The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

Han Chinese value loyalty and filial piety.

This also led to the development of the recommendation system.

The prefectures and kingdoms, regardless of size, recommended candidates for filial piety and integrity.

Filial piety means being a dutiful person, and integrity means being honest and upright.

Now it's a dual monarchy again. Zhang Ren was loyal to Liu Zhang and died a martyr. Though he is dead, his heroism lives on.

Liu Chen recalled his conversation with Zhang Sheng and realized that Zhang Sheng was a loyal and filial person.

Just like Cao Cao didn't know Zang Ba and Wen Ping, but after meeting them, he granted them military power and appointed them as generals.

Because Zang Ba dared to lead a group to rescue his father when he was young, he was known as "filial and valiant".

After Cao Cao conquered Jingzhou, all the civil and military officials of Jingzhou were eager to pay homage to him. Wen Ping arrived at Cao Cao's court very late, and Cao Cao asked him why he was so late.

Wen Ping wept and said that as a general, he was unable to assist Liu Cong in protecting Jingzhou, and he had no face to see Cao Cao.

In this prosperous era, it's not uncommon to find people who uphold morality.

People who can uphold their integrity and morality even in chaotic times are people worth cherishing.

Later, Zang Ba and Wen Ping both became great generals, sharing the burdens of their respective regions and becoming pillars of Cao Wei.

Zhang Sheng remembered that his grandfather died at the hands of Liu Bei, yet he showed no respect to Liu Bei's descendants. This illustrates the same principle.

Liu Chen wanted to win him over, and after thinking for a moment, he asked the guard, "What is his family background? What is his reputation? Is he educated?"

The guard, as if reciting a familiar story, said, "Reporting to the young master, Zhang Sheng's family is poor, but he has a good reputation and is praised by the neighbors. He is also literate."

After a pause, he added, "His mother is often ill, and he takes great care of her."

Liu Chen nodded, understanding the situation.

"Let's go back." Liu Chen stood up, grabbed the saddle with both hands, and mounted the horse using the stirrups.

"Yes," the guards responded loudly, and one of them bent down to pick up a small stool and place it on his horse.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Liu Chen squeezed his horse's flanks with both feet, and the warhorse beneath him, in pain, charged forward like an arrow released from a bow.

"Clatter clatter clatter!!!!!" The guards also spurred their horses and galloped away.

The sound of horses' hooves was rapid, and dust flew everywhere.

Liu Chen quickly returned to Chengdu and met the eunuch who had gotten separated from him at the city gate. They entered the city together and arrived at the Li residence.

Li Qiu went to work at the palace.

Li Ding went to Guangdu.

Liu Chen's other cousins ​​were all young and incompetent. So he summoned the steward of the Li residence to give him instructions.

He then went inside to pay his respects to his aunt and sisters. Only then did he ride away from the Li residence and return to the palace.

"He has a majestic and powerful appearance. He could shoot a tiger with a bow and kill it. He is Zhang Ren's grandson, filial to his mother, and well-educated. I really want to have him." After returning to the palace, Liu Chen sat down, still thinking about Zhang Sheng.

............

After Liu Chen left, Zhang Sheng dealt with the tiger carcass alone.

He initially considered going back to fetch help, but then he thought, "The world is in a bad state now, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be. If I leave, I probably won't find the tiger's carcass when I return."

He first peeled off the tiger skin, and after removing the bloody tiger skin with some remaining fat, he did not continue processing it, but put it into a bamboo basket.

He then used a knife to cut open the tiger's belly, took out its internal organs, and kept only the tiger's heart, discarding the rest.

He then chopped off the tiger's head, and after reducing the tiger's weight to the greatest extent possible, he moved his body, squatted down, focused his energy in his dantian, and exerted force from his waist. When the force reached his arms, it already had the strength of a thousand pounds.

"Lift!!!" he shouted, and the heavy tiger carcass immediately rose from the ground. His expression remained unchanged, but the veins on his arms bulged as he lifted the tiger carcass above his head and placed it on his back basket.

To prevent the tiger carcass from falling, he had to grab it with his other hand.

The problem is not big.

A smile spread across his face as he walked briskly back to the village along the path.

His family was poor, owning only a few acres of meager land. Life was already difficult, and his elderly mother was frequently ill.

My wife has recently fallen ill and is bedridden again.

The cost of the herbal medicine is the main expense.

Two men and one woman, three children, crying for milk.

The pressure was suffocating him. Although his neighbors helped him, life was still difficult.

Most of the time, he left the family's meager farmland to his wife to manage. He went to work in the city and hunt in the mountains.

Large prey are rare in Chengdu, let alone tigers.

Tiger meat is highly nutritious; once cooked, it can nourish my mother, wife, and children.

Tiger skins are very expensive. If you process them properly and then sell them in Chengdu, it can greatly improve your family's financial situation.

It was about meeting Liu Bei's grandson...

Zhang Sheng felt disgusted.

However, its merits outweigh its flaws.

He's in a good mood now.

Zhang Sheng carried the heavy tiger carcass, along with the prey he had hunted earlier, back home.

He encountered many people on the road, and they were all shocked to see the tiger carcass on his back.

"Isn't this a victory? We actually hunted a tiger!"

"As expected of a victor, a true hero."

"We actually have tigers in Chengdu?"

Whether they knew Zhang Sheng or not, people stopped to watch the spectacle. When Zhang Sheng encountered acquaintances, he would exchange a few words with them and cut off some tiger meat to share.

When he returned to the village, he had lost a third of the tiger meat on his body.

"Victory. What did you hunt?"

"Isn't that a tiger?"

It's the off-season for farming now, and men, women, and children from the village have all come out to watch.

Helpless, Zhang Sheng clasped his hands in a fist salute to the elders, said a few words, and then pushed through the crowd to return to his home.

His family has one main house and two side houses, totaling nine rooms. They are a bit dilapidated, but barely enough to keep out the wind and rain.

"Father."

Three men, some dressed in ill-fitting clothes and others in patched garments, walked over upon hearing the sound, looking at Zhang Sheng and the fleshy figure behind him with delight.

Zhang Sheng heard the sound of swallowing.

Zhang Sheng laughed, reached out and patted his eldest son Zhang Chun on the back of the head, and said, "Take your sister-in-law to the kitchen to start a fire. I'll be right there."

"Yes," Zhang Chun replied loudly, and left with his younger brother and sister-in-law.

Zhang Sheng put down the tiger meat and the bamboo basket. He entered the main house and first went to check on his mother, Wang Shi's, room.

Wang was lying in bed, but in good spirits. Zhang Sheng spoke a few words to her and then asked if his son had brought water. Satisfied that his son was taking good care of his grandmother, he stood up and left the room, returning to his own room to check on his wife, Xu.

Xu was much younger than Wang and was originally strong and healthy. She just fell ill unexpectedly, but it wasn't a big problem.

After visiting his elderly mother and wife, Zhang Sheng returned to the courtyard. He first took the tiger meat back to the kitchen, cut some up, and left it for Zhang Chun to cook.

Boil it in water, add a little salt, and it's delicious.

He divided the remaining meat among his close neighbors.

Although they are all from the same village, there are degrees of closeness in their relationships. Even if someone begs him with envy, he won't give to someone he's distantly close to.

Once the meat is cooked, the rice will be ready too.

He first served his mother half a bowl of rice and a bowl of meat soup, then went inside to serve her the meal.

He instructed his son, Zhang Chunxue, to serve his wife, Xu, meals.

Only after the two patients had finished eating did he enjoy a hearty meal with his children.

After eating and drinking his fill, he called on his children to help process the other game and tiger skins.

The children knew the tiger skin was expensive, so they were especially happy and worked extra hard.

The day passed just like that.

The next morning.

After Zhang Sheng woke up, he first helped his elderly mother wash up, and then his wife and himself.

After eating, he practiced boxing, swordsmanship, spear fighting, and archery in the courtyard.

After finishing his martial arts practice, he returned to his study to prepare for reading.

Martial arts skills are a family tradition.

Some of the books were family heirlooms, while others were gifts from friends.

There is half of the Spring and Autumn Annals, a fragment of the Book of Han, some fragments of military books, and the military command notes left by my grandfather Zhang Ren.

Because of his ancestors' background, he had no intention of serving the Liu Han dynasty.

But he will not let these skills go to waste; he will pass them on to his son and grandson.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter." The sound of horses' hooves reached Zhang Sheng's ears, but he didn't pay attention at first. It wasn't until his son, Zhang Chun, entered from outside and bowed, saying, "Father, someone claiming to be a retainer of the Li family requests an audience."