Mystery: The New Dark Emperor Arrives

Chapter 766: Extra 4: The Mysterious Three Kingdoms

Guanghe seven years.

In Youzhou, in a wilderness, two large armies were facing each other.

One side had a large number of people and wore yellow turbans, but their clothes were ragged and their weapons were mostly farm tools. This was the main force of the Yellow Turban Army.

Although the other side had fewer people, they had war horses, armor, swords, spears, powerful crossbows and other sophisticated weapons. This was Liu Yan, the prefect of Youzhou, leading elite troops to block the attack.

Just as Liu Yan was discussing tactics with his staff and preparing to launch an offensive, he saw strong men carrying a high platform from the rear of the Yellow Turban Army. On the platform stood a middle-aged man dressed in black clothes, holding an iron sword, and with a yellow turban wrapped around his head.

He had a cold expression, and his coat was covered with talismans, revealing an inhuman air.

As the middle-aged man was carried to the front line, Liu Yan's subordinates recognized that this man was none other than "General Tiangong" Zhang Jue.

Liu Yan was about to give the order to attack, but the BMW under him suddenly showed signs of retreating.

The prefect was slightly stunned. This warhorse had followed him in battles across the country and had never shown any sign of fear. Why was it behaving strangely today?

In a flash, "General Tian Gong" waved his iron sword, took the Seven Star Steps on the high platform, shook his head and muttered to himself.

Suddenly the sky was dark and a strong wind blew.

Liu Yan and other officers and soldiers all looked solemn.

At this moment, Zhang Jue shouted: "The blue sky is dead, the yellow sky should be established, the year is Jiazi, the world is auspicious, the thunder god helps me..."

Click~
There were rumbling thunders and strong winds in the sky. All the officers and soldiers were frightened and fled in panic.

In the chaos of the army, Liu Yan looked back and saw Zhang Jiao on the high platform with a look of pain on his face, and tentacles with white inscriptions sticking out from under his clothes.

Liu Yan was slightly stunned, his eyes filled with the white inscription on the tentacle.

……

Zhongping for six years.

After Cao Cao failed in his attempt to assassinate Dong Zhuo by offering a knife, he fled Luoyang and prepared to return to his hometown of Qiao County to recruit soldiers and join forces with heroes from all over the world to fight against Dong Zhuo.

When passing through Zhongmou County, the county magistrate Chen Gong was moved by his righteousness and was willing to give up his official position to follow him.

So the two of them rode on fast horses and fled to Cao Cao's hometown together.

After three days' journey, they arrived at Chenggao, and it was getting dark.

Chen Gong pointed at the lights in the forest with his whip and said, "I think there is a village ahead. How about we stay there?"

Cao Cao looked at the lights with a serious expression and said, "Gongtai (Chen Gong's courtesy name), you may not know that I fought with the Yellow Turban bandits here that year. The bandits were defeated, so they burned down their village and fled, blocking our pursuit.

"This was already vacant land at that time, so why was there a new village?"

Chen Gong said: "The villagers who fled must have returned and rebuilt the village."

Cao Cao sighed and said, "To be honest, this is Lü Bushe's private property, and this man is my father's sworn brother. When the bandits came, they slaughtered all of his family, young and old, and it was I who had them bury him..."

He looked at the lights ahead and said, "Well, let's go check it out. Maybe it's the return of Lu Gong's people."

The two men arrived at the front of the manor and were about to dismount when the gate opened and a man came out. Cao Cao was shocked and said, "Lü..."

Cao Cao then turned his surprise into a smile: "Uncle, how are you?"

As he spoke, he dismounted and saluted.

It turns out that this person is Lü Bushe!
He smiled and asked, "Why did you come to this, nephew?"

Cao Cao was very cordial. After paying his respects, he grabbed Lü Bushe's hands, only to find that Lü Bushe's hands were icy cold, not like those of a living person.

Meng De understood: "I came here with my friends for fun, and I want to stay here for a night."

Lü Bushe opened the door and said, "Please come in."

Chen Gong was standing by, but he didn't say a word.

The two men followed Lü Bushe to the thatched cottage and sat down. Lü Bushe rode his donkey out to get some wine, leaving Cao Cao and the other man alone in the cottage.

Chen Gong asked quietly, "Is this a member of Lü Bushe's clan?"

"No." Cao Cao also said softly: "This person is Lü Bushe."

Chen Gong was surprised: "This..."

Cao Cao added: "Everything is up to me."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of knife sharpening at the back of the hall. After the two of them quietly entered the thatched cottage, they heard someone say, "Tie him up and kill him!"

Cao Cao sneered: "It is better to strike first!"

Then he and Chen Gong drew their swords and rushed in, killing everyone, regardless of whether they were men or women, killing eight people in a row.

When they searched under the kitchen, they saw a pig tied up under the stove. It turned out that Lu Bushe's family was going to kill a pig for a feast.

Chen Gong was filled with regret: "Oh, Meng De was too suspicious and killed a good man by mistake!"

Cao Cao said, "You don't know the methods of the Yellow Turban Army, so you are deceived by this scene. If you eat this pork, we will all die here and be trapped in this village forever!"

He took out the burning firewood from the stove and lit the thatched cottage: "It is not suitable to stay here for long, leave quickly!"

Before they had gone two miles, they saw Lü Bushe returning on a donkey carrying wine. Just as Cao Cao was about to answer him, he rode forward and stabbed Lü Bushe under the donkey with a single blow of his sword.

Chen Gong was shocked: "Just now due to a misunderstanding, I killed eight members of Lü Bushe's family. Why do you want to kill Lü Bushe again?"

Cao Cao said, "I have fought many battles with Zhang Jue's brother Zhang Bao and I know that he possesses sorcery skills.

"After that, they met up with Yuan Shao and others, and they all said that the three Zhang Jue brothers could call the wind and rain and drive the thunder god. Since then, many evil arts have spread among the people."

He sighed, "Gongtai, the world is no longer the same as before."

Chen Gong looked disappointed: "Meng De actually came up with this absurd statement in order to deceive me."

Cao Cao was silent for a moment and then said, "Gongtai and I will camp in the forest tonight. We will come back here tomorrow to investigate and find out the truth."

"Forget it, forget it." Chen Gong bowed his hands and said, "I originally gave up my position for the sake of justice. I never thought that you would be so unjust. Let's say goodbye now."

"Gongtai..." Cao Cao wanted to keep him, but Chen Gong had already ridden his horse and left.

Cao Cao silently drew his sword and stabbed Chen Gong to death under his horse.

Chen Gong fell to the ground, looking confused.

Cao Cao said coldly: "I would rather let the world betray me than let the world betray me!"

Chen Gong fell to the ground dead.

Cao Cao rode away.

After a while, Lü Bushe, covered in blood, stood up, brushed off the dust on his body, put Chen Gong's body on the donkey, and carried it back to the manor.

There was no sign of fire in the thatched cottage that had caught fire before, and Lü Bushe's family was discussing how to slaughter a pig to entertain the guests.

Later, when Cao Cao heard that Chen Gong appeared in Lu Bu's account, he immediately mobilized his army, wiped out Lu Bu, and then killed Chen Gong at Baimen Tower.

……

The third year of Jian'an.

Cao Cao killed Lu Bu at the White Gate Tower and recovered Xuzhou. Liu Bei and his three brothers who came to help in the battle followed Cao's army back to the capital.

In Xuchang, Liu Bei wanted to help Emperor Xian to rule the country, but he found that Dong Yun, the mastermind of this matter, did not have much talent and was definitely no match for Cao Cao.

It happened that Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor and wanted to go north through Xuzhou to join Yuan Shao.

So Liu Bei, who was familiar with Xuzhou, asked for orders to lead troops to stop the attack. Cao Cao sent 50,000 troops, with Liu Bei as the general, and his trusted confidants Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao as his assistants.

Liu Bei arrived in Xuzhou and defeated Yuan Shu, but he did not return to the capital.

How could Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao be a match for Liu Bei and his three brothers? Liu Bei sent them back to Xuchang with just a few words.

At this point, Liu Bei already showed signs of becoming independent.

When Cao Cao heard about this, he was furious and personally led his army to attack Xuzhou.

Liu Bei and Zhang Fei led their army to fight, but they were ambushed when they attacked Cao's camp, and then attacked by Xiahou Dun. They were defeated and fled, and Zhang Fei became separated.

Liu Bei led the remaining troops to flee to Xiaopei, which had already fallen into the hands of Cao's army. When they were about to go to Xiapi, a group of Cao's army blocked their way.

At this time, Liu Bei had only twenty or thirty personal soldiers left, so he had to fight hard.

Although he successfully broke through, Liu Bei was the only one left, while Cao's army was everywhere in the mountains.

Xiahou Dun and other generals were overjoyed: We must capture Liu Bei alive today!
At this moment, a strong wind suddenly blew, and a door of light appeared in front of Liu Bei. After a while, the strong wind stopped, and Liu Bei and the door of light disappeared.

Cao's army was shocked.

Later, Liu Bei suffered many defeats in battle, but was able to escape from desperate situations many times.

……

Twenty-four years of Jian'an.

Guan Yu took advantage of Cao Cao's defeat in Hanzhong and led his army to attack Xiangyang and Fancheng.

But Sun Quan did not want to see Liu Bei continue to expand the fruits of the war, and he realized that this might be the last chance to retake Nanjun.

So Lu Xun launched a surprise attack on Nanjun, and Guan Yu's troops lost their foundation and immediately collapsed.

In December, Guan Yu was defeated and fled to Maicheng, where he and his son Guan Ping were captured.

Sun Quan came in person to persuade Guan Yu to surrender, but Guan Yu said, "You blue-eyed boy, you have betrayed me and ruined your reputation, but you have only gained a few counties. How can I surrender to such a villain?"

Sun Quan did not get angry but laughed: "General, don't you know? Ever since Dong Zhuo entered the capital, the world has been without trust for a long time.

"Liu Bei is also a man without loyalty and faith. He has a secret that can help him travel a thousand miles a day. He could have rescued you long ago, but you are still captured and Liu Bei has not come to rescue you."

Guan Yu sneered: "You don't need to stir up trouble. I fell into a trap and I'm going to die. Why bother to say more?"

Liu Bei had told him and Zhang Fei about this matter a long time ago. At that time, Liu Bei also said that this method would backfire every time it was used.

Although the specific reason for the backlash is unknown, in recent years Zhang Fei has sent people to deliver letters many times, saying that his elder brother had long forgotten his long-cherished wish of "restoring the Han Dynasty", and because of this he had many grudges with the "military general" Zhuge Liang.

Guan Yu thought about it for a long time and thought that this must be a backlash.

Sun Quan snorted coldly and said suddenly: "I also have a method that can turn you into a puppet and obey my orders..."

Guan Yu narrowed his eyes and glared at Sun Quan: "If you are not afraid of being hacked to death in your sleep, you can give it a try."

Sun Quan was intimidated by Guan Yu's majesty and stepped back slightly.

At this moment, Guan Yu was a little surprised. There was a vague shadow behind Sun Quan in front of him. The shadow was somewhat similar to Sun Quan, but with sinister eyes and a cold expression.

In a flash, Guan Yu recognized him: "Sun Ce! You are not dead!"

Sun Quan said grimly: "I can't keep you here."

He then ordered his men to take him out and behead him.

Sun Quan was afraid that Liu Bei would join forces with Cao Cao to seize Jingzhou, so he sent an envoy to deliver Guan Yu's head in a wooden box to Cao Cao overnight.

The messenger arrived in Xuchang and presented the wooden box. Cao Cao opened the box and saw that Guan Yu looked as usual, so he ordered his attendants and the messenger to leave.

Cao Cao, whose hair was already gray, sighed: "Mr. Yunchang, are you well?"

Guan Yu's head opened his mouth and moved his eyes: "Is the Prime Minister okay?"

Cao Cao raised his hand and gently hit his head: "It has been eleven years since we parted at Huarong Road. I am already very old and suffer from headaches all day long."

He sighed and said, "If you have any last words, just tell me."

"Sun Ce is not dead, his brother Sun Quan is just his puppet!"

"I already knew about this."

Guan Yu was a little confused: "Did you know that already?"

Cao Cao stroked his white beard and said, "When Zhang Jiao started the rebellion, the world was in chaos, and many gods and immortals appeared in the world and passed down many strange methods.

"During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the imperial court was shocked because no one could defeat the three Zhang Jue brothers."

Guan Yu frowned slightly: "Yes, the three brothers Zhang Jiao were all executed in the first year of Zhongping."

Cao Cao nodded and said, “It was because at that time, there were many heroes in the world who could rival the three Zhang Jiao brothers.

"Yuan Shao of Hebei has the talent of eloquence. Many heroes from all over the world come to him and praise him. This is the unique method.

“Dong Zhuo was cruel and depraved, but he had many followers, which was also one of the methods.

"In the past, all heroes in the world had magic to protect them."

Cao Mengde told the secret: "There are not many heroes left in the world now. In his early years, Sun Jian also had a strange encounter and was enlightened by an immortal. He could parasitize the consciousness of others and make them his puppets.

"Your brother Xuande is the same. He has a secret that allows him to travel a thousand miles a day, and no one can capture him."

Guan Yu was silent for a long time before he asked, "Where is the Prime Minister?"

Cao Cao replied: "My method is mysterious and can tell fortunes, change appearances, induce hallucinations, and create puppets. Zhuge Kongming also has this skill."

He sighed again, “Of course, there is always a gain and a loss in this world. Although we have extraordinary skills, we have all suffered the backlash.

"Liu Xuande no longer has the ambition to rule the Central Plains, Sun Bofu is becoming more and more sinister and cautious, and I suffer from headaches all day long. The three of us are no longer able to unify China."

Guan Yu asked: "Is there no way to crack it?"

"Yes!" Cao Cao asked, "Have you heard the story of Zuo Ci?"

"I have heard a little bit about him," Guan Yu replied, "This man is a god. He can transform plants and trees into sharp weapons, make fire by clapping his hands, and can stay underwater for half a day.

"I also heard that this gentleman once met with the Prime Minister and presented dragon liver, peonies, and sea bass."

Cao Cao laughed: "I am Zuo Ci!"

As he spoke, Cao Cao's face and clothes changed, and the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty instantly turned into a wandering Taoist priest.

Guan Yu understood: "Zuo Ci is your puppet. The previous offerings of dragon liver, peony and sea bass were all the prime minister's tricks on the ministers."

"That's right." Cao Cao resumed his prime minister's appearance and said, "Playing around in the world, this is the way.

"I know I can see Yun Chang again today, so I am waiting in Xuchang. After we say goodbye today, Cao Cao will die of illness next year, but Zuo Ci will still be here."

Guan Yu said worriedly: "Then my elder brother..."

Cao Cao said: "He can no longer give up his power."

Guan Yu was silent.

Cao Cao saw Guan Yu's expression gradually change, so he said: "Mr. Yunchang also has a magical skill, you can stroke your beard and try it."

Guan Yu was slightly stunned, lowered his brows and searched for it, then he suddenly realized: "I only have my head."

After saying this, he closed his eyes and died.

Cao Cao said with emotion: "Rest in peace, Lord Yunchang.

"Come here, carve a body of Guan Yu from a dark wood and bury it outside the south gate of Luoyang with royal ceremony. All officials of Xuchang, big and small, will attend his funeral. I will also go to pay my respects."

The following year, Cao Cao died of illness.

Later, Liu Bei avenged Guan Yu and led an army to attack Eastern Wu, but was burned down by Lu Xun in Yiling.

When the fire plan was successful, Lu Xun said to his attendants: "This is the method used by the King of Wu (Sun Quan) to 'steal fire'."

……

Regarding this turbulent period of history at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there are records left by "mysterious historians": Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty opened up a business route and later introduced the secret technique of "Tianzun" to the West, which shocked and terrified the believers of the God Worshipping Society.

So at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he taught Western magic in China in the form of an immortal.

Among them, there are three that have been verified by historical records: he taught Zhang Jiao the art of thunder and lightning, he taught Dong Zhuo the art of corruption and bewitching, and he taught Yuan Shao the art of eloquence.

In order to suppress the development of Western magic, Tianzun believers also taught the three secret arts throughout the world. From the Yellow Turban Rebellion to Cao Pi's enthronement, over the decades, those who learned Western magic were all killed.

Another twenty years passed, and those who possessed strange magical powers either retired or died.

The magical battles during these decades are known in history as the "third small-scale revival of the mysterious power."

(End of this chapter)