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

Qin Xuan and the others followed Cao Bao to the city gate, where they met Tao Qian and a group of Xuzhou officials.

"My lord, this is General Qin Xuan, Qin Yichen, and this gentleman beside him is his strategist. It is General Qin's elite troops who will relieve the crisis in Xuzhou!"

"General Qin, this is my lord Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou!"

Cao Bao, acting as the middleman, introduced them to each other. However, Tao Qian and the others were dumbfounded and stood there speechless for a long time. This person was too young. It was hard to match him with the identity of a general who commanded troops.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment.

Fortunately, the seasoned veteran Tao Qian reacted in time, preventing the situation from becoming too awkward.

"General Qin is truly remarkable for his age. Please follow me into the city. I have already ordered a banquet to be prepared. This is not the place to talk!"

"Very well, then thank you very much, Governor Tao!"

Qin Xuan took in everyone's reactions and was used to them. However, he was quite impressed with Tao Qian, who was indeed a seasoned veteran of the officialdom.

This ability to adapt to unexpected situations has not diminished with age at all; I really need to learn from it.

He immediately accepted the invitation and led Liu Bowen and five hundred Great Snow Dragon Riders into the city.

As the snow dragon riders, exuding murderous aura, passed by, the stunned officials seemed to snap out of their daze, whispering amongst themselves.

Two of them, however, fell into deep thought.

Tao Qian, beaming with excitement, led Qin Xuan and the others back to the governor's mansion, where servants had already prepared a banquet.

"Come, General Qin, on behalf of all the people of Xuzhou, I would like to offer you a toast. If it weren't for your timely arrival, Xuzhou would probably have already fallen to Cao Cao's iron cavalry."

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"Thank you so much for saving my life!"

As soon as he sat down, Tao Qian eagerly raised a glass of wine to thank Qin Xuan for his timely rescue. Their appearance was like a glimmer of hope rising from endless despair.

Having dealt with Cao Cao before, Tao Qian knew Cao Cao's character well. He knew that if Xuzhou fell, the people would suffer even greater disaster.

"Lord Tao, this is what we should do. I also have a deep-seated hatred for Cao Cao. As soon as I heard that Cao Cao was attacking Xuzhou, I led my men to launch a surprise attack on him!"

Qin Xuan had already crafted a perfect story, which piqued the interest of Tao Qian and the officials, who all perked up their ears.

"Oh, what deep-seated hatred does the general have for Cao Cao?"

Qin Xuan didn't continue speaking, but instead downed his wine in one gulp, put down the cup, paused, and then said:

"I was originally the son of a wealthy merchant in Yanzhou. In my early years, I studied martial arts and lived a very happy life. But ever since Cao Cao entered Yanzhou, everything has changed dramatically."

"All the wealth in my family was seized by Cao Cao, and even my parents were killed by Cao Cao's army. I swear I will not rest until I avenge this!"

At this point, Qin Xuan's eyes welled up with tears, and his eyes reddened, making everyone present believe his story even more. However, some people expressed doubt and began to question him:

"So how did you assemble such a formidable army?"

Qin Xuan turned his gaze to the person who had spoken. He saw that the man was dressed in black robes and wearing a scholar's hat, but he exuded the air of a merchant. He guessed that the man was Mi Zhu from Xuzhou.

Before Qin Xuan could even ask, Tao Qian chimed in, "General Qin, this is Mi Zhu, the Prefect of Xuzhou!"

Upon hearing that this person was Mi Zhu, Qin Xuan simply nodded, but his heart was already in turmoil.

Qin Xuan had long admired Mi Zhu. Liu Bei's rise to power in his later years was largely due to Mi Zhu's financial support, so Qin Xuan naturally didn't want to let go of such a big spender.

Thinking of this, Qin Xuan continued the story:

"I was able to organize such an elite force entirely thanks to the blessing of God. I discovered a huge amount of wealth left behind by the Yellow Turban rebels in a mysterious cave. I used this money to recruit a large number of young men and hid them in the deep mountains to intensify their training."

"And they searched far and wide for capable generals and strategists, and built up their military equipment in batches, which is how they assembled such an elite army!"

"Our money is now completely gone!"

"So that's how it is!" After listening to Qin Xuan's explanation, everyone nodded in understanding and agreed with the explanation.

The Yellow Turban Army plundered and looted throughout the Han Dynasty, seizing countless treasures. Among them, there must have been some shrewd individuals who hid a large amount of wealth, waiting for an opportunity to rise again.

However, Mi Zhu still expressed doubts about this, after all, the cavalry with white armor and silver swords was indeed powerful. Training such an army would require a huge amount of time and money, far more than the other party claimed.

Unlike the officials in the hall who were ignorant, Mi Zhu was a merchant by origin. In his early years, he had traveled all over the country and had seen the elite troops of the Han Dynasty.

The shock he felt was nothing compared to the feeling he got from the Great Snow Dragon Rider.

After several rounds of drinks, everyone in the hall had drunk too much, except for Qin Xuan, Liu Bowen, and Mi Zhu, who remained sober. Just as Qin Xuan was about to approach Mi Zhu to warm their friendship, Xue Rengui quickly entered the governor's mansion, walked up to Qin Xuan, and whispered in his ear:

"My lord, the matter is settled. The gates of Tancheng are under our control, and the Xuzhou military camp is surrounded. We await your command!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Xuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted, "Great!"

With that, he slammed the wine glass in his hand to the ground. The loud noise left the drunken crowd bewildered, and Mi Zhu, the only one who was sober, had a bad feeling.

Before he could react, a large group of armored soldiers wielding long swords rushed into the governor's mansion, staring at them menacingly, and the atmosphere instantly turned icy.

The sudden turn of events brought everyone back to their senses from their drunkenness. They looked at Qin Xuan with confusion, wondering what he was up to.

"Qin... Qin Xuan, what are you doing?"

Tao Qian looked at Qin Xuan with exasperation and asked tremblingly. The huge contrast made him skip the pleasantries and start calling Qin Xuan by his full name. He was all too familiar with the scene before him, but now that it was happening to him, he found it hard to accept.

"Heh, what's going on?" Qin Xuan slowly stood up and glanced at everyone present. "It's a mutiny, of course. If I want revenge, I need to recruit a large number of soldiers. Where do you think the soldiers and supplies will come from?"

"Lord Tao, as long as you all cooperate with me obediently, I will not do anything to you. Follow my orders, and I guarantee Cao Cao's army will be defeated. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences!"

Even after Qin Xuan finished speaking, some people still failed to grasp the situation and began to hurl insults at him.

"How dare you! You little brat, spout such nonsense! Guards! Guards! Quickly!" Before he could finish speaking, he was killed by the Great Snow Dragon Rider with a single stroke.

The bloody scene silenced everyone, who dared not even breathe loudly, fearing that Qin Xuan would use them as scapegoats.

After making an example of Qin Xuan, he smiled smugly, patted his head, and continued:

"When we entered the city, I already ordered my men to take control of it. Now Cao Bao and his men are like turtles in a jar; they can't save you at all. So you'd better just obey!"

After speaking, Qin Xuan slowly walked up to Tao Qian, staring intently at this warlord from the late Han Dynasty, awaiting his decision.

The two looked at each other for a long time, and Tao Qian finally gave in, sighing and saying:

"Sigh, alright, I'll do whatever you say. I hope you won't go back on your word!"

He then slumped into his seat, completely devoid of energy, as if he were facing some great calamity.

Having received a promise from Tao Qian, the lord of Xuzhou, Qin Xuan smiled. From this moment on, he officially embarked on the path to conquering the world.