Mythical Three Kingdoms

Jia Xu and Li Youu both did not take the message passed on by Liu Bei about Liu Ye seriously. Besides being well aware of Liu Ye’s capabilities, they had great confidence in the defensive combination of Hua Xiong and Yu Jin.

In the estimation of Jia Xu and Li Youu, even though Xun Shen had always been a mastermind for Yuan Shao’s side, he had not achieved any notable successes. Instead, he had successfully united figures such as Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Xuu You, and Sheni Pei within the government.

As far as military achievements were concerned, Xun Shen did not have any remarkable successes to his name. He generally stayed at the central government and had no record of leading military campaigns on his own. In the eyes of people like Jia Xu, Xun Shen was likely more focused on political strategy.

Although Jia Xu and Li Youu had their doubts about Xun Shen’s abilities in comparison to Xun Yu, Xun Youi, Xun Yan, and Xun Yue, they were not overly worried. Liu Ye himself was very powerful, and furthermore, he had the additional support from Liu Bei.

Of course, these were all speculations by Jia Xu and Li Youu. As for the reality, Liu Ye could only lament his difficulties. He was starting to suspect whether Xun Shen’s ”Spiritual Talent” was as he had guessed, given that he had already suffered several setbacks at Xun Shen’s hands.

Although Xun Shen had only achieved minor victories each time, Liu Ye could already clearly sense Xun Shen’s dominance over him. If he continued to lose like this, Liu Ye suspected that Xun Shen might very well have a great chance of intercepting Cao Cao.

Xun Shen, also a resident of the Sili region, had also felt how troublesome Liu Ye was. Even though up to now, Xun Shen had successfully countered Liu Ye on every occasion since he had exposed Liu Ye’s feigned weakness the first time, he still had not had the chance to crush his opponent, whose tactics were constantly changing.

Knowing that with his ”Spiritual Talent,” each time Xun Shen won against the same opponent, he was able to grasp a portion of the opponent’s tactical thought patterns. As the number of engagements increased, so did his understanding of the opponent’s thought patterns. Eventually, the strategies he anticipated would coincide with those actually devised by the enemy.

Generally speaking, any strategist facing Xun Shen would find it increasingly difficult to win after losing the first match. Nearly all of their schemes would be seen through by the adversary, and in the end, they would even lose their confidence.

Of course, this also involved an issue of intelligence. Although those with lower IQs could indeed arrange high-IQ scenarios, they would require significantly more effort and time, which was unavoidable.

That is to say, with an intelligence of over ninety, Xun Shen, using his ”Spiritual Talent” and having fully acquired the thought patterns of Zhuge Liang, who possessed a ”Spiritual Talent” with intelligence over 100, still faced an issue of reaction time. Even if their ways of thinking were the same, by the time Zhuge Liang had set his trap and was taking action, Xun Shen might have just formulated a rough idea.

However, under normal circumstances, such a situation would not occur. With an intelligence of over ninety, Xun Shen was sufficiently capable of handling most scenarios. Normally, any strategist going against Xun Shen would only lose faster and faster.

Liu Ye was now in such a predicament. Initially, he attempted to display weakness to the enemy, but Xun Shen decisively crushed Liu Ye, and afterwards, the situation fell completely into Xun Shen’s rhythm—it was a tragedy through and through.

If it were not for Liu Ye’s ”Spiritual Talent” in replacing thought patterns, he would have been defeated long ago. Naturally, when Liu Ye mentioned he was powerless to rescue the Emperor, it was the truth. Without activating his ”Spiritual Talent,” Liu Ye had virtually no power to counterattack. Even with it activated, the opposition continued to block Liu Ye, making it impossible for him to make any progress.

Xun Shen’s aim was to rescue the Emperor, and equally important, to prevent Liu Bei from getting the Emperor. Seeing that he could not defeat Liu Ye, Xun Shen did not hesitate any longer; he made the same choice as Liu Ye—hold the enemy off and then contact Cao Cao.

Even though the alliance between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao was no longer reliable, Xun Shen was still willing to give it a try. Even if Cao Cao ended up with the Emperor eventually, it would be much better than letting Liu Bei get him.

However, at this time, unexpected by both Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, Cao Cao’s subordinate, Sima Lang, had already convinced Ma Teng and Han Sui, causing chaos in Liangzhou once again. When Li Jue discovered the movements of Ma Teng and Han Sui, he immediately led the Xiliang Iron Cavalry to the Sanfu Region to have a talk with Ma Teng, Han Sui, and others.

During this period, the four generals of Xiliang, who had not had much friction, Fan Chou and Guo Si dealt with the troops of Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Liu Bei sent to support the Emperor. With Li Jue leading his forces to Xiliang, and Zhang Ji, who was not in good health, staying in Chang’an with his nephew to keep watch, the arrangements couldn’t be said to be wrong.

After Li Jue left, Zhang Ji did his utmost to protect the interests of the Xiliang soldiers in Chang’an. He did not react strongly to the provocations of Chang’an ministers, rendering the city even more chaotic, but no one dared to truly step out of line.

Regrettably, due to old age and declining health, Zhang Ji, exhausted in spirit, entrusted all the matters concerning the Xiliang troops to his nephew, Zhang Xiu. While Zhang Xiu wasn’t very skilled in military affairs, his formidable strength ensured that no significant troubles arose.

Zhang Ji was quite relieved to see this situation and delegated even more of his power to Zhang Xiu, hoping to pave the way for his sole nephew while he was still alive.

Unfortunately, although Zhang Xiu had some grasp of military matters, he was utterly clueless about governance. Even with his uncle in charge and given free rein, Zhang Xiu was making a mess of things.

In the end, Zhang Ji had to admit that his nephew was indeed as he anticipated. In his lifetime, he could only be a valiant general, not even counting as a high-ranking one. Thinking of this, Zhang Ji couldn’t help feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

Having no children of his own, Zhang Ji had raised his nephew Zhang Xiu from a young age, investing all his hopes in him with the wish that his nephew would succeed. Now, faced with such a situation, Zhang Ji, left with no choice, could only turn his attention to external forces.

Just as Zhang Ji had once found Jia Xu for Zhang Xiu, this time he set his sights on Zhong Yao, for to him, only Zhong Yao seemed to fit his criteria in the current state of Chang’an.

In Zhang Ji’s view, aligning with a sage was far safer than serving a lord. With such a plan in mind, Zhang Ji, clutching the looted letters of Cai Yong, took his nephew to the residence of Zhong Yao.

Zhang Ji didn’t realize that his every action, even his thoughts, were within the calculations of Zhong Yao and Yang Xiu. As Zhang Ji stepped towards the courtyard of Zhong Yao, the role of Zhang Ji as a chess piece could also come to an end.

Similarly, as Zhang Ji stepped towards the courtyard of Zhong Yao, the plan for the whole of Chang’an also began at that moment. The meticulous scheming had finally commenced, and the chance for Emperor Xiann to escape was finally at hand. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qi Dian ), and to purchase monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)