Mythical Version of Three Kingdom

The household registration system Chen Xi implemented, which was inspired by the Ming Dynasty, was too advanced for this era. Even though Ju Shou and Xu You were both among the most intelligent of their time, neither had considered that all the intelligence their subordinates had gathered was false information deliberately fed to them by Taishan.

In summary, Li You and Lu Su were overwhelmed with work, and the new household registration system was initially cumbersome. As a result, it was only fully implemented in Taishan County, with Qingzhou still in the gradual process of adopting it.

However, even this incomplete household registration system was enough to disrupt Xu You’s carefully constructed intelligence network. Xu You had been investigating Li You, but because there were no previous records of Li You, all he could investigate was Li You’s activities after arriving in Taishan.

Li You rarely left Taishan, and the agents Xu You could mobilize were all within Taishan’s borders. This allowed Li You to release false information, with Lu Su secretly identifying the agents, effectively mapping out Xu You’s entire intelligence network.

When Jia Xu received this information, he handed over control of the intelligence network to Lu Su. Lu Su then used Xu You’s investigation of Li You as an opportunity to infiltrate the network with spies. Jia Xu was now waiting to take over the entire intelligence network of Jizhou. Xu You’s overconfidence in his methods would eventually lead to Lu Su gaining full control over his higher-level intelligence.

After reading Li You’s secret letter, Yuan Shao frowned deeply. ”Gongyu, you’re too cautious. What harm can a few luxuries and women do? If we can corrupt Liu Xuande, who in the world will be able to stop me? Unfortunately, this Li Wenru has already been pushed to Xuzhou by Chen Zichuan and the others. Chen Hanyu and Chen Yuanlong are both famous ministers, and with Chen Zichuan’s pressure above them, Li Wenru may have no path to advancement left. Such a pawn may be wasted.”

Yuan Shao’s words carried a hint of frustration, but he did not overly blame Ju Shou. He still recognized Ju Shou’s cautious nature. However, this time, they had missed a great opportunity. He could only lament that Chen Zichuan and his group were not easy to deal with. When an opportunist appeared within their ranks, they quickly seized the chance to eliminate him, leaving no trace.

”Lord, just because Li Wenru has no options left doesn’t mean we don’t. We can use this opportunity to bring Li Wenru fully to our side,” Xu You said, stroking his beard with a satisfied smile. Chen Hanyu and Chen Yuanlong might be famous ministers, but they were too focused on their own small domains. For someone like Xu You, who had a broader vision of the world, this presented many opportunities for manipulation.

”Gongyu is right. Not only should we bring Li Wenru over to our side, but we should also elevate him from a mere incompetent courtier in Liu Bei’s camp to someone capable of solving Xuzhou’s problems. This way, once Li Wenru returns to Taishan, he will be even more reliant on us to maintain his position, and his influence on Liu Bei will grow,” Ju Shou said with a smile. He and Xu You had already devised a plan to help Li You return to Taishan.

”Hahaha! Gongyu, Ziyuan, if not for you, I might have missed this golden opportunity! Very well, I entrust this matter to both of you. As for corrupting Liu Xuande and creating division between him and his advisors, that plan should also move forward. We have no shortage of luxuries and women in Jizhou!” Yuan Shao laughed heartily. He wasn’t foolish—after being reminded by Ju Shou and Xu You, he quickly realized that proving someone’s capability was as simple as getting them to accomplish something significant.”We won’t let you down, my lord!” Ju Shou and Xu You said as they bowed to Yuan Shao. They were confident that assisting Li You in dealing with Xuzhou’s issues would be a relatively simple task. Their goal was to do it in such a way that it left no trace of the hidden dangers lurking behind the solution.

At the same time, Lu Bu and Cao Cao also received news of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou surrendering. While Lu Bu dismissed the news with disdain, the exhausted Cao Cao could only sigh with envy.

Originally, whether it was the Yellow Turbans moving out of Qingzhou or the eventual conquest of Qingzhou, it was Cao Cao who was supposed to benefit. He had selected 300,000 able-bodied soldiers from the over 2 million Yellow Turbans, who were now known as the Qingzhou Army. Although leaving behind the elderly, women, and children had caused discontent among the Yellow Turbans and some discipline issues, no one could deny the importance of these 300,000 troops to Cao Cao.

In this timeline, however, Liu Bei had seized the initiative. With ample supplies and early action, Liu Bei had gained much more than Cao Cao had in history. Liu Bei accepted not only the strong men but also the elderly, women, and children, with figures like the leader Xuangu and the chieftain Guan Hai acting as guarantors. This ensured that Liu Bei didn’t face the same resistance that Cao Cao had when some Yellow Turban leaders refused to surrender, leading to prolonged conflicts that resulted in the deaths of many notable leaders.

Cao Cao, for example, had to spend years suppressing leaders like Qu Gong, Sima Ju, Jiang Gong, and Huang Shao, with both Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan leading repeated campaigns against them until they were finally subdued around 196 AD. The losses were considerable.

But now, Liu Bei had effectively absorbed the entire Yellow Turban force in Qingzhou. With 300,000 Qingzhou soldiers at his disposal, he only needed to make a few selections, and many of the leaders who historically resisted Cao Cao had now been preserved.

Among these Yellow Turban leaders, it might not be easy to find someone who could reach the level of internal energy dissipation, but a force of 60 or 70 Refining Qi into Steel (Refining Qi into Gang) masters was enough to intimidate many.

Moreover, these leaders had experience commanding troops. While they might not lead thousands of soldiers, any one of them could easily command 500 troops, meaning Liu Bei now had an abundance of middle and lower-level officers with just a little bit of training.

”Liu Xuande seems to be the chosen one by fate. First, it was Xuangu, then Guan Hai. To think I once believed it was just a scheme by Liu Xuande—now I realize that even among the Yellow Turbans, there are heroes,” Cao Cao murmured as he stood on the city wall, watching Lu Bu’s troops retreat in the distance. Behind him stood Dian Wei, his loyal bodyguard.

”My lord, you should return to the government office and rest. There may be another fierce battle tomorrow. If the drought lasts another ten days or so, we will win this war without needing to fight,” Xun Yu advised as he coughed, bowing to Cao Cao. The battle against Lu Bu had turned into a full-scale retreat to Chenliu, where Cao Cao barely managed to hold off Lu Bu’s attacks thanks to the city’s high walls and deep moats.

Cao Cao sighed. He had finally managed to stabilize the situation, largely thanks to Du Xi’s daring raid, which cut off Yuan Shu’s supplies. By taking advantage of the rising spring floods, Du Xi had been able to deliver a devastating blow to Yuan Shu, allowing Cao Cao to free up some of his remaining forces in Wancheng to reinforce Chenliu and hold back Lu Bu.