NOVPUBIn a place in Xue County of Lub Kingdom, Cao Lie, who had lost his right arm, listened to the news from Xuzhou of Cao Song being killed by someone, and couldn’t help but burst into loud weeping at Cao Cao’s furious campaign against Xuzhou.
The day Cao Lie was dispatched by Cao Song to deliver a message, after being intercepted, he fought until he was covered in blood. Among the eleven people, only he barely escaped. Fortunately, the heavy snow was falling at that time, and the enemy did not specifically chase after him, which allowed him to escape with his life. However, he soon passed out due to the cold and excessive blood loss. Luckily, a hunter who passed by soon after picked him up and took him home.
Cao Lie was fated to live. The hunter, with the thoughts of saving him if he could, fed Cao Lie some soup medicine every day. As a result, after more than ten days, Cao Lie woke up. But with his injuries, it took dozens of days before he could barely mount a horse. So, Cao Lie recuperated at the hunter’s, planning to deliver the message to Cao Cao once he had recovered.
As for the safety of Cao Song, he was not concerned; after all, with Zhang Kai and over five hundred men, capturing him wouldn’t be easy.
And now, the news he received was like a lightning strike. Looking at the letter Cao Song wrote to Cao Cao, which might be his final words, Cao Lie cried out loud. Silently, he picked up his long knife, shouldered his pack, and took the envelope, ready to deliver Cao Song’s last words to Cao Cao. As for whether he would die because of this, it no longer mattered.
"A Lie, your wounds have not healed; are you leaving now?" the hunter asked, looking at Cao Lie, who had packed up his things.
"Thank you, Uncle, for your care over these past days," Cao Lie bowed to the hunter. "I must deliver the letter to my lord."
Cao Lie quietly set out on the road, unaware that when his letter reached Cao Cao, who had already bloodbathed nearly half of Xuzhou, how much pain Cao Cao would feel. The readily attainable empire had just been conceded to another.
On top of that, coinciding with Chen Gong’s act of betrayal and Lyu Bu’s occupation of a large part of Yanzhou, Cao Cao had lost not only the empire but also the people’s hearts and his own territory. And all of these losses were because he had not received this letter from his father sooner.
What’s more critical is that Cao Cao, who had already slaughtered half of Xuzhou, could no longer turn back. He had thoroughly become Tao Qian’s mortal enemy; any entrusted duty had turned into a joke. Even knowing all the truths, he could only swallow the bitter pill, let go of a soaring opportunity, and then create a deadly enemy for himself.
Xi Zhicai’s letter to recruit talents was sent to Chenliu a few days late, so the messenger, abiding by Xi Zhicai’s orders, took a detour to Xuzhou to catch up with Cao Cao, intending to deliver the intelligence that the two top sages—the Zhuge Brothers—and Cao Cao’s sworn sister Cai Yan might significantly join Yanzhou to Cao Cao’s hands.
Of course, the messenger was completely unaware of the contents of the letter; he thought it was just an important letter, and so he rushed off to Xuzhou as if racing to his own death.
Imagine the exhilaration when the woman he had long admired finally said, "I like you too," and the top sages who could help him conquer the world also showed intentions of allegiance. Everything seemed so perfect, but in the next moment, reality told him it was all a pipe dream because of his own mistake.
The impact on Cao Cao from the collision of Xi Zhicai’s recruitment documents, the letter written by Cai Yan that scolded Cao Cao, and the letter from the Zhuge Brothers declaring enmity in this life was tremendous!
In addition, Xuzhou that should have been within grasp, Yanzhou that could have been solidified—all of his long-standing efforts had crumbled in an instant. Beauties, territories, and brilliant minds like Beautiful Jade had all slipped away from Cao Cao. What kind of immense heart could withstand such a blow!
In Fenggao of Mount Tai, Liu Bei, wielding his sword, chopped the entire main hall into pieces and then convened the civil and military officials in that almost unstandable hall, paying no heed to his own appearance.
"To arms!" Liu Bei roared, "I will kill Cao Mengde, I will kill him! That butcher, to think I regarded him as a loyal minister to the Han Dynasty like myself, what he has done is inhuman!"
"My Lord, please calm your anger. Do not be so enraged over the matter of Xuzhou," Li Youu said calmly. Dong Zhuo had committed massacres too, but the extent of Cao Cao’s madness, to the point of wiping out an entire province, had never been seen. Was this really in vengeance for his father?
"Calm my anger?" Liu Bei looked at Li Youu with bloodshot eyes. "Are the common people of Great Han mere pigs and dogs to Cao Mengde? Tens of millions of them! The Si River is dammed up because of it. Has Cao Cao gone mad? If it’s vengeance he seeks, then let him confront Tao Gongzu. Win or lose, I would acknowledge him as a man. But what is this, what is this!"
"How many troops does the Lord wish to deploy?" Lub Su asked, keeping his head low, trying to remain calm. The actions of Cao Mengde had angered even this good-natured man. It’s one thing to accidentally harm a few unarmed civilians now and then, but what was this?
"How many troops will it take to wipe out Cao Mengde?" Liu Bei, with bloodshot eyes, turned to Chen Xi. "Zichuan, tell me, how many troops will it take to exterminate Cao Mengde? I want him erased, even if it means delaying the campaign in Qingzhou!"
"One hundred thousand," Chen Xi said, his complexion slightly pale. "And all our civil and military officials will need to commit fully to have certainty."
Cao Cao had gone mad—this was Chen Xi’s first impression upon receiving this news. Tens of millions of civilians had been slaughtered. As Liu Bei said, this was not the act of a human. Had it been a hundred thousand Hu People killed, even if some called you cruel, the people of the border commanderies would have sung your praises. But he had slaughtered civilians of the Great Han Dynasty; there was no justification.
"Deploy one hundred thousand troops! Zhao Yun and Hua Xiong, each of you lead a legion as the vanguard. When you encounter the Cao Army, pay no regard to their banners—leave no survivors. Slaughter those beasts and make a blood sacrifice of Xuzhou!" Liu Bei said frantically. He had decided to fight Cao Cao to the bitter end. Cao Cao’s actions had completely violated Liu Bei’s principles!
"Lord Xuande, this cannot be. We do not have enough winter leather and Maa Yi clothing for one hundred thousand troops. Even if we start collecting now, it will take more than ten days to purchase such a quantity of winter clothes from the major guilds!" Lub Su stepped forward, preventing Zhao Yun and Hua Xiong from advancing, then spoke up.
"How many troops can we deploy right now?" Liu Bei took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his angry emotions. Much as he wanted to kill Cao Cao, he still wouldn’t disregard his own soldiers as people; without winter clothes for combat in the cold winter, people would die.
"Fifty thousand," Lub Su said helplessly. "The supplies coming in as well as the medicines, strong spirits, and clean hemp needed for the army’s operation must be gathered. It’s estimated that preparations will be complete in about ten days. Unfortunately, Madame Zhang has gone back to Ji for the New Year, and Zizhong’s stored supplies have already been counted."
The once house-arrested Zhang Clan had come to recognize Liu Bei, and the policy towards her had relaxed considerably. Thus, she had returned to Ji before the new year, and it would probably take another month before she would come back. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qi Dian (qidian.com) to cast your vote for recommendation, monthly passes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
