[The Three Kingdoms] Golden Sun Exhibition

35 – Flowers bloom on the continent (1)

“Ui, what kind of person do you think Yuan Shao is?”

“I think I am similar to or better than Cao Cao, whom the Master views favorably.”

“That’s right. I think so too.”

It is true that Won Soo is a great person.

“If the Yellow Turban Rebellion had occurred around Jinliu instead of the plains, and if I had left for Hebei, I would probably have bought land near the area where the Yuan family is rooted, and I would have actively supported Yuan Shao.”

“Because it raises land prices?”

“…let’s say it enriches my life with peace. Huh.”

“But Master, you don’t like Yuan Shao very much.”

“Not really.”

“Didn’t you hate it because there was no land around the original house?”

“hehehehe!”

Although I hate Yuan Shao because I saw the land prices around Yuan Ga, where Yuan Shao has a lot of power, and thought, ‘I could never buy that place,’ I don’t like him very much because he is related to Yuan Shu, who lowered the price of my land in Jingzhou by half. Although I did, I didn’t have much doubt about Yuan Shao’s abilities at this point.

“Do I hate Yuan Shao? Why? Isn’t he a hero of difficult times who rebelled against the tyrannical Dong Tak!”

Among the numerous feudal lords, who would dare to directly rebel against Dong Zhuo?

“He must have shed tears of blood while handing over a petition to Dong Zhuo. Shao Shao raised an army in his hometown, but there were many people from the Yuan family in the court. What happened to all of them?”

“It was probably handled by Dong Tak, right?”

“Yes. Dong Zhuo killed them all. At first, he tried to use Yuan Shao as a means of appeasing him, as a hostage, and as a spy, but in the end, it was no use. Yuan Shao even sacrificed the elders of his family in the court to raise an army. For a great cause.”

“hmm.”

There must have been people from the Yuan family in the court, and they would have been executed by Dong Zhuo, but despite this, Yuan Shao rose up with the banner.

“Great hero, Elemental! A hero who will conquer the turbulent times and lead a new era! Wow, that’s cool.”

His name spread throughout the country and became famous.

“A great cause. Those are good words. Thanks to this, Yuan Shao caused those in the family who did not support him and supported Yuan Shu to die at the hands of Dong Zhuo, and made the Yuan family in his hometown support him more strongly, and Yuan Shu in Nanyang. He made it difficult for Yuan Ga to gain power without his own support base, and thus all the credit went to Yuan Shao himself, but in the end, the cause belongs to Yuan Shao, right?”

“Our Sima Yi, you are smart. This is a pat of praise.”

I stroked Sima Yi’s head. Sima Yi, who had become accustomed to it, shook his head left and right in the direction I was stroking.

“It’s only people like us who care about political issues, and the general public doesn’t think in complicated ways. What they need is someone who will send soldiers to protect their food. Yuan Shao can do that. That’s why Ki Joo-soo is now in charge. Even though things changed overnight, no one says anything.”

“…Han bok.”

“Yes, Hanbok. Even though he gave up his entire career, he said that no one was looking for Hanbok. Hanbok was anxious. But if Won So-won was holding Gi-ju tightly, he would feel at ease. First of all, the anti-Dong-tak alliance “There is an alliance called.”

“It’s not famous.”

“Still. For now, isn’t the alliance maintained? Hanbok may have tried his best to make a name for himself, but the moment he was defeated by Won So, his luck was already over.”

So, even though he carried out a plan against Giju’s Hanbok and won a huge castle called Up, people don’t say much.

“The people of Giju want Yuan Shao, not Hanbok. Then it’s over.”

Unfortunately, everyone now takes it for granted that Hanbok was not able to become a vessel to rule over the large land called Gizhou, and that Gizhou was taken away by Yuan Shao.

“I think Hanbok will die because it feels unfair.”

“Yes. He died because he was truly unfair.”

“…even a joke.”

“It’s not a joke. I heard that Hanbok died. A small funeral was held not long after Giju was taken away. People say… he died well. That’s why Won So took control of Giju.”

“That….”

If the person in question heard it, it would make them so angry that they would die, and in fact, they say that Hanbok was sick with fever or something like that.

“It’s a shame. If it weren’t for the difficult times, I would have lived a good life.”

“Because these are difficult times. In difficult times, the weak cannot survive.”

According to rumors, he was so afraid that Yuan Shao would kill him that he committed suicide in fear.

“Won Shao may intentionally denigrate the hanbok. That way, his accomplishments will stand out more.”

“What did Yuan Shao do?”

“Why isn’t there one? We solidified our control area to deal with that human butcher.”

Won Soo’s actions afterwards were truly unconventional.

He created a huge force by uniting the capable subordinates under Hanbok in Gizhou, and established himself as the undisputed lord of Hebeuk in name and reality.

But is he the strongest in Hebei?

no.

He barely laid a foundation by gathering talent from his hometown and gathering soldiers based on his reputation, but the true loser of Hebei was ‘Gongsun Zan’ in the north.

“This is what Sunuk told me. There was an incident in which the Yellow Turban Red Army ascended from Cheongju to Hebei. It is said that their number was as many as 300,000.”

“…Isn’t that almost all the people in the city?”

“Yes. They are the Yellow Turbans in name only, but in reality they are civilians gathered under the leader of the Yellow Turbans. However, 300,000 is a number that cannot be ignored. But Gongsun Zan defeated it.”

“Hebei…are there that many soldiers in Beiping?”

“No. They said the cavalry defeated them with just this bay.”

The soldiers of Yuan Shao’s army were barely able to scrape by and escape from the ragtag group.

In contrast, Gongsun Zan’s army was full of elite cavalry who had been fighting against foreigners for a long time and were skilled in combat.

“The two forces have similar numbers of soldiers. But, as you know, who wins when infantry and cavalry fight?”

“Nine times out of ten, the cavalry wins.”

Sima Yi focused on me with his ears pricked up. Given the considerable interest in mobile warfare using cavalry, or rather, Sima Yi’s interest in cavalry itself, it was difficult to easily accept that ‘the cavalry was completely defeated by the infantry’.

“Have you heard how we won?”

“Yes. They say they used Kangno soldiers. They hid archers in the gaps between the infantry. And it wasn’t just bows, they were Kangno soldiers who had the lethal power to easily pierce armor when fired.”

“Kang No-ra… It’s a pity I didn’t get to see it in person. I wonder how they inserted archers among the infantry so that the ‘White Horse Bell’ led by Gongsun Zan collapsed.”

“That’s right.”

The cavalry unit led by Gongsun Zan was notorious in Hebei, called the ‘White Horse’.

Some people predict that if Gongsun Zan had led all of the White Horse’s servants to join the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, and if there had been an excellent cavalry commander to lead them, it would not have been impossible to advance to Chang’an.

However, Gongsun Zan used it to preserve his power – his justification was to eradicate foreigners – and was defeated.

“Uiya, what is the cavalry’s biggest drawback?”

“You can deploy people right away, but you can’t deploy horses right away?”

“Yes. Cavalry is expensive. Not only do we have to train men, but we also have to train horses.”

Horses are expensive.

The price of one horse is beyond imagination. It is not enough to simply purchase a horse; a huge amount of money is spent on raising, training, and transforming the horse into a warhorse.

“Especially during times of poor harvest, you have to be more careful. What would people say if you feed a horse when you don’t have anything to feed your mouth?”

“If your eyes roll because you’re hungry, you’ll eat a horse, right?”

“Yes. Horse meat is delicious… hmm. Horses will no longer be usable. Then, cavalry power will be weakened, and all cavalrymen will have to convert to infantry.”

I boldly cut aside Gongsun Zan’s flag on the map showing Hebei.

“I assure you, Gongsun Chan is ruined.”

“How can you be so sure? It’s only been one battle.”

“The most important battle has ended. Not only was he defeated, but his cavalry was destroyed, so Gongsun Zan will be stuck somewhere and suffering from nightmares from now on. Well, even if I’m not talking about Gongsun Zan personally, that’s right. Yuan Shao will occupy Hebei step by step from now on. I will go out.”

I expanded the elemental discipline one by one and stopped at one point.

“…Ui. If Hebei is ruled by Yuan Shao, how about you go to Yuan Shao?”

“You are Yuan Shao-kun?”

“Yes. Let me first tell you that I have absolutely no intention of building a single hill for the Shao Shao Army. The reason I recommend you to the Shao Shao Army is to protect your family.”

“…Is it because you think that if I am appointed to the army of Shao Shao, the army of Shao Shao will not plunder my family?”

“okay.”

Yuan Shao is gathering strength.

In the process, he will not touch the land of his henchmen, but he will plunder and take away the land of nobles who are not under his command, no matter what reason he can find.

“If the best equipment of the Sima family enters the Yuan family, the family will be able to protect it.”

“Master, have you ever seen the elements in person?”

“No, never.”

“Then I won’t go.”

Sima Yi shook his head firmly.

“I would rather learn under Master for the rest of my life and help with the school work. I once saw Yuan Shao. I saw him when I was very young when I came to say hello to my father.”

“How did you feel?”

“Um…indecisive?”

“?”

Yuan Shao is indecisive. What does this mean?

“He was a person who was decisive when deciding on big things, but when it came to small and trivial matters, he was someone who thought carefully and often seemed indecisive.”

“You’re so amazing that you can recognize something like that just by looking at it once.”

“That’s what my father said. He was going to serve Hanae’s famous dish, but he was having a hard time deciding between the two dishes.”

“…This angle? That’s a bit harsh.”

“hehehe, right? Of course, I’m just joking. There’s no reason not to follow suit just because you’re indecisive when choosing food. However, it’s different from the position I want.”

Sima Yi held my hand and smiled.

“Maybe it’s because I studied under Master for a long time… I just want to live a long, thin life. Wouldn’t it be a nuisance if I lived by Master’s side instead of being commissioned?”

“How can you think it’s a nuisance?”

“Master wants his disciples to become successful and later come to him with a golden chest.”

“…Honestly, I can’t say that’s not true.”

I grabbed Sima Yi’s cheek with both hands.

“I think it would be good if at least one person learned my teachings and helped me.”

“…Master.”

Sima Yi held my hand with a gentle smile.

“Shall I just take over the Sugyeong Academy?”

With those bold words.

“…That’s good too.”

I had no choice but to answer like Su-kyung.