Reborn Liu Bei: I'll lead this Three Kingdoms to victory!

Xuchang. Dawn breaks.

Sunlight shone on the city walls of Xudu, on the bloodstains that had not yet been cleaned up, on the overturned barricades at the city gate, and on the faces of those who had not slept all night.

The west gate has completely fallen into the hands of Liu Bei's army. The White Horse Cavalry has taken control of the gate and the surrounding streets and is advancing deeper into the outer city.

The inner city gates were tightly closed.

Cao Cao retreated to the inner city, taking with him all the troops he could—approximately eight thousand men. The remaining outer city was taken over by Liu Bei's army and Xun Yu's former rebel forces.

Liu Cheng knelt outside the palace gate and did not move all night.

He was the commander of the Imperial Guards, Xun Yu's man. Last night, he opened the palace gates and let Zhao Yun in. At dawn, he knelt here, awaiting his fate.

Nobody cared about him.

The palace gates were wide open, and people from the White Horse Cavalry were coming and going. They glanced at him, but no one spoke or told him to get up.

He just knelt there.

"Commander Liu." A voice came from behind.

Liu Cheng turned around.

A young man stood behind him, dressed in ordinary cloth clothes, with a bundle slung over his shoulder, like a scholar on a journey.

Zhou Yuan.

He was one of the ten men working at the Imperial Academy, Zhao Yan.

"You..." Liu Cheng was stunned for a moment.

Zhou Yuan crouched down to look him in the eye. "Mr. Zhao asked me to pass on a message," he said in a low voice, "You did the right thing. Don't be afraid."

Liu Cheng's eyes reddened. He didn't speak, only nodded. Zhou Yuan stood up and disappeared into the crowd.

On the inner city tower.

Cao Cao stood by the city wall, watching the commotion outside the city. Overnight, the outer city had changed hands.

The streets and alleys he knew so well were now filled with white horses. The people he knew were now keeping their doors and windows closed, and no one was coming out.

Xiahou Dun stood behind him, his face ashen. "Prime Minister, this humble general requests permission to lead the troops out!"

Cao Cao did not turn back. "Charge out? Charge where?"

Xiahou Dun hesitated for a moment. "Rush out...rush out and then think of something else."

Cao Cao laughed. But there was no warmth in his smile. "Xiahou Dun, how many years have you served me?"

"Twenty-three years."

"Twenty-three years, and you're still so reckless." Cao Cao turned to look at him. "The outer city has already been captured by Zhao Yun, and there are only eight thousand men left in the inner city. How far can you rush out? And after you get out of the city, where will you run?"

Xiahou Dun was speechless. Cao Cao walked to the edge of the city wall and looked north.

That direction leads to Xiapi.

"Liu Bei won't come," he said. "At least not now."

Xiahou Dun looked at him. "How did the Prime Minister know?"

Cao Cao did not answer. He simply looked north, because he understood Liu Bei.

That man never fights a battle he's not confident of winning. He'll wait now, wait for the inner city to fall into chaos, wait for the food to run out, and wait for the soldiers to open the gates themselves.

He was waiting. Cao Cao was also waiting. Waiting for a miracle.

In a private residence in the west of the city, Xun Qu lay on a couch, his face deathly pale. Zhao Yan stayed by his side, not sleeping a wink all night.

The wound was still bleeding, but it was a little better than last night. Zhao Yan didn't know anything about medicine, so he could only press a cloth against it to stop the bleeding from flowing too quickly.

"Zhao Yan," Xun Qu suddenly spoke.

Zhao Yan leaned closer and said, "Yes."

Xun Qu's eyes were open, staring at the roof. "I dreamt of Xun Yu."

Zhao Yan didn't know what to say. Xun Qu gave a very faint smile. "He said...you've worked hard."

Zhao Yan's eyes reddened. "Mr. Xun, please don't say such things. The doctor will be here soon, and Master Hua Tuo's men are on their way into the city..."

Xun Qu shook his head. "It's too late." His voice was soft. "I know."

Zhao Yan held his hand; the hand was very cold.

"Twenty years," Xun Qu murmured. "Twenty years, hiding in this city, the first thing I thought about every day when I opened my eyes was whether I would die today."

He paused. "Today I finally don't have to think about it anymore."

Zhao Yan's tears fell. He didn't wipe them away.

"Mr. Xun..."

"Zhao Yan," Xun Qu interrupted him, "you continue leading that group. One hundred and thirty-seven men, not one less."

Zhao Yan nodded. "I've got it."

Xun Qu closed his eyes. "Tell him..." He didn't say who it was, but Zhao Yan knew he was referring to Liu Bei, "Tell him that the Xun family has not disgraced him."

Zhao Yan held the increasingly cold hand. "I will."

Xun Qu did not speak again. His breathing grew weaker and weaker.

A side hall of the Xudu Imperial Palace.

Liu Xie sat by the window, gazing at the sky outside. He hadn't slept since last night.

When Zhao Yun entered the city, he knelt before him and said, "Your subject is late." He told him to get up and to be led to see Zhao Yun, saying there was no need to kneel.

But his mind was still in turmoil. In twenty years, he had never seen anything like it. Someone had broken in, not to kill him, not to force him, but to save him.

"His Majesty."

A eunuch's voice came from behind. Liu Xie turned around.

"General Zhao requests an audience."

Liu Xie nodded. "Let him in."

Zhao Yun walked in, still dressed in a white robe and carrying the same silver spear. But the dust on his clothes had been washed off, and he looked more energetic than last night.

"Your Majesty." He knelt on one knee.

Liu Xie looked at him. "General Zhao, Liu Bei—Lord Liu, when will you arrive?"

Zhao Yun raised his head. "The lord has already set off. If all goes well, he should arrive in Xuchang in five days."

Liu Xie remained silent for a moment. Five days. Five more days. He could wait.

On the inner city tower.

Cao Cao was still standing there. He hadn't moved an inch since morning.

Xiahou Dun came several times, Cao Ren came once, and Cheng Yu also came. He listened to what they were saying, but it was as if he didn't hear them at all.

His eyes were fixed on the outer city, on the streets that once belonged to him but no longer did.

"Prime Minister." A voice came from behind.

Cao Cao turned around.

Zheng, the steward, stood there, his face deathly pale. "Prime Minister, there's something I need to discuss..."

"explain."

Master Zheng hesitated for a moment. "We've found Xun Yu's old servant, Afu."

Cao Cao's eyes twitched slightly. "Where?"

"He's in the outer city," said Steward Zheng. "He...he's carrying Xun Yu's will, and he hasn't handed it over yet. Now..."

He didn't finish speaking. Cao Cao knew what he was going to say.

That will should be in Liu Bei's hands by now.

"Understood," Cao Cao said. "You may leave."

Chief Clerk Zheng was taken aback. "The Prime Minister…"

"Get out of here."

Manager Zheng bowed his head and withdrew.

Cao Cao turned around and continued gazing at the outer city. Xun Yu's last letter. He remembered the man's last words before he died:

"Twenty years of loyalty between ruler and subject, today we are even."

Both sides are even. Are they really even? He doesn't know. He only knows that what that person left behind is now helping his enemy.

And he had nothing left.

Residential houses in the west of the city.

Xun Qu is gone. Zhao Yan stayed by his side, watching his breathing grow weaker and weaker until it finally stopped.

He didn't cry. He just knelt there, for a long time. Footsteps came from outside the door. A person pushed the door open and came in—Zhou Yuan.

He glanced at Xun Qu on the couch, then at Zhao Yan. "Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Yan didn't turn around. "What is it?"

Zhou Yuan walked to his side and lowered his voice: "Lord Liu has already set off and will arrive in Xuchang in five days."

Zhao Yan remained silent. Five days. Xun Qu had waited twenty years, only five days short.

"Also," Zhou Yuan said, "Sun Fu asked you what to do with that group of people."

Zhao Yan finally raised his head. He looked at the quiet person on the bed.

Xun Qu's face was calm, as if he were asleep. "Let's wait," he said. "Wait until the magistrate arrives and we'll follow his instructions."

Zhou Yuan nodded. "And Wang Wu, he asked you when you'd like to see him."

Zhao Yan was silent for a moment. "After things are settled here."

Zhou Yuan didn't ask any more questions. He left. Zhao Yan knelt alone in the room, looking at Xun Qu.

Outside the window, the sun was setting. On the official road outside Xiapi City, a procession was moving swiftly. The man at the head of the procession, riding a horse and dressed in ordinary cloth, did not look like any important figure.

But those who followed him all knew who he was: Liu Bei.

He didn't bring many men, only three hundred personal guards, plus Pang Tong and a few attendants. The situation in Xuchang was already settled; he didn't need a large army to press in, he only needed to go personally.

Pang Tong rode up. "My lord, at this speed, we should arrive on the eighth."

Liu Bei nodded. "The eighth day. Good."

Pang Tong looked at him. "What are you thinking about, my lord?"

Liu Bei remained silent for a moment. "I'm thinking about Xun Qu."

Pang Tong remained silent. "He's been hiding in Xuchang for twenty years, all for this day," Liu Bei said softly. "But today has come, and he might... not see it."

Pang Tong took a swig of wine. "Whether he can see it or not is unimportant."

Liu Bei turned to look at him.

Pang Tong put down his wine gourd. "What he did is right there." He pointed in the direction of Xuchang. "That city, that man, those people, are all there."

Liu Bei remained silent. Then he nodded. "Let's continue."

The procession continued forward. In the darkness, the sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance.

The Prime Minister's Residence in the Inner City.

Cao Cao sat in his study, a map spread out before him. He had been studying it for a long time. No one came to disturb him.

Zheng, the chief clerk, came once, but he was dismissed. Xiahou Dun came once, but he didn't see him either. He just sat alone, looking at the map, at the places he had traveled to: Guandu, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Jizhou… In the past twenty years, he had risen from a local warlord to where he was today.

He was only a step away from that chair. Now, Liu Bei blocked that step. Footsteps came from outside the door.

"Prime Minister," Xiahou Dun's voice rang out.

Cao Cao did not turn around. "Speak."

Xiahou Dun hesitated for a moment. "A message has come from the outer city."

Cao Cao's hand paused slightly. "What did you say?"

"Liu Bei's men said..." Xiahou Dun's voice was very soft, "If the Prime Minister is willing to surrender, he can be assured of wealth and honor."

Cao Cao laughed. The laughter echoed in the empty study, sounding somewhat eerie.

"Surrender?" he murmured. "Me, Cao Cao, surrender?"

Xiahou Dun knelt down. "Prime Minister!"

Cao Cao stood up and walked to the window. He looked at the pitch-black night outside.

There were his enemies, his lost city, and people he could never return to.

"Tell Liu Bei's men," he said, "and tell them to come and get it."

Xiahou Dun raised his head. "Prime Minister..."

"go."

Xiahou Dun gritted his teeth and left. Cao Cao stood alone by the window. A cool night breeze blew in.

He recalled the scene when he first met Liu Bei many years ago.

Back then, they were allies, drinking together, talking together, and cursing those feudal lords who didn't do their jobs properly.

At that time, he never imagined that they would come to this point.

He never imagined that the person would be the one to win in the end.

The sky was beginning to lighten with the first light of dawn.

The outline of Xudu City gradually became clear in the morning light. The inner city gates remained closed.

People were already moving about on the streets of the outer city. Some bolder residents opened their doors and peeked out cautiously. Some vendors pushed their carts and tentatively made their way to the street corner.

The soldiers of the White Horse Cavalry patrolled the streets, but did not disturb the people.

Someone set up a pot on the street corner and started cooking porridge. They weren't from the military camp; they were organized by Xun Yu's former subordinates. Overnight, they emerged from their hiding places and began working.

Everything is slowly recovering.

Zhao Yan stood at the entrance of a residential house in the west of the city, looking at the sun in the east.

Xun Qu's body has been prepared and placed inside the house. We'll wait for the magistrate to arrive, let him see it one last time, and then bury him.

This was the last thing he could do for that person.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

Zhou Yuan.

"Mr. Zhao, Wang Wu is here."

Zhao Yan turned around.

Wang Wu stood a few steps away, his face still bearing the marks of his injuries, but he was in good spirits. He saw Zhao Yan and grinned.

"Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Yan looked at him. "You're tough enough."

Wang Wu scratched his head. "Not bad."

Zhao Yan walked over and took out the jade pendant from his pocket—the one Xun Qu had left him.

"Here, take this."

Wang Wu was stunned for a moment. "What?"

"A token," Zhao Yan said. "From now on, you're mine."

Wang Wu took the jade pendant and looked at it for a long time. Then he looked up and smiled. "Good." The sun rose.

A new day begins.