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

On the official road leading to Xiapi, Liu Bei and his men, leading an army of three thousand, were traveling at a leisurely pace.

They were all clad in armor, wielding long spears, and full of energy; they were clearly elite troops.

"Brother, Qin Xuan isn't as bad as you think. I actually think he's quite a good guy. He not only gave us three thousand elite soldiers, but also let us garrison that precious land of Xiapi."

Zhang Fei, riding on his horse, glanced at the troops behind him and said with a smile to Liu Bei beside him, "I thought the other side had assigned them three thousand old, weak, sick and disabled people. I didn't expect it to be so much better than I thought."

These were all seasoned veterans who had been tested on the battlefield for a long time. In addition, there was a large amount of supplies captured from Cao Cao's army, which changed Zhang Fei's impression of Qin Xuan.

Therefore, upon hearing Liu Bei and Guan Yu discussing Qin Xuan, he couldn't help but voice his opinion.

"Third brother, Qin Xuan is definitely not as simple as you think. This decision must have been made after considering many factors. Otherwise, he would never have allocated these three thousand elite troops to us."

"In any case, at least we have a better piece of land now."

Liu Bei spoke eloquently, then, as if remembering something, patted his head and said to the others:

"Since we're heading to Xiapi, Xiaopei should abandon this plan and send someone by fast horse to tell Xianhe to lead the rest of the men to Xiapi and join us."

During this rescue of Xuzhou, Liu Bei only left a little over a thousand men to garrison Xiaopei. Now that they are about to garrison Xiapi, Xiaopei has lost its value.

"Don't worry, brother. I sent someone to Xiaopei to inform Xianhe before we set off."

It was Guan Yu who spoke; he had already considered this point.

"Alright, giddy up! Giddy up!"

Upon hearing this news, Liu Bei immediately relaxed and spurred his horse toward Xiapi.

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Inside the governor's mansion in Tancheng, Qin Xuan and his two companions looked at the handsome Chen Deng with great curiosity, wondering what he was up to.

Qin Xuan had long heard of the other party's reputation. As a well-known young talent in Xuzhou, he was exceptionally learned and adept at developing the people's livelihood and economy.

He once served as the Agricultural Commissioner of Xuzhou, where he promoted water conservancy and vigorously developed agricultural production. Unfortunately, he died too young; otherwise, his brilliance would have been even more dazzling.

"Yuanlong, speak! What is it that you want to say to us alone?"

Qin Xuan spoke first, knowing that the other party must have some purpose.

Upon hearing this, Chen Deng, who was standing in front of the three, did not speak. Instead, he knelt down on the ground with a thud and said in a very sincere tone:

"General Qin, I, Chen Deng, am willing to serve you faithfully and responsibly!"

"Oh, you want to rely on me? Tell me why!" Qin Xuan raised an eyebrow, looking quite surprised. He hadn't expected the other party to come seeking refuge with him. He hadn't sought him out, but now the other party had taken the initiative to come to him. This was truly strange.

Even Liu Bowen and Xue Rengui became interested and wanted to hear what the other party thought.

Chen Deng then recounted the discussion he had with his father the previous night, and also mentioned that Liu Bei and Tao Qian had conspired to murder Qin Xuan.

To Chen Deng's utter surprise, Qin Xuan remained unusually calm upon hearing this important news, seemingly unsurprised, unlike the others who were greatly alarmed.

"General Qin, aren't you surprised?" Chen Deng looked up at the other party and asked with courage.

"Surprised? What's there to be surprised about? I've been keeping track of their every move for a long time. What am I afraid of?" Qin Xuan remained calm and unconcerned in the face of Chen Deng's question.

"Then...then you...gave Liu Bei three thousand soldiers today and ordered him to garrison Xiapi?"

Now it was Chen Deng's turn to be dumbfounded. He couldn't quite keep up with the other person's train of thought. If it were him, he would definitely nip this unstable factor in the bud, let alone give Liu Bei people and territory.

"Yuanlong, please rise quickly! I'm so glad you told me this!" Qin Xuan strode over to Chen Deng, personally helping him up and explaining:

"The reason I gave Liu Bei troops and territory was to get rid of him so that I could better deal with Tao Qian. As for Liu Bei, I'll deal with him later when I have the chance."

"That's good, that's good!" Chen Deng finally breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that Qin Xuan had already thought of everything.

But before Chen Deng could completely relax, Qin Xuan dropped another bombshell on him.

"Besides Tao Qian, the Mi family cannot survive in this world either!"

Upon hearing this news, Chen Deng's legs went weak, and he would have collapsed to the ground if Qin Xuan hadn't been supporting him.

"Why...why...why?"

Chen Deng's face turned ashen, and he stammered, "Could it be that Qin Xuan is planning to take this opportunity to seize the Mi family's property?"

As the richest family in Xuzhou, the Mi family possessed enough assets to arm tens of thousands of people. This was an enormous fortune that would make anyone envious.

"Because they are colluding with Liu Bei, there absolutely cannot be any unstable elements under my jurisdiction, and post-war reconstruction requires a large amount of money!"

Qin Xuan released the other party and said coldly, his eyes revealing a chill.

When Qin Xuan learned that Liu Bei had stayed at the Mi family's house for more than an hour, and that Mi Zhu had personally seen him off with a smile, he had already sentenced Liu Bei to death in his heart.

The world is not lacking in families like the Mi family.

"I understand!" Seeing the coldness in Qin Xuan's eyes, Chen Deng couldn't help but feel sorry for the Mi family. Meeting Qin Xuan really meant that the Mi family's fate was sealed.

Time quickly passed to the day after Liu Bei left. Qin Xuan and Xue Rengui led the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry in two separate groups to settle scores with Tao Qian and the Mi family.

Considering Tao Qian's good reputation among the people of Xuzhou, Qin Xuan did not kill him. Instead, he placed the Tao family under house arrest and forced them to send a memorial to Emperor Xian of Han in Chang'an, recommending Qin Xuan to serve as the Chancellor of Langya and Commandant of Xuzhou, in charge of the Xuzhou army.

Qin Xuan had his own considerations for doing this. Firstly, his next development direction was Qingzhou, which bordered Langya Kingdom. After all, the local forces in Qingzhou were weak. Secondly, there was still a considerable number of remnants of the Yellow Turban Army. Incorporating these people would be of great importance to the development of Xuzhou.

In addition, Qingzhou was a major battlefield where various warlords competed, with forces such as Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan, and Cao Cao involved, which made it easier for Qin Xuan to maneuver and seek more benefits.

As for the Mi family, it was simple. As a transmigrator, Qin Xuan knew a lot about the methods of torture, forced confessions, and framing.

After all, to kill the Mi family, one needs a good excuse to shut up the people of Xuzhou.

When the operation began, the huge commotion attracted everyone's attention. When Xue Rengui arrived at the Mi family, a conflict broke out between the two sides. Facing the Mi family's wicked servants, the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry showed no mercy and killed anyone they saw.

In an instant, the Mi family was plunged into a bloodbath, and cries of agony echoed through the heavens.

The people were speculating about what had happened that led to the massacre of the Mi family.

Half an hour later, the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry escorted dozens of people out of the Mi family residence. All the core members of the Mi family were present, and dozens of suits of armor worn by the Xuzhou army were even found in the mansion.

The onlookers were in an uproar. Now they finally understood why the Mi family had suffered such a calamity—they were secretly hoarding armor, which meant they were plotting a rebellion!

As the most important protective equipment in the era of cold weapons, armor was of paramount importance. It was considered treason if a private individual possessed dozens of suits of armor.

High-quality armor can withstand attacks from swords and crossbows, which is something rulers absolutely do not want to see.