Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

After entering the mansion, Tao Qian locked himself in the room and sat quietly. His mind was in a mess. For a moment, he didn't even know what to do or what he could do.

I just felt that I was both sad and ridiculous.

"I regret it so much... I regret it so much..."

Tao Qian muttered to himself, but he was confused about what he was regretting.

Until in a state of confusion, Tao Qian, who was sitting quietly, fell asleep leaning against the table.

"Boom boom boom!"

It was not until the sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the door that Tao Qian woke up.

"Master of the house! Master of the house!!!"

The old butler's voice was heard outside the door, full of anxiety.

This suddenly woke Tao Qian up.

"Could it be that Cao Cao is attacking?"

Tao Qian felt a chill all over his body. He took a deep breath, opened his cloudy and bloodshot eyes, stood up with a staggering step, opened the door, and asked anxiously.

"What's the matter?"

The old housekeeper hurriedly reported. "General Cao Bao sent someone to report that Emperor Liu led 7,000 cavalrymen to the south gate of Xia Pi City. Please go and meet him, Master."

"what?!"

Tao Qian was shocked.

Clearly a spy had sent back intelligence just yesterday, confirming that the army led by Liu Bei had arrived near Xia Qiu County. How could they have reached Xia Pi so quickly?

Immediately, Tao Qian hurried out of the house and headed towards the south gate. After climbing up the city wall, Cao Bao came up to him and reported in a hurried tone.

"My lord, I have sent people to investigate carefully. Liu Bei only has 7,000 cavalrymen, and there are no ambushes outside the city."

"However, Liu Bei arrived outside the city at the end of the Yin hour last night, but he never approached the city until just now when he led his troops to the city gate to ask for a meeting with the lord."

After hearing this, Tao Qian paused and looked up to judge the time.

Tao Qian made a rough estimate and it was probably the beginning of the Chen period, which meant that Liu Bei had been outside the city for more than an hour?
As Tao Qian walked to the city wall and looked down, he found that most of the cavalry remained a mile away, and Liu Bei only led about a hundred cavalry waiting outside the city.

"It's really Xuande..."

Tao Qian muttered something, as if he had seen some incredible scene, and his head was buzzing.

What is Liu Bei’s identity?
Overlord of Jingyang!

In contrast, Tao Qian was now just a fallen prince, and his downfall seemed to happen in a blink of an eye. He had even repeatedly doubted and been wary of Liu Bei's intentions before.

Therefore, when Tao Qian woke up and saw Liu Bei waiting outside the city, his shock was simply unimaginable.

Cao Bao looked at Tao Qian who seemed to be standing still, thought for a moment, and whispered some advice.

"My lord, Liu Bei's sudden appearance here may be a conspiracy, should we scatter arrows to drive him back?"

Tao Qian suddenly came to his senses and slapped Cao Bao with his backhand.

"Snapped!"

Before Cao Bao could come to his senses after being stunned by the slap, Tao Qian shouted angrily.

"How dare you address Xuande by his name?"

Cao Bao doesn’t understand…

It was obvious that he had been calling Liu Bei before, and Tao Qian also had a tacit attitude and had no intention of scolding him. Why did he have to fight with him one by one this time?

Tao Qian ignored Cao Bao's thoughts and hurried towards the tower, shouting, "Open the gate, open it wide for me."

As the south gate of Xia Pi City slowly opened, Tao Qian, still in casual clothes, walked towards Liu Bei under the escort of a team of personal guards.

Seeing this, Liu Bei dismounted from his horse and walked quickly towards Tao Qian.

Just when the two sides were a few steps apart and Tao Qian was about to salute Liu Bei, Liu Bei strode closer, held Tao Qian with his arms, looked at Tao Qian, and spoke with a tone full of sincere emotion.

"How come Gong Zu has aged so much in just a few years?"

These words made Tao Qian burst into tears, and he couldn't stop shedding tears.

"Why did Xuande arrive at this time?"

Liu Bei, still holding Tao Qian firmly, replied.

"I heard that Cao Cao was slaughtering civilians, forcing Gong Zu to leave the city to fight and retreat to Xia Pi. After the army arrived at Xia Qiu, I was really worried about Gong Zu, so I gave the army to Zi Kun to take charge temporarily, and led a team of cavalry to meet Gong Zu first."

At this moment, Tao Qian looked at Liu Bei's weathered body, with traces of dew still remaining on many parts of his body, and his face also showed fatigue.

Tao Qian was also a veteran of the military, so how could he not see the traces left by Liu Bei's rapid journey day and night? He choked up and said.

"According to the soldiers guarding the city, Xuande arrived in Xiapi at the hour of Yin. Why didn't you wake me up earlier? I'm sorry Xuande has been waiting outside the city for so long."

"No problem, no problem..."

Liu Bei smiled gently and said.

"There have been many changes in Xuzhou, and Gong Zu may have difficulty sleeping. It is possible that Gong Zu has just fallen asleep at Yin Shi. I came here uninvited, so how can I bear to wake Gong Zu up?"

"So I waited outside the city for a while, and then I asked someone to invite Gong Zu over. I hope I didn't disturb Gong Zu's sweet sleep."

For a moment, Tao Qian was filled with infinite emotion and regret, and burst into tears on the spot.

"Xuan De! Xuan De! I regret it! I regret it!!"

"Gong Zu..."

Just as Liu Bei was comforting Tao Qian in a gentle voice, the other well-informed clerks and generals in Xia Pi City also rushed to the South Gate and happened to see the scene.

Except for a fool like Cao Bao who has no political wisdom, any normal child from a noble family can understand the meaning of it.

Liu Bei left his army behind and went to Xia Pi in person, which implicitly expressed so many things.

More importantly, how can one not be moved by such a heart-to-heart talk between a benevolent gentleman?

Not to mention that Chen Deng was so excited that he wanted to kneel down before Liu Bei. Even Chen Gui, who had witnessed countless changes in the Han Dynasty, murmured with his gray beard trembling.

"He is truly a benevolent and virtuous ruler."

After Tao Qian cried loudly, he was like an old widower who had found support. He held Liu Bei's hands tightly with both hands and invited Liu Bei into the city.

"Gong Zu, wait a minute. Let me arrange for the soldiers to set up camp outside the city..."

Without waiting for Liu Bei to finish, Tao Qian spoke seriously.

"Xuan De treats me like a relative and friend. How can I let Xuan De's soldiers camp outside the city? Please come into the city and settle down."

"I'm afraid this is inappropriate. If I lead my troops into the city, others might think that I want to seize Xuzhou." Liu Bei looked hesitant and declined politely.

Tao Qian held Liu Bei's hand tightly and said.

"I am not afraid, so why should Xuande worry about those idle rumors? Moreover, even if I really hand over Xuzhou to Xuande, I will be willing to do so, so why would I talk about taking away your name?"

Without giving Liu Bei the opportunity to continue to decline, Tao Qian personally ordered the preparation of a camp in the city for Liu Bei's 7,000 cavalrymen to settle.

Soon, Tao Qian and Liu Bei rode together again and went to the governor's mansion to welcome Liu Bei. (End of this chapter)