Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 885 Three Acquaintances
After climbing hundreds of winding stone steps, they finally arrived at the mountain village. Led by the boatman, Liu He followed him into a lobby.

Just as I was about to sit down, two people followed in.

"Hey, this time the expedition was finally safe and sound."

"Yes, how dare we fight against Cao Cao on normal days? But today we killed so many of his soldiers, it was really fucking satisfying."

Liu He looked at them and saw that both of them were in their thirties. One was tall and strong, very rough, while the other was a little thin, but had a face full of stubble and a scar on his cheek, which made him look a little hideous.

However, after seeing Liu He, the two men became solemn and saluted respectfully, and Liu He immediately returned the salute.

At this time, the boatman also took off his straw raincoat and hat, revealing a young Confucian scholar wearing a silk scarf. However, he had a tall and straight figure and bright eyes, and did not look like an ordinary scholar.

"Dear guest, please take a seat."

Among the three, the Confucian scholar was the leader. He pointed to a seat and Liu He walked over and sat down without any hesitation.

"I would like to thank the three of you very much. I will repay you for saving my life today. I just don't know your names?"

When he said this, he realized that he had sat down, but the three men did not sit down. Instead, they stood in front of him respectfully.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty, and wish the Emperor good health and happiness."

Liu He was shocked: "So the three of you already knew about this. In that case, your help today was also planned in advance?"

The man with the scar on his face said, "Your Majesty, speaking of this, it was all thanks to the brilliant foresight of our military advisor. He had long anticipated that Your Majesty would encounter this disaster, so he ordered us to prepare the boats early yesterday and also bought back all the oxen from dozens of nearby villages. Hey, this will consume most of the money and food in the village..."

"Cough cough..."

The scholar interrupted him quickly, and the man seemed to realize that he had talked too much, so he stopped talking.

Liu He looked at the scholar in surprise: "Sir, how can you predict the future?"

The scholar said respectfully, "I am not a prophet. I just guessed Cao Cao's plan based on some clues, so I ordered the brothers in the camp to inquire around. I found out that General Cheng Liang and Your Majesty left Luoyang one after another, so I became more certain and made all these arrangements."

"Oh? What clues?" Liu He became interested.

"I dare not lie to your majesty. My camp was originally in Woniu Mountain, but was attacked by Cao Cao years ago. We fled here, and it happened that Cao's army was fighting with your majesty's army, so we had no time to take care of other things. More than 10,000 lives in my camp were saved. Since then, we have been paying attention to Cao's movements everywhere, not only to protect ourselves, but also to find an opportunity to serve the court one day."

His words sounded high-sounding yet sincere, and Liu He found them very pleasing to the ear.

"Well, that's the truth. What happens next?"

"Cao Cao lost the battle of Runan that day, defeated by Generals Zhang Yong and Gao Shun. I know Cao Cao's character very well. He is ambitious and resourceful. Therefore, I predict that he will have a plan for revenge, so I ordered people to sneak into the city and find out more."

"Until three days ago, Cao's army suddenly made many movements. He secretly transferred most of the garrisons in the cities bordering Yingchuan County at night, and also replaced the garrison commanders. At the same time, he set up another camp outside Pingyu City to support each other. Based on this, I know that he must have a conspiracy to plot against Your Majesty."

Even Liu He was somewhat shocked. "Is this true? Sir, are you implying that Cao knew that my third brother and I would come to Runan at least three days ago?"

The scholar shook his head and said, "Whether His Majesty will come, Cao may not know, but General Cheng Liang has probably already figured it out."

Liu He lowered his head and thought, "Hmm... Mr. Jing's suggestion also makes me feel something strange. My third brother has been imprisoned in my house for half a year and has always been law-abiding. In the battle of Runan, my fourth brother was injured. I have issued a strict order not to tell him about this. His wife is also a lady from a noble family. She is well-educated and knows the righteousness. How could she be so ignorant and leak the news? What's even more strange is that there are guards inside and outside the house. If no one is there to help, my third brother alone wants to escape quietly, and he also brings weapons and war horses. , it is really impossible to do. It's just that I was worried at the time and didn't think of it for a while." "That's it." The scholar said: "It must be Cao's doing, luring General Cheng Liang to harm him. If the news spreads, General Zhang Yong will definitely not tolerate it. Even if he is seriously injured and bedridden, he will personally lead his troops to seek revenge. In this way, he will definitely not be Cao's opponent. General Zhang is seriously injured and will be defeated again. I'm afraid he will die. At that time, Cao's army was in full swing, and the court lost two good generals, and Your Majesty lost two brothers. Isn't it a great opportunity for Cao's army?"

"Cao Aman is so evil, he is the best in the world, I will kill him sooner or later."

Liu He became furious when he heard this.

His expression suddenly changed, and he looked at the scholar, sizing him up and down several times.

"Sir, you were able to deduce what happened today with just these few clues, and you were able to lay out so many arrangements. You first used the fire bulls to charge the formation to save us from breaking through, and then you led us here and used traps to repel Cao's army. Such wisdom is unparalleled in the country. You also have two warriors who are also extraordinary in martial arts and very brave. I would like to use you three, but I don't know who you are?"

After hearing his words, the two strong men showed surprise, but the scholar suddenly knelt down.

"Your Majesty is kind and loving to the people. You are a wise ruler for all ages. It is a great blessing for us to serve Your Majesty. Besides, we are all guilty. This time we are just doing our best to atone for our sins. We dare not ask for any reward from Your Majesty."

"A guilty person? What do you mean by that?"

The scholar pointed at the two strong men and said, "These two brothers are the remnants of the Taiping Dao who have survived until now. In my early years, I avenged my friend and killed someone in the street. Later, I was rescued from the execution ground. From then on, I gave up martial arts and turned to literature, but I ended up committing a capital crime. We only ask Your Majesty to forgive our crimes, and we will be grateful."

Listening to his remarks, several names immediately emerged in Liu He's mind. When he considered the place name Woniu Mountain mentioned by the scholar just now, he became more convinced of his guess.

"Is your surname Xu?"

The scholar was shocked: "Your Majesty... How did Your Majesty know?"

Seeing that he admitted this, Liu He immediately laughed and said, "Haha, I not only know that your last name is Xu, but also that your name is Xu Shu, with the courtesy name Yuanzhi. Six years ago, you committed a murder case, and since then you changed your name and surname and devoted yourself to learning. Of these two, the one with the scar on his face must be Pei Yuanshao, and the other one must be Zhou Cang, Zhou Yuanfu, right?"

The three of them stared at Liu He with wide eyes as if they had seen some monster, and were so surprised that they were speechless for a long time.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, you are truly amazing. You even know the names and details of our brothers. I won't say more. I am convinced. I am completely convinced."

Pei Yuanshao was so excited that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. Zhou Cang also had a look of excitement and fear on his face.

Xu Shu was shocked: "How did your Majesty know this?"

Liu He waved his hand and said, "As the Son of Heaven, I have many princes who are enemies of the imperial court, so it is necessary for me to gather information. As for the identities of the three of you, it just happened that someone once heard a little bit about it, and I just took a look at it. What Mr. Xu said just now sounded very familiar to me, so I searched in my mind and learned it."

"I see. Your Majesty is truly a god. I bow down to you."

Xu Shu bowed down.

"Haha, don't talk about me, but Mr. Xu, how could you get together with these two warriors and enter their stronghold to become their military advisor? This is a rare thing."

Liu He knew that after Xu Shu killed someone, he changed his name to Dan Fu and came to Jingzhou to study. He became close friends with Pang Tong, Zhuge Liang, Cui Jun, Shi Tao, Meng Jian and others, and was also one of the "Four Friends of Zhuge".

Pei Yuanshao and Zhou Cang were bandits in Woniu Mountain until Guan Yu passed by there on a thousand-mile journey alone. Pei Yuanshao then led his troops to plunder, but Zhou Cang recognized Guan Yu, so he killed Pei Yuanshao and followed Guan Yu.

Therefore, Xu Shu and these two people, who should have had nothing to do with each other, appeared in the same mountain stronghold at this time, which made Liu He puzzled.

(End of this chapter)