Chapter 167 Qiao Rui's Request, Brothers at War When Qin Zhen saw the invitation sent by Qiao Rui, he knew that this was probably to invite him to a blind date. Because he still remembered that when he first sent troops, Qiao Rui had sounded him out and wanted him to marry his niece. To be honest, as a man, Qin Zhen is not addicted to alcohol and sex, but he also likes beautiful women. Not to mention that Qiao Rui’s niece might be the legendary Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao! Even if he wasn't lustful, he still wanted to see what these two girls looked like. But now the timing is not right, because he has just entered Wan County and the situation has not yet stabilized. Moreover, he had to prepare a banquet to entertain the generals in the evening, so it was not appropriate to be a guest at this time! However, he appreciated Qiao Rui's kindness and immediately wrote a reply on the wooden slip Qiao Rui sent him: "I have just entered the city and I am busy with many things. Please wait for two days before visiting me again!" After giving this reply, he had someone send it to Qiao Rui's residence and began to handle various affairs. Generally, when a new city is established, it is necessary to take inventory of the money and grain situation, registered population, and prisoners.

After the battle last night, they lost nearly six hundred soldiers, and Chen Ce lost more than a thousand soldiers, but they captured more than five thousand soldiers! It was also in order to guard against Sun Ce that Yuan Shu added a lot of troops to Liu Xun. In a small city like Lujiang, the total number of naval and land forces is nearly 30,000. Excluding the 20,000 people Liu Xun took with him in this battle, there were still as many as seven or eight thousand people in the city. After that, a great battle broke out. Chen Ce and Mei Cheng were responsible for attacking the city gate, while Qiao Rui led his troops to support from outside. With the joint efforts of both inside and outside, they directly captured the city. As a result, their casualties were similar to those of Liu Xun, and a large number of prisoners were taken. He has become accustomed to this situation. But in the past, when dealing with similar matters involving prisoners, he always set a rule and let Lao Liu handle it himself. And this time, as the commander, he needs to handle it personally. After a series of busy work, it was already evening, and another guard came to report: "Military Advisor, the banquet is ready, and all the generals have arrived at the palace!" Hearing this, Qin Zhen put down the pen in his hand, stood up, stretched and said: "Now that we are ready, let's get the car ready and go!" After saying this, he walked out of his residence under the protection of a group of guards. Since Liu Xun still had children, he did not move into the county government to avoid suspicion. Instead, he temporarily lived in a small courtyard next to the county government. The courtyard is not big, but the security is very tight, and there are no servants to serve. This was also Qin Zhen's usual practice in fighting. Whenever he arrived in a strange city, he would not be too extravagant, just to guard against assassins. Especially in the city of Wan County, Liu Xun himself likes to support scholars, so he dare not be careless at all. After leaving the courtyard, he boarded the carriage and headed towards the county government. This is also for safety reasons. Even if the distance is short, he will not go there on foot. He will usually be picked up and dropped off by car until he enters the mansion, and then get off the car. Although this is not very free, it can prevent assassins from shooting arrows at people.

After such a tedious operation, Qin Zhen finally arrived at the county government office. As soon as he entered the hall, he heard someone reporting. When everyone in the hall heard this, they stood up and saluted. Qin Zhen walked in with his hands behind his back, and when he met everyone, he smiled and said: "No need to be so polite, I don't like it either, just take a seat!" After hearing this, everyone dared to sit down. At a glance, the people present included Qiao Rui, Mei Qian, Chen Ce, Mei Cheng, Dong Qian, Zhou Tiao, Kou Cai, as well as the civil and military officials in the county under Liu Xun's command. There were not many historical celebrities among them. Qin Zhen had only met them briefly and did not know most of their names. But he was the host after all, so he raised his cup and toasted three times in turn, then he said to everyone with a smile: "I am not very good at drinking, but now that you are here, it is a time of great joy, so don't worry too much and just drink!" Seeing this, everyone smiled and started drinking. People like Qiao Rui, Mei Qian and others were quite elegant, but Chen Ce, Mei Cheng, Kou Cai and others just drank a lot. Because there were very few opportunities to drink in this era, and Liu Bei's army banned alcohol. People like Chen Ce, Mei Cheng and others have been holding back for a long time, so now that they are going to the banquet, they naturally want to satisfy their appetite first. However, when these three people started drinking, Qin Zhen frowned. I thought that Mei Cheng and Kou Cai were fine, so I asked them to drink more now so that they could be anesthetized when we started. Chen Ce, you are an innocent person, why are you involved with these two guys! But don't let Mei Cheng lead him astray after a few days, otherwise all his efforts will be in vain. While he was observing, he saw a man stand up and said with a smile: "Everyone, keep quiet. I have something to tell Mr. Qin!" When everyone heard this, they stopped what they were doing. Seeing this, Qin Zhen thought that this time he just wanted to get Mei Cheng drunk so that he could do it in private. Everything had gone smoothly in the past, so why was there such an incident now? Thinking about this, he looked at the person who spoke again, only to see that he was slightly fat, had a long beard, and was dressed in gorgeous clothes. He remembered that this was a Gongcao under Liu Xun, the head of the Li family, a prominent family in the city, named Li Cheng. After they captured Wan County, Liu Xun's followers still resisted, but the officials in the city were very sensible and did not put up any resistance. Therefore, Qin Zhen had a good impression of these people. Seeing him asking the question, Qin Zhen couldn't help but say: "I wonder what you have to teach me, sir?" As soon as he finished speaking, Li Cheng stroked his beard and smiled: "Mr. Qin, there is no need to do this. I have nothing else to do. I just heard that Mr. Qin learned from Cai Zhonglang in Wuhui!" "In fact, when Zhonglang went south, he was also my guest in Lujiang!" "I had the privilege of meeting you once upon a time, and I am still fascinated by it and can never forget it!"

"Now that I see Mr. Qin here, I also think of the style of Mr. Cai in the past. I heard that Mr. Qin has learned a lot from Mr. Cai. As we are enjoying the music today, I dare to ask Mr. Qin to compose a poem." "First, it is to show our great joy, and second, it is an opportunity for us to admire Mr. Qin's literary talent!" It is well known that Qin Zhen was an excellent poet. The origin of this matter naturally has to start from his journey of studying. After all, he was of humble status back then, and even if he came to study at Cai Yong's house, he would not be able to catch Cai Yong's eye. So Qin Zhen remembered how many predecessors of time travel had started their careers, and plagiarized some of them. As a result, he not only became Cai Yong's disciple, but also gained a reputation as a talented man. Later, he joined Cao Cao's army. Cao Cao was also a poetry lover, and he would often ask Qin Zhen to write poetry with him. As time went by, the reputation of Qin Zhen's poems and essays became more and more widespread. However, as he fought many battles and gained prominence, his literary fame was gradually forgotten. Qin Zhen originally thought that this guy was going to say something, but after listening to him over and over again, he finally heard that he was just flattering him! For a moment, if it were any other time, he wouldn't mind copying a poem, but now he was not in the mood. I was thinking about how to refuse, but everyone started to make a noise: "I've heard of your poetry and prose for a long time, and today I finally get to see it in person!" "May I ask the military advisor to compose a poem so that we can admire it." Especially Chen Ce, Mei Cheng and others seemed to be drunk and started to make a fuss! Seeing this, Qin Zhen raised his cup and smiled: "If it were any other day, I would have the nerve to write a poem for you all if you were so kind. However, today I am not feeling well and have been drinking, so I cannot make a fool of myself!" "But I see that you all are bored just drinking. I heard that you have a group of dancers in your mansion. You can call them over to liven up the atmosphere!" As he said this, he clapped his hands and had someone call out the dancers hired by Liu Xun, who danced on the spot to liven up the party. People like Li Cheng just wanted to take the opportunity to show their goodwill to Qin Zhen, and seeing that Qin Zhen was unwilling, they stopped begging. When the others saw this, they were extremely delighted. Men, as a group, love wine and women, especially these military generals who are in danger of death all day long, who like this even more. As the dancer appeared on the stage, everyone became more excited. A mountain king like Chen Ce would stare with his eyes wide open. Mei Cheng felt even worse. Looking at the dancer's graceful figure, he felt hot all over. He drank one cup after another and soon felt drunk. Seeing this, Qin Zhen nodded secretly, left the table on the pretext of something, called Mei Qian out, gave him a few instructions, and prepared to leave. But before he got into the car, he heard another call. Looking back, it was Qiao Rui who followed out.

Seeing him like this, Qin Zhen smiled and said: "We are having fun here, General Qiao, why are you looking for me instead of going to drink?" Seeing this, Qiao Rui stroked his beard and smiled: "Because I saw the military advisor leaving the table, I knew that the military advisor wanted to leave, so I came to invite him!" "I wonder if the military advisor still remembers my promise?" When Qin Zhen heard him ask, he immediately shook his head and smiled: "I know this, but I'm busy with work. I'll see you again someday!" "General, why are you pushing me so hard?" He knew that Qiao Rui wanted to curry favor with him, but now the frequency was too frequent. Although he didn't hate it, he didn't like it very much either. But when Qiao Rui saw this, he shook his head and laughed: "Military advisor, you have misunderstood. It is not that I am anxious. I noticed that Military advisor did not drink happily tonight, which shows that he has something on his mind!" "If I am not mistaken, the military advisor must be planning to eliminate the thieves tonight." "Although I don't know how the military advisor will arrange it, I know that the military advisor is unhappy." "It just so happens that I am not in the mood for a feast, so I decided to invite the military advisor to come with me and drink a few cups of tea, so that he can keep me company!" Seeing how sincere he was, Qin Zhen thought that Brother Qiao Rui had a good personality and was worthy of friendship given his sincere invitation. And things were just as Qiao Rui said, after all, what he did was not very glorious, and he didn't feel very good about it. It’s not bad to have someone to drink a few cups of tea with! Thinking of this, he accepted Qiao Rui's invitation and went out of the mansion together. At this time, the atmosphere in the mansion was becoming increasingly heated. As they got drunk and saw beautiful women in front of them, everyone felt a little thirsty and had to continue drinking to quiet down the noise. It was unknown how much time had passed before everyone realized that Qin Zhen and Qiao Rui had left the table. Seeing this, Li Cheng stood up and said: "If Mr. Qin leaves, we will return home, or else this banquet will be over!" As soon as he spoke, everyone responded. Only Mei Cheng and a few others were still dissatisfied and wanted to watch the performance. Faced with this situation, others naturally did not dare to say much, but Mei Qian stood up and shouted: "Now that the military advisor has left, the dancers are all kind-hearted. What do you want to do by forcing them to stay here?" "Just go away and stop talking!"

As soon as he stood up, all the civil officials dispersed, except Chen Ce, Mei Cheng and others who kept cursing. But in the end he was already drunk and unable to resist. The crowd walked out of the mansion in twos and threes, and then dispersed. Mei Cheng was supported by Kou Cai and walked out of the house, cursing himself: "You idiot, you really think I'm afraid of him, and I let him run rampant. When I get promoted in the future, I'll see what happens to him!" Kou Cai was also very drunk, and upon hearing this, he quickly agreed: "My dear brother, you have achieved great success this time. You will not be afraid of him in the future!" As the two men talked like this, they let their subordinates lead the way. After walking for a long time, they suddenly arrived at a courtyard. Mei Cheng saw this and shouted: "Where is this? Did you ask me to go to another place?" Kou Cai listened, looked up, and said in a daze: "It looks like the inner courtyard of a county government!" He was a retainer of Liu Xun and had been to Liu Xun's mansion before, so he was quite familiar with it. When Mei Cheng heard this, he was surprised and said: "What a bastard! He can't even lead the way, yet he has led us to this point!" "Someone, someone, help me back home!" He called out repeatedly, but no one was there. Just as he was about to curse, he heard a timid female voice: "Who is making noise outside?" The sound was made by Liu Xun's concubine, but because of Qin Zhen's design, she did not report it. She was frightened when she heard someone outside at night. But it would have been better if she didn't say anything. This call made Mei Cheng's bones go soft. It has been a long time since I last touched a woman, and there is a fire of desire burning in my body. Moreover, he had just seen the dancer dancing, so he had no place to release his energy. When he heard this, he replied: "Madam, don't panic. My name is Mei Cheng. I came here by mistake and I didn't mean to disturb you!" Even as he said this, he walked towards the house step by step. But after taking two steps, Kou Cai pulled him back and said: "My dear brother, you can't do that. This is Liu Xun's concubine. You can't humiliate her!" Although he was drunk, he was still sober. But Mei Cheng was lustful and broke free immediately, shouting: "Even if she is Liu Xun's concubine, so what? Now that Liu Xun has been defeated, who will protect her?" "I have done great deeds, how can I not get a woman?" After saying this, he could no longer control himself. He took a few steps forward, pushed the door open, and saw a young woman lying inside. Seeing this, Mei Cheng felt thirsty and stepped forward to take action. But at this moment, there was a sudden roar: "This is an important place of the county government. The military advisor has strictly ordered that no one is allowed to enter. Who dares to trespass?" Mei Cheng was startled by the sound, but when he thought of his own great merit, he turned around and cursed:

"I am Mei Cheng, a lieutenant under the command of General Liu. Who dares to come in?" Before he could finish his words, several soldiers came quickly and grabbed his hair without saying a word, dragging him out of the yard. Mei Cheng was so drunk that his whole body was numb, but when he touched the ground, he woke up and cursed: "Who are you from? How dare you treat me like this?" The soldiers listened without saying a word, and dragged Mei Cheng out of the yard like a dead dog. There were many stones along the way that collided with each other, causing Mei Cheng to scream in pain. It was only at this moment that he realized that something was unusual and hurriedly shouted: "Who are you? I want to see the military advisor! I want to see the military advisor!" However, no matter how he shouted, the sergeant did not stop until a familiar face appeared in front of him. Seeing this person, Mei Cheng was immediately overjoyed and said: "Brother, please save me. I don't know who they are. How dare they treat me like this!" The person he begged was Mei Qian. But at this moment, Mei Qian had lost his usual kindness and just sneered: "If I let you see the military advisor, how can I save my life?" After saying this, he looked at the soldiers and said: "The military advisor has issued a strict order to enter here. You should know how to deal with it!" These soldiers were already under the orders of Mei Qian. Upon hearing this, they drew their knives and stabbed Mei Cheng in the chest. Mei Cheng had no idea what had happened until he was stabbed. He could only shout and scream, saying that he wanted to see Qin Zhen. When the soldiers saw him making a fuss, they all drew their swords, rushed forward and started hacking at him. After a while, Mei Cheng was hacked to death on the spot. After killing Mei Cheng, Mei Qian looked at Kou Cai who was already dazed in the distance, and then said: "This person should not be kept!" Upon hearing this, the soldiers rushed towards Kou Cai again, and soon killed the two men one after another. Mei Qian was left alone, looking at the two corpses with a cold look on his face. (End of this chapter)