Three Kingdoms: The Guan Family's Rebellious Son, Long Blessing Jing Xiang

Ziwu Valley, one of the 72 valleys of Qinling Mountains, is located in the southeast of Chang'an.

At the exit of Ziwu Road there is a county called Lantian County. Passing Lantian County and heading east is the famous Tongguan.

At this moment, Xiahou Dun, who had lost his city and his son, and the Wei army that fled in a panic were led here by Li Miao.

Because of the influx of this defeated army, the atmosphere in Tongguan now... can be described in four words - bleak autumn wind.

"Ah... alas..."

Sighs filled the entire Wei army camp. The wind swept in from all directions, bringing with it the desolation of the Loess Plateau and the sedimentation of history, and rolling up tiny pieces of dust, as if telling the story of their extremely vicissitudes and hardships over the past two years.

The mountains in the distance appear even more desolate in the autumn wind. Their undulating outlines appear dimly in the afterglow of dusk, revealing an unspeakable loneliness.

The entire Tongguan seemed to be immersed in an atmosphere of melancholy and confusion.

However, every soldier knew that even at Tongguan... they could not stay there for long. After losing Chang'an and Luoyang, these passes themselves had no meaning of existence.

In the army, whispers could be heard from time to time around the campfire.

"Where else should we flee to? Bingzhou? Or Jizhou?"

"Thinking of the arrogant Yuan Shao in the past, he ended up in such a miserable state and such a bleak old age, right?"

"Chang'an is lost. Then...the king in the Hanzhong battlefield...can he...can he come back? And those soldiers who rushed there to help, can they...can they come back?"

"Stop talking, stop talking. Be careful... be careful if someone hears you. You will be... you will be punished by military law."

Whispering sounds were heard, but then they stopped abruptly.

However, the mood of every Wei soldier was inevitably extremely heavy, and they were already on the verge of extreme despair.

As night falls, the lights in Tongguan begin to flicker.

"Ow—"

"Woo-"

The cry of General Xiahou Dun from the Great Wei suddenly rang out at the city gate.

He cried, cried heart-wrenchingly.

Lost the city, lost his son... He endured such pain and endured such hardship all the way, but he could no longer hold it in when he arrived at Tongguan.

It was as if the pain... had crushed this sixty-year-old man all at once. The autumn wind continued to blow, carrying the echoes of history, passing through the ancient city walls, and hitting his desperate mood heavily.

"Brother, I'm sorry—"

"Zizang, Zijiang, Zilin, I'm so sorry for you——"

"To all the thousands and thousands of Wei soldiers, I... I, Xiahou Dun, feel so sorry for you—"

"Why won't you let me die? Why won't you let me die, ah...ah ah——"

The dead can rest in peace forever, but the living need to endure the pain.

It hurts, it hurts so much——

It was during the Western Expedition when Ma Chao was on a campaign, a fierce battle was fought with the Xiliang coalition forces at Tongguan, and his elder brother Cao Cao cut off his beard and abandoned his robe and almost lost his life.

Even if that shameful battle is compared with the current situation, it is still far less miserable than the entire Wei army is now.

"Foster father, I am sorry for your loss...Foster father, I am sorry for your loss——"

On the top of the city wall, Li Miao squatted down to support Xiahou Dun, who was already shaky and in great pain, and consoled him: "My two brothers sacrificed their lives for the country. Their deeds will be passed down from generation to generation. Their spirits in heaven certainly don't want to see your foster father in such pain. What's more, there are so many soldiers and everyone is looking at the general! Foster father, foster father...you have to cheer up, you have to cheer up!"

To Li Miao, everyone was in pain, including himself who seemed to be in pain on the surface.

But actually, deep down, he was pretty happy...secretly happy!
Because the current situation, the misery of the entire Wei army, is certainly Guan Lin's overall plan, but how can it be without him... this madman's control.

The more sorrowful his expression was, the happier he felt inside.

He even thought while comforting Xiahou Dun that he had killed Xiahou Dun's two sons and caused Wei to lose the military fortress city of Chang'an, but now, Xiahou Dun and all the Wei army had to thank him!

really…

Just when Li Miao thought of this.

"Han Nan... you are right, I must cheer up!" Xiahou Dun tightly grasped Li Miao's hand, "Da Wei has not lost yet, and I have not lost yet..."

At this point, he held Li Miao's hand tighter and harder, "You are the only one left among my sons. If it weren't for you, I don't know how many times my old bones would have died, and we don't know if we can come back. I want to thank you... I want to thank you on behalf of the soldiers of the three armies!"

Well…

Li Miao was stunned when he heard this. It was exactly what he thought.

This feeling of harming others and having them help you count their money is simply too good to be true!

Ha ha--

He was laughing in his heart, but his well-honed acting skills... still made him look worried all the time, "Foster father, please take care of yourself. Besides... Chang'an has been lost, and it is meaningless to continue to defend Tongguan. Foster father, you should think about... our Great Wei must retreat strategically, either to Bingzhou or Jizhou, regroup there, and then... fight these villains to the death!"

“But…” Xiahou Dun’s tears seemed to have dried up. He frowned and looked at Li Miao, “But brother, the King of Wei is still here…”

"Great General, foster father..." Li Miao's tone was heart-wrenching, "We are...we can't even protect ourselves now. The king is in Hanzhong, can we...can we still help him? What's the point of us being in Tongguan! For now...first, we can only hope that good things will happen to him! Second, we can only return to Bingzhou and Jizhou to regroup. Only by fighting back can the king have hope of retreating!"

This…

As Li Miao spoke, Xiahou Dun staggered, and he, who had been helped up by Li Miao, stumbled and fell to the ground again.

Because of his elder brother Cao Cao's situation, his expression became more and more sad, and he almost fainted again.

All he could do was mutter, "Are good people blessed by heaven? Is the Wei Dynasty now only able to rely on prayers?"

Seeing Xiahou Dun in such a state, Li Miao hurriedly called out, "Come here, come here, quickly help the general to the clinic... Go quickly, go quickly——"

"Yes!" A group of soldiers hurried over to help and lifted Xiahou Dun up.

A group of people supported Xiahou Dun to the clinic.

Li Miao also followed him. It was not until the doctor told him that the general was just too sad and not in danger of his life that he gave some instructions to the doctor who served Xiahou Dun, and then left the inn and headed towards his residence in Tongguan.

Along the way, Li Miao walked while squinting his eyes to review the entire action and imagine the next actions.

He knew very well that in Guan Lin's plan, if Cao Cao could not return, then Xiahou Dun would be a crucial chess piece buried in the Wei Dynasty, both in terms of status and prestige. He would also be the chess piece that could stir up the dispute over the crown prince of the Wei Dynasty and cause a change in the situation.

Everyone else can die, but... the often-defeated General Xiahou Dun - no!
While reviewing the situation and thinking, Li Miao walked through an alley and turned into the quiet street on the side.

Who would have thought... at this moment, dozens of soldiers suddenly emerged from all directions, as if they had ambushed here in advance. They were all wearing armor and carrying swords, but the swords were not drawn.

They surrounded Li Miao and moved forward step by step, approaching Li Miao...

Immediately, Li Miao had a bad premonition.

He asked tentatively: "You are..."

As these soldiers got closer to him, Li Miao recognized their identities. They were Xiahou Dun's personal guards!
——『So...what is their purpose here? 』

For a moment, the ominous feeling in Li Miao's heart became stronger and stronger.

——『Could it be that they discovered something?』

Just when he was a little surprised and worried.

All that could be heard was the sound of "clicks", and all of Xiahou Dun's personal soldiers in front of them knelt down in front of Li Miao, kneeling straight.

Although it should not be described like this, but for a moment, Li Miao only felt that their eyes were full of affection and love.

It was as if these personal guards...had seen their most beloved woman!
...

...

The barbarian troops never entered Chengdu.

But...the fact that Zhuge Liang had a verbal battle with Cheng Yu and the loser Cheng Yu was eventually cooked was also hidden very well.

It was as if the story of the "Barbarian Invasion" was suddenly paused midway, and no one knew where it was going.

It was just that the hundreds of thousands of barbarian soldiers, the roars of elephants and tigers in the middle of the night... brought tremendous pressure to Chengdu as always.

During this period, the barbarian envoys arrived in Chengdu and conveyed Zhuge Liang's words, which was to take the pregnant Huang Yueying as a hostage. On this condition, the barbarian army of more than 100,000 would withdraw.

This caused an uproar in the entire Chengdu court.

First, if this news had not been passed back, no one in Shu would have known that Huang Yueying was pregnant;
Secondly... Military Advisor Zhuge has already taken himself as a hostage, engaged in a verbal battle with the barbarians, and slowed down their offensive. How could he send Huang Yueying over at this time?
Even the order from Military Advisor Zhuge is not acceptable!

Even if we take a step back, if Huang Yueying really died, wouldn't all the men in Shu be ridiculed and stabbed in the back for the rest of their lives?

But Huang Yueying was the most persistent. She unconditionally supported Zhuge Liang's words, so much so that at dusk, she had already arrived at the barbarian camp in a carriage.

Looking through the car window at the ferocious beasts around, their bloody mouths were daunting.

For a moment, Huang Yueying couldn't help but be moved.

——『Does it have to be like this?』

——『Do you really have to gamble the lives of your entire family? 』

"Roar--"

"Definitely -"

At this moment, a tiger's roar suddenly sounded. The horses were frightened by the roar of tigers and wild beasts. The two horses stood up at the same time. The groom had obviously never experienced such a scene before. He could not control the horses and they were about to break free from the reins.

Huang Yueying felt the carriage was shaking violently. She tried her best to protect the fetus in her belly, but the shaking became more and more severe, and she was about to lose control completely.

A close call…

At this moment, Huang Yueying seemed to see something through the window, a silver blade.

Then, a 10-foot-long spear suddenly came and stabbed the horse in front of it.

Logically speaking, in such a situation... the horse should be more frightened, but at this moment... a middle-aged woman dressed in barbarian clothes and with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes leaped out in one step and grabbed the horse's reins.

In the dark, I couldn't see clearly what her hands were doing, but I only heard her say, "Behave yourself..."

Miraculously, the two horses stabilized.

Looking at this woman again, she was holding the reins of two horses with one hand and pulling out a long spear with the other hand. She looked like a goddess in flames, especially her red hair, which was like a burning flame, red and unrestrained. She had a high nose bridge and cherry-colored lips. Even when she spoke fiercely, she still showed a row of white teeth like pearls.

What attracted Huang Yueying's attention most was the exposed...belly with smooth and strong muscular lines.

Flame, strength, unrestrained, passionate, and tenacious, these are the labels Huang Yueying subconsciously gave to the woman in front of her...

So much so that she couldn't help but ponder.

——『Are all barbarian women so passionate and unrestrained? 』

But then she thought that she came here as a hostage, and she couldn't help biting her lips. She was filled with endless worry about the future!

at this time…

The red-haired barbarian woman opened her mouth and asked, "Who is the blind beast who trained this beast to almost disturb our distinguished guest?"

what…

Huang Yueying was shocked by the words of the red-haired barbarian woman.

Distinguished guest? So you mean... her?

Wasn't she just a hostage? How did she become a distinguished guest?
But at this moment, the red-haired woman turned around and personally lifted the curtain of the carriage. Her tone was completely different from the cold and serious tone just now. She actually asked with a smile on her face: "Sister, I guess you are Mr. Zhuge's wife, Madam Huang Yueying? My name is Zhu Rong, and my husband is the king here. He admires your husband and begged your husband to become sworn sisters. From now on, you and I are sworn sisters!"

Zhu Rong's words made Huang Yueying confused...

Jinlan?

Sworn brotherhood?

Kong Ming and the Barbarian King actually... became sworn brothers?
Then...she is the hostage.

As if seeing Huang Yueying's puzzled expression, Zhu Rong hurriedly continued to explain, "Don't worry, Miss Huang. We, the barbarians, all admire Mr. Zhuge very much. We will definitely not hurt him, let alone you. The reason why we sent an envoy to take you as a hostage is Mr. Zhuge's strategy. The purpose is to confuse Cao's spies and make him think that... the barbarians are still fighting with the Shu army! In fact, Mr. Zhuge has already sent them. We have selected the seven cave soldiers who are best at running on the road. They are all heading north to attack from both inside and outside... and bury Cao Cao in this Bashan Mountain Range in one fell swoop!"

This…

This…

Zhu Rong's words made Huang Yueying blink continuously, as if he had deep doubts about every word.

But...what happened was that everything before him clearly told him that it was all true.

--"done…"

——"Kong Ming went into the barbarian camp alone with only one fan. He did it. He won back the hearts of these barbarians with his own strength!"

Thinking of this, Huang Yueying almost cried for joy.

Of course, she could guess that this must be due to Yunqi's "explosive pack" production diagram, but even so, conquering the heart is ten or a hundred times more difficult than killing!

Thinking of this, Huang Yueying didn't know whether it was because she was moved by her husband Zhuge Liang's miraculous skills, or because she thought more about the difficulties Kong Ming had gone through, but for a moment, she actually cried, and tears as big as beans kept dripping out.

Zhu Rong quickly hugged Huang Yueying and comforted her.

"Don't cry, don't cry. There's a baby in your belly. How can you cry?"

"Someone, bring a blanket quickly. It's windy here at night. Don't let my sister from the Huang family get cold—"

"Sister Huang, Mr. Zhuge cares about you very much. And the baby in your belly, if you don't mind, I will take care of you two during this period of time!"

The barbarians had simple ideas. They admired Zhuge Liang and treated his wife with the highest courtesy.

Huang Yueying bit her lip and asked hurriedly: "Where is Kong Ming? Where is Kong Ming?"

"He..." Zhu Rong thought for a moment, "He should still be discussing with my man in the big tent about how to attack the Seven Cave Barbarians in the Northern Expedition and how to leave Cao the thief no way to escape——"

...

...

"Mr. Li, please take us in—"

In Tongguan, the night wind is still cold.

But for Li Miao, the wind suddenly changed. He thought... these soldiers must have found out something, or guessed something, and came here to take revenge, or to torture him and interrogate him.

But who would have thought that these soldiers would kneel down immediately.

Then, one by one, they shouted in extremely low but firm voices, "Please take us in..."

The tone was extremely moving.

call…

Li Miao took a deep breath, then pondered for a moment before speaking, "What do you mean? You are General Xiahou's personal guards, why do you need me to take you in?"

"Do not…"

The leader of the guards stepped forward and said, "Aren't we here because of the old general?"

"That is?"

Li Miao's words just came out.

With a "dong" sound, the guards all knocked their heads to the ground. The leader said, "Please take us with you, Mr. Li!"

"What do you mean?" Li Miao asked.

"The one who assassinated Xiahou Zizang under the city wall must be Mr. Li's men!"

Following the leader's words, Li Miao suddenly became nervous...

The leader's voice continued, "We are not saying this to threaten Mr. Li, but... but since Mr. Li has such a way to surrender to the Han people, please... please lead us!"

——『Oh shit…』

At this moment, Li Miao couldn't help but swear in his heart.

Scared him to death, scared him to death...

…So, that’s why.

Speaking of which, if this kind of thing happened within Cao Wei, the person would lose his head, and it could also be a test from the enemy!

But after a little thought, Li Miao could deduce one or two things.

If these guards wanted to kill him, it would be difficult for Li Miao to deny the involvement just because they saw that the person who assassinated Xiahou Zizang was Li Miao's man!
As personal guards, they did not report to Xiahou Dun, but instead found their own...

Ha ha!

Hehehe!
Li Miao couldn't help but laugh.

As soon as I thought of joining the Han army, I suddenly felt that the world was so wide.

"Okay!" Li Miao simply said no more, "Think it over carefully. Once you make a decision, it will be difficult to change it!"

"We will follow Mr. Li till death..."

Following this voice, the guards bowed their heads again.

Looking at them like this, Li Miao felt an extreme pleasure rising in his heart.

He admires himself.

——『This undercover, I really did my best! 』

——"There are good horses only when there are good horse trainers. Haha, it's thanks to Yunqi's good eyesight that he was able to recognize a good horse like me! I am bringing him glory!"

Even Li Miao was still thinking about continuing to develop in this way.

On the day when the Wei Dynasty was destroyed, if there was a celebration banquet, if he didn't pick up his chopsticks, the banquet couldn't even begin!
My heart is filled with joy!
Li Miao smiled and said to his guards, "From today on, you will be the most loyal warriors of my Han Dynasty!"

I heard this sentence...

These guards bowed their hands one after another as if they had received amnesty, "We will follow Mr. Li's lead!"

Then Li Miao explained something to them.

After this wave of people dispersed...

Li Miao returned to the government office and his temporary residence.

Li Miao slowly walked to the window, opened it, and looked out at the starry sky.

But at this moment...

There was a creaking sound coming from the room.

Li Miao became cautious again and paid close attention.

He placed one hand on the dagger at his waist and stared at the source of the sound.

"Who?"

"Who?"

After hearing two consecutive sounds, he was sure that there was a stranger in the room.

At this moment, a bright dagger light was reflected, and Li Miao felt a trance in front of his eyes... When he opened his eyes again, a young figure was already sitting on the stool, with his legs crossed, playing with a dagger in his hand.

And seeing this man's face clearly...

Li Miao couldn't help but exclaimed:
"It's you! Why are you here——"

The dagger that the young man was playing with suddenly stopped, and with a "clang" sound, the dagger was inserted into the table. Then, the young man's words were heard.

"How can I be absent from this final operation to kill Cao Cao——"

"Mr. Li, I need your help!"

...

…(End of chapter)