Who can stand with a horizontal sword?

  Cao Jiao's neck was slightly lifted, his whole body sweating profusely, and he let out a terrified scream:

  "My head..."

  The shouting suddenly stopped. Cao Jiao covered his head with both hands, and a surge of joy at the unexpected turn of events suddenly welled up in his heart. Just as he was about to burst out laughing, he suddenly came to his senses again, let out another "Ah!" and leaned forward on the horse's back, hastily galloping into his own camp, only then did he begin to calm down.

  Lei Jin's sword, which scared Cao Jiao into hiding his head and fleeing in panic, not only cut off several strands of Cao Jiao's short beard but also chopped off the silver helmet on Cao Jiao's head, sending it crashing to the ground!

  Watching his opponent flee in disarray into the army formation, Le Jin was not yet satisfied. He stood up on his horse, held his sword horizontally and shouted loudly at the Xuzhou army's camp:

  "Is there anyone who dares to fight?"

  Although the opponent was clearly tens of steps away, the Xuzhou soldiers in the front rows couldn't help but shrink their necks. Several "Danyangbing" military officers who were usually arrogant and dissatisfied, ultimately didn't dare to go out and challenge Yue Jin who was loudly boasting outside the formation.

  Even a brave warrior like Cao Jiao was defeated so miserably. These military officers, who would not last more than twenty moves under Cao Jiao's hands, naturally did not dare to humiliate themselves.

  "Who dares to come and fight!"

  "Is there anyone?! Come out and fight!"

  He bellowed three times in front of the enemy's formation, and seeing no one dared to come out and fight, Le Jin proudly turned his horse's head and returned to his own formation. Amidst the loud cheers of the Tianping Army generals and soldiers all around, Le Jin came before Zhang Kuang, dismounted his horse, knelt on one knee, and reported:

  "We have successfully completed our mission, the enemy general has already fled and does not dare to fight. I have come to deliver the order!"

  Zhang Kuang looked at Le Jin under his command and couldn't help but feel more and more delighted, bursting into loud laughter as he said:

  "Who dares to draw their sword? Only I, General Le Dai!"

  The surrounding Tiangong Army heard this and immediately shouted loudly:

  "Draw your sword! Draw your sword!......"

  When the soldiers finished their three cheers, Zhang Kuang stepped forward to help Le Jin up and handed him the reins of his horse, saying loudly:

  "Wen Qian's bravery is truly rare in the world. Unfortunately, our military currently lacks sufficient war horses and good horses are scarce. This yellow-maned horse of mine may not be worthy of Wen Qian's horsemanship, but please make do with it for now. When a better horse becomes available in the future, I will exchange it with you to ride."

  "My lord..."

  Although it was only a good horse, not a famous one, Le Jin, this fearless general on the battlefield, couldn't help but be moved to tears by the envious glances of the surrounding soldiers. He didn't say anything out loud, but he had already made up his mind.

  A true gentleman would die for one who understands him.

  As for the other side, Cao Jiao was indeed defeated, but the Xuzhou army did not dare to laugh at him. Cao Hong carefully examined Cao Jiao from head to toe, finding that he had lost no parts, and let out a sigh of relief. Seeing that Cao Jiao was still immersed in his defeat and unable to extricate himself, Cao Hong, contrary to his usual severity, spoke in a gentle and comforting tone:

  "Zhang Biao, don't blame yourself. Since ancient times, how many famous generals have remained undefeated on the battlefield? Moreover, although the enemy is brave and fierce, in terms of military strength, we are still stronger!"

  Although Cao Hong did not understand much about military affairs, his words won the unanimous approval of several generals. Since the late Warring States period, with the intensification of the war, the duel between the two marshals had rarely appeared on the battlefield.

  In the past, "Western Chu Hegemon" Xiang Yu, in front of the Han army formation, asked to have a one-on-one duel with Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang to decide the ownership of the world. As a result, Emperor Gaozu's lightly spoken sentence "Would rather fight wits, not fight strength", sent off fully armed Xiang Yu, and didn't see any decline in morale on his own side.

  Several "Danyang soldiers" were eager for battle, and one of the most warlike ones stepped forward and said:

  "Director Sima, let me lead our troops and go out to retrieve it!"

  Cao Hong waved his hand-held feather fan, looked at the military candidate who was asking for battle, and said slowly:

  "The enemy's soldiers are quite strict and their combat effectiveness does not seem weak. Moreover, with the troops in your hands, can you withstand the impact of that fierce general called 'Le Jin' just now?"

  The general was speechless.

  What is meant by "thousand-man breaker" refers to the fact that in a battle at the level of a thousand men, such a fierce general can break the balance of both sides and lead his own side to victory. In a battle at the level of a hundred men, with the help of such a fierce general, there is no suspense about winning or losing.

  For such a result, Cao Hong was slightly pleased in his heart. He then changed the subject and said:

  "Besides, I led the army here, what is the purpose of it all, have you all forgotten?"

  Several military officers were even more speechless. This time, they didn't come to fight, to put it bluntly. If this trip doesn't rescue the future master of the Chen family, even Cao Hong will have to apologize to Chen Gui with a humble attitude. Not to mention these low-ranking military officers.

  "So, this time's negotiations will have to rely on 'Kōsuke'!"

  Seeing the situation in the army, completely under his control, Cao Hong saluted a young Confucian scholar beside him. The scholar returned the salute and said calmly:

  "Although I am old and dull, I will exhaust all my strength, please report back to Chen Yuanlong."

  Then, after the Xuzhou army retreated three miles away, the two forces each set up camp to confront each other. Meanwhile, that young Confucian scholar had ridden his donkey alone into the Tianping army's large camp.

  Zhang Kuang sat in the commander's tent, with Yue Jin attending to him. Looking at this young man with such elegance and refinement before him, he couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration. Xu Zhou still has talented people after all.

  "Who is beneath your feet?"

  Instead of answering, he looked around in a circle and smiled faintly, saying:

  "You've come from afar and must be tired, please take a seat."

  Zhang Kuang Cheng deliberately replied:

  "This place is narrow and more inconvenient for marching, there has never been an extra seat, forgive me."

  Kid, just stand there and talk honestly with me!

  To make you laugh haha:

  "I once heard about the past event of 'Yan Zi being sent to Chu', and I was skeptical in my heart, thinking that as a king of a thousand chariots, how could he be so humble? Today, after seeing him, I finally have some faith."

  Haven't you heard the story of Yanzi's diplomatic mission to Chu, where the people of Chu humiliated him for his short stature and asked him to crawl through a dog hole, only to be turned back by Yanzi with a sharp retort?

  Zhang Kuang's face turned red, and he thought to himself in his heart:

  This person's eloquence is quite good...

  "Zhang was rude. Go and find a better seat, and spread it out for our guest."

  In this era, the orthodox sitting method in Zhongyuan was similar to the kneeling and sitting posture of later generations, that is, the buttocks were pressed on the heels.

  To avoid getting clothes dirty while sitting, a mat should be spread under the legs and knees. If there is no mat in the wilderness, it is called "sitting on the ground". It means taking the earth as a mat and kneeling on the ground.

  For this sitting method, Zhang Kuang was a bit unaccustomed at first. However, after getting used to this body, sitting down also felt quite natural. As for the chairs of later generations, they were still called "barbarian chairs" at that time, and belonged to things introduced from foreign countries, which were not elegant.

  "Who is beneath your feet?"

  It wasn't until both sides sat down in a standoff that Zhang Kuang asked.

  "My surname is Sun, first name Qian, and my courtesy name is Gongyou. I am currently studying under Zheng Shangshu. The other day, I happened to pass by Pengcheng and learned that Chen Yuanlong from Donghai was staying in your army, so I came to pay a visit."

  Character: Sun Qian

  An important diplomat under Liu Bei's command. Those who have played the Three Kingdoms series games know that Sun Qian's eloquence is quite good.