Liu Bei POV

On the next day, we continued marching towards Jiangxia.

We split up into 2 divisions at first because of the terrain but we were now in a wider flatlands area so we joined up and marched together.

Liu Qi and I were supposed to ride at the head but Chen Dao was worried and insisted on riding about 100 meters ahead of us to scout things out so the one leading was Chen Dao followed by the 4 of us.

Liu Qi and I both had an a.s.sociate General. Mine was Zhou Cang while hers was Wen Ping. As for the other 2, Chen Gong was in the main body while Yi Ji was in the rear guard. Both were doing Minister related work.

I haven’t had much opportunity to interact with Wen Ping, or rather, I haven’t actually spoken with her apart from the usual greetings and introduction.

Wen Ping wore a black hat which had a veil at the back, but I can’t tell if its purpose is for rain or suns.h.i.+ne, which stood out amongst the thousands of plate helmets. It wasn’t hot yet but she was already wearing a sleeveless gown and a short skirt that stopped above her knees held together by a girdle. Her clothing was rather light, probably to reduce her burden as much as possible in battles which shows her confidence in her skills. As for her personality, she is much like Liu Qi and Yi Ji, and is stoic and silent. Apart from her daily reports, she speaks very little. I really wonder how the 3 of them get along usually. Each one seems more silent than the other. I can’t imagine what it would be like if it was just the 3 of them in a room.

“Wen Ping, how long more before we reach Jiangxia?” Liu Qi asked.

Wen Ping searched about in her girdle, and took out a piece of silk which should be the map. She then wordlessly looked at it, and turned it about and looked at it again, and kept it before continuing without replying.

“That means?”

“Ah, I hope uncle doesn’t mind.” Liu Qi nodded slightly, “When Wen Ping acts like that, it means that it’s not too far.”

Haa… I was stunned and didn’t know what to say and could only nod as I gasped inside at how well they understood each other.

“Uncle.” Just as I was closely inspecting Wen Ping on Liu Qi’s side, Liu Qi frowned and looked at me before calling me softly.

“What is it?” When I saw her bend down, I did so as well. She then leaned over to me without fear that she might lose balance and fall off and whispered in my ear.

“Uncle, has there been any movements amongst your troops lately?”

So that’s what it’s about. No wonder she is being so prudent. But I can understand why she’s being so careful since the troops are only 10 paces behind us.

“No, there hasn’t been any issues,” I thought for a moment before giving my reply as I shook my head.

“There hasn’t been any battles lately. All we’ve done is march on the flatlands so it should be alright.”

“No, it’s not alright even now, We must always plan for the worst as Cai Mao could think of anything.”

Un… Seeing her look of righteous indignation, questions starting to spring up inside me. I don’t know the reason behind their enmity, nor do I know why Cai Mao wants to bring harm to her. All I know is that there is some conflict but not how and when.

“Uncle, you must be puzzled now and wondering why Cai Mao and I are mortal enemies right?”

“A-re? No, not at all.”

I don’t know why, but my thoughts were read again. The time and person may differ, but everyone seems to be able to read what I’m thinking.

“Uncle need not hide it. Even if you don’t ask, I’ll explain it to you.” She left my ear, and stood upright on the horse. Seems like what she’s about to say isn’t a secret.

“No, I really wasn’t thinking about that.” I remained stubborn about it, partially because I’m not sure how I should listen to the tragedy that is going to come. Of course, I know the synopsis of what she is about to say.

“… Hmph, if you really aren’t thinking about that then I won’t tell you then.” She took off her left hand from the reins and stroked the horse’s black mane as she said so, “As someone from Jing state, I have my own ambitions. I’m not willing to stubbornly stay here like my father, and intend to use Jing state as a starting point and expand in every direction. Take the Son of Heaven in the north, vanquish the barbarians in the south, conquer Zhang Lu in the west, and quell the Sun family in the east. The world belongs to the Liu clan, how can we let the outsiders run amok?”

Her words at the beginning made it seem like she was after a military conquest for her own personal ambitions but at the end of it, I realised that she too was aiming for the restoration of the Han.

“That’ll be a little difficult, and it won’t be good for the people of Jing state too right?”

“Jing state has yet to suffer the pain of war, but eventually a strong enemy will come. When the time comes, all we can do is empty our coffers and defend with no hope of victory whatsoever. The state will break up and the people will lose their stability anyway. Instead of a long period of suffering, it’s better to bear with a short of suffering and be the one to attack first. That’s far better than to slowly bleed out from attacks by the various feudal lords.”

“Un, that does make sense.” I nodded as I looked at Liu Qi’s expression that was upright to a fault.

“Hai… But it’s a pity that father’s thinking is too conservative. That Liu Cong brat is also weak and useless and won’t amount to much. If I don’t make some changes– No, never mind. I don’t think I need to say anymore.”

She was melancholic again. But some words shouldn’t be said, so she swallowed them back before they got out. As for what she wants to say, I know full well. It’s undoubtedly about the inheritance.

And her fight with Liu Cong is all about the inheritance rights.

But 1 question comes to mind here. In the history, I can understand why those 2 are fighting over the inheritance rights. But things are different here. Liu Biao is only 30 odd now, and shouldn’t be dying anytime soon. So why are these 2 who aren’t even 20 yet so anxious about it?

I really don’t understand it.

“In any case, we must make sure that this expedition goes perfectly, uncle.”

“Un, alright,”

I nodded as I understood what she was implying. But when I think about what she meant on the surface, I began to worry again.

“But what is the status at Jiangxia now? What are our chances when we get there?”

Our opponents are the generals of Jiangdong after all. Naturally, I didn’t say this as it might hurt my side’s reputation if I did.

“The same answer as before, I don’t know.” Liu Qi said as she lightly shook her head, “Knowing how Huang Zu is like, she probably won’t give us a report on the situation even after we’ve reached Jiangxia. She is like me and distrusts others similarly. Everything in Jiangxia is decided solely by her.”

“Huang Zu… Huh?” I muttered under my breath.

“Why? You’ve heard of her?”

“Ah, a little.”

The first time I heard this name was back when I heard about uncle Sun Jian’s death. Based on my game knowledge, I remember that Huang Zu did accomplish some other feats but in the end, he was still just a minor character and I can’t remember the details. In short, the only impression I have of Huang Zu is a generic big, burly man.

But from how things look, Liu Biao’s guess should be right. The reason why Sun Quan is attacking is to seek vengeance for her father. If that’s the case, then I’m helping the side that’s in the wrong.

I had such cordial ties with Bo Fu and received a generous welcome in Jiangdong but now I’m helping their sworn enemy. I’m completely turning my back on Bo Fu and the rest, and am going against my values as well.

Wu, I feel terrible just thinking about it.

“But don’t worry, uncle. Huang Zu is a cold person but she’s very adept at defending cities. Huang Zu has been defending Jiangxia for several years now and there hasn’t been any issues.” She lowered her head as she said so, “Of course, this is under the a.s.sumption that any other unrest doesn’t crop up.”

“Unrest? Like?”

“It could be anything, mutiny for example, or betrayal by her subordinate generals for example.”

“Eh! Isn’t that very serious?,”

“Un… It is, but she seems to be used to such things already and has been able to deal with them thus far.” Liu Qi spoke in a rather relaxed tone as though it wasn’t serious at all, “But that means that when we get to Jiangxia, we will be under Huang Zu’s command.”

“Eh! On what grounds! By right, reinforcements should have some flexibility to move! Why should we listen to her commands?” Zhou Cang who was beside me had been listening wordlessly thus far, but when she heard this, she lost it. It was a little odd after all, since we brought them all the way here only to be placed completely under her command.

“Though we may be reinforcements, the guarding general is Huang Zu. She has experience with defending cities so naturally she’ll be the overall commander. But I have heard that the generals of reinforcing armies have had their command tallies taken away from them forcefully, resulting in Huang Zu gaining full command rights of the reinforcements.”

“Isn’t that very dangerous?!”

“That’s very dangerous, no?!”

Zhou Cang and I yelled out at the same time. Though I was prepared for Huang Zu to be a little forceful, I felt that she was a paranoid and overbearing person just listening to Liu Qi’s description.

“Is that so? We’re all used to it already.”

“Why?” I don’t understand.

“Because Huang Zu has always defended the city effectively.” She said as a matter of factly, and then came close once more, “Honestly, I’m actually hoping that Huang Zu takes away our command tallies, That way, we can be away from Cai Mao’s personal troops temporarily at least.”

“That is a good thing, but– Aren’t you afraid Huang Zu might turn on you?”

Consolidating the command rights might be a problem no matter who holds them, right?

“Hmph.” Liu Qi actually laughed softly when she heard this.

“I might believe it if it was someone else but Huang Zu will definitely not turn on me.”

“Why the confidence?”

“Because–” Liu Qi opened her mouth and was about to slowly explain to me why but just then, the sound of cannon fire in the distance drowned put Liu Qi’s voice.

And thereafter came war cries in the distance.