Mythical Three Kingdoms

Shen Pei was momentarily taken aback as he silently sized up Gongsun Zan. He could feel Gongsun Zan’s sincerity, and it was because of this sincerity that Shen Pei, for the first time, discovered that aside from being obstinate, brainless, and full of himself, the other party also had praiseworthy qualities.

”Perhaps Gongsun Zan indeed made countless mistakes, but as a general guarding the border, he could honestly face the people of the world without shame. His only fault was choosing the wrong opponent. On the question of justice, he never fell short!” Shen Pei thought silently to himself.

Looking at Gongsun Zan at this moment, Shen Pei couldn’t help but feel respect and no longer treated Gongsun Zan with the previous contempt.

Internally, he, Shen Pei, and Gongsun Zan were enemies, but externally, Gongsun Zan was a hero. And when dealing with heroes, especially one’s own heroes, even if political views clashed, one must not erase their accomplishments or insult their character.

”This is the proclamation that Chen Kongzhang wrote for you,” Shen Pei said as he took out the proclamation that had infuriated Yuan Shao to no end and handed it to Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan frowned slightly, opened the paper that Shen Pei handed to him, and after skimming through it broke into laughter, ”Hahaha, worthy indeed of the famous Chen Kongzhang for his rhetoric. He speaks right to my thoughts, and curses admirably.”

”The purpose is not merely to show the general this proclamation,” Shen Pei shook his head and said, ”After all, this proclamation has a significant impact on my lord. Unless necessary, I wouldn’t have shown it to the general. Does the general know under what circumstances Chen Kongzhang wrote this proclamation?”

”What else could it have been?” Gongsun Zan said with a sneer, ”These scholars only know how to play with words and neglect to serve their country. It must be that Yuan Benchu offended him, and I am merely the Long Spear he used to strike at Yuan Benchu.”

Gongsun Zan was not dull; he had no dealings with Chen Lin, so it was clear that Chen Lin speaking on his behalf was not merely out of admiration for his righteousness.

”Not so. It’s because a great event has occurred in the Central Plains, and I have come because within this great event, I see a glimmer of opportunity,” Shen Pei said with a smile. It was precisely because he had learned of Lyu Bu’s northward move that he saw a glimmer of hope to persuade Gongsun Zan.

”What great event has occurred in the Central Plains?” Gongsun Zan was startled, then sighed deeply, ”Located in Liaodong, cut off from news, to the point that we cannot even take the Central Plains into account.”

Shen Pei looked at Gongsun Zan’s expression and secretly sighed, then recounted the entire incident without inserting any of his own feelings.

Gongsun Zan listened quietly to Shen Pei’s recounting, and when he heard that Lyu Bu had returned north to Bingzhou with the vow to conquer the Hetao Region, he sighed deeply.

”That is the general’s situation. As for the matter I came for, I believe the general now understands. I ask the general to consider deeply. If my lord, Yuan Benchu, can tolerate Marquis Wenn returning north to Bingzhou, then as long as the general swears to the people of the world to hold the Northern Frontier, I think my lord will certainly be able to accept it,” Shen Pei said as he bowed solemnly to Gongsun Zan.

”Lyu Fengxian has returned to Bingzhou, and Yuan Benchu actually has such courage, that’s just like him, Yuan Benchu. Although his performance at Hulao was less than satisfactory, he did after all confront Dong Zhuo directly as Yuan Benchu,” Gongsun Zan murmured to himself.

”General, my lord and you do not have a death feud, on the contrary, my lord greatly admires those border generals who stayed in the north to protect the Central Plains Land during the great war. The conflicts between you and my lord, for the Great Han Dynasty, are merely disputes between brothers over family assets. It’s the foreign clans that are our true enemies,” Sheni Pei hurriedly seized the moment to speak as he saw Gongsun Zan murmuring to himself, with signs of agreeing.

”What was the initial cause of my conflict with Yuan Benchu?” Gongsun Zan began to reevaluate his battles with Yuan Shao from a different perspective upon hearing Sheni Pei’s words, and could not help but recall what their initial conflict was about.

”I can’t trust Yuan Benchu!” A chill crossed Gongsun Zan’s eyes, who was still in thought, ”All the reasons for my battles with him are because he deceived me, no other reason, just because he cheated me!”

Sheni Pei opened his mouth, surprised that Gongsun Zan, who seemed to be swayed a moment ago, was now inexplicably rejecting his proposal, and the reason was a lack of trust in Yuan Shao.

”You probably hadn’t joined Yuan Shao at that time, and you might not believe it if I told you, but originally he asked for my help to expel Hann Fu, promising to share half of Jizhou with me if successful. Seeing that he had the demeanor of an Alliance Hierarch, I decided to help him,” Gongsun Zan said, reminiscing as he saw the puzzled look in Sheni Pei’s eyes.

”To tell the truth, I never had any ulterior motives when I helped Yuan Shao. As for dividing Jizhou, I never considered it. With Liu Bo’an between us in the northern part of Youzhou, unless Liu Bo’an died, I couldn’t even take Youzhou, let alone divide Jizhou,” Gongsun Zan spoke as if he had long been deeply wronged and now finally had someone to listen to his grievances.

Upon hearing this, Sheni Pei felt a chill run through him and asked Gongsun Zan with bewildered eyes, ”Then if Jizhou is not what you need, why did you still ask for it?”

”Ask for it? I only sent my brother to congratulate him. I was in conflict with Liu Bo’an, who was grabbing my logistics. By helping Yuan Benchu, one reason was because he was the Alliance Hierarch, and the other was to not be constrained by Liu Bo’an in the future. Why do I need a piece of outlying territory as my land?” Gongsun Zan shook his head as he spoke.

”...” Sheni Pei finally understood why, when Gongsun Yue went to ask for Jizhou, he did not bring troops, but only a couple of civil officials. They had come to congratulate Yuan Shao, and to form an alliance, hoping to exchange the promised half of Jizhou for support from Yuan Shao for Gongsun Zan’s campaign against the Wuhuan in the north, meaning they were hoping for Yuan Shao’s support for Gongsun Zan’s supply of food for his campaign against the Hu People.

Gongsun Yue was Gongsun Zan’s own brother. If he truly came to claim Jizhou, how could he not be aware of the danger, and how could it be possible for him not to bring the Righteous Followers, the fastest cavalry in the land? Even if avoiding battle, as long as the Righteous Followers were there, unless there were unusual terrains, no one could stop them if they decided to flee.

[So that’s how it was. Reflecting this way, many previously illogical things now make sense. At that time, Gongsun Zan was the only bold Outer General on the northern frontier. He indeed needed support, and for him, Jizhou was really just an outlying area. He simply didn’t want to be controlled by Liu Bo’an.] Sheni Pei finally understood many of the unreasonable aspects of the past, realizing that they had been mistaken from the start.

[Gongsun Zan wasn’t like those Central Plains Aristocratic Families with scheming minds. At the time, he was just a lonely general in need of support. After Gongsun Yue died, Gongsun Zan’s battle against my lord was without thinking, a mere reaction out of rage - at the time, he didn’t even have logistics in place. No wonder they reached Wei Commandery yet had not assimilated the northern commanderies at all.]

Sheni Pei finally realized that Gongsun Zan hadn’t prepared for what to do with Jizhou upon capturing it. He was just looking to vent his anger, but the rigorously trained Youzhou infantry and cavalry combat power was so frightening, even with unsupported logistics they almost killed Yuan Shao. It was only then that Gongsun Zan harbored the idea of taking over Jizhou entirely. (. Mobile users please read at .)