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“It’s… fine,” Cao Cao said. “It’s fine, Ziyuan. And in a way, you have a
point; a point that you share with Wenruo. We must ‘smash’ Yuan at Cangting,
and quickly, so that our strength is proven and Yuan’s weakness is laid bare. I
will not lie, I wanted to wait until Guo Fengxiao had recovered, but that is
not an option.”
Chen Qun harrumphed audibly.
“…We now have new minds like Liu Yè and Jia Xu to draw upon,” Cao Cao
said as he turned to look at the men in question; both officials bowed humbly.
“Fengxiao wanted it so because… because he is ‘fragile’, and could ‘break’ at
any time.”
A short silence was broken by Xiahou Dun, who said, “Who’s going to
Cangting?”
“I will go personally, since that will show great strength that will
impress the tribes that observe us,” Cao Cao replied. “Cheng Yu and Jia Xu will
be my main counsel, since Xun Yu and Xun Yòu are best placed here in Xuchang;
Yuan Huan will advise Cao Ren on Runan; you, Yuanrang, will join me, of course,
as an officer; Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Zhang Liao, Zhang Hè, Xu Huang and Yue Jin
will be my other generals.”
The named officials and officers bowed and expressed their gratitude for
the trust that Cao Cao was placing in them.
“We are not concerned about the Suns…?” Liu Yè asked suddenly.
“Our new marriage alliances make them unlikely to attack us,” Cao Cao
replied; the embattled chieftain of the Jiangdong Sun clan, Sun Quan, had
agreed to go through with plans to marry Cao’s second son, Cao Zhang, to the
daughter of Quan’s paternal cousin, Sun Ben, and also to marry one of Quan’s
younger brothers to one of Cao Cao’s nieces.
“The Suns are ambitious,” Liu Yè suggested. “Xu Gong was not incorrect
when he said that.”
“But the Suns are also suffering from a lot of internal strife,” Cao Cao
retorted. “I know that you’re monitoring the situation in Lujiang because of
‘personal interest’, and so I need not tell you that Sun Quan faces a serious
rebellion there… half of his standing army has turned on him… Sun Quan’s
appointment has divided his clan’s loyalists, and my son’s new father-in-law
is, I believe, a future ally that can use his past as acting Sun clan chieftain
after Sun Jian’s death to help me restore order in the south when I have the
resources to deal with it.”
“…You have pondered it well,” Liu Yè said. “I’ll say no more.”
“…No more dallying, then,” Cao Cao decided. “Benchu’s had time enough to
lick his wounds and procrastinate; now he will see what fangs this tiger has!
We leave in a week or less!”
Yuan Shao was perplexed by the news that Cao Cao had sent a medium-sized
force to station and gather supplies around the relatively weak defensive
position of Anmin.
“Anmin…?” Yuan Shao prompted. “Not Guandu, or…? …Anmin???”
“Anmin,” Guo Tu reiterated.
“…He taunts me, the knave,” Yuan Shao muttered. “He is trying to lure me
out.”
“So do not rise to it,” Cui Yan suggested.