Chapter 29

Taishi Ci, Shi Xun, and Zhai Yu successfully broke through the encirclement and galloped for over ten miles without stopping. The fine steed under Taishi Ci could still hold on, but the mounts of the other two gradually slowed down. So, Taishi Ci gently pulled back on the reins and said, "Let's slow down and take a short rest."

Then he suddenly turned his head and glared at Shi Xun, "Just now, that bandit general—did you recognize him, Hongfu? Why did you stop me from killing him?"

At that moment, Guan Ji had suddenly appeared, shooting an arrow at Taishi Ci, which missed. Taishi Ci turned and shot back. With his strength and archery skills, Shi Xun estimated that even if Guan Hai himself were there, he might not have been able to dodge it, let alone the young girl Guan Ji. So, he instinctively whipped the rump of Taishi Ci's horse. That one whip made Taishi Ci's arrow lose its accuracy, hitting the neck of Guan Ji's horse instead. The horse let out a long neigh and fell to the side, and Guan Ji leaped off just in time to avoid certain death.

Shi Xun thought that with the whip on the rump of the horse, Taishi Ci, who was running and fighting, might not have noticed. But as a general, Taishi Ci was indeed observant and perceptive. When Taishi Ci asked, Shi Xun had to lie, "Well, I was probably startled and whipped the wrong horse..."

Taishi Ci thought to himself, "Your horse's rump is behind you, and mine is in front of you. How could you get that wrong? Please, at least make your lies a bit more convincing." He then stared intently at Shi Xun's eyes and growled, "Don't joke around. Tell me the truth."

Shi Xun had no choice but to give a half-true answer, "She was a woman. A man of honor killing a woman on the battlefield is not very glorious." Taishi Ci was taken aback, "A woman? She was so small, I thought she was a child. That's why you didn't want me to kill her..."

"It was a woman, and a child, sigh..." Shi Xun sighed deeply and had to recount the incident when he encountered Guan Hai and his daughter during a spring outing. He finished by saying, "Guan Hai once spared my life, so I couldn't bear to harm his daughter. Besides, she is still a child, and I couldn't bear to see her die..."

Taishi Ci nodded slightly, "I see. That's understandable. However, since this girl has followed her father in rebellion and personally wielded a bow, even if I don't kill her now, she will likely not have a good end."

Although Taishi Ci's words were true, Shi Xun felt a pang in his heart...

The three of them continued their journey without further conversation, traveling day and night. They ran until their horses were drenched in sweat, their legs trembled, and the insides of their thighs were nearly worn through. Finally, after two days and two nights, they arrived at the capital of the Pingyuan State, Pingyuan County, and met the new governor, Liu Bei (Liu Xuande).

Since arriving in this era, Shi Xun had initially focused on how to survive and avoid the fate of his parents, who had starved to death and eventually fallen to the swords of invaders (or perhaps their own people). Once he successfully infiltrated the Yue Lang family, his living conditions improved, and his quality of life rose. Naturally, his expectations for life also increased, and he began to think about how to live better and with more dignity—had he still been content with just surviving, he might not have had the resolve to impersonate someone else and take their place.

Especially, he knew more about the future course of history than anyone else in this era, even the most powerful figures. The world was about to descend into chaos, and in such times, common people were worse off than chickens and dogs. To increase his chances of survival, he needed to rise from the bottom to the top. Only by climbing higher could he have some control over his life and destiny.

So, after running from Yue Lang to Beihai and successfully infiltrating the Shi family as a slave and then the Shi family as a master, he began to think about finding a patron. Given his current status and abilities, he could not start a rebellion and suddenly become a powerful warlord. Even in this chaotic era, no one could achieve such a feat through personal effort alone. If Yuan Shao had not had a prestigious lineage and influential relatives in Luoyang, would Dong Zhuo have paid him any attention or given him the position of Governor of Bohai? If Dong Zhuo had issued an imperial edict to arrest Yuan Shao right after he fled Luoyang, how long would Yuan Shao have lasted? Would he have been able to gather the forces of the eastern provinces to oppose Dong Zhuo?

As for Cao Cao, he initially relied on Yuan Shao, and Liu Bei relied on Gongsun Zan. Sun Jian was the only one who could be said to have carved out his own territory, but he did so before the major chaos began, mainly by fighting pirates and bandits. When the Yellow Turbans rose, how long would it have taken him to rise to power on his own? Besides, Sun Jian ultimately died a disgraceful death.

To continue rising, he needed a patron. His experiences had shown that neither Yi or Kong Rong could protect themselves, let alone be patrons for others. His goal was still to align with Cao Cao or Liu Bei. As for the Sun family, he largely dismissed them. Although Yi eventually joined Eastern Wu, Sun Quan's reputation for treachery, especially in his later years, made working under him too dangerous and frustrating. Unless there was no other choice, it was better to avoid such a situation.

So, should he follow Cao Cao or Liu Bei? Following Cao Cao had its advantages: first, he could rise quickly, and second, Cao Cao's main territory was north of the Yellow River, which was where Shi Xun's hometown was in both his past and present lives. Following Cao Cao would mean he wouldn't have to leave his home region. However, Cao Cao valued his subordinates' abilities highly. If one lacked ability, even someone as famous as Kong Rong would be sidelined and eventually executed. Shi Xun could not overestimate his own abilities...

Following Liu Bei also had its advantages: first, Liu Bei was known for his benevolence. Although he became more ruthless in his later years, he always took care of his old comrades. Sun Qian, who did little of note, was still well-fed and well-cared for, and Mi Zhu, who was loyal but had no particular talents and whose brother defected to Wu, was not punished. Second, Liu Bei had the only real chance to unify the land—Cao Cao failed at Chibi, partly due to chance, but also because the north was not yet stable, and attacking the south was a risky move. If Liu Bei had accepted Sun Quan's surrender and joined forces with Wu to attack the north, the chaotic north would have been almost defenseless. If Shi Xun followed Liu Bei and worked hard to prevent his eastern campaign...

But even thinking about it, it seemed difficult. Even Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang couldn't stop Liu Bei, so who was he to think he could?

Of course, Liu Bei was still a promising prospect. He could start by building a relationship and see if he wanted to join his ranks—after all, even Sun Qian, Mi Zhu, and Jian Yong hadn't joined the revolutionary cause yet. There was no need to rush.

So, this time, Shi Xun was determined to take the risk and follow Taishi Ci to Pingyuan to seek reinforcements, partly to meet Liu Bei. He was genuinely curious about what a man with hands that reached his knees, ears that hung to his shoulders, and eyes that could see his own ears (he mixed the descriptions from the novel and history) would look like.

When he finally met Liu Bei, he was surprised. Liu Bei looked like a tall, well-built protagonist from a revolutionary model play, somewhat resembling Zhu Shimao. He was of medium to tall height, broad-shouldered, and muscular—whether his hands reached his knees, he couldn't tell—but he had a square face, thick eyebrows, large eyes, a straight nose, and a square mouth. He was clean-shaven except for two mustaches that curled up, making him look like Lu Xiaofeng with four eyebrows.

This confirmed that the story of "Luzhu Jun" was true.

In the "Records of the Three Kingdoms," it is said that when Liu Bei entered Shu to ostensibly support Liu Zhang, he met Liu Zhang's official Zhang Yu at a banquet. Zhang Yu had a large beard, and Liu Bei teased him, "When I lived in Zhuo County, there were many people surnamed Mao, everywhere, so the county magistrate said, 'All the Maos surround Zhuo.'"

"Zhuo" here is a homophone for "zhuo" (peck), meaning mouth. Liu Bei was mocking Zhang Yu for having a mouth surrounded by hair. But Zhang Yu was quick-witted and retorted, "There was once a man who was the magistrate of Luzhu County and later became the magistrate of Zhuo County. After resigning, he wrote to someone, wanting to sign as the magistrate of Luzhu, but he had lost Zhuo County, and wanting to sign as the magistrate of Zhuo, but he had lost Luzhu County. In the end, he signed as 'Luzhu Jun.'"

"Luzhu Jun" is a homophone for "Luzhu Jun," mocking Liu Bei for having no beard, with his mouth fully exposed. The history books say, "Liu Bei had no beard, so Zhang Yu used this to mock him." Liu Bei held a grudge against Zhang Yu and later found an excuse to have him executed.

So, although the Liu Bei on stage is often depicted with a long beard, some people argue that Liu Bei actually had no beard, like a eunuch. But if Liu Bei had no beard at all, this feature would have been too noticeable among the scholars of the time, and the history books would have mentioned it. Therefore, some say that Liu Bei only lacked a beard, not all facial hair.

Today, Shi Xun confirmed that this was accurate. Liu Bei did have a mustache, though it was sparse. In that era, scholars valued long beards, so Zhang Yu's mockery and Liu Bei's resentment made sense, but Liu Bei was not completely hairless, or his self-esteem would have been even more fragile.

When Liu Bei heard that a messenger from Beihai had arrived, he hurriedly summoned them. When the three entered the hall, they saw him sitting behind a table, his face stern, as if trying to appear composed but overacting a bit. Shi Xun remembered that in the history books, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei often stood behind Liu Bei like bodyguards, so he glanced behind Liu Bei and saw a tall man standing there, but he was neither red-faced nor black-faced, just ordinary-looking—could it be Zhao Yun? Had Zhao Yun joined Liu Bei?

Liu Bei asked immediately, "I heard that the Yellow Turbans have moved east to Beihai. What is the situation?"

Taishi Ci bowed and introduced himself, "I am Taishi Ci from Donglai, sent by Governor Kong Rong of Beihai to seek aid." He then handed over Kong Rong's letter.

Liu Bei opened the wooden tablet and frowned. Shi Xun knew what he was thinking—Kong Rong, being a scholar, had likely written the letter in a flowery, difficult style. Liu Bei, who disliked reading, might not understand much of it. It was like giving a classical Chinese text to a non-specialist literature student; the words might be recognizable, but the meaning would be unclear without a dictionary and some thought.

Fortunately, Taishi Ci helped explain. He described the situation in Beihai and said, "I am from Donglai, not related to Kong Rong, nor from the same hometown. I am here to repay his kindness. Now, Kong Rong is besieged by the Yellow Turban Guan Hai, with no aid in sight. He is in grave danger. Because of his reputation for benevolence and his ability to help those in need, Beihai sent me to break through the encirclement and seek aid. I hope you will agree to help."

Shi Xun thought, "Taishi Ci is quite eloquent." Liu Bei, who was just starting out and had not yet saved Xu Province, was a man who had sold straw mats and sandals in Zhuo County and only gained his position because he was a classmate of Gongsun Zan. He had almost no reputation, so mentioning Kong Rong's "reputation for benevolence" was a bit much.

Sure enough, Liu Bei, who loved a good reputation, was flattered by Taishi Ci's words and smiled. "I didn't expect that even Kong Rong knows of me! Don't worry, as fellow residents of Qingzhou, how can I not help? However, my forces are scattered across the counties and would be difficult to gather quickly. How many troops do you need to save Beihai?"

At that time, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao were on the verge of conflict, so most of Liu Bei's troops were deployed to the western front to defend against Yuan Shao and his ally Cao Cao.

Taishi Ci replied, "The Yellow Turbans are numerous but disorganized. A few thousand troops should be enough."

"Good," Liu Bei decided, "I will send three thousand troops to help." He then turned to the tall man behind him, "Yun Chang, I will trouble you to make this trip."

Shi Xun was shocked, "So, that really is Guan Yu?!"

———————————————A Reluctant Divider———————————————

To clarify, in the previous chapters, the leader of the Yingling family, "Shi Zhu," was mistakenly written as "Shi Zhe." This is not a mistake on my part; the document on my hard drive is correct, and it was fine when I uploaded it before. Recently, it has been causing