Chapter 8, Xiaomengchang of Zhuoxian

I haven't drunk it again

In the eyes of the authorities, in the eyes of the gentry, they are all considered worthless lives

Alright, I understand. I will arrange the personnel accordingly

Brother, are you looking for me

Liu Bei nodded

Indeed, that is correct; alcohol is a poison that courses through the veins. When it is not appropriate to drink, one should refrain from doing so

At that time, after the seasonal construction of the wine, he lost his moral integrity and committed a disgraceful act, nearly assaulting a young woman in the village. Those who attempted to stop him were beaten to the point of vomiting blood.

Relying entirely on one's own bravery and a bit of cleverness

Ji Jian inhaled sharply.

Having spent many years struggling to make a living in a place like Youzhou, Liu Bei had long discarded the ways of modern civilized life, becoming more indigenous than the natives themselves, and more ferocious.

He was one of the first followers of Liu Bei when Liu Bei joined a street gang at the age of twelve, inspired by Liu Bei's fearless spirit in rallying people for a cause. He is two years older than Liu Bei, yet he admires Liu Bei's courage and reckless, dogged determination, regarding him as a leader.

The saying "to see one live but not to bear to see one die" reflects Liu Bei's sentiment as he, having experienced the rain, cannot bear to witness someone on the brink of death in the pouring rain. The traces of civilized society ultimately cannot be completely erased from the depths of his heart

Liu Bei slowly said: "Cheng Dazhi may seem rough and unreasonable, but he is quite shrewd in his heart. Over the years, there have not been many who could establish a foothold in Zhuo County. I do not wish to suffer a setback in the gutter.

Under the command of Liu Bei, Ji Jianling returned to the stronghold to mobilize the young and able-bodied for battle

Watching him leave, Liu Bei felt quite emotional

One can only say that in this day and age, human life is not valued, whether it is that of the enemy or that of Liu Bei himself

The saying goes, "It is easier to change the landscape than to alter one's nature." Liu Bei understood that it would be very difficult to make him change, so he directly used physical means to enforce correction

The eight members of the opposing leadership, along with their relatives and other victims, all became starving refugees, and this matter simply passed by.

The death of a person is not noteworthy for the county government; it would be newsworthy only if no one dies on a given day

The then county magistrate was also a drunkard, fond of drinking and disinclined to work, delegating all matters to the local officials under his command. The relationship between the various street gangs in the county and the county government had always been ambiguous.

Of course, this cannot be blamed on others; the main responsibility lies with him.

After that, Liu Bei's gang directly controlled the street order in the eastern part of the county town, becoming a legitimate street tyrant

Later, Liu Bei discovered that among this group of refugees, there were quite a number of young and strong individuals. He then thought of taking the opportunity to recruit some of these young men into his ranks to strengthen his own power

As of now, the only remaining member of the first group of followers who accompanied Liu Bei is Ji Jian. Therefore, Liu Bei places great importance on him and *Tu* *Shu*, personally teaching him literacy skills, and later imparting some military skills he learned from Lu Zhi to Ji Jian.

Ji Jian nodded his head

The stronghold was funded by Liu Bei and was originally established as a refuge for the displaced people from various regions who had fallen into hardship due to natural disasters and human calamities in Zhuo County

Is that fellow planning to rebel

Well, I beg you.

Cheng Dazhi

Alright, go back and prepare

After Liu Bei consolidated the two major factions, he dealt with the remaining potential complainants and sent some items to the county government, then entrusted Liu Bo to reach out to acquaintances in the county government.

Thus, Liu Bei finally achieved his goal of becoming a street king, relying on his own bravery to become the overlord of Zhuo County. Having ample food and the ability to drink and feast was no longer a problem, and he no longer had to suffer from hunger and cold.

Jijian is much better now; he no longer drinks alcohol and does not get confused. He strictly adheres to the rules and regulations established by Liu Bei and does not dare to violate them. Under his leadership, the entire stronghold is orderly, resembling a scene of military-style management.

Ji Jian asked curiously: "How dare that fellow provoke you? Moreover, dealing with him does not require us to mobilize everyone, does it?"

This fellow is commendable in every aspect: loyal, obedient to orders, brave, and fearless in the face of death. At Liu Bei's command, he strikes wherever directed without even furrowing his brow.

It is simply the quality of the wine that is lacking

However, as more and more people came to him, Liu Bei gained the title of "Little Mengchang of Zhuoxian" and a reputation for his library, which caused unease among the authorities—after all, you were originally a local street warlord, and now you are sheltering so many refugees, what is your intention

Liu Bei smiled and asked, "Have you not been drinking recently?"

This is the starting point of his rise to prominence after being reborn in the late Eastern Han Dynasty

At that time, Liu Bei heard about the disturbances caused by Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Taiping Dao, in Jizhou

Liu Bei, filled with rage, personally rushed to the camp, hung Ji Jian up by his own hands at the entrance of the camp, and whipped Ji Jian, beating him so severely that he was unable to get out of bed for more than half a month

Seeing them carry out their tasks with such proficiency, as if it were as effortless as eating and drinking, Liu Bei believed that one day, if he were to be eliminated, they would similarly have no qualms about depicting him as one of those absurd "starving refugees" in their writings

At that time, the county government did not intervene directly in this matter

At that time, Liu Bei was not yet the son-in-law of the Prefect of Zhuo County, and the County Magistrate of Zhuo County was not Gongsun Zan. Therefore, in order to cope with the suspicions of the Zhuo County government, he had no choice but to superficially disperse these displaced persons.

So skilled

Moreover, I heard from the underground sources that this person inexplicably got involved with the Taiping Dao. Last year, the Taiping Dao caused disturbances in Jizhou, and now they have started to raid horses again. If you connect these two events and think about it, is there anything that seems off?

Liu Bei shook his head

It is difficult to say, but it is certainly not a problem to be fully prepared in advance

Through this battle, he established his reputation on hetushu.com, prioritizing righteousness, successfully rose to power, and became the new leader of the gang. Not only did he prevent his own gang from collapsing, but he also directly absorbed the rival gang, taking over their sphere of influence as well

Acquaintances also enjoy leisure.

From then on, the village was orderly, and no similar incidents occurred again. Ji Jian seemed to have developed a form of PTSD from drinking, as he would tremble all over at the sight of alcohol, unable to bear it. He never drank again and was even mocked by Zhang Fei for this.

Of course, this is not a real dismissal; it is merely for show. In reality, they have been hidden away in the deep mountains and forests, further away from the county seat.

Ji Jianming clearly has some psychological trauma related to drinking; whenever this topic is brought up, he becomes visibly uncomfortable

Liu Bei patted Ji Jian on the shoulder and said: "No matter what this fellow is thinking, he must hand over these horses to me. The Taiping Dao has influence in Jizhou, but here is Youzhou, specifically Zhuojun, and even more so Zhuo County. If I do not give my consent, they should not even think about causing trouble."

Unfortunately, some of them were killed in fights, some fell ill and could not be cured, and others attracted the attention of the authorities due to their offenses. Liu Bei could not offer a price that satisfied the officials, so he had no choice but to let them leave their homes and avoid the turmoil, parting ways with the main force.

Liu Bei, in the beginning, had good intentions and wanted to provide them with a bowl of rice to eat

Rebellion

However, merely wishing to defy fate in order to achieve freedom in barbecuing and spices, and to become a local tycoon, is quite far from reality. Defying fate cannot rely solely on bravery; the events that follow cannot be accomplished merely through strength.

Only

Liu Bei was reminiscing, while on the other side, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had already brought Ji Jian over.

Moreover, because he is obedient and will carry out the matters discussed by Liu Bei to the end, Liu Bei entrusted the management of the mountain stronghold to Ji Jian

Ji Jian listened and nodded gravely.

He robbed a horse dealer of one hundred horses and killed a person. The horse dealer came to me, offering a deposit of twenty taels of gold, asking me to retrieve his horses. Taking money and property from others and alleviating their misfortunes is a matter I must attend to

In this way, when you return to the village later, organize everyone; those who can fight must be armed. It is a total mobilization. Tomorrow, come with me to handle matters at Cheng Dazhi's village.

Upon hearing these words, Ji Jianyi shuddered, his face displaying an expression of embarrassment

I will never drink again, I will never drink again

Ji Jian followed Liu Bei a long time ago, even earlier than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei followed Liu Bei

Some locals were forced to flee due to harsh governance, while outsiders had to escape due to natural disasters. Those fortunate enough to survive and reach Zhuo County were taken in by Liu Bei

Later, the number of Liu Bei's followers increased, yet the first group of followers remained the most valued by Liu Bei

He saw Liu Bei handling matters beautifully, even eliminating the victim without any worries, and thus, with a grand gesture, decided to do a favor.