The White Horse General (1)

A soldier dispatched by Youzhou Inspector Liu Yu arrived and reported the details to us.

"He claims to have Liu Yu's orders... but he's clearly one of Gongsun Zan's men." The giveaway was the stark white paint on his armor. Outfitted in that flashy white armor—that was the signature look of Gongsun Zan's forces. In the official Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Gongsun Zan was the Henan native with a solid frame but an incredibly petty streak. Honestly, setting aside the haters, his uniforms were badass. That was the White Horse Unit.

"Former Chief Clerk of the Imperial Chancellery Zhang Chun, along with Taishan Administrator Zhang Ju, have incited the Wuhuan tribes to rebellion. Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun have declared themselves emperors and are ravaging the Youzhou region. Our General Gongsun respectfully requests Lord Liu Xuande's aid!!" The soldier declared in a voice taut with discipline.

"I see!! Brother Gongsun, is it!" Liu Bei nodded with warm approval.

"No way. The Han imperial house is still standing strong, and these lunatics crown themselves emperors?! Brother! No need to deliberate further!! It's our chance to play the heroes after all this time!" Zhang Fei boomed, his voice brimming with bloodlust.

"Mm. Tell Brother Gongsun we're heading out at once. We'll mobilize immediately," Liu Bei stated firmly.

"My deepest gratitude!!" The soldier bowed and withdrew.

In the end, Liu Bei had accepted the quest Gongsun Zan had posted, just as it was.

No other options anyway. Gongsun Zan would crash and burn later on, but right now, he was a faction ripe for the picking. He commanded the largest force in Youzhou, after all. Keeping friendly ties with him was the smart play.

And guys like Zhao Yun and Tian Kai were originally under Gongsun Zan. Liu Bei would poach countless talents from him. Liu Bei had a knack for stripping human resources from wherever he went—no fuss, no morals. In ancient China, there were no transfer fees or penalty clauses or any such petty laws. If you liked someone, you just took them. That was the national rule.

I'd hunt some Wuhuan for XP on the side. No downsides at all.

"I've heard rumors lately—more and more folks crowning themselves kings or living like ones. Righteousness has truly fallen to the earth," Guan Yu whispered to me, her face etched with concern.

No. When a beauty like her spoke directly to me, my ears tingled like crazy. My body felt floaty, all fuzzy and dreamy. This is real-life sound ASMR.

"Ah...." Even if Pingyuan was a backwater, it sat in the heart of the Central Plains' Hebei. News trickled in from everywhere, naturally. Liu Yan, whom we'd allied with back in Jizhou, had become Yizhou Inspector and suddenly gone into seclusion. Saseup, who'd become cult leader, had likewise cut ties with the court and embraced isolationism. Guan Yu must've guessed their intentions from that. For a Confucian like her, the rise of these local warlords turning into regional kings signaled the end times. And with guys like Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun dreaming of emperorship, it was a total shitshow from her view.

"Then, everyone!! Assemble a thousand elite troops and join Brother Gongsun at once!!" Liu Bei leaped to his feet, buzzing with excitement at the prospect of real action after so long. Truth be told, he wasn't the desk-job type. Liu Bei was a closet battle junkie. Back when he was freeloading under Liu Biao, he'd fret over muscle loss from lack of exercise—that tale became the idiom "non-noble lament."

Anyway. Our scraped-together thousand elites, plus me, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei—that made the full Liu Bei crew. The non-combatants like Jian Yong and Sun Qian would stay behind to handle admin.

"Hang on, brother. Won't that leave Pingyuan undefended? If we take everyone, only guards will be left."

Zhang Fei raised the point.

"Ah... true, but without this many, we can't even make a proper showing," Liu Bei replied, looking deflated.

"......"

Silence fell over us. Yeah. That was Liu Bei's reality. "Few elites" sounded nice, but we just didn't have the numbers. Zhang Fei, Guan Yu—getting the picture now? Main squad deploys, and there's no bench to hold the fort. Like a soccer team with no usable subs: grind your starters through mid-season, they burn out, and results tank. Classic broke-ass club that never wins. That's Liu Bei Army.

Still, Liu Bei was an optimist by nature. "Fewer men make us sharper," he proclaimed, marching off in high spirits.

"No, little lady. You can't come. War ain't kid stuff."

I finally turned to Bu Yong-hwa, who'd tailed me all the way.

"I know. But where my husband goes, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his wife follows."

The horse carried both of us, but it bucked like hell with me—calm as could be with her. Maybe her Xiongnu blood made her horse-whisperer material.

"And without your cooking, they'd all be choking down slop. I want to support my man's great endeavors as his wife." Bu Yong-hwa smiled brightly.

For a second, she was so damn adorable I nearly patted her head—but held back. Falling for that wife act would spell trouble.

"....And there's some stray cat lurking too, it seems."

Bu Yong-hwa muttered something too quick to catch, shooting a glance at Guan Yu beside me.

What'd she just say? My Bu Yong-hwa's got rap skills.

"Hahat! You've got a good wife there, Kim! Uhahat!" Zhang Fei laughed.

Yeah. Her volunteering to cook and trek the hard road? Prime wife material. My heart already felt all warm and fuzzy.

"Hold on, Yide. She's not your wife. Bu is under our protection after running away. Don't get ahead of yourself."

Guan Yu scolded him like the elder sister she was. But her face was stiff, like enduring Hua Tuo's surgery sans anesthesia.

"Ah... got it, sis. Why so serious?"

Zhang Fei clammed up, looking awkward.

Yeah. Our Guan Yu sis was a bit of a stickler.

We galloped northeast toward Youzhou at full tilt, but it still took days. Moving a thousand-plus folks ain't quick.

In the meantime, I cracked open the Taiji Sword Manual from Old Man Ugil. For late Han, it was cutting-edge—actual paper, not bamboo slips. Way less hassle.

I flipped through, starting from page one. Annoying to read manually unlike the game, but the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠illustrations made it smooth. True to the game world, the chapters followed the skill unlock order from mastering Taiji Sword in-game.

Standard parry system from any action game. Flowing Water Sword went 1 through 8—higher levels improved timing windows and effects. Tranquil Heart slashed stamina costs—super useful baseline.

For now, just these two passives. No flashy actives yet.

Just like the game.

I pushed ahead, set on mastering the whole manual, but hit a wall at a certain point. The text physically wouldn't register. Forcing it fogged my brain.

Instead, a message popped in the corner of my Status Window.

The precondition for the next section.

Still only Level 10. What can ya do? Grind Wuhuan scum for levels. Oh, Level 10 meant class change. Forgot about that. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Wanted to go ronin, but I'd blundered into a faction. Free wanderer life seemed distant.

Just climb the general tree, I guess.

I mulled it over, feeling the complications mount.

"Hehe. You look so cool focused on your book, dear."

Reading by lamplight in the tent felt a tad off. I was using Bu Yong-hwa's plush thigh as a pillow. She'd whined so much about knee-pillow duty that I caved to humor her.

So damn soft. After pillowless sleeps, my neck felt great.

A bit dim, though. Her massive chest draped like a curtain, shadowing my view. Telling her to shift those tits? Even angel Bu Yong-hwa would snap. So I endured. Guan Yu hovered nearby for some reason—overprotective big sis mode.

"Mm. A sword manual, right? Your diligent study is impressive."

Guan Yu flushed faintly, praising me. Damn, the headpats. But getting them felt too good to mind.

Anyway, after a solid march with book study squeezed in, our thousand-strong Liu Bei force reached Jie County near where Gongsun Zan had advanced his troops. Full circle—we'd come back to Jie County, birthplace of Liu Bei's legend. Fate, huh.

The outpost at Jie County loomed impressively. Clop-clop. Stout white horses from Liaodong bore white-clad cavalry in proud formation.

"Xuande!!! Long time no see!!"

From beyond the tents strode a handsome man in ornate armor, grinning. Gongsun Zan, one of the 18 warlords, at 30-something. Decent quest-giving NPC for now. Suck up fame, cash, manpower, and XP here? Win-win for Liu Bei and me.

"Brother!! Great to see you!!"

Liu Bei, thinking along the same lines, dismounted with a beaming welcome.