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

Hu Yanzhuo dismounted and gestured for Gu Rubing to proceed.

"General Gu, the Great Chanyu is waiting in the courtroom."

Gu Rubing dismounted, his movements slightly hampered by the wound under his ribs, but he straightened his spine and stepped inside. Guan Yu and Zhao Yun followed closely behind, their eyes flashing like lightning as they swept over the Xiongnu guards standing on either side with their hands on their swords. When the guards met their gaze, they involuntarily gave way slightly, not daring to look directly at them.

In the courtroom, the place where the plaque that read "A Clear Mirror Hangs High" used to hang was now empty. Behind the desk, in the chair that originally belonged to the county magistrate, sat a middle-aged Hun man with an exceptionally strong build, wearing a magnificent wolf-skin cloak, with many small braids on his head, and a rough and fierce face.

He was Luan Di Meng, the leader of the allied forces elected by the various Xiongnu tribes who had raided southwards, who called himself "Great Chanyu".

Seeing Gu Rubing and the other two walk in, a complex light flashed in Luan Di Meng's eyes, a mixture of fear, greed, and a hint of unease that he tried hard to hide.

He immediately stood up from his chair, a seemingly generous but actually somewhat ingratiating smile plastered on his face, and quickly walked around from behind the desk to greet him.

"Hahaha! This must be the renowned General Gu! Indeed, you possess extraordinary bearing! I am Luan Di Meng, and I have long admired General Gu's name. It is a pleasure to meet you today!"

He spoke in fairly fluent Chinese, even bowing slightly in the manner of Han Chinese.

Gu Rubing didn't even lift his eyelids, walking straight past him. Under the invisible protection of Guan Yu and Zhao Yun, he unceremoniously sat down in the main seat that originally belonged to Luan Di Meng, and then slightly raised his eyes, looking down at Luan Di Meng standing below the hall in a condescending manner.

This action was extremely rude, even humiliating. Luan Di Meng's smile froze, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

The Xiongnu noble generals behind him could not contain themselves, their hands on their sword hilts, glaring angrily. Guan Yu snorted coldly, his phoenix eyes slightly opening, an invisible pressure spreading out; Zhao Yun did not move, but the silver spear in his hand seemed to hum softly.

The Xiongnu generals felt their breath catch in their throats, as if they were being stared at by a ferocious beast. Cold sweat instantly soaked their backs, and they dared not make any further moves.

Luan Di took a deep breath, waved his hand to tell his subordinates to calm down, and tried to maintain his smile. He walked back to the desk, but instead of sitting down, he stood up and spoke, his tone becoming more "sincere".

"General Gu, I am a rough man and like to speak my mind. I invited you into the city today because... because I had no other choice. I want to beg you for a way to live."

Gu Rubing leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, remaining noncommittal.

"Oh? A way out? Your tens of thousands of iron cavalry marched south, conquering cities and seizing territories, slaughtering my people, and hanging their heads on the city walls. Now that you have occupied this fortified city of Liucheng, you want to beg me for a way out? Great Chanyu, your words are rather laughable."

Luan Di Meng's facial muscles twitched, and he quickly said.

"General, you are wise! Before... before, our troops were blinded by greed and misled by the treacherous men of the Gongsun and Tian families. We also thought that you, General... well, in short, had done something wrong! But now, we are truly afraid and do not want to fight anymore!"

He paused, then stole a glance at Guan Yu and Zhao Yun, who stood like two guardian deities behind Gu Rubing, his voice filled with obvious fear.

"To be honest, General, that day outside Yangle City, when we saw General Guan, General Zhang, General Zhao, General Ma, General Huang... and you yourself in person at the front, we... we, the leaders of each tribe, were terrified!"
We've heard of the legendary generals' prowess on the grasslands; they're invincible, capable of taking on a thousand, even ten thousand! Normally, we'd avoid even one of them, but now five have arrived—General Gu's five strongest warriors! How...how are we supposed to fight this battle?

He licked his slightly dry lips and continued.

"To be honest, just based on the reputation of the generals around you, let alone our tens of thousands of men, even Cao Cao... cough cough, even if a lot of troops came, they would be apprehensive!"
"We're good at raiding tribes and bullying small clans on the grasslands, but to go toe-to-toe with a true legendary general and your battle-hardened elite troops, isn't that just courting death?"

"so."

Luan Di Meng finally revealed his true purpose.

"We don't want to fight anymore. We just want to retreat safely back to the grasslands. If General Gu agrees and lets us go, we are willing to offer generous gifts in exchange for your forgiveness and promise not to pursue us again!"

Gu Rubing seemed to become interested and sat up slightly.

"A generous gift? Tell me about it."

Upon hearing Gu Rubing speak, Luan Di Meng's spirits lifted, and he quickly counted on his fingers.

"Thirty thousand warhorses! All are the finest grassland horses, enough to arm a powerful cavalry! One hundred chests of jewels, all treasures accumulated over the years and contributed by various tribes, priceless!"
"One million shi of grain is enough to feed the army for a long time! And... and all the Han people still alive in Liucheng, we will return them all to the general untouched!"

With each item he mentioned, his eyes lit up a little more, as if these "generous gifts" were enough to move anyone.

"General, Youzhou is harsh and cold, with limited resources. We went to great lengths to gather these warhorses, jewels, and provisions. If you would just give us a break, these things are yours immediately! We will withdraw from Liucheng and the Great Wall right away, and never look back!"

After Luan Di Meng finished speaking, he looked at Gu Rubing expectantly, waiting for his reply.

He was confident that the offer was generous enough: 30,000 warhorses, a million bushels of grain, as well as jewels and people. It would be a great temptation for any warlord, especially for Gu Rubing, who had just finished a major battle and was in dire need of supplies.

As for the source of these things? They were naturally looted from Youzhou and Liaodong, and may even include some of their own savings. But to survive, he couldn't care less about that.

A hush fell over the courtroom. Luan Di Meng and his men waited anxiously. Guan Yu and Zhao Yun stood expressionless, like statues.

Gu Rubing stopped tapping his fingers, slowly raised his eyes, and once again swept his gaze across the faces of the Xiongnu nobles and generals below, which were filled with a mixture of expectation, trepidation, and a hint of cunning.

But involuntarily, images of the corpses lying on both sides of the street when he entered the city, the bloodstains that had not yet dried, the terrified eyes of the woman Zhao Yun had saved, and the desperate cries he had vaguely heard from every corner of the city along the way kept flashing through his mind.

Thirty thousand warhorses? One hundred chests of jewels? One million shi of grain?
These things might be tempting, and might be able to alleviate his immediate crisis.

but……

Gu Rubing's lips slowly curved into a cold, unsmiling arc.

A deathly silence fell over the courtroom. The fawning, expectant smile on Luan Di Meng's face gradually stiffened and froze under Gu Rubing's icy gaze.

He watched as Gu Rubing stopped tapping, watched him slowly raise his eyes, and saw the complex light in those deep eyes, which had seemed to be weighing the pros and cons, vanish completely, leaving only a pure killing intent that chilled him to the bone. Luan Di Meng's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition was poured over him like ice water.

He instinctively wanted to take a step back, his mouth open, as if he wanted to say something to salvage the situation or reiterate the value of those "generous gifts."

However, it was too late.

Just as the smile on his face had not completely faded, and the hopeful light in his eyes had not yet turned into terror—

"Zhi!"

A clear, resonant sword cry suddenly rang out, breaking the silence of the courtroom!
Gu Rubing, who was sitting upright in the main seat, had his right hand already gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist. His movements were as fast as lightning! He did not get up, but with a flick of his wrist, his arm suddenly shot forward!
A streak of cold light, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole or a fleeting glimpse of a startled swan, shot straight at the heart of Luan Di Meng, who was standing unprepared in front of the desk, with a speed too fast for the naked eye to detect!
All of this happened too fast, too suddenly! So fast that the expressions on the faces of the Xiongnu noble generals behind Luan Di Meng were still filled with the expectation or calculation that the "generous gift" might be accepted, so fast that even Hu Yan Zhuo didn't have time to react!
"Pfft——!"

The muffled sound of a sharp blade piercing through leather armor, tearing through muscle, and piercing the heart clearly exploded in everyone's ears!

The longsword in Gu Rubing's hand, from hilt to tip, was almost completely embedded in Luan Di Meng's chest. The tip even protruded a small section from his back, and the blood-stained blade gleamed with an eerie red light in the dimly lit courtroom.

Luan Di Meng's expression froze completely, his eyes widened to their limit, his pupils filled with disbelief, shock, bewilderment, and a rapidly spreading, soul-deep pain and fear.

He lowered his head, looking at the long sword that belonged to Gu Rubing that had pierced through his body, then slowly raised his head, staring intently at Gu Rubing's face, which was so close yet as cold as ice.

"you you……"

A hissing sound escaped his throat, and blood gushed from the corner of his mouth. He tried to say something, but could no longer utter a complete syllable. Only in his eyes, which had quickly lost their luster, remained an endless resentment and curse, as if to brand Gu Rubing's image into hell.

"boom."

Luan Di Meng's strong body crashed backward like a mountain collapsing and a jade pillar falling, slamming heavily onto the cold floor of the courtroom, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Those unclosed eyes still gazed venomously in Gu Rubing's direction.

"Great Chanyu—!!"

"Gu Rubing! How dare you!!"

"Kill him! Avenge the Great Khan!!"

After a brief silence came a roar and howl like a volcanic eruption!
The Xiongnu nobles and generals in the courtroom, as well as the fierce guards at the gate, all had bloodshot eyes! They never imagined that Gu Rubing would dare to assassinate their leader so decisively and ruthlessly when he entered the city alone and was surrounded!

The general leading the way, Hu Yanzhuo, was particularly enraged, letting out a beast-like roar.

"You cunning Han dog! How dare you trick me! Warriors who were lying in ambush! Kill them! Chop them into mincemeat!"

With his roar, countless elite Xiongnu soldiers suddenly surged out from behind the screens on both sides of the court, inside the side doors, and even on the roof beams!
They had clearly been lying in ambush for some time, armed with bows, crossbows, knives, and axes, and instantly filled the small courtroom to the brim, all their sharp weapons pointed at Gu Rubing and his two companions! Further away, the sounds of hurried footsteps and shouts echoed inside and outside the county government office, indicating that even more ambushers had been alerted.

However, faced with this sudden and desperate ambush, Gu Rubing remained calm. He didn't even pull his longsword from Luan Di Meng's corpse, but simply released his grip, leaving the sword on the body.

Guan Yu and Zhao Yun behind him didn't even flinch.

Just as the first volley of arrows was about to leave the bowstring and the ambush troops were about to pounce—

Zhao Yun made his move.

Instead of charging at the enemy, he magically produced a small whistling arrow with a special device at the end from his pocket with his left hand, and without even looking, he threw it with all his might towards the roof of the courthouse!
"Whoosh—Smack!!!"

The whistling arrow, with a sharp and piercing whistle, easily pierced through the wooden roof of the courthouse and exploded with a loud bang above the county government office, bursting into a bright red firework! The sound and light seemed particularly abrupt and loud in the quiet sky above Liucheng.

Outside the city, Huang Zhong, Zhang Fei, Chen Dao, Liu Bao, and others, who had already lined up their troops as agreed and were on high alert, saw the red signal taking off at almost the same time!
"It's Zilong's signal! Our lord has made his move! Attack the city! Quickly! Attack the city with all your might!"

Zhang Fei's beard and hair bristled as he unleashed a deafening roar.

"Archers, cover the battlefield! Suppress the ramparts! Ladders, get up! Ramming batters, break down the gates!"

Chen Dao gave the order in a hoarse voice, his eyes bloodshot.

"The cavalry will flank the enemy and shoot down any barbarians who dare to leave or climb the city walls!"

Liu Bao brandished his curved knife.

In an instant, war drums thundered and horns blared! Gu Rubing's army, which had been preparing for a long time, launched a fierce attack on the tall city walls of Liucheng like tigers released from their cages! Arrows rained down on the city walls like a storm, and the shouts of battle were deafening!
The ambushers inside the city clearly did not expect the enemy to react so quickly, nor did they expect that as soon as the signal was given inside the city, a massive all-out attack would immediately follow.

The attention of some of the defenders on the city wall was instantly drawn.

But the fighting inside the courtroom has already begun!
"Protect the lord!"

Guan Yu gave a low shout and finally moved.

He didn't reach for the heavy Green Dragon Crescent Blade, but instead casually snatched a curved sword from a Xiongnu warrior who rushed at him. With a flash of light, the warrior and the two men behind him were cut in half at the waist!
Guan Yu did not stop walking, as if strolling in a garden. The scimitar he had seized transformed into arcs of death. Wherever he passed, severed limbs flew everywhere. No one could stand against him!
Although his face was still somewhat pale and his aura was far from being as long and powerful as it was at its peak, his combat skills, which belonged to a martial saint and were deeply ingrained in his bones, and his exquisite control over power, made dealing with these ordinary elites as easy as a tiger entering a flock of sheep!
Zhao Yun had already transformed into a silver lightning bolt. The Dragon Gallant Silver Spear seemed to come alive in his hands, its shadows overlapping like blooming flowers of death.

Pointing, thrusting, sweeping, and parrying—each spear strike was precise and efficient, wasting not a single ounce of energy. The charging Xiongnu soldiers often only caught a glimpse of a cold star before their throats or hearts were struck, collapsing to the ground before they could even utter a sound. (End of Chapter)