Chapter 10

Cao Cao tried to recruit Qin Feng, but Qin Feng, who had been a "leading elder brother" all his life, could not bear to be branded as part of Cao Cao’s faction, so he firmly refused.

After that, Cao Cao, settling for second best, began to recruit Xu Chu.

Cao Cao’s personal charisma was among the best in the world. With his grand ambitions, he extended an olive branch. Xu Chu only needed to reach out to step onto the stage of history. From then on, the Tiger Fool would follow the cunning hero Cao Cao, galloping across the land.

Just as Xu Chu was hesitating, he suddenly felt something. Looking up, he saw Qin Feng, whose sincere eyes held so much meaning that it shook him to his core.

Qin Feng did not say anything, but the lofty aspirations in his expression were no less than anyone else’s. He called to his Dragon Guard with his heart, as if saying, "One day, we will make this world know our fame!"

*Slap*

Suddenly, Xu Chu made his decision. He struck his fist against his palm, bowed, and loudly said to Cao Cao, "Thank you for your generous offer, General, but I, Xu Chu, must respectfully decline. In this life, wherever Mr. Zijin goes, I, Xu Chu, will follow!"

Xu Chu strode forward and stood behind Qin Feng.

Qin Feng did not say anything; he just looked at Cao Cao. And Cao Cao, feeling the overwhelming ambition, suddenly understood a lot.

Xu Lao nodded in satisfaction, and the people of Xu Family Village cheered. In their hearts, the brave warrior from Xu Family Village should follow a great sage like Qin Feng, who was approachable and kind.

One dragon and one tiger, one in front and one behind, complementing each other perfectly, as if surrounded by boundless radiance.

Xu Chu stood like a towering mountain behind Qin Feng. Truly, when a true dragon recruits a tiger general, his might shakes the nine provinces. His enemies tremble before the Minghong saber, and from then on, the world will speak of the Tiger Marquis!

At this moment, Cao Cao, who had failed to recruit Qin Feng, thought that recruiting Xu Chu would be a sure thing. Unexpectedly, with just a few words about following Mr. Zijin, he failed again. Cao Cao had never failed to recruit anyone before, but now he was completely defeated. The CEO of the Eastern Han, Cao Cao, his eyes twitching, was filled with shame and anger, wishing he could find a crack to hide in.

"This Qin Zijin must be planning to recruit local militia. Don’t think that with some ability and Xu Chu, you can achieve anything. Your skills are far from enough!" Cao Cao was secretly furious, said nothing, and turned to leave, flicking his sleeve.

However, someone stepped forward. The crowd looked and saw it was Liu Bei.

Liu Bei approached Cao Cao, his ribs broken, hunched over, his hand almost touching his heels. He didn’t need to perform a formal bow; just standing there was a grand gesture. Liu Bei said, "General Cao, I, Liu Bei, am willing to follow the General and help suppress the Yellow Turban rebels!"

Liu Bei thought that if he could rely on Cao Cao, he could immediately join the Imperial Guard, saving him twenty years of struggle. Therefore, he steeled himself and recommended himself.

Qin Feng stroked his chin, thinking that this one-eared man was really going all out to become an official.

Cao Cao, still angry, and already prejudiced against Liu Bei, scowled and gave him no face, mocking, "Liu Xuande, right?"

Liu Bei nodded and bowed.

"Descendant of the Han imperial family, right?"

Liu Bei was stirred, wanting to straighten his back, but his ribs were broken, and he winced and hunched back.

Cao Cao, seeing this, was angry at his lack of resolve and coldly said, "To be a descendant of the Han imperial family and end up like you is unique in the world!" He poked Liu Bei’s injury with his horsewhip, causing Liu Bei to wince again. Cao Cao despised him even more and scolded, "A few Yellow Turban soldiers broke your ribs, and you still want to fight on the battlefield?" Cao Cao flicked his horsewhip and pointed to the fields, saying, "You should go home and farm!"

Saying this, Cao Cao mounted his horse, flicked his horsewhip, and called, "All troops, advance to Dong Commandery!" He then bowed to Qin Feng and said coldly, "The green mountains remain, and the green waters flow. I hope the next time I see Zijin, you will have achieved something."

Qin Feng heard the hidden sarcasm and bitterness in Cao Cao’s words but was full of confidence. He bowed and smiled, "I will not disappoint Brother Mengde!"

"Better be," Cao Cao sneered, thinking, "Don’t think too highly of yourself, boy. Without me, you’ll regret it. Do you think a great battle is a game? A little strategy will do?"

However, Cao Cao did not know that Qin Feng had been through countless battles in his past life, from Goryeo to Rome, and his strategy was far from "a little." Moreover, he had walked through the Eastern Han twice, knowing everything inside out. It would be hard not to achieve something.

Qin Feng and Cao Cao exchanged words on equal terms. Liu Bei, standing to the side, his face changing colors, could have opened a dye shop.

Liu Bei was also a person with great ambition. He wanted to take advantage of the situation, but not only was he not allowed to, he was kicked to the ground. Moreover, there was Qin Feng, who invited someone to ride, and they didn’t even look. This made Liu Bei even more ashamed and indignant.

Liu Bei, no matter how patient, could not bear such humiliation and neglect. This was truly "if this can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated?" Moreover, Liu Bei felt he had contributed, so he could not bear it any longer. Finally, he was angry and shouted, "Even if I have no merit, I have labor! No reward is fine, but now that I have broken my ribs saving you, you should at least send me home!"

Send me home... Send me home... Send me home. The final angry shout echoed, shocking everyone at the village entrance.

Only then did people realize that such a person existed.

Qin Feng was stunned, looked at Liu Bei, and pointed his thumb at Cao Cao, meaning, "If there’s a problem, talk to Boss Cao."

Liu Bei glared at Qin Feng, thinking, "If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have been trampled by the Yellow Turban rebels." However, Qin Feng was still wearing big shorts and was poorer than him, so he couldn’t get any reward from him. Therefore, Liu Bei shifted his gaze and angrily stared at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao snorted and pointed with his horsewhip, "You have killed Yellow Turbans and deserve a reward, which I have already prepared. Bring it to him!"

A deputy waved his hand, and two soldiers approached Liu Bei. One held a tray with a string of coins, and another led a warhorse and a sword.

Cao Cao would never owe anyone, especially someone like Liu Bei. Additionally, he had prepared to recruit Qin Feng and had prepared a generous reward for Liu Bei to show respect and win him over. However, he failed to recruit Qin Feng, and the reward was not impressive to him, so he threw it away.

The deputy snorted, "Even a soldier who kills ten people doesn’t get such a reward. You didn’t kill any Yellow Turbans, but General Cao rewards you to show respect to Mr. Zijin."

Liu Bei, after his outburst, was disappointed to see the reward was already prepared for him. He could feel that the reward was not important to them, yet it was more than his entire fortune. Disappointment, neglect, and the blow to his pride would have made anyone dispirited. However, it only fueled Liu Bei’s determination to strive harder.

He secretly looked at Cao Cao and Qin Feng, shouting in his heart, "One day, I will make you look at me with new eyes, one day!"

Liu Bei bowed, forced himself onto the horse, pocketed the money, and held his broken ribs as he left.

After a noisy clatter of hooves, Cao Cao and his Imperial Guard also left.

Qin Feng stayed behind and began to strive for the future.

As for how to strive, Qin Feng, with his experience, knew what to do. To achieve something, he needed to raise his own banner. Therefore, on that day, a large flag was raised at the entrance of Xu Family Village, with three large characters, "Righteous Army."

Under the flag, Qin Feng said to Xu Chu and others, "In these chaotic times, the people cannot survive. To ensure a good life for your families, we must suppress the Yellow Turbans. My Righteous Army is an army to help the people. You must not oppress the people like the official army when you achieve success!"

"The people of Xu Family Village were shocked. "There is such an army!"

Qin Feng pointed to the flag, "My army is such an army!"

Xu Chu felt that not accepting Cao Cao’s invitation and following Qin Feng was the best decision of his life. He led twenty men from Xu Family Village, fell to the ground, and shouted in unison, "We are willing to follow our lord, climb the knife mountain, and descend the fire sea, even if we die ten thousand times, we will not refuse!"

The people clapped and cheered!

Thus, Qin Feng established his own force, though still small, but a spark that would soon spread like wildfire!

Two days later, Qin Feng was drawing and writing on the ground in Xu Chu’s courtyard with a branch, organizing his thoughts.

At this moment, a subordinate ran in, shouting, "Lord, it’s not good, Zhongkang is fighting with someone at the village entrance!"

"Zhongkang is fighting with someone?" Qin Feng thought the person must have been badly beaten by Xu Chu, so he was not concerned and asked, "Did he win?"

"No!" The subordinate wiped his sweat.

"No?" Qin Feng was surprised, suddenly standing up, his face showing shock. "There are few in the world who can match Zhongkang. Could it be a mighty general?" He showed a pleased expression, thinking, "This is truly heaven’s help!" He quickly threw away the branch, dusted off his hands, and said, "Let’s go, take me to see."

Shortly, Qin Feng arrived at the village entrance and saw Xu Chu with a bruised face and bleeding mouth. Qin Feng was shocked, not expecting Xu Chu to be beaten so badly. Xu Chu was his confidant, so he was furious and temporarily forgot about the mighty general, shouting, "Who beat Xu Chu!"