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

On the first day of the sixth month in 195 AD, the allied forces of the four feudal lords who had been entrenched in the old capital of Luoyang officially launched an attack on Chang'an.

Qin Xuan led the vanguard, Yuan Shu the rearguard, and the 20,000-strong army marched towards Chang'an, while the young emperor and others returned to Ji Province.

Before departing, Yuan Shao issued a proclamation in the name of His Majesty the Emperor, inviting all the warlords to join him in attacking the Western Liang army.

Yuan Shao did this for two reasons: first, to demonstrate the legitimacy of his actions and to justify some of the improper actions he took during the military operation.

After all, eliminating the Western Liang army was not something that could be done overnight, and the logistical costs were enormous. At this point, it was inevitable that some acts of burning, killing, and looting would occur. Using the emperor's name could reduce some of the negative public opinion.

Secondly, they wanted to get other surrounding forces to send troops and join the campaign against the Xiliang army.

Yuan Shao was not a fool, but sometimes his emotions swayed his thinking. He knew clearly that with only 20,000 men, it was far from enough to take Chang'an, and he needed to find some more cannon fodder to join him.

Regardless of the marching speed of Yuan Shao and his men, Qin Xuan led his army at full speed after setting off, heading towards Huayin as quickly as possible.

After traveling nearly 300 li, more than 1,500 cavalrymen galloped day and night without rest and arrived in Huayin by evening.

Having received the news early on, Qin Qiong immediately led Jia Xu and Duan Wei to greet them at the city gate.

"General Qin, are our lord and his men coming so soon? Do we really need to wait this early? What if they don't arrive until late at night? Aren't we just wasting time here?"

Duan Wei, standing on the city wall, was getting impatient as he watched the distant scene unfold without any movement. He thought Qin Qiong was just making a fuss over the fact that he had been waiting for over an hour without seeing a single person, and he began to grumble.

"General Duan, I know you're getting impatient, but I'm telling you, our lord and the others should be arriving soon. The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry are all riders of two fine horses, and our lord's warhorse is an absolute steed."

"Therefore, it won't take them that long to get from Luoyang to Huayin. They might hear the sound of warhorses' hooves at any moment."

Qin Qiong was a man of strong emotions. He didn't care about Duan Wei's little complaints and instead patiently explained the reasons behind them.

If Qin Xuan hadn't been accompanied by elite cavalry like the Great Snow Dragon Riders, they certainly wouldn't have been able to reach such a distance so quickly. But the Great Snow Dragon Riders were different; they were all well-trained elites, capable of traveling a thousand miles a day, like a white lightning bolt.

"Tap tap tap~~~!"

Just then, a series of muffled hoofbeats came from afar, growing louder and louder, and then the ground began to tremble slightly—a subtle but not negligible vibration.

"Quickly, quickly, it must be our lord and the others arriving! Open the city gates!"

As a white figure in the distance became increasingly conspicuous, Qin Qiong shouted loudly as he walked towards the city gate.

That moving white was the reflection of the white armor on the Great Snow Dragon Rider's body in the night.

"Seeing is believing, the Great Snow Dragon Rider truly lives up to its reputation!"

Jia Xu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke as he watched the white figure in the distance grow increasingly clear. He then beckoned to Duan Wei, who was standing there dumbfounded, to follow Qin Qiong's footsteps and go to greet Qin Xuan.

After the three of them descended the city wall and came to the street, Qin Xuan had already led his men into the city.

"My lord, these two are General Duan Wei and Master Jia Xu!"

Qin Qiong approached Qin Xuan and introduced the two people behind him.

"Very well, welcome to both of you who have abandoned the darkness and joined my Xuzhou. This is not the place to talk, let's go to the county government!"

Qin Xuan sat on his white-hoofed horse, looking down at Duan Wei and Jia Xu, and nodded.

"Yes, my lord, please!"

Qin Qiong then invited Qin Xuan to the Huayin County government office.

Upon arriving at the county government office, Qin Xuan first greeted the two men, then sent Duan Wei and Qin Qiong away, leaving only Jia Xu behind.

"Jia Xu, Jia Wenhe, the most deeply hidden strategist by Dong Zhuo's side. I, Qin Xuan, have long heard of your great name. Back then, when Li and Guo led the Xiliang army to counterattack Chang'an, it was you who planned it behind the scenes!"

"If the emperor finds out, what do you think he'll do to you?"

Instead of greeting Jia Xu in a friendly manner as if it were their first meeting, Qin Xuan verbally threatened him.

"Heh, I'm not very talented, but unfortunately Li and Guo are a bunch of good-for-nothings, otherwise, how could things have come to this!"

"Whether the emperor knows or not is no longer important. He has just escaped one tiger's mouth only to fall into another. He will probably regret it soon!"

Despite Qin Xuan's verbal threats, Jia Xu showed no fear and readily admitted it.

"But you, sir, I think you are far more capable than the likes of Li Jue and Guo Si. You were able to replace Tao Qian, repel Cao Cao, and destroy Lü Bu in such a short time. This is something that a hero could not accomplish in less than a year."

"Could it be that you, sir, have some important background?"

Taking advantage of this topic, Jia Xu inquired about Qin Xuan's background.

After all, none of these things could be accomplished by an unknown person. Just assembling that elite Great Snow Dragon Riders must have required a lot of effort and money, and the scale of the operation was considerable.

But Qin Xuan seemed to have appeared out of thin air, leaving no trace whatsoever.

"My surname is Qin, the Qin of the Great Qin Dynasty!"

Faced with Jia Xu's probing, Qin Xuan naturally couldn't tell him that he was a time traveler and even possessed a system; he could only rely on the name of the Qin Dynasty.

"Hiss... I see. My lord, please accept Jia Xu's bow!"

Upon hearing that Qin Xuan might be related to the Qin Dynasty, Jia Xu felt a powerful shock washing over him. After a long while, a smile of sincere admiration appeared on his face, and he then bowed respectfully to Qin Xuan.

Although the Qin Dynasty lasted only two generations, its historical foundation was extremely strong. It's possible that some of its descendants survived to this day and rose rapidly during this chaotic period.

Qin Xuan may be a descendant of the Qin Dynasty.

Seeing that Jia Xu, that cunning old fox, had actually believed his hastily fabricated lie, Qin Xuan couldn't help but think to himself:

"These days, without a good background, you really can't get by. Even a cunning strategist like Jia Xu would follow a lord with potential for advancement."

Qin Xuan then personally helped the other person up and said calmly:

"Mr. Wenhe, now you should know why I don't want to use the emperor to command the princes. I can't treat the Liu family like ancestors. Besides, now I can only rely on my own strength."

"My lord, what about Chang'an? Don't you have any plans for Chang'an?"

"Wenhe, are you joking? My sphere of influence is in Xuzhou. Chang'an is not in my plans, but I can use Chang'an to make a deal with Cao Cao."

"trade?"

Jia Xu was somewhat confused and was about to ask what kind of transaction it was when Qin Qiong suddenly walked in, interrupting him.

"My lord, there are several people outside the county government office who want to see you, saying it's related to your background!"

After glancing at Jia Xu, Qin Qiong walked over to Qin Xuan and whispered something in his ear.

"What? Let them in right now! I want to see who they are!"

Upon hearing that the other party might know about his background, Qin Xuan couldn't remain calm and ordered Qin Qiong to bring the other party in.

Seeing Qin Xuan's uneasy demeanor, Jia Xu, unable to satisfy his curiosity, made an excuse to leave.

As a cunning old fox who was well-versed in the art of self-preservation, Jia Xu knew exactly what he should and shouldn't know, and that hearing certain things could lead to his death.