Chapter 418 – Xiangyang's Hidden Strategists – Part Two
Zhuge Liang smiled at his friends, "Chanyu Khan has fewer troops than you thought. He didn't have 700,000 men from the very beginning. Everything was an illusion that Khan created."
"How did you know?"
"Well, Yuanzhi just said it himself. His movement is weird, right?"
"Right."
"Then, your instinct is correct. Khan didn't have that 700,000 men when the Battle of Hulao Gate took place."
"Then, how did he get so many troops?"
"Who knows? Maybe it's one of his immortal magic, perhaps?"
"Geez! Do you know anything at all!?" Pang Tong and Xu Shu got annoyed since Zhuge Liang hardly contributed to the analysis.
Zhuge Liang snickered, "Well, let's say Khan has a magic that can create troops. Will this theory fit with the movements?"
"But they also needed food and weaponry. Khan didn't focus on his domestic affair, so he should have all of those."
"Then, he has that magic that can create food and weapons, too."
"That's absurd! No human can be that omnipotent! Is he a god or something!?"
Zhuge Liang shrugged, "Eh, isn't he an immortal? He's not a human, right?"
"…"
"…"
Xu Shu and Pang Tong could not retort. They fell into silence as they were reevaluating the Xiongnu invasion and their movements again.
Seeing their troubled faces, Zhuge Liang held his laughter. He took out three pieces of clothes with letters on it and a golden scroll.
"A confession. Actually, one of the warlords told me about this info. Sorry about that!"
"Kongming, you cheating bastard!"
"Ahahaha! I couldn't help it. I want to tease you."
Pang Tong and Xu Shu shifted their attention to the cloth letters and the scroll, "Which one is the intel?"
"Only in the scroll."
"What about the papers? What are those for?"
Zhuge Liang took one of the papers and patted it, "This one is from Cao Cao. It's an invitation letter, telling me to serve him."
Xu Shu and Pang Tong were shocked.
"WHAT!? THEY SCOUTED YOU!?"
"Don't get shocked yet. The second letter is from Zhou Yu, the head strategist of the Sun Clan. And the third one is from Liu Bei, a governor of Hongnong."
"Wow, you're popular! Are they all invitation letters?"
"Yup. Liu Bei and Sun Fang want all of us three, but Cao Cao only wants me. Odd, right?"
"Hell, you getting these three letters is the odd one! Why didn't they send it to senior Sima Hui or the others?"
While Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang were focusing on the three letters, Xu Shu inspected the golden scroll.
"Don't tell me that this is from the emperor?"
Zhuge Liang made a post by pointing his index fingers at Xu Shu while pointing his thumbs upward.
"That's right! It's from Zhang Tong."
"WTF!?"
Xu Shu and Pang Tong could not hide their envy anymore. They stared at Zhuge Liang with burning eyes.
"Tell us! Is he inviting you, too!?"
Zhuge Liang waved his hand, "Nah, it's a warning."
"A warning?"
"He tells me that I have three choices. One, serve him. Two, don't participate in this civil war or join anyone. And three, join someone other than himself."
"…"
Xu Shu and Pang Tong could not comprehend the purpose of Tong's messages.
Zhuge Liang continued, "Most of Zhang Tong's messages are updated information about every warlord's military strength, including his forces and Khan's forces. Zhang Tong also added immortal specialist abilities in the info, such as [Create Food], [Lifespans], [Private World], and [Inventory], which is groundbreaking."
The two could not stay calm anymore after they heard Zhuge Liang's explanation. They took the scroll to read it.
As Zhuge Liang stated, Tong told them about his system power, his economic strength, and weaknesses. It shocked them that Tong was willing to reveal these secrets to the outsiders.
"What is he thinking?"
Xu Shu sighed, "I think Zhang Tong is trying to win Kongming's favor by being honest."
Pang Tong frowned, "Really? I think it's a threat. What do you think, Kongming?"
"You're both wrong. He's probing us and telling us not to get involved in their fight."
"Are you sure?"
Zhuge Liang sighed, "Think about it. Zhang Tong is the current emperor, and he can always force me to serve him with just a simple mandate. Yet, he didn't. He didn't try to coax me to serve him with beautiful words either, like the other three letters."
The three letters had beautiful handwriting, which they praised Zhuge Liang for being talented. All of them had the same purpose, winning his favor.
However, Tong's letter did not care about praising Zhuge Liang or the other two. Instead, it was a general information report.
Moreover, the latter part of the scroll contained a hidden challenge.
"Look at the end of the scroll."
"Huh?"
The two looked at it.
Tong left a message for everyone.
[I don't care if you're going to work for anyone. But know this, I can take this country by force at any time, with or without your help.]
[If you picked my first choice, then I'll put you to a job where it suits your talent.]
[If you picked the second choice, I'll respect it and won't bother with your peaceful life again.]
[If you picked the last option, I hope we can have a good fight in the future battlefields. Good luck.]
Pang Tong was on the verge of anger, "This is a fucking challenge! Who does he think he is!? With or without our talent!? Goddamn, he's egotistic!"
Xu Shu had a wry smile on his face, "He's telling us that he has enough strategists that we won't make a difference had we joined them."
Zhuge Liang did not say anything. He enjoyed observing his peers in silence.
Pang Tong noticed that and glared at him, "What choice will you pick?"
"I wonder."
"Let me change the question. Which lord will you serve?"
"I wonder."
"You'd better not fucking join Zhang Tong! I don't like his guts. He's disrespectful, you know? We are the future brains of their army, but he treats us as disposable objects? No, thank you! I'll pick someone that can be Zhang Tong's enemy. I want to beat his forces, so I can shove this intimidation letter down his ass."
Listened to Pang Tong, Zhuge Liang had a wry smile on his face.
'You're the egotistic one, Shiyuan. Don't you see the hidden messages? Didn't I tell you that he's probing us? He's testing our temper with provoking messages, and you've failed his test. In battles, we can't be easily provoked with a few disrespectful words.'
Zhuge Liang turned to Xu Shu, who was rereading all letters in solemn.
'He's calm, so he should be able to notice it.'
As Zhuge Liang had predicted, Xu Shu noticed Tong's irregular wordings. The pattern of the beginning was threatening, telling them outright that they had only three choices to pick. Yet, the middle section filled with information, which written in a formal tone. In the end, Tong used short messages to provoke them again, but it was softer than the heading.
Moreover, Tong's tone was respectful in the last message.
[If you picked the last option, I hope we can have a good fight in the future battlefields. Good luck.]
It was a message contained his sportsmanship, praying for the opponent.
"Zhang Tong is not an egotistic person, Shiyuan. You've mistaken," Xu Shu looked at his angry friend.
"He's an asshole to me. Your thought won't change my opinion!"
"You're judging people by his messages? This is a tactical letter, you know? He wants to see our reaction to this information."
"Then, he's an asshole for testing us! If he's a good emperor, why didn't he come and invite us himself!? At least, he should have given us a noble title, gold, and houses that we deserve!"
"…"
Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu sighed. Sometimes, having too much knowledge could corrupt their attitude.
At this moment, Pang Degong, Pang Tong's uncle, visited their courtyard to pick up his nephew. When he heard the disrespectful words from his relative, he hammered his fist on top of Pang Tong's head.
"Who are you calling an asshole!? You'd better be grateful that his majesty is fighting against Xiongnu at Liang Province right now. Or else, the Xiongnu would have enough supplies from the west, and we would have been in trouble! Come with me, I'll discipline you about people's judging and reading human characters!"
Pang Tong screamed as he was dragged by his collar.
Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu snickered at the demise of his friend.
"Damn you, Kongming, Yuanzhi! I know that you're laughing!"
"Ahahaha!"
"Have fun, Shiyuan!"
.
When Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu were left alone, the former turned to the latter, "Who do you want to serve if we have to serve someone?"
Xu Shu had a bitter smile, "Any force that is willing to fight the Xiongnu."
"Zhang Tong, then?"
"Zhang Tong has enough talented people. I won't be able to do much under his rules."
"Are you sure? He's the only force that is fighting against the Xiongnu right now."
"It will change once Khan invades the Jing Province. They will understand the urgency, and I can use my talent."
"I see …"
"What about you? Are you joining anyone?"
"I'm not ready to serve anyone. There are still too many things to learn. I haven't memorized the weather annuls yet."
"Memorizing weather conditions can't bring changes to the battlefields."
"Who knows? Maybe one day, I'll be able to predict a wind direction and calculate a fire tactic in the future."
"Right. I wonder if you can burn anyone when Zhang Tong and Cao Cao are using magic weapons."
.
Meanwhile, a figure infiltrated Xiangyang City.
It was Pu Jing, whom Cao Cao had sent to kill Zhuge Liang and his friends.
Pu Jing's eyes glowed while his two angel wings behind his back fluttered.
'I hope you accept our invitation, Kongming. Or else, I have to stain my hands again.'
The former KGB agent decided to put this legendary strategist on his blacklist.
.
Cao Cao was not the only one who wanted Zhuge Liang dead. Zhou Yu also sent an assassin to Xiangyang.
Gan Ning, a water bandit, hired by Zhou Yu, came here with the same mission as Pu Jing.
This year, Gan Ning had turned 18. He had yet to give up pillaging and joining Liu Biao in history. As Zhou Yu obtained a reference from his dream, he pulled many talented officers to his sides, such as Lu Meng, Zhou Tai, Ling Cao, and many others.
The water bandit was excited as he was recognized by a noble clan.
'I don't have to continue living as a pirate anymore. Once this job is done, I'll probably get promoted by the Sun Clan. Hahaha, sweet!'
.
Both Cao Cao and Zhou Yu didn't know that their actions would provoke the sleeping dragon.
