Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 502: Visiting Xudu, the Secret of the Secret
Compared with the battlefield in the north, the battlefield in the south was much more chaotic. Neither side had any special troops or special arrangements. The only change was the reinforced Jiangdong soldiers pouring out of the city.

However, the number of people on the southern battlefield was not large, only about one-fifth of the number on the northern battlefield, but there were also thousands of people, like a group of crows, gathering at the city gate, rushing and killing frantically, trying to break through the city gate.

The situation on the three battlefields where fighting had not yet ended became increasingly difficult due to the collapse of the western front.

On the eastern battlefield, Huang Zhong, who was fighting with Gan Ning, was a little absent-minded. From the beginning, he had been feeling that something was wrong and had some vague guesses in his mind, but he did not dare to think about it too much. In such a battle, if he was distracted, it would have a huge impact.

It was not until more than a thousand Jiangdong soldiers with somewhat unreasonable combat power appeared from the city that Huang Zhong knew that Huang Zu might have died in the battle. His father died early, and Huang Zhong followed Huang Zu into the army since he was a child. He started as a small soldier under Huang Zu, and now he has become a famous general, a general who can stand on his own.

Thinking of this, Huang Zhong couldn't help but get furious. When facing Gan Ning's attack again, Huang Zhong's eyes turned bloodshot and he swung his sword fiercely. The golden light on the Red Blood Sword began to fade, and was replaced by mottled black lines that clung to the blood-red blade, making the already weird Red Blood Sword even more bizarre.

"Die!"

Huang Zhong roared and rushed forward regardless of everything, ready to chop Gan Ning with the red blood knife in hand.

Gan Ning was confused. How come Huang Zhong suddenly went crazy and opened fire? If Huang Zhong's attack was like the waves hitting the shore, then Huang Zhong's attack now was like the tide of Qiantang River. If you are not careful, you will be swept into the tide and end up being crushed to pieces.

On the other side, Zhao Yun, who was fighting against the three famous generals alone, also felt something and looked at Huang Zhong with some concern. The appearance of Jiangdong soldiers in the city meant that one of the cities must have been broken. Regardless of strength or manpower, the probability of Huang Zu's city being broken was the highest.

But it was this glance that allowed Cao Zhang to seize the opportunity. He thrust out his Fang Tian Hua Ji, causing a series of sonic booms and crashing into Zhao Yun's body. Fortunately, Zhao Yun reacted in time and used the spearhead of his Longdan Bright Silver Spear to block Cao Zhang's Fang Tian Hua Ji. He then took advantage of the situation to turn the Longdan Bright Silver Spear, carrying the Fang Tian Hua Ji in Cao Zhang's hand, trying to use the force to unload Cao Zhang's weapon.

Cao Zhang responded just as promptly. He held the halberd loosely with both hands to leave room for its rotation. Whether he let go completely or not, if Zhao Yun wanted to draw out the halberd or swing it outward, Cao Zhang would be able to grab it in the first place.

Zhou Yu took advantage of this opportunity, swung out several beautiful sword flowers, and charged towards Zhao Yun. The tip of the General's sword swung, forcing Zhao Yun to draw out his Longdan Silver Spear to resist Zhou Yu's attack.

In Zhao Yun's impression, including the first half of the battle, the sword in Zhou Yu's hand was a hard sword, but this time, the sword in Zhou Yu's hand turned into a soft sword.

The soft sword hit Zhao Yun's spear, and then the tip of the sword pierced into Zhao Yun's chest by inertia. Zhou Yu shook his wrist, and the soft sword vibrated, and a wound appeared on Zhao Yun's chest.

The wound was not deep. After all, it was a soft sword. Although it was a bit strange and unpredictable, its lethality was also much smaller. After piercing Zhao Yun's breastplate, it only left a shallow wound on his chest.

The pulling out of the Longdan Bright Silver Spear meant that Cao Zhang was liberated. Regaining control of the Fang Tian Huaji, Cao Zhang wielded the last and most powerful killing move of the Tian Yuan Jueming Ji.

Cao Zhang was seen holding high the Fang Tian Huaji. At the tip of the halberd, a powerful force was gathering. As the Fang Tian Huaji fell, a shocking halberd light appeared, which actually cut through the clouds in the air and rolled forward.

After the flash of the sword, Zhao Yun suffered new wounds on his body.

Ever since Cao Zhang joined the battle, Zhao Yun's body continued to gain new scars. Now, his entire body was covered with scars. The three of them all had smiles on their faces, as if victory was just around the corner.

In Yuzhou, outside the city of Xudu, Gu Rubing and Zhuge Liang appeared outside the city. Gu Rubing looked up and looked at the capital city which he had not visited for a long time.

"Long time no see, Cao Cao."

Gu Rubing muttered to himself with a smile on his face. Behind him, four thousand Bai Li soldiers were ready for battle.

Before Gu Rubing entered the city, Cao Cao got the news. Cao Cao's face was full of horror. He had never thought that Gu Rubing would dare to bring thousands of troops to attack Xu Du. Now Xu Du had only more than a thousand soldiers defending the city, and two hundred elite soldiers brought back by Cao Cao. The moment he heard the news, Cao Cao even felt a little regretful that he should not have killed the fifteen hundred imperial guards just now.

If they had these 1,500 imperial guards, they might have been able to fight with the help of the tall city walls of Xudu, but it was too late to say anything now.

"Shi Zai."

As soon as Cao Cao finished speaking, the young general pushed the door open and walked in.

"Lord."

"Take two hundred elite soldiers, gather all the defenders of Xudu, and follow me to the East Gate!"

On the other hand, Gu Rubing was different from Cao Cao in being nervous. He and Zhuge Liang found a teahouse outside the city, ordered two cups of hot tea and some peach-like snacks. Gu Rubing and Zhuge Liang sat opposite each other, and there was no sign that a war was about to happen. People who didn't know the situation thought that the two were here to enjoy the scenery.

About half a quarter of an hour later, Cao Cao appeared on the city wall. When he saw the thousands of cavalrymen densely packed under the city wall, the last bit of hope in his heart disappeared. There were two white feathers on both sides of the helmets of those cavalrymen, and this feature was exactly the iconic feature of the Bai Li soldiers, the elite troops under Liu Bei.

Before this, Cao Cao's men had fought against the Bai Li soldiers more than once. Apart from Gu Rubing, he might be the one who knew the strength of the Bai Li soldiers best.

Gu Rubing also noticed Cao Cao on the city wall in the distance. He immediately raised his hand, greeted him with a smile, and then waved at Cao Cao, signaling him to leave the city.

Although Cao Cao's face looked heavy, he was not afraid at all, because he did not see any powerful generals either beside Gu Rubing or among the Bai Li soldiers. Moreover, if Gu Rubing wanted to kill him, there was no need to act like this and give people a chance to criticize him. He only needed to capture the city.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao no longer hesitated.

"Shi Zai, bring your men and follow me."

"Yes, my lord!" Deng Ai held the black three-foot-long sword in his hand without it being sheathed, and led two hundred elite soldiers to follow Cao Cao out of the city.

When they arrived at the teahouse, Gu Rubing and Zhuge Liang were still sitting opposite each other, with no intention of getting up. The owner and the waiter of the teahouse stood by and looked on in amazement. What was going on today?
First, he received a great man with thousands of cavalrymen. In the cavalry team, there was a fluttering flag with a word "Lie" embroidered on it, which showed the identity of this great man. Who else can use the word "Lie"? Except Liu Bei, who was canonized as King Lie by His Majesty, who else can use the word "Lie".

Moreover, Liu Bei was the respected uncle Liu, a relative of the Han royal family, famous for his benevolence, which made the teahouse owner feel proud.

Now Cao Cao is here again. Most of those who live in Xudu have seen Cao Cao, and they also have a kind of admiration for the prime minister of the current court, who is second only to the emperor.

Although other customers in the teahouse had left because of the arrival of King Lie and Cao Cao, who had just been enthroned as King of Wei, the boss knew that starting from tomorrow and in the next few months, his teahouse would probably be hard to get a seat, and there might not even be room to stand.

Although the boss was excited, he didn't dare to say much, and he didn't even dare to ask if the customer needed any tea. He just hid aside and served quietly. He didn't even dare to look at the customer twice, and could only take a furtive glance.

Cao Cao sat opposite Gu Rubing and filled a cup of tea for himself.

"I didn't expect that His Royal Highness Prince Lie would be so courageous that he dared to come to my Xudu with only a few thousand men. Aren't you afraid that I would ambush him here and make him never come back?"

Cao Cao drank the still warm tea in the cup and looked at Gu Rubing with some confusion. He really couldn't understand how Gu Rubing dared to bring thousands of people to Xu Du at this time. Moreover, as far as he knew, the famous generals under Gu Rubing were all scattered on the battlefields everywhere. In other words, there was not a single high-quality general accompanying him. Yet Gu Rubing still dared to come here, and brought with him Zhuge Liang, whom he appointed as prime minister.

Ever since Zhuge Liang joined his army, Cao Cao had investigated Zhuge Liang, and he knew that after Zhuge Liang joined his army, he could be said to be his second in command. Even Guan Yu, his sworn brother, was inferior to him. The two of them coming to Xu Du together made Cao Cao worried, because he was not a person who acted without a purpose. If they dared to come here, they must be sure of victory, but Cao Cao didn't know that yet.

"Hahaha, His Majesty the Prince of Wei is not bad either. He sent out all his generals and soldiers. Even the 1,500 imperial guards that were left for Your Majesty were killed by His Majesty. What courage and tactics!"

Gu Rubing showed no sign of weakness. Since Cao Cao liked to be sarcastic, he would just go along with him.

"Oh? Prince Lie knew what happened half an hour ago. He is really well connected. I wonder if His Highness Prince Lie knows that I am now the regent?"

When Cao Cao reached here, he sat up straight and glared. In just half an hour, such a secret thing that happened in the palace had been reported to Gu Rubing. This was enough to show that Gu Rubing had not only deeply infiltrated him, but also the palace as well.

Gu Rubing still maintained an indifferent attitude towards Cao Cao, whose eyes seemed to be murderous.

"Oh, about this matter, I know about it. Not only do I know that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei is now the regent, but I also know that the Prince of Wei threatened Your Majesty and tried to sow discord between me and Your Majesty. Oh, it seems that the Prince of Wei also obtained the position of regent through this method."

As soon as these words were spoken, Cao Cao's expression changed again.

The fact that they knew so many things was enough to show that the spies that Gu Rubing had lurking in the palace definitely held high official positions. Most of those with high official positions had been examined by Cao Cao and were arranged into the palace only if they had no problems with their backgrounds. As a result, there were still people of Gu Rubing among them.

Now Cao Cao even suspected that among the 200 elite soldiers behind him, some were under Gu Rubing's command.

As if he could see what Cao Cao was thinking, Gu Rubing spoke softly.

"Don't worry, King Wei. I can assure you that none of these people behind you are my people. Don't worry."

Cao Cao glanced at Gu Rubing, who was smiling, and his doubts grew even stronger. If he had not said this, Cao Cao could rest assured, because the 200 cavalrymen behind him were all carefully selected and there should be no problem. However, Gu Rubing's words, which seemed to make him feel at ease, made him alert again.

And this was exactly Gu Rubing's purpose. If he said nothing, the matter would have just passed. However, he chose to say such words, which made Cao Cao suspicious, and it seemed like he was trying to cover up the truth.

Cao Cao was born suspicious, and this sentence played just the right role. Even after Cao Cao found out the truth, it would still leave a knot in his heart, and he would be more suspicious of everyone from then on.

"Okay, King Lie, there's no need to sow discord. What's the matter with you coming to Xudu? You brought these thousands of troops here, you can't be here to discuss these things with me, right?"

Cao Cao waved his hands impatiently. He was engaging in a battle of wits with Gu Rubing, but he felt like he was being led by the nose by Gu Rubing.

Gu Rubing was not angry and poured a cup of tea for Zhuge Liang beside him. Cao Cao saw this scene and kept it in mind. The Zhuge Liang he knew before was just a strategist under Gu Rubing, who was responsible for coordinating the overall situation.

Looking at it now, it is definitely not that simple. Can a counselor who can make the lord pour water for him personally be an ordinary person?

As for Xun Yu, his most trusted confidant, he would never pour tea for him in front of his mortal enemy. It might not matter in private, but this happened in public, which means that Gu Rubing did not care about other people's opinions of him at all. Or there is another possibility, that is, Zhuge Liang is definitely not just an ordinary strategist.

Thinking of this, an idea that he had never had before suddenly popped up in Cao Cao's mind, and something that he had never expected from the beginning to the end: a legendary strategist!
Apart from this, Cao Cao really couldn't think of any other reason that could make Gu Rubing do this.

Cao Cao was so engrossed in his thinking that he didn't listen to what Gu Rubing said. He just wondered in his mind how sure he was of his idea.

We have seen legendary generals now, but legendary strategists are unheard of. Xun Yu, the first person to follow Cao Cao, is only a famous official until now, and until now, he has less than half of the points of a legendary strategist.

Legendary strategist points are harder to obtain than legendary general points, and can only be obtained by commanding large-scale battles and winning, which means that promotion is more difficult.

(End of this chapter)