Chapter 46: Sima Yi in the Distance

Melodious music lingered in the air, and within the elegant chambers, two beauties had applied only the lightest touch of powder. Through the carved balustrade, Yueyao gazed outside, where a handsome young man with fair skin came into view.

“Sister Yueyao, it truly is Lord Zhou! You have waited so long for him, and it seems Heaven has finally taken notice of your longing,” said Fu’er with a teasing glint.

A blush bloomed on Yueyao’s cheeks as she looked shyly away. “Fu’er, you’re always making fun of your sister!”

Jiang Wen took a light sip from his cup, while Lü Meng swigged directly from the wine jug, wiping the liquor from his mouth with a satisfied shout. Suddenly, his brows arched, he whistled, and his gaze followed a moving figure.

The appearance of a stunning beauty made the surrounding blossoms pale by comparison, rendering them mere background to her radiance.

Yueyao watched Zhou Yu as he closed his eyes, listening intently, and could not help but stifle a laugh behind her hand. A young musician bowed to Yueyao and stepped aside, yielding the place of honor.

Her slender, fair fingers danced across the strings of the zither, weaving a spellbinding melody that left every gentleman present enraptured. It was only with such a remarkable woman and such exquisite music that this place became unforgettable.

Suddenly, the music soared in pitch. Zhou Yu opened his eyes and looked to the stage in puzzlement. Recognizing a familiar figure, he allowed himself a faint smile and continued to listen.

A maiden, barely grown, approached with a tray of wine. “My lady bids me offer you gentlemen this Dukang wine, with her compliments. Please, do not refuse.”

“Such beauty and such generosity! We gratefully accept this Dukang wine,” Lü Meng exclaimed, quickly taking the jug and pouring for the men around him with greedy delight.

Save for Jiang Wen, all those present were fond of good drink, and eyed the Dukang wine with unconcealed desire.

Zhou Yu rose, smiling as he bowed in greeting toward the voluptuous and charming Yueyao on the stage. Yueyao nodded and smiled shyly, her face blooming with delight, a flutter of secret happiness in her heart.

A subtle current of emotion flowed between the two.

Beyond the city of Moling, in the army encampment—

The generals were seated according to rank at the banquet. Sun Ce surveyed the dishes and wine before him, then turned to Jiang Wen at his side. “Strategist, how long have we been waiting?”

Jiang Wen bowed. “General, it is already noon.”

Sun Ce nodded. The banquet had been set for the arrival of one man—Tai Shici. Today was the appointed day for Tai Shici’s meeting with Sun Ce, and the troops feasted outside the city gates to celebrate the victory at Moling.

Jiang Qin leaned over to whisper to Gan Ning, “General Xingba, do you really think Tai Shici will come?”

“Hmph.” Gan Ning snorted. “He’s a defeated general, though he still commands ten thousand men. If he values loyalty so much, why hasn’t he avenged Liu Yao first?”

“So we’ve let a tiger return to the mountains?” Jiang Qin’s eyes flickered.

The words were not loud, but not soft either; many in the tent heard. Jiang Wen kept his eyes closed, serene and unruffled. The officers, unsure at heart, glanced at Jiang Wen’s calm demeanor; though they had doubts, they chose to trust him.

Jiang Wen’s standing in the army was now unmatched. Though he had never led troops in battle, his strategies had helped the army conquer city after city, ensuring victory after victory.

Suddenly, a messenger arrived. “Report! Tai Shici approaches with ten thousand men to join the General!”

“He’s really come!” Sun Ce leapt up in delight. “Come, generals, let us meet him together!”

Gan Ning and the other commanders exchanged looks, each reading astonishment in the other’s eyes.

Once the generals had sobered up, they gathered in Sun Ce’s tent to discuss matters.

Zhou Yu presented a bamboo scroll to Sun Ce, bowing as he said, “This is a letter from the Superintendent of Agricultural Colonization. Many generals have seized good farmland from the people under the pretext of colonization.”

“Though the Superintendent has repeatedly petitioned the Minister of Works, these old generals have served him for years, and he turns a blind eye. Thus, the Superintendent begs the Young General to intercede, for otherwise the colonization policy will only become a tool for the generals to amass land.”

Sun Ce took the scroll, read it carefully, and set it aside, frowning. “My father surely understands this, but these generals are his brothers-in-arms, comrades from years of hardship. Giving them more land is no trouble to him.”

“And besides…” Sun Ce glanced at Jiang Wen and continued, “My father recently awarded nearly a hundred acres to Changsu. While Changsu certainly earned first merit, those who have fought for years are no less deserving. Naturally, they feel slighted, and there’s little I can do…”

Jiang Wen remained silent. With the land still in turmoil, the clan generals were still needed, and resistance to the colonization policy was inevitable.

Gan Ning, Jiang Qin, and the others kept their peace. These were matters beyond their reach; most had never even met the Minister of Works.

Zhou Yu sighed. “To conquer the world is easy; to govern it is hard.”

Such upright and selfless ministers are rare indeed.

“There’s also this scroll.” Zhou Yu handed another bamboo slip to Sun Ce. “A group of Han loyalists, driven out of Chang’an by Lü Bu’s warmongering and the empty garrison, have fled with their families and been received by the Minister of Works at Wancheng.”

“Han loyalists? Who are they?” The question stirred Jiang Wen, and he asked with some urgency.

Zhou Yu scanned the scroll and read out the names: “Dong Cheng, Yang Biao, Sima Fang… Changsu, you seem very interested in these men. Do you have a history with one of them?”

“Sima Fang…” Jiang Wen murmured inwardly, then smiled lightly at Zhou Yu. “No, just a bit curious.”

Zhou Yu nodded and turned back to the matters at hand, while Jiang Wen sat lost in thought.

Sima Fang had arrived—and with him another formidable figure: the very man who would lay the foundation for the Jin Dynasty, and the most formidable strategist of the Three Kingdoms.

The world was split into three—Shu, Wei, and Wu—only to fall into the hands of the Sima clan. Alongside the Sleeping Dragon, Young Phoenix, and Child Prodigy, he was known as the Hidden Tiger.

Sima Yi, with eagle’s gaze and wolf’s ambition.

His intellect might not seem fearsome at first, but his depth of calculation knew no peer. He was like still water—impossible to fathom.

Jiang Wen knew Sima Yi was to be reckoned with on par with Cao Cao. Unlike other strategists, Sima Yi could endure anything; throughout history, those who could endure were always men of great ambition and talent. Goujian slept on brushwood, Han Xin suffered humiliation beneath another’s knee.

Among all the Three Kingdoms’ cunning strategists, Sima Yi was without equal.

If he were an enemy, Jiang Wen would not fear him, for in this heroic era, there were many talents to astound the world.

But as an ally… Sima Yi as a friend was more to be feared than as a foe.

And then there was Yang Biao’s son, Yang Xiu, who would die by the hand of “Chicken Ribs”—another who exemplified the prideful genius. He and Sima Yi were opposites: one unable to endure, the other able to endure anything.

Yet, Jiang Wen reflected, he himself was not unlike Yang Xiu now. Among Sun Jian’s strategists, he would surely be the most renowned—for serving the Son of Heaven, securing the foundation, devising the colonization policy, seizing Jingzhou…

He only wondered whether, in the end, he too would be discarded when the rabbit is caught and the hound cooked.