Chapter 25: The Movements of Liu Bei

Upon hearing Zhou Ruihai's offer, Zhang Bo tried his best to suppress the corner of his mouth, but he simply couldn't keep it from curling up.

One hundred yuan each!

Recently, in order to offload them as quickly as possible, Zhang Bo had dropped the price to eighty, yet few had shown any interest. Now, at one hundred each, was there even a need for hesitation?

"Director, how many would you like?"

"All of them."

Good heavens.

Although he had given a few to Liu Ju and sold a few online, Zhang Bo still had over forty in his possession. By that calculation, that was over four thousand yuan. This was the largest single sum he had earned since opening his farmhouse restaurant.

Without hesitation, Zhang Bo promptly completed the transaction with Zhou Ruihai.

"Ding! WeChat payment of 4,500 yuan received."

Looking at the extra string of digits in his phone balance, Zhang Bo’s grin was practically reaching his ears. Not bad, not bad at all; life was looking up.

Zhou Ruihai rose from the stone stool where he had been sitting to bid Zhang Bo farewell. "Alright, Boss, I won't take up any more of your time. I’ll be off now."

"Right, Director Zhou, come back and visit whenever you have the time."

Zhang Bo waved happily at Zhou Ruihai. Even now, his mind was replaying the appraisal results the director of the Lintai City Museum had given for the jade disc. Fake? Fake was good. If it were fake, no one would target him for it. As for where the jade disc and the Wuzhu coins actually came from, he knew better than anyone.

...

In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, at Xinye.

Liu Che gazed at the somewhat low-walled city of Xinye before him, then looked toward Liu Bei at his side. This descendant of his had fallen on such hard times that he was reduced to guarding nothing more than this tiny town. To think he could restore the Han Dynasty relying on this—it would be difficult.

Of course, Liu Che already knew that Liu Bei would eventually achieve the feat of dividing the world into three, so his attitude toward Liu Bei had softened slightly.

The group walked slowly and soon arrived at Liu Bei’s residence in Xinye.

"Big Brother!" "Big Brother!"

Two men rushed out from inside the residence; they were Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Their eldest brother and their strategist had been gone for days without a word, which had worried them terribly. Losing the strategist was one thing, but if their eldest brother were lost, that would be a disaster.

However, upon seeing Liu Che walking ahead of their brother, their pace slowed.

"Your Majesty, these two are my sworn brothers: my second brother, Guan Yu, courtesy name Yunchang; and my third brother, Zhang Fei, courtesy name Yide."

Your Majesty?

Hearing their brother’s introduction, the two men looked toward Liu Che. With Liu Ju and Huo Qubing following behind this man, his identity was all but obvious.

"Second brother, third brother, why have you not yet paid your respects to His Majesty?"

The brothers immediately knelt on one knee. "Guan Yu and Zhang Fei pay our respects to the Emperor Wu."

Liu Bei nearly coughed up blood. "Emperor Wu" was a posthumous title; to call him that to his face was highly disrespectful. "Your Majesty, my second and third brothers are merely rough warriors, prone to clumsy speech. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness."

If Liu Che had been annoyed the first time someone called him "Emperor Wu," he was now completely indifferent. Let them call him Emperor Wu; at the very least, it was a fine posthumous title.

Liu Che’s gaze fell upon the two men kneeling before him, and he nodded in satisfaction. Although his descendant’s territory appeared small, he seemed to have many capable people around him. Setting aside Zhuge Liang, even these two, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, could be considered rare talents. It had to be said that the current Liu Bei possessed a bit of the same momentum that the founding Emperor Gaozu had when he rose against the Qin.

"Rise, both generals. Xuande, come with me; I have important matters to discuss with you."

From the way Guan Yu and Zhang Fei addressed him, Liu Che remembered one thing: he needed to verify the truth of what the shopkeeper had said.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn later, Liu Bei walked slowly out of the room. Just as he stepped out of the courtyard gate, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei surrounded him.

"Big Brother, is he truly the Emperor Xiaowu?" Zhang Fei asked, his face full of excitement.

Liu Bei glared at his third brother. What kind of talk was that?

"Third brother, if it were not the Emperor Xiaowu, why would the Marquis of Champion be at his side?"

"Hehe, Big Brother, I was just too excited. By the way, Big Brother, since you say the Emperor Xiaowu is here, can we not call upon hundreds of responses and confront Cao Cao head-on?"

Guan Yu nodded repeatedly from the side. In his view, once the Emperor Xiaowu arrived, the likes of Cao Cao and Sun Quan would all have to bow their heads in submission.

Seeing the two brothers harbor the same thoughts he had initially, Liu Bei shook his head helplessly. "Third brother, it is not that simple. This matter requires careful deliberation. Here is what we will do: I shall write two letters, and you will find someone to deliver one to Liu Biao in Jingzhou and the other to Liu Zhang in Yizhou, stating that there are urgent matters to discuss."

"Big Brother, you don't mean for them to send people here to discuss things, do you?"

Liu Bei nodded, not denying it. "Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Zhang of Yizhou are both kinsmen of the Han house. Since the Emperor Xiaowu is here, we must inform them so they can come and pay their respects."

"Understood, Big Brother." Zhang Fei did not hesitate and turned to find someone for the task.

"Second brother, take some men to the Deng family in Xinye and investigate whether there is a ten-year-old child living there with his mother, named Deng Fan."

Deng Fan? A ten-year-old child? Although Guan Yu had some questions, seeing his brother’s urgent demeanor, he nodded. "Understood, Big Brother."

Do the work first, ask questions later.

"Also, send someone to Qiao County in Pei Commandery to find Master Hua Tuo."

"Master Hua Tuo? Big Brother, are you ill?" A look of concern appeared on Guan Yu’s face.

"I am quite well. The shopkeeper at the eatery told me to find Hua Tuo, and according to him, Hua Tuo may one day become a military physician."

Hua Tuo to become a military physician? That would be wonderful. The two brothers had heard of Hua Tuo’s reputation. If he could truly become a famous military physician, there was no doubt that the morale of the troops would be greatly boosted.

A few days later, in Jingzhou.

A fast horse arrived at the residence of Liu Biao, the Governor of Jingzhou, at an incredible speed. The rider dismounted and hurried through the residence, clutching a clay-sealed bamboo slip.

"What is happening? Why are you in such a panic?" A man blocked the messenger. It was Cai Mao, the brother-in-law of Liu Biao.

"General, news from Xinye."

"Xinye? Liu Bei?" Cai Mao raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I am already aware of this. You may leave."

After saying this, Cai Mao snatched the clay-sealed bamboo slip from the messenger’s hand and turned to walk toward the inner rooms.

At this moment, Liu Biao, the Governor of Jingzhou, was lying on his bed, his face pale and racked with frequent coughing. Sitting beside him was his second wife, Lady Cai. The sound of Cai Mao entering startled her. She turned to see her brother walking quickly toward them, holding the clay-sealed bamboo slip.

"De Gui (Cai Mao’s courtesy name), what brings you here?"

"Sister, a secret letter has arrived from Liu Bei in Xinye."