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

On the fifteenth day of the third month of the sixth year of Jian'an, in the backyard of an inconspicuous herbal medicine shop west of Xiangping City.

Sima Yi pushed open the hidden door and walked down the narrow stone steps. At the end of the steps was a spacious basement, with maps hanging on the walls and files piled on the table. A dozen men in black were busy at work—this was the headquarters of the "Night Scouts" in Liaodong.

Xu Shu was already waiting for him.

"Zhongda, are you healed?" Xu Shu pointed to a chair. "Sit down."

Sima Yi sat down, his gaze sweeping across the room. The air carried the musty smell of old paper and ink, mixed with the dampness of the underground. On the wall, a huge map of the Central Plains was densely covered with small flags of various colors: red for friendly agents, black for known enemy strongholds, and white for targets to be investigated.

"My lord sent me to help with the reorganization," Sima Yi said bluntly. "The incident with the gray sparrow must not happen again."

Xu Shu smiled wryly: "Yes... but what can we do? There are more than 300 scouts now, scattered across seven provinces and forty-two counties. Each person is only contacted through a single line of communication, and apart from me and the lord, no one knows the full list."

"That's precisely the problem," Sima Yi said calmly. "With too much power concentrated in one place, if you or your lord are in danger, the entire network will collapse. Moreover, single-line communication is too inefficient—it takes ten days for news from Ji Province to reach Liaodong, by which time it will be too late."

What are your thoughts?

"Reform the system." Sima Yi stood up and walked to the map. "Divide the Night Scouts into three levels: the lowest level is the 'Eyes,' responsible for collecting intelligence, and they don't know each other; the middle level is the 'Hands,' responsible for transmitting and organizing, with each 'Hand' managing five to ten 'Eyes'; the highest level is the 'Brains,' with only three: you, me, and the lord each manage a list."

Xu Shu frowned: "Decentralization is a good thing, but what if the 'hand' betrays us..."

"So the 'eye' doesn't know the true identity of the 'hand,' and the 'hand' doesn't know the other 'hands.'" Sima Yi picked up a pen and drew a diagram on the paper. "The 'eye' places the intelligence at a designated location, the 'hand' retrieves it, and then sends it to Liaodong through encrypted channels. Even if something goes wrong in one link, it won't affect the whole situation."

"Encrypted channels?"

"The code." Sima Yi took out a scroll of silk from his sleeve. "This is my 'substitution method.' It uses the three hundred poems of the Book of Songs as the source text, with each character corresponding to the poem title and line number. For example, the first line of the first chapter of 'Guan Ju' is 'Guan Guan Ju Jiu,' so the character 'Guan' is represented by '一·一·一.' Without the source text, even if a secret message is intercepted, it will be unreadable."

Xu Shu took the silk scroll and examined it closely, his eyes gradually brightening: "Excellent! But the original manuscript must be kept absolutely secret..."

"Therefore, only three copies will be printed, one for you and one for me, my lord." Sima Yi paused. "In addition, I suggest setting up an 'Inspection Group' to specifically audit internal personnel. Once every quarter, they will check accounts, movements, and social interactions—extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

Xu Shu was silent for a moment: "Zhongda, your approach is... too strict. The brothers are risking their lives to work, and they still have to be treated like thieves. It's disheartening."

"It's better to be disheartened than to lose your life." Sima Yi's voice was cold. "Grey Sparrow betrayed us, killing three brothers and almost putting Lady Fu Shou in danger. If this system had existed back then, he would have at most exposed himself, without implicating the entire Ji Province network."

These words struck a nerve with Xu Shu. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "...Okay. But how exactly do we investigate?"

"Let's start with the accounts." Sima Yi pointed to the mountain of account books piled up in the corner. "Each spy has a monthly operating budget. We need a detailed breakdown of how the money was spent. Any overspending or unclear purposes will be the focus of our investigation."

"But some expenses...are hard to state explicitly. For example, bribing officials—you can't exactly write 'bribed the magistrate of so-and-so with ten taels of gold,' can you?"

"Then let's set up a 'Special Expenditure' category, but it requires joint approval from two people." Sima Yi had clearly considered this. "You and I, or the lord, at least one of us must sign. For amounts exceeding one hundred gold pieces, the lord must approve it personally."

As the two were discussing, a man in black hurried in and whispered a few words in Xu Shu's ear.

Xu Shu's expression changed.

"What's wrong?" Sima Yi asked.

"One of our brothers discovered something unusual in Yuyang," Xu Shu said in a low voice. "Our head of the undercover agents in Yuyang, named Chen Wu, has suddenly become very wealthy recently—he bought a house in the city and even took a concubine."

Sima Yi's eyes narrowed: "Investigate his accounts."

The account books were quickly brought over. Chen Wu was an old comrade who had joined three years ago and was in charge of the intelligence network in Yuyang and the three surrounding counties. The accounts showed that his monthly expenses were five gold coins, but in the last three months, he reported a "special expenditure" of twelve gold coins, the reason being "to bribe the garrison troops".

"The garrison commander of Yuyang is Tian Yu's subordinate, so he needs to be bribed?" Sima Yi sneered. "And four taels of gold a month... What kind of garrison commander is so greedy?"

Xu Shu's face darkened: "I'll investigate personally."

"No, I'll go." Sima Yi stood up. "You're too conspicuous. I'm a new face, it'll be easier for us to get things done."

"But your injury..."

"Alright." Sima Yi had already put on his cloak. "Give me five men to disguise themselves as a merchant caravan. We'll set off tomorrow."

March 18th, Yuyang County.

Chen Wu's new residence was in the east of the city, a three-courtyard house with stone lions standing at the entrance—considered a mansion in a border county like Yuyang. Sima Yi, disguised as a medicinal herb merchant, booked a private room in the teahouse diagonally opposite and observed through the window.

At dawn, the gate of the mansion opened. A man in his thirties walked out, dressed in a silk robe and wearing jade ornaments at his waist, followed by two servants. It was Chen Wu.

"Keep up," Sima Yi said to those around him.

Chen Wu wandered around the city, first going to a grain shop, then a cloth shop, and finally entering a restaurant next to the prefect's residence. Sima Yi followed him in and asked for a private room next door.

Through the cracks in the wall, one could see Chen Wu waiting for someone. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a man dressed as a scholar arrived, and the two spoke in hushed tones.

"...This batch of goods should arrive by the end of the month..." Chen Wu's voice was broken.

"...The price...can't go any lower..."

"...Don't worry...everything's been taken care of over there..."

It was hard to hear clearly, but suspicious. A night watchman shouldn't be making private deals with government officials—unless it's intelligence work, but Chen Wu was in charge of military intelligence and shouldn't be in contact with civil officials.

Sima Yi gave a wink. His subordinate understood, pretending to be drunk, and staggered into the next private room.

"Oops! Wrong way, wrong way!" The subordinate slurred, but his eyes quickly scanned the table—there were no documents, only food and wine.

Chen Wu frowned: "Get out!"

"We're leaving now, we're leaving now..." The subordinate stepped back and gestured to Sima Yi: nothing was found.

But Sima Yi was still uneasy. After Chen Wu and the clerk dispersed, he had his men continue to follow the clerk, while he himself led his men to several places Chen Wu frequented: gambling dens, brothels, and pawnshops.

A discovery was made at the pawnshop.

"This guy comes here often," the pawnshop owner said, flipping through the ledger. "Last month, he pawned a jade pendant, saying it was an heirloom, for fifty gold coins. But he redeemed it before the due date—strangely, he didn't use a pawn ticket, he used cash, sixty gold coins."

"Where did he get so much money?"

"I don't know about that," the shopkeeper said in a low voice. "But... once when he was drunk, he let it slip that he had made a big deal, given to him by a 'friend in the south.'"

South.

Sima Yi's heart sank. To the south of Yuyang lay the heart of Youzhou, and further south was Jizhou, controlled by Cao Cao.

In the evening, the men who had been following the clerk returned.

"That man is the granary clerk in the prefectural governor's office, in charge of the granaries," the subordinate reported. "I've inquired and found that the official granaries in Yuyang have recently been reselling old grain—disposing of it at low prices under the pretext of 'moldy,' but actually selling it to private merchants."

"Who is the private businessman?"

"We haven't found anything yet, but..." The subordinate hesitated for a moment, "Someone saw Chen Wu's convoy transporting grain out of the official granary through the back gate in the middle of the night."

Sima Yi closed his eyes.

Corruption.

It is more disgusting than betrayal, but its harm is no less.

"Arrest them." He opened his eyes. "We'll make our move tonight."

At midnight, at Chen Wu's residence.

Sima Yi led his men over the wall and into the house. The guards on night watch were subdued before they could react. The group rushed to the main house, and when they kicked open the door, Chen Wu was sleeping with his concubine in his arms.

"Who?!" Chen Wu woke up with a start and reached for the knife under his pillow.

Sima Yi's sword was already at his neck: "Don't move."

The candles were lit. Chen Wu recognized the person who had arrived and his face turned deathly pale: "S...Sima Jun, Sima..."

"Chen Wu, do you know your crime?"

"Your subordinate...does not know..."

Sima Yi pulled a copy of an account book from his robes and threw it on the bed: "The monthly 'bribe fee' of four gold coins, who did you bribe? I've asked all the garrison commanders of Yuyang, and no one has taken your money."

Chen Wu broke out in a cold sweat: "That...that's..."

"And another one," Sima Yi tossed out another pawn ticket, "This jade pendant, you say it's an heirloom. But I checked, it's an official jade pendant presented as tribute by the Zhongshan Kingdom two years ago, how could it be your heirloom?"

"Yes, I bought it..."

"Where did you buy it? How much did it cost?" Sima Yi pressed on, "Can't answer? Then I'll tell you for you—it was given to you by Cao Cao's spies, wasn't it? You were reselling government grain for him, and he gave you money and treasures."

Chen Wu collapsed to the ground: "This subordinate...this subordinate was just confused for a moment..."

"A moment of folly?" Sima Yi sneered. "You embezzled three hundred shi of military rations and sold them to merchants in Ji Province—that rations ended up in the stomachs of Cao Cao's army. Do you know what that's called? Aiding the enemy. According to military law, you should be executed."

The concubine screamed in fright, her mouth was covered, and she was dragged out.

Chen Wu knelt and kowtowed: "Military Commander, spare my life! I am willing to atone for my crimes by performing meritorious service! I know the list of Cao Cao's spies in Youzhou, I will confess everything!"

Sima Yi looked down at him and said, "Speak."

"There are three in Yuyang, five in Jicheng, and in Youbeiping..." Chen Wu rattled off more than a dozen names in one breath. "Their meeting point is the locust tree in the backyard of the City God Temple. Intelligence is placed in the hollow of the tree, and someone retrieves it every day at dusk..."

"Anything else?"

"And... Cao Cao also planted someone in Liaodong, but I don't know who it is. Only 'Grey Sparrow' knows..." Chen Wu suddenly remembered something. "That's right! Before Grey Sparrow died, he sent me a letter and asked me to pass it on to 'Number Three'—but he didn't say who Number Three was. He just told me to leave the letter in the usual place."

"Where's the letter?"

"In...in the hidden compartment in the study..."

The men quickly found the letter. It wasn't sealed; inside was just a blank sheet of paper.

"Secret writing." Sima Yi heated the paper over a candle flame—the writing appeared, using the substitution method, but it was different from the version kept by the night guards.

"Can you decipher it?" he asked his men.

A brother who was an expert in cryptography studied it for a long time and shook his head: "The original is different, it can't be cracked. But this last symbol..." He pointed to a mark in the corner of the paper, "It looks like some kind of totem."

Sima Yi examined the mark closely: a circle with three wavy lines inside.

"Water..." he murmured.

Three days later, in Xiangping.

I placed the paper with the writing on it on the table and looked at Sima Yi: "What do you think?"

"Chen Wu has been executed, and his property has been confiscated," Sima Yi said calmly. "Of the spies he implicated, seven have been arrested, and three have escaped—they must have been discovered. As for this letter... I suspect that 'Number Three' is one of our own, and of a high rank."

"Because of the use of ciphertext?"

"Not only that." Sima Yi pointed to the totem. "I've checked this mark; it's the 'Yanzhou Water Pattern Seal.' Cao Cao rose to power in Yanzhou, and many of his confidants used this seal. And among our high-ranking officials in Liaodong, there are three from Yanzhou: Military Advisor Xu, Prefect Tian, ​​and..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear—there's also me. Although I'm from Zhuojun in Youzhou, I was once stationed in Xiaopei, so I can be considered to have spent time in Yanzhou.

"Who do you think it is?" I asked.

"This student dares not presume to speculate," Sima Yi said, bowing his head. "But an investigation is still necessary. If Your Majesty trusts this student, please allow me to conduct a secret investigation."

I looked at this seventeen-year-old boy.

He's too smart, and too dangerous.

But in chaotic times, you can't deal with dangerous situations without dangerous people.

"Approved." I nodded. "But there are a few rules: First, we will only investigate, not arrest. Only report to me if there is solid evidence. Second, if it involves someone of Yuanzhi or Guorang's rank, I must personally approve the investigation. Third..." I stared at him, "You yourself will also be subject to investigation. From today onwards, Yuanzhi will send another group to monitor all your actions—not because he doesn't trust you, but because of the rules."

Sima Yi replied frankly, "That's only right."

After he left, Xu Shu emerged from behind the screen, his expression complex.

"My lord, you really want him to investigate..."

"What else?" I sighed. "Grey Sparrow is dead, Chen Wu has betrayed us, who knows if there will be a third or fourth? The night watchmen are our eyes and ears. If our eyes and ears get sores, it will be fatal."

"But Zhongda's methods..."

"I know," I interrupted him, "which is why I had you send someone to keep an eye on him. Remember, keep an eye on him, not interfere. As long as he doesn't cross the line, let him do what he wants."

Xu Shu remained silent for a long time before whispering, "Yes."

That night, at the medical school.

Fu Shou was already able to walk and was learning to read with Kong Shao in the courtyard. The two children, who were in the same boat, one eight years old and the other six, sat on a stone bench, one teaching and the other learning.

"This character is pronounced 'ren'." Kong Shao wrote it on the ground with a twig: "The benevolent love others."

"My love..." Fu Shou repeated, "Does it mean 'love everyone'?"

"Father said yes," Kong Shao's voice lowered, "but he himself...couldn't do it."

I stood under the eaves and watched without disturbing them.

Hua Tuo walked over and said softly, "These two children are more resolute than their peers. Especially Fu Shou, when her fever was at its highest, she bit her cloth without crying or making a fuss, just so as not to cause trouble for the medical apprentices."

"Hardship makes people mature early," I said. "Mr. Hua, I would like to ask you to take them as your apprentices."

"Studying medicine?"

"Study medicine, and also literature." I looked at the two small figures. "Kong Rong and Fu Wan were both great Confucian scholars of their time. Their descendants should not only learn revenge, but also how to save lives—use medicine to save lives, and use knowledge to heal hearts."

A gleam flashed in Hua Tuo's eyes: "Excellent! I will certainly impart all my knowledge to you!"

As I walked over, the two children saw me and tried to stand up and bow.

"Sit down." I squatted down. "Learning to read?"

"Yes." Fu Shou nodded. "Brother Kong is teaching me the Analects."

Do you like it?

The little girl thought for a moment and said, "I understand some things, and I don't understand others. But Brother Confucius said that even if I don't understand now, I will understand later."

I patted her head: "Yes, that's how studying is. Mr. Hua has agreed to take you as his apprentices. Starting tomorrow, you'll study medicine in the morning and literature in the afternoon—are you willing?"

The two children's eyes lit up.

Kong Shao asked, "My lord, can studying medicine... save lives?"

"able."

"Then I am willing," the six-year-old said solemnly. "My father often says that those who govern should save the world. I am still too young to save the world, but I want to learn how to save people first."

My heart ached.

"Good boy/girl." I stood up. "Then study hard."

It was late at night when I left the medical school.

Xu Shu was waiting for me at the door: "My lord, Zhongda has begun the investigation."

"Where to begin?"

"From the accounts. He took away all the scouts' account books from the past three years, saying he wanted to check them one by one." Xu Shu paused. "In addition, he requested access to Tian Biejia's old files from his time in Xuzhou—the reason being that Tian Biejia had served in Yanzhou and his background needed to be understood."

"Give it to him," I said, "but make a copy of the old file, and you keep it yourself."

"clear."

We walked side by side down the quiet street. The March night wind still carried a chill, but small blades of grass had already sprouted from the corner of the wall.

"Yuanzhi," I suddenly asked, "do you think we can win?"

Xu Shu remained silent for a long time.

"I don't know," he said honestly, "but I do know that if we lose, the world will truly be left with only the way of life like Cao Cao's: 'Those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish.' So... we cannot lose."

I laughed.

"Yes, we can't lose."

The sound of a night watchman's drum came from afar.

It's past four in the morning.

Two more hours, and it will be dawn.

But the battle in the shadows has only just begun.