Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 38 Civil strife in Taiping Dao!
In the sixth year of Guanghe, on the seventh day of the seventh month, it was the Qiqiao Festival.

The night sky gently covers the earth like a huge piece of black silk, and the moonlight sprinkles in every corner like water, giving everything in the world a layer of silver glow.

Girls in colorful clothes gathered together, smiling and talking sweetly, holding five-colored silk threads and seven-hole needles to thread the needles, begging the Weaver Girl to give them more exquisite craftsmanship.

This is supposed to be a beautiful festival, but no matter how bright the moonlight is, there are always shadows.

In an unremarkable mansion in Luoyang City, the trees swayed gently in the breeze, making rustling sounds, as if wailing for the coming storm.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn and depressing, as all the high-ranking officials of the Luoyang faction of Taiping Dao gathered there.

The reason they gathered here was to try one of Zhang Jue's direct disciples.

"Brother, now that things have come to this, you'd better give everyone an explanation. All the brothers are waiting for your explanation." Ma Yuanyi's eyes pierced Tang Zhou like a sharp blade, his tone cold and tough.

He had been traveling between Jing and Yang provinces these days, helping the local leaders to develop more than 70,000 believers. He also had to keep an eye on the preparations for the uprising in Xindu for his master, so he gave the task of developing believers in Luoyang City to his junior brother Tang Zhou, and even gave him a list of internal accomplices that even his master had never seen.

But in the past two months, all the insiders he had recruited have disappeared.

First, the eunuchs Feng Chan and Xu Feng were killed, but Ma Yuanyi also heard about the dramatic changes in the palace from the Taiping Dao followers among the dignitaries in Luoyang. He defined the deaths of the two as being purged due to being implicated in the palace coup, and did not associate it with the exposure of the uprising.

But soon after, the Taiping Dao inside Luoyang City lost contact one by one, as if they had been cleared out artificially, which made Ma Yuanyi suspicious of Tang Zhou.

Apart from him, Tang Zhou was the only one who had this list of traitors, and almost all of those who disappeared were traitors Tang Zhou had contacted. He didn't believe this was a coincidence.

And if it's not a coincidence, then there is only one possibility.

"Junior brother, I swear to Huang Tian that this matter has nothing to do with me." Tang Zhouyin had a hint of helplessness in his voice. As he spoke, he looked at the people around him with a pleading look, trying to find a hint of understanding.

Although he was dissatisfied with Ma Yuanyi and believed that his master should not have passed over his senior brother and handed over the Luoyang recipe to his later junior brother Ma Yuanyi, he would not betray his own people. However, faced with doubts, he really did not know how to explain it, and even suspected that he had suffered from soul separation syndrome and reported these Taiping Dao traitors to the authorities in his sleep.

Upon hearing this, Ma Yuanyi slowly shook his head, a look of disappointment appearing on his face. He put his hands behind his back and walked forward: "Brother, you and I have known each other for many years. As long as you tell the truth, I can still remember our past friendship and ask Master for a favor and spare your life."

Over the years, he has traveled to eight states and met all kinds of people. He has seen too many people like Tang Zhou who were found to have betrayed the interests of the Taiping Dao but refused to admit it. However, he is still willing to give his senior brother Tang Zhou one last chance.

"I don't understand why it happened so coincidentally!" Tang Zhou was so excited that his face flushed red and veins popped out on his forehead. He took a step towards Ma Yuanyi, clenched his fists, and shouted, "But I really didn't betray my brothers, and I will never betray my master!"

After all, he was one of Zhang Jiao's first disciples and the deputy commander of the Luoyang faction. Naturally, he felt angry when he was questioned so aggressively.

Ma Yuanyi didn't say anything, but just looked at Tang Zhou quietly. A complex look flashed in his slightly narrowed eyes, showing regret and reluctance, but soon, these emotions were replaced by cold murderous intent.

The hand pressing on the hilt of the knife at his waist slowly tightened, and the joints turned white from the force.

He is no longer the timid farmer he used to be, and the word "soft-hearted" has long been out of touch with him.

It is better to kill the wrong person than to let him go, this is his principle.

Otherwise, it would not just be him who would be killed, but the entire Luoyang faction, and even everyone in the entire Taiping Dao.

"Well, since you're so stubborn, don't blame me for being ruthless." Ma Yuanyi's voice was low and resolute. He waved his hand and shouted, "Come here!"

Following Ma Yuanyi's order, all the Taiping Dao believers from Luoyang in the house quickly drew their swords and pointed them at Tang Zhou, the deputy commander of Luoyang.

"Haha, Ma Yuanyi, do you really want to kill me?"

Tang Zhou sneered, his eyes full of unwillingness and anger. He quickly dodged sideways, and the guards behind him immediately protected him in the middle.

After all, he is a deputy commander, how could he not have his own confidants?

He had known for a long time that today's meeting would not go well. After all, even he himself suspected that he had betrayed the country, let alone others. Therefore, he had put on an inner armor and a long gown early on, and brought a group of confidants to the meeting, just to guard against Ma Yuanyi's sudden attack.

"It's not that I want to kill you, but the rules of the sect don't allow you!" When Ma Yuanyi saw Tang Zhou and the guards behind him drawing their swords, his eyes instantly became as sharp as an eagle, and the last trace of brotherhood in his heart completely disappeared.

Now it is no longer a question of whether Tang Zhou betrayed the Taiping Dao intelligence, but that Tang Zhou actually led his men to draw their swords against him.

Tang Zhou must die!
"Kill the apostates!"

Ma Yuanyi shouted loudly and rushed towards Tang Zhou with his guards, holding knives.

Tang Zhou showed no sign of weakness and led his guards forward to fight.

The guards of both sides quickly engaged in a melee. For a moment, the mansion was filled with shouts of killing, flashes of swords and sabers, and figures intertwined. Blood quickly spread on the ground, soaking the cold stone slabs red.

Although Tang Zhou's guards were fewer in number than Ma Yuanyi's, Ma Yuanyi's side could not defeat Tang Zhou for the time being, and two of Tang Zhou's guards were quite brave.

One of them killed six people with a knife, and the other one protected Tang Zhou with a halberd in one hand and a short sword in the other, saving Tang Zhou's life from swords and knives several times.

"Justice, fire the flare!"

The man holding the knife was named Bao Chu, a famous knight in Sanfu, and the man he called "Gongdao" was Zhu Gongdao, a famous knight in Luoyang.

"it is good!"

Zhu Gongdao pulled up his sleeves, revealing the crossbow on his arm, and shot the whistling arrow that had been loaded on the crossbow into the sky.

Not long after, hundreds of people in embroidered clothes rushed out from the streets, holding axes and rushing towards the mansion.

"Wencai, go pick up the brothers outside!"

Zhu Gongdao heard the footsteps outside and suddenly attacked and held Tang Zhou, who had been protecting him for a long time, hostage. He grabbed the back of Tang Zhou's collar, put his sword against his neck, and used his hand halberd to block a sharp sword that was chopped towards him and shouted at Bao Chu.

However, before Bao Chu could free his hands to open the door, he heard a loud noise and a huge axe broke the door open. A group of embroidered messengers climbed over the wall with a ladder and jumped into the courtyard to join the battle.

"The embroidered robe points directly at Zhu Gongdao!"

"The embroidered clothes point directly at Bao Chu!"

"The Taiping Dao bandits want to rebel. The man wearing the yellow turban is Ma Yuanyi, the leader of the Luoyang branch of the Taiping Dao!" After Zhu Gongdao and Bao Chu introduced themselves, they pointed in the direction of Ma Yuanyi and said to the embroidered envoys who came to support.

Instead of seeking credit for themselves, they called upon several of their comrades to help defend the captured Tang Zhou.

They have already taken the lion's share of the credit. Although Ma Yuanyi is far more important than Tang Zhou, they are the ones who solved the case, so the main credit must be theirs. The remaining credit must be shared with the comrades who came to rescue in times of crisis. Can they let them make a wasted trip?

"Thank you!"

The leader, Shi A, was stunned for a moment, clasped his fists towards the two men, then dropped the giant axe in his hand and replaced it with a long sword. He moved like lightning and rushed towards Ma Yuanyi who was fleeing towards the back door.

"Damn it, Tang Zhou, that traitor! I'm going to kill him sooner or later!"

"As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood, Commander Qu!"

Ma Yuanyi's eyes were bloodshot and one of his legs was injured by a knife. He could only escape to the back door with the support of a group of guards, but the Taiping Dao believer who was responsible for covering his retreat was easily chopped to the ground by Shi A.

Shi A's swordsmanship was sharp and tricky, with the style of a famous swordsman but without losing its cruelty. Every move went straight to the vital point. The number of people guarding Ma Yuanyi decreased one by one, but Ma Yuanyi was also constantly closing the distance with the back door.

But when Ma Yuanyi opened the back door, what he saw was not a way to escape, but a group of cavalrymen holding torches, all wearing orange armor, looking very majestic.

The leader stepped forward, wielding a long halberd, pointed the tip at Ma Yuanyi and shouted, "Xiahou Dun, the Imperial Guards' Cavalry Commander, is here. Why don't you surrender, thief?"

(End of this chapter)