Mythical Three Kingdoms

"General Wen!" Yuan Tan was horrified. Seeing the faint smile on Wen Chou's lips and the enormous wound, how could he not understand what had happened? He burst into anguished tears—Hebei's renowned General Wen Chou was dead!

Following the suggestions of Sheni Pei, Xun Shen, and Xuu You, Gao Gan, Jiangh Yiqu, Jiangh Qi, and the Lyu Brothers immediately supported Yuan Tan in succeeding Yuan Shao's official position and title. They gathered Yuan Shao's, Tian Feng's, and Wen Chou's corpses, held funeral rites, and retreated to Xindu as Ye City was no longer safe. The Xuanyuan Cauldron would also need to be relocated.

Simultaneously, Yuan Tan, to prevent Liu Bei from launching another attack, ordered his subordinates to negotiate with Liu Bei and collect the bodies of fallen ministers while actively preparing for war. According to Sheni Pei's advice, they planned to transform their entire territory into a massive fortress to guard against potential threats.

Meanwhile, Li Youu, proceeding unhurriedly, was soon overtaken by Hua Xiong and Zhao Yun. When they saw Li Youu, both were delighted and instantly understood the true circumstances behind Yuan Shao's death.

"Greetings, Military Advisor!" "Greetings, Assistant Officer Li!" Hua Xiong, along with his subordinates and Zhao Yun, clasped their fists and saluted. However, Hua Xiong and his subordinates referred to Li Youu differently than Zhao Yun did.

"No need for formalities. This is Old General Huang, who recently shot down Yuan Shao." Li Youu casually introduced, attributing the merit entirely to Huang Zhong. After all, in Li Youu's assessment, Huang Zhong was a capable commander regardless of his extraordinary martial skills.

Moreover, Li Youu, though only recently acquainted with Huang Zhong, recognized his unwavering loyalty. Naturally, Li Youu was happy to lend him support. After establishing dominance in the North, Liu Bei's power soared, marking its peak. Any force transitioning from its formative stage to its peak required a sound system.

That meant that from this moment forward, cases of extraordinary promotions would continuously decrease, perhaps even vanish altogether. A structure approaching stability could only be compromised by excessive exceptional appointments, potentially causing internal dissatisfaction and eroding the foundation.

It could be said that after this battle, the drive toward long-term stability meant that official promotions were no longer solely dependent on a single statement from Liu Bei or Chen Xi—the founding elders had far more to consider!

Without this achievement, Huang Zhong joining Liu Bei's ranks might have seen him, despite his exceptional abilities, begin as no more than a Seventh Rank Subordinate General. Best case scenario: he would start as a Vice General and gradually accumulate merits to rise to command. Even Huang Zhong would likely need two to three years to achieve this.

Historically, Huang Zhong took five to six years from the time he joined Liu Bei's ranks to earn promotion to a Fifth Rank General Who Conquers the Rebels during the conquest of Yizhou. Later, with Fa Zheng's assistance, he slew Xiahou Yuan and climbed to the near pinnacle title of General Who Conquers the West, just below the rank of the Three Dukes. If Huang Zhong had relied solely on seniority, his life might have seen him capped at Fourth Rank...

Thus, it was evident that relying on seniority alone was an unreliable method. Li Youu calculated that by having Huang Zhong slay Yuan Shao, coupled with endorsements from himself and Jia Xu, and after persuading Chen Xi, Huang Zhong would securely command an army.

Even if his rank did not exceed Fourth Grade, simply possessing an army would significantly ease many matters. After all, Wei Yan had Liu Bei and Guan Yu's strong backing and occasional guidance from Guo Jia. Even then, it had taken Wei Yan over a year to establish himself under Guan Yu's command.

Huang Zhong had no clue about such intricate maneuvers. To him, resorting to such means was disgraceful!

Under these circumstances, Zhao Yun and Hua Xiong's admiration naturally left Huang Zhong embarrassed. He could only respond to their praise in silence, feeling that this situation was utterly dishonorable.

"Enough. No further questions. Go check on Yunchang's condition." Li Youu cast a glance at Hua Xiong without elaborating. It was evident that when Hu Feng and Hu Zhen saw Li Youu, they were already dumbstruck but knew enough not to speak recklessly lest they invite death. They stood wide-eyed, following Hua Xiong, witnessing Li Ru alive!

Li Youu's group was entirely cavalry. Their speed ensured they quickly reached the battleground where Guan Yu had confronted Wen Chou. Only Guan Yu remained standing there.

"Greetings, Assistant Officer Li!" Guan Yu, seeing Li Youu, hesitated briefly before bowing respectfully, clearly understanding who had dealt the fatal blow to Yuan Shao.

"You're not injured?" Li Youu tilted his head, asking.

"Thank you for your concern, Assistant Officer." Guan Yu replied with a bow. "Merely a penetrating wound. Wen Chou gave his all; he was a worthy opponent."

"That's good to hear. Let's go relay this joyous news to our lord. It's time to initiate our contingency plans in Hebei. As for Ye City, we'll send light cavalry to raid it later. The guard general there is already one of ours." Li Youu spoke nonchalantly.

Returning to camp, Li Youu found Chen Xi, Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Lub Su, Liu Ye, Xu Shu, and others waiting outside. Initially, only Jia Xu and Guo Jia—suspecting Li Youu's appearance—had come to greet him. But Chen Xi followed, and soon everyone had arrived.

"Ah, Wen Ru, judging by your demeanor, I assume you've dealt with Yuan Shao. Let's hope this doesn't turn into another debacle like Xuzhou." Chen Xi approached with a joking tone, extending a hand toward Li Youu.

"He's dead," Li Youu remarked solemnly, still recalling how, back in Chang'an, Yuan Shao had faced off against Dong Zhuo with a sword while other ministers cowered like dogs. He equally remembered Yuan Shao's heroic presence under Hulao Pass, commanding fierceness as his blade pointed toward Chang'an. And now, he was gone—felled by their relentless scheming.

"So it was ultimately you." Guo Jia shook his head. "Distribute merit! Distribute merit!"

"Actually, it wasn't me. Old General Huang shot him in a single arrow." Li Youu raised his hand, gesturing toward Huang Zhong. Chen Xi's eyes lit up with brilliance.

"Excellent work! I didn't expect a veteran General like you to achieve such a feat. I've heard tales of your fierce battle against Lyu Bu under Jiangling City. You truly are a hero. Since this is the case, please—" Chen Xi smiled, motioning with an inviting gesture. The intent was self-evident; he knew this was the optimal moment for Huang Zhong to integrate into Liu Bei's Army.

Behind Li Youu, Chen Xi discreetly gave a thumbs-up. Inwardly, he began planning to allocate a corps to Huang Zhong, ensuring he accumulated merits. With Huang Zhong's achievement of taking down Yuan Shao, heavy rewards were certainly warranted. While this did involve a degree of fast-tracking, Huang Zhong's skill and competence were more than adequate to justify it!

"Let's go deliver the news to Lord Xuande." Chen Xi waved his hand, and the group rode into camp. Only victors of such pivotal triumphs could ride horses within the military camp.

"The entire realm likely never imagined our army could claim the overlordship with a single decisive battle. The undertaking of kingship and dominance—it challenges the whole world. Who will respond to this now, I wonder? Should we deliberately leave some traces behind?" Liu Ye laughed uproariously. Only someone like Liu Ye, a member of the Liu Clan, would dare utter such brazen words publicly. (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to visit Qidian [qidian.com] to cast recommendation and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)