The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

"Am I really going to become cannon fodder?"

"I'm not reconciled!"

Qin Xuan lay in the stinking barracks, wearing tattered lamellar armor, roaring inwardly.

As a miserable history graduate student, I suddenly died from exhaustion after staying up all night working on that crucial graduation thesis.

Now, I've been transported into the body of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old cannon fodder with the same name. Who the hell can I complain to?

After making inquiries from various sources and combining his familiarity with history, Qin Xuan finally understood the era in which he lived.

Tancheng in 194 AD (the first year of Xingping in the Eastern Han Dynasty)!

This is a very important time.

In that year, Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was killed by Zhang Kai on his way to Yanzhou. Cao Cao was furious and sent troops to attack Xuzhou, massacring a large number of innocent people. Liu Bei, Lü Bu and other warlords began to compete for Xuzhou.

For more than a month since his transmigration, Qin Xuan has been constantly calling upon the system. After all, without the system's powerful cheat codes, it would be almost impossible for an orphan like him to survive in this era where human life is treated like dirt.

"I wonder what the origin of this jade pendant is?"

After complaining, Qin Xuan carefully took out a jade pendant, held it in his hand and examined it. This was the original owner of the body's personal pendant. Fortunately, the soldiers in the barracks were all sleeping and resting, and no one paid attention to him.

Otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible to take it out for observation.

This jade pendant is made of precious jade. The front is inscribed with the character "Qin" in small seal script, while the back is smooth and blank. However, Qin Xuan knew that this thing must have a special origin.

"Thump-thump-thump!"

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside. Upon seeing this, Qin Xuan put the jade pendant in his pocket, closed his eyes tightly, and pretended to be fast asleep.

"Quickly, quickly, assemble!"

Then a rough voice broke the silence.

The soldiers inside the barracks were immediately awakened by the noise. They hurriedly put on their armor, picked up their weapons, and left the barracks.

Qin Xuan was no exception. After opening his eyes, he hurriedly sprang up from the straw mat, grabbed a broken knife beside him, and followed them outside the barracks.

"Quickly, quickly! Look at the state of you all! What kind of behavior is this? Get yourselves together! We have an important mission today, so all of you better be alert, understand?"

Outside the barracks, Qin Xuan's direct superior frowned and shouted loudly, clearly disgusted by the state of his subordinate.

Seeing this, Qin Xuan and the others tidied their appearance again, and only then did their superior show a kind expression.

"Centurion, what's the mission this time? I've never seen you care this much about the men's appearance before."

After tidying up their appearance and lining up, a veteran in the ranks mustered up his courage and asked, "As cannon fodder, we don't usually get much attention when it comes to military appearance. I don't know what's gotten into this centurion, but he's suddenly concerned about these things today."

"Hmph, why are you asking so many questions? Today we're escorting a very important person. Look at yourselves, all of you are so disheveled. How can you manage without tidying yourselves up?"

"Hurry up and assemble outside the city to await Commander Zhang Kai's orders!" After saying this, the centurion waved his hand and said, "Let's go!" He then left the barracks first.

Upon hearing the mission and that familiar name, Qin Xuan's heart sank. He had already guessed that the important figure the centurion was referring to was Cao Cao's father, Cao Song.

Cao Song was hiding from disaster in Langya County when he learned that his son Cao Cao was doing well in Yanzhou. So he took all his property and went to meet Cao Cao. When he passed through Xuzhou, he was warmly received by the governor Tao Qian.

In an effort to curry favor with Cao Cao, Tao Qian dispatched Zhang Kai to escort Cao Song. However, Zhang Kai was overcome by greed halfway through the journey, killed Cao Song and his entourage, seized their treasures, and surrendered to Yuan Shu in Huainan.

Cao Cao was furious and sent troops to attack Xuzhou.

But Qin Xuan didn't expect this day to come so quickly, and more importantly, he was also drawn into it.

"Am I really going to have to flee to Huainan with Zhang Kai and the others to seek refuge with Yuan Mishui?"

"If Zhang Kai is capable of murder and robbery, then we cannon fodder might not escape unscathed either!"

"Heavens are truly determined to destroy me, Qin Xuan!"

As Qin Xuan walked towards the city gate, he felt a deep sense of unease. He couldn't think of any good way to escape and was trapped in a dead end. Only a powerful deity could save him.

When Qin Xuan and his men arrived at the city gate under the leadership of the centurion, there were already more than a hundred fully armed cavalrymen ready to go. The leader was a burly man in his thirties holding a large sword, who was none other than that damned Zhang Kai.

As soon as the centurion saw the man, he immediately approached him and whispered something in his ear. The man also glanced at Qin Xuan and his group every now and then.

"Holy crap, could it be that Zhang Kai had planned all this all along?"

Qin Xuan watched Zhang Kai and the centurion's actions and thought to himself with deep emotion.

As a captain under Tao Qian, Zhang Kai must have known how much wealth Cao Song had taken with him, so it was impossible for him not to be tempted.

About fifteen minutes later, Cao Song, accompanied by Tao Qian, arrived at the city gate and boarded the carriage.

"Set off!"

Seeing this, Zhang Kai waved his hand, and Qin Xuan and the others escorted Cao Song and his party away from Tancheng.

···········

The escort team traveled at a moderate pace, and by evening of the second day, they arrived at the border between Hua County and Fei County in Taishan Prefecture. They passed through a desolate mountain forest, where all was quiet and there was no one in sight, making it an ideal place for murder and robbery.

"Halt! Set up camp right here!"

Seeing that it was getting dark, Zhang Kai, who was on horseback, immediately ordered the troops to stop and rest.

As soon as Qin Xuan saw that he could finally rest, he plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, and complained, "This is exhausting!"

As a modern, bespectacled scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken, how could he normally have so much time to train his body? After transmigrating, and given that the original owner of this body wasn't a very strong person either, Qin Xuan almost died from exhaustion along the way.

"I'm really pathetic. I never thought I'd die so soon. What a disgrace to transmigrators!"

After resting, looking at Cao Song and his group not far away, Qin Xuan felt a pang of sorrow. He still couldn't figure out where he could find a glimmer of hope.

Those cavalrymen were all Zhang Kai's confidants, and he and the soldiers around him were probably just unlucky cannon fodder. Once Zhang Kai took action, they would definitely not escape death.

"Qin Xuan, what are you thinking about?"

"Hurry up and lend a hand, or are you trying to slack off?"

Just as Qin Xuan was in a daze, the old soldier from before walked over and shouted loudly, seemingly very dissatisfied with Qin Xuan's attempt to slack off.

"He's about to die, and he's still so arrogant. What a short-lived bastard!"

After muttering something under his breath, Qin Xuan slowly stood up and joined in setting up camp, as if he had forgotten what he was thinking.

Before long, dozens of large military tents were set up. After a hearty meal, everyone went to rest early.

The night was as dark as ink, and the chirping of insects echoed through the mountains and forests. Faint moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Lying in the makeshift military tent, Qin Xuan was wide awake. This was a critical moment where his life was at stake. There was only one way to go: to sneak away under the cover of night.

"Ding! The Power Achievement System has detected a suitable host. Bind now!"

Just as Qin Xuan made up his mind, a mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind.

"Hahaha, this is truly heaven-sent! Bind, bind, bind now!"

Qin Xuan was certain that this must be the legendary System Master, and now that it had finally arrived, he immediately chanted in his mind.

"Ding~~~, the Power Achievement System has been successfully bound. Do you wish to activate the Newbie Trial? If you succeed, you will receive a mysterious newbie gift pack. If you fail, the system will teleport you to a safe location, and the system will be unbound!"

"This...this...?"

Qin Xuan was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected the system to pull this trick on him. He thought he would get a newbie gift pack directly.

"System, what type of system are you? And what's the content of this newbie trial? It's not some kind of insurmountable challenge, is it?"

Qin Xuan cautiously inquired in his mind; as a very careful person, he needed to understand these things clearly.

"This system is a domination system. You have been chosen from among many transmigrators. As the host's strength expands, the system will give various rewards to help the host achieve a great hegemony in ancient times."

"The beginner's test is like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; eliminating Zhang Kai, Cao Song, and others is your first step towards conquering the world!"

"Start the beginner's challenge?"

The system reminded me again.

After listening, Qin Xuan did not hesitate to start the test, after all, becoming the supreme ruler is every man's dream.

"Ding! The system has detected that the host's current strength is too weak. The system will grant the host the martial arts inheritance of a top-tier general from an unknown dimension to help the host complete the test!"

Qin Xuan was overjoyed to hear that there was also a martial arts inheritance, which gave him more confidence in the novice test. Otherwise, he would not have been able to complete it with the martial arts he had just mastered.

As the system's voice faded, a barely perceptible white light enveloped Qin Xuan, and streams of heat surged into his body, instantly filling him with power after his previous exhaustion.

The muscles continued to expand, and the bones made a slight "creaking" sound, as if they were undergoing some kind of transformation.

Fortunately, the system's power transfer was very quiet; otherwise, the soldiers in the military tent would have definitely noticed something amiss.

Before long, Qin Xuan completed the martial arts inheritance. Looking at his thick arms, he couldn't be happier.

"System, can I defeat Lu Bu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others right now?"

"Ding! Based on the host's current strength, you are capable of instantly killing Lü Bu!"

The system's answer surprised Qin Xuan. He hadn't expected to be so strong now. He was worried about his safety this morning, but now he had become the strongest general in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

With this in mind, Qin Xuanmei lowered his guard and fell into a deep sleep to conserve his energy and await Zhang Kai and the others' actions.