A Letter from Xiaopei
Kong Rong had arrived in Xudu. As a descendant of Confucius and a renowned Confucian scholar, he won the trust of countless people the moment he set foot in the capital. Even Cao Cao valued his talents highly and sent one of his sons to serve as the man’s disciple. It was Cao Pi, of course.
“Brother Ziye.”
“Ah, yes. It’s Zihuan.”
With Cao Ang away these days, Cao Pi had been accompanying Cao Cao everywhere, and the boy was positively beaming. He seemed to be the happiest face in all of Xudu.
“I heard the news. So you’ve become the disciple of a great scholar who is a descendant of Confucius?”
“Yes, Brother. I have been fortunate enough to serve a truly extraordinary man as my teacher.”
“Good. Learn well from him. Whatever else one might say, he is currently one of the most famous Confucian scholars alive.”
It was true. Among those called sages or great scholars in this age, Kong Rong’s name carried the most weight.
“I will study diligently. They say meeting a good teacher is itself a blessing. Until now I could not find anyone with true literary talent, so I have seen the limits of self-study.”
“What?”
I had been trying to end the conversation on a warm note, but the boy crossed the line again at the very end.
“Pi.”
“Y-yes?!”
I deliberately addressed him by his given name instead of his courtesy name.
“Are you so dull-witted compared to your older brother that you cannot even remember your own childhood?”
“W-why are you suddenly saying this, Brother Ziye?”
“You claimed that before Teacher Kong you could not learn from anyone with literary talent and therefore studied alone?”
Cao Pi’s face changed color instantly. He lowered his head.
“I am sorry, Brother. I misspoke. What I meant was… aside from what I learned within the family, this is the first time I have studied under a scholar famous throughout the Central Plains…”
“Before Teacher Kong, the greatest literary master of the Central Plains was Cai Bojie, the man who wrote the memorial stele you coveted so much as a child. And you studied under his descendant?”
If he had simply admitted he was too embarrassed to tell other scholars that he had learned to read and write from his sister-in-law, I would have given him one slap and told everyone to stop associating with the fool.
“I am truly sorry, Brother. I have made a grave mistake.”
Watching Cao Pi bow repeatedly, I reached out and patted his shoulder.
“Uncle has taken a liking to you lately and even assigned you a great teacher. That means he holds high expectations for you. But do not let it go to your head.”
“Y-yes! Brother!”
“Study literature and poetry well. Do not dabble in strange ideologies or schemes.”
He was still young, so I left the warning at that and turned away. For now I would chalk it up to a rather severe case of adolescent posturing. But Cao Pi, the moment you truly cross the line, your teacher will be tearing at chicken ribs in the Daerisi while you are forced to improvise a poem within seven steps in front of Cao Ang just to survive.
And right now, on the way home, the back of my head felt strangely hot. I considered glancing back but decided against it. As I said, he was still a child, and at present he was nothing more than a middle-school-syndrome little brother in the household—not yet worth treating as an enemy.
When I entered the house, sudden shouts from boys echoed across the courtyard.
Thwack—
“Aack!”
“Didn’t I tell you? This is how you exploit an opening.”
“Eeeeek!”
“Stop watching the opponent’s expression. It tells you exactly how they will move.”
Thwack—
“Ugh, j-just one more time, please!”
What was this now? The interior was noisy, so I stepped inside and found Lu Ming sparring with several boys in the garden. She had wrapped the scabbards in layers of silk to soften the blows, yet they still looked painful.
“All right, that’s enough. It mustn’t become too loud.”
“Mother!”
Lady Xu had come to our home to look after the pregnant wives. The two boys crossing blades with Lu Ming were Xiahou Dun’s sons, Xiahou Chong and Xiahou Mu. The third was unfamiliar to me—a tall but slender youth of the Xiahou clan.
“Aunt, you are here?”
“Ah, it’s Ziye.”
Lady Xu was knitting while keeping an eye on the children.
“I told you I would help with your wives’ prenatal care. I was making baby clothes, and these boys all followed me here.”
“So Chong and Mu are learning the sword instead of letters now.”
“Their father entrusted the nephew to me, so I brought him along. That is Shang.”
Xiahou Chong, Xiahou Mu, and Xiahou Shang. They were around middle-school age, while Xiahou Shang was a few years older—like Cao Pi and Cao Zhen—and was currently exchanging blows with Lu Ming.
“Husband, their skills are truly lacking.”
“Hohoho, yes. Our husband has been away on campaign for so long that they had no proper sword instructor.”
“They were fooling around with wooden swords in the garden, so I told them they were doing it wrong and taught them a few moves.”
They learned literature from Cai Yan and swordsmanship from Lu Ming? Our household was turning into some sort of sister-in-law mentoring academy and literary-martial training ground for young masters.
“It will only get noisier, so next time I will keep these boys from coming.”
“N-no, please let Chong, Mu, and Shang continue. I will teach them martial arts as well. I will go to Uncle Xiahou’s house myself.”
Since the houses were adjacent, it was only a short walk from east to west.
“Their fundamentals are too weak. May I discipline them a little?”
“Will that be all right? People might say they learned swordsmanship from a woman.”
At that moment Xiahou Shang stepped forward.
“Not at all, Brother! Before she is our sister-in-law, is she not the descendant of the great General Lu Fengxian? The sole heir of the greatest martial artist under heaven!”
“H-he’s right. I did not realize Sister-in-law was such a master of the blade. Please teach us more!”
Lu Ming’s face instantly brightened; she could not hide her smile.
“W-well… yes, I am indeed the only descendant of the greatest martial artist under heaven. Though I only learned by watching over someone’s shoulder.”
“We beg you. Please allow us to learn from both of you.”
Xiahou Shang was different from the others; he had a knack for speaking in a way that lifted people’s spirits while learning.
After that, I spent the rest of the day at Xiahou Dun’s residence teaching the Xiahou boys sword and spear techniques. Lady Xu prepared dinner, so we ate there.
“Young master, so this is where you were.”
“Steward Li, what is the matter?”
“The lord’s command. He wishes you to come to the main chamber immediately after the evening meal.”
Cao Cao summoning me after supper? Something must have happened. Or perhaps that Cao Pi had gone and tattled about the day’s events?
“Uncle, it is Ziye.”
“Come in.”
When the door opened, the main chamber was filled with people besides myself. This was clearly war business. Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, and Guo Jia—who had just returned—sat waiting for Cao Cao’s orders. Xiahou Yuan, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Xu Huang, Yue Jin, and the other generals who had been organizing affairs around Xudu were also present.
“Have you all eaten well? Then it is time to talk about something that will help our digestion.”
Cao Cao seated me beside him, produced a bamboo slip, and handed it over.
“This arrived from Xiaopei earlier today. Ziye, read it aloud so everyone can hear.”
If it came from Xiaopei, it had to be from Liu Bei. And he wanted me to read it. I unrolled the slip and read in a clear, loud voice.
The Left General stationed in Xiaopei respectfully sends this message to the Excellency of Works in Xudu. I have heard of the unfortunate incidents that occurred within the capital and of the fate that later befell the honored consort.
Mengde, did you truly have to go that far?
The message was short, yet it carried layers of meaning. Still, from Cao Cao’s perspective, this was something that could no longer be overlooked.
“I showed him such trust, yet in the end he too is nothing but a member of the Han Liu clan? Am I merely a tool to be discarded the moment that foolish emperor steps down?”
Cao Cao and Liu Bei had already crossed a river with no bridge back. This matter was now flowing toward its inevitable fate. Moreover, Cao Cao already knew that Dong Cheng had conspired from within while Liu Bei stirred trouble from without. To Cao Cao, Liu Bei was now nothing more than “the last remnant that aimed for my throat.”
“My lord, the greatest concern is the relationship between Xuzhou and Hebei. It is now common knowledge that Liu Bei has received weapons and supplies from Yuan Shao.”
“Furthermore, General Xiahou Dun, who withdrew to Qiao County after suppressing rebels in Xiaopei, will also require reinforcements.”
“Not reinforcements. I will go myself. I will lead an army of one hundred thousand and burn every seed of rebellion in Xuzhou to ash!”
As Cao Cao prepared to take the field in person, a quiet voice spoke up. It was Guo Jia, who had returned to his post as military advisor.
“My lord, even while I was enjoying myself at the Wei clan pleasure house, my ears remained open.”
“Fengxiao, good. Speak freely.”
“After the Xuzhou gentry leader Han Yu passed away from old age, the internal situation there has apparently collapsed. Inspector Chen Deng, whom you appointed, can no longer control the chaos. It is not only Liu Bei in Xiaopei; minor powers such as Chang Xi, Gong Du, and Liu Bi have risen, and Zhang Ba is fighting them as a third faction.”
“They are all the same breed of rat. I will make only one judgment. Will they submit to me, or will they resist?”
Xuzhou had escaped massacre and grown prosperous, yet that very prosperity seemed to have caused countless minor warlords to spring up and fight among themselves. Because of this, Liu Bei had been unable to fully seize the region and remained merely one of those minor powers.
I had thought it would be an easy campaign, but—
“My lord, the true problem is Yuan Shao. If an army of nearly one hundred thousand marches on Xuzhou, Yuan Shao will surely descend through Puyang, Henei, or even Qingzhou and raise his own forces.”
Cheng Yu spoke with concern, and the other generals nodded in agreement. All except two.
“My lord, Yuan Shao will not be able to come down this time.”
“Wenruo, how can you be so certain?”
“I am ashamed. After failing to learn of Gongsun Zan’s movements during the previous campaign, I have since investigated intelligence matters more thoroughly. However, I cannot speak the reason here.”
“Wenruo, is this something I must clear the room to hear?”
“Forgive me. I will report it when you set out.”
“Hmm. A secret important enough to keep even from me? Now I am even more curious.”
The two who believed Yuan Shao would not come were Xun Yu and myself.
“Uncle, I also do not believe Yuan Shao will descend.”
“Ziye, why do you think so? Have you heard something as well?”
“No. I simply trust Lord Xun.”
“Hmm?”
“Master Wenruo never makes confident statements lightly. The fact that he is so certain means he has a plan. Therefore I support his words and likewise believe Yuan Shao will not come.”
“Hoh…”
Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then slapped his knee and rose.
“Very well. Then we march on Xiaopei in Xuzhou. In one swift campaign we will sweep away Liu Bei and every last rebel.”
Once again, the dice had been cast.