After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

Faced with Zhang Shouren's questioning, Zhang Liang pretended not to understand: "Before the return of the army, I ordered the three major towns to replenish the troops and supplies of Kaiyang Pass in His Highness's name. When the nine major towns were first established, they were military strongholds, and their responsibility was to support the passes and defend against foreign forces."

"Does that really be what you think, sir?"

"Yes."

Zhang Liang made no attempt to hide his gaze from Zhang Shouren.

The atmosphere at the banquet grew increasingly tense. The other generals present dared not speak, and several generals from Zhang Shouren's faction all wore expressions of resentment.

Only Chen Futu remained seated on his throne, holding a wine cup and smiling as he watched the chaotic situation unfold without intervening, because Zhang Liang was simply carrying out his orders.

Cao Zhen suddenly spoke up: "General Zhang, why be angry? If you are afraid that Kaiyang Pass will be lost, you can personally lead the troops to guard it."

"Cao Zidan, what did you say! Say it again if you dare!"

Several generals from Zhang's faction stood up angrily and shouted, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Qin Liangyu and Gao Shun also stood up. Neither of them spoke, but their murderous aura was palpable.

Cao Zhen said quietly, "We have been on a long and arduous campaign and are exhausted. It is most appropriate to leave the defeated troops to guard the old city gate. I believe that General Zhang's confidants are capable of leading troops and can train the soldiers well to serve His Highness. Does General Zhang want the soldiers of Longcheng to guard Kaiyang? Do you think they are willing?"

"you!"

When it comes to wit and verbal sparring, Zhang Shouren's confidants were clearly no match for Cao Zhen.

Moreover, Cao Zhen was telling the truth. The Longcheng army had been fighting continuously and was already exhausted. They all wanted to go home, so they were naturally unwilling to stay and guard Kaiyang.

In other words, if word gets out that Zhang Shouren wanted them to stay behind, what will they think?

Chen Futu, seeing that it was about time, coughed lightly twice.

Zhang Liang immediately stood up and raised his cup to Zhang Shouren, saying, "I did not think things through. I am sorry, General. If you have any grievances, you are welcome to vent them on me."

"Humph!"

Zhang Shouren coldly put down his wine glass, glared at him, and strode away.

Before leaving, several trusted confidants revealed their murderous intent towards Chen Futu and the others.

What else could they do?

Zhang Liang was deliberately provoking them. If they dared to do something, even if Chen Futu spared them, the people and the soldiers who had just won the victory would not let it go.

Zhang Liang gained fame in one battle, and his military leadership and endless strategies impressed the soldiers of Longcheng.

At the ensuing banquet, Li Huaifeng and the others hesitated to speak, but ultimately left without saying anything.

After they left, Chen Futu led a few people to the inner hall.

Zhang Liang said in a deep voice, "Isn't Your Highness being too hasty? You've only been back for a short time, yet you're already rushing to eliminate Zhang Shouren's followers. This will inevitably give others something to criticize."

Cao Zhen snorted, "I think His Highness's methods are quite clever. He cuts off Zhang Shouren's supply line from the bottom, leaving that scoundrel with no way to complain."

"General Zidan, do you also think General Zhang harbors ulterior motives?"

“I knew he was hiding something all along, and today at the banquet, he gave himself away with just a little provocation.”

“If Zhang Shouren had no designs on the position of Prince of Zhenbei, he should have no complaints no matter what Your Highness arranged for him. His actions today show that he has some inappropriate thoughts in his heart. We must nip these unsettling factors in the bud as soon as possible.”

Qin Liangyu had a clear understanding of things.

If Zhang Shouren considered himself a general, he should have strictly followed the orders given by his superiors, but unfortunately he still harbored resentment.

This also served as a reminder to Chen Futu that this person must be dealt with as soon as possible.

[Zhang Shouren and his confidants harbor resentment towards the host. How should the host deal with this?]

[1. Choose to eliminate the threat completely by assassinating them. The reward is 500 Imperial Guards and the commander Mao Xiang, a ninth-rank official.]

[2. Choose to frame someone, charge them with a crime, and reward them with 500 West Depot guards, with the leader being Yu Huatian, a ninth-rank official.]

[3. Choose to transfer him away to guard a region, reward him with 500 swordsmen, and Guan Yu as the leader, with the highest rank of Innate Peak]

[Note: The sword-wielding guards are Guan Yu's special personal attendants, all of whom are of the sixth rank and cannot be replaced.]

Guan Yu possesses the following characteristics: easily struck by arrows, loyal and virtuous, proud of superiors but not humiliating inferiors, and skilled in the Spring and Autumn Saber Technique.

[Gift to Guan Yu's inherent deputy general: Zhou Cang, rank 8]

……

Chen Futu suddenly stood up and stared intently at the third option.

Guan Yu has actually reappeared, and he's even at the peak of the Innate Realm!

Chen Futu suddenly felt like crying.

Damn, after all this time, a super powerful general has finally appeared.

Guan Yu will arrive in Longcheng tomorrow morning. Please prepare to receive him.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Zhang Liang and the other three were puzzled. They were having a nice chat, so why did he suddenly look so dazed?

"Cough cough, I'm fine. Let's leave it at that for today."

Chen Futu belatedly realized what was happening and told the others to go and rest.

The group exchanged glances, said nothing more, and left together.

Chen Futu didn't sleep well that night, feeling that something was about to happen.

The following morning, a group of men arrived outside Dragon City. The leading general wore a parrot-green robe, a square scarf on his head, and had a red face and long beard. He rode Red Hare with great majesty. Beside him was a burly man carrying a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and behind him were five hundred swordsmen.

The appearance of this group of people caused a lot of discussion among the people, mainly because the leader of the generals was too intimidating, with a kind of domineering and arrogant air about him as he squinted his eyes.

As luck would have it, before these five hundred men even entered the city, they ran right into Zhang Shouren and his entourage as they came out.

It turned out that Zhang Shouren had been tricked by Chen Futu the night before and was full of resentment. He was planning to go out of the city to hunt and relax.

"Where did you come from, you red-faced man!"

An old general who was a close follower of Guan Yu saw Guan Yu's Red Hare horse and, feeling envious, asked him for directions.

Guan Yu glanced at him sideways and said calmly, "I am Guan Yu, and I have come to pay my respects to my lord."

"My lord? Hmph! What lord do you have in Dragon City? Are you perhaps a wealthy merchant family, keeping your personal servants as pets?"

"What's it to you? Get out of the way! If you waste any more time, don't blame me for being ruthless with my blade."

"Heh, a mere merchant dares to privately raise five hundred soldiers? Does he intend to rebel?"

As the saying goes, when people reach the day they are supposed to die, they will always uncontrollably do things that will lead to their demise.

For some inexplicable reason, the old general insisted that Guan Yu was the head of a private army kept by a wealthy merchant.

The northern region was constantly at war, and many merchants had the habit of keeping servants in their homes, mainly to prevent their goods from being robbed by mountain bandits. However, the maximum number of servants was two hundred, while Guan Yu's group exceeded five hundred, which was clearly overstepping the bounds.

Guan Yu grew impatient and asked, "Are you leaving or not? If not, don't block my way."

The old general gritted his teeth and replied, "A mere servant leader dares to spout such nonsense! Where are the city's garrison? Throw him out!"

History has its own unique inertia. If Chen Futu were here, he would definitely say "the bones in the tomb".

The strangest thing is that Zhang Shouren did not stop his veteran generals from being rude, because he also had his eye on Red Hare. As a general who had fought on the battlefield, he knew very well how good that divine steed with its blood-red mane was, so if his subordinates snatched it, it would ultimately benefit him.

"Who dares to come forward!"

Upon noticing the city gate guards trying to approach, Guan Yu shouted, startling the soldiers into retreating.

"court death!"

The old general was furious and drew his long sword, charging towards Guan Yu on horseback.

Guan Yu sneered three times, "State your name, my great sword does not kill the old or the young."

"Your grandfather is Chu Sanqiu!"

"court death!"

Guan Yu snatched the Green Dragon Crescent Blade from Zhou Cang's hand, opened his eyes, and slashed with it.

With a snap, blood splattered.

Chu Sanqiu and his horse were cleaved in two by a single blow, their blood staining the city gate crimson.