New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

"Generals!" Yuan Shao raised his wine cup, his gaze sweeping over the assembled crowd, and proclaimed loudly, "Brother Sun Wentai has decisively defeated the enemy army, greatly enhancing the prestige of our allied forces! We are here to offer our congratulations to General Sun from afar!"

"Congratulations to General Sun!" The various lords raised their wine bowls and responded with smiles.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and the lively celebration banquet, the various lords chatted amongst themselves, gossiping about all sorts of irrelevant matters. Only Liu Bei remained outwardly calm, his mind racing.

According to the original plot, he should have asked Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo whether they had already led their troops out of the pass, thus opening up the topic.

However, worried about Yuan Shu's safety, he went to the command platform with him in advance and had already heard Cao Cao's self-deceiving plan with his own ears.

If I were to ask the question based on the original lines now, wouldn't I appear contradictory and too disjointed?

However, if this topic is not brought up, the plot may slip into another branch, and the plan he conspired with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Yuan Shu last night will be in vain.

Just as they were caught in a dilemma, a warlord slowly put down his wine bowl and turned his gaze to Yuan Shao.

This person was none other than Gongsun Zan! He abandoned his usual playful demeanor and became unusually serious.

"Everyone, could you please quiet down and listen to me?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present froze, and their hands, which had been hovering in mid-air, suddenly stopped moving.

"Alliance Leader Yuan, I've heard that Dong Zhuo has already led his troops out of the pass. Is this true?"

Liu Bei felt a chill run down his spine. Those were supposed to be his lines, but Gongsun Zan had beaten him to it. Without a doubt, it was fate manipulating everything behind the scenes.

However, after a brief moment of surprise, he felt a surge of joy. Gongsun Zan had spoken up for him, and the plot continued as usual, saving him a lot of trouble.

He glanced back at Zhang Fei, his eyes seeming to say: Proceed according to plan.

Zhang Fei nodded sheepishly, grinning foolishly, thinking to himself:

My brother said that all I had to do was swear and throw a tantrum, and I'd get to eat fine wine and meat. How could he miss such a great opportunity? He had to do it exactly as I said!

Yuan Shao frowned slightly, his face somewhat gloomy, but he still nodded reluctantly and uttered a single word: "Yes."

Gongsun Zan surveyed the entire hall, noticing that all the lords were flushed and reeking of alcohol, and coldly asked:

"If that's the case, should we still gather here for drinks and empty talk?"

Yuan Shao, having been repeatedly contradicted by Gongsun Zan, was clearly losing his temper. He gave Gongsun Zan a cold, menacing look, as if he wanted to devour him alive.

But he didn't lash out. He just snorted and slowly said, "The art of war says, 'To control movement with stillness and to wait for the enemy to tire himself out is the way to win a battle.'"

Gongsun Zan frowned, a look of worry on his face, and shook his head with a sigh:

"Now that Dong Zhuo's army has crossed the pass, Sun Wentai's isolated force is in grave danger. Doesn't the Alliance Leader have any concern that he might be defeated?"

These words struck Yuan Shao like a sharp thorn, hitting him where it hurt. His face darkened, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

As the leader of the alliance, he should have sent troops to aid his subordinates when they were in trouble. However, he was not very magnanimous. He was both wary of Sun Jian's strength and resentful that Sun Jian was the one who first recommended him as the leader, putting him in this dilemma.

So when news of Sun Jian's night attack by Dong Zhuo arrived, his first thought was not worry, but elation.

The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became heavy. Just as Yuan Shao was feeling awkward, Liu Bei suddenly coughed softly.

The cough wasn't loud, but it was like a pebble thrown into a lake, drawing everyone's attention.

Zhang Fei understood immediately, his expression instantly changing. His eyes widened in fury as he glared at Yuan Shu across the table, and he roared with profanity:

"Yuan Shu! You bastard! I thought you were a man of principle, but I never expected your men to dare steal my brother's wine! Do you know how priceless this wine is? Even if you cut off your head, you couldn't afford to pay for it! And what right do your men have to beat my men?!"

Yuan Shu's face showed surprise at the right moment, but his heart remained calm.

All of this was part of his and Liu Bei's secret plot; this farce was nothing more than a charade staged by the two of them.

Upon seeing this, Han Fu slammed his fist on the table and stood up, angrily shouting, "Insolence! You pig-slaughtering brute, how dare you be so rude!"

If it were just Yuan Shu's mockery, Zhang Fei could have tolerated it, because he knew it was all an act. But Han Fu's insult was like pouring cold water into a pot of boiling oil, instantly causing a huge uproar.

He was truly enraged. He raised his eighteen-foot spear and pointed it directly at Han Fu, roaring, "What? I, Zhang Fei, have always been this rude to shameless scoundrels like you! Han Fu, do you believe I'll stab you a thousand times over?!"

A deathly silence fell over the tent; the air seemed to freeze. Except for Yuan Shu, all the other warlords' eyes were fixed on Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, their discontent evident on their faces.

Yuan Shu knew the time had come. He slowly stood up, his face grim, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, and then raised his voice:

"Very well, very well, gentlemen. If you can tolerate these three acting so recklessly here," he said, his gaze sweeping coldly over Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, "then I, Yuan Shu, will retire and return to my hometown."

Before he finished speaking, he had already walked straight out of the tent. Cao Cao immediately stood up, quickly followed, and with a beaming smile, reached out to take his arm.

"Brother Gonglu, please calm down! Yuan Gonglu, you are the vice leader of the alliance, in charge of the provisions and supplies for our nineteen warlords. How can you just leave?" He patted Yuan Shu on the shoulder and asked with a smile, "If you leave, what will we eat?"

"What do you want to eat!"

"Yes, what should we eat?"

Just as Yuan Shu was about to lash out, a chill unexpectedly welled up from the bottom of his heart.

He glanced at Cao Cao subconsciously. The other man's deep eyes were staring at him with a half-smile, his gaze carrying an unyielding authority.

Those eyes clearly said: Take one more step, and I'll devour you.

Yuan Shu froze in place. Cao Cao took his arm and pulled him back to his seat, smiling as he patted his shoulder: "Sit, sit, sit."

Liu Bei, however, was relentless. He suddenly stood up from his seat, his gaze sharp as lightning, coldly sweeping across the entire room: "In that case, allow the three of us brothers to take our leave."

A hint of helplessness appeared on Cao Cao's face. He knew perfectly well that Liu Bei and Yuan Shu were putting on an act, but he simply couldn't expose them.

Liu Bei still has great uses; we absolutely cannot let him leave in a huff. If the three heroes were to fight Lü Bu without Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, how would that battle even be fought?

So even though he knew it was a trap, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk into it.

"Xuande, wait!" He quickly walked around to Liu Bei's side, looking anxious.

Having just appeased Yuan Shu, he turned to appease Liu Bei. Even someone as shrewd as him was somewhat overwhelmed at this moment.

"Xuande, you are a member of the imperial family, like the banner of our allied forces. If you leave, wouldn't we be heartbroken?"

Liu Bei smiled inwardly. The initiative in this game had finally been regained in his own hands. "Mengde, there's no need to be disheartened." He paused, his gaze calmly fixed on Cao Cao. "You know in your heart that although the world is vast, none of you can truly stand shoulder to shoulder with it."

Cao Cao stood there, stunned, without saying a word for a long time. Seeing this, Liu Bei turned around and walked out of the tent with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and no one tried to stop him.