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

Chapter 561 Zhuge Liang Departs
Seeing that Zhuge Liang actually wanted to recommend him, Gu Rubing nodded.

"General Ziyi is guilty. The death of 100,000 cavalrymen cannot be solved with just 60 strokes of the cane, right? It's a good opportunity to let General Ziyi go. He can go to Yumen Pass to recuperate."

"Ziyi? But he's still unconscious, and it seems like he can't fight with the injuries on his body?"

After Gu Rubing finished speaking, Huang Zhong also quickly stood up.

"My lord, Prime Minister, Ziyi will need two or three days to recover from his injuries. If we go to Yumen Pass now, I'm afraid we will have to have someone carry us."

Gu Rubing certainly knew that letting Taishi Ci go now would be no different from killing him.

When they were about to replace him, Zhuge Liang suddenly said, "Ziyi must go."

Seeing that Zhuge Liang was so persistent, Gu Rubing didn't know what to say. He could only let Bai Yu lead the light cavalry to protect Taishi Ci and carry him to Yumen Pass.

After Taishi Ci left, Huang Zhong wanted to say something unwillingly, but was stopped by Zhuge Liang.

"Old General, please tell me the details of this defeat."

Huang Zhong saw that Zhuge Liang was deliberately trying to stop him, so he naturally didn't say anything. Zhuge Liang's reputation in the army was second only to Gu Rubing, and far above his own.

"Yes, Prime Minister!"

Huang Zhong then recounted the entire process.

"It seems that there are experts in the Parthian army. The elephant soldier and the heavy cavalry should all be special troops. Their strength should not be underestimated."

Although Zhuge Liang was not here during the battle, with his intelligence and talent, the situation on the battlefield was already in his mind when Huang Zhong briefly described it.

"Yes, Prime Minister. So our failure this time is not entirely due to Ziyi."

"Okay, the matter has been decided, so let's not talk about it anymore. Let's go down and prepare for defense."

Huang Zhong hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

After everyone left, Gu Rubing looked at Zhuge Liang.

"Prime Minister, this matter has nothing to do with Ziyi. There is no need for us to do this, right?"

"Why is it not related, lord? Since someone lost the battle, someone needs to take the responsibility. Don't you even know this?"

Gu Rubing looked at Zhuge Liang, opened his mouth, but still said nothing.

For some reason, Gu Rubing always felt that the Zhuge Liang in front of him was somewhat different from the Zhuge Liang he knew.

Gu Rubing, who was worried, opened the panel and checked Zhuge Liang. He found that there was no change, and then he felt relieved.

After the Parthian army rested for a while, it began its second siege.

Taishi Ci was lying on the bed at Yumen Pass. When he saw Gu Rubing being besieged, he immediately sent out his cavalry to harass the rear of the Parthian army.

This indeed tied down the Parthian army.

As a result, the Parthian army had no choice but to stop this attack.

However, Taishi Ci's move made the entire Parthian army focus on Taishi Ci, and they immediately began to besiege Yumen Pass.

In view of the current situation, Gu Rubing immediately sent Huang Zhong to provide support.

However, just as Huang Zhong was about to set out to rescue, Zhuge Liang stopped Huang Zhong's support.

"We can't go to support them now. We should take this opportunity to consolidate all the counties in Jiuquan County. Even if we sacrifice Yumen Pass, we can gain stability in all places. Then we can attack the Parthian army from all directions at the same time, which will definitely have unexpected consequences."

"Not supporting Yumen Pass? Then why are you letting Ziyi go, Prime Minister?"

"My lord, besides Ziyi, who else can help us contain the main force of the Parthians at Yumen Pass?"

Hearing this, Gu Rubing’s eyes widened immediately.

Taishi Ci has followed him for a long time, and Zhuge Liang should be clear about Taishi Ci's position in the army.

Yumen Pass is an isolated city. If there is no support, Taishi Ci will really not be able to escape.

It was obvious that Zhuge Liang wanted to use Taishi Ci's life in exchange for the opportunity to defeat the Parthian army.

Gu Rubing would rather not have such a victory.

"No, we must rescue Taishi Ci."

"My Lord, no, do you want to use the lives of more than 100,000 soldiers in the army to exchange for the life of General Taishi Ci?"

When it comes to eloquence, even Gu Rubing is no match for Zhuge Liang.

Looking at Zhuge Liang, Gu Rubing felt as if he was looking at a stranger.

Yumen Pass at this time.

"General, Yumen Pass can no longer be defended. The reinforcements are taking a long time to arrive and I'm afraid they won't be able to arrive."

A captain of a thousand men came up to Taishi Ci and spoke with his head down, gritting his teeth.

At this moment, he felt extremely unwilling. He still didn't understand why the reinforcements had not arrived yet. Did Gu Rubing abandon them?
Taishi Ci had been in the army for many years and had seen all kinds of people. Naturally, he could understand what the captain in front of him was thinking.

"Okay, don't think too much. The lord must have a reason for not sending anyone. Help me get on the horse and let's fight our way out. Since we can't defend it, then we won't defend it."

"General, now...how about you get on my back, I'll carry you, and we fight our way out?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? How can a general carry his men on his back to kill the enemy? I can still move and I won't die!"

After saying this, Taishi Ci gritted his teeth and stood up from the bed.

After seeing that Taishi Ci was able to leave, the captain immediately put armor on Taishi Ci.

Taishi Ci gathered the people who were left at Yumen Pass. There were 50,000 cavalrymen when they arrived, but now there are less than 30,000 left.

"Everyone, follow me and kill them."

As the voice fell, Taishi Ci was the first to mount his horse and rushed directly towards Gu Rubing.

However, as the charge went on longer, Taishi Ci discovered that there were more and more enemy troops on the road, while the number of people around him was decreasing.

Obviously, someone deliberately placed heavy troops on the road from Yumen Pass back to the city, with the purpose of stopping me.

Looking at the number of people surrounding him, which was less than five thousand, Taishi Ci hesitated for a moment and finally decided to run in the opposite direction. He would not be able to go back anyway if he continued to run like this.

As expected, the defense in the opposite direction was indeed quite lax.

Five thousand people broke out of the encirclement without much effort.

But soon they were pursued by the enemy.

Taishi Ci led his men and rushed towards the top of a mountain without thinking.

Soon, when they reached the top of the mountain, they discovered that it was actually a cliff.

In desperation, Taishi Ci could only take the remaining men to guard several intersections leading to the top of the mountain.

After a fight.

There were less than two hundred people who could still stand beside Taishi Ci, and they were all members of the White Feather Light Cavalry. Looking at the corpses around him, Taishi Ci could not help but sigh to the sky.

"My lord, why is this happening?"

Finally, Taishi Ci didn't understand why Gu Rubing didn't send anyone to support him.

Gu Rubing was also very anxious. A captain of the roving crossbows had come to report that Yumen Pass had been captured and Taishi Ci's whereabouts were unknown, but Zhuge Liang still looked calm and composed.

"Prime Minister, Taishi Ci has disappeared. Shouldn't we send someone to look for him?"

“This was thrown away too quickly.”

Zhuge Liang looked at the map and kept repeating his plan, not caring at all about Taishi Ci's life or death.

"Prime Minister, did you hear what I said?"

"Yes, I heard it. Taishi Ci must have found a place to hide. My lord, don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it. If you, Prime Minister, hadn't told me not to take action, how could Taishi Ci be in danger? And we had planned to support each other from the beginning. How could you just leave Taishi Ci alone? Are you still my Prime Minister?"

After hearing this, Zhuge Liang took his eyes off the map.

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"My Lord, I don't like what you said. From the beginning to now, what I did was not for you? Now you blame me? If you want to win, you must make sacrifices. If you are not willing to make sacrifices, what else can you use to win your great cause? I really misjudged you."

After saying this, Zhuge Liang threw the feather fan in his hand onto the table and turned to leave the meeting room.

Looking at Zhuge Liang's back, Gu Rubing snorted coldly. As a result, just as he sat down, a soldier came to Gu Rubing.

"My lord, the Prime Minister just said that since you no longer need him, then he doesn't need to be here anymore, and we can go our separate ways."

After saying this, the soldier looked at Gu Rubing cautiously.

At this time, Gu Rubing widened his eyes. He didn't believe that Zhuge Liang would really leave him.

However, when Gu Rubing opened the panel, he saw that it had turned gray and sat in his chair in a daze.

When the soldiers saw this situation, they shouted cautiously.

"My lord?"

"My lord?"

"host……"

Before the soldier could finish his words, he saw Gu Rubing looking at him.

The soldier shrank his neck in fear.

"My Lord, if there is nothing else, I will leave first."

"Go."

Gu Rubing rubbed his head tiredly. He was really tired now. The only legendary strategist in his hand was gone just like that. He didn't know whether he would go to find Cao Cao or Sun Jian.

But Gu Rubing quickly dismissed this idea. He and Zhuge Liang were not just monarch and subject, but more like friends. Even if Zhuge Liang was not on his side, he should not stand on the side of the enemy and fight against him.

"Pass the order down and tell them that Prime Minister Zhuge has been ill recently and has returned home to recuperate. He will no longer participate in any decision-making."

Gu Rubing didn't want Zhuge Liang's departure to affect too many people, so he could only make up such a lie.

However, Zhuge Liang did not leave at this time. Instead, he found a thatched cottage near the Western Regions and lived a carefree life again.

After Cao Cao learned about the order issued by Gu Rubing and what Zhuge Liang said to Gu Rubing at that time, he immediately speculated that Zhuge Liang might have left Gu Rubing, which was definitely a good opportunity for him.

When Cao Cao found out, he jumped off the bed excitedly.

He is a legendary strategist, the only legendary strategist. As long as I can recruit him, I will be invincible. Liu Bei, Sun Jian, etc. will all be under my feet.

"Someone, quickly find Zhuge Liang's whereabouts for me."

Half a day passed, and like Cao Cao, it was Gu Rubing who was looking for Zhuge Liang's whereabouts.

But the strange thing is that no matter how hard Gu Rubing looked, he could not find any trace of Zhuge Liang.

But it only took Cao Cao half a day to find Zhuge Liang's location.

Cao Cao followed the location of the intelligence and came to a thatched hut in the forest.

When I arrived at the door, I happened to see Zhuge Liang walking out of the room to bask in the sun.

"Hey, isn't this Prime Minister Cao? I wonder what you are doing in my thatched cottage?"

When Zhuge Liang saw Cao Cao appear, he seemed very surprised, but if you looked closely at his eyes, it seemed as if it was natural.

"Prime Minister Zhuge, I heard that you are not happy in Liu Bei's hands. Liu Bei does not know how to use talents. I know that you have left Liu Bei now, so I hope that you can follow me. I can give you everything you want."

"Can you give me everything I want?"

"of course."

Cao Cao was already prepared. No matter what Zhuge Liang wanted, he would give it to him as long as he could give it.

"Okay, if that's the case, then I'll be frank. I want everything from Liu Bei, including his identity. I want him to see that I, Zhuge Liang, can be second only to Liu Bei without him."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao looked at Zhuge Liang. He had not expected that Zhuge Liang had such a strong opinion of Gu Rubing. This was really a good thing for him.

"No problem, sir. Just follow me and join my camp. I can give you everything you want, including everything Liu Bei has."

After saying this, Cao Cao prepared to walk up to Zhuge Liang.

But after taking a few steps, he was stopped by Zhuge Liang.

"Prime Minister Cao, I'm sorry, I think you misunderstood. What I meant was that you can only help you if you give me everything Liu Bei has. But now I can only watch what Liu Bei has and I have no way of owning it. Why do you want me to join you?"

"This……"

Cao Cao was suddenly in trouble.

Of course I wanted to give it, but I also had to have it. If it were in the past, it would only be a matter of a word from me. After all, Liu Xie was in my hands.

All Liu Bei had was the title of the uncle of the Han emperor, the so-called fierce king, and the lord of the nine states.

As long as Liu Xie was in hand, these titles would be easily obtained. As for the Lord of the Nine Provinces, he could not give him the Nine Provinces, but there would be no problem in giving him the title of King of the Nine Provinces. But now that Liu Xie was no longer in hand, everything he said would be in vain.

"Prime Minister Zhuge, I really can't give you anything in my current state. Follow me and help me pacify the world. You will have everything you want. After I pacify the world, I can guarantee that half of the world will be yours."

Zhuge Liang heard this and looked at Cao Cao. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Is what Prime Minister Cao said true?"

"of course."

Cao Cao nodded, very confident.

"Okay, but I can't serve you as my master until I get what I want. But I can be your staff and give you advice. When I get what I want, you will be my lord."

When Cao Cao heard the word "staff", he suddenly felt a little disappointed.

(End of this chapter)