Yuan Shu's recruitment is also a good thing in Liu Bei's view.
Because by using his recruitment, Liu Bei can further increase his value in Yuan Shao's eyes.
You see, your legitimate brother wants to recruit me to do things for him. Shouldn't you give me a boost and pay more attention to me so that I can stay with you?
Yuan Benchu, show your sincerity, protect me from the wind and rain, and show your political energy to push me to a higher level!
Liu Bei was full of expectations.
And Yuan Shao obviously lived up to his expectations.
After this period of time, Yuan Shao deeply understood Liu Bei's abilities and realized that Liu Bei was an indispensable and important helper for him. He absolutely could not lose Liu Bei.
However, there is no relationship between the two as disciples or old officials.
Liu Bei was promoted to an official position by promoting filial piety and honesty, and the recommender was his father-in-law, so they were already related by blood.
He himself still has a mentoring relationship, and he is not involved in the Yuan family's disciples or former officials. Only the Han Emperor is his monarch, and he does not need to kowtow to any ministers.
This made Yuan Shao a little depressed.
He thought countless times how great it would be if Liu Bei was also an old official of the Yuan family, then he could control Liu Bei naturally without having to worry about his betrayal.
But now, Liu Bei is an independent object. Even if he enters his circle to do things for him, he is quite independent. His status is similar to that of a guest. Everyone is essentially mutually beneficial. In this regard, it is Yuan Shao who seeks Liu Bei.
Now Liu Bei took out Yuan Shu's invitation and said on the spot that he had chosen Yuan Shao and rejected Yuan Shu. This was of course a sign of loyalty to Yuan Shao and his attitude, but it also gave Yuan Shao a small warning.
The people around him are not inseparably bound to him.
Someone will poach you!
Yuan Shao was full of resentment towards Yuan Shu, but he could not have any dissatisfaction on the surface, and he could not quarrel with Yuan Shu in public, as that would not be good for him.
So he stood up with a laugh, walked to Liu Bei, took Liu Bei's hand and pulled him up, walked to the lobby, and took the invitation from his hand.
"Brother Xie probably doesn't know that Xuande is indispensable to me, so he did such a thing. I will explain this matter clearly to him, Xuande doesn't have to worry."
With that said, Yuan Shao personally invited Liu Bei to sit down and filled a glass of wine for him: "This glass of wine is dedicated to Xuande, Xuande, please be sure to drink it."
"Thank you, Mr. Yuan."
Liu Bei raised his wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and revealed the empty bottom to Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao showed a satisfied smile.
At this moment, everyone present knew that Liu Bei had established his position in Yuan Shao's heart.
And Yuan Shao's behavior of cutting off the corporal in this way also announced to everyone Liu Bei's status in his heart.
So everyone understood that Yuan Shao did not have any advantage at the moment, but in the future, once Yuan Shao gained momentum, Liu Bei would inevitably rise sharply.
As for whether Yuan Shao will gain momentum...
This is something that everyone knows very well, so why should we doubt it?
As a result, many people began to adjust their expectations for Liu Bei's future in their hearts, and some began to figure out how to get closer to Liu Bei.
What needs to be known is that even if Liu Bei and this group of people belong to Yuan Shao's circle of influence, there are always small circles under the big circle, just like a dormitory can have several different groups.
People within a large circle will naturally form cliques, either based on origin, hometown, or official position.
In Yuan Shao's large circle, the group of people who came from the Yuan family's former officials were relatively close, the group of people who came from the heroes of Luoyang and Sanhe areas were relatively close, and the group of scholars with ancient literary school background who joined with Liu Bei were also relatively close.
Several vaguely formed small circles surrounded Yuan Shao, delicately maintaining the balance between everyone.
Liu Bei is a latecomer, but now he seems to be catching up from behind, and Yuan Shao simply cannot do without him.
Therefore, the old people in Yuan Shao's circle lamented that Liu Xuande was really not a simple person.
For such a complicated thing, if you can win over and be friendly, of course you must win over and be friendly. There is no conflict of interest for the time being, and the threat of the common enemy eunuch is too great. They need each other, so there is no need to make the relationship tense.
So the banquet continued, the laughter continued, everyone continued to drink as if they had never experienced this, the musicians continued to play music, and the dancers continued to dance.
Yuan Shao continued to drink as if nothing had happened, talking arrogantly, drinking heavily, and laughing loudly and boldly.
Cao Cao raised his wine glass to Liu Bei at the right time, and the two drank from each other in the distance.
After the banquet, Cao Cao found Liu Bei and rode home with him.
Cao Cao was originally a member of the large circle under Yuan Shao, but in the small circle, he was excluded. Only Zhang Miao, who did not grow up in Luoyang, was friendly to him. At other times, he was very isolated.
It wasn't until Liu Bei joined Yuan Shao's group that Cao Cao found a sense of belonging for himself and got very close to Liu Bei.
After a heart-to-heart talk, the relationship became even closer.
In the carriage, Cao Cao expressed his worries.
"Xuande, Yuan Shu is not a kind person. For him to refuse his invitation in public is a great insult."
Cao Cao said with a worried look on his face: "I'm very worried about whether Yuan Shu will do something to you."
Liu Bei smiled.
"Meng De, since I have handed over the invitation to Mr. Yuan, then this matter is no longer under my leadership. This matter is a brotherly dispute between Mr. Yuan and Yuan Gongli. , it has nothing to do with me, I just need to continue to make suggestions for Mr. Yuan."
Cao Cao looked at the confident Liu Bei and let out a long sigh.
"Is Xuande really not worried at all?"
"It's not me who should be worried, but Mr. Yuan. If Mr. Yuan can't protect me, how can he make others believe that he can protect others? At this moment, it is time for Mr. Yuan to show himself to everyone. The so-called good man A bird chooses a tree to roost in, and a beloved man chooses a master to live in. We need Mr. Yuan, and Mr. Yuan also needs us."
Liu Bei smiled and patted Cao Cao's hand, and said with a smile: "Is Mengde really worried? This is not what the warrior who dared to beat Jian Tu could say."
Cao Cao smiled bitterly.
"Xuande, why are you teasing me like this? I admit that I am not as good as Xuande. If this matter falls on me, I will definitely be in a dilemma."
"If you have a clear goal, you won't be in a dilemma."
Liu Bei said slowly: "I am not at all confused about the way forward, so my choice has never changed. Since my choice has never changed, there is nothing to be embarrassed about."
"Sure enough, I'm not as good as Xuande."
Cao Cao said what he just said again, shook his head helplessly and said: "Xuande's words made me ashamed. Now I know what it means to be troublesome."
"Why does Meng De demean himself so much?"
Liu Bei laughed: "I think Meng De was worried and exhausted just now, so he must not have drank well, so how about going to my house and having a few more drinks?"
"OK!"
Cao Cao was finally happy and didn't want to go home. He followed Liu Bei directly to Liu Bei's house for a drink.
It is always difficult to let go in big occasions, and only in small occasions can one open up and express his true feelings. For Cao Cao, who is often depressed, the small pavilion in Liu Bei's home is his favorite place.
Cao Cao naturally has his favorite places, and Yuan Shao also has places he dislikes very much.
Yuan Shu's residence was a place he disliked very much. He would rather go to Yuan Ji's residence to meet Yuan Ji than Yuan Shu's residence.
Perhaps because he knew that he could not pose any threat to him, Yuan Ji was friendly to Yuan Shao, and would take care of him on weekdays. He would also remember to send him some good things, although this seemed a bit awkward to Yuan Shao. Not fast, but still better than Yuan Shu.
For Yuan Shu, although Yuan Shao is a concubine, he is older. One is his concubine brother, and the other is his legitimate brother. According to feudal etiquette, the younger brother should be respectful to his elder brother, and the difference between the legitimate son and the concubine is very clear. .
So the relationship between the two is not to say twisted, it can also be said to be as twisted as a twist.
Yuan Shu had to salute Yuan Shao in public, and Yuan Shao also had to endure Yuan Shu's strange temper in private. Although there was no major public conflict between the two, they did not have a good impression of each other and even had a sense of competition. Don't want to let anyone get the upper hand.
Despite this, the two controlled each other not to have direct conflicts with each other.
This has always been the case in the past, but this time, Yuan Shu crossed the line.
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