Liu Bei held a grand wedding and married Princess Wannian. Regardless of what the outside world thought of the marriage, it did not stop Liu Bei from making a huge event of it.
Though everyone was a regional warlord who would sooner or later clash with the others—or had already crossed swords with them—at a time like this, they still had to send people to offer their congratulations.
Whether those congratulations were sincere, feigned, or intended to investigate Qingzhou's intelligence, all the various warlords showed up without exception.
As for why Wang Xuan had decided to make the wedding such a grand affair, his purpose was also to display his side's strength.
Never mind that this seemed inconsistent with Wang Xuan's strategy of developing quietly. Keeping a low profile did not mean hiding everything. If you really made everyone think you were frail and helpless, nine times out of ten, they would gang up on you. After all, everyone understood the principle of bullying the weakest.
What was more, Qingzhou's basic infrastructure was almost complete. In another year or two, it would begin expanding outward. At a time like this, putting on a grand event and displaying some strength would boost their own confidence, while also telling the great clans across the realm that Liu Bei was no pushover. They had better think carefully before making their moves.
Yuan Shao's representative was Ju Shou, who led their delegation. Cao Cao's delegation was headed by Chen Qun. Tao Qian had a close relationship with Liu Bei, so the person he sent was Chen Deng of the Guangling Chen clan. Liu Biao sent Kuai Liang, Yuan Shu sent Yuan Yin, Gongsun Zan sent Tian Kai, Lu Bu sent Zhang Liao, and Zhang Ji sent Jia Xu...
Yes, Zhang Ji and Lu Bu