That night, the camps of the eighteen warlords blazed with light.
The encampments stretched for hundreds of miles. From above, the torches and bonfires carpeting the ground illuminated the entire sky like daylight. Even the howling cold wind seemed to avoid this "scorching-hot" place.
The eighteen warlords were celebrating!
Celebrating what? Not the capture of Hulao Pass (P.S. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Hulao Pass and Sishui Pass were treated as two separate passes, but in reality they were the same pass under different names; this version respected historical fact), because they had not captured Hulao Pass at all. They were celebrating the rescue of the Han Dynasty's emperor from the traitor Dong Zhuo.
That afternoon, during the meeting between ruler and subjects, their alliance leader Yuan Shao had petitioned for another sacrifice to Heaven, thanking the heavens for their protection. Then he proposed a grand banquet for the ministers and rewards for the three armies, to demonstrate the vast grace of the imperial favor and soothe Emperor Xian's frayed nerves. Emperor Xian, Liu Xie, naturally did not refuse and readily agreed.
Before that, however, there had been an interesting little interlude. After paying his respects to His Majesty, Cao Cao had tearfully seized Liu Bei's hands and said, "Brother Xuande, you have worked hard. You spared no effort, feared no danger, placed righteousness above all else, saved His Majesty from dire peril, and saved all the people beneath Heaven from dire peril. Mengde has no way to repay you. Please accept a bow from Mengde!"
Under the blazing gazes of the assembled warlords, Cao Cao actually composed himself and bowed. After a brief moment of stunned silence, a bitter smile surfaced on Liu Bei's lips. When Cao Mengde had bent halfway down, Liu Bei put on a panicked