NOVPUBChen Xi had thought that once the matter with Xuzhou was laid bare, given Liu Bei’s typical style with the common people and his relentless pursuit against Cao Cao, an unyielding clash was inevitable. Sadly, Chen Xi had guessed the beginning right but not the process, and the result of eliminating Cao Cao had already veered off onto another path—a development Chen Xi could not allow to happen!
Even Chen Xi had to admit that Cao Cao had played a good move in creating momentum, just as he had previously ordered Liu Yan to do. However, despite Chen Lin’s and Mii Heng’s articulate pens, proving that Cao Cao had indeed killed that many people was rather difficult. What they could spread was only the fact that Cao Cao indeed carried out a massacre, which resonated with the feudal lords everywhere.
The dead couldn’t point fingers; this effectively blocked any chance of tallying the body count. Cao Cao merely had to insist that he had slaughtered only one village, and that other factions were responsible for the rest. With solid evidence to back him, it wouldn’t completely cleanse Cao Cao, but at least as far as the feudal lords were concerned, he seemed to have come clean over the matter.
Even the proclamations previously penned by Chen Lin and Mii Heng became a case of enemies slinging mud at each other, impossible to clarify.
Of course, these weren’t the most important issues. For Chen Xi, even if Cao Cao managed to clear his name, if Liu Bei resolved to take down Cao Cao, it would just be a matter of time. Right now, among the Central Plains feudal lords, only Yuan Shao and the remnants of Dong Zhuo could feasibly confront Liu Bei in battle. Cao Cao couldn’t afford to drag this out!
The biggest problem now was that Liu Bei’s resolve was wavering, or rather, all of Liu Bei’s strategists aside from Chen Xi showed little interest in exterminating Cao Cao. This was also why Jia Xu’s analysis obviously leaned in favor of Cao Cao because they did not want to fight Cao Cao—it simply wasn’t worth it!
To Jia Xu and others, Cao Cao was indeed a threat, but for the entirety of Liu Bei’s faction, Yuan Shao of Jizhou was the greatest menace. Before defeating Yuan Shao, Jia Xu and the others recommended not compromising their strategic position, and they advised against forcing the potential ally Cao Cao into Yuan Shao’s arms.
With such thinking, anyone with a clear vision could see the blood on Cao Cao’s hands, yet Jia Xu insidiously brought up Quexuan and others, shifting attention away from Cao Cao in Liu Bei’s perspective. The others agreed as well—indeed, the number of killings couldn’t be tallied, but that did not mean they didn’t have an estimated count!
But the situation now was that from Jia Xu to Guo Jia, to Liu Ye, to Li Youu, not a single person mentioned an estimated count. They all just talked about how Cao Cao was providing disaster relief, and dealing with the brutal thugs who slaughtered the people, rekindling hope once more in Liu Bei—who had always felt that Cao Cao should share his values and aspirations.
If Chen Xi didn’t know about the historical Cao Cao, perhaps he would also think Jia Xu’s and others’ course of action seemed reasonable. But knowing what kind of man Cao Cao was, Chen Xi would never miss this opportunity—for letting the tiger return to the mountain is absolutely unacceptable.
"Bandit Cao!" The next moment, a fully aware Liu Bei’s eyes turned blood-red, "Jia Wenhe, tell me the truth about this matter!"
Liu Bei’s icy gaze fell upon Jia Xu, "Tell me the reality!"
"What has been mentioned before is indeed the reality. As for the number of people massacred by the Cao Army, there is no actual data—it’s impossible to tally," Jia Xu said calmly, completely unconcerned by Liu Bei’s rage.
Suddenly, Liu Bei turned the color of iron. He was not a fool and clearly understood the implication of Jia Xu’s Central China-style statement. Impossible to tally, indeed—"impossible to tally"!
With a single slap, Liu Bei shattered the entire desk and then turned and left directly.
After Liu Bei had left, the government office fell into an awkward silence. After a while, Chen Xi cleared his throat twice, "Prepare yourselves, we’re going to annihilate Cao Mengde."
"Zichuan, what on earth are you causing such a stir for!" Liu Ye sighed and said, and the few others remaining in the room looked at Chen Xi with bitter faces. In their view, what ought to be done at this time in Xuzhou was not to deplete their military power to execute Cao Cao but to improve public opinion, so as to smoothly take over Xuzhou when the time came.
"I’m going to destroy Cao Mengde, he has done things he shouldn’t have done," Chen Xi said calmly.
"Losing patience on minor issues disrupts major strategies," Li Youu said with a wry smile. Although he had not spoken earlier, he was as clear as a mirror in his mind; he knew very well what was going on and, after all, he agreed with Jia Xu and the others’ conservative approach. Now was not the time for a major battle with Cao Cao that would reassure Yuan Shao.
"This is no minor issue, it’s already a big deal. Soon, proclamations will be sent throughout the land. Whether others believe it or not, the massacre in Xuzhou will spread far and wide. This is the best opportunity to eliminate Cao Cao. If we miss this chance, I can’t guarantee that there will be such an opportunity again," Chen Xi said unwaveringly. He really couldn’t think of a better time to eliminate Cao Cao than this, and what’s more, it would be removing a scourge for the people!
"Zichuan, give us a reason," Guo Jia said succinctly.
"Cao Mengde’s potential far exceeds that of Yuan Benchu, I do not want to create a formidable enemy for us, requiring even more effort to deal with later on," Chen Xi said, looking at the others, "Objectively speaking, disregarding the matter of Xuzhou, what is your assessment of Cao Mengde?"
The others exchanged glances and nodded silently, unable to deny that Cao Cao was indeed a mighty lord.
"But that is not the reason you want to kill him here. I have taken a close look at Cao Mengde’s Cao Army; their combat power is not weak. Once the war begins, although we can certainly win by dragging it out, there are too many uncertainties. The matter with the proclamations has been stirred up to this extent that Yuan Benchu indeed qualifies for a rescue operation." Jia Xu said with dissatisfaction. In his view, potential had no relevance to strength; their biggest enemy right now was Yuan Benchu!
"Yes, the waters have already been muddied. Our proclamations can indeed spread throughout the land, but the problem is, once the war starts, the effect of our proclamations will be greatly reduced, turning what was originally the highest moral condemnation into a joke. To other forces, we and Cao Cao would seem to be merely slandering our enemy," Guo Jia added, pointing out the biggest issue that making war now would turn the proclamations into a laughing matter.
"...I have indeed overlooked that. Let’s set aside the matter of the proclamation for the moment. With Cao Mengde stirring it up like this, by the time it happens, Yuan Shao will indeed have the confidence to send troops to aid Cao Mengde. We have indeed lost the moral high ground; even with the testimony of Tao Gongzu, we won’t be able to come out on top," Chen Xi said, pinching the bridge of his nose with a gloomy face. The abundant eyewitnesses on Cao Mengde’s side were the biggest trouble.
"What’s more important, attacking Cao Mengde doesn’t really yield any practical benefits and would only allow Yuan Benchu to pick up a bargain. I estimate that now, with the massacre smeared in this way, even if we severely damage Cao Army later, the likelihood of eradicating Cao Cao is slim. Yuan Benchu would definitely be happy to take over, meaning we are very likely to push a potential ally towards Yuan Benchu," Li Youu sighed, "Now that it’s come to this, the biggest trouble is that no feudal lord, including Tao Gongzu, can prove how many people Cao Cao killed."
"We can prove it!" Chen Xi said with a cold laugh. "Isn’t what Cao Mengde did teaching us exactly how to do it? Can he produce evidence to prove that he didn’t kill those one hundred thousand people?" (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
