not simple..." At this moment, Zuo Rong thought of something, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he muttered to himself.

Since invading the Buddhist Kingdom, a group of people have contacted him, specifically to purchase the kingdom's special products and resources. They are very generous, and he has no reason to refuse.

"However, no matter what your background is, as long as you can exchange the special products and resources of the Buddhist Kingdom for the resources and money I urgently need, that will be fine."

"Wait, wait until I've used up all these resources and trained more elite soldiers. Even if you have Lin Mu backing you up, I'll still crush you in a rout." Ze Rong shouted fiercely, recalling his previous defeat.

Recently, he has stopped attacking Gu Yong and his group, keeping a low profile, and the three prefectures of Xuzhou have fallen silent...

"Unfortunately, they are not very good at business operations. At most, they can only collect a small teleportation fee from those supernatural beings who go to the Buddhist Kingdom, but they don't exploit them in other ways. If they are too overtly exploited, it will dampen their enthusiasm and be detrimental to the invasion."

“Three groups of extraordinary individuals have come to offer their help with the operation… Should we choose them?” Zuo Rong kept pondering in his mind.

The recent invasion has made Xiapi City in the Kingdom of Xiapi incredibly busy. Originally a major city with four to five million inhabitants, Xiapi's population has skyrocketed to the tens of millions. If it weren't for restrictions, the shutdown of the teleportation array, and the sealing of the city gates, the population might have reached hundreds of millions. Currently, the area outside the city is already swarming with people…

If he were to truly open up the territory, and if the otherworlders were to launch a surprise attack, his forces and cities might be destroyed, so he was extremely cautious.

The management of Xiapi City had actually been learned from Lin Mu; otherwise, they would have had no experience in dealing with such a large number of superhumans. This was also one of the reasons why he dared not overly exploit them.

"Call Zuo Rong over here, call him over here!!!" Just then, a roar as loud as thunder shook the air.

Upon hearing this voice, Zuo Rong, who was pondering matters, showed a hint of helplessness on his face.

The owner of this voice was no ordinary person, but Zhang Fei, one of the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. This guy's strength was terrifying, and most people wouldn't dare to get close to him.

Wu Dun was like a child in his presence.

Zhang Fei, the commander who recently escorted resources back, always shouts a call to recruit soldiers and local militia, aiming to conquer the entire Kushan Empire.

The Kushan Empire was quite large, covering the size of two prefectures, and containing twenty cities. Although each city was backward, with very poor infrastructure and impoverished people, it possessed considerable wealth and resources, concentrated in the hands of a few powerful clans. It had abundant rare ores and even more rare timber; many nobles used ninth-grade wood to build their outhouses, making them extremely luxurious.

Gold coins were piled up everywhere... but there weren't many silver or copper coins, which circulated among the people.

This is why Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were able to quickly plunder a huge amount of wealth and resources within a few months.

They only target and plunder the powerful clans! Highly efficient and precise!

Soon, Wu Dun brought Zhang Fei, who was as burly as a bear, to Zuo Rong.

Zuo Rong glanced at the group of guards behind Zhang Fei, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

When Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei first met him, the morale of his troops was not very good, and their weapons and armor were worn out, making them look rather destitute.

Now, they are glamorous and dashing.

Through this invasion, he managed to raise his troops to be strong and healthy. Even the veterans who had followed him for many years were all well-fed and had rosy complexions. Their armor and weapons were also replaced with a brand new batch.

The fame of the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei was so great that it could stop children from crying at night within the Kushan Empire. Many local city garrisons would abandon their cities and flee as soon as they saw a banner bearing the name Liu Bei, without daring to put up any resistance.

What's even more ridiculous is that some common people, upon seeing them arrive, knelt down to welcome them. This was because Liu Bei had driven away the nobles, and they had temporarily regained their freedom.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang fought their way to the core area of ​​the Buddhist Kingdom, recruiting surrendered soldiers and expanding their territory. Their strength grew day by day, and they were just waiting for the right time to return to the Central Plains with their accumulated wealth and compete for the world.

However, as time went on, the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei discovered that the surrendered soldiers they had recruited were completely unusable...

They are extremely lazy; their real focus isn't on training, but rather on finding ways to slack off...and they eat a lot too.

In terms of etiquette, it's simply unacceptable.

Even Guan Yu, whose temper had improved considerably due to his bulging purse, directly drove away the surrendered soldiers.

They can't be taught manners, they urinate and defecate anywhere, they have no spirit of cooperation, and no awareness of sacrifice... They are simply not on the same level as the people of China.

Guan Yu didn't even bother to kill those people; he just drove them away, not even worried that they would become soldiers of the Kushan Empire after they left.

Because of these soldiers, the overall combat effectiveness of the army will actually be reduced...

Liu Bei and Zhang Fei later discovered the same thing. This led to a rapid reduction in their military strength, so they continued to recruit local militia.

But Zuo Rong, that round and plump fellow, wouldn't agree... He couldn't spend the money.

Recently, Zhang Fei has been quite upset about this, and he makes a scene every time he comes back. At first, Zuo Rong thought Zhang Fei was very rude and ignored him, but as the war escalated, the pressure on them increased significantly, after all, it was someone else's territory.

After the powerful clans withdrew from the city, they gradually united and formed a strong resistance force.

Therefore, he sent 200,000 troops to provide assistance some time ago.

"Your Excellency, please forgive my rudeness." Zhang Fei approached Zuo Rong, suppressing his temper, and bowed to him.

Zuo Rong gave the three brothers this opportunity, greatly increasing their strength; he was truly their benefactor.

“Yide…sigh…I know your straightforward nature, I won’t blame you,” Ze Rong sighed.

Having spent time with them recently, he genuinely felt that Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were quite remarkable. Zhang Fei had a loud voice and a somewhat volatile temper, but he handled many details of affairs very well, making him a rare talent.

Every time supplies are delivered back, they don't have to spend much effort on processing them.

Guan Yu and Liu Bei's side, on the other hand, were quite rough and unrefined. Their supplies were very disorganized, and their troops were randomly organized, prioritizing speed.

Guan Yu didn't pay much attention to logistical matters; those were handled by his lieutenants.

Furthermore, Guan Yu seemed to be very studious, often spending a long time pondering a bamboo slip from the Spring and Autumn Period.

To maintain harmonious relations, he also gifted Guan Yu many ancient books, which Guan Yu gladly accepted.

As for Liu Bei... well, he was very humble and seemed very benevolent, but I always felt that something about him was fake... I've seen many smiles like those of Buddha.

He had actually considered recruiting Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to his ranks... but after spending some time with them, he realized that it was simply impossible.

Liu Bei was ambushed by the Buddhist soldiers of the Buddhist Kingdom and suffered heavy losses. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei disregarded their own safety and rushed to his aid.

When Liu Bei was targeted and attacked, both of them disregarded the danger and did the same.

Liu Bei was the core of the three brothers; without him, the three brothers would surely have fallen apart!

“Prime Minister, I’m here today to remind you once again that my brothers and I have now reached the heart of the Kushan Empire. The cities we’ve captured along the way are all empty, and our troops are dwindling. The casualties are considerable,” Zhang Fei said slowly.

“Those Kushan soldiers are utterly useless and can do nothing. Only the local militia of Xuzhou are the good men who can fight alongside us. So loosen your grip and let us recruit a few hundred thousand men. Once we conquer the entire Buddhist kingdom, you, the Prime Minister of Zuo, will reap the rewards!” Zhang Fei clasped his hands together, his booming voice making the beams and pillars in the hall seem to shake. His round eyes stared intently at Zuo Rong, full of anticipation.

Zhang Fei's words also contained a lot of subtle scheming, first downplaying and then elevating the importance of the Xuzhou local militia.

Zuo Rong rubbed his throbbing temples, a troubled look on his face: "Yide, it's not that I don't want to give you face, it's just that there have been conflicts between the three prefectures recently, and the relationship with Gu Yong and the others is not good. The border is not peaceful, and we also lost a lot of elite troops to Lin Mu's army, which has led to a shortage of troops in Xiapi. Young men are precious, and if they all go to the Buddhist Kingdom with you, who will guard the city on the north and south borders of Xiapi?"

“We’re not taking it for free. The recruited local militia are paid for by ourselves, and you don’t have to pay a single penny! After we conquer the Buddhist Kingdom, we’ll even send them back to you!” Zhang Fei said hurriedly.

Send them back? Bullshit... They don't even plan to return those 200,000 troops afterward.

"Now the Kushan nobles have united and gathered over a million troops to block the front, with many more lying in ambush on both flanks. Our brothers are restricted in every way we fight, because we are short of troops!"

At this point, Zhang Fei couldn't help but grunt, "Those Kushan soldiers are truly hopeless. Last time we attacked the city, we were about to break through, but a group of surrendered soldiers rushed into the passageway that had already breached the city gate and were immediately scattered by hundreds of enemy soldiers. If it weren't for my second brother rushing in in time and beheading the enemy general, we would have suffered a great loss. We really don't dare to use soldiers like that."

Zuo Rong paced back and forth in silence, his fingers gently stroking the hem of his sleeve as he weighed the situation in his mind. He was well aware of the current situation: the deeper Liu Bei and his two brothers fought, the more resources and wealth they would plunder, and the more dangerous it would become.

High risk, high reward!

After we take over the territory south of Xuzhou, we'll have no shortage of troops!

But he was also afraid. He had a premonition that if Liu Bei's strength continued to grow, it was inevitable that he would usurp Liu Bei's position.
Liu Bei did indeed need to replenish his troops. The three men were incredibly brave and invincible, but without soldiers, they were a hindrance.

But if they were allowed to recruit soldiers within their own territory, the three brothers could raise a force of hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers from Xuzhou in just a few days. At that point, they would be unable to control them.

But if they keep refusing, what if Liu Bei and his two brothers develop a grudge and break off their cooperation? Then the continuous flow of Buddhist resources would be gone.

After a long silence, Zuo Rong slowly spoke, looking up at Zhang Fei: "Yide, recruiting soldiers is fine, but I can't let you recruit them randomly within the territory. I'll approve 200,000 slots for able-bodied men, all strong men serving corvée labor in the city. You can take them with you. If we fight well later, I'll give you more. I can't afford to give you any more. How about this?"

"But there's a condition: all the Buddhist and Taoist items you acquire must belong to me before the profits are divided," Ze Rong proposed.

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up. Two hundred thousand wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. He immediately patted his chest and said, "Alright! Two hundred thousand it is! I'll go back and get things organized. Once these able-bodied men are in place, my brothers and I will crush the Kushan nobles' coalition and send back more resources to the Prime Minister!"

After saying this, he bowed to Zuo Rong again, then turned and strode back into the tower, his heavy footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Zuo Rong watched Zhang Fei's disappearing figure, a faint, cold smile slowly curving his lips as he muttered to himself, "Two hundred thousand able-bodied men, that's enough for you..."

In fact, he planned to plant many spies among these 200,000 able-bodied men. In particular, he wanted to keep the mid-level officers under his control.

"My lord, I'll also go and attend to my duties," Wu Dun said, bowing respectfully.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work..." Zuo Rong nodded. Wu Dun had indeed been working very hard lately, diligently managing everything for him without making any major mistakes.

"The divine artifact rewarded by Heaven has enough faith power, but it lacks a lot of Buddhist and Taoist essence. It needs more Buddhist and Taoist artifacts to absorb Buddhist and Taoist essence. Then, it will be able to restrain them... Under the Buddha, all beings are equal!!!" Zuo Rong glanced at the Nine Mirror Pagoda and said quietly.

Zhang Fei, who had returned to the tower, looked honest and dark-skinned, but a cold smile appeared on his lips.

How could they not know that Zuo Rong was so restrictive... Moreover, Zuo Rong's appetite was growing bigger and bigger!

(Only one update today, and I'm still feeling a bit unwell.) (End of Chapter)