Reborn Liu Bei: I'll lead this Three Kingdoms to victory!

(Winter of the second year of Jian'an, in Jicheng, Youzhou)

The snow was falling heavily. The charcoal fire crackled in the governor's mansion's council hall, but I still had someone open half a window—the cold air kept me awake.

"Everyone's here." I glanced around the hall: Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had rushed back from Qingzhou overnight, Zhao Yun's White Horse Cavalry had just finished wiping out the remnants of the Wuhuan, Xu Shu had a pile of grain and fodder ledgers from the three prefectures beside him, and Tian Yu was marking Liaodong on a map with charcoal.

And there's Zhuge Liang standing beside me—in three months, he'll be ten years old.

"Let me start with the bad news." I tapped the table. "Gongsun Du is dead."

There was silence in the hall.

Tian Yu frowned: "Gongsun Du, the governor of Liaodong? What about him...?"

"He died of illness." Xu Shu handed over the intelligence report. "His son, Gongsun Kang, succeeded him. This man is even more arrogant than his father. He has already proclaimed himself 'Governor of Pingzhou' in Liaodong and has even sent troops to harass Lelang County."

"The good news is—" I continued, "Gongsun Kang killed Yuan Shao's envoy and sent his head to Cao Cao to show his loyalty."

Zhang Fei scratched his head: "What kind of good news is this?"

"Because Cao Cao will definitely reward Gongsun Kang," Zhuge Liang suddenly spoke, his voice still carrying the crispness of a child, but his logic was clear. "And after Gongsun Kang is rewarded, he will be even more unscrupulous in harassing the borders of Youzhou—then we will have a reason to send troops."

I nodded approvingly: "Kongming is right. But we will not send troops from Youzhou."

To everyone's eyes.

I got up and walked to the map of Liaodong, tracing the Bohai Bay with my finger: "Starting from here, from Donglai County, we will cross the sea and head straight for Xiangping, the capital of Liaodong County."

"Crossing the sea?!" Guan Yu's phoenix eyes snapped open. "Brother, the sea is dangerous..."

"The risks are high, but the rewards are even greater." I pointed at the map with a wooden ruler. "First, Gongsun Kang would never expect us to come from the sea. Second, a sea expedition can avoid Cao Cao's notice—after all, we have an agreement not to cross the Yellow River for five years, but it doesn't say we can't cross the sea."

"Third..." I turned around, "Liaodong has what we lack most."

"Warhorses," Zhao Yun blurted out.

"There are also iron mines," Xu Shu added. "Reports say that the Liaodong mountain area is rich in iron mines, and Gongsun Du once privately set up workshops to cast armor."

"Yes." I sat back down in the main seat. "So this operation is codenamed 'Kunpeng.' Objective: To control Liaodong at minimal cost, acquire the warhorse iron ore, and establish a cross-sea base in Liaodong."

Tian Yu calculated: "From Donglai to Liaodong, the sea route is about 600 li. We will need 50 warships and 5,000 elite troops. We need to prepare enough provisions for three months..."

"No," I interrupted him, "two thousand elite soldiers are enough."

Everyone was stunned.

"Two thousand?" Zhang Fei's eyes widened. "Brother, Gongsun Kang has over thirty thousand soldiers in Liaodong!"

"But they're scattered." Zhuge Liang walked to the map, pointing to several points with his little finger. "The garrison at Xiangping is 10,000, and the rest are stationed in the three commanderies of Lelang, Daifang, and Xuantu. If we successfully launch a surprise attack on Xiangping, Gongsun Kang will either hastily return to reinforce it, or..."

He paused, then looked at me.

I smiled and said, "What do you want? Tell me."

"Either we hold our ground and refuse to come out," Zhuge Liang said, his eyes gleaming. "But Gongsun Kang is arrogant and will surely lead a large army back to reinforce us. At that time, we can ambush him halfway—just like Sun Bin's strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, but in reverse."

Xu Shu clapped his hands: "Brilliant! We're using the strategy of 'attacking Zhao to lure Wei into ambush' on the Wei army's return route!"

"Exactly." I looked at Zhao Yun. "Zilong, this ambush mission is yours."

Zhao Yun clasped his hands in a fist salute: "This humble general obeys the order!"

"But there are two things," I said, holding up my finger. "First, the ambush must be ruthless, but not a complete annihilation—let Gongsun Kang lead the remaining troops to escape to Goguryeo. Second, bring back all the prisoners, but don't kill a single one."

"Why is that?" Guan Yu asked, puzzled.

"Because we need Gongsun Kang to be alive." My smile turned cold. "Only if he's alive will he go to Goguryeo for help. And King Bogu of Goguryeo... has long coveted Liaodong."

The temperature inside the hall seemed to have dropped a few degrees.

Tian Yu took a deep breath: "Does our lord intend to... lure Goguryeo into our trap?"

"Yes." I spread out another map. "If Goguryeo sends troops to Liaodong, we will have the righteous cause of 'resisting foreign invaders.' At that time, we can join forces with the Youzhou garrison and take over Liaodong in the name of 'protecting the borders and ensuring the safety of the people'—Cao Cao will have nothing to say, the people will line the streets to welcome us, and we can also take the opportunity to give Goguryeo a warning."

Xu Shu smiled wryly: "My lord, your heart is so..."

"Eight hundred?" I finished his sentence for him, then laughed, "In chaotic times, those who aren't cunning won't live long."

After laughing, I said seriously, "Next, let's divide the work."

"Yun Chang, you will be stationed in Qingzhou to oversee the construction of fifty seagoing vessels—you have three months."

"Yide, go back to Xuzhou. All the profits from the distillery will be diverted to military funds."

"Zilong, the White Horse Cavalry will select five hundred skilled swimmers to begin naval battle training."

"Guorang, the border troops of Youzhou are secretly assembling, but they must make it appear as if they are guarding against Yuan Tan—to impress Cao Cao."

"Yuanzhi..." I looked at Xu Shu, "You will come with me to Donglai to personally oversee the 'Kunpeng Project'."

Finally, I looked at Zhuge Liang.

"Kongming".

"The students are here."

"On your tenth birthday, you'll be going to sea with the army." I stared into his eyes. "This is your 'graduation exam.' Your task is to observe the entire expedition and then write a 3,000-word essay on the advantages and disadvantages of a cross-sea expedition after the war."

The child took a deep breath and bowed solemnly: "This student obeys!"

After everyone left, I remained alone in the hall.

The snow outside the window was falling heavier and heavier. The map of Liaodong gleamed faintly in the light of the charcoal fire.

"Teacher," Zhuge Liang returned, carrying a bowl of hot soup, "you haven't had dinner yet."

I took the soup bowl: "Are you scared?"

"A little," he nodded honestly, "but more...excited."

"Remember this feeling." I took a sip of soup. "A general must both respect war and enjoy the game. The balance is crucial."

"Students, please remember this."

"And one more thing," I put down my bowl, "on this expedition, you'll see dead people, lots of dead people. You might vomit, you might have nightmares—that's normal. But remember this: war is not a game; behind every number is a life. Our reasons for starting this war must be heavy enough to weigh down these souls."

Zhuge Liang remained silent for a long time before asking, "Then... are our reasons strong enough?"

"To end this chaos, that's heavy enough." I looked out the window. "To prevent more people from dying, that's heavy enough. As for whether the methods were honorable... let posterity judge."

The next day, secret preparations began.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

In the third month of spring in the third year of Jian'an, at the port of Huang County, Donglai Prefecture.

Fifty new-style ships lined up in the bay, the newly painted "Liu" character on their bows glowing blood-red in the morning sun. Two thousand five hundred elite troops had already boarded the ships—five hundred of them were the White Horse Cavalry trained by Zhao Yun, one thousand five hundred were veteran soldiers selected by Xu Shu from three provinces, and the remaining five hundred were... craftsmen.

Yes, craftsmen. Carpenters, blacksmiths, doctors, and even three clerks who could write.

Standing on the flagship's deck, Zhang Fei looked at the craftsmen and muttered, "Brother, are we going to war or to open a workshop?"

"Yes, all of them." I inspected the catapults on the ship. "The territory we conquer must be usable immediately. Craftsmen build city walls, blacksmiths mine, doctors prevent epidemics, and civil officials govern the people—that's what occupation is, not plunder."

Zhuge Liang followed behind me, scribbling rapidly in his notebook. Today was his tenth birthday; his specially made leather armor was slightly oversized, but his gaze was calm.

"My lord, the wind has changed!" shouted a sailor from the watchtower.

The northeast wind is blowing.

"Let's set sail." I waved.

Fifty warships set sail with the wind, their white sails obscuring the sun.

Life at sea was more difficult than expected. Many of the elite land troops were seasick and nauseous, and even Zhao Yun turned pale. Zhuge Liang, on the other hand, adapted quickly—this young man actually completed the first draft of "On the Advantages and Disadvantages of a Long-Distance Expedition" in the rocking cabin.

On the seventh day, the Liaodong coastline came into view.

"As planned, we'll split into three groups." I stood at the bow of the ship. "Zilong will lead five hundred elite troops to land on the east bank and create the illusion of harassing Lelang. Yide will lead a thousand men to launch a feigned attack on Xiangping Port from the front. I will lead five hundred men to circle around to the western cliff—there's a herb-gathering path there that leads directly to the back mountain of Xiangping City."

Xu Shu frowned: "My lord, the cliff is too dangerous..."

"So we must do it under cover of night." I looked at Zhuge Liang. "Kongming, you'll come with me."

The child nodded vigorously.

That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Five hundred elite warriors used ropes to climb a thirty-zhang-high cliff. I was at the front—though this body was from another time, years of battle had honed my skills. Zhuge Liang followed in third place, his small face tense, but his hands were extremely steady.

Halfway up the mountain, I suddenly heard footsteps overhead.

Patrolmen!

Everyone held their breath and pressed themselves against the rock face. I gripped the short sword at my waist—if we were discovered, we would have no choice but to attack head-on.

The footsteps stopped overhead. The sound of someone unzipping their pants...

Urine spilled down the cliff edge.

The soldiers below were drenched, but they gritted their teeth and didn't utter a sound.

The patrolmen muttered as they walked away.

I breathed a sigh of relief and continued climbing.

At midnight, all five hundred men reached the summit. Below lay Xiangping City—sparsely lit, the garrison clearly hadn't expected anyone to come up the cliff.

"Send the signal," I whispered.

Three rockets soared into the sky.

In the east, Zhao Yun's troops began to beat drums in a feigned attack.

At the port in front, Zhang's spaceship team ignited fire arrows, illuminating half the sky.

Xiangping City was thrown into chaos.

"Attack the city!" I drew my sword and pointed forward.

Five hundred men pounced on the city gate like ghosts. The defenders' attention was completely drawn to the east and west sides, and by the time they realized they were being attacked from behind, we had already cut down the gatekeepers and opened the gate.

"White Horse Cavalry, advance into the city!" Zhao Yun's voice came from afar—he had already broken through the east gate!

The two forces converged in the city.

The fighting continued until dawn.

Gongsun Kang escaped through the north gate under the protection of his personal guards. Just as Zhuge Liang had predicted, he led three thousand cavalrymen straight towards Lelang—he wanted to gather troops stationed in various places.

"Pursue him," I ordered, "but don't pursue him too closely. Let him reach the Goguryeo border 'smoothly'."

Three days later, the battle report arrived: Gongsun Kang was ambushed on the border of Goguryeo, losing two thousand soldiers, and fled in disarray into Goguryeo territory. King Bogu of Goguryeo "warmly" received him.

Five days later, the Goguryeo envoy arrived in Xiangping.

"Our King, hearing of the rebellion in Liaodong, has dispatched 50,000 troops to assist the Celestial Empire in quelling the uprising," the envoy said arrogantly. "We urge Envoy Liu to withdraw from Liaodong, and our country will naturally..."

I interrupted him: "Liaodong is the territory of the Han Dynasty, and there is no need for foreign countries to concern themselves with it. If your country is truly willing, you can assist in the pursuit of the traitor Gongsun Kang—as for your troops, please withdraw them immediately."

The envoy sneered, "What if I don't withdraw?"

I laughed too: "Then we'll have no choice but to ask your king's troops... to remain in Liaodong forever."

Negotiations broke down.

The following day, a Goguryeo army of 50,000 crossed the border.

At the same time, Tian Yu of Youzhou "just happened" to lead 30,000 troops to Liaodong to "assist in defending against the enemy".

At the same time, I issued a proclamation in the name of "General Who Guards the East": "Goguryeo took advantage of the chaos to invade our territory; all Han Chinese should unite to attack them!"

At the same time, Cao Cao's messenger arrived—bearing an imperial edict: "General Liu Bei, the General Who Guards the East, is hereby given full authority to handle affairs in Liaodong and to ensure the integrity of our territory."

After reading the imperial edict, Xu Shu smiled wryly: "My lord, what is Cao Cao doing..."

"Going with the flow." I folded the imperial edict. "He's happy to see us fight Goguryeo to the death, wasting our strength. But what he doesn't know is..."

I pushed open the map of Liaodong.

The map lists twelve newly discovered iron mines, seven horse ranches, and three sea salt workshops.

"We've got Liaodong in the bag."

In April, the Liaodong Campaign officially began.

But that's another story.

Standing atop Xiangping City Wall, watching the rising sun illuminate this black earth, I turned to Zhuge Liang and said:

"The first question on the graduation exam: How much did we gain after conquering Liaodong?"

The child opened the account book, his eyes lighting up:

"It is projected that the annual production will increase by 8,000 warhorses, one million catties of pig iron, and 300,000 shi of salt. Furthermore, control of the Bohai Strait will provide direct sea access to Qingyou—"

"And another thing," he said, looking up, "After this battle, Goguryeo dared not look south for ten years. The northern border is now safe."

I patted him on the shoulder:

"qualified."

The sea breeze blows from the east, carrying the salty smell and the distant sound of war drums.