Liu Bei: My younger brother is a deity.

The second day of February.

Lu Zhi, along with the three Liu brothers and Gongsun Zan, came to Liu Kuan's residence to formally become his disciples.

After becoming Liu Kuan's disciples, the four of them officially became his students.

However, their teacher-student relationship with Lu Zhi will not be severed.

It's like having an extra protective umbrella and an extra network of connections.

Liu Quan was very satisfied with this.

Liu Bei was also very satisfied.

Because he and Fu Xie became fellow students.

It feels like a double blessing.

Han Yue expressed his envy.

His patron was Yin Hua, the governor of Jincheng, who was already a powerful figure in the Xiliang region, but he didn't have much influence in Luoyang.

After Han Yue arrived in Luoyang, he relied almost entirely on himself.

I haven't made any useful connections in the past year, and I don't have many friends.

Therefore, he also highly valued his friendship with the three Liu brothers.

On this day, Han Yue invited Liu Bei and his brothers to drink again, and Zhang Fei also went along.

Inside the restaurant, Han Yue noticed that only Liu Bei, Liu Deran, and Zhang Fei had arrived, and asked in surprise, "Why hasn't Yuan Gu come?"

Liu Bei laughed and said, "Ah Quan has a date with his beloved, so naturally he's too lazy to play with us stinky men."

Zhang Fei, standing to the side, looked displeased. He remembered that Quan had said he would marry her sister, so how come he started having affairs after arriving in Luoyang?

He plopped down on the mat with a long face.

Because I was in a bad mood and too lazy to maintain the kneeling posture, I just sat with my legs spread apart.

Han Yue was already familiar with them.

Seeing Zhang Fei's appearance, he couldn't help but laugh.

He teased, "Yide, you dark-skinned fellow, what are you doing with your legs spread apart? Are you afraid others won't know you have a three-inch crotch? Sit down properly, don't let the wind chill you out!"

Zhang Fei's face turned red from what he said.

He was already dark-skinned, but now he's even darker with a hint of purple.

In a moment of great embarrassment, he hurriedly pulled his legs together, changed to a kneeling position, and muttered:

"Brother Wenyue, stop talking nonsense! I...I was just stretching my muscles, why should you interfere!"

Fearing he might say something out of line again, Liu Bei quickly changed the subject, bringing up the rebellion of the barbarians in Lujiang.

"...Alas, this time Master Lu is going to quell the rebellion, and we don't know when he will be able to return to Luoyang. We brothers can only turn to Master Liu as our master."

Liu Deran said, "In the past, when the barbarians of Lujiang rebelled, it was Lu Shi who quelled the rebellion, which took more than a year. I don't think it will be difficult for us to go again this time."

Han Yue did not respond, but lowered his head and took a sip of the wine from his cup.

After a long pause, he let out a soft sigh.

Seeing that Han's expression was unusual, Liu Bei asked, "Brother Han, why are you sighing?"

Han Yue put down his cup and slowly said, "The rebellion of the barbarians in Lujiang is nothing more than a minor ailment, not worth worrying about. The real threat to our Han Dynasty lies in Liangzhou."

Everyone was taken aback.

Han Yue's gaze darkened, and his voice lowered: "As you all should know, I am from Liangzhou. The land of Liangzhou is inhabited by Qiang and Hu peoples, and since the time of Emperor Guangwu, they have been unpredictable in their loyalty and submission."

"Whenever a border general is tyrannical and oppresses the Qiang people, it will cause a great upheaval."

"The imperial court quelled rebellions only to have them revolt again, and quelled them again, spending countless sums of money and grain, and causing countless soldiers to die, yet it could never truly eradicate the root of the problem."

He paused, then continued, "The problem in Liangzhou now lies not with the Qiang and Hu tribes, but with the imperial court itself."

"The governors of the border prefectures and the Protector-General of the Qiang were mostly sons of prominent families in the Guandong region."

"These people paid a high price to get these official positions, so naturally they'll try every means to recoup their investment once they get to Liangzhou."

"Heh heh, truly, officials travel thousands of miles for wealth, caring nothing for the lives or deaths of the Qiang people."

"The Qiang people had no choice but to plunder in order to survive."

"What is even more worrying is that the powerful clans of Liangzhou are deeply entrenched with the Qiang and Hu tribes."

"Some powerful families, for their own selfish interests, secretly colluded with the Qiang people, and even led the Qiang to invade and plunder counties."

"When the imperial court investigates, they retreat; when the imperial court withdraws its troops, they reappear."

"If this continues, Liangzhou will surely become a major boil for the imperial court."

Han Yue became more and more excited as he spoke, tapping his fingers on the table:

"I've heard rumors circulating in the border regions recently. It seems that the Qiang people in the Huangzhong area are secretly colluding, perhaps plotting something big."

He sneered, "The barbarians of Lujiang number only a few thousand. They have no natural defenses and no reliable allies. Once Lord Lu leaves, they can be easily pacified."

"But if Liangzhou falls into chaos, tens of thousands of Qiang cavalry will sweep down, shaking Yong and Liang, and endangering the Three Auxiliary Regions. That will be the real threat to the world."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was startled and moved, and hurriedly asked, "Since Wen Yue has already received word of the unusual movements of the Qiang tribes, why not report it to the court?"

Han Yue smiled wryly and said, "Who said I didn't? When I first arrived in Luoyang, I made a special trip to visit Lord Duan Jiong, presented this matter to him in person, and submitted a memorial I had written myself, asking him to pass it on to the Emperor."

Zhang Fei asked in surprise, "Lord Duan is a renowned general of our time, who has long been stationed in Liangzhou and whose power is awe-inspiring among the Qiang and Hu tribes. Since he knows about this matter, shouldn't he speak up for Brother Han?"

Han Yue's smile grew increasingly bitter as he slowly shook his head: "Lord Duan spent more than ten years guarding the border, quelling the rebellions of the Eastern and Western Qiang, beheading more than 60,000 people, and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xinfeng County. His achievements shook the world."

"But now... perhaps because I've stayed in Luoyang for too long, the armor I wear has been replaced by court robes, the sandstorms around me have been replaced by incense, and the beacon fires and swords of Liangzhou have probably been gradually forgotten."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "From what I've seen in Lord Duan's words, he doesn't seem to care too much about the possibility of the Qiang tribes in Liangzhou rebelling."

They said, "The Qiang people are known for their fickle nature and frequent small-scale raids, so it's not surprising." They also said that I was "young and inexperienced, so there's no need to worry too much."

"But I know the situation in Liangzhou very well. This is not an ordinary looting. It is a secret conspiracy by someone. The Qiang people have sworn a blood oath, and the scale of the operation is very different from the past."

Zhang Fei frowned and said, "Duan Gong is someone who has fought against the Qiang people, and he's also from your Liangzhou hometown. How can you treat him so lightly?"

Han Yue sighed, "Lord Duan retired after achieving his goals and entered the court as one of the Nine Ministers, holding a high position and wielding great power. He is surrounded by flatterers and obsequious words. Having lived here for so long, his ears and eyes are blocked. How could he possibly listen to a mere commoner from the border region saying, 'Something big is about to happen'?"

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "So, it seems this proposal of a written agreement didn't even make it to His Majesty's desk?"

Han Yue nodded slightly, his expression a mixture of a smile and sorrow: "Perhaps he did, perhaps he didn't."

"Even if they are submitted, the palace receives a mountain of memorials every day. The eunuchs will go through them first, and the unimportant ones will be suppressed."

"It's already a stroke of luck that my humble memorial has even reached the Imperial Secretariat; how could I possibly expect His Majesty to read it personally? Ha!"

He raised his glass, drank it all in one gulp, and said no more.

…………

While Liu Bei and his companions were drinking with Han Yue, Liu Quan went alone to the White Horse Temple in Luoyang.

This was the first time the two had met in person after exchanging more than ten letters with Cai Wan.

Liu Quan's desire to seduce, no, pursue Cai Wan actually began after that day's discussion at Cai's residence.

He had already discovered Cai Wan eavesdropping behind the screen that day.

Through Pangu's scanning function, the system captured the girl's emotional changes and hormone secretion at the time, and drew a conclusion.

This girl is smitten with me.

So Liu Quan asked Pangu to create a "woman-hunting" plan for him, drawing on successful cases from the past and present.

Indeed, in Liu Quan's mind, Cai Wan was the most suitable candidate for his wife.