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

Sun Jian knew that Liu Zhang's biggest trump card was the Gu tribe's army.

If I were to completely annihilate Liu Zhang's Gu tribe forces, my relationship with Liu Zhang would likely be completely severed.

This was also Gu Rubing's plan.

After Liu Zhang withdrew all his troops, he took Surena directly back to Jiaozhou.

He then wanted to see Cao Cao immediately.

However, Cao Cao refused to meet with them and instead increased the defenses of Jiaozhi Commandery.

At present, Cao Cao's troops in Jiaozhi Commandery have reached 70,000, and Xu Huang and Xiahou Dun are also in Jiaozhi Commandery.

Liu Zhang had to defend himself, while Zhuge Liang, who was always eyeing them from afar, also had to divide his troops to besiege Jiaozhi County.

For a time, their troop strength was insufficient, and most importantly, Liu Zhang did not have any capable generals at his disposal.

Just then, a letter was delivered to Liu Zhang.

This is a letter from Sun Jian, in which he claims that Liu Bei's army has begun to attack the Anluo Empire, and Sun Jian wants to borrow the Gu tribe troops under Liu Zhang's command.

Liu Zhang still felt somewhat apologetic for his sudden withdrawal, which led Gu Rubing to vent all his anger on Sun Jian.

The Gu Clan's troops are no longer of much use.

If Sun Jian needs it, sending it to him to make up for his guilt would be a good thing.

However, just as Liu Zhang was about to agree to Sun Jian's request, Surena, who was standing nearby, sensed that something was wrong.

He immediately stopped Liu Zhang.

"Your Majesty, there's something wrong with this matter. Sun Jian's purpose this time is probably not simple."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Liu Zhang looked at Su Leina with a puzzled expression.

"Your Majesty, given Liu Bei's intelligence, he must have known long ago that the matter in Liangzhou is related to Sun Jian. However, I don't think it's likely that he would launch a counterattack against Sun Jian because of this. The Anluo Empire has a territory similar to that of the Han Dynasty, and half the population of the Han Dynasty. Anyone who goes to war with Sun Jian now must be prepared for a protracted war. But before we resolve our conflict with Cao Cao, Liu Bei will absolutely not provoke Sun Jian."

Liu Zhang also felt that Sun Jian's words made sense, but in Liu Zhang's view, even if something was wrong, the Gu Clan troops would definitely be able to escape unscathed, after all, he had witnessed the strangeness of the Gu Clan.

"It's alright, we're just sending troops to help out, we won't lose anything."

Seeing Sun Jian's carefree attitude, Surena hesitated for a moment.

"My lord, why don't we send half of the Gu Clan troops over to take a look? If things don't go well, they can retreat. Half of the Gu Clan troops should be able to slaughter a city without any problem."

"Okay, then we'll do it your way."

Soon, a force of two hundred Gu clan members was dispatched to Sun Jian's Anluo Empire.

When Sun Jian learned that only half of the Gu Clan's army had arrived, he immediately summoned Gu Rubing.

Gu Rubing knew that Surena must have discovered their purpose and that's why he intervened. Regardless of whether it was half of the Gu Clan's forces, it was the best outcome for them at the moment.

Otherwise, Liu Zhang would have lost his last trump card and would have been more likely to form an alliance with Sun Jian.

Half a month later, the 200-strong Gu Clan force finally entered the Anluo Empire.

"Captain, didn't we come here to help? Why aren't any of Sun Jian's men around?"

A member of the Gu clan looked at the captain with a puzzled expression.

This captain had been on many battlefields, and he could sense the strangeness around him. He immediately gave orders to all the tribesmen around him.

"Be careful, I have a bad feeling. Don't forget what the strategist said: if things don't look good, retreat."

"Yes!"

The members of the Gu Clan immediately summoned the Gu worms.

These worms began to spread outwards.

Not long after, some of the Gu worms returned.

They also brought back a lot of news.

"Captain, there are a large number of troops lying in ambush in the woods ahead, including many cavalry. We may have been tricked."

However, just after the Gu clan member finished explaining the situation ahead, an arrow pierced through the man's body.

In an instant, countless poisonous gases spewed out from the body of that Gu clan member, instantly covering the entire dock.

"Captain, you guys need to get out of here quickly."

The Gu clansman let out a roar and then stopped breathing completely.

Immediately afterwards, a barrage of arrows rained down, injuring many members of the Gu clan.

Several members of the Gu clan were shot to death, but like the previous person, they released all the poison gas from their bodies before they died.

For a moment, the entire dock was completely obscured.

Even the archers hiding in the shadows lost their target.

Upon seeing the corpses lying on the ground, the Gu clan captain immediately led everyone back onto the ship.

However, the fleet that brought them here was arranged by Sun Jian. After all the Gu clan members left the ship, the large ship left the dock directly.

Seeing that his escape route had been cut off, the Gu clan captain simply stopped moving.

"Everyone release poison gas and send out Gu worms. We'll fight Sun Jian to the death."

"Yes!"

Soon, all the members of the Gu clan sat cross-legged on the ground.

Countless Gu worms emerged from all around.

These venomous insects have only one target: the soldiers in the forest.

Before long, countless screams echoed from the woods, and the poisonous gas from the dock began to spread into the woods.

Gradually, the poisonous gas covered the entire forest.

after one day.

Sun Jian received news that all 10,000 soldiers who ambushed the Gu clan at the dock had been poisoned and died.

As for how many people the Gu Clan lost in this battle, the messenger didn't know either, because none of the ambushing troops returned alive.

Upon hearing this, Sun Jian's expression changed drastically. The memory of the Gu Clan massacring his 200,000 soldiers and the people of a city seemed to flash before his eyes.

Left with no other choice, Sun Jian turned to Gu Rubing.

Currently, only Gu Rubing possesses the medicinal powder capable of suppressing the Gu clan.

Gu Rubing had already guessed that Sun Jian would come to him. He could imagine how miserable Sun Jian's final fate would be after fighting the Gu Clan.

"King Lie, you must help me this time no matter what. Only you can restrain the Gu Clan now."

"Oh? The Gu Clan? What does this have to do with me? Back when Liangzhou and Youzhou were still under my control, you didn't help me at all. Now that I'm tasked with dealing with Liu Zhang, you're asking for my help?"

Sun Jian was rebuffed by Gu Rubing's two sentences.

Without Gu Rubing's help, Sun Jian had no choice but to bite the bullet and risk lives to fight his way in.

Soon, Sun Jian located the Gu Clan's trail. He then dispatched another 20,000 archers to charge towards the Gu Clan.

Until the poison of the Gu tribe became very potent, Sun Jian ordered his archers to only fire arrows from a distance and absolutely not to engage in close combat.

However, Sun Jian underestimated the speed at which the poisonous fog spread.

In just a moment, the poisonous fog enveloped the archers in the distance.

Soon, these 10,000 archers also became food for the corpses and the Gu worms.

And in comparison.

After these two ambushes, of the two hundred Gu Clan members sent to the Anluo Empire, less than one hundred remain.

However, these hundred people had been wandering within the Anluo Empire for more than ten days and still had not found a ship to leave.

Currently, all members of the Gu clan can only hide within Liu Zhang's seven cities.

Sun Jian then arranged for archers to stand guard outside the city. As soon as any member of the Gu tribe managed to escape the city, Sun Jian would immediately order the arrows to be fired.

Sun Jian's idea regarding the Gu clan was to kill as many as possible.

Gu Rubing originally intended to stay in Constantinople until Sun Jian had dealt with all the Gu tribes before leaving.

However, Sun Jian kept coming to him, and his purpose was very simple: he wanted Hua Tuo's herbs.

But Gu Rubing didn't want to give it to him and kept making excuses to refuse.

Finally, Gu Rubing got annoyed by the constant harassment and was ready to leave.

The main point is that Gu Rubing also received an invitation from Cao Cao at this time.

Cao Cao wanted to meet with him to discuss the strategy for the rear.

Cao Cao's invitation gave Gu Rubing ample reason to accept it.

Upon learning that Gu Rubing was leaving, Sun Jian immediately went to Gu Rubing's side.

Still unwilling to give up, she grabbed Gu Rubing's arm.

“King Lie, our recent losses have been too great. A member of the Gu Clan was able to take nearly five thousand of my soldiers with him before he died. If this continues, my troops will be wiped out before the Gu Clan is even wiped out. Please give us some of those herbs. I can buy them with money or exchange them for other things.”

Sun Jian had indeed studied those herbs.

Unfortunately, none of the doctors he had access to were very skilled. Hua Tuo only sent over powdered medicine, not even any dregs, so they couldn't tell what it was. They had tried to mix the powder themselves, but all their attempts ended in failure.

Seeing Sun Jian's aggrieved expression, Gu Rubing sighed and finally agreed to provide a batch of medicinal powder, but only enough for one thousand people to use once.

Although Gu Rubing provided relatively little, it was still better than nothing.

Watching Sun Jian leave with a smile, Gu Rubing, along with Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, quickly left the Anluo Empire.

When Gu Rubing arrived at the Jingzhou camp, Zhuge Liang was already there with everyone, waiting for him.

"My lord, I already know about what happened in Liangzhou. Your battle was fought perfectly."

Hearing Zhuge Liang's praise made Gu Rubing a little proud.

"Alright, Prime Minister, let's talk about the situation with Cao Cao. I'll be going to see him soon."

Zhuge Liang nodded, and then led Zhuge Liang to the map.

"My lord, Cao Cao has already occupied the three counties of Jiaozhou. At the same time, he forcibly relocated the people of these three counties back to Yizhou. Now, these three counties are entirely occupied by Cao Cao's troops, and there are no civilians left."

"They took all the people away?"

Gu Rubing had not expected that Cao Cao would be so ruthless. Even if the two sides reconciled, Liu Zhang could only get back his empty territory. As for other things, he would definitely not be able to get them back.

"Yes, Cao Cao also annexed 70,000 troops in Jiaozhi Commandery, and had two famous generals, Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun. Liu Zhang, on the other hand, annexed 150,000 troops around Jiaozhi Commandery, led by Yan Yan, a general in Liu Zhang's army."

Gu Rubing had some understanding of Yan Yan.

He was considered the second strongest fighter in Liu Zhang's army, the first being Zhang Ren, who was currently in his own army.

Moreover, Yan Yan is straightforward and often offends people. His factional relations within Liu Zhang's camp are not good, and he is often suppressed by those around him. However, Liu Zhang relies heavily on Yan Yan, and most of Liu Zhang's troops are now under Yan Yan's control.

Just like this time, Liu Zhang handed over all 150,000 troops under his command to Yan Yan.

"What do you think of this matter, Prime Minister? Should we get involved?"

"My advice is not to get involved. Right now, they are fighting amongst themselves. If we do nothing, they will keep fighting. Once we make any move, they will probably immediately unite and fight against us."

Gu Rubing thought so too.

But now that he has returned, it has probably already had a certain impact on the two of them. And since Cao Cao is going to meet with him this time, Liu Zhang will definitely come as well. The two of them are very likely to re-ally during this meeting.

Seeing Gu Rubing's thoughtful expression, Zhuge Liang immediately guessed what Gu Rubing was thinking.

"Is the lord worried that this trip to see Cao Cao will lead to a reconciliation between the two?"

"Nothing can be hidden from the Prime Minister."

Gu Rubing smiled and nodded.

"My lord, there's no need to worry about these things. We just need to do our best and leave the rest to fate. If all else fails, perhaps we can go all the way and eliminate one of them. My personal suggestion is Liu Zhang."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing's eyes lit up, and he nodded with a smile.

At this moment, Gu Rubing had already made up his mind to kill.

To achieve his goal, Gu Rubing gathered all five of them together: Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and Huang Zhong.

Gu Rubing was confident that with these five people working together, there would be absolutely no chance of failure.

Soon, Gu Rubing led five people and left the camp, heading to Jiaozhi County.

Cao Cao is currently in Jiaozhi Commandery.

The moment Gu Rubing set off.

On a mountain peak.

Two elderly people stood side by side.

One of them was Zhang Jiao's master, the Old Immortal of Nanhua.

"I say, old man, according to the calculations just now, one of the Liu family's bloodlines is going to disappear."

"No, this concerns the Dragon's destiny; we can't let it be ruined like this!"

After finishing his words, the Old Immortal of Nanhua turned around and prepared to leave.

"Hey, you old codger, why are you in such a hurry? I've already sent someone else. Don't worry, the two Lius can't fight each other for now. I just don't know when our great fortune seeker will realize who his real enemy, or rather, the person he should eliminate first, really is."

When Gu Rubing arrived in Kuaiji County with his five men, Liu Zhang had already been waiting outside for a long time.

Unfortunately, Cao Cao showed no intention of opening the gates, so he could only wait outside the city.

Upon seeing Gu Rubing arrive, Cao Cao, who was on the city wall, immediately opened the city gate and then went out of the city himself.

"King Lie, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting on the city wall for a long time."

"The journey was quite long, causing a slight delay. I hope Your Majesty will not mind!" (End of Chapter)