The Strategist Who Came Knocking
When people speak of the greatest minds of Xiliang or the finest strategists in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, quite a few names immediately spring to mind. Among all the advisors who appear in the great epic, none are more famous than the unparalleled output of the Three Kingdoms strategist world, Zhuge Liang. And alongside him, the man mentioned almost as often: the one who would later destroy the Later Han, shatter the Wei kingdom founded by Cao Cao’s son, establish the Jin dynasty, and play a monumental role in the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period that followed—Cao Cao MK.2, Sima Yi. Then there is Xun Yu, once praised as a “genius fit to sit on the throne,” but now far more famous for dying after receiving an empty food box. Even though it was a creation of the novel, Zhou Yu left behind the legendary line, “Why did Heaven give birth to me, Zhou Yu, and then also give birth to Zhuge Liang?!” before dramatically coughing up blood and dying. The geniuses of Hebei—Guo Tu and Tian Feng—were compared to Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, who helped Liu Bang found the Han during the Chu-Han contention. Xun You, Xun Yu’s relative and an indispensable talent in Cao Cao’s army. Lu Xun, the brain of Wu who utterly humiliated Liu Bei. Pang Tong, the genius compared to the Sleeping Dragon Zhuge Liang, who died before he could truly spread his wings. And Fa Zheng, who, though he died young, served as one of Shu-Han’s brains alongside Zhuge Liang. The world is full of people, so of course it overflows with talent. If one were to rank strategists by grade, these S-rank figures flood the pages of history. Of course, the same could be said for the warriors. Just how many legendary generals made their names resound across the land?
Anyway, among all those strategists, there was one uniquely distinctive talent: Jia Xu. She served under Dong Zhuo, the man reviled as a traitor, then offered plans to Li Jue and Guo Si who drove the Han toward ruin. After that, she joined Zhang Xiu, one of Dong Zhuo’s former subordinates, and even after her schemes led to the deaths of Zhang Xiu’s son, his beloved general, and his own kin, she entered Cao Cao’s service, survived, rose to prominence, and lived out her natural lifespan. The undisputed GOAT of survival techniques in the Three Kingdoms. A master of self-preservation that no other strategist could touch! She hadn’t started under Cao Cao; in fact, they had once been enemies. Yet she was counted among the three great strategists of Cao Cao’s army alongside Xun Yu and Xun You. When it came to the art of navigating the world, she was second to none. At the same time, her mind was exceptionally sharp. History records that she never once gave flawed advice. She even received the Later Han evaluation of being comparable to Zhang Liang and Chen Ping. However, because she poured everything into survival, she tends to be somewhat underrated compared to other strategists who painted grand pictures and devoted themselves to great causes. Despite possessing a brilliant mind, while other famous advisors held lofty ideals and sacrificed for them, Jia Xu was obsessed solely with protecting herself. That peculiar trait was what made her stand out. In the end, she was a person whose intelligence would make anyone else feel inadequate just by standing beside her.
And the fact that such a person had come looking for him of her own accord left Yuan Shu rather intrigued.
Usually you have to jump through all sorts of hoops to recruit talent like this…
Was it the power of background? Not only did talented people consider it an honor to be invited by him, but now an elite brain had come seeking him out on her own. Yuan Shu, who had decided to recruit Jia Xu the moment he heard her name, readily granted her request when she asked to present her own appeal. As he listened to what she had to say, he found himself quite surprised.
A great chaos will descend upon the world… Does she already know about the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Dong Zhuo’s rise?
It was an interesting development. Of course, she couldn’t have predicted everything perfectly. After all, those were not things one could simply deduce through ordinary thought. Shocking events in history tend to be like that—events with the power to overturn the existing order. Sometimes the story was even more unbelievable than fiction. Yuan Shu himself only knew because he had read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the future. Without that knowledge, grasping the future through mere intellect and prediction was, naturally, no easy task. Still, it seemed clear that Jia Xu had at least pictured in her mind that some major event would occur.
As expected of someone with a good head on her shoulders.
In truth, the importance of strategists was not limited to devising ingenious schemes on the battlefield. In fact, that came second. What truly mattered was governing land well—making the soil fertile, increasing the population, resolving problems before they arose, laying the foundation for all things, maintaining it, and ensuring continued prosperity. That was the real work. Wasn’t it precisely because the original Yuan Shu had failed at this that he had ruined himself? Even with good land, he had personally turned its resources into a mess…
For Yuan Shu, who planned to leave the capital and serve as a provincial official rather than remain in the center, the appearance of such a talent was extremely welcome. He knew all too well that not many of the people he had gathered possessed real skill in internal affairs.
If I told someone like Xiang Yu or Richard to handle internal governance… yeah, I don’t even need to see the future to know how that would end.
Those two really… best to keep them as far away from administrative work as possible.
Anyway, Yuan Shu rather liked what Jia Xu had to say.
"Instead of staying in the capital, become a provincial governor? You would abandon an official career in Luoyang where a smooth path already lies before you?"
"That is correct."
"Very well. Let me hear more."
Since Yuan Shu had already intended to leave for a provincial post, he listened with interest to Jia Xu’s words. At his positive reaction, Jia Xu inwardly cheered.
As I thought, titles and offices mean nothing to him. As long as it fits the line he has drawn for himself, he will willingly step inside that fence!
From now on, she would have to use her tongue well. Because the opposite was also true—if he decided against something, he could become utterly ruthless. Though she didn’t show it outwardly, Jia Xu could feel an overwhelming pressure emanating from this young man who held only the modest rank of Commandant. It was a pressure one would rarely sense even from high ministers. This man was already a giant. Whatever choice he made, he was someone who could shake the world. A being capable of captivating people with nothing but his own presence and turning them into his limbs. And… with nothing more than a momentary whim, he could toy with the life of a mere low-ranking official from a backwater village in Xiliang. Because she needed to stay tense and focused, Jia Xu paused for the briefest moment in thought before continuing.
"First, remaining in the capital would prevent Your Excellency from moving as you please. That would kill one of Your Excellency’s greatest strengths. Second, the Yuan family has already reached the position of Four Generations of Three Dukes. Its power and prestige now rival any faction, and the court’s power holders do not wish to see that prestige rise any further. Therefore, they will inevitably try to trip Your Excellency at every turn."
"And the second reason?"
"This is related to Your Excellency’s nature. You are free-spirited. You are not the kind of person who would willingly remain inside someone else’s fence like livestock. Moreover, since you have not yet achieved great things, you would inevitably be overshadowed by the two giants at court. And because you seek to rise through martial prowess rather than scholarship, the capital would only serve as shackles binding a tiger’s feet."
"Hoh…"
She had spoken at length, but in essence she was saying that with the Ten Attendants and the General-in-Chief running wild, if he tried to stand alone and climb while carrying the entire Yuan family on his back, those two would shove a gensai so far up his ass he’d never recover. Considering his personality, simply enduring that would be torture. And they would rather not share the Emperor’s side with him at all. He had thought the same thing himself, which was why he had decided to head straight for the provinces while he still had future knowledge…
She’s seen right through me.
Yuan Shu smiled and picked up the wine jar. Jia Xu respectfully held out her cup with humble deference. After draining his drink, Yuan Shu asked another question.
"I like what I’m hearing. Well, if I’m going to earn military merit anyway, that doesn’t sound so bad. Then where do you think I should go?"
"There are many places suffering from barbarian incursions. Among the border regions, the lands where one can both suppress the nomads and build up one’s own power would be… Liang Province, Bing Province, and You Province."
Xiliang, Bingzhou, Youzhou. All places where nomadic tribes frequently ran rampant, and lands famous for high-quality horses. Indeed, if one wanted to raise cavalry, there were few better choices.
"However, Xiliang and Bingzhou are excessively barren. The people there are desperate to leave. If you are heading to the provinces, then in my personal opinion, You Province would be the most suitable."
"Hoh, You Province, is it?"
It wasn’t an option he had seriously considered before… but hearing Jia Xu suggest it made it suddenly intriguing.
"You would establish a base from which to grow your power as a provincial governor, while simultaneously subjugating the barbarians beyond the border and accumulating military merit. That is what I propose."
"In other words, throw the power holders a juicy piece of meat. Go to the provinces yourself, offer them bribes, and make a deal."
"It would be best to approach the Ten Attendants. The General-in-Chief’s faction, which has drawn in the Qingliu scholars, is like bamboo—difficult to accept bribes. But the Ten Attendants stay close to His Majesty and have an enormous greed for wealth. They will gladly welcome such overtures."
"Hmm, I see…"
They were words that pleased him. Yes, rather than staying here, since he had already planned to become a provincial official, it might be far more refreshing to just charge straight at the barbarians and fight. Besides… didn’t he already have enough human meat grinders on his side? If he couldn’t earn even a single military merit with this lineup, he might as well go die somewhere.
"I understand why you came to me with this proposal. You want to become my person, don’t you?"
"That is correct. If you permit it, I would dare to offer this inadequate mind to Your Excellency."
When Yuan Shu spoke the very words she had intended to say, Jia Xu immediately lowered her head.
"Good. I like it! Let’s do well together, shall we, teacher?"
The moment Yuan Shu accepted her so readily and even honored her with the title of teacher, Jia Xu’s eyes sparkled.
"I will never disappoint you!"
It’s done…!
Unable to hide her joy, Jia Xu immediately rose from her seat, walked before Yuan Shu, and knelt. Yuan Shu caught her by the arms, helped her up, and patted her shoulder.
"Since you’ve become my person, there’s something I’d like to entrust to you. Care to give it a try?"
"I will devote my entire heart to any task!"
"Finish what you proposed, teacher. I will provide everything you need and will not add a single word about the result. Go meet the Ten Attendants yourself and bring back a position that will serve as my foothold. Can you do it?"
Making such a proposal meant he was willing to trust her once and wanted to see her true ability. At least, that was how Jia Xu interpreted it… and she saw it as an opportunity. A chance to properly earn his confidence! Turning it down would be no different from kicking away all the effort she had invested so far!
"I will not disappoint you, my lord!"
And so Jia Xu gladly accepted Yuan Shu’s proposal.