The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 522 Shi Xie pays homage to Liu Bei

Zhang Fei didn't expect the blue bricks to be so sturdy. He struck with his palm, but the bricks didn't break; instead, his bones did. What was he going to do? If he stopped now, where would he put his face?

Zhang Fei, who wanted to give up but couldn't bring himself to do it, forced himself to say, "I didn't perform well just now, let me try again."

Liu Bei said irritably, "Alright, alright, you're almost sixty years old, and I still think you're a young man. Get up, let me see you."

After saying that, he took the two blue bricks from Zhang Fei's palm and banged them together in his hands. He couldn't break them even after several attempts, so he couldn't help but exclaim, "Good stuff! If the city wall were built entirely with these bricks, even the Wei army's trebuchets would probably have a hard time breaking them, right?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang's lips trembled again, and he quickly advised, "Your Majesty, calm down. We don't have that kind of strength right now."

How many bricks would it take to build a city wall? The national treasury is so empty it could run rats; it can't afford such a drastic measure.

Liu Bei was just saying it casually. After he finished speaking, he threw away the blue brick and picked up two red bricks to clink together. As expected, the red bricks were not as sturdy as the blue bricks, and they broke after only two clinks.

Looking at the broken pieces, Liu Bei said, "Although they're a bit brittle, they're enough for ordinary people to build houses. Brick and tile houses are better than thatched huts, aren't they? Does Anguo plan to build all the houses in the city with red bricks?"

Shu Ma Zhong nodded and said, "That's what Young Master Anguo said. He said that thatched huts not only leak rain and wind but are also easy to catch fire, so it would be best to get rid of them."

Liu Bei said, "That's true, but it will require a lot of red bricks. Let's put aside the blue bricks for now and focus on making red bricks first, so we can build the people's houses first."

For the sake of stability in Jiangling, he wouldn't mind living in a tent for another two months.

After chatting about the details of brick making for a while, Liu Bei and the other three followed Ma Zhong of Shu into the brick kiln for a visit. After taking a look around, they decided to leave. They were there to visit, not to work. Why would they stay after they had finished looking?

Shu Ma Zhong escorted them two miles away and was about to return when Zhuge Liang suddenly remembered something and turned around, saying, "By the way, send me a batch of blue bricks later, preferably in boxes, as I'm preparing to give them away."

Guan Xing signed too many contracts before leaving, and the clients who signed the contracts have been making payments one after another. He should also show his appreciation by giving the clients a few bricks as a token of reassurance.

If you take someone's money but don't give them a house, you should at least give them a few bricks so they can see some hope. Otherwise, they'll think you only take the money and don't do anything.

When Liu Bei and his three companions returned to Jiangling, they saw Zhang Zhao waiting outside the city gate. Upon seeing them, Zhang Zhao hurried over and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Shi Xie has arrived. The messenger reported that he is less than forty li from Jiangling and will be there soon."

Upon returning to Jiangling, Liu Bei immediately wrote a letter to Shi Xie. Unlike his usual inquiry-based approach, which presented facts, reasoned arguments, and expounded on righteousness, Liu Bei's letter to Shi Xie was delivered in a commanding tone, sternly ordering him to come and pay his respects.

Liu Bei originally thought that this old fellow must have a temper after being in charge of Jiaozhou for many years, and that even if he came, he would have to wait several months before he arrived.

Who would have thought this old fellow would be so sensible, arriving in less than twenty days? Keep in mind, Jiangling to Jiaozhou is over two thousand li (approximately 1,000 kilometers). For the messenger to travel from Jiangling to Jiaozhou, and then for Shi Xie to travel from Jiaozhou to Jiangling, twenty days is far too rushed. This means that Shi Xie received Liu Bei's order and set off immediately without even considering it. Such an attitude…

Shi Xie's enthusiasm is understandable. He had a grudge against Liu Bei and was bound to worry about Liu Bei settling scores later. He had high prestige and was not afraid of Liu Bei making things difficult for him, but what about his family behind him?

Shi Xie is already over eighty years old. How many more days can he live at this age? If Liu Bei were to settle scores with his family after his death, he would never have a peaceful death.

That's why Shih-hsieh rushed over despite his advanced age, not for any other reason than to gain a good attitude.

Liu Bei was very satisfied with Shi Xie's attitude. Now that Shi Xie had shown his attitude, it was Liu Bei's turn to take the lead. Without hesitation, Liu Bei said, "Order all officials in the city to immediately put down their current affairs and come with me to welcome General Shi Xie."

"By the way, Zibu, General Shixie shouldn't have come alone, right? Is he accompanied by anyone else?"

Zhang Zhao quickly replied, "Yes, almost all of the people who went to Jiaozhou to avoid disaster back then have come. In addition to Liu Xi, Yuan Hui and dozens of others, there are also two Buddhists, Mou Zi and Kang Senghui."

Many people fled to Jiaozhou for refuge during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. In recent years, as Jiangnan has gradually stabilized, the refugees have come out of the mountains one after another. Liu Ba, Xu Jing and others joined Liu Bei's forces, many others joined the Eastern Wu forces, and some still stayed by Shi Xie's side, eating and drinking for free.

Liu Bei felt disgusted whenever he thought of this group of people. As prominent figures of the time with both family background and reputation, instead of serving the court when the country was in turmoil, they all fled to seek peace and stability. Now that the court is stable, they have come back to demand official positions and interfere with the court's policies. What kind of people are they?

Although he disliked them, Liu Bei couldn't afford to offend them now, so he had no choice but to summon officials to go out of the city to greet them.

To show his respect for Shi Xie, Liu Bei did not wait at the city gate this time, but instead led his officials all the way to Jinxiang Ferry on the Yangtze River, intending to personally welcome Shi Xie ashore at the ferry.

However, Shi Xie's attitude was too good and his speed too fast, so that when Liu Bei arrived, Shi Xie had already reached Jinxiang Ferry and was already landing.

With his superb acting skills, Liu Bei instantly forgot the sternness in his letter to Shi Xie and ran towards him, waving as he ran, saying, "Oh, General Shi Xie, please forgive my lateness."

Shi Xie's group numbered over a hundred. Liu Bei had never met Shi Xie and did not know which one was Shi Xie in person, but he didn't need to know; the oldest one was definitely him.

Shi Xie is almost eighty-five years old. There are very few people in the entire Han Dynasty who are older than him, so he is easy to recognize.

Shi Xie did not recognize Liu Bei either, but in the Jiangnan region, only Liu Bei dared to call himself "I, the sovereign," so there was no need for recognition. The moment he heard the shout, Shi Xie quickly crossed the crowd to pay his respects.

It must be said that Shi Xie was in really good health. Even at over eighty years old, he could not only walk but also jog. He ran up to Liu Bei and bowed deeply, saying, "Your subject Shi Xie pays his respects to Your Majesty. I have come late on imperial orders, please forgive me."

Liu Bei quickly helped him up and said with a smile, "General Shi, you flatter me. I have long admired you, and today I finally meet you in person. Was your journey here smooth?"

Shi Xie replied, "Thanks to Your Majesty's great fortune, everything has gone smoothly. The people of Jiaozhou are overjoyed to learn that Your Majesty has recovered Jiangnan and Jiaozhou has returned to the Han Dynasty..."

The two old men, who had never met before, chatted like old friends who hadn't seen each other for years. They talked for a good quarter of an hour before Liu Xi, Yuan Hui, Mou Zikang, Seng Hui, and others who had come with Shi Xie finally had a chance to come over and pay their respects to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei wasn't as enthusiastic towards them as he was towards Shi Xie; he merely nodded slightly without offering any assistance, which greatly displeased Yuan Hui.

Yuan Hui was born into the Yuan clan of Chen Commandery and was the son of Yuan Pang, the Minister of Works during the reign of Emperor Ling.

Although the Yuan clan of Chen Commandery was not as illustrious as the Yuan clan of Runan, which included the brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, it had still produced three high-ranking officials. Therefore, Yuan Hui looked down on Liu Bei, who came from a humble background of weaving mats and selling shoes, and was now being looked down upon by Liu Bei. He was furious but could not retaliate and had to endure it.

Liu Bei, who was good at reading people, naturally noticed Yuan Hui's displeasure, but he did not intend to ease the tension. Just as Yuan Hui looked down on him, he also looked down on Yuan Hui, a good-for-nothing from a noble family who had a reputation but no ability. He called out and was about to go back when a song he had never heard before suddenly came from the west.

"The waters of Honghu Lake, wave after wave, the shores of Honghu Lake, that's my hometown..."

Attracted by the singing, everyone turned around and saw countless soldiers riding rafts from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, with a large flag bearing the character "Guan" fluttering on the rafts.

Liu Bei said excitedly, "It must be Anguo who's back. That kid went into Wushan without a word for nearly twenty days, and he's finally back today."