Chapter 89: Zhao Yun Arrives

  Liao Hua and Jiang Qin had long heard of Zhao Yun's martial arts from Taishi Ci and Zhou Tai, so they were naturally very warm and welcoming, saying words of welcome that made Zhao Yun feel a little honored.

  Don't think that Liao Hua and Jiang Qin don't have a jealous heart, it's just that Zhao Yun's arrival is still more beneficial for them. First of all, Li Zhong's power cannot remain the same, it will definitely expand outward, so everyone has many opportunities to lead troops and fight battles, and they are not afraid of not having the opportunity to make achievements.

  Secondly, in this era, martial generals need to frequently engage in one-on-one battles to boost the morale of their troops. Having an extraordinary master at the forefront makes everyone feel more at ease. When the gap in martial arts skills reaches a certain level, there is naturally no room for jealousy. Moreover, if they really encounter a fierce general like Lü Bu, Zhao Yun will take him on himself, so there's no need to risk one's own life; what joy is that?

  More importantly, Zhao Yun is a white horse with a righteous origin, and the division of power is also the division of Taishi Ci's power, which has nothing to do with himself.

  After some small talk, Li Chong asked strangely: "Zi Long, how did you come so quickly?"

  Zhao Yun put down his wine cup and sighed lightly: "Gongsun Zan fought several battles with Yuan Benchu, but did not win a single victory. Now he has retreated to Youzhou. Liu Bei, on the other hand, has taken refuge with Tao Qian... It is said that Tao Qian's ancestor Tao Kungzong wants to give Xuzhou to Liu Bei. Liu Bei declined several times, but now he is stationed in Xiaopei and will not help Gongsun Zan attack Yuan Shao on the plains. That's why Zhao Yun came to surrender to our lord."

  "Taoyuan San yielded Xuzhou City..." Li Zhong said lightly, and smiled: "Zilong, you also saw Liu Bei's hypocritical face?"

  "Big Ears Bandit!" Zhao Yun didn't know where he heard these three words, probably from Li Zhongchang, passed on to the soldiers' ears and then to Zhao Yun's ears. Zhao Yun cursed: "The Big Ears Bandit is just pretending, if he really doesn't want to be the governor of Xuzhou, he can go back to Pingyuan, but instead he stations his army in Xiaopei, isn't that waiting for Tao Gongzu to die?"

  Li Chong smiled to himself, thinking that there were still many discerning people in this world! The bandit Da Er was stationed at Xiao Pei, trying to cover up his tracks, but he couldn't deceive many people after all!

  This is not Li Zhong's opinion of Liu Bei, but rather that Liu Bei's character really has problems. Take "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" for example, in which Liu Bei always appears with a positive image, but if you look closely, it's actually not that way. To count carefully, Liu Bei first followed Gongsun Zan, and he had a close relationship with Gongsun Zan, but when Gongsun Zan fought against Yuan Shao and died, Liu Bei didn't even try to save him, and instead remained safe himself.

  Liu Bei then surrendered to Tao Qian, and Tao Qian also died. As for why Tao Qian did not leave Xuzhou to his son but instead gave it to Liu Bei, this can only be speculated. Anyway, Tao Qian's son was never seen serving under Liu Bei.

  Lü Bu then took over Xuzhou, and Liu Bei superficially surrendered to Lü Bu but secretly plotted against him and had him killed. Liu Bei then surrendered to Yuan Shao, who also died.

  Liu Bei then mixed with Cao Cao for a while, fortunately Cao Cao's life was hard, and he was not killed by Liu Bei. However, during the hunting trip at Xu Tian, Guan Yu almost assassinated Cao Cao. If it weren't for Liu Bei thinking of his own life, Cao Cao would probably have died miserably.

  After Liu Bei fled, he relied on Liu Biao and dragged him to death. Using Liu Qi's name, he occupied Jingzhou. As a result, Liu Qi died inexplicably. According to Zhuge Liang, he died from excessive drinking and sex. This is the first famous person in history who died from exhaustion, with a high degree of credibility.

  Everyone knows that Liu Bei entered Shu in the end. Liu Zhang was robbed of his foundation by his white-eyed wolf brother, and his outcome was extremely tragic.

  Look at Liu Bei's masters, which one did not take in great bandits and those in danger, but the results are all clear to see. Such a person can also be called benevolent and righteous, it is truly deceiving the world.

  Seeing Zhao Yun's indignant expression, as if he was about to continue scolding Liu Bei, Li Shu secretly smiled and changed the subject: "Zilong, I don't know how long Gongsun Zan can hold on."

  Zhao Yun hesitated for a moment before responding, "Although Gongsun Zan has lost many battles, his losses are not great. With the vast amount of grain and supplies he has stored in Yi City, even if he defends it resolutely, he should be able to hold out for a long time."

  "Oh, that's good!" Li nodded heavily, putting his mind at ease. He really didn't know how many years Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao had been fighting, but the longer Gongsun Zan held on, the less pressure Li felt. At least, before Yuan Shao finished off Gongsun Zan, he wouldn't have the energy to bother with him.

  At this time, Zhao Yun asked: "I wonder how the lord will arrange for me?"

  Li Chong smiled and said, "Don't worry, Zi Long. I've already thought it through. My original plan was to have you and Zi Yi jointly lead the cavalry, but since you're new here and not familiar with the environment, my intention is for you to temporarily take on a humble role as my personal guard commander. After some time has passed, we'll reassess and make further arrangements."

  "Thank you for your kindness, milord!" Zhao Yun hastily expressed his gratitude.

  Li considered it very thoughtful, which reflected his importance to Zhao Yun and also gave everyone time to get familiar with each other, just like treating Zhou Tai.

  However, this is a special case of thirty, and it's impossible for new generals to join him. If Li Chong were to change his personal guards, he would be foolish, and he also needs to consider his own life. If a general with poor martial arts skills were to come, Li Chong would still have to protect him, wouldn't that be ridiculous?

  Don't think that Zhao Yun didn't have any personal motives. The portrayal of Zhao Yun in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is too perfect. If Zhao Yun had no personal motives, he could have waited until Gongsun Zan's downfall before coming to surrender to Liu Bei. By coming to surrender early, it was nothing more than trying to occupy a good position. The principle that it's better to provide timely help in times of need rather than offering empty praise is something everyone understands.

  Even in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Zhao Yun jumped several times, and is considered to be quite picky about choosing a master. At least Gao Shun was more loyal than Zhao Yun.

  During the banquet, everyone discussed the military strategy of infiltrating Jinyang again. Zhao Yun listened for a while and stood up to say: "I venture to report to my lord, I, Zhao Yun, am willing to sneak into Jinyang with General Zhou Tai as an insider."

  Zhoa Yun volunteered, Li Zhong was naturally very pleased. Jin Yang originally didn't have any famous figures, with Zhao Yun and Zhou Tai, two fierce generals, leading a thousand men to open the city gate from within, it shouldn't be too difficult. Thinking of this, Li nodded heavily: "In that case, I'll trouble you, Zilong."

  Zhao Yun also humbly spoke a few words, then suddenly said: "My lord, this time I have brought more than ten brothers with me, I don't know if my lord can arrange for them, the White Horse Army is now left with only these few men."

  Looking at Zhao Yun's slightly disheartened expression, Li Zhong smiled and said: "Don't worry, Zilong. I'm not someone who doesn't know what's good for me. To be honest, the last time we fought against Chunyu Li, I felt that our cavalry wasn't as fierce as the Xianbei cavalry. One-on-one, my cavalry isn't a match for the Xianbei cavalry. Unfortunately, neither I nor Zi Yi are skilled at training cavalry. Now that you've arrived, Zilong, I still hope you can train a second White Horse Righteous Army. How could I mistreat them?"