Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

After watching Wang Yue leave, everyone returned to the camp.

"Haha, those idiots were really scared by us and dared not fight anymore."

Hearing Zhang Fei's loud voice, Lu Su couldn't help but frown.

"Third General, please keep your voice down. Not everyone in the camp is one of our people. If their spies hear us, we'll be in trouble."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei immediately shut his mouth.

"I wonder how my brother is doing. Couldn't he have stayed a little longer? He could have taken me, Old Zhang, with him too."

When everyone saw Zhang Fei's aggrieved look, they couldn't help but laugh.

At this time, Gu Rubing had already entered Constantinople from Liangzhou.

Sun Jian, along with Zhou Yu and the others, were already standing outside the city gate to welcome them.

"King Lie, you've finally arrived. General Zhang He has been providing me with the best food and drink, and his soldiers are also eating our best rations. Rest assured, they haven't suffered any grievances."

Hearing Sun Jian's words, Gu Rubing smiled and nodded.

He wasn't worried that Zhang He would suffer any injustice here. As long as he was there, Sun Jian would definitely not dare to touch Zhang He.

"I don't know where I am?"

“They are all in the military camp inside the city. I originally wanted General Zhang He to stay at the post station, and I had made all the preparations, but General Zhang He refused to go no matter what, saying that he wanted to stay with his brothers. I couldn’t insist, so I could only go with General Zhang He. Please don’t blame us, Prince Lie.”

"What are you saying, King Wu? How could I blame you? I should thank you for taking in Zhang He and keeping the pursuers out."

"You're too kind, Prince Lie. Please come in. I've prepared a banquet."

As the group walked inside, Zhang He immediately squeezed through.

"Lord!"

Upon seeing Gu Rubing, Zhang He immediately knelt down in front of him.

"Junyi, you've suffered. Get up quickly. Our plan has been completed very well."

Zhang He breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that the mission was completed. He had been worried that the mission might fail because of his own accident.

Only after confirming the mission's success with Gu Rubing did they finally relax.

“Let’s go, Junyi. The King of Wu has prepared a banquet for us. Let’s go together.”

"Yes!"

Zhang He immediately stood behind Gu Rubing.

Soon everyone arrived at the banquet.

Looking at the delicacies on the table, Gu Rubing could tell that none of the dishes were easy to make, and even some of the ingredients were difficult to obtain. This showed that Sun Jian had indeed put in a lot of effort this time, but at the same time, it also indicated that Sun Jian was apologizing to him.

She wanted to stop worrying about the matter of transporting provisions to Shi Xie.

Unfortunately, Gu Rubing came here specifically to settle this matter.

After a satisfying meal, Gu Rubing knew it was time to get down to business.

"Is Your Highness satisfied with this meal?"

"Satisfied, satisfied, of course I'm satisfied. But I didn't come here for a meal. I mainly have some things to ask the King of Wu."

After speaking, Gu Rubing slowly stood up.

Sun Jian knew that the important matter was about to begin.

"King Lie, please speak."

"King Wu also knows that I am currently at war with Shi Xie, but Shi Xie often sends reinforcements out of nowhere..."

“King Lie, these reinforcements have nothing to do with us.”

Sun Jian immediately tried to distance himself from Gu Rubing in an attempt to distract him.

But how could Gu Rubing be so easily distracted?

"Of course I know that these reinforcements have nothing to do with the King of Wu, but I'm not talking about the reinforcements themselves. What I'm talking about is that these reinforcements are carrying a large amount of grain. Do you know how much waste there is in transporting grain from Yizhou and Jiaozhou? Transporting ten shi of grain from the nearest Yizhou to Youzhou, even if I don't consider how tight my blockade is, even if they take a shortcut, ten shi of grain will probably only have two shi left by the time they reach Youzhou."

Sun Jian nodded upon hearing this. The biggest expense in transporting grain was the cost of the soldiers escorting it along the way.

We can't expect the supply battalion to be on an empty stomach while escorting provisions, can we?

After Gu Rubing finished speaking, he stared intently at Sun Jian.

Sun Jian nodded at first, but quickly realized what he meant and immediately shook his head.

If the grain supplies didn't come from Yizhou, then they certainly didn't come from Jiaozhou either. In the end, there must only be one place: the Anluo Empire where I am.

Only when he realized this did Sun Jian come to his senses and begin to shake his head.

"King Wu, based on the amount of grain we've discovered, your route is the most suitable. Tell me, how much grain have you provided to Shi Xie?"

"This... Your Highness, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say things like that. You don't have any evidence to prove that we provided this food, do you?"

"Does the King of Wu really want me to find evidence? You must know that things in this world can't be kept secret forever. If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place."

"Once I actually find the evidence, I won't be laughing and joking with you like this anymore."

Upon hearing Gu Rubing's threatening words, cold sweat broke out on Sun Jian's forehead.

Sun Ce, who was standing to the side, had already grasped the Overlord Spear in his hand.

If the negotiations break down, the safest course of action would probably be to kill Gu Rubing here. Otherwise, once Gu Rubing returns, he will surely mobilize a large army to attack them.

Thinking of this, Sun Ce gripped the Overlord Spear even tighter.

Gu Rubing also sensed that something was off, but whoever gave in first would lose, so he could only grit his teeth and hold on.

Not long after, just as both sides were tense, Zhou Yu burst into laughter.

"My lord, shouldn't we tell Prince Lie? This can't go on forever."

After saying this, Zhou Yu stepped forward without waiting for Sun Jian to speak.

"King Lie, you guessed right. We did provide Shi Xie's provisions, but we had no choice. Cao Cao gave us a lot of money. As you know, the Anluo Empire has a small population, and Liu Zhang took half of it, so the population is particularly small. Without people, there is naturally no money. It was okay when we had Kuaiji Commandery, but now that we have Kuaiji Commandery, we are poor!"

Zhou Yu portrayed himself as very pitiful, and although Gu Rubing did not believe him, it at least gave Sun Jian a good reason.

Gu Rubing hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "No matter what your reasons are, they are not a reason to provide food and supplies to Shi Xie. We are allies. You know I am at war with Shi Xie, yet you still do this. And it's not the first or second time. Back then, when I captured you, I took away 50,000 elite troops. Do you want to do it again?"

"This……"

Sun Jian finally understood what Gu Rubing meant by coming here; he still wanted elite troops. "King Lie, I'm truly sorry, but we really don't have that many elite troops this time. We've already suffered quite a few losses. You should know that elite troops aren't something you can just have anytime; they require a long period of training. I let you take 50,000 with you back then, and now you want to come again. I really can't take it anymore."

Hearing this, Gu Rubing smiled and turned to leave.

"Since the King of Wu disagrees, there's nothing I can say. I still have to give an explanation to my men. Let's meet on the battlefield."

Zhao Yun and Zhang He followed behind Gu Rubing, watching their surroundings warily to prevent anyone from daring to attack them.

Sun Ce and Gan Ning had already stood up.

The two men looked at Sun Jian at the same time, their meaning clear.

If you absolutely must be an enemy of Gu Rubing, then the best way is to kill him.

Without Gu Rubing's fierce army, their morale will surely collapse, and that will be a good time to defeat them.

Sun Jian hesitated.

As Gu Rubing was about to leave the palace, Sun Jian finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"King Lie, I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you, so don't be in such a hurry."

Hearing this, Gu Rubing breathed a sigh of relief.

If we were to go to war with Sun Jian at this time, it would be a real question when we could defeat Shi Xie. Moreover, it was possible that before we could defeat Shi Xie, we would have to open a second front, which would be a major battle with Sun Jian.

From any perspective, this is not the best option at present.

Sun Jian's intervention this time gave him a way out.

"Alright, then tell me, what do you mean?"

“King Lie, I don’t mean anything by it, but as you know, elite soldiers are hard to come by. I only have 20,000 elite soldiers right now. I can give them all to you, and I’ll also give you 30,000 new soldiers. What do you think?”

"You, King of Wu, have led troops in battle before, and you know the difference between new recruits and elite soldiers. Ten thousand elite soldiers can be worth thirty thousand new recruits. So, I won't make things difficult for you. Twenty thousand elite soldiers and forty thousand new recruits, it's decided!"

"it is good!"

After the two finalized their agreement, Gu Rubing led Zhang He and Zhao Yun back to the post station prepared by Sun Jian.

"My lord, I just sensed killing intent coming from two directions. One was from Sun Ce, and the other was from Gan Ning. If they attack at the same time, I don't have much chance of protecting you."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing smiled and nodded.

He had sensed the murderous aura just now, but he didn't care.

Sun Jian wasn't very brave; he wouldn't dare kill himself.

However, Gu Rubing could sense that Sun Jian was actually quite bold, but he didn't understand why Sun Jian pretended to be so submissive.

"Forget about all that, I don't believe they would dare to kill me here."

Early the next morning.

Gu Rubing was awakened by a knock on the door.

Upon opening the door, Gu Rubing saw Zhou Yu standing in the doorway.

"King Lie, the troops I promised you are ready."

Gu Rubing nodded, and then followed Zhou Yu to the training ground.

Seeing the 60,000 people in front of him, Gu Rubing nodded in satisfaction.

At least for now, it does meet my requirements.

"Alright, now that everyone's ready, I'm not staying here any longer. I need to head back now."

"Lord Lie, please wait a moment. My lord has something he wishes to discuss with you. If you are in a hurry, you can have General Zhang He take all the troops back first."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing looked at Zhou Yu with curiosity.

Zhou Yu felt uncomfortable being stared at by Gu Rubing, but he still looked into Gu Rubing's eyes.

After a moment, Gu Rubing nodded.

"My lord, no."

Zhang He immediately stepped forward and walked to Gu Rubing's side.

"My lord, you mustn't! Sun Jian probably has ill intentions. If he were to harm you, you can't be without someone by your side. Relying solely on Zilong might be dangerous."

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. I told you, Sun Jian doesn't have the guts to lay a hand on me here."

Seeing Gu Rubing's confidence, Zhang He didn't say anything more, especially since Zhao Yun was still there.

After seeing Zhang He and the others off out of the city, Gu Rubing looked at Zhou Yu standing to the side.

"If you have any tricks up your sleeve, you can use them now. Your chance has come."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu's expression immediately changed.

"Your Highness, I don't understand what you mean. My lord just has something he wants to discuss with you, that's true."

Seeing Zhou Yu's sincerity, Gu Rubing smiled and said nothing more, but he always felt that there must be something wrong with Sun Jian's move.

Soon, Gu Rubing followed Zhou Yu into the palace.

However, right after they left, a soldier quietly slipped out of the city.

When Sun Jian saw Gu Rubing arrive, he immediately greeted him with a smile.

"Your Highness, you've arrived. I'm so sorry to have called you here so abruptly."

"King Wu, let's just say what we have to say directly, there's no need for so many roundabout ways."

Upon hearing this, Sun Jian stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "King Lie, I know you are very angry about my helping Shi Xie. I don't care about you taking away my troops; in my opinion, it's only right. But I want to tell you that I will continue to help Shi Xie in the future, and I ask for your understanding, King Lie."

"You still want to help Shi Xie? And King Wu, you're telling me you're helping Shi Xie? What, do you really think I wouldn't dare to lay a hand on you?"

Gu Rubing hadn't expected that Sun Jian would directly state that he would continue to help Shi Xie. Wasn't this a blatant provocation?

Sun Jian saw that Gu Rubing was really angry, so he immediately waved his hand.

"That's all I wanted to say. Please don't be angry, King Lie. I have no choice but to do this. As you know, our Anluo Empire is very poor, with a small population and a stagnant economy. I'm caught between you and Cao Cao, which is very difficult. I can't afford to offend either of you. You can't cut off our source of income, can you?"

Seeing Sun Jian's aggrieved expression, Gu Rubing frowned slightly.

"Alright, you have to help Shi Xie and provide him with food supplies. I can overlook that, and I won't bring it up again later. But you have to tell me where Shi Xie hid the food supplies. I've been trying to find them all along, but I still can't."

"I don't know either, but please, Your Highness, wait patiently for a few days. The grain transport team will be back soon. Although I don't know, they certainly do. I'll ask them when they return." (End of Chapter)