Vol 8 Chapter 1 (2/2)

“My lord clearly knows that the large-scale battle isn’t that sort of small skirmish yet my lord still lies so blatantly.”

Ah, looks like I can’t get it past her huh. Looking at Cheng Yu’s angry face, I know that she has seen through all that I just said. I wonder if she picked up the ability to see through my thoughts recently, or if she already had such a skill from her experiences. Whatever the case, it looks like I’ll have to be completely frank with her.

“I know what you want to say. Now that we have unified the north, we should quickly advance down south and take Jing state to further our ambitions. But the southern powers will not be easily defeated. Why not wait for them to weaken each other before making our move?”

“When 2 armies clash, 1 will win and 1 will lose. Between Jiangdong and Jing state, Jiangdong has the upper hand be it might or morals. Has it never crossed my lord’s mind that the Sun family could have both Jiangdong and Jing state while we’re resting? When that time comes, it will be too late for us to act.”

Un… I sighed as I sat down on a chair in the terrace. The chair was covered by a soft and warm piece of beast hide sent by a Wuhuan amba.s.sador. Just touching it made me feel warm.

Of course, I won’t forget the pain and suffering from the battles with them because of this. Some things remain etched in your memories even after a long time has pa.s.sed, and you never truly get over them.

“Cheng Yu, I understand what you’re saying but the Sun family is not as strong as you say they are.” I continued, “If Jing state is imperiled, we can immediately deploy troops into Jing state in the name of reinforcing them against Jiangdong. We can also launch a 2-p.r.o.nged attack on Shouchun and other areas from Xu state and Hefei–”

“My lord, I heard that Liu Bei has sought refuge with Jing state.”

“… Liu Bei huh? I see.” I did my best to remain calm and nonchalant while acting like I only just heard about this.

“My lord, you still can’t commit to eradicating Liu Bei?” Cheng Yu was clearly doubtful of my countenance.

“No such thing… When the time comes to advance south, I will do so. I have my own plans for this.” I said as I got up, and made to leave as I had no intention of arguing this point any further.

Perhaps Cheng Yu felt that it was enough for now, and didn’t say any further nor did she follow me. She only stood there on the terrace, perhaps she was looking at me, or at the stars, as she knew she had attained her objective.

I know that doing so makes me look like I’m running away but I have no intent of doing that. Cheng Yu, Xun Yu and the deceased Feng Xiao have continued to drive home the need to eradicate Xuan De. So the closer I get to this step, the more my personal feelings get in the way. Even if I don’t want to think about it.

I don’t feel like I’m intentionally giving leeway to Xuan De but I must admit that my time with Xuan De in Xuchang was a happy time, and also the only time I ever felt relaxed.

As I thought so, I did my best not to think about it as I stepped down the terrace and headed in the direction of my room.

“Meng De, are you going to begin the southern campaign?”

After just taking 2 steps, I heard a high pitched and elegant female voice call out to me. There aren’t many people I know who speak with such airs. Or perhaps, there is only 1.

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