Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1482 - 1427: Nearing an Agreement
Watching Jia Xu open the city gate with just a few words, Wei Yan, Zang Ba, Guan Ping, Juu Fu, Zhu Ling, and others were utterly at a loss for words.
"Alright, follow me into the city," Jia Xu said expressionlessly. Compared to Jiang Qi and those ministers who had a strong sense of identity with Yuan Shao, Chunyu Qiong surrendered without any delay after hearing a few words from Xun Shen.
Chunyu Qiong, who was from the Eight Schools of the West Garden, had not drunk himself into trouble in this life, so he surrendered for righteousness. With a rather good resume, no one made things difficult for him, and he ended up with a decent ending.
After Wei Yan and his group entered, Jia Xu sat expressionless at the main seat. Although by rationale the chief general should have the main seat, with Jia Xu sitting on the left side being customary, truthfully, not even Wei Yan or Zang Ba had anything to say about Jia Xu sitting at the main seat.
"Guangchang is now captured as well. Let me now share with you all the intelligence I’ve gathered," Jia Xu said, seeing Xun Shen and Xuu You reluctantly taking their seats, he felt reassured.
"Please speak frankly, Strategist Jia," Wei Yan, as the commander-in-chief of this route’s army, promptly folded his hands in salute and said.
"First, let’s talk about the opponent. The opponent is the Northern Huns, as you all know what that means. Now let me tell you, we always had strategies to deal with the Northern Huns, but we severely underestimated Marquis Wenn’s combat power, which led to the Northern Huns not advancing southward from Bingzhou." Jia Xu said calmly.
"You had intelligence earlier?" Xun Shen frowned and looked at Jia Xu with some confusion.
"We had preparations long ago. Our main difference with you is that you only focused on the Central Plains, while we focused on many things. Our goals are far-reaching, hence requiring extensive preparations." Jia Xu said calmly while looking at Xun Shen.
"This explanation..." Xuu You displayed a hint of displeasure. Essentially, this was looking down on them, but now that Jia Xu was on stage and they were below, he indeed had the qualification to say so.
"It’s not looking down on you, but more about perspective. Youruo, born into the Xun Family with broad connections, roughly understands the differences between the South and North, as well as among the civil officials of the Thirteen Provinces of Great Han." Jia Xu said, looking calmly at the composed Xun Shen.
"Take Yuzhou as an example. Regardless of what Yuzhou scholars do, aiming for the world, while south of the Yangtze River, the aim is mere regional stability. Farther south, the focus narrows down to a family name." Xun Shen pondered a while before speaking.
"The Central Plains do not equate to the world," Jia Xu said while looking at Xun Shen. "Perhaps initially under Lord Xuande, we aimed at the Central Plains, but now we truly aim at the world. This is the gap between us and you."
"The Central Plains don’t equate to the world...?" Xuu You paused for a moment before speaking, with a hint of ridicule in his tone.
"Does it refer to the endless desert west of Liangzhou, the hundred thousand mountains southwest of Yizhou, the boundless seas south and east of Yangzhou, or the endless wasteland north of Youzhou?" Xuu You didn’t wait for Jia Xu to speak before counter-asking.
"Beyond the endless desert west of Liangzhou, and beyond the Yizhou’s hundred thousand mountains, what lies after crossing the boundless seas south and east of Yangzhou, even beyond the endless wasteland north of Youzhou?" Jia Xu replied indifferently.
Xuu You and Xun Shen exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes. They had never considered what lay west of the Western Desert, east of the Eastern Cape, south of the Antarctic Hundred Thousand Mountains, and north of the Arctic Wasteland.
"Have you explored there?" Xun Shen opened his mouth, feeling parched. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
"Yes, we’ve crossed west of the Western Desert and beyond the boundless seas of Yangzhou." Jia Xu’s calm words stirred waves in the hearts of Xun Shen and Xuu You.
"Okay, we can set aside these topics now and talk about our enemies." Jia Xu said to Xun Shen and Xuu You, knowing the bait was substantial; the rest was up to Xun Shen and Xuu You.
Speaking of which, Gan Ning was something Jia Xu had thrown over the wall long ago; after all, the existence of something like Kushan proved many things. However, why hasn’t Zixu died and returned yet?
"If what you say is true, it’s not unacceptable," Xun Shen, after a brief thought, spoke before Xuu You.
"You can choose not to believe," Jia Xu said, looking calmly at Xun Shen.
"It’s hard not to believe. Given how vast the world is, perhaps I’ve understood some things, but I need an explanation." Xun Shen said after a moment’s silence, correlating Jia Xu’s words with Liu Bei’s current showings, Xun Shen had some guesses.
Jia Xu almost certainly knew what Xun Shen wanted to ask but still inquired out of respect, "Please speak frankly, Youruo."
"Why did Yuan Gong die," Xun Shen asked, after a moment’s silence. From Jia Xu’s previous words and Liu Bei’s consistent behavior, Xun Shen understood Liu Bei’s effort in preserving all the talents of the Central Plains.
"The outing of the Two Xuanyuan Cauldrons was ill-timed. Our strength at that time could defeat you but not control the war situation to capture all of you with a bearable loss." Jia Xu said expressionlessly; he knew Xun Shen wanted to ask this question.
Back when the Thirteen Provinces plan was originally formulated, Chen Xi’s preparation involved developing for five years to achieve an overwhelming power capable of taking everyone below Yuan Shao, including the Four Pillars of Hebei and Yuan Shao’s civil official group, without loss.
Chen Xi believed that with Liu Bei’s courage, combined with a truly global perspective, and the stimulus of empire-level opponents, they could convince Yuan Shao, and with the character of people like those in Hebei, once Yuan Shao acquiesced, everyone else would follow suit.
With Liu Bei at the top, Yuan Shao should maintain peak performance; this caliber of Yuan Shao, coupled with the civil and military officials under Yuan Shao, could evenly contend with the peak power of Cao Cao’s army and act as a major force in future expansions.
But as later events turned out, the Xuanyuan Cauldron exploded, and Chen Xi never developed to the extent of taking down all of Yuan Shao’s civil and military forces with partial losses.
This prompted Jia Xu to rip up the battle plan directly after the Xuanyuan Cauldron incident, acknowledging that although Liu Bei had just started to snowball, achieving the crushing level, defeating Yuan Shao was possible, but to completely crush Yuan Shao would be difficult.
And as everyone’s aware, with Yuan Shao’s condition, he is easier to deal with during smooth sailing but more persistent than Cao Cao during adversities. Hence, continuing to hold the notion of preserving those notable ministers in Hebei could likely lead to the entire North being devastated.
This was why Liu Bei had no mercy during the Yellow River meeting when talks failed, urging Chen Xi to decisively act without any leniency, where killing one was as good as killing many. After the Xuanyuan Cauldron, the civil officials under Liu Bei immediately abandoned the plan to preserve all of Yuan Shao’s civil and military personnel.
