Chapter 230 - Cao Cao chases Liu Ye at noon (1/2)
Chapter 230 Cao Cao chases Liu Ye at noon
Translated by Gamer
(TL Note: There are now TWO Cheng Yu. Thank you Chinese names for giving me a headache.)
成雨 <Urban Army Cheng Yu 程昱 <Cao Cao Cheng Yu< p>
Liu Mang got married! This news was announced to the world by Lu Bu and an endless stream of messengers arrived. Liu Biao gave Lu Bu 1,000 gold pieces and a painting as a congratulatory gift. Sun Ce also gave 1,000 gold pieces and also a beautiful blood red coral the size of a person. However, the first messenger to arrive, belonged to Cao Cao as he wanted to obtain the ballistae! Cao Cao is currently struggling with his fight against Yuan Shao at Guandu. He did not have as much provisions as Yuan Shao who conquered 4 provinces. Although Bingzhou and Jingzhou were barren lands, Jizhou was like a granary with fertile lands. A little bit of forage from Jizhou was enough for Yuan Shao’s Army. Along with Youzhou that was developed by Liu Yu, these two provinces could feed several million people.
On the other hand, after repeated battles, Xuzhou is in ruins. Even Yanzhou has already been plundered by Lu Bu once. After many years of war, even the people Yanzhou is struggling to maintain themselves and not starve to death. As a result, Cao Cao’s Army’s provision is not much.
If this continues, Cao Cao would be the loser as he did not have enough provisions.
On the other hand, the ballistae have already caused two major victories. The first battle was 7,000 soldiers defeating 30,000 soldiers. The second battle was 7,000 soldiers destroying half of Zhou Yu’s fleet and also made Zhou Yu retreat. In a sense, the second battle was a greater achievement.
If Cao Cao obtains this weapon, he can start going on the offensive and he would not need to bother with this nerve breaking battle. Just thinking about Yuan Shao’s 300,000 soldiers and his provisions made Cao Cao feel numb.
As a result, Cao Cao’s gift was heavy. There were 3,000 gold along with many other congratulatory gifts! It was as much as the amount he would have given to the Emperor if the Emperor got married. It was as if Cao Cao gave away his whole face to Lu Bu just for a chance at the ballistae. Unfortunately, Lu Bu’s would forever not give the ballistae to Cao Cao.
In fact, Lu Bu’s opinion was to sell it to Cao Cao and extort a lot of things from him. After all, Cao Cao was in a disadvantageous position and could easily be blackmailed. Although he did not have much provision, he still had quite a lot of money.
However, Liu Mang has discussed with Lu Bu and they came to a decision that they could not sell the ballistae to Cao Cao for now. If they did, Cao Cao would block up the Qingzhou and Hebei rivers and easily defeat Yuan Shao. Liu Mang wants them to kill each other first.
Naturally, Liu Mang also realizes that Cao Cao must have sent messengers to Jingzhou and Jiangdong as well. However, he believes that they would have a higher chance of rejecting Cao Cao’s request. The Central Plains is a big threat to Jingzhou and Sun Ce also wants to capture the Central Plains after obtaining Jingzhou. Cao Cao was also a talented and resourceful person worthy of being a hero. As a result, they would definitely keep the secret.
Although Liu Mang did not give the ballistae, he told Cao Cao that Wu Chao would be the key to the decisive battle.
Cao Cao who received this message in Guandu looked at the map for a long time. Wu Chao was originally under Cao Cao’s command so Cao Cao could understand Wu Chao’s terrain. Wu Chao is not that far from Guandu. Although it is located near the front, it was separated by the Yellow River which works as a natural barrier. Before this, Cao Cao would not pay attention to such a place but after receiving the message from the Lu Bu’s Army, he has no choice but to think about it.
What does Lu Bu mean? What does obtaining Wu Chao has to do with defeating Yuan Shao? Cao Cao frowned and thought to himself. Wu Chao does not have anything else that is important or useful other than the natural barrier. If they really wanted to attack it, building a small bridge would be enough. Yuan Shao could also just surround the place and destroy them. No matter how Cao Cao thinks about it, he could not understand. However, he no longer has the time to think about it because he received an urgent report from the front. Yuan Shao’s Army has begun to move!
AD 200 June. The wheels of history have begun to move again as Yuan Shao’s advisor Chen Lin, issued a declaration of war.
The declaration of war was a letter that curses the 18 ancestors and descendants of Cao Cao. It also twists the facts of all of Cao Cao’s good deeds. Although Cao Cao was indeed a fierce and ambitious man, he was not so bad that he only cares about seizing more power like the way Chen Lin describes him. Chen Lin also exposed his foul deeds while glorifying Yuan Shao. He then put a price on Cao Cao’s head. Those that killed Cao Cao will be awarded with t.i.tles and 50 million gold.
This made Cao Cao breathe in cold air. He felt like crossing the Yellow River to chop off Chen Lin’s head immediately. In Chen Lin’s declaration of war, it also states that Yuan Shao’s Army has already begun to move. Baima and Wu Chao are territories under Cao Cao’s control. However, they were already captured by Yuan Shao’s generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou. On top of that, in this world, Cao Cao did not capture Guan Yu. Without him, there was n.o.body that can chop off Yan Liang’s head to bring great shock to the Yuan Shao’s Army. That is why, Cao Cao could only fall back to Guandu and give away Puyang!
Yuan Shao’s navy also came out to attack Guandu! Yuan Shao could no longer wait!
“This is still good!” Cao Cao dropped the issue about Wu Chao stated by Liu Mang! Yuan Shao was already impatient but the same could be said for Cao Cao! He was truly afraid that Yuan Shao would use stalling tactics. If it is like this, Yuan Shao could win without fighting. This is because Cao Cao’s army rations are running out. However, Cao Cao could not attack as well because his army is weaker. He could only rely on the terrain to fend off attacks from Hebei.
“Milord!” The moment Cao Cao wanted to prepare the conference for the battle against Yuan Shao, a middle-aged scribe called out to him. He was not even 27 years old but he has a mature face and also a lot of wrinkles. It may have been the result of feeling melancholic every day and night.
“N?” Cao Cao was not delighted. It is not just because he has not yet begun to speak but also because the person that called out to him was someone Cao Cao disliked. He was Liu Ye, Liu Ziyang, someone that has the royal blood.
Liu Ye was very talented. At the age of 13, he obeyed his maternal aunt’s command to kill his father’s favored servant. At the age of 20, he managed to foresee the great disorder that will happen. In order to escape with his life, he employed a stratagem to kill one of the most powerful dukes, Zheng Bao. Originally, he could use his soldiers and become a powerful person as well but he knew his limits and the Han family’s limits. So, he gave soldiers to Liu Xun and made Liu Xun a lord.
Originally, Liu Xun was doing quite well with Liu Ye giving him advice but Liu Xun was also talented. knew the real ruling party has to die. However, he was weak in military so he gave Sun Ce a lot of money to move. After that, Sun Ce managed to capture Wan Cheng and Lujiang. So he had no choice but to pledge allegiance to Cao Cao!
Originally, Cao Cao should be happy about it but because of Liu Ye’s ident.i.ty, Cao Cao felt uneasy. He who was born as a descendent of the Han and Cao Cao stood on opposite sides.
Cao Cao would take precautions against members of the Han. This is because Cao Cao’s objective would be against their interest. Although he would ignore the common people, Liu Ye was a talented person! If such a person decides to support the Han Emperor or other ambitious people, Cao Cao would feel vexed!
Cao Cao was very reluctant to kill Liu Ye, but he also felt very agitated when he does not kill Liu Ye. Finally, Cao Cao decided ignore his existence and give him a post without authorities. Who knew that Liu Ye would offer his services in Cao Cao’s Army by being Cheng Yu’s a.s.sistant in managing the rations.
“Ziyang!” Cao Cao held his head. He did not want Liu Ye to speak but he also wanted his stratagem. The contradiction affected him psychologically. “Ziyang, the Army is about to move out. Are the provisions prepared? If not, go and prepare it immediately!” At last, Cao Cao decided to keep Liu Ye silent. Cao Cao would not know how to reward Liu Ye if Liu Ye made meritorious contributions. If Liu Ye had any ideas of helping the Han, how was Cao Cao supposed to deal with him? Therefore, Cao Cao waved his hand signaling that he does not want to listen to Liu Ye’s words.
“Milord, Ye only wants to say one thing.” Liu Ye understood that Cao Cao was rejecting him and felt helpless. As a talented person, he should have been very successful in life. If it was not because he was a descendant of the Han, he would be able to show off his abilities and may have been as famous as people like Zhuge Liang. His ident.i.ty made his life difficult. If he was in an era of peace, or if the other party was more open minded, his ident.i.ty may still be good. However, Cao Cao was paranoid and prevented his abilities from s.h.i.+ning so that he would not take Cao Cao’s position.
Only a few warlords would dare to use Liu Ye. However, some of them, like Zheng Bao, was not worth serving as that would only shorten his own lifespan. That is why, Liu Ye killed Zheng Bao. He then served Liu Xun for a while but Liu Xun loved money too much. Eventually, he served Cao Cao instead.
Although he served under Cao Cao now, Cao Cao has not treated him as his own men. He took major precautions and did not let Liu Ye control any major policies. Although his position was still high, it was not something Liu Ye wants as his job was too easy. Liu Ye wanted a place to show off his talent. He also wants to partic.i.p.ate in the troubled times instead of waiting for his death.
That is why, Liu Ye volunteered to partic.i.p.ate in the battle of Guandu. He wants to gain some standing in the Cao Cao’s Army and make Cao Cao impressed. Now that the opportunity has arrived, Liu Ye felt excited.
Liu Ye knew that Cao Cao hated to be interrupted and hated for people to violate his orders. However, Liu Ye knew that he must take this opportunity.
“Leave!” Cao Cao waved his hand in disgust and the guard beside him nodded his head. The guard that walked forward was Xu Zhu. His arm strength was as strong as a thousand men’s. Although Liu Ye was eight feet tall and was a st.u.r.dy person, it could not even be compared to Xu Zhu. Xu Zhu gave Liu Ye face and said, “Zi Yang, please.” Liu Ye understood Xu Zhu’s silent threat. His choice would either to walk out on his own or to be thrown out by Xu Zhu.
Could it be that Cao Cao was a very self-serving person? Liu Ye’s face was sullen. He expected Cao Cao to be a virtuous person but did not expect his ident.i.ty to still cause him trouble. Was there even a place for Liu Ye to belong? Does Cao Cao only care about a person’s lineage and nothing else? Yuan Shao seemed to not pay any importance to the Han lineage. Liu Ye could also see the treatment he would receive from Sun Ce just from looking at Wan Cheng. On the other hand, Liu Biao who was also a descendant of the Han was not worthy or serving. Every other place was worse. There seemed to be only one place Liu Ye could go to.
Liu Ye could not stop thinking about Lujiang as he might be acknowledged there. He remembered that there was another descendent that was the Prince of Shu Liu Mang, Liu Hanyang! Since Lu Bu dared to use the Prince of Shu and even made him his son-in-law, they should be able to accommodate him.
Liu Ye does not have any opportunity to speak when he serves Cao Cao. The others also knew about Cao Cao Cao’s paranoia. The few people that wanted to speak up for Liu Ye also sighed and shook their head when they saw Cao Cao’s disgusted expression. Although Liu Ye was talented, he was also a gentleman and a good friend. However, they were not willing to get themselves in trouble because of this friend.
Liu Ye rolled his sleeves and saw himself out.
“Alright, anyone else that wants to say something can speak. Yuan Shao’s Army is about to come to an end. Let them know that the Cao Cao’s Army is not to be trifled with!” Cao Cao could no longer be intimate with his childhood friend. The two has been together for over 20 years and had the same preference even in beauty. The things they liked and appreciate has always been the same.
That is why both parties refused to lose. They could not afford to lose! If they lost, their families would suffer. Yuan Shao has a beautiful wife called Liu Qi. When Yuan Shao was defeated, Yuan Shang rose to power and killed Yuan Tan. After that, Old Cao would build a concubine room and at that time, Yuan Shao’s daughter-in-law would not have a good end. If it was not because Old Cao’s son Cao Pi moved first, she would probably be s.n.a.t.c.hed away by Cao Cao.
“Milord, Yu believes he can defend Guandu.” Cheng Yu spoke with confidence as he was one of the most experienced one in the Cao cao’s Army. Cheng Yu then walked up and proposed a stratagem. Although he was inferior to Guo Jia and Xun Yu’s nephew, he still maintained his place as one of Cao Cao’s top advisors. It was proof of Cheng Yu’s talent. He was still competent even if he was not the best. As one of the top advisors, he can plan a large stratagem and give many small directions to move towards his stratagem. Cao Cao also wanted Cheng Yu’s experience. It should be noted that Guo Jia is a prodigy and that Xun Yu and his nephew treated the Han Dynasty in a way that makes Cao Cao unable to relax.
Guo Jia and Xun Yu were also good friends. That leaves only Cheng Yu. No matter what happens, Cheng Yu would support Cao Cao. That is why Cao Cao feels very rea.s.sured.
Guandu must not fall because it contains most of Cao Cao’s provisions and is a vital position needed to capture the rest of Yanzhou. That is why, they were unable to retreat and the only way for them to lose Guandu was if Cao Cao’s whole army were routed.
“I also believe you can defend Guandu. The problem is how to fight back!” Cao Cao knew the importance of Guandu but the problem was that he was outnumbered. Yuan Shao’s men were also not pushovers. They had elites like Yan Liang and Wen Chou! They also had first cla.s.s advisors like Tian Feng and Xu You! The most important fact was that Yuan Shao has 3 times his strength. Although Cao Cao has valiant generals like the Xiahou brothers, Xu Huang, and Xu Zhu, he does not have enough manpower. They would easily be surrounded and overwhelmed by wave tactics.
He was not like Sun Ce who was battling against damaged goods. He was fighting with actual elites. That is why Cao Cao is hesitating.
“Milord, we will divide our forces into 2!” Cheng Yu spoke his opinion. “Milord should personally lead the defense of Guandu with the first army and block the Yuan Shao’s Army at the Yellow River. The second army will be led by a general to attack Yuan Tan directly at Qingzhou. After defeating Yuan Tan, we would threaten Yuan Shao’s Jinzhou and force him to retreat.”
Cheng Yu’s idea is good. Since Yuan Shao’s Army is so strong and hard to fight, I should avoid a direct confrontation. Send a different group to directly attack Yuan Tan in Qingzhou as he does not have any advisors as good as his father’s. Yuan Shao who would be worried about his family will naturally retreat.
However, Guandu would be harder to defend. Cao Cao only managed to defend with difficulty when he had 100,000 soldiers. If he allocated 50,000 soldiers to attack Qinzhou, he would not be able to defend for even a few days. Before the other main army could threaten Jizhou, this place would already be captured by Yuan Shao. Might as well wait for his death.
However, is there any other way? Although Guandu is easy to defend, the enemy had 300,000 soldiers! Cheng Yu’s stratagem was a risk that can only implemented once. If he does not implement this stratagem, he would not be able to make a comeback. Cao Cao felt like relying on Guo Jia again. However, when he looked around, Guo Jia seemed to be absent. Where did this guy go? How could he be absent from such an important war council.
“How pedantic!” Just as soon as Cao Cao was trying to find a way to call for Guo Jia, Guo Jia appeared and immediately said that Cheng Yu’s plan was too pedantic.
“Who!” Cheng Yu felt annoyed. The stratagem he properly thought of for his lord was interrupted and called pedantic! He turned around to see the sloppy figure with a wine gourd on his waist. Him again!