Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 111 The Intention of a Drunkard
Liu Bei knew that the only person who could possibly gain the upper hand in a one-on-one fight with Guan Yu was Lü Bu.

Of course, Liu Bei couldn't step forward to help in this situation. He was quite aware of his own martial arts skills... Beating up Cao Cao wouldn't be a problem, but facing Lü Bu, he would most likely only cause trouble for Guan Yu.

However, it would be inappropriate for Liu Bei to lead his troops directly into battle—Lu Bu was transporting salt to Jiuyuan, clearly serving the state and county. If Liu Bei were to lead his private troops to attack, it would constitute treason.

It's not a problem for someone like Guan Yu to seek revenge alone; it's a matter of morality to avenge a friend, especially in a place like Jiuyuan.

Moreover, Liu Bei knew that Lü Bu was not an enemy of the Du family.

It's not good to help, but the two sides are fighting fiercely. If we try to stop them now, Guan Yu might suffer a loss. So we definitely need some off-field assistance.

So Liu Bei stood there watching and loudly 'instructing' Lü Bu, like an action director directing actors...

Guan Yu was engaged in a fierce battle with Lü Bu when he suddenly saw Liu Bei. He heard Liu Bei "instructing" Lü Bu, and realizing that Liu Bei was just trying to provoke the enemy, he rallied his spirits and continued fighting.

Seeing Liu Bei standing there with his hands clasped as if speaking up for him, Lü Bu ignored him. Fighting an opponent like Guan Yu, he couldn't afford to be distracted.

But it's hard to control whether you get distracted or not...

"Hey, hey, that was a feint! Why are you still chasing him? Oh no, he's gotten away... You should have thrown the halberd! Do you understand what a throwing halberd is? It's throwing the halberd! Hurry up..."

Liu Bei was still gesturing loudly and spouting nonsense.

Lu Bu had the upper hand and had the opportunity to pursue and assassinate Guan Yu, but upon hearing about the plan to drag his blade, he subconsciously slowed down.

As a result, Guan Yu neither dragged his sword nor used any tricks. Instead, he took the opportunity to avoid the pursuit and turned his horse around to slash repeatedly, switching from defense to offense.

Then, upon hearing something, he threw the halberd away...

Lu Bu was so flustered by this commotion that Guan Yu managed to turn the tide.

"Red-faced thief! Stop!"

After forcefully blocking Guan Yu's powerful and heavy blow, Lü Bu shouted, "You said you came here for revenge... but you've come to the wrong person!"

"Hmph...you just admitted it! This scoundrel's words are contradictory; he's definitely not a good person!"

Guan Yu pressed down with his sword, without loosening his grip.

"I haven't killed anyone these days... Red-faced thief, I'm just a salt smuggler!"

Lu Bu forcefully pushed aside his weapon, spurred his horse around, and galloped towards the salt convoy: "Gao Shun, stop him!"

"What nonsense!"

Guan Yu drew his sword and gave chase.

A burly soldier stepped forward. This man was not on horseback and looked a little older than Lü Bu. He had a square face and thick eyebrows and looked like a farmer.

He held his spear and let Lü Bu pass, then looked at Guan Yu with his spear held horizontally, appearing quite silent.

"Yun Chang, stop!"

Liu Bei also caught up, spurred his horse to block Guan Yu, waved his hand to signal his men to surround Lü Bu and the salt-carrying barbarians, and then glanced at Gao Shun.

Seeing that Liu Bei had no intention of making a move, Gao Shun put away his spear and silently returned to Lü Bu's side.

"I am Lü Bu, the General of the Nine Springs... Who are you, Your Excellency? Are you an imperial envoy?"

Lu Bu was naturally annoyed by Liu Bei's nonsensical commands, but he didn't speak too arrogantly when he saw the armored cavalry behind Liu Bei.

He also assumed that Liu Bei, who was leading so many armored soldiers, was mostly government troops.

"Liu Xuande of Zhuojun".

Liu Bei looked Lü Bu up and down and saw that he was not wearing the standard armor of the Han army, but rather a piece of his own personal armor. He then asked, "Brother Fengxian, you don't look like a salt official or a border soldier. Why are you involved in this salt transport business?"

As he asked, he took the bag off the saddle and threw it to Lü Bu: "My brother's pursuit of our enemy has delayed your official duties, and I apologize for any offense caused. I am writing this to express my remorse."

That was a bag of gold ingots, worth at least 100,000 coins.

Lu Bu opened the bag, glanced at it, his eyes lit up, and cupped his hands towards Liu Bei: "Brother Xuande, you are so generous! This matter is not a delay. I was hired by Governor Zhang to purchase horses for his own benefit, it is not official business."

After receiving the money, Lü Bu became much more polite. As he spoke, he glanced at Liu Bei's troops behind him, his eyes showing a hint of wariness, but more clearly a look of longing: "Brother Xuande, since you are not an official envoy, why do you have so many armored soldiers and fine horses?"

Then, he met Zuo Yuan and Xiuniang...

The look in his eyes became even more piercing.

"rude!"

Zhang Fei was furious behind Liu Bei and almost came out to kill him.

That was his title when he was angry with Lü Bu.

If the two parties are not close friends and have not asked each other's ages, then to show politeness, they should address each other as "brother"; otherwise, they can simply call each other by their given names.

Lü Bu looked to be in his early twenties, about the same age as Liu Bei. Yet, because Liu Bei politely addressed him as "Brother Fengxian," Lü Bu actually called Liu Bei "younger brother," and always referred to himself as "I" in a condescending manner. This was clearly a sign of immaturity…

Furthermore, having just admitted his debt, he went back on his word after a fight where he realized he couldn't win—this person is fickle and unreliable, lacking both integrity and manners.

Trust is the foundation of righteousness, and Guan Yu disliked Lü Bu.

Zuo Yuan didn't like it either... because she noticed that Lu Bu's gaze towards her and Xiu Niang was completely undisguised.

However, she didn't say anything. She had seen this kind of look many times before. She pretended that Lu Bu didn't exist, and rode her horse around to the outer perimeter.

"So, Fengxian is an aide to Zhang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou? I wonder if Fengxian knows Martin Yuan, the military commander of Yunzhong?" Liu Bei waved his hand at Guan Yu, his own face expressionless, but he no longer addressed him as brother.

Lü Bu is now essentially a mercenary, and Zhang Yi, the current governor of Bing Province, is his employer.

This was a unique situation for the governors of prefectures at that time, especially in the border prefectures.

The governor of a prefecture had neither military nor administrative power, but war could break out in the border regions at any time. In order to replenish their strength or protect themselves, they had to hire some local tyrants of humble origins to bring their private troops to bolster their military force.

This was also the reason why Liu Yu wanted to recruit Liu Bei.

Since the governor had no power to appoint or dismiss personnel, these mercenaries could only be given the status of a subordinate, that is, a secretary or assistant, which was a civil position—there were no military officials under the governor.

In other words, Lü Bu is now actually a civilian employee.

"Have you come here to seek revenge on Ding Sima?"

Lu Bu withdrew his gaze, looked at Liu Bei, and then at Guan Yu: "What grudge do you hold? Is it because of this salt?"

"Yes, he and Qin Yilu murdered hundreds of members of the Du family, and together with Xiutu Hu, they committed murder and robbery... The Du family did indeed smuggle salt, but wiping out the entire family went too far, and this matter needs to be explained."

Liu Bei simply told them what had happened, since they had already surrounded the enemy.

"That's not right. Ding Sima hasn't been in Yunzhong at all these days. His troops have been stationed at Yanmen to defend... It's true that this salt was transported back from Yunzhong, but it's official salt from the Yunzhong Qing Saltworks. It was pulled out of the saltworks!"

Lu Bu found it unbelievable after hearing this: "I also know Qin Yilu, whom my virtuous brother Xuande mentioned. His family has a feud with Ding Sima! What he said may not be true!"

"Oh?"

Liu Bei frowned: "What grudge does the Qin family have against Ding Yuan?"

“Ding Sima extorted his family’s wealth to supplement military expenses and also seized his family’s saltworks. The Yunzhongqing Saltworks originally belonged to the Qin family.”

Lü Bu shook his head: "The Qin family came to Governor Zhang to complain, so the salt fields became Governor Zhang's property... As a result, Commander Ding was sent by Governor Zhang to Mayi in Yanmen to defend against the Xianbei. I was there at the time, and Commander Ding even said that the Qin family was going to rebel..."

It seems Qin Yilu did it on purpose...

He originally thought Liu Bei was a member of the Cao family, and that the Du family was related to the Cao family. He deliberately attributed the incident to Ding Yuan in order to harm Ding Yuan.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei gave him a quick and easy explanation first.

But this is also a good thing, at least we don't have to dwell on the grudges in Bingzhou anymore, and we can go back to develop our businesses with peace of mind.

However, this incident served as a reminder to Liu Bei that having all the advantages does not guarantee peace of mind; anyone who seems insignificant may do something extraordinary.

"So it turns out we were completely deceived by Qin Yilu... Luckily we met Fengxian."

Liu Bei shook his head and turned to look at Lü Bu's salt transport team: "Fengxian just said he wanted to buy horses for the governor... Are these salt goods to be sent to exchange for horses?"

"Yes, transport them to the Xiutu tribe in exchange for some warhorses."

Lü Bu shook his head and sighed, "I originally intended to go north to kill the Hu, but I never expected to be assigned such a task."

The Xiutu tribe was the largest of the Southern Xiongnu, and its settlement was located between Jiuyuan and Jinyang.

Actually, being able to do personal work for the leader should be a sign that the governor values ​​Lü Bu... However, Lü Bu probably didn't think it was a sign of respect; he probably felt it was hindering his ability to gain military merit.

“In that case… I can help you out, Fengxian. I’ll buy this salt… Fengxian, you might as well name your price.”

Liu Bei glanced at Lü Bu, then at Gao Shun: "The horses here are much better than those of the Xiutu tribe."

"Indeed...they are all top-quality horses! Brother, are you really going to do this business?"

Lu Bu had always coveted the horses of Liu Bei's troops, and upon hearing Liu Bei's words, he was both surprised and delighted: "Then ten... fifteen horses!"

In fact, the salt he has here is probably only worth ten warhorses.

There are more than thirty cartloads of salt here, plus one piece, which is about five hundred shi (a unit of dry measure).

If sold to the Wuhuan or Xianbei people, this salt could be exchanged for at least fifty horses, but with the Xianbei raiding the border, this business is not feasible.

If sold to the Southern Xiongnu, who had submitted to the Han Chinese, the salt could be exchanged for at most ten horses. This was because the Southern Xiongnu had already migrated inland and were living among the Han people. They didn't have many horses of their own, and they could buy salt in places like Jinyang and Jiuyuan, so their need for salt wasn't that urgent.

However, if military supplies were urgently needed, they could only buy them from the Southern Xiongnu. Salt from the salt fields would easily spoil if not sold, and warehouses in those days were not moisture-proof.

“Alright, fifteen horses. But Fengxian will have to have his brothers help me transport them for a while… I’ll cover the expenses along the way. Just get them to Jinyang, and I’ll take the Jingxing Pass and cross the Taihang Mountains.”

Liu Bei did not haggle over the price, but simply had Lü Bu's men help with the transportation.

With a wave of his hand, fifteen horses emerged from the ranks, all of them indeed superior warhorses.

"Transporting them is a piece of cake... Not to mention helping out, I'd even sell all the people here to Brother Xuande!"

Lu Bu was rubbing his hands as he inspected the horses, his mind completely focused on them, but he didn't notice the dull look in the eyes of his men who were transporting salt.

"We cannot treat people as valuables; we can only borrow these brothers to do their labor for a few days..."

Liu Bei smiled and looked at Gao Shun: "Brother Gao Shun, may I ask your name?"

In fact, Liu Bei knew that Gao Shun did not have a courtesy name; he just wanted to talk to Gao Shun more on purpose.

Guan Yu's eyes twitched. He could tell that Liu Bei's attitude towards Gao Shun was much more enthusiastic than his attitude towards Lü Bu.

Transporting salt? Of course, it's for kidnapping people...

(End of this chapter)