Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

These dozen or so black-clad figures, bursting forth with menacing intent, wasted no words. Each wielding a sharp blade, they unhesitatingly lunged towards Cao Cao and Chen Gong.

Upon seeing this, both Cao Cao and Chen Gong were startled and quickly drew their swords to defend themselves.

While Cao Cao's martial prowess might not have reached the level of top generals like Zhao Yun or Guan Yu, he was undoubtedly a skilled warrior. Ordinary second-rate generals might not necessarily be able to defeat him.

Furthermore, Chen Gong was also skilled in swordsmanship. With their mutual cover, the dozen or so assassins were temporarily unable to overcome Cao Cao and Chen Gong.

Just then, one of the black-clad figures, seemingly the leader, spoke in a rather young voice.

"Ignore the tall one, focus on killing the short one!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao's already gloomy face seemed to lengthen considerably in an instant.

Height!

Undoubtedly, this was Cao Cao's sore spot!

There were even rumors that Yuan Benchu, a top nobleman of the Great Han, liked to be seen with Cao Cao to accentuate his own heroic and dignified bearing with Cao Cao's short stature.

These widespread malicious remarks made Cao Cao extremely sensitive about his height.

However, before Cao Cao could get angry, his expression suddenly changed.

After the leader spoke, the dozen or so assassins completely ignored Chen Gong's cover and launched an attack on Cao Cao, almost in a life-for-life manner.

Suicide soldiers?!

This thought instantly popped into Cao Cao's mind, replaced by a sense of bewilderment.

'Why would there be suicide soldiers lying in ambush for me here?'

'Who?! Who knew I would be passing through here?'

Cao Cao's suspicious nature made him subconsciously suspect Chen Gong again, but the relentless attacks of the dozen or so assassins left him no time to think.

Even if Cao Cao's martial prowess far surpassed these assassins, he was without armor. He couldn't afford the slightest mistake. If he were to be wounded in a vital area or a place that hindered his movements, his only fate would be death.

This fierce offensive lasted only a dozen or so breaths, and even with Chen Gong's desperate cover, Cao Cao began to feel overwhelmed, with several bleeding wounds appearing on his body.

'My life is over!'

At this moment, Cao Cao's heart was filled with unwillingness and resentment.

'A great man is born into this world, yet I have not established any great achievements and am about to die here?'

Just then, one of the two warhorses that had fallen into the pit traps had its leg joints shattered, while the other slowly stood up seemingly unscathed.

Instantly, a look of ecstasy appeared on Cao Cao's face. He understood that his only chance of survival was to use the fast horse to escape the encirclement of these assassins.

Chen Gong also sensed the unfavorable situation, realizing that if things continued like this, Cao Cao would surely die at the hands of these suicide soldiers.

However, there was only one warhorse, and these assassins would not simply watch Cao Cao and Chen Gong ride away together. One person had to hold the line and provide cover, while the other had a chance to escape on the horse.

Chen Gong steeled his heart, feeling that Cao Cao was a righteous man who assassinated Dong Zhuo. Even if he sacrificed himself, he had to protect Cao Cao and fight his way out.

Chen Gong's only regret was that he had always considered himself a resourceful person, but he had wasted half his life as a county magistrate. Now that he had met Cao Cao, a righteous man who intended to make him his lord and save the country, he never expected to die at the hands of a few suicide soldiers.

However, just as Chen Gong was about to take the initiative to suggest that he hold the line for Cao Cao, allowing him to quickly ride away...

Suddenly, Chen Gong felt a heavy push on his back, which had been covering Cao Cao!

This unexpected change caught Chen Gong completely off guard, causing him to stagger forward and directly collide with the sharp sword being thrust at him by the assassin in front.

Taking advantage of the opening created by Chen Gong's body, Cao Cao rushed out without hesitation, nimbly flipped onto the warhorse, and urged it to speed away.

Behind Cao Cao, Chen Gong's voice, filled with grief and incomprehension, rang out.

"Why?! Cao Mengde!!!"

"I felt you were a man of great loyalty and righteousness, willing to abandon your official post to save you. Why do you treat me like this?!"

Cao Cao's body, which had been lying on the warhorse, trembled slightly. He straightened up a little, then, without looking back, spoke with determination.

"I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me..."

However, almost as soon as Cao Cao's words fell, another feathered arrow came whistling through the air, piercing straight into Cao Cao's shoulder.

"Ah!"

Cao Cao instinctively cried out in pain. While urging the warhorse to go faster, he completely lay down on the horse's back again, avoiding further arrows.

With the speed of the warhorse, it only took a few strides for it to carry Cao Cao and completely disappear into the night.

This caused Liu Jing of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who was still holding his bow, to reveal a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

If one of his brothers from Taoyuan, who were skilled in archery, had replaced him, that arrow would have certainly hit Cao Cao's vitals.

Unfortunately, Liu Jing was better at gathering intelligence, and his archery skills were only average.

Just then, a series of rapid whistles suddenly rang out in the distance, in the direction of Zhongmou County, causing the expressions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard members present to change.

"Emergency situation, retreat quickly!"

As soon as Liu Jing's voice came out, a fiery red warhorse appeared in the dark night, rushing towards this direction from afar as if out of thin air.

With the corner of his eye, Liu Jing almost instantly recognized the identity of the newcomer.

"Lu Bu?!"

Lu Bu among men, Red Hare among horses!

This almost frightened Liu Jing, causing him to break out in a cold sweat and desperately flee into the woods on both sides of the official road.

As the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Centurion in charge of intelligence gathering around Luoyang, Liu Jing knew all too well how terrifying Lu Bu was.

Sitting high on the Red Hare, Lu Bu looked down at the situation before him, scanning for Cao Cao's figure.

As for the black-clad figures scattering and fleeing, Lu Bu casually killed several of the shorter ones on the spot, while he had no intention of chasing down and crushing the rest of the ants one by one.

Subsequently, Lu Bu picked up the face masks of the several black-clad figures he had killed, only to find that the faces beneath the masks were not Cao Cao.

This caused Lu Bu, who was under Dong Zhuo's orders to hunt down Cao Cao along the way, to frown slightly.

Just as Lu Bu thought that this was just a common robbery and was about to turn around and ride the Red Hare to continue chasing Cao Cao, he noticed Chen Gong, dressed as a scholar, lying on the official road, seemingly still clinging to life.

Immediately, Lu Bu rode the Red Hare to Chen Gong's side, looking down at him and asking.

"Do you know the whereabouts of the wanted criminal Cao Cao?"

With a knife in his chest, Chen Gong's consciousness began to blur uncontrollably. He barely opened his eyes, his blurry vision making it difficult to see Lu Bu clearly.

However, at this moment, Chen Gong's hatred for Cao Cao had reached its peak. He stubbornly clung to his last breath and spoke.

"I have an irreconcilable hatred with the Cao thief, save me, I..."

Seeing that Chen Gong had completely fainted before he could finish speaking, Lu Bu's sword-like eyebrows, as if about to enter his temples, furrowed slightly. After thinking for a moment, he directly lifted Chen Gong, who was lying on the ground, from the horse's back.

Subsequently, Lu Bu turned his horse around and headed towards Zhongmou County, not far behind.

......

When the result of the failed ambush on Cao Cao was transmitted to Li Ji's hands, Li Ji couldn't help but feel quite regretful.

However, this was just one of Li Ji's attempts.

Don't think that assassinating a warlord seems easy, but in reality, under normal circumstances, ordinary people find it extremely difficult to even approach the target, let alone get close with a weapon.

Besides this, the difficulty of determining the whereabouts of those in high positions is also a major problem.

After Cao Cao assassinated Dong Zhuo, it would be the most desolate and embarrassing period of his life, forced to flee alone from Luoyang all the way back to his hometown of Qiao County.

Perhaps it would be difficult to find the exact location of Cao Cao during this process of fleeing, but the magistrate of Zhongmou County, Chen Gong, would not be difficult to find.

Therefore, Li Ji's order was for Liu Jing to lead his men to lie in wait near Zhongmou County. If Cao Cao met Chen Gong in Zhongmou County as recorded in the original trajectory, then this would be the best opportunity to ambush Cao Cao.

However, the forces that Li Ji could mobilize around Luoyang were really limited, and things like crossbows and armor were not available.

Even if Li Ji temporarily remembered this and tried his best to mobilize manpower, in a hurry, Liu Jing, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Centurion in charge of the weak forces around Luoyang, could only mobilize a dozen or so confidants to act.

"I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me?"

"And Lu Bu is suspected of taking the seriously injured Chen Gong away?"

Li Ji looked at the other details mentioned in the intelligence, and pondered with a slight frown.

Li Ji's evaluation of Cao Cao was only the word "枭雄 (xiāo xióng)" - a ruthless and ambitious person; Apart from being ambitious and talented, his personality was suspicious and cruel, and he would be a major enemy of Liu Bei in the future.

It was a pity that he couldn't take the opportunity to get rid of him early.

Even if... this method was not glorious.

However, Li Ji was really a little puzzled. Before Cao Cao fled, he was still a righteous man who dared to carry a precious knife, serve the enemy in person, and seize the opportunity to assassinate Dong Zhuo.

Why, after the failure of the event and his escape, did his state of mind suddenly undergo such a huge change in such a short period of time?

Could it be that there were some secret details that the Embroidered Uniform Guard did not know?

Or, during the assassination of Dong Zhuo, there was some unknown twist that caused Cao Cao's state of mind to undergo such a subversive distortion and change.

It was a pity that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was by no means omnipotent. Even though Li Ji was quite curious and made some guesses, he had no way to verify them.

On the contrary, the information that Lü Bu had taken Chen Gong away was something that Li Ji was somewhat concerned about. He instructed the Jinyi Wei's intelligence network in Luoyang to pay more attention to subsequent changes.

Even though Lü Bu's martial prowess was unmatched, his intelligence would always be his shortcoming and fatal flaw.

Therefore, in Li Ji's view, Lü Bu's existence might be a problem, but it would never be so troublesome as to be thorny. However, if Lü Bu were equipped with an external brain that he could use at any time, it would instead create many variables.

(End of this chapter)