The Three Kingdoms: Rise of the Western Liang Cavalry

Inside the council chamber, the flickering candlelight cast Qin Lie's figure on the wall, making him appear exceptionally tall and serene.

Before him lay three scrolls of letters, each with a distinct material, handwriting, and atmosphere.

The first letter came from Ji Province, from Yuan Shao.

The letter was made of the finest silk, and the handwriting was elegant and dignified, with every stroke revealing the prestige and status of a family that had produced four generations of high-ranking officials.

In his letter, Yuan Shao praised Qin Lie as a "young and brilliant ruler with the ambition to restore the Han Dynasty," denounced Li Jue, Guo Si, and their ilk as traitors to the country, and promised to form an alliance with Qin Lie to attack from both the east and the west and jointly punish the traitors.

After the matter is accomplished, he will submit a memorial to the court, requesting that Qin Lie be appointed as the governor of Liangzhou and to govern the western border region hereditarily.

Qin Lie's fingers lightly brushed over the three characters "Governor of Liangzhou," and a barely perceptible cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

What a hollow favor! Liangzhou is now mostly under Qin Lie's control, why would Yuan Shao need to bestow a title upon it?

This was nothing more than an attempt to use a hollow title to make Qin Lie the dagger used to stab Li Jue and Guo Si.

Yuan Shao was a man of great ambition but little talent, outwardly fierce but inwardly weak. He could be a friend for a time, but he was by no means an ally to whom one could entrust one's future.

The second letter came from Huainan, from Yuan Shu.

The letter was written on bamboo slips, the ink bold and unrestrained, and the words were filled with an undisguised arrogance and malice.

Unlike his brother, Yuan Shu did not engage in hypocritical attempts to win over Qin Lie. Instead, he directly denounced Qin Lie as a "remnant of Dong Zhuo," calling his occupation of Guanzhong "a monkey in a crown." He also declared that he had contacted the warlords of Guandong and would soon emulate the previous campaign against Dong Zhuo by forming a coalition to march west and attack Qin Lie, hoping that Qin Lie would "surrender the city as soon as possible and perhaps preserve his clan."

"A clown jumping around like a tree trunk."

Qin Lie only read a few lines before casually tossing the bamboo slip aside, showing no interest whatsoever in taking another look.

The skeletons in the tomb are nothing more than this.

Yuan Shu's threat was more like the barking of a mad dog; though loud, it was not worth paying attention to.

What he truly valued was the third letter.

This letter came from Dongjun, from Cao Cao.

The letter was written on the most ordinary hemp paper, with thin, hard characters, sharp and angular, as if carved by a knife and axe, each character containing a power that penetrates the back of the paper.

The letter contained neither insincere praise nor arrogant rebuke.

Cao Cao begins by pointing directly to the general trend of the world, stating that "the Han dynasty is in decline and the emperor is in distress." Guanzhong is the place where the emperor rose to power, and since Qin Lie has taken control of Guanzhong, he bears the hopes of the world.

He pointed out a path for Qin Lie: "Serve the emperor to command the disobedient."

Cao Cao advised Qin Lie to immediately welcome back Emperor Xian of Han, who was still in the hands of Li Jue and Guo Si, move the capital to Mei Wu, and use the emperor to command the world. In this way, Qin Lie's actions would not be "separatism" but "serving the emperor", which would be legitimate and justified. Which hero in the world would dare not obey?

Qin Lie's gaze lingered on the letter for a long time, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.

Cao Mengde, indeed Cao Mengde.

Incisive and to the point.

"Serving the emperor to command the disobedient" is indeed the best strategy to break the current deadlock and even to contend for supremacy in the future.

But Qin Lie was also well aware that this was also a poison.

Once the emperor is welcomed back, he will certainly gain a legitimate claim, but he will also immediately become the target of all the feudal lords in the land.

Moreover, with his current strength, can he really "command the disobedient"?

It seems we've only benefited others.

Cao Cao's plan was an open scheme, straightforward yet subtly cunning. He was testing Qin Lie's magnanimity and ambition, and also searching for a stepping stone for his own future.

Three letters, three attitudes, representing the thoughts of the three major powers in Kanto.

Yuan Shao wanted to use him, Yuan Shu wanted to eliminate him, and Cao Cao wanted to guide him, or rather, to control him.

Qin Lie slowly closed his eyes, and the chessboard of the entire world appeared in his mind.

Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao... these are all important pieces on the chessboard, but he doesn't want to play against them so soon.

He needs time.

Guanzhong needs time to recover, Liangzhou needs time to fully integrate, and his new army needs time to forge its military spirit.

The biggest variable right now, which is both a threat and an opportunity, does not come from the distant Guandong, but from the nearby Hangu Pass.

Lü Bu.

Qin Lie opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright.

He knew Lü Bu's value well. His unparalleled martial prowess and the formidable Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry would be like adding wings to a tiger if he could recruit them.

However, he also knew Lu Bu's temperament well: fickle, opportunistic, and like a peerless, deadly blade without a scabbard, which could harm its wielder at any moment.

To subdue or to expel?

Qin Lie already had a plan in mind.

We must give it a try, no matter what.

"Someone come here."

He said in a deep voice.

A bodyguard entered in response.

"Pass down the order."

Qin Lie's voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet council hall.

"Prepare a generous gift and send a skilled and eloquent person to Hangu Pass immediately to pay a visit to Marquis Wen."

"yes!"

After the guards withdrew, Qin Lie picked up a pen and ink and began to draft a reply to Cao Cao.

He couldn't afford to offend this future northern overlord, but he also couldn't let him lead him by the nose.

The letter must be written in a humble yet firm tone, expressing both the writer's sincere desire to "serve the Han Dynasty" and the fact that Guanzhong was in dire need of reconstruction and that pacifying the people was the priority. The implication was that the time was not yet ripe to welcome back the emperor and that the matter required careful consideration.

As for Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu...

Qin Lie looked at the two letters and smiled faintly.

Let them scramble in the quagmire of Northeast China a little longer.

He threw the two letters into the candlelight, watching them curl up and char in the flames, eventually turning into a wisp of smoke and dissipating into the deep night of Meiwu.

The game had begun, but he wasn't in a hurry to make a move.

What he needs to do first is to clean up his own chessboard.

The official road leading to Hangu Pass appeared particularly desolate in the cool autumn breeze.

The dust kicked up by carts and horses lingered for a long time, like a silent sigh from this land.

Chen Wu rode alone, followed by only a dozen or so guards, escorting several carriages. Inside the carriages were "generous gifts" carefully prepared by Qin Lie—not gold or silver jewelry, but top-quality Guanzhong millet, Liangzhou dried beef and mutton, and dozens of jars of strong liquor brewed by the Qin family of Fufeng.

For a lone army lacking food, these things are far more heartwarming than cold gold.

Hangu Pass, a formidable pass under heaven.

It stands silently between heaven and earth, like a primordial beast, guarding the throat between Guanzhong and Guandong.

On the wall, a large banner with the character "吕" fluttered in the wind. The edges of the banner were already damaged, but it still exuded an indomitable pride, just like its owner.

Lü Bu's army camp was set up below the pass.

The camp was filled with the smell of iron, blood, and dust, along with a lingering sense of unease.

The soldiers of the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry were all well-armored and burly, but their eyes, like those of their commander, held a mixture of confusion and wariness.

They are wolves, with the sharpest fangs in the world, but at this moment, this pack of wolves has lost the grassland and is trapped in this narrow passage, unable to move forward or backward.