In the Three Kingdoms period, the opening scene features the killing of Huang Gai, shocking Zhou Yu!

After listening, Cao Cao nodded thoughtfully.

"Zhao Yu is right, people driven mad by poverty are indeed terrifying."

"Since he wants to live a quiet life behind closed doors, then we won't let him have his way! After all, where in the world is there such a good thing as letting him hide in that good place of Yizhou and develop his strength in seclusion?"

"Besides, it's been so long since we last fought Xiliang, my old bones are practically rusted. Let's slip our feet in before the door's completely closed!"

"Attack Hanzhong! Once we take Hanzhong, we'll have one foot stuck in the door of Yizhou. Even if Liu Bei wants to sleep, he'll have to keep one eye open!"

The strategy was set: take Hanzhong and humiliate Liu Bei.

Now we are faced with a thorny problem – Zhang Lu.

Jia Xu had just moved into his new apartment in the second phase of the development and was in a good mood. He walked out of the ranks of civil officials with a sinister air.

"Prime Minister, Zhang Lu is not the scary one. What's scary is the 'Five Pecks of Rice Cult' he's running in Hanzhong."

"According to the scouts' intelligence, Zhang Lu has a personal guard of ghost soldiers under his command."

"Those people had to drink 'talisman water' and chant incantations before going into battle. They were said to be invulnerable to swords and spears, fearless of death, and fought like mad dogs, extremely difficult to deal with."

The military officers below the stage looked at each other in bewilderment.

We've all fought our way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. We're not afraid of the ruthless, but we're afraid of those who are reckless and a bit sinister, making it seem like the real thing.

"Invulnerable to swords and spears?"

Cao Hong touched his neck, and then muttered to himself, "I'm starting to have some doubts."

"Does such sorcery truly exist in this world? Could it be that Zhang Lu could really summon gods to possess him?"

In this era, people still held a certain degree of awe towards the unknown feudal forces.

"Dark magic?"

Zhao Yu chuckled.

"Gentlemen, what Zhang Lu did was nothing more than psychological suggestion and superstitious brainwashing."

"Since he likes to do these silly things, let's play along and have some fun with him."

"As the saying goes—only magic can defeat magic."

"Spells?"

Cao Cao leaned forward, clearly intrigued.

"Zhao Yu, you know magic? How come I've never heard you mention it before?"

Zhao Yu shook his head.

"That's magic, just a little trick."

"The formula is very simple: one part saltpeter, two parts sulfur, and three parts charcoal."

"Or to be more precise: 75 parts saltpeter, 10 parts sulfur, and 15 parts charcoal."

"This thing, as long as you get the proportions right, you can teach a smart dog to do it after one lesson."

Everyone listened in complete bewilderment, as if they were hearing a foreign language.

Saltpeter? Sulfur? Charcoal?

Isn't this the waste material used by alchemists for refining elixirs?

Sulfur is used to treat skin diseases, how can it be used in war?

Zhao Yu smiled mysteriously at the puzzled looks on everyone's faces.

"Don't worry, everyone. This stuff has another nice name: gunpowder."

"Of course, to match Zhang Lu's painting style, we'll give it a stage name—'Thunderbolt'."

Now that we have the magic, we also need a "grand mage" who can keep things in check.

Zhao Yu's gaze swept across the group of military officers behind him.

Finally, they focused on Cao Zhang, who was listening in from the corner.

Cao Zhang is still in the learning stage.

Although he demonstrated a certain level of bravery, Cao Cao did not actually allow him to command troops.

None of that is the most important thing. Cao Zhang had a face full of golden beard and was known as "Yellow Beard".

Isn't he the best candidate for the Archmage?

"Prime Minister, I need to borrow Young Master Ziwen for this battle."

"Zhang'er? All he knows is charging into battle, his brain... cough cough, he's rather straightforward. You want him to participate in magical duels? Aren't you afraid he'll tear down the stage?"

"That's the kind of straightforwardness I'm looking for, along with that yellow beard!"

Zhao Yu ignored Cao Cao's agreement and went to the corner to pull the still bewildered Cao Zhang over.

"Ziwen, stop daydreaming, something good has happened!"

"Prime Minister, just imagine, with that signature golden beard, wearing a yellow Taoist robe, and wielding a peach wood sword, who would dare say he isn't the reincarnation of the Thunder God when he fights on the front lines?"

Cao Zhang was dumbfounded, clutching his head, feeling his intelligence had been insulted, and immediately squatted down on the ground to act like a spoiled child:

"Brother-in-law... are you trying to trick me?"

"Do you want me to go to war or to perform shamanistic rituals?"

"I'm not going, I'd rather die than go."

"I learned martial arts to defeat ten thousand men, to sweep away armies, not to become a shaman! If word gets out, how will I ever face the underworld again?"

Zhao Yu helped Cao Zhang up and patted his granite-like pectoral muscles.

He's only twenty-one, the age when he's full of youthful enthusiasm and easily fooled.

With proper training, his future is limitless.

"Ziwen, your vision is too narrow."

"War and killing are the worst strategies; that's what reckless men do."

"Our soldiers are hard-earned; every one they die is a loss. This is what we call 'subduing the enemy without fighting,' a true magical attack!"

"Think about it."

Zhao Yu described a scene:

"On the battlefield, if you roar, thunder roars, and the enemy kneels in surrender, isn't that more impressive than wielding a sword to kill someone?"

I imagined that scene, and it's pretty cool.

Seeing that he was wavering, Zhao Yu immediately unleashed his trump card:

"Moreover, after it's done, I'll persuade my father-in-law to let you lead troops to fight the Wuhuan and earn military merits, so that you can become a real general."

Cao Zhang's eyes lit up like light bulbs.

He was straightforward and didn't have the cunning of Cao Pi and Cao Zhi. His only dream was to achieve the legendary feat of conquering the Xiongnu and residing in the Xiongnu territory, just like Huo Qubing.

"real?"

Is this really true?

"Absolutely true! When has your brother-in-law ever lied to you?"

"When we take Hanzhong, you'll be the greatest hero in breaking down superstitions. Your father-in-law will be overjoyed; how could he possibly disagree?"

"Deal! Don't even mention shamanistic rituals, I'll even dress up as the King of Hell!"

……

Since Cao Zhang had agreed, the others naturally had no objections.

It only took three days.

The Hanzhong Demon Exorcism Sightseeing Group was officially established.

Commander-in-Chief: Cao Cao.

Reason: I'm too free.

Sun Quan was busy fighting the Yue tribes in the south, while Liu Bei was busy conquering Yizhou in the west.

As the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao felt that if he didn't do something, he would be letting down the atmosphere of the "three-way balance of power," and he had to make his presence felt.

Deputy Commanders: Xiahou Dun, Zhao Yu.

One is responsible for physical damage (slashing people), and the other is responsible for magical damage (firing cannons).

Chief Mage: Cao Zhang.

Skills: Roar, strike a pose, detonate (with Zhao Yu's assistance).

Equipment: Taoist robe similar to Zhang Jiao's, peach wood sword.

Staff Group (also known as Atmosphere Group):

Jia Xu: Responsible for coming up with bad ideas and earning money for the renovation of the newly purchased house.

Yang Xiu: Responsible for showing off his intelligence along the way, recording "miracles", and then getting roasted.

Liu Ye: Responsible for guarding that dangerous pile of gunpowder to prevent it from exploding halfway.

As for troop deployment...

Despite strong opposition, Zhao Yu cut off half of the infantry and Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

Instead, Ding Yi's "engineering battalion" and the newly formed "labor logistics regiment" were established.

They didn't carry rifles, but instead carried shovels and picks, and pushed wheelbarrows loaded with cement.

On the drill ground.

Cao Cao looked at this strange team configuration.

My lips twitched involuntarily.

"Zhao Yu..."

"Are we going to fight a war, or to secure a construction project?"

Zhao Yu rode a white horse, twisted his waist, and adjusted his posture:

"You don't understand, Prime Minister (a title used in the workplace to sound professional)."

"War is merely a means; development is the goal."

"Our motto is: wherever the army marches, we'll build paved roads there."

"Once we build the road into Hanzhong and connect the outposts, we'll be able to form a line."

"Even if Zhang Lu tries to run away, our four-wheeled carriage can catch up with him on the paved road and collect tolls!"

"Moreover, with a road, our supplies will be plentiful; we can wear them down!"

Upon hearing the word "toll," Cao Cao recalled the joy he felt after buying a house—the kind of happiness where he could laugh himself awake while counting money.

The last trace of doubt disappeared.

"Okay, okay!"

"That makes sense! With smooth roads comes abundant wealth and good fortune!"

"Granted. Let's go teach that charlatan Zhang Lu a lesson!"