Chapter 77

"First, there is a rumor that this Zhang Jue has magical powers. His current inability to speak and his ordinary demeanor might be due to his cultivation of these powers. If this is true, then my lord must be cautious. As for the second possibility, as my lord mentioned, the current Zhang Jue is already seriously ill or has already died. Therefore, the Zhang Jue on the city wall is a substitute, who dares not speak for fear of being exposed." Guo Jia said, nodding his head.

Liu Yao frowned upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "This Zhang Jue seems to be a disciple of some Nan Hua Immortal, and has obtained a scroll of the Great Peace. If this Zhang Jue really has magical powers, it will be troublesome." However, Liu Yao did not truly believe in the existence of magic. Liu Yao believed that people could set up formations to trap thousands of troops, observe the heavens, and understand the terrain to defeat enemies. But the notion of magic was nothing more than nonsense, just a series of illusions.

Liu Yao then looked at Guo Jia and asked, "Fengxiao, which possibility do you think is more likely?"

Guo Jia smiled and said, "My lord, you are worried because you care. Regardless of whether there is such a thing as magic in this world, if it exists, how could Zhang Jue have been defeated by General Lu Zhi, and now be hiding in Guangzong, not daring to move? Therefore, I believe the possibility that Zhang Jue is a fake is higher. Unfortunately, the distance is too great. If we could see more clearly, I would surely find some clues."

Liu Yao nodded in agreement, sharing Guo Jia's view. However, this still needed to be confirmed. If Zhang Jue really had magical powers, Liu Yao would have nowhere to turn.

Liu Yao then looked at Guo Jia with a mysterious smile and said, "Fengxiao, if you want to see farther and more clearly, I have a method."

Guo Jia was taken aback and asked curiously, "My lord, what method is it?"

"Hehe, no need to ask more. You will know when the time comes." Liu Yao smiled and then turned to his personal guard, "Transmit my order, sound the retreat."

Guo Jia rolled his eyes at Liu Yao's words. Of course, only Guo Jia dared to roll his eyes at Liu Yao.

As the sound of metal striking echoed, Sun Jian also heard the retreat signal and reluctantly ordered his troops to withdraw.

Sun Jian approached Liu Yao, dismounted, and knelt to apologize, "I have failed to complete the task given by Your Highness. Please forgive me."

"Ah, it's fine," Liu Yao jumped off his horse and helped Sun Jian up, "Wentai, there's no need for this. Today, I have discovered something important. I believe that within three days, we will have a strategy to defeat the enemy."

Upon hearing Liu Yao's words, everyone looked at him in surprise. Sun Jian had accomplished nothing today, and they were unsure what Liu Yao had discovered to be so confident.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Sun Jian bowed.

"Second Brother, look, the Han army is retreating." On the city wall of Guangzong, Zhang Liang pointed at Sun Jian.

"Hmph, if it weren't for our problems, how could that little Sun Jian be so bold?" Zhang Bao said angrily, then glanced at Zhang Jue and walked straight into the city. Zhang Liang shook his head and slowly followed behind Zhang Bao.

After a day of futile effort, everyone returned to the camp, all looking forward to Liu Yao's strategy in three days.

In Liu Yao's main tent, he had already dismissed everyone, and was alone. A tattoo on his arm, and the next moment, an ancient book appeared in his hand.

"Ancient book, does the design of the single-lens telescope require three lottery chances?" Liu Yao thought to himself. This time, Liu Yao's goal was the design of the telescope. Last time, he had accidentally seen the price, which was exactly three lottery chances, and he had enough.

"Yes, host. Please ask if you want to exchange for the single-lens telescope design?"

"Exchange." Liu Yao thought.

The ancient book glowed green, and Liu Yao obtained the design of the telescope. To be honest, the most critical part of the telescope was the grinding of several different lenses, which is why the price was so low.

Although there was no glass in this era, and Liu Yao did not have enough lottery chances to exchange for it, he could use crystal instead, which would be more expensive, but not a problem.

"Shi A." Liu Yao called to Shi A, who was guarding outside.

"My lord, what is it?" Shi A entered the tent and said respectfully.

Liu Yao handed the design to Shi A, "Shi A, you must personally find a skilled craftsman. You must complete the task I want within three days. Remember to have different people complete each part, understood?"

Grinding the lenses was not a simple task, and Liu Yao did not want his secret to leak out.

Shi A glanced at the design, immediately put it away, and left the tent with a nod.

Three days later, Shi A returned with dark circles under his eyes. In his hand was a one-foot-long straight wooden stick, hollow in the middle, with several shiny objects inside.

Liu Yao took the single-lens telescope and asked, "Shi A, did you follow my instructions?"

"Reporting to my lord, I traveled day and night, and each lens was completed by a different craftsman. The final assembly was also done by different people. No one could possibly know the secret," Shi A said firmly.

Liu Yao nodded in satisfaction and immediately walked out of the tent, raising the telescope to his eye. The next moment, every movement in Huangfu Song's camp, several miles away, was visible to Liu Yao.

"Good, Shi A, you have done well," Liu Yao said excitedly.

"Thank you, my lord," Shi A said calmly, believing it was his duty.

Liu Yao then casually said to his personal guard, "Go and call Fengxiao, Hansheng, and everyone else."

"Yes," the four guards ran off to deliver the orders.

Soon, Guo Jia led the way, followed by Zhang Fei and others.

"Hehe, my lord, the three days are up. Do you have the method you mentioned?" Guo Jia said with a playful smile as he approached.

"Hehe, of course I do," Liu Yao smiled. He enjoyed dealing with people like Guo Jia and Zhang Fei, who were not bound by formalities. People like Tian Feng were too restrained.

Liu Yao took the telescope from his sleeve and said with a smile, "This is it."

Guo Jia's eyes widened as he looked at the wooden stick and asked curiously, "My lord, what is this?"

"This is called a千里眼 (thousand-mile eye). As the name suggests, it allows you to see things a thousand miles away as if they were right in front of you. Of course, the 'thousand miles' is an exaggeration, but it can see up to seven or eight miles without a problem," Liu Yao said with a smile.

"What!!! Such a thing exists?" Everyone was shocked. But they soon calmed down, believing that this must have been given to Liu Yao by the high ancestor in a dream.

"My lord, let me see it," Guo Jia's curiosity was piqued. He took the thousand-mile eye from Liu Yao, placed it to his eye, and looked in a random direction in the camp.

Suddenly, the face of a Han army soldier, full of scars and extremely ugly, appeared in Guo Jia's view.

"Aaaah!!!" Guo Jia screamed in terror, his hand shaking, and he threw the thousand-mile eye away.