Chapter 4: Guests at Shinya (4)
“Di, did you say the Plan for the Three Kingdoms?”
At the meaningful words that came from my mouth, Liu Bei looked puzzled. I nodded at him.
“Yes, in other words, it’s also called the Plan for the Three Parts of the World.”
The Plan for the Three Kingdoms, The Plan for the Three Parts of the World.
A plan to divide the world into three parts and then aim for unification. It was also a strategy that would become the first goal of Liu Bei’s army.
Originally, Zhuge Liang should have explained it himself during Liu Bei’s third visit next year, but nothing much would happen by advancing it by a year.
Of course, if I talk about this now, it would cause a problem that Zhuge Liang would have nothing to say to Liu Bei later.
But Zhuge Liang was a wise man, so he would surely have wisdom to show Liu Bei besides the Plan for the Three Kingdoms.
“……Please wait a moment.”
…Having shaken off the remaining guilt to some extent, I walked to Zhuge Liang’s room with brisk steps, leaving Liu Bei alone.
The map of the world attached to the wall of his room.
This map was essential to explain the Plan for the Three Kingdoms in detail, so I closed my eyes and forcefully tore it down.
…I’ll just put it back later, and no one will know.
“……”
After tearing down the map from Zhuge Liang’s room, I returned to the guest room where Liu Bei was waiting.
“…I’m sorry.”
After bowing once to apologize for leaving him alone, I sat down and spread the map of China on the desk.
“It’s a map.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
To Liu Bei, who spoke with a puzzled expression,
I nodded gently.
“Currently, Xinyang, which Your Excellency governs, is a small town and is infinitely insufficient to work for the world.”
“……”
“To achieve what Your Excellency desires, you need a much, much larger land.”
“……”
Up to this point, it was not a strategy, just a detailed fact. Liu Bei also seemed to have nothing to say, and only lowered his head with a deep sigh.
‘Okay.’
Now, finally, about to be directly involved in history with my own mouth.
I barely hid the overwhelming tension and slowly pointed to the north of the map.
“The current Cao Cao has no limit. Leave the north of the world for him to occupy.”
“……”
“Also, leave Jiangdong for Sun Quan to defend.”
“……”
“Then, the lands Your Excellency will get are Jingzhou and Yizhou. First, gain those two lands and divide the world into three. Planning a big deal will be after that.”
“…….!!”
I convey the meaning of the Plan for the Three Kingdoms as I had seen it in a book. It was a slightly insufficient explanation compared to the Zhuge Liang who made the plan, but it was a satisfactory explanation in that I had told all of the core.
Liu Bei’s expression, upon hearing of the Plan for the Three Kingdoms, also began to brighten. It looked like it was going up and up, but then his corners of the mouth eventually fell.
I tilted my head towards him, who had a bad expression despite hearing the clear explanation.
“What are you worried about, Your Excellency?”
“…That,”
To my question, Liu Bei answered with a deep sigh.
His worried voice echoed in this narrow guest room.
“…Hearing your explanation, I feel like a big picture has been drawn, and my long-standing worries are going down in an instant. But the ones who defend Jingzhou and Yizhou, which you mentioned, are Liu Biao and Liu Zhang, and they are of the same Han royal family as me, so how can I take their land?”
“Ah.”
And then, I remembered one line of history.
Thinking carefully, because of Liu Bei’s unfortunate sense of righteousness, which was that he could not take the land of the same royal family, he would suffer greatly in obtaining those two lands later.
‘It’s frustrating, really.’
I shook my head at the humility and righteousness that almost stopped my breath. In my heart, I wanted to write a hundred lines of A4 paper worth of the future and tell him, but it was a bit too much to interfere more than this.
In the end, I bowed as if I was sorry.
“…My meaning is short, and I can’t even fathom that.
How about you talk about this again with my older brother later?”
“I understand….”
At my words, which appropriately wrapped up the story, Liu Bei finally bowed his head. He drank the remaining tea at once and then looked at me, opening his mouth.
“You truly know a lot, ma’am. This Bei is just impressed.”
“Thank you for appreciating my humble talent.”
“…So, then,”
“……?”
As if he had something to say, Liu Bei kept looking at my face. Seeing that, I tilted my head and asked, and then he answered after a deep breath. A polite yet trembling voice came out of his mouth.
“…I dare to ask, can you come out into the world and help me, ma’am? This Bei just wants to receive your teachings more.”
“Yes?”
As if he really liked the Plan for the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei suddenly proposed a scout to me.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand that he was making such a proposal because he had a lack of talent, but it was such an abrupt request that I made a foolish sound.
“You, you want me to help you?”
“Yes, if you, ma’am, who has both wisdom and beauty, help me, this Liu Bei would be fine even if he died a thousand times.”
“……”
He was bowing his body as much as he could and asking for my help.
It was a request that was quite touching and moved people’s hearts, but I firmly shook my head.
“I’m sorry, but it doesn’t seem to be the time yet.”
There were many capable generals for Liu Bei at present, but the talent pool was, in a word, drought. If I were to follow him, I would have to take care of both internal and external affairs and even go out to all sorts of battles, and I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Why did the word “Zhuge Liang died of overwork” come out?
“Although I, too, desperately want to serve Your Excellency, it’s not yet. But in the future, I will surely serve Your Excellency, so please don’t worry too much.”
…The premise for me to follow Liu Bei was that Zhuge Liang would accompany me, and all I had to do for them was to secretly help them from behind using the information I knew, no more and no less.
“My older brother’s abilities are a hundred times better than mine, so please meet him first.”
I was more confident than anyone in assisting Zhuge Liang in the ever-changing flow of history, but it was impossible to take his place.
“I understand. I hope I can meet Mr. Wolong next time.”
…At my polite rejection, Liu Bei couldn’t ask for it again, and finally, he nodded. He drank the remaining tea at once and stood up. He bowed and offered his thanks again.
“I was lucky to have received your deep teachings today. I’ll visit again next time.”
“Ah, yes….”
“…Then, please be in good health.”
After that, Liu Bei left the guest room with a shuffling gait. My pupils began to tremble as I watched his back.
‘Wh, what should I do?’
…If I let Liu Bei go like this, the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage would be accomplished without any major changes in history.
In short, the 1 year, in which I could cultivate soldiers or solidify internal affairs, or do all of those things, would disappear.
“……”
It was fate that Zhuge Liang would follow Liu Bei, and my life, as his younger sister, would also be subject to the rise and fall of Liu Bei and the Shu Han he founded.
And the day the nation falls would be my memorial day.
Moreover, I was a relative of Zhuge Liang, so the chance of survival was 0%.
…Therefore, I had to prevent Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang from failing, and the 1 year consumed by the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage was a waste of time.
“Me, me too!”
“Huh?”
I stopped Liu Bei at last.
With a cold sweat on my face, I spoke to him in a hesitant voice, as if I had spoken out before I was supposed to.
“Even if you come next time, it won’t be easy to meet my older brother!”
“……?”
Liu Bei, tilting his head at my words.
He stopped in front of the guest room door and asked me.
“What do you mean by it won’t be easy to meet?
“……”
Yes, the moment I stopped him just now was fixed.
Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Shu Han, and my comfortable life, the first thing I would do was get rid of the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage and save 1 year. And during that 1 year, cultivating soldiers and preparing for the battle against Cao Cao and Sun Quan one step earlier.
“…Because my older brother’s outings are so erratic, it’s hard to meet him without a clear plan. No, it’s hard even if you have a plan.”
As I said, taking a deep breath, Liu Bei asked me in a state of anxiousness.
“Th, then, what should this Bei do? Please teach me, ma’am.”
“……”
It seemed that it hadn’t even been an hour since he had visited the house, but Liu Bei had already bowed a few dozen times. Facing him, I gave him a bright smile, as if I wasn’t worried.
“Your Excellency, please don’t worry, it’s a matter of making a plan.”
“……!!”
Zhuge Liang was a ghost and avoided the days when Liu Bei would come.
It was impossible to meet him with a simple, unplanned visit.
To meet him, a plan was necessary.
“…Please take out paper, and write down what I say.”
……It was the declaration of a war of wits from a humble younger sister to Zhuge Liang of the world.