Chapter 16: Challenge
Once someone started the fight, everyone began to scramble for it. Some said, "We have more soldiers and generals," while others said, "We have a large number of troops and horses."

"Brother Li, who do you think should be the leader of the alliance?" Gu Qingyuan poked Li Shiqiong.

"There are many heroes present here. Look at Zhang Lu's subordinate, Cao Man, the righteous man who assassinated Dong Zhuo. He is also the initiator of the campaign against Dong Zhuo. He has some prestige, but I think he will voluntarily give up the position of leader. Then there is Zhang Li, the leader of the Demon Sect, now called the Ming Sect. He used to be a monk and learned some training methods of monk soldiers. I heard that after he took over the Demon Sect, he reorganized it and killed more than half of the leaders of the Demon Sect. He killed a lot of people. He is a heroic figure, but I don't think he will compete for the position of leader." Li Shiqiong had nothing to do, so he started to give advice on Jiangshan.

Gu Qingyuan followed his gaze and looked at Cao Man, then turned to look at Zhang Li who was dressed in a black robe, "Why?"

Li Shiqiong smiled and said, "Zhang Lu is the nephew of Zhang Zaichun. This manifesto is to pave the way for him. Otherwise, Cao Man would not have fought for it, and Zhang Li," he said, lowering his head and lowering his voice. Gu Qingyuan quickly leaned over, and the two of them talked with their heads touching.

"I heard that the barbarians in the west are different. They are Zhang Li's base. I guess Zhang Li won't stay here for long." Li Shiqiong said.

"Barbarians?" Gu Qingyuan was shocked when he heard that there was something about barbarians involved.

"I heard they are a tribe of barbarians or something. They have big foreheads, pigtails, and are very ugly. Their leader is called Ha Chi, and he has a magical axe. They are about to unify the barbarians in the west." Li Shiqiong said nonchalantly.

This setting looks so familiar, Gu Qingyuan thought, "Will that not allow the barbarians to take advantage of it?"

Hearing this, Li Shiqiong looked at Gu Qingyuan in surprise, shook his head and laughed, "Brother Gu, you worry too much. These barbarians don't have many innate masters. Look at those sitting here. If they dare to cross the line, we will kill them all. We let them go before because they were too far away. Calculating the time, it's time to kill them again to save ourselves the trouble."

Gu Qingyuan was surrounded, and all those sitting there were above the innate level, even Zhang Lu was an innate level, and there were more than a dozen grandmasters alone.

"So, the leader of the alliance must be Zhang Lu?" Gu Qingyuan asked.

"Zhang Lu is a man with a fickle temperament. He is eccentric and cruel, but he has no self-awareness. He is just a joke to you all. If we don't let him be the leader, how can we get the Zhang family's wealth?" Li Shiqiong chuckled.

Food and grass! Gu Qingyuan suddenly became alert. As expected, whether it was Zhang Li, Cao Man, or Sun Juhu of Jiangdong, they all had a playful look on their faces. Only a few other small princes were praising Zhang Lu, and they felt a little proud when they saw Zhang Lu.

After knowing all this, Gu Qingyuan felt somewhat bored. He watched Zhang Lu decline the position three times, but finally took the throne of alliance leader and chose Zhang Ren as the grain officer.

Before the throne could even warm up, he heard the Sishui Pass defender Hua Ying coming to challenge him.

"Who is willing to take over and challenge Huaying?" Zhang Lu sat in the main seat with a calm expression.

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou, came out and said, "I have General Pan Yi, who can kill Hua Ying."

A general walked out from behind Han Fu, holding a big axe, it was Pan Yi.

"It's over, it's over." Li Shiqiong had a look of anticipation on his face.

Well, they are doomed, Gu Qingyuan said in his heart. Pan Yi has not reached the innate level, and Hua Ying has. How dare he go up to him?

But Zhang Lu didn't know, "Okay, okay, if you can kill Hua Ying, I will definitely credit you as the first one."

After only a cup of tea, the messenger came in: "Report, General Pan was killed by Hua Ying with a single blow."

Zhang Lu's face changed when he heard this: "Are there any generals willing to fight Huaying?"

The people below look at their noses and mouths with their eyes, just like clay statues.

Zhang Lu couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He winked behind him and someone jumped out from behind Zhang Lu.

"I am willing to go."

"This is my great general, Chen Du. I believe he will return victorious." Zhang Lu looked very proud. Chen Du was a congenital master and was only one step away from being a grandmaster. Hua Ying was doomed.

"What do you mean?" Gu Qingyuan moved closer to Li Shiqiong.

"He's dead. It's obvious that Chen Du has a weak foundation and relies on drugs." Li Shiqiong curled his lips.

Sure enough, the messenger ran again, and the whole tent was silent, with only Zhang Lu's trembling mouth left.

"I am Hua Ying, the vanguard under Prime Minister Dong. The coalition forces, why don't you come out and surrender quickly, or you will lose your lives." A loud shout rang through the tent.

Seeing Zhang Lu in trouble, Gu Qingyuan and the others were grinning from ear to ear. "Why, do you want to take action? Let the outsiders just shout like that?" Gu Qingyuan said.

Li Shiqiong exchanged glances with the men in the big tent and said, "My general Qin Zhongbao, the golden mace, is willing to go."

A man came out from behind Li Shiqiong, holding a pair of golden maces and wearing bright golden goose feather armor. He took the order and left.

"I think Zhang Lu's power has almost worn out, so let's defeat him first. By the way, when will you let your men show up? Everyone here is watching." Li Shiqiong said, with no doubt about the battle situation, but rather a little surprised at Gu Qingyuan and his party. After not seeing him for a few days, this Gu brother has not only become the emperor's uncle, but also has his own men. Just talking about the people behind him, it would take the help of people like the second brother Qin and the eldest brother Shan, and they might not be able to suppress them. Li Shiqiong was very curious, wondering where these generals came from.

Gu Qingyuan looked up and saw that, as expected, most of the people present were looking over here intentionally or unintentionally. Gu Qingyuan then smiled widely.

Over there, Hua Ying was still challenging, when suddenly a man jumped out from the coalition formation.

A suit of bright golden armor and a yellow horse.

Seeing that the man didn't say anything, Hua Ying swung his long sword and shouted angrily: "Come and die!"

Red flames rose from the long sword as it rushed forward fiercely.

At this time Qin Zhongbao squeezed the horse's belly, and the yellow horse, which was in tune with his mind, began to slowly speed up. Facing the oncoming long sword, one golden mace blocked the blade, and the other golden mace hit Hua Ying's chest hard.

The two horses passed each other and Huaying fell on the horse's back, dead.

Qin Zhongbao turned his horse around, cut off Hua Ying's head and returned to the battle formation.

Inside the big tent, Qin Zhongbao threw down Hua Ying's head and said, "Fortunately I have fulfilled my mission!" Then he returned to Li Shiqiong's back.

"General, you are good at martial arts. I wonder if you..." Zhang Lu looked at Qin Zhongbao with shining eyes.

"Huaying is dead. The coalition forces should take this opportunity to attack the city." Li Shiqiong jumped out and interrupted.

"Yes, yes, yes, obey my orders and attack the city!" Zhang Lu finally remembered the important business and looked at Qin Zhongbao reluctantly. He couldn't help thinking, how nice it would be if this general was mine.

The mountain was shaken and Sishui Pass was breached.

Dong Zhongda, who was far away in the capital, had already received the battle report. He kicked over the dinner table, and frightened the officials, both big and small, who were accompanying him, so much that they dared not say a word.

Dong Zhongda pinched his hand casually, and black energy burst out from his hand, and the battle report turned into powder, "Zhang Lu, Zhang Zaichun, they really turned the world upside down!"

"Prime Minister, the coalition forces are still two passes away from the capital. Xianzhi is willing to guard Dafeng Pass." A man stepped out, it was the Flying Wolf General Lu Xianzhi.

"Xianzhi is indeed a loyal minister to this prime minister." Dong Zhongda was delighted.

Another person stepped forward and said: "Why does our small coalition army need a flying general? Chi is willing to go, and the divine general will guard Hulao Pass." It was Guo Chi, a close confidant of Dong Zhongda.

"Okay, okay, with you two great generals, I don't have to worry about my great cause failing."

"I obey your orders!" the two men shouted in unison.

Half an hour later, Zhang Zaichun's mansion was engulfed in flames. All the people in the mansion were killed, and Zhang Zaichun's whereabouts were unknown.

Lu Mansion.

Lu Xianzhi, who had already rushed home, took off his armor with the help of a woman. He was silent for a long time after hearing the news.

"General, what are you thinking about?" the woman said.

Lu Xianzhi took the woman's hand and said, "The Prime Minister has changed. He is no longer the Tiger of Xiliang. Money and sex have worn away his ambition. He has been blinded by the prosperity of Luodu. He is greedy for flowers and women and will take revenge for any slight."

The woman obediently lay in Lu Xianzhi's arms: "What do you want to do, General?"

Lu Xianzhi's sharp eyes softened when they touched the woman, and even his voice became softer: "I can do anything, but I'm afraid it will make you suffer, Xiu'er."

Diao Xiu'er's face was filled with anger and resentment: "Could it be that in the general's heart, Xiu'er is a person who is greedy for wealth and fame? You and I grew up together. When you were not powerful, I would still follow you. At most, we can go back to the past. I actually like the life before, without these trivial matters, and I don't have to worry about you on the battlefield."

"Hahaha, who do you think I am? I am Lu Xianzhi, the best in the world. You should worry about my opponent." Lu Xianzhi looked arrogant when he said this.

"The Prime Minister should never, ever, secretly covet you." Lu Xianzhi said this with a fierce look on his face. After a long silence, he spoke: "I have fought for the Prime Minister for more than ten years. I have almost repaid the favor of a meal that year. I have done my best. When the battle of Hulao is over, I will take you away."

"It's settled then." Diao Xiu'er stroked Lu Xianzhi's resolute face, her eyes full of heartache.

(End of this chapter)