Liu Bei: My younger brother is a deity.

Chapter 22 Praising My Brother

Meanwhile, Guan Yu cleanly and decisively severed ties with the past.

Liu Bei was overjoyed upon hearing this and blurted out, "Excellent! As the saying goes, 'Those who have abandoned me cannot be retained, for yesterday is gone forever.' Brother Guan acted decisively and swiftly; let's have a big toast."

Guan Yu, Han Dang, and Jian Yong were all literate, and Liu Bei's words, "Those who have abandoned me, the days of yesterday cannot be retained," made their eyes light up.

"What do you mean by this? Where does it come from?" Jian Yong asked Liu Bei, pulling him aside.

Han Dang put down his wine bowl, clapped his hands, and praised, "'Those who have abandoned me, the days of yesterday cannot be retained,' what a fine line, with a resounding rhythm and profound meaning."

Guan Yu also asked, "Is it a line from the Book of Songs or the Songs of Chu? Hearing it evokes a sense of melancholy; it is truly wonderful."

Liu Bei laughed and said, "These are not my words, nor are they lines from the Book of Songs or the Songs of Chu. They are the words of my younger brother, Liu Quan."

"Is that the exceptional individual?" Han Dang asked with curiosity.

Guan Yu thought to himself, "I have already witnessed the abilities of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei. This man is on par with them, so his skills must be exceptional. Moreover, he can utter such words. It is no exaggeration to call him a 'dragon among men'."

He was originally a proud man, but now he was impressed by Liu Bei, and out of love for Liu Bei, his opinion of Liu Quan also changed.

"Yes, that's the man among men." Liu Bei never hesitated to praise Liu Quan.

He always felt that Liu Quan was too low-key. If he had Liu Quan's abilities, he would definitely show off his skills in front of others and spread his fame, instead of just staying in Zhuo County.

People these days are all obsessed with fame.

Why?

Because fame is linked to the future of an individual and even their family.

These days, to become an official, one must first be recommended for the position of filial and incorruptible.

So what are the considerations of local officials when recommending candidates for the civil service examination?

Family background, social standing, and... fame!

This led to a trend where prominent families would often create jokes or put on performances to bring fame to their children.

For example, "Kong Rong sharing pears", "Lu Ji carrying oranges", "Wang Xiang lying on ice to catch carp", "Huang Xiang fanning the pillow and warming the quilt", etc.

Some prominent families have produced outstanding offspring, and for the sake of convenience, they have grouped them together and given them numerical titles.

For example, Xun Shu from Yingyin had eight sons: Jian, Kun, Jing, Tao, Wang, Shuang, Su, and Fu. Each of them was talented, knowledgeable, and of noble character, and they were collectively known as the "Eight Dragons of the Xun Family".

Some scholars would also compile their comments on people into proverbs and spread them. These proverbs were easy to understand, catchy, and easier to spread.

Every year, the imperial court would send people to collect these materials, which would serve as one of the criteria for selecting talent.

Examples include "Carriages like chicken coops, horses like dogs, Zhu Bohou hating evil like the wind," "Chen Zhongju not afraid of the powerful," and "Feng Zhongwen, a man of high moral character."

There are also those who praise knowledge and talent, such as "Lu Shuling, who revived the Five Classics" and "Xu Shuzhong, who was unparalleled in the Five Classics".

Many activities dedicated to evaluating historical figures also emerged, such as the Runan Monthly Appraisal hosted by the Xu brothers, Xu Shao and Xu Jing, Guo Tai's character appraisals, and Sima Hui's character appraisals.

Cao Cao once personally sought the opinions of the Xu brothers, and Pang Tong also sought the opinions of Sima Hui.

People in this era would stop at nothing to gain fame.

As Zhao Yi stated in his "Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories": "By the Eastern Han Dynasty, this trend (referring to the trend of establishing a reputation) had become even more prevalent. At that time, the recommendation and appointment of officials were based on reputation, so people would do their utmost to gain fame, and they were fond of doing difficult things, which eventually became a custom."

This has led to a large number of people seeking fame and fortune by pandering to the crowd.

Closer to home.

Living in this era, it is inevitable to be swept up by the trends of the times, and Liu Bei was very proactive in making a name for himself.

He not only constantly seeks opportunities to make himself famous, but also to make his overly low-key, extraordinary younger brother famous.

Many of Liu Quan's deeds in Zhuo County were passed down through the mouths of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei.

Of course, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei wouldn't fabricate stories; everything they said was true.

What Liu Bei was most proud of was the proverb: "When Liu Bei smiles, men fall in love; when Liu Quan smiles, women are heartbroken."

This was originally a joke by Zhang Fei, but Liu Bei thought it was quite good, so he had it spread.

As expected, it spread extremely quickly and widely.

As Liu Bei deliberately orchestrated this, the topic of conversation at the banquet gradually shifted to Liu Quan.

Not only Guan Yu and Han Dang listened intently, but the wandering knights and other customers in the tavern also listened with great interest.

These will all be great topics of conversation in the future!

…………

While Liu Bei was boasting to Guan Yu and Han Dang, the protagonist of his story was traveling across the grassland in a heavy rain.

The rain on the grasslands is different from that in the Central Plains.

It comes and goes without warning, giving you no time to prepare.

The dark clouds were pressing in from the northwest.

At first, it was just a gray-black edge of clouds, clinging to the horizon like a faint ink mark.

Yan Rou looked up, her brows furrowing slightly. She said to Liu Quan beside her, "Master, it looks like it's going to rain. Rain comes quickly on the grasslands; we need to find somewhere to take shelter."

Liu Quan also looked up.

"It's too late," he said.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the dark cloud surged over like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins.

The wind arrived first, whistling across the grassland.

The caravan members began to get busy.

Su Shuang shouted loudly at the front of the group, directing the workers to cover the goods with tarpaulins and tie them up tightly.

Zhang Shiping ran back and forth in the middle of the group, checking whether the girths of each packhorse were secure.

Yan Rou, along with several horse grooms, gathered the carriages and horses together to prevent them from being startled and scattering.

The rain came.

It splashed down in a torrent.

The caravan members quickly put on raincoats and straw hats, but the rain was too heavy, and the raincoats and hats were of no use at all.

In just a short while, everyone was soaked through, their clothes clinging to their bodies, and they were shivering from the cold.

Su Shuang wiped the rain off her face and called out to Liu Quan, "Quan! The rain is too heavy! We need to find somewhere to take shelter!"

Liu Quan looked up at the sky and saw a drone shaped like a hummingbird flying above the clouds. The footage captured by the drone was simultaneously transmitted to Pangu and then sent to Liu Quan's brain.

He turned around and shouted, "Prepare for battle! Bandits are coming!"

Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping were both startled.

This was Zhang Shiping's first time meeting Liu Quan, and he couldn't help but ask Su Shuang, "Is this young man perhaps toying with us?"

Su Shuang looked around and could only see the white rain, his vision unable to extend far, but he still said, "I believe in Quan, he never lies."

He then shouted, "Surround the car! Everyone grab your weapons!"

Meanwhile, Yan Rou had already led a group of wandering knights to gather behind Liu Quansheng.

When Liu Quan went out this time, he took him and all the skilled horsemen and archers under Liu Bei with him. Otherwise, as the biggest gangster leader in Zhuo County, Liu Bei would not have brought only so many people to fight with Jian Yong.

These wandering knights trained under Liu Quan and Liu Bei and were provided with good wine and meat, so they were all well-fed and strong and could be considered elite.