With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 174, Yuan Shao Makes His Decision

Feng Ji spoke up, “My lord, Guo Tu and I have discussed this before. Once we welcome His Majesty to Ye City, as the saying goes, ‘two tigers cannot share one mountain.’ You will be subject to control everywhere. Have you thought about how to treat His Majesty? If you respect him, he will take away your power. Once His Majesty assumes personal rule, you will have no choice but to obey him. If you do not respect His Majesty, you will give others a reason to criticize you and bring shame upon yourself.”

Guo Tu had indeed advised against welcoming the emperor, and Feng Ji had also disagreed. However, Guo Tu hadn't expected the emperor to appear right under Yuan Shao's nose, swaggering into Baima as if someone had thrown him a box of gold. Only a fool would refuse such a gift.

Therefore, Guo Tu's attitude has now changed.

The emperor swaggered into the white horse, thinking, "Why not take this opportunity? It's a treasure!"

Ju Shou glanced at Feng Ji and scoffed, "Cao Cao was able to command the feudal lords because he held the emperor in his hands. He could arbitrarily bestow titles and rewards upon others and launch attacks at will. Even our lord had no choice but to accept Cao Cao's rewards. As long as the Han dynasty exists, it can command the four directions in the name of the emperor. Now, our lord possesses four provinces and is very powerful. If you can bring His Majesty to your side and seize the moral high ground to conquer the world, the world can be pacified and the state can be secure within five years!"

Ju Shou's argument was logical and well-founded. The usually composed Ju Shou became extremely excited upon hearing that the emperor was in Baima, just a stone's throw away.

Yuan Shao had already missed one opportunity to welcome the emperor, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he absolutely could not miss again!

Yuan Shao now has a large army and a vast territory, lacking nothing except for righteousness. Once he has the emperor in his hands, unifying the world will become very easy.

Yuan Shao was extremely pleased with himself, and his smile was completely undisguised.

Ju Shou was very excited. He had previously opposed sending troops, but now that the emperor had appeared, Ju Shou had changed his attitude. "My lord, as long as His Majesty is brought to Ye City, Cao Cao will immediately withdraw his troops and submit to you. In the future, whether you want to recuperate or send troops to attack Cao Cao, you can do as you please and send troops to attack Cao Cao at any time."

Yuan Shao was overjoyed. In recent years, he had watched Cao Cao grow stronger and more powerful, commanding the world. Yuan Shao was both envious and jealous.

He also wanted to be like Cao Cao, able to reward whomever he wanted, recruit whomever he wanted, and attack whomever he wanted.

As long as he had the emperor in his hands, whatever Cao Cao did was right!

Feng Ji was still unconvinced and continued, "Ju Shou, you haven't answered my question yet. If we bring His Majesty to Ye City, our lord will be at the mercy of others. How do you explain that? Right now, our lord controls four provinces. He doesn't need to welcome His Majesty or be at the mercy of others. He can defeat Cao Cao and unify the world."

Xu You also stood up and retorted, "Cao Cao has been welcoming the emperor for so many years, yet the emperor has never made things difficult for him at every turn. Cao Cao can still issue orders as he pleases, can't he?"

Seeing that everyone had different opinions and could not reach a conclusion, Yuan Shao felt a headache. Just as he was in a dilemma, he turned his head and saw Liu Bei.

Yuan Shao hurriedly asked, "Xuande, what do you think?"

All eyes turned to Liu Bei, who smiled magnanimously and said, “My lord, you, as the Grand General, seem to enjoy boundless prestige, second only to the emperor, yet you were appointed by Cao Cao. Even if Cao Cao were only a Minister of Works, he would still be above you. The title of Grand General is merely an empty honor for you, a title without substance.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao's face immediately showed displeasure, and the muscles on his face twitched in waves, making him look slightly ferocious.

Liu Bei continued, "For Cao Cao, official rank is meaningless. With His Majesty by his side, he can issue orders on behalf of the Emperor, and do so legitimately and openly!"

Yuan Shao was furious. His eyes widened, gleaming with malice, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Cao Mengde, Cao Aman, you are despicable! You have gone too far in bullying me!"

Yuan Shao was determined to snatch the emperor from Cao Cao's hands. Even if he didn't use him, he couldn't let Cao Cao continue to be so smug.

Just one day later, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong fled back in disgrace. Upon hearing that Yan Liang was dead, Yuan Shao was also taken aback. Soon after, he ordered Wen Chou to lead troops to Baima, determined to turn the tide.

Compared to Cao Cao, Yuan Shao's army totaled nearly 300,000, which was six times the size of Cao Cao's.

Even with Yan Liang dead, Yuan Shao still holds an absolute advantage!

…………

Liu Xie summoned Guan Yu and briefly explained the situation to him so that he could prepare in advance.

Having been separated for so long, Guan Yu also longed to see Liu Bei and Zhang Fei as soon as possible. However, he hesitated somewhat and said, "Your Majesty, once Yuan Shao's army arrives, the war will inevitably escalate. If I leave, Your Majesty must take good care of yourself."

Previously, Guan Yu only had Liu Bei and Zhang Fei in his heart, but now, Liu Xie has also joined him.

Liu Xie smiled and said, "Don't worry, I still have Zilong and Fengxian by my side. You can leave now. We'll reunite after we defeat Yuan Shao."

Liu Xie patted Guan Yu's strong, broad shoulder affectionately, "Besides, Xuande left Xuchang last time, so he should come back in glory. After you have made contributions, I will personally lead people to welcome you back."

Guan Yu nodded, moved. "On behalf of my brother, I thank Your Majesty!"

People need steps to climb.

Although Liu Bei was implicated and forced to flee Xuchang because of Cao Cao's disrespect towards him, he left in a very sorry state. Therefore, Liu Xie hoped that he could return in glory.

If he were to return directly like this, Liu Bei would inevitably be in a very awkward position.

The two then discussed the details for a long time. After Guan Yu left, Zhao Yun came in from outside and said, "Your Majesty, I have just tested Wang Tong's skills, and the result was not very satisfactory."

Zhao Yun was meticulous in his work. Since he was in charge of the Dragon Guard, he naturally had to carefully verify the identity of Wang Tong, the first person he recruited.

Seeing Zhao Yun shaking his head and sighing, Liu Xie smiled and said, "Zilong, skill is important, but Wang Tong was the first to volunteer to be my personal guard. His loyalty and courage are the most important. I keep him by my side so that others can see that no matter what their status, they have the opportunity to stay by my side."

Zhao Yun nodded. "Your Majesty, I understand."

Afterwards, Liu Xie bent down at his desk and began to write a letter. He had been away from Xudu for so long, so he wanted to let Fu Shou and the others know that he was safe. Finally, he also wrote a letter to Xun Yu.

After writing the letter, Liu Xie had Wu Anguo deliver it.

There were special messengers who traveled to and from Xuchang. Upon seeing the emperor's letter, the messengers would hurriedly deliver it to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao held the letter, hesitated, and looked at Guo Jia beside him. "Fengxiao, what do you think?"

Guo Jia chuckled jokingly, "You wouldn't suspect His Majesty of colluding with the enemy, would you?"

Cao Cao rolled his eyes a few times, then laughed loudly, "Fengxiao, you are joking. His Majesty has even told me that Liu Bei is an undercover agent. How could he possibly be colluding with the enemy? It's just a family letter, and another one is for Wenruo."

Upon seeing Liu Xie's letter to Xun Yu, Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat. His expression suddenly became much more complex, filled with shame, envy, and resentment.

Xun Yu was Cao Cao's man, and Cao Cao never doubted Xun Yu's stance.

However, Liu Xie's letter to Xun Yu ultimately did not please Cao Cao. Even though he knew that Liu Xie had no ill intentions, he still felt uneasy.

Even if Liu Xie was undermining him, Cao Cao did not believe that Xun Yu would betray him.

However, seeing the close relationship between Liu Xie and Xun Yu, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel a little envious and jealous!

Cao Cao was confident. He had a good relationship with Xun Yu, but even when Liu Xie was away on military campaigns, he would think of writing to Xun Yu. This made Cao Cao feel a sense of crisis.

Who in the world would refuse the emperor's kindness?
Even Guo Jia became very close to Liu Xie.

Cao Cao eventually handed the letter back to the messenger unopened, instructing, "Send it directly to Xuchang, and no one is allowed to touch or open it en route!"

The messenger quickly agreed and turned to leave.

Cao Cao then sat down with a dejected expression, his mood clearly somewhat dejected. Guo Jia smiled and said, "My lord, have you considered what the situation would be like if His Majesty were upright and unyielding, and opposed you at every turn?"

Cao Cao countered, "Fengxiao, do you mean that His Majesty is perfectly fine the way he is now?"

Guo Jia nodded and said, "Yes, His Majesty is sensible and knows when to advance and retreat. He treats everyone around him with goodwill and never provokes you or opposes you. Isn't that good? If His Majesty were too rigid or too weak, he might be easier to control, but that would be detrimental to your reputation. But now, even after the unpleasant incident at the Xutian Hunting Site, His Majesty has been able to generously choose to back down and be tolerant. He has always been actively protecting your reputation and maintaining a harmonious relationship between the ruler and his subject. No matter what happens in the future, you will always be able to escape unscathed."

Cao Cao laughed heartily, "Fengxiao, you always see things so optimistically and clearly."

If Cao Cao had taken one more step, he would have controlled the emperor; if he had taken two more steps, he would have controlled the entire country.

Even if Cao Cao couldn't do those two things, he could still live a peaceful and stable life as a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty.

Guo Jia added, “His Majesty’s magnanimity is just like that of you, my lord, which I greatly admire. No matter what you do, my lord, you don’t need to worry too much. His Majesty will not hold a grudge!”

"But how do you explain the deaths of Cheng Yu and Cao Chun?"

Guo Jia countered, "It is precisely because His Majesty is a wise man that he knows how to protect himself and how to fight back. If you were to switch places with His Majesty, would you not fight back? If you did not fight back, the outcome would be predetermined: you would become a puppet emperor living a peaceful and stable life."

Guo Jia's question stumped Cao Cao. Indeed, if the roles were reversed, what would he do? Would he willingly be manipulated?

Would you willingly be ignored? To be a decoration without dignity or presence.

Cao Cao shook his head vigorously. "I will retaliate, and I will be even more ruthless and decisive than Your Majesty!"

Guo Jia sighed, "Your Majesty has come this far without provoking you, my lord. To be honest, it is quite admirable."

"Fengxiao, are you sympathizing with him?"

Guo Jia shook his head. “Sympathy? That’s the most ridiculous word in the world. His Majesty has dignity. For him, sympathy means humiliation. To be honest, I admire him and respect him. If one day I die at His Majesty’s hands, I will not blame him.”

Cao Cao glared at him fiercely, his expression turning very serious. "What nonsense are you spouting? What about death? You're supposed to help me pacify the world."

Guo Jia was very young and highly valued by Cao Cao. Cao Cao even thought that if he really couldn't pacify the world in the future, he would have Guo Jia assist Cao Ang.

Guo Jia smiled, then took out a bottle of Five-Stone Powder. "Don't worry, I've been taking His Majesty's improved Five-Stone Powder, so I won't die young."

"You!"

Cao Cao looked at Guo Jia with a helpless expression and sighed, "If you go out and find fewer women, and give up this drug, you won't have to worry about shortening your lifespan."

Guo Jia became anxious and quickly shook his head, "That won't do. Without women, and if I give up this thing, wouldn't I lose a lot of fun? Please don't try to persuade me anymore. His Majesty said the same thing before."

…………

Before going to sleep, Liu Xie also liked to take a stroll around the barracks. Wang Tong followed behind him, chest out, head held high, steel knife at his waist, vigilantly watching his surroundings.

He was even more pleased when he saw familiar faces in the camp.

The surrendered soldiers who came with him were so envious of Wang Tong that their eyes almost turned red.

Seeing that Gan Ning was also inspecting the camp, Liu Xie went over to him. Gan Ning took the initiative to introduce himself first, "Your Majesty, I have already settled those surrendered soldiers together and temporarily used them as reserves. If they perform well, I will allow them to join my main force and fight alongside me."

Liu Xie nodded and smiled, "You can make these decisions yourself. We'll each do our own job. You'll be in charge of them, and I'll be in charge of you."

A person's energy is ultimately limited; different people do different things.

What Liu Xie needs to do is put the right people in the right positions; he will be in charge of people like Gan Ning, Zhao Yun, and Wang Yue.

Liu Xie disliked meddling in other matters, as it was too time-consuming.

Governing a country is actually the same as managing a company; the company owner only needs to arrange the personnel in each management level.

"By the way, I remember those people who used to follow you, there were several hundred of them. They came to join Prince Chen with you, and they all performed very well when we fought the enemy last time."

Gan Ning said, "Yes, Your Majesty, before I joined the army, I was a river pirate for a while. Together with my brothers, we robbed wealthy families, raided fleets, and extorted money from shops. Because we traveled in a flamboyant manner, with brocade sails and ringing copper bells, the local people gave us a name: Brocade Sail Pirates!"

Gan Ning was upright and forthright. He told Liu Xie everything he had done in the past without any concealment.

PS: In the novel, Yuan Shao's army numbered 700,000 and Cao Cao's 70,000, which is a huge exaggeration. So let's adjust it: Yuan Shao had 300,000 and Cao Cao had 50,000.

(End of this chapter)