The imperial cause at the end of the Han Dynasty was not one of partial peace.

The guards on the watchtower of the village gate had already seen the smoke and dust, and hurriedly worked with their companions to push open the heavy oak door, and Liu Bei and his party filed in.

Inside the gate was a solid, open space, which served as a training ground. At that moment, dozens of people were either wrestling in pairs or practicing thrusting. The shouts, the clinking of wooden sticks, and the clanging of forging from the blacksmith's shop created a lively and bustling atmosphere.

Upon seeing Liu Bei and his men return, and especially upon seeing the spoils on the packhorses that were clearly standard-issue armor, everyone stopped what they were doing, gathered around, and started chattering amongst themselves.

"Our lord is back!"

"Look! Ring-pommel swords! So many of them!"

"That...that's a crossbow? And iron armor!"

"Guan Yu, Yi De, have we perhaps wiped out a bandit's den this time?"

The wandering knights and their followers whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with both awe for their lord and curiosity about the unknown rewards.

Liu Bei dismounted, and a servant took the reins from Dilu. He surveyed the training ground, his gaze sweeping over the faces, some young, some weathered. These hundred-odd men were all he had at this moment.

Contrary to the later impression that Liu Bei was humble in his early days with "less than a thousand soldiers and only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as generals," Liu Bei felt that the manor he was in now was full of talented people.

For a hero who has just begun to have great ambitions and is ready to seize the opportunity, this is even a dream start.

The border region of Youyan has been home to many generous and chivalrous people since ancient times. Now that the Han dynasty is about to collapse and heroes are rising up, how could there be few heroes lying in wait?

His small estate has already gathered many promising talents, who are beginning to develop their literary and martial skills. If they are properly trained, they will surely become pillars of society in the future.

Aside from Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were already formidable warriors, he also had the support of his relatives.

His uncle, Liu Yuanqi, once sponsored Liu Bei to study under the great Confucian scholar Lu Zhi. Now nearly fifty years old, he is an elder in the village, much like Wu Jing, the uncle of Sun Ce of Eastern Wu.

He had served as a minor official in the county in his early years and was well-versed in documents and laws. Now he assists Liu Bei in handling affairs in the manor, especially in the official correspondence with the government and the local people, which are mostly written and polished by him.

His son, Liu Deran, was about the same age as Liu Bei. He had a kind face, was not good at speaking, but was calm and composed. He was in charge of the manor's storage, grain and other general affairs.

He was just walking out of a storeroom, holding a bamboo slip for recording things in his hand, and a writing brush stuck in his hair.

In this day and age, education and culture have flourished. Although documents are still mostly written on bamboo slips and wooden tablets, the brush pen has become widely used, and there is a custom of "wearing a brush in one's hair," where officials would insert the brush into their hair for easy recording.

Liu Deran is now one of Liu Bei's most important civil officials, and at Liu Bei's request, he is responsible for teaching all the wandering knights to read and write.

Besides his relatives, among the talented individuals, Liu Bei's childhood sworn brother, Qian Zhao, whose courtesy name was Zijing, was from Guanjin, Anping, and was eighteen years old this year.

He was tall and handsome, fond of martial arts, and also well-versed in classical studies. He especially admired Lord Xinling's practice of nurturing scholars during the Warring States period. When he was young, he heard that Liu Bei was making friends with heroes in Zhuojun, so he came to join him.

Because of his exceptional insight and his affinity with Liu Bei, he gradually became a trusted confidant.

He is not currently in the manor. Last month, he mentioned that he had found a remarkable man named Wang Men in Anping County who was skilled in judging horses and knowledgeable in veterinary medicine. He wanted to invite him to come to Zhuo County with him.

Judging by the time, it's time to turn back. In chaotic times, warhorses are like two legs, and a skilled horseman is worth as much as a hundred elite soldiers.

Besides Qian Zhao, there was also Wang Kai, a local chivalrous leader from Zhuojun. He was about thirty years old, had a scar on his face, was brave and good at fighting, and was quite famous among the chivalrous people in Zhuo County and Liangxiang.

Because he admired Liu Bei's generosity and kindness towards his followers, he led more than twenty core brothers to join him and now leads a group of wandering knights in the village.

There was another figure similar to Guan Yu, Li Zheng, courtesy name Zigui, a fugitive from the border region of Youzhou. He was skilled in riding and archery, could draw a strong bow, had traded with the Xianbei and Wuhuan people, and was fluent in their languages.

Having committed a crime on the border, he fled to Zhuojun and was taken in by Liu Bei. He is currently responsible for training the knights-errant of the village in horsemanship and gathering intelligence on the border regions and Youzhou.

On the east side of the drill ground, there was another man named Zhang Nan, a native of Zhuojun. He was also a wandering knight-errant, but his ancestors had served as "Yingshi" (military soldiers) in the prefecture. Therefore, he was quite knowledgeable about military operations, such as setting up camp and civil engineering. He was responsible for reinforcing the village walls and adding watchtowers.

Similar to Zhang Nan, in the nearby archery range where straw mats were used as targets, another person was teaching archery. This person claimed to be the leader of a caravan guard from Liaodong, who had been scattered after his caravan was attacked by bandits and had come here to join Liu Bei after hearing of his name.

This man, named Li Tong, was about thirty years old. His face was weathered, and he was a man of few words, but his eyes were sharp as an eagle's. He was especially skilled in archery, able to draw a two-stone bow and hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces away. Judging from his demeanor, he was calm and capable, clearly no ordinary guard. When Liu Bei privately inquired about him, he only said that he had been a "recruited soldier for the prefectures and kingdoms" and had long served on the frontier.

Liu Bei suspected that he might be an elite archer from a vassal state of Liaodong, or even a fugitive military officer fleeing disaster. But since he had come to join him and was indeed capable, he kept him and temporarily ordered him to assist in training the archers in the manor.

Besides warriors, there were also scholars. For example, Feng Tong, a poor boy from Zhuo County, was in his early twenties. He had some knowledge of the classics and was particularly fond of military books. However, due to his family's decline and his unwillingness to serve corrupt officials in the county, he heard that Liu Bei had humbled himself to study and recruit heroes, so he came to join him.

Now he assists Liu Deran in managing documents and accounts, and in his spare time he is always reading and studying the military books collected by Liu Bei, and often has insights.

In the blacksmith shop, besides the dozen or so craftsmen they had recruited, there was also a hidden treasure. The person in charge of supervising the craftsmen's work and inspecting the quality of the ironware was a middle-aged man named Guo Rong. He was not good-looking and was originally a guest of Su Shuang, a wealthy merchant from the Zhongshan Kingdom. Because he had some knowledge of smelting, Su Shuang kept him to assist Liu Bei.

This person not only knew the quality of iron ore, but also had some unique insights into how to "fry steel" using traditional methods and improve the toughness of ironware. Although it was not systematic, it was still a rare find in this folk workshop.

Liu Bei had a deep conversation with him and learned that his ancestors were "laborers" under the official ironworks of the Former Han Dynasty, and that they had inherited some skills. Given time and resources, he might be able to make some achievements in the improvement of military equipment.

Now, among this lineup, there is Liu Bei, a peerless hero who can be the commander of an army.

Top talents include Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who are fierce and invincible generals.

The top talents include Qian Zhao, Tian Yu, and Jian Yong. Qian Zhao is skilled in both literature and military affairs, Tian Yu is loyal and wise from a young age, and Jian Yong is quick-witted and eloquent. They can all be trusted ministers in the government and can stand alone in the government.

There are also a large number of second-rate talents who can serve as the core team and backbone. Liu Yuanqi and Liu Deran are reliable relatives, good at internal affairs, and can stabilize the rear.

Wang Kai, Li Zheng, Zhang Nan, Li Tong, Feng Tong, Guo Rong, and others were either leaders of chivalrous knights, brave and skilled in battle; or knowledgeable about border affairs and the situation of the nomadic tribes, serving as their eyes and ears; or proficient in archery and civil engineering, becoming key technical personnel. All of them were practical talents capable of leading a department or undertaking a task.

As long as Liu Bei can lead this group to victory in battle, they will be loyal and devoted to the cause, each displaying their talents.

This team may be even more impressive than when Cao Cao raised his army.