Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

The sword dance ended.

Liu Bei remained unfazed, barely out of breath, and still maintained a relaxed and carefree demeanor.

"Brother Su, Brother Zhang," he said as he sheathed the Giant Sword, "I have found the sixty fine horses that the Five Deer King stole from you and put them in the stable. You can take them with you when you go down the mountain later."

Zhang Shiping laughed heartily and said:

"Xuande, I had lost these sixty fine horses. Now that they have been recovered, I will give them to you. You have recently gained many strong and capable warriors from Xu Wushan, and they need these fine horses to ride."

Liu Bei nodded, "Then thank you very much."

He looked around and then said:

"Let's talk in the lobby."

The group all entered the main hall of the mountain stronghold.

Liu Bei gave Dongye Ban a wink.

Higashino understood and immediately chased away all the bystanders outside the hall.

He and Xinyuan Jian stood on either side of the entrance to the hall, blocking the villagers from entering.

Liu Bei, Zhang Shiping, and Su Shuang entered the hall and took their seats.

Zhang Shiping sensed that Liu Bei seemed to have some confidential information to share, and impatiently asked:

"If there's anything you need our help with, Xuande, just say the word."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and said:

"After I return to Zhuojun, I will go to the border region. I'm afraid it will be several months before I return."

Zhang Shiping asked:

"What business does Xuande have going to the borderlands?"

After some thought, Liu Bei decided to keep the assassination attempt on the Xianbei Khan a secret for the time being, lest Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang inadvertently reveal it. Therefore, he said:

"I plan to go beyond the Great Wall to trade some grains and silks in exchange for fine horses from the Xianbei people. I will transport them back to Zhuojun, partly for my own use, and partly to sell them in the Xuzhou area for a good price."

Zhang Shiping immediately said:

"Perhaps you lack capital? Here's what I'll do: I'll give you 1,500 bolts of silk as a gift. Go ahead and familiarize yourself with the trade routes."

"Su Shuang and I are going to Liaodong, and we won't be back until autumn, several months later. We won't be able to accompany you to the Xianbei territory."

1,500 bolts of silk were worth approximately 500,000 five-zhu coins at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Note that if a Xianbei warhorse cost four or five thousand copper coins, one could buy more than a hundred warhorses.

If we don't consider the need to switch horses, it would be enough to arm a 100-man unit.

If it's a long-distance raid, considering the need to change horses, it would be enough for a squad of fifty cavalrymen.

Liu Bei had been waiting for these words, and hurriedly replied:

"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Zhang. Very well. Then I will use these 1,500 bolts of silk to make a trip along the Xianbei trade route."

Zhang Shiping then said:

"Xuande, do you really have to go to the Xianbei territory? If you want to buy horses, you can come with me to Liaodong to buy warhorses from the Wuhuan people. They're no worse than the Xianbei horses from beyond the Great Wall."

Liu Bei had no choice but to say:

"Brother Zhang, I am determined to go beyond the Great Wall to buy horses from the Xianbei people. I've heard that the horses raised by the Xianbei people at the foot of the Yin Mountains are far more magnificent than those raised by the Wuhuan people of Liaodong."

"Alright then."

Zhang Shiping pondered, secretly suspecting that Liu Bei might have other hidden motives. "If you're going to buy horses in the Yinshan area beyond the Great Wall, you'll inevitably need to take dozens of people with you. It will take more than a month to travel from Zhuojun to the foot of Yinshan, and each person will need to spend several hundred coins a day, including the fodder for the horses along the way. All in all, it will cost tens of thousands of coins. So I'll give you another five hundred bolts of silk for your round-trip travel expenses. That'll make a total of two thousand bolts of silk."

Liu Bei was overjoyed, "Thank you, Brother Zhang and Brother Su."

Originally, one of his luminous pearls was worth several thousand bolts of silk.

Furthermore, both Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang were willing to assist Liu Bei.

Therefore, Liu Bei accepted it without worry.

Zhang Shiping thought for a moment, then said:

"I will send someone with my letter to Zhongshan, and have my younger brother Zhang Fang transport two thousand bolts of silk to Zuo Zi's home in Shiwulipu."

"After you return to Zhuojun, just wait for my younger brother Zhang Fang at the Zuo Zi family's residence. If you need Zhang Fang to accompany you, he can also go to the borderlands."

"That's great. I've been missing a knowledgeable businessman to mentor me."

Liu Bei was overjoyed.

The group then reached an agreement.

Then they each went their separate ways to handle the matter.

Zhang Shiping immediately wrote a secret letter on silk, instructed his trusted servant to take the letter and ride back to Zhongshan County to deliver it to his younger brother Zhang Fang.

At this moment, Qian Zhao had nothing to do and was teaching the mountain village boys to study the "Jijiupian" in the private school.

In addition to teaching the children, Guan Yu also explained some allusions from the Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo) to the young people.

All the teenagers listened with great interest.

Liu Bei then summoned Qian Zhao and Guan Yu, instructing them to immediately select sixty warhorses from the mountain stronghold, preparing to leave Xuwu Mountain early the next morning and return to Shiwulipu in Zhuo County, Zhuojun.

That evening, Liu Bei gave Du Chang, the newly appointed leader of Xu Wushan's stronghold, detailed instructions, telling him to guard the stronghold well, to act fairly and justly, and to never cause any trouble.

In the past few days, Du Chang's six wandering knights had already moved their hundreds of relatives to Xu Wushan's stronghold.

The counterfeit operation grew even larger.

With new and old forces intertwined, timely information exchange can prevent major chaos.

Moreover, Du Chang was in charge.

Liu Bei still trusted them quite a bit.

Early the next morning.

Liu Bei, Jian Yong, Qian Zhao, Guan Yu, Dongye Ban, Xinyuan Jian, Zuo Zi, Zhang Ba, and the Five Deer King, a total of nine people, led twenty-eight elite riders from the mountain stronghold, plus sixty fine horses, and bid farewell to Du Chang, heading down Xu Wu Mountain.

We arrived at Nanshan Hotel.

Liu Bei and his entourage then parted ways with Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang.

Then, it sped westward.

It wasn't until noon the next day.

Liu Bei and his men then returned to Zuo Zipu's home at Shiwulipu and tied their horses to the Cuju field.

He instructed Zuo Zi to take good care of these horses.

Yang Feng, who was staying at home, was overjoyed to see everyone return.

Next.

Liu Bei needed to persuade his two cousins, Liu Yu and Liu Gao, to accompany him to the Xianbei Tuoba tribe in the western part of Yinshan Mountain beyond the Great Wall.

So he quickly rode back to Dashulou Sangli, first went home to let his mother know he was safe, and then went directly to find Liu Yu and Liu Gao to discuss the matter.

In Liu Yu's study.

When Liu Yu heard Liu Bei say that he had confidential matters to discuss, he dismissed his attendants and told them not to come in unless they gave him permission.

Liu Bei glanced at his two cousins, Liu Yu and Liu Gao, before saying:

"Brother Huaijin and Brother Wangyue, Liu Bei has always been taken care of by you two and protected by the Liu clan. He has always wanted to do something great, live up to the expectations of his clan, and lead the Liu clan of Zhuo County onto the road to prosperity."

"Nowadays, I am well-known in the prefecture and county for killing the bandits of Baishi Mountain."

"But that's far from enough. I want to be known throughout the world."

"After much thought and planning, I've always harbored a plan to assassinate the Xianbei Khan, Tanshihuai!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yu was shocked.

Liu Gao, however, showed a look of surprise and delight.

"Xuande," Liu Yu said, slightly flustered, "this matter must not be handled hastily."

Liu Bei then recounted his victory over Xu Wushan's stronghold to the two men, demonstrating his capability and sufficient manpower.

"Now, I plan to use business as a cover to travel to the western Xianbei Tuoba tribe at the foot of Yinshan Mountain. In order to gain the trust of Tuiyin Tuoba Lin of the Xianbei as soon as possible, I hope that my two cousins ​​will come with me."

Regardless of the circumstances, I, Liu Bei, will swear to protect the safety of my two cousins ​​with my life. Even if I, Liu Bei, die in battle beyond the Great Wall, I will do everything in my power to ensure their return to Han territory before I die.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Gao felt quite emboldened:

"Assassinating Tan Shihuai is a good deed to rid the people of a scourge. Ever since Tan Shihuai became the Khan of the Xianbei, he has invaded the border year after year, killing people and plundering their property. I also hope to eliminate this villain, but I regret that I am powerless to do so."

"Huaijin, it's rare to find someone like Xuande with such ambition and boldness! In that case, let's venture out to the borderlands once more."

Liu Yu hesitated.

Having escaped death from the Xianbei this time, he had said he would never go to the borderlands again, so he was naturally still fearful.

He pondered for a moment.

Liu Yu just said:

"Wang Yue is right. As a man of Han origin, my death is nothing to regret. But before I die, I must kill Tan Shihuai..."

He was tempted, but also had some doubts about whether Liu Bei could successfully assassinate Tan Shihuai.

To solidify the resolve of his two cousins, Liu Bei said in a deep voice:

"To kill Tanshihuai, we need not only our own strength, but also the strength of the western Xianbei. If we can get the eastern, central, and western Xianbei tribes to fight each other, then we can take the opportunity to kill Tanshihuai. The chances are quite good."

"Therefore, we rely not only on force, but also on wisdom."

……

Horses are the foundation of military equipment and of great importance to the nation. In times of peace, they are used to distinguish the order of rank and status; in times of turmoil, they are used to overcome difficulties near and far.

—From the Biography of Ma Yuan in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty