Chapter 1 I am also a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, in the first year of the Zhongping era of Emperor Ling (184 AD)

Eunuchs held power, and relatives of the empress dowager caused chaos in the government, leading to widespread suffering among the people.

Zhang Jiao, a native of Julu, gathered hundreds of thousands of people under the banner of the "Way of Great Peace" and shouted the slogan, "The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise. In the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world," thus initiating the Yellow Turban Rebellion and plunging the country into chaos.

Youzhou, Zhuojun.

Liu Liang sat in a teahouse in the west of the city for three hours, repeatedly brewing a pot of the cheapest coarse tea until it was as weak as water.

He was observing, waiting, and calculating.

He was scheming about how to survive peacefully in this chaotic world.

"Have you heard? In the peach grove south of the city, there's a Liu Bei who claims to be a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, and he's sworn brothers with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei."

"Ha, these days, everyone with the surname Liu wants to claim kinship with the imperial family."

The whispers from the next table drifted into Liu Liang's ears.

Liu Liang put down the ceramic bowl.

Three months ago, when he first transmigrated to this era, the "Chosen One" in his mind told him that as long as he could assist Liu Bei in becoming emperor, he could return to the real world and be guaranteed a large number of wives and concubines and financial freedom.

Liu Liang was deeply moved by this.

Liu Bei's ascension to the throne was simply a natural outcome of the Three Kingdoms storyline; all he needed to do was get close to Liu Bei and follow him.

Let alone receiving the reward, he would be willing to return to the real world and be "donned the imperial robe".

Having spent the last three months traveling through time, Liu Liang really didn't want to use roof tiles to wipe his bottom anymore...

Liu Liang touched the scroll of "Genealogy of the Descendants of Prince Jing of Zhongshan" in his pocket.

The edges of the bamboo slips were repeatedly rubbed with a mixture of wood ash and lard to create a patina, aiming to make them look authentic.

As an antique shop owner, making this thing is almost effortless for me.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a choice made after careful calculation.

In the world of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei's greatest asset in the early stages was his ambiguous status as a descendant of the Prince of Zhongshan.

What Liu Liang is trying to do now is to forcefully insert himself into the "Oath of the Peach Garden" as a descendant of a more orthodox branch, becoming a partner in the early stages of the Shu Han regime.

The original owner, Liu Liang, was a wandering physician, thirty years old at the time. He was the fourteenth-generation descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, the same generation as Liu Bei, but from a different lineage.

However, according to family tradition, Liu Bei is twenty-eight years old this year, so he should address Liu Liang as "cousin".

But would it be acceptable to just walk up to someone's door and say, "Liu Bei, I'm your brother"?

Liu Liang shook his head with a wry smile.

That's so stupid.

Liu Bei was able to stand out in the chaotic world, which shows he was no ordinary person.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both proud and arrogant.

To win over these people, more sophisticated planning and scheming are needed.

He had been preparing for this for three months.

Liu Liang paid for the tea and got up to walk towards the south of the city.

The peach orchard was more lush than I had imagined. Although the flowering season was over, the branches were still laden with green peaches.

Deep in the forest, a newly built manor stands simple yet not shabby. The two characters "Zhang Residence" on the lintel are written with vigorous strokes, faintly exuding a sense of martial spirit.

Liu Liang straightened his clothes. He hadn't eaten for three days and his face was pale. He had just "fainted from hunger" at Liu Bei's doorstep.

Before this, he had actually seriously considered visiting them in person.

But reason quickly rejected the proposal.

In the early stages of chaos, the most dangerous thing is not the enemy, but rather, "Who are you?"

In contrast, fainting from hunger at the door is actually the lowest-risk and most cost-effective social entry point.

There are at least three advantages to doing this.

Firstly, it won't seem too deliberate.

Secondly, it also allows us to see if Liu Bei is truly benevolent.

Thirdly, and most importantly, they could use the excuse of repaying the debt of saving their lives to stay by Liu Bei's side.

Having made up his mind, Liu Liang staggered, his gaze fixed on the wooden door, and collapsed beside the stone steps in front of it, the scroll of the Book of Poetry in his arms just slipping out by a corner.

I don't know how much time passed, but the door opened.

"Who lies here?" a steady voice asked.

Liu Liang had been secretly observing Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei for many days, and recognized them at a glance as Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was dressed in a worn-out linen robe, and his hands were covered with hemp scraps from weaving straw sandals. Upon seeing this, I hurriedly stepped forward and bent down to examine him.

"His face was pale and his breathing was weak; he seemed to have fainted from hunger." Liu Bei checked Liu Liang's breathing, then helped him sit up against the door.

As they moved, the scroll of the Book of Songs slipped completely from Liu Liang's arms and fell to the ground.

Liu Bei picked up the scroll, his gaze swept over the cover, his expression slightly hardened, and he carefully placed the scroll aside.

After a moment, Liu Liang's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes. "Thank you... thank you for saving me, brother... I... I really..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly remembered something, his hand instinctively reaching into his robes, his face instantly tightening: "Where...where are my books?!"

Liu Bei handed the scroll to Liu Liang: "Sir, is this the book you are looking for?"

Liu Liang breathed a sigh of relief, clutching the book tightly to his chest. "This is indeed the scroll! My apologies... This book is a family heirloom, a handwritten copy containing all my annotations and insights. If it were lost, I would be ashamed before my ancestors. I have been traveling and studying here, and I have run out of money, which is why... I have made you laugh at me, brother."

When Liu Bei saw that the man looked for books as soon as he woke up, he felt a bit more favorably disposed towards him and said gently, "So you are a diligent scholar, sir. If you don't mind, please come into the courtyard to rest for a while and have some porridge."

Liu Liang secretly praised Liu Bei for his discerning eye; this self-inflicted injury ruse hadn't been in vain. He remained outwardly calm, cupping his hands and saying, "In that case... I'll trouble you."

Entering the courtyard,

Guan Yu is sharpening his knife, and Zhang Fei is chopping wood.

Upon seeing strangers approaching, both of them stopped what they were doing.

This murderous aura made Liu Liang's chrysanthemum clench.

Guan Yu merely glanced up and continued sharpening his blade.

Zhang Fei straightened up and asked in a gruff voice, "Brother, who is this?"

"A scholar I met by chance." Liu Bei smiled. "Third brother, fetch some tea."

Liu Liang's heart skipped a beat.

Liu Bei's benevolence and righteousness, or rather, his discerning eye for talent, are indeed more than just embellished praise from later generations.

This simple phrase, "chance encounter," spared him the embarrassment of being given alms because he had "fainted from hunger," while also elevating his status by calling him a "scholar."

After settling down,

Liu Bei asked, "Judging from your accent, you don't seem to be a local?"

Liu Liang took the rough earthenware bowl handed to him by Zhang Fei, took a sip, and said, "I am from Dai County. I left home to study when I was young and only recently returned."

"Oh? Where are you going to study?" Liu Bei's eyes flickered slightly.

"I once visited Yingchuan to learn from Xunzi. I went to Xiangyang to study the classics. I also traveled to Jiangdong to observe the customs and culture of the Wu region."

Liu Liang spoke calmly, yet his words were laced with wit.

Xun Yu and Xun You of Yingchuan, Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang of Xiangyang, Zhou Yu and Lu Su of Jiangdong...

These are all top-tier characters in the future SSR card pool. Let's get familiar with their names first and lay the groundwork for future developments.

The effect was immediate, and Guan Yu paused for a moment upon hearing this, holding the whetstone in his hand.

Liu Bei's smile deepened: "Sir, you are a man of great learning. May I ask your insights into the current state of affairs in the world?"

Liu Liang put down the earthenware bowl, pondered for a moment, and said, "A storm is brewing. The emperor favors the Ten Attendants, and the court is in chaos. The empress's relatives and eunuchs are constantly fighting. Local powerful families are seizing land, and refugees are rising up everywhere... This is a sign of a chaotic world."

Zhang Fei snorted: "Scholarly opinion! I don't know if the world is in chaos, but life in Zhuojun has been getting harder and harder these past few years."

Liu Liang turned to Zhang Fei and said, "This brave man is right. However, the predicament of Zhuojun is not an isolated case. In Julu, Jizhou, there is a man named Zhang Jiao who founded the Way of Great Peace and called himself the 'Great Teacher of Virtue.' He uses talismans and water to cure diseases and has gathered hundreds of thousands of followers. His followers are spread across eight provinces and have established thirty-six branches, with large branches having tens of thousands of followers and small branches having six or seven thousand. If one day he raises his arm and calls out... it will spread like wildfire."

The courtyard fell silent.

Guan Yu put down his sword: "How did you learn of such a secret, sir?"

Liu Liang said, "Having traveled extensively, I've seen and heard everything. Besides, this is no longer a top secret. Any knowledgeable official in the prefectures and counties has already noticed the unusual activity. It's just that the court's corruption is so deep-seated that no one is willing to expose this secret."

Liu Bei remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "If chaos breaks out, how do you think we should handle this?"

Liu Liang said, "A true man should act in accordance with the times. In the past, Emperor Gaozu rose from humble beginnings, and Emperor Guangwu rose from obscurity. Both of them rose during times of chaos and followed the trend. Although the Han Dynasty is declining now, the people's hearts are still with the Han. If there is a wise member of the imperial family who raises his arms and calls for the suppression of the traitors and the stabilization of the country, he will surely be able to gather the hearts of the people."

"The imperial family..." Liu Bei repeated softly, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

At this moment, Liu Liang "unintentionally" took out a silk handkerchief from his bosom to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and the small jade seal wrapped in the handkerchief slipped to the ground.

That was a counterfeit of the private seal of the descendants of Prince Jing of Zhongshan.

Liu Bei bent down to pick it up, and when his eyes fell on the seal, he was startled.

The inscription consists of four seal characters: "Zhongshan Jingyi".

"This seal, sir..." Liu Bei's voice was somewhat strained.

Liu Liang hurriedly accepted it, saying apologetically, "It's an ancestral heirloom; please forgive my embarrassment. To be honest, my branch is descended from Prince Jing of Zhongshan. However, our family has declined and we've been wandering around for a long time, no longer daring to call ourselves members of the imperial clan."

The air seemed to freeze.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei both stared at the seal in Liu Bei's hand.

Although it was only a fleeting glance, they all clearly saw the inscription.

"Sir...which branch are you from?" Liu Bei's voice was very soft, as if afraid of startling something.

Liu Liang sighed and said, "According to the family genealogy, I am a descendant of Liu Zhong, the eighteenth son of Prince Jing. During the Yongyuan era, my ancestors fled north to Dai County in Youzhou to avoid the persecution of the Party, and lived in hiding for several generations. It was not until my great-grandfather's time that they dared to revert to their original surname and return to their ancestral lineage. According to the genealogy, I am the fourteenth generation descendant of Prince Jing."

Liu Liang had already made up his mind. By claiming to be of the same generation, he could become sworn brothers with Liu Bei, maintaining a close relationship without being abrupt. So he deliberately asked, "Brother, you have an imposing presence, unlike ordinary people. May I ask your esteemed surname?"

Liu Bei's hand trembled slightly as he took out a tattered family genealogy scroll from his bosom.

"I am Liu Bei, Liu Xuande... a fifteenth-generation descendant of Prince Jing. However, the genealogy is incomplete, and I only know that I came from Sheng Gong. Many of the intermediate generations are missing."

Upon hearing this, Liu Liang was suddenly jolted.

"Liu Bei is a fifteenth-generation descendant? But I'm a fourteenth-generation descendant. Could I be mistaken? Or are there discrepancies in later records?"

"Wouldn't that make me Liu Bei's uncle?!"