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

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Yuan Shao won control of the emperor with an overwhelming advantage, and finally declared himself the leader of the alliance, deciding to send his main force to Chang'an to eliminate the remaining Xiliang army.

As for the young emperor and a group of court officials, they returned to Jizhou first.

After the meeting ended, Cao Cao called out to Qin Xuan, who was about to leave, and pulled him into his military tent.

"Yichen, what are you really up to? Why are you supporting Yuan Shao?"

This was something Cao Cao couldn't quite understand. Although the Yuan brothers were all utterly useless, Yuan Shao still had some clever people around him. Now that the emperor's control had fallen into his hands, this posed a great danger to him.

Therefore, Cao Cao wanted to figure out what Qin Xuan was thinking.

Qin Xuan took a sip of tea with an air of composure and smiled:

"Lord Cao, haven't you seen the situation clearly yet? The emperor and all the ministers want to go to Ji Province. Why don't I do a favor and give Yuan Shao a good deal?"

"Although the emperor is weak, his words still carry some weight. If I do not obey His Majesty's wishes, I will offend more than just Yuan Shao. Besides, it is much better to offend Yuan Shu than Yuan Shao."

Qin Xuan was speaking from the heart. With the Imperial Seal of the State as leverage in his hands, what did it matter if he offended Yuan Shu? His main strategic objective now was to unite with Yuan Shao to deal with Cao Cao, who was right in front of him.

After hearing Qin Xuan's explanation, Cao Cao unconsciously nodded, agreeing with his idea.

"What about Chang'an? Chang'an is an important territory; we can't let Yuan Shao take it, can we?"

Cao Cao then asked, "Although they have finalized the date for the expedition, they have not reached an agreement on the ownership of Chang'an."

Cao Cao asked about this, so it seems he also had his own thoughts.

Faced with Cao Cao's question, Qin Xuan did not give an immediate answer, but instead fell into deep thought.

The situation around Chang'an was complex. In addition to the remnants of the Xiliang army led by Li and Guo, there were also the uncle and nephew Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu active in the Hongnong area. Furthermore, the remnants of the Baibo army were entrenched in the Hedong area.

If we capture Chang'an and then station our troops here, it will become an enclave, which is not worthwhile at all. Having thought of this, Qin Xuan already had a plan in mind and spoke to Cao Cao:

"Lord Cao, Chang'an is not a good place for me at all. The surrounding forces are complicated, and there is no benefit to stationing troops here. Therefore, I can support you in taking Chang'an."

"But~~~~~"

Qin Xuan paused at this point.

"Haha, Yichen, you really know how to take a loss! As long as you agree to support me in taking over Chang'an, just tell me what you want. As long as the price is right, I definitely won't refuse!"

Seeing that Qin Xuan stopped halfway through his sentence, Cao Cao immediately understood what he meant and offered his own terms.

"Lord Cao is very generous. My next target is Yuan Shao. As long as you promise not to interfere should a conflict break out between me and Yuan Shao, that's fine!"

Qin Xuan was preparing to launch an attack on Qingzhou after returning home, but his biggest fear was that Cao Cao would suddenly get involved.

"Okay, I agree!"

Cao Cao hesitated for a moment before agreeing to Qin Xuan's request in exchange for Qin Xuan's support in his occupation of Chang'an.

"Okay! It's a deal!"

Qin Xuan immediately bowed to Cao Cao in thanks, and then the two sides signed a series of treaties in black and white.

·············

Just as the four sides decided to send troops to Chang'an, the Snow Dragon Riders sent by Qin Xuan, after a night of running, finally delivered Qin Xuan's letter to Qin Qiong at noon the next day.

"General Qin, this is... a letter delivered by my lord, sent by your subordinate Lian... overnight!"

Inside the military tent, the exhausted Snow Dragon Rider knelt on the ground, took the letter out from under his armor and handed it to Qin Qiong, panting heavily.

"Alright, someone take him downstairs to rest!"

After Qin Qiong took the letter and dismissed the Great Snow Dragon Riders, he eagerly began to read it. After finishing the last line, he excitedly clutched the silk scroll tightly in his hand.

"Great! We've finally captured Huayin without firing a shot!"

After a moment of excitement, Qin Qiong hurriedly left the military tent and led his men to the city of Huayin.

As soon as Qin Qiong appeared outside Huayin City, someone quickly informed Jia Xu and Duan Wei inside the city. By the time the two appeared on the city wall, Qin Qiong had been waiting for a long time.

"My lords, my master has replied. This is his personal letter to you. Please accept it."

As he spoke, Qin Qiong tied Qin Xuan's handwritten letter to his bow and arrow, then drew his bow and shot it towards the top of Huayin City!

call out--!

The arrow struck the banner of the Xiliang army atop the city wall of Huayin, finally embedding itself directly into the thick pillar atop the wall.

Before Jia Xu and Duan Wei could even marvel at Qin Qiong's superb archery skills, they hurriedly removed the scrolls tied to the arrows. Jia Xu quickly read them and tossed them to Duan Wei, who was standing nearby, thinking to himself:

"Qin Xuan is truly audacious! No wonder he was able to repel Cao Cao and destroy Lü Bu in such a short time. He really doesn't take the emperor's name seriously!"

A short while later, Duan Wei also finished reading Qin Xuan's letter and couldn't help but feel puzzled. He then voiced his doubts to the pensive Jia Xu:

"Mr. Wenhe, Qin Xuan is far too arrogant. Is he really that confident?"

Duan Wei hesitated at this point.

"This isn't arrogance; on the contrary, I'm starting to believe he's the one who will unify the world. Hurry up and send people out of the city to surrender; you won't regret it!"

Jia Xu didn't explain much, but urged Duan Wei to act according to the original plan.

"Okay, I'll go and inform them right away!"

Duan Wei nodded and said that he could only listen to Jia Xu now. No matter what the future held, he had no choice but to follow Jia Xu's path.

Just as Qin Qiong, waiting impatiently outside the city, was about to urge the other party, the gates of Huayin City slowly opened, and Duan Wei, dressed in military uniform, led the city guards out of the city and stopped less than a hundred meters away from Qin Qiong.

"General Qin, the garrison of Huayin has officially surrendered to the Xuzhou army. We request that you enter the city and take over the defenses of Huayin. Mr. Jia Xu is waiting for you in the county government office!"

Duan Wei bowed respectfully and said, "These were all done according to Jia Xu's instructions."

By entrusting the defense of Huayin City to Qin Qiong, they effectively gained control of Huayin, demonstrating their utmost sincerity.

"Alright, General Duan, thank you!"

Qin Qiong didn't stand on ceremony. With a wave of his hand, four thousand iron cavalrymen galloped into Huayin City, taking control of this vital strategic pass on the way to Chang'an.

Subsequently, through Duan Wei's introduction, Qin Qiong met Jia Xu up close for the first time at the county government office.

"Mr. Jia Xu, from now on we are colleagues. My lord has asked me to tell you personally that he will be arriving in Huayin soon. Please do not worry. As for the doubts you have in your letter, he will explain them to you!"

Qin Qiong didn't understand why Qin Xuan valued Jia Xu so much, but he was just a messenger and could only relay Qin Xuan's meaning verbatim.

"General, rest assured, I can wait. From now on, we are colleagues, no need for such formalities!"

Jia Xu returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute, appearing exceptionally humble; anyone who didn't know better would have thought the other person was a great Confucian scholar of the time.

Accompanied by Jia Xu and Duan Wei, Qin Qiong then carefully inspected Huayin City.