The Three Kingdoms – Conquer the World - C357
Zhao Yun remembered the friendship from the past, the way he spoke was very relaxed and gentle. Hearing Liu Bei’s words, his expression instantly changed, and he asked coldly: “Could it be that Envoy Liu is joking? The Marquis almost lost his life in your hands, how can I let you go?! Someone, arrest this general! ”
The 10 or so trusted aides beside Zhao Yun heard his order, and immediately scurried over to Liu Bei.
“Wait!” Zi Long, hold on! “Listen to me!” Liu Bei quickly retreated back, and at the same time, continuously waved his hand to indicate that he would undoubtedly resist. He had originally thought that Gongsun Zan would definitely die, but he never expected that Zhao Yun would actually say that Gongsun Zan was still alive.
If someone else were to say these words, Liu Bei would definitely not believe them easily, it was just that he was well aware that Zhao Yun was not good at it or was disdainful to lie, and so the shock and frustration in his heart was simply unparalleled. He had spent a great deal of effort to successfully ambush Gongsun Zan, and the price was the loss of over twenty thousand troops and horses.
Actually, Zhao Yun did not even know if Gongsun Zan was dead or alive. The reason he said that was because, firstly, because he did not want anything to happen to Gongsun Zan, and secondly, to cut off Liu Bei’s plans to befriend him — — Marquis Jin almost lost her life in your hands.
Zhao Yun frowned, he then waved his hand, telling his trusted aides to stop. In his heart, he had already made up his mind. Out of consideration for the past, he would let Liu Bei say a few more words. But no matter what the other party said, he would order him to kidnap the person after he finished speaking.
Seeing that Zhao Yun did not immediately turn hostile, Liu Bei could not help but form a strand of hope in his heart. He asked suspiciously, “Is Bo Guixiong truly not dead?”
Zhao Yun said coldly: “Envoy Liu, is that what you want to say?” He was already extremely impatient in his heart. If Liu Bei had nothing else to say, he would immediately give the order to take action.
“Wait!” Liu Bei anxiously shouted, he stared at Zhao Yun’s eyes and asked in a sorrowful tone: “Does Zi Long still remember Mei Zi Fang?”
At first, he had already promised Liu Bei that he would go to Xuzhou, so Liu Bei had sent Mi Fang there to receive him. Unexpectedly, Yue Ye came to chase after Gongsun Xu instead. Later, when Mi Fang wanted to kill Gongsun Xu, they didn’t expect that he would die at his hands. He and his brother were moved by Gongsun Xu’s sincerity, so they followed him back to the Ji County, and even concealed the real cause of death from Liu Bei. At this time, when Liu Bei suddenly mentioned Mi Fang, he suddenly recalled that the other party had accidentally died to invite him, and could not help but feel guilty in his heart.
When he received the news that Mi Fang had died, at first he did not doubt Zhao Yun’s explanation, but it was a little regretful.
Afterwards, Mi Zhu intentionally married Mi Zhen to her as a child. She did not expect Mi Zhen to actually leave the Xuzhou without permission, and left a letter saying that he wanted to investigate Mi Fang’s true death. Without a doubt, this was an excuse that Mi Zhen gave to escape the marriage.
At that time, Liu Bei was extremely furious. If he did not need to rely on Mi Zhu to gather food, he would have launched an attack on the Mi family already. But after calming down, he also felt that Mi Fang’s death was very suspicious. Zhang Yan and Gongsun Zan had long ago become strong allies, how could the Army of Heishan dare to cause trouble within the Youzhou, and even kill Mi Fang so coincidentally? The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was amiss. Thus, he secretly sent a few capable scouts to the Zhao Family Village to gather information, and sure enough, from the mouths of the village women, he found out about what happened that night.
Liu Bei, whom Liu Bei valued the most, suddenly changed his mind before the battle and even lied to him while concealing the truth. One could imagine how vile his mood was when he found out about this matter. However, he did not hold much resentment towards Zhao Yun, as he firmly believed that Zhao Yun had been coerced by Gongsun Xu, and thus was forced to give up his agreement with him. Furthermore, from the beginning till the end, he had believed that he would battle with Gongsun Zan, and therefore, it was impossible for him to have a falling out with Zhao Yun for the sake of a dead Mi Fang.
They were at the most critical juncture, so Liu Bei had no choice but to reveal this matter, hoping that Zhao Yun would let him go out of guilt. Even though he knew that the chances were slim, it was his last hope. If Zhao Yun ignored his orders and attacked, he would have no choice but to surrender.
“Mei Fang, for his death, I do not feel the slightest bit of guilt. It is just that I have concealed this matter from you in my letter at that time. I have truly let down the Envoy Liu!” Zhao Yun dismounted and cupped his fists as he bowed: “I am here to apologize to Envoy Liu!”
“I can’t!” I can’t accept it! ” Liu Bei ignored the glaring eyes of Zhao Yun’s subordinates, he anxiously went forward to support Zhao Yun, and sighed: “How can I blame Zi Long for this? It is all because Mei Zi Fang is unlucky that caused Zi Long and I to miss each other! If I had known earlier that Mi Fang was unable to bring Zi Long to the Xuzhou, I would have personally snuck over to the Youzhou to fetch Zi Long! Sigh, if it’s possible, I am willing to use the entire Xuzhou to exchange for Zi Long! ”
Zhao Yun straightened his body and waved his hand, ordering the people who had rushed forward in an attempt to suppress Liu Bei to retreat. He said with a sigh: “Actually, sometimes I also have a Envoy Liu, I don’t want to tie you up, you follow me back to the General Gongsun, if the Marquis is safe and sound, even if I throw my life away, you won’t die!”
“Does Master Xuan De not believe me?” Zhao Yun saw that Liu Bei did not answer, and thought that the other party was doubting his words. He immediately raised his right palm and said solemnly: “If I break my promise, I will die a graveless death!”
Zhao Yun was very confident in his position in Gongsun Xu’s heart. If the Marquis Jin were to save his life, he would plead with Gongsun Xu for a bit, and the chances of Liu Bei saving his life was sixty to seventy percent. Moreover, if Liu Bei was not dead, it would be more beneficial for the army of Youzhou to invade the south and take over the Xuzhou.
“It’s not that I don’t believe in Zi Long, it’s just that Gongsun Xu is too ruthless and merciless. If I follow Zi Long back, not only will I not be able to keep my life, I might even implicate Zi Long!” He cried as he looked at Zhao Yun: “I will surrender now, but I only hope that Zi Long will let them go back to the Xuzhou on account of the war we fought together in the past. I will also pass along a message to Yun Chang and his wife, telling them to bring my wife and children with them and leave the Xuzhou, the further they go the better!”
“General Zi Long, please show mercy and let my master off this once!” Liu Bei’s guards all followed and kowtowed to him, begging for his help. They had followed Liu Bei since a long time ago, and had fought alongside him during their time in Youzhou.
Zhao Yun sighed, he used his strength to support Liu Bei, and spoke to the others: “Everyone, no need to be like this, please get up!” From the beginning, he had always valued friendship and friendship, and these people before him had once lived and died together. Liu Bei, in particular, had always been extremely respectful towards him, and when the other party kneeled before him, he was momentarily unable to give the order to capture them.
“General Zi Long, we are willing to die on behalf of our lord. After one of Liu Bei’s guards shouted, he suddenly pulled out a blade and committed suicide.
“Wait a moment,” Zhao Yun had not even finished speaking before the other party had already fallen into a pool of blood.
“I plead General Zi Long to let our master go!” The rest of the guards shouted loudly in unison, and they too, slit their throats without hesitation.
Zhao Yun was still holding onto Liu Bei’s arms at the moment, and wanted to stop him but was simply too late. The surrounding White Horse Camp Cavalry were just watching coldly, and had no intention of saving him.
Looking at his fellow captives committing suicide one after another, who had once joked around, drank together, gulped down huge bowls of meat, and risked their lives together, Zhao Yun felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart. He released Liu Bei’s arm, and sighed dejectedly.
Liu Bei looked at the corpses of the guards around him, and lamented: “They have followed me for many years, and have always been loyal to me. But now, they have been forced to commit suicide because of my wrong decision. After saying that, he suddenly bent down to pick up a handful of ring head knife, and moved closer to his neck.
Clang!
Zhao Yun timely pulled out his sword to block, knocking the ring head knife in Liu Bei’s hands flying.
Liu Bei said angrily: “Zi Long, don’t tell me I can’t die with dignity even if I wanted to? I don’t want anyone to tell Feng’er that his father is a coward that is trying to steal his life! Even if I don’t die now, how could I possibly escape from Gongsun Xu! Zi Long, if you still have a trace of your old camaraderie, then let me die honorably! “” No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
The ‘Feng’er’ that Liu Bei had mentioned was his adopted son, Liu Feng. Liu Bei’s wives and concubines had always been unknown, thus, the eight to nine year old Liu Feng had been raised as an heir in recent years. In the past, Zhao Yun had also met Liu Feng a few times when he was still in Youzhou.
Zhao Yun sighed again. He suddenly turned around with his back facing Liu Bei, and forcefully waved his right hand.
Liu Bei’s eyes flashed with joy, he bowed and said: “Thank you, Zi Long! Please tell Gongsun Xu, I will bring my men and leave Xuzhou, and go to Jingzhou Liu to seek vengeance, for this land of the Xuzhou, I will treat it as compensation for Bo Guixiong! ”
Zhao Yun remained silent and did not say a word, but stomped his feet impatiently.
Liu Bei no longer hesitated as he straightened his waist and rushed towards his warhorse.
The White Horse Camp cavalry all stared at Liu Bei, but when Zhao Yun gave the order to release the soldiers, they did not dare stop him.
Just then, one of Zhao Yun’s trusted aides suddenly shouted: “General, you absolutely cannot let Liu Bei go! Before they left, General Gongsun had given them strict orders. If Liu Bei left, how would the general face him? “