Yuan Shu's emotions were quite complicated at the moment.
He originally planned to take advantage of the "squandering" mission to throw money around and recruit talented individuals he encountered.
However, the ones he ran into now were Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan.
These two could indeed be considered talents, but there was absolutely no chance of recruiting them.
Spending money on them was basically like throwing it into the water.
Was this really squandering, or not?
After thinking it through, Yuan Shu ultimately decided—spend!
He was currently in the process of forming his personal guard, and he had two super resource lottery tickets. Who knew what great things he might draw? He was quite eager for them.
Thinking about how he had a budget of ten million to squander, a surge of boldness arose within Yuan Shu.
Oh right, he hadn't checked the attributes of these two guys yet. Yuan Shu quickly and quietly said to the system:
"System, check the attributes of these two guys, Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan, for me."
"Ding-dong, system received! Querying for the host now."
"Talent Gongsun Zan's data retrieved successfully:
Talent Name: Gongsun Zan
Attributes:
Martial Strength: 92 Command: 88 Intelligence: 57 Politics: 52 Charisma: 68 Luck: 63
Gongsun Zan's Skills:
Breaking the Hu (Awakened): Gongsun Zan, renowned in the northern frontier, gains +5 Command when fighting against foreign tribes.
White Horse (Awakened): Allows the training of the special unit 'White Horse Cavalry'.
White Horse Cavalry Data:
Minimum unit size: 1,000 Maximum unit size: 30,000 Average individual martial strength: 61
Unit Skills:
Charge: When White Horse Cavalry charges, each soldier's martial strength increases by 3. Hatred for the Hu: When fighting foreign tribes, each soldier's martial strength increases by 3. Heaven's Witness: Loyalty to righteousness, willing to live and die together. The heavens bear witness, and the White Horse is the proof. When the White Horse Cavalry engages in a desperate battle against the enemy, morale doubles, and each soldier's martial strength increases by 5, lasting until total annihilation."
"Talent Liu Bei's data retrieved successfully:
Talent Name: Liu Bei
Current Liu Bei's Attributes:
Martial Strength: 71 Command: 52 Intelligence: 75 Politics: 64 Charisma: 70 Luck: 65
Peak Liu Bei's Attributes:
Martial Strength: 89 Command: 85 Intelligence: 83 Politics: 89 Charisma: 92 Luck: 91
Liu Bei's Skills:
Benevolence (Awakened): Liu Bei is a man of great righteousness. When interacting with others, his Charisma increases by 5, friendship improves at twice the normal speed, and the success rate of recruiting talents doubles.
Strategic Patience (Awakened): Liu Bei is deeply calculating and skilled in hiding his true intentions. His enemies' vigilance against him decreases, and when he finds himself in a desperate situation on the battlefield, he has a 90% chance of successfully escaping.
Imperial Lineage (Unawakened)
Twin Swords (Unawakened)
Seeking Refuge (Unawakened)
Zhaolie (Unawakened)"
The impressive skills of these two left Yuan Shu completely stunned.
Gongsun Zan aside—his high martial strength and command stats, along with his overwhelming combat power against foreign tribes, made it no surprise that he could crush the Wuhuan in the northern frontier.
But Liu Bei? His peak stats were all above 80, with two exceeding 90. That put him on par with Cao Cao!
Moreover, this guy had way too many skills! Yuan Shu had never seen anyone with this many abilities before.
Starting from selling straw sandals and ending up as an emperor—it made sense with such impressive attributes and skills.
Looking at Liu Bei's sincere smile, Yuan Shu thought to himself, "You sly old fox, you're hiding way too deep."
Seeing Yuan Shu staring at him for so long, Liu Bei asked in confusion:
"Senior Brother, is there something wrong with me?"
Yuan Shu put on a very sincere expression and said to Liu Bei:
"I just see a heroic spirit in you, Junior Brother Liu. Your future is destined to be extraordinary."
Hearing Yuan Shu's words, Liu Bei was startled.
He had harbored great ambitions since childhood but had never openly shown them before.
How did Yuan Shu know?
Thinking carefully, he realized that Yuan Shu's words might just be pleasantries, so he put on a smile and said to Yuan Shu:
"I'm just a commoner. How could I compare to you, Senior Brother, who comes from a noble lineage of four generations of high-ranking officials?
If you hold a high position in the court in the future, I hope you can look after me a little."
Gongsun Zan, standing nearby, looked at the two chatting with a bewildered expression.
These two, just meeting for the first time, are already flattering each other like this?
Is this the so-called "hitting it off at first sight"?
Yuan Shu then said to them:
"It's rare for you two to visit Luoyang, so you must take something back with you. How about I take you shopping?"
When it comes to spending money quickly, eating and drinking don't actually cost much. The real expense comes from shopping.
Hearing that Yuan Shu wanted to take them shopping, Gongsun Zan felt a bit embarrassed and said:
"Thank you for your kindness, Junior Brother, but Liu and I have traveled a long way and haven't brought much money with us..."
Yuan Shu instantly understood what Gongsun Zan meant. Wasn't he just saying they didn't have much money and felt embarrassed to go shopping with him?
I, Yuan Shu, am trying to complete a "wastrel" mission. I never planned on letting you two pay anyway.
Waving his hand, Yuan Shu said:
"You two are guests from afar. As the host, how could I let my guests spend money?
Let's set a rule right now: for the next couple of days, all expenses for the two of you will be covered by me, Yuan Gonglu!"
Both Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were stunned.
Is there really such a generous person in this world?
They had just met and weren't even that familiar, yet he was already throwing money around like this. What was he after?
If they had been staying in Luoyang longer, they would have known that Yuan Shu was the number one wastrel in the city. Spending money recklessly was just his hobby.
Gongsun Zan still felt very embarrassed and said:
"Junior Brother Yuan, how can we let you pay for everything? That wouldn't be right."
Hearing this, Liu Bei immediately and righteously countered:
"Senior Brother, your words are incorrect.
Our master and Master Cai are old friends, practically like real brothers.
A master is like a father, so we should also treat Yuan as a brother.
Between brothers, looking after each other is only natural.
Senior Brother, please don't refuse anymore, or you'll hurt Junior Brother Yuan's feelings."
Watching Liu Bei's performance from the side, Yuan Shu was truly impressed by how convincingly he spoke.
Especially his "brotherhood" argument—no wonder Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were won over by him.
Gongsun Zan was never as eloquent as Liu Bei. Liu Bei's speech left him speechless, though deep down, he still felt uneasy about spending someone else's money.
Yuan Shu smiled and said to them:
"Liu, you speak reasonably. Since you're in my territory, it's only right for me to be a good host. You can repay me in the future."
He deliberately emphasized the word "repay." Today, Yuan Shu was spending money, but what he would ask for in return later might not necessarily be money.
However, neither Gongsun Zan nor Liu Bei picked up on this. How could they possibly know what the future would bring?
Liu Bei, seeing that he had secured a generous benefactor, was secretly delighted.
In truth, he never really liked studying. He only apprenticed under Lu Zhi because of his fame.
What he truly enjoyed was raising dogs, riding horses, music, and luxurious clothing—extravagant hobbies, as well as making connections with influential figures.
But due to his usual financial struggles, he rarely had the opportunity to indulge in these interests.