Your Majesty, please spare Diao Chan; your yang energy is too strong.

No, it's just that time doesn't allow it.

He desperately needs time.

If he had Lu Bu, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shu by his side, they could devour his forces at any time.

It was impossible for him to focus on development and strengthen himself.

Therefore, he needs to deal with them quickly.

At least it shouldn't be able to threaten me like it is now.

There is not much time left for him.

It won't be long before Yuan Shu declares himself emperor.

However, Yuan Shu's reign as emperor lasted only two years before his downfall.

Therefore... he must develop his strength to a certain level within these two years.

Only then would it be possible to seize the Jianghuai region as a base between Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Sun Ce after Yuan Shu's defeat in the future.

Zhou Heng had already made up his mind.

Use Xuzhou as a springboard.

Strive to develop ourselves.

Even if we can't stand up to Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, we shouldn't be like we are now, completely powerless against a mere Lu Bu.

And now the final step is Mi Zhu.

Zhou Heng stared intently at Mi Zhu.

"My lord is so wise that he is almost supernatural; I admire him greatly."

"He has a thorough understanding of almost all the changes in the world."

"That being said, does my lord not know that I once served under Liu Bei? Aren't you afraid I'll never return?"

"After all, as you know, compared to the entire Mi family, a little sister is nothing."

Mi Zhu smiled.

"If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them. I believe Zizhong is not that kind of person."

Zhou Heng said firmly.

"My lord..."

Mi Zhu opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just looked at Zhou Heng deeply and said seriously.

"If you do not betray me, I will not betray you."

To be honest, he had only known Zhou Heng for a little over a month.

Aside from marrying his younger sister to the man, there was no basis for any trust between them.

But in the face of matters of national importance, a woman seems so insignificant.

But the other party.........

Yet she trusted him so much.

How could this not move him?

"My acquisition of Mr. Xiao He is like Emperor Gaozu acquiring Xiao He."

Zhou Heng laughed loudly.

He held the other person's hand tightly.

"However, what you said is indeed a hidden danger. Although I believe in you, Liu Bei will definitely want to keep you here and probably won't let you leave easily."

"Therefore, Liu Bei needs to be even more ruthless in his schemes."

"After Liu Bei and Chen Gong are both severely weakened, we will then take action to drive these two forces out of Xuzhou."

"Then Liu Bei accidentally encountered Lü Bu, who had just escaped. Who knows what will happen next..."

Zhou Heng murmured.

Mi Zhu: "........."

If Liu Bei knew that his tragic fate was due to just one sentence from Mi Zhu...

I don't know whether I should thank him or not.

..............

Ten miles away from Jinfeng Mountain.

Lu Bu was naturally unaware of Zhou Heng's thoughts; at this moment, he was already quite close to Jin Feng Mountain.

Thinking back to what Zhou Heng had done to him.

Lü Bu couldn't help but feel somewhat excited.

Zhou Heng, Zhou Heng, wait until you die by my hand.

I wonder if you regret paying such a high price for offending me back then?

Lu Bu's lips curled up slightly.

The thrill of personally killing his enemy was almost too much for him to suppress as he smiled.

"Gao Shun, what place is this?"

After a long while, Lü Bu calmed his slightly excited heart and asked.

"My lord, Jinfeng Mountain is just ahead. We should be able to reach it in a quarter of an hour at most."

Gao Shun glanced at the terrain and said.

"Okay, speed it up."

"Anyone who dares to mock me, Lü Bu, should be prepared to pay the price with their life."

"This time, I'm going to make sure he dies a horrible death."

Lu Bu said coldly, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Since his debut, Lu Bu has had a lot of bad reputation, suffered a lot of losses, and lost many battles.

But like now, we're being manipulated like this.

He was ridiculed by heroes all over the world.

This is the first time.

Therefore, at this time, Lü Bu's hatred for Zhou Heng surpassed that for any other warlord in the land.

This is a typical example of a bully who preys on the weak.

If Zhou Heng were a strong person, with the strength of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

Although Lü Bu would be very angry, he would never dare to invade the enemy's territory like this.

But Zhou Heng was just a bandit.

It's like an elite member of society being bullied by a beggar from the lowest rung of society.

How can I avoid making him angry?

"Yes."

"boom."

But right now.

At the sound of a cannon, a huge crowd appeared all around and rushed towards Lü Bu's army.

If it wasn't Zhou Heng's 10,000 ambush troops, then what were they?

"Kill him! The lord has decreed that whoever kills Lü Bu will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with a hundred gold pieces."

Liao Hua shouted loudly, taking the lead.

Leading an army of ten thousand, he charged madly toward Lü Bu.

This unexpected turn of events caused Lu Bu's army to briefly show signs of panic.

"Oh no, an ambush! An ambush!"

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack..."

"There's an ambush, be careful..."

However, even if there was some panic, it was only for a moment, and she quickly returned to normal.

Because they are not ordinary soldiers.

Rather, they were Lu Bu's trump card, the elite of the elite.

It's impossible to panic over such a small change.

Moreover, the person in charge of the troops was no ordinary person.

"Everyone, don't panic! Hear my command! Form ranks! Shieldbearers, advance! Spearmen, follow closely behind! Archers, prepare..."

Zhang Liao was the first to react and shouted loudly.

In an instant.

The 8,000 soldiers, who were initially panicked, instantly entered a state of combat readiness.

With sharp eyes, he was invincible.

Lu Bu's troops truly lived up to their reputation as elite forces.

If this were Yuan Shu, or rather, Yuan Shao's troops...

Even if it doesn't immediately descend into chaos, it will likely lose its ability to resist, like a headless fly.

It won't calm down so quickly.

However, Lü Bu's army accomplished this.

Of course, in addition to the elite soldiers, the generals under his command were also very capable.

The reaction time is extremely fast.

The best response plan was quickly devised.

"Tiered configuration, divided into........."

Just as Zhang Liao was about to give another order, Lü Bu waved his hand, interrupting him.

"okay."

"What good is a mere rabble, even if there's an ambush?"

"I have five thousand cavalrymen who can clear roads through mountains and build bridges over rivers. They will kill gods and Buddhas if they stand in their way."

Lu Bu said disdainfully.

They already knew Zhou Heng's true intentions.

Although there were quite a few men lying in ambush, how could the enemy's rabble compare to their own elite forces?

Naturally, it's impossible to take the other party to heart.