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“His ‘advice and orders’ killed your heir!” Xiahou Dun bellowed.
“He-!”
“He-! ...He, Mister Jia Xu, ordered a decisive repulsion of an enemy force,
as ordered to by his lord,” Cao Cao insisted as he tried to keep his gaze
diverted from Jia Xu, who was visibly uncomfortable. “How many sons, fathers
and goodness else knows who have I thoughtlessly given orders to slay...? Did I
care what happened to Mengzhuo- I-I mean Zhang Miao’s family...? No, I did not,
because... because it had to be done, it was necessity, just as our first conversation about the fate
of Consort Dong and her unborn child had highlighted. Bear him no malice, Yuanrang, for he did what
was asked of him, just as you did what was asked of you by me on every campaign
that you have fought in... including Xu Province.”
Xiahou Dun snorted angrily, turned to Jia Xu and bowed slightly, saying,
“I will speak no more of it.”
“I understand your anger and grief, Mister Xiahou, and can only hope to
atone for my many, many bad choices and poor advice,” Jia Xu replied meekly.
“...If we might return to discussing Liu Bei,” Cao Cao said as he finally
turned to look at Jia Xu. “Mister Jia, you were saying...?”
“Y-yes,” Jia Xu replied. “Liu Bei... Liu Bei is a survivor; that much we
can all agree on. He’ll do whatever it takes to live until he gets to a safe
place, at which point he’ll start trying to build an army and seize a base of
some kind. Preventing him getting to Jing Province might now be impossible, but
leaving him to thrive in Jing would be, as many others have suggested, most
unwise.”
“What, exactly, might he achieve...?” Xiahou Dun asked.
A short, portly man in ostentatious robes laughed haughtily and said, “A
lot more than Yuan Shao, I’d imagine, even though he has nothing!”
Many men turned to look at the latest contributor, Xu Yòu, who was an
old friend of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao; he had a seat next to Cao Cao’s, less
because of his lifelong friendship and more because his defection from Yuan
Shao to Cao Cao during the Battle of Guandu - and the vital military
information that he had brought with him - had handed the Han forces their
unexpected early victory.
“So you were impressed with Bei when you met him?” Cheng Yu asked
gruffly.
“Not really, but he outwitted Yuan with ease,” Xu Yòu replied. “That
said, Yuan was mostly drunk, even at meetings, so-”
“We know that Yuan’s a drunk,” Xiahou Dun said through gritted teeth.
“What about Liu Bei...?”
“Oh, yes,” Xu Yòu chuckled as he turned to face Cao Cao. “Well, he has a
few real champions, but it’s his way with words, which everyone here knows well
enough. I mean, you had Guan Yu for a while, Mengde, and know how good he was;
you also know what a way with words Bei has, since he even made a complete fool
of you when he-”
“WHAT???” Xiahou Dun screamed.
“Well he did, didn’t he!” Xu Yòu said fearlessly. “Stop being so uppity,
Yuanrang.”
“Who said you can call me that?” Xiahou Dun complained. “Mengde, he-!”