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

As soon as Shi Xie gave the order, all the soldiers quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

Zhang Liao also arrived at Gu Rubing's side at this time.

"My lord, Liao requests permission to engage in battle and pursue our victory."

After saying that, Zhang Liao knelt down on the ground.

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing looked around.

They discovered that the surrounding area was full of mountains, which was perfect for the enemy to hide in. They had less than 5,000 troops in total. If they fell for Shi Xie's trick of luring the enemy away from the mountains, their losses would be huge.

"It's just Shi Xie, there's no need to chase after him. Let's send the grain back first."

"Yes!"

Having received Gu Rubing's order, Zhang Liao could only nod, no matter how unwilling he was.

Gu Rubing quickly ordered his messengers to inform the cities along the route the grain supplies would pass through, and to prepare a large number of troops to assist Zhang Liao in transporting the grain supplies.

Soon, the losses of food supplies were also tallied.

Gu Rubing had not expected that the loss of grain and fodder would reach one-tenth.

"Wen Yuan, you take the main force and go first."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao looked at Gu Rubing with a puzzled expression.

"My lord, do you mean you won't come with us?"

Gu Rubing nodded.

Gu Rubing was originally going to go back with Zhang Liao, but on the way there, he received intelligence from the Colonel of the Crossbowmen that Cao Cao, Liu Zhang, and Sun Jian had gathered together. Although he didn't know what they were discussing, he knew that the three of them getting together was definitely not a good thing.

Since he's already here, he's bound to join in the fun.

"I'll go find Sun Jian."

"This……"

Zhang Liao had already suspected that Shi Xie and Sun Jian had joined forces, and now that he heard that Gu Rubing was going to find Sun Jian, he was immediately worried about Gu Rubing's safety.

"My lord, you mustn't! Sun Jian has been secretly plotting against us. Now all the warlords have gathered around him. If you go, they might very well turn against you. And you only have Zilong by your side. I'm worried..."

"Don't worry, they won't dare to attack me, and even if they do, one Zilong is enough."

Seeing Gu Rubing's insistence, Zhang Liao didn't say anything more. In the end, he sent the Iron Pagoda to Gu Rubing's side to protect him before slowly setting off with the provisions.

This trip was indeed rushed, and Gu Rubing's preparations were certainly not thorough enough.

Originally, they only intended to help Zhang Liao bring back the grain, but no one expected that these three people would secretly gather together and catch him off guard.

By the time Gu Rubing received the news, it was already too late.

However, Gu Rubing was confident that none of these three people would dare to lay a hand on him. After all, although he only had Zhao Yun with him, he had five legendary generals standing behind him.

Soon, Gu Rubing led Zhao Yun and the Ironclad Cavalry to Sun Jian's side.

Inside Constantinople.

Sun Jian, accompanied by Liu Zhang and Cao Cao, was strolling around the city, introducing them to the various lively scenes.

It would be a lie to say that Cao Cao and Liu Zhang weren't envious along the way.

Both of them were somewhat surprised by the prosperity of Constantinople.

Seemingly sensing the fervor in their eyes, Sun Jian's gaze was filled with smugness.

Sun Jian and Liu Zhang knew perfectly well what Cao Cao was doing there. After all, no one wanted to be a pawn, especially someone as powerful and arrogant as Cao Cao, who was even less likely to be subservient to others.

However, Sun Jian and Liu Zhang have been very tactful these past few days and haven't said anything about Yizhou or even military matters. The three of them seem to be on vacation rather than discussing business.

But this peace was soon shattered.

"Gentlemen, this is our grain store, our grain store..."

While Sun Jian was still introducing himself to Cao Cao and Liu Zhang, Zhou Yu came to Sun Jian's side.

"My lord, something terrible has happened! Liu Bei is here!"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Jian's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. I'll have someone take you home first. I have some things to take care of. I'll come find you after I'm done."

After Sun Jian finished speaking, regardless of whether Cao Cao and Liu Zhang were willing or not, he forcibly sent the two back.

Upon returning to his resting place, Cao Cao immediately guessed that Liu Bei had probably arrived, and promptly found Liu Zhang in the room next door.

"Your Majesty, it seems Liu Bei has arrived. We should prepare to meet with him."

"Meet with Liu Bei?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhang frowned immediately.

Liu Zhang and Sun Jian had long ago secretly decided that no matter what Cao Cao said, Yizhou would ultimately only be their pawn and shield. But now, the appearance of Gu Rubing will inevitably become a variable for them.

Thinking of this, Liu Zhang looked at Cao Cao.

"King Wei, why don't we leave? We've been here for too long. Now that Liu Bei has arrived, it will be difficult for us to explain ourselves. Sun Jian is probably busy receiving Liu Bei and won't care about us anymore."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cai burst out laughing.

"Haha, King Yi, I really don't know, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Are you afraid of Liu Bei, or are you afraid I'll discover something? Do you really think I can't see through your little scheme with Sun Jian? You're underestimating me a bit too much."

After saying that, Cao Cao slammed his hand down on the table in front of him.

At this moment, Dian Wei and Xu Chu also stepped forward.

The terrifying aura emanating from the two caused Meng Huo and Miao Moqing, who were behind Liu Zhang, to take a few steps back.

But they quickly eased the tension.

"Haha, King Wei, you are joking. What would we do to you? We still need to discuss how to fight against Liu Bei together."

"Really? I thought you were going to discuss with Sun Jian how to continue using me as a pawn."

These words silenced Liu Zhang instantly.

The atmosphere between the two sides became tense again, and Meng Huo and Miao Moqing's palms were already sweaty.

Sending them to fight Dian Wei and Xu Chu would be virtually impossible, as they have little chance of winning.

Just then, the door opened.

Lu Xun walked in from outside.

"Hey, what are you guys up to?"

Lu Xu immediately sensed that something was off and burst out laughing.

Upon seeing Lu Xun arrive, both sides completely restrained their imposing manner.

"Lu Xun, where has Sun Jian gone?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xun smiled and decided not to hide it any longer.

"Reporting to King Wei, Liu Bei has arrived. My lord has already gone to the city gate to greet him. My lord would like to ask if you two would be interested in joining us in welcoming him?"

"Welcome Liu Bei?"

Liu Zhang sneered. They were in Sun Jian's territory now, what were they going there for? If Liu Bei came, were they supposed to rush over to greet him? Liu Bei wasn't their father.

"We don't..."

"Let's go!"

Before Liu Zhang could finish speaking, Cao Cao's words cut him off.

He turned to look at Cao Cao, his eyes full of confusion. "Let's go now."

After Cao Cao finished speaking, he stood up and followed Lu Xun outside.

Liu Zhang immediately followed.

"King Wei, what's going on?"

"We'll have to meet sooner or later anyway, so what's the difference between sooner or later? And aren't you worried that Sun Jian might reach some kind of agreement with Liu Bei outside the city?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhang immediately nodded.

When Gu Rubing, accompanied by Zhao Yun, saw Sun Jian and Zhou Yu already waiting at the city gate, he was somewhat curious.

Because neither Cao Cao nor Liu Zhang were seen in this scene.

"Haha, Prince Lie, you've come again..."

"again?"

Gu Rubing then realized that he had indeed been visiting the Anluo Empire a bit too often lately.

There was nothing that could be done about it. When Sun Jian first came to the Anluo Empire with his remnants of the army, I didn't care. Sun Jian also kept a low profile and didn't make any big moves. But now, Sun Jian's capital has become substantial, and his reach is getting longer and longer. Naturally, I'm coming to see him more and more often.

"As long as the King of Wu welcomes me, what harm is there in me staying here? Does the King of Wu not welcome me?"

"Not at all! Your Highness is welcome to come anytime you wish. Please come inside."

After saying that, Sun Jian immediately waved his hand.

However, just as they were about to enter the city, they saw Cao Cao and Liu Zhang walking towards them.

“King Wu, you are really inconsiderate. King Lie is coming, and you didn’t even tell us. You actually came to secretly bring King Lie into the city. Aren’t we King Lie’s friends?”

Upon hearing this, Sun Jian smiled but said nothing.

The four men entered the city with smiles on their faces, which made the city's residents a little suspicious. Were these four not enemies?

Soon, the four entered the palace.

When Cao Cao saw that Liu Bei was only accompanied by Zhao Yun, he began to have other thoughts and ordered his men to investigate how many men Gu Rubing had brought with him outside the city.

Soon, Cao Cao learned that Gu Rubing had only brought the Iron Pagoda Cavalry and Zhao Yun with him.

"I wonder what brings King Lie to the Anluo Empire this time?"

When Cao Cao learned that Gu Rubing only had Zhao Yun by his side, he straightened his back and no longer spoke to Gu Rubing with the same respectful tone as before.

"King Wei, I have come to the Anluo Empire. This seems to be the territory of the King of Wu, right? This doesn't seem to have much to do with you, King Wei, does it?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the smiles on everyone's faces vanished instantly.

Liu Zhang, who was standing next to Cao Cao, hurriedly tugged at Cao Cao's sleeve, trying to get him to behave.

"Haha, why are you two so angry as soon as you meet? This is the territory of our Anluo Empire. Please don't be angry. I don't want any bloodshed to happen on my land!"

After saying this, Sun Jian waved his hand, and several guards came in carrying tea.

"Have some tea, gentlemen, to cool down!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing took a sip of tea and glanced at Cao Cao with a sense of ease.

"King Wei, is there something else you want to ask me?"

"No, this is the territory of the King of Wu, so I naturally won't ask any more questions."

"That's more like it, you two calm down."

After Sun Jian finished speaking, he looked at Gu Rubing, who was standing to the side.

"I wonder if the King Lie has come to my place with any instructions?"

"No, I'm just a guest. I heard that the King of Wei and the King of Yi have already come here. I happen to be nearby, so I came over for a stroll. May I ask what brings you two here?"

Cao Cao and Liu Zhang fell silent upon hearing this.

They all came here with their own reasons, but none of them could tell Gu Rubing.

Seeing that neither of them spoke, Sun Jian smiled and said, "You two are also just here for a stroll. Since the four of us are all here, why don't we take a walk together?"

Upon hearing this, the group all laughed.

In the following days, the group did indeed wander around Constantinople, and Sun Jian was the most difficult to deal with.

He knew that these people must have something to say to him, but every time he wanted to meet with one person alone, the other two would appear immediately as if they had heard something, leaving Sun Jian no chance to meet with anyone alone.

In the end, Sun Jian gave up.

They simply summoned all three of them to the palace.

"Everyone, let's just say what we need to say. We're all family here!"

Not outsiders? Which of these people isn't an enemy to each other?

Upon hearing this, the three men stopped hiding anything, with Cao Cao being the first to step forward.

"Everyone, I think our relationship needs to change."

"Change it? How?"

The speaker was Gu Rubing. Among these people, he was the only one who had no problem with Sun Jian, and he was also the only one who was not qualified to participate in the matter between Liu Zhang, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian.

Therefore, Gu Rubing made no attempt to estimate anything, and he would chime in no matter who was speaking.

Cao Cao frowned immediately upon hearing Gu Rubing's words.

"Prince Lie, what we're going to do with you seems to have nothing to do with you, does it?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing immediately nodded and then said, "Can't I just listen?"

"Okay, then please don't say anything."

"no problem."

Gu Rubing immediately nodded in agreement.

Liu Zhang, on the other hand, looked at Cao Cao.

"King Wei, I wonder what your meaning is?"

"I'm going to call a truce and stop fighting. It's winter now, and the soldiers can't even keep their hands warm. How can they fight? So you two don't need to send any more troops to Yizhou. As for what happens next, let's talk about it when spring comes."

After saying this, Cao Cao sat down in the chair.

Liu Zhang and Sun Jian already knew what Cao Cao had said, and they had prepared a whole host of reasons to refuse Cao Cao. However, their enemy was Liu Bei, who was sitting right in front of them. Were they supposed to discuss how to attack Liu Bei in front of him?

Left with no other option, Sun Jian could only say tactfully, "King Wei, I feel that our relationship cannot stop, after all..."

Before Sun Jian could finish speaking, the sound of a teacup shattering rang out.

Everyone immediately looked toward the source of the voice and found that it was Gu Rubing.

"Sorry, my hand was shaking!"

Gu Rubing quickly waved his hand with a smile.

"It's alright! Someone, bring Prince Lie a new teacup."

However, every time Sun Jian was about to speak, Gu Rubing's teacup would fall to the ground, and in the blink of an eye, six teacups had already been broken.

In the end, Sun Jian looked at Gu Rubing and said nothing.

Liu Zhang stood up at this moment, and just as he was about to say something, he suddenly saw that Gu Rubing had picked up the teacup again.

Damn it, I'm not saying anything more, okay? (End of Chapter)