Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

After listening to Liu Bei's words, Zhang Niujiao fell into deep thought.

He discovered that this young Liu Bei had so many people willing to speak up for him, including his brothers from Baishi Mountain Stronghold.

Zhang Fei was even willing to trade his own life for Liu Bei's.

What is it about this young man named Liu Bei that makes him so charming?

After pondering for a while...

Zhang Niujiao couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

My shoulders also began to relax and sag.

Liu Bei knew that Zhang Niujiao, after much contemplation, had decided to let go of his obsession.

Two long, drawn-out breaths slowly escaped his nose.

Liu Bei still felt regretful about killing the hero Da Hu of Baishi Mountain.

Da Hu was the first person he killed after arriving at the end of the Han Dynasty.

At that time, in order to protect his cousins ​​Liu Bao and Liu Buyi, he had no choice but to kill Da Hu, who was in a berserk state, with a single blow.

If he didn't kill Da Hu, then his cousins ​​Liu Bao and Liu Buyi would die.

Even if he had to choose now, he would still protect his two cousins.

Zhang Niujiao, the leader of Baishi Mountain Stronghold, seemed to have realized this as well. After glancing at everyone, he said leisurely:

"...At that time, the situation was urgent, and Liu Bei killed Da Hu to protect his cousin. From his perspective, it was understandable. But from our perspective, Liu Bei was our enemy."

Everyone was slightly startled upon hearing this.

Some nodded in approval.

Some remained silent.

Zhang Niujiao continued:

"And today, Liu Bei killed Cuan Heizi, protecting our leaders and brothers. This is yet another great kindness to our stronghold."

Upon hearing this, Sun Qing, Wang Dang, Chu Yan, Luo Shi, and the others all nodded.

Only Zhang Leigong, whose voice was as loud as thunder, stood stiffly with a cold face.

"A true man should distinguish between gratitude and resentment, and should also be loyal and righteous."

As Zhang Niujiao spoke, he glanced at Liu Bei, "Although Da Hu died because of Liu Bei, all the brothers were reborn because of Liu Bei. I think that if Da Hu's spirit in heaven saw that Liu Bei saved so many brothers today, he would forgive him..."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Leigong.

Zhang Leigong gave a soft, cold snort.

Judging from the volume of his voice, his opinion was no longer as strong as it had been before.

After all, Liu Bei was not an utterly wicked person; all his actions were motivated by good intentions, and he was basically on the side of justice.

Zhang Niujiao continued in a deep voice:

"Liu Bei is different from us after all. We are mountain bandits, we are forest robbers, while Liu Bei is just a commoner."

"We can kill people and then hide in the mountains, continuing to live a carefree life."

"Liu Bei killed Cuan Heizi, but from then on he was in grave danger. The government would definitely hunt him down, and the people of Qingxi Manor would not let him go either."

"His family will be implicated. His clansmen will be blamed. He will never have peace again."

Upon hearing Zhang Niujiao's words, everyone couldn't help but feel worried for Liu Bei.

Even Zhang Leigong, the loudmouth who was extremely indignant about Liu Bei, couldn't help but soften his expression.

His gloomy, ashen face began to soften considerably.

Liu Bei knew that Zhang Niujiao was right. From then on, he would indeed bear a huge responsibility and be pursued by various forces, living in anxiety and fear.

However, he wasn't afraid at all.

As the saying goes, "Fortune favors the bold," how can one achieve great things without taking risks and employing unconventional tactics?

He was confident that he had the ability to subdue all factions.

For someone with imperial ambitions, navigating between various forces with skill and dexterity is the most basic political skill.

Only by utilizing all available resources and uniting with all available friends can we defeat the most dangerous enemies and ultimately achieve hegemony.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei said to Zhang Niujiao:

"General, only those present know that I killed Cuan Heizi. If the news leaks out, then those present will be implicated."

Zhang Niujiao nodded, glanced at everyone present, and then said with a serious expression:

"If anyone leaks this information, don't blame me, Zhang Niujiao, for drawing my sword against them. I mean what I say!"

Everyone present nodded in agreement.

Yu Digen, who had a goatee, suddenly said:

"Liu Bei, if all else fails, why don't you join the White Stone Mountain stronghold?"

A man with unusually large eyes walked over and said with a smile:

"I, Li Damu, am known as the Thousand-Mile Eye. If Liu Bei were to take refuge in Baishi Mountain, he could adopt the nickname 'Liu the Wind-Following Ear.' In that case, our Baishi Mountain stronghold would have both the Thousand-Mile Eye and the Wind-Following Ear, ensuring our conquests would be 'smooth sailing' all the way."

His words made everyone burst into laughter.

Zhang Niujiao also explained to Liu Bei:

"Look at Li Damu's big, round eyes, they can see signs of human activity more than twenty miles away. The people in the mountain village have given him the nickname 'Thousand-Mile Eyes'."

"Wow, that's amazing! You can see twenty miles away... That's incredible eyesight."

Liu Bei could hardly believe it. "However, although my ears are very large, they are not sensitive to the wind. I cannot hear people speaking more than twenty miles away. Unless it is thunder from the sky."

"Hey!"

Li Damu pointed at Zhang Leigong, "Leigong's loud voice can be heard from dozens of miles away. He would be perfect as a messenger during a war."

Liu Bei nodded silently.

He looked at Zhang Niujiao, who wore a cow-horned hat; Zhang Leigong, who had a loud voice; Li Damu, who had big eyes; Yu Digen, who had a goatee; Sun Qing and Wang Dang, who were dressed as wandering knights; Chu Yan, who was agile and brave; and Luo Shi, who had a fiery temper. He knew that they were all daring and ruthless bandits.

"The mountain stronghold is full of talented people, and it will surely become more and more prosperous."

Liu Bei said with a smile.

At this moment, Li Damu pulled over a burly man carrying a bow and arrows. "I haven't introduced this man to you yet. He is also the leader of our White Stone Mountain stronghold. He only loves riding white horses, so he has a nickname, 'Zhang the White Rider'."

Liu Bei looked at the man named Zhang Baiqi and saw that he was handsome, tall and slender. In his early twenties, he was full of youthful energy and exuded a youthful vigor.

This stands in stark contrast to the strangely shaped heroes of White Stone Mountain.

This inevitably reminded Liu Bei of his good elder brother—General Gongsun Zan of the White Horse.

In his youth, Gongsun Zan was also extremely handsome, attracting the attention of many young girls.

Gongsun Zan also loved to ride a white horse, and the Xianbei people called him "White Horse Chief Secretary".

His elite cavalry was also known as the "White Horse Cavalry".

"Zhang Baiqi..."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, "Then you must be skilled in archery and horsemanship?"

Zhang Baiqi smiled and said:

"In Baishi Mountain Village, when it comes to archery skills alone, if I say I'm second, no one dares to say they're first."

Li Damu also laughed:

"He also has a nickname, 'Blind Sniper Sharpshooter' Zhang Baiqi."

"Blind sniping...sharpshooting..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei's eyes widened. "Does that mean Brother Zhang Baiqi can kill enemies from a distance even with his eyes closed?"

"You can't believe it, can you?"

Li Damu smiled and said, "The so-called blind sniping is the ability to locate and shoot the enemy by sound even in the darkest night."

Zhang Baiqi said calmly:

"It's not that magical. Locating enemies by sound and then shooting only gives you a certain chance of killing them. The brothers in the mountain stronghold are just being naive and exaggerating my abilities. Actually, there are plenty of skilled archers in the world. Especially in the military, there are many sharpshooters."

Liu Bei, who had been skilled in archery and horsemanship since childhood, was eager to try his hand at it upon hearing this, and so he said:

"I also have some skill in archery, especially the skill of hitting a willow leaf from a hundred paces. We can have a contest sometime."

"OK."

Zhang Baiqi nodded and looked at Liu Bei with interest. "It seems that you are not only skilled in swordsmanship, but also in archery."

"Xuande, Xuande..."

A faint, almost imperceptible call interrupted Liu Bei's thoughts.

They looked in the direction of the sound.

Liu Bei saw that it was Wu Guang, who was hanging from the tree trunk, calling his name.

So he walked up to the fifth light.

"Xuande, for the sake of our past mutual admiration, could I ask you for a favor...?"

The fifth light spoke in a faint, almost imperceptible voice.

"What is it?"

When Liu Bei saw that he had suffered so much, he felt that he deserved it and had no sympathy for him whatsoever.

Fifth Light lifted his bloodshot, blurry eyes hidden beneath his disheveled hair, looked at Liu Bei, and said haltingly:

"Xuande, I've always admired your swordsmanship—fast, ruthless, and precise. Could you use your sword to give me a swift and decisive victory?"

……

They called themselves "Zhang Baiqi" ​​(Zhang the White Rider), "Zhang Leigong" (Zhang the Thunder God) for the one who rode a white horse, and "Li Damu" (Li the Big-Eyed) for the one with large eyes.

— Chen Shou, *Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Biography of Zhang Yan, Annotated by Pei Songzhi*