Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Liu Yan held the letter and read it over and over again three times, his hands trembling more and more violently.

Finally, he slammed his fist on the table, gritted his teeth, and shouted, "Quick! Summon Dong Fu, Zhao Wei, Liu Mao, Wu Yi, and Wu Ban all here! Immediately! Right now! Assemble in the council chamber!"

Before long, several people rushed over in a hurry.

Upon entering the council hall, one could see Liu Yan sitting in the main seat with a grim expression, the letter from Luoyang lying on the table.

They picked up the letter and passed it around. After reading it, they all understood perfectly well that it was about something in the north, and they didn't dare to breathe too loudly.

"Please sit down."

Liu Yan waved his hand weakly and said:

"You've all seen the letter from Luoyang. Liu Ce has taken Hanzhong, and now the letter has been delivered to me, urging me to surrender. I called you all here today for one thing: what should we do? Should we fight, defend, or surrender? Speak your minds, don't hold back."

As soon as he finished speaking, his third son, Liu Mao, was the first to stand up.

Liu Mao was young and vigorous, in his early twenties, a time when he was full of youthful energy.

He stiffened his neck and shouted:

"Father! Is there even a question? Of course we'll fight! Our Shu region has the natural barrier of the Shu Road, fertile plains stretching for thousands of miles, ample supplies, and thirty to forty thousand troops at our disposal! No matter how powerful Liu Ce is, he's far away in Luoyang. Can he really fly over the Shu Road?"

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke: "Hanzhong has just been captured by him, and its foundation is unstable. We should send troops back to reclaim our gateway! We absolutely cannot just hand over Yizhou to them like this!"

He shouted passionately, spittle flying everywhere.

But none of the people below agreed.

They all kept their heads down, as if they hadn't heard anything; some were examining the floor, some the ceiling, and some their own fingernails...

As soon as Liu Mao finished speaking, Wu Yi, who was standing next to him, sighed and stood up.

Wu Yi bowed to Liu Yan, directly slapping reality in everyone's faces:

"Third Young Master, it's not that I'm trying to discourage you, but this battle is simply unwinnable."

He counted on his fingers, one by one:

"Let's do the math first. Liu Ce holds most of the land in his hands, with hundreds of thousands of elite troops. His fierce generals—Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, Xue Rengui, Qin Qiong... aren't they all incredibly brave and capable of taking on ten thousand men?"

"At most, we can muster less than 40,000 capable soldiers, and they are mostly county soldiers who have not fought many tough battles."

"Let alone fighting their main force, we might not even be able to withstand the Xiliang army that they have incorporated. If a real battle breaks out, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock, with absolutely no chance of winning."

His younger brother, Wu Ban, nodded in agreement, adding an even more poignant remark:

"Furthermore, the treacherous Shu Road that the Third Young Master mentioned was back when Hanzhong served as the gateway! Now that Liu Ce has taken Hanzhong, his army can easily reach our doorstep by setting up camp there and sailing down the river!"

He paused, then emphasized, "The perilous Shu Road now belongs to others, not us! We're like a house with its doors wide open—how can we defend it?"

With just a few words, the two brothers silenced Liu Mao completely.

Liu Mao's face turned bright red. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time. Finally, he sat back down dejectedly.

Liu Yan's face turned even paler.

He turned to look at Dong Fu, who had persuaded him to come to Yizhou, and asked:

"Mr. Dong, what's your opinion?"

Dong Fu stroked his gray beard, a wry smile on his face.

He sighed and said:

"My lord, now that things have come to this, I will not speak of such empty words. I once told you that 'Yizhou has the aura of an emperor,' but now it seems that I was wrong. That aura of an emperor should reside in His Highness the Prince of Yan in Luoyang, not in this corner of Shu."

He paused, then continued:

"Moreover, we can't even hold out for long, let alone fight. You yourself know that after all these years of managing Yizhou, the only things we truly control are Guanghan Commandery, Shu Commandery, Ba Commandery, the Shu Commandery's dependent kingdom, and the Guanghan Commandery's dependent kingdom!"

He counted on his fingers: "Jianwei Commandery is only nominally under our control; they obey orders but not summons. If a war really breaks out, they might not send troops to help us."

His voice trailed off, "Not to mention the Jianwei vassal state and the four southern commanderies—Zangke, Yuexi, Yizhou, and Yongchang—those barbarian tribes rebel every day. Several of the men we sent have been killed; they simply don't obey our orders!"

These words silenced the council chamber even more.

Zhao Wei, who was standing next to him, also stood up.

He was a representative of the local powerful families in Yizhou, and he knew the ins and outs best, so he directly exposed the truth:

"Mr. Dong is right. My lord, we're just a shell of a company right now. We haven't even stabilized our internal situation. How can we possibly fight Liu Ce?"

"If we really break ties with Liu Ce, we won't even have to wait for his army to arrive. The powerful families in Jianwei and Ba Commandery will rebel first, and the four commanderies in Nanzhong will follow suit. Our own backyard will be on fire first!"

He emphasized, "Besides, Liu Ce is now the heart of the people, and they all support him. If we fight him head-on, we'll be going against the tide. Without the people's support, let alone defending the city, Mianzhu will fall into chaos within a month."

Everyone chimed in, blocking all avenues.

Fight? We're completely outmatched in terms of troop strength, generals, logistics, and overall situation. There's no chance of winning; it's pure suicide.

Defend? The gateway to Hanzhong has been lost, and the natural barrier of the Shu Road has become an enemy's attack route.

It was internally fragmented, and could only control five counties. It couldn't hold out for long; it would be worn down and eventually die.

Demotion? There's still a way out. You can keep your title and your family's wealth and honor, like Liu Yu, and enjoy your old age in peace.

After everyone finished speaking, the council chamber fell completely silent.

Everyone lowered their heads, and no one shouted for battle anymore. Even Liu Mao, who had been the most agitated just moments before, sat dejectedly in his chair, unable to utter a single word.

Liu Yan sat in the main seat, listening to everyone's words, the color gradually fading from her face.

He slumped into the chair, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

He originally thought that by occupying the Shu region, he could either contend for the world or become a local emperor.

In the end, I realized that I was just a frog in a well.

Liu Ce has almost conquered the whole country, while I haven't even had a chance to get a firm grip on Yizhou.

With only five counties under its control, how can it compete with others?

After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh, his voice filled with exhaustion and despair. He waved his hand weakly and said:

"Alright, that's enough... I understand. We can't win in a fight; we can't hold out in a defense... Let me think about it some more, just a little more..."

The group exchanged glances, said nothing more, and bowed to take their leave.

Liu Yan was left alone in the empty council hall, sitting in front of Liu Ce's letter on the table for the entire night.

...