Zhang Bao sat alone, staring blankly at the terrain map before him, then slowly rose.
The situation was dire, his subordinates were unreliable, let alone Lu Zhi, with whom he had once been at odds.
What a joke.
"I think we should leave Luoyang as soon as possible!"
But where to go and how to go became Zhang Bao's big problem.
The alliance of noble families was no mere empty threat; if things went wrong, he might truly perish here.
After who knows how long, Zhang Bao finally made up his mind: run, and run fast.
Lu Zhi wanted him to become the target of public criticism, and he wouldn't let Lu Zhi off either.
Perhaps he could divert the disaster?
A thought suddenly struck Zhang Bao.
"My lord wishes to drive the wolves to devour the tigers; I shall assist my lord!"
With a hoarse voice, coupled with silver hair and a flat crutch, Zhang Bao was almost instantly certain that this person was extraordinary!
"May I know who this sir is," Zhang Bao, too flustered to react, quickly helped the newcomer to a seat and respectfully fanned him!
"Old Immortal Nan Hua!" Sitting in his position, Zhang Bao's mind worked faster than his hands, and he guessed the visitor's identity with considerable accuracy.
Zuo Ci! Legend had it that he was adept at mystic arts, capable of holding off a hundred thousand troops alone, and even possessed the ability to turn beans into soldiers.
Remarkable, truly remarkable!
Zuo Ci stared at the frozen tea bowl, slowly lowered his fan, and looked earnestly at the stunned Zhang Bao, cleared his throat, and then spoke slowly.
"Consider the alliance of noble families and Lu Zhi; they are already at loggerheads. Why not add fuel to the fire? Then my lord can sit back and reap the benefits."
"Add fuel to the fire," Zhang Bao mumbled, his eyes darting around. The idea was good, but how could Lu Zhi possibly be a match for the noble families? However, facing Zuo Ci, he spoke respectfully, "I am eager to hear more."
Zuo Ci's gaze was sharp. He spoke slowly, "Others are naturally out of the question, but what about the King of Chu? Is he also helpless against the alliance of noble families?"
"The King of Chu?"
"My lord, you may not know, but Ye Feng has already become the King of Chu. He no longer cares about a mere General of Heaven. A swift decision is the only chance of survival; otherwise, he will surely perish without a burial place!" Zuo Ci slowly rose, his voice grave, and walked directly towards the map.
Zhang Bao, not understanding his intent, rose and followed Zuo Ci. When he saw Zuo Ci point to Peach Blossom Mountain, his eyes lit up, and he said urgently, "Does sir mean for us to fight here?"
"Not so, not so," Zuo Ci pointed to the map, explaining bit by bit. "Lu Zhi's subordinate, Huangfu Hao, is a skilled warrior, not inferior to any general. However, there is one thing he cannot match: he knows nothing of mountain and river strategy."
"This Peach Blossom Mountain is shaped like a peach blossom, like a natural barrier, with only one small path connecting it. If these three forces meet, who do you think will die on the mountain? General, you can guess." Zuo Ci's face held a hint of amusement.
"Whoever it is, it's not me, Zhang Bao!" Zhang Bao shrugged at Zuo Ci, deciding to act shamelessly.
Zuo Ci was neither angry nor annoyed. "It won't even require the King of Chu's involvement. I fear even his unknown subordinates would be enough to make Huangfu Hao and the noble families falter!"
Zhang Bao listened clearly but pouted. Zuo Ci's thinking was indeed brilliant, but would the King of Chu, Ye Feng, or Lu Zhi, or the noble families, be willing to listen to his nonsense?
"Sir, you think a bit too optimistically. Even the King of Chu alone might not be easily manipulated by you!"
Zuo Ci laughed heartily. "Is that all you're worried about? What difficulty is there? As long as we send an envoy, success is assured. At the same time, let General Xu set up an iron-clad formation, and they will have nowhere to escape!"
Zhang Bao felt the method was still not foolproof, frowned, and in an instant, an idea struck him.
It's just a King of Chu and Lu Zhi; he had a plan.
He burst into laughter.
"I never imagined sir to be so talented! If I had met you earlier, why would I have taken so many detours?"
Zuo Ci bowed deferentially while smiling, "My lord is too kind. If I had met my lord earlier, my talents would not have been wasted."
Behind the scenes, Zuo Ci looked proud, unwilling to admit that he had come to Zhang Bao because Lu Zhi and Ye Feng didn't need him.
Zhang Bao didn't overthink it. He quickly ordered wine and killed chickens, made preparations, and paid his respects to his ancestors. After they had drunk and eaten heartily,
"I originally thought the General of Heaven was merely a Yellow Turban warlord, but seeing you today, I truly see you are both brave and resourceful."
Zhang Bao threw down his wine cup and spoke fiercely, "This is nothing. Back then, I was the greatest leader of the Yellow Turban Army, if not for that one person..."
"I know." Zuo Ci, no longer possessing his celestial bearing, patted his chest confidently and said, "My lord, rest assured, this time we will surely make that so-called King of Chu perish without a burial place."
"Mind your words," Zhang Bao feigned alarm, glancing left and right, then lowered his voice and spoke cautiously.
Even so, he didn't forget to raise his wine cup as a cover. "I hear that Ye Feng has established some kind of Embroidered Uniform Guard, authorized by imperial decree. It's likely to be formidable."
"Nonsense about the Embroidered Uniform Guard! I, the Old Immortal, can do as I please, and he thinks he can control me?" Zuo Ci roared, then his ears twitched. "Who?"
He turned and threw a hairpin. A person outside the tent cried out and fell. With a wave of his hand, someone carried in a man dressed in black fish-patterned robes.
"Sir, this is that Embroidered Uniform Guard!" Zhang Bao suddenly stood up, trembling, about to untie the ropes, but Zuo Ci's eyes blazed with anger as he roared.
"What are you doing?"
Zhang Bao was startled, then pretended to stammer, "This, this is that, that man of the King of Chu."
Zuo Ci glanced over casually. "Look at your cowardly nature. I will handle this for you."
"Bah, you dog! Kill one of me, and there are thousands more!" The Embroidered Uniform Guard almost spat a mouthful of phlegm at Zuo Ci's face.
Zuo Ci's face remained impassive. He rummaged in his robes for a pill and was about to feed it to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's mouth, but the guard tightly closed his lips.
"Interesting little fellow."
Zhang Bao gently patted Zuo Ci and said softly, "Sir, perhaps we should let this matter go. After all, I cannot afford to offend them. If it doesn't work out, let me fend for myself, and you should leave quickly."
"What is the General of Heaven saying? I will handle this matter!"
Amidst Zuo Ci's mumbled incantations, the Embroidered Uniform Guard slowly opened his mouth, and Zuo Ci, with lightning speed, stuffed the pill in.
"Our prince is the King of Chu, Ye Feng. Yu Huatian is our boss. We came this time to investigate if anyone is plotting against the prince. If there is, our boss will definitely..."
Zhang Bao listened intently, but it abruptly stopped. Zuo Ci waved his hand, signaling Zhang Bao to step back. He smiled and said, "General, please forgive me. It's the effect of my pill. Some things only I can know."
"Oh my, sir is indeed talented. You even have such things!" Zhang Bao hastily clasped his hands in flattery.
"Ah!" Accompanied by a shrill scream, Zhang Bao sobered up considerably, the confusion in his eyes vanishing. He stared blankly at everything before him.
Zuo Ci, clutching his constantly bleeding ear, pointed at the Embroidered Uniform Guard and cursed incessantly.
"Old Immortal, I'll take your life! How dare you manipulate me like this."
The captured Embroidered Uniform Guard laughed a few times, spitting blood onto Zuo Ci's face, looking like a madman.
"With you, you think you can find out the King of Chu's news? You will all die!"
"Kill him, kill him!" Zuo Ci roared a few times, and as his subordinates moved to act, Zhang Bao stopped them.
Zhang Bao said solemnly, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Bah! If it weren't for you Yellow Turban bandits and your so-called hypocritical gentlemen, how would I have ended up like this?"
"Back then, my family was well-off. It was all because of the good deeds of you self-righteous beasts."
"But with my lord, our family had fertile land, and my sister could go to school."
"For my lord, I wish I could eat your flesh raw and drink your blood! You beasts!"
In an instant, Zhang Bao's wavering scales finally tipped. He gently waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to take the Embroidered Uniform Guard away, and carefully helped Zuo Ci up.
"Sir, given the current situation, if you want to send an envoy, there is no one better than you," Zhang Bao said with conviction. After a long consideration, he added, "If I become emperor in the future, I will surely make you my Imperial Advisor!"
Zuo Ci's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Is that true?"
"A gentleman's word is his bond."
Seeing that he had received a positive answer, Zuo Ci did not hesitate and stepped out with his tallies.
"Wait, sir!" Zhang Bao quickly said. With a "whoosh," he turned and a bowl of wine appeared in his hand.
"Sir, please take care of yourself on this journey. If things don't go as planned, do not force the issue. When the time comes, I will await you at the camp gate!"
Zuo Ci quickly helped Zhang Bao, took the wine bowl, and drank it down in one gulp, then smashed it heavily. "My lord, I will not fail my mission!"
"Farewell, sir." Seeing Zuo Ci walk away, Zhang Bao rushed to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and personally untied his ropes.
"You yellow-turbaned dog, what are you doing? If you have the guts, kill me and use my head to consecrate the army!" the Embroidered Uniform Guard cursed.
Zhang Bao put on a stern face and reprimanded, "Get lost! Don't you know who you are? Don't you fear soiling my place? If you want to talk to me, you are not worthy!"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was puzzled but still left quickly.
Once both Zuo Ci and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had disappeared from sight, Zhang Bao slumped to the ground as if all his strength had been drained. "Fortunately, fortunately, otherwise I would have truly died here."
"General, we are approaching Peach Blossom Mountain," an inner attendant, not understanding the situation, asked solicitously.
Before he finished speaking, he received two hard slaps to the face. "Still going to Peach Blossom Mountain? Give the order to pack up and move towards the King of Chu. We will change direction and find the Sun clan. Why worry about not living peacefully?"
"What about that old immortal?"
"Foolish thing, an ordinary Embroidered Uniform Guard can do such things, and you still want to go there? Are you trying to die?"
In less than an hour, Zhang Bao's entire contingent slowly retreated in the direction of Ye Feng, leaving behind only unlit stoves with uncooked rice.
At the same moment, Ye Feng stared at the approaching hairpin. He casually threw a cup, and the two collided, falling to the ground simultaneously. As the sound of metal striking metal grew louder, the executioners immediately became alert.
"Quick, protect the Prince!"