Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 721 Confrontation with Cao Cao
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked!
"Ye... Ye Xiang... Are you General Ye Yuanqing, who is known as the best archer under the current emperor?"

Liu Bei couldn't believe it and looked at the other person repeatedly. However, it was dark at this time and he couldn't see clearly. Secondly, the last time he met Ye Xiang was when he followed Liu He to Luoyang after the alliance against Dong Zhuo. It had been four or five years ago. Therefore, Liu Bei was not sure at the moment.

Ye Xiang took a few steps forward and gestured to Liu Bei and Tao Qian, "I came to Xuzhou to mediate on the orders of your majesty, but the journey is long and there are other things to prepare, so I am a little late. I hope you can forgive me."

Tao Qian was pleasantly surprised: "General Zhengxi is too polite. I... I never thought that His Majesty would send you here. My Xuzhou is saved..."

Everyone had heard of Ye Xiang's archery skills. Many years ago, when Liu He was in Yanmen, Ye Xiang used his superb archery skills to kill many Hu generals who were famous for their riding and shooting. Even now, many generals among the three Xianbei tribes, such as Budugen, still admire him.

When he tried his skills just now, the arrow he shot was obviously much better than Xiahou Yuan and Taishi Ci's archery skills. It was even more powerful than the rumors. Naturally, Tao Qian and others had a hundred times more confidence in him.

Cao Cao felt something was wrong, but he was such a hero that he did not panic.

"So it's General Zhengxi who has come to visit. I hope you will forgive me for not welcoming you. I wonder why the general has come all the way to Xuzhou?"

Ye Xiang looked at him from a distance and said, "General Cao, didn't you hear what I just said?"

Cao Cao smiled and said, "Of course I heard it, but I'm just curious. This villain Tao Qian killed my father, which is a heinous crime. Although my father was stripped of his title by Your Majesty, he was still an important official in the court. He didn't commit any crime, but was killed by this old villain. I wrote to the emperor and asked him to make the decision. Now the court doesn't punish the murderer for my father's death, but it comes to save this old villain. Why is that?"

He had a smile on his face at first, but as he spoke, his expression gradually turned cold, and his last sentence had a tone that was obviously chilly and murderous.

While speaking, he kept looking towards the woods behind Ye Xiang, trying to find out how many soldiers were there in the woods, but it was dark at night, and apart from the occasional unusual movement, he could not see anything else.

Ye Xiang just smiled slightly after hearing what he said.

"Your Majesty once said that Governor Tao Qian was loyal to the court and kind to the people. He was a rare kind gentleman. He had neither ambition nor courage. He would openly kill General Cao's father. There must be a misunderstanding. General Cao did not investigate and rashly used the sword to try to kill the court officials. Could he have some bad intentions?"

Although Ye Xiang's tone was very calm and did not sound like he was scolding at all, any discerning person could see that this General Zheng Xi came to Xuzhou well prepared, and the current emperor also clearly had some reprimands for Cao Cao.

Cao Cao frowned, feeling that there was something wrong with Ye Xiang's calmness.

"Did the emperor find out something? That's impossible..."

However, despite his doubts, Cao Cao was unwilling to give up so easily. He pretended to be angry and asked, "What do you mean by this, General Zhengxi? Could it be that I would kill my own father and put the blame on others just to seize the city of Xuzhou? Our Han Dynasty has always been based on loyalty and filial piety. How can the emperor make such presumptuous assumptions about his subjects and prevent them from fulfilling their filial duties to their father? The Cao family has been loyal and brave for generations and has been loyal to the country. Although I dare not have the intention of being disloyal, I cannot tolerate such humiliation. I must go to Luoyang and ask the emperor for justice!"

His words were righteous and eloquent. After hearing them, Xiahou Yuan and others were all filled with indignation.

A meaningful smile suddenly appeared on Ye Xiang's face.

"Oh? Is that really the case?"

His smile and question made Cao Cao, who was already suspicious, even more confused and uncertain.

Before he could reply, Cao De couldn't help it anymore.

"General Zhengxi, don't go too far! Tao Qian will definitely die today. Not to mention you, even if the emperor Liu He himself comes, he can't stop me!"

"Be bold!"

Ye Xiang, who had seemed very calm just now, suddenly became furious.

"Second brother, be careful!" Cao Cao exclaimed.

I saw a sharp arrow, like a black poisonous snake, suddenly emerged from the darkness.

"puff……"

The sharp arrow pierced Cao De's chest, knocking him off his horse's back and finally hitting a big tree not far behind him.

Cao De opened his eyes wide, looked down at the arrow feather on his chest in disbelief, his head tilted, and he died.

This sudden scene caused everyone to fall into a brief silence again, but Cao Cao and others reacted soon after.

"How dare you do this!" Cao Cao watched his only brother being hanged on a tree. The death was so cruel that he was immediately furious.

Following Cao Cao's angry shout, all his generals and tens of thousands of soldiers looked at Ye Xiang with murderous intent, as if they would chop him into pieces at any time like wolves pouncing on sheep.

Seeing this, Ye Xiang showed no sign of weakness: "Cao De spoke rudely to the emperor and showed disrespect to the court. He deserves death! Do you want to follow in his footsteps?"

Instead of retreating, he stepped forward. After all, he represented the imperial court. How could ordinary Cao army soldiers have such ambitions as Cao Cao? In their eyes, the imperial court was the greatest in the world. How could he be hostile to the imperial court?
Therefore, every time Ye Xiang took a step forward, Cao's army took a step back.

Xiahou Yuan said angrily: "What are you doing? He is just one person. If you kill General Cao De now, even if there is a strong reason, you must..."

"Miaocai, shut up and don't be rude!"

Cao Cao almost shouted this sentence with gritted teeth, which surprised Xiahou Yuan greatly.

"Meng De, you..."

"Shut up!"

Xiahou Yuan saw that Cao Cao's eyes were bulging and his hands were clenched into fists. He looked extremely angry, but seemed to be forcing himself to endure it.

Cao Cao stared at Ye Xiang and said, "General Zhengxi, even if my brother's words offended me, it was only because of a momentary urgency. My Cao family is loyal to the court, guarding a place, and has a history of meritorious service. The general killed my brother just because of a small mistake. Could this also be the will of Your Majesty? If the general cannot give me an explanation, please forgive me for my rudeness today."

He was so furious at the moment that he had thrown aside all his previous doubts about the possible "ambush" in the woods behind Ye Xiang.

Ye Xiang laughed and said, "Being rude to me? So, you want to kill an important official of the imperial court?"

Cao Cao said coldly, "I avenged my father and punished the real murderer, which is in accordance with etiquette and morality. Your Majesty stopped me from taking revenge, framed me as unfilial, and ordered the general to kill my relatives. I must ask your Majesty for this reason! Today, the general and I have become mortal enemies. Even if I kill you, it is the right thing to do. Even your Majesty cannot blame me for this."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiahou Yuan and Cao Hong, each leading a team of soldiers, slowly surrounded Ye Xiang's location.

Ye Xiang glanced coldly at the two Cao Ying generals, and then said: "How loyal you are, how you avenge your father, General Cao is really righteous. Oh no... I think, I should say that you are hypocritical, right?"

"What nonsense are you talking about! General Ye, you have slandered Cao again and again. Do you really think Cao dare not do anything to you?"

Cao Cao drew out the Sword of the Heavenly Sword and was about to give the order to Xiahou Yuan and Cao Hong to go forward and kill Ye Xiang.

"There must be a fake army behind this guy. Even if the imperial court's troops leave Luoyang and do not go to Yanzhou, but go to Jizhou and Qingzhou instead, they will definitely not escape my sight. This man is bluffing. If he escapes, the imperial court will exaggerate what Dedi just said and take the opportunity to raise troops to attack me. Only by beheading him here along with Liu Bei and others, and then reporting to the imperial court that they have never seen Ye Xiang, and putting the blame on the Taishan bandits, will everything be fine."

Cao Cao pointed the Heavenly Sword forward and said, "Capture this man and hand him over to Your Majesty for punishment!"

"Kill!"

Xiahou Yuan and Cao Hong had long been fed up with Ye Xiang, and upon hearing the order, they quickly rushed forward.

"Hmph, a tiny pearl can also shine?" Ye Xiang watched coldly, raised the five-stone bow in his hand - the Broken Cloud Bow, and put on the arrow specially designed for this bow.

Xiahou Yuan and Cao Hong had seen his astonishing archery skills, and thought that if they met him, they would be doomed, so they quickly dodged.

But Ye Xiang shot an arrow, but did not hit anyone.

Suddenly, everyone heard a "creaking" sound. When they looked in the direction of the sound, they saw the big flag with the word "Cao" falling down.

The battle for the army's morale was fierce. Once the flag fell, the morale of Cao's army dropped sharply. Especially Ye Xiang's archery skills, which once again amazed everyone.

Ye Xiang was at least 260 to 270 steps away from the flag, if not 300 steps. At such a distance, Xiahou Yuan thought that the arrow he shot would be unable to reach it. However, not only did Ye Xiang hit it, but he also had such a strong force that he could break the flagpole. The strength of his archery skills once again refreshed everyone's cognition.

Although Cao Cao was more than 300 steps away from Ye Xiang, and it was impossible for a bow and arrow to shoot so far, he still could not help but retreat backwards, with cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

(End of this chapter)