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

Sun Jian didn't understand Cao Cao's meaning for a moment and looked at Cao Cao with some confusion.

"I need the King of Wu to send troops to Liangzhou to relieve some of the pressure on my Yizhou."

"What?"

Upon hearing this news, Sun Jian immediately stood up.

"King Wei, you must be joking. Why would I help you like this? When I sent troops to Liangzhou, I was driven out and suffered heavy losses. You want me to send troops to Liangzhou again? Are you kidding me?"

Sun Jian felt terrible when he thought about the consequences of his expedition to Liangzhou.

Seeing Sun Jian's excited expression, Cao Cao frowned.

Now, Sun Jian's situation with Liu Bei is no longer about whether he can defeat him; he's simply terrified of Liu Bei. In the face of Liu Bei, Sun Jian might not even have as much courage as Liu Zhang.

It would be difficult for someone like Sun Jian to become a breakthrough point for him.

“King Wu, what’s wrong with you? You weren’t like this before. Back then, you were full of vigor and ambition, but now you’re really too timid. This isn’t the King Wu I know.”

However, Sun Jian was completely unfazed by Cao Cao's provocation.

No matter what Cao Cao said, Sun Jian only had two words for him: no.

Seeing Sun Jian's shameless behavior, Cao Cao finally had no choice but to resort to his trump card.

"Fine, since none of you agree to help me, then I have no choice. I'll hand over Chengdu and join any of you with the remaining troops. As for who Liu Bei will choose next, I don't know, and I don't want to care."

After saying this, Cao Cao sat down in a chair, looking like he was waiting to die.

Seeing Cao Cao's expression, Sun Jian sighed.

"Alright, alright, I'll help you, but we have an agreement: I can only station troops on the border of Liangzhou. I will not take the initiative to attack Liangzhou. As for the rest, I won't concern myself with it."

"it is good!"

Cao Cao also knew that he couldn't push Sun Jian too hard, otherwise Sun Jian might really give up.

As soon as Gu Rubing arrived in Youzhou, Su Shuang came to stand in front of him.

"Your Highness, you've finally arrived. I simply can't keep our horse farm running anymore, and I can't complete the task you gave me. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Seeing Su Shuang's aggrieved expression, Gu Rubing smiled and then helped her up.

"Alright, I already know the gist of the matter. This isn't your fault; it's my problem. That person wasn't looking for you."

Upon hearing this, the aggrieved look on Su Shuang's face vanished instantly.

"If that's the case, then I'm relieved."

Seeing that Su Shuang's expression changed so quickly, Gu Rubing immediately realized that this guy must know that the other party was coming for him.

Do you know who the other person is?

Su Shuang shook her head.

"I don't know, but sir, I know my own strength. Even if I'm ignorant, I know I can't possibly offend someone with such strength. I'm a businessman, and it's not worth it for me to mess around with a small horse trader like me for so long. So I know that the other party's target is definitely not me, but you, sir."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing smiled helplessly.

Just as the group was talking, a man from the horse farm ran up to Su Shuang.

"Owner, it's terrible! They've stolen our last stallion, and they've already said they want it back. You'd better go and confront them yourself."

"What? Didn't I tell you to hide the rest of the horses?"

"I hid, but somehow the other side found all the horses."

Upon hearing this, Su Shuang immediately looked at Gu Rubing.

"It's okay, just say yes. I'll go with you to take a look tomorrow."

"it is good."

After Su Shuang finished speaking, she immediately looked at the person who delivered the message.

"Go and reply to them, saying that I will see them tomorrow."

"Yes!"

Gu Rubing had the White Feather Soldiers stationed outside the city, while he, along with Chen Dao and Zhao Yun, stayed at an inn inside the city.

Su Shuang then diligently arranged accommodations for the three of them before leaving with a smile.

"My lord, this whole affair must have been orchestrated by Shi Xie, right?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing looked at Zhao Yun with curiosity.

"How did you find out?"

"Besides Shih-hsieh, I really can't think of anyone else who could come up with such a low-level method as kidnapping to lure us over."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing smiled and nodded.

"That's right, it was indeed Shi Xie's doing, but Su Shuang is also involved in this matter."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dao and Zhao Yun both looked at Gu Rubing with puzzled expressions.

"The fact that this horse was captured and Shi Xie requested to meet with Su Shuang must not have just happened; it must have been at least a few days ago. Otherwise, Su Shuang's reaction would be far too calm. Su Shuang must have known that this matter was dangerous, so she waited until she met with us and had someone put on an act in front of me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun's face instantly darkened.

This act of dragging Gu Rubing into the mess and putting him in danger has made Zhao Yun want to kill Su Shuang.

Sensing that Zhao Yun's condition was a bit off, Gu Rubing immediately smiled and said, "Su Shuang is just a businessman with some business acumen. It's a businessman's instinct to seek profit and avoid harm. Besides, this matter was caused by me, so there's really no need for him to suffer for me."

Zhao Yun did not agree with Gu Rubing's explanation.

In Zhao Yun's view, once he joined Gu Rubing's command, he had to consider everything carefully, and Gu Rubing's safety should always be the top priority.

Seeing that he couldn't reason with Zhao Yun, Gu Rubing simply stopped talking.

Early the next morning.

Su Shuang arrived at Gu Rubing's room door early.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yun was waiting for Su Shuang.

This made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

After all, this was the gaze of a legendary general.

After a long while, Su Shuang finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Sir, I haven't offended you, have I? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I don't like people who like to play tricks, especially someone like you who plays tricks on our lord. If there is a next time, no matter how useful you are to our lord, I will definitely kill you."

Upon hearing this, Su Shuang's expression changed.

Clearly, Gu Rubing had seen through all of Zhao Yun's methods; otherwise, Zhao Yun wouldn't have resorted to such tactics.

He clearly underestimated Gu Rubing and overestimated himself.

"Okay, okay! I'll remember what you said, sir."

Su Shuang nodded quickly.

Just as they were talking, Gu Rubing opened the door.

Upon seeing Su Shuang, he immediately ushered her into the room.

After entering the room, Su Shuang hesitated for a moment, then knelt down immediately.

"My lord, I know I was wrong. I don't blame His Highness for being tricked, and I shouldn't have let His Highness risk his life for me."

Upon seeing this, Gu Rubing burst out laughing and helped Su Shuang up.

"Alright, this matter is also related to me, and it happened because of me. I don't mean to blame you. Let's talk about how many people they have and what their strength is." Su Shuang nodded hurriedly.

"My lord, I have already investigated them. They are a newly emerging force. Since their appearance, they have swallowed up many tribes of all sizes in the surrounding area, so they have grown very quickly and have more than two thousand men under their command."

Gu Rubing hadn't expected Shi Xie to develop so quickly.

"Okay, it's still within my control. Let's go take a look together."

After saying that, Gu Rubing immediately ordered Chen Dao to bring along the White Feather Soldiers stationed outside the city, but Gu Rubing had already made them all change into civilian clothes.

Before long, under Su Shuang's leadership, everyone left the city and headed to the horse farm outside the region.

Upon arriving at the horse farm, we saw that about a hundred people had already gathered there.

These people were clearly Shi Xie's men.

When these people saw that Su Shuang had brought more than two thousand people with her, their expressions changed.

Soon someone left, obviously to inform Shi Xie.

"Isn't this Su Shuang? Where did you find this group of people? Are they just here to make up the numbers?"

Everyone laughed after he finished speaking.

Su Shuang had always been one of their targets. In their eyes, if Su Shuang really had the ability to find so many helpers, how could they have bullied her for so long?

"Hmph, hand over my horse, or don't blame me for taking action."

"Your horses are all dead. If you really need a stallion, you can buy one from us, but of course, the price will be higher."

Gu Rubing then realized that Shi Xie had actually started a robbery business, using bandits to rob all the horse farms in the area, then collecting all the horses and selling them to the farm owners.

This is practically a risk-free business!

However, as a local lord who has now become a bandit, Shi Xie is truly flexible and adaptable.

Before long, Shi A appeared in front of Gu Rubing.

Behind Shi A were more than a thousand men, all of whom carried a bandit-like air about them. They were clearly local bandits, but they had probably already been recruited by Shi Xie.

"Su Shuang, I see you're working for the imperial court, which is why I'm trying to persuade you to take over your horse farm in this way. Don't worry, I'll make sure you have enough horses to supply the court every year, no matter how many there are. We don't want to go against the court, and we're not trying to make any money out of it. How about we just let this matter go?"

Upon hearing Shi A's words, Su Shuang's eyes darted around, as if she were plotting something.

He was now beginning to regret bringing Gu Rubing along.

If it weren't for Gu Rubing, and I had treated this as a business, it would have been a good thing for me.

Just as Su Shuang was making her calculations, Gu Rubing's voice came from behind.

"Hey Shi, you're a general with the skills of a renowned general, and here you are, a bandit. If word gets out, what will become of your reputation?"

Shi A had no idea that anyone here knew his identity.

And surprisingly, the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

"Who goes there? Stop playing tricks and get out here."

As soon as Shi A finished speaking, Gu Rubing led Zhao Yun out.

When Shi A saw Gu Rubing appear, his expression immediately changed.

With Zhao Yun present, I'm afraid I'm doomed today.

"Liu Bei, I never expected to run into you here."

"Yes, I never expected you to become a bandit. Where is Shi Xie? Take me to see him."

"Don't even think about it."

After saying that, Shia turned and ran away.

Gu Rubing smiled helplessly, then waved to Zhao Yun beside him.

Zhao Yun flashed and appeared in front of Shi A.

However, Shia did not slow down; he still hoped that he could rush straight through.

Seeing this, Zhao Yun grabbed Shi A with one hand.

Just as Zhao Yun's hand was about to touch Shi A, a pebble suddenly hit Zhao Yun's hand.

The sharp pain in his hand made Zhao Yun instinctively pull his hand back.

Taking advantage of this opening, Shia accelerated his escape.

Zhao Yun looked in the direction from which the stones had come, but there was no one there.

Gu Rubing was also very surprised that Zhao Yun had failed.

However, there were too many people present, so he couldn't ask anything.

Since Shi A was not captured, the only way to find out Shi Xie's location is through Shi A's subordinates.

"Take action and capture them alive if possible."

Gu Rubing immediately gave orders to Chen Dao.

These bandits might be able to deal with ordinary horse farm owners, but when facing the elite White Feather Soldiers, even without armor, the White Feather Soldiers' fighting power is definitely superior to these bandits.

To be precise, the two sides are not even in the same league.

Only half an hour passed.

Most of the bandits were captured alive.

Chen Dao then captured a bandit captain and brought him before Gu Rubing.

"My lord, he says he knows where Shi Xie is."

"Okay, you can live if you take us there."

The bandit captain nodded immediately.

On the way, Gu Rubing looked at Zhao Yun beside him.

"What just happened, Zilong?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing subconsciously looked in the direction he had been looking before, but there was still no one there.

However, a red mark on the back of his hand was enough to prove that he had indeed been attacked.

Moreover, the opponent had only used a single pebble to repel him, and Zhao Yun could sense that the opponent's strength far exceeded his own.

Of all the people he has met so far, only one person has been able to do this.

That's Tong Fei.

"My lord, I suspect Tong Fei is among us."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing gasped.

What you fear most is exactly what happens.

She didn't want Tong Fei to find out that she had left, but he still managed to catch up with her.

Now that he only has Zhao Yun by his side, how could he possibly be a match for him if they really fought?
But now it's confirmed that Tong Fei is around him, which presents Tong Fei with the perfect opportunity to strike. Why hasn't he done so? Is he afraid of the White Feather Soldiers around him? Isn't that a joke?
Even if there were two hundred thousand White Feather Soldiers, let alone only two thousand, Tong Fei wouldn't care.

Gu Rubing pondered Tong Fei's true purpose the entire way.

for a long time.

The bandit captain who was leading the way finally stopped.

Gu Rubing also saw a bandit camp not far ahead.

"Sir, this is the place. This is our temporary camp, and our leader is inside." (End of Chapter)