Mythical Three Kingdoms

Hua Xiong wore a bewildered expression, having no clue what Li You and Jia Xu were talking about. As for the thing hanging on the opposite wall, Hua Xiong did recognize it was a map. But heaven knows where that map was portraying, although one of the waterways did resemble the Yellow River...

Speaking of which, Hua Xiong’s familiarity with the Yellow River stemmed mainly from its ”ji” shape. However, Hua Xiong never thought it was the Yellow River. If it were the Yellow River, the map would be too ridiculous.

”Wen He, what’s your take on Zhiran’s letter?” After expressing some sentiments, Li You calmed his inner self as much as possible and asked Jia Xu.

”A lucky victory,” Jia Xu sighed and said. ”The win was very fortunate. If the Great Qin’s archers hadn’t been thoroughly countered by the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and if he hadn’t awakened his legion talent in a desperate battle, it would have been a sure defeat. But a win is a win.”

”Legion Talent isn’t exclusive to Inner Qi Manifestation Generals. This is good news for us. As Zichuan mentioned, having one more of such individuals is extremely important for the empire.” Li You solemnly looked at Jia Xu and said.

”Each nation has its essence. Has the Eagle Banner he mentioned been sent back?” Jia Xu looked at Li You and asked.

”I don’t have it here. Since inanimate objects can have such an effect, the essence of the Legion Talent is worth delving into.” Li You slightly shook his head and tapped the table with his fingers.

”The Elite Talent seems to be universal. It indeed seems to be the kind of hard-earned instinct through thorough training seeping into the bones that we speculated.” Jia Xu opened the black fan in his hand.

”These matters can be set aside for now. More importantly, what should we do next?” Li You stared intently at Jia Xu and asked.

”Don’t you already have a plan? Based on the combat power displayed by the Great Qin, even when looking through a narrow view, certain clues can still be seen.” Jia Xu did not avert Li You’s gaze.

”Moreover, if our lord doesn’t let go, we won’t have the power to mobilize troops. I think your thoughts and mine aren’t far apart. Besides, now is not the time for Parthia to fall.” Jia Xu continued, undeterred.

At this point, even if Hua Xiong was a bit slow, he picked up on something else: it seemed there was a conflict with certain countries.

”So we need to consider whether it’s time to present this map to our Lord.” Li You gently stroked the map as he said slowly, ”Not showing this map to our Lord — it would be odd for him to agree to lend troops to them without it!”

Jia Xu remained silent. They all understood why Chen Xi didn’t present the map to Liu Bei at the time but let them see it instead. A frog that jumps out of the well looks at the wide world with two possibilities: either it marvels at the vastness of the heavens and earth and strives hard, or it turns back and never comes out again.

”This is not something the two of us can decide. We need everyone to come and consult together.” Jia Xu, after some thought, opted for a more conservative approach.

”Lending troops is inevitable, at least three thousand elites. With six thousand real Xiliang Iron Cavalry aiding them, though Parthia has declined, a dead camel is bigger than a horse, let alone a living empire. On the other hand, we must increase our investment in the Northwest.” After pondering for a while, Li You still agreed with Jia Xu’s proposal.

As for the origin of this letter or why Li Jue dared to borrow troops from them, Li You and Jia Xu weren’t bothered to explain. None of Liu Bei’s civil officials were fools; even if they hadn’t confirmed Li You’s identity now, they probably had their own guesses.

Thus, Hua Xiong was dispatched to gather every elder civil official responsible for military and political affairs, but this group was still in a post-holiday state, with most of them slacking off, resulting slow arrivals.

After about an hour, Guo Jia, Liu Ye, Mann Chong, Fa Zheng, Chen Xi, and Lub Su were finally all present. Among those present were the true elders among Liu Bei’s civil officials.

”Wen Ru, did you call us all here for something urgent?” Guo Jia joked upon seeing Li You close the door after entering and then having someone lower all the woolen carpets over the doors, making the whole hall much darker.

”The matter is of great importance, leaving You no choice but to be cautious.” Li You spoke solemnly, and everyone instantly adjusted themselves, calming their minds, and preparing to face a significant event.

Liu Ye glanced over the gathered individuals and instantly felt a chill. There was no Zhuge Liang, Xun Yue, Xu Shu; only elders had come, meaning only they could know about this?

”Zichuan, you look first,” After personally lighting the lamp, Li You handed the silk cloth to Chen Xi. Chen Xi, confused, took it, looked at it, and grew more and more astonished, finally looking up sharply at Li You, who remained calm.

Pinching his brows, Chen Xi passed the letter to Guo Jia and Lub Su. He had never expected the Han Dynasty to clash with Rome so soon.

Although neither side fought within their borders nor committed large forces, both the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and the Roman Legion displayed clearly formidable combat qualities; neither Rome nor the Han Dynasty had fallen!

Guo Jia also frowned frequently during this time. If the contents of the letter weren’t false, the difficulty of the Great Qin was far stronger than what Chen Xi had previously anticipated during his discussions on strategy.

More importantly, as he continued reading, Guo Jia felt a deeper unease. Li You was indeed Li Ru. Theoretical knowledge might be honed in some corner, capable even of shaking the world upon debut, but experience cannot be acquired that way.

Experience requires personal practice; it’s impossible to gain it solely from books and others’ explanations. The kind of proficiency Li You displayed, as if he’d done it hundreds of times, was inherently unreasonable.

[He is Li Ru!] Guo Jia silently handed the letter to Fa Zheng beside him, who upon reading it wore the same expression but, like Guo Jia, said nothing and passed it silently to Liu Ye across from him.

[This guy is indeed Li Ru, but since he can manifest the image of a sage, perhaps there were hidden circumstances when he assisted Dong Zhuo back then.] Liu Ye, without even wrinkling his brow, calmly passed the letter to Mann Chong.

[Looks like Ziyang guessed right.] Mann Chong maintained a coffin-like expression, read it, and handed it to Li You, his demeanor unchanged.

Li You, expressionless, put away the letter. While it was hard to read any emotional fluctuations from the expressions of these people, Li You knew well that each had ascertained his identity; they had suspected it before, and now it was confirmed.

But that wasn’t important; whether he was Li Ru or not didn’t matter. What mattered was the content of the letter, involving the financial and manpower investments ahead. Parthia was indeed a fertile land that could not fall into the hands of the Great Qin! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendations and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)