Chapter 65

Liu Yao was so praised by Guo Jia that he was stunned, and somewhat embarrassed, he rubbed his nose.

"Hmm!!" Xi Zhicai was not an unreasonable person. He had just been momentarily taken aback and overwhelmed by anger. Now, upon reflection, what Guo Jia said was indeed true. As a superior, if one is not ruthless, how can one achieve great things?

"Zhong pays respects to the Lord. I hope the Lord will forgive my previous rudeness." Having thought it through, Xi Zhicai knelt down without hesitation and acknowledged Liu Yao as his lord.

"Zhicai, please rise. I hope you will assist me in the future." Liu Yao, overjoyed, helped Xi Zhicai to his feet.

"Lord, you are too kind. Since I have joined your ranks, I will spare no effort for you." Xi Zhicai said with a bow.

Guo Jia, looking at the two of them, then at the wine on the table, called out in dissatisfaction, "Lord, Zhicai, let's not discuss these matters today. Drinking should come first."

Liu Yao, seeing Guo Jia's wine-loving appearance, couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, today we will not discuss important matters, only drink."

Guo Jia had been waiting for this, and without hesitation, he filled the three cups with wine, drinking his own in one go.

"Pfft. Cough, cough." However, as soon as Guo Jia drank, he started coughing, his face turning a bit red.

"Fengxiao, what's wrong?" Liu Yao, seeing Guo Jia's condition, asked anxiously.

"Fengxiao, there you go again. You should take your medicine quickly." Xi Zhicai, who seemed to be used to it, said casually.

Guo Jia nodded, took out a cloth roll from his sleeve, opened it, and took out a few solid pills, intending to take them.

Liu Yao, seeing this, knew it was bad and immediately grabbed Guo Jia's hand that was about to put the pills in his mouth. "Fengxiao, you must not take this!"

Guo Jia, surprised by Liu Yao's actions, asked, "Lord, why not? I have been taking this for many years."

Xi Zhicai, standing beside him, also looked at Liu Yao with confusion. He had been living with Guo Jia for years and knew that Guo Jia had a condition of low energy and coughing up blood, which doctors couldn't diagnose. A wandering Taoist had given Guo Jia this medicine, and whenever Guo Jia's condition flared up, taking this medicine would make him feel better in no time.

Liu Yao took the pills and examined them, suddenly realizing the truth. No wonder Guo Jia would die young; this was the Five-Stone Powder that Hua Tuo had mentioned. He then asked seriously, "Fengxiao, is this called Five-Stone Powder?"

Guo Jia nodded and said, "Yes, it is. I have been weak and often ill since childhood, but after taking this medicine, I have had enough energy to study what I want."

"Ah, foolish, you are foolish, Fengxiao." Liu Yao sighed helplessly. "This is the Five-Stone Powder, which indeed has the effect of concentrating one's energy, but it is toxic. Long-term use can lead to addiction, and not taking it for a day can make you feel uncomfortable. However, prolonged use can harm your body and shorten your life."

Guo Jia was shocked upon hearing this, threw away the Five-Stone Powder, and sighed. "No wonder my body has been getting worse after taking this. It turns out it's because of this."

"Lord, can Fengxiao's condition be treated?" Xi Zhicai asked anxiously. Their relationship was as close as brothers.

Liu Yao nodded confidently and said, "Fengxiao, you can rest assured. I have a divine doctor, Hua Tuo, in Youzhou. Once we return to Youzhou, I will have Hua Tuo diagnose you, and I believe you will recover." Hua Tuo could even cure Huang Xu's almost incurable disease, let alone Guo Jia's issues.

"Phew." Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai both sighed in relief. After all, no one wants to die young, and they still have many ambitions to achieve.

Liu Yao then looked at Xi Zhicai and said seriously, "Zhicai, once we return to Youzhou, you must also have Hua Tuo diagnose you. Look at your current condition; it's not much better than Fengxiao's." Xi Zhicai's lifespan was even shorter than Guo Jia's, and Liu Yao couldn't directly tell him he was about to die. He could only use this gentle method.

Xi Zhicai was moved, knowing that Liu Yao was doing this for his own good. "I will follow the Lord's orders."

Liu Yao nodded in satisfaction.

After recruiting the two, Liu Yao returned to Changshe. He still needed to meet up with Tian Feng and the others and head to Guangzong, where a tough battle awaited.

This trip to Yingchuan was highly successful. Not only did he gain Guo Jia, a genius, and Xi Zhicai, a great strategist, but he also had Xu Shu, who would join him in the future. He now had a considerable number of top strategists from the Three Kingdoms under his command.

Upon returning to Changshe, Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia easily integrated into Liu Yao's small group. Tian Feng initially didn't believe that Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai were as capable as he was, given his own pride. However, after a night of deep conversation, Tian Feng was amazed by their talents and even wanted to give up his position. But Xi Zhicai naturally refused, as he was a new arrival and taking such a high position would not be well-received.

As for Guo Jia, he was used to a lazy lifestyle and didn't want Tian Feng's position, which involved constant busyness. He simply said, "I only want to be a counselor by the Lord's side," which immediately put Tian Feng at ease.

Regarding the generals, that night Zhang Fei and Guo Jia had a drinking contest, and Zhang Fei immediately considered Guo Jia a close friend. As for Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, and Gao Shun, they had no objections. Soldiers must follow orders, and they trusted Liu Yao's judgment. Each of them had been discovered by Liu Yao from the common people and had since developed remarkable skills. Therefore, they believed that Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai must also have exceptional abilities.

The Yellow Turban rebels near Changshe had been largely eliminated by Zhao Yun and Gao Shun over the past few days. On that day, Liu Yao received news from scouts that Huangfu Song had defeated Peng Tuo's Yellow Turbans in Runan. With Peng Tuo dead, the 70,000 Yellow Turbans were leaderless and had been tricked into losing 20,000 men. The pacification of Runan was only a matter of time.

Zhu Jun had also arrived in Wan and joined forces with the governor of Nanyang, Qin Jie, and with the help of the fierce tiger of Jiangdong, Sun Jian, they had killed Zhang Mancheng. The remaining Yellow Turbans, led by Zhao Hong, were now entrenched in Wan, and both sides were in a stalemate.

Five days later, after settling all matters in Changshe, Liu Yao led all his troops towards Guangzong in Ji Province. However, the journey was not entirely peaceful. Although the three strongest Yellow Turban forces in Yingchuan had been pacified, and with Sun Jian's help, the pacification of Wan was only a matter of time, the final battle with Zhang Jiao and Lu Zhi was still ongoing.

However, this did not mean there were no Yellow Turban rebels outside. The Yellow Turbans were divided into 36 factions. Along the way, Liu Yao encountered several smaller groups of rebels. He had no choice but to stop and eliminate them one by one, which frustrated him. He wondered how Cao Cao, who had gone to Guangzong before him, managed to avoid these groups.

Thus, by the time Liu Yao's army was about to reach Guangping, not far from Guangzong, it was already August.

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