Chapter 5 of Volume 1: Xuande Pats the Horse

  The man standing in front of me is Liu Bei, the former master of Shu Han in history.

  "Liu Shizhun." Yan Liang cupped his hands in greeting, looking at Liu Bei with a very complicated mood.

  To be honest, Yan Liang did have some admiration for Liu Bei.

  This man rose from humble beginnings as a mat weaver and shoe seller, struggling and drifting for half his life, repeatedly defeated but repeatedly fighting back, ultimately achieving great success in this era of powerful families, dividing the world into three parts with one part belonging to him.

  To say nothing of other things, just this unyielding and flexible spirit is enough to make people admire.

  It was just his last words before leaving that nearly got himself killed by Guan Yu's sword, Yan Liang naturally had a deep aversion to this crow's mouth.

  However, Yan Liang also knew that he couldn't blame Liu Bei entirely; he was just being kind-hearted.

  Liu Bei probably didn't expect that his sworn brother, in order to fulfill the promise made with Cao Cao, would desperately try to make achievements and kill without distinction.

  Yan Liang was somewhat tired and didn't want to waste words with Liu Bei either, so he asked: "Liu Shuaijun has come to find me, what is the purpose?"

  "It's like that." Liu Bei coughed a few times, his smile becoming even more harmonious and gentle. "Before the general set out on this campaign, I had entrusted you to ask about my second brother Guan Yu. On your white horse journey this time, do you have any news of him?"

  Yan Liang knew he was there to pry into the matter and thought to himself, "How could I not? I almost became a ghost under your good brother's knife."

  Yan Liang smiled slightly, "Commander Liu didn't come to ask me, I almost forgot. Yesterday outside Baima City, a red-faced enemy general with a green hat on his head suddenly charged into the battlefield alone, without saying a word, and swung his sword at me. I don't know if this person is Commander Liu's sworn brother."

  "How can this be?" Liu Bei looked very surprised, "From your description, this person must be Yunchang without a doubt. But Yunchang should know that I am in the Hebei army, why would he still want to be an enemy of yours?"

  Liu Bei said this as if he were asking Yan Liang, and also as if he were talking to himself.

  Yan Liang's sharp eyes were always observing Liu Bei, and the momentary flicker in his eyes could not escape Yan Liang's notice.

  Yan Liang felt that at this moment, Liu Bei seemed to have doubts about Guan Yu's loyalty.

  He knew that Guan Yu was loyal to Liu Bei and only fought against the Hebei army in order to gain merit to repay Cao Cao's kindness, so he could return to Liu Bei with a clear conscience.

  Liu Bei initially left his family in the care of Guan Yu and escaped to Hebei alone, naturally unaware of the difficulties Guan Yu was facing, which may have led him to doubt Guan Yu's loyalty.

  "I don't know why Yun Chang is like this, I only know that if I hadn't reacted in time yesterday, Liu Shizhong would probably be seeing my corpse today."

  There was a hint of cold ridicule and satire in Yan Liang's tone.

  Liu Bei's eyes flashed with suspicion, and he immediately spoke in a serious tone: "Yunchang is loyal to me, if he hears that I am under Yuan Gong's command, he will not dare to oppose General. I think it must be Cao Cao who is afraid of me, hearing that I am at Yuan Gong's place, fearing that I will assist Yuan Gong, so he specially sent Yunchang to fight against General, in order to borrow Yuan Gong's hand to kill Liu Bei. I hope General will understand clearly."

  Liu Bei's speech was always filled with a unique charm.

  Especially his eyes, always revealing sincerity and enthusiasm, no matter what he says, will make others feel that he is thinking for you, not deceiving or pretending, as if born with a commanding power.

  Yan Liang finally managed to extricate himself from the persuasion of these words, thinking that Liu Bei's three-inch tongue was indeed effective.

  Such a person, what a calamity!

  Looking at this generation of heroes in front of him, Yan Liang suddenly moved a few points of murderous intent.

  This man is not ordinary. Since he already knew his strength, why not take the opportunity to eliminate him and consider it as removing a very strong opponent for himself.

  This thought had just occurred to Yan Liang when he decided to reveal the matter of Guan Yu to Yuan Shao, and use Yuan Shao's hand to get rid of Liu Bei.

  But this idea had just been born and was immediately denied by him on the spot.

  Historically, Yuan Shao, after Yan Liang and Wen Chou, his two favorite generals, were killed by Guan Yu, was still moved by Liu Bei's words and could not bear to kill him. Moreover, Yan Liang is still alive now, so it is even more impossible for Yuan Shao to kill Liu Bei because of Guan Yu's affair.

  Since we can't kill Liu Bei, why not just do a favor and make a temporary friend, it's better than making another formidable enemy.

  Yan Liang burst out laughing, "General Liu, you are right. I was also wondering why Yun Chang's actions were a bit strange. It turns out that we have all fallen into Cao Ze's trap. You know Cao Ze best, General Liu."

  Liu Bei secretly let out a breath of relief, his stern expression immediately turned gentle again.

  "I was once under the command of Cao Cao, and my goal was to figure out his true strength. To be frank, there is no one in this world who understands this villain better than I do." Liu Bei's tone was quite arrogant, with a hint of pride.

  But that pride was short-lived.

  He stepped closer to Yan Liang and said cautiously: "General Yan can see through Cao's treacherous plan, Liu Bei admires him from the bottom of his heart. Only about Zhongda's matter, General Yan, in front of Yuan Gong, I don't know if you will..."

  Liu Bei didn't finish what he was saying, but instead slightly raised his eyebrows and made a hint.

  "Liu Shizhong, don't worry, I won't mention this trivial matter to Yuan Gong." Yan Liang naturally understood the implication of his words and took advantage of the situation to curry favor with Liu Bei.

  Liu Bei's eyes flashed with a hint of joy, and he hastily bowed: "General Yan is deeply wise, I thank you here."

  Liu Bei's expression showed that his gratitude was genuine this time.

  It's no wonder that after Liu Bei defected to Yuan Shao, the northern scholars who were guarded by Xun Yu and Feng Xi continually excluded him, and these people also gained Yuan Shao's trust.

  For example, Xun You was ordered to assist his son Yuan Shang in defending Ye City when Yuan Shao went on a southern campaign. This shows how much importance Yuan Shao attached to these people.

  Now if an excuse is given to people like Yuan Shao, they will not be able to avoid taking the opportunity to attack Liu Bei. And Yuan Shao is a suspicious person, so even if he won't do anything to Liu Bei in the end, it's inevitable that he will give Liu Bei a hard time.

  Yan Liang's smooth handling of human relationships saved Liu Bei from a difficult situation, and he was naturally deeply grateful to Yan Liang.

  After sending Liu Bei away, Yan Liang can finally have a good sleep.

  Yesterday's battle with Guan Yu was a shocking and thrilling one, consuming a great deal of physical strength. Until now, he has not closed his eyes for a whole day and night, and his spirit and physical strength are equally exhausted.

  Yan Liang urgently needed a rest, for he still had to nurse his strength and prepare to deal with another character.

  That person is Yuan Shao.

  In the late afternoon, Yuan Shao, who had been lured to Yangping by Xun Yu's plan, finally led the main force of the Yuan army back in a hurry.

  After eating and drinking his fill and recovering his spirits, Yan Liang went to see Yuan Shao in the central army tent.

  In the spacious military tent, eight large torches were lit on both sides, making the inside warm and bright.

  In the center of the large tent, on a huge case table, two thick candles as thick as a child's arm were lit on both sides. Under the flickering red light, the man wearing golden armor with half white hair and beard was concentrating on staring at the giant map spread out on the table.

  That was a dignified face, the vicissitudes of time left behind, unable to conceal that one share of faintly discernible handsomeness, those deep eyes, flowing with an extraordinary luster.

  It was a kind of pride that seemed to be born with him, as if he had been superior since birth.

  The extraordinary figure before us is none other than Yuan Shao, the first great nobleman under heaven, born of a family that has produced four generations of three dukes and possessing the lands of four states.

  Originally, Yan Liang was influenced by "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and had an impression that Yuan Shao was a dandy young master with a embroidered pillowcase image. However, after crossing over, Yan Liang gradually came to realize that although Yuan Shao wasn't as formidable as Cao Cao, he was also a heroic figure with extraordinary charm.

  In terms of family background, Yuan Shu, who was born to the main wife, should be stronger than Yuan Shao. In terms of military talent, when Gongsun Zan defeated the Huns and made them tremble with fear, Yuan Shao was still in Luoyang as one of his four minor officials.

  But as a result, Gong Sun Zan was defeated, Yuan Shu died of anxiety and anger, and Yuan Shao became the number one warlord in the world.

  Putting aside the concept of a victorious king and a defeated villain, looking at Yuan Shao objectively, Yan Liang deeply felt that this Yuan Benchu was absolutely a formidable figure.

  Unfortunately, his opponent was Cao Cao, an even more formidable hero.

  "The end will meet with the master." Yan Liang was cautious in his heart and bowed forward.

  Yuan Shao raised his head, and in his sharp eyes, which were as keen as a hawk's, there seemed to be some hidden gloom.

  "I ordered you to attack Baima, but you retreated back to Linyang without my permission. Why did you do that?" Yuan Shao asked coldly, his words laced with anger.

  Yan Liang's eyebrows furrowed slightly.