Chapter 2 The Next Day
The next day, gentle sunlight shone through the clouds and mist onto the main hall of the Chenliu Prefecture yamen.
An important military meeting was to be held here in an hour.
The content of the meeting was clear to all the strategists and generals – to discuss the strategy and details of conquering Xuzhou!
The strategists who could attend the meeting were all people of exceptional intellect, and they could naturally glimpse some clues... For example, the Governor of Xuzhou, Tao Qian, was the softest "persimmon" among all the warlords in the world.
Similarly, all the warlords wanted to eat this soft persimmon. The reason they hadn't acted was a tacit understanding. It was an obvious situation: either none of us move, and whoever moves will be attacked!
This was precisely why, with Cao Cao aiming for Xuzhou, all forces were brewing undercurrents, and it was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.
The first major problem was the rear, Yanzhou, or rather... the attitude of Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Liu Biao, Gongsun Zan...
With half an hour left until the military meeting, the strategists had already appeared.
They knelt and sat in order on the left side of the hall, with Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai, Xun You, and Mao Jie seated according to their ranks.
The right side was reserved for the military men, in order being Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Yue Jin, Li Dian, and others. However, at this time, the military men had not yet arrived.
"Zhicai, you have just joined Cao Ying, and Cao Gong has bestowed upon you the position of 'Military Advisor Administrator,' which shows his high regard for you," Xun Yu began. "Regarding this campaign to conquer Xuzhou, I would like to hear your esteemed opinion?"
"Esteemed opinion, I dare not claim!" Xi Zhicai waved his hand. After all, he was new, so he had to appear humble! "However, I venture to ask you, Brother Wenruo, do you think now is the best time to conquer Xuzhou?"
This...
Xun Yu paused, then nodded and then shook his head.
"Yes and no!"
"How so?" Xi Zhicai continued to ask...
Xun Yu replied truthfully, "The Governor of Xuzhou, Tao Qian, sent his subordinates to loot the convoy of Elder Master Cao and harmed the Lord's father and brother. This is an irreconcilable hatred, and it is reasonable to raise an army to crusade against him! From a moral standpoint, it is justifiable! However..."
At this point, Xun Yu hesitated. He didn't want to say the next words.
But Xi Zhicai was pressing. "Brother Wenruo, why don't you continue?"
"This..." Xun Yu was still hesitant. Xi Zhicai then spoke for him, "I understand what Wenruo means. Even if it is justifiable from a moral standpoint, what if other warlords do not abide by morality? If Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Liu Biao, and Gongsun Zan were to send troops to sneak attack Cao Gong's rear, Yanzhou, what then?"
At this point, Xi Zhicai narrowed his eyes, and his tone became even more serious. "In chaotic times, there are plenty of people who don't abide by morality... forgive my bluntness, but with Cao Gong's current strength, it is not enough to divide troops to fight on two fronts!"
As these words left his mouth, all the strategists present frowned...
Although Xi Zhicai's words were sharp, they were well-reasoned and logical. If they were to truly conquer Xuzhou, the rear was likely to have problems!
But... if they missed such a heaven-sent opportunity, perhaps Xuzhou would never fall into Cao Cao's hands again.
Hiss...
Xun You and Mao Jie both wanted to say something, but the facts were before them, and they could not refute them.
Moreover, this was a deployment at the macro-strategic level, not their forte. In essence, this was a gamble. If they won, they would conquer Xuzhou, with the granary of the Central Plains in hand. They could advance or retreat, and the situation would immediately become clear.
However, if they lost the gamble, their base might be stolen by someone unknown, leaving them homeless, like stray dogs.
Just then...
"Are they all here?"
Cao Cao's voice, described as "strong and resonant," echoed, followed closely by a large group of people entering the yamen hall.
In addition to Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Li Dian, and Yue Jin entered in succession and knelt in their seats on the right side of the yamen.
After they were seated, the strategists discovered that at the very end of their row sat a young gentleman, occupying the last seat on the left side, which was the last seat for strategists!
Could this young gentleman be Lu Yu? Who else could it be!
Xun Yu and Xun You's eyes immediately lit up. They hadn't expected Cao Gong to invite "Hidden Dragon" to this yamen deliberation so quickly.
Xi Zhicai was a little taken aback. This kid was too young! Could he participate in such an important military meeting at such a tender age?
"Greetings, Cao Gong..."
The strategists paid their respects to Cao Cao.
"We are all family, no need for formalities, please be seated!" Cao Cao gestured.
Lu Yu also knelt on the soft cushion as they did. This was the custom of the Qin and Han dynasties, which Lu Yu knew something about.
In this era, the so-called sitting generally referred to kneeling... without the buttocks touching the ground!
For example, in this yamen, from Lu Yu to Xun Yu to Cao Cao, everyone in the yamen was kneeling, yet everyone seemed to be enjoying it!
To be honest, Lu Yu was not used to it and felt his knees aching.
According to his ingrained perception, before his transmigration... only certain "fallen women" would kneel continuously in specific transactions in bed. Apart from that, normal people rarely knelt.
When Lu Yu assessed whether a young girl was "virtuous," he would often look at her knees first. Men, as they say, understood.
In this era, it was common to kneel, kneeling to chat, kneeling to eat, kneeling to drink tea... Lu Yu felt that his usual method of "judging virtuous girls" was completely useless.
This was not the point. The point was that kneeling was tiring... and one had to kneel!
Of course, this kneeling also had a slight benefit, in that one was less likely to develop hemorrhoids.
For example, an author named Niu Nai Tang Tang Tang, when he updated furiously, often sat for seven or eight hours. Prolonged sitting could easily lead to hemorrhoids.
To avoid hemorrhoids and delay the reading for his esteemed readers, he would kneel while typing!
In addition to preventing hemorrhoids, a senior told him that—this way, readers could feel his sincerity, and his performance would be better.
(Well, he will be on the shelves next Friday, you know... Niu Nai Tang Tang Tang kneels indefinitely and subtly hints!)
...
"Alright, don't be so reserved here. I intend to conquer Xuzhou, and I welcome everyone to speak their minds freely!" Cao Cao directly stated the theme of the military meeting.
Xi Zhicai gracefully began, "Cao Gong, in my opinion, the matter of conquering Xuzhou should be postponed for a while!"
As he spoke, Xi Zhicai slowly stood up and said loudly, "Currently, Yanzhou is bordered by Yuan Shao of Jizhou and Gongsun Zan of Youzhou to the north, Li Jue and Guo Si of Xiliang to the west, and Yuan Shu of Nanyang and Liu Biao of Jingzhou to the south. It is no exaggeration to say that we are in a land of four battles, surrounded by strong enemies."
"The current general situation in the world is peaceful. If we rashly engage in war, it will surely attract the covetousness of strong enemies. Although Tao Qian is not Cao Gong's opponent, it will take at least a year and a half for Cao Gong to attack Xuzhou, and there will be too many variables in between! In my opinion, we cannot gamble, nor should we gamble!"
This was Xi Zhicai's personality. While he was polite in person, when it came to strategy, he gave no face to anyone.
Even if your own father had just died, he would only state the strategic deployment that he believed to be correct!
Hiss...
Cao Cao let out a sigh. As expected, Xi Zhicai had also thought of the problem that troubled him, and this... seemed to be completely contrary to what Yu'er said yesterday.
Thinking of this, Cao Cao directly called out, "Lu Gongcao, what do you think?"
Uh...
Lu Yu was stunned. He thought to himself, Old Cao, you're unethical! Aren't you forcing me to argue with Xi Zhicai?
The key was, Lu Yu didn't even know how to explain himself!
He couldn't possibly say... that according to the book, Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were about to fight!
This reason was not tenable.
He looked up at Cao Cao, seeing his look of interest. It seemed he was all ready to watch a show!
It was all a plot, a complete plot!
...
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