In Jiuquan, a border town, the soldiers from Liangzhou and Bingzhou stationed there gathered together for a grand banquet to welcome the New Year.
Countless soldiers, whether they knew each other or not, warmly gathered together, calling each other brothers, eating meat and drinking wine heartily.
The entire camp was in a harmonious and joyful atmosphere.
"Haha~, Fengxian, bottoms up this bowl!!"
Dong Zhuo, seated at the table, couldn't help but laugh heartily at the sight of his soldiers' joyful demeanor, and at the same time, he invited Lü Bu beside him to drink with him.
"Dry!!"
Lu Bu didn't hesitate; he picked up the wine bowl and gulped it down in one go.
After downing a bowl of wine, Dong Zhuo smiled and looked at Lü Bu, "Fengxian, you'll be fifteen or sixteen by the New Year, won't you? It's time to get married! I have a niece at home, virtuous and beautiful... quite a good match for you! What do you think..."
"No need!!"
Lu Bu turned his head away, looked Dong Zhuo up and down, and rejected Dong Zhuo's kind offer without hesitation.
"Uh~!"
Seeing how readily Lü Bu refused, Dong Zhuo was taken aback.
"Fengxian, could it be that you miss... Miss Yan?"
Dong Zhuo's eyes darted around, and then he approached with a smile, looking at Lü Bu with a gossipy expression.
Lu Bu was slightly taken aback, and the image of Yan Jin's gentle yet strong face involuntarily appeared in his mind.
"Haha~, I told you so! Fengxian really is missing his girl, haha~!"
Upon seeing Lü Bu's sudden dazed expression, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Gao Shun, Guo Si, Tian Yan, and the others around him couldn't help but look at Lü Bu with curiosity.
Hearing Dong Zhuo's mockery, Lü Bu finally came to his senses, and a hint of annoyance appeared on his face.
Lu Bu looked at Dong Zhuo with a cold face and threatened, "If you continue to spout nonsense, believe me, I'll stab you with my halberd!"
"Uh, alright, alright, I won't say it then! You're so unreasonable, why do you always want to stab people? We're comrades, you know!"
Dong Zhuo couldn't help but shrink his neck and mutter something under his breath.
"Hmph!"
Lu Bu snorted coldly, then turned his head and looked at Gao Shun, Guo Si and the others with a threatening expression.
"Come on, let's drink, let's drink...!"
Sensing Lü Bu's gaze, Guo Si and the others quickly turned their heads away, avoiding his eyes.
The festivities continued, and Dong Zhuo, watching his brothers drinking heartily, couldn't help but look up to the north, his eyes filled with worry.
Lu Bu, who was standing nearby, noticed that there was no movement beside him and turned his head to look.
"Zhongying, what's wrong with you??"
Seeing that the usually generous and unrestrained Dong Zhuo now looked melancholy, Lü Bu couldn't help but look at Dong Zhuo with some curiosity.
"Alas, I wonder how my dozens of brothers who followed the Minister of Taihang on his mission to the Xianbei are doing now?"
Thinking of his brothers who were far from home and whose fates were unknown, Dong Zhuo sighed and then picked up his wine bowl and gulped it down.
"Yes, although we are far from our hometown, we are still within the territory of the Han Dynasty. Compared to the Taihang Minister and those brothers, we are much better off!"
Lu Bu couldn't help but recall the time when he ventured alone into the grasslands, and the homesickness he felt was truly unforgettable.
Inside the Hall of Welcoming Spring, Liu Hong watched the lively scene, and his mind couldn't help but wander to thoughts of Li Ru, Chu Qian, and others who had traveled far from home...
In the northern Wuhuan region, Li Ru sat alone in a tent, with a pot of turbid wine and a dimly lit oil lamp on the table beside him.
Li Ru remained calm, facing the direction of the burly man from the south, but his eyes betrayed a deep longing.
Then Li Ru lowered his head and took out a cloth bag from his bosom. Inside the bag was the soil belonging to the Han Dynasty that he had filled when he left the Han Dynasty.
He carefully opened the cloth bag, took out a pinch of soil, and put it into the wine cup beside him.
Li Ru raised his glass and gazed at the increasingly murky wine, but his eyes showed a newfound resolve.
Li Ru then tilted his head back and drank the wine mixed with mud in one gulp. Afterward, he carefully wrapped the cloth bag and put it in his bosom, close to his chest.
The oil lamp went out, and Li Ru's tent was plunged into darkness once again.
......
Inside a rather luxurious tent in the western Xianbei royal court, a bustling atmosphere filled the air, with tribal chiefs and generals all gathered there.
The large tent was filled with the aroma of meat and wine. On both sides of the tent, there were two rows of tables, which were laden with various meats and fine wines.
A group of Xianbei chieftains and generals sat at the table, feasting and drinking merrily. The tent was filled with laughter and the sounds of drinking contests.
In contrast, at the table at the head of the left side of the tent, a young man sat quietly, not exchanging words with anyone.
This person was none other than Chu Qian, the Minister of the Taihang Mountains, who was sent as an envoy to the Xianbei. Under the escort of dozens of soldiers dispatched by Dong Zhuo, after a long and arduous journey and overcoming numerous obstacles, Chu Qian and his party finally arrived at the Xianbei royal court yesterday.
Chu Qian sat calmly at the table, slowly picking up a slice of meat and putting it in his mouth, then taking a sip of wine.
Seeing Chu Qian eating so elegantly, Tan Shihuai nodded to himself, and looking at the group of roughnecks around him, he couldn't help but sigh.
Then Tan Shihuai looked at Chu Qian and said with a smile, "Han envoy, what do you think of the food of my Xianbei people?"
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