Three Kingdoms: The Guan Family's Rebellious Son, Long Blessing Jing Xiang

The sky above Suanzao County was covered with dark clouds, hiding the sun.

Outside the gate of Suanzao County, dark clouds were looming over the city...

The coalition forces covering dozens of miles surrounded the small town tightly.

A yellow wind suddenly arose, revealing the murderous intent. Even in the military camp outside the city, the torches in the central army tent flickered from time to time, and the entire light became dim.

And in this big tent...

“Isn’t that a bit too cruel?”

Finally, someone asked Guan Lin this question.

It's Ling Tong...

Even though he was full of humiliation towards Zhang Liao when they were fighting, in fact, he was just following orders and wanted to severely destroy and undermine Zhang Liao's confidence and fighting spirit.

Ling Tong has never been a person who would impose personal grudges on the interests of his family and country.

However, this approach of making it impossible for the enemy to survive or die seems to be a bit cruel and brutal.

That is why Ling Tong was the first to raise this question to Guan Lin.

At this moment, under the warm yellow light, Guan Lin slowly put down the book in his hand, walked on the bumpy ground, and paced slowly, as if he was thinking about something.

Is it cruel to Zhang Liao?

It's indeed a bit cruel!

But this was the only answer Guan Lin could think of when answering Zhang Liao's question.

With a faint "whoosh", Guan Lin raised his head and looked at the emotional Ling Tong in the tent, "How could I not know that this is cruel? But do I have any other way?"

"What do you mean, sir?" Ling Tong asked anxiously.

"It's very simple. If you were Zhang Liao, what would you do after the city was captured?"

"As long as people are in the city, they are still there. If the city is destroyed... people... people will die!" Ling Tong was still calm when answering the first half of the sentence, but when he answered the last half, Ling Tong's words suddenly became hesitant.

Guan Lin continued to ask: "What if my father came to persuade Zhang Liao to surrender? Based on your understanding of him, would he surrender?"

"No!" Ling Tong already felt his hair stand on end. He frowned and swallowed deeply, "I would rather... die with honor than live in disgrace——"

"So..." Guan Lin pondered, "Whether I arranged for you to humiliate him or severely undermine his confidence, my ultimate goal is to try my best to prevent the jade from breaking and to preserve the tile!"

At this point, Guan Lin paused and continued to explain: "You all thought that by severely defeating Zhang Liao, you could get rid of the nightmares and demons left over from your time at Xiaoyaojin. Little did you know that I did this to make Zhang Liao fall into deep self-doubt, to make him lose his proud self, to make him no longer the person he once was..."

"Zhang Liao is a man like my father, a loyal and righteous man. He is as white as jade can be shattered, and as strong as bamboo can be burned. It is impossible for such a man to survive... Then, the only way... is to let him fall into that deep nightmare, so that he will forget who he is and have deep doubts about himself!"

When Guan Lin said this, Ling Tong swallowed his saliva subconsciously. He gritted his teeth and pondered for a long time before continuing, "Will Zhang Liao, who is so self-doubting, surrender again?"

"Still not!" Guan Lin answered with great confidence, "But, there is one thing. Before he figures out who he is and turns back into the war god of Xiaoyaojin, he will not commit suicide... Besides..."

"What's more?" Ling Tong asked impatiently.

"Besides, we have a trump card... that can ensure he stays alive!"

"what!"

"His fellow soldiers in Bingzhou..." Guan Lin narrowed his eyes, somewhat sadly, yet somewhat cruelly, saying, "I can also threaten him with the lives of his fellow soldiers, making him live a bitter and difficult life..."

"But if we just want to survive? What's the point?"

"Right now, I can't think that far ahead..." Guan Lin spread his hands helplessly, "Let's keep him alive first. In the future, there's still my father and my uncle. If all else fails... there's still Cao Cao! There's always someone who can persuade him!"

Cao Cao——

When these two words were chanted, Ling Tong's emotions quickly changed from extremely complicated to huge surprise.

Guan Lin saw his doubts, but smiled faintly and continued, "Who knows, after my father captures Cao Cao, he may be able to persuade him to surrender..."

Uh... these words surprised Ling Tong even more.

No, this is no longer surprise, this is astonishment!
Then the problem is coming.

According to what Master Yunqi said, Cao Cao is about to be captured by General Guan?

...

...

The words are divided into two parts.

At the foot of Mount Li, the hot air balloon was finally inflated and the kerosene tank was filled with fish oil.

Cao Cao recognized that this was refined fish oil, which was refined after he had established a workshop for Ma Jun in the past and improved the refining technology. In the words of his son-in-law Ma Jun, this essential oil has a strong continuous burning property and can be used for long-distance flights. In other words, it is completely possible to fly from the foot of Mount Li across the Weishui River to the border of Bingzhou.

Once we reach Bingzhou, our good brother Xiahou Dun will surely have made proper arrangements to meet us at the border...

He, Cao Cao, will also escape.

No, how could this be an escape? This was clearly a dragon entering the sea or a tiger entering the mountains. It was the beginning of the Wei Dynasty’s comeback.

With this in mind, Cao Cao's tiger eyes focused again.

Seeing the shriveled ball balloon getting bigger and bigger and starting to fly into the air, and seeing the kerosene cans burning fiercely, the flying ball soldier named "Li Qiu" skillfully placed the food and spare kerosene cans in the rattan basket.

After doing all this, he began to greet Cao Cao, "Your Majesty, you may come up now!"

Looking at the huge sphere, Cao Cao was still a little hesitant. After all, it was the first time he met a flying ball soldier, and it was flying in the sky, which inevitably made him feel nervous and worried.

Guan Xing continued, "Your Majesty, the hot air balloon is too big and will soon be discovered by the enemy. We should not stay here for long..."

As these words were chanted, Cao Cao stepped forward, but as he turned over and entered the rattan basket, he asked one last question, "When Yuan Rang asked you to pick me up, did you mention anything else?"

Is this... the final test?
Following Cao Cao's question, Guan Xing thought for a moment, then quickly answered, "General Xiahou did mention it. If the king has any doubts, tell him that it was General Yupiao who made the full arrangements..."

Sure enough, when the four words "Horse Ticket General" were chanted, "Hahahaha..." Cao Cao laughed loudly, and along with this laughter, all the doubts in his heart were swept away, and there was no hesitation at all.

"High Priest, Saint, Ghost, Cheng Wu, Cheng Yan, you all come up..."

Cao Cao didn't even arrange for other people...

It was Zhang Wei and Cheng Wu who immediately ordered their ghost soldiers and personal guards, "Disband on the spot, and find a way to reunite in Bingzhou. After reunion, each of you will have done a great deed!"

"promise…"

There were some dejected and helpless voices.

It was not until this moment that many ghosts and soldiers realized that they had no part in the king's escape plan...

After making all these arrangements, Zhang Wei, Zhang Qiying, Zhang Yulan, Cheng Wu, and Cheng Yan got on the flying ball. Together with Guan Xing and an assistant who were originally in the flying ball basket, there were exactly seven people, and this was also the limit for the flying ball.

"My Lord? Can we take off..."

"Walk--"

Following Guan Xing's last question and Cao Cao's answer, Guan Xing skillfully took out the dagger and directly cut the three ropes.

Originally, the cable was pulling, and although the balloon wanted to fly, it was held back. However, once the cable was cut, the entire balloon began to let go and slowly rose up.

Everyone watched the flying ball, waved to the people in the rattan basket, and shouted, "Farewell, Great King!"

But soon, they lowered their heads and silence returned.

It seemed that they had realized that now... the king was safe, but they had an unknown and uncertain future ahead of them.

...

...

Zhang Liao has lost six battles.

This is not scary... victory and defeat are common in the military.

But the scary thing is that no one could see that Zhang Liao had any hope of winning in such an "unfair" fight.

There is no hope, this is the most terrifying thing!

Inside Suanzao County, the last troop of Wei troops was in low spirits and their morale was low.

Zhang Liao walked on the street at a loss, holding the heavy, unbreakable crescent halberd.

"tread…"

"tread…"

"tread…"

Zhang Liao walked with heavy steps, leaving behind a lonely back and an empty soul.

"General, this is not your fault..." Gao Rou stared at Zhang Liao. He knew that Zhang Liao had tried his best, but... "General, you also feel the magic weapons and armor in the hands of the enemy generals. They are invulnerable and can cut iron like mud. Not to mention you, even if Lu Bu Lu Fengxian came here in the past, he would never be a match for these Han troops!"

"General, did you notice what those enemy generals stepped on when they drove their horses? It looked like a stirrup. Your horsemanship was far better than theirs, but because of the stirrup, their balance when driving horses was better than yours! Even if you lose... you lose because of these things!"

Gao Rou's words made Zhang Liao pause. He said self-deprecatingly, "I know all this, but a loss is a loss. These people were all defeated by me before, but now... because of Guan Lin, I am no longer their opponent!"

Zhang Liao's voice always carries a hint of desolation, just like a hero in his twilight years.

"General Wenyuan..." Gao Rou said hoarsely.

Zhang Liao was still mocking himself, "Wenhui, issue a military order for me to open the city gates. If anyone wants to surrender, let them go out and surrender... and..."

At this point, Zhang Liao paused for a moment, then continued, "Wenhui, you should surrender as well. I don't blame you, and neither will the Wei Dynasty. It's just that I, Zhang Liao, am incompetent, and I'm sorry for you!"

This…

Following Zhang Liao's lonely voice, he walked forward step by step, holding his crescent halberd, his back looking even more desolate.

That night, the city gates of Suanzao County were opened.

Many soldiers have already left the city to surrender...

As night fell and the autumn wind blew, the only thing left was the bright lights in the lobby of the Suanzao County Office. A soldier tiptoed into the lobby and was slightly startled when he saw the wine jars scattered all over the floor.

But at this moment, Zhang Liao turned over in the big chair with a "huff", and the wine jar in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang" sound.

But despite the loud noise, Zhang Liao was still drunk and unconscious.

The soldier quickly took the cloak off the wooden frame, put it on Zhang Liao, and then saluted solemnly.

"I, Wu Laoliu, was promoted by the general to be his personal guard because I am from the same hometown as him. It has been nearly twenty years now. However, my fellow townsmen Zhang Zhong, Li Yong, Zhao Gang, Wang Meng, Guo Rui... they all surrendered. I, like them, still have families to support. I cannot die here, nor can I follow the general! I feel sorry for the general, and... and..."

When he said this... the personal guard named Wu Laoliu was already sobbing. He could only knock his head heavily on the ground to express his inner guilt towards the general.

“Good wine, good wine…”

"Yun Chang, you are a good person who surrendered to Han but not Cao. I toast to you with this bowl of wine... to your loyalty!"

"Gongming, we are all from Bingzhou, we rise together with Yunchang!"

Zhang Liao turned over, as if he was dreaming back to the past, the days when the three brothers from Bingzhou drank and ate meat together in Cao's camp.

The personal guard named Wu Laoliu gritted his teeth. He did not disturb Zhang Liao, but bowed deeply again, then turned around and left the hall resolutely.

As his figure disappeared, Zhang Liao's eyes finally opened, his face full of guilt. He was just pretending to be drunk.

"gone…"

"It's fine if it's surrendered, it's fine too—"

Muttering, he picked up the jar of wine from the ground and took a big gulp.

One hundred thousand Bingzhou wolf riders and several county commanders were brought to Luoyang by Ding Yuan from Bingzhou.

Afterwards, Lu Bu killed Ding Yuan and took the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry to join Dong Zhuo. At that moment, Zhang Liao also questioned Lu Bu's decision.

But due to the situation, when the remaining Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry was finally handed over to him, he felt tremendous pressure and sense of responsibility.

Bingzhou? What is that place?
In the first year of Guanghe, the bank of Wula Mountain collapsed, and Wuhuan and Xianbei invaded Bingzhou...

Yanmen County became a river of blood overnight, and countless people died tragically. From that time on, he led his men to fight with Lu Fengxian along the coast of Wula Mountain and in front of Yanmen Pass. Although they became famous in one battle, what they could not prevent was that nine out of ten houses in Bingzhou were destroyed!
These Bingzhou Wolf Riders... are the last species of that land and that era—

"Guan Lin... Guan Lin, you succeeded. You succeeded in forcing the men of Bingzhou to surrender. You are so powerful. Your methods are as fierce as ever, but you... but you did a good job in this matter, and you did it right..."

Having said that, Zhang Liao took another full sip, and then with a sharp gleam in his eyes, he continued, but this time his voice became low and heavy.

"But Guan Lin, I'm afraid your plan will fail. You think that if the men of Bingzhou surrender, I will surrender too. You are wrong, wrong... Although I, Zhang Liao, am a surrendered general of Wei, I am definitely not a two-faced person... The king has great favor and respect for me, your plan will fail."

I don’t know if it was just drunken mumbling or words that Zhang Liao had been holding in his heart for a long, long time.

That night, Zhang Liao murmured to himself. He drank a lot and talked a lot.

Gradually, he got drunk, drunk, really drunk to the point of passing out.

...

...

In addition to Cao Cao, the accompanying Zhang Wei, Zhang Qiying, Zhang Yulan, Cheng Wu, and Cheng Yan were all riding a flying ball for the first time.

From the moment the ball took off into the air, they felt dizzy.

In the air, the wind was whistling so hard that they felt pain in their eardrums. When they had the mind to look down, the thousand or so soldiers at the foot of Mount Li had turned into small dots, and even... the flying ball flew higher and higher, and even Mount Li, even the Wei River, even all the mountains, rivers, and passes in the Guanzhong area became smaller and smaller.

Perhaps because Wei Wang Cao Cao was right beside them, they gritted their teeth and tried hard to suppress their frightened mood, but their faces turned pale involuntarily, especially Zhang Qiying and Zhang Yulan, because they were women... The strong wind blew towards their bodies from all directions, making them shiver.

Zhang Qiying couldn't help but ask Zhang Yulan, "Aunt, can this... can this flying ball really fly back?"

Zhang Yulan nodded subconsciously, "We should trust the King of Wei, trust this... young general from the Flying Ball Camp..."

Do you believe it?
It was the word "believe" that made Zhang Qiying shut up.

But soon... "A-choo" Zhang Qiying sneezed again. It was so cold... really cold.

Guan Xing noticed the two women at this time, and he reminded them: "There is a blanket in this rattan basket, Your Majesty, and everyone else...you might as well put on this blanket, and you won't be cold."

Zhang Qiying and Zhang Yulan couldn't stand the cold, so they found a blanket and curled up in a rattan basket...

But Zhang Qiying looked down through the gap. It was so high... She felt that she was not only cold, but also afraid of heights. She couldn't help but ask tremblingly: "We... we won't fall down!"

Guan Xing was very calm. He held a compass in one hand to determine the direction, and said, "Believe me, I am trained. This place is still some distance away from Bingzhou. You may as well take a rest. When you open your eyes... you will probably have arrived in Bingzhou!"

Guan Xing said it very easily...

But including Cao Cao, they didn't dare to close their eyes, let alone rest. After all, flying in the sky... inevitably makes people feel nervous and scared.

Even Cheng Wu and Cheng Yan were looking closely at their feet. They wanted to make sure... the flight route was correct.

But... as the ball flew higher and higher, passing through the clouds... it was impossible to see clearly the situation under my feet. For a quarter of an hour, I couldn't even see the directions of east, south, west or north.

In this situation, we can only place our hope on the compass in the hands of "Li Qiu".

Cao Cao had originally been very alert, but with the strong wind blowing everywhere, he could not bear it any longer, especially his forehead, which was already slightly painful due to the wind.

So, he couldn't help but find a blanket, wrapped his body in it, and buried his head in the wicker basket.

Flying time is always boring...

Because of the airflow and strong wind, people rarely talked to each other. As time went on, the days of running around and fleeing... inevitably made Cao Cao sleepy.

Gradually, gradually, I fell asleep...

I don’t know if it’s because I’m too tired or if I’m dreaming about something during the day.
Cao Cao actually had a very long dream.

He dreamed of the end of the Han Dynasty when the royal family was in ruins, the land was desolate, and the people were in grief;
He dreamed of the dawn, of the young man from Qiao County;
He dreamed that Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling were extremely licentious, officials were corrupt, and there were powerful people everywhere.

He dreamed of himself. When he was young, he was smart, chivalrous and unrestrained. He entered the officialdom through the selection of filial and honest officials. He adhered to the right path, beat the powerful with five-colored sticks, issued ten crimes to the people, destroyed evil temples, eliminated licentious sacrifices and cleared away corruption. It can be said that he was just beginning to show his talent!

He dreamed that he had spoken out to stop Dong Zhuo from entering the capital, that he had raised an army in Chenliu to destroy the traitors, to collect the Yellow Turbans, and to organize the remaining members of the party...

He dreamed of fighting with his old friend Yuan Shao, he dreamed of Zhang Xiu surrendering, Sun Bofu dying suddenly, he dreamed of recruiting strong generals in Xuzhou...

He dreamed of the Battle of Guandu, where he used a brilliant strategy to defeat the strong with the weak, and the attack on Wuchao, where he led the troops to capture the city and establish a country.

He dreamed that his iron cavalry pacified the remnants of the rebels, captured four states, marched a thousand miles to defeat the Wuhuan and brought them down, and that he beheaded Tadun and made outstanding contributions as a famous general.

He dreamed... he was full of vigor and vitality, Wei Wu waved his whip, looking at the nine counties of Jingxiang from afar, heading south to cross the river, the east wind blew, the war drums beat, the flames burned... the iron chains connected the river... his ambition to establish hegemony was ultimately shattered.

Then he went to the Wei River alone, cut off his beard and robe, and stood across the river to resist;

It was Chencang that was entered, the army was defeated and the general was killed, and the tigers and leopards pacified Xiliang;
It was the battlefield of Jingxiang, where the five best generals fought against Yunchang three times;
It was the battlefield of Hanzhong, the Ding army changed its formation... the horse stumbled and the general lost his talent...

He even wondered in his dreams, what is a hero?
——A hero has great ambitions in his heart and good plans in his mind. He has the ability to contain the universe and the ambition to swallow the world!

He, Cao Cao, is a hero!
It was just another hero who lost, just like the three times he fought against Lu Bu, just like the scene beside Chibi, just like the bank of the Wei River, just like the battle at Xiangfan...

A hero is never defeated by the word "lose".

As long as the fighting spirit remains, we can fight on the battlefield again.

What's more, he is Cao Cao!

When I was young, I wished to pacify the people, expand the territory, become a general who conquers the west, and enter the imperial court a hundred years later.

Who would have thought that he would later build a high platform, become a general and a prime minister, dominate the nine provinces, and be granted the title of King of Wei.

He is a hero, the King of Wei, the King of Wei who is determined to unify the country.

As long as he still has a breath left, as long as he can return to his homeland, the sailing of Wei Wu's hegemony will not stop, and the grandeur of Wei Wu's hegemony will surely come again...

He, Cao Cao, will also take back everything he lost from Liu Bei, just like he did after his previous failures.

"Ha ha ha ha…"

Thinking of this, even if it was just a dream, Cao Cao suddenly laughed heartily.

This laughter not only woke him up, but also startled all the people who were sleeping or dozing in the wicker basket...

At this time, the sky was pitch black...

No one could tell the directions of east, south, west and north, and in the chaos, only the stars in the sky were twinkling, as if guiding the direction of Cao Cao and his subordinates.

"arrive--"

At this moment, Guan Xing began to recite.

And with the sound of "here we are", Guan Xing seemed quite excited.

On the other hand, Cao Cao and his subordinates quickly stood up, clung to the fence of the rattan basket, and leaned their heads to look down.

This is a plain between mountains, which is quite high above the ground, and Bingzhou is mountainous... This is in line with the topography of Bingzhou.

And as the fly ball slowly falls.

Cao Cao could already see the torches on the flat plain...

There were circles of torches surrounding the city, as if guiding the direction where the flying ball would fall.

The fly ball continues to sink...

Gradually, Cao Cao could hear cheers from the ground, as if every soldier who greeted him was extremely motivated and excited.

Their excited shouts became louder and louder...

This also made Cao Cao feel excited.

——"Are they celebrating my return?"

——"Haha, as expected, my guess was right. As long as I come back, the grandeur of Wei Wu's hegemony will surely come again!"

...

…(End of chapter)