The descriptions of Liu Bei holding hands with Xu Xu and the emotional farewell between them display an intensity of feeling between them that cannot be explained by Confucian etiquette:
"His tears fell like rain and Xu Shu also wept. But when the last goodbyes were said and Xu Shu had gone, Liu Bei stood gazing after the little party and watched it slowly disappear . . . One of the trees shut out the travellers from his sight and he pointed at it saying 'I wish I could cut down every tree in this area'. When asked why he felt like this, he replied, 'Because they hinder my sight of Xu Shu.'"
The intensity of the relationships between the men in the novel is even more easily seen in the jealousies which result from sleeping together. It is well-known that after Liu Bei sleeps with Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei will sulk. For example, in the episode after Liu Bei first 'shares his bed' with Zhuge Liang, both Guan Yu and
Zhang Fei are resentfully uncooperative, an attitude noted by Zhuge Liang himself. They do not seem to like any of the men that share Liu Bei's bed. The relationship that Liu Bei has with his subordinates who have slept with him, moreover, seems always to be cemented and said to be as close as that between brothers. Very talented men such as Zhuge Liang, Xu Xu and Zhao Yun seem happy to serve under him after spending a night with him. The 'sharing of beds' is not restricted to Liu Bei and his men. In the novel itself, there are several devoted pairs of men: the Sun Ce-Zhou Yu and Sun Quan-Lu Su pairs are classic examples.
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