The sudden laughter shocked everyone. Looking back, they saw an eight-foot tall man walking in proudly.

The big man was born with a leopard's head and eyes, a swallow's jaw and a tiger's beard. He was very vicious. I saw him walking into the lobby, hugged me and bowed, and said: "We are here to welcome you as an honored guest. I am sorry to hear you come from afar, but I hope you will forgive me for my sin."

Liu Bei first replied: "I don't dare, I dare to ask your name."

The big man said politely: "My surname is Zhang Mingfei, my courtesy name is Yide. He is the owner of this village."

Jian Yong was surprised and said: "Then these calligraphy and paintings are all done by your Excellency?"

Zhang Fei laughed "haha" and said: "These are what I did in my spare time, and they are not worthy of being seen by our distinguished guests."

Everyone was stunned and their jaws almost dropped.

Although Zhang Shiping didn't believe it, he didn't come here to appreciate calligraphy and painting. He stepped forward and said, "Zhang Shiping is in Zhongshan, but you have invited my brother to come and talk about business."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "That's right. I want to make a big deal with you two."

Zhang Shiping's expression changed and he said, "I would like to hear the details."

Zhang Fei turned his head and said to Liu Bei, "I haven't asked them their names yet."

Liu Bei didn't wait for Zhang Shiping's introduction, and stepped forward and said: "My surname is Liu Mingbei. I was originally a clan member of the Han Dynasty, and was the queen of Prince Jing of Zhongshan. But now I am down and out, which really brings shame to my ancestors." When Liu Bei was in Lu Zhi's house, he had some family background issues.

He is quite ridiculed by others, so he knows that in today's Han Dynasty, fame and origin are the most important conditions for measuring a person's future development goals.

Sure enough, when Zhang Fei heard this, he was shocked and said: "It turns out that he is a member of the royal family. Please come and take a seat."

Liu Bei quickly gave in, but Zhang Fei just refused. So, Liu Bei, who was just a guest's guest, finally sat on the main seat.

After Liu Bei sat down, Zhang Fei immediately greeted his servants to serve food and wine, and treated him courteously.

On the other side, Jian Yong stood there alone and murmured: "My name is Jian Yong." But obviously no one paid attention to him, so he had to smile bitterly, find a seat at the bottom, and sit on it.

After a while, the tables were filled with fine wine and delicacies. Everyone immediately started eating and drinking.

During the banquet, Zhang Fei was generous and hospitable, and Liu Bei seemed to be interested in making friends. The two chatted happily, and they felt that they had met each other so late. Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang had been in business for many years, so they were

The best among people, coupled with Jian Yong making jokes on the side, everyone was like old friends who had known each other for many years, and the scene was extremely lively.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Zhang Shiping turned the topic back to his business and said, "I wonder what kind of business Zhang Zhang wants to do with our brothers?"

Zhang Fei said "Oh" and said: "Today's world is suffering from droughts for many years and it is quite uneven. I want to buy a few hundred kilograms of fine iron from you two to make a few weapons for the guards of a certain hospital to protect my villa.

Peace and protection from thieves.”

"I see, it's easy to say. A few hundred kilograms of fine iron is nothing to my two brothers."

Zhang Fei was overjoyed and said: "Okay, have a good time, come and have a drink. I'll give you two a drink."

Liu Bei sighed at this moment.

Zhang Fei hurriedly asked why.

Liu Bei shook his head and sighed: "Taiping Road is about to rise, and the world is about to be in chaos. Although I, Liu Xuande, am a clan member of the Han Dynasty, I have the intention to kill thieves, but my hatred cannot be heard."

Zhang Fei asked in shock: "Is there going to be chaos on the Taiping Road?"

"Yes, Taiping Dao has gathered tens of thousands of believers in Julu and Wei County, Jizhou. It is clear what their intentions are."

"That's it, my brother has quite a lot of assets, so he is willing to recruit local braves and work with his eldest brother to achieve great things. How about that?"

Liu Bei quickly said: "How can this be done?"

Zhang Fei said with emotion: "No matter how hard it is, my brother and I have just met each other. Now that the world is about to fall, I am just a common man, but I am still willing to do my best for the world."

Liu Bei just resisted, but Zhang Fei persisted in every possible way.

Why is Zhang Fei so kind-hearted? It turns out that Zhang Fei is a man who relies on his skills and martial arts skills and specializes in making friends with heroes. He just hopes that one day he can make great achievements and become a general like Wei Qing. But he is just killing pigs and buying wine.

He was born in a wealthy family and had no backing. He was also not good at flattery. A big man who controlled a well-established family might not have the chance to stretch his muscles.

Just when Liu Bei was worried about this, it seemed as if God had sent him a gift from heaven. This person was a member of the Han clan and had sufficient status. He was a well-spoken and capable person. More importantly, he was not as unfavorable to a poor family as ordinary aristocratic families.

That kind of aggressive momentum can be exploited.

Zhang Fei looks rough but has a delicate heart. He was born as a merchant, so he naturally understands the principle of purchasing goods at a low price. At this time, Liu Bei was in a desperate situation, so he responded to the situation. If he didn't make a good friend at this time, he would wait until later.

Jian Yong looked at the attitude of the two of them and said hurriedly: "Both of you are heroes in the world. You might as well become brothers with different surnames. From now on, we will no longer distinguish each other and share the blessings and hardships. Isn't it a beautiful thing?"

Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang also helped. Only then did Liu Bei agree.

Zhang Fei was overjoyed and said: "So, there happens to be a peach orchard in a certain backyard. Although the flowers have not yet bloomed, the branches are covered with heavy snow, and there is a beautiful scenery. It is a perfect place to bond."

"So good."

At that time, the two of them were in the peach garden, preparing the sacrifices of black oxen and white horses, etc., burned incense, worshiped, and swore an oath to become brothers. Liu Bei was the elder, so he was his brother, and Zhang Fei was naturally his brother.

Therefore, the famous Taoyuan Three Brothers in later generations, with one person missing inexplicably, took place at this moment when the garden was full of snow and the flowers were not blooming.

Zhang Shiping said: "Both of you are unparalleled heroes. How can I not congratulate you on such a big event and send 1,000 kilograms of fine iron as a gift? How about that?"

Su Shuang also said: "Then I will also give you 50 good horses and 500 taels of gold and silver to congratulate you."

Liu Bei said: "I don't dare to take it seriously."

Zhang Shiping said: "Brother Liu, there is no need to refuse. You are the Queen of Zhongshan Prince Jing, and you have a close relationship with me in Zhongshan. How can I and my brothers not congratulate you on this great occasion?"

Zhang Fei said happily: "That's very good. Haha. Brother, you and I are going to achieve great things. We are short of gold and silver weapons. With this help, we will be even more powerful. How can we refuse?"

Liu Bei then accepted it and thanked him.

The crowd slaughtered the sacrifices and drank happily in the peach garden.

Liu Bei was just a poor man who was worried about food. He didn't expect that in just one meal, he would suddenly have so much wealth and a powerful brother. He was really overjoyed and felt that there was nothing better than him in his life.

This is more satisfying.

Afterwards, he and Zhang Fei slaughtered cattle and set up wine in Zhangjiazhuang, and recruited more than 300 local warriors. They trained strictly, built weapons and flags, and waited for the day when the big event would come.

In Gu'an City, Xu Kang had handed over his rights in Gu'an City and led Guan Yu's 1,000-man team towards Lijiabao.

Xu Kang's army was huge, not just Guan Yu's 1,000 troops. Since he was responsible for the surprise attack on Zhuocheng this time to determine the future fate of Taiping Road in Zhuo County, Cheng Yuanzhi provided extremely generous support to his troops.

100 war horses, 300 fish-scale armors, 1,000 leather armors, and bows and arrows at his disposal. Among them, the support of fish-scale armors is even more precious. Gu'an City originally captured 100 fine fish-scale armors, and Xu Kang gave Cheng

The old and weak in the Lao led camp repaired another 200 fish scales from the nearly 1,000 damaged fish scales, plus more than 100 newly built ones from the craftsman camp.

There are only more than 400 fish scale armors in the entire Gu'an City now. You must know that Deng Mao and his generals coveted these armors at the beginning, but Xu Kang refused in every possible way on the grounds that he was afraid of being damaged during training.

, and then they were saved. This time Xu Kang took away 300 of them at once. If other generals knew about it, they would be able to drown him with just their saliva.

Outside Lijiabao, Zang Ba, Gouzi, and Zhao Bahu had already led 2,000 brothers to line up to welcome him.

Xu Kang rode a tall horse while waving to his followers, and entered the Li Family Fort surrounded by everyone.

In the temporary camp of Lijiabao, after Xu Kang took his seat, all the generals paid homage.

Xu Kang waved his hand and ordered everyone to stand up. He first praised Zang Ba and others for their skillful leadership of the troops, and then reported to everyone the large amount of equipment he had brought this time. Everyone was so happy that they scratched their heads and scratched their heads. Then they felt itchy.

Xu Kang held a banquet to reward the generals.

After the banquet was over, Xu Kang left Zang Ba, Guan Yu, Gou Zi and Zhao Bahu behind to summon them alone.

Xu Kang first said: "My foster father has decided that as soon as the snow melts, we will attack Zhuoxian City directly. And this operation will be completed by our battalion alone, so our foster father will give us so many good things."

."

Zang Ba smiled and said: "This can be a strong bone."

Guan Yu immediately followed: "It is also a great achievement."

After saying that, the four of them laughed, their expressions filled with unconcealable excitement and ambition.

Xu Kang nodded with satisfaction and said: "However, this operation is extremely confidential. Only a few people in Gu'an City know about it. Just the four of us here know about it. There is no need to tell others. However, future training must focus on snow.

For ground marching, it is necessary to cultivate the soldiers' anti-freeze ability in advance."

Everyone said: "Yes."

Xu Kang added: "In addition, I have also thought about the materials this time. 100 war horses and 300 fish scale armors will be equipped to the cavalry unit."

When Guan Yu heard this, he became anxious and said: "I have no objection to equipping 100 horses to the cavalry, but there is no reason why all 300 fish scale armor should be given to the cavalry."

Zang Ba and Gou Zi immediately nodded in agreement.

Although Zhao Bahu was beaming with joy, he also knew that he could no longer act too aggressively at this time, so he just remained silent.

Xu Kang explained: "I have already thought about this. The cavalry I want is a cavalry that can attack fortresses and fight tough battles. It is inevitable to be equipped with the best equipment." Then he patted the plate armor on his body and said,

Said: "I originally wanted to equip every cavalry with a set of plate armor like mine, but unfortunately I heard from the craftsmen that doing this was too time-consuming and iron-consuming, so I had to give up. Otherwise, I would have to build a heavy army.

Armored cavalry."

"Heavy armored cavalry?" It was the first time for everyone to hear this term, and they were all a little confused.

Xu Kang waved his hand and said: "It's a bit far to talk about this now. But I will not change the decision to equip the cavalry with fish scale armor." Xu Kang saw that although the others were dissatisfied, they did not dare to say anything more. He was secretly happy that he was in the army.

He already had a certain prestige in the army. He then said to Zhao Bahu: "You don't have to be proud, everything is relative. You now have the best equipment, which also indicates that the most difficult and painful battles in the future will be fought by your troops.

to complete."

Zhao Bahu immediately slapped his chest loudly and said loudly: "General, don't worry, as long as you say a word from now on, my cavalry team will never frown in water or fire."

Youzhou is still frozen, but the roads to most of Jizhou and the Central Plains thousands of miles to the south are open.

A carriage was running on the road from Jizhou to Luoyang, surrounded by dozens of riders. The man in the carriage was none other than Tang Zhou, Zhang Jiao's second disciple of Taiping Dao, and one of his most trusted disciples.

Tang Zhou was sent to Luoyang this time to assist Ma Yuanyi in his uprising. The Taiping Taoists in all parts of Jizhou were already well prepared and were waiting for March to come. By then, all the Taiping Taoists would launch the uprising together, and they would surely be successful.

Of course, these were Zhang Jiao's words, but Tang Zhou had no confidence at all. More importantly, some aristocratic families had contacted him. Those aristocratic families seemed to know everything about their affairs, and asked Tang Zhou to communicate with Taiping Dao in the aristocratic family.

make a choice between.
Chapter completed!