My name is Wei Qing, and I want to fight the Xiongnu.

Some arrive seven or eight days late; it's not uncommon for goods to arrive right on time like this.

It's rare, but it's not like I've never seen it before.

Liu Bei thought to himself, "Alright, I'm here to help my juniors answer their questions, so I might as well consider it a way to do good."

He said, "Where's the letter of recommendation? I'll take you to register; it's not too late if you go now."

Normally, as long as you register before the enrollment period ends, you still have time.

If you miss the deadline, you'll have to stay in Chang'an for three months and then come back to register for the next round of admissions.

There's no need to worry that if you missed the registration deadline this year, there's no way to make up for it.

Wei Qing blinked: "No recommendation letter."

Chapter Three: The Registration Turmoil (Part Two)

"No...no letter of recommendation? Where's the token? Or do you know any dean of the Imperial Academy?"

Wei Qing shook his head again.

Liu Bei was stunned. "You have neither an elder accompanying you nor a letter of recommendation. What are you doing at the Imperial Academy? Just here for nothing?"

"Brother...then what are you doing at the Imperial Academy?"

Wei Qing grinned: "I'm here to sign up. I heard that the Imperial Academy recruits the best talents in the world. I am one of those talents, so I'm here."

Are you a genius, so you came?

Listen to this, listen to this, does this sound like human speech?

It's just that Liu Bei had a relatively good temper; if it were anyone else, they would probably have been furious.

After Wei Qing finished speaking, a handsome young man next to him, also wearing the Imperial Academy uniform and with a nameplate in front of his seat that read Gongsun Zan, smiled and mocked, "Talent? Every year during the enrollment season, there are always people like you who come to cause trouble, claiming to be geniuses who are only found once in a century, but who have been unappreciated and have fallen to this state. And what is the result? Without exception, they are all unappreciated."

If you're truly capable, with so many noble families in Chang'an, you could easily find one to pledge allegiance to and get a letter of recommendation. Why bother coming here and making a fool of yourself?

"Alright, alright, go back to where you came from. The most important thing in life is to be happy. Find your place, live a down-to-earth life, isn't that better than anything else? Besides, judging from your clothes and appearance, you probably come from a good family. If you really want to get into the Imperial Academy, if you don't have the ability, just spend some money or find some connections. There's no need to make yourself a laughingstock."

Liu Bei, standing beside him, earnestly advised Wei Qing: "Brother, I'm sure you know this is the sacred land of our human race, which is why you yearn for the Imperial Academy. But there are countless young men like you throughout the world. If the Imperial Academy makes an exception for you, what about the others? It can't just accept everyone without much effort, can it?"

That's unrealistic, so I advise you, brother, don't think about it too much. Go back before anyone notices. If the soldiers in charge of maintaining order find you, it won't be as simple as just driving you away; you'll definitely get a severe punishment.

Don't blame these two for their back-and-forth banter; every quarter there are too many people like Wei Qing who feel their talents are going to waste.

All they did was spout nonsense and tell stories.

My father died when I was three, my mother died when I was five, and Xiaoqiang died when I was seven.

The older sister sold herself to bury their father, and the younger sister sold herself to bury their mother. At the age of eight, with no one to rely on, she had no choice but to sell herself to a master's house to earn a living.

But none of this could affect his determination to pursue his dream. He traveled thousands of miles to Chang'an just to enter the Imperial Academy and show his talents.

People are tired of hearing these kinds of stories.

Liu Bei thought to himself, "I am a descendant of the prestigious Liu family, yet my father died young, and I could only make a living selling straw sandals with my mother when I was a child. Have I ever complained?"

Have I told anyone?

Wei Qing was stunned as he listened, thinking to himself, "When did you make this chicken soup? It smells so strong it's pungent."

I'm here to sign up for the test. If it works, great; if not, I'll just leave. It's that simple.

Where did all this inspirational quotes come from? Do you raise chickens at home?

I don't drink chicken soup, but a couple more chickens would be nice.

Wei Qing said, "Brothers, I understand the reasoning. I just want to sign up for the assessment. I'll accept it if I fail."

Liu Bei still felt that he was too good-tempered. If it were anyone else, they would have ordered the guards on both sides to throw the person out. It was simply outrageous.

Well, I might as well play the good guy to the end. Judging from his clothes and appearance throughout his life, he must have come from an extraordinary background. Recently, many academic institutions have sent their core disciples to the Imperial Academy. Maybe someone is trying to pull off a "Dragon King Returns" stunt.

Patience!

Liu Bei picked up his pen to record the information, then patiently asked, "An assessment? Okay, let me ask you, what is your father's status?"

“I am an illegitimate child, I have no father.”

illegitimate child?

Holy crap, bro, this is interesting.

In the past, stories were usually about the death of the father and mother, but you've gone straight to the illegitimate child. This is not playing by the rules!

"And what about your mother?"

“My mother was a slave, but she was freed from slavery a few days ago and is now a commoner… no, no, we severed ties a few days ago, and now I am all alone.”

Liu Bei lost his grip on the pen and dropped it.

Gongsun Zan, who was standing next to Liu Bei, looked at him and said, "Xuande, the wind is a bit noisy today."

Liu Bei nodded in agreement and said, "Bo Gui, the wind is indeed a bit noisy."

What a load of noise! ​​The sun is shining brightly today, it's so hot it's almost scorching.

Liu Bei quickly picked up his pen and said earnestly, "Brother, I'm treating you with sincerity. Are you joking with me? You say you're an illegitimate child, and that your mother was a slave who was just released from slavery a few days ago. So where did you get this outfit? Did someone give it to you for free? You have to make your story believable, right?"

Wei Qing thought about it and realized that his equipment was indeed given to him for free.

The people at the Hundred Weapons Pavilion are all so kind; they gave me 100,000 gold coins right away, they're so generous.

Just as Wei Qing was trying to explain, the student next to him named Gongsun Zan suddenly slammed his hand on the table, stood up, pointed at the Xiongnu barbarians behind Wei Qing, and cursed: "You son of a bitch, what the hell are you looking at? Believe me or not, I'll gouge your dog eyes out and stomp on them."

Others treat you like royalty, but I don't buy that. If any of you dare cause trouble in my territory, I'll kill you all!

Seeing his brother acting crazy again, Liu Bei quickly pulled him back and then said sarcastically to the angry Xiongnu barbarians, "Sorry, everyone, sorry, my brother is a bit blunt. He was just joking when he said he'd gouge out your eyes and stomp on them. Don't take it seriously."

Wei Qing: "..."

He always felt that although the hot-tempered guy named Gongsun Zan spoke harshly, Liu Bei's sarcastic tone was much more...pleasant to listen to!

The nobles of Chang'an feared the Xiongnu like tigers, so why did they encounter two hot-tempered old men as soon as they arrived at the Imperial Academy?

The Xiongnu barbarian who was reprimanded was probably a newcomer, and he felt a little guilty after being scolded by Gongsun Zan.

After all, they were on human territory, and being newcomers, their momentum was somewhat weak.

Just then, a group of people approached from a distance; to be precise, there were both humans and Xiongnu barbarians.

The two seemed to have a good relationship, chatting and laughing as they walked over.

They stopped when they were only a dozen steps away from Gongsun Zan. The leader of the Xiongnu barbarians looked at Gongsun Zan with a sneer and said in the human language, "Who was I who was so arrogant and domineering back then? It turns out to be Gongsun Zan, the so-called leader of the White Horse Cavalry. He's really scary."

"I say, Gongsun Zan, it's one thing for you to bully those small tribes on a regular basis, but don't be so foolish as to provoke my Xiongnu Holy Clan. Have you already forgotten how your White Horse Cavalry was slaughtered last time?"

.......

Many people have heard the story of Gongsun Zan's utter defeat of the barbarians in history, but according to the Records of the Three Kingdoms...

Gongsun Zan is like Li Guang of the Han Dynasty. He won many small-scale battles, but was often defeated in large-scale battles.

It's true that the Han Dynasty suppressed the barbarians during the late Han and Three Kingdoms period, but Gongsun Zan was really lacking in ability.

Gongsun Zan is just a minor character here, not a main character. Just take it as a story and don't take it too seriously.

On a side note, regarding the figure of Li Guang, I used to think he was just a person with a reputation that was not truly great.

But recently I've read a lot of books and learned a lot, and I realize that I was too presumptuous before.

While Li Guang's achievements may not be considered significant, the era in which he lived must be taken into account.

At that time, the Han Dynasty feared the Xiongnu like a tiger and had never won a large-scale war. Under such circumstances, the fact that someone could stand up to the Xiongnu barbarians on a small-scale battlefield was undoubtedly a great boost to the morale of the Han army.

Its symbolic significance outweighs its practical significance, somewhat similar to Wei Qing's Battle of Longcheng.

As for settling personal scores, for people at that time, being able to restrain oneself was considered virtuous, while being unable to restrain oneself was considered human nature.

Therefore, it is understandable that they receive praise and support.

The problem may lie in the fact that Sima Qian elevated Li Guang to a level he had never reached before, and in the bizarre actions taken later on.

And they're always being dragged into comparisons with the Twin Heroes of the Han Dynasty...

Overall, Li Guang is clearly a hero worthy of praise rather than criticism from later generations.

To put it somewhat idealistically, if Li Guang had unfortunately passed away when Wei Qing first took command of the army, perhaps the reputation of this veteran general who served three dynasties would have been even better.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs"...

Chapter Four: The Mastermind

While the conflict was raging in front of the outer courtyard of the Imperial Academy, two elderly men were drinking tea and enjoying the view from a pavilion in the inner courtyard of the Imperial Academy.

One was Xiahou Ying, the Marquis of Ruyin and Grand Master of the Imperial Stud of the Han Dynasty. The only person in the Imperial Academy who could be on par with Xiahou Ying was Xiao He, the founder of the Imperial Academy and the first meritorious minister of the Han Dynasty!

Xiao He held his teacup, his eyes seemingly piercing through mountains and rivers, taking in everything inside and outside the Imperial Academy: "Is that the young man that Cao Can placed high hopes on? He seems rather simple and honest."

Xiahou Ying laughed and said, "Cao Can looks quite honest, but when he gets into a fight, he's ruthless than anyone else."

Xiao He strongly agreed with this point. Among this group of people, Cao Can seemed honest, but that was only on the surface.

Anyone who has worked with him knows that this guy is all talk and no action.

Of course, none of the people who have followed His Majesty all the way, including Xiahou Ying, are innocent.

That makes sense when you think about it. A group of people who have struggled their way up from the bottom and gone through countless life-and-death battles, if they were really good people, how could they have survived until now?

Xiahou Ying asked curiously, "Was that someone you arranged? That's quite underhanded."

Cao Shen put down his teacup, looked at Xiahou Ying beside him, and chuckled, "Is this how you see me?"

Xiahou Ying laughed: "Otherwise what? Back in Pei County, when you were a minor official and I was in charge of driving the carriage, you used these kinds of petty tricks quite a bit back then."

To others, you are Prime Minister Xiao, who stabilizes the country, comforts the people, provides provisions, and ensures an uninterrupted supply line. But I know very well that for you, as long as it's useful and effective, you don't care about any underhanded methods.

Having lived together for four hundred years, we know each other so well that we can tell what kind of shit each other is going to take just by bending over.