Mythical Three Kingdoms

"How about Gongjin?" Sun Ce looked at Zhou Yu with a face full of internal conflict. The news that Yuan Shu gave them when he left had been much on their minds.

Sun Ce might not care, but a clever person like Zhou Yu could guess a lot of things based on clues, which is why after they returned to Eastern Wu, Zhou Yu secretly reviewed many classic books and finally confirmed Yuan Shu’s words.

"It’s confirmed, Yuan Gong wasn’t joking. Based on the classic books I can now access, and Liu Xuande’s behavior over there, it’s basically certain." Zhou Yu sighed and said, "If I’m not mistaken, they’re not looking to weaken the Han Dynasty’s strength much, they’re preparing to make a move outward."

"Can they?" Sun Ce licked his lips. Going outward in battle... Sun Ce, though a loose cannon, knew that external battles were easier to immortalize one’s name. Moreover, external battles aligned more with his type, allowing him to act without restraint and truly unleash his capabilities.

Sun Ce, though lax at times, was intelligent. During the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, they basically touched everything they could. The only things left were those they couldn’t reach. If they’re planning to advance outward now, the basic requirement is to go farther than before.

"We’ve overlooked something. The current marching speed is three times faster than before." Zhou Yu pressed his forehead with a face of helplessness and said, "Which means the borders that constrained us for four hundred years can no longer continue to restrain us."

"Chen Zichuan constantly builds roads and opens routes to the Western Regions, probably already prepared to strike out from the Western Regions. The opening of roads improves marching speed, he might not be aiming for unification but probably seeking an accomplishment like the First Emperor, sweeping the Six Directions and controlling the Eight Wastelands." Zhou Yu said with a face full of sighs.

Thinking of this made Zhou Yu feel a bit choked. He had been working hard for Sun Ce, hoping one day he could unify the Central Plains and create his own empire.

He always believed that his ideals were ambitious, his abilities strong, and his strategies long-term. However, only today did he realize that everything he had planned was just a starting point for some, and this realization left Zhou Yu at a loss for words.

"Sweeping the Six Directions, controlling the Eight Wastelands." Sun Ce licked his lips. He had interest in becoming an emperor, but after learning about Liu Xie’s incompetence, his interest waned. Yet Zhou Yu’s words truly made him feel a surge of passion.

Although it’s been four hundred years since the late Qin, even they cannot deny the merits of the Qin State. One can criticize Qin’s tyranny and find many other shortcomings, but the achievements of the First Emperor cannot be dismissed. What the First Emperor did was something most men have always aspired to do.

"I’m a bit excited, but heading to the Western Regions, our combat power won’t mean much once we get there." Sun Ce said excitedly, and then, as if remembering something, feeling a bit resentful.

Zhou Yu put his hand to his forehead. He knew Sun Ce would react this way. For someone like Sun Ce, the world has both complex and simple aspects. Solving things with fists, and the harder one punches, the greater the renown, is something Sun Ce would never skip.

"Don’t worry, our target should be to the south." Zhou Yu said with a pout, "First, think about how to tackle next year’s unification battle. Even though I’ve determined that even if we join forces with Cao Mengde, we can’t beat Liu Xuande head-on, losing too badly would mean you’d have very little autonomy."

"Ah ah ah, it’s such a pity, why wasn’t it us who discovered this first?" Sun Ce had no qualms about war, just extreme dissatisfaction of not having been the one to discover it first.

"We were all bound by the inertia of previous thought." Zhou Yu said helplessly, "Bofu, I’m preparing to give the internal affairs entirely to the Two Zhangs."

"Then what will you do?" Sun Ce asked, puzzled.

"I’m planning to lead a contingent of twenty thousand navy to test the waters." Zhou Yu said slowly, "If the situation in the South Blue is as I predict, and we can travel by sea, we can basically ascertain Chen Zichuan’s intentions. Although we can’t change the major trend, taking the initiative is still possible."

"I’ll go too." Sun Ce immediately raised his hand and said.

"Fine then." Zhou Yu thought for a moment and nodded. After all, Sun Ce didn’t work in Yangzhou and always caused trouble. His symbolic presence was more significant than any practical impact.

"However, I don’t know why, but I have a feeling this trip will bring trouble." Zhou Yu tilted his head and said some unlucky words, then recalled Liu Bei’s navy, "Speaking of which, we haven’t seen Gan Xingba and Taishi Ziyi from Liu Xuande’s side lately."

"Who knows what’s up with them." Sun Ce, with a carefree heart, showed a look of indifference, "But can our ships navigate the seas now?"

"They can. Chen Zichuan hasn’t concealed much in this regard. I’ve also confirmed the horse farm in the south, it indeed exists, but those wild horses..." Zhou Yu’s face darkened, absolutely conned by that Chen Xi. The Dian Horses with a shoulder height of one meter and thirty, one meter and forty made Zhou Yu feel embarrassed as a Southerner.

Fortunately, there was no issue with the horse farm. Two thousand Liangzhou horses were imported from Cao Cao’s side, driving all the local Dian Horses out of the natural horse farm. Then, Zhou Yu got a bunch of people from the north to breed horses, which seemed to work without issue.

Although Zhou Yu was fooled by Chen Xi on the Dian Horses, other aspects were indeed without problem, so Zhou Yu didn’t send anyone to pick fights with Chen Xi.

"Drive them out, drive them out, chase all those little horses away." Sun Ce was also twitching at the corner of his mouth. If the Southerners were to ride these little horses, how embarrassing could it get? Why do those rough northern people grow up so robust, and their horses too, yet even their horses here are petite.

"I’ve asked the Zhang Family and Gu Family to start building new ships according to Chen Zichuan’s warship designs. The Zhang Family and Gu Family have a lot of experience in this area, but even so, it will be at least three months before the first one hits the water. Afterward, things should progress quickly." Zhou Yu said, recalling with some emotion what the Zhang and Gu Families had told him.

However, in practice, when the Zhang and Gu Families produced the first one, it was already the next year, and Zhou Yu’s hopes to switch ships were essentially dashed.

Truly, the problem wasn’t with the Zhang and Gu Families but rather that Chen Xi had invested heavily, and the large box of ship designs given to the Zhang and Gu Families was mostly the Sixth Generation Ships and parts of the Seventh Generation that the Lu Family expected to use on the Sixth Generation.

This means that this stuff, not even the Lu Family had tried, was directly handed to the Zhang and Gu Families. Because they had never surpassed the hurdle of sea ships before, they should have started with the Fourth Generation Ships, but building the Fourth Generation Ships holds little current significance.