The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 96 Although we lost to the Four Tigers of Crouching Dragons, we can brag about it for a lifetime (2 updates)
Kong Shun did not understand Hua Yan's suffering.

A mere plains clerk actually fought against Liu Bei's Crouching Dragon and Four Tigers all by himself. Such a feat is something to brag about for a lifetime!

Even Cao Cao would have to say: "I originally thought Lü Bu was invincible, but I didn't expect someone to be even more valiant than him. Whose general is this?"
Seeing that Hua Yan did not answer, Kong Shun handed Hua Yan the letter that Liu Bei had sent.

After glancing at the contents of the letter, Hua Yan's expression became complicated, and he finally couldn't help but sigh, "General Zuo's benevolence is beyond my reach!"

Hua Yan could have returned to the city last night, but he was anxious because he didn't know how to face Yuan Tan, so he waited outside the city until dawn before entering.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei sent a letter to Yuan Tan in advance, and the contents of the letter were all designed to cover up Hua Yan's wrongdoing, making Hua Yan feel ashamed and embarrassed.

Liu Bei was able to repay evil with kindness!
Hearing Hua Yan's long sigh, Kong Shun was utterly shocked: "Hua Gongcao, what exactly happened?"

Hua Yan sighed again, his arrogance from yesterday's campaign gone: "If it weren't for General Zuo's benevolence, I wouldn't have been able to return."

As Hua Yan recounted his experiences from the previous day, Kong Shun was even more horrified.

Although Kong Shun knew that Liu Bei was brave and skilled in battle and could not be confronted head-on, he could hardly believe that Hua Yan's five thousand infantry and cavalry had been wiped out in a single battle.

"From now on, we must not be enemies with General Zuo again!" Kong Shun's tone was apprehensive and fearful. If we can't afford to offend him, we should avoid him. There's no need to bite the bullet and confront him.

Hua Yan nodded and said, "Consultant Kong, I still need you to cover for me at the magistrate's place."

Although he had escaped with his life from Liu Bei, he still had to deal with Yuan Tan's wrath, and Hua Yan did not want to lose his current status and wealth.

Kong Shun pointed to Liu Bei's letter and suggested, "Hua Gongcao can go in first to apologize. When the magistrate gets angry, I will send this letter in. The magistrate will not make things difficult for you because of General Zuo. You and I will also persuade the magistrate to go to Longcou to see General Zuo off. At the same time, we will prepare the money, grain and gold that General Zuo requested. That way, everything will be fine."

Now that things have come to this, Hua Yan has no other choice but to follow Kong Shun's plan and go inside to plead guilty.

Upon learning the truth, Yuan Tan became like an enraged dog, his eyes glaring at Hua Yan as if he wanted to devour him.

"You believed the rumors and caused me to fall out with General Zuo, why don't you just die?"

Yuan Tan was furious!

While they were staying in Linzi peacefully, Hua Yan tricked them into leading troops into Pingyuan City, and then Hua Yan incited them to intercept tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.

If that's all there is to it, it's not a big deal.

But Hua Yan took it upon himself to attack Liu Bei!

Let's fight then. As long as we win, it's not a big deal.

But the result was: Hua Yan was captured, and the rest of the troops surrendered!
Yuan Tan was filled with lingering fear.

In that instant, Yuan Tan thought of many things. In Yuan Tan’s view, if Liu Bei hadn’t taken it as a misunderstanding, the loss of 5,000 soldiers at once might have caused Liu Bei to side with Yuan Shang, and being able to live a wealthy life would have been a luxury.

Hua Yan lowered his head, not daring to speak loudly, silently enduring Yuan Tan's anger, waiting for Kong Shun to deliver Liu Bei's letter.

Kong Shun did not take the opportunity to harm Hua Yan. After Yuan Tan became angry, he delivered Liu Bei's letter and pleaded for Hua Yan: "My lord, Hua Gongcao was also tricked by Yuan Shang's divisive tactics. Although he did something bad, it was for your sake."

Hua Yan lowered his head, adopting a sincere attitude of admitting his mistake: "No matter how you punish me, I deserve it. I only regret that I can no longer serve you!" Liu Bei's letter put Yuan Tan's mind at ease.

Looking at Hua Yan kneeling on the ground, Yuan Tan became even more agitated. Pointing at Hua Yan's nose, he cursed, "I'll spare your life today for the sake of General Zuo. If there's a next time, General Zuo won't even need to lift a finger; I'll personally chop off your head!"

Hua Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief; with Yuan Tan saying this, his life was saved.

Kong Shun then suggested, "Although General Zuo considers it a misunderstanding, his civil and military officials may not be convinced. I think you, my lord, could personally go to Longcou to see General Zuo off as a sign of your sincerity. Even if General Zuo no longer supports you in the future, he should not support Yuan Shang either."

Hua Yan hurriedly replied, "I will raise funds and provisions as soon as possible to sincerely apologize to General Zuo. General Zuo is a magnanimous man, and seeing my sincerity, he will certainly not hold a grudge against you, my lord."

"Hmph!" Yuan Tan flicked his sleeve, his mood from last night's pleasure with his concubine completely ruined: "Then do as you two say, and get on it quickly. If anything goes wrong, don't blame me for not showing any mercy!"

Hua Yan felt as if he had been granted a pardon. After thanking him repeatedly, he and Kong Shun left in a hurry, as if they were afraid that Yuan Tan might suddenly change his mind.

"More trouble than it's worth." Yuan Tan angrily flung his sleeve, his eyes filled with tyranny.

At the time, Yuan Tan was very confident that he could use Liu Bei's power to build up his own momentum within a year, making Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi mistakenly believe that Yuan Tan had Liu Bei's support. In return, Yuan Tan could petition Yuan Shao to appoint Liu Bei as the governor of Zhuojun, thus making Liu Bei owe Yuan Tan a favor.

However, less than half a year later, Liu Bei appointed Zhuojun as governor without Yuan Tan's request. Not only did he not owe Yuan Tan any favors, but Yuan Tan also owed Liu Bei a favor because of Hua Yan's unauthorized attack on Liu Bei.

Yuan Tan felt a surge of resentment, as if he had swallowed something filthy!
Frustrated as he was, Yuan Tan had no other choice.

For now, the only option is to follow Kong Shun's suggestion and personally go to Longcou to see Liu Bei off as a sign of sincerity, so as to prevent Yuan Shang from using a divisive tactic after learning about the situation.

Yuan Tan no longer hopes that Liu Bei will support him; he only hopes that Liu Bei will not support Yuan Shang, otherwise he will have no chance of winning against Yuan Shang in the future!

Liu Bei was already an extraordinary man, and with the advice of Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and others, he warmly welcomed Yuan Tan, who had come to Longcou to see him off. During the banquet, Liu Bei promised that "if Governor Yuan encounters any difficulties, I will definitely help him out of righteousness," which put Yuan Tan at ease.

Hua Yan kept his word and honestly "gifted" Liu Bei 50,000 shi of grain and gold, silver and silk of equal value to show his sincerity.

With the farewells of Yuan Tan, Hua Yan, Kong Shun, and others, Liu Bei led his civil and military officials, infantry, cavalry, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians on a grand procession toward Zhuojun.

Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion began, Liu Bei has hardly returned to Zhuojun.

Even when he was serving under Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei would pass through Zhuojun without entering.

It wasn't that Liu Bei didn't want to return to Zhuojun, but rather that he hadn't yet achieved wealth or fame, and his pride prevented him from returning as a poor and unsuccessful person.

After more than ten years of wandering and hardship, Liu Bei was not only enfeoffed as a marquis and general by the emperor, becoming the Left General and the Marquis of Yicheng, but also received a collection of six thousand volumes of books from Zheng Xuan, a famous scholar from Dongzhou, and was personally appointed as the Governor of Zhuojun by the Grand General Yuan Shao.

Under his command were outstanding civil and military figures such as Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Huang Zhong, as well as more than two thousand elite infantry and cavalry.

Whether it was empty fame or real profit, it all went to Liu Bei.

Wealth and honor do not return to their hometown, just like walking in fine clothes at night.

In an era when local values ​​were prevalent, even Liu Bei, who harbored great ambitions for the world, had a deep longing to return home in glory.

　Asking for monthly ticket
　　
　
(End of this chapter)