Meng De POV

Conquering the north is no easy feat. On one hand, I have to deploy troops and attack when the time is ripe. On the other, I have to placate the Di and Yi barbarians in the north and the east, so that I wouldn’t lose my territories should I not win the battles.

Really, the problems I’m having with unifying the north is giving a big headache. I really didn’t expect this much trouble before.

If Feng Xiao was still alive, things would be a lot easier. Only recently did I realise how much I depended on Feng Xiao for practically everything.

But the battles in the north thus far have gone a lot smoother than expected and are mostly concluded now. Which is why I’m back in the capital and tending to day-to-day Court matters.

I’m rather lonely in Xuchang now.

Dun and Yuan have been temporarily appointed as Administrators in Ji state and You state respectively to bolster our border defences. Yue Jin and Li Dian have been deployed in Xu state. Hong and Ren are busy overseeing the city naval defence infrastructure. Right now, the only warrior generals I’m really close with that are around is just Xu Chu.

As for my administrative officials, I’m not too keen on meeting them if I don’t have to. if we have common interests, then it’s fine to have a chat sometimes. If I happen to be irritated, and the other side happens to be someone like Yang Xiu or Mao Jie who are rather obtuse, then it will only worsen my mood.

As I thought so, I smiled bitterly. Having more people makes things more troublesome, but it makes deployment and delegation easier.

“My lord.”

“Imperial Chancellor.”

When I heard 2 people calling to me from behind, my first thought was that it should be Xun Yu and Cheng Yu. I turned around with the intention of telling them not to go around scaring people only to find that my guess was off the mark.

Standing behind me was not 2 small girls, but 2 rather imposing girls. The one on the left was Xu Huang Xu Gong Ming who wore rather loose clothing that exposed her white, smooth thighs. The one on the right was Zhang He Zhang Jun Yi, who held her helmet in her hands as always and had her hair tied in a hasty ponytail.

It was rather rare to be able to b.u.mp into these 2 here.

“Oh? Why are you both here?”

“Un, we’re here to deliver our report.”

As she said so, Gong Mong took out a piece of silk from her chest which had messy words written all over it. Zhang He seemed rather withdrawn and it looks like she’s not used to things here yet and she hurriedly took out a piece of silk from her helmet as well.

“A report? Ah ah ah.” I clapped as I recalled what they were here for, “Is it about the Battle of White Wolf Mountain?”

Gong Ming nodded. She always looks so listless with her eyes half-closed. The only times she ever opens her eyes are when she is on the battlefield.

Gong Ming has been with me for quite a while but it feels like there’s some unclosable gap between us. Perhaps from her point of view, I’m just a medium of sorts for her through which she gets to go on to battlefields. To her, being a warrior is everything.

I fully understand this, and I don’t restrict her much either. Naturally, I also know that saying anything to her won’t be of much use. And so, I directed my attention to Zhang He.

“Is there anything, Imperial Chancellor?” She sharply addressed me just as I s.h.i.+fted my gaze to her.

I smiled, but that only made her more wary. This sort of wariness is unneeded~

“How is it? Have you gotten used to life here?”

“It’s fine.” Zhang He swiftly gave an ambiguous reply.

“If you really want to get used to things here, you should try and get along with everyone–”

“Imperial Chancellor, I have no intention of getting along with everyone.” Just then, she interrupted me. I looked at her, and saw that she had a serious expression on her, “I just can’t acknowledge Yuan Shao, but this doesn’t mean I acknowledge the Imperial Chancellor. To be honest, I don’t think you differ much from Yuan Shao.”

“That’s incorrect. Overall, I’m inferior to Ben Chu.” I shook my head in melancholy as I placed my hands at my back, “Ben Chu is a n.o.ble, while all I have is a military background.”

Zhang He frowned, seems like she doesn’t understand what I mean nor does she want to try. She took a step forward with the intent of arguing further but was blocked by wordless Gong Ming. Zhang He wasn’t happy with this and tried to fling away Gong Ming’s right arm but Gong Ming stuck out her left arm as well and held off Zhang He who was forced back and she ultimately relented.

Looks like Zhang He is still not Gong Ming’s match huh.

But right now isn’t the time to be arguing over such things.

“I’m not going to argue any further with you. This is ultimately a mutually beneficial arrangement after all.” Only when I said this did she fully give up with a sigh.

Back then, the reason why Zhang He chose to serve me, was only because she needed a place after betraying Ben Chu.

“I understand.” She said as she lowered her head and bowed to express her apology for her att.i.tude before. At this, I nodded and forgave her,

Thereafter, she got up and walked off without looking at me.

“Come to think of it, why didn’t you join Xuan De back then?”

“…”

When she heard my muttering, her expression wavered ever so slightly. But when I took a closer look, her expression had returned to its usual serious look.

She said quietly, “I lost my chance to serve Lord Liu Bei a long time ago when I chose the path of vengeance. Now, I will never have that opportunity again.”

When she finished, she continued walking off. Gong Ming didn’t seem interested in our conversation and had left long ago.

I frowned, and felt uncomfortable, as it felt like I was a second-choice. But based on the results, it’s not bad as it means that Xuan De has 1 less capable general.