Chapter Forty-One: The Battle of Jade Wall and Wei Xiaokuan

"Ding, summoning in progress.
The first candidate is Lu Xiufu of the Southern Song Dynasty: Leadership 80, Might 85, Intelligence 90, Politics 91."

Li Xiang had heard of Lu Xiufu; the story of him carrying the young emperor into the sea to perish was widely circulated. Lu Xiufu, courtesy name Junshi, was a native of Yancheng, Chuzhou, and a national hero of the Southern Song. At the age of twenty, he passed the imperial examinations alongside Wen Tianxiang. In the first year of the Xiangxing era, he became the Left Chancellor. The following February, when the Yuan army launched a massive invasion, Junshi assisted the young emperor in defending Yashan. After the tragic defeat, he drove his wife and children into the sea, then clutched the imperial seal and heroically leaped into the waves with the emperor, dying at the age of forty-two.

"The second candidate is Fang Qiao of the Early Tang Dynasty: Leadership 65, Might 58, Intelligence 97, Politics 98."
"The third candidate is Du Ruhui of the Early Tang Dynasty: Leadership 58, Might 59, Intelligence 96, Politics 98."

There was surely no one who hadn't heard of the duo known for "Fang's schemes and Du's decisions." As the right-hand men of Emperor Taizong, Li Shimin, the great achievements of the Tang emperor were inseparable from their counsel. Furthermore, their abilities were truly extraordinary, with their intelligence and politics reaching the level of peerless masters. They could be said to be capable of both accompanying armies on campaigns to devise strategies and holding down the fort at the rear to secure logistics. If Li Xiang remembered correctly, this Fang Qiao had appeared more than once; it would have been quite good if he could have summoned Fang Xuanling this time.

"The fourth candidate is Zuo Guangdou of the Great Ming Dynasty: Leadership 56, Might 49, Intelligence 89, Politics 91."

Li Xiang had absolutely no impression of this Zuo Guangdou and had never heard of him. However, with his politics stat over 90, he shouldn't logically be a nobody.
"System, who is this Zuo Guangdou?"
"Ding. Zuo Guangdou, courtesy name Yizhi, pseudonyms Fuqiu and Cangyu. His ancestors were from Dongxiang, Tongcheng County, Anqing Prefecture, Anhui. His father, Zuo Chuying, moved to Tongcheng city. He was an important member of the Donglin Party in the late Ming Dynasty, rising to the position of Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. He was one of the 'Six Gentlemen' of the Wanli era. As an official, Zuo Guangdou was upright and unyielding, known as the 'Iron-Faced Censor.' He was a politician who dared to fight against evil and possessed unique insights into water management and public works, achieving significant results."

Li Xiang hadn't expected Zuo Guangdou to have such a background, being one of the "Six Gentlemen." Unfortunately, while Li Xiang knew the title, he had no idea who those six individuals actually were.

"The fifth candidate is Wei Xiaokuan of the Western Wei: Leadership 96, Might 72, Intelligence 97, Politics 92."

Wei Xiaokuan, originally named Shuyu, went by his courtesy name Xiaokuan. A native of Duling, Jingzhao, and son of the Wuwei Prefect Wei Xu, he was an outstanding military strategist of the Northern and Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. Throughout his life, he fought numerous battles with great merit, eventually reaching the ranks of Grand Minister of Works and Pillar of State, and was enfeoffed as the Duke of Yun.

Many people might not have heard of Wei Xiaokuan, but he possessed the talent to govern a nation. He was adept at using schemes of alienation; one strategy secured the borders, and another destroyed an enemy state. In that chaotic era of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which produced countless famous generals, the fact that he carved out such a renowned reputation speaks for itself.

"Ding, please eliminate two candidates. The system will summon from the remaining three."

Choosing which two to remove was not difficult, as two of the five were clearly inferior to the others.
"System, remove Lu Xiufu and Zuo Guangdou."

While these two had great integrity, talent was more important to Li Xiang. This did not mean they lacked talent, but it was a matter of comparison.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining Wei Xiaokuan: Leadership 96, Might 72, Intelligence 97, Politics 92. His identity is implanted as one of your personal guards. Due to his meritorious service in protecting you during the Battle of Yanmen, he has been promoted to Deputy Chief of the personal guards. As he continues to interact with you, he feels your ambition and has decided to observe further before determining whether to pledge his full loyalty."

Li Xiang was slightly disappointed not to have summoned one of the "Fang-Du" duo. It wasn't that he believed Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were inherently stronger than Wei Xiaokuan, but rather that their strengths lay in different areas. He suspected that a combination skill might exist between Fang and Du, given that their legendary reputation had lasted for millennia. Alone, their abilities might be on par with the others, but if a combination skill existed, their boosted stats would certainly be more extravagant than Wei Xiaokuan's. It was a pity; Fang Xuanling had appeared twice, and yet he still hadn't managed to summon him.

"Ding, the host has summoned ten times, reaching the standard for a balancing event every five summons. The system will now begin a balancing summoning. Please listen to the list."

Hearing that it was time for another balancing event, Li Xiang immediately braced himself. The previous two events had brought forth formidable enemies—the founding emperors of the Jin, Ming, and Qing dynasties; none were easy to deal with. Even with the system, Li Xiang dared not claim he could easily triumph over them. Moreover, this latest group of five was no less capable than the previous ones. Aside from the god-tier commander Xue Rengui, Qin Qiong and Wei Xiaokuan were also exceptional. Qin Qiong possessed high leadership and might, while Wei Xiaokuan excelled in leadership and intelligence. Mao Xiang might look average in his stats, but his intelligence gathering was as high as 96. Such a talent, if used correctly, was no weaker than a god-tier general and might even have a greater overall impact. Generally speaking, only Lin Chong was slightly more ordinary among the five.

"Ding, balance beginning."
"The first person is Wang Qing of Huaixi, one of the Four Great Bandits of the Water Margin: Leadership 80, Might 83, Intelligence 76, Politics 72, Charisma 76. His identity is implanted as a wealthy resident of Xuzhou. Because he offended the Cao family, a powerful local clan, he was forced to turn to banditry with several close friends, surviving by raiding wealthy households and looting passing merchants. Later, he was attracted to Zhang Jiao’s Yellow Turban sect, joined it, and was sent by Zhang Jiao to contact Tian Hu to recruit major bandits in Bingzhou into the sect, as well as to develop followers and purchase horses. He brings ten followers: Feng Tai, Yuan Lang, Liu Yuan, Pan Zhong, Mi Sheng, Liu Yijing, Shangguan Yi, Li Xiong, Bi Xian, and An Dewei."

Hearing the system's notification, Li Xiang was stunned. He hadn't expected that he hadn't yet dealt with Tian Hu in Bingzhou, and now a Wang Qing was coming as well. Half of the Four Great Bandits of the Water Margin were now headed his way. However, Li Xiang did not want to resolve these two just yet. He had no desire to impede Zhang Jiao’s earnest efforts to develop the Yellow Turbans; he only needed to keep their scale in Bingzhou under control. For Li Xiang, if the Yellow Turban Rebellion did not occur, the curtain on the chaotic era of the world could not be raised. And if the world was not in chaos, how could he unleash his own inner ambitions?