Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

fear death?

Liu Bei never expected that this person would reject him with such a... speechless reason.

What should I say now? I can say that if you follow me, I promise I won’t let you die, but what I’m about to do next may cost me my life.

Liu Bei opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. Zhang Fei's face was full of disappointment, and the image of the immortal he imagined collapsed in his mind bit by bit. Guan Yu had a blank expression on his face, but he despised the man in his heart.

"Is Uncle Liu going to Hanzhong?" The man picked up his zither, kicked off his shoes placed next to the stone, and asked casually.

Liu Bei hesitated to tell him that he wanted to attack Hanzhong, but then he heard the man say, "Uncle, you can't take Hanzhong with these four or five thousand men. Listen to my advice and return the way you came!"

Liu Bei was puzzled. "Sir, you haven't seen it yourself, so how do you know the number of my troops? And how do you know I'm going to take Hanzhong, not to join Zhang Lu?"

The man said, "The emperor's uncle claims to be a relative of the Han dynasty, and his words just now alluded to his desire to restore the Han dynasty. How could he possibly join the traitor Zhang Lu? As for the first question, when your troops were three miles away, I could roughly infer their size by observing the dust and hearing the sounds."

Liu Bei was impressed, but Zhang Fei disagreed, saying, "What's so clever about this? Can't my elder brother just pretend to surrender?"

The man laughed and said, "Is the emperor's uncle the kind of person who would stoop to serving a thief?!"

Zhang Fei asked again, "Then how do you know we will never be able to take Hanzhong?"

Amo sent 4,000 men to help. Although she had always said that the battle would be difficult, Zhang Fei felt that as long as the team could successfully reach Yangping Pass before the military supplies ran out, he would definitely be able to enter the Hanzhong Basin.

The man walked down the path, holding his zither, saying, "Taking Hanzhong presents two difficulties. One is the difficult mountain roads, and the other is the difficulty of passing Yangping Pass. If the emperor's uncle and his men all take the Chencang Road, there will be no chance!"

Liu Bei was delighted to hear that this man seemed to have a plan to seize Hanzhong, and hurried to follow him. "Sir, you are indeed an expert. I beg you to help me. I will definitely protect your life."

The man stopped and hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and sighed, "I once did something wrong. Although I had no choice, my sin was unforgivable. Therefore, I dare not see anyone and live in seclusion here."

Liu Bei had just sensed the man's frustration from the zither's music. He now knew he was refusing official service because of past mistakes, suggesting there was still room for maneuver. He quickly said, "No one is perfect, sage. Your words reveal repentance, and even the greatest mistakes can be forgiven. I've been displaced and unable to find a foothold because I lack a sage to advise me on the deployment of troops. Though I'm humble, I hope you won't abandon me and come out of retirement to help me. I'll be happy to listen to your advice."

After he finished speaking, he actually walked up to the man, bent his legs and wanted to kneel down. Zhang Fei was quick to help him up and said, "Brother, you are the uncle of the Han emperor. How can you kneel down and pay respect to a country bumpkin?"

Liu Bei's face was filled with sorrow. "If the Han Dynasty cannot be restored, what is the point of having a Han Emperor's uncle? I long day and night for your help. If a kneeling can bring you back, even if I have to kneel here for three days and three nights, I will be happy to do so."

"The Emperor's uncle is a wise ruler! But... alas..."

The man sighed helplessly and walked back home. Liu Bei did not give up and followed him all the way, asking him what was going on. The man was so annoyed that he said, "If I tell you my name, I'm afraid the emperor's uncle will kill me immediately."

Liu Bei looked bewildered, thinking to himself, could this person be my enemy? But it seemed that there was no enemy that I could not wait to kill on the spot.

"Why do you say that, sir?"

The man did not answer, but just asked Liu Bei to leave quickly. However, Liu Bei was really eager to find talented people and was unwilling to leave. He swore to heaven that no matter who the other person was or what crimes he had committed in the past, he would never pursue it.

Seeing Liu Bei's sincerity, the man also took the risk and said, "My real name is Li Ru, also known as Wenyou. I have been a doctor and the doctor of the Hongnong King."

"Li Ru? The Doctor-in-Chief of the Prince of Hongnong?"

Liu Bei was once again bewildered. Clearly, he didn't recognize Li Ru. Even more baffled was why he had said he would kill him if he told him his name. Why would he want to kill him? It was baffling!

Li Ru explained, "I once served the Young Emperor. After Dong Zhuo deposed the Young Emperor and took control of the government, I had no choice but to follow Dong Zhuo. Later, the princes of Guandong rose up in arms, wanting to re-establish the Young Emperor as emperor. To stop their attempt, Dong Zhuo ordered me to poison the Young Emperor. At that time, my entire family was controlled by Dong Zhuo, and although I was unwilling, I had no choice but to obey his orders. Later, in order to avenge the Young Emperor, I secretly joined forces with Yang Zan to alienate Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, and also lured Li Su to rebel against Dong. After Li Su killed Dong Zhuo, I avenged the Young Emperor and fled Chang'an to live in seclusion here."

"Although I avenged the Young Emperor, I have felt a deep sense of guilt all these years. I no longer wish to be involved in worldly affairs. I simply wish to repent here and end my remaining days. Today, seeing that Emperor Liu is determined to restore the Han Dynasty, I cannot bear to see you die in vain at Yangping Pass, nor to see the Han Dynasty destroyed, so I am speaking out to remind you."

He put down the guqin and looked at Liu Bei calmly, "I have committed serious crimes. If you, uncle, want to avenge the young emperor, please take my head."

Li Ru's words were half true and half false. He surrendered to Dong Zhuo voluntarily, and although he had no choice but to poison the young emperor, he was not forced. As for those words about revenge for the young emperor, they were simply nonsense.

At the beginning, Li Ru saw that Dong Zhuo would not be able to accomplish anything great, so he showed his goodwill to Lu Bu early on and wanted to join Lu Bu. However, Lu Bu thought that Li Ru had poor character and mediocre talent, so he looked down on him.

After Li Ru's attempt to join Lu Bu failed, he began to protect himself. After Dong Zhuo was killed, he was afraid that he would be killed by Li Su on the charge of being a remnant of Dong Zhuo, so he packed up his things overnight and fled Chang'an, taking refuge here.

Li Ru believed that he was very talented. He just wanted to choose a wise leader to accomplish his great cause. However, he was blind and misjudged Dong Zhuo, which led to his big mistake. Although he lived in seclusion in recent years, he was still unwilling to let all his life's learning be buried.

He had also thought about seeking refuge with others, but he looked down upon the likes of the two Lis and Zhang Lu. Lu Bu didn't want him, and Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and Liu Yan would certainly look down upon him as a man who had poisoned the young emperor. He had originally given up the idea of ​​becoming an official, but seeing that Liu Bei was so respectful to the wise and humble, and had the ambition to restore the Han Dynasty, he thought that instead of living in this wilderness, he might as well give it another try.

He also thought about hiding his identity from Liu Bei, but he was a big shot in the imperial capital at that time, and many people knew him. In order to avoid being exposed in the future and causing a rift between the emperor and his ministers, it would be better to be frank now. As for the things he just mentioned, no one knew the inside story except a few people involved. Among the people involved, Yang Zan and Li Su were dead, so he was not afraid of anyone exposing his unfounded plan of revenge for the young emperor.

After hearing what Li Ru said, Liu Bei was shocked. He was not in Chang'an at that time. He only knew that Dong Zhuo sent someone to poison Liu Bian. He didn't expect that the person who did it was the man in front of him, the former doctor of King Hongnong, Li Ru?

Seeing that this man was able to alienate Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, and also induce Li Su to rebel against Dong and Lu, it was obvious that he had sophisticated strategies and was exactly the talent he needed. However, the stain of poisoning the young emperor made Liu Bei hesitant.

Zhang Fei, however, spoke well of Li Ru after hearing his words. "The traitor Dong Zhuo threatened his family, and there was nothing he could do. Besides, if he hadn't done it, someone else would have done it, and the result would have been the same. He avenged the Young Emperor and eradicated the treacherous Dong Zhuo. He has repented for his sins over the years, and he has redeemed himself. Today, he reminded us of the difficulty of taking Hanzhong, which shows that his heart is on the side of the Han Dynasty. Big brother, please forgive him!"

Li Ru closed his eyes and stood with his hands behind his back. Liu Bei was silent for a long time, and finally made a move. He drew the sword from his waist, raised it high, and then, in the surprised eyes of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, cut off a piece of Li Ru's hair.

"Let the hair replace the head, and the past will be wiped out!"

Liu Bei loosened his grip, letting the broken hair blow away in the wind. He sheathed his sword and bowed, saying, "Sir, you are so talented. I beg you to come out and help me. I will still listen to your teachings."

Li Ru breathed a sigh of relief and was also moved by Liu Bei's sincerity. He knelt on one knee, full of gratitude, "My lord, please forgive me for my treason. From now on, I will repay you for your kindness!"