Chapter 5

......

Chen Xi clearly saw Liu Bei pause, and he chuckled inwardly. At this time, almost no one recognized Liu Xuande. Liu Bei was not yet the Imperial Uncle, nor the King of Hanzhong; he was just a commoner—how many people knew him?

"Since you are a scholar, is there anything you need help with before coming to my tent?" Liu Bei was delighted and casually gave Chen Xi a way out.

"I have been traveling for a long time and saw smoke in the distance, so I wanted to seek shelter for the night. I didn't expect it to be the encampment of your men." Chen Xi smoothly handed Liu Bei a compliment. If he couldn't hitch a ride with Cao Mengde, Liu Xuande would do just fine.

Could Chen Xi not know Liu Bei's current situation? Clearly, Liu Bei was trying to gain recognition among the lords by joining Gongsun Zan's forces. He had no troops, no men, no territory, and no money—just a penniless wanderer. Honestly, Chen Xi guessed that at this point, Liu Bei probably didn't even have the ambition to rule the world; after all, ambition grows with strength.

"You don't deserve the title of general, you don't, you don't." Liu Bei laughed awkwardly, but there was a clear hint of joy on his face.

"Xi has heard that Lord Mengde issued a proclamation, calling on all righteous men to join in the campaign against Dong Zhuo. I want to witness it. For me, traveling the world means I need to see the various figures of the land." Chen Xi smiled and said.

Liu Bei was somewhat confused by Chen Xi's words. He looked at his two brothers and the two thousand soldiers behind him, and thought that a scholar wouldn't cause much trouble. He nodded and said, "If that's the case, Zichuan can prepare your own provisions and follow behind me. I assure you that my men will not cause any disturbance to the people."

"Thank you, Lord Xuande." Chen Xi smiled and bowed, "I'll be right back." After saying this, Chen Xi bowed again and stepped away.

"Third Brother, don't make such a fuss over small matters in the future." After Chen Xi left, Liu Bei looked at Zhang Fei, who was still standing on the edge of the pit.

"Brother, why let that kid follow us? The army is on the move, and it would be better to drive him away. We're going to the alliance at Suanzao; even if he follows, he won't be able to enter. Why let him waste his time?" Zhang Fei rubbed the back of his head and said in a deep voice.

"Nonsense!" Liu Bei scolded, "There are few people in this world who can read and write. Why should we offend them over small matters?"

"I can read too..." Zhang Fei, after being scolded by Liu Bei,缩了缩脑袋小声嘟囔道，不过相对于他的大嗓门，小声的嘟囔，所有人也一字不落的听到了。

"唉，翼德，你要记住，我们现在是寄人篱下，伯圭兄虽因同窗之谊对我极好，但是我们没有必要为一些小事给他添麻烦，之前那个少年可是颍川陈家的士子，这可是天下有数的世家。" Liu Bei, seeing that only the guards who had fought with him against the Yellow Turbans were left, explained to Zhang Fei in a low voice.

"唉，大哥怀鸿鹄之志，却为小人所制。" Guan Yun Chang was somewhat disheartened. Over the past five or six years since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the three of them had been filled with patriotic fervor, but the Han Dynasty had doused their enthusiasm. Even the once headstrong Liu Bei had become more tactful, at least enough to refrain from beating the postmaster again.

"哎，不说了不说了，这天下总有能用上我们的时候，二弟，三弟不要灰心。" Liu Bei smiled bitterly, and then, as if he had thought of something, his determination returned.

On the other side, when Chen Xi returned, Chen Lan was already a bit worried. However, she was still startled when Chen Xi suddenly appeared beside her.

"Master is back." The steward, holding a whip, quickly hid his hand behind his back when he saw Chen Xi.

"There's no need to worry so much." Chen Xi smiled and said, "Alright, we've met a good person." He casually stuck a "good person" label on Liu Bei's back, "Just follow the troops in front; they are also heading to the alliance at Suanzao."

"Master, this isn't right." The steward, who had more experience, naturally understood the destructive power of armies in this era. "When the army passes, it's like a comb; when bandits pass, it's like a fine-toothed comb. In short, the troops of this era are slightly better than bandits..."

"It's not too bad, after all, the other side is a capable person. Let's go, don't worry. Just follow them. If we're lucky, we might get to see Dong Zhuo with the various armies. I want to see this brave warrior from Liangzhou; in his youth, he won many people over with his courage." Chen Xi said with a strange expression.

Speaking of which, whether it was the young Dong Zhuo, the young Yuan Shao who dared to challenge Dong Zhuo, or the middle-aged Cao Mengde who swept through Central China and defeated Yuan Shao, they all had the demeanor of great leaders. Unfortunately, the moment the threads of the world fell into their hands, they seemed to go mad and chose the worst paths.

If history could be chosen, Dong Zhuo could have used his youthful ambition and bravery. To be honest, defeating the eighteen warlords wouldn't have been too difficult. With Li Ru's ruthlessness, the might of the world's strongest warrior, the strength of the Liangzhou Iron Cavalry, and the elite Bingzhou Wolf Riders, the eighteen warlords, who were unprepared, would have been lucky to return alive.

Thinking of this, Chen Xi couldn't help but feel excited. The world's greatest warrior, Lu Bu, and the world's greatest horse, Red Hare, along with the previous encounter with Zhang Fei, made Chen Xi think that Lu Bu, as a human missile, would be no problem. The drama at Hulao Pass, a battle between superhumans, was something he definitely wanted to see.

Chen Xi followed Liu Bei's troops leisurely. Apart from the occasional neurotic Zhang Fei running over to ask a question, he had no chance to interact with either Liu Bei or Guan Er again.

With such a safe environment and such a leisurely time, Chen Xi felt he needed to think about his future. After all, this was a chaotic era. If he wasn't careful, he could be swept up and left with nothing. In this era, many people valued reputation, but history had taught Chen Xi that if he didn't want to end up like the great scholar Kong Rong, he should choose a good team. Reputation couldn't be eaten; only strength could.

He would just follow along. Chen Xi looked at the troops in front of him. Apart from the Cao, Sun, and Liu families, the others weren't worth considering. These three families had been tested over time, while the others were far inferior.

Just as Cao Cao had once said, Yuan Shu of Huainan was a dried-up bone in a grave; Yuan Shao of Ji Province was bold in appearance but timid at heart, good at planning but indecisive, and too cautious to achieve great things; Liu Biao of Jing Province was a fraud; Sun Ce relied on his father's name; and Liu Zhang, though of imperial lineage, was just a territorial dog. The rest were merely mediocre.

In one sentence, he belittled all the warlords. Later, when Sun Quan took power, Cao Cao's evaluation became, "If I had a son, I would want him to be like Sun Zhongmou." This statement had two meanings: sons should be like Sun Quan, and, more deeply, Sun Zhongmou was just a son-level figure, better than Yuan Shao's and Liu Biao's sons, but still far from Cao Cao's level.

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