Mythical Three Kingdoms

Just as those who favored real-world experience were pondering where to head, the faint voice of Liu Yan finally came through—Lyu Bu planned to wage a northern expedition against the Hu People to reclaim the Hetao Region.

”Hmph, turning enemies into allies is the true art of kingship, how could a brute like him understand such subtleties,” Hu Zhao sneered and headed straight for Yanzhou.

”’Those not of our race must have different hearts,’ wipe them out under the clear sky!” Zang Hong glanced at the items Chen Lin had sent over, packed them up, and proceeded towards Lyu Bu’s main camp.

Both men had little interest in internal strife. Hu Zhao’s ideal was to educate the world, and as a man of action, regardless of others’ opinions, he sought a place within his means to teach the people.

Previously feeling that Liu Bei’s ideals were grand but vague, Hu Zhao, who had moved from Yuzhou to Mount Tai, left Liu Bei with his half-disciple Sima Yi to travel the world, measuring the Central Plains with their footsteps and heading north to understand the customs of the Hu People.

Returning from the north before the New Year, Hu Zhao, having imparted all he could to Sima Yi, took him back to the Central Plains and prepared to find a place to write down his thoughts.

After returning to the Central Plains, Hu Zhao had a new appreciation for Mount Tai’s resilience and growing prestige, realizing his own previous biases. However, by then, Hu Zhao, who had once traveled the north with Sima Yi, had begun to reflect on new educational thoughts.

Hu Zhao himself was highly learned, or else he couldn’t have been Sima Yi’s teacher. After affirming the possibility of Mount Tai’s widespread education and combining his encounters with the Northern Barbarians, Hu Zhao vaguely conceived new ideas.

Moreover, having seen some seemingly absurd thoughts in the Book Pavilion of Mount Tai, which became more settled with over a year of observation, he gradually formed a novel concept of education and naturally held great respect for the ancient author of the book he planned to write.

This concept slowly took shape, and finally, Hu Zhao was confident that the Han Dynasty, or rather the Descendants of Yan and Huang from the Central Plains, could tolerate the impact of autocratic, benevolent, and kingly ways, along with the Hundred Schools of Thought. Yet, they must center around the grand unification of the Confucian School, using laws and rites as the backbone to solidify the orthodox thoughts of the Central Plains.

As for the areas beyond the Central Plains, it was necessary to first establish control through autocracy, then consolidate with kingly ways, educate with benevolence, refine with the Hundred Schools of Thought, enlighten with the moral codes of Huaxia using the system of laws and rites, and eventually assimilate with the grand unification concept of the Confucian School. Having completed this process, one becomes a Huaxia Person.

It could be said that after Hu Zhao had fully developed his set of ideas, he could hardly contain the urge to put them into practice.

As for Zang Hong, with little interest in internal conflicts, his father had been the General of the Household for the Huns (an official position in the Han Dynasty, a senior post with an annual salary of two thousand dan of grain—its purpose clear from its title), and had always been at odds with the Huns. Naturally, Zang Hong, born into such a family, held no fondness for the Hu People—those who should be killed, he would kill decisively, showing absolute resolution against foreign clans.

Zang Hong, convinced that Yanzhou would be received by Liu Bei and that his brothers Zhang Chao and Zhang Miao would no longer have any personal safety concerns, finally made up his mind to strive for his ideals.

Thus, Chen Gong, who originally had little hope for his civil officials to follow Lyu Bu to Bingzhou, suddenly found that many scholars were willing to go with Lyu Bu, though they made it clear they would turn back if Lyu Bu did not confront the Hu People.

The successive arrivals of Hu Zhao and Zang Hong left Chen Gong astonished; even Chen Gong found it hard to proclaim victory over these two men, especially Hu Zhao, whose vision Chen Gong continuously marveled at. Such a man was yet unheard of in the world.

”Gongtai, there’s no need to lament,” Hu Zhao said calmly, ”I have personally visited the Hetao Region in Bingzhou and have some understanding of the local forces there. I’ve also made a map detailing the strength of each tribe in the area.” After spending some time getting to know the situation, he had completely put his mind at ease, as Lyu Bu’s move was not a strategic diversion but a genuine intent to launch a northern campaign.

”Is there such a thing?” Chen Gong exclaimed joyfully, ”With that, our army’s chances of success in the northern expedition increase even further.”

Hu Zhao pulled a volume wrapped in silk cloth from his embrace, then unwound the silk and handed it to Chen Gong, ”This is just part of it. The remaining four parts will have to wait until I reach Wuyuan in Bingzhou before I can present them to you. Please forgive this inconvenience, Gongtai.”

”There’s no need for such formalities, Brother Kongming. We are all preparing for the northern campaign. What’s there to forgive?” Chen Gong said with a smile, understanding Hu Zhao’s intentions well. These men weren’t incapable of remembering maps; they simply wanted to prove their dedication to the campaign and ensure that their efforts weren’t wasted.

Compared to the amicable relations between Chen Gong and Hu Zhao, Zang Hong, Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, and others found common ground, as the generals who hailed from the north knew nothing of teaching but understood all too well how to kill the Northern Barbarians. Naturally, after some conversation, the bonds between them were considerably strengthened.

Once Zhuge Liang and the others arrived in Yanzhou, Chen Xi and Guo Jia no longer had any reservations about fully seizing the lands of Yanzhou. On another front, they started to hand over supplies to Lyu Bu’s side, including various arrows, weapons, armor, food, and related intelligence, all packaged up and delivered to Lyu Bu.

”What’s this?” Chen Xi asked, puzzled as he looked at the thin paper book Guo Jia handed to him, wondering why he was suddenly given it.

”During the handover of supplies, someone gave this to me to pass on to the Lord, but as you know, I can’t return to Mount Tai anytime soon. Naturally, I had to pass it on,” said Guo Jia with a shrug.

”What does it say?” Chen Xi asked curiously.

”How should I know? The person said it was what he owed the Lord. Originally, he was blind to misjudge the Lord, now feeling somewhat shamefaced, so he hoped I would pass it along,” Guo Jia said indifferently, not really wanting to bother with such trivial matters, but considering the apparent dignity of the person, he accepted the task.

”Oh, let me take a look and decide if it’s important before passing it to Lord Xuande, to save him from wasting time,” Chen Xi said casually as he opened the book Guo Jia had given him.

Chen Xi quickly finished reading the book, which was only a few tens of thousands of words long, and the perplexities in his heart over how to deal with the Northern Barbarians instantly dissipated like smoke.

”Hegemony, King’s Way, Benevolent Way, Various Masters, Confucian School, Legalism, Great Unification... So that’s it. Internally using the thought of Great Unification as the core, with the everlasting foundation of law and ritual, drawing from the nutritional thoughts of Hundred Schools of Thought...” Chen Xi mumbled to himself.

”With this, even if the Hundred Schools of Thought contend, they cannot break the Great Unification framework. The foundation of law and rituals unified, everlasting; so-called hegemony and King’s Way are but external forms.” Chen Xi was utterly astounded by the author of this book.

”Similarly, by crushing the backbone of the Northern Barbarians with hegemony, conquering their thoughts with the King’s Way, winning their gratitude with the Benevolent Way, and then cleansing them with the thoughts of the Hundred Schools, followed by the constraints of law and ritual, the barbarians will be no more.” Chen Xi silently grasped this ideology—it was nothing less than a proactive strategy of converting the enemy into one’s realm of benevolence! (To be continued. If you like this work, we invite you to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets at Qidian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)