Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

Upon hearing Zhang Niujiao's words, the burly men beside him couldn't help but glare angrily at Liu Bei.

Geng Yong and Qian Zhao couldn't help but start to worry about Liu Bei.

"General, kill him!"

The sound was like thunder, crackling and echoing through the forest.

Liu Bei had never heard anyone speak so loudly before, so he couldn't help but look at the man. He saw that the man was dressed in short clothes and had a rough and rugged appearance. His beard was thick and wiry, and his eyes were as big as those of a thunder beast or a Kui ox. His muscles were as strong as those of a lion or tiger.

"Lei Gong, do you think I should kill Liu Bei?!"

Zhang Niujiao looked at Liu Bei with a playful expression, as if he was trying to figure out what kind of person Liu Bei was.

The burly man, nicknamed Thunder God, glared angrily at Liu Bei, the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitching incessantly.

"He killed Da Hu, so it's only fair that we kill him too."

His voice was still as powerful as thunder.

Liu Bei thought to himself: No wonder this man's nickname is Thunder God, he speaks so loudly, he's definitely a loudmouth.

He quickly thought of Zhang Leigong, a leader of the Black Mountain Army in history.

The person in front of me spoke with a voice like thunder, so he must be Zhang Leigong.

At that moment, Liu Bei remained calm and composed, his posture steady as a god, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

"Fine, then I'll kill him!"

As Zhang Niujiao spoke, he took a ring-pommel sword from a burly man beside him and drew it with a clang.

Liu Bei seemed to have seen through Zhang Niujiao's scheme, but remained unmoved.

"General..."

Sun Qing, Wang Dang, Chu Yan, and Luo Shi couldn't help but call out in unison.

The four people's eyes were filled with anxiety.

Zhang Niujiao quickly understood the expressions in the eyes of the four men, knowing that they wanted to plead for Liu Bei, but were unsure whether to speak up, and could only look anxious in their eyes.

They were trying to dissuade him with their eyes, wanting him to think twice before acting.

Seeing this, Zhang Niujiao couldn't help but ponder for a moment.

"If you want to kill Xuande, you can kill me first!"

Zhang Fei stepped forward, his eyes wide open, staring straight at Zhang Niujiao.

Zhang Niujiao saw that although Zhang Fei was small in stature and young, the aura he exuded was like that of a fierce general on the battlefield.

It was truly awe-inspiring.

"oh."

Zhang Niujiao looked at Zhang Fei with interest, "You little brat, what business is it of yours if I kill Liu Bei?"

"Xuan De killed Cuan Hei Zi, avenging my cousin. This was originally my duty. I only regret that I didn't have the ability. Now, if you want to kill Xuan De, I can give up my life in exchange."

Zhang Fei said sternly.

"Hmm."

Zhang Niujiao pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Your cousin must be Zhang Hun... Zhang Hun was also a good friend of our stronghold. Back then, after a few drinks, we even made a pact to rise up together and do something great when the world was in chaos. Now, however, he has been killed by the treacherous eunuch faction. He was a hero in his own right. It's such a pity that he died so mysteriously."

At this moment, Qian Zhao also shouted loudly:

"Since you are men who lick blood from the edge of a knife, engaging in this kind of robbery, you should have anticipated that you might die at any moment. Since ancient times, it has been a matter of course for the government to catch thieves. Both sides are simply acting in the interests of their respective masters. Since you are risking your lives to do these illegal things, you should disregard life and death."

Who is this person?

Zhang Niujiao asked.

Sun Qing, who was standing to the side, quickly said:

"He is the young master of the Anping Qian family. The caravan we robbed at the foot of Langya Mountain belonged to their family."

"So it turns out the victim has come to us."

Zhang Niujiao smiled slightly: "The way of Heaven is to take from those who have more than enough and give to those who have less than enough; the way of man is to take from those who have less than enough to give to those who have more than enough. You powerful clans are no different from us mountain bandits; we all just plunder. The difference is that you plunder the good and kind, while we plunder you powerful clans. This is called killing the rich to help the poor."

Qian Zhao said in a deep voice:

"We accept that our caravan was defeated by you. It's our own fault for not strengthening our guard and for not passing through the foot of Langya Mountain. But if you were killed by our men during your looting, you can only accept your bad luck instead of trying to seek revenge here."

Zhang Niujiao nodded, seemingly agreeing. "But Liu Bei is different. We've never provoked him. He's the one who killed our brothers first."

Geng Yong couldn't help but say:

"General, the situation at the time was that Da Hu wanted to kill Liu Bei's cousin, so Liu Bei was forced to take action. If you were in that situation, you wouldn't hesitate to help without thinking twice. Besides, Liu Bei's cousin was a patrol officer in Zhuo County, and it was his duty to capture bandits."

Wutulu also said:

"General, we are all deeply saddened by the deaths of Zhao Laoqi and Da Hu. But just as the knife kills, it is the person wielding it. Therefore, it is not the knife that kills, but the person who kills. The culprits behind all this are Wen Xuan and Wu Guang of Qingxi Manor. If it weren't for the intentions of these two treacherous eunuchs, how could so many things have happened? How could so many brothers have lost their lives?"

Zhang Niujiao listened in silence.

Seeing that Zhang Niujiao seemed interested, Sun Qing seized the opportunity to say:

"General, although Wutulu is a Wuhuan, what he said makes sense. As long as we kill Wen Xuan and Fifth Guang, we will have avenged Zhao Laoqi, Da Hu, and Zhang Hun. The matter can basically be settled here. We don't need to involve too many people..."

Zhang Leigong shouted:

"Sun Qing, whose side are you really on? We're the brothers. They're all outsiders."

"Ugh."

Sun sighed, "But Liu Bei just saved us... Cuan Heizi killed more than a dozen of our brothers, and Luo Shi was also stabbed by him. If it weren't for Liu Bei's intervention, even more of our brothers would have died, and even Wang Dang and I might not have survived."

Seeing this, Chu Yan also pondered and said:

"Just now, we all witnessed firsthand how incredibly brutal Cuan Heizi's swordsmanship was, and how elusive his movements were, making him virtually unstoppable. Fortunately, Liu Bei intervened in time to help, which allowed him to be killed. We brothers who survived are truly grateful for his kindness..."

Luo Shi then said meaningfully:

"Though we are bandits, we are also men of principle who distinguish right from wrong. General, Da Hu's death was an accident. Liu Bei did not hate us, nor did he have any prior grudge against us. He was only trying to protect his cousin at the time. He did not intend to kill him. Da Hu went berserk and killed anyone he saw, as you all know."

"What a pity for my brother Da Hu, he died for the bandit gang..."

Zhang Niujiao was heartbroken, his brows furrowed in pain.

At this moment, a thin man with a goatee walked up to Zhang Niujiao and said quietly:

"General, since we started our uprising, how many brothers have died for our stronghold? We lived happily, and we died heroically. None of our brothers died unjustly or in a filthy way. That is enough for them. Everyone dies eventually. The Xianbei people consider dying on the battlefield an honor. We Han people also consider dying on the battlefield, wrapped in a horse's hide, an honor. We were bandits, outlaws in the eyes of the government, but to die under the swords of the government troops is a worthy death."

"Yu Digen, your goatee is getting longer and longer."

Zhang Niujiao said slowly, "Old people are shrewd, and old ghosts are clever. Your views are always like those of a ram standing on a mountaintop, carrying a muttony smell, yet so refined, detached, and otherworldly."

When Liu Bei heard Zhang Niujiao call out the name "Yu Digen," he immediately thought of Yu Digen, a general of the Black Mountain Army in history.

"羝" means ram.

The character 根 (gēn) means root hair or beard.

Digen means ram's beard.

There is an idiom called "羝羊触藩" (dī yáng chù fān), which means that a ram's horn gets caught on a fence, leaving it unable to move forward or backward. It is often used to describe people's anxious state of being caught between a rock and a hard place.

Because of his long, thick beard that was intertwined with each other, he called himself "Yu Digen".

Yu is his surname.

Yu Digen's words to Zhang Niujiao were also opportunistic and implied an attempt to exonerate Liu Bei.

After all, so many people are speaking up for Liu Bei.

Even Sun Qing, Wang Dang, Chu Yan, and Luo Shi were very grateful for Liu Bei's help.

Seeing this, Zhang Leigong, who was originally full of passion, had no choice but to shut up.

Zhang Niujiao thought for a moment, then looked at Liu Bei and asked directly:

What do you think?

Liu Bei, who had remained unmoved, glanced at the xiezhi crown on Zhang Niujiao's head and said in a deep voice:

"Why does the general wear a xiezhi crown?"

Zhang Niujiao looked up at the sky and said, "The reason I wear this Xie Zhi crown is to constantly remind myself, and those who see me, that I must always remain fair and upright, and that I must always distinguish right from wrong."

"Yes, like the mythical beast Xie Zhi, bravely and heroically upholding the laws of heaven and earth..."

Liu Bei nodded in approval, "As their leader, you should naturally see further and think more deeply. When a wolf pack roams the mountains and forests, the alpha wolf steers the course, directing the strong wolves to attack and protecting the weak old wolves and cubs, all based on justice. Since you pursue justice, you don't need to ask me what I think. You just need to ask your own heart."

……

The leaders of the Black Mountain and Yellow Turban tribes were not originally officials; they called themselves by their own names, and the one with a long beard called himself Yu Digen.

—Biography of Zhang Yan, Book of Wei, Records of the Three Kingdoms