Vol 9 Chapter 36 (2/2)

“Xun Yu, what you said makes sense.” I nodded, “But you must know that though benign for now, Ben Chu is still a latent threat. In the long run, while she holds troop command rights and territory, she might try to usurp the Han if it continues to weaken. What I am doing is reducing her strength. I have no intention of removing her command rights.”

What I said was more or less what I thought. n.o.body can predict what can happen in the future after all. Even me.

“Alright, I understand.” Xun Yu nodded when I finished and bowed like a Court official, “I’ll pa.s.s on the information as you said then.”

“Xun Yu,” Before she could move, I stopped her.

“Un?”

“Use the door.” I said as I pointed towards the door, “You still need to work on those habits of yours.”

Xun Yu wordlessly bowed and left.

Soon, my southern expedition will begin, I thought and grew agitated as I stared at Xun Yu’s back. I am not worried about whether or not I will achieve victory as it will happen. All I am worried about is how long it will take.

If possible, I wish to achieve victory as soon as possible.

The vanguard numbers 30,000 huh… 10,000 of mine and 20,000 from Ben Chu.

…

Hai… Even though Ben Chu sending more troops is a good thing, I do not know why this irritates me greatly, to the point where I cannot even sit still. What is going on here…

“Imperial Chancellor.”

“Un?!” An eerie voice that suddenly came gave me a shock and when I looked up, I saw that Xun Yu was still here, “Didn’t you just leave?”

“I did.” Xun Yu nodded and said, “But I have some things that I feel I should tell Imperial Chancellor.”

Is there any problem? Could it be related to Ben Chu from before?

“Go ahead and say it.” I nodded, suppressing my displeasure and waited for Xun Yu to speak.

“Imperial Chancellor, are you also attacking Jing state for the sake of avenging Lord Liu Bei?”

“… Eh?” I made a silly noise from surprise when I heard what Xun Yu said but I soon understood what she meant and feigned calm as I asked, “Why do you think so? You wouldn’t have believed that what I told Ben Chu at the start was real, did you? I was just using that as a reason to get Ben Chu to promise to reinforce our campaign.”

I did not usually have to elaborate this much when explaining myself but as I did so, doubt began to spring forth in my heart. In my heart of hearts, am I attacking Jing state so that I can avenge Xuan De?

Though it is true that I have to accelerate my pace now that I am the only one left who can save the world, do I also hope to avenge Xuan De deep down inside?

…

“I don’t doubt what you just said.” Xun Yu nodded as she said so and looked up before she continued, “But Lord Cheng Yu has suggested to you multiple times before to begin the southern campaign. Yet you only did so now, after Lord Liu Bei died after being pursued by a Jing state general. Are you–”

“Haha, that has no relation at all.” I smiled as I shook my head, “The reason why I’ve decided to proceed now is because the time is ripe. Besides, I wish to unify the world as soon as possible.”

Naturally, I did not believe in this. The reason why I smiled was because I got seen through by my strategist.

Yes, I want to avenge Xuan De. And I want to do so using my own power. Which is why I felt discomfort when I thought about how Ben Chu was supplying more troops. I felt displeased at myself for not being able to contribute more.

But… All this was not important anymore.

“It’s fine, Xun Yu. It’s fine even if you don’t believe me.” I shook my head and pointed into the air, “I have 1 more message for Cao Ren. Tell them to launch an attack as soon as they are ready on Xuan De’s faction garrisoned at Xinye. Now that their lord is dead, there will undoubtedly be internal turmoil. If we can seize the initiative and launch an attack, we can try to recruit Xuan De’s retainers to our cause.”

Will you finally believe me now?

When I finished, I found myself get more and more agitated as I said so and hurriedly reined in myself.

Xun Yu looked at me and closed her eyes after a moment before nodding and getting up, “I understand. I worried too much. I will notify them to attack Xinye. I believe that Imperial Chancellor decided on this for the sake of the big picture.”

“Un, definitely.”

This reply was not a lie, I did indeed believe so. I am not Ben Chu. My choices may be impulsive at the beginning, but I always consider the outcomes before following through.

“Xun Yu, let me be honest with you for a moment here.” I said slowly as I looked at Xun Yu’s back, “You can say that I have changed or I have grown anxious. But now that I’ve decided to hasten my plans, I will not change my decision in future.”

Even if Liu Bei is still alive.

Of course, this is impossible.

There were more words I had to say but I kept them in my heart, for I would never be able to tell the person they were intended for.

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