My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 200 Liu-Lu Contest
Guan Yu stroked his beard and squinted, saying in a deep voice, "I see that Lü Bu's eyes are shifty and his expression is shameless. He doesn't seem like a good person. Brother, you should be careful and wary of him."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei immediately felt that his second brother had spoken his mind, and he jumped up and shouted, "Me too!"

Liu Bei would not disobey his brother's words. He nodded and said, "I understand, brother. However, they are guests from afar. Since we have accepted them, we shouldn't be cold to them. Otherwise, wouldn't a good thing turn into a bad thing?"

"If we are united, we will come together; if we are not united, we will scatter."

Liu Bei made up his mind: "If they really are not on the same page, I will send them to Qingzhou and then let them go. I will have done my best."

Then, as if remembering something, Liu Bei turned to Zhang Fei and said, "Third brother, don't drink too much and cause a scene at the banquet later."

"Why did you suddenly bring up the topic of brothers, elder brother?"

Zhang Fei looked aggrieved, but under Liu Bei's piercing gaze, he could only say sullenly, "Brother, please don't worry, I, Old Zhang, will just drink and won't say a word."

"it is good."

Liu Bei took Zhang Fei's hand and said, "Third brother, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that you've made mistakes by drinking many times, so I have to be careful."

Zhang Fei blushed deeply at Liu Bei's words, nodding repeatedly and pleading, "Brother, my nephew is still here. Please give me some face. This time, I'll just drink and won't say a word."

Liu Bei and Guan Yu burst into laughter, and Liu Feng chuckled softly beside them.

My third uncle is actually a wise man who appears foolish. If he hadn't been so hot-tempered, his historical status would definitely have been much higher.

Once Liu Bei relaxed, he started chatting. Liu Feng recounted some stories about Lü Bu, which made Liu Bei shake his head in disapproval.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were even more displeased, feeling that Lü Bu was indeed a detestable fellow.

Lu Bu was a typical example of someone who had a great hand but ruined it terribly without even realizing it.

There are significant differences between the historical account and the fictional account. After Lü Bu killed Dong Zhuo, he became famous throughout the land.

In modern terms, that was doing something extremely politically correct and simultaneously rebuilding the central government of the Han Dynasty.

At that time, Lü Bu was at the most clear-headed in his life.

Despite Wang Yun's blatant betrayal and suppression, Lü Bu not only didn't hold it against him, but also earnestly offered Wang Yun advice and strategies.

Wang Yun actually both used and guarded against Lü Bu. He worried that Lü Bu would become the next Dong Zhuo, but he also needed to rely on Lü Bu's bravery and military leadership.

Therefore, bestowing various honors upon Lü Bu, relinquishing his own title of Marquis Wen to him, and appointing him as General of Valiant Might, granting him the authority to act on behalf of the emperor, and bestowing upon him the same honors as the Three Excellencies, was an extremely glorious honor.

At this moment, Lü Bu seemed like a completely different person, his mind clear and intelligent, unlike anyone else.

On one hand, he advised Wang Yun to pardon the generals and officers of Xiliang, thereby absorbing the Xiliang army and transforming it into a central army directly under the court. On the other hand, he hoped that Wang Yun would take out Dong Zhuo's wealth and distribute it to the officials and officers to win over the hearts of the people.

To be fair, Lü Bu's two suggestions were not only correct, but also strategies of a national hero.

If Wang Yun had listened to Lü Bu, Emperor Xian would have had a good chance to revive the Han Dynasty. After all, although warlords were rising up everywhere at that time, people's hearts were increasingly yearning for the Han Dynasty because of the warlords' unscrupulous actions.

This is practically a replica of Wang Mang of the Western Han Dynasty.

When Emperor Xian resided in Guanzhong and took over the troops from Xiliang, his smartest move was to first seize Yizhou and then move out of Jingzhou. Under the command of the King of Han, the local gentry had almost no desire to resist.

If Liu Zhang and Liu Biao had dared to resist the Heavenly Army, the soldiers of Dongzhou and the gentry of Jingzhou would have been overjoyed; wouldn't that have been a stroke of good fortune?

Unfortunately, Wang Yun rejected Lü Bu's only performance that exceeded expectations.

After that, Lü Bu recovered... no, he became even worse than before.

He fled from Yuan Shu to Yuan Shao, and then from Yuan Shao to Zhang Miao; he was utterly despicable.

It wasn't that Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao didn't want to use him; it was just that this man was too infuriating.

Sure enough, even the usually kind and humble Lord Xuande was so disgusted by Lü Bu that he couldn't speak when they met for the first time.

When the time was almost up, Liu Bei shook his head and declined Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's suggestion, and went personally to the guesthouse to welcome Lü Bu and the others.

Seeing Liu Bei personally welcoming him, Lü Bu became happy again, and Chen Gong and Zhang Miao were also somewhat excited.

It seems that Liu Bei was indeed a kind and honest man, and did not treat them with the same displeasure they had when they met outside the city.

"Gentlemen, a small banquet has been prepared to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey. We hope you will do us the honor of joining us."

Liu Bei's invitation received an immediate and enthusiastic response.

"We are unworthy of such kindness from Lord Xuande."

The group arrived at the prefectural capital together. In addition to Lü Bu and his two companions, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Cheng Lian, Wei Yue, Qin Yi, Chen Wei, Hao Meng, Cao Xing, Song Xian, Hou Cheng and other generals were all present.

Liu Feng was somewhat surprised when he saw it.

Did Lü Bu really trust Liu Bei that much?
This is because he brought all his belongings with him. If Liu Bei had bad intentions, Lü Bu's army would be completely undefended right now.

However, considering Lü Bu's past, this makes perfect sense.

Yuan Shao wanted to kill him, yet he still dared to live in Ye City so brazenly. He was truly naive and innocent.

In fact, Lü Bu's thinking was quite simple: he trusted Liu Bei so he didn't take any precautions.

Chen Gong and Zhang Miao needed Liu Bei's help, so they naturally had to make a show of it.

Leaving aside Chen Gong, Zhang Miao was also hoping that Liu Bei could step in and help him save his brother.

Zhang Chao was still in Yongqiu at the moment, not knowing when Cao Cao's army would be at the city gates. Given Cao Cao's resentment towards him, Zhang Miao could hardly imagine what would happen to his younger brother and family once Yongqiu fell.

Chen Gong did want to take precautions, but his forces numbered only a few hundred, and Lü Bu and Zhang Miao did not listen to him. In addition, he did not have any capable generals under his command, so he simply went with the flow.

At worst, we'll all be wiped out.

Liu Bei's banquet was held in the main hall, which was also the place for discussing matters in Xuzhou, so accommodating this number of people was naturally not a problem.

Liu Bei invited Lü Bu and Zhang Miao to sit at the head of the table, but Zhang Miao firmly declined. Lü Bu, however, politely declined after a few words.

So, two tables were placed at the head of the main hall, one for Liu Bei and the other for Lü Bu.

The civil and military officials of Xuzhou and the generals of Lü Bu's army sat neatly on either side.

All the civil and military officials from Xuzhou who had free time attended the event, including the Zhuge brothers, who had not yet entered officialdom.

Although the Zhuge brothers did not enter officialdom in Xuzhou, they had a close relationship with Liu Feng and were natives of Xuzhou themselves. They were considered promising talents with impeccable credentials. With their connection to Liu Feng, it is likely that when they entered officialdom, they would start as county magistrates, which would be much higher than the starting point of Bu Zhi and Wei Jing.

After both parties took their seats, Liu Bei announced the start of the banquet.

Each person was served eight dishes, mainly common dishes such as chicken and fish, but the cooking methods were somewhat novel, with dishes such as steamed fish, steamed chicken, and poached eggs, which were refreshing.

After enjoying the song and dance, Lü Bu suddenly spoke to Liu Bei, saying, "Brother, you and I are both from the borderlands. You are from Youzhou, while I am from Bingzhou. In the past, when I saw the uprising in Guandong, I wanted to kill Dong Zhuo. I killed Dong Zhuo and went east, but none of the generals in Guandong were willing to keep me at ease. Instead, they all wanted to kill me."

At this point, Lü Bu shook his head and sighed. He couldn't understand why these people from Guandong, who were clearly his benefactors, treated him like an enemy.

So he couldn't help but complain to Liu Bei: "The generals of Guandong are all heartless and treacherous."

Zhang Miao was about to drink when he heard Lü Bu's words, and he almost smashed his wine cup.

Lu Bu's words really offended everyone present.

At least Zhang Miao and Liu Bei can't escape.

Chen Gong was also extremely helpless. He glanced at Liu Bei and saw that the latter's expression was normal and he was not angry. Only then did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

However, he dared not let Lü Bu continue to spout nonsense, so he stood up, toasted Liu Bei, and bowed in thanks, saying, "Among the generals of Guandong, there are also people as benevolent and loyal as Lord Liu. Marquis Lü is being too arbitrary."

Lu Bu then realized what was happening and quickly explained, "Brother, I didn't mean anything by it, please don't take it to heart."

Liu Feng sighed inwardly. If Lü Bu hadn't actually been that kind of person in history, he would have suspected that the other party was deliberately feigning stupidity and had ulterior motives.

Suddenly, Liu Feng noticed that Lü Bu was frequently glancing at Chen Gong, wondering what tricks this guy was up to now.

"Brother, singing and dancing are boring. We are men from the frontier. How about we have a martial arts contest? What do you think, brother?"

Lu Bu's words immediately surprised Chen Gong and Zhang Miao, who were clearly unaware of Lu Bu's tactic.

Liu Bei was getting quite tired of Lü Bu calling him "brother" so constantly, but he couldn't refute it. To do so would be too disrespectful. After all, Liu Bei owed Lü Bu some favor in gaining control of Xuzhou.

Without his surprise attack on Yanzhou from behind, forcing Cao Cao to return to its aid, and then dragging Cao Cao into a bloody battle for two years, how could Liu Bei have so easily become the governor of Xuzhou, let alone achieved the development he has made in the past year?

So Liu Bei readily agreed, saying, "Lord Wen's words are very impressive. How could I not agree? I wonder how Lord Wen intends to demonstrate his martial prowess?"

Liu Bei's approval immediately made Lü Bu's face shine. Like a victorious goose, he looked at Chen Gong and Zhang Miao, and then said to Liu Bei with a smile, "Brother Bu and I are both warriors from the borderlands. Our skills are only in combat, archery, and horsemanship. Why don't we set up three competitions to test our unarmed, foot, and mounted combat skills?"

After saying that, Lü Bu finally realized something was amiss. He could stop short of a direct confrontation with bare hands, but a real contest of foot or cavalry combat was problematic. Swords have no eyes, and if blood was drawn, it would be a real mess.

Then he added, "Well... if we can't use our foot or cavalry skills, let's decide the outcome with archery. What do you think, my brother?"

Liu Bei looked at Liu Feng, who nodded slightly.

Seeing that even his eldest son agreed, Liu Bei naturally agreed: "In that case, I will come and see the heroic bearing of the soldiers of Bingzhou."

Lü Bu was overjoyed and immediately made arrangements: "In that case, let's have a bare-handed contest for the first match."

After speaking, Lü Bu looked at the crowd behind him, hesitated for a moment, and then called out, "Father, you will go to battle."

Liu Feng almost spat out his drink.

Is Lu Bu really that dog-like? Is his competitive spirit really that strong?

He usually looks down on Gao Shun, but now he's chosen him for a generalship?

Liu Feng originally thought he was sure to win the bet, but now Lü Bu is giving him a wake-up call.

If he really doesn't care about losing face and personally participates in mounted archery, then no one on our side can really control him.

In this way, victory must be guaranteed in both unarmed combat and archery.

There's no problem with infantry fighting. Since Gao Shun has already made his move, even if Lü Bu sends Zhang Liao out, he still won't be able to defeat Gan Ning.

In archery, Gan Ning completely outclassed Zhang Liao, and Gan Ning also had a great advantage in foot combat. Zhang Liao abandoned his horse and went for foot, which was equivalent to abandoning his strengths and choosing his weaknesses.

If he were unarmed, and his fourth uncle were here, he would not be afraid of Gao Xiaofu!
Now, the only candidates are Pan Zhang and Zhou Tai. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are generals of the province and also uncles, so they cannot be easily moved. Even if Lü Bu is shameless, Xu Province must maintain the demeanor of a major province.

It would be beneath Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to handle just any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

Liu Bei, however, did not have such awareness. After all, he was used to calling on his second or third brother whenever something happened, and he couldn't change his mindset in a short time.

At this moment, he glanced at Liu Feng. If Liu Feng didn't have any plans, he would have to send Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to take charge.

Liu Feng turned to look at Taishi Ci and the others behind him, and everywhere he looked, they were all eager to recommend themselves.

Liu Feng quickly made up his mind and said to Taishi Ci and the others, "Gentlemen, please be patient."

He then looked at Zhou Tai and said, "Youping, I would like to ask you to fight in this battle."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai was overjoyed.

As a relative, he couldn't compare to Taishi Ci, who was Liu Feng's archery and horsemanship teacher; as a close friend, he couldn't compare to Pan Zhang, who had followed Liu Feng the longest and served as his personal attendant for several months; and as a public servant, he admitted that he couldn't compare to Gan Ning, a valiant and fierce warrior.

However, Zhou Tai and Zhou Youping believed that they would never lose to anyone in terms of loyalty.

It was Liu Feng's recommendation to Liu Bei that transformed him from a mere river bandit into his current position as a captain. How fortunate Zhou Youping is to have such an enlightened ruler!

Upon hearing Liu Feng call his name, Zhou Tai immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Please rest assured, young master, I will do my utmost to uphold the prestige of our state."

Liu Feng waved his hand and said, “Youping, there’s no need for that. The prestige of our prefecture is earned through real battles. This kind of martial arts competition at the banquet should be stopped when the point is reached. Youping should prioritize your own safety.”

As he spoke, Liu Feng instructed, "Your opponent is a member of the Gao clan of Chenliu in Yanzhou. His name is Gao Shun, courtesy name Xiaofu. He is a calm and resourceful man. You must be very careful when you fight him. However, winning and losing are common occurrences. You should not take it to heart and should treat it with a normal mindset."

Zhou Tai was moved. Unlike Pan Zhang, Zhou Tai was extremely loyal and obedient, the kind of talent that the lord liked the most.

If it were Pan Zhang, although he would verbally agree to Liu Feng's request, he might still feel that Liu Feng thought he was inferior to Gao Shun, and be particularly angry.

Zhou Tai, however, would not do that; he would only obey Liu Feng's orders and try his best to fulfill them.

"Yes, young master, Taiding will comply."

"good!"

Liu Feng poured himself a glass of wine: "Youping, this wine awaits your return. I will drink it with you!"

"Thank you, sir!"

After speaking, Zhou Tai stood up and walked towards the center of the arena.

When Gao Shun heard that Lü Bu had appointed his generals, his first reaction was to go and see Zhang Miao.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Miao nodded to Gao Shun.

In Zhang Miao's view, since Liu Bei had agreed, he was obviously very interested in the martial arts competition.

Since that's the case, why not let Gao Shun win a match, so that Xuzhou and Liu Bei will know that their defeat in Yanzhou was due to inferior strength, not a failure in battle?

Cao Cao had a powerful patron, Yuan Shao, who provided him with money and supplies, and even sent Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao with 5,000 elite troops to help him in Yanzhou.

Lu Bu and his forces appeared formidable, but in reality, they had no external support whatsoever, not even a drop of food, let alone any troops.

In the recent Battle of Dingtao, Cao Cao should have run out of food long ago. However, Yuan Shao sent Cao Cao another 5,000 shi of military rations. In addition, Xiahou Dun went to Taishou to store water and cultivate land, which not only tied down reinforcements from Yongqiu and other places, but also forced Lü Bu to raise 10,000 men to relieve the siege of Dingtao and replenish Cao Cao's military rations nearby.

Xiahou Dun, the hostage general, was indeed a master in strategic and political matters.

After Gao Shun and Zhou Tai left the stage, everyone's eyes immediately fell on them.

Coincidentally, both sides had high hopes for the personnel they had sent.

Lu Bu's troops were all cavalry generals, and in terms of foot combat alone, no one could surpass Gao Shun.

Even Lu Bu himself couldn't easily defeat Gao Shun.

The same applies to Liu Bei's side. Zhang Fei is fond of fighting and had previously sparred with various brave warriors recruited by Liu Feng.

Taishi Ci and Gan Ning are of the same level, comparable to Zhang Fei. To determine a winner, they would have to fight a real battle.

As for Zhou Tai, although he was a step below Taishi Ci and Gan Ning, he was still able to hold his own against Zhang Fei.

Zhou Tai was chosen to lead the troops in this battle, and his skill level was not significantly different from Zhang Fei's, since it was not a life-or-death battle.

Neither Gao Shun nor Zhou Tai wore armor. Judging from their height and physique, Zhou Tai clearly had the advantage. Standing at nearly 1.9 meters tall, he was half a head taller than Gao Shun.

Gao Shun, however, remained calm and composed, his eyes fixed on Zhou Tai.

The unarmed combat and wrestling of this era were not like the martial arts of later generations; they were closer to wrestling. Since there were no detailed regulations, both could be used, and even simultaneously.

The two men, slightly hunched over, looked into each other's eyes and slowly began to circle around the hall.

Although both were circling, their steps were unusually steady, and their hands hung down.

Suddenly, the two of them roared almost simultaneously, pushed off the ground, and used the momentum to crash into each other.

With a loud thud, Gao Shun and Zhou Tai collided violently like giant beasts. Their hands were entangled, one hand gripping the other's wrist, while the other tried to strangle the other's neck, but the other grabbed the wrist instead.

The two became entangled, each exerting their strength to try and overpower the other.

The atmosphere became lively, with Zhang Fei, Gan Ning, Pan Zhang, and others constantly cheering on Zhou Tai. Lu Bu's generals also joined in the cheering, including Zhang Liao.

Gao Shun and Zhou Tai's faces turned bright red, and the veins on their faces bulged, showing that they had exerted their strength to the limit.

Suddenly, Zhou Tai saw that Gao Shun had revealed an opening, and he was overjoyed. In the instant he shifted his weight, he supported himself with his left foot and tried to hook Gao Shun's left foot with his right foot.

Just as Zhou Tai hooked Gao Shun's left foot with his right foot, he felt that the other party did not put any force to resist, but Gao Shun pounced on him with a huge force.

How could Zhou Tai withstand this force with only one leg? He was directly overpowered by Gao Shun and slammed hard to the ground.

Ignoring the pain, Zhou Tai immediately wanted to retaliate. He needed to at least throw his opponent off balance first, otherwise he would be doomed to lose once the opponent regained his footing.

(End of this chapter)