344. Liu Biao's Retaliation

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Hearing this the prison was silent for a while, both Huang Zu and Deng Long were silent as they knew that their position right now was temporary at least until they could prove themself to Lie Fan and meet him, so the decision making was left to Zhang Chao and Zang Hong who both turned to look at each other as they whispered to each other whenever to agree to Wen Pin's request or not.

Zhang Chao asked Zang Hong should the two of them agreed with Wen Pin's request because there was no guarantee that Wen Pin would keep his word which was very risky for them.

If Wen Pin doesn't keep his word and then manages to gain control of Li Yan's army, then it would be bad news for them as they have to recall the army at the border to fight them and in turn, Jiangxia will be defenseless in the border against a possible attack from Liu Bei or Liu Biao.

Zang Hong agrees with what Zhang Chao has just said, but the reward outweighs the risk in his opinion because if they manage to gain both Wen Pin and Li Yan's Army, then they would obtain talent and an army for Lie Fan, which hold a lot of merit value.

With the merit value then they could improve the Xuanwu Army and possibly have their own ships, separate from the ones under the Navy's control, improving their combat capability to guard the Yangtze River.

Zang Hing's words managed to persuade Zhang Chao to decide to accept Wen Pin's request, because truthfully in his mind his army was the weakest and had the lowest amount of talented generals assigned to them.

It doesn't mean that he envied and even after his compatriots, because he knew that their enemies were much more powerful and had more talented generals serving them than the enemies he and Zang Hong were facing.

If like what Zang Hong has just said they could have their own ships at their disposal, and don't need to wait for the Navy to send their ships to them, it would massively improve their combat capability.

Especially now that Huang Zu has sworn his allegiance to Lie Fan, maybe with merit he could also request for Huang Zu to be put under his command which means that he could gain control over some ships easier, as he had someone who understands how to use them.

Since the two of them had reached their decision, Zhang Chao turned to Wen Pin and told him that they accepted his request, under the condition that everything he did would be under supervision.

Wen Pin hearing this let out a laugh and agreed, saying that his words would never be broken as for him honor and loyalty are absolute, of course, he understands that they don't trust him.

So with that Wen Pin was freed from prison, and after cleaning himself up he alongside Zhang Chao and Zang Hong headed toward Li Yan's arm commander who was put into prison as well.

There Wen Pin managed to convince them to follow his lead, promising them to find out more about Li Yan's situation and well-being, of course, there were some commanders that didn't believe what Wen Pin said.

There's a small number of people who don't believe his words compared to the ones who believe him, so it doesn't matter for Wen Pin who managed to gain the majority of support.

The commanders were released and then with Wen Pin at their home, they headed outside of Jiangxia toward a prison camp where Li Yan's soldiers were held.

When the soldiers see that their commanders and even General Wen Pin have been freed, they let out a loud cheer, and after settling them down Wen Pin then gives a speech about how they should regain their spirit, and follow him to keep Li Yan save and to find out more about his situation.

These words don't inspire Li Yan's soldiers as they thought that they believed their beloved general situation was unknown and he was in danger, Zang Hong saw this and whispered to Wen Pin to change his words.

Wen Pin was a great general but his skill in rhetoric was too great, so under Zang Hong's help he finally managed to uplift the spirit of Li YanCS soldiers and gain their trust.

Since he was successful, Wen Pin then was ordered by Zhang Chao to lead Li Yan's 50,000 men to purge the bandits and band of brigands that roamed Jiangxia Commandery, and when he finished his task would be escorted to Xiapi to meet with Lie Fan.

Hearing that there were criminals roaming around Jiangxia Commandery and harming the people, his ears blocked other words that came after his order to purge the criminals, and he solemnly promised to purge these bandits and bands of brigands.

Seeing Wen Pin leaving Jiangxia with 50,000 of Li Yan's men, Zang Hon requested the Orioles to keep an eye on Wen Pin and report to him every movement made by Wen Pin.

Zhang Chao and Zang Hong have managed to enlist Wen Pin's help to quell the bandits and bands of brigands at Jiangxia, not far away from Jiangxia, a situation was brewing at Xiangyang.

Since Liu Bei's declaration shook the land in the new year, several days later Liu Qi alongside Liu Pan and Fu Xun who panicked after knowing that Liu Biao and Cai Mai had fled to Jiangling, arrived at Xiangyang.

Liu Bei flanked by Ju Shou, Wang Xiu, Kuai Yue, and Kuai Liang alongside Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, received Liu Qi and his group the moment they knew about his imminent arrival in Xiangyang.

At this time they were sitting in the Main hall of the Governor's Castle, where Liu Qi and Liu Bei were having a conversation about the matter of Liu Bei's announcement that shook the land.

Liu Qi: "Imperial Uncle, is this really the right path for me and my cousin? I begin to have some slight regret for what I have done, maybe my father was correct that I was an unfilial son."

Liu Bei: "Nonsense! This path may have been a treacherous one for Nephew Qi and Pan to embark on, but there's no way that the two of you were unfilial, all men can become a father but not all of them are worthy to become one, you have seen yourself what have your father does to both of you."

Liu Qi: "Hah... The world is truly confusing, my birth father hasn't given me familial warmth since I was 8 years old, and Uncle Xuande was the one who gave me that warmth since the first time we met."

Liu Bei: "Thank you for your kind words nephew Qi, I also haven't had any children since being married to my wife, maybe this is a fate from heaven that has been bestowed upon us, how about the two of you become my foster sons?"

Liu Pan: "Really?! Uncle Xuande would like to have me and brother Qi as your foster son?!"

Liu Qi who heard what Liu Bei had just said was also surprised, but unlike the boisterous Liu Pan he was so surprised that he couldn't speak any words, and before Liu Bei could answer Liu Pan a guard suddenly barged into the hall.

Zhang Fei who was touched by his eldest brother's kindness and distressed by his wish to have a descendant becomes angered after the guard suddenly barged in on such a touching moment.

Before he could do anything however he was held back by Guan Yu, and then everyone in the hall heard that the Guard reported urgently as Liu Biao sent an army numbering 100,000 heading toward Xiangyang.

This news surprised everyone in the hall and Kuai Liang immediately suggested to Liu Bei that they send their army to meet with Liu Biao's army, as they can't have a siege battle at Xiangyang after the usurp battle.

Both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei immediately stood up and told Liu Bei that they would prepare the army and await his order, and then instantly left the hall leaving Liu Bei and Liu Qi who still process the news.

Ju Shou who stood beside Liu Bei let out a low cough that woke up Liu Bei, who was angry inside after knowing that Liu Biao was retaliating against him, so he put up a sad facade and after letting out a low sigh, he ordered for the army to immediately head out after they finished their preparation.

Fortunately for Liu Bei, he already transferred some of his army at Xinye to Xiangyang, and combined with the men he gained at Xiangyang and the common people who flocked to join his army, the total number of men he have right now was around 150,000 men.

Liu Qi and Liu Pan also woke up after hearing Liu Bei's order, Liu Pan instantly requested that he be allowed to join Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to fight for him, to oust the Uncle who mistreated him for so long from his foster father's domain.

Hearing Liu Pan's request, Liu Bei let out a smirk knowing that his scheme had 50% succeeded in managing to ensnare Liu Pan, and now only Liu Qi was left to be ensnared.

Liu Bei allowed Liu Pan to follow Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and told his foster son to be careful, acknowledging what Liu Pan had called him just now.

While being filled with happiness and excitement over what Liu Bei had just said, Liu Pan promised to be careful and immediately leave the hall. Liu Bei seeing Liu Pan leaving the hall, assigned Ju Shou and Kuai Yue to become the strategists for the army and support Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

The two of them immediately cupped their hand and left the hall as well, leaving only Liu Bei, Liu Qi, Kuai Liang, and Wang Xiu in the hall, where no one speaks a word and only silence is in the air.

Outside of the Governor's Castle, under Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's order 100,000 men of Liu Bei's Army began their preparation, and when Liu Pan managed to catch up to the two of them, everything was ready and they could immediately leave.

When the army was leaving the town under Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's lead, Ju Shou and Kuai Yue managed to catch up to them and joined them as the strategists. Knowing that Ju Shou and Kuai Yue joined them, both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei knew that they would win against Liu Biao, even though they had the same number of men the tactical advantage was on their side with these two advisors that Liu Bei ordered for them to respect.

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Name: Lie Fan

Title: Three Heroes Who Defeat Lu Bu

Age: 30 (197 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 825

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 936 (+20)

VIT: 598 (+20)

AGI: 583 (+10)

INT: 587

CHR: 96

WIS: 509

WILL: 397

ATR Points: 0