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

When Pound saw that they were greeted by only a lieutenant, he immediately snorted coldly.

“My lord is His Highness Prince Lie, the Imperial Uncle of the Great Han Dynasty. What right do you, a mere deputy general, have to speak to my lord? Where is your Prince Wei? Have him come out to greet us. Doesn’t your Prince Wei even know this basic etiquette? If you have no sincerity, then there’s no point in talking.”

However, the lieutenant seemed to have known all along that someone would ask such a question, and was not intimidated by Pound's words at all.

"General, I'm sorry, my lord is very busy with official duties and does not have time to receive you all at the moment. However, my lord said that if you have any complaints about our etiquette, you are welcome to leave. My lord does not mind."

"you……"

Pound was surprised that a mere lieutenant dared to speak to him like that.

On the battlefield, such a nobody wouldn't even get a second glance.

Unfortunately, Deng Ai has now been arrested. With Deng Ai around, even a nobody like him can make things difficult for them and leave them speechless.

Just as Pang De was at a loss for words, Gu Rubing waved his hand, signaling Pang De to shut up.

Then Gu Rubing looked at the deputy general.

"You, a mere deputy general, have quite the nerve. But these words were taught to you by your lord, weren't they? Cao Cao only knows these petty tricks. Young brother, you must understand that I am the Prince of Lie, and my opponent is the King of Wei. You are just a deputy general. If you insist on stepping forward, who do you think will suffer the loss in the end? The King of Wei probably has about a hundred deputy generals under his command, right? Do you think you are important among those hundred?"

Gu Rubing's words caused the deputy general's expression to change immediately.

When he received this order, he only thought about blocking Liu Bei at the city gate and humiliating him; he didn't think about the bigger picture at all.

"Young brother, remember this: even if you're ranked first among these hundred lieutenants, so what? Killing you is as easy as crushing an ant for me. To Cao Cao, your death is just the death of an insignificant person. He won't hold it against me. But a person only has one life. Isn't it a bit unworthy to die over something so insignificant?"

Gu Rubing's words struck the deputy general like a heavy hammer.

The lieutenant felt his whole body trembling, and only then did he realize how foolish he had just done.

After a long time.

The lieutenant then realized what was happening, gave an awkward laugh, and was about to say something when a voice came from the city gate.

"King Lie is quite the smooth talker; he's certainly given our people quite a fright."

Gu Rubing looked toward the source of the voice and discovered that it was Xun You.

"Isn't this Military Advisor Xun? How come you ran back to Cao Cao after the defeat in Youzhou? Is your status still as high as before after you came back? Your Xun family is nothing special."

Upon hearing this, Xun You looked at Gu Rubing with a somewhat gloomy expression.

After a while.

Xun You's gloomy expression vanished instantly, and he immediately smiled and said, "I must thank King Lie for teaching me a lesson about the Youzhou matter. If it weren't for King Lie's intervention, I would have really thought I was so capable. There are always people more capable than you. King Lie, let's stop with the small talk and come into the city with me."

"Going into the city? Your King Wei's way of inviting people is not very good. I know your King Wei is busy, but I'm not in a hurry. I can wait quietly until your King Wei has time to come and pick me up."

Upon hearing this, Xun You glanced at Gu Rubing, smiled, and led his deputy into the city.

When Cao Cao learned that Gu Rubing had chosen to stay outside the city because of his absence, Cao Cao simply snorted coldly.

"Hmph, does Liu Bei still think it's the same as before? Now he's begging me, and he still wants me to treat him like before? What a joke. If he's willing to wait, let him wait."

After saying this, Cao Cao waved his sleeve and turned to head to his residence.

Upon hearing this, Xun Yu immediately stepped forward to stop him.

"My lord, you mustn't!"

"Ok?"

Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu with suspicion.

"Wenruo, what do you mean? We have the advantage now. Are you afraid of Liu Bei?"

Cao Cao glanced at Xun Yu.

Xun Yu gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"My lord, Liu Bei has always been known for his benevolence and righteousness, which has earned him considerable prestige among the people. Moreover, Liu Bei is the Prince of Lie and the Imperial Uncle of the Han Dynasty. If you were to neglect the Prince of Lie, and this were to reach the ears of those with ulterior motives, they would say that neglecting the Prince of Lie is neglecting the Han Dynasty, and the people would join in the uproar. This would be a significant blow to your reputation."

Listening to Xun Yu's words, Cao Cao's anger gradually subsided, and his intelligence once again prevailed.

He then realized that his perspective had been limited to Yizhou and he hadn't thought about anything broader.

My goal is to conquer the entire world. If my reputation is damaged, I will face considerable obstacles when I try to conquer the world in the future.

"Come on, let's go pick up Liu Bei."

Gu Rubing didn't wait long outside the city; by then, many people had already gathered to watch.

They recognized Liu Bei and came forward with smiles to greet him.

Many people even brought well water for Liu Bei to drink.

When Cao Cao came out and saw the scene before him, he was somewhat surprised by Gu Rubing's influence.

"Haha, Prince Lie, I'm so sorry. I was just dealing with some matters and neglected you. Please don't take offense."

"What are you saying, King Wei? How could I possibly blame you? I just don't understand what could be more important than welcoming my royal uncle from the Han Dynasty? Why have you left my royal uncle here for half an hour?"

"This……"

Cao Cao did not expect that Gu Rubing would not give him a way out, but would even press for details, clearly intending to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, the surrounding people were also watching Cao Cao, clearly waiting for his answer.

At this moment, cold sweat had already broken out on Cao Cao's forehead.

If he doesn't get a satisfactory answer this time, he'll be in big trouble. His neglect of the Imperial Uncle of the Han Dynasty will soon be spread.

Cao Cao remained silent, and Gu Rubing did not rush. He continued to stand at the city gate with the people of Guanghan County, waiting for Cao Cao's reply.

At this moment, Cao Cao's forehead was already covered in sweat. After a long while...

Cao Cao finally managed to utter a sentence.

My house is on fire!

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing burst out laughing.

"Oh! So it's the Prince of Wei's residence that's on fire. That's certainly important. Are all of the Prince of Wei's family members alright?"

"It's alright, thank you for your concern, Prince Lie. The fire has been extinguished. Prince Lie, let's proceed. There are too many people around here, it's not a good place to discuss matters. I have already prepared a banquet."

"it is good!"

This time, Gu Rubing did not pressure Cao Cao.

After all, he came to ransom people, not to suppress Cao Cao. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. If Cao Cao really pushed him too far, he might refuse to negotiate and kill Deng Ai, which would be a huge loss for him. Soon, the two sides entered Cao Cao's residence inside the city.

Gu Rubing remained silent the entire way.

However, Cao Cao was right about one thing: he had indeed prepared a banquet, and when he brought Gu Rubing to his residence, delicacies were already laid out on the table.

After Gu Rubing sat down, his first words almost made Cao Cao spit out his water.

"The King of Wei just said his house caught fire, but your mansion looks completely intact! It doesn't seem like there were any signs of fire."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao coughed a few times.

“Not this mansion, but another mansion.”

"Oh, I see. So the King of Wei is keeping a mistress! King of Wei, I'm not trying to criticize you, but this is not good. As the King of Wei, if you want to take a concubine, you should just say so. Why keep a mistress? It's not good if word gets out!"

Cao Cao was so angry that his face was flushed red and his eyes were blazing with fury.

Seeing Cao Cao's expression, Gu Rubing knew that he had almost reached his limit and Cao Cao was about to bite.

Gu Rubing wisely kept his mouth shut.

Cao Cao drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

As he swallowed the wine, Cao Cao's anger subsided.

At the banquet, neither of them mentioned Deng Ai.

Both sides thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

When the banquet ended, Gu Rubing slowly stood up.

Cao Cao knew the main event was about to begin, and he was already prepared to enjoy the look in Gu Rubing's eyes when he begged him.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness. We'll head back to rest now; we're quite tired from the journey!"

"Hmm, not bad... Hmm? You're going back?"

Cao Cao was momentarily stunned and stared at Gu Rubing in shock.

"Yes, the banquet is over, isn't it? We're tired, we need to go back to sleep."

"No, didn't you come to ransom someone? You haven't even seen the person, and you're already going back to sleep?"

"Oh, so King Wei still remembers this matter. I thought you had forgotten. I wonder what King Wei would like me to exchange for it?"

Both men understood the principles of negotiation: whoever stated their purpose first would lose the initiative.

Cao Cao immediately realized that he had fallen into a trap. His little trick at the negotiating table had allowed Gu Rubing to completely outmaneuver him.

"Liu Bei, we are both smart men, so I will speak frankly. I don't want much. I want the entire Yi Province and Sili. I also heard that you have had a great harvest here. I don't want much more, 30 million shi of grain. In addition, shouldn't You Province be returned to Shi Xie? Jiao Province originally belonged to Liu Zhang. Shouldn't you return it to him as well?"

Upon hearing Cao Cao's words, Gu Rubing nearly spat out his water.

This isn't considered asking for too little? This is trying to take back all the effort I've put in over a year, as if I've wasted the entire year?
"King Wei, it's a real waste that you became the King of Wei. You're definitely cut out to be a bandit."

Cao Cao completely ignored Gu Rubing's sarcasm.

Negotiation is like doing business; it takes a two-way street for it to be considered a transaction.

Cao Cao made such a large opening so that Gu Rubing would be able to raise his bottom line when negotiating with him.

"It doesn't matter what King Lie thinks I am, as long as I know who I am."

Gu Rubing considered the matter for a moment and finally said, "I can only agree to give you Yizhou. As for Sili, don't even think about it. Also, don't mention Shi Xie and Liu Zhang. It was Jiang Wei who arrested people, not Liu Zhang and Shi Xie. What right do they have to get benefits from me? Or is Jiang Wei also their subordinate?"

"Give me Yizhou? Liu Bei, you only have two counties in Yizhou, which are merely the gateway to Yizhou. What makes you think you can exchange two counties for a famous general? And a general with great potential at that?"

After this period of time and his battles with Deng Ai, Cao Cao was already somewhat regretful. If he hadn't abandoned Deng Ai back then, he would definitely have been a potential talent no less than Jiang Wei!

Gu Rubing never expected that Cao Cao would discover Deng Ai's potential.

After hesitating for a moment.

Gu Rubing then slowly said, "No matter what, I will absolutely not agree to give you Sili, nor will I give you Youzhou. At most, I can only agree to return Yizhou and Jiaozhou to you and Liu Zhang. As for the rest, I will not care. King Wei can consider my suggestion. If you do not agree, we can pretend that we never came here, but some rules should be abolished."

After saying that, Gu Rubing winked at Zhao Yun, who was standing to the side.

Zhao Yun brandished his silver spear.

Zhao Yun casually snapped three load-bearing beams in the hall.

The entire hall was tilting in one direction.

Dian Wei and the others immediately covered Cao Cao and left the hall.

Immediately after a deafening roar, the enormous hall was reduced to ruins.

Meanwhile, Gu Rubing and the others had already left.

"My lord, are you alright?"

Dian Wei looked at Cao Cao with some nervousness.

Cao Cao stared at the ruins before him, remaining silent for a long time, but his slightly trembling body made it clear to everyone that he was angry.

Under Cao Cao's terrifying aura, no one, including those legendary generals, dared to speak, and cold sweat even broke out on their foreheads.

After a long while, when everyone felt that Cao Cao's aura had subsided, Xun Yu slowly stepped forward.

"My lord, Liu Bei has already given us his limit. If we ask for more, he probably won't agree. This is a threat from Liu Bei. If all of Liu Bei's top-tier forces join the war, the entire Yi Province will either become Liu Bei's or be reduced to ruins in an instant."

Xun Yu said this with a forced smile.

Everyone could see Liu Bei's strength, but no one dared to say it out loud. After all, Cao Cao would surely be displeased if he spoke of someone else's strength in front of his lord.

But now that they are standing right in front of them, and have even issued an ultimatum, if they insist, they will only be the ones who get hurt in the end.

Cao Cao glanced at Xun Yu and sighed helplessly.

Gu Rubing was already strolling around the street.

Meanwhile, Pang De and Zhao Yun followed quietly behind Gu Rubing.

Gu Rubing could tell that the two had something to say to each other.

"Say what you want to say. This isn't a meeting; there aren't so many rules." (End of Chapter)