Chapter 4: The Big-Eared Scoundrel’s Sidekick

The thirtieth day of the twelfth month of the sixth year of Xiping. Zhuo County.

On this final day of the year, Liu Bei finally returned to his hometown. As a man of the modern era, he certainly did not consider Youzhou his true home. Nevertheless, there was a sense of security to be found in Zhuo Commandery; at the very least, his enemies were far away.

If all went according to history, Cao Cao would be busy governing the dilapidated Dunqiu, Yuan Shu would have just been recommended as a Filial and Incorrupt official and be busy building his resume in Henan, Yuan Shao would be in Luoyang gathering dead-sworn followers and acting as a gang leader, and Gongsun Zan would be in Liaodong fighting the Xianbei.

Currently, Gongsun Zan was the most dangerous of them all. This wasn't merely because they were both in Youzhou; it was mainly because if Gongsun Zan’s mind was still intact, he could likely deduce that the death of Gongsun Yue had something to do with Liu Bei. Even if he didn't, he would be highly likely to vent his anger on him. After all, Gongsun Zan was a crude man who never bothered with logic when he held the upper hand.

Yet, Liu Bei still intended to reason with the man. After all, if one's fists are large enough, logic will naturally follow. To achieve that, he needed manpower—specifically, men who could fight.

Upon arriving in Zhuo County, Liu Bei’s first instinct was to find Zhang Fei. The result was disappointing: Zhang Fei was currently just a twelve-year-old brat, not yet fully grown. Furthermore, because Liu Bei had been expelled from Lu Zhi’s tutelage, he lacked the prestige of being a disciple of the Lu family, and he suspected Zhang Fei wouldn't be interested in him just yet. As for Guan Yu, he was likely not yet a wanted fugitive and was probably still scraping by in Xie County, having not yet arrived in Zhuo Commandery.

For now, he would have to rely on his "financial ability" to recruit some men. Fortunately, Liu Bei still had some money. This was thanks to his predecessor’s reckless adventures; although most of the copper coins looted from the Yuan family’s rice shop had been lost, he still had a small pouch containing a few gold cakes. These had likely been swiped from Yuan Shu, as they bore the mark of the Yuan family. While these gold cakes would be difficult to offload around Luoyang, they were easy to convert into currency in Youzhou. They were worth about ten thousand coins in total.

Ten thousand coins was a significant sum; if converted into Wuzhu coins, it would weigh sixty or seventy jin. While a few months ago in Luoyang ten thousand coins could only buy a single hu of rice due to the great drought, widespread famine, and the hoarding of grain by the Central Plain’s aristocratic clans, Youzhou was much less affected. Though the Xianbei incursions and the drought had influenced market prices, ten thousand coins in Zhuo Commandery could still purchase over a dozen hu of high-quality rice—enough to sustain a family for two or three years, if one could actually find it for sale. Even if grain were unavailable, livestock in Youzhou was cheap.

In any case, it was enough to recruit a few youths as helpers. Besides, there was the horse he had swiped from Cao Cao. It was a fine steed, carefully selected by Cao Cao, possessing excellent temperament and obedience. If he were to take it south and sell it to the literati, it would fetch an astronomical price. However, Liu Bei did not intend to sell it—not because he had grown attached to it during the journey, but because in Youzhou, horses did not fetch a high price.

Wait... horses! In history, hadn't Liu Bei’s rise begun with the support of two horse merchants? But why would horse merchants fund Liu Bei, who was then nothing more than a common wandering knight-errant? As Liu Bei pondered the previous exploits of Gongsun Zan and his predecessor, the future seemed to brighten once more.

When one has an idea, one must act immediately. Before even returning home, Liu Bei headed straight for the local tavern, intending to recruit a couple of helpers. As he reached the entrance, he was suddenly called out.

"Is that Elder Brother Liu? When did you return?"

Liu Bei looked over to see a youth with his chest and back exposed, lounging on a wine mat. He held a wine goblet in one hand, propped his head with the other, and dangled a shoe from his foot while swaying. Upon seeing Liu Bei, the youth kicked off his shoe, hopped over barefoot, and dragged Liu Bei to the table. "I heard you did something big in Luoyang?"

Liu Bei searched his memory for a long time before finding the identity of the youth. This was Geng Yong, also known as Jian Yong—the people of Youzhou had a heavy accent, and they pronounced "Geng" as "Jian." This was Liu Bei’s true childhood friend, with whom he had grown up since they were toddlers.

"Something big? From whom did you hear that?" Liu Bei sighed inwardly; whatever "big thing" Jian Yong was talking about was likely nothing good. It was just like returning home for the New Year and having childhood friends say, "I heard you’re a big boss in the city."

Sure enough, Jian Yong’s next words made Liu Bei’s scalp tingle: "Uncle Yuan Qi came back and said you spent ten thousand coins to pay for the top courtesan at a Luoyang music house? And that you stayed there for an entire year? Hehe... what did she look like?"

Liu Bei thought to himself that this older clan relative was quite the rumor-monger. But then, he realized—this didn't seem to be a rumor! His predecessor really had booked a room at a Luoyang music house when he went to find Cao Cao, and he had indeed stayed there for a year—making straw sandals for the musicians to pay off his debts while serving time in prison. Liu-style straw sandals had almost become a local souvenir of the Luoyang music houses.

After much thought, it seemed Liu Yuanqi, not wanting to distress Liu Bei’s mother or damage the reputation of the Zhuo County Liu family, hadn't mentioned the robbery or the jail time upon his return, claiming instead that Liu Bei had been living in a music house. In this era, travel was slow, and getting news from Luoyang to Youzhou was no easy feat. Officials could rely on official dispatches to stay informed, but the common people were truly in the dark.

"There was no top courtesan; that’s a misunderstanding," Liu Bei said, waving a hand to change the subject. "If you want to talk about big things, I did set a fire in Luoyang and became a wanted man, but that was to save thousands of refugees..."

Just like bragging when returning home for the New Year, delivering food could be described as "managing the livelihoods of countless people," and working as a security guard could be called "guarding the gates of the region." As for Liu Bei... robbing merchants was naturally "robbing the rich to help the poor and upholding chivalry," setting fire to grain shops was "saving refugees," and looting the Li Hu aristocrats was "seizing grain for disaster relief." Regardless of the true intent, this was how it sounded to Jian Yong.

Jian Yong was left in awe, exclaiming repeatedly, "Brother, you have performed such chivalrous deeds! I regret not being there with you!"

The only thing hard to boast about was being expelled by Lu Zhi, so Liu Bei sighed, "It was an unlawful act, and Master Lu is upright; he could not shield me. Alas, Master Lu is now a Minister, and as a criminal, I can no longer call myself his disciple, lest I stain his reputation."

"Brother, you are truly righteous!" Jian Yong passed him a goblet of wine. "Speaking of which, I have also done quite a few chivalrous deeds over the past two years, but I lack your benevolent heart. Now, I am troubled by a small matter..."

"Righteousness has no levels, and deeds have no size. Tell me." Liu Bei, whose throat was parched, drained the wine in one gulp.

In truth, compared to him, what Jian Yong had done over the past two years was more worthy of the title "chivalrous." He had organized a group of youths in Zhuo County into a band of knights-errant—a small, vibrant social organization, or, in short, a gang. They spent their days helping local merchants resolve problems, such as driving away thieves, recovering stolen goods, or collecting bad debts. They did not bully the market or commit evil, and their reputation was quite good.

Early in the year, when the Xianbei invaded Youzhou, a few barbarians entered Zhuo Commandery, and Jian Yong led his band to fight them. Although they only managed to drive them away by force of numbers without scoring any kills, the action was truly heroic, earning him a small reputation in Zhuo County. The Magistrate of Zhuo had intended to appoint Jian Yong as an official, but last year, Jian Yong’s father passed away. The Geng clan members were harsh, insulting his mother and seizing the land belonging to the widow and orphan.

In a fit of rage, Jian Yong changed his surname to Jian and cut ties with the Geng family. Abandoning one's family and changing one's surname was considered a great act of unfilial behavior. In this era, one could not hold office with such a reputation, not even as a minor clerk. This was the source of Jian Yong’s distress.