The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Outside Jiangling City.

As the city walls drew ever closer, Wen Ping and Tian Yu both felt a strange mix of nervousness and trepidation, as if they were approaching home.

The main reason is that they were too familiar with Liu Bei.

Wen Ping was a former subordinate of Liu Biao. He had a lot of dealings with Liu Bei during Liu Bei's stay in Jingzhou. However, after the Battle of Red Cliffs, he abandoned Liu Bei and followed the young master Liu Cong to surrender to Cao Cao. He was then captured by Zhang Fei and Shen Yi. It was as if he made a selective error.

In comparison, Tian Yu was in a worse situation. He originally followed Liu Bei and gained fame by riding on Liu Bei's coattails, but he left Liu Bei when his mother fell seriously ill, just when Liu Bei needed him the most.

But everyone knew that the mother's serious illness was just a pretext; to put it bluntly, she felt there was no future in following Liu Bei and switched sides midway.

Who would have thought that Liu Bei would achieve great things late in life, not only establishing his imperial power in his sixties but also easily capturing him, which is truly embarrassing.

It's like your ex-boyfriend, whom you dumped because he was poor, suddenly becoming rich, and you have to shamelessly beg him for money. You can't even describe how awkward you feel.

If I'd known this would happen, I would have stayed in Youzhou. Why did I have to become the governor of Runan? Damn it...

Just as the two were lost in their complicated thoughts, a huge convoy carrying a dragon flag suddenly came into view and headed towards them in a grand procession.

The size of the convoy clearly indicated that Liu Bei had come in person. The fact that Liu Bei had come to greet them personally made the two men's feelings even more complicated.

It was Liu Bei's entourage that arrived. The entourage stopped suddenly half a mile away. Liu Bei, dressed in imperial robes, lifted the curtain and jumped down. He walked forward with his important ministers, including Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang, and called out from afar, "Zhongye, Guorang, you have kept me waiting for so long!"

Given their status, Wen Ping and Tian Yu were not worthy of such a grand welcome from Liu Bei. However, they were the first Wei generals Liu Bei captured after ascending the throne, and their reputation had an advertising effect, like buying a horse's bones for a thousand pieces of gold. Liu Bei's attitude towards them directly affected the attitude of other Wei generals towards him, so he came.

It's just saying a few flattering words and praising each other. It costs nothing, so why can't we do it?

Liu Bei was always competent in dealing with people and situations, otherwise he wouldn't have become the succubus of the Han Dynasty, right?

Wen Ping and Tian Yu exchanged a glance, then ran forward and knelt down with a thud, crying in unison, "Your Majesty, weeping, your guilty subject Wen Ping (Tian Yu) pays his respects."

They were genuinely on the verge of tears, even managing to squeeze out a few drops. Their aged faces were filled with deep regret, their acting so superb that there was no trace of acting.

It has to be said, these political players are the real veterans.

To match their performance, Liu Bei also squeezed out a few tears, reached out to help the two up, and said with tears of joy, "Zhongye, Guorang, I never thought I would be able to see you two old brothers in my lifetime. Heaven has really been kind to me. I have nothing more to say, come home with me."

After saying that, he grabbed one of them with each hand and forcibly pulled them into the car, just like a parent dragging a naughty child home, and ordered the driver to turn around and go back to the city.

Yang Tai and You Ding, who were escorted back with Wen Ping and Tian Yu, did not receive the same treatment. They were only given a few simple instructions by Jian Yong, the Minister of Rites, and then received two horses from Jian Yong to follow the group back.

Inside the carriage, Liu Bei, Wen Pin, and Tian Yu huddled together. Wen Pin and Tian Yu all had their heads down, and their hands were fidgeting with their clothes like children who had done something wrong.

Although Liu Bei's expression was solemn, he was secretly overjoyed, as if he had eaten honey.

These two men both chose Cao Cao over him, but now they've become his prisoners. It feels like his ex-girlfriend dumped him because he was too poor and came to his company for a job—he couldn't be happier.

Upon seeing his old friend who had looked down on him again, Liu Bei, though emotionally inclined to ridicule them, rationally refrained from showing any such expression. Instead, he changed the subject, saying, "Guorang, I've heard that an assassin named Han Long killed Kebineng?"

To ease the awkward atmosphere in the carriage, Liu Bei kept quiet about the Jiangxia battle and instead tried to find other topics to cover up his embarrassment.

Hearing this, Tian Yu breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "The thing is..."

"Your Majesty may not know this, but the casseroles produced by the Great Han sell very well in the Central Plains and the grasslands, especially on the grasslands. A casserole that costs thirty coins can be bought for three strings of cash on the grasslands..."

Tian Yu knew this was a way out given by Liu Bei, so he seized the opportunity to start telling interesting stories about the Central Plains, including the popularity of Han Dynasty goods in the Central Plains.

Take a small clay pot for example. Its production cost in Poyang (Jingdezhen) is only thirty or fifty coins. But when it is transported to the Central Plains, the price skyrockets tenfold. And when it is transported to the grasslands, those unscrupulous merchants dare to raise the price to a thousand coins.

The reason for this exaggerated claim is simple: iron woks are not yet widely available.

Iron pots may seem simple, but in feudal times they were definitely high-tech products. They didn't become widespread until the Song Dynasty. The Han Dynasty was still a long way from the era of everyone using iron pots.

Since people can't afford iron pots, but cooking rice is a necessity, earthenware pots quickly replaced the old clay pots as soon as they came out, becoming an indispensable item for ordinary people. Under such circumstances, how could earthenware pots not increase in price?

If it was the same with earthenware pots, then the cloth, porcelain, tea, and sugar that the Han Dynasty transported to the Central Plains were even more in short supply.

Having been in the Central Plains for so long, Tian Yu naturally knew all about these things. He spoke with great enthusiasm, but the more he talked, the more guilty he became.

The trade surplus between the Han Dynasty and Cao Wei was so large that even without war, trade alone could have brought Cao Wei to its knees.

Liu Bei listened with a broad smile, occasionally throwing out questions to guide the conversation, and soon the three of them put aside their previous awkwardness and began to chat freely.

Listening to the occasional hearty laughter coming from inside the carriage, Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and exchanged a glance with Guan Yu, his eyes revealing two big words.

Steady!

Once the news of Wen Ping and Tian Yu's surrender spreads, the morale of the Wei army will definitely suffer a significant blow.

The convoy quickly returned to the palace, where a banquet had been prepared to entertain the two. As soon as they got out of the car, Liu Bei pulled them into the main hall.

Only then did Wen Ping and Tian Yu have the opportunity to greet the others. They also stepped forward to pay their respects to Guan Yu, who then introduced them to other people, with Zhuge Liang being the most prominent.

Wen Ping and Zhuge Liang had known each other for a long time, but this was the first time Tian Yu and Zhuge Liang had met.

After introducing everyone, Guan Yu beckoned to Guan Xing and said, "Anguo, come and greet your two uncles."

To foster a closer relationship, Guan Yu chose to introduce people by seniority rather than by official rank, thus placing Guan Xing, as the younger generation, last.

Guan Xing walked up to the two men, bowed, and said, "Nephew Guan Xing greets my two uncles."

The two quickly returned the greeting, and only after they finished did they begin to carefully examine Guan Xing. Looking at his still somewhat immature face, their feelings were incredibly complicated.

It was this guy who turned the tide and achieved a miraculous comeback after Guan Yu's defeat at Xiangfan, which led to Liu Bei's achievements today.

This kid's abilities are already incredible, but the key is that he's so young. It's terrifying.

Look at other people, and then look at my own worthless thing, it's infuriating.

After the introductions were completed, the banquet began on the spot and lasted until evening. Wen Pingtianyu, who was completely drunk, was sent back to his residence.

As early as when news of their capture reached Jiangling, Liu Bei began preparing residences for them, so they currently have residences.

Nothing was said that night, and at dawn Liu Bei publicly issued an edict, promoting Wen Ping from Marquis of Yanshou Pavilion to Marquis of Yanshou Township.

Ironically, Wen Ping was granted the title of Marquis of Yanshou by Cao Cao after defeating Guan Yu with Yue Jin at Xunkou, and now he has been promoted by Liu Bei. How strange things are!

Since Wen Ping had already been granted a fief, Tian Yu couldn't be left out. His title was also raised one rank, from Marquis of Changle Pavilion to Marquis of Changle Township.

Now that the titles of nobility have been bestowed upon the two, the next step is naturally to extract benefits from them.

At the same time Liu Bei issued the edict, Zhuge Liang ordered newspapers to expedite their coverage of Liu Bei's meeting with the two men.

Therefore, yesterday's events quickly made it to today's front page headlines.