I, Yuan Shao, actually lost?

Watching his lord in such high spirits, Guo Jia shared in his glory. He hurried a step forward and bowed.

"My lord, you are wise and mighty!"

"What the Heavenly Screen said proves that destiny favors you!"

"This so-called division of the realm into three-in the end, won't it all fall into your hands?"

Guo Jia's flattery hit precisely the right spot.

Cao Cao laughed even more heartily upon hearing it.

Yet deep in his heart, beyond his satisfaction, what surged even more strongly was an unprecedented fighting spirit!

That so-called Great Yang Empire!

That emperor named Yang Feng!

And that Battle of Red Cliffs that was supposedly about to begin!

Interesting!

Absolutely fascinating!

He, Cao Mengde, wanted to see just how this realm would be divided into three!

In Yuan Shao's command tent in Ji Province, however, the atmosphere had already frozen solid.

Staring at those painfully glaring words on the Heavenly Screen, Yuan Shao nearly went mad!

"Impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

He sprang to his feet, his face flushed crimson and veins bulging on his forehead, looking like an enraged bull.

"I, Yuan Benchu, hold the four provinces of Ji, Qing, You, and Bing, with elite troops, plentiful provisions, and seven hundred thousand men under arms!"

"How could I possibly lose?"

"How could I possibly lose to Cao Aman, that descendant of a eunuch!"

"This Heavenly Screen is spouting nonsense!"

Yuan Shao paced back and forth inside the command tent, muttering incessantly, his entire being sinking into a frenzy.

He simply could not accept this outcome!

He could not understand it!

He clearly held an overwhelming advantage, so how could he have lost so disastrously?

His army routed like a collapsing mountain?

Even uprooted entirely?

This was the greatest joke under heaven!

Suddenly, as though something had occurred to him, he stopped dead. His bloodshot eyes fixed on a corner of the tent.

"Xu You!"

"Where is Xu You!"

Yuan Shao's voice brimmed with boundless killing intent!

That's right!

It had to be Xu You!

The Heavenly Screen had said it-this very fellow had offered Cao Cao the vicious plan to burn Wuchao!

It was him!

It was this traitor who caused my defeat!

Hearing his name called, Xu You was already frightened out of his wits. He dropped to his knees with a thud.

Trembling like chaff in a sieve, he kowtowed repeatedly, his voice taking on a sobbing note.

"My lord! Spare my life, my lord!"

"This Heavenly Screen... everything on this Heavenly Screen is utter nonsense!"

"This Battle of Guandu, this burning of Wuchao-I... how could I possibly be capable of anything like that!"

Xu You was on the verge of tears.

This pot of blame was far too big!

He couldn't possibly carry it!

But Yuan Shao, who was now on the verge of losing all reason, would not listen to a single word of explanation.

In his eyes, anyone who could threaten him, any factor that might cause his defeat, had to be strangled in its cradle!

Who cared whether it was true!

Kill him first!

"Guards!"

Giving Xu You no chance whatsoever to defend himself, Yuan Shao pointed straight at him and roared.

"Drag this villain who colluded with the enemy and betrayed his lord outside!"

"Behead him!"

Everyone was stunned by these words!

Xu You was utterly stupefied with terror. He collapsed limply on the ground, able only to make choking sounds, unable even to beg for mercy.

The advisers below, including Shen Pei and Ju Shou, also stared at one another in bewilderment.

Heavens!

He was going to kill an important adviser just because of one sentence on the Heavenly Screen?

Wasn't this far too rash?

Yet seeing Yuan Shao's murderous expression, as though anyone who tried to dissuade him would die, they all swallowed the words that had reached their lips.

Forget it, forget it.

Better a fellow Daoist dies than this poor Daoist.

Soon, the personal guards outside rushed in and dragged the terror-stricken Xu You out like a dead dog.

Before long, a piercing scream rang out, followed by silence.

Just like that, Xu You died.

Deathly silence filled the command tent.

Then Shen Pei's eyes shifted, and he was the first to react. He immediately stepped forward and showered Yuan Shao with praise.

"My lord, you are wise!"

"Such a man, spreading vile falsehoods to mislead the people and shake the army's morale, should have been killed long ago!"

"Now that Xu You is dead, you have effectively cut off one of Cao Cao's arms in advance! When the two armies clash, without this inside accomplice, Cao Aman will certainly be no match for you, my lord!"

Seeing this, Ju Shou and the others hurried to echo him.

"Exactly, exactly! Lord Shen speaks reason!"

"My lord, this move truly shows your foresight, averting disaster before it strikes!"

Listening to his advisers' flattery, Yuan Shao's restless, irritable heart finally calmed somewhat.

He sat back down in the seat of honor. The anger on his face gradually faded, replaced once more by a familiar look of smug satisfaction.

That's right!

Now that's more like it!

As long as I kill that traitor Xu You beforehand, won't that so-called Battle of Guandu never happen?

I, Yuan Benchu, will still be the sole overlord of the north!

At this thought, Yuan Shao grew smug again.

Afterward, he and his advisers turned to the phrase "the grand prelude to the realm's division into three" on the Heavenly Screen and launched into another discussion.

What concerned Yuan Shao most now, however, was something else.

He stroked his chin, a trace of disdain flashing through his eyes.

"Hmph, even I, Yuan Benchu, nearly fell into Cao Aman's trap. Doesn't that mean this so-called emperor of the Great Yang Empire, Yang Feng, a fellow born a slave, will be crushed outright by Cao Cao?"

"What a joke!"

"Someone like him thinks he's worthy of dividing the realm with Cao Mengde and me?"

"Absolutely laughable!"

Meanwhile, in Xu Province.

Lü Bu and Chen Gong were both utterly bewildered.

They stared at the Heavenly Screen's contents, unable to recover their senses for a long while.

"Heavens!"

Lü Bu's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

"That fellow Yuan Shao came from a family that held the Three Excellencies for four generations, with vast holdings and seven hundred thousand soldiers under his command!"

"And he... he was actually defeated by Cao Cao just like that?"

"That's far too ridiculous!"

To him, this was simply a tale from the Arabian Nights!

Yet Chen Gong beside him merely shook his head, showing little surprise.

"My lord, this is actually quite normal."

"Yuan Shao is outwardly magnanimous but inwardly jealous, indecisive, and terribly simple-minded. What use are more troops and horses?"

Hearing this, Lü Bu nodded, finding Chen Gong's words reasonable.

He then turned to Chen Gong and asked directly.

"Gongtai, what should we plan to do next?"

A gleam flashed through Chen Gong's eyes at the question. After pondering briefly, he offered a suggestion that startled even Lü Bu.

"My lord, in my opinion, why don't we... pledge allegiance to this Great Yang Empire!"

"What?"

Lü Bu froze.

"Pledge allegiance to Yang Feng? Why?"

Chen Gong took a deep breath and began his analysis.

"My lord, think about it. For Yang Feng, the emperor of the Great Yang Empire, to be mentioned so solemnly by the Heavenly Screen, his wisdom and methods should both be beyond the reach of ordinary men!"

"More importantly, there are those things he made! That Heaven and Earth Cannon! Heavens, that thing is practically an ultimate killing weapon!"

Chen Gong's tone brimmed with astonishment.

"Given time, once his wings are fully grown, this man will surely fight an earth-shaking battle to the death against Cao Cao, currently the greatest warlord in the north!"

"Moreover, look at what the Heavenly Screen said at the end. Liu Biao of Jing Province surrendered outright! What does that tell us? That Yang Feng's territory will soon border Cao Cao's! They're the ones who will fight the Battle of Red Cliffs!"

"Although the Heavenly Screen didn't explicitly say who wins, the meaning between the lines clearly favors this Yang Feng! Otherwise, why call it the 'Great Yang Empire' while calling Cao Cao 'Cao Wei'?"

"If we pledge allegiance to Yang Feng now, we'll be delivering charcoal in the snow. It's a way for us to survive!"

As Lü Bu listened to Chen Gong's analysis, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

That's right!

No matter how formidable my Sky-Piercing Halberd is, it can't withstand a blast from that Heaven and Earth Cannon!

Cao Cao is powerful now. I can't beat him.

And Yuan Shao is useless. I can't count on him.

Joining this Yang Feng, who looks unbelievably badass, seems... like it really is a good choice!

At this thought, Lü Bu slapped his thigh hard!

"Good!"

"Gongtai, you speak reason!"

"That's what we'll do!"

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow we'll send someone to Shouchun to pledge allegiance to Yang Feng!"

And just as the various warlords, each harboring different thoughts, began making plans for their futures.

Jiangdong.

Sun Ce, who had only just established a firm foothold there, watched the final words slowly disappear from the Heavenly Screen, his brow furrowing tightly as well.