Three Kingdoms: Start by marrying Cai Yan, then vie for supremacy.

8

"A good tool for scheming." He chuckled as he put away the bottle, when suddenly Lu Yi quickly presented him with a bamboo scroll: "Young Master, a secret report from Chang'an—Wang Yun's elaborate scheme is nearing its end, and Mr. Jia and Fourth Master have completed their deployments."

The secret guards discovered Cao Cao's spies in the Chang'an area, indicating that Cao Cao had learned of the changing situation in Chang'an and had begun to make preparations. In response, the subordinates requested permission from their lord to issue further instructions.

Although Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo have temporarily reconciled through Li Ru's mediation, their relationship has clearly broken down. Li Ru attempted to mend the conflict, but Dong Zhuo remained obsessed with Wang Rong's beauty. Furthermore, the Guanzhong gentry and court officials constantly stirred up trouble, leaving Li Ru no time to mediate the conflict between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu. These forces were clearly deliberately restraining Li Ru, creating conditions for the implementation of their plan. There were many astute individuals in Chang'an; the powerful families of Guanzhong, having discerned Wang Yun's treacherous scheme, secretly fueled it—Dong Zhuo's death served their interests.

"Oh?" Lu Feng raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Cao Cao has finally noticed? If he hadn't, I was planning to have my secret guards leak the information. Excellent! Hopefully, he can seize the opportunity." He then changed the subject and asked, "Jia Xu previously reported that he had successfully turned Xu Rong, the general guarding Hangu Pass, against his cause?"

"It is true," Lu Yi replied affirmatively.

Xu Rong was originally a general from Youzhou, but he was not given important positions under Dong Zhuo. Instead, his outstanding talent led to his being ostracized by Li Jue, Guo Si, and other generals from Xiliang. Jia Xu analyzed the current situation and future trajectory of Dong Zhuo's group for him, promising him a position of importance under Lu Feng, which ultimately convinced him to submit. This was truly due to Dong Zhuo's disillusionment with him. However, Xu Rong clearly stated that unless Dong Zhuo died as Jia Xu predicted, he would not betray his lord.

—The swift and decisive actions of the secret guards deterred them from making any rash moves.

"Good! Remind Zilong to prepare to receive Xu Rong, and make sure he is safe and sound, and not let Cao Cao, Li Jue, Guo Si or others harm him."

Lu Feng nodded in agreement.

He had long recognized Xu Rong's talent as a general and was determined not to miss out on such a capable leader.

"clear!"

Lu Yi accepted the order.

"etc--"

Just as Lu Yi turned around, Lu Feng suddenly exclaimed softly, clapped his hands, and laughed, "I've figured out how to use this **!"

He took out the Three Laughs Carefree Powder and handed it to Lu Yi: "This is called the Three Laughs Carefree Powder. The instructions are written on this paper. Give it to Jia Xu and [unclear - possibly a person's name], and have them find a suitable time to administer it to Wang Yun. Remember, I want Wang Yun to die at the height of his success!"

"Take action only after he refuses Li Jue and Guo Si's surrender."

"? 』

Lu Yi looked utterly bewildered: "Would Li Jue and Guo Si surrender to Wang Yun?"

"Don't ask any more questions. Just relay the words verbatim to Jia Xu and **, and they will understand."

Lu Feng waved his hand.

"Yes, sir!"

Helpless, Lu Yi retreated with his men.

"Oh……"

Lu Feng chuckled sinisterly, "Wang Yun, I really want to see how you die!"

How dare Diao Chan bully him and expect to have a glorious end?

wishful thinking.

On the same day, in Taishan County.

Huang Zhong was slightly surprised to receive the transfer order: "The Vermilion Bird Battalion is being transferred to Lujiang? It seems there's trouble going to happen there. Oh well, the fighting here is over; perhaps it will be more interesting to go there."

Moreover, Lujiang is closer to his hometown, and he is familiar with its customs and culture.

In fact, he hadn't been back to his hometown for many years.

"I long to return to my hometown soon. I hope my fellow villagers will soon submit to our lord and live a good life."

Huang Zhong sighed softly.

That very day, he led his army on a journey to the port of Jibei Kingdom.

After receiving Lu Feng's instructions, Gan Ning immediately found Xu Chu and the others to bid them farewell: "Brother Xu, Huang Xu, Gongming, our lord has ordered me to immediately proceed to Jibei Kingdom to escort General Han Sheng and the Vermilion Bird Camp to Lujiang. Farewell!"

"Oh, right!" he added, "Although we have destroyed all the enemy warships, we still need to remain vigilant. I will send more warships to patrol the Yellow River to ensure everything is safe."

Now that Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan's naval fleets have been completely destroyed, Gan Ning must not give them another chance to rebuild their navy. Only in this way can he firmly grasp the initiative in future battles.

"Thank you so much, General Gan! With the fleet here, we can rest assured." Huang Xu and Xu Huang quickly expressed their gratitude.

"Farewell!" Gan Ning said, turning to leave.

"We're going the same way," Xu Chu suddenly stood up and said.

"Oh?" Gan Ning looked at Xu Chu in surprise: "You're leaving too? Did the protagonist assign you a new mission?"

"Indeed." Xu Chu nodded. "My lord ordered me to escort Mr. Guo on his mission to Xuzhou. I've never been to Xuzhou before, so this will be a good opportunity for me to travel around. I hope we don't encounter any ungrateful fellows!"

"An envoy to Xuzhou?" Gan Ning was quite surprised. "Our relations with Xuzhou are tense right now. Could it be that our lord intends to negotiate peace with Tao Qian? Or perhaps persuade him to surrender?"

"How could that be?" Xu Chu couldn't help but roll his eyes. "This time, we're not going to see that old bastard Tao Qian. He's been making trouble lately, his days are numbered. Our target is the Chen family in Xuzhou, and success or failure is still uncertain."

"Enough! These complicated matters are not for a rough man like me to worry about. Let Fengxiao handle them! Let's go!" Xu Chu said, then led his personal guards and rode west.

Gan Ning also quickly returned to the fleet, leading the main warships and troop transport ships at a rapid pace for half a day, arriving at a small port in Jibei Kingdom.

"Hansheng! How have you been?" Gan Ning said with a loud laugh.

Upon landing, Gan Ning immediately recognized the general who had come to greet him. He laughed heartily, strode forward, opened his arms to embrace Huang Zhong, and patted him hard on the back.

"Good lad!"

Huang Zhong feigned anger and pushed him away: "Using so much force, are you trying to send this old man to his grave?"

"What?"

Gan Ning looked on in astonishment and said, "Old bones? Who has ever seen such a vigorous old fellow as you? With your cultivation as a supreme martial saint, you could easily live another hundred years or so, right?" His words were full of envy.

This is the Supreme Martial Saint realm! I don't know when I'll be able to reach it.

"Ha ha!"

Huang Zhong laughed heartily, then said seriously, "Enough of the pleasantries. Can you accommodate my 50,000 soldiers?"

"nature!"

Gan Ning patted his chest and assured, "Having received the military order, we made ample preparations. It's all thanks to the new troop transport ships specially built by our lord to transport the million people of Luoyang; our fleet is well-equipped, otherwise we really wouldn't have been able to handle so many people."

"There's no time to lose. Let's arrange for the soldiers to board the ships first. Since our lord has sent the Vermilion Bird Battalion to garrison Lujiang with you, the situation must be dire. We should set off as soon as possible to prevent any unforeseen circumstances."

"Ziyi's side is ultimately composed of naval personnel; staying confined to land isn't a long-term solution."

Gan Ning was genuinely afraid that Taishi Ci would switch careers and become a military commander. Their navy only had two fleets in total, and they couldn't withstand such turmoil.

Thank you for your trouble.

Huang Zhong nodded in agreement. What Gan Ning said was exactly what he had been worried about.

"Aren't you being too polite?"

Gan Ning smiled and waved his hand, immediately ordering his men to guide the Vermilion Bird Camp onto the ship. At this moment, Sun Ce approached and asked, "Are we heading to Lujiang?"

"Exactly. Didn't we talk about it on the way? Didn't you take it to heart?" Gan Ning looked at Sun Ce helplessly.

"Pfft!"

Sun Ce scratched his head, his face flushed, and replied, "I got distracted... I was engrossed in practicing my sword!"

Returning to Lujiang, his eyes burned even more fiercely with the rage for revenge.

Gan Ning, sensing something was wrong, patted him sharply on the shoulder: "Don't be impatient! Our lord will take action against Liu Biao and Yuan Shu sooner or later. When that time comes, you can ask for a vanguard order; our lord will definitely agree!"

"It's not too late to fight on the battlefield! Worrying about things too much isn't worth it!"

Gan Ning smiled slightly and added a few more points of reasoning.

He thought it was all gone.

"Use this lottery prize now!"

Ding! Special sign-in completed by Sun Ce. The owner has received: Alchemy Inheritance x1, Alchemy Furnace x1.

Lu Feng: "???"

"What's going on? Alchemy? An alchemy furnace? This doesn't seem right! And why would Sun Ce's daily check-in give out something like this?"

Lu Feng looked completely bewildered.

It's not that he thinks this thing is bad.

On the contrary, this is exactly what he needs.

He had already obtained the recipe for the Longevity Pill (ten years), and was continuously collecting medicinal materials and cultivating them in his Immortal Abode space.

Now, Lu Feng has more than a dozen portions of medicinal herbs in his possession.

However, because he had never received the inheritance of alchemy techniques and did not have a suitable alchemy furnace, he was unable to start practicing.

I was originally thinking about sending someone to look for the so-called "Three Immortals of the Late Han Dynasty"—Nan Hua, Yu Ji, and Zuo Ci.

After all, this world is not the ordinary Three Kingdoms period. Since there are martial arts masters, these three guys might actually have some skills.

They might be good at alchemy.

That's great, we don't need to do it at all!

He figured it out on his own!

Lu Feng immediately claimed the reward.

These things don't need to be learned at all; you can master them in an instant, and you can become completely proficient after just a few practices.

"Great! Hahaha! Now everything's finally ready! We can start refining pills sometime!"

Lu Feng thought to himself with a smug smile.

"Speaking of which, could Sun Ce's lottery winning alchemy techniques and a pill furnace be related to him in history?"

He couldn't help but speculate.

System-generated lotteries, especially those related to special characters, usually have a connection to the character themselves.

Of course, there are occasional cases where they are completely unrelated, but these are rare.

Lu Feng remembered that in his previous life, Sun Ce later killed Yu Ji.

Could it be because of this?

"Maybe we can find those so-called 'Three Immortals of the Late Han Dynasty' someday, try to subdue them, and see if we can get something even better!"

It would be even better if one could obtain the inheritance of immortality.

Although Lu Feng has practiced martial arts for many years and has repeatedly encountered extraordinary opportunities, his lifespan has exceeded six hundred years, but who would complain about having too many ways to achieve immortality?

However, he secretly pondered that the chances of this happening were slim. If the three immortals of the late Han Dynasty were truly cultivators, they probably wouldn't have appeared in the world so easily.

Meanwhile, in Gongsun Zan's camp in Pingyuan County, Ji Province.

"General, the main force of Gan Ning's navy has already broken camp and headed west, leaving only a small number of warships to garrison the area," the scout reported, kneeling on one knee.

Gongsun Zan lightly tapped the table: "Keep an eye on things. Report immediately if there's any unusual activity." After the scouts withdrew, he turned to the generals in the tent: "Gentlemen, what do you think is Lu Feng's intention in mobilizing troops this time?"

Gongsun Yue stroked his beard and smiled faintly: "Whatever Wu Hou's plans are, they are none of our concern at the moment. Since he tacitly allowed us to ransom the 20,000 captured soldiers, he is clearly planning to sit back and watch the tigers fight."

Having survived a life-or-death ordeal, this general of the White Horse Cavalry became even more composed: "Lu Feng merely wanted to use us to weaken Yuan Shao, which is why he secretly supported him."

"That makes sense." Gongsun Zan nodded slightly. "The most urgent task is to take Ji Province first, and then annex You Province. Only then will we have the resources to contend with Jiangdong." After the last crushing defeat, he finally realized the gap in strength between himself and Lu Feng.

The strategist Guan Jing timely advised, "My lord, the construction of the navy should be planned as soon as possible. Without the advantage of rivers, future southward expeditions may be hampered."

"However, building a navy is not something that can be accomplished overnight," Gongsun Yue said, frowning. "Currently, all the provisions and funds are being used to deal with Yuan Shao, so this matter should be postponed for now."

If they ultimately cannot defeat Yuan Shao, what is the point of having a navy?

"My brother is right! Let's put the naval matter on hold for now and make plans after we defeat Yuan Shao!"

Gongsun Zan nodded in agreement: "Our army still has an advantage over Yuan Shao's. Liaodong and Youbeiping are both in our hands, and it will not be difficult to build a navy in the future."

"In contrast, Yuan Shao can only build his navy along the Yellow River."

"I'm afraid Lu Feng won't give him that chance!"

"Next, he will surely try to annihilate our army. Victory or defeat depends entirely on who can seize the initiative; it's all a matter of skill!"

Anyone with eyes can see this situation clearly.

Both sides are currently preparing for battle, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Runan City, Yuan Shu's residence.

Yuan Shu received Chen Deng, the envoy sent by Tao Qian, today.

"Chen Yuanlong? I've long admired your name! What brings you here, Tao Qian?"