First Episode: Acquiring Abnormal Abilities in Three Kingdoms Data...

  After Cun Xing and Qu Xing, Su and Zhang's data both exist in Nan Yan's mind. These two people, one literary and one martial, complement each other perfectly. Therefore, when Zhang Shiping goes to war against the Yellow Turbans, Nan Yan is not worried at all.

  The leader of the Yellow Turbans saw Zhang Shiping rush over on horseback with a single sword and was greatly shocked. He hastily dodged to the side of his horse's head while raising the long spear in his hand to thrust at Zhang Shiping.

  Zhang Shiping was not afraid at all, and with the help of his horse's strength, he used his single knife to deflect the spearhead of the Yellow Turban leader on the long gun handle, revealing an opening. At this time, people and horses were crossing each other, and if it were an ordinary general, they would definitely miss this opportunity. However, Zhang Shiping had developed excellent riding skills from years of horse trading, and he leaned back on his horse's back, taking advantage of the momentum to slash down with his knife, hitting the Yellow Turban leader's arm.

  This knife came out unexpectedly and was a masterstroke. Unfortunately, it didn't borrow strength from the horse and didn't cut to the vital parts, so the Yellow Turban leader wasn't seriously injured.

  The Yellow Turban leader didn't know whether his injury was serious or not, he only felt a gust of wind by his ear, followed by a sharp pain in his shoulder, and the blade of the big knife had already chopped down. This one strike really scared him so much that he shat and urinated at the same time, let out a loud "wa ya ya" cry, and sat down on the ground, throwing away the long spear in his hand.

  Most of the Yellow Turbans were poor peasants, and they could still manage to win some easy victories, but when it came to real fighting with swords and spears, they were no match. In terms of equipment, martial arts skills, and numbers, these Yellow Turbans were far inferior to Su and Zhang's merchant caravan. The only reason they dared to come out and rob was because of a bit of reckless courage. Now that their leader had been wounded by Zhang Shi Ping with one slash of his sword, even this little bit of courage was completely lost, and before the servants could even step forward to drive them away, they had already scattered in all directions. The Yellow Turban leader was left alone, sitting on the ground with a pale face, clutching at the wound on his shoulder.

  "Master, what shall we do with this thief?" Zhang Shipei returned on horseback with a pleased expression.

  Nan Yan was clear in his mind that most peasant uprisings throughout history were forced by desperation, but who would willingly rebel with their lives on the line? The Yellow Turbans were no exception; if it weren't for the miserable state of the people at the end of the Han dynasty, Zhang Jiao wouldn't have had the opportunity to rebel. Because of this, he didn't hold a grudge against the Yellow Turban army and didn't have the intention of killing enemies to achieve merit. He said to Zhang Shi Ping: "Let's spare those who should be spared, after all we haven't lost anything, let's give him a way out! As long as he knows his mistakes and can change, that's good enough."

  "Master is kind and compassionate, but has Master ever thought about what would happen if we fell into their hands?" Zhang Shipei hated bandits who robbed merchant caravans the most. If it were in normal times, he would have beheaded them with one knife.

  "Master! Master! Please spare my life! I'll change! I'll definitely change!" The Yellow Turban leader, who had heard the conversation between the two clearly, knelt down in front of Nan Yan's horse and kowtowed.

  "Pfft! Your master is indeed Zhang Jiao. Master Nan Yan would never take you as a disciple! This time, I'll spare your life for the sake of my master, but if you dare to do evil again, you will be beheaded without mercy!" Zhang Shipei said with a hint of disdain on his face.

  "Thank you, Master Nan Yan! Thank you, General, for sparing our lives!" The Yellow Turban leader was overjoyed, covering his shoulders and hastily turning around to run away, fearing that the two would change their minds.

  "Am I too soft-hearted?" Nan Yan muttered to himself, watching the retreating figure. Although he knew that modern society's moral standards did not apply in this chaotic world of three kingdoms, yet when he saw a big man with blood flowing from his shoulder kneeling down and begging for mercy, he still couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.

  "Master is not soft-hearted, but too kind! Doing good deeds is a good thing, but you also need to distinguish between good and evil. For those who are guilty of heinous crimes, they must be severely punished. Didn't Master also say that punishing evil is the same as promoting good?!" Su Shuang's level of persuasion was clearly better than Zhang Shipei's, it seems that his eloquence skill wasn't given in vain.

  "In the rain, deep in the mountains, smoke in the snow. It's easy to watch but hard to do!" Nan Yan shook his head. Although he understood that Su Shuang was right, he still couldn't bring himself to order someone killed. From this point of view, his personality might not be suitable for following Cao Cao, who would slaughter a city at the slightest provocation. Instead, Liu Bei, known for his benevolence and righteousness, seemed more to his taste. The problem was that Liu Bei had failed to complete the great task of unification! Whether he could live out his days in peace if he continued to follow him was still uncertain. Nan Yan fell into confusion once again, and the path ahead became obscure.

  The proclamation of Liu Yan, the governor of Youzhou, reached Zhuo County and brought out a hero from Zhuo County. He was not fond of reading; he had a gentle disposition, spoke little, and his emotions did not show on his face; he had great ambitions and liked to make friends with heroes from all over the world; he was seven feet five inches tall, with ears that reached his shoulders, hands that passed his knees, eyes that could see his own ears, a face like polished jade, and lips like painted vermilion. He was a descendant of Liu Sheng, the King of Zhongshan, and a great-grandson of Emperor Jing of Han, named Liu Bei, with the courtesy name Xuande.

  In the past, Liu Sheng's son Liu Zhen was enfeoffed as Marquis of Zhuolu during the Han Wu era. Later, due to the famous "Loss of Marquisate for Wine and Gold" incident in Western Han, he lost his title and left behind a branch of descendants in Zhuo County. Liu Bei's ancestor was Liu Xiong, and his father was Liu Hong. Hong had been appointed as a Filial and Incorrupt official and also served as an officer, but died early. Liu Bei was orphaned at a young age and was very filial to his mother; the family was poor, and he made a living by selling straw sandals and weaving mats. The family lived in Louzang Village, Zhuo County.

  To the southeast of his house, there was a large mulberry tree, over 15 meters high, which looked like an umbrella from afar. The fortune teller said: "This family will definitely produce a noble person." When Liu Bei was young, he played with the village children under the tree and said: "I will be the Son of Heaven and ride on this umbrella."

  His uncle Liu Yuanqi was surprised by his words and said, "This child is not an ordinary person!" Because he saw that the Liu family was poor, he often provided financial assistance. When Liu Bei was 15 years old, his mother let him go out to study and travel, and he became a disciple of Zheng Xuan and Lu Zhi, and friends with Gongsun Zan and others.

  Liu Bei was 23 years old when Liu Yan issued a notice to recruit soldiers. On that day, he saw the notice and let out a long sigh. Then someone shouted loudly: "A great man does not contribute to the country, why do you sigh?"

  Liu Bei looked back at the man, who was eight feet tall, with a leopard-shaped head and ringed eyes, a swallow's chin and tiger whiskers, his voice like thunder, and his presence like a galloping horse. Liu Bei saw that he had an extraordinary appearance, and asked him his name. The man said: "My surname is Zhang, my given name is Fei, and my style name is Yide. I am from Zhuo County, and have some property and land. I sell wine and butcher pigs, and specialize in befriending heroes from all over the world. Just now I saw you looking at the notice board and sighing, so I came to ask you."

  Liu Bei said: "I am a member of the imperial family, surnamed Liu, named Bei. Now I hear that the Yellow Turbans are rebelling, and I have the ambition to defeat the rebels and bring peace to the people, but unfortunately my power is not sufficient, so I sigh deeply."

  Zhang Fei said: "I have some wealth, I can recruit local braves and join you in a great undertaking, what do you think?"

  Liu Bei was overjoyed, and he went with Zhang Fei into the village tavern to drink wine. Just as they were drinking, they saw a big man pushing a cart, stopping in front of the tavern door, entering the tavern and sitting down, calling out to the waiter: "Quickly pour me some wine, I'm about to rush into the city to join the army."

  Liu Bei looked at him: he was nine feet tall, with a beard two feet long; his face was like a red date, his lips were like painted vermilion; his eyes were like phoenix eyes, his eyebrows were like sleeping silkworms, his appearance was majestic and dignified, his aura was powerful and awe-inspiring. Liu Bei then invited him to sit together and asked for his name.

  "My surname is Guan, my name is Yu, and my style name is Changsheng. Later, I changed it to Yunchang. I am from Xie Prefecture in Hedong. Because of the local tyrants bullying people with their power, I killed them and escaped to Jianghu for five or six years. Now, hearing that this place is recruiting soldiers to defeat the bandits, I came to join."

  Liu Bei then told him his intention, and Guan Yu was overjoyed. Together they went to Zhang Fei's village, where they discussed their plans. Zhang Fei said: "Behind my village there is a peach garden, the flowers are in full bloom; tomorrow we should offer sacrifices to heaven and earth in the garden, and the three of us will become sworn brothers, united in our efforts and with one heart, then we can achieve great things."

  Liu Bei and Guan Yu responded in unison: "This is very good."

  The next day, in the Peach Garden, they prepared a black ox and a white horse as sacrifices, and the three men burned incense again, bowed and swore an oath: "We, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, although we are of different surnames, have sworn to be brothers. We will unite our hearts and efforts, rescue each other in times of trouble, and support each other in times of danger. We will serve the country above and bring peace to the people below. We do not ask to be born on the same year, month, or day, but we wish to die on the same year, month, and day. May Heaven and Earth witness our hearts! If we betray our oath and forget our kindness, may Heaven and man punish us!"

  After the oath, they made Liu Bei their elder brother, Guan Yu next, and Zhang Fei their younger brother. After sacrificing to heaven and earth, they again slaughtered a cow and set up wine, gathering over three hundred brave warriors from the village, and got drunk in the Peach Garden. The next day, they cleaned up their military equipment, but regretted that there were no horses to ride. Just as they were thinking about this, someone reported that three guests had arrived, leading a group of followers, driving a herd of horses, and coming to the manor.

  Liu Bei said, "This is heaven's blessing for me!" The three of them went out of the village to welcome him. They saw that the person in front was very young, over seven feet five inches tall, with a face like jade and lips without a mustache, having an elegant demeanor unlike ordinary people. Behind this person were two others, both about seven feet tall, one fat and one thin, with the words "bright and clever" written on their faces.

  Liu Bei was observing Nan Yan, and Nan Yan was also observing Liu, Guan, and Zhang three brothers. These three young men were indeed as described in the book: one with a white face, one with a red face, and one with a black face. Among them, the red-faced Guan Yu was the tallest, about 2 meters; the black-faced Zhang Fei was second, also over 1.85 meters; the white-faced Liu Bei was the shortest, but still over 1.7 meters.

  At 1.7 meters tall, it may not be considered much in modern times, but in ancient times, it was absolutely considered a tall stature. The ancients said that the average height of men was around seven feet, which is about 1.6 meters. Liu Bei's height was absolutely considered tall, let alone Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Sun Quan's height of 1.75 meters was only slightly taller than Liu Bei's.