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

On the fifteenth day of the fourth month of the sixth year of Jian'an, the first spring rain in Liaodong came unexpectedly. On the training ground outside Xiangping City, twelve thousand new soldiers lined up in the rain, the mud reaching their ankles, but no one dared to move—today was the first time the entire army was training together, and Guan Yu was personally supervising the battle.

"Beat the drums!" Guan Yu's phoenix eyes swept across the entire arena.

The war drums thundered. The three formations began to change ranks: the Tiger Might Battalion in front, the Qingzhou Battalion on the flanks, and the Tuntian Battalion at the rear. Although their movements were somewhat clumsy, no one hesitated when the command flag pointed.

I stood on the reviewing stand, with Lu Su, whom I had specially invited to observe, beside me. This envoy from Jiangdong, wearing a straw raincoat, stared intently at the scene.

"Lord Liu has trained his troops well," Lu Su exclaimed. "His orders are strictly enforced, and he has already achieved the form of an elite force."

"Mr. Zijing, you flatter me," I said modestly. "We are all new recruits and still have a long way to go."

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred.

The Tiger Might Battalion and the Qingzhou Battalion clashed during a formation change—both teams moved towards the center of the army according to the command flag, but miscalculated the distance, and the spears of the front ranks nearly pierced each other's faces. The commanding officer shouted in panic, and the ranks fell into chaos.

Guan Yu's face darkened, and he was about to order a punishment.

"Yun Chang," I raised my hand to stop him, "let them handle it themselves."

In the middle of the field, two squad leaders who had collided were arguing.

"Are you Tiger Might Battalion blind?! The command flag points east, and you charge west?!" The squad leader of Qingzhou Battalion was a dark-faced man, spitting on the other man's face.

The younger squad leader of the Tiger Might Battalion, his face flushed red, retorted, "Bullshit! We followed the flag signals! You were just a beat too slow!"

Just as things were about to escalate, a voice interrupted: "Shut up, all of you."

The speaker was a squad leader in his early twenties named Gao Shun—yes, the same Gao Shun who served under Lü Bu in history. After being captured in the Battle of Xiapi, I saw his strict discipline in managing troops, so I kept him in the army, and now he is the deputy commander of the agricultural settlement.

Gao Shun walked to the middle of the two teams and pointed to the mud prints on the ground: "Look carefully? The Tiger Might Battalion's footprints are deep because they wear heavy armor but run fast; the Qingzhou Battalion's footprints are shallow, but the spacing is large—which means you messed up your strides in order to get a better position."

He turned to the two squad leaders: "The fault lies with both sides. The Tiger Might Battalion should have controlled its speed, and the Qingzhou Battalion should have held its ground. Now, return to your units and start over—if things get chaotic again, the whole unit will train until midnight."

The two were speechless and retreated dejectedly.

A strange light flashed in Lu Su's eyes: "This team leader... is not simple."

"It's Gao Shun," I said. "He used to serve under Lü Bu, but now he works for me."

"Your Excellency has a remarkable character." Lu Su said meaningfully, "You are able to employ surrendered generals without hesitation, which is something that is beyond the reach of ordinary people."

I smiled without saying a word.

The exercise continued. This time it went much more smoothly; the three formations meshed like gears, completing a full offensive and defensive transition. Although there were still some flaws, it was beginning to take shape.

The rain stopped at noon.

Lu Su took his leave and returned to the inn, while I left behind Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Gao Shun, whom I had specially summoned.

"What do you think of today's chaos?" I asked.

Guan Yu spoke first: "We are not familiar with military orders, so we should train more."

"It's not a matter of military orders," Gao Shun suddenly spoke up. "It's that the soldiers don't know their generals, and the generals don't know their soldiers."

Everyone looked at him.

The young captain, neither humble nor arrogant, said: "The Tiger Might Battalion is mostly composed of veterans from Youzhou, the Qingzhou Battalion is mostly composed of newly recruited refugees, and the Tuntian Battalion is composed of both soldiers and farmers. The three battalions come from different backgrounds, have different habits, and even speak with different accents—forcing them together will naturally lead to chaos."

"Then what should we do?" Zhao Yun asked.

"Mixed formation." Gao Shun said decisively, "Each garrison will consist of 30% veterans and 70% new recruits; each unit must have soldiers from three different prefectures. They will eat, live, and train together, and after three months, they will naturally form an army."

Zhang Fei scratched his head: "Wouldn't that create chaos? The Youzhou soldiers and the Qingzhou soldiers have fought countless times before..."

"Then let them fight," Gao Shun said, surprising everyone. "Set up a ring and have regular matches. Winners get rewards, losers get extra training. The more they fight, the more friendships they develop, and naturally they'll become brothers."

I stared at the young man.

Historically, the "Trap Camp" he trained was known as "invincible with a thousand men," which relied on this extremely rigorous training.

"Approved." I made the decision. "Gao Shun, from today onwards, you will serve as the chief instructor of the new army, in charge of mixed training. In three months, I want to see a true 'Liaodong Army'."

Gao Shun knelt on one knee: "This subordinate obeys the order!"

After everyone else had left, I left Gao Shun alone.

"Professor Gao, do you know why I used you?"

"Because I am useful."

"Not only that," I shook my head, "but also because you don't care about background, only ability. You were like that under Lü Bu, and you are like that under me—that's rare."

Gao Shun remained silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "My lord...does not doubt that this humble general once served Lü Bu?"

"I had my doubts," I confessed. "But after seeing you train the troops, I no longer have any doubts. A person who is willing to mend soldiers' battle robes and personally apply medicine to wounded soldiers can't be all that bad."

The young man's eyes were slightly red, and he bowed deeply.

That afternoon, at the medical school.

Hua Tuo, along with Kong Shao and Fu Shou, was dealing with a tricky case—a ten-year-old boy sent from a refugee settlement who had been suffering from a high fever for five days and had developed a rash.

"It's not typhoid fever," Hua Tuo concluded after a careful examination. "The rash has persisted for three days and is concentrated on the chest and abdomen...it resembles smallpox."

"Smallpox?!" The apprentice next to him paled.

That was a deadly plague; if one person contracted it, the whole village would suffer.

"Don't panic," Hua Tuo said calmly. "Isolate them first. Wu Pu, go and notify the Refugee Management Office to arrange for all contacts to be placed separately; Fan A, prepare mugwort and realgar for fumigation and disinfection of the entire hospital."

The two children stood to one side, and Fu Shou asked in a low voice, "Sir, can smallpox be cured?"

"The ancient prescriptions are recorded, but only one in ten survives," Hua Tuo sighed. "We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."

Kong Shao suddenly spoke up: "I've read 'Elbow-Side Prescriptions,' which contains a method called 'variolation'..."

"No!" Hua Tuo interrupted sternly, "That's evil magic! Taking pus from smallpox and implanting it into a healthy person is a near-certain death sentence!"

"But the book says that those who survived will never get acne again..."

"That's a life for a life!" Hua Tuo was uncharacteristically angry. "A physician's duty is to save lives; how can he intentionally infect others with disease?!"

Kong Shao lowered his head and said nothing more.

I happened to be outside the door when I overheard the argument. I pushed the door open and entered; Hua Tuo immediately bowed.

"How is the child?" I asked.

"The situation is not good." Hua Tuo shook his head. "If the smallpox pustules erupt, there is still a glimmer of hope; if they don't erupt, the heat toxin will attack the heart, and then..."

I looked at the small, thin figure on the sickbed. The boy was delirious, murmuring "Mother."

"Mr. Hua, do everything you can to save him," I said. "Just tell me what medicine you need."

"Thank you, my lord." Hua Tuo paused, "However... if it really is smallpox, we must prepare for the worst. The medical school must be completely locked down, and all medical students are not allowed to leave until the epidemic is over."

"How long will it take?"

"At least... a month."

My heart sank. The medical school currently has fifty medical students and over a hundred patients; if it were locked down for a month...

"Agreed." I nodded. "But you must ensure the supplies for the medical apprentices. I'll have people bring in food, medicine, and charcoal from outside the wall."

As I left the medical school, the sky darkened again.

Zhuge Liang rushed over: "Teacher, Tian Mao has been captured."

"Where?"

"On the road from Yuyang to Youzhou, he tried to escape to Jizhou." Zhuge Liang handed over the confession. "He confessed everything. He embezzled two thousand shi of grain over three years, of which one thousand shi were sold to Cao Cao's merchants for eight hundred gold coins. The other one thousand shi... were hidden in a cellar outside Yuyang City."

"Does Tian Yu know?"

"Prefect Tian doesn't know, but..." Zhuge Liang hesitated for a moment, "Tian Mao confessed that the Prefect of Yuyang was also involved and received three hundred gold pieces. And the Prefect... was recommended by Prefect Tian."

Trouble.

I unfolded the confession and examined it closely. Tian Mao's handwriting was crooked and messy, but he confessed without hesitation. In addition to embezzlement, he also confessed to another matter: Cao Cao's spies had tried to bribe Tian Yu through him—he was refused, but he did not report it and instead pocketed the bribe himself.

"My lord," Zhuge Liang said softly, "if this matter becomes public, although Prefect Tian is not at fault, he will still be guilty of negligence in recommending Tian..."

"I know." I rubbed my temples. "Summon Tian Yu to see me."

Half an hour later, Tian Yu arrived. This old minister who had served me for eight years knelt down as soon as he entered.

"My lord... I am guilty."

"Stand up and speak."

Tian Yu refused to rise, pressing his forehead to the ground: "Although I was unaware of the events at Yuyang, my negligence in employing people led to this great disaster... I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

I helped him up, looking at his graying temples: "Guorang, you've followed me for eight years, through Youzhou, Qingzhou, and Liaodong, without ever wavering in your loyalty. You were indeed wrong in this matter—wrong for trusting people too much, wrong for thinking that everyone was like you, treating the people as their own lives."

The old minister was in tears.

"But I won't punish you," I said slowly. "I want you to atone for your crimes through meritorious service. The Prefect of Yuyang will be dismissed and investigated; you will personally handle the case. Every official involved will be brought to justice. All the recovered embezzled funds will be used to resettle displaced people. As for Tian Mao..."

I paused for a moment: "According to the law, he should be executed. But you are an important minister of mine, so I will give you face—let him commit suicide and leave him with a whole body."

Tian Yu was about to kneel again, but I stopped her.

"My lord... what virtue or ability do I possess to deserve this..."

"What you can do is this loyalty." I patted him on the shoulder. "Go on, and do a good job. Let everyone see that Liu Bei's men admit their mistakes, correct them, and get things done well."

"Yes!" Tian Yu bowed deeply and turned to leave.

Zhuge Liang watched from the side, seemingly lost in thought.

"Teacher, isn't your approach a bit too lenient?"

"Is he generous?" I shook my head. "If Tian Yu really had ulterior motives, he would have embezzled long ago. But he hasn't—eight years have passed, and he has handled far more than a million in money and grain, yet his house is still the same old one, and his son is still studying at the academy. I can't let such a person's heart be broken by a distant nephew."

"That law..."

"Laws must be strict, but human kindness must be warm." I looked at the boy. "Governing a country is like controlling water; it's better to dredge than to block. Killing Tian Yu is easy, but what will the other veteran officials think? 'Look, they've followed us for eight years, and now they're just abandoning us.' If people's hearts are scattered, even the strictest laws are useless."

Zhuge Liang silently noted it down.

In the evening, Sima Yi arrived, bringing with him new discoveries.

"My lord, Steward Mi Fang has made a move," he whispered. "At noon today, he went to the local temple, but not to offer incense. Instead, he placed something under the base of the statue. As soon as he left, I took it out and looked at it—it was a secret letter, written in that same totem-like secret script."

"Where's the letter?"

"The student didn't touch it, put it back exactly as it was." A cold glint flashed in Sima Yi's eyes. "But he copied the totem design. In addition, the student discovered that the temple keeper of the local earth god temple is also problematic—he goes to the 'Drunken Immortal Pavilion' in the south of the city to drink every three days, and the manager of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion... is from Yanzhou."

A net is gradually emerging from the water.

"What do you want to do?"

"Close the net," Sima Yi said. "But we have to wait for their next meeting. The students are already in position; we have people both inside and outside the temple. As long as they send another message, we can catch them red-handed."

"Won't this alert the enemy?"

"So, I set a trap." The young man rarely showed a smile. "The manager of Zuixianlou is a gambler, so I had someone pretend to be a wealthy merchant and invite him to gamble. Once he lost all his money, I lent him money, and with interest compounding... Now he owes us five hundred gold. When we force him to repay the debt, he will naturally seek help from his superiors."

I looked at him.

A seventeen-year-old boy already knows how to use such methods.

"Be careful," I said. "Don't kill anyone."

"The students know their limits."

After Sima Yi withdrew, I walked to the window. The rain started to fall again, and the sky turned a dim yellow.

Chaotic times are like a game of chess, every move is fraught with danger.

Managing the army, treating illnesses, managing officials, dealing with spies... if any one of these lines breaks down, the whole game could be lost.

"Teacher." Zhuge Liang returned sometime earlier, carrying a bowl of hot soup. "You haven't had your dinner yet."

I took the soup bowl and suddenly asked, "Kongming, do you think... what we're doing is a bit too harsh?"

The boy thought for a moment: "I've read Han Feizi, which says, 'A loving mother can have a spoiled son, but a strict family can have no unruly children.' Using harsh punishments in chaotic times is a last resort. But..."

"But what?"

"But after severe punishment, we should implement benevolent governance," Zhuge Liang said earnestly. "Just like how Master Hua treats illness, first using strong medicine to expel the evil, and then using gentle medicine to support the body's balance. The same applies to governing a country."

I laughed.

"You're right. Once this cleanup is over, we'll properly 'restore order'—reduce taxes, build schools, repair water conservancy projects, and give the people a breather."

"The students are looking forward to that day."

That night, news came from the medical school.

The boy with smallpox finally broke out in a rash. Although it was dangerous, at least there was a chance of survival. Hua Tuo stayed by his side all night, personally feeding him medicine and applying it to his wounds. By dawn, his fever had subsided by one-third.

Meanwhile, in the recruit camp outside the city, Gao Shun was implementing his mixed-arms plan.

The twelve thousand men were completely scattered and reorganized. Soldiers from Youzhou, Qingzhou, and refugees were mixed together and began to eat and live together. On the first day alone, there were more than a dozen fights. Gao Shun kept his word—he set up a fighting arena, rewarding the winners with money and giving extra training to the losers.

By the third day, there were fewer fights.

By the fifth day, people started teaching each other their native dialect.

On the seventh day, during a torrential rain, the three battalions worked together to repair the collapsed camp wall. In the mud and water, it was impossible to tell who was from Youzhou and who was from Qingzhou; all they knew was that they were all "Liaodong Army".

April 22nd, Earth God Temple.

Butler Mi Fang appeared again. He offered incense as usual, and then took something from under the base of the statue—but this time, he took out an empty envelope.

His expression changed, and he turned to leave.

The temple gates are already closed.

Sima Yi walked out of the side hall, followed by more than a dozen men in black.

"Butler Wang, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

The butler tried to remain calm: "Who...who are you people? In broad daylight..."

"Night thief." Sima Yi uttered three words, and the steward's legs went weak.

"take away."

Meanwhile, at Zuixianlou.

The shopkeeper, cornered in the house by his "creditors," pleaded with a mournful face, "Gentlemen, please grant me a few more days..."

"Grace period? We've already given you three grace periods!" The henchman, posing as a wealthy merchant, slammed his fist on the table. "If you don't pay today, we'll take your restaurant as collateral!"

"No, no! This restaurant doesn't belong to me alone..."

"Then tell me, who's your supplier? Go ask him for your money!"

After struggling for a long time, the shopkeeper finally uttered a name.

That night, the operation was launched simultaneously both inside and outside Xiangping City.

Seven people were arrested, including the temple keeper and a clerk from the prefectural governor's office. An overnight interrogation uncovered a spy network that had been operating undercover for three years—its leader was codenamed "Number Three," and his true identity was...

"Mi Fang's accountant?" I frowned as I looked at the statement. "Not the butler?"

"The steward is merely a messenger," Sima Yi said. "The real 'Number Three' is the Mi family's old accountant, named Zhou Qin. He is a master strategist, and all financial transactions pass through his hands. The letter from Gray Sparrow was written to him."

"Does Mi Fang know?"

"He probably doesn't know," Sima Yi analyzed. "Zhou Qin is an old man brought by Mi Zhu from Xuzhou, and he is deeply trusted. He uses his position to regularly transmit information about grain prices, troop strength, and land reclamation in Liaodong to Cao Cao. Mi Fang is greedy for money, but he doesn't have the guts to collude with the enemy."

I pondered for a moment.

"Execute Zhou Qin secretly on charges of embezzlement. As for Mi Fang... give him a warning and let him clean up his own mess."

"What about the other spies..."

"The ringleader has been eliminated, and the accomplices have been exiled to the mines," I said. "This matter ends here. To the outside world, we'll say it was an investigation into corruption."

Sima Yi asked, puzzled, "My lord, why not make it public...?"

"Because now is not the time to break ties with Cao Cao." I stood up and walked to the map. "We need more time. Our navy is not yet complete, our new army is not yet trained, and our supplies are insufficient... If we start a war now, we will undoubtedly lose."

The boy suddenly realized: "So... you're showing weakness?"

"Yes, show weakness." I nodded. "Let Cao Cao think that Liaodong is just a minor ailment, not worth worrying about. Once we're ready..."

I didn't finish my sentence.

But Sima Yi understood.

He bowed and withdrew, but as he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and said, "My lord, I have a question."

"explain."

"Do you...trust your students?"

I looked at him. In the candlelight, the boy's face was half-lit and half-shadowed.

"I believe you now," I said truthfully, "but if you stop believing me in the future, I will treat you the same way I treated Zhou Qin—it sounds harsh, but it's true."

Sima Yi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

"The student understands."

He left, his footsteps fading into the distance.

I sat alone under the lamp, looking at the map of the Central Plains.

The northern Youzhou, the eastern Liaodong, the southern Qingxu... are like an eagle spreading its wings.

But not enough.

To fly higher, you need to be stronger.

You need to be more patient and endure longer.

Outside the window, the rain has stopped.

The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, its gentle light bathing the courtyard.

Tomorrow will be another new day.