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

However, Zhang Fei's voice had barely faded when...

The man in black waved his hand.

The black dragon roared directly at Zhang Fei.

The impact of the dragon's roar sent Zhang Fei flying.

However, this time the damage to Zhang Fei was not very significant.

Standing up from the ground, Zhang Fei, wielding his eighteen-foot spear, was about to charge at the man in black once more.

However, the black dragon twisted its body, and its huge tail slammed down towards Zhang Fei.

The black dragon was so fast that even Zhang Fei didn't have time to react. By the time he did, the dragon's tail was already right in front of him.

Zhang Fei could feel the power emanating from the dragon's tail. He knew he couldn't dodge this attack, and if he took it, he would be seriously injured.

Just as Zhang Fei closed his eyes, held his eighteen-foot spear upright at his side, preparing to withstand the attack.

A phoenix's cry echoed from the sky.

Immediately afterwards, a fire phoenix appeared before everyone.

The fire phoenix charged straight at the black dragon.

The place where the fire phoenix struck the black dragon was exactly three inches from its apex.

This is also the only weakness of the Black Dragon.

The impact caused the black dragon to become slightly weaker and its power to diminish a little, but overall it had no effect.

The fire phoenix vanished instantly upon colliding with the black dragon.

Seeing this, the man in black turned to look at Huang Zhong, who was standing to the side.

"Huang Zhong, the God of Archery? Interesting."

They saw that the men in black had stopped their attack.

Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei immediately surrounded the man in black in the middle.

The man in black ignored the four of them and instead looked at Ma Chao, who was protecting Gu Rubing in the distance.

"Ma Chao, aren't you coming?"

"I need to be wary of you harming my lord."

Upon hearing this, the man in black shrugged and looked at the four people present.

“You are no match for me, and there’s no need to fight me here. If I wanted to hurt you, you would never have survived this long. I hope you can think carefully about what I’m saying.”

After the man in black finished speaking, he looked into the distance and realized that Liu Zhang had already been taken away by Meng Huo and Miao Moqing while they were making their move. Judging by the time, he should have already arrived at their camp.

"My mission is complete, Liu Bei. I hope you will seriously consider my words: Liu Zhang cannot die for the time being!"

After the man in black finished speaking, the black dragon let out another roar at the four of them.

This time, everyone was prepared and immediately went all out to defend.

After the dragon's roar subsided, the four realized that the man in black had long since disappeared from the spot.

The four of them immediately checked their surroundings and, after confirming that there was no danger, they approached Gu Rubing.

"Brother, what does that person mean? He's not going to fight, but he insists on getting involved in this matter."

Zhang Fei chuckled with some dissatisfaction and muttered to himself.

"Third brother, instead of complaining, you should practice your martial arts. That person clearly didn't intend to attack us. If he really wanted to, do you think you could stop him?"

Hearing Guan Yu's rebuke, Zhang Fei reluctantly shut his mouth.

Gu Rubing looked into the distance. He always felt that his actions had been watched by someone, and that the other party would stand up to protect him or stop him at crucial moments. He didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"My lord, what's wrong?"

Seeing Gu Rubing's worried expression, Zhao Yun immediately stepped forward and asked.

"It's alright. This operation failed, but we don't know how many chain reactions it will have. Let's hurry back and make preparations."

"Yes!"

Under the protection of Meng Huo and Miao Moqing, Liu Zhang returned to the camp in a somewhat disheveled state.

When Yan Yan saw Liu Zhang and his two companions return in such a disheveled state, he immediately realized that they had been ambushed. He quickly protected Liu Zhang and returned to the central army camp.

Liu Zhang sat down in the chair, panting, and it took him a while to completely calm down.

But what Yan Yan said next made Liu Zhang's heart jump into his throat again.

"My lord, according to the news from Anluo, the Gu Clan army we sent to support Sun Jian was completely wiped out, and the culprit was Sun Jian himself. However, after annihilating the Gu Clan army, Sun Jian withdrew without taking any action against our territory."

"completely annihilated?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhang felt a pang of heartache. Then, remembering something, he turned to look at Meng Huo and Miao Moqing beside him.

After all, Liu Zhang knew that the two sides were only in a cooperative relationship. However, due to his mistake, the entire Gu Clan army had lost more than half of its strength, and these two people were very likely to vent their anger on him.

However, the two remained extremely calm when they heard the news, as if they had known about it all along.

"Alright, you can go now. Also, give the order that I have taken back our territory from Cao Cao. Cao Cao will be withdrawing in the next few days. Take your men and take over the territory."

"Yes!"

After Yan Yan left, Liu Zhang looked at Meng Huo and Miao Moqing.

"It's obvious that Sun Jian is plotting against us in this matter. What should we do?"

"We will avenge Sun Jian sooner or later, but the most crucial thing now is what to do with Liu Bei?"

“That’s right. The number of legendary generals on Liu Bei’s side far exceeds our expectations, and their quality is also very high. Once Liu Bei leads his men into the camp, no one will be able to stop him with his legendary generals.”

Seeing that Meng Huo and Miao Moqing were so worried, Liu Zhang just smiled and waved his hand.

"Don't worry, both of you. I have now formed an alliance with Cao Cao. If Liu Bei attacks me, Cao Cao will definitely not stand idly by. If Liu Bei's legendary generals dare to break in, Cao Cao's legendary generals will also come to support them."

Seeing Liu Zhang's unwavering trust in Cao Cao, both men sighed helplessly.

"My lord, do you really think Cao Cao doesn't know about Liu Bei's ambush against you?" Surena looked at Liu Zhang's relaxed expression and knew it was time to wake him up.

"Of course, otherwise Cao Cao would definitely have helped me."

"My lord, according to our intelligence, Cao Cao has two legendary generals in Jiaozhi, namely Dian Wei and Xu Chu. These two are top-notch fighters. Meng Huo and the Miao chieftain fought with those five for so long, how could Cao Cao not know? Dian Wei and Xu Chu must have sensed it long ago, so why didn't they come?"

"Moreover, as you said, when you first told Cao Cao about Liu Bei's ambush on you, Cao Cao, with his intelligence, couldn't possibly not have figured out what Liu Bei was up to. Yet he still didn't stop you from leaving, nor did he provide you with any additional troops for protection. Wasn't that clearly giving Liu Bei an opportunity? Cao Cao's use of this tactic of using someone else to kill you was really not very good."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhang immediately realized what was happening and looked at Su Leina with a look of horror.

"You mean Cao Cao did it on purpose?"

"Of course, Your Majesty, you're only just realizing this. This is Cao Cao's plan to use Liu Bei to eliminate you, and then seize all our territories, people, and resources. At the same time, he will spread the word that Liu Bei had a legendary general attack an ordinary person like you, which will completely ruin Liu Bei's reputation. It will even make it easier for his troops to fight amongst themselves, giving Cao Cao even more opportunities."

After being reminded by Su Leina, Liu Zhang finally realized what was happening.

Even Liu Zhang's back was covered in cold sweat.

"Surena, what do you think we should do now?"

"Your Majesty, it's very simple. We must find our own external aid now. I think Sun Jian is a good choice, and also our only choice."

"Sun Jian?"

Liu Zhang looked at Su Leina with suspicion, then at Meng Huo and Miao Moqing beside him.

After all, Sun Jian had just wiped out half of their Gu clan.

If we negotiate an alliance with Sun Jian now, we'll never be able to avenge the Gu clan.

The two noticed Liu Zhang's gaze.

"My lord, forming an alliance is a major matter. Don't let our actions delay the alliance process."

Upon hearing Meng Huo's words, Liu Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, Liu Zhang was a little curious about how Meng Huo had managed to communicate with him. Especially Miao Moqing, who usually wouldn't let the Gu Clan suffer even the slightest loss, but now she was so calm. And that was more than two hundred Gu Clan members.

"Since neither of you has any objections, let's do as Surena says. But we just fought with Sun Jian. Will Sun Jian still be our ally?"

"My lord, Sun Jian will definitely do it. As long as we give Sun Jian enough benefits, in these chaotic times, there are no permanent allies or enemies. There are only interests between the two sides. We hold seven coastal cities in our hands. Now that the affairs of Youzhou and Liangzhou have failed, we have taken back the entire Jiaozhou. At the same time, the population of the three counties of Jiaozhi has been taken away by Cao Cao. We will return the seven cities to Sun Jian and bring back the people inside. Jiaozhou can definitely accommodate all these people now."

"Alright, I'll leave this matter to you, Sirena. Just handle it as you see fit."

Liu Zhang smiled and nodded.

Surena led the five men back to the Jingzhou camp.

Zhuge Liang walked over.

Seeing the six men looking dejected, it was clear that the plan had failed, which puzzled Zhuge Liang.

He had already calculated all of this. With a lineup like Gu Rubing's, it was impossible for a mere Liu Zhang to stop the five of them unless Cao Cao intervened. But he had a feeling from the beginning that Cao Cao would not intervene no matter what.

For Cao Cao, Liu Zhang's death was more beneficial than his life.

"My lord, have you failed?"

Gu Rubing nodded, and then told Zhuge Liang everything.

When Zhuge Liang heard that the man in black had stopped the four generals and defeated them, he couldn't help but frown.

Zhuge Liang was thinking a lot. After learning that the plan had failed, he stopped thinking about the plan and started considering whether the man in black would appear again and who he would help if he did.
If the men in black make it clear that they want to hinder their great cause, then they will face great difficulties in the future.

After all, someone who can defeat four generals is absolutely the best in the world.

After thinking for a while, Zhuge Liang shook his head.

With limited information available, no matter how he calculates, it won't be comprehensive. At the very least, he doesn't know who the other party is.

"My lord, since the plan has failed, we don't need to worry about Liu Zhang anymore. Given Liu Zhang's courage, he would never dare to retaliate against us. His subordinate, Suleina, should have already guessed Cao Cao's intentions, so he will definitely have Liu Zhang contact Sun Jian and form an alliance with him. This matter will keep them busy for a while. We should use this time to take as much territory from Cao Cao as possible."

Gu Rubing nodded.

From the very beginning, Gu Rubing's target was Cao Cao. He had even captured Jiangzhou City. If it weren't for the events that followed that hindered his progress, he would probably have already taken control of the entire Ba Commandery, and even Guanghan Army and Hanzhong Commandery.

With that in mind, Gu Rubing retrieved all the intelligence information about Yizhou from the intelligence database.

These events had kept Gu Rubing constantly on the move, leaving him with limited information about the situation in Yizhou.

Zhuge Liang watched Gu Rubing read the intelligence report and immediately introduced it to him.

"My lord, Yizhou is currently relatively stable. Cao Cao has increased his troops to 150,000 in Linjiang, and as for generals, he has mobilized Cao Ren, the Xiahou brothers, and Xu Huang to Linjiang City. Moreover, some people have seen Cao Zhen leading the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry in Linjiang City."

"The Xiahou brothers and Xu Huang are both in Linjiang City? It seems Cao Cao has long wanted to return Jiaozhou to Liu Zhang, and he's been putting on an act for me. Cao Cao, you really have some tricks up your sleeve."

After muttering to himself for a moment, Gu Rubing realized a problem.

"Wait a minute, all of these people you mentioned are acquaintances of ours. What about Jiang Wei and Guo Huai?"

"According to our intelligence, Cao Cao sent these two men to be in charge of the army's supplies, so they are not in Linjiang City now."

"forage?"

Gu Rubing never expected that Cao Cao would put such a talented person in charge of grain supplies.

"It seems that Boyue is not having an easy time with Cao Cao."

Gu Rubing burst out laughing as soon as he finished speaking.

"My lord, although they are all our defeated enemies, we cannot underestimate them. These 150,000 troops, along with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, are Cao Cao's forte. They are not easy to defeat. In addition, there is Cao Ren and his men. Taking Linjiang City will be quite difficult for us."

Gu Rubing nodded.

"Prime Minister, you've only talked about Cao Cao's power, but what about ours?"

"My lord, we have 150,000 troops in Jiangzhou City, but we have already trained 200,000 new recruits in the rear. They will soon be ready to support Yizhou. In addition, Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, Zhang Liao, Wei Yan, and Zhang He are all in Yizhou. Zijing is also in Yizhou, in charge of the overall situation."

With these people around, Gu Rubing felt a little more at ease.

"Alright, head to Yizhou immediately. I'll leave the matters here with you, Prime Minister."

"Don't worry, my lord. Also, please take Zhao Yun and Guan Yu with you. Cao Cao should have already withdrawn from Jiaozhou. At that time, Dian Wei and Xu Chu will probably also appear on the battlefield. Now that Yizhou already has the legendary general Cao Zhang, Pang De is under considerable pressure."

"alright."

After considering the situation, Gu Rubing led Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and the Green Dragon Saber Guards towards Yizhou. (End of Chapter)