"Those who betray the Lord deserve to be killed!"
Chen Gong smiled.
"Zhang Liao, I killed a traitor for you, how can you thank me?"
Lu Bu said calmly.
"Thank you for your help. Otherwise, I would have been deceived by this traitor and dared to secretly let Cao Cao's envoy go. It would be an unforgivable crime."
Zhang Liao was beaten by the combined forces of Lu Bu and Chen Gong, unable to fight back, and his face was ashen.
At this time, he obviously couldn't stand up for his personal guards and could only follow Lu Bu's wishes.
But the humiliation made Zhang Liao feel very angry. It had been a long time since he had been played with in the palm of his hand like this. This feeling was really uncomfortable.
Cao Cao's envoy was completely confused. That's not what the personal guard said just now. It was clearly Zhang Liao's will, but why did Zhang Liao deny it completely?
In this way, Cao Cao's envoy was brought to Zhang Liao, and Lu Bu said coldly: "Kill him to make me believe that you have no intention of surrendering to Cao Cao."
"What are you going to do! I am the special envoy of the Prime Minister. If you dare to kill me, you are going against the Prime Minister and the entire imperial court!"
Cao Cao's envoy finally woke up from his dazed state and shouted angrily.
"What shame does Cao Cao have to talk about the imperial court?"
Lu Bu said disdainfully.
"You openly despise the Prime Minister and wait to bear the Prime Minister's wrath!"
Cao Cao's envoy said angrily.
"Hahahaha, if you can, let Thief Cao attack me. Let's see who is more powerful, Thief Cao, or the Fang Tian Painted Halberd in my hand!"
Lu Bu laughed loudly and did not take Cao Cao into his eyes at all. He was defeated by the general and was not worth mentioning!
"Lu Bu, just wait. When the prime minister sends out troops to conquer, you will only have a few more days of being so arrogant."
Cao Cao's envoy felt that he was insulted and said coldly.
"I'm just waiting because I'm afraid Cao Cao won't come!"
Lu Bu did not take the words of Cao Cao's envoy to heart. Cao Cao now had to face Yuan Shao's challenge and had no time to care about him.
If Cao Cao really dares to send a general to attack, Lu Bu can only say that with the red rabbit horse on his crotch and the Fangtian painted halberd in his hand, a thousand come and a thousand die!
"Zhang Liao, what are you waiting for? Take action!"
Lu Bu glanced at Zhang Liao and said in a tone that he could not refuse.
"Zhang Liao, my lord sincerely values you and has promised you the position of marquis. Do you really want to obey an incompetent person like Lu Bu and become my enemy?"
Seeing that the crisis had come, Cao Cao's envoy no longer hid it, and stated all the conditions given by Cao Cao.
This time it was Zhang Liao who was riding a tiger. He really didn't want to kill Cao Cao, so he could at least leave a way out. However, Lu Bu was watching eagerly from the side, so he probably couldn't do it without dealing with him.
Under Lu Bu's powerful power, Zhang Liao was led by the nose, and now he can't help himself!
The soldiers also looked at Zhang Liao with expectant eyes, hoping that Zhang Liao could still stand firmly in Lu Bu's camp.
After all, the pressure given by Lu Bu was far stronger than that of Cao Cao!
As far as Lu Bu dared to attack Pengcheng alone, Cao Cao might have been too scared to move forward before he was halfway through.
"Zhang Liao hasn't taken action yet. Could it be that you really want to betray your master?"
Chen Gong's sudden shouting interrupted Zhang Liao's thoughts. Under various pressures, Zhang Liao sighed, "Your Majesty, I have no intention of betraying my master. Please be clear."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Liao held a hook and sickle in his hand and struck Cao Cao's envoy on the neck. Suddenly, a huge human head shot up into the sky.
Cao Cao's envoy was full of disbelief. He never thought until his death that Zhang Liao would make such an unwise choice.
When making a choice between the Prime Minister and Lu Bu, it is possible that he chose the Prime Minister with his eyes closed, because the Prime Minister can give Lu Bu benefits that he cannot.
After all, Cao Cao could hold the emperor hostage and rule the world. He had great righteousness and could give Zhang Liao the marquis he dreamed of.
Unfortunately, the envoy misjudged the situation, and Lu Bu was watching eagerly. Even if Zhang Liao did not kill Cao Cao's envoy, Lu Bu would kill Cao Cao's envoy, put the blame on Zhang Liao, and put Zhang Liao into a situation that would never be recovered.
When the time comes, Zhang Liao will no longer be human, and his death will be in vain.
Forced to make such a decision, Zhang Liao has no chance of joining Cao Cao. Even if he betrays Lu Bu, he cannot defect to Cao Cao!
After killing Cao Cao's envoy, Zhang Liao felt cold all over. Lu Bu and Chen Gong's plan was so vicious that Zhang Liao was frightened.
"Zhang Liao remains stationary. He can avoid the death penalty but cannot escape the punishment of living. From today on, he will step down from all military duties. All affairs of Pengcheng Kingdom will be handled by Gao Shun."
When Chen Gong saw that Zhang Liao had finally killed Cao Cao's envoy, Chen Gong's heart dropped. He could take this opportunity to take back Zhang Liao's autonomy and return the army to Lu Bu's command.
"Zhang Liao, do you have any objections?"
Lu Bu said in a deep voice.
"Zhang Liao obeys the order!"
At this point, Zhang Liao has become a piece of meat on the chopping board, no matter how humiliated he feels, he can only half-kneel on the ground and accept Lu Bu's order.
From now on, there will be one small prince missing in the world, while Lu Bu will gain a fierce general and tens of thousands of troops.
Zhang Liao had 800 tigers and 9,000 infantry under his command. Now they are all owned by Lu Bu, further strengthening Lu Bu's own strength and making up for the losses suffered by Cao Cao this time.
As for Zhang Liao, let him put it aside for the time being. When Zhang Liao can figure it out, Lu Bu will let him take charge of the army.
Without wasting a single soldier, Lu Bu captured the entire Pengcheng Kingdom and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, relying on personal force and Chen Gong's strategy.
Chen Gong understood Zhang Liao's weaknesses and planned a series of strategies against Zhang Liao, eventually forcing Zhang Liao to take action himself, killing Cao Cao's envoys and severing relations with Cao Cao.
He even forced Zhang Liao to bow to Lu Bu and surrender tens of thousands of troops on his own initiative.
This psychological game ended with Lu Bu's victory. The next step was to fully take over Zhang Liao's territory, and pay special attention to Zhang Liao's influence in Pengcheng Kingdom.
After all, Zhang Liao was deeply rooted in Pengcheng Kingdom, and it would be difficult to eliminate his influence for a while. Lu Bu did not embarrass Gao Shun, he just asked Gao Shun to maintain Pengcheng Kingdom as it was.
As for Zhang Liao himself, Lu Bu planned to take him back to Xiapi City. Lu Bu was worried that Zhang Liao would continue to stay in Pengcheng Kingdom, and was afraid that Gao Shun would not be able to suppress Zhang Liao.
In fact, Lu Bu also thought about appointing Wei Xu as the governor of Pengcheng Kingdom, but Wei Xu's ability was still worrying. In comparison, Gao Shun was better.
After the situation in Pengcheng Kingdom came to an end, Lu Bu took Zhang Liao back to Xiapi City, while Chen Gong stayed to govern Pengcheng Kingdom for a short time. After Pengcheng Kingdom was almost managed and Gao Shun was able to take over, he returned to Xiapi Kingdom.
At this point, Lu Bu owned two counties, which was far more powerful than Liu Bei's Xuzhou Mu. Next, Lu Bu thought he could recruit troops and train elites to face the situation in Xuzhou.
But he never expected that something went wrong on Yuan Shu's side first. Yuan Shu's generals Lei Bo and Chen Lan rebelled, dissatisfied with Yuan Shu's rule, and even threatened to attack Shouchun and take off Yuan Shu's head.
Han Xian and Yang Feng also stationed troops on one side, watching with eager eyes. The two generals were previously ordered to attack Lu Bu, but after being persuaded by Chen Deng to alienate him, they have been plundering the Huainan area and are not at all subject to Yuan Shu's dispatch.
Yuan Shu was defeated by Cao Cao and Lu Bu successively. He lost his troops and generals, and his strength was far inferior to before. All his loyal generals died in battle, and the remaining ones were all independent.
As a result, Yuan Shu had no troops available, and the only ones he could mobilize were a few thousand soldiers and horses in Shouchun City. In addition, the money and food in Shouchun City were dwindling day by day.
This made Yuan Shu very panicked, and he even wanted to retreat. He wanted to give up the throne to Yuan Shao, and he even defected to Yuan Shao.
The breaking news was leaked, causing the princes from all over to spy. After all, if Yuan Shu was defeated, wouldn't the land of Huainan become a land without an owner? Even the princes who had no thoughts before had other thoughts.
You must know that the Huainan region has mostly plains, which are suitable for growing food. As long as it is managed well and does not bully the people too much, occupying this place will undoubtedly have a huge granary, which can continuously recruit troops and build a strong army!
Yuan Shu also relied on the prosperity of the Huainan region and his strong troops and horses, but Yuan Shu did not know how to govern and would only pursue blindly, which ultimately led to such a miserable end.
