Liu Bei POV

I’ve never seen Mount Jiluo before, nor have I even heard of this name. Only after I consulted Gong You when I returned to my camp did I know what it was. Mount Jiluo was a relatively lesser known mountain beside the Taihang Mountains. Its southern peak can easily spy on Guandu. But because of the steep terrain, it was difficult to station a garrison there.

This expedition is probably to go around and see if there is an opportunity to attack. And also, as Tian Feng said, to scout out the status of the Cao army.

My knowledge of history is limited and I’m not too privy to the details of the Three Kingdoms. All I know about the Battle of Guandu is the slaying of Yan Liang, the execution of Wen Chou and the Raid on Wuchao. I don’t know if the historical Liu Bei was the same as me and proactively volunteered to lead an expedition to Mount Jiluo on the fly.

(TL: Wen Chou was also killed by Guan Yu in the original in one of the skirmishes between Baima and Mount Jiluo. Just as in the previous chapter, Guan Yu only considered his debt to Cao Cao repaid when Yan Liang and Wen Chou were killed.)

But at the very least, I am sure that the one who is supposed to go with Liu Bei to Mount Jiluo is not the one currently next to me.

(TL: In the original, it was Han Meng who was sent, along with Liu Bei, to Mount Jiluo. It was meant as an actual offensive operation, and not a see-if-you-can-attack / scouting operation like here.)

“Un un~ Alright, my body’s finally loosening up.”

I looked at Yan Liang beside me who was currently rolling her shoulders and riding slowly beside me with a refreshed look, “It’s been a while since I’ve fought and my body has gotten all stiff… Ah, my wound still hurts~~” She rubbed her waist as she said so with a helpless smile.

“Is Lord Yan Liang’s waist alright?”

“Ah, it’s not that big of a problem.” Yan Liang said as she shook her head, “I wonder if I can see that green robed la.s.s again in this expedition. If we do, I want to have a proper duel with her.”

I no longer felt perturbed as I looked at Yan Liang’s excited expression. For a warrior like herself, the most invigorating thing would probably be a proper duel with another strong warrior.

“At the same time,” All of a sudden, I could feel bloodl.u.s.t from Yan Liang, “I want to kill the one who killed Wen Chou.”

…

Only recently did I realise how unknown Feng Xian remained because Dong Zhuo did not use her. Because she never joined Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo was not able to deploy her against the feudal lord alliance then and so she never got famous and hardly anyone would be on guard if they met her. Naturally, Yan Liang would also be unaware of the name of the number one warrior in the Three Kingdoms era, nor would ahe know that Feng Xian is actually my companion.

If Feng Xian really does come, what will I do…

“Xuan De, Xuan De.”

Un? I felt someone touch my left arm and turned to see that it was Zi Long.

Just like with Baima, Zi Long came along with me. And because I was the one who proactively volunteered to lead this expedition, I could not a.s.sign myself to guard the supply caravans.

“What’s the matter, Zi Long?” I asked as I slowed the horse and backed up a bit,

“What the heck is my lord thinking huh?!” Along with a knock on my head, Zi Long began to scold me in a not-so-loud voice, “We are guests here, and need not have interfered in the Cao-Yuan conflict. Yuan Shao herself also said we could do as we please. And yet, my lord actually volunteered to lead this expedition. What kind of mess do you want to get into huh?”

It can’t be that serious… Is what I wanted to say but when I looked at Zi Long, I saw that she was very serious about it.

It can’t be helped. She’s my subordinate general after all, and she will naturally think of my safety and how our side benefits first.

“I understand how you feel,” I smiled bitterly as I began to consider this problem inside.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time with Yuan Shao in this period, and my impression of her has changed from that of a spoilt rich young miss with her head in the clouds to a hardworking leader with initiative who is the heart of her community.

But no matter how hard she tries, Ben Chu will lose the Battle of Guandu. And when the Battle ends, Ben Chu will probably escape northward in despair and disgrace, and eventually end her life.

Right now, I’m not seeing things on the side of history, but from the viewpoint of Liu Bei and I have grown to sympathise Ben Chu and her inevitable tragic fate.

Of course, there’s no way I can state this reason out loud.

“Look at it this way Zi Long,” I said after I managed to think of a good reason, “The more intense the war between Meng De and Ben Chu gets, the worse off the 2 are at the end of it, and the weaker they will be. When we finally rise again, our opportunity to carve out our own territory will be much easier, no?”

Though these were just things I thought up on the fly, they sounded so convincing even I was won over by my own words.

Zi Long thought for a bit after she heard what I said and nodded, and did not bring this up again.

“Oh! I can see Mount Jiluo already.”

I went up to take a look when I heard Yan Liang’s shout and saw a mountain peak that wasn’t very tall up ahead. There was yet another mountain peak beside and in between them was a narrow pathway that could only fit 3 people side by side.

Guandu should be just past this pathway.

As I thought about this, I began considering how to deal with the problem of Yun Chang and the rest, as well as the upcoming Battle of Guandu.

Meng De POV

“Our supplies are running low but it has not yet reached the time when we should retreat immediately. My lord has held a standoff with Yuan Shao and stationed all her troops in Guandu for this long. Whoever moves first will likely be at a disadvantage and after this long, Yuan Shao will probably do something soon. My lord should remain patient and seize any opportunity that arises which will lead to a victory over Yuan Shao.”

I smiled as I finished reading the letter.

Xun Yu did not say too much in the letter from Xuchang, nor did she give any concrete tactics, but because of this, my confidence in staying put at Guandu has been revived.

As Cheng Yu said, perhaps all I lacked was a bit of confidence. And what Xun Yu did was just to boost my confidence. What I need are not schemes but some encouragement.

Though I don’t want to admit it, what I really need is someone who understands me and whom I can speak freely with. This was probably the very reason why I felt very relaxed while Xuan De was in Xuchang.

As I thought about this, I saw another pile of letters and uneasiness began to fill my heart.

“Feng Xiao…” I turned and saw her sitting beside a pile of scrolls and coughing up blood profusely, “Oi, you….mAre you alright?”

Even though this was normal for her, I was still worried nonetheless. The weather wasn’t good and temperatures could s.h.i.+ft drastically within the hour. Many soldiers were down with diseases and this young girl with a weak const.i.tution would probably fare worse.

“*Ke* *Ke*… I’m fine,” She scratched her messy, long hair, and wiped her mouth with straw paper using trembling hands before throwing it into a pile of used straw paper at the side. Every sheet of straw paper had blood on it, “What does my lord seek my counsel for?”

“Un… I heard that Sun Ce might launch an attack on Xuchang… Do you think…”

“No, Sun Ce won’t come.” Feng Xiao said as she held her head painfully and used a weak voice to interrupt me, “Sun Ce has only just unified Jiangdong and has enemies everywhere. She is also distant in nature and will find it difficult to resolve this. *Ke* *Ke*!”

(TL: A similar conversation happened in the original as well. Except that Feng Xiao predicted that Sun Ce would be a.s.sa.s.sinated, and Sun Ce was indeed a.s.sa.s.sinated by disgruntled surrendered generals on his way to Xuchang.)

I turned to look outside the tent as I couldn’t bear to see Feng Xiao cough up blood. Various things began swimming in my mind as I looked outside.

“Report! Scouts ahead have found Yuan Shao’s troops advancing toward Mount Jiluo!” Just then, a soldier from far off yelled out as he ran over.

Mount Jiluo! Has Yuan Shao finally moved out?!

“Go, tell Cao Ren to face them!”