How to Capture a Woman's Heart (3)
How to Capture a Woman's Heart (3)
The Pei Cao Clan were descendants of the Marquis of Pingyang Cao Shen, famed as a founding meritorious subject of the Han Dynasty. It was also a prestigious family that produced Cao Teng, a Regular Palace Attendant who wielded absolute power before the emergence of Emperor Ling of Han Liu Hong and the Ten Regular Attendants.
They were different from other founding-merit families, which had been reduced to hollow shells.
Despite the long passage of time, they still boasted staggering wealth and prestige.
'They say no bloom lasts ten days... but that's a proverb that only applies to half-baked nouveau riche. Flawless scholar-officials don't lose their prosperity even after centuries.'
The garden reproduced nature exactly.
Halls containing hundreds of rooms stretched out before me.
Walls as majestic as castle ramparts.
Rooftops that flaunted power through height and breadth.
It evoked the East Palace I'd seen when entering Luoyang after Dong Zhuo's army withdrew. The main house of the Pei Cao Clan boasted such incredible wealth that it wouldn't have been out of place as an imperial residence.
"You've been up to some outrageous things lately. Conquering Xu Province in one breath, sweeping Yang Province... and on top of that, you even enthroned an Emperor. So, shall I call you Crown Prince from now on?"
"Crown Prince? Call me Gege. Or you can call me husband."
"I-I told you, only when we're alone!"
"Then I'd better get this alliance sealed as fast as possible."
The beauty with ash-blonde hair flushed red and trembled in the shoulders. I felt a swell of satisfaction seeing the Peerless Under Heaven's face ripple with embarrassment.
Teasing her really is a pleasure.
I'd done well to have her call me Gege early on.
Once we passed through the main gate, we encountered Lü Bu's officers. They saw how Lü Bu was blushing like a girl, unable to hide her embarrassment, and their reaction was a mixture of curiosity and unease.
"Crown Prince."
"No troubles in the meantime, Governor of Yan Province?"
When I entered the main building,
I came face-to-face with a woman whose lustrous black hair cascaded down.
Cao Cao.
The hegemon of Guandong.
A great heroine of the age who had subjugated countless warlords.
Compared to Lü Bu, who stood tall and slender, her build was petite and slight. Yet she was cloaked in a weighty dignity and spirit, so she didn't seem the least bit frail.
'Crown Prince... The most appropriate title in the current situation.'
Crown Prince.
She doesn't define me as a traitor.
But that doesn't mean she accepts the legitimacy of my usurpation either.
Through her choice of address, she showed sharp judgment, emphasizing that 'Our army is not swept up by public opinion and maintains thorough neutrality.'
"My maids have prepared tea and refreshments. Let us go inside."
"Thanks. I was thirsty anyway."
I entered the main building with Cao Cao.
And Lü Bu followed behind.
Cao Cao and Lü Bu were in an equal alliance. The combined Guandong power of Yan Province and Sili Province could be seen as a federation where the Cao Cao and Lü Bu armies exercised joint influence.
Two against one.
A little tense, isn't it.
I've never held more than one woman at the same time before.
Muttering that sort of joke to myself, I took the seat of honor the Cao Cao army had prepared.
"I'll come straight to the point. Our army has not yet decided whether to enter an alliance."
"Meaning you'll decide on the alliance based on the results of today's conference."
She's sincere.
Cao Cao hasn't made her decision yet.
Will she join the scheming cadet imperial clan members and strike the false Emperor, or will she side with the false Emperor and counterattack the scheming cadet imperial clan members?
It's not an issue to be decided rashly.
The arch-traitor who murdered the previous Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
The rebel faction of the south that falsely claimed the imperial title, exploiting the chaos of the age.
The old cadet imperial clansmen trying to push aside the Emperor the traitor enthroned and seize the throne for themselves.
None of them were normal.
They were masses of ambition writhing with boiling desire.
No matter which faction she chooses, a storm of fierce criticism will follow.
She must prioritize real gain and utility while valuing justification and legitimacy. That's why Cao Cao is likely maintaining a stance of neutrality while using this conference to gauge her own interests.
"If we weigh the balance of forces, Crown Prince, you are at a strategic disadvantage. With Liu Yan's forces from Yi Province and Liu Biao's forces from Jing Province joining the opposition, and at the same time, it's highly likely that the Governor of You Province, Liu Yu, will also join Dong Zhuo's army. Dong Zhuo will intimidate the young Emperor and the court ministers to forcibly drag Liu Yu in."
"Because in the end, he'd have no choice but to follow an imperial decree."
No matter the reason, an imperial decree must be carried out.
Even one born of intimidating the young Emperor and the court ministers.
In the original history, the Liu Bei army, which inherited Xu Province, attacked Yuan Shu's forces to carry out Emperor Xian of Han Liu Xie's imperial decree, even knowing it was a ploy by the Cao Cao army. As a warlord who claimed to be a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty, she couldn't refuse a sacred imperial command.
The same was true for Liu Yu.
Moreover, unlike Liu Bei, who was a 'detachable loyal subject,' Liu Yu was an 'integrated loyal subject.'
Naturally, she'd have no choice but to follow the imperial decree.
For the Han Imperial House and the court, she would not hesitate to make any decision. Even if it was an imperial house and court whose autonomy had been utterly lost under Dong Zhuo's pressure.
"Can you win against them?"
"Of course."
I answered at once, without a shred of hesitation.
Cao Cao's thick lips parted slightly, revealing her consternation.
And Lü Bu let out a belligerent smile, looking satisfied.
"I'd like to hear why you're so confident of victory."
"Liu Yan and Liu Biao are nothing more than opportunists hoping the fisherman reaps the benefit. And Liu Yu is a distant force beyond the Yellow River, so he can't become a direct threat. Dong Zhuo's army possesses a heavenly host famed as a one-man army, but the commanders who lead those armies are simply incompetent petty officers."
It's true there's a considerable gap in military strength.
But that doesn't completely determine victory or defeat in war.
The lord's cunning decisions.
The commanders' outstanding tactics and Leadership.
And the fighting spirit and discipline of the soldiers mobilized for war.
There are plenty of ways to narrow the gap in forces. That's why, even if Dong Zhuo and the cadet imperial clans in the provinces band together to form a great army of several hundred thousand, I'm not the least bit afraid.
"The most important key in war is guts, above all else. Even if a vast army of hundreds of thousands comes charging, the fighting spirit to keep biting until the enemy is utterly defeated is what matters."
I hadn't yet explained a detailed plan for facing an army of several hundred thousand.
But Lü Bu shrugged her shoulders, showing strong approval.
Confidence in the odds of victory.
That alone was enough.
In the first place, guts and courage are what matter most in a fight.
"The King of Chen, who falsely claimed the imperial title, and the Crown Prince, who enthroned his own father, are public enemies to be guarded against by all the lords under heaven. Are you certain that our army, which has conquered Guandong, would join hands with you two?"
"Of course not. How could I possibly grasp the inner thoughts of Cao Mengde, who's famed for being as clear-eyed and ruthless as a demon? Even the most gifted shamans couldn't do it."
I answered Cao Cao's question in a joking tone.
At that, Cao Cao spoke again.
"Hmm... I don't understand why the Crown Prince would so meekly agree to this conference. To enter enemy territory so readily, when I might be scheming an ambush."
"What would happen if our army and Dong Zhuo's army destroy each other, as the old cadet imperial clansmen wish? Obviously, to seize the person of the young Emperor, the old cadet clansmen would turn the entire Han realm into mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The northern barbarians, waiting for the Han Dynasty to collapse, would also sweep south all at once and join in the scorched earth campaign... You must know full well that the cadet imperial clansmen, who covet the throne so eagerly, lack the qualities of an Emperor?"
Liu Yan and Liu Biao are nothing but jackals eyeing their prey.
If those bastards take the realm, a new age of chaos will surely dawn.
There will be no era of peace.
Only chaos and internal strife will continue forever.
I asserted this in a voice full of conviction, as if foreseeing the Avici Hell to come. Then Cao Cao, who had demanded the answer, swallowed heavily, looking deep in thought.
"The tea has gone cold."
"So it has."
Perhaps because we'd been talking for so long.
The tea in the cups had become lukewarm.
Cao Cao signaled with her eyes to the maids waiting behind us, telling them to refill our cups.
"I have prepared a modest banquet to honor the Crown Prince for agreeing to this conference. Let us end the questioning here, and continue the topics we didn't cover today tomorrow."
"Mm."
I hadn't eaten a single one of the colorful sweets set on the small table.
Only Lü Bu, who was seated beside me, had emptied every plate.
"Excuse me, then."
The elegant beauty with the alluring black hair rose first.
She'd need plenty of time to discuss the alliance with her advisors.
"This is fortunate, Crown Prince. Cao-Cao seems to be thinking about it quite positively."
"Really? Her face was still stiff as a sheet of ice."
"Cao-Cao's always like that. She wouldn't flinch even on a battlefield under a hail of arrows."
"..."
Cao-Cao.
A cute pet name.
Should I try calling her Cao-Cao at tomorrow's conference?
Hmm.
Let's not.
I'm afraid a split-second joke might ruin the whole alliance.
"Shall we get up first, wife?"
"Who's your wife!"
But with Lü Bu, I decided to stick with a form of address that went well with Gege.