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

Chapter 289 Evil Comes
However, even with victories, even with fair records of merit, even with benevolent generals, even with everyone being honest and not greedy for credit, even with all beheadings truthfully falling on the soldiers' heads...

Even if everyone is kind and benevolent, cattle and horses are still cattle and horses.

They thought they could become human, but the world won't give them that chance.

Having received some money and provisions, and thus absolved of his original sins, he seemed to be quite close to being a respectable person, but the sins of three generations ago could not be washed away.

If one is not personally selected by a high-ranking person and cannot rise in social class in the current generation, one's social status will not change—and then there will be no chance for the next generation to make an effort.

Even if they eat a few more mouthfuls of feed, they will only grow to be a little fatter. If they dare not pull the millstone, they will be more likely to be slaughtered and eaten.

How many taxes can a little money cover? How many setbacks can it withstand?
Under the influence of filial piety, as long as a decent funeral is held for one's parents, one can be transformed back into the person one's parents were, and continue to pull carts and grind grain for others.

In the end, they can only follow in their parents' footsteps.

They either become infertile or undergo sterilization voluntarily.

The cattle and horses realized they couldn't be human, and naturally some of them were dissatisfied, so they turned to thievery...

—Then, its head became a merit in the eyes of other cattle and horses.

In different roles, they experience the same cycle again.

This is the rule of this world.

These rules, on the surface, speak of benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety...

But within these rules...

There is no one at all!

The cattle and horses went through endless cycles of reincarnation, and the heroic spirit of the Han Dynasty gradually faded away in this cycle.

Since talent and hard work are no longer useful, since everything depends on being born into the right family, since we are destined to be beasts of burden...

Then what's the point of competing?

After all the heroes are gone, despicable opportunists will naturally gain power. In order to ensure that they remain "human" forever, they will constantly restrain and stifle the heroic spirit.

Locking up the last remaining heroism and bravery of the Han people, locking up the remaining fortitude and fearlessness of the world, locking up martial spirit and chivalry, locking up all the personality of a human being, so that cattle and horses will no longer have any delusions...

The surviving cattle and horses had no pride or arrogance, were neither human nor ghost, only knew how to frolic and make merry, and thought this was the epitome of worldly elegance.

From everyone being a dragon, they've degenerated into a nation of beasts of burden, struggling to survive for a meager morsel of hay...

This rule has even become a mental constraint, a so-called "great way," and under the auspices of loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness, it has become a principle that has always been so!

To the point that ordinary people don't even consider themselves human anymore.

This is not because cattle and horses have become worthless due to an abundance of them, but because this set of rules has always been deeply rooted in everyone's mind—including that of cattle and horses.

Liu Bei also worked as a beast of burden.

He knew this was wrong.

If you are to be a beast of burden within the rules, then you can only be bound by the rules, drift with the tide, and kill your own kind.

Liu Bei was going to live in the Han Dynasty for many more years, and he didn't want to be bound by these rules.

Then... Liu Bei decided to try to steal this so-called 'Great Way' to cure the ills of the Han Dynasty.

If it can't be cured, then there's no point in living in this cattle and horse shed for the rest of my life.

If one can manage even a little bit of the dragons, and live in the land where dragons dwell, one will be able to appreciate all the rare treasures in the world.

……

Old city.

At this time, Zhang Liao was leading his army to pursue and kill Zhao Chong's troops.

Zhao Chong was not as resolute as Wei Zi. Seeing that he was no match for Wei Zi, he immediately retreated while fighting.

But Zhang Liao was stubborn and kept pursuing the matter relentlessly... after all, Zhang Liao was only twenty years old at the time.

Moreover, Zhang Liao felt he needed a pledge of loyalty...

Zhang Liao actually didn't want to follow Lü Bu.

He was different from Gao Shun, who was a retainer of Lü Bu. Although Gao Shun trained his troops, they were all Lü Bu's men.

Gao Shun wanted to repay a debt of gratitude, so he couldn't possibly leave Lü Bu.

However, Zhang Liao was never Lü Bu's subordinate; his troops were his own. Moreover, Lü Bu consistently sent Zhang Liao into tough battles, and he only survived thanks to Gao Shun's protection…

Zhang Liao was from Mayi in Yanmen, and a descendant of Nie Yi—the very Nie Yi who orchestrated the 'Mayi Plot'.

After the failure of the Mayi plot, the descendants of the Nie family changed their surname to Zhang to avoid disaster, and they remained a powerful clan in Mayi, Yanmen.

Zhang Liao became a military officer at Yanmen when he was eighteen years old, and later Ding Yuan appointed him as an aide.

Ding Yuan was actually hedging his bets... He promised to help Empress Dowager Dong, sent Zhang Yang to Luoyang to join the Western Garden Army and seek refuge with Jian Shuo, and sent Zhang Liao to seek refuge with He Jin.

He Jin sent Zhang Liao back to his hometown to raise troops, acting as a liaison between him and Ding Yuan. At that time, He Jin was "uniting various prefectures and counties" under the "guidance" of Yuan Shao. Many people, including Zhang Miao and Bao Xin, were employed by He Jin and were tasked with raising troops.

In other words, Zhang Liao was nominally He Jin's separate commander, but he also led the Yanmen border troops that he had recruited himself, which could be considered Zhang Liao's own troops.

However, not long afterward, He Jin and He Miao fought each other, Zhang Yang and Lü Bu were successively won over by Yuan Shao, He Jin and Ding Yuan were both killed, and the Bingzhou army fell into Lü Bu's hands.

Suddenly, both of Zhang Liao's bosses disappeared.

Zhang Liao was young, had few connections in Luoyang, and didn't have many troops under his command, which put him in a very awkward position.

If he had no troops, it wouldn't matter, but the problem is that Zhang Liao has more than 500 men under his command, and they are elite border troops, including many members of the Zhang family.

Lü Bu certainly wouldn't let this army go. If Zhang Liao didn't follow Lü Bu, his fate was obvious, after all, Ding Yuan had already been killed...

Since Zhang Liao and Lü Bu were colleagues and had some relationship, Zhang Liao naturally had no choice but to cooperate with Lü Bu first—which was essentially being coerced.

Right now, Lü Bu is cooperating with Liu Bei to quell the rebellion of the imperial court, which presents a good opportunity for Zhang Liao.

It was both an opportunity to earn merit and an opportunity to escape.

Lu Bu murdered his former master and was fickle, short-sighted, and ungrateful, so Zhang Liao always felt dangerous around him.

If one can achieve meritorious service here, one might be able to truly become a subject of the Han Dynasty, leave Lü Bu's army, and serve the Han Dynasty.

However... Zhang Liao wasn't very lucky.

He had already caught up with Zhao Chong and was about to charge forward and capture the flag when a large soldier blocked his way.

"Do not harm Sima!"

The big man only had a short halberd in his hand and was only wearing leather armor, so it was obvious that he was just an ordinary soldier.

Zhang Liao didn't pay much attention and killed him with his halberd.

But the big guy blocked Zhang Liao's attack with just a short halberd, and with a counterattack, he even made Zhang Liao's hands go numb.

Zhang Liao waved his hand, signaling his men to launch a combined attack.

Perhaps finding the short halberd unsuitable, the burly man threw it at Zhang Liao, then turned and pulled up a flagpole beside him, sweeping it away and knocking down a group of Zhang Liao's men.

Zhang Liao, quick-witted and agile, parried Dian Wei's flying halberd with his weapon, but felt his hands go numb. He was actually knocked back two steps by the short halberd and fell to the ground.

Such power was truly terrifying. Zhang Liao shook his hand, stood up again, and looked at Dian Wei with a solemn expression.

My hands were numb, so I couldn't go forward immediately; I had to wait a bit.

"Alright! Dian Wei, hold them off..."

While praising him, Zhao Chong turned his horse around and took the opportunity to slip away.

At this moment, Lü Bu also arrived here carrying Wei Zi's head.

Lu Bu found another horse on the battlefield, but he never felt comfortable riding it. After riding the precious horse given to him by Dong Zhuo for a few days, he really couldn't stand the other warhorses.

Already in a bad mood, Lü Bu was enraged to see Zhang Liao dawdling, which allowed Zhao Chong to escape. He cried out, "Wen Yuan! How could you be so slow?!"

Zhao Chong was fleeing, and Zhang Liao wanted to give chase after him, but Dian Wei, though he looked burly, was very agile. He swung his hand back and swept the flagpole towards Zhang Liao with a whoosh.

Lu Bu rode out in pursuit, drew his bow and arrow, and even from nearly a hundred paces away, he still managed to hit Zhao Chong in the back with a single arrow.

Zhang Liao fought for half a day, but his greatest military achievement was lost.

Moreover, there was a burly man with an unfriendly look in front of him, gripping a flagpole as thick as a bowl and starting to fly into a rage...

Zhang Liao felt his scalp begin to tingle, and a tremendous sense of crisis arose in his heart.

However, Dian Wei's rage wasn't directed at Zhang Liao...

Dian Wei's eyes widened, and he chased after Lü Bu, wielding a flagpole over two zhang long: "You thieving barbarian, die!"

(End of this chapter)