Surviving as Guan Yu in the Three Kingdoms

As soon as we finished our few days of rest, we were urgently summoned by Liu Yan.

Upon seeing us, he welcomed us with such enthusiasm that he looked like he might embrace us.

“Has our General Liu arrived? Yes, I ordered you to rest for a few days since you must have exerted yourself greatly at Mount Daxing. Are you feeling alright now?”

Even though we, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and I, suppressed the Yellow Turban rebellion that Liu Yan, the Governor of Yu Province, couldn’t stop even with all his efforts, isn’t this a bit excessive?

But thinking from Liu Yan’s perspective, I feel I might act the same way if I were in his position.

If we three brothers, or rather siblings, hadn’t intervened in the Mount Daxing battle, the 5,000 imperial troops gathered with all of Yu Province’s resources would have been annihilated.

If that had happened, even though the Han Emperor is trash who openly sells and buys official positions for money, Liu Yan might have physically lost his head for the crime of losing Yu Province to the Yellow Turbans.

However, since Liu Bei repelled the Yellow Turbans, he can now keep his position and his life, so we’re essentially his lifesavers.

Liu Bei showed slight discomfort at Liu Yan’s overly friendly behavior, which was bordering on burdensome.

“Thanks to your consideration, Governor, we rested well.”
“Is that so? I was worried that I couldn’t do more for the heroes who saved Yu Province. I’m glad to hear you say that.”

From the perspective of Liu Yan, the ultimate golden spoon, it might have been a modest treatment, but for us three siblings who were the very definition of dirt spoons, it was excessively generous.

Every day, there were more than six side dishes, meat dishes were served regularly, and we were given rooms fit for Chinese nobles.

It felt like we had enjoyed a hotel staycation in a 5-star hotel in the Han Dynasty.

“Then, Zhang Yide, did you rest well?”

Zhang Fei puffed out his chest and answered very honestly.

“Thanks to your consideration, Governor, I was able to rest very well! The meals served every day were delicious, and the room was excellent!”
“I was disappointed that I could only do this much because of the war, but I’m truly grateful that you’re so pleased. Then, Yunchang, were you satisfied too?”
“This was the first time in my life I’ve rested so comfortably. I’m grateful for your consideration, Governor.”
“I’m so glad that the three siblings who saved Yu Province are satisfied. But I still can’t feel at ease with just this. So how about staying for about a month more? Once the chaos settles down, I’ll treat you all very lavishly.”

They say there’s no kindness without intention in this world, and look at how he’s talking.

That sinister intention is so transparent.

He didn’t tell us, but he must have sent investigators around Xu County to find out who we are, and definitely obtained the information that Liu Bei lived in poverty.

So his plan is to provide luxury and comfort we’ve never experienced before to get us addicted, and then tie us to his side.

Seeing him drooling like that already, we should leave soon, just like the Liu Bei in the original history.

If we don’t, we might end up with our noses pierced by this Liu Yan fellow, either dying with this fool at the hands of Dong Zhuo, or wasting time under Liu Zhang’s command.

Liu Bei shook his head at those words.

“We raised our volunteer army not to enjoy wealth and glory, but out of a desire for the country to be at peace. How could we stay long to receive luxurious treatment?”

As he said that, shadows began to fall on Liu Yan’s face.

“Still, considering my sincerity, couldn’t you stay just for one month?”

A man who says he’ll eat just one bite of ramen always ends up emptying the whole bowl.

A person who doesn’t even eat one bite can resist emptying the whole bowl.

So if we stay here for a month and receive lavish treatment, even if Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and I might be okay, the soldiers who are eating their fill here won’t want to leave.

In the end, we’d end up with our noses pierced too.

Liu Bei signaled to me with his eyes.

He probably wants me to come up with a suitable reason for us to leave.

At that, I heaved a big sigh.

“Governor, we’re honestly reluctant to say this, but… Actually, Lord Xuande wants to go help General Lu Zhi, the General of the Household, right away if possible.”
“Although General Lu’s forces are small compared to the Yellow Turbans, I haven’t heard that he’s losing. Is there really a need for General Liu to go help?”

In the Three Kingdoms, Lu Zhi only appears as someone who gets falsely accused and arrested for not giving bribes in the early stages, but his abilities were truly remarkable.

In reality, when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, he was the one who cornered Zhang Jiao with a small number of imperial troops, driving the Yellow Turbans to the brink of destruction.

Although the records about the Yellow Turban Rebellion are vague in both the official history and the novel of the Three Kingdoms, he must be vigorously cracking Yellow Turban skulls even now.

So if we join him now, we’d clearly be at a disadvantage as we’d only be overshadowed by Lu Zhi’s reputation…

Liu Bei bowed his head to Liu Yan and pleaded.

“I, Liu Xuande, have been learning from General Lu since I was young when he was exiled to Xu County, and I regard him as my teacher. How could I, as a disciple, not go to help when I hear that my teacher is in difficulty?”

In Korea, the relationship between student and teacher might not be considered that significant, but in China at this time, a teacher is like a parent.

That’s why in the Three Kingdoms, when someone killed a person who insulted their teacher and ran away, everyone praised them for knowing righteousness and duty instead of criticizing them.

“The reason I helped you, the Governor of Yu Province, now was to show my loyalty to the country because the Yellow Turbans rebelled in Yu Province where I live. But now that the urgent fire in Yu Province has been extinguished, I must go to help my teacher.”

At those words, Liu Yan’s expression crumpled completely.

Until now, he had been trying to hold us back under the pretext of treating Liu Bei well, intending to make us his people in the future…

But in this era, when someone says they’re going to help their teacher, who is equivalent to a parent, if he tries to stop this, it would be like forcing someone to commit an unfilial act.

In this late Han period where reputation is everything, if he forces an unfilial act on the benefactor who saved Yu Province from near destruction, Liu Yan could be buried in Han politics.

So he must be feeling awful that his plan has been ruined.

Still, perhaps because he’s a big shot who has risen to the position of Governor of Yu Province, he managed his expression in an instant and smiled, holding Liu Bei’s hand.

“Ha ha, then it can’t be helped. Go ahead then. While you were staying here, I’ve already allocated and delivered a very generous reward for you to Zhang Shiping, who served as your quartermaster.”
“Thank you, Governor.”

Liu Yan said this while looking around at the three of us regretfully.

“But still. If you have nowhere to rely on even after the Yellow Turban Rebellion ends, come find me, Liu Junlang. I’ll make sure to use you all very preciously.”
“We will not forget your kindness, Governor.”

And three days later, we finished all our preparations and left Xu County.

**

While marching after leaving Xu County, Liu Bei asked.

“Yunchang, so where are we going now? Are you really thinking of going to help my teacher? That doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
“Didn’t the Governor of Yu Province say so? He said that the General of the Household is doing very well. What benefit would we gain by interfering there?”

Actually, if only the incident where Lu Zhi gets arrested for not giving bribes to the eunuch Zuo Feng doesn’t happen as in the original history, following Lu Zhi might not be a bad choice.

If we go this way, Lu Zhi would become a meritorious official who suppressed the Yellow Turban Rebellion along with He Jin and Huangfu Song, and some benefits would trickle down to us too.

However, in reality, Lu Zhi will have almost completely captured the Yellow Turbans, only to have his achievements stolen by that Dong Zhuo bastard…

If we go to help, we’d only suffer a great loss.

“Isn’t that right, Master Zhang?”

At those words, Zhang Shiping replied.

“The rewards given by the Governor of Yu Province this time are indeed enormous, enough to maintain 10,000 elite soldiers for two years. However, if Lord Xuande follows the General of the Household from here, he won’t gain more fame, and then we’ll end up wandering the world as volunteer soldiers or guest generals for a few more years.”

Liu Bei agreed with a bitter smile.

“Volunteer soldiers, guest generals. If we’re doing such things without a proper base in this crucial period, we’ll miss important opportunities. So, are you thinking of participating in another disadvantageous war this time?”
“Yes, but this time I want to participate in suppressing a rebellion of imperial troops, not suppressing Yellow Turbans.”

In the Three Kingdoms, it’s lumped together with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but during this period, a crazy governor in Qing Province under Yu Province had also rebelled…

That governor bastard had succeeded in occupying Beihai, the capital of Qing Province.

Suppressing Yellow Turbans is good, but in fact, the Yellow Turbans are so weak that they melt even against the corrupt imperial army, so it’s not really counted as a proper achievement.

So if you want to advance, it’s actually much better to suppress these kinds of rebellions than to beat up Yellow Turbans.

That’s why the Liu Bei in actual history secured the position of district commander by suppressing the rebellion of Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun, not by suppressing Yellow Turbans, right?

Zhang Shiping immediately caught on to my words.

“Then how about going to suppress the rebellion that broke out in Qing Province? From what I heard before following Lord Xuande, it seems the rebellion has been going on for quite some time.”

Is this because he’s a big merchant who accumulated enough wealth to buy a governor’s position just by doing business?

I didn’t expect him to know this information in advance…

“Then it would be good to go there. We need fame more than helping the General of the Household right now.”

And so we headed towards Qing Province.

To get a chance to play in bigger waters.