Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

Most of Guangxin's wine shops are concentrated in Nanshi. "The wine should be made into lao, which is similar to Cangwu Qing." Its color is dark green, and it takes nine brewing steps to make it, and its taste is better than Xuan wine.

Zhong Ping doesn't like drinking, but after tasting it, he couldn't help but praise its clear, sweet taste and lingering aroma. He even subconsciously wanted to leave a jar for Xi Zhicai who loves bamboo wine.

Perhaps it was because Zhong Ping hadn't spoken for too long, which made the old wine worker feel uneasy. He couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "... Sir, is there anything wrong with this batch of Piaoqing?"

"Ah, I just suddenly thought of my old friend." Zhong Ping put the wooden bowl aside and looked up. In the winery, the wine workers were each doing their job. There were more than ten people running the water, filtering out the dregs, and making the wine. His nostrils were filled with the aroma of wine.

"What's the difference in making the koji? Why is the resulting wine so clear?"

The steamed rice and millet were evenly spread on the bamboo mat, and the wine workers used wooden shovels to repeatedly scatter them to cool them down. The leader leaned over and grabbed a handful of rice. When he felt his skin was almost warm, he nodded to signal the other wine workers to add the secret koji.

"Probably our koji needs to be steamed and dried three times before it's ready." The old winemaker spoke vaguely, perhaps he really didn't understand, or perhaps he was deliberately keeping it secret. Zhong Ping didn't care much, he was just asking casually.

"Take me to the wine cellar."

Zhong Ping watched the entire wine-making process and asked the wine makers one by one to confirm that the wine-making process was going as normal and there were no mistakes. He also tasted each jar of new wine himself and was already a little drunk.

"Sir, please follow me." The old wine worker also noticed that Zhong Ping's behavior was strange. He looked around and was about to find someone to help him. Then a strong young man took the initiative to stand up and held Zhong Ping's right arm. "Sir, the wine cellar is dark, so be careful."

Zhong Ping rubbed his brows, secretly sighing that the alcohol was really strong. He said thank you softly and leaned most of his weight on the man.

"Sir, these are all earthen steps, be careful not to step on empty space." The old wine worker led the way and looked back from time to time to remind him.

"Have you ever been injured when you went down to the cellar?"

The earthen steps under his feet were of different heights, and Zhong Ping had to concentrate and pay attention. He was thinking about going back to find a few craftsmen to rebuild it, or at least put up a handrail. The wine cellar was quite deep, and if he accidentally stepped on empty space and fell down, he would probably break both legs.

"Most of the people who go down to the cellar are veteran workers. In fact, they are only scared when they go down there. When they come out, they are fine." The veteran worker stopped and squinted his eyes as he recalled, "In a year, it's probably the new workers who fall... three or four times."

"Three or four times is not too few. Has no one ever wanted to repair it before?"

Zhong Ping was a little confused and distracted for a moment, almost missing the next step. Fortunately, the man next to him helped him up: "Thank you... Why is there still half a piece missing here?"

He lowered his head to look at the gap, and almost at the same moment, the man suddenly attacked and stabbed Zhong Ping's right arm with a knife!
"Lang Jun!"

The old wine worker was almost scared out of his wits, and his voice became distorted. The wine cellar had only one earthen staircase leading in and out. In desperation, the old wine worker could only grab a wooden shovel and throw it hard at the assassin. He also found a bamboo wine bucket as a weapon, and rushed up the stairs towards Zhongping.

"Hiss, was it Wu or Shi who ordered you to kill me?"

Zhong Ping covered his wound and barely dodged.

The sturdy man said nothing, but just kept stabbing and slashing. Logically speaking, since the two were on the same level, it would be almost impossible for Zhong Ping to dodge, but his death was not yet approaching, and he actually managed to narrowly avoid such a vital part as the heart.

Seeing that Zhong Ping had more and more wounds on his body, but he could not pierce the heart, even the assassin could not help but hesitate, secretly reflecting on whether his assassination skills had regressed. Zhong Ping's clothes were soaked with blood, and he leaned on the earthen steps in a panic, holding down his neck that was spurting blood, and he made up his mind to roll down directly.

Amid the severe pain, he even tried to find a way to cheer himself up by thinking about the time when he fell off his horse and reported the news in Yanzhou. In comparison, this injury seemed insignificant.

"Sorry, I'll just borrow your wine for a while."

Zhong Ping got up in a panic, snatched the wine cup from the old wine worker and used it to block himself. He almost blocked the fatal blow, and the wine cup in his hand fell. The assassin was surprised and was about to stab again with the dagger. Zhong Ping suddenly raised his hand, grabbed a handful of dust and threw it at the assassin's face.

The wine cellar was dark. The assassin was standing on the uneven earthen steps. His vision was blurred for a moment, and he could only hold on to the earthen wall to steady his body. He listened to the tinkling sound of the bell and tried to locate Zhong Ping. Zhong Ping made a quick decision, grabbed the hawksbill turtle filled with mint cream, and threw the bell on his waist to the other side.

The assassin indeed moved at the sound, but was tripped by the wine cup that Zhong Ping had thrown down in advance.

"Go down, you!"

Zhong Ping rushed forward with all his strength, and the two of them rolled down the dirt steps together. The assassin reacted quickly and immediately stabbed the dagger into Zhong Ping's chest. Zhong Ping raised his hand high and tried his best to stab the sharpened hawksbill turtle in his hand into the assassin's eyeball.

"what?!"

The mint ointment brought a burning pain. The assassin pinched Zhong Ping's neck and tried to pull him away, but Zhong Ping tightly grasped the hawksbill turtle and pressed it into his eyeballs. The mint ointment in the fish's belly melted, mixed with the blood, and flowed into the assassin's eye sockets. The assassin trembled with pain and the strength in his hands loosened.

Zhong Ping spat out a mouthful of blood and put all his strength on the assassin. Blood was oozing from all over his body. Until the assassin's struggle was too weak, Zhong Ping freed one hand to pull out the jade hairpin on his head and stabbed it into the assassin's other eye.

The assassin was like a dying fish. He flipped over in an instant, covered his eyes and howled, stabbing randomly with the dagger in his hand, but he missed a step and fell down again.

Zhong Ping hurriedly chased after him and finished off the assassin. The assassin was quite tenacious and stabbed Zhong Ping a few more times before Zhong Ping snatched the dagger away. Zhong Ping quickly dealt with the assassin, who was covered in wounds and almost every visible part. He leaned against the wall to slow down his breathing and even had the leisure to pick up the bell and tie it around his waist again.

When the old wine worker brought out the blood-stained Zhong Ping with four or five young wine workers, Zhong Ping even slandered all the clans that opposed Mongolian education before he passed out. He named the "mastermind" behind the scenes as confessed by five or six assassins before he was willing to close his eyes.

When the news of Zhong Ping's assassination in the winery spread, many clans were either happy or worried, with different thoughts.

Some wanted to take the opportunity to suppress Mengxue, some were eager to clear themselves of suspicion, and of course there were also those who just stood by and watched, but soon these clans reached a consensus on their attitudes.

Liu Bei, who had always treated clans favorably since entering Jiaozhou, was furious for the first time. Almost immediately after personally confirming Zhong Ping's injuries, he ordered Zhang Fei and Guan Yu to lead troops to surround all the clans that Zhong Ping had mentioned before he fell unconscious.

Liu Bei even said, "No need to investigate, kill all the main clans and put the rest in jail", which made all the clans present change their faces. Even Jian Yong could not persuade Liu Bei and the other two.

Realizing that Liu Bei was really going to take action against the clan, the families who felt they were in the wrong this time immediately found out that the planners of the assassination were Shi Yi and Wu Jun, and reported the three of them.

That night, Wu Junhe confessed his guilt and committed suicide. His heads were personally delivered to Liu Bei by the patriarchs of the two tribes. Shi Yi was also tied up by his men in his sleep. The next morning, Shi Hui forced him to kneel in front of Zhong Ping's house and confess his guilt. His efficiency was so high that it was amazing.

(End of this chapter)