The Three Kingdoms: Home Travel

"Huh?" Cao Cao was taken aback by Jiang Zhe's words. He asked in confusion, "Wh-what? Hang? What does 'hang' mean?"

"Ahem!" Jiang Zhe scratched his forehead, embarrassed. "I meant Gongsun Zan is dead!"

"Dead?" Ignoring Jiang Zhe's strange expression, Cao Cao's face changed, and he said with slight anger, "You old scoundrel, how dare you insult me ​​like this? And you just died like this?"

"Does he need your permission to die?" Jiang Zhe shook his head helplessly and said calmly. "The dead know, Mengde, once we enter Yijing, we must not harm the innocent!"

"Yes, I understand!" Cao Cao replied in a deep voice. He felt a surge of resentment; he was so close to storming Yijing and beheading that old scoundrel Gongsun, but the bastard had actually committed suicide! Truly despicable!

Even Cao Cao himself didn't realize why he believed Jiang Zhe's words so readily, even though Jiang Zhe had been standing by his side the whole time. The battle at the city wall was also nearing its end. No matter how much Chief Clerk Guan Jing tried to boost morale, more and more of Gongsun Zan's soldiers were surrendering, and Cao Cao's army had already secured victory.

Suddenly, a hint of doubt appeared in Li Dian's eyes as he stood on the city wall. He saw a raging fire burning in the center of the city, resembling a massive mansion on fire. A thought struck him, and Li Dian shouted, "That old traitor Gongsun is dead! Why don't you surrender?"

The bewildered soldiers of Gongsun Zan glanced into the city and, sure enough, saw that Gongsun Zan's governor's mansion was engulfed in flames. They were quite astonished, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Upon seeing this, Yue Jin was overjoyed and roared angrily, "Do you all intend to die with that old traitor Gongsun?"

Upon hearing Yue Jin's words, Gongsun Zan's soldiers on the city wall were startled and quickly dropped their weapons, retreating to the sides and kneeling on the ground.

"My lord?!" Guan Jing, still fighting like a cornered beast, stared in astonishment at the fire engulfing the governor's mansion in the city. His heart sank, and he murmured, "My lord, why do you call us like this? Why have we fought to the death here? My lord!"

The last two words were filled with anger.

The soldiers around him hesitated before stepping forward and saying, "My lord, I... perhaps..." "Shut up!" Guan Jing roared, his cold eyes making it impossible for anyone to look him in the eye.

"My lord!" a blood-soaked minor official murmured. "The governor's residence in the city is on fire. It seems our lord is also in grave danger. What are we doing here, risking our lives?"

Guan Jing glanced at the unsung general and saw that there was not a single unharmed spot on his body. He felt very sorry for him and sighed, saying, "I have heard that a gentleman will share the hardships with others when they are in danger!"

If our lord perishes, how can we survive alone?

After speaking, he glanced around at the crowd and then charged towards Li Dian and Yue Jin alone. The dozens of Gongsun Zan soldiers beside him exchanged glances and shouted, "Are we cowards who fear death?" They then followed closely behind Guan Jing.

"This man is indeed loyal and righteous!" Yue Jin thought to himself, and led more than a hundred Cao soldiers forward to meet Guan Jing in battle.

After only a few exchanges, Yue Jin struck Guan Jing in the shoulder with his sword and kicked him to the ground, sighing, "Gongsun Zan is presumably dead, why don't you surrender?"

"Surrender?" Guan Jing smiled sadly, then said firmly, "Without the lord's support, I would be nothing more than a minor official! To betray him would be unjust. Say no more!" With that, he closed his eyes and said no more.

"Truly a heroic man!" Yue Jin nodded in praise, and his sword fell heavily... With Guan Jing dead, Gongsun Zan's side had no power to resist. Countless soldiers under Gongsun Zan's command threw down their weapons, lowered their heads, and knelt on the ground.

Li Dian and Yue Jin immediately opened the city gates and welcomed Cao Cao inside, without anyone stopping him.

"Thanks to Shouyi, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to enter this gate!" Cao Cao said triumphantly as he and Jiang Zhe entered the gate of Yijing City. This time, they had come by stepping on the ice of the Yi River, and neither Cao Cao nor Jiang Zhe had ridden horses.

"Hehe!" Jiang Zhe chuckled and shook his head, then said seriously, "Mengde, it is all thanks to the bravery of all the soldiers. I am nothing! Also, Mengde, you must not forget your oath. After entering the city, you must restrain your soldiers and prevent them from recklessly killing innocent people!"

Cao Cao gave Jiang Zhe a deep look, and inwardly sighed with admiration, "Shouyi is truly a gentleman. I am extremely fortunate to have Shouyi's assistance!"

Just as the two were talking, Li Dian led Yue Jin to Cao Cao's side, kowtowed, and shouted, "My lord! We have not failed in our mission!"

"Mancheng, Wenqian, please rise!" Cao Cao, seeing the two generals clad in blood-soaked armor, hurriedly helped them up. He laughed loudly and said, "The strategist said that it was thanks to the bravery of you two and the soldiers that I was able to enter this city gate. Haha, I thank you!"

Glancing at Jiang Zhe with immense gratitude, Li Dian and Yue Jin felt a surge of warmth in their hearts upon being praised by Cao Cao. Their wounds seemed to have healed completely, and they loudly replied, "Our lord and sir have praised us greatly! We dare not accept such praise!"

"Haha, you two need not be so modest. Cao Cao will reward you handsomely later!" Ignoring the bloodstains on their bodies, Cao Cao patted their shoulders and then said sternly, "Restrain your soldiers and do not cause trouble in Yijing, or I will break my promise!"

Li Dian and Yue Jin were alarmed and shouted, "Please rest assured, my lord, if even one person dares to indiscriminately kill innocent people, we will punish them severely!"

"Very well!" Cao Cao nodded solemnly. "Then I'll leave it to you two. Don't forget to send some soldiers to pacify the people!"

"Yes, sir! Your subordinates obey!" Li Dian and Yue Jin clasped their fists and shouted, then waved their hands, leading their soldiers into the city to appease the people.

"Alas," Cao Cao sighed as he walked alongside Jiang Zhe through Yijing. He lamented, "I never imagined we would lose so many soldiers on this journey. Truly, alas! I brought them into the battlefield, but I cannot bring them back."

Upon hearing Cao Cao bring up the matter, Jiang Zhe frowned slightly and remained silent for a long time before speaking, "If Mengde feels remorse, he can properly care for the families of the fallen soldiers, relieving them of their worries." Cao Cao was taken aback upon hearing this and hesitated before saying, "I do wish to do so, but if that were the case, it would cost a fortune, this..." Jiang Zhe chuckled slightly and sighed, "Mengde, how can money be more important than human lives?"

Cao Cao was startled and quickly said, "Upon returning, I will order that the families of the fallen soldiers be cared for, no matter the cost. Shouyi can rest easy!"

Seeing Cao Cao's distressed expression, Jiang Zhe chuckled and said, "Mengde, don't panic. If you act according to my advice, it won't cost you much money or grain!"

"Oh?" Cao Cao looked puzzled. He stopped and looked at Jiang Zhe. Seeing Jiang Zhe's confident expression, he smiled and said, "It seems Shouyi has already made up his mind, haha! It's really not fair to make me anxious for nothing!"

Not fair? Why are you even mimicking my tone? Jiang Zhe grinned, a strange look on his face. "Firstly, I'm considering posthumously honoring the fallen soldiers as martyrs and carving their likenesses on the inner wall of the outer city of Xuchang, as an honor!"

"Martyrs?" Cao Cao's mind raced. He slowly nodded and said, "That's fine. Engraving their names on the city wall is also acceptable! Anything else?"

"Secondly, the families of martyrs enjoy certain privileges: First, if there are no other men in the family or the children are all young, they can receive a certain amount of money from the government each month until the children reach the age of sixteen! Second, during festivals, the government will provide these families with some money, grain, and meat as a sign of remembrance, which can also alleviate their longing for their families! Third, if government-owned shops in Xuchang City are looking to hire people, these families will be given priority! Fourth, each household will receive a certain amount of fertile land near Xuchang, but this cannot be sold!"

Upon hearing Jiang Zhe's words, Cao Cao gasped, staring at him with astonishment. "So generous?"

Jiang Zhe curled his lip and said indifferently, "These were earned with the lives of soldiers; how can they be considered generous? If Mengde acts in this way, he will never have to worry about the supply of soldiers in the future!"

"That's true!" Cao Cao nodded in agreement with Jiang Zhe.

Smiling at Cao Cao, Jiang Zhe continued, "Three," but he stopped abruptly, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Let's leave that for now!"

"What is it?" Cao Cao was immediately puzzled. He felt that Jiang Zhe's words were extremely insightful, but aside from the money spent... it was no ordinary amount of money... "Studying!" Jiang Zhe sighed.

"Read" books?

"Yes!" Jiang Zhe responded, looked around, and suddenly pointed to a group of Cao soldiers in the distance, asking, "Mengde, who is their commander?"

"Them?" Cao Cao glanced into the distance. He hesitated, then said, "It seems to be Mancheng." He then looked at Jiang Zhe's speechless expression, a thought flashing through his mind. He changed his words, saying, "It's the General!"

"A promising young man!" Jiang Zhe said with a smile, looking at Cao Cao. "And what if the general were to perish?"

Cao Cao finally understood Jiang Zhe's intentions. He laughed heartily and said, "Naturally, it's the deputy general! If the deputy general dies, then the same applies!"

"Excellent!" Jiang Zhe gave Cao Cao a small compliment. Then, he asked seriously, "If a troop is reduced to only a squad leader, what should be done?"

"Naturally, the strongest squad leader should be appointed!" Cao Cao said matter-of-factly.

"Then," Jiang Zhe said calmly, looking at Cao Cao, "as a low-ranking general whose only role is to relay orders, do you have the ability to lead these five hundred men? Warfare isn't just about brute force!"

Cao Cao felt a chill run down his spine, frowned, and fell into deep thought without saying a word.

"Mengde!" Jiang Zhe pressed, looking at Cao Cao who was lost in thought, "What is your opinion on the strongest general?"

Cao Cao suddenly looked up and said in a loud voice, "What the superiors do, the subordinates will follow; orders must be obeyed!"

"In other words, it's an army that doesn't think of itself and lacks independent thought, isn't it?"

"Pass..." Cao Cao hesitated.

"So what do the most resilient soldiers think?"

"The most resilient army?" Cao Cao asked in surprise. "What do you mean by 'most resilient'?"

Jiang Zhe gazed at the horizon and said calmly, "We can't be worn down, we can't be destroyed, no matter how dire the situation. We can always muster our fighting spirit and fight again!"

"This…" Cao Cao exclaimed in astonishment, "How could there be such an army in the world?"

Who said there wasn't? The Eighth Route Army under the Red Star is a joke? Jiang Zhe curled his lip.

"Has Cao Cao ever heard the saying, 'Times create heroes,' or 'Birth is not determined by social status'?"

Cao Cao paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "In terms of background, I am merely the descendant of an official, and thus looked down upon by others. Only Shouyi has treated me with sincerity. However, I truly do not understand what Shouyi is trying to say. Shouyi, please speak frankly!"

"Alright!" Jiang Zhe nodded and said to Cao Cao, "Since heroes are judged regardless of their social status, what about our soldiers? If we had two brothers, one raised by a wealthy man and the other by a great scholar, who would achieve greater success after twenty years?"

"Naturally, it's that person raised by the great Confucian scholar!" Cao Cao curled his lip.

Why?

Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then said, "This...hearing and seeing it all the time, to the point that..." "Yes!" Jiang Zhe nodded and said, "What if the child Zhenfu adopted was adopted by Cai Dajia, the father-in-law of Zhezhi Mountain?"

Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat, and he said seriously, "Of course..." He stopped mid-sentence, feeling that he seemed to understand Jiang Zhe's meaning.

"It's because that child, after being adopted by the hammer-wielder, had no opportunity to experience things. People's experiences come from books, and they come here to learn more..."

"The meaning of 'Shouyi' is Pi".

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly. Looking at the Cao army in the distance, he said, "The most terrifying army is not one without thought, but one that has thought, yet thinks only about the same thing! Mengde, on behalf of Zhicai, I urge you to establish schools for the poor and needy under your rule!"

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