Chapter Seventy-One: Coarse Tea and Plain Rice

  Zhao Yun was stunned. Liu Ze's face was filled with an inexplicable fervor, and he said: "That's right, it is below. But General, why do you ask this question?"

  Liu Ze couldn't contain the excitement in his heart, he had struck it rich! He had really stumbled upon a treasure trove in this broken-down little mountain village. Although historically, Zhao Yun was indeed a member of the Liu family group, that was 15 years later. Who would have thought that he could get close to this number one brave general of the Three Kingdoms so early on? Zhao Zilong had the bravery of a tiger, single-handedly saving his lord at Changban Slope, and entering and exiting Cao's camp seven times, almost as if he were a god.

  To know that he was a die-hard "Yun fan" when playing the Three Kingdoms game. Now, Liu Ze is once again sizing up Zhao Yun, who is wearing a simple and plain hunting outfit made of coarse cloth, but his proud demeanor cannot be hidden. His eyebrows are like cold swords, and his eyes are like bright stars. Liu Ze thinks that he himself doesn't look too bad, but at this moment, he can't help but want to find a crack in the ground to hide in, because compared to Zhao Yun, he looks really shabby. No wonder the "Yun fans" in the Three Kingdoms game far outnumber the "Cao fans" and "Zhou fans", this kind of handsome general would still have countless pursuers even if he were placed in modern times.

  However, Liu Ze was still puzzled. Judging by his age, Zhao Yun should be at least in his twenties, but now it's only the fifth year of Guanghe (182 AD). Historically, Zhao Yun made his debut during the Battle of Jieqiao between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, which means that was ten years later. That is to say, by then Zhao Yun had already passed the age of 30.

  The year of Zhao Yun's birth has been a mystery in history, and there have been debates about this for thousands of years. Some people say he was older than Liu Bei, while others claim that he was only 14 or 15 when he first came out. However, regardless of the truth, the image of the handsome young man with a white horse and silver spear remains unshakeable in people's minds. It can be said that people are intentionally downplaying Zhao Yun's age, but rather, everyone has a deep-seated desire for heroes to remain forever young. In fact, Zhao Yun is a legend, a myth, a dream that lives on in people's hearts.

  Now the real return to modern times to say that Zhang Fei's sworn brother Zhao Yun, who was once a brave and extraordinary warrior, is now an old man over fifty years old, and it is estimated that he will be drowned by "cloud fans" with saliva.

  Alas, this is the distance between reality and dreams. Fortunately, Zhao Yun is still handsome and extraordinary now, which makes himself feel a little more at ease. However, Zhao Yun's body seems to be not strong at all at this moment, and he looks a bit weak and thin, with a typical malnourished appearance. If you put this small frame on Changban Slope now, let alone seven times in and out, even three times in and out would make him exhausted.

  Logically speaking, a martial artist shouldn't be so weak. Even if they were really reduced to the point of having no rice to cook, with Zhao Yun's skills, it wouldn't be difficult to hunt some flying birds and wild beasts in these mountains.

  Liu Ze suppressed the excitement in his heart and said, "Brother Zi Long, I am not a court official, but just temporarily took over as the commander of the vanguard for the convenience of suppressing bandits. I am Liu Ze from Zhuo County. In Phoenix Mountain, I gathered some like-minded brothers who heard that the bandits on Sleeping Tiger Mountain were causing trouble and harming the people. So we launched a surprise attack on Sleeping Tiger Mountain, captured the bandit leader, and brought peace to the people. Luckily, Brother Zi Long lent a hand, which is why we were able to capture the bandit leader. Thank you for your help."

  Zhao Yun secretly admired him, saying: "The bandits on Sleeping Tiger Mountain have at least 3,000 to 4,000 people. General Liu was able to quell them in one move, which is a blessing for the people of Zhongshan. I thank the general on behalf of the people of Zhongshan."

  Liu Ze seized the opportunity to invite him, saying: "With Brother Zhao's skills, it is hard to find an opponent within the four seas. As this chaotic era approaches, why doesn't Brother Zhao come out of hiding and become a marquis or general, commanding with just a flick of his finger?"

  Zhao Yun shook his head and said, "I am just a humble commoner, and I am content with two meals a day. As for wealth and power, fame and fortune, they are nothing but fleeting clouds in my eyes."

  Liu Ze was stunned. By normal reasoning, Zhao Yun shouldn't be a hermit who had seen through the world and was disillusioned with life.

  At this time, Guan Yu brought Zhou Cang, who had already surrendered, before Liu Ze. Zhou Cang knelt down with a thud and said: "My lord is above, Zhou Cang is willing to obey the orders of my lord and General Guan from now on, and swear to serve to the death."

  Liu Ze was overjoyed, it seemed that Zhou Cang admired Guan Yu so much that he was willing to surrender. Pei Yuan Shao met the same end as in history, being beheaded by Zhao Yun, but Zhou Cang's surrender brought some comfort. He helped Zhou Cang up with both hands and said: "From now on, we are brothers of the same family, sharing life and death, and we will no longer use this kneeling ceremony."

  Zhou Cang's face changed, and he respectfully said: "Thank you, milord!"

  "Second brother, you and Zhou Cang take these surrendered soldiers back to Sleeping Tiger Mountain first. With Zhou Cang there, it will be easier to pacify the surrendered soldiers in the mountain stronghold." Liu Ze quickly arranged for Guan Yu to take Zhou Cang back to Sleeping Tiger Mountain.

  "Big brother——" Guan Yu didn't understand why Liu Ze stayed behind.

  "I still have some words to exchange with Brother Zhao, you all go back first." Joke! Ten Sleeping Tiger Mountains put together can't compare to Mount Changshan's Zhao Zilong. Before dealing with Zhao Yun, Liu Ze would rather die than leave Zhao Village.

  Guan Yu glanced at Zhao Yun, but didn't say a word. He just cupped his hands and turned to Liu Ze: "In that case, I'll take my leave first, brother. Take care." After finishing speaking, he led Zhou Cang and over ten surrendered soldiers on horseback away from the scene. Only four personal bodyguards were left beside Liu Ze.

  Liu Ze said to Zhao Yun: "The sky is already late, I don't know if Brother Zhao can let me borrow a night's stay?"

  Zhao Yun could not have anticipated that he would make such a request, after all Liu Ze's identity was noble and his own humble abode was unworthy of a distinguished guest. But by now the sun had set and outside Zhao Village lay only desolate mountains and wild ridges. Zhao Yun was merely slightly taken aback before saying: "If General Liu does not mind the humble state of my home, I would be more than happy."

  "I met Brother Zhao as if we had known each other for a long time, and I wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with him under the candlelight, how about it?"

  "Alright, General Liu, please!"

  The Zhao family village is not large, with only a few dozen households. The Zhao Yun's house is located in the east of the village, and it takes only a short ride on horseback to get there. Zhao Yun called it a humble abode, but it was truly not an understatement. The Zhao family had only four thatched cottages, which were extremely simple, but the yard was not small, surrounded by bamboo fences.

  Liu Ze dismounted and tied the Night Jade Lion to a stake, then took off his armor and placed it on the horse's back. Zhao Yun saw that the sweat-blood horse was majestic and powerful, and couldn't help but take a few more glances before saying, "General Liu, please enter."

  Liu Ze nodded, and Zhao Yun said: "Please come in, these four brothers."

  The four guards dismounted and said, "No need, we still have to set up a night watch."

  Liu Ze nodded at him, and the four guards bowed their hands and took orders, each standing in their own position.

  Zhoa Yun said nothing more, after all his own home was cramped and narrow, if so many people were to enter, there would hardly be room to turn around, he lifted the door curtain and invited Liu Ze to enter.

  A woman's voice came from inside: "Is Uncle back?"

  "It's me, sister-in-law." Zhao Yun replied.

  "Today, my husband came back late, so let's wait for him to come back and have dinner," the woman said, and at this time she saw Liu Ze who came in with Zhao Yun, slightly surprised, "Oh, this is..."

  Zhao Yun introduced, "Let me introduce you, this is my elder brother Zhao Feng, and this is my sister-in-law Wang - Elder Brother and Sister-in-law. And this is Liu Ze, General Liu who annihilated the Sleeping Tiger Mountain."

  Liu Ze looked around the room, the candlelight was dim, and the furnishings were extremely simple. On the bed inside the green mosquito net, a person was lying diagonally, with a yellow face and thin skin, suffering from illness. It was Zhao Yun's brother, Zhao Feng. He coughed twice and said: "It turns out that General Liu has arrived, I'm sorry for not welcoming you from afar. My body is plagued by disease, and I couldn't pay my respects in full. Please forgive me."

  Liu Ze took a closer look and determined that Zhao Feng's illness was clearly typical pulmonary tuberculosis, known as consumption in ancient times. With the medical conditions of the Han Dynasty, this disease was almost incurable. Not to mention that Zhao Yun's family was poor, even if they were wealthy, they would still be impoverished by the illness. It seems that Zhao Yun's reluctance to take action is related to his ailing brother, and it's also the reason why the Zhao family is now destitute. Apparently, in order to win over Zhao Yun, one must first save Zhao Feng.

  Dong said: "Brother Zhao, no need for excessive courtesy. Judging from your symptoms, it seems that you are suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis?"

  Zhao Yun was greatly surprised and exclaimed: "General Liu, isn't it unusual that you are also well-versed in medical knowledge?"

  "Although Liu Ze didn't study medicine, he still understood the symptoms of tuberculosis."

  Zhao Yun nodded heavily and said, "That's right. In the past few years, I have visited many famous doctors in Hebei Province, but to no avail. Every day, I can only drink some medicinal soup, which is better than nothing."

  At this time, Wang had already brought the dishes to the table and said: "Uncle has been busy for a day, I'm sure you're tired, let's just have some food and rest early, General Liu please take a seat too. The countryside is simple and crude, there's only some plain tea and rice, I'm afraid it won't suit the general's taste."

  Liu Ze took a look at the dishes on the table and couldn't help but be shocked. The so-called meal was just a bowl of wild vegetable porridge, with almost no rice, only a few grains. The so-called dish was just a plate of pickled roots and stems of some unknown mountain plant.

  In his previous life, Liu Ze's family was ordinary, but his wife's cooking skills were excellent, and even simple dishes could be made to taste like those in a starred restaurant. Even after being reborn into the Liu family, which was considered a relatively well-off household, he had never worried about food. In recent years, while traveling for business, he didn't lack money, and fine wine and delicacies were always a must. Looking at that blackish dish, his heart was filled with doubts - could this be eaten? However, in order to win over Zhao Yun's plan, no matter how unpalatable it was, he had to eat it.

  He smiled and said: "When I was young, my family was poor, and we often ate wild vegetables. Today, seeing this meal, I rather miss the old days."

  Zhoa Yun pulled out a package of herbs from his bosom and handed it to Wang, saying: "Today I only hunted a few mountain chickens and exchanged them for over ten cents. I could only buy these herbs. Tomorrow, I will get up early and the bandits on Sleeping Tiger Mountain will be eliminated. I can go hunting in the vicinity of Sleeping Tiger Mountain and must be able to hunt some tigers, leopards, and wolves, so I can exchange more money for my brother to buy medicine."

  Wang took over the herbs and said: "Uncle, you've worked hard." Then he went down to decoct the medicine.