Old Liu's deliberate actions did not leave any traces. He cared and protected her in every way. This had already put Zhiqing in a very passive position. To be honest, she had already begun to like Liu Bei. However, she knew that her identity did not allow her to do so. Moreover, Liu Bei was only twenty years old this year, five years younger than her. Therefore, she could only suppress her heartstrings that were tugged at by Old Liu and continue to ask him questions that she did not understand.
Seeing the situation when he was with Mrs. Wu, Old Liu knew that his plan had worked. Seeing that the east of the river was getting closer and closer, Old Liu knew that it was almost time to reveal the mystery.
At night, everyone arrived at Wenxi. The guide told Old Liu that if they walked straight ahead, they would reach Anyi, the administrative center of Hedong Prefecture. Go southwest, in front is Ji Pass, after crossing the Yellow River, Luoyang is not far away; Heading southeast was Xie County, which Old Liu had mentioned before. It wasn't far away, and they could reach it in less than half a day.
He rewarded the waiter with some money and asked him to go home for a few days. Of course, he couldn't let him take the horse away. Anyway, the reward money was enough to buy a few horses, so he could think of a way to go back by himself.
After dinner, Mrs. Wu went to Old Liu's room. Seeing that her eyes were a little red, Old Liu guessed that she was here to lay her cards on the table, so he decided to stay put and see what she had to say.
"Young Master Liu, we will be visiting my maiden home tomorrow. However, I have a presumptuous request that I would like to ask Young Master Liu for help.”
Old Liu thought to himself,'Her maiden family is in the east of the river? It's all nonsense. She probably can't continue acting. Let's see what she wants to do.'
"If Madam Wu has anything to say, feel free to say it. As long as I can help, I will die for it.”
Alright, Old Liu's words were touching enough.
"Then I'll thank Young Master Liu in advance. Although my maiden family is in the east of the river, I was divorced by my husband's family this time. After all, it's not good to say it out loud, and I won't have a good life in the future, so I hope Young Master can take me in. I also want to learn more from Young Master and find a job in Young Master's hospital in the future. I think my medical skills should be competent. I hope Young Master can agree.”
After saying that, he bowed deeply to Old Liu.
"Madam Wu, there's no need to be so polite. I'll just agree to such a small matter.”
"Thank you, Young Master Liu. I hope that Young Master will not call me Madam Wu in the future. My maiden name is Hua, and my name is Zhiqing. Young Master can just call me by my name.”
"That would be rude. How about this, Miss Zhiqing is older than me, so I'll call you Sister Qing.”"Alright, from now on, I will be Young Master's follower. If Young Master wants me to do anything, just say it.”
"Sister Qing, what are you saying? How can you be my follower? We're just traveling together.”
"No, I'm your follower. If you don't agree, I won't leave with you.”"Alright, Sister Qing is my attendant. I'll tell you if there's anything.”
After arranging all this, the two of them began to discuss academic issues again. It was not until late that Zhiqing went back to sleep. Since Zhiqing wasn't going to Hedong, he would go directly to Xie County. Old Liu was already a little impatient. After all, his second brother was the future Martial Saint, the revered Guan Di.
After a morning of rushing around, everyone arrived at noon…
Knowing the county, although they didn't know why Old Liu had to take a detour to Xie County, they knew that their lord must have his own reasons for doing things, so they didn't ask why.
Xie County was a small city. When they arrived in the city, Old Liu and the others found a hotel to have lunch. At the same time, they wanted to find out where Guan Yu's home, a village called Changpingli, was.
Seeing the attire of Old Liu and the others and the weapons in their hands, a brawny man sitting at the table beside them couldn't help but take a few more glances at them. He thought,'These people are obviously not ordinary people. How could they appear in such a small place? I've not heard that any official will come here recently.'
Seeing that someone was paying attention to them, Old Liu also sized up the burly man.
The burly man was tall and had a strong appearance. He was dressed like a bailiff in the government. There was a waist tag hanging on his waist and a waist knife.
Old Liu thought to himself that before he met Liu Bei, he had never heard of Guan Yu working in the government. Also, his second brother was a red-faced big man. Although the big man in front of him also had an imposing appearance, his face was no different from that of a normal person. It was impossible for him to be his second brother, Guan Yu.
The burly man saw that Old Liu seemed to be the leader of these people and was also sizing him up. He stood up and came to Old Liu's table. He cupped his fists and bowed."I'm Xu Huang, Xu Gongming, a minor official of Hedong County. I'm here for Xie County. May I know who this young master is and why he's here?”
Xu Huang, Xu Gongming? Oh right, it seemed that Xu Huang was always introduced as Hedong Xu Huang in the history books. How could he have forgotten? This was one of Cao Cao's five good generals. If he had met him today, he would have let Cao Aman down.
Old Liu quickly cupped his hands and returned the greeting." I am Liu Bei, Liu Xuande of Zhuo County. I am on my way to Luoyang to meet the emperor. I encountered bandits on the way, so I had to take a detour to Bingzhou. I didn't expect to meet Hero Xu here. These are my generals, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Lu Xiang. The others are my guards."”
"Young Master is Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, but is he the Liu Bei who used a hundred private soldiers to repel the 20,000 strong Wuhuan army?”
"Yes, it was me. That time, it was just a fluke. It was all thanks to the efforts of many brothers.”
Hearing that the person in front of him was Liu Bei, who had driven away the Wuhuan people, Xu Huang hurriedly knelt down and bowed respectfully. He said,"So young master is the great hero who fought against the Wuhuan. I'm sorry for my rudeness, please don't blame me.”
Old Liu quickly went forward to help Xu Huang up." Brother Gongming, please get up. As the saying goes, those who don't know can't be blamed. If Brother Gongming doesn't mind that we're all ordinary people, why don't you come over and have a drink with us?”
"Alright, Huang admires heroes the most in his life. It's my honor to be able to meet Young Master today. Waiter, quickly bring me a jar of the best Hebei Old White Gan. I want to toast Young Master Liu.”
He invited Xu Huang to sit at his table and introduced them to Xu Huang. When it was Zhiqing's turn, Old Liu couldn't say it clearly, so he could only say that he had invited a doctor to go to Luoyang with him. Everyone quickly greeted each other.
When Yan Liang and the others saw Xu Huang, they thought that their lord had come to Xie County. It turned out that he knew that Xu Huang was here. To be able to make their lord remember him, it seemed that this person's martial arts were not bad. They must find an opportunity to compete with him.
Everyone sat down. The waiter also brought the wine and poured it for everyone.
Old Liu raised his glass and said,"It's my honor to meet Gongming here today…"
Fortunately, Gongming is a hero among the people. Here's a toast to you."
After saying that, Old Liu raised the wine glass in his hand and downed it.
Seeing how forthright Old Liu was, Xu Huang did not dare to be negligent. He hurriedly said," Thank you, Young Master Liu." He also raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp.
Wen Chou was happy to see that there was another person who could drink. He thought that he had another drinking buddy this time, so he also toasted Xu Huang.
After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Old Liu asked Xu Huang,"Gongming is so skilled in martial arts. Why don't you join the army and serve the country? Wouldn't it be great?”
"I've always wanted to join the army, but there's no way to do so. I can only find a job in the government to support my family. If there's a chance in the future, I'll do as Young Master said and join the army to kill enemies and be loyal to the country.”
Yan Liang understood Old Liu's intentions and quickly said to Xu Huang,"Gongming, since you want to join the army, why don't you come to us? My lord is going to Luoyang to receive his reward. With your contributions and your status as a member of the Han clan, you can definitely be a prefect or even a provincial governor.”
Wen Chou quickly said," That's right, Gongming. This way, we can still drink together often. Let me tell you, the lord has a wine called Erguotou. According to my Mr. Tian Feng, it's the best wine. If you follow the lord, you'll definitely be able to drink it.”
The others followed suit." Gongming, if you want to join the army, come to our place. There's no better place than this."”
It seemed that Yan Liang did not mingle around with him for the past few months. He could quickly understand his meaning and speak in a set of words. He was definitely not the boorish man from before.
After hearing everyone's words and drinking a few bowls of Erguotou, Xu Huang felt that Liu Bei was not an ordinary person. He immediately stood up and knelt in front of Old Liu again."My lord, please accept Gongming. In the future, no matter if it's a knife or a sword, if Huang frowns, he won't be a man.”
"Gongming, there's no need to be so polite. Since you're willing to follow me, from now on, we're all brothers. For Gongming's participation, let's all drink this.”"Good!" Everyone agreed in unison and drank the wine in their glasses together.
It was really a buy one get one free. He came here to find Guan Yu, but he didn't expect that Guan Yu would accept a general whose martial arts skills were not inferior to Yan Liang before he could find him. Old Liu was happy and almost finished drinking. Old Liu told Xu Huang to return to the East River Administrative Office in Anyi and quit his job. After that, he settled down at home. He would be there tomorrow afternoon. At that time, he would just wait for them at the city gate. Then, he asked Yan Liang to give Xu Huang a few ingots of gold.
Seeing how well his lord treated him, Xu Huang was very touched. He quickly knelt on the ground and thanked Old Liu.
Old Liu said," Gongming, from now on, you will only perform the military salute in my army. You don't have to kneel all the time. When there's time, I'll get Yan Liang and the others to teach you."”
"Thank you, my lord. I'll go back first. I'll wait for you at the west gate of An Yi tomorrow afternoon.”
After bidding farewell to Old Liu and the others, Xu Huang left for An Yi. At this moment, Old Liu called the waiter over and asked,""Waiter, is there a Chang Ping Li in Xie County?”
"Yes, sir. It's less than five miles away from the north of the city. It's easy to find it. Just follow the official road…
We're here."
After thanking the waiter, Old Liu led everyone out of the north gate and headed straight for Changping Village, which was five miles away.
The village was not big. Old Liu dismounted and asked a few old people who were chatting at the village entrance about Guan Yu.
Seeing that they were dressed differently, the elders quickly told Old Liu that Guan Yu's house was in the middle of the village. However, Guan Yu was definitely not at home now. He was practicing martial arts in the grain-pounding field at the east end of the village.
Knowing that Guan Yu was still around, Old Liu felt reassured and led the group to the grain-pounding field in the east of the village.
Before they arrived, they heard cheers from afar. When they arrived, they saw that many children and young people from the village were watching the fun around the grain-pounding field.
The few of them got off their horses and walked to the side of the grain-beating field to look inside.
A red-faced young man was estimated to be around 20 years old. Although it was winter, he was actually bare-chested. He held a large saber in his hand and was practicing martial arts in the field. Every move and move showed his foundation. Especially Yan Liang, who was also wielding a large saber. Of course, he could tell that the young man's saber technique was not inferior to his.
Seeing his iconic red face and the few strands of beard on his chin, Old Liu felt relieved. It seemed that he had achieved his goal today.
After watching for a while, Yan Liang couldn't help but feel a little itchy. Just as he was about to raise his saber and go down the stage, he heard Wen Chou shout loudly and charge into the stage with his spear.
Guan Yu was in the middle of his training when he suddenly saw some outsiders. He couldn't help but be on guard. At this moment, he saw a burly man with a similar build as him carrying a long spear enter the arena. He hurriedly withdrew his saber and shouted,"Who are you? You actually dare to disturb my cultivation."
Old Liu wanted to step forward and explain, but before he could say anything, Wen Chou had already answered,"I am Zhen Ding, Wen Chou. Seeing that you are so happy, I want to compete with you. Do you dare to accept my challenge?”
Seeing Wen Chou's carefree appearance, Guan Yu was angry, so he replied,""Why not? Since you want to compete, then bring it on.”
Ever since Wen Chou had received Tong Yuan's guidance, his martial arts had improved by leaps and bounds. Now, no matter how hard Yan Liang worked, he could not defeat him. Today, he saw that Guan Yu's saber technique seemed to be even better than Yan Liang's. He was happy that he had finally found an opponent. When he heard that Guan Yu had agreed to compete with him, he held his spear with both hands, strode forward, and distracted himself to stab.
When Guan Yu saw Wen Chou's attack, he knew that he had met a strong opponent. He quickly put away his underestimation and raised his saber to meet him. The two of them exchanged blows.
In the past, when he read the Three Kingdoms, Old Liu had always been puzzled. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's martial arts books did not introduce it. It seemed that after forging a weapon, they would learn martial arts. After meeting Zhang Fei, he realized that he had always been learning martial arts from a master, but he had never met a master. Today, he saw Guan Yu practicing martial arts. He was definitely not self-taught. He must have received guidance from a master. It seemed that their martial arts had been practiced since they were young.
As for the two people in the arena, they were excited to fight. Wen Chou's strength was in Old Liu's army and was only below Old Liu's. However, he did not expect that the red-faced young man in front of him was actually stronger than him today. He was almost as strong as his lord. If he had not received Tong Yuan's guidance, he would have lost long ago. Now, Wen Chou had less offense and more defense. If they continued to fight, he would definitely lose.
Yan Liang was originally…
He wanted to replace Wen Chou, but he knew that he couldn't even defeat Wen Chou now. He was definitely not a match for the red-faced youth, so he turned his gaze to Old Liu.
Seeing Yan Liang looking at him, Old Liu naturally knew what he was thinking. It seemed that Guan Yu's martial arts were indeed above Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Only he could deal with him. This way, he could also kill his arrogance.
So, he took off his spear and strode into the arena. At this moment, the battle between the two had reached a critical moment. Guan Yu did not have much actual combat experience, but with Wen Chou's help, he had benefited a lot. His knife skills had improved rapidly. Now, the big knife in his hand was closing in on him step by step. Wen Chou was already sweating profusely and had no strength to fight back.
At this moment, Guan Yu's broadsword deflected Wen Chou's long spear. Following that, he used the Mountain Splitting Force. The broadsword went straight for Wen Chou's head. Wen Chou didn't have time to pull back his spear to parry. He could only close his eyes and wait for death.
"Yun Zhangdao, please spare me!"
Old Liu's words hit the nail on the head. He raised his lance with one hand and blocked the huge saber that was slashing down.
Actually, Guan Yu had already pulled back his strength. The broadsword definitely wouldn't hurt Wen Chou. However, at this moment, Old Liu's divine lance came over. Although Old Liu only stretched forward to block the broadsword and didn't use any force, Guan Yu felt as if his broadsword had hit a huge rock. It bounced back and stood high up.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wen Chou quickly retreated from the arena and sat on the ground, panting heavily. After all, their brotherhood was deep, so Yan Liang rushed over to take care of him.
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