Chapter 419 – Their Decision – Part One
At Xiangyang city hall, a eunuch had visited Liu Biao to negotiate peace.
"Please tell his majesty that we are grateful for his kindness. We shall do our best to support his cause against the Xiongnu," Liu Biao stood and bowed to the eunuch.
"I shall relay the message. His majesty would be delighted with your support."
Tong had sent Wei You here to deliver a decree, giving a Liu Biao the title, [Marquis of Chu], which equaled the rank of Cao Cao. He also sent second-handed bronze armors and weapons to Liu Biao to support him in the future war against the Xiongnu.
In exchange for the title, Tong demanded Liu Biao's allegiance that he had to lower the banners of [Liu] and raise Tong's flags on their wall, signifying that they were under Tong's government. Also, they would concede their government positions to Tong's men in the future. However, Liu Biao and his successors got to keep Xiangyang and its properties. Also, Tong would not interfere with their affair.
In conclusion, Tong wanted Liu Biao to surrender all of his territories whenever their borders connected.
Liu Biao was already 50 this year, and he did not think that his life would last very long. Since he wanted his sons to live without worries and hand-free from wars, Liu Biao had no problem with these terms.
He agreed!
The officers celebrated that their lord got promoted, and they were on good terms with the emperor. With this connection, their Jing Province would prosper once the cold war between them and the Xiongnu concluded.
Liu Biao waved his hand, "Please wait, Lao Gonggong. Can you ask his majesty to send reinforcement to my province? Our intel said that Chanyu Khan is preparing to attack my province next."
Wei You nodded, "Sure. Please make a written request, so I can use it as proof that you require urgent support. With a written proof, I can push this request to his majesty faster."
"Of course! I'll make one right away!"
.
After Wei You had finished his mission, he returned to his guest house, regrouping with his bodyguards.
This eunuch traveled here along with a bald bodyguard, Zhou Cang.
Initially, Zhou Cang was assigned to be a vice commander, assisting Zhang Liao with his Monster Legion in Henei. However, Wei You's job required absolute protection, so Tong sent Zhou Cang with Wei You. Once this job was over, Zhou Cang would return to the Monster Legion.
After Zhou Cang got his other world's memory and the cultivation technique, he trained harder, and he successfully awakened one virtue as a result. One of his remaining seven attributes was already at 90%, so he could gamble to get his second wing at any time.
Furthermore, Tong published his brain overclocking technique in the clan chat for all generals to train. Zhou Cang could also use it, but he was not at the level that he could use the Blood Manipulation Technique, which controlled blood cells and accelerate the body's recovery rate.
Still, Zhou Cang, at the moment, was much stronger than the other timeline.
"Let's go visit the boys that his majesty referred."
Wei You took Zhou Cang and a squad of 100 men to visit Zhuge Liang at his bamboo hut, hoping to see what kind of person that Tong spoke highly.
.
Wei You and his bodyguards arrived at Zhuge Liang's courtyard unhindered. As they were official envoys from Ye, everyone in the mountain village guided these people to the sleeping dragon's house.
Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, and Sima Hui had to come out and welcome them.
"Lao Gonggong, please forgive us that we have not prepared to welcome you. We didn't know that you would come without notice."
Wei You smiled, "Relax. We've come without an appointment. We're the rude one."
"O-Okay."
All of them entered the courtyard. The bodyguards did not pose any threat to the locals. Instead, they distributed their prepared souvenirs from their territories.
Zhou Cang and his subordinates gave away tea leaves, bags of spice, and blocks of soap to the onlooking scholars and housewives.
The locals cheered and took them since nobody hated free stuff.
Because of this action, Zhuge Liang's neighbors liked these men. They remembered their faces that these soldiers were friendly guys.
The strategists in the courtyard noticed Zhou Cang's action as well. Each of them had a different evaluation.
Pang Tong was still affected by his bias point of view. He saw these actions as bribery, and he disapproved of it.
Xu Shu thought it was a standard etiquette that visitors should bring gifts to the host. As long as these people were harmless, he did not care.
Sima Hui liked what he saw. As all souvenirs suited the local people and spice was a rare product, he accepted Wei You and Zhou Cang's sincerity.
The majority of villagers on this mountain were retired scholars, women, and aspiring young scholars. As such, none of them would mind tea, soap, and spice. Had they brought something that signified bribery, such as wine, gold, or treasure, Sima Hui would have chased them away.
As for the last one, Zhuge Liang had a similar thought with Xu Shu and Sima Hui. However, he did not like Wei You, who intruded into his privacy.
When Wei You and the four scholars were alone, the eunuch stated his business.
"I'm here to listen to your reply to his majesty's invitation. Would you like to serve our emperor? Of course, this offer extends to seniors and everyone in this village. You can bring your family to Ye with you, and we will prepare a suitable courtyard for everyone."
Sima Hui's eyes gleamed. He heard that Ye City had many academies, which interested him. As a senior scholar with positive thinking as his motto, attending academies in Ye would not be a bad idea.
Xu Shu sighed while Pang Tong clicked his tongue. Both of them were not interested.
Xu Shu cupped his fist and bowed to Wei You, "I wish to postpone my decision. I'm still too inexperienced in the worldly affair, and I wish to continue being a ronin scholar for a while."
Pang Tong snorted, "Me, too."
Sima Hui also bowed to Wei You, "I would like to visit Ye City and attend one of your academies. Although I don't know if I can be useful to his majesty, will you accept this old bone?"
Wei You laughed, "Of course. His majesty said that he will welcome everyone regardless of gender and age!"
"Good! Very well, I'll be in your care."
Wei You turned to Zhuge Liang, "What about you, young hero?"
Zhuge Liang closed his eyes as he was in deep thought.
Five minutes later, when he opened his eyes, a question came out of his mouth, "What is his majesty's goal?"
Sima Hui and Wei You's face changed. They understood that this question contained a deeper meaning behind it since Zhuge Liang took so much time thinking.
As Tong's eunuch elder, Wei You had a right to answer this question in Tong's stead, but he could not possibly know the answer. After all, a personal goal could always change depending on time, location, character, and occasion. Therefore, had Wei You answered this, he would have stepped across his boundary.
At the same time, had he been unable to answer, Tong and Wei You could have been deemed as incompetent.
Still, Wei You was not without fangs. Tong had bought him a cultivation manual, and he had the knowledge of the other timeline. With two worlds of experience, Wei You was not afraid to play this little game.
"His majesty passed this year policy bill that we are focusing on domestic affairs. Also, we've sent two legions to Liang Province to cut off the Xiongnu's supply lines."
Wei You chose to craft his conversation, limiting information. Although he dodged the question, it was good enough to distract the young boy.
Zhuge Liang grinned, "I see. Then, what is his viewpoint about the infighting between our countrymen?"
Wei You was still laughing, "His majesty doesn't fight against his countrymen, only rebels."
"You dodged my question again. I'm referring to the civil war between all warlords at the moment."
"Presently, there is no such thing as a civil war, only small skirmishes between rebels and his majesty's allies."
"Sun Fang and Sun Ce are expanding their forces in Jiangdong while Cao Cao is targeting the Sun Clan. Isn't this a civil war?"
"Cao Cao is his majesty's vessel forces, and the Sun Clan is expanding without our permission. Cao Cao's forces are trying to suppress the rebels. Therefore, no civil war happens."
"You're being delusional. You and I know that Cao Cao and the Sun Clan are not Zhang Tong's vessels. They disregarded his authority and fought each other to expand their territories. If I can't call it a civil war, what do you call it? Hell, fighting a rebel army is already a civil war!"
Zhuge Liang's tone became rude, which irked Wei You. Pang Tong even laughed out loud to mock the eunuch, but Sima Hui and Xu Shu remained silence.
Wei You stopped continuing this debate. Since Zhuge Liang revealed his stance, the answer to Tong's invitation was clear. Furthermore, he could not answer that question since it was beyond his capability.
With a sad smile, Wei You bid farewell, "I hope we don't have to fight in a battlefield. I wish you luck."
Zhuge Liang did not expect that Wei You would abruptly leave after he had cornered him. He felt guilty.
"Wait, please answer my questions first!"
"I've failed your test, so I shall excuse myself."
"I didn't test you. I just want to know!"
"A servant like myself can't possibly represent his majesty's vision and insight. If you seek the answer, visit us in Ye. Just tell the clerks that you know a eunuch named Wei You, they will allow you to see his majesty."
"You are too tricky. I just want an honest answer. Don't trick me into joining his majesty."
"Then, the answer is … I don't know. I'm not the emperor."
"…"
Both Wei You and Zhuge Liang were disappointed as they parted.
Meanwhile, Pang Tong kept mocking Wei You after the latter and his bodyguards had left.
"They're stupid, Kongming. Sooner or later, they will be devoured by Cao Cao. That emperor is too weak!"
Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang sighed, giving up on Pang Tong.
Both of them could retort against Pang Tong all day, and they were confident that Pang Tong would shut his mouth when it was over. However, they decided to not wasting their time against a bias opponent.
"Shiyuan, if you keep this biased attitude, it will lead to your demise."
"Kongming is right, Shiyuan. You have a tunnel vision."
"Ha! How about I prove you wrong. I'll join Liu Bei, and I'll defeat Zhang Tong with my brain! Wanna make a bet?"
Xu Shu got annoyed by the provocation, "This is why I'm telling you that you have a tunnel vision. Look at the big picture! We have to deal with the Xiongnu first, not supporting an unknown force."
Pang Tong snorted, "You're the shortsighted one! Look at the map! Liu Bei's territory connects to the Xiongnu's borders. His forces will be the first one that gets hit if Khan wanted Luoyang. I'm joining him to fight the Xiongnu, as well as proving my points."
"What point?"
"Without the right strategists and ploys, how can we fight against the Xiongnu? I'll make Liu Bei's forces stronger, and Zhang Tong will be crying, begging Liu Bei for his help when I finished developing their forces."
"…"
Zhuge Liang also had enough of this mess. Although he was mad, the sleeping dragon calmly asked his friend.
"Why do you pick the Liu Bei?"
Pang Tong laughed, "Among all choices, they are the righteous one! Zhang Tong is a hypocrite idiot, while the Sun Clan are downright rebels. Also, Cao Cao is a power-hungry son of a bitch. On the other hand, Liu Bei never committed any crime! He never massacred innocent civilians like Zhang Tong. He never tried to create a false empress like Cao Cao, and he never tried to become a warlord at all! Look at Liu Bei's past records. He's clean, and merchants are calling him the Virtuous Liu! Did you know that Liu Bei is a distant relative of the royal blood? I think he should success the throne rather than Zhang Tong."
"…"
Everyone stopped arguing or trying to continue their conversation with Pang Tong.
He was beyond help.
.
Pang Tong left the village that day, traveling east toward Hongnong.
His uncle, Pang Degong, was furious when he learned that the impulsive 14-year-old boy got so overconfident to the point that he thought he could make a difference with his brain alone.
Still, Pang Degong did not stop this young boy. Instead, he moved his family to Hongnong as well, planning to support this child in the future. Pang Degong knew that his nephew would experience the cruelty of the real world soon, so he had to be there to pick him home.
