Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

Upon hearing Liu Bei's words, Sun Qing couldn't help but let out a cold laugh:

"What bandits?! He who steals a hook is executed, he who steals a country becomes a prince. Compared to those truly great bandits and outlaws, what are we?"

Wang Dang said angrily:

"Stop wasting time talking to them. We need to get to the bottom of this today, no matter what."

Liu Bei shouted:

"What do you want to figure out?"

Wang Dang said in a deep voice:

"How did Zhao Laoqi die? And who killed Zhang Hun?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately recalled what Wu Guang and Wu Tu Lu had said, and thought to himself: Could it be that Zhang Hun and this band of White Stone Mountain bandits are indeed in cahoots...?

"explain!"

Sun Qing pressed down hard on the longsword held against Wen Xuan's neck. "Are you the mastermind behind all of this?"

"I……"

Wen Xuan was so frightened that he trembled all over, his body shaking like a leaf.

He was originally a scholar, had no martial arts skills, and had never had a knife held to his throat before, so he was terrified.

Sun said angrily:

"Even on the verge of death, you still won't tell the truth? Tell me, how did you kill Zhang Hun and Zhao Laoqi?"

A single, gentle slash of the longsword across the neck is enough to send blood gushing out and kill a person instantly.

At this point, Wen Xuan's instinct for survival led him to unhesitatingly reveal their conspiracy:

"I'll talk, I'll talk. Just spare my life."

Sun Qing said coldly:

"If you tell us everything without holding anything back, we might spare your life."

"Okay, okay, okay."

Wen Xuan's eyes flickered, and after a moment of contemplation, he stammered, "It all started with Zhang Hun... Ever since Patriarch Zhao sent me to Qingxi Manor to manage his properties in Zhuojun, I have worked diligently day and night, eager to fulfill this mission. However, Zhang Hun, as the local tyrant of Fifteen Mile Shop, has been secretly causing trouble for Qingxi Manor, which has become increasingly bothersome for us. Patriarch Zhao entrusted me with the entire task. Therefore, I consulted with another retainer, Fifth Guang."

Sun Qing asked:

"What trouble has Zhang Hun caused you?"

Wen Xuan frowned and thought for a moment, then said:

"He simply wants us to hand over some money to him on time in exchange for his protection. He's come to cause trouble several times, and we've always tried to reason with him. During this time, our manor's retainers even had a fierce fight with Zhang Hun's men at the inn in Shiwulipu. The conflict escalated. At first, Zhang Hun was afraid of the power of the eunuch, but later he began to contact the bandits of Baishi Mountain... no, the heroes of Baishi Mountain, attempting to rob the goods that our Qingxi Manor was transporting to various places..."

Sun Qing said coldly:

"How do you know Zhang Hun contacted the heroes of White Stone Mountain?"

Wen Xuan sighed:

"One of our retainers at Qingxi Manor was originally a wandering swordsman, and he was friends with one of Zhang Hun's close wandering swordsmen. The two of them were having drinks at an inn when they inadvertently discussed this matter."

Sun Qing nodded. "So, you began to hate Zhang Hun and sent Fifth Light to infiltrate?"

"Yes."

Wen Xuan did not deny it, "Zhang Hun is also very afraid of the power behind Qingxi Manor. He doesn't dare to do it openly, so he resorts to underhanded methods, wanting to use the bandits of Baishi Mountain... heroes to plunder Qingxi Manor's goods in order to force us to submit. Wu Guang and I thought about it and realized that Zhang Hun is still a big problem. So we decided to get rid of him and solve the problem once and for all."

Sun Qing sneered:

"You just want to get rid of Zhang Hun?"

Wen Xuan said silently:

"Indeed, we wanted to eliminate Zhang Hun and the heroes of Baishi Mountain together... So, I had Fifth Guang infiltrate the Baishi Mountain heroes with the help of wandering knights. Unexpectedly, Fifth Guang was indeed resourceful and quickly blended in with the Baishi Mountain heroes who had disguised themselves as wandering knights."

At this moment, Wang Dang also pressed the longsword resting on Fifth Light's neck and asked sternly:

"How did you manage to infiltrate Zhao Laoqi's gang?"

Fifth Light seemed to have a premonition that he might die at Qingxi Manor today. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh, his brows furrowed.

"Actually, it's quite simple. I'm not originally from Zhuojun. I came to Qingxi Manor in Zhuojun with Steward Wen because I was sent by Master Zhao. Few of the wandering knights here know me. Many of the retainers of Qingxi Manor are former wandering knights, and some of them know Zhao Laoqi's spies. I disguised myself as a wandering knight and quickly gained Zhao Laoqi's trust. They started to treat me like a brother, and we talked about everything. That's how I learned that their leader was about to meet at the Wu Family Inn at the east gate of Zhuo County to discuss how to rob Qingxi Manor of the goods being transported to various places via the Great Han Road."

Wang Dang said angrily:

"After you found out, you went to the Commandant's office to report it?"

Fifth Light said sadly:

"I first informed Chief Steward Wen..."

Sun lightly pressed his longsword and said to Wen Xuan:

"Tell me! Is that right?"

"Yes."

Wen Xuan hurriedly said, "After learning from Fifth Guang that the heroes of White Stone Mountain were going to meet at the Wu Family Inn, I immediately went to the Fangcheng County Commandant's Office to pay my respects to Commandant Gongsun. Commandant Gongsun also knew that his patriarch, Lord Zhao, was a cousin of the eunuch Zhao Zhong, so he specially received me. I hoped that he could send troops to ambush the heroes of White Stone Mountain. Unexpectedly, Commandant Gongsun was very pleased. It turns out that he has also been hunting down the heroes of White Stone Mountain recently."

Sun Qing asked:

"Gongsun Duwei must be Gongsun Hao. The Xianbei from the north frequently invade the Han Dynasty, yet Gongsun Hao has the leisure to capture the heroes of Baishi Mountain?"

Wen Xuan sighed:

"According to Commander Gongsun, the heroes of Baishi Mountain robbed a merchant caravan from a powerful clan in Anping, Jizhou, at the foot of Langya Mountain. The Anping clan donated a large sum of money to support the army, and Commander Gongsun, out of respect for their donation, ordered his men to investigate the situation of the heroes of Baishi Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei glanced at Qian Zhao.

The two understood each other perfectly, knowing that the "great family of Anping" that Wen Xuan mentioned was the Anping Qian family, to which Qian Zhao belonged.

The two remained calm and continued to listen.

Sun Qing said:

"The reason why Zhao Laoqi and Da Hu were ambushed by the soldiers of Tiebiwu was all your doing."

"Have mercy, sir!"

In his desperation, Wen Xuan couldn't help but beg for mercy.

His eyes darted around, as if he were thinking of a way to escape. "Master Zhao sent me to Qingxi Manor to take charge of everything here. I am simply doing my duty."

Sun Qing snorted coldly:

"You are indeed loyal to your cause, but you have killed many of my good brothers."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei thought to himself: You also killed many of Qian Zhao's followers. Is your brother's life worth more than theirs?

Having reached this point, Wen Xuan was utterly helpless and could only look to Liu Bei, pleading:

"Xuande, save me!"

He felt that since Sun Qing and Wang Dang were both brought by Liu Bei, he should be able to speak up for them if Liu Bei pleaded on his behalf.

Although Liu Bei's swordsmanship had always been admired by Wu Guang, Wen Xuan and others, he felt disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly whenever he thought that the two of them were under the protection of the eunuch faction.

Liu Bei did not come to Qingxi Manor this time with the intention of befriending Wen Xuan and Wu Guang; he only came to find out who killed Zhang Hun.

Based on the current situation, the murderers are undoubtedly Wen Xuan, Wu Guang, and Cuan Heizi.

Upon hearing Wen Xuan's plea for help, Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh deeply and pondered for a moment before saying:

"Steward Wen, I can plead for you, but if those two don't listen to me, there's nothing I can do..."

……

During the rise of the Han dynasty, there were figures like Zhu Jia, Tian Zhong, Wang Gong, Ju Meng, and Guo Jie. Although they sometimes resisted the prevailing literary practices of their time, their personal integrity, honesty, and humility were commendable. Their reputations were not undeserved, and their followers were not without reason.

—From the Records of the Grand Historian, Biographies of Wandering Knights