In fact, Liu Bei had a very difficult time during this period.
Because he kept hitting a wall and kept failing.
He started out by suppressing the Yellow Turbans, and formed a small team with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. There were twists and turns in the process. He whipped the Inspector and got punished. When he was dismissed from office, he was almost thirty years old and could be said to have accomplished almost nothing.
It was not until he defected to Gongsun Zan and became the Prime Minister of Pingyuan that his development got on the right track. Then he defected to Tao Qian and was appointed the Governor of Yuzhou. He recruited a group of officials and advisers and truly had his own team.
Afterwards, he took over Xuzhou from Tao Qian and truly occupied the state. He had his own territory, and the Xuzhou gentry came to join him one after another, making him the most powerful person for a while.
At that time, he was in his thirties, had become the ruler of a state and one of the few princes in the world. For a time, he was full of energy and felt that his dream of achieving great things was right in front of him and within reach.
However, cruel reality soon taught him a lesson. First, he was defeated in Qingzhou, and then Xuzhou was attacked continuously. Both Cao Cao and Sun Ce made Liu Bei suffer a lot.
Although Liu Bei took refuge with the Yuan family, he sadly discovered that at the critical moment, the only one he could rely on was himself.
But it was too late. Xia Pi was lost, and his wife and daughter were captured by Sun Ce. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were powerful enough to defeat ten thousand men, had no way to deal with Sun Ce, who was at the peak of his power.
If Yuan Xi had not launched a surprise attack on Guangling, causing Sun Ce to lose his hometown and become unable to advance or retreat, and then joined forces with Yuan Tan to come to the rescue and jointly drive Sun Ce away, Liu Bei would have almost given up struggling and made plans to leave Xuzhou.
Liu Bei was certainly grateful for surviving the disaster, but at this time he was already seriously injured and many people left.
Liu Bei looked around at the remaining people and found that there was not a single backbone who could convince everyone and turn the tide.
Liu Bei couldn't help but fall into serious self-doubt. Was he lacking something?
He turned his gaze to Yuan Xi.
During the two most difficult years for him, the opponent emerged as a dark horse, became the winner of several battles, made a great name for himself, took away the title of the fierce tiger of the Yuan family, and was able to occupy Youzhou, becoming an existence on par with himself.
Not only that, Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, and Tian Yu, who he had high hopes for, all joined him.
Of course Liu Bei understood that Yuan Xi definitely did not achieve this simply by relying on the reputation of being a member of the Yuan family.
What did Zhao Yun and others see in him?
So when Tian Yu came to visit today, Liu Bei took the opportunity to hold a banquet in order to clarify this doubt.
After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere became a little dull. Seeing that Tian Yu only tasted the wine in the glass, Liu Bei smiled and said, "I remember that Guo Rang used to be a good drinker. Why doesn't he drink now? Is this wine not good?"
Tian Yu listened, smiled and said: "Wine is good, but drinking makes things difficult, so I rarely drink now."
Guan Yu spoke for the first time: "Guorang has changed a lot."
Tian Yu nodded slightly, "Yes, during the battle of Yijing, my uncle died in front of me, which shocked me greatly."
Liu Bei was surprised when he heard this and asked, "What's going on?"
"Speaking of which, during the Battle of Yijing, you were still under General Gongsun. What happened?"
After hearing this, Tian Yu explained the situation in just a few words.
Gongsun Zan went crazy and wanted to kill all his relatives, but was stopped by Tian Kai. Gongsun Zan then burned himself to death, and Tian Kai died accordingly.
It was the first time that Liu, Guan and Zhang heard the hidden truth, and they were filled with sighs for a while.
Tian Yu said: "In the beginning, I hated you very much and tried to assassinate you, but I was captured by you."
"But the young master is a man who values his word very much. He tried his best to fulfill his promise to me, and my uncle also admires him very much."
"After my uncle died, I kept thinking about who to follow to conquer the world and what the meaning was for me."
"In fact, I still haven't figured it out, but the Master told me that I can see it with my own eyes. If one day I feel that I can't stay any longer, I can leave, and he will not stop me."
"So I want to keep watching, but now I already have some vague answers in my mind."
"If you want to pacify the world, there are too many things that need to be done. It is definitely not something that can be accomplished simply by momentary emotion or brotherhood."
"The young master has many ideas about future plans, and he often tells them to people around him, including me."
"There are some things I agree with, and some I don't understand, but the young master took the trouble to make me understand, and he didn't have to go to so much trouble."
"This is what surprised me the most. I originally thought that the young master just needed me to be able to fight."
"I would like to ask Lord Xuande, what are your plans for the future?"
After hearing this, Liu Bei broke out in a sweat.
Yes, over the years, I have been planning carefully for official salary, food and fodder for soldiers, and territorial expansion, but I have neglected my original intention.
It's not that he doesn't have ideals in his heart, but in the face of cruel reality, he temporarily buried his ideals.
When I swore brotherhood with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in Taoyuan, wasn't it because I wanted to pacify the world and restore peace to the Han Dynasty?
In the end, he relied too much on his two brothers and neglected his other subordinates a lot.
These people also have their own ambitions!
Thinking of this, Liu Bei bowed deeply to Tian Yu and said, "Thank you, Guo Rang, for waking me up from my dream. I will definitely remember it in my heart!"
After hearing this, Tian Yu also bowed deeply in return: "I am sincerely grateful for your kindness in cultivating me over the years, and I will never forget it."
"Take care, my lord. I bid you farewell!"
Tian Yu left the mansion and rode on the streets of Tancheng in the cold night wind. He looked up at the brilliant starry sky.
What he said just now included what Yuan Xi wanted to tell Liu Bei, as well as Tian Yu's own heartfelt words. Liu Bei was indeed a very good lord, but if you missed him, you missed him.
From now on, both Yuan Xi and Liu Bei will move towards their ideals. Sooner or later, they will meet again in the distant future.
Mi Fang sent Yuan Xi and his companions away, and could not wait to return to the mansion. He said to Mi Zhu, "Brother, why don't you agree to this good thing? If you miss this opportunity, you will miss it forever!"
"Not asking for a dowry, but still being given such a good status, isn't this a big win?"
"What a waste of money!" Mi Zhu cursed, "Can't you use your brain?"
"It looks like you're taking advantage, so why is it your turn?"
"Do you think these conditions are free? Will our Mi family pay a price in the future?"
"Is it true that relying on the Yuan family is better than relying on the lord?"
"Look at the noble families in Jizhou. Some of them are not as well off as our family!"
"Being greedy will backfire!"
Mi Fang listened and said hesitantly: "I don't understand what you said, brother. I really don't think long-term as well as you do."
"I admit that I am greedy. I am a businessman at heart, dreaming unrealistic dreams, and I am incompatible with the nobles."
Mi Zhu thought Mi Fang had given in and sneered, "It's good that you know!"
Mi Fang said, "But I also know that given my little sister's current situation, what should we do? Should we still marry her to the lord?"
"What will be her fate?"
After hearing this, Mi Zhu said, "We are from the Mi family, and my younger sister is also from the Mi family. Since we were all raised by the Mi family, we should naturally do our best for the Mi family."
After hearing this, Mi Fang looked directly at Mi Zhu and said, "My little sister has grown up day by day under the care of us brothers."
"In fact, I think that the revitalization of the family should be left to the two of us brothers. Wouldn't it be great if my little sister could marry a good family, avoid getting involved in trouble, and live a peaceful life?"
"Ah, brother, you understand. Xuzhou won't be safe next time, right?"
"My lord is indeed a good man, but this time he couldn't even protect his wife and daughter. Will he be able to do so in the future?"
"If I marry him, what if I get kidnapped by the enemy in the future?"
"By then, will anyone be able to rescue her?"
"If she doesn't come back, can you imagine what the rest of her life will be like?"
"Empress and Yuan Xi, no matter how you look at it, Yuan Xi is the one who can protect her better, right?"
Mi Zhu's originally angry face now showed a bit of bitterness. He slowly sat down, picked up the wine jug on the table, poured himself a glass, and then drank it all.
The burning feeling went down from the throat and into the stomach, but it was another cup.
When Mi Fang saw this, he also sat at the table and drank with them.
The two brothers drank seven or eight cups and became a little drunk.
Mi Zhu stood up suddenly and staggered out, "Let me think about it carefully."
Mi Fang stared at Mi Zhu's back, reached out his hand, and opened another jar of wine.
Yuan Xi was sitting in the carriage. Seeing Zhen Mi covering her mouth with her sleeve and staring at him with a strange look, he wondered, "Why are you looking at me?"
Zhen Mi's eyes curved up and she chuckled, "I heard from the girl from the Mi family about my husband."
Yuan Xi was sweating, "How is that possible? I have only met her a few times, and there were always people around."
Cao Xian couldn't help laughing. Zhen Mi said with a smile, "Why are you in such a hurry to distance yourself from me, my husband? I didn't say anything."
Yuan Xi thought that Mi Zhen had not come out since Zhen Mi came back from changing clothes, and was afraid that something had happened, so he asked, "What did you talk about?"
"Madam, you're not going to say bad things about me anymore, are you?"
After hearing this, Zhen Mi's eyes became even more crooked, "My husband has a bad heart. He asked me to send the girl from the Mi family away. I'm afraid this marriage is also taking advantage of her, right?"
"The girl from the Mi family is very pitiful."
"But the girl from the Mi family sees things very clearly."
Yuan Xi thought there must be something going on, so he said, "I told you long ago that I'm not a good person."
Zhen Mi started to laugh, "How can my husband not be a good person? Didn't he return the wife and daughter of Liu Shijun and the wife and daughter of Kong Beihai intact to Zhao? And he didn't add insult to injury."
"I heard that there is a widow of General Gongsun in Beixin City, and your husband has not gotten involved with her."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi couldn't help but look at Cao Xian. After all this time, a fire broke out around him. Has Cao Xian become Zhen Mi's spy?
He coughed and said, "Cao Xian, I'll go back later and talk to you."
After hearing this, Cao Xian's face turned pale and he looked at Zhen Mi as if asking for help.
Zhen Mi hurriedly said, "Don't bully her. I forced her to say that."
The three of them returned to the mansion, but Zhen Mi felt a little unwell and said, "I can't accompany my husband tonight, please do as you please."
Yuan Xi didn't know whether it was true or not, and wondered if Zhen Mi was angry with him.
But Zhen Mi's temper wasn't awkward, she was just afraid that she would be fine after a good night's sleep, so thinking of this, he said, "Then you should get some rest first."
After a while, Zhen Mi fell asleep. Yuan Xi tucked the quilt into her and walked out of the room.
He heard the voices of Cai Zhaoji and Madam Cai talking in the study, probably discussing something in the classics again.
Suddenly, the door creaked and Cao Xian came out from the study.
Yuan Xi went over and grabbed her wrist, "Come on, follow me into the house."