Surviving as Guan Yu in the Three Kingdoms

“Even though we captured Linzi City by ourselves, it ended too easily. Don’t you think so, Big Brother Unjang, Big Sister Xuande?”

As Zhang Fei said, after the fall of Linzi City, this rebellion was suppressed unbelievably quickly.

Not only Ji County, which Hudang had controlled, but other commanderies including Le’an and Beihai either surrendered or fled as soon as the army led by Kong Rong, the Governor of Qing Province, appeared.

Some of Hudang’s loyal followers did resist by locking the city gates, but they were soon defeated when their cities fell.

“I never thought a rebellion that had occupied more than half of Qing Province would be suppressed in just two months because one head was lost, Yide.”

As Liu Bei agreed, Zhang Fei burst out in frustration.

“But isn’t the Governor of Qing Province being too much? After we captured Linzi City, he didn’t give us any more opportunities to gain merit. We were supposed to earn merits for the country and receive official positions through this opportunity.”
“The Governor of Qing Province probably ordered us to stabilize the area around Linzi City, intending for us to rest easily since we had already performed greatly. Don’t you think so, Unjang?”

Liu Bei was laughing as if it was fine, but it couldn’t be fine.

Because in suppressing a rebellion, the easiest way to gain merit is to defeat demoralized enemies or capture cities.

And usually, these opportunities should be yielded to those who have already achieved great merits, to allow them to receive more rewards…

It’s impossible to feel good when Kong Rong, the Governor of Qing Province, unethically didn’t give us such chances and instead told us to stay put in a corner.

They’re probably holding back because this is the Governor’s office, and they don’t know whose ears rumors might reach.

“No matter what anyone says, our Liu Bei army achieved the greatest merit in this rebellion. So there’s no need to desperately seek small merits.”
“Unjang is right, Yide. In any case, the world will remember that we played the biggest role in suppressing this rebellion.”

In any war, apart from the supreme commander of the victorious side, the people most remembered are those who killed the ‘enemy supreme commander’ or captured the ‘enemy capital’.

And we accomplished both of these difficult feats, so the name Liu Xuande will surely spread widely throughout the Han empire.

Even after hearing this, Zhang Fei sighed as if still disappointed.

“Still, I wanted to achieve even greater merit in this opportunity.”
“Don’t be too disappointed, Yide. Even with this much, we should be able to secure at least a decent County Magistrate position.”

Considering the merit we achieved this time, it’s definitely worth aiming for.

Of course, in this era, even the Emperor Ling is corrupt, so we’ll probably have to bribe some eunuchs, but still.

But to do that, we’d need to persuade Liu Bei, how should we do it?

As I kept pondering, we found ourselves standing before Kong Rong, the Governor of Qing Province, along with other Prefects, County Magistrates, and generals.

When we first saw him, Kong Rong had looked visibly worn out, but now there was no trace of that.

His face bore the relaxed smile characteristic of high-ranking officials, and every movement of his body exuded composure and a certain dignity.

He noticed us and spoke with a seemingly welcoming demeanor.

“Oh, General Liu. You’ve come already?”

On the surface, he appeared to be warmly welcoming us, the top contributors to this war.

However, looking closely, he wasn’t approaching us as enthusiastically as Liu Yan, the former Governor of You Province, had greeted us.

Moreover, he was deliberately showing the difference by sitting in the seat of honor and displaying his authority.

‘You may have achieved great merit this time, but don’t get cocky.’

Is he trying to warn us like this?

Anyway, I have no intention of putting down roots in Qing Province under your rule.

If this were Xu Province, I would have seriously considered it, but why would Liu Bei bother with Qing Province?

‘Besides, this is still an era where the authority of government officials appointed by the court is alive.’

There’s nothing to gain by quarreling with the Governor of Qing Province.

“Yes, Governor.”
“Right, the ones next to General Liu were Unjang and Yide, correct? Both of them are truly excellent. As expected of generals under General Liu, who beheaded Hudang, the troublemaker of Qing Province.”

Zhang Fei and I also expressed our gratitude for those words.

Kong Rong looked down at us and unrolled the scroll in his hand.

Then he kept reciting stories that didn’t really need to be heard.

It was to the point where I wished he had just told us stories about how the Emperor was so amazing that he could make grenades out of pine needles and turn sand into rice by rolling on it, rather than reading this useless rhetoric.

After several minutes of this tedious shower of praise, he finally began to recite the main content.

“To Liu Bei, who has rendered great service in saving Qing Province, I will reward with 40 million coins, 2,000 rolls of silk, 500 taels of gold, and other items from the warehouse in Linzi City. Furthermore, I will submit a memorial to His Majesty, reporting Liu Bei’s merits in full detail without omission.”

Although the items received here should be appropriately distributed by Liu Bei to his subordinates, to think he would give 40 million coins alone…

With this money, one could buy a decent Prefect position even without achieving any merit, and have some left over.

And combined with the other treasures, we could use this as a base to recruit more soldiers and expand our scale.

This seems like it will be much easier to start than I thought?

“Thank you for the excessive reward.”
“Compared to saving Qing Province, which was on the brink of ruin, this is barely enough to apologize for not being able to do more.”

Even just looking at his expression, one can tell it’s an empty phrase, but I’ll let it slide.

“Well, in my heart, I’d like the hero of Qing Province, General Liu, who has won the hearts of countless people, to stay longer. But since General Liu is a volunteer army, shouldn’t you go elsewhere to achieve more merits and become an even greater person?”

Interpreting those words directly, it means:

‘I’ve given you enough rewards so you won’t be upset, so don’t put down roots here and bother me, just get out.’

I can’t say I don’t understand his feelings.

In actual history, Liu Bei was able to easily take Jing Province and Yi Province because he greatly won the hearts of the local gentry and people living in those regions.

Kong Rong must be afraid of ending up in a similar situation.

Liu Bei seemed to understand those words too, as he briefly frowned.

“Yes, I intend to contribute to stabilizing this chaotic world and achieve even greater merit.”
“Do you have a place to go?”
“My teacher, Zhonglang General Lu Zhi, is currently facing the Yellow Turbans in Ji Province. I wish to join under his command and achieve more merit.”

Kong Rong’s face brightened at those words.

“Is that so? That’s a good idea. Indeed, how can one be human if they stand idle while their teacher is struggling? I’ll provide you with horses and carriages, so hurry on your way. In my heart, I’d like to leisurely share a drink with General Liu, but it can’t be helped.”

With that, Kong Rong essentially issued us an order to leave.

Thanks to us, this Governor of Qing Province avoided the crisis of losing Qing Province, yet he’s trying to send us away like this…

In a place where others couldn’t hear, Zhang Fei sighed and complained.

“We recovered Qing Province that was practically lost, but instead of being grateful and treating us well like that Governor of You Province, he’s just trying to drive us out quickly. Isn’t that too much?”

Liu Bei, as if he couldn’t bear it anymore, agreed.

“Yide is right. The reward may have been generous to the point of being exceptional because of others watching, but to treat us, his benefactors, like this.”
“That’s what I’m saying. This is why… ah, I should stop talking.”

I patted Zhang Fei’s shoulder.

“Don’t dwell on such things too much. Isn’t the most important thing that we’ve now made a name for ourselves twice in the world? At first, everyone might treat it as luck, but with the second time, they’ll all acknowledge our abilities.”
“I guess so, Big Brother Unjang?”
“And it’s much more comfortable to drink and rest easily with other soldiers here today than to drink with some high-ranking official. Let’s think positively.”

There’s no need to feel bad here because of someone like Kong Rong.

Besides, he’s going to lose his position soon after the Yellow Turban Rebellion ends anyway.

“Alright, we’ve received a lot of money today. Unjang, Yide, let’s eat and drink heartily today. Even Master Zhang, who’s always fussy about money, will probably let it slide for just today.”

As the atmosphere heated up, I noticed Taishi Ci intently watching us from a corner of the office.

I was planning to go find him after having some fun, but this changes things.

“Lord Xuande, I have something to discuss with Gongcaosa Taishi over there, so I’ll go ahead first.”
As I’ve thought many times before, Taishi Ci is too good for a boar-like fellow like Sun Ce who only knows how to charge ahead.
So I must make him fully demonstrate his capabilities under Liu Bei.
That’s the way for everyone to be happy.
Except for Sun Ce and Wu, that is.