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

Chapter 372: No Techniques, Just Emotions

In someone's paddy field, Guan Xing threw Liu Zan into the water with an over-the-shoulder throw, splashing mud and water everywhere.

Not to be outdone, Liu Zan quickly grabbed Guan Xing's belt with both hands the moment he fell to the ground and swung him away, sending Guan Xing flying into the mud as well. Then the two of them got up at the same time and pounced on each other again.

Guan Xing chased Liu Zan for a long time, feeling furious. Liu Zan, on the other hand, thought his family had been wiped out and had been living in hatred and pain recently. After learning that he had been deceived and that his family members were still alive, he was overjoyed and furious at being deceived, which made him feel emotionally turbulent and in need of an outlet.

So, having cleared up their misunderstanding and freed themselves from personal grudges, the two of them lunged at each other in a frenzy. They had no weapons, no skills, just pure emotion—a crazy outburst of rage, willing to take a punch rather than give another kick.

The two fought back and forth for an unknown amount of time. Finally, Deng Hong led his troops to the edge of the field. When he saw Guan Xing being thrown several meters away by Liu Zan, his expression changed drastically. He instinctively wanted to jump into the paddy field to help, but Guan Xing wiped the mud off his face and shouted loudly, "Don't come over. This is between the two of us. Don't interfere."

Unfortunately, Deng Hong's right foot was already in mid-air. Upon hearing this, he lost his balance and stepped into the water, tragically falling into the paddy field. After getting up, he neither moved forward nor backward, but instead watched the battle from the half-meter drop in ground.

Guan Xing and Liu Zan lunged at each other again. Under the watchful eyes of thousands of Han soldiers, the two kicked, shoved, and pushed each other, leaving the Han soldiers speechless. They couldn't help but mutter in unison, "So the general's fight is no different from our fight at the village entrance. Both are so simple and unpretentious."

The two fought each other in the paddy field for a full quarter of an hour. Only after they were both exhausted did Guan Xing use his invincible scissor kick to lock Liu Zan down and ask, "Do you submit?"

Liu Zan's upper body was submerged in water, with half of his nostrils underwater. Hearing this, he managed to say with difficulty, "I give up... *pfft*..."

He choked on the muddy water as soon as he uttered the word "fu," coughing violently and tears streaming down his face.

Upon hearing this, Guan Xing stopped fighting, loosened his legs, stood up, grabbed Liu Zan's arm, pulled him up, and carried him on his shoulder as he walked towards Deng Hong, teasingly saying, "Old Liu, if I remember correctly, you're thirty-eight this year, still as vigorous as ever."

Men's physical functions decline rapidly after the age of thirty, and the average lifespan of the Han people is low. Liu Zan is also approaching the age where he can call himself an old man, so it is truly remarkable that he has been able to fight Guan Xing for so long.

After a fierce battle, Liu Zan released all the pent-up frustration he had accumulated over the past few days. In high spirits, he laughed heartily and said, "Of course! I, Liu Zan, once fought against thousands of Yellow Turbans all by myself and took the head of the Yellow Turban leader Wu Huan from among thousands of troops. However, I am old now and my physical strength is indeed not as good as before. If I were the same age as you, I might not necessarily lose to you."

Guan Xing scoffed at this, thinking, "Do you really think I wasted four years at the police academy? I was just letting you win."

However, he did not defend himself, but instead changed the subject, saying, "You just said that someone said I wiped out your entire Liu family. Who spread this rumor?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zan's smile instantly turned into gritted teeth as he said resentfully, "No one can spread such rumors. This is the unified message that Lord Wu uses to communicate with his Wu army. Although the Wu army prefers to recruit soldiers from the Yue tribes, there are also many respectable men with houses and land in the army, such as me."

Liu Zan's family background was indeed ordinary; otherwise, he wouldn't still be just a minor officer. It's normal that he didn't know the truth about the upper echelons of Eastern Wu.

Guan Xing asked in surprise, "Zhuge Jin definitely knew about this, so why didn't he tell you?"

Liu Zan gave him a meaningful look and smiled, "I have already decided to abandon the darkness and join the Han army. Moreover, I will definitely question Zhuge Jin about this when I meet him, so you don't need to sow discord."

Guan Xing awkwardly touched his nose, shut his mouth, and obediently walked towards Deng Hong. Deng Hong reached out and pulled the two of them onto the dry field, saying, "General, the Wu army has all surrendered. I have ordered men to escort them to the official road to meet up with Ning Huan. Ning Huan should be arriving soon."

In the era of cold weapons, the attitude of the commander-in-chief had a fatal impact on morale. With the commander-in-chief Liu Zan gone, the Wu army naturally lost the will to fight. They surrendered not long after Liu Zan left.

Guan Xing nodded and said, "Let's go. First, we'll go to the official road to meet up with Ning Huan, then return to Pan Zhang's camp to rest, and then head to Yu Han to deal with Zhuge Jin."

With Liu Zan's entire army wiped out, Yu Han's Zhuge Jin no longer had the ability to threaten the Han army outside the city. In other words, the Han army's external environment was temporarily safe, so it was time to consider solving the internal problems.

Guan Xing is currently facing serious internal troubles. He only has four or five thousand loyal Han soldiers, while Pan Zhang and Liu Zan have captured over ten thousand. In addition, Peng Qi has twenty thousand bandit troops. The potential enemy force is six or seven times his size. If he doesn't eliminate this hidden danger, how dare he attack Zhuge Jin?

The return journey was slow, and they didn't return to the main road until sunset. Ning Huan and You Chong had already arrived and, upon receiving the news, came to greet them with Bi Kui, saying, "General, you've finally returned."

Guan Xing nodded in acknowledgment, then looked at Bi Kui, who had more than a dozen wounds and was covered in bandages, and said, "Fourth Master, I heard you were particularly brave today, breaking through the Wu army's encirclement all by yourself. Impressive! How are you? Are your injuries serious?"

Bi Kui neither answered nor joked, but asked solemnly, "General Guan, I heard from my men that the Second Leader is a spy you sent into our army, is that true?"

That's how blunt men are. Guan Xing didn't know how to respond, so he put away his smile and thought for a moment, "You're definitely not the only one with this question. Gather all your leaders, big and small, and ask whatever you want. I'll explain everything to you all at once."

“Okay…” Bi Kui nodded in agreement and ran off.

Ning Huan quickly stepped forward and told Guan Xing about how he had exposed his identity in order to force the Wu army to surrender. He smiled bitterly and said, "There was no other way. The Wu army wouldn't surrender if I didn't reveal my identity. Although I managed to temporarily deflect the questions from the various leaders afterward, this matter still needs to be resolved."

Guan Xing patted him on the shoulder to comfort him, then turned to Liu Zan and asked, "Do you Wu soldiers look down on the Shanyue so much that you'd rather die than surrender to them?"

Liu Zan arrogantly said, "Nonsense! We are government troops and they are bandits. Since ancient times, only bandits have surrendered to officials. How can officials surrender to bandits? Don't we Wu soldiers have any dignity?"

“Uh…” Guan Xing smiled in deep agreement: “What you said makes a lot of sense. I have no words to say. Deng Hong, take the lieutenant down to rest and find the army doctor to clean his wounds. I’m going to take care of some family matters.”

After saying that, he followed Ning Huanyou to find the bandit leader.

At the same time, Bi Kui had also gathered more than thirty people. When he saw Guan Xing coming, he immediately stopped and bowed. Guan Xing smiled and said, "Sit down, everyone. Sit in a circle and sit wherever you like. Let's chat and not be shy."

The leaders quickly formed a circle, and Guan Xing pulled Ning Huan to the center of the circle and said, "Your doubts are correct. Ning Huan is indeed the scout battalion commander under my command. It was I who asked You Chong to take him to meet your Commander Peng Qizong. The purpose was not to target you, but to unite with your Commander Peng Qizong to deal with Pan Zhang."

"As you all know, I came from Da Mo and only brought four or five thousand men with me. We are no match for Pan Zhang. Therefore, I can only ask Chief You Chong and your Commander Peng Zong for help."

"I originally just wanted Ning Huan to be a messenger, to run errands for me and your Commander Peng Qizong and deliver messages, but Ning Huan turned out to be very capable, and your Commander Peng was good at recognizing and appointing people. In just a few days, he was promoted to your second-in-command. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I received the news. That's how it is. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

The leaders exchanged glances in silence for a moment. Then, Wei Hu, the sixth leader, asked, "Now that Pan Zhang is dead and Liu Zan has been captured, and the war with the Wu army is over, what are you planning to do? Will you take action against us?"

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Before answering this question, I'd like to ask you a question first. Let me state beforehand that every word I say afterward is just stating the facts and has no intention of targeting or despising you. I want to ask you why you chose to become outlaws?"