Mythical Three Kingdoms

Liu Bei's side often drifts off-topic during wars that do not affect their strategic goals, but it's not a big deal. Liu Bei himself doesn't mind, as maintaining internal stability and steadily widening the gap between them and the enemy is the best course of action.

The conversation on Liu Bei's side eventually turned to the topic of visiting the families of the soldiers. Liu Bei weighed the matter and decided to wait for Lady Gan to arrive so he could bring her along.

"If only the Great Han Dynasty could be this peaceful every year," Liu Bei remarked with deep emotion. After all, the external wars this year were swift and clean, and at this point, both Cao and Sunx and Liu were focused on developing their realms, making life considerably better for the common people than before.

"It will be even better in the future," Chen Xi said, raising his hand. "Let's wait until every household can eat meat during the New Year festivities, then aim for seeing meat every month, and ultimately achieving that every day. That will mean we've met our set goals."

Liu Bei laughed heartily and said no more, though he sighed inwardly. Some things seem simple, but are truly difficult in practice. However, accomplishing harder tasks provides a greater sense of achievement and fulfillment.

At Liu Bei's stage in life, all that's left is a sense of honor, achievement, recognition, and self-fulfillment.

"The path to simplicity is also the path to strength," Li Youu said calmly. "To see whether things are done well, go and see with your own eyes, listen with your own ears. While it's true that hearing can be deceptive and seeing isn't always believing, it's still important to listen to all sides. Lord, feel free to go and see more."

"Use the most direct means to understand the changes of the times. With Lord Xuande's current capabilities, there's nothing you wish to see that can be hidden from your eyes," Chen Xi said with a smile.

"Very well," Liu Bei nodded and then changed the subject.

As they were idly eating, drinking, and gossiping, Chen Dao, on a whim, remembered something and a smile appeared on his face. "Do you know about Zilong's recent situation?"

"Zilong?" Chen Xi and Jia Xu exchanged glances and shook their heads. Wasn't he supposed to pick up the families of those present from Mount Tai? He hasn't come back yet.

"Look at you, not even concerned about your comrades. No one knew that Zilong recently took a fancy to a young lady!" Chen Dao laughed heartily, picking up the conversation.

"What?" "Whose family?" "No way!" "How come I don't know!" "I've heard nothing about this!" Suddenly everyone started questioning him, even Guan Yu, who was usually aloof, looked towards Chen Dao with curiosity.

"Haha, Zilong has taken a liking to the eldest daughter of the Ma Clan. They say she is very beautiful, but it seems she doesn't fancy Zilong," Chen Dao said, taking a sip of wine, observing Liu Bei's curiosity as he stretched his neck forward.

"The eldest daughter of the Ma Clan, which Ma Clan?" They all turned to Chen Xi.

"How would I know? There are at least a thousand people with the surname Ma in the world. Who knows which one," Chen Xi replied helplessly, as he hadn't even memorized all the aristocratic families that came.

"General Zhao is definitely being played with by a reverse psychology tactic. Just think, with Zhao General's looks, demeanor, and competence, how many could compare?" Yu Jin, usually silent, was aroused by the gossip and said excitedly.

In their hearts, they inscribed a note about Yu Jin being a closeted romantic, thinking they could include him in their circles in the future, as he had been pretending all along!

"Yes, yes, General Yu's point is quite reasonable." Fa Zheng gave a thumbs-up, agreeing fully. "Using reverse psychology against General Zhao, let's help strategize how to turn the tables."

"Boasting like you're a master of romance, isn't it true that Xiaoo Zhi's wife wasn't chosen by himself?" Guo Jia suddenly interjected, causing Fa Zheng to almost spit out his drink.

"As if you all are so capable," Fa Zheng retorted indignantly, immediately receiving glares from everyone, who then collectively looked at Chen Xi, finally shaking their heads, as none of them had any romantic leverage.

"Cough, cough, why are you looking at me? Look at Shuzhi!" Chen Xi said displeased, noticing that this bunch practically hadn't pursued anything romantic themselves. Do you think Chen Xi did, Zhang Fei did?

"By the way, how do you know about this?" Hua Xiong, with a cheeky smile, asked Chen Dao, as everyone was quite interested, having not heard about this matter!

"When I was sending Kongming, I noticed Zilong seemed distracted, so I asked a couple of questions. Zilong, not one to hide things, just told me." Chen Dao laughed, having escorted Zhuge Liang to Zhao Yun's place to help him strengthen his relationship with Huang Yueying.

"Oh, I also saw those three guys, Boyan and the others. Zijia is starting to look a bit like Wen He," Chen Dao added.

"Oh, which family's young lady? Zilong isn't exactly young anymore. He looks young, but in truth, isn't much younger than us," Liu Bei scratched his cheek, subtly hinting that he might play matchmaker.

"The Ma Clan from Liangzhou." Chen Dao dropped a big piece of news, instantly turning the room into a marketplace. Wasn't that Ma Chao's sister? Whoever mentioned an older man seeking a younger woman, step forward, everyone knows Zhao Yun seems eternally eighteen!

The group cobbled together a plot based on the information Chen Dao provided, planning to help Zhao Yun sort this out. Speaking of which, this bunch of strategists was like a team making a love game, relying entirely on imagination.

But in all seriousness, there's strength in numbers. Even if it was all imagination, the group came up with a plan that seemed quite plausible, leaving Zhao Yun speechless when he found out.

Well, it was also the end of the year; everyone was idle, just gathering to chat. Lyu Bu's incident was coincidental.

Compared to Lyu Bu's chaotic battle with Xianbei, the gossip about Zhao Yun was more intriguing to this group.

After all, with Lyu Bu and Chen Gong around, even if they couldn't defeat Cao Cao, dealing with the Xianbei cavalry was no problem. Plus, wasn't it a major victory now? Liu Bei planned to petition Liu Xie to promote Lyu Bu, which was more practical than anything.

"But it's almost the end of the year…," Liu Bei glanced at the ceiling beams and then at Zhang Fei. "Any definite news from your sister-in-law?"

Zhang Fei twitched, realizing that Liu Bei could sometimes have quite the mental leaps. However, at such times, he absolutely had to push back, "How about I go and ask?"

"Miss Ma and Miss Xiahou are both in Yongzhou. The New Year requires offerings to the emperor, how about I go there," Guan Yu suddenly opened his eyes and replied.

Liu Bei paused, nodded slightly; he trusted Guan Yu's work, and with the stability of the three factions now, there would be no outbreak of conflict. It was a good opportunity. If war broke out again, the matters of Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun might get delayed indefinitely.

Please quietly vote for the monthly ticket~ (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)