Chapter 37

Liu Bei came to him to study at the age of fifteen along with Gongsun Zan and a few other clansmen; it had been thirteen years since then.

At that time, he was still the Governor of Jiujiang.

Lu Zhi himself often had the ambition to support the state and save the people; he did not fear powerful officials and did not curry favor with the Emperor or the Ten Eunuchs, which could be said to be a model of the age.

Lu Zhi did not like Liu Bei's personality very much.

As a youth, Liu Bei loved dogs, horses, music, and beautiful clothes, wandering around all day with Gongsun Zan and the others, and he truly hadn't learned much in the way of scholarship.

If it weren't for the sake of being fellow townsmen, Lu Zhi might have driven Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei away!

"Everyone, follow me to the camp entrance!"

At the camp entrance,

Lu Zhi looked over from afar and nodded involuntarily.

Having fought for many years, he could naturally see that the thousand-plus troops in front of Liu Bei were quite elite and not just thrown together temporarily.

Liu Bei led Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to the camp entrance, leaped off their horses, cupped their hands, and bowed deeply.

"Student Liu Xuande pays respects to Teacher."

Lu Zhi walked over and helped Liu Bei up.

"Xuande, I haven't seen you for ten years. You have become more mature and handsome, while I have grown old."

Liu Bei cupped his hands.

"Teacher has exhausted your thoughts over the years, fighting Zhang Jiao to the death; you must take care of your health."

Lu Zhi felt a bit warmed in his heart.

"Good, are those all your troops from Zhuojun in front?"

Liu Bei nodded and then shook his head.

"The student is now a Separate Commandant appointed by Inspector Liu of Youzhou, with a total of three thousand troops. Those behind are starving people who followed us along the way."

"Starving people?"

Liu Bei explained,

"We crushed sixty thousand Huang Jin soldiers at Qingzhou City and captured a batch of grain and fodder. On the way to Guang Sect, seeing so many starving people, I distributed some grain to them."

"The starving people had nowhere to go, so they followed us to Guang Sect."

A look of appreciation appeared in Lu Zhi's eyes.

"Xuande, I didn't expect you to have grown so much in these years, knowing how to care for the commoners. Your teacher is very happy!"

Liu Bei introduced,

"Teacher, these are my sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. They beheaded Cheng Yuanzhi and Deng Mao in a single move in Zhuojun."

"Second Brother, Third Brother, come quickly and pay respects to Teacher Lu."

Lu Zhi looked at the nine-foot-tall Guan Yu and the muscular Zhang Fei.

"Truly valiant warriors!"

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei cupped their hands.

Guan Yu still kept his eyes half-closed, forever so arrogant.

Zhang Fei, however, couldn't understand: although Lu Zhi was over eight feet tall, his build was thin—how did he become a famous general of the Great Han!

Everyone entered the tent.

Lu Zhi smiled.

"Xuande, I am very happy that you came to reinforce me, but there is no fighting in Guang Sect recently. You can lead your troops to assist Huangfu Song; he is currently fighting Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang in Quyang."

"Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang have numerous troops; you need to act carefully."

Liu Bei actually had this thought in his heart long ago. Lu Zhi would soon be framed for "nurturing rebels to bolster his own importance" because he refused to send gifts to the Lesser Yellow Gate Zuo Feng, and would be stripped of all titles by Liu Hong and sentenced to life imprisonment!

This teacher left him with one word: "Rigid!"

Liu Hong sold offices to make money, and he wrote a memorial—Rigid!

The Ten Eunuchs corrupted the government, and not only did he refuse to send gifts, he wrote a memorial—Rigid!

Dong Zhuo wanted to depose the Emperor, and he was still—Rigid!

Liu Bei admired such a person with integrity, but he would not become such a person.

Dong Zhuo and Lu Zhi were two extremes; Dong Zhuo was defeated repeatedly, yet was promoted repeatedly!

Everyone admired Lu Zhi, but most wanted to become Dong Zhuo!

Liu Bei smiled.

"Teacher, I came in a hurry this time and only prepared a small gift for you."

Lu Zhi frowned, getting angry.

"Xuande, why have you still become tainted with that set of things!"

Liu Bei didn't mind and signaled Zhao Yun to place the gift on the desk.

"Teacher, it's just some local specialties from my hometown of Zhuojun. I thought you must have not eaten them for a long time since you've been away from home for so many years."

Lu Zhi opened it and saw it was mooncakes, tribute rice, and so on from Zhuojun.

He couldn't help but blush.

"Xuande, your teacher was reckless; don't blame me."

He looked at these specialties, his eyes a bit moist.

"I truly haven't been back for many years."

Liu Bei cupped his hands.

"Teacher, I have a request."

"Oh, what is it?"

PS: Thanks to the big boss for the tip! Seeking flowers and evaluation tickets!