High Martial Arts Three Kingdoms: The Incompetent Strategist

"The current situation is not too bad. The aristocratic families have been suppressed to the point of being unable to raise their heads and resist the imperial power. The power of the eunuchs and the imperial relatives has also reached a delicate balance." Emperor Ling of Han seemed quite proud of himself.

Tang Ke asked in bewilderment, "Since Your Majesty knows that the empress's relatives and eunuchs take turns wielding power, why doesn't Your Majesty try to solve this problem?"

"Solve it? When two forces are vying for power, if one falls, the other will naturally become dominant. There's nothing we can do about it. Even if we let the aristocratic families get involved, it will only add another competing force. Moreover, the aristocratic families are the most serious force that has encroached on imperial power. I will never allow them to rise again."

Emperor Ling of Han stretched, looking rather tired and helpless: "You are He Jin's man, I shouldn't be telling you these things, but I know you all talk about this behind my back all day long, and I just have to get it off my chest."

Tang Ke bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty is devoted to the affairs of the court, and I dare not speak presumptuously. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, all people under heaven are subjects of the king. I am Your Majesty's man, not General He's man."

Emperor Ling of Han nodded: "It is truly rare for you to have such loyalty."

If the Han Dynasty continues to flounder like this, it will perish in a few years. Tang Ke recalled the harsh words he had spoken when he left Taiping Dao, for he had come with the goal of "preserving the Han Dynasty".

Whether it was out of gratitude for Emperor Ling's kindness or to prolong the Han Dynasty's existence, he felt he should try to offer some advice. He thought of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Sticky Rod Office of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

"Why not let them fight it out? Your Majesty can establish another special agency outside of them, which will only obey Your Majesty's orders. It will be responsible for monitoring the officials of the court internally and for monitoring all provinces in the country externally. It will also allow the censors to report on matters based on hearsay, and let them verify them."

Emperor Ling of Han pondered for a moment before saying, "Wouldn't setting up this institution give it too much power? No one but me can control it."

“There are many types of power. Your Majesty can grant them only supervisory and judicial privileges, without allowing them to participate in any other administrative affairs. This is equivalent to Your Majesty’s eyes and the noose around the necks of all officials. Your Majesty can simply hold the end of the noose.”

"This idea is quite novel. Let me think about it carefully." Emperor Ling of Han yawned, picked up the unfinished "Shang Xun" (Commercial Instructions), and waved to Tang Ke: "You may leave now. I will summon you again when needed."

As Tang Ke emerged from the palace, a system voice sounded in his mind.

"Congratulations, host: Your plan to eliminate the Ten Attendants with He Jin has failed. Reward calculation is now in progress."

"The system will automatically collect feedback from those in the know, calculate the rating based on the feedback, and raise or lower the martial arts grade according to the rating results."

He Jin's comment: It seems to be of little use. If I had known, I would have just used the secret letter that Cao Cao intercepted to impeach Feng Xu and Xu Feng. What a waste of effort.

Cao Cao's comment: This strategy seems to have worked, yet it also seems to have failed.

Yuan Shao's comment: "A terrible teammate. All my efforts have been wasted."

Chen Lin's comment: It's not as good as my plan.

Kuai Yue's comment: It has a childish, playful feel to it.

"The system has begun automatic calculations."

A string of letters rapidly rolled through Tang Ke's mind for a long time before slowly stopping, finally settling on the letter D.

"Congratulations, your scheme failed and was rated D. You have received a reward: your martial arts level has increased by two minor levels, and your strength has increased from the fifth rank to the sixth rank."

"Current martial arts level: Rank 6. I have mastered the Qi Family Spear Technique and the art of skillful combat."

A force, like a storm, surged into Tang Ke's body from all directions, first gathering in his dantian, then rapidly dispersing into his meridians, circulating endlessly.

His vision, hearing, reaction speed, and intuition all improved to a higher level in that instant.

The feeling was wonderful. As soon as he left the palace gate, he leaped onto his horse, picked up the lance hanging on it, and galloped away, eager to find an opponent to fight to his heart's content.

A gust of wind suddenly arose from the ground, and the howling wind made him tremble.

A figure slowly walked towards them, wearing a bamboo hat and a cloak. It was none other than Qu Mu, the mysterious assassin they had encountered at the Yihong Courtyard that day, who had injured Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

His murderous aura, like a blizzard raging in the clear sky, quickly enveloped Tang Ke.

Normally, Tang Ke would be powerless to resist and would have no choice but to rein in his horse and flee. Once he reached the palace gate, this terrifying assassin would be unable to do anything to him.

But at this moment, he was full of fighting spirit and was no longer as afraid of this killing intent as before. He had only one thought in his mind.

Kill him, kill him, kill him?

Having just reached a higher realm, if one were to retreat without a fight now, wouldn't that create a flaw in one's mental state?

He squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, increasing the speed of his sprint.

Qu Mu was a little surprised. He quickly leaned forward, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and ran to meet him.

When the two men clashed, they both drew their weapons.

As soon as Tang Keqiang made his move, he saw Qu Mu's bright, star-like eyes leaping in mid-air.

Even brighter than his eyes was the sudden flash of light from the sword in his hand.

too fast!

Before Tang Ke could even fully raise his gun, the sword energy had already torn through his official robes, and he could even feel the chill of the blade on his chest.

There is no way to avoid it!

He knew he couldn't raise his gun any further; the slight pause in his movement when he raised it was enough for Qu Mu's sword to pierce his chest.

In that split second between life and death, his body reacted at its fastest speed and his mind was crystal clear, allowing him to unleash the clever fighting technique he had just mastered.

The warhorse, maintaining its charging posture, suddenly sank three inches!

With that three-inch distance, Tang Ke barely dodged the fatal sword strike, then swung his spear in the opposite direction and swung it at Qu Mu, forcing Qu Mu to withdraw his sword to meet the attack.

With a "clang," the gun shot out with at least three times the force of usual, knocking Qu Mu back more than ten steps before he could barely stop. Sparks flew from the friction of the sword against the ground.

Tang Ke gave him no chance to breathe, his gunmanship like a storm, piercing his vital points.

"So it's not a fifth-grade upper rank, it's a sixth-grade rank! Damn it, the price has to be lowered." Qu Mu shouted, while his hands were also busy, parrying and looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

He was already cursing under his breath. He was only a seventh-rank lower-level official, so killing a sixth-rank official should have been a piece of cake for him, and it shouldn't have been this difficult.

However, because he underestimated his opponent's strength from the start, he did not use his full strength at first. Instead, after careful calculation, he used the level required to kill a fifth-rank opponent. He never liked to waste his efforts.

As an assassin, he relies heavily on the momentum and timing of his attacks to kill. Now that his initial burst of energy has been exhausted, it will be extremely difficult for him to kill his opponent in a short time.

As his opponent, Tang Ke knew that he had to attack at all costs. He had to take advantage of the moment when Tang Ke's momentum had waned and his energy had not yet returned to normal to create a weakness. That would be the chance to kill him!