"I never imagined His Majesty was hiding such depths. How long has he been in Ye City? Yet he has already quietly won over an Imperial Guard force, along with a strategist like you, Fengxiao."
When he met the Son of Heaven in the Imperial Palace that day, Liu Xie had left Jia Xu with neither a good nor a bad impression. He had seemed entirely unremarkable.
Now it appeared that all of that had probably been a facade.
Guo Jia said, "A dragon can grow great or small, rise aloft or conceal itself. When great, it raises clouds and breathes mist; when small, it hides its scales and conceals its form. When it rises, it soars through the cosmos; when it hides, it lurks beneath the waves."
"His Majesty is now a submerged dragon in the abyss, gathering strength and awaiting his moment. Once the winds and clouds begin to stir, he can soar into the heavens and rule all lands."
"How could a mere Yuan Shao keep a true dragon imprisoned for long?"
Jia Xu remained unimpressed by these words and asked, "His Majesty may harbor ambitions that reach the heavens, but Yuan Shao's family has produced Three Excellencies for four generations, and he holds Bing Province, Qing Province, and Ji Province. Among all the warlords, none can compare."
"How will His Majesty escape Yuan Shao's control and reclaim imperial authority? A mere thousand Imperial Guards and you, Fengxiao, would hardly be enough, would they?"
Compared with Yuan Shao's vast power, the Son of Heaven's foundations were shallow indeed, and he was confined within this tiny Ye City.
At present, there was simply no comparison between them.
Jia Xu had long known that Guo Jia wanted to recruit him to assist the Son of Heaven, but he needed