Liu Bei's eye for talent was absolutely unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms period.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was in the top tier among Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei.
This was thanks to Liu Bei's upbringing. In his early years, he was a wandering knight-errant, coming into contact with many
chivalrous figures and vagrants. Later, he studied under the great Confucian scholar Lu Zhi, encountering many gentry and celebrities.
Essentially, Liu Bei had contact with people from all walks of life, from the lowest to the highest levels of society, and having seen all sorts of people, naturally developed his strong ability to judge character.
Liu Bei had a great fondness for the young man he had personally rescued; he believed this young man was no ordinary person.
This wasn't just because of his outstanding appearance, but also because of his calm and composed demeanor in the face of danger.
An ordinary person, chased by bandits, would have been terrified and completely lost.
But this young man, after being rescued, remained calm and composed, showing no fear whatsoever.
This was clearly no ordinary person.
Back in Tan County, Liu Bei poured Li Yi a cup of hot tea and carefully inquired,
"Forgive my boldness, but Cao Cao is attacking Xuzhou, and has committed countless atrocities along the way."
"Young man, why are you alone out there? You must know that the world is treacherous. Even if you don't die at the hands of a chaotic army, you might still encounter wolves or tigers that will devour you."
Li Yi took the teacup, secretly thinking that he couldn't reveal his modern identity and had to fabricate a reason to convince Liu Bei. He replied,
"To be honest, my lord, I have been practicing asceticism in the mountains with a master since childhood."
"We live a simple life, eating the wind and sleeping on the water, sleeping under the moon and frost."
"But last year, Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, and committed countless atrocities along the way. My master couldn't bear to see such a tragedy."
"Therefore, on his deathbed, he instructed me to go down the mountain to find a wise ruler to assist me in achieving great things." "
After handling my master's funeral arrangements, I went down the mountain, but unexpectedly encountered Cao Cao's army on the way."
"Fortunately, you found me, sir; otherwise, I would surely be dead!"
With that, Li Yi rose again to express his gratitude to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei was overjoyed; this young man was actually a reclusive master.
This explained his strange appearance and attire.
His delight stemmed from his deep thirst for talent.
His generals, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, were both formidable warriors, capable of defeating ten thousand men, yet none could fully utilize their abilities.
His childhood friend Jian Yong and the newly joined Sun Qian were both pale-faced scholars, lacking any real talent for governing the world.
Although Liu Bei didn't yet know if this young man possessed true talent, he was willing to strive for even the slightest hope.
"So you are a reclusive sage, my apologies for my lack of respect."
"May I ask your name, sir?"
Li Yi bowed and replied,
"My name is Li Yi, courtesy name—" He
paused slightly, then added, "courtesy name Ziyu."
Li Yi reacted quickly, immediately recalling the line from the *Book of Songs*,
"A gentleman is like jade, warm and lustrous."
Liu Bei stroked his beard, savoring the name.
"Yi means to assist; Yu means beauty."
"A gentleman is warm and lustrous like jade, noble and unyielding."
"A fine name! A fine courtesy name!"
Liu Bei smiled, turning to Li Yi and saying,
"I see you truly are as your name suggests, a refined gentleman, untouched by worldly dust."
Just one sentence gave him a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.
Only then did Li Yi understand what a captivating enchantress of the Three Kingdoms was.
Was this the value of charm that always surpassed even Diao Chan's in the various *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* games?
Li Yi started out working in the human resources department, where he encountered all sorts of people.
Some of them had high emotional intelligence and were very good at communicating, making you enjoy being around them.
Because it was comfortable and easy to be around them. This feeling was completely different from being close to a beautiful woman.
Li Yi's attention to detail and focus had earned him a high-ranking position early on. He keenly noticed that although Liu Bei was smiling,
his brows were furrowed, clearly indicating that he was troubled.
He immediately asked,
"I see that your brows are furrowed, sir. Is something on your mind?"
Liu Bei's expression tightened slightly, and he sighed,
"Sir, your insight is as clear as day."
"Currently, Cao Cao has led a large army to invade Xuzhou, slaughtering men, women, and children alike."
"Previously, Prefect Tao entrusted me with the task of resisting Cao Cao. I joined forces with my general Cao Bao to resist, but ultimately, we were no match for him..."
At this point, Liu Bei appeared somewhat heartbroken and helpless.
When he was the Prefect of Pingyuan, he only had a little over a thousand men under his command, along with a few hundred miscellaneous barbarian cavalry.
With such a small force, he was willing to support Tao Qian and oppose Cao Cao for the sake of righteousness.
It should be noted that at this time, Cao Cao was still Yuan Shao's subordinate.
Liu Bei had previously helped Gongsun Zan fight Yuan Shao, and now he was helping Tao Qian fight Cao Cao, offending both Yuan and Cao, thus officially entering a bottleneck period in his career.
Seeing this, Li Yi comforted him, saying,
"My lord, there's no need to worry. I predict Cao Cao will withdraw his troops soon."
"The siege of Xuzhou will be lifted."
Upon hearing this, not only Liu Bei but even Guan Yu behind him was taken aback.
"Why do you say that, sir?" Liu Bei hurriedly asked.
This was Cao Cao's second campaign against Xuzhou. The previous campaign had captured ten cities and decisively defeated Tao Qian at Pengcheng, but was forced to retreat due to insufficient supplies.
This time, Cao Cao again used the pretext of avenging his father to attack Xuzhou.
After accepting the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, Cao Cao's strength greatly increased, and this time he also won consecutive battles, capturing five cities.
Liu Bei, relying on Tao Qian's aid, fought desperately, but still lacked confidence in repelling Cao Cao's army.
Yet Li Yi casually remarked that Cao Cao would retreat without a fight, which was quite alarming.
Faced with their surprised gazes, Li Yi calmly explained,
"Cao Cao's army is currently far away in Xuzhou, leaving Yanzhou vulnerable. If someone can take advantage of this, Cao Cao will be unable to defend himself on both ends."
"Wouldn't that mean retreating without a fight?"
Liu Bei and Guan Yu exchanged a glance, Guan Yu asking first,
"Who would launch a surprise attack on Yanzhou?"
Li Yi chuckled and slowly uttered two words:
"Lü Bu."
Lü Bu…
this name was not unfamiliar to the two brothers. After killing the traitor Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu's reputation had actually improved somewhat.
However, he had been restless for the past two years, first surrendering to Yuan Shu, then to Yuan Shao, plundering the countryside with his troops, and completely squandering the little reputation he had managed to regain.
Now, Lü Bu was also wandering and homeless. If he could seize a large territory like Yanzhou, it would indeed be a wonderful thing for him.
Guan Yu stroked his long beard, squinting as he analyzed,
"Lü Bu is a ruthless and cunning man; it's not impossible for him to launch a surprise attack on Yanzhou."
"However, since his escape from Chang'an, he has lost his troops. Even if he had the courage, he lacked the means to attack Yanzhou."
Li Yi laughed,
"If Chen Gong and Zhang Miao were to assist him, Yanzhou would surely fall."
Wow…
another novel argument.
Zhang Miao was Cao Cao's childhood friend. Before Cao Cao's first campaign against Xuzhou, he even entrusted his wife and children to Zhang Miao.
Given their relationship, how could Zhang Miao possibly betray Cao Cao?
And Cao Cao treated Chen Gong like a precious treasure, like a first love; how could
Chen Gong abandon Cao Cao to assist Lü Bu?
(End of Chapter)