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

Chapter 533: Moths to the flame, a ray of hope

After Gu Rubing entered the city, he was greeted by overwhelming shouts.

Those soldiers and civilians standing in the streets and alleys, and now in the buildings on the streets, were all shouting Gu Rubing's title frantically.

The two words "King Lie" are about to break through the heaven and earth.

Gu Rubing was also somewhat shocked when he saw this scene. If he had known earlier, he would not have received such treatment when he was conferred the title of King Lie and returned to Linzi, Qingzhou. But he encountered such a large-scale welcoming ceremony here, which made Gu Rubing somewhat flattered for the first time.

Gu Rubing walked along the way, recruiting soldiers from the common people along the way.

Even though he didn't say a word, he still made the soldiers and the people crazy.

Just imagine that you used to live in a dark and unfair world where you couldn’t even get enough food to eat.

Farmers worked hard to grow crops for a year, but in the end they had to hand over 90% of the crops to the imperial court, and they could not even provide enough food and clothing for themselves and their families.

Some people who make a living are better off, as they can maintain the simplest food and clothing by riding horses, but that's all. The high tariffs make them miserable. It can be said that the proportion they pay is even more than that of farmers, and in the end they may only get a drop in the bucket of the original money, or even one in ten.

Beautiful women simply didn't dare to walk on the street, let alone go out alone. Even if they were accompanied by someone, if they were found by the sons of wealthy and powerful families, they could only blame the cruelty of heaven.

You have been living in such a world since you were born, but suddenly one day, a man appeared, he beat all those noble families, and then announced that he would reduce taxes and let everyone have a bite to eat. He not only said it, but also did it, like a ray of light shining into their world.

So, they began to follow the light, and countless people flocked to it, willing to follow him to conquer the world.

Just when Gu Rubing had walked a short distance into the city, there was a sudden commotion on the top of the city wall, and then someone was heard shouting.

"It's the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is here too!"

Gu Rubing looked back in astonishment. He did not give Zhuge Liang permission to come here. Firstly, this trip was too dangerous. Gu Rubing was a second-rate general after all and had some military power, but Zhuge Liang was completely powerless.

Secondly, Xu Du is now an empty city. There will be a huge difference with or without these one thousand Bai Li soldiers. According to Gu Rubing's understanding of Cao Cao's character in history and his experience of fighting with Cao Cao so many times over the years, Cao Cao will definitely return to the past.

But now is clearly not the time to consider these issues.

"Let's go and pick up the Prime Minister first."

So, Gu Rubing and his party turned back again and went to the city wall to welcome Zhuge Liang.

The soldiers and civilians in the city watched Gu Rubing and his group walking in the opposite direction. They had not yet reacted to what was happening. Why did they leave just after arriving?

At the city gate, Gu Rubing met Zhuge Liang.

"Prime Minister, why are you here? Didn't we agree that you would stay in Xudu?"

Gu Rubing still cares a lot about this legendary strategist, the only one in the world, and with the added bonus of filters, Gu Rubing's trust in Zhuge Liang can be said to be unconditional, just like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

"Lord."

Zhuge Liang bowed to Gu Rubing, and Gu Rubing hurried forward to support Zhuge Liang.

"After the lord left Xudu, I specially divined a hexagram."

"What is the hexagram?"

Gu Rubing's eyes showed a hint of expectation. He had always believed in these Feng Shui. After all, he was a man who had lived three lives, and he was used to these supernatural phenomena. Especially after seeing Zhuge Liang's divination, Gu Rubing believed it even more. Now that Zhuge Liang actually mentioned the divination, he must have made some new discoveries.

Zhuge Liang still had a faint smile on his face, but what he said was not consistent with the smile.

"The hexagram only has eight characters, and the last four characters mean a ray of hope after a dark period."

"What do you mean?"

"After that, I cast another divination, which showed that the way out was in Qingzhou, so I asked Wang Ping to go back to Qingzhou and bring someone with him."

As Gu Rubing spoke, he turned sideways, revealing a person behind him. Gu Rubing was slightly stunned, for the person behind him was none other than Hua Tuo.

Before Gu Rubing could react, Taishi Ci, who was standing beside Gu Rubing, had already begun to look at Zhuge Liang with eyes of utmost worship. Gu Rubing understood in his heart that it seemed that someone was injured and needed Hua Tuo to treat.

"What about the first four characters?"

"It's not the right time yet. It's not the time to reveal the secret."

Zhuge Liang smiled and shook his head.

"Thank you for your trouble, Prime Minister. I'm sure you're tired after the long journey. Let's go into the city first."

As Zhuge Liang and Gu Rubing re-entered the city, the Nanjun County City, which had just quieted down, once again erupted in cheers that broke through the sky.

With soldiers and civilians lining the streets to welcome them, they arrived at Liu Qi's governor's mansion. Liu Qi's face was full of joy. After knowing that Gu Rubing and Zhuge Liang had arrived, he hurried out to greet them. Both of them were Liu Qi's benefactors. One allowed Liu Qi to spend the first half of his life in isolation and helplessness safely, and the other was someone Liu Qi entrusted his entire life and property to. It can be said that the importance of the two in Liu Qi's heart is no less than that of his deceased father.

When he arrived at the conference room, Gu Rubing saw that only Taishi Ci and Pang De were sitting there, and he understood what was going on.

"Liu Qi, Nanjun is your territory. Please tell me about the defense situation of Nanjun County City."

Liu Qi stood up and bowed.

"My lord, at midnight last night, Cao Cao's troops and Liu Zhang's troops launched attacks on Nanjun County from the northeast and west respectively. In the northeast battlefield, Cao Cao's troops suffered 90,000 casualties, while our troops suffered 60,000 casualties. In the west battlefield, Liu Zhang's troops suffered 70,000 casualties, while our troops suffered 23,000 casualties."

As Liu Qi was speaking, Gu Rubing waved at Liu Qi and motioned him to sit down. Liu Qi did not hesitate and sat down and continued speaking.

"Meng Qi paid the price of being seriously injured and unconscious, severely injuring two generals under Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan. Later, Cao Cao gathered eleven generals to besiege me, Jun Yi and Ling Ming. In the end, Jun Yi was injured, and only then did we stop the attack of Cao Cao's men. On the western battlefield, Ling Ming killed Zhang Ren, the Western Land Spear King, a general under Liu Zhang."

When Pang De heard this, he obviously wanted to say something, but he didn't say it in the end. Gu Rubing frowned tightly. The battle situation here could no longer be described as severe. It was almost at stake. Gu Rubing turned his head to look at Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang seemed to be in tune with Gu Rubing and nodded slightly.

"Moths fly to the flame."

After these words were spoken, Gu Rubing's already frowned brows became even tighter.

He knew that this was the other four-character hexagram that Zhuge Liang did not say at the city gate, and when put together they meant a moth flying into a flame, and light after darkness.

It seems that they are not without a chance. When entering the county governor's mansion, Hua Tuo had already been sent to treat Zhang He and Ma Chao.

"Does the Prime Minister have any better ideas?"

Gu Rubing looked at Zhuge Liang expectantly, his eyes full of expectation. He knew that Zhuge Liang would never do anything without a purpose. Hua Tuo alone could not be a ray of hope. After all, even if Ma Chao and Zhang He recovered to their peak combat power, their combat power would not be much different from Cao Cao. Even if they could defeat Cao Cao and Liu Zhang together, then what about Sun Jian who was following behind them?

When Sun Jian and Cao Cao meet up, how will they resist?

This time, Gu Rubing really underestimated the determination of Sun Jian and Cao Cao to form an alliance, because he had already told Sun Jian about Dian Wei's betrayal of Sun Ce, and with Sun Ce's testimony, it was impossible for Sun Jian not to believe it. However, Sun Jian still followed them from a distance all the way and came to the Nanjun County City. He must have met up with Cao Cao by now.

In addition, there is no news about Guan Yu's pursuit of Dian Wei, and Zhang Fei has been led away by Sun Ce. It is unknown when the two of them will come back, and they cannot serve as stable trump cards. Gu Rubing is really at a loss for a moment.

In response to Gu Rubing's expectant eyes, Zhuge Liang smiled and said the last part of the hexagram.

"The hope of a bright future lies in two places: one is in Qingzhou, and the other is in Nanjun."

"In South County?"

Gu Rubing was a little confused. Could there be any variables here that could change the situation of the battle?

In contrast, Zhuge Liang did not respond, but gently waved his feather fan.

"As for where the uncertainty lies in the Southern Commandery of Jingzhou, I have not figured it out yet. My Lord, why don't you ask the other generals?"

Hearing what Zhuge Liang said, Gu Rubing turned his gaze to several people.

"Is there any other news?"

Liu Qi shook his head slightly, indicating that there was no more. However, Pang De looked hesitant, and Zhuge Liang saw it all.

"General Ling Ming seems to have something to say?"

Pang De quickly stood up and bowed to Gu Rubing and Zhuge Liang.

"I do have something that I have not yet reported, but I don't know if it is related to what the Prime Minister said."

"tell me the story."

Gu Rubing was in high spirits, and anything at this moment could become the key to changing the situation of the battle.

"In fact, the Western Land Spear King Zhang Ren is not dead. He is now in a small military town in the south of Nanjun County, waiting for news from me. No, I should say he is waiting for news from the lord."

When Pang De said this, everyone in the meeting room was stunned. What was going on? What did he mean by not dead and still waiting for Gu Rubing in the military town?

"What are you waiting for me to do?"

So Pang De told everything about his final negotiations with Zhang Ren.

When Gu Rubing heard that Zhang Ren had been hiding his incompetence and wanted to rebel against Liu Zhang and defect to Cao Cao, his face showed a hint of disgust. He did not have a good impression of this kind of person who always had two minds. He even refused when Lu Bu, the most powerful general of the Three Kingdoms at that time, came to defect to him. How much more so for Zhang Ren?
However, Gu Rubing continued to listen, because according to his understanding, there were not many records about Zhang Ren in history. He only had a title of "King of Spear in the West". He also knew that he was the second disciple of Tong Yuan, the junior brother of Spear Master Zhang Xiu, and the senior brother of Zhao Yun.

Gu Rubing was curious about Zhang Ren's strength, otherwise he would have interrupted Pang De and stopped him from continuing. His intuition told him that Tong Yuan, who was able to teach Zhang Xiu and Zhao Yun, would definitely not accept Zhang Ren, a man of mediocre talent, as his apprentice.

After hearing that Zhang Ren was hiding his abilities, he understood.

Afterwards, Pang De told Zhang Ren about his plan to kill Liu Zhang, and expressed his concerns. When he heard that Zhang Ren would rather die than kill Liu Zhang, Gu Rubing's expression finally changed. In this way, he could still consider subduing this Western Spear King.

He had discovered from Zhang Ren and Pang De's words that the reason why Zhang Ren did not want to continue following Liu Zhang was simply because he felt that Liu Zhang was a man without ambition and such a person was not worthy of following, so he had never demonstrated his strength.

A wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in. This was not considered a betrayal. According to Zhang Ren, what he had done had already repaid Zhang Ren's kindness to him.

After listening to Pang De's words, Gu Rubing and Zhuge Liang looked at each other tacitly.

"Okay, we can go see this legendary Western Land Spear King later and see what surprises he can bring to me."

Gu Rubing looked back at Pang De, a smile appearing in the corner of his eyes.

"Lingming, it seems like you have something else to say?"

"what?"

Pang De was stunned at first, but he understood after seeing Gu Rubing's smile.

"I was fortunate enough to be promoted to a famous general in the battle, and now I can help my lord solve his problems."

Pound said this and saluted again.

Gu Rubing smiled slightly, waved his hand, and smiled deliberately.

"Oh, so Lingming, what you mean is that since you are not a famous general, you can't help me solve my problems?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Pang De was stunned where he was. He and Ma Chao both grew up in Liang Province. Influenced by the tough customs of the people of Liang Province, both of them were somewhat rough-minded. However, Ma Chao was more careful, while Pang De was not so careful. He had not reacted yet.

It was Zhuge Liang who came aside and saved the situation with a smile.

"Hahaha, Lingming, the lord wants you to get an official position, why don't you hurry up."

After Zhuge Liang finished speaking, everyone in the conference room started laughing, and Pang De finally understood what the two men meant.

"Then Zhang Ren is alone?"

"No, Zhang Ren is still with several thousand elite soldiers. According to him, they are all his personal soldiers. Even if he ordered them to kill Liu Zhang, they would do it without hesitation."

Pang De replied, while Gu Rubing raised an eyebrow.

"So, our Western Spear King's ability to control people is quite powerful. He can actually make these people who eat Liu Zhang's military pay attack Liu Zhang. I am even more curious about this Western Spear King. I will go and see it myself later."

Afterwards, Liu Qi reported to Gu Rubing one by one about the current garrison strength of Nanjun County and the number of troops under Cao Cao and Liu Zhang, allowing Gu Rubing to have a general understanding of the battle situation in Nanjun County.

(End of this chapter)