Surviving as Guan Yu in the Three Kingdoms

Xu County was a much more backward and shabby neighborhood than I had imagined.

The roofs were very sparsely thatched, as if even straw was not plentiful, and proper wooden pillars couldn’t be obtained, so everything was crooked.

Not a single person was wearing decent clothes; everyone wore shabby clothes with holes or patches.

“Everyone is so skinny too.”

In Korea, even beggars don’t wear clothes with holes, although they might wear old and dirty clothes, and almost no one starves.

Is this the life of the common people in this era?

“Excuse me, I’d like to ask something.”

A passing man replied as if annoyed.

“What is it?”
“I’m looking for someone named Liu Bei Xuande, where might I find him?”

If this is the world of the Three Kingdoms, there should be no one in Xu County who doesn’t know Liu Bei by now.

Although Liu Bei isn’t an official, so he’s not a civil servant, he’s basically a gang leader or xia ke who dominates the people of Xu County.

The man who had been speaking as if annoyed, hardened his expression upon hearing my words.

“You bastard, I’ve never seen your face before. Why is an outsider looking for our sister?”

Cao Cao was a beautiful blonde with blue eyes, could it be that Liu Bei has also become a beautiful girl?

What on earth is going on in this world?

Just as I was starting to get used to being incarnated as Guan Yu, even Liu Bei is a woman…

At this rate, could it be that even Zhang Fei is a woman too?

When I didn’t answer, the man started rolling up his sleeves.

“Our sister is pretty, so there are bastards who come from other places to target her, you know? Are you one of them?”

No, I haven’t even seen Liu Bei since incarnating as Guan Yu.

And if he’s saying such things, does it mean Liu Bei is an extremely beautiful girl like Cao Cao?

Damn, if it’s like this, it wouldn’t be strange if even people like Sun Ce, Dong Zhuo, and Lü Bu were all women too.

I really don’t know how to take this in.

But for now, let’s clear up the misunderstanding with the man in front of me first.

Like a man, I grabbed both of his shoulders and applied a little force, trying to calm the person in front of me.

“Aaagh, help! Someone help! Aaaagh!”

After briefly having this physical, peaceful dialogue, the man in front of me nodded as if he would tell me everything.

I didn’t want to use such violent and coercive methods either.

However, what I realized on my way here after saving Cao Cao is that in this era, everyone is corrupt, starting from the officials in charge of public security…

Sometimes, you have to use these kinds of methods.

I controlled my strength well when touching him, so he won’t get bruised or injured.

“I have come all the way from Yingchuan after hearing about Lord Xuande’s great virtue. I’m here to see him once, so don’t misunderstand.”

The man in front of me looked at me curiously.

“They say there’s not a single person in Xu County who hasn’t received help from our sister, but I never thought the rumors would spread to other places.”

Now that he knows the difference in strength, he naturally starts speaking more politely?

And when I said I came because I admired Liu Bei’s character, the man began to show an even friendlier attitude.

“Last winter, I almost died of starvation when I ran out of food, but sister shared her food with me, and I barely survived. Having received such kindness, and honestly, sister is so beautiful that it’s a waste for her to be buried in Xu County, so even corrupt officials are eyeing her, that’s why I was being cautious. But since you’re someone who has heard about sister’s virtue all the way from distant Yingchuan, I guess I can trust you.”

In stories like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, they simply say that Liu Bei could act as the leader of Xu County because of his virtue.

But if he hadn’t helped people without considering personal gain or loss like this, even the militia of Xu County, including Zhang Fei and Gan Ning, wouldn’t have followed the penniless Liu Bei.

“That woman over there selling mats is our sister. Well then, I have to go help the Wang family, so I’ll be on my way.”

After the man left, I approached Liu Bei directly.

“Hello.”

As soon as Liu Bei saw me, she greeted me with a bright smile.

“Hello, are you here to buy a mat?”

Like Cao Cao, Liu Bei was breathtakingly beautiful.

Black eyes and hair, skin as white as if snow had fallen, thin but well-balanced arms and legs, a waist that looked like it could be encircled with one arm.

A large and luscious bosom that accentuated all of this.

Being this beautiful, it’s no wonder they’re wary when an outsider like me comes looking for Liu Bei, thinking I might have lewd intentions…

At first, I didn’t understand, but after seeing her in person, I can understand a bit.

“How about this one? It’s a bit expensive because it’s woven from reeds, but it’s that much more durable and feels good to sit on.”
“Are you Liu Bei Xuande, a descendant of the Prince of Zhongshan?”

At those words, the smile disappeared from Liu Bei’s face.

“That’s right, I am Liu Bei Xuande, a descendant of the Prince of Zhongshan, but who are you?”

A descendant of the Prince of Zhongshan, the name Liu Bei Xuande, a person respected by everyone in Xu County – there can only be one such person even in the vast land of China.

This person is that Liu Bei who will become the emperor of Shu Han in the future.

“I apologize for the late introduction. My name is Guan Yu, courtesy name Yunchang.”

I had several occasions to introduce myself with this name after saving Cao Cao, but to be honest, it felt good each time.

It made me realize that I had really become that Guan Yu from the Three Kingdoms.

“I killed a corrupt official far away in Yingchuan and was wandering around looking for a place to live when I heard your name, Lord Xuande, and came here wanting to serve you.”

In the original history, Guan Yu meets Liu Bei by pure chance, and gets along so well with Zhang Fei and Liu Bei that they immediately swear the Peach Garden Oath…

But there’s no need for me to follow all that and get entangled with Liu Bei and Zhang Fei.

Liu Bei responded to my story with an incredulous look.

“But I’m just a humble mat seller. Even if you serve me now, I have nothing to give you. No food, no house to live in.”

‘I have nothing to give you now.’

Everything is contained in this one sentence.

The ambition this woman Liu Bei holds in her heart, the dream of conquering the world, the will to challenge the future.

And the certainty and confidence that she will surely rise to the top.

People without these things don’t speak with the nuance that they can’t give anything now, but will be able to give something later.

“I’m not trying to follow you, Lord Xuande, to enjoy immediate wealth and glory. If that were the case, I would have followed Cao Cao, the county magistrate I saved on my way here. She offered me a salary of 400 shi and asked me to follow her.”

400 shi is an enormous salary that can feed about a hundred families, based on a household of 4 people.

It must be an incredible amount of money that the impoverished Liu Bei can’t even comprehend yet.

“You refused 400 shi?”
“Because I thought it would be much more rewarding to serve someone like Liu Xuande, who, though just a poor mat seller, has earned the respect of everyone in Xu County.”

Honestly, since I’ve become Guan Yu, I could live as I please, but as a man who loves the Three Kingdoms, it’s hard to accept the breaking up of the ‘Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Liu Bei’ trio.

Moreover, until now, I lived my entire life as Kim Woojin in Korea, as a cog in the company and society, living as I was pushed along.

Now that I’ve been born as Guan Yu and given a new opportunity, I want to live a more self-directed life…

‘I should act like Guan Yu, right?’

“And don’t you, Lord Xuande, have ambitions too, gaining people’s trust by giving to those around you despite your poverty?”

In the Three Kingdoms, the early Liu Bei is often portrayed as a naive and good-natured pushover, but such a person would hardly survive in these chaotic times.

“Why do you think that?”
“Doesn’t it take tremendous resolve to help people by sharing your own food when you can barely eat one full meal yourself?”

Generally, the reason why rich people tend to be more generous and poor people less so is simple.

Rich people won’t starve even if they share what they have, but truly poor people will go hungry themselves if they share their food.

It’s hard enough to be hungry when dieting, but if you add the feeling of deprivation that you can’t even buy more food here, it drives people crazy.

Even in Korea where almost no one starves, the first thing people cut when their income decreases is donations or volunteer work.

In such a situation, sharing food is something that’s hard to even attempt unless you’re quite an oddball.

“Seeing how you endure hardships with an eye on the future while gaining people’s hearts, you will surely become a great hero in these chaotic times. So please allow me to serve you, Lord Xuande.”

Liu Bei nodded and firmly grasped both my hands, accepting my offer to serve her without expecting anything in return.

“I don’t have much, but I look forward to working with you.”

And at this moment, government soldiers ran urgently through the market, shouting:

“The Yellow Turbans are attacking! Everyone run away!”