"Master, what do you think this story is about?"
Yuan Zhi fell silent, answering, "I also do not know."
Li Guanyi shook his head, saying, "The common people, they are like a fierce tiger."
"The people of this world possess great strength, but they are only restrained. I cannot defy the limitations of this world and the era, yet I wish to let the sleeping fierce tiger taste the flavor and exquisiteness of flesh and blood."
Yuan Zhi had already glimpsed a completely different flavor, feeling his throat dry and his heartbeat rapid, almost as if it didn’t belong to him. He watched the young General place a piece, with Li Guanyi continuing:
"The so-called aristocratic families are resources, Martial and Taoist, officials, a monopoly."
"I wish to distribute the land and resources to the people, then shatter the knowledge monopoly of the aristocratic families’ officials, and return it all to the world, just like the fierce tiger tasting its first bite of blood. The people will know what it is to own their land and resources, and the future of learning Martial ways."
"The fierce tiger will gradually awaken, if not this generation, then the next."
Yuan Zhi, looking at the Zongheng chessboard, seemed to see the rules of this millennia-old world, layer upon layer accumulated, the common people, the aristocratic families, the massive and stringent barricades, and then suddenly, as if they were crumbling."
"So it goes, even if I fail, Master, do you know?"
"They, this fierce tiger, have tasted flesh!"
Yuan Zhi lifted his head, observing the young man seated there, his gaze calm, yet within that gaze blazed an emotion fierce as fire.
The young General said, "A fierce tiger that has tasted flesh will not tolerate being forced back into that situation, and neither will the people. In such a case, even if I perish, the world will surge forward like raging waves, unceasingly pressing on towards the future..."
"Such change will not come quickly, but the power will be immense."
"Because it is the wish of the myriad people."
"One day, we shall reach the golden age envisioned in our eyes."
Yuan Zhi, being who he is, naturally could envision what that scene represented, how magnificent and epic, but he also understood the immense pressure and obstacles faced by the one who took this first step.
Chen Country and Ying Country dared not send troops against Jiangnan, fearing the residual might of the Red Emperor from eight hundred years past.
The dream painted by this young man before me, what is it confronting if not that eight hundred years of residual might?
Yuan Zhi, reflecting on his experiences and what he had seen and heard, felt yearning and desire, yet he gave a cool-headed advice fitting of a strategist, saying, "But, you are making an enemy of the entire world."
Li Guanyi stressed, "It’s making an enemy of the aristocratic families of the world."
He looked at Yuan Zhi, laughing, "Well then, let’s say I am making an enemy of the whole world; I won’t correct you this time."
Pausing, with a sneer and boldness, he said, "So what?!"
The young General placed another piece, speaking leisurely, "The Taoist say, I have three treasures, first is kindness, second is frugality, third is not daring to take the lead in the world; but now that I am already a General, frugality is not certain, yet I certainly must be stingy."
"And the last one, ’not daring to take the lead in the world,’ I must also break."
"No wonder Elder Zu initially refused to take me as a Disciple."
"I have heard that the Academy Masters teach without discrimination; I shall go forth now and see if the Academy still holds such bold declarations from the Masters."
"Today, I will call upon the Academy to emerge, not the All Schools!"
"Ha-ha, Master, you have lost! The internal politics of today do not fall to me to manage!"
Li Guanyi won the game of Go, laughed heartily, and then looked at the dazed and impoverished strategist, calling out, "Master?"
Yuan Zhi, after several calls, finally came out of his reverie, lifting his head to see the young General smiling at him, extending a hand warmly, "Though I am such a man, eager to make an enemy of the whole world, a madman who, if I fail, will surely be utterly disgraced, but on this path, would you walk with me?"
Yuan Zhi’s lips quivered. He was no longer the man who was initially struck by such treatment.
But he only felt vaguely aware as he made a deep bow, responding:
"For my Lord’s ambition, I am willing to expend the efforts of a dog or a horse."
"In death, no turning back!"
The young strategist smiled calmly, answering his own wish:
"I shall follow behind you."
"Should you die, Yuan Zhi, certainly shall not gracelessly cling to life!"