"My lord, between the true strength of our Shu army and the Han army, who do you think is stronger?”，Zhao Wei asked Liu Zhang.
" In the past, we might have been evenly matched. Now, we should be stronger. The fact that Han Zhanglu came to sue for peace is proof," Liu Zhang said after thinking for a moment.
"A momentary victory or defeat cannot prove anything. Does my lord know the main reason for our victory this time?”Zhao Wei asked.
"Didn't the battle report say so? "It's all because Xun 'er was quick-witted and pretended to be Heavenly Master Zhang. The believers of the Five Buckets of Rice Sect believed him. Without combat strength, he lost without fighting," Liu Zhang said.
"That's right. In the end, Zhang Lu's defeat this time was largely due to an accidental factor. Did the lord think that if the Eldest Young Master were to repeat his old trick again, he would be able to scare off the enemy?”Zhao Wei asked.
" This…I'm afraid that's not possible." Liu Zhang was a little dejected.
"That's right. If we continue to advance, we might not be able to win. If the other marquises took advantage of the situation to attack Yizhou, it would be difficult to stop the war. "It's better to agree to Zhang Lu's request for peace, recuperate, observe the situation, and wait for the opportunity to rise. It's the best policy." Zhao Wei's analysis sounded reasonable. Liu Zhang was originally a person who had no idea, so he couldn't make up his mind for a moment.
"My Lord, Lord Zhao's analysis is very reasonable. The situation in Yizhou over the years has shown that it is really better to defend than to attack. It is better to agree to peace negotiations.”Wu Lan added fuel to the fire.
" Father, once the flames of war start, all lives will be plunged into misery and suffering. Don't hesitate and give the order to negotiate peace." Liu Chan didn't want Liu Xun to join the discussion as his injuries had just stabilized and had yet to fully recover.
For a moment, most of them agreed to negotiate peace with Zhang Lu. Huang Quan felt that it was wrong, but he was an official, so he couldn't come up with a good reason to object. He could only give up.
" Then let's make peace and recruit Zhang Ren." Liu Zhang finally made up his mind.
Liu Zhang's messenger rushed to Jiameng Pass from Chengdu and delivered his order. Zhang Ren left Yang Huai and Gao Pei to defend the city while he and Liu Xun led 50,000 troops to escort Zhang Lu's envoy, Yang Song, to Chengdu.
The army had just left Jiameng Pass when the vanguard reported,""An old man called Hua Heng is on the main road. He claims to be a beggar. He doesn't want other people's money but only wants Eldest Young Master to give him money. The first officer, Li Guohua, felt that something was amiss and ordered me to report it."
" Just chase him away. Where did this stinky scream come from?" Zhang Ren said impatiently. He didn't have a good impression of this kind of person.
" Wait, Second Brother. Let's see what happens. This person actually dared to block the path of our army. He must be extraordinary," Liu Xun said.
" Since Big Brother said so, let's go and see what he's up to," Zhang Ren said. Although he was the commander, he recognized Liu Xun as his master and naturally listened to his arrangements.
In the distance, they saw a sloppy old man with disheveled hair, dirty face, and tattered clothes. He was lying on his back on the main road with a green bamboo cane in his hand, blocking the path of the army.
"Look up at the world's general trend and smile at the world's wind and clouds. "If you ask who the heroes are in the world, Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan, Liu Zhang, Liu Biao, Liu Xuande, they are all useless." Old Jiao Hua said as if there was no one else around him, looking at the 50,000 troops in front of him as if they were nothing.
"Old man, why are you spouting nonsense? How dare you insult my lord? Are you tired of living?”Zhang Ren shouted. Although Liu Zhang was weak, he was still the ruler of Yizhou. If these words reached Liu Zhang's ears, it would be terrible.
" Don't worry, let him continue." Liu Xun waved his hand as he recalled the people from the Three Kingdoms that he knew in his previous life." I don't think there's such a person. He doesn't look like a master. Let's listen to what he has to say before we make a decision."”
"As expected of Liu Zhang's eldest son. Why, Eldest Young Master, you don't want to pursue Zhang Lu but want to return to Chengdu?”Old Jiao Hua opened his mouth wide and shouted, revealing his broken teeth." If we lose this opportunity and give Zhang Lu a chance to catch his breath, it will be difficult to find another opportunity."”
"Who are you? You blocked my path just to say this? "If there's nothing else, please go away. If you dare to block the way again, don't blame me for being rude." Liu Xun suspected that this person was sent by Zhao Wei, as if he had disobeyed orders and attacked Zhang Lu. Zhao Wei would say that he intended to rebel, and at that time, he would be in a dilemma.
"Who am I? Old Furen calls me Zuo Ci, and the world loves me so much that they call me Great Immortal Zuo Ci. Why, Eldest Young Master, didn't you go around announcing that you're my disciple? Why didn't he bow to his master after seeing him? He would be struck by lightning if he deceived his master and destroyed his ancestors.”Old Jiao Hua laughed mockingly.
" This person can't be Zuo Ci. Didn't Luo Guan say in the book that Zuo Ci is a dim-eyed and limping Taoist? This person was most likely sent by Zhao Wei and Liu Xun to trick me, so I mustn't fall for it." Karma really came fast. He just pretended to be someone else's ancestor. In the blink of an eye, someone had also pretended to be his master.”
"You are my master, Great Immortal Zuo Ci? No way. My master is a limping Daoist. How could he look like this? If you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll kill you immediately.”Liu Xun said fiercely. He had already decided to teach this guy who dared to impersonate a person a lesson.
"Who is the one who slandered me like this? He said that I'm blind and lame. It's too outrageous. "It's fine if others say that, but you're my disciple, and you dare to slander your master like this? You're simply deceiving your master and destroying your ancestors. You deserve to be beaten." Old Jiao Hua actually stretched out his bamboo cane and wanted to knock Liu Xun's head.
How could Liu Xun let him hit him? He stretched out his hand and blocked the old man. The old man immediately fell to the ground, his face covered in dust and dirt. He was in a sorry state.
" It's too much. A disciple beating up a master. It's really a decadent world. People's hearts are no longer the same as before." Old Jiao Hua struggled to get up from the ground and panted heavily as he muttered.
This time, Liu Xun no longer had any doubts. This must be an old liar, most likely sent by Zhao Wei.
"Is that so? Old Jiao Hua wants to impersonate my master. " My master, Immortal Master Zuo Ci, has a divine martial arts technique. With your current state, it's better for you to scram," Liu Xun said. With his usual temper, he would have kicked Old Jiao Hua to the roadside long ago. But today, she actually talked to him for a long time.
" Old beggar, get lost. If you anger the young master, I'm worried that you might lose your life." The soldiers began to jeer.
"This old man is old and my bones are loose. It's normal for my martial arts to deteriorate. You want this old man to leave? Brat, as long as you give me three thousand taels of silver, this old man will leave immediately and never look back.
" 3,000 taels of silver. Old man, go rob the national treasury," some soldiers shouted.
Liu Xun frowned. Today's events were too unusual. If something was abnormal, it would be a demon. Perhaps this old man was really an expert. He decided to test him.
"Since you insist that you are my master, Great Immortal Zuo Ci, my master knows everything about geography, the five elements, Yin, and Yang. "Dao techniques and divine powers are omnipotent." Liu Xun started to speak politely."As long as you can answer my question, I'll acknowledge you as my master and give you 3,000 taels of silver. How about it?”
"You can be taught, Confucian. I'm starting to like you as my disciple. You can just set the question. This old man knows three hundred years in advance and five hundred years in the future. Would I be stumped by you?”Old Jiao Hua said indifferently," Just prepare the silver notes.”
" Then I won't stand on ceremony. Senior, please listen to the question." Liu Xun chuckled." Even if you knew 800 years ago or 800 years later, you wouldn't be able to answer this question. This question is from more than a thousand years in the future."
"Senior, may I ask which came first? Or the egg first?"
" Chicken first."
"Where did that chicken come from?"
" The egg came first."
"Where did the egg come from?"
"Is the sun closer to people when it just rises or at noon?”
"When I just rose, I was close to people."
"Then why is it that when the sun just came out, it was cool and refreshing, but when it came to noon, it was as hot as if one's hand was placed near hot water. Wasn't this feeling hot when it was close and cold when it was far away?”
"Oh, I remembered wrongly. It was close to people at noon.”
"Is that so?"
"Then why is the sun as big as a car umbrella when it first comes out, but as small as a plate at noon? Isn't it small in the distance and big in the near?”
"That day at Mingsha Mountain, I saw this kid surrounded by lightning and thought he was full of righteousness. "Who knew that he would be so crafty that even I would be stumped?" Old Jiao Hua thought to himself. Seeing that the other party was firing questions continuously without any intention of stopping after reading, if he continued to ask, he would make a bigger fool of himself.
He waved his hands and shouted,"Stop! You've asked me so many questions. It's my turn to set the questions."”
Without caring whether Liu Xun agreed or not, he took out a paper figurine from his bosom with trembling hands and threw it in the wind. Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew and black gas surrounded him. A group of cavalry appeared out of thin air. Each of them had a sharp saber and spear, and they looked no different from real cavalry.
"Now you believe that this old man is Great Immortal Zuo Ci. As long as you break my formation, this old man will take you in as a disciple. Otherwise, you will obediently hand over three thousand taels of silver.”Old Jiao Hua said proudly as he observed Liu Xun's reaction.
The front troops immediately began to stir up some chaos. Some of the warhorses began to neigh, disobeying orders. Zhang Ren immediately ordered the three armies to be on guard.
" Young Master, don't fall for it. That old man is a remnant of the Yellow Turban army. That's a common trick of the Yellow Turban army," some veterans who had participated in the battle to eliminate the Yellow Turban soldiers shouted immediately.
Things were getting weirder and weirder. Liu Xun already knew that this old man was not sent by Zhao Wei. He was most likely an eccentric. However, he could not make Liu Xun admit defeat obediently with just these few moves.
"Even if you're really Zuo Ci, you're just someone with extraordinary abilities. " In history, although Zuo Ci managed to escape from Cao Cao's hands unscathed, he didn't do anything to Cao Cao." Liu Xun recalled what Guan Lu, the legendary man of the plains, had said about Zuo Ci's magic." It's just an illusion." I got it. My lightning true qi contains the qi of heavenly lightning. This formation seems to be nothing more than an evil technique. I'll try to see if I can break it.”
" It's just an illusion. What's so strange about it? I'll break your spell," Liu Xun shouted. He activated his Thunder Light True Qi, and the thunder around his body surged as he punched at the formation.
The life-like armored soldiers suddenly disappeared, and the burnt paper men and paper horses danced in the air. The old man's figure suddenly disappeared. As far as the eye could see, there was only a black line in the distance.
Old Jiao Hua threw down two books in front of Liu Xun.
" Look, it's really Old Immortal Zuo Ci," someone shouted. When the troops looked up, a crane cried out from the sky, and a crane flew down. It carried a Daoist and slowly flew up into the clouds. That Daoist had the air of a celestial being, wearing a Daoist robe and a silk scarf. His left foot was a long way off, and his right eye was obviously blind. It was the image of the Great Immortal Zuo Ci that had been circulating among the people for a long time.
An ethereal voice rang out, as if it came from the distant horizon." Liu Xun, I officially accept you as my disciple today. I hope that you will carry out justice on behalf of the heavens and save the world."
Great Immortal Zuo Ci's image was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of Shu. This time, the fifty thousand strong army believed him without a doubt. Most of them knelt on the ground and prayed piously.
Liu Xun's heart was clear. He was sure that Old Jiao Hua's move was the same as the previous formation, it was just an illusion.
This old beggar had obviously reached an extremely high level of martial arts. The black line from before was left behind by him when he retreated. It looked like he had disappeared into thin air, but he was actually retreating with Juele's body movement technique. He was as fast as a galloping horse, and ordinary people would never think of it.
As for Kong's strange phenomenon and Old Jiao Hua's words before he left, it made people believe that Liu Xun was Old Immortal Zuo Ci's disciple. From then on, Liu Xun's actions represented the will of heaven and carried out justice on behalf of the heavens.
"It doesn't matter whether this old man is Zuo Ci or not. He's here to help me. Originally, he had just taken charge of the army, and his power in the army was not consolidated. With this show, these troops would be loyal to him. The chances of winning this trip to Chengdu were originally only 50 - 50, but now it had greatly increased. At least they had succeeded. The remaining 10% is destiny and not something that can be controlled by human power, Liu Xun thought to himself.”
He bent down and picked up the two Taoist books that the old Taoist priest had dropped. He saw a line of words written in cinnabar on the title page of one of the books. The handwriting was sloppy, obviously written in a hurry. Liu Xun read it carefully.
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