Leaving aside how deeply Liu Bei yearned for Xiang County, while they defeated Lu Bu's forces, Qin Tian's strategy for taking Xiang County was also advancing steadily.
After receiving the false message fabricated by Qin Tian, Mei Gan personally led his troops out of the city, leaving only Mei Cheng behind with more than five thousand soldiers to defend Xiang County.
With Mei Gan no longer keeping him in check, Mei Cheng had been living rather well these past few days.
Other than inspecting the city walls each day, he wallowed in wine and women.
This had to do with the culture of a faction. As the saying went, things of a kind gathered together, and people clustered with their own kind.
Among the many warlords of the Three Kingdoms, every house had its own corporate culture.
Under Yuan Shao, the land was vast and rich, with abundant troops and money. Yet Yuan Shao was indecisive, so though his ministers were capable, they never ceased openly and secretly fighting one another.
Under Old Cao, meanwhile, they occupied land beset by war on every side, with conflict unending. But Old Cao governed with diligence and determination, so all beneath him valued practical work above all else.
Liu Bei put benevolence and righteousness first, and this likewise influenced his officers and soldiers. They would not plunder the common people. Even Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, and the others centered their rule on benevolent governance.
Yuan Shu alone had been fairly capable in his early days in Nanyang, but as his territory grew ever larger, he began imposing harsh taxes and levies.
As those above acted, those below followed. Even his officers and soldiers became greedy by nature, forsaking righteousness at the sight of profit.
Apart from a handful of high-ranking generals, most commanders