NOVPUBThe food crisis for the Cao Army was lifted, but there was still no solution for the manpower issue. Xun Yu had originally sent people to negotiate with Lub Su about how to redeem their captured soldiers. However, Lub Su said he would rather feed those soldiers than let Cao Cao redeem them, leaving them with no options. Nevertheless, because of this, Xun Yu could at least explain the situation to the families of the Yanzhou soldiers, asserting that it wasn’t that they were unwilling to redeem the men, but rather that Liu Bei didn’t give them the opportunity.
"Let’s hear your thoughts", Xun Yu sighed, "what should we do now? Speak freely. We are in grave danger at this time."
Xun Yu’s own plans were not very certain, mainly because he no longer had enough time to devise detailed strategies. It was too late. If they couldn’t recover faster than Lyu Bu, there might soon be no more Cao Clan.
Nobody spoke up. Xun Yu glanced over the crowd, all except Fan Qin were frowning deeply, so he pointed at Fan Qin, "Huber, you start. Seeing how composed you are, it seems you might already have a good plan. Share it with us."
"How about we surrender to Liu Bei? Look, Liu Bei is doing very well now. Our goal is to restore the Han Dynasty, and so is his. We’re all aligned on that, an ideal match. Besides, if we join forces, our strength would greatly increase, making the path to restoring the Han Dynasty much easier. What do you say?" Fan Qin swept his gaze over the others and then swiftly spoke, changing from his usual jesting demeanor.
"Huber, are you not a minister of our lord?" Cheng Yu’s eyes were cold as he stared at Fan Qin, wishing he could tear him apart piece by piece.
If anyone in the room was irreconcilable with Liu Bei, Cheng Yu was certainly at the forefront. In his view, Liu Bei’s hypocritical ideals would be impossible to implement. Even if Chen Xi’s presence meant no lack of money and grain, could Liu Bei’s public-mindedness really endure? Could his civil officials, military generals, and even he himself stand by and watch their own families fall into the abyss, never to rise again? People are inherently selfish. The idea of universal harmony is utterly laughable!
"I am, above all, a minister of the Han!" retaliated Fan Qin with a smile, looking at Cheng Yu without a trace of fear.
"With Liu Xuande’s ambition and his way of garnering support from the people, who knows to whom the unified land and the kingdom would belong?" Xi Zhicai calmly took up the thread of the conversation.
"The Emperor bears the Liu surname." Fan Qin laughed lightly, nonchalantly responding.
Xun Yu furrowed his brow and spoke, "Huber, stop joking around. It’s difficult for us to integrate with Liu Xuande."
Xi Zhicai smiled lightly, looking down. He knew Fan Qin would answer "The Emperor bears the Liu surname", but such a remark was sure to stir the deeply rooted imperialist sentiments in Xun Yu’s heart, making the prospect even more impossible.
It’s strange when you think about it. Other loyal Han officials were loyal to the Han, not to any particular emperor, whereas Xun Yu, although also not loyal to any single emperor, restricted his loyalty to the current ruler.
This was also why Xun Yu was wary of the Liu Clan. In the Han Dynasty’s laws of succession, the Imperial Clan had claims to the throne. This meant that if the Liu Clan succeeded in restoring the Han Dynasty, it would be reasonable for a different emperor to ascend. But in Xun Yu’s view, this was illegitimate: if the old emperor wasn’t dead, then replacing him with a new emperor was an outright usurpation!
For this reason, Xun Yu was particularly cautious of the Liu Clan. If someone else restored the Han Dynasty, an ascension would be both unreasonable and illegal, as the emperor would remain the emperor. So even if it were successful, but if it involved the Liu Clan, without a doubt, the emperor would change if there were no accidents—would this count as success?
Fan Qin was taken aback and then bowed his head to ponder for a moment before he realized what the situation was. It seemed that he had inadvertently touched upon Xun Yu’s taboo. So, he shrugged indifferently, sat down, and for some unknown reason cast a glance at Xi Zhicai, who had lowered his head.
"I always feel that Xi Zhicai is very dangerous, and my Spiritual Talent is also resisting the urge to stop. It seems that this guy might not have told me the whole truth. But then again, that makes sense," Fan Qin thought with a smile on his face.
"We can only rely on external forces now, regardless of backlash, how about borrowing Aristocratic Family Private Soldiers?" Chen Qun tentatively said, as it was not right for this group of people to remain silent, "But there are also not a few issues to resolve within this."
"Changwen’s method is not bad. We have many aristocratic families here, and the big ones have two or three thousand private soldiers. If we promise them something in exchange for donating their private soldiers, with us in high command, by that time..." Fan Qin mimicked a beheading gesture, "we can eradicate these families afterward, and we will have money, grain, and soldiers. This method is not bad." While speaking, Fan Qin clapped his hands in approval.
Xi Zhicai’s eyelids twitched wildly. Although Fan Qin’s words sounded ruthless, it was indeed a good method, especially since they were out of options now.
"Huber, hold your tongue! Did the Fan Family send you to my lord’s command for you to cause trouble?" Chen Qun said dissatisfiedly. He had already caught a glimpse of the eager expressions on Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai’s faces. He had not planned to do so himself, but with Fan Qin’s explanation, the two ruthless men, Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai, would definitely proceed with this plan when out of options, and by then the Chen Family would be finished.
"Alright, what’s your plan then? My idea is still pretty good," Fan Qin said nonchalantly. He was indeed causing trouble, but it was justified trouble, after all, he was also truly considering for Cao Cao.
"We..." Chen Qun opened his mouth and then was unable to continue. What to say? Suggest that they make promises to borrow private soldiers to get through the tough times, and then grant the aristocratic families benefits as a reward? What a joke!
The eager expressions on Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai said it all, particularly with Xi Zhicai left with less than three years to live. Now he would definitely proceed with eradicating the aristocratic families and then shift the blame onto himself, paving the way for Cao Cao to climb to power over his dead body. Xi Zhicai was capable of such a thing!
Xun Wenruo sighed, "Huber, stop making trouble, how are things going with the march westward? I want results, no need to go into the process."
"…" Fan Qin’s face twitched twice. In the end, Xun Yu had chosen to make a gamble, huh? With Cao Cao’s current half-dead state, the chances of success were less than five percent. This was no longer about courage, but seeking death.
"I’m not optimistic. If it were like the defeat in Xuzhou, I would be wholeheartedly in favor, but after the massive defeat in Xuzhou, the strength of our army... not to mention forcefully taking Sili and suppressing Dong Zhuo’s remnants. To put it plainly, it’s questionable whether we can even make it into Hulao Pass." Fan Qin had no intention of clashing with Xun Yu and simply summarized what he had been doing all along. Right now, Cao Cao was just too weak.
Originally, Xun Yu’s idea was to recreate the map of the Qin State at the zenith of the Late Warring States Period, which had already conquered the Shu Land. Were it not for the defeat at Xuzhou, Xun Yu would have entered Sili by now, locked down the Hangu and Xiao Passes, reopened the Zhengguo Canal, and stockpiled forty thousand qing of good land. He would be accumulating grain on one hand, and on the other hand, watching the battle between Yuan Liu from above the three passes.
To be honest, Xun Yu’s drain-the-pond-to-get-all-the-fish strategy in Wancheng was to prepare for a leap to heaven, after all, places like Wancheng would still have to be given up eventually. It was better to exploit them to the fullest and at the very end, toss out the bones after eating the meat to spark a contention, thereby buying more time to accumulate resources. But in the end, one can only say that man’s planning is inferior to heaven’s. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
