Liu Bei is the main character introduced at the very beginning of the first chapter. He is described as having ears that hang to his shoulders, arms that reach below his knees, and buggy eyes that stand out of his head allowing him to see behind his back. It is obvious, I hope, that this is symbolism for his alertness and military skill.
At the beginning of the story, around the time the Yellow Scarves started to revolt, Liu Bei makes a living selling straw sandals and weaving grass mats. When he saw a sign posted by the Yellow Scarves looking for recruits for their army, Liu Bei sighed and caught the attention of Zhang Fei. They talked and planned to raise an army to help fight off the Yellow Scarves. They then went to the local inn for some drinks. While they were at they inn, Liu Bei spotted another man, Guan Yu, who was looking for an army to join. Liu Bei talked to Guan Yu about joining their army and Guan Yu agreed.
The three then went to Zhang Fei's peach orchard and swore brotherhood under this
oath: