Chapter 25: Zhang Tong San Cun Shuo Zi Long

  The next day, Li Zhe and his personal soldiers left Ancheng under the escort of Zhao Yun and Mi Zhu. Along with them were also more than a thousand soldiers under Zhao Yun's command. In Liu Bei's view, with over a thousand soldiers, Zhao Yun and Mi Zhu could easily take control of Li Zhe's military power.

  Little Li Zhe is just a humble commoner, not worth his attention.

  On the road, Li Zhe took advantage of a rest moment and found an excuse to get rid of Mi Zhu. He said to Zhao Yun:

  "Zilong, why did you have to go that far yesterday? Now Lord Xuande will surely harbor suspicions against you. You probably won't have a future under his command!"

  Zhao Yun's expression was gloomy. He naturally understood Li Zhe's meaning. Yesterday, in the grand hall under the watchful eyes of everyone, he couldn't help but save Li Zhe, which would certainly make Liu Bei wary. At this time, Liu Bei's foundation was still small and he was at a critical juncture where he needed to use people, so naturally he would heavily rely on Zhao Yun. However, as time went by, Zhao Yun's position in Liu Bei's heart would definitely decline. But Zhao Yun was magnanimous, even if that were the case, he didn't want to think about his own predicament and instead made excuses for Liu Bei.

  "Xian De, don't be too suspicious and resentful towards Xuande! Yesterday's events weren't Xuande plotting against your foundation. He was actually thinking of you! He didn't want you to be in harm's way, in a dangerous situation. I've followed him for many years, and I know that Xuande has always had the world at heart, prioritizing the bigger picture... sometimes he doesn't care about the means by which things are done... but..." Zhao Yun's voice trailed off slowly as he spoke.

  Li Zhe sneered.

  "Not too concerned about the means? Hmph! Don't try to deceive me, Zilong. This Xuande is a man who has always used great righteousness to deceive people! He often uses the Han dynasty's rivers and mountains as a banner to seize other people's foundations. Does he think I wouldn't know?"

  "What?!" Zhao Yun's eyes widened instantly, his heart shook violently, and he stared at Li Zhe intensely.

  "Liu Xuande was under the command of Gongsun Zan and Gongsun Yan when he daily interacted with Zhang Fei, treating each other as brothers, deeply affectionate and sincere. He often encouraged him to leave Gongsun and follow him south. But at that time, Gongsun was still his benefactor! A senior fellow apprentice who had saved his life with a debt of gratitude as vast as the sky and sea! Disregarding righteousness and loyalty, repaying kindness with enmity - is this the great righteousness held in Liu Xuande's heart?"

  Later, with flowery words and clever speech, he deceived Gong Sun and finally borrowed several thousand elite cavalry from Gong Sun Bo to rescue Kong Rong under the banner of relief. They marched south all the way to Qingzhou, claiming to help Tian Kai obtain Qingzhou for Gong Sun Bo. However, after rescuing Beihai, they betrayed their trust and abandoned their righteousness, making a feint at Xu Zhou.

  After forcing Cao Cao to retreat and rescuing Xu Zhou, Liu Bei considered himself the rightful lord due to Tao Qian's will. However, he did not expect to be rejected by the local aristocratic families of Xu Zhou and had to humbly reside in Xiaopei. At this time, Liu Bei disregarded his first wife at home and insisted on marrying Xu Xuan's sister, Xu Shu, a great plan to gain both wealth and power! It is unknown whether it was suggested by Jian Yong or Sun Qian.

  From then on, the wealth of the Mi Fang brothers was all owned by Liu Bei, and the foundation of the Mi family in Xuzhou was also used by Liu Bei. If it weren't for this, how could Liu Bei have performed the good show of "Three Refusals of Xuzhou" in Xuzhou?

  After Tao Qian's death, Liu Bei's wings were finally full, and he hastily occupied Xuzhou. However, he did not know that the two children of Tao Gongzu, Tao Ying and Tao Shang, were still alive.

  After that, Liu Bei and Lü Bu were also in a state of mutual deception. Several times, he wanted to seize the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry under Lü Bu's command. If it weren't for Cao Cao's large army pressing the border later, I'm afraid Lü Bu would have been completely swallowed up by Liu Bei!

  "Xuande, this man, has spent his whole life deceiving others with cunning and deceit. When has he ever had even half a bit of sincerity?! Zhilong, don't mention this person's so-called righteousness in front of me again! Such righteousness is more than I can bear!"

  Li Zhe's words ruthlessly tore off Liu Bei's hypocritical mask of righteousness, thoroughly exposing his duplicitous nature to Zhao Yun. Meanwhile, Zhao Yun had always been a fierce warrior on the battlefield, dedicating his life to serving his lord and bringing peace to the world; he couldn't discern the intricacies of these cunning schemes!

  What Li Zhe said, some of which Zhao Yun had experienced and some he hadn't, was nonetheless authentic and convincing. It was as if it were happening right before his eyes. Even if Zhao Yun had personally experienced these events, he only knew that Liu Bei had to make sacrifices for the greater good; how could he have understood the intrigue and hidden thoughts behind them as clearly as Li Zhe did?

  Everything Li Zhe said was like a thunderbolt on a clear day to Zhao Yun, suddenly smashing the image of his former lord in his heart into smithereens, never again to be as beautiful as it once was!

  What was originally just a minor flaw in the master's private virtue became a thick-skinned and ruthless heart in Li Zhe's words! Those acts of courtesy, humility, and willingness to help others were all filled with sinister cunning when spoken from Li Zhe's mouth!

  This kind of earth-shattering overthrow almost completely negated Zhao Yun's first half of his life, how could he bear it. For a moment, he stuttered and couldn't say another word, heartbroken to the point of death.

  But Zhao Yun is still Zhao Yun!

  It wasn't until after a long while that Zhao Yun spoke up again, his voice cold as he addressed Li Zhe:

  "What is your intention in telling me this? Are you trying to persuade some family to abandon Liu Xuande and follow you to conquer the world?"

  "Haha! Conquer the world? I've never said that before! In my opinion, wealth and power are external things, far less important than the lives of the people! I, Li Zhe, have always been a man of few words, judging everything by actions. Every day in Sanli Village, I work diligently to collect and store refugees, saving tens of thousands of them. Even if I established a guard team, it's not for personal gain or to conquer the world, but to protect the needs of the refugees."

  "Doesn't Zilong still remember, in my Thirty Mile Inn, how the refugees lived? And in Liu Xuande's Ancheng, how did the refugees live? Isn't everything clear at a glance?"

  Zhoa Yun couldn't help but nod his head, his heart aching as if cut by a knife. The books he had read for many years, the great righteousness of the imperial court, and the importance of the overall situation had already occupied all his thinking ability. In his previous mind, there was only the idea of eliminating chaos, establishing the emperor's centralized power, and then there would be happiness and stability in the world. As for the sacrifices of innocent people in this process, they could only be ignored.

  But only those who have come from the grassroots, personally witnessed this chaotic world, know how tragic the refugees in this chaotic world are. They cannot even cover their bodies with clothes, nor can they fill their stomachs with food. They exchange children for food, and rebel against the government. Everything is just a desperate struggle to survive, wave after wave, year after year. For decades, those poor people who rose up in rebellion, did they ever have any room for choice?

  Is it true that resorting to violence is the only way to solve problems? Zhao Yun had always been skeptical in his heart.

  But there is no answer.

  Killing to stop killing, destroying to counter destruction. Zhao Yun's first half of life seemed to be trapped in this cycle of slaughter. From Huangfu Song, Zhu Huan, Lu Zhi, to later Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Gongsun Zan, none of them were able to break free from this ever-expanding game of killing, leaving no land unsoiled under the sky.

  Peace under heaven and happiness among the people! Where are these beautiful luxuries after all? Zhao Yun has been searching for them.

  But there is no answer.

  Only in Li Zhe's place did Zhao Yu truly see a different pattern, one that replaced destruction with construction, and disorder with order. Although it was still small, it was full of vitality, and all the refugees were working hard for their own future, filled with hope and warmth. Zhao Yun was moved by this. This was also the life he had been yearning for day and night!

  This is the infectious power of reality, an iron-clad example! The happy smiles of the refugees, the joyful play of the children, everything was like honey to Zhao Yun, full of deadly temptation.

  Zhao Zilong, the unmatched in loyalty, was loyal not to any particular lord, but to his own heart's sincerity!

  ……

  "Help me for the sake of the common people?"

  Zhao Yun nodded with difficulty.

  Li Zhe smiled!

  ;