Mythical Three Kingdoms

"Don't you have a grudge against Little General Ma? Why did you chat with him for so long?" After Fa Zheng turned his horse back to Zhang Fei's side, Zhang Fei asked curiously. Speaking of which, he had already learned about Fa Zheng's situation from Ma Chao.

In Zhang Fei's eyes, it was already quite impressive that Fa Zheng could separate public from private matters like this. For someone like Zhang Fei, unless someone was knocked down for good, he simply wouldn't let it go. This kind of casual chatting was something he couldn't even imagine.

"What grudge? Do you think they have the ability to hold a grudge against me? It's merely me venting my anger on them. But now, I don't even have the interest to keep venting." Fa Zheng sighed and said, "I feel like I need to consult Xingba and study how his ancestors managed to endure such dullness."

"You're something else," Zhang Fei chuckled. "But let me share some good news with you. The Strategist Ranking will be released soon, and you've made the list." He gave a thumbs-up, deliberately shifting the topic away from Ma Chao.

"Ranked tenth, or?" Fa Zheng tilted his head questioningly. "By the way, how many are on the list? Did Master Li remove his own name, and is Zichuan ranked first?"

"How would I know?" Zhang Fei rolled his eyes. "But Zichuan is definitely ranked first. As for Wen Ru, he's already withdrawn. Honestly, I'm baffled as to why he gave up."

"Being ranked is merely being in the top ten. For him, it doesn't hold much value." Fa Zheng sighed softly. "They'll probably note it as 'top ten but self-disqualified.' Ju Gongyu and Tian Yuanhao are likely marked similarly, as both have fallen."

"Why wouldn't it be valuable?" Zhang Fei asked, perplexed.

"Because Master Li understands his own strength, so it's not worth it," Fa Zheng replied casually. "As for me, I benefited from the advantage of conquering North Huai River and pacifying Xuzhou; otherwise, I wouldn't have made it into the top ten. As things stand, it's pretty great."

Indeed, Fa Zheng capitalized on the advantage of taking North Huai River and pacifying Xuzhou. His conquest of North Huai was simply too remarkable—he advanced swiftly before Yuan Shu could react, pressing the attack on Shouchun, forcing Zhou Yu to retreat to Jingyi for reinforcement. Subsequently, he crossed the Yangtze River and the Huai River, entered Xuzhou, and crushed ten thousand elite soldiers from Yuzhou in just two days. While his strategy involved a certain degree of risk, a win is a win.

Honestly, when it comes to war, the outcome is all that matters. No matter how reckless your actions might seem in between, as long as you emerge victorious in the end, all prior risks are justified. On the flip side, no matter how brilliant your interim performances, if you lose in the end, it's all pointless.

This principle caused Fa Zheng to indeed take bold risks back then. But in the end, even Chen Deng had to praise him upon seeing the results—a decisive victory was enough to overshadow everything!

Similarly, Li You felt rather helpless. Based on his wartime achievements, it was entirely reasonable for him to rank within the top five. After all, during Dong Zhuo's reign over the world, it wasn't Li You who lost to the world; it was Dong Zhuo who fell to corruption!

Those accomplishments alone were sufficient to contend for second place. But it held little meaning—Li Ru was already dead. At this point, Li You's achievements would barely rank him around tenth, so he might as well withdraw.

Incidentally, with Jia Xu leading the rankings comfortably in the top three, there was no problem. The Guanzi region boasted someone occupying top spots, ensuring no disgrace for them. Guanzi's martial prowess had already proved itself—once coming close to overwhelming the entire Central Plains. More recently, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry had demonstrated once again just how formidable Guanzi's men were.

Under such circumstances, strategists had a clear sense of their own rankings. Chen Xi as first was essentially cemented. After all, Liu Bei won, and his foundation was crafted by Chen Xi. At the very least, the strategic planning was orchestrated by Chen Xi himself, and capitalizing on this advantage, Chen Xi secured the top spot on the Civil Official List.

Next, it was basically the chief strategists of various feudal lords across the realm. To put it simply, those who survived till now were no ordinary individuals. Whether it was Zhou Yu or Xun Yu, both were exceptional talents. Even though Yuan Shao lost, one could only say the opponents were too formidable—not that his strategists were weak!

By categorizing it this way, everyone had a pretty good grasp of the pecking order. This made ranking civil officials easier—once you have the first, the rest follow naturally. As for military generals, trying to establish a universally agreed ranking—no one could provide one.

"Let's see how it unfolds. It's ultimately unimportant, considering it's our own people compiling the rankings. Even if they can't blatantly falsify results, subjective bias will inevitably come into play. So we might as well take some advantage," Fa Zheng said with a smile.

"Too bad I haven't encountered any worthy opponents this whole way," Zhang Fei said, sulking. "Not a single capable fighter, not even Li Yan; his strength is really not up to par. Though I'll admit, his troop-commanding skills are decent."

"I didn't encounter him, so I won't comment," Fa Zheng quipped with a sneer. "I'm only responsible for strategizing; execution is up to you guys. Later on, I suspect I'll have to take on internal administration for a while. On top of that, preparations for a northward campaign against the Wuhuan and Xianbei need to commence—there's plenty of work."

Fa Zheng's statement reminded Zhang Fei of an imminent issue—their territory would soon border Lyu Bu's again. Deciding how to deal with Lyu Bu was indeed a tricky matter. To many under Liu Bei's command, Lyu Bu was a genuine headache, which is why until now, their policy leaned toward laissez-faire.

"Out of sight, out of mind. You do your thing, I do mine. If you want to guard Bingzhou, then guard Bingzhou; just don't provoke me. By then, considering your protection of Central Plains, if I have a piece of meat, I won't forget to give you a bowl of soup."

To truly bring Lyu Bu into the fold, Liu Bei's strategists wouldn't feel at ease. Rather than forcing integration, it was easier to leave him be—let Lyu Bu continue as a Han Official guarding the border. At least this way, both sides could maintain face.

"Lyu Bu is genuinely strong!" Zhang Fei said solemnly. Even after improving significantly following his second defeat at Lyu Bu's hands, Zhang Fei still felt inadequately equipped to face Lyu Bu now.

"Unquestionably the strongest in the land. Despite all his flaws, everyone acknowledges his unmatched martial prowess. None of his failures have ever been in single combat. To be precise, when top-tier warriors face him, they instinctively opt for group tactics!" Fa Zheng nodded in agreement.

Lyu Bu's strength was universally acknowledged. Regardless of one's opinion of him, after Hulao Pass, no one dared to challenge Lyu Bu one-on-one, except for reckless individuals like Dian Wei and Zhang Fei!

Fa Zheng's remark left Zhang Fei slightly embarrassed, as he belonged to the rare exception—he insisted on challenging Lyu Bu alone without assistance.

"So, General Zhang, should you encounter Marquis Wenn again, please spare your words." Fa Zheng quietly used his fan to cover half his face as he spoke. In this era, even on the battlefield, outright insults were uncommon. Merely calling someone by their name was already considered highly disrespectful. As for Zhang Fei's form of address, it left Lyu Bu no choice but to fight.

"I'll keep that in mind." Zhang Fei didn't offer any guarantees, but his serious tone reassured Fa Zheng sufficiently.

After chatting along the way, they soon arrived at Ye City. What first caught the eyes of Ma Chao and Xiahou Yuan wasn't the city's tall walls or the wide moat, but rather the massive crack running across the wall—a distinctive knife mark still emanating a palpable aura of dominance! (To be continued... If you enjoyed this work, please visit Qidian.com to cast recommendation votes or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users may access the site at m.qidian.com for reading.)