The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

More than a thousand bandits successfully stormed into the county town. Yan Zhen, the queen bee, raised his arm and shouted, "Don't linger on the streets! Charge toward the county government as fast as you can! If you encounter resistance along the way, don't hold back! Kill them all!"

He had no intention of looting the houses along the street, not out of kindness, but because the thatched huts were inhabited by poor people, and there was no profit to be made from them; robbing those huts would be a waste of time.

The county government office is different. It holds the wealth that Zhu Hong has amassed over the years, and it is also guarded by Han troops. If we don't rush over and launch a surprise attack on the Han troops, are we going to wait for them to realize what's happening and start defending themselves?

The idea was good, but little did he know that his seemingly correct decision would completely ruin him, because the Han army was lying in ambush in the houses on the street.

Guan Xing lay prone on the rooftop, his eyes fixed on the bandits' movements. As they charged into the street and entered the ambush, he decisively rose, fired an arrow, and shouted, "Attack..."

At Guan Xing's command, the Han soldiers lying on the rooftops rose up, drew their bows, and rained arrows down on the bandits in the street.

"Ah... there's an ambush! Quick, take cover!"

As the bandits screamed in agony from the gunfire, they instinctively rushed into houses along the street to find cover. But as soon as they opened the doors, several long guns emerged from the doors and pierced them like a string of candied hawthorns.

"Damn it, how could there be an ambush? Who leaked the information?"

Yan Zhen was so frightened by the sudden attack that his hands and feet went cold, but he didn't have time to think and shouted fiercely, "Charge with all your might! Once we get past this area, we'll be safe!"

When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave will prevail. In this situation, the best course of action is to charge forward. Charge through and you will live; otherwise, you will die.

Yan Zhen's reaction was quick, but the Han army was even faster. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a group of Han soldiers charging towards him.

At the same time, the archers on the rooftop, fearing they might injure their teammates, stopped firing, threw away their bows and arrows, drew their swords, and leaped off the roof, brandishing their swords as they charged at the bandits.

The roof was at least two meters above the ground, and the archers, who needed to fight at close range, were required by Guan Xing to wear heavy armor. With that height and weight, they could easily get injured if they jumped down suddenly.

The problem is that the archers aren't stupid enough to jump to the ground; they all selectively jump onto the bandits, resulting in the archers jumping off the houses while the bandits are the ones screaming in pain.

The poor bandits, their morale shattered by the rain of arrows, saw Han soldiers everywhere – on the rooftops, inside the houses, and directly in front of them – and had no will to fight. Instinctively, they turned and retreated back the way they came, preparing to flee for their lives.

Seeing this, Yan Zhen became completely enraged. He swung his knife and cut down several fleeing men, shouting fiercely, "Charge! Those who retreat will die!"

Unexpectedly, his attack backfired, and the bandits fled even faster. Seeing that things were hopeless, Yan Zhen decisively turned around and joined the fleeing group, cursing as he ran: "Damn Han soldiers, they tricked me! Just you wait!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a volley of arrows rained down from the city wall. Amidst the overwhelming barrage of arrows, a voice shouted, "Queen Bee, you think you can come and go as you please? Do you think this is your backyard?"

Seeing the rain of arrows coming from the city wall, the bandits' hearts sank to the bottom. They didn't have time to think about why the Han army had suddenly appeared on the city wall they had entered from. Only one thought remained in their minds: this is it, we're doomed.

The bandits were not a regular army after all, and they did not have the determination to fight to the death. Seeing that there was no way out, some of them couldn't help but shout, "I surrender, don't kill me."

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhen instinctively wanted to kill the traitor. But as he raised his knife, he suddenly realized that he was doomed to fail and that surrender might be the only option.

Just as he was pondering how to negotiate with the Han army and secure some benefits for himself, another loud shout came from the Han army.

“I am Captain Guan Xing. The Han army only punishes the ringleaders; those who surrender will not be killed.”

Yan Zhen was stunned. What did it mean to only punish the ringleaders? Was it targeting me?

He immediately turned to fight back, but before he could move, he heard the Han soldiers shout in unison: "Only the ringleaders will be executed; those who surrender will not be killed. Only the ringleaders will be executed..."

The roar of thousands of people combined and soared into the sky, deafeningly loud. The bandits, already terrified, dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground, ruthlessly exposing Yan Zhen, who had not yet knelt, and his dozens of confidants.

Just as Guan Xing was about to order the arrows to be fired, Yan Zhen wisely squatted down and anxiously shouted, "We surrender!"

He was afraid that if he shouted too late, the arrows would come flying at him.

The rest was pretty much a foregone conclusion: the bandits obediently lined up to be taken to the county government for trial, the wounded were treated by military doctors, and the bandit leader Yan Zhen was taken to prison and placed under strict guard.

In the open space in front of the county government office, Han soldiers held up torches, illuminating the courtyard brightly, while the captured bandits knelt on the ground in a square formation.

Guan Xing walked up to the prisoner formation, stared at them, and said in a cold tone, "The name of the bandit Poison Bee is well-known throughout Wushang. You've been robbing and plundering quite a bit with the Bee King Yan Zhen all these years, haven't you?"

Someone shouted impatiently, "General, please understand! We were forced into this! We have never killed anyone!"

Guan Xing laughed and said, "I believe many of you were forced to join, but there must have been quite a few who joined voluntarily and followed Yan Zhen to harm the people, right?"

"Now I'm giving you a chance to atone for your sins. Point out to me any evil bandits you know who have killed the people. Those who actively report will be treated leniently, while those who deliberately cover up will be found guilty of the same crime as Yan Zhen. You can weigh the consequences yourselves."

The bandits exchanged bewildered glances, and after a moment of stunned silence, one of them shouted impatiently, "General, I'm reporting our second-in-command, Lin Qiang, he..."

Lin Qiang, the second-in-command hidden in the crowd, got angry and immediately turned around to glare at the whistleblower, saying, "You're talking nonsense! If you dare to spout any more rubbish, I'll kill you... Ah..."

Before Guan Xing could finish speaking, he rushed to Lin Qiang, swung his sword at Lin Qiang's head, and shouted, "You dare to threaten me in front of me? You have no respect for me at all. Take me away."

Two soldiers stepped forward and forcibly dragged away the second-in-command, who had been beaten bloody.

Guan Xing said, "Old Xie, you handle the rest. Distinguish between those who killed civilians and those who didn't. Ji Jie and Meng Jun, come with me to the prison to meet this infamous Bee King Yan Zhen."

After saying that, he left with the two men and soon appeared in front of Yan Zhen in the prison cell. Upon closer inspection, Yan Zhen was over forty years old, with a fierce and menacing appearance. You could tell from his face that he was not a good person.

At this moment, Yan Zhen looked as frail as a wilted eggplant, showing no sign of ferocity. Upon seeing Guan Xing enter, he hurriedly said, "General, I am willing to surrender to the Han army and submit to the King of Hanzhong. Please give me a chance."

Guan Xing sneered, "If I give you a chance, who will give those ordinary people you killed a chance?"

“I’ve only been in town for a day, and I’ve already received no less than a thousand lawsuits against you. And that’s just from the county town. I haven’t even counted the ones from the villages and towns outside the town.”

"I heard that before Zhu Hong took office, you only had a dozen or so bandits under your command. In just two short years, you have wreaked havoc all over Wushang County. You have never been idle for a moment."

Yan Zhen sensed the murderous intent in Guan Xing's tone and knew that Guan Xing would not let him go. So he stopped begging for mercy and sneered, "So what? This world is all about the strong bullying the weak. If I don't bully others, others will bully me. What can I do?"

"When the common people are bullied, they have upright officials like General Guan to help them seek justice. But when I am bullied, who has ever stood up for me?"

He was Yan Baihu's son, and after Yan Baihu's death, he was also hunted down. He still dares not recall that darkest period.

Guan Xing sneered, "You're acting all wronged? As the saying goes, every wrong has its source and every debt its debtor. Whoever bullied you, go find them. What kind of behavior is it to harm ordinary people?"

"You dare not seek revenge against the brothers Sun Ce and Sun Quan, yet you wield your butcher's knife against innocent civilians. This is nothing short of cowardly. To call you a coward is an insult to cowards."

Speechless, Yan Zhen, enraged, said, "I'm not going to argue with you about this. Let's make a deal."