Mythical Three Kingdoms

Gazing at the great army under his command, Fa Zheng felt a sense of helplessness. If there were more cavalry, they could have launched a rapid attack today and reach Shouchun tomorrow while maintaining their combat power. Unfortunately, Mount Tai wasn’t suited for horse breeding and wasn’t known for wild horses.

As for buying horses, this was about all they could get. Wanting more was impossible, as Yuan Shao almost completely stifled the horse trade throughout the entire north, making it difficult for such strategic resources to appear south of Bingzhou and Jizhou.

Further south, aside from Yuan Shu who had some horses, others like Liu Biao could barely equip their top generals with a single steed, let alone form a cavalry squad; that was simply a dream.

Of course, this wasn’t to say there were no horses in the south, just that southern horses weren’t suitable for riding. They could be used for hauling stuff but fell short when it came to warfare.

After swiftly organizing his soldiers into units, Fa Zheng hardly said anything else. He directly assigned the army to Gan Ning’s leadership, with himself as the military advisor, and hastened to the South Huai River area. Yuan Shu’s current seat of power, Shouchun, was right there.

When Fa Zheng led his troops towards Shouchun, there were already some rumors about Liu Bei attacking Yuan Shu in Shouchun.

Although Fa Zheng had cut off most of the courier stations and imposed military control in the rear, there were still some rumors going around. Unfortunately, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Jin were in the midst of internal consolidation and had no chance to catch wind of the lower class rumors.

Moreover, these rumors were predominantly circulating in the markets, with not a single noble family stepping forward to confirm them. It wasn’t that the noble families lacked an intelligence network, but rather that their channels of communication had been disrupted, so by the time the rumors reached Shouchun, they had become nothing more than hearsay—impossible to verify.

As for the Yuan Family, they had indeed received word of these rumors but hadn’t taken them seriously. After all, they knew about the internal strife in Qing and Xu, and that Liu Bei was thus preoccupied and couldn’t afford to attack Xuzhou. Otherwise, with Liu Bei’s current strength, they wouldn’t have the nerve to provoke him.

”Ziyu, you should also rest a while,” Zhou Yu said, looking at Zhuge Jin with bloodshot eyes. He had to admit that although Zhuge Jin’s talents and abilities were not considered top-notch in all aspects, his combination of qualities was definitely the most suitable for the current situation.

”Let’s handle these matters before talking about rest,” Zhuge Jin said with a smile to Zhou Yu, squinting his eyes to gather some energy.

Zhou Yu reached for the teacup and teapot and poured a strong cup of tea for Zhuge Jin without saying anything more, simply continuing to deal with the affairs of Yuzhou alongside him.

Truth be told, if they only sought to understand the situation and prepare for a gradual approach later on, there would be no need to exhaust themselves like this. Unfortunately, both had far-sighted visions. Even if they didn’t expect to unravel the situation in one go like with Mount Tai, they still had to prepare the historically intractable Yuzhou for a rebirth from fire.

”Actually, the decision we most need to make now is to shift internal conflicts outward,” Zhuge Jin said, swallowing the entire cup of strong tea with the leaves, and spoke to Zhou Yu with his eyes closed.

”That’s also why I agreed to the Elder of the Yuan Family’s campaign against Xuzhou,” Zhou Yu said, looking somewhat haggard. Among Sun Ce’s subordinates who were capable of managing such matters and whom Zhou Yu could trust, there were only the two of them in Shouchun. The others somehow never felt quite right for Zhou Yu to use.

”I have personally visited Mount Tai, and I understand the power that place holds. Similarly, Xuzhou is where I have long resided, and indeed, just as the Yuan Clan Elder said, it is filled with prestigious families. I also heard of Li Wenyou’s strategy,” Zhuge Jin said with a dull expression and his eyes still closed, his fatigue making him reluctant to show any emotion.

”You feel it’s inappropriate.” Zhou Yu cut in before Zhuge Jin could finish.

”It’s not that it’s inappropriate, even if we were defeated, it would be better than internal strife breaking out. I just feel it’s unnecessary.” Zhuge Jin also understood the reason why Zhou Yu originally agreed to the Elder of the Yuan Family’s motion. But understanding is one thing, and it’s still a pity nonetheless.

”Having Yangzhou locked internally isn’t too big a problem, sooner or later. As you said, at least we’ve shifted the conflict outward. Frankly, I don’t quite trust the judgment of the Elder of the Yuan Family.” Zhou Yu opened his eyes, and a sharp glint passed by.

”Li Wenyou can hold Xuzhou, and neither Liu Xuande nor Chen Zichuan are fools. There’s too much trickery involved here. Not to mention Chen Zichuan, Liu Xuande is impeccable in judging and utilizing people.” Zhuge Jin spoke without even opening his eyes, expressing high regard for Liu Bei.

”Right, it’s hard to surpass him in judging and utilizing people, but if it weren’t for him, it wouldn’t be our turn to occupy high positions in today’s world.” Zhou Yu suddenly said with a smile, ”I bet on our army’s crushing defeat.”

”What dirty politics, to abandon tens of thousands of soldiers for the sake of stability and future development.” Zhuge Jin slowly opened his eyes, his bloodshot eyes staring at Zhou Yu, ”It’s quite filthy indeed.”

”There might still be a chance of victory.” Zhou Yu remained silent, then spoke after a long while, ”If Bofu were here, he would never allow me to act this way. If it were him, he would definitely choose to fight to the death to carve out a path.”

”Rigidity leads to breakage; let it be filthy then. At least we can ensure that such things won’t happen again in the future.” Zhuge Jin suddenly said with a hint of a smile, ”Let’s talk about how to attack Yangzhou.”

”Haha, we might not lose; although both of us know about Li Wenyou’s scheming in Xuzhou, a hundred thousand-strong army isn’t something that can be easily taken down just because we say so. Xuzhou has only Zhang Fei’s Legion.” Zhou Yu’s tone abruptly shifted as he said with a laugh, ”No matter how much scheming, it’s a joke without the troops to carry it out.”

”Victory would bring even more trouble.” Zhuge Jin looked at Zhou Yu, whose face rarely showed a mocking expression.

”That’s why I say it’s dirty politics,” Zhou Yu said with a smile, ”I have already recalled my navy back to Shouchun. I have completely opened up the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. I’ve given Liu Jingsheng the capital to go all out. If he doesn’t put forth the remaining strength of Jingnan now, I can only say: don’t wait too long!”

”He will. There’s no need to worry about Liu Jingsheng, as long as he isn’t lost to indulgences. Once he’s shaken off his vanity, he will absolutely have the courage to make a desperate counterattack betting on a slim chance of survival,” Zhuge Jin said with a smile, ”I’m just worried that Jingbei won’t be able to hold.”

”Although Liaoo Gongyuan is somewhat narrow-minded, his abilities are indeed extraordinary. With Old General Hann and others assisting, I will act on time to pull the rug from under their feet. However, Ziyu...” Zhou Yu looked at Zhuge Jin and spoke with a serious expression.

”A mere Yangzhou is nothing difficult; if Gongjin is willing to trust me, let me try my own way,” Zhuge Jin said to Zhou Yu with a smile.

”Good, then we’ll see Ziyu’s performance,” Zhou Yu said, not elaborating further, which amounted to tacit approval of Zhuge Jin’s proposal. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, subscribe monthly, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)