“Nandun has fallen?” Liu Bei had just discovered about what happened in Runan.
“Yes. Yes Milord. Nandun has fallen.” The messenger cautiously replied as he could tell that Liu Bei was angry.
“Damn it!” Liu Bei gritted his teeth. “Liu Mang Liu Hanyang! Are you really not even going to give me a way out?”
Guan Yu looked at his brother gnashing his teeth in anger and tried to console him. “Brother. Isn’t it only Nandun? We only have about ten thousand troops there. So what if it falls? The Yangzhou Army is worthless to only amount to this much. For an insignificant Nandun to stall them for so many days. Don’t worry! Once that traitor’s army arrives at Runan, your second brother will charge forward and take the enemy general’s head!” Guan Yu proudly said.
“The insignifant Nandun stopped the worthless enemy for so many days?” Liu Bei smiled bitterly. He did not know how to explain this to Guan Yu. While Nandun only had a small number of troops, Liu Bei had spread the rumor to the people saying that Liu Mang will slaughter everyone. The several hundred thousand people in Nandun were all devoted to Liu Bei and fought to the death. This meant that Nandun actually had several hundred thousand troops. Could Liu Bei defeat this number of people this quickly? The enemy’s fighting strength made Liu Bei feel helpless.
Guan Yu was a proud and arrogant person. If Liu Bei were to explain this to Guan Yu, Guan Yu would simply snort in disdain and even start to have complaints.
“Second brother. I am tired. Let us end today’s discussion.” Liu Bei sat down and massaged his aching head.
“This subordinate requests permission to leave.” The other officials said wanting to leave.
Sun Qian was also about to leave when a guard called out to him. “Master Sun Qian. The Lord requests to see you.”
“Oh?” Sun Qian nodded and followed the guard to the backyard where Liu Bei was waiting.
“Milord. Sun Qian is here.” The guard informed Liu Bei.
Liu Bei opened his eyes and saw Sun Qian. “Come! Gongyou, come and sit!” Liu Bei said as he had one of his subordinates bring over a chair.
“Thank you, Milord.” Sun Qian nodded and sat down.
“The rest of you, leave.” Liu Bei waved his hand, ordering all of his servants and guards to leave the two alone.
Once everyone else had left, Liu Bei showed a bitter smile feeling very disturbed. As a Lord, he should have showed a calm expression no matter the situation but this time, he was unable to do it. The Yangzhou Army seems insistent on killing him.
“There were over a hundred thousand people at Nandun. Yet less than ten thousand survived. The rest died in the hands of Liu Mang Liu Hanyang!” Liu Bei said with a bemoaning expression.
“That man is a butcher!” Liu Bei cursed loudly. He did not want to think that this was originally his fault for spreading that rumor in Nandun. If the people had not been brainwashed to be so devoted to Liu Bei, Liu Mang would have never given that cruel order.
“Gongyou. What should I do now?” Liu Bei asked. Yuzhou was lacking a strategist. Originally, he had Pang Tong but Pang Tong had went missing. Liu Bei who was panicking asked Sun Qian instead. This is because Liu Mang had proven that he did not care about the lives of the common people any more then he cared about wiping out Liu Bei. It was like an announcement saying that Liu Bei will soon die.
Suan Qian liked to be valued by Liu Bei but he knew that this was too serious of a situation. “Milord. Nandun has fallen but we still Dingcheng.” Sun Qian tried to placate Liu Bei.
“Gongyou. Do not try to placate me at this moment.” Liu Bei shook his head. If Nandun had already fallen, how long can Dincheng last?
“Milord. Dingcheng will definitely hold out longer than Nandun.” Sun Qian said. With what happened at Nandun, Liu Bei would not need propaganda to send the people to action. Liu Mang would need to put in more effort to capture the other cities.
“Even if they can hold out longer, the Yangzhou Army will eventually reach Runan.” Liu Bei could not feel relieved. All they could do was delay the inevitable.
“Milord. If it really cannot work out, we can only ask for help.” Sun Qian said to Liu Bei.
“Ask for help?” Liu Bei was stunned. He has no allies. Initially, there was Zhang Xiu but Liu Bei drove Zhang Xiu to his death. Only Sun Ce has a neutral exchange with Liu Bei while the rest are enemies.
“Are you saying…”
“Yes. I am talking about asking help from Cao Cao.”
“Will he agree?”
“As long as Milord capitulates, he will agree.” Sun Qian replied.
“To Cao Cao, Cao Mengde?” Liu Bei felt very uncomfortable at the thought. He had betrayed Cao Cao thinking himself smarter. Now he had to go back and beg Cao Cao for help?
“Milord. You will have to bear it for the plan. Also, you will not be capitulating to Cao Cao but the Han Emperor. Cao Cao is simply taking charge of things. We should bring our request to His Majesty!” They were obviously requesting Cao Cao for help but used the Han Emperor’s name. Yet it was not a plan that could fool anyone. It was obvious to everyone that the Han Emperor is just a puppet.
“If I ask for help, will Cao Cao come and rescue me?” Sun Qians words made Liu Bei feel better. After all, Liu Bei himself did not really care anymore. His skin was thick. Liu Bei was simply afraid that even after admitting defeat, Cao Cao would not save him.
“Don’t worry Milord. If Cao Cao wants to conquer the Central Plains and the world, he will support us!” Sun Qian replied. If the Central Plains were to be united, Cao Cao would need to fight a powerful enemy. It was for this same reason that Cao Cao had sent provisions to Shouchun. Regardless of how great a strategist Xu Shu was, he would not be able to do anything without provisions. Now it was simply Liu Bei who needed help instead.
“Good. I will send a letter to Xudou to have His Majesty intervene!” Liu Bei said to Sun Qian with a smile.
***
At Xudou, there was not much battles to fight. They simply needed to watch the Yuan Family kill themselves. Cao Cao called back his troops to Xudou to rest and reorganize. He left behind a few generals such as Cheng Yu at Jizhou.
As the North was cold, Cao Cao had also returned to Xudou. One of the reasons he did this is because Guo Jia was sick. Guo Jia had been coughing non-stop and Cao Cao, feeling sorry for his dear friend, had brought Guo Jia with him back to Xudou to look for a doctor.
“Haha. This Liu Bei sent a letter over wanting me to send out troops? And here I thought he was strong willed!” Cao Cao sneered as he looked at the letter. He then handed the letter over to the others present such as Xun You and Shu Zhi.
“This Liu Bei is a lowly person that sold straw sandals! We should have killed him earlier and he would not have become a thorn in our backs!” Xiahou Dun said.
“Yuanrang! Speak cautiously!” One general warned.
Cheng Yu and Guo Jia had once suggested Liu Bei be killed but Cao Cao was too confident with his personal charisma. As a result, he lost Xuzhou and his generals were killed. Liu Bei had also escaped. This was a stain on Cao Cao’s record.
Cao Cao drank his tea. Anger and embarrassment was shown on his face but fortunately, no one could tell as his skin was dark.
“Yuanrang’s is right.” Cao Cao approved of Xiahou Dun’s words. This was partly because the person was Xiahou Dun. Had it been anyone else, Cao Cao would have him executed.
“I must have been bewitched by a ghost. To think I wanted to take in this snake!” Cao Cao shook his head regretfully. If it was not because of Liu Bei, his general Che Zhou and many of his elite Qingzhou Army would not have died.
“Milord. Understanding mistakes can help improve oneself. However, letting go of this snake may not be a bad thing. Isn’t it good that this snake bites others?” Xun You said.
Cao Cao had lost his general and almost lost Xuzhou because of Liu Bei. However, it also has its benefits. The places where Liu Bei goes to would not be at peace. If it was not because of Liu Bei, Liu Mang would have long conquered the Central Plains. Zhang Xiu may have also joined up with Liu Mang. In a sense, letting Liu Bei live might have been a blessing in disguise. Xun You’s words made Cao Cao feel better.
“If we want this snake to continue biting others, we cannot let it die.” Xun You said to Cao Cao and the others.
“Gongda. What do you mean? Do you still want to save that sandal peddler?” Xiahou Dun complained. He had quite a good relationship with Che Zhou. So his opinion of Liu Bei plummeted after Che Zhou’s death.
“The Imperial Uncle Liu had written a letter to His Majesty so we have to save him.” Xun Yu advised. He was actually of higher position than Xun You. The moment he opened his mouth, everyone else furrowed their brows. This is not because his opinion was wrong but because of the way he addressed Liu Bei. All of them hated Liu Bei and addressed him as a sandal peddler. However, Xun Yu called him the Imperial Uncle and even brought in the Emperor’s name.
“Uncle!” Xun You winced bitterly. His uncle was more experienced than him so why did Xun Yu do this? The Han Dynasty was ending and the Han Emperor no longer had power. Most of the territories belonged to Cao Cao. Even if Cao Cao was a loyal official with no intentions to take the throne, his subordinates will still make him Emperor.
A new Emperor would need new ministers. For the sake of their own families, Cao Cao’s men would not let the Han Dynasty be restored. However, the intelligent Xun Yu seemed as though he supported the Emperor.
Xun You saw Cao Cao frown angrily and quickly stood up to speak for his uncle. “We should save that Big Eared Liu for Milord’s great cause!”
“Oh? Tell me!” Cao Cao was interested the words ‘great cause’ and his anger dissipated.
“Milord. The Yuan Family is powerful but only if they work together.” Xun You opened. Although the Yuan Family was powerful, the brothers seemed more intent in killing each other. Yuan Tan even sent a letter asking Cao Cao to help kill his third brother, promising the third brother’s territory and mother to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao was now just waiting for the Yuan Family to finish themselves off.
“There are no worries in the North so Milord only needs to worry about the Central Plains.” Xun You said. Originally, the Central Plains was easy to capture with a weak Liu Pi at Yuzhou and with Zhang Xiu ready to surrender. However, Cao Cao initially passed up this opportunity because he did not have enough troops to guard new territory while fighting back Yuan Shao. Another reason was because Cao Cao was afraid. If his territory grew too big too quickly, people would sense a crisis and start focusing on removing him. Both Sun Ce and Yuan Shao weren’t easy to deal with.
This was why Cao Cao left Yuan Shu and Zhang Xiu alone. He thought that he could easily deal with them after dealing with Yuan Shao.
He never expected two fierce beasts to appear at the Central Plains. One was Lu Bu, the other was Liu Bei. Liu Bei was not so bad as his foundation was superficial. However, Lu Bu had Liu Mang. Once Liu Mang had appeared, the Central Plains went through a huge change. The Lu Bu’s Army that were about to end suddenly grew strong again. They captured Lujiang, and advanced towards Yangzhou. They also obtained many other talented strategists like Xu Shu, Liu Ye and Jia Xu. These people were all strategists that were not any inferior to Xun Yu, Xun You and Guo Jia.
While Lu Bu himself was the God of War, they also obtained other powerful generals like Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong.
Now, Yangzhou had a huge army. With Jingzhou supporting Yangzhou, the Central Plains will be hard to obtain.
“We cannot let Yangzhou obtain the Central Plains.” Xun You said. Yangzhou would grow much more powerful by obtaining the Central Plains. So Liu Bei was still useful.
Hearing this, Cao Cao was determined to support Liu Bei regardless of Xiahou Dun’s opinions. He also knew that Liu Bei’s survival was important.
“But how should we support Liu Bei?” One person asked. If they were to send troops openly, they would only garner hatred.
The world was watching Cao Cao after Yuan Shao’s defeat. If he were to dispatch troops, the others would unite to go against him. Openly declaring war against Yangzhou right now was also a bad idea due to the size of Yangzhou’s Army. Cao Cao would need to recall his troops from the North to defend himself from Yangzhou.
Although they did not fight any battles for a while, there is still a chance that the Yuan Family may take this opportunity to cooperate and attack him. There was no need to take such huge risk for Liu Bei who is not his family member.
“Milord. Do you remember Xuzhou?” A weak voice asked. Beside him was a servant and a guard who was watching anxiously.
“Fengxiao. Why are you here?” Cao Cao quickly rushed over to help support Guo Jia. “What are you guys doing? Didn’t I tell you to watch over Fengxiao to make sure he rests?” Cao Cao shouted at the servant and the guard with killing intent.
“Milord, do not blame them. I am the one who came on my own accord because I could not sit idly.” Guo Jia replied to Cao Cao and then started to cough.
“Lord Guo Jia have already pleaded for you. Quickly thank him!” Xun You quickly stepped forward and say. He did this because Cao Cao was already showing killing intent. One small mistake and these two could be dead.
“Thank you, Lord Guo Jia!”
“And the Lord?” Xun You shouted again.
“Thank you Milord!” The two kowtowed.
“Leave.” Cao Cao waved his hand impatiently. He saw that Xun You had spoken and had to give face.
“Go quickly!” Xun You said to the two as he kicked them lightly.
“Yes, yes!” The two quickly ran away with their faces covered in cold sweat.
“Does the Lord remember Xuzhou?” Guo Jia asked again and Cao Cao’s attention returned to Guo Jia.
“Xuzhou?” To Cao Cao, Xuzhou was now of little worth. There were only thirty thousand people living there and most of the city was abandoned.
“Is Fengxiao talking about Huaiyin?” Xun You asked.
“Gongda truly understands me. Haha.” Guo Jia laughed for a bit and then started to cough again.
“Although the people at Huaiyin hold Yuan Shao’s flag, it is obvious who the real identity of the person is. Since they at Yangzhou could do this, there is no reason we cannot do the same.” Guo Jia’s eyes glinted. He pushed on despite his illness because he knew that Liu Mang and Lu Bu needed to be dealt with. He could still remember the time Lu Bu treated him with disdain.
It was natural for the two to clash when the two stood at the pinnacle of strength and intelligence.
“Are we going to help Liu Bei for nothing?” There were still people that were unsatisfied with helping Liu Bei. They did not care if it was part of a stratagem.
“Of course we won’t help Liu Bei for nothing. Liu Bei is also our enemy.” Guo Jia coughed as he spoke. Guo Jia also wanted Liu Bei dead.
***
“What? He wants me to give Caicheng, Yecheng, Xiangyang and Gucheng? Why don’t he just rob me?” Liu Bei shouted angrily. He felt like killing the envoy in his anger.
“Haha. Imperial Uncle Liu. There is no need to be so angry. Milord did not ask you to cede control of the four cities. He only asks you to allow him to garrison his troops there.” Cao Cao’s envoy replied.
“What’s the difference?” Liu Bei shouted as he pointed at the envoy. If the troops are being stationed in the city then it would be obvious that they wanted the city.
“Is the Left General going to draw your sword on a guest? Milord sent his troops to save you and you are not even going to let them into the city? If this news were to spread, I wonder how the other heroes would see the Left General.” The envoy asked indifferently.
“I don’t need you to save me! Get lost!” Liu Bei shouted angrily. He was already feeling extremely stifled from being bullied by Liu Mang. Now Cao Cao wanted to profit off his misfortune.
Sun Qian sighed bitterly as he shook his head. If only they had not attacked Jingzhou. “Sir, go back and take a rest first. We will negotiate once Milord calms down.” Sun Qian said to the envoy knowing that Liu Bei was too hotheaded to listen to anything at that moment.
“Oh, then you must hurry. Milord can wait but Yuzhou cannot wait!” The envoy sneered.
“Get lost!”
“Milord, quell your anger.” Sun Qian advised.
“How am I supposed quell my anger? Cao Aman is bullying people intolerably!” Liu Bei did not have many cities left but Cao Cao demanded for four. At that rate, Liu Bei wouldn’t have anything left even after he chased Liu Mang away.
“Milord. Cao Cao only made his opening demands. We simply need to negotiate with a counter-offer.” Sun Qian explained.
“So what if we make a counter offer?” Liu Bei asked angrily. In the end, Cao Cao wants his territory.
“Milord. Right now, giving away cities would be a blessing for us.”
“Sun Qian. Do you want me to be left all alone in this world?”
“No, Milord. I definitely do not have this intention! However, we are surrounded by two fierce tigers. Milord should know that a mountain cannot have two tigers. Whether the two tigers kill each other will depend on Milord. If our territory is smaller, we would not be targeted. Once the two tigers become weak, it would be an opportunity for Milord.
“Are you saying…”
“We can have less territory but our military might cannot be small. Have the Xiliang Cavalry and Qingzhou Troops abandon those useless territories. If we still have the troops, we can make a comeback.”
“Have the two sides fight each other?” Liu Bei was moved. He now thought of emulating Cao Cao who pulled out his troops to let the Yuan Family kill each other.
“Has your Lord agreed?” Cao Cao’s envoy asked Sun Qian.
“Yes. Milord has agreed. However, four cities is too many. We can only provide two cities.” Sun Qian replied to the envoy.
“Two cities? Do you want our troops to be homeless?”
“Fine. Then let us discuss in the room. Lord Cao definitely does not want Liu Mang to capture Yuzhou. Your Lord will not gain anything from our destruction. If you want to negotiate, speak your demands. If it is too excessive, we cannot negotiate. At that time, we will just surrender. I am sure the King of Shu will not kill a surrendered opponent.
“Hm?” Cao Cao’s envoy frowned. Liu Bei surrendering to Yangzhou would make things difficult to manage.
“Three cities. That is Milord’s limit.” The envoy said.
“Fine. Three cities it is.” Sun Qian easily replied against the envoy’s expectations.
“In that case, I hope the envoy will quickly bring Lord Cao’s troops over.” Sun Qian added.
“Of course. I will take my leave here.” The envoy cupped his fist.
“Take care, I won’t see you off.” Sun Qian cupped his fist back. Once the envoy had left, Sun Qian’s smile also vanished.
“Men!” Sun Qian called out.
“This subordinate is here.” One guard came and knelt in front of Sun Qian.
“Go and bring a letter to the Yangzhou Army at Nandun. Tell them that Cao Cao have dispatched their troops.”
***
“Cao Cao have dispatched troops?” Lu Bu looked at the report in Nandun. Half of the Yangzhou Army had stationed in Nandun after capturing it.
“That cannot be true. Isn’t Cao Cao in the North? Does he dare to meddle with the Central Plains before pacifying Hebei?” One person pointed out.
“That’s right! Is he not afraid that war would break out between our armies?” Another person said. While Cao Cao and Yangzhou were enemies, they still had a peaceful relationship on the surface. One side wanted to pacify Hebei while the other wanted to pacify the Central Plains. Starting a war with each other now would only give others the opportunity to take advantage of them.
“Could the information be wrong?”
“It should not be wrong. This information come from the North. Cao Ren’s troops have begun to move.”
“What if this is a bluff? They just want to stall us.”
“Then take a look at this.” Lu Bu handed over another letter.
“This is…?”
“I am sure you did not expect this. This is a letter from Liu Bei’s Runan.” Lu Bu said coldly. The person who sent the letter was Sun Qian who they had captured before. Since Sun Qian should not have such courage, the real person sending this letter should be Liu Bei.
“Liu Bei is warning us?” Someone questioned.
“Liu Bei wants us and the Cao Cao’s Army to kill each other!” One person sneered. He understood that Cao Cao would fight using Liu Bei’s banner. So, Liu Bei sent a letter telling Yangzhou to resent Cao Cao and fight against Cao Cao.
“What a good scheme. Sun Qian and Liu Bei are both trying to profit from this.” One young man praised.
Lu Bu looked at this man and could not recognize him. “Who is he?”
“Milord. This man is Lu Su Lu Zijing. He is currently teaching our army.” Cheng Yu replied.
“Lu Su? Jiangdong’s Lu Family?” Lu Bu recalled. Wasn’t Lu Su their enemy’s strategist? Why is he here?
“Teacher Zijing has changed sides.” Cheng Yu explained. Lu Su also did not refute.
“Oh.” Lu Bu nodded.
“Sun Qian’s scheme is not bad but too superficial.” Lu Su laughed. Cao Cao knew that his actions could not be hidden. He was simply using Liu Bei to tell Yangzhou that he was watching and to ensure that Yangzhou could not destroy Liu Bei.
“If we cannot defeat Liu Bei, we cannot obtain Yuzhou!” One of the impatient generals said anxiously.
“Not necessarily.” Lu Su laughed.
“Teacher Zijing, why do you say that?”
“Marquis Wen. There is no need to fight at Xiangcheng anymore.”
Chapter 541
The capital city of Hebei was the once the place where Yuan Shao controlled everything. Now, it was all Cao Cao’s property. The Grand General’s residence also had its name changed to Peaceful residence as a mockery. Inside the residence, Cao Cao was blissfully surrounded by three women.
“Senior Minister. Let this servant feed you.” A beautiful woman smiled as she handed a fruit towards Cao Cao. Cao Cao ate the fruit and licked her fingers.
“Senior Minister! This servant will also feed you!” The other woman jealously tried to feed Cao Cao as well but her attempt was rejected by Cao Cao.
“Senior Minister, what’s wrong? You take food from sister but not this servant! The Senior Minister is biased!” The woman sulked. It was the age where people had to see face. These women were no different.
“The beauty is rightfully angry. It is my mistake. But is feeding me with the hands enough?” Cao Cao teased.
“Then what does the Senior Minister want?” The woman asked, acting spoiled.
“I want to wrap you up before being fed!” Cao Cao’s hand swept down the woman’s face with a lecherous smile.
“Senior Minister! You are so bad!” The woman replied without blushing as she was trained to serve men since young. The other two women also wanted to join in the fun.
Cao Cao was a winner in life. No one would have expected someone with his background to become successful. Cao Cao himself did not want to admit it but he was once Yuan Shao’s attendant. Yuan Shao was the boss, followed by Xu You and then Cao Cao.
The three of them used to be known as the three evils of Luoyang for doing all kinds of misdeeds. Yuan Shao eats the ‘meat’, Xu You drinks the ‘wine’ and Cao Cao is made the scapegoat. At that time, Cao Cao realized that he had to be outstanding. He had to become the boss.
While Cao Cao was having fun, a female servant suddenly intruded. Cao Cao naturally did not like to be watched when playing like this so all the guards were stationed outside. Only the female servants could enter. When the servant saw the scene in front of her, she blushed. Cao Cao was better at playing around compared to the previous master.
“Senior Minister… M-Military Advisor Guo Jia is requesting an audience.” The servant blushed as she reported.
“Feng Xiao?” Cao Cao muttered and slowly stood up. Although he also loved to enjoy himself, he knew how to prioritize his affairs. That is how he managed to rise above the others.
“Senior Minister. How about accompanying us for a while longer?” The women were dissatisfied. With jobs like theirs, their lives would not end well. In the end, they would become gifts for others. Their only way out is to take sire their master’s child and become a mother.
This servant suddenly appeared just as they were about to have sex so they were naturally unhappy.
“My beauties, there is no need to worry. I will be back once I have finished this matter.” Cao Cao said as he licked one of them, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
Cao Cao did not like to repeat himself for a third time. If he had to do that, someone would die. As he had been in that residence for several months, the people there all knew his character. The last time one woman had made Cao Cao repeat himself for the third time. It did not matter how skillful she was at seduction she still ended up dead.
The women had no choice but to give up.
After Cao Cao tidied himself up and went to the hall, he found Guo Jia already waiting for him.
“Milord…” Guo Jia stepped forward wanting to give his report but Cao Cao immediately stopped him.
Cao Cao supported Guo Jia and replied. “Fengxiao. Why did you come out in such cold weather? You should have just told your book servant to call for me. I will come and find you!” Cao Cao reproached.
“Cough! Milord. I… Cough!” Guo Jia coughed as he tried to speak. He had been sick for quite some time but his illness worsened at Hebei due to the drop in temperature. He spent most of his time coughing. Cao Cao wanted to send Guo Jia back to Xudou but Guo Jia rejected this option.
“You!” Cao Cao felt heartbroken looking at Guo Jia. “Come and sit! Men! Quickly bring that fur coat here!”
“Understood!” One of Cao Cao’s subordinate quickly left to take one of Cao Cao’s fur coats. This fur coat was given to him by one of Jizhou’s nobles. When he returned, Cao Cao personally draped it over Guo Jia’s shoulders, much to his gratitude.
“Milord. The provisions have been sent to Yuzhou.” Guo Jia said. He felt better after wearing the coat though he was not sure if it was just his imagination.
“It is already been delivered? Haha. Fengxiao, truthfully speaking, I am still quite reluctant to give it to Liu Bei!” Cao Cao sighed. Lu Bu was an enemy but Liu Bei was someone he personally hated. This is because Liu Bei played with his feelings. He had treated Liu Bei well by giving him troops, provisions and a title. When Guo Jia wanted him dead, Cao Cao stopped Guo Jia. Yet, Liu Bei replied by slapping him in the face. “However, it would be worth it if Liu Bei can hold out for a year!”
Cao Cao did not have any good intentions. He simply did not want the Central Plains to be united.
“This Liu Bei is not inferior to Milord in any way.” Guo Jia sighed with lament. If Liu Bei had a noble background he could have become Cao Cao’s greatest enemy. Liu Bei did not have many troops but he had the popular sentiment of the people. They were all willing to die in Yuzhou for him.
“Hmph! He is just a vile person! It is best that neither side wins!” Cao Cao snorted.
“Milord. There is another report. This one is from Xuzhou!” Guo Jia said as he handed over the reports to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao read the details and immediately cried out in alarm. “Xuzhou is requesting reinforcements?” In the report, it is said that Yuan forces have appeared at Xuzhou’s Jiang River.
“How could this be?” Cao Cao cried out when he read that the enemy had a large force, several tens of thousands of troops. Xuzhou’s governor no longer dared to go out and had his army close the gates.
“Who is the one attacking?” Cao Cao could not understand. Only three people could carry the Yuan flag. That was Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang. As for Yuan Shao, there had been no news about him for a long time. Cao Cao did not even know if Yuan Shao was still alive or not.
Yuan Shang was the first to be kicked out as his territory at Youzhou and Jizhou was within Hebei. He would not have the troops to send to Yuzhou. Even if he did, he would have to pass through Qingzhou. However, his brother would definitely not allow him passage.
It was possible for the culprit to be Yuan Tan. Qingzhou was close to Yuzhou. However, Cao Cao did not believe that the culprit is Yuan Tan as he had bestowed Yuan Tan the title of Grand General. As a result, the foolish Yuan Tan showed him face and even dispatched an envoy hoping to form an alliance to wipe out Yuan Shang.
Cao Cao then wondered if it was Yuan Xi. Amongst the three brothers, Yuan Xi was the one who could see things most clearly. He kept in touch with both his brothers in hopes that the three of them could chase Cao Cao away from Hebei. It was unfortunate that his two brothers were too busy blinded by the title of Grand General to pay him any attention.
However, Yuan Xi was in Bingzhou and was recently seen.
“Milord. The flag says it is the Grand General Yuan!” Guo Jia laughed bitterly.
“Grand General Yuan? Yuan Shao?” Cao Cao could not believe it. How could Yuan Shao suddenly take control of the situation by bringing tens of thousands of soldiers to Xuzhou when he may not even be alive?
“This is not Hebei’s army! It’s Liu Mang!” Cao Cao immediately understood. He had placed plenty of troops at the borders of Xuzhou and Qingzhou so the Hebei troops could not cross the Yangtze River.
These troops appeared at Jiangyin, Huainan. Only Liu Mang and Sun Ce could dispatch these troops. However, it would not be beneficial at all for Sun Ce to attack.
“Where did his troops come from?” Cao Cao asked. Liu Mang had sent an army of one hundred thousand to Yuzhou. He should not have any more troops to dispatch.
“Milord! Other than the time Lu Bu was chased out of Yuzhou, their army have never been defeated before! Their numbers have only increased since then!” Guo Jia said. Although Liu Mang’s battles had all been close matches, he managed to win them. Yangzhou also gained more troops thanks to Sun Ce’s ploy of giving Yangzhou more citizens.
“What of our troops at Xuzhou?” Cao Cao asked. He too had a lot of soldiers stationed at Xuzhou. As Liu Mang was supposed to be fighting Yuzhou, he is definitely unable to bring elites to Xuzhou. Since both sides weren’t using elites, it became a match of numbers.
Cao Cao was confident that with the city walls and ample provisions, they should not have lose their territory so quickly.
“Milord. You have forgotten that there is someone under Liu Mang’s employ! This person from Guangling is enough to match a hundred thousand men!” Guo Jia reminded.
“Chen Deng Chen Yuanlong!” Cao Cao said the man’s name. Guo Jia nodded.
The Chen Family had deep roots in Guangling. Even though Chen Deng had left for a long time and his property removed by Cao Cao, the people would still answer his call.
When Chen Deng appeared at Guangling, the panicked citizens quickly calmed down. The defenders of Xuzhou lost the will to fight as they could not treat Chen Deng as an enemy. There were even defenders at Guangling who helped open the gate.
These defenders did not bother changing out of their clothes. They went to other places in Xuzhou pretending to be allies and helped Yangzhou opened up their gates as well. In a short moment, half of Xuzhou fell into Liu Mang’s hands. Liu Mang sent twenty thousand troops to Xuzhou and the number increased to forty thousand. Amongst them were Chen Deng’s five thousand elite Guangling Army.
“Is Liu Mang courting death? Is he not afraid that I would join forces with Liu Bei to attack him?” Cao Cao asked hatefully.
“Milord. Yangzhou is also afraid that you would retaliate which is why he only took the places around Jiang River. On top of that, he is using the name Grand General Yuan. We cannot do anything to him unless we give up on Hebei.” Guo Jia explained.
Cao Cao provided Liu Bei with provisions. Even though it was done secretly, it was an open secret. Yangzhou would definitely not take this quietly. So they posed as Grand General Yuan. This made their attack on Xuzhou fair game and is “unrelated” to Yangzhou.
“Liu Mang Liu Hanyang!” Cao Cao gnashed his teeth in anger. It was usually Cao Cao that schemed against others but he never expected to be struck back. Cao Cao tried to think of a way to deal with Yangzhou but he could not move until the situation at Hebei was resolved. Even the act of attacking Liu Mang would only benefit Liu Bei.
Cao Cao also did not want to provide more provisions to Liu Bei as retaliation. This is because he knew that Liu Bei was a greedy and ungrateful wretch. Giving him more provisions may result in creating another powerful enemy.
As for striking back with Xuzhou’s troops, that was impossible. Not getting more cities captured would be the best they can manage. As a result, Cao Cao could only quietly suffer this setback.
“Milord, there is no need to worry. Liu Mang would also know not to push us too far which is why he only took the territory around Jiang River. Let us give those to him. The current Xuzhou isn’t like the past anyway. Once we capture Hebei… Cough… We can turn our attention to Yangzhou!” Guo Jia placated Cao Cao.
“Sigh. We can only do it this way!” Cao Cao sighed as he thought about unifying Hebei and his sister-in-law, Lady Liu. He was dissatisfied he could not obtain Lady Liu after capturing Ye but that would not be a problem after capturing Hebei. These thoughts lit a passionate feeling within him.
When he saw Guo Jia’s pale face, he advised Guo Jia to rest. “Fengxiao. You must recuperate properly. I still need you to help me with the Central Plains.”
Guo Jia coughed as he replied. “Of course. I myself want to see that God of War again.”
****
“Haha! Feel the resentment!” Yuan Shang laughed inside Youzhou after reading a letter. This was the place the White Horses’ general burned himself to death. Now, it was Yuan Shang’s territory.
This entire time, Yuan Shang was feeling stifled while he was being pressured by Cao Cao’s army. But now, he felt indescribable joy after reading the letter.
“Father! Did you know that your treasured son has sold himself out to Cao Cao? He has sold himself out to the enemy just to become Grand General!” Yuan Shang said to the bedridden Yuan Shao.
The high spirited and powerful Yuan Shao was no more. He was on his deathbed and could only move his eyes and fingers. He wasn’t even able to speak.
There were two reasons Yuan Shao ended up in this miserable state. The first was due to the shock of losing to Cao Cao at Guandu. At that time, he vomited blood and collapse. The second reason is because Yuan Shang wanted to seize power and took the opportunity to slowly poison him.
Yuan Shao is left half alive because it would give Yuan Shang the justification to take over his father’s position especially when it comes to dealing with his older brother and appeasing the generals.
Yuan Shao’s eyes grew wide when he heard Cao Cao’s name. Hearing that his eldest son relied on Cao Cao made him even more agitated.
“Father! Did you know your eldest son is unfilial? Did you know that your filial youngest son has occupied half of Xuzhou?” Yuan Shang smiled triumphantly in front of his father.
“Look at this!” Yuan Shang showed his father the reports in a way that allowed his father to read. The report said that Yangzhou had lent twenty thousand troops to Yuan Shang. They captured half of Xuzhou under Yuan Shao’s banner. Because of this, the captured territory once again returned to the Yuan Family.
Before losing to Cao Cao, Yuan Shao had only thought of Yangzhou as a weak figure led by a defeated general and the remnant of his army. If Yuan Shao could defeat Cao Cao, Lu Bu, who had lost to Cao Cao, should not be a problem. Yuan Shao never expected to lose to Cao Cao instead.
Reading the letter improved his mood slightly since his enemy had lost territory. He then read the part that said the soldiers were borrowed. This meant that they only flew a different flag. While the commander belonged to Hebei, the deputy commander and the other soldiers all belonged to Yangzhou.
“With half of Xuzhou, I can attack that Traitor Cao’s Xudou!” Yuan Shang proclaimed.
However, Yuan Shao only felt sorrow. Yuan Shang was simply being used. As the troops belonged to others, he would not be able to gain control. It was no longer the era where the Yuan Family can easily gain command of others. They no longer had the prestige to do so. There was even a condition that said they needed to provide two hundred thousand provisions to Yangzhou if they wanted Yangzhou to attack Cao Cao.
Before this it would just be a joke since they would not be able to transport the provisions over anyway. However, with the Jiang River, they could now transport provisions by sea. Yuan Shao was able to see this fact after becoming an observer in the sidelines.
With the Jiang River, Gan Ning and the navy can go towards Liaodong.
Liu Mang had long wanted to use the sea route. This had been delayed due to lack of warships and personnel. Now, Gan Ning has his navy and took five thousand elites with him in case Jiangdong attacked. More soldiers were being recruited in Wan City, up to a total of thirteen thousand soldiers. Although, they were not as powerful as Gan Ning’s elites, they were sufficient for Yangzhou’s defenses.
Gan Ning had left after he was given a special position by Liu Mang. He was sent to the shores of Liaodong with a map from modern times. This was to obtain a trade route for Liu Mang to buy more horses and sell salt and iron. This would be a mutually beneficial transaction.
