Traveling back in time to Liu Feng, starting with rescuing soldier Guan Yu.

Liu Feng was startled.

He naturally knew the name Shamoke, the later barbarian king of the Five Streams, who had led his barbarian troops to support Liu Bei when he raised an army to attack Wu.

Shamoke admired Han culture and was willing to accept official positions and seals from the Han court.

This person might be worth trying to win over!

Liu Feng made up his mind, but his face remained calm: "So it's Chief Shamoke. Let's not beat around the bush. I've come here to find Ma Liang, Ma Jichang!"

Shamoke's smile faded, and his expression darkened slightly: "Mr. Ma has been placed under house arrest by Bayemo in the stockade. Bayemo of the Xiongxi tribe is the most powerful of the five tribes and claims to be their leader. He accepted gold, silver, salt, and iron from Bu Zhi, the envoy of Eastern Wu, and detained Mr. Ma, saying that he wanted to invite the distinguished guest to stay for a few more days—in reality, he and Bu Zhi are being held captive together, and neither of them is allowed to leave."

He paused, slowing his speech, as if carefully considering the weight of each word that followed.

"During the day, I watched Mr. Ma confront the Boiling Cauldron Steps in Xiongxi Village. Bayemo set up a large cauldron in the village, with firewood piled under it, making it boil, hoping to scare Mr. Ma away. Mr. Ma showed no fear and said that if his words were unreasonable, Bayemo would not need to do anything, and he would jump into the cauldron himself. Then he analyzed point by point, saying that Liu Bei had five victories and Sun Quan had five defeats. When he mentioned that Eastern Wu treated the Yue people like slaves and would definitely use the same methods against the Wuxi people in the future, even the leaders who were originally inclined to Eastern Wu changed their expressions."

Shamoke sighed, "Unfortunately, my Chenxi tribe is the weakest among the Five Streams. Bayemo's Xiongxi tribe has seven thousand warriors, while I only have three thousand at most. I admire Mr. Ma, but I cannot confront Bayemo head-on. To fight them head-on would be suicide. My three thousand men can fight, but my people cannot follow me to their deaths."

After a moment's thought, Liu Feng said, "In that case, please let Chief Shamoke come back to camp with me for a talk. I'll figure out a way to deal with Bayemo."

Shamoke looked into Liu Feng's eyes, and after a moment, nodded. He ordered his men to carry the tiger back to the village, and then, accompanied by only two close followers, followed Liu Feng out of the forest.

The tiger was so big that four strong men carried it on two pine poles. Its tail dragged on the ground, leaving a long trail of blood on the forest path.

By the time they returned to the Han army camp, it was completely dark. There were no open fires in the camp, and the soldiers patrolled by the faint moonlight. Several sentry posts were set up around the perimeter of the camp, and the passwords were changed every night. The atmosphere was solemn but not chaotic.

Kou Wei was anxiously waiting outside the camp when he saw Liu Feng return, followed by a tall and somewhat frightening barbarian youth. He paused for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief and went to greet him.

He whispered a few words in Liu Feng's ear, the gist of which was: General Guan Ping has returned, and he has brought a very important person from Chengdu with him.

Liu Feng strode quickly toward the depths of the camp.

The curtain of the command tent was lifted, and the faint light shining through flickered across his face for a moment. Guan Ping was sitting opposite a middle-aged scholar who was nearly forty years old. The scholar had an elegant demeanor and a lean face, and every gesture exuded a captivating air of wealth and nobility. However, there seemed to be a worry between his brows. He was holding a bowl of water and talking quietly with Guan Ping. This man was Mi Zhu.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Liu Feng's face showed a rare hint of surprise. He quickly stepped forward, and before Mi Zhu could rise, he took his hands on Mi Zhu's arms, bowed deeply, and said with utmost respect, "It is indeed your uncle who has arrived. Your nephew has failed to greet you properly."

He didn't use his official title, but instead called him "Uncle." Guan Ping tactfully stood up and stepped aside. Mi Zhu looked up at Liu Feng, his eyes slightly red.

Liu Feng was Liu Bei's adopted son, and Liu Bei had also taken Mi Zhu's sister as his wife, so it was not inappropriate for Liu Feng to call Mi Zhu "uncle".

However, due to the rebellion of Mi Fang, the governor of Nan Commandery, it was inevitable that the Mi clan's status in the Hanzhong Kingdom would plummet.

Anyone with eyes could see that Liu Feng, a rising star in the military, was still very respectful to him, which moved Mi Zhu deeply.

Mi Zhu put down the bowl of water and took out a brocade box from his bosom. The box was covered with dark red Shu brocade, with copper inlays at the four corners and cloud patterns from the Hanzhong Prince's Palace engraved on the copper clasp.

He solemnly presented the document to Liu with both hands.

"Deputy General Liu Feng, heed my command! A royal edict is here!"

Liu Feng, with a solemn expression, knelt on one knee and said loudly, "Your subject Liu Feng is here!"

"Liu Feng, the deputy general, commands Shangyong and is compassionate and loving towards the people. He is wise and brave, turning the tide of the war, capturing Xiangfan, and recruiting Tian Yu. He also killed Cao Ren in battle, achieving great military exploits. With such a son, the king is very pleased. Therefore, the king hereby appoints Liu Feng, the king's eldest son, as the General of the Rear of the Han Dynasty and the Marquis of Fangcheng."

Liu Feng did not immediately take the brocade box.

He helped Mi Zhu sit down, personally poured a bowl of water and handed it to Mi Zhu, then stepped back, knelt on one knee, and received the brocade box with both hands above his head. His movements were extremely slow, as if he were holding something extremely heavy.

"I am deeply grateful for my father's kindness, and I am deeply saddened by my uncle's long journey."

He raised his head, met Mi Zhu's gaze, and spoke in a low but clear voice.

"Back when the situation in Yizhou was unstable, if it weren't for the Mi family's merchant caravan mediating and raising military funds, we wouldn't have had the strength to march north and fight. I will never forget the hard work of the gentlemen of Xuzhou."

These words were spoken with great tact, yet they carried a deeper meaning than they appeared on the surface. Mi Fang's betrayal of Guan Yu and surrender to Eastern Wu left the entire Mi family in an awkward position before Liu Bei.

If it weren't for Mi Zhu's consistent loyalty and his status as an old friend from the time of the uprising in Xuzhou, he would probably have been implicated long ago. Liu Feng, however, insisted on addressing him as "uncle" and emphasized the Mi family's early contributions in Xuzhou—the veteran faction in Xuzhou, represented by the Mi family, was now losing power and their influence in the Chengdu court was dwindling, so they needed a new patron with military power.

Some things don't need to be said outright.

Mi Zhu took the bowl of water, took a sip, and looked over the rim at Liu Feng, his eyes regaining their clarity: "How dare I? Your Excellency is far away in Jingzhou and Xiangyang, yet you still remember our past friendship; this speaks volumes about your character. The seal of office is here; when will Your Excellency formally accept your investiture?"

Liu Feng placed the brocade box on the table and said solemnly, "Take the seal and ribbon for now; the ceremony is not urgent. What's most important right now is Wuling and Wuxi."

Liu Feng turned to the side and introduced everyone in the tent one by one—Mi Zhu, Guan Ping, Kou Wei, plus Sha Moke who had just come in from outside the tent and his two personal attendants.

Shamoke stood in the tent, his head almost touching the oil lamp hanging from the ceiling. The distinctive barbarian tattoos that ran from his neck to his wrists were particularly striking under the lamplight. Mi Zhu, a man of many experiences, did not show any unusual expression, but simply nodded slightly.

Liu Feng cut to the chase: "The Shamoke chieftain is loyal to the Han Dynasty, and the Chenxi tribe is willing to assist our army. However, among the Wuxi tribes, the Xiongxi tribe's Bayemo has been persuaded by the Eastern Wu envoy Bu Zhi, and Ma Jichang has been placed under house arrest by him. Mr. Jichang entered the camp alone, and despite the boiling cauldron before him, he remained calm and fearless, his words sharp as a blade, buying time for our army. If our army cannot take down the Xiongxi tribe as soon as possible, Wuling will forever have a locked door. Tonight, we must discuss how to open that door."

Shamoke continued, "My Chenxi tribe is willing to lead the vanguard, but the disparity in strength is too great, and a frontal assault would be futile. Bayemo's stronghold is built halfway up the mountain, with only a narrow path in front and sheer cliffs on both sides. There are two thousand barbarian soldiers in the stronghold, and once the gate is closed, even an army of ten thousand cannot break through."

He paused, and seeing that no one interrupted him, he continued, "My plan is not a direct assault—but to capture the leader. If we control Bayemo alone, the Xiongxi tribe will be leaderless. We, the Chenxi people, can sneak across to the western pool, where the sentry posts are sparse, and Bayemo's main building is not far above the pool."

Liu Feng nodded: "Capturing the king is only half the battle. The other half is what happens after the king is captured. Among the Wuxi tribes, Xiongxi is the leader, and the Bayemonai tribes are nominally the common leader. If we only kill him, the tribes will inevitably split and fight for supremacy, or even fight each other. What our army needs is not a Wuxi tribe with internal strife, but a reliable ally."

He turned to Shamoke, "What does Wuxi lack?"

Shamoke pondered for a moment: "Salt. Iron. Cloth. The mountains have everything—warhorses, rhinoceros hides, medicinal herbs, copper mines, but without salt, people can't live; without iron, you can't forge knives; without cloth, even wrapped in animal hides, many people freeze to death in winter."

Liu Feng asked again, "What did Eastern Wu give you?"

"Gold and silver. Also salt, iron, and cloth. But they only give us a little at a time, and once that's all they give us, they want us to send troops to fight for them."

Liu Feng nodded, turned to Mi Zhu, and said solemnly, "Uncle, the Mi family has been in business for generations, with trade routes stretching from Xuzhou to Yizhou, from the Central Plains to Jingxiang, covering the whole country. I want to transport Shu brocade, well salt, and ironware through the Shangyong-Zigui route to Wuxi, and establish long-term trade relations with various caves."

Liu Feng paused slightly before continuing:

"The Wuxi region is rich in horses, rhinoceros hides, medicinal herbs, and copper mines. These mountain goods are transported back to Sichuan, which is exactly the military supplies we need most. Horses, in particular, are valuable. Although the ponies of the Wuling Mountains are not as tall and strong as the horses of Liangzhou, they have the advantage of endurance. If you, Uncle, can manage this trade route, the Wuxi barbarians will never side with Eastern Wu. Eastern Wu gives them charity, and for every gift they receive, they are expected to risk their lives. What we give to the Wuxi is exchange. An equal exchange."

Mi Zhu put down the water bowl, a flash of shrewdness typical of a merchant in his eyes.

He stroked his slightly graying beard and pondered for a moment, then spoke in a voice more composed than before: "Trade Shu brocade for copper from the mountains, and well salt for warhorses. If the trade routes can be opened, the Five Streams will not only be allies, but also part of the economic territory of Shu Han. This method is excellent, however—"

He looked at Shamoke.

"Chief, trade is not charity, it's buying and selling. Fairness and stable prices are essential. We can't have a bolt of Shu brocade exchanged for ten catties of copper this year, only to see prices drop to five catties next year. The key to commerce lies in 'honesty and trustworthiness.' I can draw up a contract with you, Chief, outlining the quantity, price, and delivery deadline of the salt, iron, and Shu brocade, all in black and white, in duplicate. I'll handle things in Chengdu."