Lü Bu Really Was a Complete Good-for-Nothing!

Meanwhile, in Yan Province.

Looking at the words "White Gate Tower" on the screen, Cao Cao finally could not hold back and burst into a thoroughly satisfying laugh.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Good!"

"Well said!"

He slapped his thigh, his face full of undisguised smugness and contempt.

"That brute Lü Bu really is a complete good-for-nothing, just as Fengxiao predicted!"

"All courage and no strategy, fickle and faithless, forgetting righteousness at the sight of profit!"

"To think such trash actually dreamed of competing with me for the realm. What an outrageous joke!"

Cao Cao felt utterly at ease.

This Heavenly Screen was practically his kindred spirit.

Not only had it previewed what he wanted to do, it had also expressed his assessment of Lü Bu with perfect precision.

And wiped him out along the way.

How casually those words had been spoken, and how precisely!

Below him, his chief strategist Guo Jia also wore a faint, sickly flush on his face. He bowed and said with a smile, "My lord's heavenly might and martial prowess are extraordinary."

"That Lü Bu is merely a common warrior, nothing but dry bones in a grave. How could he possibly be your match, my lord?"

"To add one small victory to your quest for supremacy is an honor for him."

This flattery was both skillful and familiar.

Cao Cao was even more delighted. Pointing at Guo Jia, he laughed and told the others, "Speaking of which, Fengxiao deserves the greatest credit for eliminating Lü Bu, that thorn in our side, so easily!"

"Had Fengxiao not seen through that slave of three surnames and his wolfish ambitions beforehand, once our main forces marched west, he would surely have exploited our rear. The consequences would have been unthinkable!"

He surveyed the civil officials and military officers in his tent, his voice brimming with powerful confidence.

"Now Lü Bu has been destroyed, Xu Province has been secured, and Zhang Xiu has come over to us."

"My army of three hundred thousand stands arrayed in Hanzhong. The gateway to Yizhou lies wide open, ripe for the taking!"

Cao Cao turned his gaze toward the Heavenly Screen again, a hint of amusement and scrutiny in his eyes.

This so-called Great Yang Empire, this so-called "emperor unparalleled through the ages," Yang Feng... just what did he have to win with?

What did he have to withstand my three hundred thousand tiger-and-wolf warriors?

Just that airy phrase, "the man chosen by heaven"?

Utterly laughable.

Strength, absolute strength alone, was the only measure that decided who possessed the realm!

Everyone in the tent immediately understood and voiced their agreement.

"You are right, my lord! How could a mere fledgling illegitimate dynasty contend with you!"

"Indeed! Wherever our army's blades point, none can withstand them! That Yang Feng will surely surrender at the mere sight of us!"

"Congratulations, my lord! Congratulations! Soon all of Western Sichuan will be yours, and your supremacy will be secured!"

"..."

Amid the chorus singing his praises, only Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, kept his head silently lowered in a corner, quietly letting out a long breath of relief.

At that moment, he actually felt somewhat fortunate.

Although Cao Cao was chancellor of Han in name and a traitor to Han in truth, he had long since stripped Liu Xie of power and treated him as a puppet.

But at least... at least on the surface, Cao Cao still acknowledged him as the Son of Heaven of Great Han and maintained the last shred of dignity for the Han imperial house.

But that Yang Feng?

Good grief, he simply refused to play by any rules.

He had outright proclaimed himself emperor in Yizhou and founded "Great Yang"?

He could not even be bothered to pretend!

He was treating me, the legitimate Son of Heaven of Great Han, as thin air!

Of two evils, choose the lesser.

Compared with a rebellious traitor like Yang Feng, who simply flipped the table, even Cao Cao, that "traitor to Han," seemed considerably more pleasing to the eye.

It would be good to have Cao Cao destroy him.

Yes, he deserved to be destroyed!

Thinking this to himself, Liu Xie turned his gaze toward the Heavenly Screen along with everyone else, anticipating the final collapse of that so-called Great Yang Empire.

Everyone watched the screen, waiting to see what would happen next.

Meanwhile, inside the imperial palace in Chengdu, Yizhou, the atmosphere had become unbearably tense.

Fa Zheng and Li Yan, who had just received promotions and noble titles for their role in enthroning the emperor, were now like ants on a hot pan, unable to sit or stand still.

The two stared fixedly at the words on the Heavenly Screen, their faces alternating between ashen and pale.

"Effective internal integration had yet to be completed; they were truly a heap of loose sand."

"Cao Cao's army had expanded to over three hundred thousand, its offensive might greater than ever."

"An army of three hundred thousand stood arrayed in Hanzhong, its blades pointed straight at Chengdu."

How... how were they supposed to fight this?

Fine beads of cold sweat had already appeared on Li Yan's forehead. He grabbed Fa Zheng's sleeve and lowered his voice almost to a whisper, an undisguisable tremor running through it.

"Xiaozhi, what... what are we going to do?"

"An army of three hundred thousand!"

"And us? What do we have?"

"The soldiers don't know their generals, and the generals don't know their soldiers. The people are unsettled, and local magnates obey in public while defying us in private. Isn't that exactly the heap of loose sand the Heavenly Screen described?"

The more Li Yan spoke, the more panicked he became. An extraordinarily clear and extraordinarily tempting thought had already emerged in his mind.

"How about..."

"How about we just surrender to Cao Cao?"

Once he voiced the idea, he himself felt considerably more relaxed.

Yes, surrender!

This new emperor we just enthroned looks like he won't last long.

If we defect to Cao Cao now, we'll be bringing all of Yizhou with us. That would be an enormous achievement!

Being made marquises and generals, enjoying wealth and glory-wouldn't that be nailed to the board?

Why accompany this whatever-it's-called Great Yang Empire in being ground to powder beneath that army of three hundred thousand?

Yet Fa Zheng flung his hand away.

Although Fa Zheng's expression was equally grave, there was not the slightest panic in his eyes. Instead, a fire burned within them.

He looked at Li Yan with righteous conviction and said solemnly, "Zhengfang! Stop talking nonsense!"

"Have you forgotten what the Heavenly Screen said?"

"His Majesty is the man chosen by heaven, an emperor unparalleled through the ages!"

At that moment, however, Fa Zheng had an entirely different calculation in mind.

Had this Heavenly Screen ever been wrong?

It said Lü Bu was finished, and Lü Bu really was hanged at White Gate Tower.

Then, since it said His Majesty was an emperor unparalleled through the ages, there was no way his boat would capsize at the very first hurdle!

This so-called army of three hundred thousand pressing at the borders, this so-called heap of loose sand within, were probably... precisely meant to highlight His Majesty's unfathomable abilities, beyond gods and ghosts!

That was the script!

That was how an "emperor unparalleled through the ages" ought to make his entrance!

Fa Zheng took a deep breath and said to the still-frightened Li Yan, "Let's keep watching."

"Let's see what this Heavenly Screen says next."

"Let's see whether this Great Yang Empire really is as vulnerable as it claims, and gets wiped out outright."

A meaningful smile curved his lips.

"If... if it really is destroyed."

"It won't be too late for us to open the city gates and surrender then, will it?"

Li Yan froze, then suddenly understood.

Right!

Brilliant!

Brother Xiaozhi really does see further ahead than I do!

If we surrendered now and this Yang Feng turned things around later, the two of us would be condemned as sinners for all eternity.

But if we waited until Yang Feng really was destroyed before surrendering, that would be following heaven's will and answering the people's wishes. No one could utter a single word against it!

This play simply put us in an invincible position!

"Good!"

Li Yan immediately agreed. "We'll do as you say, Xiaozhi!"

The two exchanged a knowing look, then once again devoted their full attention to that motionless Heavenly Screen.

Meanwhile, inside the imperial palace in Shouchun.