Chapter 9: The Local Tyrant Zhang Fei

  Guan Yu and his party, due to their large numbers, no longer encountered any robbers on the way. Guan Yu had originally planned to buy horses for the three of them, but unfortunately, there were no good horses for sale, so they could only walk all the way to Zhuo County City.

  Guan Chen only then realized that the city of Zhuo was located on the border of Youzhou, near the location of Jizhou. Guan Chen did not hide Dahei, Ahuang and Xiaohua this time, but instead brought them directly to the city of Zhuo, where they were blocked by the gate guards.

  "Halt! Who are you?" the gate captain shouted loudly.

  Guan Chen smiled and looked at Diao Chan, who nodded. After being helped down from the deer by the soldiers, she came to the city gate and said politely: "This lord, we are a troupe of acrobats, coming to Zhuo County to perform and earn some small change. We hope you will allow us to enter the city, and we promise that after entering the city, we will not cause any trouble or let the animals harm anyone."

  Diao Chan finished speaking and handed a string of cash to the county lieutenant, saying: "These years have not been easy for anyone, so please use this small amount of money to treat yourself and your brothers to a drink."

  The city gate officer smiled and weighed the money, then said seriously: "Alright, after entering the city, you must take good care of your animals and not cause any trouble. Otherwise, I will definitely punish you severely!"

  "Of course, of course!" Diao Chan hastily replied. Then everyone slowly entered the city.

  After Guan Xing and his entourage entered the city, the school lieutenant watched Diao Chan walk out for a long time before withdrawing his gaze, muttering to himself: "The little girl is really too beautiful! Unfortunately, there are so many guards around her, can't make a move! What a pity! What a pity!"

  "Sir, if you really have your eyes on that little girl, we brothers can help you take her down when the opportunity arises." A follower beside the captain said in a low voice.

  "Take them down?" The deputy sneered, "Do you know who they are? They say they're a circus troupe, but have you ever seen a circus with only three performing animals?"

  He shook his head and walked away with a disinterested expression.

  After entering the city, looking at the still prosperous Zhuo County, he was puzzled: how to find Zhang Fei.

  "Black tiger! What a big black tiger! Little brother on the back of the black tiger, are you selling your black tiger? I'll definitely give you a good price, I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Just then, a loud shout suddenly rang out, startling Guan Dun who was deep in thought. Guan Dun looked up to see the speaker: wasn't it Zhang Fei? What a coincidence!

  "Shut up! Don't you think I know you have a loud mouth?"

  Zhang Fei was worried that he couldn't find an excuse to take action, and when he saw Guan Yu being rude, he immediately prepared to take action against Guan Yu, but was blocked by Dian Wei. Zhang Fei saw this man walk out of the team, and immediately scolded him without courtesy: "Get out of here!" Then he raised his hand and slammed it towards Dian Wei's head.

  At one time, Zhang Fei and Dian Wei fought together. Both of them thought they were unparalleled in the world, so they were both very arrogant. However, as they fought on, they became more and more frightened, and both began to be wary of each other. Guan Yu sat on his black tiger horse, laughing and watching, not worried at all that either side would get hurt.

  Guan Yu saw that Dian Wei couldn't take down Zhang Fei, so he stepped forward and pulled back the prepared-to-fight Dian Wei, saying: "Let me deal with this evil tyrant!"

  Zhang Fei saw another person coming, and was shocked: "Could you be even more formidable than him? This is impossible! What day is today? Gaotang has come with so many heroes, fine, I'll play along with you again, let's see your two moves."

  Zhang Fei finished speaking and directly pounced on Guan Yu, fortunately Guan Yu had been guarding against Zhang Fei and was not caught off guard. The two men clashed again for a hundred rounds.

  Chen stepped forward at this time and said: "Master, you retreat, let me come!"

  Zhang Fei saw another one coming up and angrily said: "I don't believe it!"

  Chen Dao was not originally Zhang Fei's match, but unfortunately, Zhang Fei had already fought 250 rounds, while Chen Dao was waiting for the right moment to strike. The outcome was predictable. After fighting 50 rounds with Chen Dao, Zhang Fei suddenly jumped back and said: "Stop stop stop! I admit defeat today! You're great, I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave first."

  Guan Yu saw this and laughed: "Zhang Fei, where are you going? We came all the way to visit you, if you leave, where can we find you?"

  Zhang Fei's temper flared, but he was a man of his word and loved to make friends with heroes from all over the world. At this time, when he heard Guan Yu's words, he burst out laughing and said: "You're here to find me? Why didn't you say so earlier? Come on, come on! Follow me to my estate and sit down."

  At this time Zhang Fei was leading the way ahead, Guan Yu and the others followed closely behind him, while the city defense troops and the crowd that had gathered around also dispersed.

  Guan Chen was shocked when he arrived at Zhang Fei's mansion. This Zhang Fei was not just a butcher! He was simply a local tyrant! There were thousands of servants on the estate, and the estate had hundreds of hectares of land. Just the guards alone numbered eight hundred. In this world, what else could you call him but a local tyrant?

  Zhang Fei settled everyone in the spacious western wing, treating Guan Yu and his company to fine wine and food. After they had eaten their fill, Zhang Fei turned to Guan Yu, Guan Suo, Dian Wei, and Chen Dao, who were seated at the same table, and asked with a bow: "Brothers, what brings you all to find me?"

  Chen Daowei heard this and clasped his fists in respect, saying: "Beneficial Virtue brothers, Yun Tian is our master, Yun Chang is the elder brother of our master, he is our grandmaster, you should ask him."

  "Milord!" Zhang Fei muttered to himself, then turned to Guan Yu and asked: "Yun Tian, so these few people are all under your command. What did you want me for?"

  "Of course I'm looking for you to join forces!" Guan Chen smiled and replied.

  Zhang Fei heard this and stared with wide eyes, then burst out laughing. Guan Yu waited for Zhang Fei to stop laughing before saying: "Yide, what's so funny? Just say whether you agree or not."

  Zhang Fei frowned and said: "Now is a peaceful and prosperous era, what can we do together? Become bandits?"

  Guan Chen nodded and said, "Everyone says that Yi De is rough and reckless, but I think Yi De's thoughts are actually very meticulous. Yi De, I'm telling you this: the chaotic era will arrive in less than three months, do you believe it?"

  Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I believe it! The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's affairs are unknown to the foolish court, but who else in the world doesn't know? What kind of church doctrine is this, who doesn't know what kind of medicine he's selling?! They claim to be saving the poor masses, but isn't it just his despicable desires at play?! It's really unbelievable that so many common people are being deceived by such simple logic!

  "In other places, I don't know, but in this small town of Zhuozhou alone, there are many believers! If something happens, it will be a pity for the innocent people all over the world! Everyone is just trying to make a living, and at that time, I'm afraid the dull-witted imperial court won't think so. In this way, the vicious cycle will continue, and the situation is unbearable to think about. The great Han people can't avoid going through a disaster!"

  Guān Chén heard this and said with joy: "I didn't expect Yì Dé to see through it so clearly! I wonder what Yì Dé plans to do?"

  Zhang Fei sighed and said, "Since our lord says that the chaotic world will arrive within three months, I should indeed make early preparations, sell my property, and follow our lord to achieve something great."

  Zhang Fei finished speaking and immediately knelt down to Guan Yu, who hastily helped Zhang Fei up, saying: "Yide, my brother, in the future we must: first, not oppress the common people; second, provide a place for all living things to live and work in peace; third, expand our territory and defend against foreign invasions; finally, I want to lead you all towards an even brighter future."

  Zhang Fei, Dian Wei and Chen Dao heard this and each bowed their heads, clasped their fists and said: "We swear to die for our lord!"

  Guan Yu also nodded and said: "I often worry about when I can meet a wise lord, unexpectedly the wise lord has been by my side all along, and it's even my own younger brother! This is indeed the unpredictability of life! From now on, if there are any orders, elder brother will definitely follow them with all his might. Paying respects to the lord!"