A Truly Exceptional Matter
The plan was truly exceptional. Lure Lu Bu into launching an attack, draw his army against Xiaopei. If Liu Bei stationed there suffered defeat and retreated all the way to Yanzhou, we would ride to his rescue at precisely the right moment. In doing so, Cao Cao’s forces would naturally absorb Liu Bei and his sworn brothers while turning to crush Lu Bu. The vanguard of that assault would fall to Xiahou Dun and me.
At first, Cao Cao had accepted the stratagem of using Liu Bei as bait. Yet the scheme had grown far more ruthless than I anticipated. Rather than holding Xiaopei and intercepting Lu Bu’s army, we would allow Lu Bu’s forces to nearly annihilate Liu Bei’s faction before we intervened. In the end, Cao Cao could not abandon his obsession with eventually bringing Liu Bei into his own camp. He believed that once Liu Bei was stripped of everything and left with no other path, the man would once again come seeking shelter under his wing. After all, Liu Bei’s first surrender had come because of Lu Bu. If the same situation repeated itself, would it not play out identically?
“Difficult…”
In the end, Liu Bei would leave Cao Cao’s side and become one of his greatest adversaries. At least in the case of Guan Yu, having met the man in person, I knew that once you grew close to him he was genuinely good-hearted. If he stood on our side, he would be an incredibly reassuring ally.
“Difficult indeed. So very difficult.”
While these thoughts churned inside me, a vast column of cavalry thundered past. One of the officers peeled away and approached.
“Colonel, you’ve returned to your hometown after so long. Why do you wear such a grim expression?”
“Colonel Cha.”
Cha Ju. He was an outstanding military officer who, together with Cao Shun, had trained elite cavalry units in Qiao County. Later, after Cao Cao seized control of Lu Bu’s territory, Cha Ju would be appointed Inspector of Xuzhou for his expertise in military training. Yet the moment Liu Bei arrived, the man met an unfortunate end at his hands.
Cha Ju smiled as he took a seat beside me, gesturing toward the cavalry drilling in the distance.
“We’ve expanded the horse pastures again recently, and the number of recruits joining the army keeps growing. It’s become quite lively. Qiao County may well be the place in all the Central Plains with the highest concentration of young men.”
In other words, the city had transformed into something like a military recruitment hub, packed with eager youths. And the army being forged here would soon march to strike Lu Bu and seize Xuzhou.
“Now that I think of it, a visitor came to see the Administrator and the Lieutenant Administrator. I wonder if you might know him, Colonel. He said he came from Yuzhou.”
“Yuzhou? If it were someone I knew, my uncles would have summoned me immediately.”
It might be another messenger bearing Cao Cao’s instructions. The problem undoubtedly stemmed from that.
“Haa…”
“Colonel, is something truly the matter? Every time you visit Qiao County you always beam and call it your hometown. Why such a long face today?”
I looked at Cha Ju and asked with genuine curiosity. I wanted to understand the sensibilities of this era.
“Colonel Cha.”
“Yes, Military Colonel.”
“Suppose the person you thought was a true friend turned out to be someone who only saw you as a tool. If you realized you were being used and had to strike him down before your eyes, what would you do?”
“Colonel, were you betrayed by a friend in the capital? Who is it? That son of a bitch—who?”
“No, just answer the question first.”
“Hmmm. If I believed he was my closest friend and he stabbed me in the back… I’d crush him without hesitation.”
“And if the situation were reversed—if you were the one who had to do it?”
“Come now, I’m no petty scoundrel. If such a thing truly happened, it would only be because it was an order from above. In that case, I would have no choice.”
“An order, you say…”
“It happens sometimes. While hunting rebels or bandits, you encounter someone who was once a friend from your hometown. In that moment, you must kill him.”
Yes. This was the third century. Loyalty and friendship were valued, but when it came to survival, anything was permissible. Taking a life could be dismissed with a simple “it couldn’t be helped.”
“In the end, I suppose I must simply go with the flow.”
“Indeed. I don’t know the details, but… take heart, Colonel! Are you not one of the lord’s most trusted blood relatives?”
After receiving Cha Ju’s encouraging words, I left the military grounds and walked home. Well, there was nothing to be done about Liu Bei being Liu Bei. The real question was how far he would walk his destined path.
The Battle of Hanzhong? There was no way I could let him reach that point. Liu Bei’s entry into Shu? Only a madman would create the final boss right here and now. The Battle of Red Cliffs? Before that happened, I would extend Guo Jia’s lifespan at any cost. If that proved impossible, I would grow strong enough to grab Cao Cao by the collar and stop him myself.
Since the conquest of Xuzhou had not occurred and the betrayal by the Cao clan had not taken place, simply continuing on this path would prevent Cao Cao from becoming history’s great villain. So I decided to leave it to fate.
Today, I would go home, attend to my mother, spend a quiet evening with my wife, stretch out my legs, and sleep deeply. Tomorrow I would begin training in earnest and prepare for war—
“My lord, you’ve returned?”
“Huiya, a guest has been waiting for you. Your mother prepared the wine table in advance.”
“Ah… yes?”
My family home, where both my mother and Yuan Jing greeted me. Inside, a guest sat drinking wine and rose to welcome me warmly.
“Well met, Master Zayul. You look to be in fine health.”
“Master Gongda?”
Why had Xun You come here?
“Come, allow me to pour you a cup.”
Since he had come as a guest, I treated him with utmost respect and shared wine with him. Xun You, looking dignified and composed, regarded me for a moment before picking up a piece of meat to eat.
“Since Qiao County is the lord’s hometown, the people are kind, the food is excellent, and this residence is quite splendid. I trust there is a suitable guest room where this humble one may rest?”
“Of course. If you wish to stay the night, I will gladly prepare one of the best rooms.”
“Hahaha. It seems we will have much to discuss tonight.”
So the visitor from Yuzhou whom Cha Ju mentioned—the one who had come to see Xiahou Dun and Cao Shun—was Xun You. After meeting them, he had come straight to me and declared he would stay the night. He clearly had a great deal to say.
“Has something happened in the capital?”
“There is good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”
“Since this is a drinking occasion, I would prefer to end it on a pleasant note. Let me hear the bad news first, then the good.”
“Guo Fengxiao has gone too far. He committed a most disrespectful act before the lord and then departed.”
Clink.
Damn it… He called it bad news, but this was far worse than I expected. Guo Jia had abandoned Cao Cao and left?
“It seems I spoke too abruptly. Allow me to explain in more detail.”
Xun You emptied his cup in one go and recounted what had transpired in the capital.
“While preparing the offensive against Lu Bu’s army, the matter of Liu Bei in Xiaopei arose once more. Even if Lu Bu were not a factor, the position of Left General carrying the imperial tally must be filled. The question was who should receive it.”
“Imperial Uncle Liu’s name came up, and what did Master Fengxiao do?”
“At the drinking table, right in front of the lord, he hurled a wine jar to the floor and shattered it.”
“Ugh…”
“He shouted disrespectfully at the lord, ‘Why are you deliberately raising your own mortal enemy?’ and ‘You are struggling to create a second Yuan Shao!’ Then he declared he would resign from his post as advisor to the Minister of Works and went into seclusion.”
“Master Fengxiao has done something truly outrageous while drunk.”
Had anyone but Guo Jia committed such an act, his head would have been hanging in the marketplace before the words left his mouth. Even for Guo Jia, it seemed he had crossed a line. To ruin a banquet before Cao Cao and throw away his office—how reckless.
“But… after such a tremendous incident, there is still good news?”
“The lord has declared that the positions of Left General and bearer of the imperial tally shall remain vacant for the next several years.”
“Oh!”
This… this was enormous.
Yes. Let us assume that, as in the original history, Liu Bei breaks away from Cao Cao’s camp and becomes his enemy. Yet without the imperial tally and without the rank of Left General, Liu Bei would wander the land holding only the titles of ‘Inspector of Yuzhou’ and ‘Imperial Uncle Liu.’ The tally granted the authority to appoint and punish subordinates during wartime, as well as the transcendent right to punish even those who held the tally. Without it, Liu Bei would possess only ‘justification’ and ‘great ambition’ while lacking real power.
In that case, even if ‘Liu Bei does what Liu Bei does,’ Cao Cao could still be Cao Cao.
“Zayul, since this is a drinking table, shall we speak frankly?”
“What do you mean?”
“You studied under Imperial Uncle Liu and his sworn brothers for a long time and formed a master-disciple bond with them. Yet I have also sensed that you have been keeping him in check in your own way.”
“Between my uncle and Imperial Uncle Liu, I chose my uncle. Blood is thicker than a teacher, after all.”
Xun You smiled at my answer and nodded.
“You have achieved truly remarkable growth. It feels like only yesterday that you, together with Master Zishu, came to me to study the state of the world after completing your first campaign.”
“More than four years have already passed since then.”
Xun You laughed heartily and clapped his hands.
“I was the last one. Senior Cheng Zhongde advised killing him from the beginning rather than taking him in. My uncle Xun Yu suggested using him and discarding him when he lost his value. Guo Fengxiao initially said to spare him but later began advocating containment. Only I had yet to take a clear stance.”
“So that’s how it was.”
“But now that things have come to this, it seems I too must follow the prevailing current.”
The drinking continued late into the night. When Xun You finally grew drunk and fell asleep, I stepped outside for some fresh air.
“Master Fengxiao has done something truly monumental.”
He had thrown away his own position and, in the end, bent Cao Cao’s will. Now I could make my decision with confidence.
Some time later, Xiahou Dun raised his troops and summoned me, along with my left and right adjutants, to assemble.
“This is yesterday’s fresh report. Xiaopei has finally fallen. Liu Bei fled with only a few hundred soldiers, barely escaping with his life.”
“Are we marching now?”
“Yes. Let us go once more!”
From Qiao County, Xiahou Dun and I led ten thousand soldiers on campaign.
“Who is the enemy commander?”
“The main general is Gao Shun, and his deputy is a man named Cao Xing.”
Gao Shun and Cao Xing. In the original history, these two defeated Xiahou Dun and handed Lu Bu’s forces their first victory against Cao Cao’s army. But history would differ here. I stood in this place now.
Gao Shun and Cao Xing for my first battle against Lu Bu’s army? This would truly become a proper fight.