Chapter 406
Chapter 406: 406
Chapter 406 – Reaction to Old Memories
"Why are they retreating!? They have the upper hands, right? Ji Ling fell back, and Guan Yu betrayed Yuan Shu . We could have capitalized this situation!"
Sima Yi did not understand the logic behind Zhang He's retreat order .
Soon, Zhang He's subordinates told the trainee group about Tong's decision .
"It was his majesty's direct decree to our grand commander . We can't violate his command . "
Sima Yi wanted to yell [Bullshit], but he refrained himself . Liu Xie and Wei Yan had the same thought .
As Zhang He noticed their discontent with Tong's order, he gathered the three at night and explained about the clan chat .
"You'll get invited to the clan soon . I think he'll take all of you next year, so you can learn many things from your seniors . You'll also be able to use the clan chat as we do . "
"What's this klon chak?"
Wei Yan smacked Sima Yi's head, "It's called, cleaned shit . "
Liu Xie sighed, "Guys, it's clan chat . "
" . . . "
Zhang He facepalmed, "Clan chat . Anyway, once all of you are invited, your world understanding will definitely change . Also …"
Zhang He gazed into a distant at the direction of Xuchang in nostalgia, then he turned to Sima Yi with a bitter smile, thinking about the other timeline where Zhang He and Sima Yi worked together to suppress Zhuge Liang .
"You'll recall a bit of your mysterious memory, Zhongda . "
"…"
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The wing power bestowal was a double-edged sword . Once someone had awakened to the cultivation method, whether it was angelic or the demonic one, they would obtain a soul and a fragment of their alternate timeline memories .
Tong had heard about the aftereffect when he gave Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Zhang He a cultivation method . The three of them reported that they had strange dreams, which was a memory of their other life as Cao Cao's subordinate .
This side effect of a cultivation bestowal was something that even Diaochan and Dong Bai did not know . It appeared to be one of Lilim's secret, which she had excused that it was for completing this dimension .
It was a risky move since all generals under himself would recall their past life memory . Still, Tong was confident that the clan chat and his influence in this world should be able to override their loyalty toward their former lords .
At You Province, Zhao Yun received the side-effect in full swing .
After Zhao Yun obtained two wings, he was so glad that he forgot to rest . When he fell asleep later, Zhao Yun's memories from the other timeline flooded his dream .
The early career with Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan,
The Battle at Changban where he rescued Liu Bei's son,
The vow that he gave to Liu Bei,
The life that he dedicated to Liu Bei,
The death of Liu Bei,
And the end of his life,
Everything came back to him .
Zhao Yun was in tears when he woke up . He sat still in his bed for hours, confused about what had happened .
Both memories of his current life and the other timeline conflicted, confusing Zhao Yun . He could not separate what reality was .
However, when he met the people of You Province and saw their smiling faces, he cried again .
He remembered why he served Liu Bei .
He also remembered why he was serving Tong .
He even recalled why he started fighting .
Everything was so simple that Zhao Yun of both worlds forgot what his goal was after he picked his lord .
"I start fighting … for the people!"
He decided that he would not switch side to Liu Bei, who kept running without contributing to the people in this world .
Zhao Yun was not the only one with a conflicted thought . All generals, such as Gao Lan, Zhou Cang, Taishi Ci, and many others, had recovered the other timeline's experience .
Everyone had a different reaction .
Zhou Cang touched his bald head and screamed at first . Then, he recalled that he was stronger than the last life, so he did not mind the change . Still, he missed Guan Yu and hoped that his former boss could join Tong, too .
Taishi Ci missed Sun Ce and their fateful duel in the Battle at Jiangdong . He regretted that he failed to live to see Sun Ce's younger brother thrived as the Wu Emperor . However, he favored this timeline as peace might be restored to the land sooner than the other world . Also, Tong tried to recruit the Sun Clan peacefully . Thus, he remained as Tong's subordinate, waiting for the day that Sun Ce and himself could reunite .
Tian Yu did not care whether he worked for Cao Cao or Tong . As long as he could keep the northern borders safe from Xianbei and Xiongnu, he was a happy man . As a result, his stance was unchanged .
Gao Lan and Han Hao were Cao Cao's former subordinates . Fortunately, they still worked with their former colleague, Zhang He, so they did not mind continuing fighting under Tong's banners .
Qu Yi was former Yuan Shao's subordinate . As he was killed by Yuan Shao in his previous life, he was glad that he picked Tong's side .
Xu Huang and Zhang Liao got their awakened souls long before the others . The old memory shocked them at first, but they were elites who could adapt to anything . Since Tong and Cao Cao were not sworn enemies, they continued serving Tong like the other generals . However, they would be neutral if Tong and Cao Cao had to fight in the future .
As for all strategists and civil officers, they had different reactions .
Ding Yuan was a happy man when he got his old memories . The Han Dynasty did not fall under Dong Zhuo's regime in this timeline, and Lu Bu did not kill him . Therefore, the veteran protector of Bing was delighted with this newfound experience, planning to combine his prior knowledge with the new ones to benefit the people .
Lu Zhi recalled that he was supposed to be a servant of the Han Dynasty, but he failed to subdue Dong Zhuo . He also remembered that he fought against Zhang Jiao, who was Tong's father, as if he was his nemesis .
Zhang Jiao also remembered that he died in the other timeline in a miserable death because his attack on Han's Capital City failed . He laughed and celebrated that his life in this world got better, and his son was now an emperor . He regretted nothing .
When Zhang Jiao and Lu Zhi met each other in Julu, both of them laughed and discussed their alternate timeline, retelling their tales and turning the stories into a joke . Both former nemeses had a lot of fun .
Former Yellow Turban members, Bo Cai, Zhang Liang, and Zhang Bao, were glad that they disbanded their rebellion banners before it was too late . Since their lord's son was the emperor, they did not care if they had to work for Tong or his father . Everyone resumed their work as if the dream was just a nightmare .
Jia Xu went ballistic when he got his memories back . He yelled at Tong in the clan chat for deceiving him for years . After he recalled that his pay was better than when he served Cao Cao, Jia Xu retracted his words, pretended that he did not say anything, being shameless as usual .
Xun Yu and Xun You found this past life's recollection as a nonsensical story since they were men of logic . Although their expertise improved because of their additional experience, they denied the tales of the otherworld, calling it a silly dream .
As for Ju Shou, he complained to Zhang He and Gao Lan, who betrayed Yuan Shao in the other timeline, blaming them for his death in that world, almost instigating a feud . Fortunately, Zhang He and Gao Lan apologized to Ju Shou, which satisfied the latter and quit the matter .
Similar to how Zhang He and Gao Lan apologized to Ju Shou, Wang Yun also visited Cai Yong in Ye to beg the latter for his forgiveness, redeeming his mistake in the other timeline . In that world, Wang Yun was the one that imprisoned Cai Yong and tortured him to his death, which the former found it regretful and needed to be corrected . Cai Yong forgave the old minister, and they became friends in this world .
In the other timeline, Kong Rong was killed by Cao Cao in the year 208 because of his braggart, so he was glad that he did not join Cao Cao again in this world . Still, he learned a bit from his mistakes in his last life . Kong Rong would try not to bad-mouth his superiors or try to show-off again like the other world . He continued serving Tong as Beihai's governor while he tried his best to stay low-profile .
As for Sima Fang, he enjoyed the experience to the fullest . Using his experience from the dream, he planned to train his sons, especially Sima Yi, using his new teaching methods . Similar to the two Xuns, he thought that it was just an ordinary dream .
Zhen Yi recovered his experience as governor of Zhongshan . He also recalled that he had wedded Zhen Ji with Yuan Shao's son, Yuan Xi, in the other timeline before Cao Pi snatched his daughter to be his empress . Zhen Yi got fired up after he had realized that Zhen Ji would grow up as a talented woman, planning to raise her education level and sending his youngest daughter to Tong's harem . In this timeline, he did not care if Cao Pi or Tong would be his son-in-law . As long as one of them was the victor, he would benefit from the matching nonetheless .
As for the last group, Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu celebrated when they reunited again after their long dream . Since Zhang Ji did not die in this world, they were more than happy to treasure their second chance . Furthermore, Zuo Shi had babies with Zhang Ji, so they regretted nothing .
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Clan Chat
Tong: "Aside from that shameless old coot, anyone wants to complain about your dream or your otherworld's memory?"
All local officers did not comment .
Tong: "Let me change the question, does anyone want to return to your former lord?"
Zhang Liao: "As long as you don't send me to attack Cao Cao, I won't switch side . "
Xu Huang: "Same . "
Zhang He: "Me, too . "
Zhao Yun: "No, your majesty . "
Taishi Ci: "Not me . "
Xun Yu: "That dream is stupid . Please don't sow discord between us, your majesty . "
Lu Zhi: "Disciple, a good emperor doesn't need to ask his subordinates for their loyalty . He smashes them with his hard work and glorious achievements . Show them that you are better than those lords . "
Te Langpu: "Agreed . A good leader doesn't need to care whatever your employees feel about you . Your word is absolute, and anyone that defies you should be fired, like how I fired over a hundred of my workers because they pissed me off!"
All otherworlders: "…"
Tong: "Then, I hope that all of you can resume your work as you have done up till now . If there's anything you need, ask our prime minister . He's getting fatter because he doesn't have anything to work on lately, so let's work him up a bit to reduce his weight . "
Everyone: "…"
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Ye City
Tong sighed, exhausted after he had dealt with the aftereffect chaos . He looked at Xun Yu at his side with grateful eyes .
"Without your help, things might have gotten out of hand . "
Xun Yu laughed, "Only superstitious fools believe in dreams . It's just a thing that happens in our head . "
"Do you not believe in it at all?"
"No . Well, I have to admit that I can learn a thing or two from the dream, but that's that . Reality is more important . "
"… True . "
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While Tong was relieved that no one had planned to rebel or turn against him yet, things changed in the southern region .
Zhou Yu overworked Sun Fang as if he were the former's slave . When Zhou Yu learned that cultivation technique could be acquired by paying enough lifespans and they could also help Sun Fang gathering lifespans, he forced Sun Fang to buy them for Sun Ce and himself . Zhou Yu also excused that they could boost their lifespan gathering rate with their help .
Helpless and believing in the historical strategist, Sun Fang paid 200,000 lifespans to buy it for Zhou Yu, which almost emptied his collected pool in one go .
After Zhou Yu had experienced life in the other timeline from his dream, his view toward Sun Fang became different .
As Sun Fang was away, attacking eastern Jiangdong, Zhou Yu turned to his sworn brother, Sun Ce, crafting a new scheme behind this otherworlder's back .