Chapter 15: New Friends

  Liu Xiu smiled, but his smile soon turned into a bitter one. He looked at Gong Sun Zan with a hint of envy in his smile and asked very seriously: "Are the Xianbei people really so cruel, coming every year?"

  "Can you still be deceived?" Gong Sunzhan looked at him with a hint of amusement and said half-jokingly, "Well, you haven't read any books either. How can you be so pedantic like those bookworms and still believe in winning people over with virtue?"

  Liu Xiu never believed in the idea of winning people over with virtue, he only believed in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Facing Gong Sun Zan's ridicule, he didn't bother to explain, but simply rubbed his temples in frustration. The nomadic tribes on the northern grasslands had always been a thorn in the side of the Han people, and now they were just a border problem, but later they would be ..., rampaging through the Central Plains, even twice occupying the Central Plains. Not to mention the distant past, after the Three Kingdoms period came the Five Barbarians' invasion of China, a war that lasted for three or four hundred years, almost exhausting the Han people's vitality.

  "Alas——" Liu Xiu let out a long sigh, regretting that he only knew how to write characters and paint beautiful women, but didn't know anything about advanced technology. This was also no wonder, he hadn't thought about crossing over after all, if he had known earlier, he would have at least prepared a large encyclopedia or something.

  Gongsun Zan did not know what Liu Xiu was thinking, and thought he was worried about the attack of the Xianbei people. He felt a bit dismissive and said: "Why are you so downhearted? Although the Xianbei people are cruel, they are actually not worth worrying about. As long as our great Han people do not indulge in those pedantic classics, what can these trivial Xianbei people do? Don't look at Tan Shi Huai being complacent now, once my army goes out of the pass, he will be like the Huns back then, only able to flee far away to the north and struggle to survive."

  Gongsun Zan spoke as he grandly waved his arm, as if he were the current Wei Huo, and Tan Shi Huai was the former Yi Zhi Xie, who would soon kneel down before him, bound by ropes.

  Looking at the confident light in Gong Sun Zan's eyes, Liu Xiu secretly sighed and shook his head repeatedly. He thought to himself: "You have talent, but you are far inferior to Wei Huo. Moreover, today's Great Han is not comparable to the time of Emperor Wu of Han. Emperors Huan and Ling were notorious for being incompetent rulers in the history of the Great Han, and they weren't even worthy of holding Emperor Wu's shoes."

  "Awesome! So spirited! So cool! I love it!"

  Outside the door, a burst of applause erupted, followed by the appearance of the Mao family youngster who had begged to ride Gong Sunzhan's white horse that day. He walked in, clapping his hands, with two servants behind him, carrying a bundle and a smooth brocade quilt.

  "You... what's this?" Liu Xiu and the other two were all somewhat perplexed.

  "Mr. Mao, please take a seat and let me introduce you to my friends." Mr. Mao laughed heartily, while instructing his servant to prepare the bed, and rubbed his hands together with an air of false bravado, saying: "I'm also a student of Mr. Lu's, haha... we're classmates! Last time I met you three, it felt like no time had passed at all, so I was really hoping to get closer to you all... haha... how about we stay together?"

  Gongsun Zan curled his lip in disdain: "Who's so familiar with you, anyway? And yet you still want to steal my horse?"

  "Brother Bo, friends have a way of sharing wealth, right?" Mao Zong was somewhat afraid of Gongsun Zan and smiled: "Besides, I didn't rob your horse, just borrowed it for two days. Just one day has passed and I've returned it to you. Brother Bo, please take a look..."

  Mao Zong had not finished speaking, when Gong Sun Zan took a step forward and rushed out. Liu Xiu and Liu Bei exchanged a glance, just about to speak, when they heard the sound of a horse whinnying in the courtyard, hastily stood up and followed him out, just in time to see Gong Sun Zan embracing the necks of those white horses, intimately talking to them, the white horses shaking their heads and swishing their tails, rubbing against his face, extremely affectionate.

  Liu Xiu turned his head to Mao Zong, who had been smiling all along, and said: "I didn't expect that although you're a spoiled brat, you're still a trustworthy person. Not only are you trustworthy, but you also returned ahead of time. What's wrong, did you get bored?"

  Mao Zong awkwardly smiled, subconsciously reaching out to touch his buttocks. Liu Bei saw this and couldn't help but burst out laughing: "I'm afraid you're not skilled at riding, and got hurt badly?"

  "Where, where." Mao Zong's face turned bright red as he waved his hand: "Am I that bad? I really want to be friends with you guys."

  Liu Bei was about to say more, but Liu Xiu gave him a glance, signaling him not to tease Mao Zong anymore. Although Mao Zong had some youthful temper, he could still do things this way, which is rare, and at least his nature was not bad. Otherwise, yesterday he could have let Wu Junhou take action and severely punish Gongsun Zan. Liu Xiu was a vengeful person, but he wouldn't go around making enemies everywhere, especially now that they were still in the Mao family's estate. From the food in the dining hall, it could be seen that although the Maos were landlords, they didn't count as evil tyrants.

  Liu Bei now admires Gong Sunzhan very much, and unconsciously regards Mao Zong as an enemy. He originally wanted to humiliate him a few more times to vent his anger from yesterday, but seeing Liu Xiu giving him a signal with his eyes, he didn't dare say anything else. Having just had a narrow escape, he is now really afraid of provoking Liu Xiu's anger again and sending him back home in a huff.

  Gongsun Zan and the white horse finished their affection, and when he looked at Mao Zong's eyes, they suddenly became much warmer. Mao Zong climbed up the pole and suggested that Gongsun Zan let him keep the horse in his family's stable, where there were people to take care of it and feed it fine fodder. Gongsun Zan loved horses and didn't want to tie his beloved mount with those inferior horses anyway, so he naturally had no reason to refuse. Mao Zong immediately ordered someone to lead the horse to the stable, but he himself picked up where their conversation had left off.

  "Brother Bo, to be honest, we are also heroes who see things similarly. As for dealing with these barbarians, there's no other way, one word: kill them all! Mao Zong waved his hand and said loudly: "I value Brother Bo's horse not because I'm greedy, but because this horse is truly a fine steed. If we can ride it into battle, we'll definitely be able to slaughter those barbarian dogs like falling flowers and flowing water - that's much more useful than all that Confucius' poetry!"

  Liu Xiu frowned, this young man is about the same age as Liu Bei, how can he talk about killing and killing as soon as he opens his mouth? Is it really because of his martial family background?

  Gongsun Zan burst out laughing and patted Mao Zong's shoulder: "Chengming, I love hearing you say that. When dealing with these barbarian dogs, the only way to get through to them is to beat them until they're in pain. Alright, next time you have a chance to go to Liaoxi, I'll definitely find you a good horse like this one."

  "Then it's settled." Mao Zong was overjoyed, his face beaming with delight: "To be honest with you, brother Boqiao, I may soon have the opportunity to go to western Liaoning."

  "Is it?" Gong Sun Zan's eyebrows moved: "Is it a business trip or a tour?"

  "Visit relatives." Mao Zongdao said: "Escort a distant relative of mine there."

  Gongsun Zan listened to this and didn't dare ask any more questions. As they spoke, Mao Zong's attendants had already laid out the bed, and Mao Zong waved his hand for them to withdraw. He himself lay down on the bed, tried it out, and then said contentedly: "From now on, we can live together in one room and study the classics together! Brother Bo, brother De, brother Xuande, please take care of me from now on."

  "Do you have something bigger?" Liu Bei asked unhappily.

  "Haha, I've checked your birth dates, and I'm three days older than you." Mao Zong stood up, put his arm around Liu Bei's shoulder, and smiled slyly: "You'd better just be honest and be the younger one."

  Liu Bei rubbed his mouth, helplessly lowering his head. Liu Xu saw this and couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head repeatedly, thinking to himself: If this kid knew that the shoulder he's leaning on now belongs to the future Emperor of Shu, would he still be so casual?

  Ma Zong couldn't stop laughing, and the few of them chatted for a while, quickly becoming as familiar as old friends. Ma Zong was open-minded, Gong Sunyan was heroic, and even Liu Bei had some heroic spirit. On the other hand, Liu Xiu seemed a bit awkward because he was afraid of revealing his flaws. However, Ma Zong didn't ignore him and soon mentioned that the guards in the manor would be conducting drills tomorrow, hoping that Liu Xiu and the others would come to take a look.