Mythical Three Kingdoms

In the period that followed, because of the raging fire at Weiyang, Chang’an fell into chaos, but thanks to the efforts of Liu Cao Sunx, it gradually returned to normal tranquility. Moreover, with the combined regulation of the three parties, Chang’an has gradually regained its former glory.

Although the Emperor has not yet been buried, and thus the sounds of silk strings and dancing did not resound, the entire Chang’an was already once again thriving with the vigor reminiscent of the Western Han period, owing to the leadership of Liu Cao Sunx.

It must be admitted that compared to the newly constructed giant cities like Ye City of Jizhou and Fenggao of Mount Tai, Chang’an City, having weathered the storms of history, had a more genuine imperial metropolis atmosphere.

Especially after the Grand Princess assumed regency, officials from all directions gathered in Chang’an. Amid the bustling traffic and noisy crowds, this ancient city was gradually regenerating the popularity it had during the Western Han’s peak and was restoring its illustrious aura.

”Tsk tsk tsk, speaking of which, this is my first time in Chang’an City.” Yuan Shu opened the car door, gazing with slight astonishment at the bustling crowd and clicking his tongue in awe. Back in the day, Yuan Shu spent his time in Luoyang; as for Chang’an, he had never actually been there.

”Lord, where are we heading now?” Jii Ling calmly asked Yuan Shu. After assisting Yuan Tan in thoroughly defeating the Northern Huns in the North, Jii Ling had returned to Yangzhou ahead of schedule. Jii Ling felt indebted to Yuan Shu for discovering his talent, and he remained unwaveringly loyal to him.

”Let’s go, into the city. We are, after all, the Rear General.” Yuan Shu waved his hand nonchalantly, living a carefree life while waiting to lead aristocratic families to farm in the Northeast. As for coming to Chang’an, Yuan Shu was more interested in watching the spectacle. Regarding the Emperor’s death, it was none of Yuan Shu’s concern!

The news of Yuan Shu entering Chang’an quickly reached all sides. To say Yuan Shu had essentially retired from Jianghu, the Yuan Family no longer had any chance of contending for supremacy, yet at this point, no one dared to underestimate Yuan Shu.

Previously, people said Yuan Shu was arrogant and reckless, courageous but indecisive. This was nothing compared to being with a crowd of Ren Xia. However, as Yuan Shao ascended, Yuan Shu withdrew from the struggle, and everyone thought the Yuan Family was simply overwhelming.

No matter how chaotic Yuan Shu behaved, the Yuan Family remained securely atop the list of first-class aristocratic families. Even after Yuan Shao’s lineage was defeated, the Yuan Family’s direct lineage remained unaffected, sitting confidently on the sidelines watching others play chess.

This is true great wisdom; is it really necessary to play to the point of family ruin and personal destruction for it to be interesting?

”Lord, General Sunx and General Zhou are here to welcome you.” As the carriage just passed Weir River Bridge, Jii Ling stopped and informed Yuan Shu that Zhou Yu and Sunx Ce had brought a group to greet him.

”Ah, Bofu...” Yuan Shu, upon hearing that, opened the car door and leaned out habitually to greet Sunx Ce, only to be shocked, ”Sunx Bofu, what happened to you?”

Sunx Ce grimaced as he could explain that he had just been fighting Ma Chao. Zhou Yu suddenly came by to notify him to meet Yuan Shu, and he rushed over, his armor torn off, with his face still swollen.

Speaking of which, Sunx Ce and Ma Chao, when fighting, always liked to attack each other’s handsome face. And both were the type to fight more fiercely the longer they continued, enduring pain to knock the other down.

”I was just sparring with someone.” Sunx Ce rubbed his cheek and said.

Just as Sunx Ce spoke, a guy with a similarly swollen face rode over, ”Are you the Rear General Yuan Gonglu? You don’t seem like a hero. This fellow Sunx Bofu always brags about your heroism, but it seems pretty ordinary to me.”

”Bang!” Without looking back, Sunx Ce swung his right fist from below upwards with a forceful punch directly striking the other’s face, knocking the unsuspecting Ma Chao off his horse, ”Yuan Gong, just pretend you didn’t hear anything, ah...”

”Sunx Bofu, you bastard!” Ma Chao, caught off guard, was knocked off his horse. As he landed, he flipped swiftly, his foot exerting force to leap up, then rammed his head into Sunx Ce’s back, knocking Sunx Ce off his horse.

”Ma Mengqi, if you want to die, just say it directly, I’ll finish you off today!” Sunx Ce, after being knocked off, almost landed face-first, immediately disregarded the current situation and engaged in a scuffle with Ma Chao.

Yuan Shu silently shifted his posture, glancing askew at Ma Chao and Sunx Ce already fighting on the ground, raised an eyebrow and asked Zhou Yu, ”Are these two always like this?”

”Every day.” Zhou Yu replied somewhat exhausted, while other Eastern Wu officers nodded in agreement. Sunx Ce and Ma Chao fought daily, neither could ever overcome the other. Two troublesome individuals, now all their weapons and equipment had been destroyed; they were left with nothing.

”Indeed, they’re young and energetic!” Yuan Shu watched as Ma Chao alternated between pinning Sunx Ce down and being pinned by Sunx Ce, silently shaking his head at the two who knew no shame.

”Hey, Yuan Gonglu, I’m here to pick you up.” Just as Yuan Shu was about to ignore the tussling duo, Chen Xi appeared on horseback, ”You guys arrived early, aren’t you going to break them up?”

”Nah, if we break them up they’ll just fight again.” Zhou Yu said helplessly. Sunx Ce is usually normal, but he likes to brawl with Ma Chao for the oddest reasons. In the beginning, Zhou Yu would persuade them with talk of status and position, but now he just lets them be.

”This damages the city’s image.” Chen Xi watched the dust-covered area where dull thuds continued to echo. ”Oh well, if none of you care, why should I?”

”You said you came to pick me up, yet you just leave me hanging here with a single line, what an insincere fellow.” Yuan Shu looked at Chen Xi discontentedly and said.

”Oh, sincerity isn’t something you need.” Chen Xi waved his hand and said, ”But now that you’re here, I don’t have to organize things. As agreed, your Yuan Family is the big shot; if other families don’t move, it’s up to you to handle it.”

”I’ll tell you, you’re being foolish. You agreed, now you’re reneging. Start by killing half, then ask them if they’ll move.” Yuan Shu said with a cold smile, ”Look at the Yuzhou Aristocratic Family and the Nanyang Noble Family, those who didn’t flee were under my thumb.”

”So you wiped out half of our family, huh?” At that moment, Xuu Shao suddenly appeared and said to Yuan Shu with a cold smile.

Yuan Shu also looked at Xuu Shao with a cold smile, ”How does it matter that I killed half of your family? You’re not even the Patriarch of the Xuu Family of Runan, even your brother Xuu Wenxiu didn’t dare question me, yet you have the audacity to appear.”

”Considering the vile acts committed by your family, if I were to check against your family precepts one by one, killing half of you already saves face for your family.” Yuan Shu coldly stated to Xuu Shao. Back then, when Yuan Shu raged, no aristocratic family from Yuzhou, Yangzhou, or Jing-Xiang dared to jump before Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu was brutal enough that before causing this uproar, he first aligned with Yuan Family precepts, cutting down their bad apples completely; afterward, whichever aristocratic dared to jump before Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu dared to cut them. Don’t reason with someone this fierce, especially someone bold enough to cut their own family; if you have problems, the opposite side is ready to strike.

Chen Xi facepalmed. Yuan Shu’s chaos among the aristocratic families in Yuzhou and Jing-Xiang was significant, but because the Yuan Family was indeed the unrivaled leader of the aristocracy, coupled with Yuan Shu’s extreme yet somewhat acknowledged actions among aristocratic family members, it eventually fizzled out.

Actually, Chen Xi was quite disapproving of Yuan Shu’s approach of executing based on family precepts. The reason, well, is simple; it’s like observing the legal codes of past dynasties, making one wonder how they could be so nation-destroying.

Yet every dynasty comes to an end; enforcement is the biggest issue, right? Even the best structures depend on execution levels; Chen Xi can guarantee that orders he issues today will be misinterpreted, altered, excessively read by someone somewhere.

This is normal human behavior; although one must admit there are indeed people who can maintain relative impartiality, impacting others through steadfast uprightness; they are the minority, mostly relying on legal constraints, alright, even laws face this issue, ultimately it depends on people.

One could say Yuan Shu managed to survive mainly because his Yuan Family was one of the icons of the aristocracy, and Yuan Shu first took action against his family. Moreover, due to the chaotic era, Yuan Shu’s aggressive behavior was deemed acceptable; otherwise, with his reckless approach, he’d have been cut down long ago.

”Xuu Zijiang, don’t be disrespectful; you think ranking people on paper makes you special? We have the Grand Historian Officer in our court to record history; you really think others rely on your popularity for recognition?” Yuan Shu continued to mercilessly rant at Xuu Shao, grumbling about how Xuu Shao hadn’t given him a critique yet, making Yuan Shu dissatisfied.

Chen Xi facepalmed, Yuan Shu genuinely showed no mercy to Xuu Zijiang. The Monthly Critique was practically doomed; with today’s incidents, Xuu Zijiang handling the Monthly Critique would be like seeing ghosts, speaking of which, noted scholars mainly rely on their eloquence, but if they were really capable, would they need such jobs?

Xuu Shao was so angered by Yuan Shu’s words his complexion went from flushed to pale, ultimately storming off, unwilling to engage further with Yuan Shu.

”When I chopped down the lawless bunch in your Xuu Family, did you witness the grand spectacle in Runan? Your family’s Patriarch didn’t even dare approach to discuss this with me, yet here you are trying to talk.” Yuan Shu carried on without concern for Xuu Shao’s emotions as he left furiously, relentlessly further criticizing.

Chen Xi was utterly speechless; once Yuan Shu is convinced he’s correct, not even ten oxen can pull him back. Besides, Yuan Shu’s action was, as he himself said, ”Your family’s Patriarch didn’t dare question me, yet here you are trying.”

”Alright, alright, that’s enough. Show some verbal mercy. Do you really want them to fight you?” Chen Xi advised helplessly, thinking Yuan Shu was truly overdoing it.