Don’t Tell Me This Is the True History of the Three Kingdoms! Vol 4 Chapter 28

Volume 4 Chapter 28: Don’t tell me this is the standoff period

Liu Bei POV

“My lord, another supply caravan has been intercepted.” A girl by the name of Feng Ji who wore a black gown said unhappily during the meeting.

If I remember correctly, she’s the one in charge of logistics.

“It’s the 3rd time this month already.” Another girl with a similarly irritated look to the side of Feng Ji added, “My lord, we may have reduced Cao Cao’s stores by a fair bit but ours have also reduced. Cao Cao has few men and horses, it is a prime opportunity for us to launch a decisive strike!”

“That so-called prime opportunity will arrive in 2 weeks! Right now, the Cao army is lacking resources and is seeking an opportunity to end this. By attacking, we are doing exactly what Cao Cao wants.” Tian Feng said as she pouted.

Ju Shou who sat beside her added in as well, “What Yuan Hao says is correct. Now that our supply caravans are being attacked, we should increase vigilance. There is no need to…”

“Then what you’re trying to say is that our defences are the problem right?!”

“Well of course they are! Must I say it out loud?”

“Tian Feng! You!”

The 4 girls, split into 2 on either side, kept saying the opposite of what the other side said and naturally ignited conflict. As the argument got more and more heated up, I, who was sitting at the end, couldn’t help but feel scares. Looking at Ben Chu sitting at the head, she had a look of irritation as always. I’m guessing that within the next 3-4 sentences, Ben Chu’s anger will explode.

Hai… With these strategists, I can’t really blame her for not knowing what to do. Speaking of which, I should probably try to think of something.

— *Pa*

Along with a heavy slam on the table, Yuan Shao stood up and began to scold angrily, “Aiya! Stop arguing already you…”

“U, umm!” When I saw that Ben Chu was about to lose herself in anger, I hurriedly stood up and interrupted her.

When they saw me stand, everyone quietened down and looked at me. Ben Chu, too, looked calm now unlike her irritated self from before and sat down. “What does Xuan De have to share?”

“… Ah.” It’s over, I just wanted to stop Yuan Shao from saying something bad out of anger and never thought about what to say.

I stood where I was, not sure what to say.

“If we must do something,” Just then, Tian Feng spoke up as she flicked her braids, “We can send an expedition to Mount Jiluo to see what is the status of the Cao army and whether they have any plans to retreat.”

“Ah! Yes, that was what I was going to say.” I seized the opportunity when I saw it.

Ben Chu seemed really happy when she heard me say this.

“Oh~ Xuan De is truly courageous and proactive huh~~” Ben Chu smiled, as though the irritation and frustration from before was just an illusion, “Alright! You’ll go with Yan Liang. She’s been a little crazy lately from a lack of fighting.”

“… Ah, yes.”

Speaking of which, does that mean I’ll be leading the expedition?

Only after everything was decided did I realise this problem.

(TL: The way the lead-up to the Battle of Guandu has changed is significant. In the original, there were many more skirmishes between the Battle of Baima and the Battle of Mount Jiluo, all of which Yuan Shao lost. Not only did he lose troops, he also lost good generals, supplies and morale kept falling. Only after a lot of skirmishes did Yuan Shao resort to attrition.)

Meng De POV

Ever since the Battle of Baima, where my cousin and Guan Yu both achieved victory, I’d thought that Ben Chu would get anxious and launch big offensive operations. Never did I imagine that an impatient fellow like her would play a game of attrition with me. Though my army has managed to intercept quite a few supply caravans, my main supply lines are a problem. Xun Yu back in Xuchang should probably be having a headache on the issue of procurement of supplies.

“My lord, according to the latest reports from the 1,000-man generals, our army has suffered another 200 odd deaths from disease… Ah!” Just then, Hu Chi came rus.h.i.+ng in from the door, and nearly slipped fell. Her small face was filled with anxiety, and even though it has been a few days since she last fought, her face was still covered in dust, “If we don’t find a way to solve this, we could have an epidemic on our hands soon.”

“Un…” I felt uneasy as I sat on the chair, “Have any generals fallen ill?”

“Cai Yang and Zhao Dong have fallen ill. Liu Yan’s shoulder injury has come back due to the weather.”

Oh? That many? Looks like I’ll have to go pay them a visit soon. I can’t be losing any generals due to disease at this time.

“Hu Chi, help me summon Hua Tuo. She should be able to do something.”

“About that, she has already begun treating them since 2 days ago,” Hu Chi said as she wiped the beads of sweat on her head, “But the cause of disease is due to the const.i.tution of the soldiers. Seems like they are unused to the environment and medicine, as well as other treatment methods, can’t do much.”

Is that so… Hai, that does make sense when you think about it.

I sighed in my heart as I got up and walked over to Hu Chi and patted her shoulders before I wiped the dust off her face.

“Hu Chi, you must make sure to take care of yourself as well. You’re strong and healthy but you’re still young. Don’t be getting sick at this time.”

“Oh, thanks for your concern, my lord.” Hu Chi seemed to have gotten more energetic at hearing my concern, “My lord shouldn’t tire herself out too much as well.”

“Un, don’t worry.” I nodded and rubbed Hu Chi’s forehead, “Go rest for now. There might not be any big battles recently, but we can’t afford to lower our guard.”

Hu Chi acknowledged what I said and ran out of the tent.

To me, Hu Chi’s energy is far more precious than her martial skills.

I only relaxed after seeing Hu Chi run a distance away. Though I’d made it seem like I had a solution, I was quite shaken inside.

If this goes on, I’ll have to retreat to Xuchang in 2 weeks. I wonder what Xun Yu has to say in such a dire situation.

I sat down on my seat, and raised my brush but stopped in mid-air for a long while before finally putting it down again.

“Is my lord thinking of writing to Wen Ruo?” I was honestly very surprised to hear a voice out of nowhere but I was able to suppress it somehow, and looked about calmly, trying to find the source.

“Is it Cheng Yu?” I asked.

“… It is indeed your retainer.” I looked outside the tent, and saw a small figure bowing, “I was just given new orders to go to Juan city in the meeting before, and wanted to say my farewells to my lord before leaving.”

“Oh. Juan city huh. That’s the frontlines, you better be careful.” Un, Juan city… “From what I remember, Juan city only has a few hundred troops right. I’ll give you a deployment order, bring another 2,000 men with you.”

“Ah, there is no need for that, my lord. Those few hundred men are enough,” She hurriedly turned me down when she heard what I said, “Yuan Shao will not dare to attack when she sees how few troops there are. If Yuan Shao does attack, and my lord increases the garrison there, it won’t be enough to hold out against Yuan Shao anyway and we will only increase our losses.”

(TL: A similar conversation and deployment also took place in the original.)

“Un… That does make sense, I’ll go along with what you said then.”

As she said so, Cheng Yu bowed once more. I thought she was going to leave but she stood there and spoke once more, “If my lord wishes to write to Wen Ruo, that is fine. My lord should just do as she wants.”

Eh?

“You’re not going to oppose me?”

When I heard Cheng Yu’s low voice, I was still wondering what she was going to say.

“Of course not, because I know what my lord will write and I can also guess what Wen Ruo will reply.” Cheng Yu nodded as she continued, “My lord is lacking of nothing but confidence.”

For some reason, I was convinced by Cheng Yu’s words and was about to inquire the reasons behind why she thought so but found that she had already left.

That fellow… She doesn’t speak much usually, but she probably knows everything.

I shook my head as I smiled and raised the brush once more as I slowly wrote what I thought.