Lu Bu was not the only one who counted his age with his fingers, Liu Bei, who was far away in Xuzhou, also sat down at the beginning of the new year, his heart jumped suddenly, and then he realized that he was already close to forty.

In the Han Dynasty, when the average life expectancy was only in his 40s and less than 50 years old, it was not too much wrong to say that people who were forty years old were already covered with loess to their necks. In the past few years, it seemed to be full of energy, and the body with endless vitality slowly felt a trace of exhaustion. This exhaustion is not muscular, it seems to come directly from the bones.

Tired.

"Wha!"

A sound like thunder came from outside the door, waking Liu Bei up from his contemplation, his body couldn't help but be crooked, and he almost fell off his seat, "Third brother, ......"

"Big brother! Congratulations! Eldest brother!!! Before Zhang Feiren arrived, the voice arrived first, and as the last sound fell, the figure appeared at the door outside the courtyard.

"You got it?" Liu Bei pondered for a moment, and then said, "Come." Come in and sit down. ”

"Big brother is really, why didn't you tell your brother about this kind of good thing earlier!" Zhang Fei laughed, and then beckoned the guards on the side and said, "Come, quickly take the wild eagle and rabbit that you hunted outside the city and wash and peel them clean, and cook them quickly!" ”

"Where's the second brother?" Liu Bei looked behind Zhang Fei, but when he didn't see Guan Yu, he asked.

"Aha! The second brother went to fetch wine! Zhang Fei replied, immediately lowered his voice, and muttered, "Second brother too, why can't you let a certain person go to ...... when you take wine?"

Liu Bei smiled and did not answer.

Not long after, Guan Yu came over with a few guards holding two jars of wine.

Zhang Fei jumped off the couch with a "whew", "Second brother is here, sit, sit...... Well, how are there only two altars......"

Guan Yu swept over with cold eyes and said, "Otherwise? ”

"It's not...... That ......" Zhang Fei hurriedly shook his hand, then turned to Liu Bei and said, "Isn't this a happy event for the eldest brother, how can it be one person and one altar?" ”

Guan Yu ignored Zhang Fei, and after bowing to Liu Bei, he sat down.

Liu Bei beckoned: "Third brother, sit, sit...... Haha, if you want to drink, are you afraid that you won't have a chance? ”

Zhang Fei suddenly said: "That's right! Hahaha! When the time comes, I will definitely get drunk! ”

Liu Bei is indeed approaching the peak of his life recently, and happy events are constantly ......

Although Tao Qian had 11 million reasons not to die, he still couldn't survive and passed away. Before Tao Qian died, Lu Zhu rushed to Xiaopei overnight as a farewell driver in Xuzhou and welcomed Liu Bei into Xuzhou.

Liu Bei repeatedly humbled? Well, there is this, but seeing that Tao Qian is about to lose his breath, Liu Bei is not too hypocritical. Otherwise, Liu Bei would not have led the soldiers and horses into the city with Lu Zhu at all, and then asked Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to immediately lead the troops to control the city defense, right?

Where is Tao Qian from?

Danyang people.

For Xuzhou, Tao Qian is a foreigner, so although Tao Qian has been in Xuzhou for many years, he can be regarded as a stable place and a safe livelihood, but in fact, Tao Qian's ability to control Xuzhou is also tightly on the surface.

This can be seen from Tao Qian's other driving just Elk Zhu. Before Lu Zhu, Zhao Yu was used as a don't drive, two don't drive, hehe, that's it, it's not the right of the Dashi clan, and even the ability is quite limited.

For a long time, the Dashi clan on the ground in Xuzhou has not sold Tao Qian's account very much. Of course, Tao Qian is not a fuel-efficient lamp,

Li Dao and Guo Yan rebelled, captured Chang'an, and controlled the government, Zhu Jun was still alive at that time, Tao Qian thought that the time had come, and felt that he could paint the gourd of the Tao family according to the scoop of the Yuan family, pondering another wave, so he united with the former Yangzhou Thorn Shi Zhou Gan, Lang Evil State Minister Yin De, East China Sea State Minister Liu Kui, Peng Cheng State Minister Ji Lian, Beihai Xiang Guo Kong Rong, Pei Xiang Yuan Zhong, Taishan Taishou Ying Shao, Runan Taishou Xu Xuan, the former Jiujiang Taishou Fu Qian, Doctor Zheng Xuan and others jointly listed Zhu Jun as the Taishi, moved the Mu Bo, and discussed Li Dao and others, and welcomed the Son of Heaven... …

It didn't work out.

In addition, two years ago, the Xiapi people gathered thousands of people and proclaimed themselves the Son of Heaven, and Tao Qian sent troops to kill them......

Say so, but in reality? The uneven distribution of spoils and the need to carry the blame are just a few thousand people, who claim to be the Son of Heaven, can Que Xuan's brain be in the water? Que Xuan and Tao Qian raised troops together, took Mount Tai, Hua, and Fei, and plundered Rencheng.

Where are Hua County, Fei County, and Rencheng located, Hua County and Fei County are at the junction of Taishan County and Shanyang County, and Rencheng is Ren Chengguo, although the bloodline of King Dongping has decayed to the point of not being the same, but after all, it is still the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty......

As a result, Tao Qian's approach attracted the dissatisfaction and strong counterattack of Taishan thieves such as Taishan Zangba and Sun Guan, and even attracted the attack of Yanzhou Cao Cao......

Therefore, Tao Qian knew that as soon as he died, his two sons could not be completed, so he could only seek the assistance of Liu Bei, a foreigner, otherwise the local scholar in Xuzhou was very likely to directly sell his son to Cao Cao in Yanzhou, or even to Er Yuan, so it was better to leave it to Liu Bei as a personal favor.

Seeing that Liu Bei had already controlled the city defense, and Kong Rong's impression of Liu Bei was also good, although Chen Qi and Chen Deng were dissatisfied, they did not stand up to oppose it, which was tantamount to acquiescing to this result.

Then Lu Zhu prepared to marry Liu Bei......

This has become a big joy in Zhang Fei's mouth today, and he brought the prey he caught to congratulate Liu Bei.

It didn't take long for the guards to bring up the packed wild eagles and hares, some roasted, some boiled, although the craftsmanship was a little rough, but for Liu Bei and the three of them basically didn't care, so they happily raised the wine bowl and walked first.

The three of them laughed and talked, ate and drank for a while, and gradually got down to business.

"Big brother! I heard that the daughter of the Elk clan is both talented and beautiful, and it is really just right to match the eldest brother! Hahaha! Zhang Fei laughed and said, "Big brother, come on, I'll give you another bowl!" ”

Liu Bei smiled, picked it up casually, touched it with Zhang Fei, then drank, turned his head, and saw Guan Yu's thoughtful expression on the side, he couldn't help but reach out and pat Guan Yu's shoulder, and said, "It's okay, it's not a big deal, haven't you all come over for so many years......?"

Zhang Fei thought that he had done something wrong again, and blinked his eyes, his face was clouded.

Guan Yu frowned and glanced at Zhang Fei, and said, "The eldest brother has not mentioned this matter to you and me yet, but the city is all over the city, so don't you think about it too much, third brother?" ”

"Huh?" Zhang Fei held the wine bowl and was stunned.

Liu Bei said: "It's okay, it's okay. Actually, there's nothing wrong with that...... I just didn't think I was worthy of Zizhong's sister before, so I'm still thinking about it......"

Zhang Fei's eyes widened: "What?!" Big brother, who doesn't deserve it?! ”

"Shut up!" Guan Yu first scolded Zhang Fei, and then said to Liu Bei, his eyebrows raised, "So, it was Elk Zizhong who claimed it without authorization and declared it in the city?" What a guts! How dare you coerce big brother with public opinion! ”

"Zizhong......" Liu Bei waved his hand and said slowly, "It's not about coercion...... Zizhong is probably also helpless...... At present, Tao Xuzhou passed away, and the hearts of Xuzhou people are undecided...... In the past few years, the Elk family has taken advantage of the trend of Tao Xuzhou, and its business has expanded a lot......"

Zhang Fei scratched his head, he didn't understand very well. Zhang Fei is not stupid, but he is too straight, and he is unwilling to turn around and think about many things, so sometimes he inevitably feels a little dull on the surface.

“…… For us, it is also a combination of two benefits and two harms, after all, the newly recruited Danyang soldiers are now also fluctuating people's hearts......" Liu Bei looked at the sky and said, "Everything is based on stability...... The reason why I didn't agree to Zizhong right away was because I didn't have to get married...... What's more, the second brother and the third brother are not married yet, and my eldest brother ......"

"But Elk Zizhong thinks that if you don't marry, you won't be at ease in your heart, so ......" Guan Yu frowned, although his expression was put down a little, but he was still a little dissatisfied and said, "Although it is excusable, but trading with family friendship is disdainful!" ”

"Hmm...... The second brother can't be like this, Zizhong also has difficulties......" Liu Bei said with a slight smile, "What's more, this does play a role in stabilizing the people's hearts, doesn't it?" ”

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "That's right, I heard that the eldest brother is going to get married, and even the shops on the street have begun to hang dark red colors, indicating that they are festive......"

Liu Bei smiled.

In fact, there is another point that Liu Bei did not say.

The sister of Elk Zhu wants the position of lady! I want to book the position of Liu Bei's heir! Although Lu Zhu did not say it explicitly, the so-called etiquette arrangements for marrying relatives were all handled in accordance with the position of Liu Bei's wife.

Liu Bei is now Xuzhou Mu, so the Elk family is Xuzhou Mu's wife!

And Gan's ......

Alas.

Liu Bei treats his wives and concubines around him, and he is not a ruthless person, but many times because he is forced to be helpless......

After all, in the past few years, there has been no stability in the southern and northern wars, although several wives have followed him, but the harsh battlefield environment and long-distance migration, not all women can adapt to it.

So Liu Bei lost his wife, well, he lost his wife many times, and now there is a Gan family left in front of him, originally just a concubine, but now Liu Bei has stabilized a little, thinking of Gan's years of hard work and friendship, he will promote Gan as a wife and as a wife, so Liu Bei also has such a hesitation when Lu Zhu proposed, after all, the Elk family must only be wronged by Gan's ......

Originally, Liu Bei wanted to let Lu Zhu provide some money and food as capital for training and recruitment, but Lu Zhu was also afraid that the money would be wasted, so he simply learned from Jing Xiang Huang and married Liu Bei, so that giving Liu Bei money is equivalent to giving money to himself, as long as the Elk family can give birth to a son and a half daughter and become an heir, it will be equivalent to stabilizing the position of the Elk family in the future. This approach is actually no different from the template of the relatives of the royal family in the Han Dynasty.

"In addition, ......" Liu Bei signaled, and after letting the servants and guards retreat, he lowered his voice and said, "The two Yuan of the north and the south, the two virtuous brothers think...... Who has the better odds of winning? ”

Liu Bei led the Xuzhou pastor, as the so-called not in his position will not seek his government, although he is a state pastor, but in fact it is a dim sum sandwiched between the two big guys of Eryuan, and now he has received the seal ribbon, of course, he needs to express his attitude, and this attitude is very important, which determines the future route.

Liu Bei followed Gongsun Chan before, and Gongsun Chan was allied with Yuan Shu, although everyone knows what this so-called alliance is about, and Yuan Shu may not be able to afford Gongsun Chan, but Liu Bei has more or less received some favor from Gongsun Chan, and naturally he is also a faction close to Yuan Shu, and he is also hostile to Cao Cao, and he has fought several times before and after.

And now Gongsun Chan is obviously ......

Liu Bei naturally has to consider leaving a way out for himself.

This time Liu Bei accepted Xuzhou Mu, Yuan Shu didn't say anything, and he didn't know if he agreed or didn't care, anyway, there was no news so far, so Liu Bei had no bottom in his heart.

Yuan Shao's side, he has always been in a state of war before, but after all, he has not been offended to death, if he expresses his defection to Yuan Shao now, presumably Yuan Shao will not refuse, and Liu Bei does not mind being a horse bone of a daughter.

Guan Yu groaned for a while and said, "General Gongsun is kind to us......"

"There is some kindness, but it is also called around, and there is no half respect!" Zhang Fei muttered, "Do you remember the original ...... What's that called? It's General Gongsun's brother, the kid who scolded the eldest brother? Isn't the result over? Didn't put a single fart! ”

"Hmm......" Guan Yu nodded, not denying this fact, "General Gongsun really didn't do well at this......

Liu Bei was silent for a moment and said, "General Gongsun and a certain are classmates. General Gongsun lent troops to a certain person, and a certain person also fought for him all these years...... There's nothing wrong with that...... However, at the moment, most of the soldiers under you and my brother are not Youzhou soldiers now...... If you still let the Danyang soldiers go north...... Hmmm......"

That's the real difficulty. Although friendship is also important, it is pale to talk about friendship by bypassing difficulties. For Gongsun Zhan, Liu Bei is really powerless at the moment. His foothold has not yet been stabilized, can he throw away all the hard-won territory in his hand, lead the troops for thousands of miles alone, cross Qingzhou and Jizhou, and go north to rescue Gongsun Zhan?

And judging from the current situation, Gongsun Chan is inevitably going to fall, even if he goes to the rescue, it is just a drop in the bucket, and it can't change anything.

So, after Gongsun Chan fell, Liu Bei still had to follow the old path of Gongsun Chan before, continue to hug Yuan Shu's thigh, or change his thigh to hug?

"Big brother, I don't know what you think?" Guan Yu looked at Liu Bei and asked.

Liu Bei took a long breath, then sighed and said: "I heard that the Son of Heaven is already pro-government, and you and I are also courtiers of the Han Dynasty no matter what you say, so I decided to send someone to pay tribute to the imperial court...... What do the two virtuous brothers think? ”

When Guan Yu heard this, he thought for a moment and then nodded and said, "This strategy should be right!" ”