Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 71 Everyone is recruiting soldiers
Wei Xiaobao was riding Lu Zhi's BMW, and because of his thin build, he caught up with Liu Bei and his two companions who had set out earlier in the middle of the night.

Liu Bei heard the sound of horse hooves behind him, turned around and saw Wei Xiaobao, thinking that Lu Zhi had asked him to deliver a message, so he stopped and waited for him.

Wei Xiaobao saluted on horseback.

Liu Bei asked, "Teacher, do you have any instructions?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "My foster father sent me to deliver a letter to Cao Cao, most likely to persuade him to withdraw his troops."

Liu Bei was surprised. "I thought your plan was clever, but it turns out you're just trying to use your reputation to persuade Cao Cao. But Wei Xiaobao is so young, and he's been accompanying the Emperor in the inner palace. How could you send him on such an important matter?"

Guan Yu asked, "Brother Wei, I have something to ask you."

Wei Xiaobao quickly clasped his fists and said, "Second brother, you are too polite. Just ask me."

Guan Yu asked, "Were the young men who followed Cao Cao at Sishui Pass brothers?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "So Brother Guan has recognized me a long time ago, but he's only asking about this now that he knows I'm going to see Cao Cao. Is he worried that I might be Cao Cao's man?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "To be honest, second brother, it was me."

Guan Yu said, "Thank you for the toast that day. I originally thought you were a junior officer by Cao Cao's side and that it would be difficult to thank you in person in the future. I never expected to see you again today, and I never thought you were the Wei Xiaobao by the emperor's side."

Liu Bei said, "I didn't expect that we'd met before."

Zhang Fei said, "Since he is a trusted confidant of the emperor and a disciple of the Minister of State, how could he be associated with Cao Cao? He is going to Cao's camp again this time. I am afraid we brothers will have to meet on the battlefield."

Liu Bei said, "Third brother, Brother Wei naturally has his reasons for doing what he did. I believe he is being asked by the Emperor not to reveal it."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "I can't lie to Brother Guan, but I went to Jizhou to look for Cao Cao because Liu Xie had asked me to do so."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Thank you for your understanding, brother. This time I went to see Cao Cao, I was just delivering a letter. How could I help him capture Xia Pi?"

Zhang Fei said, "Brother Wei, although we have enjoyed a good drink together, if we really meet on the battlefield, don't blame me for not recognizing you with my spear."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Zhang Fei is indeed a reckless man. I was thinking of going with you to Xuzhou to find Cao Cao, but I think I'd better forget it. If I say something wrong along the way, you, Brother Zhang San, might get angry and shoot me in the head, and I'll be dead straight away." Wei Xiaobao said, "Brother Zhang San, calm down. I'll send a letter to Cao Cao and then go to Xia Pi City to find you. I'll drink with you then."

Zhang Fei snorted and said nothing.

Wei Xiaobao then said to Liu Bei and Guan Yu, "Brother, the delivery of this letter concerns the safety of the people of Xuzhou. I will not delay any longer and will go ahead."

After saying that, the three of them clasped their fists to each other, and Wei Xiaobao urged his horse to leave first.

Liu Bei watched Wei Xiaobao's retreating figure and said, "Although he is young, he was willing to leave his wife on his wedding night and go to Cao Cao's camp in Xuzhou alone. He is truly brave and righteous."

Wei Xiaobao looked back and realized he couldn't see Liu Bei, Guan Yu, or Zhang Fei. He felt a little relieved, but suddenly he sneezed, thinking, "Could it be that Diao Chan missed me? Damn it, it was you who didn't want to spend your wedding night with me, yet now you're thinking about me. If I hadn't been unable to spend my wedding night with you, that bastard wouldn't have ridden to Xuzhou in the middle of the night. I wonder if Shuang'er and the concubines will miss me, or if the wives back in the Qing Dynasty will miss me. Fang Yi and A Ke definitely won't miss me. One only thinks of her Senior Brother Liu, and the other follows the pretty boy Zheng Keshuang every day, so they certainly won't miss me. Zeng Rou will definitely miss me. She might be crying right now with the dice I gave her. Why didn't that old coward Hong Antong send Zeng Rou to me too? Besides having another wife to keep me company, maybe there would be some dice to play with. I'm running around all day trying to break the imperial seal. If I don't gamble a few times, my hands are itching to break."

Wei Xiaobao was lost in thought all night, and by dawn he had arrived at Gaotangjin, the river ferry.

On the boat, Wei Xiaobao recalled how Zuo Feng and Tang Zhou had escaped back to Luoyang from this ferry crossing. He cursed inwardly, "That little bastard Tang Zhou! If he hadn't informed Jia Xu, I wouldn't have let Jia Xu bring Li Jue and Guo Si into Chang'an. Wang Yun wouldn't have died, Li Jue and Guo Si wouldn't have been so desperate to track down Liu Xie, and I wouldn't have had to go to Cao Cao to welcome him. Cao Cao would have taken Liu Xie back to Luoyang and then on to Xuchang. How could I have taken Liu Xie to Yuan Shu? I don't know if Shuang'er and Zhang Jue have left yet. My concubine is still with my godfather. I can only find a way to send Shuang'er and the others to Shouchun first, and then go back to my godfather to ask for them. It would be best if Cao Cao could slow down his journey to Chenliu. It would be best if someone could hold him back. Unfortunately, Liu Bei has no soldiers at his disposal. Tao Qian's soldiers and generals are only good at robbing people on the road. They're lucky they can hold Xia Pi. Expecting them to hold Cao Cao back is better than just giving Xia Pi to him!"

Wei Xiaobao wanted to go back, but he was worried that he would disrupt history. After he returned, the Qing Dynasty and Xiao Xuanzi would be gone. He watched the boat dock but could not think of a solution.

After traveling for a day in Qingzhou, Wei Xiaobao encountered a marching team.

Wei Xiaobao thought he had already entered Xuzhou and thought to himself, "I was just worrying about where to find Cao Cao, and now I have run into him."

After finding out clearly, Wei Xiaobao realized that the team in front of him was not Cao Cao's troops, but Lu Bu's soldiers.

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "This Lubula team is really fast. If I don't plan to go back, can I also raise a team to fight every day? Forget it. Cao Cao used the seven gems from the Seven Star Sword to buy a team, but Jia Xu wiped them out with an ambush. I'm not as smart as Cao Cao. Even if I use all my wealth from the Qing Dynasty to recruit soldiers, it won't be enough to kill these old foxes. Cao Cao lost everything when he fought Dong Zhuo. How did he make up for it? Did he not use up all the seven gems at that time and was cheating me?"

After Cao Cao failed in his pursuit of Dong Zhuo, he fled back to Chenliu. Relying on his father Cao Teng and the assets of the Cao and Xiahou families, he quickly formed an army. Later, he received assistance from Chenliu wealthy businessman Wei Zi and Chenliu prefect Zhang Miao. Not only did his troops increase in number, he also defeated the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou in one fell swoop and captured 300,000 Yellow Turban Army soldiers of Qingzhou. At this time, he was already strong in both men and horses, so he was eyeing Xuzhou covetously.

This story was originally mentioned briefly when telling stories in teahouses, and Wei Xiaobao was only interested in the scenes of the Three Kingdoms heroes fighting in battle, so he knew little about these political tactics and military backgrounds.

Wei Xiaobao knew that the team was not Cao Cao's, so he didn't care whether Lu Bu was going to a wedding or a funeral. After figuring out the direction, he thought about the map drawn by Zhang Jiao that day and galloped towards Xia Pi City.

(End of this chapter)