I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 389: Warriors of the World (4k)

In winter, the wind is cold and biting.

But even though it was already December, the prosperity of Luoyang City remained unchanged.

Some people in the suburbs have become increasingly affluent due to the good governance, and during this slack season, the whole family can wear warm winter clothes and go out to watch the fun.

The biggest bustle in Luoyang recently is happening outside Xiyuan.

Zhang He was outside the West Garden at this moment.

Of course, he is not the excitement itself, but the maintainer of order.

Born in Hejian State, Jizhou, he had already enlisted in the army during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and later served as a general in the Jizhou Prefecture Army. Last year, he had become the Sima of the Prefecture Central Army.

When the emperor issued an edict, ordering all states and counties to recommend brave men again, he was recommended by Ying Shao, the governor of Jizhou, and joined the Xiyuan Army, becoming the Sima of a separate department.

"Ziyi, how many of the people present today do you think can join the Xiyuan Army?" Zhang He asked.

Taishi Ci, who was standing beside him, heard this and stared at the two strong men in the distance and said, "Sima, look at the two men in the front row. They are confronting each other, unlike ordinary people. Sima, you might as well wait and see."

Taishi Ci was originally an official in Qingzhou. He had made great contributions by following Liu Bei in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou. This time, he was recommended by Chen Ji, the governor of Qingzhou, to join the Xiyuan Army. Because of his inferior qualifications, he was appointed as Zhang He's deputy and the military Sima.

Zhang He looked in the direction of Taishi Ci's gaze and immediately understood which two people Taishi Ci was referring to.

Although there were more than two queues, the front rows of other queues were all empty.

Apparently there is some story behind this.

And this story is part of the excitement that people love to watch.

There were also people who showed off what they had seen and heard to the newcomers, as if they were the people involved.

……

Zhang He and Taishi Ci knew all of this, but they tacitly pretended to know nothing. They just thought that if the two men were brave enough, they could take advantage of the opportunity to recruit them into their own ranks.

The two of them, along with the soldiers behind them, came to the crowd of warriors from various counties and states who had applied for the exam and announced the rules of the exam: "Enter your name and place of origin first. From now on, it will be first come first served. You are not allowed to cut in line or make noise..."

These rules are not a secret, and most applicants who come here have inquired about them in advance.

After announcing all the rules, Zhang He immediately announced the start of the assessment. He and Taishi Ci then went to the clerk in charge of recording and watched the two people at the front of the line report their names and places of origin.

"Chen Liudianwei!"

"Xu Chu from Qiao County, Pei State!"

After the two men talked, they both took out biographies representing their identities, which recorded their hometowns and their appearance characteristics. After checking, the clerk recorded them in the book.

"Can you ride a horse?" asked the clerk.

"Good riding!"

"Can ride!"

Xu Chu and Dian Wei, who spoke one after another, heard each other's answers, glared at each other, and turned their heads away.

However, Zhang He and Taishi Ci looked at each other and found it very interesting.

Immediately afterwards, a soldier led them both to take the test.

The soldier introduced: "The content and scores of the assessment are no secret in Luoyang. The better the performance, the higher the score. If you have inquired about it, I will not elaborate and take you directly."

Xu Chu and Dian Wei both understood, and after being ordered by the soldiers to run a lap in the name of "stretching their muscles", the soldiers quickly took them to the first item - raising the flag.

The location of the assessment was not away from the people, but allowed the onlookers to see it more clearly. The people who set out early and occupied the best positions cheered when they saw the assessment finally begin.

The flags used for raising the flag are of different sizes. The smallest is only the ordinary general flag, while the largest flagpole is as thick as a human thigh, much taller than the general flag, and is the largest gate flag.

This item first tests arm strength and power.

The soldier leading the way emphasized: "Remember, you will pass only if you raise the flag to the other side. Do not fall down in the middle of the test. Remember to do it within your ability. Raising the flag is only one of the tests. Do not be too greedy and lose the ability to cope with the rest of the test."

"Thank you for the reminder!" After Dian Wei thanked him, he stretched his arms and went straight to find the largest gate flag in the field.

This scene again caused the people to exclaim in surprise.

An old man sighed: "Xiyuan has been recruiting for so many days, and I have watched for so many days, but there are less than ten people who can raise this gate flag. Could it be that another one will appear today?"

Some newcomers also questioned: "There have been people like him in the past who overestimated their own abilities and wanted to use this to get attention, but ended up breaking their backs. I think he will not get any good results!"

Because the two sides were quite close, some sounds inevitably reached Dian Wei's ears, but Dian Wei didn't care. He stretched out his arms and hugged the thick gate flag. After testing the weight, Dian Wei took a deep breath, exerted force, and the gate flag suddenly rose.

The onlookers fell silent instantly.

But Dian Wei remained calm, holding the gate flag and walking to the other side as if he was strolling in the garden. During the whole process, the gate flag did not tilt at all in anyone's sight.

After a brief silence, cheers resounded through the sky.

The old man continued to sigh: "Although there are people who can carry this gate flag in recent days, he is the only one who can walk so steadily! I wonder where he is from, and how brave he is."

This time, no one came to argue.

On the other side, Dian Wei heard the voice coming from the audience and looked at Xu Chu provocatively, but saw the latter came to his side calmly and also put his hand on the largest gate flag.

This explosive scene made the people present say that the trip was worthwhile, and Xu Chu was straightforward, just like Dian Wei had done before, and returned the gate flag to its original position.

The old man opened his eyes wide and exclaimed, "I never thought that I could see two strong men in the same moment today! They are really fierce warriors!"

Not only the common people, but also the soldiers leading the way were a little stunned. When he came to his senses, he suddenly noticed that Zhang He, the commander of a separate army, was winking at him. He quickly turned around to talk to Dian Wei and Xu Chu, pretending that he saw nothing.

In a corner where no one was paying attention, a soldier was rushing back to the Xiyuan Army Base.

Then, swords and spears, archery, horseback archery, horseback chopping, and long-distance running with weights...

Dian Wei and Xu Chu both refused to admit defeat and wanted to overpower the other.

Dian Wei was not as good as Xu Chu in riding skills, but he was better in infantry combat.

When the two of them finished the assessment, Zhang He and Taishi Ci were already waiting for them.

Zhang He said with a smile: "You two warriors are very brave, but it's a pity that you haven't met a mentor before. Otherwise, with your abilities, you can easily become military commanders and military officers! But it's not too late now. Our army is in need of two garrison commanders, centurions. Are you interested?"

Although the warriors who joined the expedition to Xiyuan Army should be assigned together, but for those with potential like Dian Wei and Xu Chu, and the level of Zhang He and Taishi Ci, if both parties are willing, no one will be too serious about it.

But before Zhang He finished speaking, and before the two men could reply, he heard a loud shout from behind him - "Don't worry, Junyi, wait for me to come over!"

When Zhang He heard this voice, he secretly said in his heart - "It's bad." After whispering to Dian Wei and Xu Chu, "My army is in need of talented people, please think carefully," he turned around and saluted with Taishi Ci, saying, "Greetings, Captain Liu!"

The man who came was Liu Bei, who was now the captain of the central army in Xiyuan Army, second only to Jian Shuo.

Liu Bei returned the greeting and immediately stood in front of Dian Wei and Xu Chu, calling out, "What brave men!"

As he spoke, regardless of the fact that this was their first meeting, he said enthusiastically: "My Central Army Lieutenant Department has made outstanding achievements in the past few years, and now we are in need of two such warriors!"

Then Liu Bei said to Zhang He and Taishi Ci, "Junyi and Ziyi, you should have heard that a few months ago, His Majesty ordered a group of meritorious soldiers to return to their hometowns to serve as officials. Since most of our troops left, there are many vacancies for generals and officers. Now we need brave warriors to fill the positions!"

Taishi Ci also thought to himself that it was bad. He didn't expect that Liu Bei would disregard the friendship they had fought side by side in Qingzhou in the past and snatch people away in front of him.

In that case, don't blame him for not giving face - "Brother Xuande must also know that the army that Junyi and I have established is new, and there are still some hidden dangers that the soldiers don't know the generals, and the generals don't know the soldiers. I don't know if there are any unqualified officers in the army. In the future, it will be necessary to promote the capable and demote the mediocre... In this case, my army needs more warriors with real talent!"

"No, Ziyi is wrong!" Liu Bei retorted, "We are all comrades in arms, how can we always think of replacing others? The right way is to work together!"

When Taishi Ci heard this, he knew that Liu Bei had caught the mistake in his words in his haste, and he was afraid that he would not be able to win the battle against Liu Bei today.

Liu Bei was about to talk to Dian Wei and Xu Chu again when he heard a voice behind him: "Lord Xuande, wait a minute!"

Hearing this shout, Liu Bei suddenly felt that this scene seemed familiar.

He turned around and saw someone he knew: "Wenyuan, why are you here today?"

Liu Bei was puzzled for a moment, then suddenly realized something and asked hurriedly, "Could it be..."

"Exactly!"

Zhang Liao was younger after all, and with a smile that was hard to conceal on his face, he continued, "So Lord Xuande, please don't compete with Sima Zhang and Sima Taishi for these two brave warriors."

"Of course!" Liu Bei was immediately confused - there was indeed no need to fight for it anymore, because it had already been snatched away by the emperor.

He even offered to send people over - "You two, follow this Sima Zhang later. Your future will be better than being in the Xiyuan Army!"

Zhang He and Taishi Ci had only been in Luoyang for a short time and did not know the inside story, but since Liu Bei had said so, they knew now was not the time to ask more questions.

However, Dian Wei and Xu Chu, the parties involved, were completely confused. Neither of them was a calm person, and they asked in unison -

Xu Chu said: "I came to Xiyuan Army. Even if I want to go somewhere else, I have to have an explanation!"

Dian Wei said: "Although I don't like him, what he said is not wrong. If he doesn't explain it clearly, I won't go anywhere!"

The attitude is very tough.

Zhang Liao was not angry either, he just asked: "Are you willing to be a palace attendant?"

Nowadays, even the country folk know the value of a Langguan, and the two originally tough men immediately changed their attitudes.

"really?"

"That's not a bad idea."

Both of them understood that they couldn't be stubborn right now.

As soon as the word "Langguan" was uttered, Zhang He and Taishi Ci immediately understood why Liu Bei did not even want to fight for the position.

When Zhang Liao left with Dian Wei and Xu Chu, Taishi Ci immediately said, "Brother Xuande, we are all subjects of your majesty, what is there to fight about?"

Liu Bei immediately responded: "It's a pity that I don't have time to come and supervise the assessment, otherwise I would have appointed more warriors in advance."

The two stared at each other and suddenly burst into laughter.

Liu Bei said: "Zi Yi, if we work together, we will both benefit. If we separate, we will both suffer. We can't eat alone!"

Taishi Ci replied, "Brother Xuande, rest assured. We will work together to prevent the good things from leaking into other people's fields."

"A word is settled!"

Zhang He, who had received Taishi Ci's reminder, immediately said, "It's a deal!"

……

On the other hand, Liu Bian, who arranged Dian Wei and Xu Chu as Yulin Lang, came to Xiyuan on a whim.

In addition, it is also to avoid people.

Tian Feng was sent to serve as an official of the rank of Erqianshi, but another person named Xu Qiao, who liked to speak frankly and give advice, came.

Ever since Liu Bian issued an imperial edict in the official newspaper several months ago, recruiting brave men from all over the world to enter the West Garden, people from near to far have responded.

Up to now, although the season is not good, it is the time when heroes and warriors from all over the country hear the news and come here in an endless stream.

Heroes from all over the country gather outside the West Garden every day, and it is inevitable that there will be some conflicts that are difficult to tell right from wrong. At this time, for these warriors, fighting can solve most problems.

Who didn't have some credentials to leave their hometown and go to Luoyang to join the army? Some people even took this opportunity to show themselves so as to win the favor of noble people and get a good future.

With the iron-faced and impartial Prefect of the Guards Xu Qiu in the city, there won't be any trouble. However, it is hard for the Luoyang magistrate and the four captains of Luoyang, who need to strengthen patrols outside the city from time to time.

As a result, the number of prisoners in Luoyang Prison this year reached a record high.

The situation where the people outside the West Garden watched the warriors apply for conscription was also due to Liu Bian's laissez-faire attitude. In his opinion, this would not only increase the people's confidence in the court and the army, but also highlight openness, fairness and justice.

It happens to be the slack season for farming, so why not do it!

But in the eyes of older scholars like Xu Qiu, this approach was a bit frivolous.

Moreover, Luoyang, where people used to leave their doors unlocked at night and did not steal things on the streets, now had to deal with unnecessary public security problems due to these brave warriors who voluntarily came from various counties and states to apply for the military service.

Liu Bian was unwilling to punish Xu Qiu for this, but he couldn't afford to offend him, so he could only hide away.

When Zhang Liao, who was sent by Liu Bian to arrange for his return, returned, Liu Bian also watched the assessments of many warriors. Unsurprisingly, no one emerged who could rival Dian Wei and Xu Chu. Liu Bian was not surprised either. It was a coincidence that these two people could get together.

Liu Bian felt really good when he occasionally went out for a walk.

"Send someone back to the palace to ask if the Queen Mother and the Empress want to visit the West Garden today?"

"Did Master Zheng go to the Imperial Academy to give lectures today? Did he? Then let's go to the Imperial Academy next."

When thinking of Imperial College, Liu Bian thought of Zhuge Liang.

However, before he arrived at the Imperial Academy to arrange a meeting between Zhuge Liang and Wannian, he received an urgent report from Jingzhao Yin - there was another earthquake.

(End of this chapter)