Chapter 42: Hidden Dragon of the Han Chamber

  Thank you to book friend bluemin for the reward, it seems that the book's performance is not very good, possibly due to my poor writing skills, but I will definitely work hard to improve. If everyone thinks this book is still passable and worth reading, please give some recommendations and collections. For a newcomer like me, every little bit of data is a driving force for writing, it really matters, thank you all!

  Yu Province was in the middle of the Thirteen Provinces of Eastern Han Dynasty, and Runan County was also located in the middle of Yu Province, so it had the reputation of "the center of heaven".

  Ru Nan has had a built-up system since the beginning of the Spring and Autumn period, and by the Eastern Han Dynasty, it has been developed for more than 900 years. The county governs thirty-seven counties, and its government is located in Pingyu.

  As the central hub of the world, Ru'nan County naturally took on the important responsibility of gathering merchants from all over the country to sell and transport goods, as well as being a key transportation hub for waterways. Moreover, Ru'nan has the strategic location of "backing onto mountains and facing the Huai River, controlling the throat of Ying and Cai", making it a place that military strategists have always fought over throughout history.

  Now this important county, where merchants and travelers come and go, with a busy traffic of carts and horses, is under the administration of Liu Bei, also known as Liu Xuande.

  Yu Nan Ping Yu Tai Shou Fu.

  The Taishou's residence didn't occupy a large area of land. Apart from the main hall in the center, there were only eleven side rooms on either side, which weren't particularly luxurious but also didn't lack grandeur. The houses and halls within were clean and tidy, arranged in a neat grid pattern, not much different from those of ordinary official residences. There was nothing special about them. If one had to say what made this place stand out, it would be the small creek that flowed from south to north through the garden on the west side, crossing the entire courtyard. A beautifully crafted wooden bridge with intricate carvings spanned the creek, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere.

  In the entire Taishou Fu, Liu Bei probably liked this place the most.

  Standing on the small wooden bridge, looking at the happy water flow, listening to the distant sound of horseshoes and bugles from outside the city, where the soldiers who had not yet returned to their camp were still lingering. This was something Liu Bei did every day since he arrived in Runan City.

  Liu Bei's appearance was quite different from others, compared to Yuan Shao's heroic bearing and Cao Cao's ordinariness, Liu Bei seemed to have a few more unusual qualities.

  A head of scattered, jet-black hair, with a somewhat uncommon texture, shining brightly in the sunlight, as if it were not hair but a roll of silk embroidered with gold edges. A very broad forehead, wide open and yet somehow restrained, his skin tone is yellow with a hint of red, red with a touch of white, and white with a subtle luster, looking very young, better preserved than Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's. A pair of eyes that shine with an extraordinary divine light, and a pair of thick, long ears, which although different from ordinary people, do not lack a handsome charm.

  Broad shoulders and thick legs, slender waist and long arms, with a natural air of momentum in every move, yet with an air of ease and comfort, giving people a sense of being both far away and yet clearly close at hand.

  From ancient times to the present, there have been many people in the world who are very unusual in appearance. People like Liu Bei, whose appearance is strange but strangely comfortable, are called "heavenly gifted".

  Not like some people, appearance is also very strange, but strangely makes people feel sick, such a person, people call "born ugly".

  "My lord, Zou and Gong Jiang have come to request an audience!" A guard came forward to report.

  Liu Bei shifted his gaze from the small bridge and flowing water, and smiled calmly: "Let them come over."

  Soon, Zuo Ci and Gong Du came to the creek with a listless expression, looked at Liu Bei, and said in unison: "See the lord."

  Liu Bei smiled and nodded: "Zi Zhong, today buying a horse was another hard journey, tired... Gong Dou, how did your right hand get injured?"

  Gong You's face turned red upon hearing this, never having thought that Liu Bei was so meticulous, and with one glance he had seen the injury to his right hand inflicted by Zhang Jue. He felt a mix of emotions - moved yet also somewhat ashamed, hanging his head in silence, unsure how to respond.

  Mi Zhu still knew the general situation and hastily paid his respects to Liu Bei, saying: "My lord, Mi Zhu is guilty, I hope my lord will punish me!"

  Liu Bei's expression didn't change, and he said strangely: "Oh? Didn't something unexpected happen on the way to buy horses?"

  Mi Zong and Gong heard this, their faces suddenly turned red, after a long while, Mi Zong opened his mouth with shame.

  "Our lord is wise, but we were incompetent and bought over 300 fine horses. On the way back to the army, they were robbed by bandits... I feel deeply ashamed."

  Gong Dou's facial muscles also stiffened, and with a "pa" sound, he knelt down on one knee: "Master! I...I am guilty!"

  Liu Bei's mouth slightly curved upwards, and he smiled faintly, saying in a gentle voice: "It's just horses, not a city, forget it."

  In this chaotic Eastern Han dynasty, war horses were scarce and tense for all parties. Three hundred fine horses were of great importance and value. Gong Du and others lost their horses due to dereliction of duty, they had already made up their minds to be severely punished, but unexpectedly Liu Bei just glossed over it, without even a hint of anger on his face.

  Broad-minded and kind-hearted, cautious in thought, every move seems to have a power that fascinates people's hearts, this is the hidden dragon of the Han dynasty, Liu Bei!

  This is what a wise ruler should have in terms of demeanor and the way to rule his subjects!

  "Master... I... I..." Gong was such a robust and healthy man, but at this moment, his eyes were brimming with hot tears, and he didn't know what to say.

  Liu Bei felt strange, usually brave and bloodthirsty, with grand words and actions, but today he was twisting and turning like a little woman, as if he had suffered some great injustice, making him vulnerable to bullying.

  "Zi Zhong, General Gong, how did you become like this today? Is there something bothering you?" Liu Bei looked up curiously at Mi Zhu.

  With a heavy heart, he immediately chose the key points and briefly told Liu Bei about the loss of horses today.

  After hearing Zuo Ci's words, Liu Bei was shocked and said: "The world is so big, yet there are such strange things? It's really strange... Ah, Zi Zhong just mentioned that the enemy's army is strong and their combat power is not weak. Can you tell which troops they are?"

  Zou Yun sighed and shook his head, "Your Excellency please forgive me, but after careful observation, I couldn't recognize them. At first, I suspected they were Cao Ren's troops, but what's strange is that Cao Ren is the best general of the Cao family, yet he uses such a clumsy method to damage our army's reputation. I really can't figure out his intentions."

  Liu Bei heard this and fell into deep thought for a moment. He shook his head and said, "If I can't think it through, then let's not think about it for now. This matter can be discussed slowly another day."

  Liu Bei glanced at Guan Yu and said, "General Gong, your right hand is injured, you should go back and rest first. Zi Zhong, come with me, I have something to discuss with you."

  Liu Bei was so solemn that Zuo Ci understood in his heart, knowing that the matter Liu Bei wanted to discuss with him must be extraordinary, and he followed immediately.

  Arriving at the front hall of the Taishou's mansion, he found that there were already several people waiting inside. They were all trusted followers of Liu Bei, including Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Sun Qian and Jian Yong, all four of whom were present.

  Mi Zhu and the others paid their respects, then immediately knelt down beside him. Liu Bei sat in the main seat, looking around at everyone, and slowly pulled out a simple bamboo scroll from his sleeve pocket, lightly placing it on the table, saying: "This was sent to Xunyang County by a lone scout riding a swift horse early this morning. Gentlemen, take a look at its contents."

  Everyone was curious in their hearts. First, Jian Yun stood up and took over the book, slowly unfolding it and carefully examining its contents.

  After a while, Jian Yong's face suddenly changed, and he hastily handed it over to Guan Yu on the side.

  Guan Yu wore a green robe, stroking his long beard under the chin, narrowing his phoenix eyes to observe carefully for a moment, and then handed the letter to Zhang Fei beside him.

  After passing from hand to hand, everyone looked at it one by one and then hung their heads in thought.

  "What do you think?" Liu Bei stroked his chin whiskers and asked the crowd with a smile: "Yuan Shao's son Yuan Shang led troops to secretly enter Yuzhou, wrote a letter wanting to meet with us. What do you gentlemen think about this letter?"

  Among all, Guan Yu had the most say, so Liu Bei asked him to speak first.

  "Yuan's army actually appeared in Runan, and it was led by Yuan Shao's son... This matter is quite strange. Big brother, you need to know that during the Xu state war, we invited Yuan Shao as an allied army, taking advantage of Cao Cao's deployment, crossing the Yellow River to attack Yan state. Unexpectedly, Yuan Shao did not respond due to his beloved son's illness. That beloved son was precisely this Yuan Chang. Given Yuan Shao's temperament, how could he send his son to take great risks and sneak into the enemy's rear alone?"

  Liu Bei nodded upon hearing this and said: "According to the Second Brother's intention, isn't it that..."

  Guan Yu thought for a moment and said: "Big brother, I think there must be some trickery in this. Could it be Cao Cao's cunning plan?"

  Sun Qian said, "Although General Guan's words make sense, how can Cao Cao and his advisors be so foolish? Moreover, if the Cao army is disguising themselves, why would they disguise themselves as Yuan Shao's beloved son instead of someone else? This plan is clumsy and doesn't add up!"

  Liu Bei nodded and said, "Gong Yu's words are in line with my thoughts. When this letter was delivered by someone claiming to be a scout of the Yuan army, I also suspected its authenticity. However, after careful consideration, I felt that if it were a forgery by Cao's army, there would be too many suspicious points that do not conform to Cao Cao's usual tactics."

  Suddenly, a loud and powerful voice came: "Big brother, in your opinion, how should we deal with the Yuan army who came to pay their respects? Should we keep them or drive them away?"

  The speaker was tall and strong, with tiger-like eyes and curly whiskers. At a glance, he didn't seem like an easy-going person. He was indeed Zhang Fei, Liu Bei's sworn brother.

  Liu Bei gently tapped his left hand on the table and furrowed his brow in deep thought.

  After a while, he saw him slightly open his eyes and reveal a kind smile, saying: "No matter whether the visitor is true or false, we should all treat each other with courtesy. If it's fake, we can also see through the flaws from the side and find out the truth. If it's true, Yuan Benchu is now an ally of our army, supporting the Han dynasty, and his son comes to replace his father, which requires even more thoughtful hospitality, and we must not lose courtesy."

  As he spoke, Liu Bei slowly stood up and smiled: "When I was defeated by Cao Cao and my city was broken, I went north to seek refuge with Yuan Shu. He treated me with courtesy and regarded me as an honored guest. This kindness I have never dared to forget. Now that my nephew has come, I must personally go out of the city to welcome him, in order to show respect."

  Liu Bei immediately began to assign tasks at this point.

  "Zi Zhong, you prepare immediately, send someone to clean up the Runan Inn, and get water and wine ready, so that Young Master Yuan can rest for a while."

  Mo Zhi got up: "En."

  Yide, in Runan County east, drew out a campsite, prepared plenty of grain and fodder tents, for use by the Yuan army to garrison.

  "Brother, don't worry!" Zhang Fei said with a bright smile.

  "Gong Yu, send someone to prepare the ceremonial equipment, sweep the city gate, and wait for news at any moment, preparing to go out and welcome."

  "Agreed."

  "Xian He, inform all officials of Yu Nan, big and small, that tomorrow we will gather together at the city gate to welcome our honored guest."

  "My lord can rest assured, I will certainly take good care of it."

  After giving a big circle of instructions, Liu Bei finally finished assigning the tasks and felt that there was no longer anything missing. He stroked his neat beard, looked up at the top of the hall, and sighed to himself: "In the past when I was in Hebei, Yuan Benchu had a dignified demeanor, was courteous to others, and had an elegant appearance, which did not disappoint the reputation of being from a family of high-ranking officials for four generations. Now his son is another story altogether, haha, it's really something to look forward to."