Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 45: One Go, One Go, the Time Has Come

Qiao Rui's surrender gave Liu Bei another big surprise.

He had few generals under his command, and except for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the others were not capable of taking on important tasks.

Although Qiao Rui's martial arts skills are not very good, he has rich experience!
In terms of the number of troops he led, I'm afraid even he didn't have as many troops as Qiao Rui.

This kind of general may not be aggressive enough, but he is more than capable of guarding a region. As long as you don't encounter a main force like Cao Cao, there is basically no need to worry.

Liu Bei smiled at Qiao Rui and said:

"It is a blessing for our army that the general is willing to surrender!"

"How could I be unwilling?"

"General, please stand up immediately and don't perform such a great ceremony!"

He hurriedly helped Qiao Rui up, with a smile on his face.

Zhang Fei also grinned when he saw this. In fact, he admired Qiao Rui's fearless attitude towards death.

Seeing such a general coming to surrender, he was naturally happy.

Only Qiao Rui felt more guilty when he saw Liu Bei was so kind.
"In the past, Rui only knew loyalty, but not righteousness. Now that the military advisor under your command has pointed it out, I sincerely wish to abandon the dark and join the light!"

He looked towards Qin Zhen and said with a convinced look:

"But I don't know your name, could you tell me?"

When Liu Bei heard this, he smiled and said:

"This is a great sage under my command, his surname is Wang."

Before he even said the word "禾", Qin Zhen bowed and smiled:
"I am a humble person, my surname is Qin, my given name is Zhen, and my courtesy name is Zixuan!"

"If I have offended you just now, I hope you will forgive me, General!"

When Liu Bei heard Qin Zhen reveal his real name, he was shocked, while Qiao Rui took a breath and said:

"Sir, are you the Qilin talent?"

He also said that he had never heard of such a person under Liu Bei's command, but he didn't expect that he was actually the chief military strategist under Cao Cao?
No wonder he behaves so eccentrically, yet has such deep meaning!
But Qin Zhen heard this and shook his head:

"It's just a false reputation, nothing to worry about!"

Zhang Fei, who was standing nearby, heard this and said in surprise:

"Didn't the military advisor say that we should conceal our identities? Why did you reveal it?"

Qin Zhen smiled at him:
"I can hide it for a while, but can I hide it forever?"

"Our army is about to rise up, and it will be discovered sooner or later. Why cover it up unless it is necessary?"

"Besides, the general is a trustworthy person. Now that he has joined our army, we should not hide it!"

Qiao Rui was surprised to see the two of them like this. Upon seeing this, Liu Bei hurriedly told them about Qin Zhen's alias.

After hearing the whole story, Qiao Rui was even more moved.

He thought that he was just a surrendered general who had just joined the army, but Liu Bei and Qin Zhen trusted him so much. How could he not be moved!

At that moment, he bowed to Liu Bei and Qin Zhen and said:

"Mingsong, Military Advisor, rest assured. Although Rui knows about this, he will not say a word to anyone!"

Seeing Qiao Rui like this, Liu Bei became happier. However, after a short while, he became worried again:
"Although the general is willing to surrender, I don't know where his family is. If the general surrenders to our army, will it bring disaster to his family?"

Hearing Liu Bei's concern for his family first, Qiao Rui felt moved, but then he said sadly:

"This is also what I am worried about. My family is still in Huainan, so I was willing to die before!"

"Although I am safe now, I can hardly take care of the old and young at home!"

Most men are like this. Once they get excited, they agree to everything.

The consequences are considered afterward.

However, Qin Zhen had already thought of this, and said to Qiao Rui with a smile:

"If you say the general's family is small, it's not difficult to protect them!"

"May I ask, General, what is the relationship between you and Zhang Xun?"

Qiao Rui didn't know why he mentioned Zhang Xun, so he thought for a while and said:

"My lord, I have a close relationship with General Zhang!"

"We have known each other for many years, and we can be considered close friends!"

If he hadn't had a good relationship with Zhang Xun, he wouldn't have risked his life to save him.

"If that's the case, then it's easy!"

Qin Zhen smiled at Liu Bei and said:

"Your Excellency, please ask General Qiao to go and see Zhang Xun, release him, and ask him to protect your family. This way, you won't have to worry about anything!"

When Liu Bei heard this, he was cheered up. He had not thought of this yet.

Since Zhang Xun is unwilling to surrender, it would be better to use him in exchange for Qiao Rui's loyalty.

When Qiao Rui heard this, he was stunned for a moment and said:

"Military Advisor, are you saying that General Zhang was also captured by your army?"

He clearly remembered that Zhang Xun escaped yesterday, so how come he was suddenly caught by Liu Bei again?
Seeing this, Zhang Fei grinned and said:
"You never expected it, right? What happened to you is exactly what my military advisor expected!"

He told Qiao Rui again what had happened yesterday. Of course, he omitted the bet between him and Qin Zhen and only mentioned the capture of Zhang Xun.

Qiao Rui was stunned when he heard this. He thought to himself, Zhang Xun was so confident yesterday, but he was still caught by Qin Zhen.
Qin Zhen is truly their nemesis.

Even though you were defeated by Qin Zhen in Kuang Ting before, now they have a new boss and can still capture you!

Thinking of how he had just mocked Qin Zhen, he shook his head and sighed:

"I admire your talent, sir. If it weren't for you, my life would be in danger!"

"But Rui is only a deputy general, and General Zhang is the main general. How can you let him go just because of me?"

When Qin Zhen heard this, he said to him seriously:

"It's not the general's position that matters, but the general's loyalty. As long as the general's family can be saved, why can't I let Zhang Xun go?"

Qiao Rui has always been a runner-up, but today he has heard the most praise in his life. He immediately felt like dying for his friend!
Liu Bei and his military advisor are already in this state. If he doesn't work hard, he might not even be able to convince himself.

"The envoy and the military advisor treat me so well, how dare I not fight to the death?"

Liu Bei was overjoyed when he saw Qiao Rui's statement again. He smiled at Zhang Fei and said:

"In that case, Yide, take the general to see Zhang Xun!"

Zhang Fei listened, then raised his head to Qiao Rui and said:

"General Qiao, follow me!"

Qiao Rui had just scolded Zhang Fei and felt a little embarrassed at this moment, so he hurriedly said:

"General Zhang, you can't do this. My nickname is Le Bin. You can just call me by my given name!"

Zhang Fei didn't care and said with a smile:
"Then you can call me Yide too!"

The two of them put aside their past grudges and headed out of the camp.

Seeing the two of them like this, Liu Bei stepped forward and said to Qin Zhen with a smile:

"Thanks to the military advisor's guidance, my third brother has improved a lot!"

He found that Zhang Fei seemed to be much kinder to others now, and this was all thanks to Qin Zhen.

"What does this general's achievement have to do with me?"

As Qin Zhen spoke, he felt relieved in his heart. If Zhang Fei continued to change like this, he would achieve great things sooner or later!

Liu Bei knew that Qin Zhen was modest, so he did not say much and just asked:
"I still have one thing I don't understand!"

"The military advisor said before that we must borrow Zhang Xun to get Xiang County, why are you letting him go now?"

Qin Zhen knew that Lao Liu would ask this question, and said with a smile:
"My Lord, you don't know that the situation is different now, and the plan should be changed!"

"It is not that if we capture Zhang Xun alone, we cannot capture Xiangxian, but it is more convenient to capture Zhang Xun, so we decided to capture him."

"Now that we have Qiao Rui, we can use him. Even if Zhang Xun refuses to surrender, we can use him to gain Qiao Rui's loyalty!"

"Besides, given the current situation, it is better to let Zhang Xun go than to keep him. He has received the kindness of our army and will definitely repay it in the future."

"I think Yuan Shu won't live long. If he is given a general now, he might be able to bring tens of thousands of soldiers in the future!"

What he planned for Huainan for Lao Liu was not just about territory.

Yuan Shu’s entire foundation was the target of the conspiracy!
You should know that after Yuan Shu's death, his power did not disappear directly, but was split into four or five parts.

Leaving Zhang Xun with Yuan Shu can help them recruit Yuan Shu's old subordinates in the future!

Only by continuously absorbing the power left by Yuan Shu can Liu Bei rise up at the fastest speed and compete with the princes of the world.

As Liu Bei listened to Qin Zhen's words, he couldn't help but once again sigh at Qin Zhen's foresight.

Almost every step is spent calculating the future.

He doesn't need to worry at all, no wonder Lao Cao's career has been so smooth!

With a military advisor around, everything goes smoothly.

Thinking about it, he hurriedly asked:

"So what should our army do now?"

Qin Zhen said without thinking:

"Now the opportunity to take Xiang County has arrived. Go and get money and food tonight, and our army can then attack Xiang County!"

"As for Lu Bu, if he really refuses to give me money and food, I will deal with him after I capture Xiang County!"

At this point, he laughed again:

"Don't worry, my lord. He will give our army what it deserves, whether he wants to or not!"

"No matter how he responds, our army will never suffer any loss!"

Looking at Qin Zhen's smile, Liu Bei felt a chill in his heart and couldn't help but mourn for Lu Bu.

I just hope Lu Bu can be more sensible, otherwise, as a military advisor, he is not someone you can easily mess with.

Thinking of this, Lao Liu felt more confident and started to prepare himself, planning to go into the city to ask for food at night!

After discussing with Liu Bei, Qin Zhen went for a walk around Zhang Xun's tent.

After confirming that Zhang Xun was willing to protect Qiao Rui's family, he sent someone to escort him all the way south.

Qiao Rui was grateful for Liu Bei's kindness and stayed with peace of mind, agreeing to help Liu Bei lead the prisoners of Yuan Shu's army.

At that time, more than 3,000 soldiers were added to Liu Bei, greatly increasing the strength of Liu Bei's army.

(End of this chapter)