Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

The gray wolf, who was lying on the ground bored, saw strangers arrive at the door, leaped up, ran over, and barked wildly at Higashino Ban and Aragaki Ken.

Dongye Ban was carrying straw sandals, straw mats, and other items on a long stick, and also had a few pounds of pork in his hand. When he saw the gray wolf rushing over and baring its teeth at him, he suddenly bent down and put down the straw sandals, straw mats, and other items.

The gray wolf was startled and quickly retreated, howling even louder.

This caused the Higashino crew to burst into laughter:

"What are you afraid of? Your father won't hit you. I'm just putting down my burden."

Aragaki Ken, standing next to her, couldn't help but chuckle.

"Are you going to adopt this dog as your son?"

Higashino looked at Aragaki Ken and said calmly:

"How about we adopt you as our son?"

"Go to hell."

Aragaki Jian frowned coldly.

"You two are putting on a show here, like you're performing a comedy routine."

Liu Bei walked out of the thatched hut, clicked his tongue, called Gray Wolf to his side, patted his back, and pointed at the two men, "Gray Wolf, you must not be rude to these two in the future. One of them is Dongye Ban, a butcher, and the other is Xinyuan Jian, a vegetable vendor. They are both people who do small business like me."

Higashino was taken aback: "It can understand what you're saying?!"

Aragaki Ken smiled: "Have you ever seen a rock nod in agreement?"

Higashino's face flushed slightly with anger at Aragaki's sarcastic remarks.

"None of your business! Some dogs in this world are just naturally intelligent."

Undeniably, after Liu Bei finished giving his instructions, the gray wolf indeed stopped howling.

It seems that gray wolves truly possess a kind of sentience.

Liu Bei saw that Dongye Ban was carrying back his straw sandals and straw mat, which he had left behind at Shiwulipu, on a long pole, so he went over to take them.

"Thank you so much, Brother Dongye, for helping me get home. I am extremely grateful."

Higashino also handed a piece of pork to Liu Bei:

"I'll give you these few pounds of pork as well."

Liu Bei was taken aback:

"Wasn't it Geng Yong who wanted to buy it?"

"He didn't pay for it. This is a gift for you."

As Dongye Ban spoke, he tried to force the pork into Liu Bei's hand.

Liu Bei hurriedly declined:

"I cannot accept a reward without merit.

"I won't give it to you for free. I need your help with something."

Higashino looked around and said, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go sit under that big mulberry tree."

"it is good."

The three of them walked to the mulberry tree and sat on some stones.

As soon as Liu Bei sat down, he said:

"If there's anything I can help you with, please let me know, Higashino-san."

Higashino Ban glanced around furtively before speaking:

"Every time my father-in-law sees me, he gives me a good scolding, making me lose face in front of everyone. He fought on the border, and I'm afraid I can't beat him. You're very good at martial arts, could you help me beat up my father-in-law? Let me vent my anger."

Liu Bei was taken aback upon hearing this, staring blankly at Dongye Ban:

"Is that even a request?! Why don't you change your obsessive gambling habit?! Gambling day and night, all the hard-earned money you make from slaughtering pigs and dogs is just going to be given away to those gamblers. It's a miracle your father-in-law hasn't hit you yet. And you want to hit your father-in-law?! —And why is Brother Dongye so disrespectful to me?"

Higashino said in a hard voice:

How have I disrespected you?

Liu Bei gave a light snort and said:

"You bring pork here, asking me to beat up your father-in-law? You're treating me like a thug hiding in Lüxiang. I, Liu Bei, though poor, would never be a thug!"

Higashino's team disagrees:

"Weren't you acting as Jian Yong's henchman at Fifteen Mile Shop this morning?"

Liu Bei immediately replied:

"How can helping someone who is trying to help make me a thug? Geng Yong is my friend. He was beaten up for no reason, so of course I had to help him. It was my duty."

Upon hearing this, Higashino Ban hurriedly said:

"In that case, I'd like to become your friend as well."

"Sure, no problem."

Liu Bei answered very readily.

He had been observing this butcher, Dongye Ban, for a long time and knew that his skill in slaughtering pigs was very smooth. He seemed to use little force, yet he could cut meat like mud and break bones as easily as breaking a willow branch. With a little training and after a few battles, he would grow into a fierce general.

When Liu Bei was selling straw sandals, he watched Dongye Ban skillfully and quickly dismember flesh and bone with swift, swift strokes of his knife, and for a moment he seemed to see Fan Kuai, the butcher of dogs in the market of Pei County.

The saying "Many righteous men are from humble backgrounds" perfectly describes Fan Kuai, who followed Liu Bang to the death.

When Liu Bang started his business, his team looked like a makeshift troupe. Among his followers were not only Fan Kuai, a dog butcher on the street, but also Xiahou Ying, a coachman, Zhou Bo, a bamboo craftsman who played funeral music, Chen Ping, a prodigal son who stole his sister-in-law and accepted bribes, Zhang Liang, a down-on-his-luck nobleman from the state of Han, Li Shiqi, a petty official guarding the inner gate, Cao Can, a prison clerk, Ying Bu, a criminal, and Han Xin, who lived off others, freeloaded, and even endured the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs...

It is true that heroes come from all walks of life.

When the time is right, heaven and earth lend their strength; when fortune smiles upon you, heroes emerge everywhere.

Who knows if Dongye Ban, the butcher selling meat at the Shiwulipu market, won't become another Fan Kuai?

At least in Liu Bei's mind, he already regarded Dongye Ban as his Fan Kuai.

Dongye Ban was very pleased to see that Liu Bei agreed without even thinking:

"Alright, it's settled then. From now on, Liu Bei and Dongye Ban are friends. — Now that we're friends, can you help me beat up my father-in-law?"

Upon hearing this, Aragaki Ken, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle.

Liu Bei then said solemnly:

"Now that we're friends, I can't help you beat up your father-in-law."

Why?

"As your friend, I have an even greater responsibility to advise you to get rid of your gambling addiction. If you refuse to change, I will scold you in public, just like your father-in-law."

"Hmph. Without gambling, life would be so boring."

"There are many interesting things in life. For example, I'd like to organize a White Feather Club in Shiwulipu, gathering young men from Zhuojun to practice horseback riding, archery, wrestling, sumo, and swordsmanship. You can join us and have fun together."

Liu Bei believed that the best way to get rid of someone obsessed with gambling was to cultivate other beneficial interests in him, thereby diverting his attention.

The formation of an interest group like the White Feather Club not only allows people to practice martial arts and improve their physical fitness, but also cultivates a martial spirit, invigorates people, and helps them get rid of the decadent habits of gambling addicts.

Having been reborn, Liu Bei still clearly remembered the loyalty, bravery, and fierceness of his personal guard—the White Feather Soldiers.

The White Feather Soldiers, an extremely mysterious elite special forces unit in the history of Shu Han, helped Liu Bei escape several enemy attacks.

Compared to other elite troops from the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period—the Wudang Flying Army, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the White Horse Righteous Cavalry, the Trapped Camp, the Qingzhou Soldiers, and the Danyang Soldiers—the White Feather Soldiers could not operate as mobilely as they could; they were primarily used as the emperor's personal guard and defensive force.

Similar to Liu Bei's White Feather Army were Cao Cao's Martial Guard Camp, and the Tiger Warriors, Relief Soldiers, and Invincible Army of Eastern Wu.

They were called "White Feather Soldiers" mainly because the helmets of these guards were decorated with white bird feathers or animal hair woven into crowns.

The reason for decorating with white feathers and animal fur was that Liu Bei "had a fondness for making feathers".

The process of weaving feathers into a crown is called "jie yi".

Liu Bei, who came from a humble background as a mat weaver and shoe seller, always enjoyed tying mats during lulls in the war to relieve his tension and fatigue and to bring joy to his mind and body.

The commander of the White Feather Army was Chen Dao, a native of Runan in Yuzhou who was extremely loyal to Liu Bei.

The reason Liu Bei established the White Feather Society in Shiwulipu in this lifetime was so that he could rebuild the White Feather Army and restore its glory in the future.

Higashino Ban and Aragaki Ken were both his preferred candidates for members of the Shiroi-sha.

"Liu Bei, I'm actually quite interested in joining your White Feather Society and learning martial arts from you. But it's still not as interesting as gambling."

Higashino paused, then added, "Besides, why should I go through all that trouble to practice martial arts?"

Liu Bei glanced at Dongye Ban and Xinyuan Jian, and said calmly:

"I want to say that in a few years, the world will be in chaos, with war raging everywhere, bandits rampant, people suffering, villages turning into ruins, and most of the fields lying fallow. Do you believe me? Besides, riding horses, shooting arrows, and hunting in the mountains are much more interesting than gambling."

……

When Chen Dao arrived at his post, he was commanding the White Feather Army under the late emperor, the elite troops of the west.

—Zhuge Liang