A descendant of the royal family of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Bei entered the political arena of a troubled empire by volunteering as a military officer to fight the Yellow Scarf Rebels. His pursuit of power at first was not successful, and there were times when he had to work under Cao Cao, and then Yuan Shao. But Liu Bei left Yuan Shao after the Guandu campaign, and joined Liu Biao, governor of jingzhou, who assigned him military and civil power over a township called Xinye.
It was too small a place for Liu Bei's ambitions. While sighing over his muddled career, Liu Bei learnt from a gentleman named Sima Hui that just there in the countryside adjoining his township lived two wise men. Their sagacity as strategists was such that public opinion said, whoever engaged the counsel of either of them would be able to restore peace to the empire. Sima Hui told him that one of them was called Zhuge Liang, and the other was Pang Tong. As Liu Bei also learned from his advisor Xu Shu about Zhuge Liang as a renowned wise man, he finally decided he must visit him and try to get his help.
Zhuge Liang, like many of his contemporaries celebrated for their wisdom, had withdrawn from society, and lived in hermitage in Longzhong. It was a time of civil discord when the government had been weakened and warlords fought each other for dominance. Seeing no chance to put their wisdom to good use, and discouraged by the constant dangers of nvolvement in vain power games that were often likely to cost its players their lives, these hermits chose to distance themselves from too much social and political life, and retreated to the country, where they enjoyed the simplicity of rural life, though many of them awaited for their opportunity in the world to come.
Not wanting an interview he expected little from, Zhuge Liang hid himself from Liu Bei. Outside Zhuge Liang's house, Liu Bei and his two right-hand men, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, waited for a long time but without success. He came a second time but again in vain. This of course upset Guan and Zhang. Liu Bei finally met Zhuge Liang when he came the third time. In Zhuge's secluded living room, Liu Bei confided in him.
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