Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast. This is episode 22.

Last time, Zhang Fei just couldn't help himself and decided to poke Li Bu with a stick again

by stealing some horses that his men had just

purchased. Li Bu responded by bringing an army to Xiaoupei, where Liu Bei was based, to dish out

some payback. And imagine Liu Bei's surprise when he rode out to ask why Liu Bu was there with

an army, only to find out for the first time what

Zhang Fei had done. Then Zhang Fei precluded any possibility of a peaceful settlement

by hurling more insults of Liu and dragging up the old grudge of Liu stealing his brother's

province. The war of words quickly escalated, and Liu Bu ordered his army to surround the

hamlet. Inside the city, after he chilled Zhang Fei out, Liu Bei sent a messenger to

Liu Bei to send a messenger to Liu Bu's camp to say that he would return all the stolen horses

if Liu Bu would just call off his attack. Lv Bu was leaning toward accepting this peace offering,

but his advisor Chen Gong was against it.

If you don't kill Liu Bei now,

he would definitely do you harm down the road, Chen Gong said.

So Liu Bu changed his mind and rejected the truth's offering,

so now what was Liu Bei going to do?

He gathered his staff to figure that out,

and one of his advisors, Sun Qian, offered up an idea out of left field.

Cao Cao hates Lu Bu more than anyone else, Sun Qian said.

Why don't we abandon the city and go to Xu Chang to seek refuge with Cao Cao and borrow

his troops to defeat Lu Bu?

...