You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 175 Shut up!

Chapter 175 Shut up!
South Gate Pass.

A formidable pass in southern Xinjiang.

It was precisely because of the existence of the formidable Nanmen Pass that the Great Zhou Dynasty was able to prevent the Southern Barbarians from entering the Great Zhou even an inch.

Yuan Ziming led some of the younger members of the Yuan family to the South Gate Pass in no time. Without even being checked, they easily passed through the South Gate Pass.

The Yuan family had already taken care of all of this in advance.

As the head of the seven great families of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Yuan family had a considerable number of connections in various places.

This southern border region was no exception, as it also had connections with the Yuan family.

Therefore, Yuan Ziming led the young members of the Yuan family out of the pass without needing to be checked, and they passed through the pass very easily.

Of course, although the South Gate Pass was a formidable pass to block the southern barbarians, it did not completely prevent people from entering and leaving.

In particular, some caravans would pass through the South Gate Pass to travel between the Great Zhou and the Southern Barbarians.

After riding his horse out of the South Gate, Yuan Ziming looked back at the magnificent South Gate and sighed softly.

Yuan Ziming knew that after leaving the Great Zhou, they didn't know if they would ever have the chance to return.

I wonder how the clan leader and the patriarch are doing in Luoyang.

If everything goes smoothly, they may still have a chance to return to the Great Zhou.

Otherwise, they would likely never have another chance to return to the Great Zhou Dynasty in their lifetime.

Yuan Ziming thought to himself.

"Walk."

Yuan Ziming spurred his horse and continued leading the younger generation of the Yuan family toward the southern barbarians.

Yuan Ziming knew that now was not the time to lament these things.

The henchmen of the Eastern Depot were still hot on their heels.

If they don't leave quickly, once the Zhennan Army finds out the details from the Eastern Depot's henchmen, they won't be able to escape the Zhennan Army's pursuit even if they leave the pass now.

Soon, Yuan Ziming and his group disappeared into the wilderness beyond the pass.

……

While Yuan Ziming and his group disappeared into the wilderness after leaving the pass, the thirty-odd guards who were pursuing them were surrounded by thousands of cavalry thirty miles from the South Gate.

"I advise you to dismount and surrender obediently. Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

"Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."

A general in armor looked at the more than thirty guards who were surrounded and said coldly.

"Hmph, we are the guards of the Eastern Depot, ordered to arrest the remnants of the Yuan family."

"Not only do you refuse to cooperate with our Eastern Depot, but you also dare to obstruct us. Do you know what the consequences will be?"

The head of the imperial guards stared coldly at the armored general.

They had already caught up with them to this southern border region, and all they needed was for the Zhennan Army to cooperate with them.

Even if Yuan Ziming and his men did manage to escape the pass, with the Zhennan Army's iron cavalry in pursuit, they wouldn't be able to escape.

But now, these Zhennan soldiers not only refuse to cooperate with them, but they have also surrounded them, intending to force them to surrender.

This infuriated the imperial guards.

Eastern Depot and its guards?

Upon hearing this, the armored general let out a disdainful sneer.

"Do you think that holding a broken iron plaque from the Eastern Depot proves that you are people from the Eastern Depot?"

"Who knows if you intercepted and killed people from the Eastern Depot who were impersonating them?"

"I will say it again: dismount and surrender."

"Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."

The armored general repeated himself.

An impatient and cold look had already flashed across his face.

If these imperial guards did not surrender, the general might actually order an operation against them.

Upon hearing the general's words, a shadow crossed the face of the leading imperial guard.

"Kill out."

The leader of the imperial guards drew his crescent blade and spurred his horse to charge at the thousands of cavalrymen surrounding them.

Just surrender?

What a joke.

The people of the Eastern Depot never surrendered without a fight.

Moreover, the head of the Eastern Depot guards had already realized that the general opposite them, after revealing their identity as members of the Eastern Depot and producing their tokens, was trying to force them to surrender.

This is clearly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for them.

Since that's the case, we have no choice but to take action.

"kill."

The imperial guards behind them also drew their crescent blades and charged towards the cavalry.

Seeing the imperial guards take action, the general's lips curled into a cold smile.

There really are people who aren't afraid of death.

The general in armor simply waved his hand.

Thousands of cavalrymen immediately mounted their horses and began to surround and kill the thirty-odd guards.

The sounds of weapons clashing suddenly rang out.

Although the Imperial Guards are small, with only thirty-odd men, they are all elites, martial artists with considerable skill.

Compared to the cavalry that surrounded and killed them, they were far superior.

A few minutes later, hundreds of corpses were lying on the ground.

Apart from the guards, most of the bodies were those of cavalrymen.

Surrounded by cavalry, only the leader of the imperial guards remained fighting; the other guards had all become corpses on the ground.

"Get out of my way."

The armored general hadn't expected that these thirty-odd people were so strong.

In order to capture these thirty-odd men, his cavalry suffered more than three hundred casualties.

You should know that these cavalrymen were the elite of his Zhennan Army.

The armored general shouted and charged forward on horseback. With a casual flick of his spear, he knocked the last remaining leader of the imperial guards off his horse, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"You dare to lose so many of my elite cavalry, you deserve to die."

The armored general, his face grim, stepped forward and was about to stab the guard to death with his spear.

Just then, a sound of horses galloping from afar.

A middle-aged general dressed in silver armor led a troop of cavalry galloping over.

After rushing over, the middle-aged general glanced at the corpses on the ground, which had been ravaged by the battle, and then frowned as he looked at the general in armor. "Seventh Brother, what happened here?"

"Who are these people?"

"How could so many soldiers have been lost?"

The middle-aged general looked at the hundreds of corpses on the ground and asked with a solemn expression.

The general called "Seventh Brother" had a gloomy face. Before he could speak, the guard who had rolled to the ground struggled to his feet.

"You dare to obstruct the work of my Eastern Depot, surround and kill my Eastern Depot personnel, and let the criminals His Majesty wants to arrest escape."

"You just wait, His Majesty will not let you off the hook."

The guard managed to stand up, but swayed and fell back down.

East Factory?

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged general who rushed over raised an eyebrow, then leaped to the side of the guard lying on the ground.

When the middle-aged general saw that the guard had fainted, he found an Eastern Depot token on the guard's body, and his expression changed immediately.

"Seventh Brother, what exactly is going on?"

"How did you end up fighting with the people from the Eastern Depot?"

The middle-aged general looked at the seventh general with a solemn expression.

"Brother, this matter cannot be explained in just a few words."

"I just asked them to put down their weapons and to verify their identities."

"But they attacked without saying a word, they were courting death." "So what if they were from the Eastern Depot?"

"This is the Southern Frontier, the territory of our Zhennan Army. It's not up to the Eastern Depot to act recklessly."

The seventh brother's general said with a grim expression.

The fact that he lost several hundred of his cavalrymen while fighting against just over thirty men left the seventh general feeling quite gloomy.

"Seventh Brother, you've gotten yourself into big trouble, do you even realize that?"

The middle-aged general replied irritably upon hearing what the seventh brother said.

The seventh brother's general, however, looked completely indifferent.

He could cause a huge disaster. What kind of disaster could he possibly cause?

So what if they killed a few people from the Eastern Depot?

Could it be that the Eastern Depot could kill him, a general of the Zhennan Army?

"Seventh Brother, come back with me immediately to report to our godfather."

"Bring that eunuch guard along too."

As he spoke, the middle-aged general mounted his horse.

This is no small matter; the name of the Eastern Depot is well-known even in the southern border regions.

This was an institution belonging solely to the emperor, possessing the right to act first and report later.

They have now killed more than thirty guards, and this must be reported to their adoptive father immediately.

The seventh-ranking general didn't say anything upon hearing this.

The two then rode away together.

They also took away the unconscious guard.

……

The Prince's Mansion.

Prince Kao Shan sat in the main seat, with a token from the Eastern Depot on the table next to him.

A figure was kneeling below.

The figure was none other than the imperial guard who had just fainted.

Standing beside them were two generals in armor, the same middle-aged general and the seventh brother's general from before.

King Zhou Zhan glanced at the Eastern Depot token on the table, then looked at the guard kneeling below; "I heard you came to the Southern Frontier in pursuit of the Yuan family."

Why are you chasing after the Yuan family?

"What did the Yuan family do wrong?"

Zhou Zhan looked at the imperial guards kneeling below and asked.

The imperial guard glanced at the Prince of Kao Shan and spoke without hesitation: "The Yuan family, the Zheng family, and the Fan family colluded with the Prince of Shu to rebel and usurp the throne. His Majesty has ordered the extermination of their entire clan."

"But this general of your Zhennan Army not only covered the escape of the Yuan family's traitors, but also led troops to surround and kill our Dongchang people."

As the guard spoke, he glanced at the seventh-ranking general beside him.

Upon hearing the words of the imperial guard, King Zhou Zhan's expression immediately became extremely solemn.

King Kao Shan never expected that just after the rebellion of King Xiaoyao Zhou Qian was quelled, King Shu would collude with the Yuan family to rebel and usurp the throne.

What made the Prince of Kao Shan even more worried was that when the Yuan family left their southern border, Zhou Qi, one of his subordinates, led troops to intercept and kill these imperial guards.

If this matter is not handled properly, it could lead to serious trouble.

After all, this involves the serious crimes of rebellion and usurpation.

The middle-aged general and Zhou Qi standing nearby changed their expressions after hearing what the imperial guard said.

They never expected that the Yuan family would collude with the King of Shu to rebel and usurp the throne.

Zhou Qi's face was particularly ugly and frightening. If this were true, wouldn't he be labeled as a traitorous accomplice for intercepting and killing these guards?
"You bastard, what do you mean?"

"Are you implying that I, too, have colluded with the Yuan family and rebelled to usurp the throne?"

Zhou Qi glared angrily at the factory guards kneeling on the ground.

By this time, Zhou Qi had also realized the seriousness of the situation.

Even if he was a general of the Zhennan Army and the adopted son of the Prince of Kaoshan, he would not dare to get involved in such matters.

"Shut up, Your Majesty."

King Kao Shan glared coldly at Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi immediately shut his mouth with an ugly expression, and could only stare unkindly at the factory guard kneeling on the ground.

The Prince of Kao Shan looked at the kneeling guards below and said, "This is a misunderstanding. Go and recover from your injuries!"

The kneeling guard didn't say much, and simply stood up and left.

He was just a lowly guard in the Eastern Depot, not qualified to argue with the Prince of Kao Shan.

But he knew that this matter would not end there, and that the people from the Eastern Depot would not die in vain.

He wasn't qualified to be a guard in the Eastern Depot, but he had someone in the Eastern Depot who was.

Watching the imperial guard leave, the middle-aged general looked solemnly at the Prince of Kao Shan in the main seat; "Father, this matter is of utmost importance, should we...?"

As the middle-aged general spoke, he made a throat-slitting gesture.

Prince Kao Shan glared at the middle-aged general with annoyance; "Do you think the Eastern Depot is a pushover? Even if you silence this person, do you think the Eastern Depot won't find out?"

At this point, the Prince of Kaoshan looked at Zhou Qi with a stern face; "Seventh Brother, you are really audacious. Who gave you the courage to kill the guards of the Eastern Depot?"

"You must immediately lead your men out of the pass to pursue the Yuan family. Hopefully, you can still catch them."

"Otherwise, you'll be in big trouble."

"I am a king who relies on the mountain," said the king with a solemn expression.

They surrounded and killed the guards of the Eastern Depot, allowing the Yuan family to escape through the pass.

Regardless of the reason, they cannot escape their guilt.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qi nodded with an unpleasant expression, then turned and left.

After Zhou Qi left, King Zhou Zhan of Kao Shan spoke to the middle-aged general, "Boss, pass on my order: arrest anyone who has any connection with the Yuan family or the Zheng family. Don't let a single one of them go."

"Yes, foster father."

The middle-aged general cupped his hands and said.

"Go!"

King Kao Shan waved his hand.

The middle-aged general turned and left.

……

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhou Chen sat on the dragon throne, his eyes flickering slightly.

Below, kneeling, was Zhang Guojiu.

Standing next to him was Li Yuan, the Minister of War.

"I don't want anyone else to know about this. You understand what I mean!"

After a moment of silence.