Mythical Three Kingdoms

”Caution above all else.” Chen Xi spread his hands helplessly and said. After all, their current situation meant that as long as they didn’t make mistakes, victory was inevitable. There was no need to seek danger or resort to tricks; simply advancing steadily would suffice, even if the victory ended up looking unimpressive.

”I think if we act boldly, there’s no telling what extraordinary results we might achieve.” Liu Ye looked at Chen Xi and said, ”Wen Ru’s approach this time is far too cautious.”

In fact, Liu Ye was quite curious about the relationship between Chen Xi and Li You. Both of them seemed to know everything, excel in everything, yet lacked any particular authority. At times, Liu Ye even suspected whether Li You and Chen Xi were senior and junior apprentices.

”Hmm, but I actually find it rather good. Wen He’s earlier stratagems might not have been explicitly stated, but both you and I have our respective estimations. He’s forcing Yuan Shao’s army into a decisive battle, creating a turning point in this war from sheer will.” Chen Xi spoke slowly, his expression calm, noting the rare urgency displayed by Jia Xu.

”True, but it’s unusual for Wen He to propose such a strategy; it doesn’t align with his personality at all.” Liu Ye said slowly, his expression subtly peculiar.

In Liu Ye’s impression, Jia Xu’s personality was typically that of someone detached and uninvolved. Unless prompted, he rarely offered advice of his own accord. And yet now, not only was he speaking up on his own initiative but even crafting a strategy—had Jia Xu lost his mind?

”Huh? You know, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have noticed. This kind of scheme is more likely from Fengxiao than Wen He. Why would Wen He be the one to propose this?” Chen Xi reached up to scratch his cheek, looking puzzled.

Now, Jia Xu himself was feeling conflicted. The few matters Zixu had once told him were all coming true, but the timing—in this crucial moment—was something Jia Xu hadn’t anticipated at all, leaving him wanting to curse the heavens.

Back then, when someone asked who would rule Eastern Wu, it happened exactly as he foresaw: Sun Ce had indeed taken control. But how Sun Ce rose to power—was this how it was supposed to happen? Sun Ce had completely absorbed the essence of Jing-Xiang and Yuzhou before rising into Eastern Wu. This completely deviated from the original script!

It could hardly even be called ”ruling Eastern Wu” at this point—who were they fooling? While Sun Ce had indeed seized Eastern Wu and become its leader, his true strength still rested in Jing-Xiang and South Huai River. This was nothing like Jia Xu’s earlier preparation for Sun Ce’s rise to Eastern Wu.

Bear in mind that to weaken Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, making their ascent to power more difficult and reducing their strength, Jia Xu had been tirelessly fabricating rumors throughout Yuzhou. The fact that the elders of the Yuan Clan were resisting Sun Ce and Zhou Yu so fiercely was entirely a result of the lies spun by Jia Xu and Zhuge Liang...

But human plans couldn’t contend with divine intervention. Somehow, the entirety of Yuzhou and Jing-Xiang ended up being gifted to Sun Ce by Yuan Shu, and Jia Xu had immediately felt that things were heading south.

Later, Cao Cao seized control of Sili. Jia Xu was mentally prepared for this, given that Zixu had already foretold his rise to power. Thus, Jia Xu didn’t pay it much mind—after all, they couldn’t afford to move against Sili under current circumstances.

But the series of events that followed nearly drove Jia Xu to fury. Cao Cao’s takeover of Sili was not only complete and undamaged, but his ranks of elite troops and seasoned generals were actually strengthened. Not only that, but Xiliang had been roped onto his bandwagon.

Of course, Ma Teng hadn’t yet joined Cao Cao’s bandwagon, but Jia Xu could guarantee based on his past understanding of Hann Sui in Xiliang that within three months, Cao Cao would completely swallow Xiliang, leaving not even scraps behind.

Hann Sui believed himself to possess sharp intelligence and exceptional strategies. Jia Xu, however, just wanted to sneer: a rustic simpleton emerging from the wilderness, lacking even the airs of a local tyrant—pretending to be noble? Did he even see who his opponents were?

Xun Yu, Xun Youi, Zhong Yao, Sima Lang, Chen Qun, Cheng Yu, Du Xi—this lineup. Hann Sui might have stood a chance by retreating to Xiliang as a warlord for delay tactics. But following the end of his ”Support-the-King” campaign, he audaciously chose not to return to Xiliang and instead played politics against this crowd in Guanzhong...

Honestly, Jia Xu felt even granting Hann Sui three months was overestimating him. To make matters worse, Liu Zhang had launched an attack on Hanzhong at this time. Even more astonishingly, the Western Route Army had already broken into Hanzhong, leaving Jia Xu utterly speechless, unsure whether to laugh or cry in frustration.

Was this sending gifts to Cao Cao? If Zhang Lu didn’t immediately start petitioning the emperor while pleading with Cao Cao for reinforcement, even Jia Xu wouldn’t be able to convince himself otherwise.

Calling this ”Cao Cao’s westward advance” was a joke. Jia Xu could only curse bitterly. While the direction itself wasn’t wrong, the magnitude of the westward surge was outright apocalyptic. If Zixu appeared before Jia Xu now, the latter wouldn’t hesitate to attack him on sight—and Jia Xu would throw the first punch.

This current state of affairs made Jia Xu decisively gamble on swiftly ending the Yuan Liu confrontation to salvage the situation.

Of course, Jia Xu knew that even if the situation dragged further, Liu Bei’s strategy wouldn’t weaken significantly. But this mess was no longer aligned with the grand strategy Jia Xu had initially devised based on Zixu’s insights into the future!

What aggravated Jia Xu even more was his inability to confess any of this. He had to silently shoulder this burden alone, leaving him increasingly resentful of so-called ”immortals.” Every time he reflected on his past actions, regret would seize him—how could he have ever been bewitched into believing in such nonsense?

In this irritable mood, Jia Xu ultimately chose to take a gamble to resolve the matter, unwilling to watch the situation decay further.

While other strategists unaware of the ”original” future might not see the current predicament as dire, believing they could deal with Cao Cao and Sun Ce after defeating Yuan Shao, Jia Xu found it intolerable.

To Jia Xu, letting Cao Cao and Sun Ce continue to grow was wholly unacceptable. Overcoming Yuan Shao and suppressing Sun and Cao was an imperative—something he was willing to risk everything to achieve.

The current critical issues for Cao Cao and Sun Ce were not food or population; they had no shortage of either. What they lacked was time!

Given sufficient time, they would be able to unleash their full potential, converting it into military strength. Their capable civil and military officials would ensure their power rivaled Yuan Shao’s without difficulty.

Understanding precisely this, Jia Xu abandoned the concept of trading time for victory. It was far too unreliable. If time dragged on excessively, the abilities of Cao Cao and Zhou Yu would surely bring together a disjointed yet formidable force that even Liu Bei would struggle against.

This was precisely why Jia Xu defied conventional logic. When people are pressed, they find solutions—Jia Xu would fix the mess he had created. Though influenced by Zixu and led astray, he now had to bring matters under control.

Still, there were aspects of the current situation that brought Jia Xu a sliver of joy. At the very least, Zixu hadn’t been spouting nonsense. Among the key questions Jia Xu had asked back then, the most important one had now been resolved in his heart.

[When the lord generously rewards his ministers, what rank shall I receive?] This unanswered question filled Jia Xu with motivation. Upon verifying the accuracy of Zixu’s replies, that alone was enough for him! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile readers are encouraged to visit m.qidian.com for reading.)