Brewing Wine and Discussing Heroes

Dong Cheng coming to visit certainly boded no good. Not long ago, he had accepted the Girdle Edict from Emperor Liu Xie, seeking someone to help the Emperor execute Cao the Rebel.

Dong Cheng had already contacted the likes of Colonel Zhong Ji, General Wu Zilan, and Wang Zifu. Seeing that Liu Bei was on seemingly close terms with Cao the Rebel, he had approached him as well.

Liu Bei had always harbored the desire to restore the Han Dynasty, so he gladly accepted the edict.

Before accepting the edict, Liu Bei's life, though difficult, had been free of fear. After accepting it, however, he lived with a guilty conscience, constantly suspecting that word had leaked out and fearing he would be murdered by Cao Cao.

To mask his nervousness, Liu Bei spent his time in the backyard turning soil and planting vegetables, even watering them himself, as a ruse to hide his true ambitions.

Zhang Fei asked in confusion, "Big Brother, you pay no mind to the great affairs of the world, yet you learn these menial tasks. What is the meaning of this?"

"Lan Ziyu also farms in Xiaopei, yet his strategic brilliance remains undiminished. Third Brother, you need not doubt."

After reading Legend of the Condor Heroes, Liu Bei had become deeply interested in the Wumu Testament and the military tactics of Genghis Khan. He speculated that Jin Lao must be a genius on par with Zhang Liang, and he was impatient to return to Xiaopei to invite such a talent to join his cause.

Guan Yu, seeing Liu Bei mention Lan Ziyu, stroked his magnificent beard and nodded in approval.

Zhang Fei disagreed, saying, "Does that brat Lan Ziyu really have any strategy? He can cook a decent meal, though; come to think of it, I'm getting hungry."

Liu Bei shook his head and said, "Have you not heard that governing a great state is like cooking a small fish? Third Brother, you must not underestimate this man."

Seeing Liu Bei's stance, Guan and Zhang ceased their dissuasion, but Liu Bei remained troubled by how to leave Xudu.

One day, while Guan and Zhang were away, Xu Chu and Zhang Liao suddenly led a dozen men into the garden and said, "By order of the Prime Minister, we invite the Governor to come at once."

Liu Bei was startled, fearing the Girdle Edict had been exposed, and probed, "I wonder what urgent matter the Prime Minister has?"

Xu Chu, his face full of brawn, replied impassively, "I do not know. We were only told to bring you."

Liu Bei swallowed hard and glanced at Zhang Liao, who only shook his head indifferently.

"Generals, wait a moment while I change," Liu Bei said, bowing as he retreated into the house, his mind racing to analyze his fortune.

Liu Bei changed his clothes and followed the two men to the Prime Minister's residence with trepidation.

The moment they met, Cao Cao pointed at Liu Bei and said, "Ah, Xuande, you have been doing great things at home."

Liu Bei was so terrified his face turned ashen, and he stood frozen. Unexpectedly, Cao Cao strode over, took his hand, and led him to the back garden.

"It is not easy to plant vegetables and water the garden at home, Xuande," Cao Cao laughed.

Hearing this, Liu Bei's heart finally settled. He smiled and replied, "I have nothing to do at home, so I am merely passing the time."

Cao Cao continued, "I just saw the green plums on the branches and recalled that last year, on the march against Zhang Xiu, we lacked water and the soldiers were parched. I pointed my whip and said there was a plum grove ahead; the soldiers' mouths watered, and their thirst was quenched. Now that I see these plums, we must enjoy them. Since the warm wine is ready, I invited you to the pavilion for a chat."

Liu Bei felt completely at ease and flattered him, "Your Excellency's wit in a crisis is something even the famous generals of old could not match."

Cao Cao laughed, shaking his head, and invited Liu Bei to sit in the pavilion.

On the stone table sat freshly picked green plums and a pot of boiling wine.

The two drank until they were half-tipsy, when suddenly the sky filled with dark clouds, and a downpour seemed imminent.

An attendant in the garden pointed to the clouds in the distance, which resembled a dragon or a flood dragon, and Cao Cao invited Liu Bei to lean against the railing and watch.

Cao Cao said, "Does the Governor know of the transformations of a dragon?"

"I would like to hear the details."

"A dragon can be large or small, can rise or hide. When large, it stirs clouds and breathes mist; when small, it conceals its form. When it rises, it soars through the universe; when it hides, it lurks within the waves. Now, in late spring, the dragon rides the timing of its transformation, much like a man who has attained his ambition and roams the four seas."

Liu Bei nodded in agreement, "I did not expect the Prime Minister to have such thoughts just from a cloud formation. I am truly impressed."

"The dragon is a creature that can be compared to the heroes of the world. Just now, Xuande, you praised me as surpassing the famous generals of old, but that is too much praise. Even that Genghis Khan in Legend of the Condor Heroes is someone I cannot compare to," Cao Cao sighed.

"Legend of the Condor Heroes is a work of fiction; how can the Prime Minister take it as truth?" Liu Bei comforted him.

Cao Cao shook his head, "Not so. A story cannot be fabricated out of thin air. I suspect that Genghis Khan must have been a great sage of antiquity. It is only a pity I have not been able to find that mysterious Jin Lao."

Liu Bei asked in surprise, "The Prime Minister has already gone to look for this person?"

Cao Cao nodded, "I found Legend of the Condor Heroes so compelling that I sent men to Xiaopei to find Jin Lao's whereabouts. Unfortunately, there was not a single talented person with the surname Jin. I did, however, discover that Lan Ziyu living in Gan Family Village outside Xiaopei, but he is merely a farmer."

"Perhaps because of the years of war in Xu Province, that Jin Lao died in the chaos? As for that Lan Ziyu, has the Prime Minister invited him back?" Liu Bei pressed.

Cao Cao was shocked. Could it be that his repeated massacres in Xu Province had accidentally killed the author of that novel?

He continued, "Although I am farming in Xudu, I am not in need of such a farmer, so why invite him? Xuande, you have traveled far and wide; you must know the heroes of the day. Please, try to name them."

Only then did Liu Bei let his guard down, "How could my dull eyes recognize a hero?"

"Xuande, do not be overly modest. Even if you do not know them by face, you must have heard their names," Cao Cao insisted.

Liu Bei, forced by the situation, said, "Yuan Shu of Huainan has elite troops and ample grain. Can he be considered a hero?"

"A skeleton in a grave; I will surely capture him sooner or later."

"Yuan Shao of Hebei occupies the land of Jizhou, and his subordinates are highly capable. Can he be considered a hero?"

"Yuan Shao is fierce in appearance but timid in heart, fond of schemes but lacking resolution. He covets great things but cherishes his own life, and he forgets his duty for small gains. He is no hero."

Seeing that Cao Cao dismissed both men, Liu Bei continued to guess, but the other only shook his head.

"Sun Bofu?"

"Liu Jingsheng?"

"Lu Bu?"

Liu Bei made guess after guess, but Cao Cao only smiled without answering. When he heard the name Lu Bu, he laughed aloud: "Lu Bu is already a ghost, so how can he be considered a hero of today? However, I did hear an interesting anecdote about him."

"What interesting anecdote?" Liu Bei asked.

"I heard that after Lu Bu read the Legend of the Condor Heroes, he compared himself to the Central Divine Wang Chongyang. Truly shameless," Cao Cao roared with laughter.

Liu Bei thought for a moment and said, "Wang Chongyang did indeed die early."

"Haha, Xuande, there is some logic to that. Why don't we do as Lu Bu did and map the warlords of the world onto the characters of this novel?"

Liu Bei was dumbfounded, thinking to himself, how is one supposed to do that? "The Legend of the Condor Heroes has a multitude of characters; surely the warlords of the world cannot all be compared?"

"Then let us just compare the positions of the Five Greats. Since Lu Bu has already claimed the Central Divine, why don't we sort out the East, West, South, and North?" Cao Cao's childlike spirit was fully aroused.

"Yuan Shao is based in Hebei, and he has a vast number of soldiers and generals under his command. Could he be the Northern Beggar?" Liu Bei ventured.

"Xuande's words make sense. The Beggar Sect is just a group of rabble; Yuan Benchu is well-suited to be a beggar chief," Cao Cao laughed heartily.

Liu Bei realized he had spoken out of turn. If Yuan Shao were to hear this, he might take it the wrong way, so he dared not continue.

Seeing that Liu Bei had stopped, Cao Cao said with a gloomy expression, "Huang Yaoshi is a man who suits my tastes. It wouldn't be excessive for me to compare myself to the Eastern Heretic, would it?"

"Not excessive, not excessive at all," Liu Bei thought to himself that Western Venom would have been more appropriate.