Journey to the West: Sun Wukong's Advice System
Chapter 281 - 259 Timely Rain Sun Wukong

Chapter 281: Chapter 259 Timely Rain Sun Wukong

Zhu Geliang had been engaged in lengthy overnight talks with Liu Bei for the past few days and hadn’t concerned himself with other matters, so he was unaware of Pang Tong’s situation.

At the moment, many of the Great Han’s ministers were present; he couldn’t just directly ask Chancellor Sun.

After a bit more time, General Lu Bu of the guards, the brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao of the Yuan family, all arrived at the Inner Cabinet Grand Hall with their respective strategists and military generals.

The Great Han Inner Cabinet’s expanded meeting was officially called to order and presided over by Guo Jia.

Guo Jia first bowed to the three Chancellors of the Inner Cabinet, then walked to the forefront of the sand table map of Western Paradise, smiling, "Gentlemen, before we start the meeting, let’s first take a look at three policy inquiry essays."

With that, he waved the feather fan in his hand gently, and three streams of light flew to the sky above the sand table, turning into three phantom images filled with text.

Some ministers who had participated in the grading of the civil examination papers recognized at a glance that these were the top three essays of the first rank.

At that time, the papers had been anonymized with spells, so nobody knew who wrote them, but now that the results had been announced, of course, everyone knew who the authors were.

Most of those present had only heard of the essays but hadn’t seen the content; now, after reading them, they knew their quality.

The leading piece was written by valedictorian Zhu Geliang himself, whose strategy for advancing westward was upright and forthright. Observing its outline, it gathered the best of various ideas, had a macroscopic grasp, knew how to capitalize on strengths and avoid weaknesses, and understood how to go with the flow.

Following him was the essay by runner-up Pang Tong, whose strategies bore some resemblance to Zhu Geliang’s but were more radical in detail, filled with ingenious plans.

The last was by third-place finisher Shi Mayi, distinctly characterized by steady progress, not seeking for faultlessness but avoiding mistakes.

From the comparison of national strength between the East and the Western regions, naturally, Zhu Geliang’s strategy was a cut above, but that didn’t mean Pang Tong and Shi Mayi’s were lacking.

After seeing the essays, everyone was in admiration; to be able to write such strategies with such scant information was indeed the talent of a Chancellor.

Some of the long-serving Han ministers felt a happy conundrum, for they realized they were in the presence of young heroes like Guo Jia, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Fa Zheng, who were only a few years older than Zhu Geliang and co., all from the same generation.

One could imagine that the courtyards of the Great Han would be even livelier in the coming century.

At this moment, some recognized Zhu Geliang and Shi Mayi and began to approach them to strike up conversations.

Zhu Geliang chatted amiably, lively and at ease, while Shi Mayi remained expressionless, quite aloof.

In the midst of the buzz, Cao Cao said, "Why haven’t we seen the runner-up Pang Tong?"

The Inner Cabinet Grand Hall quickly quieted down, people looking around at each other, and many finally turned their gazes to Sun Jian.

There are no secrets in Chang’an City, and those with informed sources all knew that Pang Tong had gone to the residence of Lord Sun Ce, Chancellor Sun, after the announcement of the exam results.

Cao Cao spoke again, "When there is such talent, how can we keep him outside our doors? Changwen, go invite Pang Tong here."

Chen Qun immediately took people to find Pang Tong.

Seeing this scene, Sun Jian’s expression sour, Sun Ce sighed inwardly, and Zhou Yu and Lu Su stayed silent.

The meeting paused momentarily, an excellent opportunity for everyone to discuss the content of the three policy inquiry essays, and to combine this with the sand table map of Western Paradise to develop further strategic deductions.

Zhu Geliang naturally became the center of these discussions, while Shi Mayi stood alone on the side, watching the excitement, his thoughts a mystery.

After Pang Tong’s arrival, he saw Zhu Geliang talking and laughing spiritedly with everyone, but soon he also became a focal point as many eyes converged on him.

Compared to the dignified and impressive Zhu Geliang, he was indeed too unsightly!

At this moment, some understood why Sun Jian had turned Pang Tong away.

Pang Tong sighed in his heart; he did not envy Kong Ming, nor did he feel inferior because of his unattractive appearance, but lamented having talents without a stage to showcase them.

Just then, Cao Cao strode over, laughing, "I’ve long heard of the young phoenix, and today, at last, I have the pleasure of seeing him."

Pang Tong had already learned about the events in the Inner Cabinet from Chen Qun on the way over, and was naturally very grateful to Cao Cao. Compared with the revulsion and indifference he encountered from Sun Jian, the choice about whom to join was self-evident.

"Pang Shiyuan pays his respects to Marquis Wei," Pang Tong bowed with respect.

Cao Cao laughed heartily, leading Pang Tong to the front of the grand sand table map.

This newly-appointed runner-up hadn’t even had time to greet Zhu Geliang when he was captivated by the lifelike terrain and features of the map.

And seeing this scene, Sun Jian’s face of course grew even darker.

The meeting then resumed as normal, with Guo Jia solemnly saying, "Recently, Ancestral Martial made an appearance to remind the three Chancellors, stating that the Western region has established the King of Tianzhu dynasty, with ambitions of unifying Western Heaven and inevitably contending with our Great Eastern Han."

Many ministers who hadn’t attended the cabinet meetings before knew that the court was getting ready to move westward, but they weren’t clear about the details, and only now did they understand what it was all for.

An appearance by the legendary Ancestral Martial himself?

The Great Han’s martial path flourished more with each day, and the people’s faith in Ancestral Martial was no less than in the Human King.

If Ancestral Martial had spoken, then the ambitions of Western Tianzhu were indeed like those of a greedy wolf, something to be guarded against!

Guo Jia continued, "According to reports from the military scouts, the countries of Ussang, Elephant, and Chicken that are near our Western Han region have had frequent troop movements,

and numerous Buddhist temples have had their sacred lights shining day and night, blessing these kingdoms’ armies and citizens, their intent to trespass upon our lands is glaringly obvious."

"The purpose of this expanded cabinet meeting is to formulate a final response strategy.

Should any of you have ideas, feel free to speak your mind," he said.

All the ministers looked serious; the Han Dynasty had been promoting the martial path for over a hundred years since its rise.

Being officials in the court, they were naturally well aware of immortals, Buddhas, demons, and spirits; some even had considerable accomplishments in the martial path.

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