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

Hulao Pass.

The messenger was covered in mud, clearly having traveled day and night.

Liu Bei removed the sealing wax and examined it closely by the light of the candle.

The letter was short, containing only a few words: Luoyang is now an empty city; Cao Cao is about to march west to Chang'an. Xuande should quickly lead his troops to Luoyang to provide relief to the disaster victims, clean up the palace, and win over the hearts of the people. If the warlords from Guandong come, simply shut the gates and refuse them entry. The good minister is at Hangu Pass; once the matter is accomplished, he will return.

After Liu Bei finished reading the letter, he handed it to Guan Yu.

Guan Yu glanced at it and handed it to Zhang Fei.

After reading it, Zhang Fei scratched his head and said, "Brother, what does this mean? Are we supposed to go to Luoyang to collect scraps?"

Guan Yu said, "It's not about picking up trash, it's about picking up people's hearts."

Liu Bei stood up: "Send down the order to muster 10,000 troops, prepare sufficient provisions, and depart for Luoyang early tomorrow morning."

Zhang Fei asked anxiously, "Brother, are we abandoning Hulao Pass?"

Liu Bei said, "Without Luoyang as our backup, Hulao Pass is also a death trap. Let's proceed according to our adoptive father's strategy!"

The army set off early the next morning.

What I saw along the way was shocking.

The village was reduced to ruins, the fields were deserted, bones were often found by the roadside, and wild dogs roamed among the ruins.

The closer they got to Luoyang, the more tragic the scene became.

Five days later, the south gate of Luoyang was in sight.

The city gates were wide open, and Li Dian and Yue Jin were already lined up to welcome them.

Li Dian stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Lord Xuande, this humble general is entrusted by Lord Cao to hand over Luoyang to you. There are still more than 70,000 people in the city. Dong Zhuo has taken away all the grain, weapons and supplies, leaving only an empty city. Lord Cao said that Lord Xuande's reputation for benevolence is known throughout the land, and he is at ease entrusting the people of Luoyang to you."

Liu Bei dismounted and returned the greeting: "I am deeply grateful for Lord Cao's kindness. Please convey this to Lord Cao, and I will do my utmost to secure this region."

Li Dian and Yue Jin led their troops westward.

After the dust settled, Luoyang lay there quietly, like a giant beast whose internal organs had been ripped out.

Liu Bei stood at the city gate, gazing at the ruins and broken walls inside the city, and remained silent for a long time.

Guan Yu said from the side, "Brother, let's go into the city."

Liu Bei nodded and mounted his horse.

The moment he stepped into Luoyang, he smelled three kinds of odors: the burnt smell of charred wood, the stench of rotting corpses, and the despair emanating from the living.

The streets were lined with shacks and straw mats.

The old man lay there motionless, it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.

The woman sat on the ruins, staring blankly at them.

The child is lying on the ground, licking an empty bowl.

Zhang Fei gripped his spear tightly and cursed, "Cao Cao has occupied Luoyang for half a month, ignoring all these old people, women, and children. How is he any different from that traitor Dong Zhuo?!"

Liu Bei reined in his horse and said to Guan Yu, "Yun Chang, pass down the order: the entire army must obey orders and strictly prohibit any harassment of civilians. We are not here to fight, but to rescue people."

Guan Yu clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Understood!"

The relief began that day.

The first thing Liu Bei did was bury the body.

He ordered Zhang Fei to lead two thousand men, divided into twenty teams, to search the entire city for any unburied corpses.

Once found, their physical characteristics are recorded. If a relative claims the body, the relative will bury it in a public cemetery outside the city.

If there are no relatives, the ashes are cremated together, buried, and a monument is erected as a memorial.

Zhang Fei asked in bewilderment, "Why bother with this when the person is dead?"

Liu Bei said, "The dead should be respected. Only by letting them rest in peace can the living be at ease."

Within half a day, more than 20,000 corpses were collected and placed in the coffin.

The stench in the city gradually dissipated, and the living finally dared to breathe freely.

The second thing was to distribute porridge.

There are currently more than 70,000 people living in Luoyang, most of whom are refugees who fled here, and a small portion are palace servants, officials, and craftsmen who did not have time to escape west with Dong Zhuo.

The city's granaries have been emptied by Dong Zhuo. When Cao Cao was stationed there, he relied on grain transported from Hanoi and Xingyang, but now that grain has also been taken away.

Liu Bei's own army had limited food supplies, but he still ordered: two bowls of porridge a day, with women and children eating first, the elderly and weak next, the young and strong next, and the soldiers last.

Zhang Fei reminded him, "Brother, our rations will only last for two months."

Liu Bei said, "If production cannot be restored within two months, we'll all eat grass roots together."

The third thing is to restore order.

Liu Bei ordered Guan Yu to lead a thousand men to maintain order in the city and strictly forbade his soldiers from harassing the people; anyone who disobeyed would be executed.

Some soldiers took advantage of the chaos to plunder the people's property, but Guan Yu caught them on the spot and beheaded them as a warning to the public.

From then on, the army was in a state of solemnity.

Liu Bei then ordered three notice boards to be set up in the city to post government orders daily and to accept complaints from the people.

Anyone who has been wronged, is in trouble, or wants to go home can register.

Zhang Fei asked, "Brother, can you manage so many people?"

Liu Bei said, "We have to manage them even if we can't manage them all. We'll manage them one by one."

The fourth thing was to appease and comfort the exiles.

Liu Bei sent men to post notices everywhere: All refugees near Luoyang who wish to return to the city will be given food and housing according to their population. Those whose houses have been burned will be assisted by craftsmen from the army to build temporary shelters, and new houses will be built in the spring of the following year.

On the third day after the notice was posted, people began to return to the city.

On the seventh day, people lined up to return.

On the tenth day, tens of thousands of refugees gathered outside the city, waiting to register to enter.

Zhang Fei was so busy he barely had time to breathe, and his voice became hoarse.

The fifth thing is to prevent plagues.

In his secret letter, Liu Liang specifically warned: Too many people have died in Luoyang, and with the weather getting warmer, an epidemic is bound to break out. We must take precautions in advance.

Following his advice, Liu Bei ordered his men to dig deep pits throughout the city to collect and dispose of garbage and waste.

Every day, quicklime was sprinkled all over the streets and alleys, especially in shack areas and near soup kitchens.

Those with fever and diarrhea should be immediately isolated and housed in a separate camp, where they will be cared for by specialized medical personnel.

Several doctors who accompanied the army were sent on medical rounds, going from street to street every day to distribute herbal medicine.

If we don't have enough medicinal herbs, we'll gather wild ones.

Half a month later, Luoyang gradually came back to life.

The streets were swept clean, and the ruins were cleared and piled up, awaiting reconstruction.

Although the shantytown was crowded, it no longer reeked of foul odors.

The children no longer lay by empty bowls waiting to die, but instead held a bowl of porridge and squatted in the corner to drink it slowly.

The people began to cultivate vegetables on the cleared land.

Many people used bricks and tiles dug out of the ruins to build makeshift stoves.

Along the streets, people began selling their own hand-woven straw sandals, wooden bowls, and rattan baskets.

Liu Bei would ride his horse around the city every day, sometimes dismounting to talk to the people, asking how many people were in their families, whether they had enough food, and when their houses would be repaired.

At first, the people would hide from him.

Later, some people dared to step forward and talk to them.

Later, an old man held his hand and cried, and a child chased after his horse.

Zhang Fei observed this and privately remarked to Guan Yu, "Brother, this tactic of yours is more tiring than fighting a battle."

Guan Yu said, "Fighting is about killing people, but these are about living people. It's tiring, but it's worth it."

The news spread to Guandong, Hebei, and Huainan.

"Have you heard? Liu Bei in Luoyang opened granaries to distribute grain, buried corpses, and took in refugees, all without taking a single penny."

"Liu Xuande ate porridge with his soldiers and gave all the meat to the wounded and pregnant women."

"I saw it with my own eyes; he even went to see patients with fevers, unafraid of infecting them."

"Lord Xuande is truly a benevolent and righteous ruler."

Liu Bei's fame spread from Luoyang like spring grass.

Meanwhile, at Hangu Pass in the west, Liu Liang received a secret letter sent by Guan Yu through a messenger.

The letter detailed the situation in Luoyang and concluded with the line: "Xuande thinks of his adoptive father every day and asks when you will return."

After reading the letter, Liu Liang folded it and put it in his pocket.