Liu Bei: My younger brother is a deity.

Sun Jian looked up at the mound of stones and was filled with awe.

They were even more curious about the heroes who attacked the Xianbei royal court.

Just then, Cheng Pu's voice came: "Wentai, someone has put up a sign here."

Sun Jian dismounted and approached to examine it closely. He saw that it was written on it:

"The mighty warriors of the Han Dynasty arrived here, slaughtered all the Xianbei guards, burned their royal court, beheaded three thousand, and plundered their cattle, sheep, and wealth to avenge Tan Shihuai's repeated border incursions. Now, we have built a Jingguan here to show all the tribes of the grasslands: those who offend the mighty Han, no matter how far away, will be punished. If any barbarian cavalry later attempt to invade the border, they should take this as a warning."

Below are the signatures: Liu Bei of Zhuojun, Liu Quan of Zhuojun, Zhang Fei of Zhuojun... Guan Yu of Hedong, Lü Bu of Wuyuan, Wei Xu of Wuyuan... Zhang Xun of Yanmen, Yan Liang of Langya...

Last date: July of the sixth year of the Xiping era of the Han Dynasty.

After Sun Jian finished reading it word by word, he raised his head, his eyes shining like two balls of fire.

He slapped his thigh and laughed loudly, "Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! 'Those who offend the mighty Han, though far away, shall be punished!' How wonderful! How wonderful! I wish I could join them!"

Tan Shihuai finally returned to the army.

After annihilating Tian Yan's army.

Thus, the three armies of the Han Dynasty that were attacking the Xianbei were completely defeated, suffering heavy casualties.

The grasslands were littered with flags, weapons, and corpses abandoned by the Han army, and crows darkened the sky, lingering for a long time.

Tan Shihuai led tens of thousands of cavalry, traveling day and night to return to Tanhan Mountain.

Despite being mentally prepared, Tan Shihuai fell into a long silence when he saw the scorched earth.

The tents were burned, the warehouses were emptied, and not a single cow or sheep was left (those that couldn't be taken were killed).

At the foot of Tanhan Mountain, the enormous mound of corpses and human heads, piled up with bones and heads, emitted a strong stench of decay under the scorching sun.

Tan Shihuai's anger brewed in silence.

The Xianbei tribal leaders behind him were in an uproar.

Some cursed and swore, some beat their chests and stamped their feet, some drew their knives and slashed wildly at the air, vowing to tear the Han people to pieces.

Tan Shihuai dismounted and slowly walked to the Jingguan (a mound of skulls).

He saw the two-meter-tall wooden sign and the name written in blood on it.

He leaned closer and read it word by word.

"Liu Bei, Liu Quan, and Zhang Fei of Zhuojun... Guan Yu of Hedong... Lü Bu and Wei Xu of Wuyuan..."

Tan Shihuai read it once, and then read it again.

His expression was icy cold.

He stood up and whispered in Xianbei, "Bring me paper and pen."

They were stunned.

"I said, bring me paper and a pen!"

Someone hurriedly brought out charcoal pencils and parchment.

Tan Shihuai carefully copied the name on the wooden plaque onto the sheepskin, stroke by stroke, very slowly, writing each character with great care.

After he finished copying, he handed the parchment to his attendant and ordered, "Make a hundred copies of these people's names and distribute them to every tribe, so that they will remember that these people are the blood enemies of the Xianbei people."

However, what Tan Shihuai did not expect was that after Liu Bei and Liu Quan's names were distributed, they quickly spread among the various Xianbei tribes.

Their deeds became increasingly outrageous, with claims that they were all blue-faced and fanged, eating human flesh without spitting out bones; that they rode fire-breathing horses and could shoot an arrow through the chest of ten people; and that they killed without blinking an eye, slaughtering 30,000 Xianbei people in one night.

Gradually, Liu Bei, Liu Quan, Guan Yu, and Lü Bu became figures who could stop Xianbei children from crying at night.

It's a pity that Tan Shihuai had already died by then, otherwise I wonder what he would have thought.

…………

Lousang Village.

When Liu Bei's party appeared at the village entrance, the whole village was in an uproar.

News of the imperial army's defeat had already reached Zhuojun, where everyone was saying that the three armies had been wiped out by the Xianbei, with very few returning alive.

The clansmen lived in constant fear and anxiety, and some were already discussing building cenotaphs for Liu Bei and Liu Quan.

"Liu Bei is back!"

"Liu Quan is back too!"

"They also brought a lot of cattle, sheep, and horses!"

The news spread like wildfire, and men, women, and children all poured out, crowding the village entrance.

Liu Deran was the first to rush forward, his eyes red, and punched Liu Bei hard in the chest. He then punched Liu Quan and Zhang Fei, one punch each, making a loud thud.

After he finished pounding the air, he choked on his words for a long time before finally managing to utter, "You bastards! I thought you were never coming back!"

Liu Bei laughed heartily, put his arm around Liu Deran's shoulder, and shook him vigorously: "Deran, why are you crying? Quan said that we brothers are going to do great things in the future, how can we die at the hands of petty Xianbei bandits?"

Liu Deran wiped his eyes, laughing and scolding at the same time: "Who's crying? The wind is blowing!"

Lu Bu and his men stayed in Lousang Village for several days, where they were treated to good food and drink every day.

At noon that day, Liu Bei ordered the kitchen to prepare a pot of Mapo Tofu.

The tofu was cut into neat squares and soaked in bright red oil. A layer of Sichuan peppercorn powder and chili powder was sprinkled on top. As it was steamed, the aroma wafted straight into the nose.

Seeing the bright red vegetables for the first time, Xiao Zhang Liao curiously scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth.

His eyes widened immediately.

He was hissing and gasping for breath, tears welling up in his eyes.

But he couldn't stop, spooning one spoonful after another into his mouth.

"It's...delicious! But...my mouth hurts a little!"

Zhang Liao slurped as he ate, his forehead covered in sweat.

Seeing this, Lü Bu also scooped up a large spoonful and sucked it into his mouth.

His face first showed a strange expression, then his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed repeatedly, "Awesome! Awesome! I, Lü Bu, have lived for over twenty years and have never eaten anything so potent. It's even more enjoyable than drinking alcohol!"

Before the group left, Liu Quan gave them some chili peppers as a gift. "These are chili peppers. After drying them, grind them into powder. Sprinkle some on the meat when grilling, and it will taste delicious."

After seeing Lü Bu and his party off.

Liu Quan chose an early morning, took Yan Rou and Zhou Cang, and rode north alone.

This trip is for no other reason than to visit the Xubu tribe of the Southern Xiongnu.

Xu Bu Xiang Xiang is about to give birth.

The third day of the eighth month in the sixth year of the Xiping era of the Han Dynasty.

The wind on the grassland was already cool, and from the luxurious tent of the Xubu tribe came the loud cry of a baby.

Xu Bu Xiangxiang gave birth to a baby boy, who was fair-skinned and chubby. His cries were so loud that even the horses outside the tent perked up their ears.

Marquis Xubu Gudu was overjoyed to have his eldest grandson, and immediately named him Xubu Bao.

He also adopted another Han name, Liu Bao, following the surname Liu Quan.

Holding his grandson, Guduhou's deeply lined face broke into a wide smile as he said to Liu Quan, "This is the eldest grandson of my Xubu family. He must remain on the grasslands to inherit my tribe in the future."

Liu Quan did not argue.

He looked at the wrinkled baby, then at the weak but smiling Xiangxiang in the delivery tent, nodded, took a jade pendant from his waist, and placed it beside the swaddling clothes.

The jade plaque bears the two characters "Liu Bao" that he had just carved.

After staying for two more days, Liu Quan left the tribe without looking back.

Zhou Cang, unaware of Liu Quan's past, shook his horse's reins and moved closer to Yan Rou, lowering his voice to ask, "Your Majesty doesn't even want your own son anymore?"

Yan Rou lowered her voice and whispered in his ear, "What do you know? That child was born from the Lord's one-night stand. Besides, according to the Xiongnu custom, the child should stay in the tribe. If he can be raised, he will most likely take over the Xubu tribe. It's better than him going home as an unclaimed illegitimate child."

Zhou Cang suddenly realized.