Reborn In The Three Kingdoms

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”If you cannot unite, then I will strip you both of command. I will find someone, anyone, more competent to lead our armies and become our successor.” He looked at them with a mixture of anger and sorrow. ”You are my sons, but you are also my greatest shame.” Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang exchanged glances, their animosity momentarily overshadowed by the sting of their father’s words. For the first time, they saw not just a leader, but a man broken by their failures.

Meanwhile, the rest of Yuan Shao’s court stood in stunned silence, their collective breath caught in their throats. Yuan Shao’s outburst had struck them like a thunderclap, reverberating through the grand hall. The always arrogant and overbearing warlord, whose pride was as unshakable as the mountains, had shown a moment of vulnerability, an eruption of rage born not only from disappointment but from despair.

The three advisors, Guo Tu, Feng Ji, and Shen Pei, who had been silently watching the scene unfold, froze. Their initial inclination had been to join in berating Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, hoping to shift the blame and alleviate their own guilt for the failed campaign.

After all, it was they who had pushed for this ill-fated venture against Cao Cao, weaving whispers of grand opportunity and inevitable victory into the ears of Yuan Shao’s sons. But seeing Yuan Shao’s fury, they thought better of it. The last thing they wanted was to draw attention to their own culpability.

Still, their movements did not go unnoticed. Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, though initially cowed by their father’s rage, soon caught sight of the subtle exchanges of glances between the three advisors. Their frustration, already simmering from the humiliation of their father’s scolding, began to boil over.

Memories of those advisors’ sweet words and manipulative schemes came flooding back. Yuan Tan’s hands clenched into fists as he recalled Guo Tu’s smooth assurances that the campaign would solidify his place as his father’s heir. Yuan Shang’s jaw tightened as he remembered Feng Ji’s impassioned appeals to his ambition, promising glory and supremacy over his elder brother.

The two brothers, for once united in their anger, turned to confront their manipulators. Yuan Tan’s gaze burned as he pointed a trembling finger at Guo Tu. ”Guo Tu,” he snarled, ”you were the one who came to me, whispering lies about how this campaign would cement my legacy. You urged me to pressure Father, to prove myself!”

Across the hall, Yuan Shang’s voice rang out, his tone sharp with accusation. ”And you, Feng Ji, filled my ears with poison! You said the campaign was a chance to outshine my brother, to win Father’s favor once and for all!” He turned to Shen Pei, who stood behind them like a shadow. ”And don’t think you’ll escape blame, Shen Pei. You’ve been their accomplice in every scheme, haven’t you? You must have approached my second brother Yuan Xi, but he suddenly turned to the other faction due to Master Zhen Yi.”

The court erupted into murmurs. All eyes turned to the accused trio, whose faces paled as the accusations mounted. Guo Tu raised his hands defensively, his voice trembling with protest. ”My lords, I only acted in the best interests of the Yuan family! The campaign... it seemed like the logical step—”

”Logical?” Yuan Tan thundered, his voice echoing through the hall. ”Almost all of our army is gone! Yan Liang and Wen Chou are dead! We lost almost all of our domains to Lie Fan! And you call that logical?”

Feng Ji stepped forward, his words dripping with feigned contrition. ”Third young lord Yuan Shang, you misunderstand. My counsel was meant to guide you to glory, not ruin. The campaign’s failure was not my doing!”

”Enough!” Yuan Shao’s voice cut through the noise like a blade, silencing everyone. His gaze, filled with cold fury, fell upon the three advisors. ”So, it was you three who poisoned my sons’ minds with your foolish ambitions. You, who pushed for this campaign from the shadows, now cower and deflect when faced with its consequences.”

Guo Tu, Feng Ji, and Shen Pei fell to their knees, their heads bowed low. ”My lord,” Shen Pei began, his voice trembling, ”we only sought to serve the Yuan family, to—”

”Silence!” Yuan Shao’s voice cracked like a whip. He rose from his seat, his imposing figure casting a long shadow over the kneeling men. ”Your scheming has cost me hundreds of thousands of lives of my army, the death of my two strongest and braves generals, the loyalty of my troops, and the honor of my family. If you think your groveling will absolve you, you are sorely mistaken.”

The rest of the court watched in stunned silence as Yuan Shao’s rage reached its zenith. He turned to his sons, his expression softening ever so slightly. ”You have been foolish, yes, but you were also manipulated by these vipers. This failure is as much theirs as it is yours.”

Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang exchanged a glance, their earlier animosity momentarily set aside. They nodded in unison, their mutual resentment toward the advisors cementing a fragile truce.

Yuan Shao’s gaze returned to the three kneeling men. ”You will not escape punishment,” he declared. ”Guards, seize them.”

At his command, soldiers stepped forward, dragging Guo Tu, Feng Ji, and Shen Pei to their feet. The trio’s protests fell on deaf ears as they were hauled away, their cries fading into the distance.

The hall fell silent once more, the weight of the moment pressing down on everyone present. Yuan Shao sank back into his chair, his shoulders slumping under the burden of leadership. He looked at his sons, his voice weary but resolute. ”This is your last chance. If you cannot set aside your petty rivalries and work together, the Yuan family will fall. Do you understand?”

Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang bowed deeply, their voices uniting in a solemn pledge. ”Yes, Father. We will not fail you again.”

Satisfied, though far from reassured, Yuan Shao dismissed the court. As the hall emptied, he remained seated, staring into the distance. The once-mighty warlord, now weathered and weary, knew that the path ahead would be fraught with peril. The Yuan family’s survival depended not only on military might but on unity, a unity that seemed increasingly fragile.

In the days that followed, the court was a hive of activity. The remnants of Yuan Shao’s forces stationed in the Great Wall under Yuan Xi’s leadership regrouped at Zhongshan, their numbers bolstered by conscripts from the surrounding territories.

Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, though still wary of one another, began to cooperate alongside Yuan Xi as well, under their father’s watchful eye. Together, they devised plans to fortify their position and prepare for the inevitable clash with Lie Fan’s army.

Meanwhile, the fates of Guo Tu, Feng Ji, and Shen Pei hung in the balance. Imprisoned and awaiting judgment, the once-influential advisors now faced the consequences of their treachery. Rumors swirled about their impending punishment, but Yuan Shao remained silent on the matter, his decision known only to him.

In the dark, damp prison of Zhongshan, the cells were cold and oppressive, their stone walls closing in on their inhabitants like a cruel embrace. Guo Tu, Feng Ji, and Shen Pei sat in separate cells, but they could hear one another clearly. The absence of guards gave them the freedom to speak, but their voices, full of frustration and outrage, only echoed back to them in the emptiness.

”This is how we’re repaid after years of loyalty?” Guo Tu spat, his tone sharp with indignation. ”We’ve praised Yuan Shao to the heavens, fought for his family’s cause, and now this? Thrown into a filthy dungeon like common criminals.”

”Indeed,” Feng Ji chimed in, his voice dripping with bitterness. ”And for what? A failed campaign? As if we were the only ones to blame. If anyone should be here, it’s those three incompetent sons of his. Always at each other’s throats, too blind to see the bigger picture.”

Shen Pei sighed deeply from his adjacent cell, his voice quieter but no less resentful. ”And let’s not forget Yuan Shao himself. His indecisiveness and arrogance led us to ruin, yet here we sit, bearing the brunt of his failures. What a farce.”

The three men lapsed into silence for a moment, their minds stewing in their collective anger. But soon enough, the quiet gave way to more insults and recriminations, their words growing harsher with every passing minute.

”Yuan Shao and his brood are nothing but ungrateful tyrants,” Guo Tu growled. ”We’ve dedicated our lives to their cause, and this is the thanks we get? Imprisonment and disgrace?”

”A pox on the entire Yuan clan,” Feng Ji hissed, his voice venomous. ”They think themselves noble, but they’re nothing more than vultures, tearing each other apart for scraps of power.”

”Let them crumble,” Shen Pei muttered darkly. ”They’ll regret casting us aside when they realize they’re nothing without our counsel.”

As the three men continued their tirade, their voices rising with each insult, the faint sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor. It was subtle at first, almost indistinguishable from the ambient creaks and groans of the old prison. But as the footsteps drew closer, the three men fell silent, their anger replaced by a sudden, uneasy curiosity.

From the shadows emerged three hooded figures, their faces obscured by heavy cloaks. They moved with an eerie, deliberate silence, their presence unsettling in the dimly lit corridor. Guo Tu, Feng Ji, and Shen Pei stared at them in a mixture of surprise and suspicion.

”Who are you?” Guo Tu demanded, his voice sharp. ”What business do you have here?”

The figures did not respond immediately. Instead, they stopped just outside the cells, their gazes hidden beneath the folds of their hoods. One of them finally spoke, their voice low and deliberate. ”Do you wish to be free?”

The question hung in the air like a tangible thing, its weight pressing down on the three imprisoned men. Guo Tu narrowed his eyes, his suspicion deepening. ”Who sent you?” he asked, his tone wary.

The figure ignored the question, repeating the same offer. ”Do you wish to be free? Free to leave this place, and free from any harm to your families?”

Feng Ji and Shen Pei exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier anger now mingled with confusion and hope. Freedom was a tempting prospect, especially given the grim alternative of dying in disgrace in this wretched dungeon. But the sudden appearance of these strangers raised more questions than answers.

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Name: Lie Fan

Title: Overlord Of The Central Plains

Age: 32 (199 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 1325

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 951 (+20)

VIT: 613 (+20)

AGI: 598 (+10)

INT: 617

CHR: 96

WIS: 519

WILL: 407

ATR Points: 0