Three Kingdoms: Mistakenly Becoming Liu Bei's Adoptive Father at the Start

The day after Sun Jian and Zhao Yun set off with their vanguard, Yuan Shu arrived at Liu Bei's camp with a troop of personal guards, carrying Yuan Shao's command arrow.

Yuan Shu, head held high, placed the command token before Liu Bei and said matter-of-factly, "Magistrate Liu, oh, now you should address me as Lord Xuande. The Alliance Leader has ordered that, for unified command and to prevent chaos, all provisions and supplies of each camp must be registered and allocated by me, the Governor-General of Provisions. Your unit is newly arrived, and your provisions are not yet registered; please hand them over today. This is the Alliance Leader's intention, and it is for the sake of the allied forces. I believe Lord Xuande is a man of great principle and will not disobey, will he?"

These words, spoken in a grand and dignified manner, blocked Liu Bei's path of direct refusal.

The coalition's food supplies were indeed coordinated by Yuan Shu, who required registration and unified allocation, which on the surface seemed to be without fault.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei exploded, ignoring Liu Bei's apprehension, and shouted, "Yuan Gonglu! Earlier in the tent, you said my elder brother was just a mere county magistrate, unworthy of being a warlord! Now, you want our provisions? Bah! We brought the provisions ourselves, why should we hand them over to you?"

Seeing their lord humiliated, Yuan Shu's generals Ji Ling and Zhang Xun almost simultaneously drew their swords with a clang, stepped forward, and locked their eyes on Zhang Fei.

Almost simultaneously, Guan Yu's figure blocked Zhang Fei's side. He did not draw his sword, but his right hand was firmly on the hilt of the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. His phoenix eyes were slightly open, and an invisible, chilling aura emanated from him.

The air inside the tent suddenly froze, and the two sides clashed, ready to fight at any moment.

Liu Bei suddenly stood up and shouted sternly, "Yide! Step back!"

He first reprimanded Zhang Fei, then turned to Yuan Shu, cupped his hands, and said, "General Gonglu, please calm your anger! My third brother is straightforward and outspoken, and had no intention of disrespecting military orders! I apologize to you on his behalf!"

Zhang Fei, his neck stiff, wanted to say something, but Guan Yu glared at him and saw Liu Bei's stern expression. He could only let out a heavy snort and reluctantly took half a step back, still gripping his spear tightly.

Seeing the imposing presence of Guan Yu and Zhao Yun, Yuan Shu realized that although he also had men on his side, he might not be able to gain the upper hand in a real fight, especially since Liu Bei had already taken the initiative to apologize.

Yuan Shu's expression shifted, and he raised his hand to signal Ji Ling and Zhang Xun to sheathe their swords. He coldly snorted, "Keep your men in check! If they speak disrespectfully again, don't blame the harshness of military law!"

Ji Ling and Zhang Xun slowly sheathed their swords, but still kept a wary eye on Guan and Zhao.

Liu Bei quickly replied, "Thank you for your understanding, General."

Yuan Shu's face darkened, and he raised the grain requisition token again: "Lord Xuande! This is the alliance leader's military order! Do you dare disobey? Does your Liu Bei army intend to separate itself from the coalition and fight independently?"

Liu Bei's heart sank.

Now, the lifeline of the eight thousand men's food supply is in Yuan Shu's hands. Given Yuan Shu's magnanimity, he will inevitably be hampered by Yuan Shu in the future, and may even be dragged down by him.

If he refused, it would be tantamount to openly defying Yuan Shao's orders, and Yuan Shu could immediately label him as "insubordinate and intending to establish his own power," and unite with other warlords to exclude or even attack him.

However, most of the provisions had already been escorted by Zhao Yun and went ahead with Sun Jian.

Did my godfather foresee this calamity all along?

During the discussion last night, my adoptive father insisted on sharing grain with Sun Jian. Although I trusted my adoptive father, I did not think it through.

It turns out that my adoptive father had already been on guard against Yuan Shu's move!

Thinking this through, Liu Bei calmed himself down and bowed to Yuan Shu, saying, "Since General Yuan intends to act according to orders, we will naturally comply. The provisions are prepared for the campaign against the rebels, and it would be even more appropriate if they could be centrally managed. Please come with me, General Yuan."

Yuan Shu was secretly pleased that Liu Bei agreed so readily, thinking that Liu Bei was afraid of his power and had no choice but to submit.

Yuan Shu glanced smugly at Zhang Fei, then, accompanied by Yang Hong and several military officers, followed Liu Liang to Liu Bei's temporary granary.

When the warehouse door was opened, the grain sacks piled inside were sparse, amounting to only twenty or thirty cartloads at a glance, far from the amount needed for Liu Bei's claimed 8,000-strong army.

Yuan Shu frowned: "That's all?"

Liu Bei said, "Our troops have come from afar and have brought limited provisions. General Sun Wentai went ahead and borrowed a batch. Now, the camp still needs to retain some to maintain daily operations. According to the leader's order, this is the amount available for allocation. General Yuan can count and take it away."

The military officers brought by Yuan Shu went in to do a rough count and returned to report in a low voice that the number was indeed not large, and most of them were coarse grains such as millet and wheat.

Enraged that his demand for grain was thwarted, Yuan Shu shouted, "Take them all away!"

At this moment, Chief Clerk Yang Hong whispered a reminder: "My lord, this grain is very little. Taking it back will only be a drop in the ocean, yet we will be branded as supplying provisions for Liu Bei's entire army. If he runs out of grain in the future, he will surely come to ask for more. Whether we give it to him or not, it will be troublesome. Perhaps..."

Yuan Shu also realized what was happening.

Taking away this little bit of grain will not only bring little benefit, but it will also be like taking on Liu Bei's "burden". Will we really support his eight thousand men in the future?

If they don't give it to him, Liu Bei will have a perfect excuse to cause trouble.

This is clearly a hot potato.

Yuan Shu's expression shifted as he looked at the meager amount of grain, unsure whether to take it or not.

The accusatory stance they had just taken has now froze.

Liu Bei waited patiently without urging him.

Yuan Shu hesitated for a moment, then finally snorted heavily: "Why bother with such a small amount of grain! Since your troops don't have much grain stored, use it for now! But according to regulations, any future resupply requests will require my approval!"

Yuan Shu found a way out, and after saying that, he didn't want to stay any longer. He left with his men in a huff, without even touching the grain.

Seeing Yuan Shu leave disappointed after arriving full of enthusiasm, Zhang Fei laughed heartily: "That fellow is both greedy and stupid! He didn't even dare to take the grain that was delivered to his door!"

Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief and said to Liu Liang, "It is all thanks to my adoptive father's foresight and strategic thinking! He predicted that he would be greedy and short-sighted, and by merely going through the motions, he was left with no way to make a move."

Liu Liang nodded with a smile, becoming even more certain in his heart: his adopted son truly possessed an aura of benevolence and was incredibly lucky; his own actions were purely accidental, hardly the result of any foresight or profound planning!

......

Meanwhile, Zhao Yun led three thousand infantry and cavalry, escorting provisions, to follow Sun Jian's army to Sishui Pass.

Having gained this fresh army and substantial supplies, and confident in his own bravery, Sun Jian also wanted to prove his reputation as the "Tiger of Jiangdong" in front of the eighteen warlords. Therefore, eager for victory, he inevitably became somewhat overconfident and rash.

Scouts reported that Hua Xiong, the garrison commander of Sishui Pass, led his troops down the pass and arrayed them in an open area in front of the pass, seemingly preparing for a field battle.

Sun Jian laughed loudly: "A mere scoundrel from Xiliang dares to venture out of the pass to seek his death! Just what I wanted!"

Ignoring the advice of his subordinates Cheng Pu and Huang Gai to "be wary of deception and proceed cautiously," he led his army forward at breakneck speed, intending to defeat Hua Xiong in one fell swoop and seize the credit.

When the two armies faced each other, Sun Jian personally led four generals, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zu Mao, along with elite troops, straight into Hua Xiong's central army.

At first, the Xiliang army seemed unable to resist and retreated step by step.

Sun Jian, enraged by the bloodshed, led his army deep into enemy territory.

Unexpectedly, drums suddenly sounded from the mountain forest on the flank, and Li Su's ambush troops emerged, raining down arrows that shot straight at the waist and ribs of Sun Jian's army.

Hua Xiong also led his elite cavalry back to fight to the death. The Xiliang army's ambush troops and the main force joined forces, and they quickly cut Sun Jian's army into several sections and surrounded them.

Sun Jian then realized he had fallen into a trap. He charged left and right, but many of his personal guards were killed or wounded. Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang were all tied up by enemy generals and could not come to his aid for the time being.

Hua Xiong spotted Sun Jian's banner and charged straight for the central army, only to be met by Sun Jian's personal general, Zu Mao, who fought desperately to stop him.

After only a few exchanges, Zu Mao's swordsmanship became chaotic. Hua Xiong shouted and his sword flashed down like a bolt of lightning, and it looked as if Zu Mao was about to be beheaded.

Just then, a white horseman arrived like lightning, and a silver spear accurately blocked Hua Xiong's powerful slash. With a loud clang, sparks flew everywhere.

Hua Xiong felt a jolt in his arm. He looked closely and saw a young general in white robes standing guard in front of Zu Mao with a spear across his body. It was none other than Zhao Zilong of Changshan!