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

Chapter 79, Winning Over Guan Yu

Liu Xie smiled and said calmly, "Let it go this time. Cao Cao is quite magnanimous. He will try his best to win you over in the future. Yun Chang, you might as well be more polite to him."

Guan Yu nodded and said remorsefully, "I was rash. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I was just thinking that I was about to leave, so I came to see Your Majesty."

Liu Xie said, "Yun Chang, it's not that I'm close to you, but to prevent Cao Cao from becoming suspicious, I can't be close to all three of you brothers at the same time. Do you understand what I mean?"

Guan Yu paused for a moment, then shook his head. Liu Xie explained, “Cao Cao both admires and is wary of you three brothers. Xuande is a member of the Han imperial family, and you two are his right-hand men and rare tiger generals of our time. If I were to become too close to the three of you, it would be strange if Cao Cao didn’t become suspicious. But if I were to become close to only you from now on and deliberately distance myself from Xuande, Cao Cao would not be suspicious.”

Guan Yu was no fool; with a little guidance, he understood immediately.

"Your Majesty, I understand!"

Liu Xie smiled and said, "That's good."

Liu Xie immediately ordered a banquet to be prepared, and he and Guan Yu drank and talked freely in the tent.

Drinking alcohol is forbidden in the army, but since Liu Xie was the emperor, this restriction did not apply to him.

Soon, someone reported this to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was very unhappy and said to Guo Jia, "Guan Yu is Liu Bei's second brother. He actually drank and chatted with His Majesty in the tent. This is not a good omen."

Guo Jia smiled and said, "Perhaps His Majesty simply admires Guan Yu."

Cao Cao was not entirely at ease, so he hastily bid farewell to the Prince of Chen and led his men to see Liu Xie.

The banquet on Liu Xie's side was not over yet when Cao Cao came over, reached out and lifted the tent flap, and a strong smell of alcohol immediately hit him.

Liu Xie and Guan Yu sat facing each other, each on a stool.

Cao Cao couldn't help but glance at it a few more times. He had been too busy being angry to pay attention to the sample of the horse bench that had just been delivered.

Guo Jia, standing behind Cao Cao, watched with great interest, his eyes growing brighter the more he looked.

People like new and interesting things. If Liu Xie remained unchanged, he might not attract attention. However, he always managed to have some outstanding performances.

"Lord Cao, you've come at the perfect time. Come sit down and have a few drinks with me."

Liu Xie invited him with a smile, and did not forget to praise Guan Yu, "Lord Cao is a man of great talent and strategy, a pillar of the court, and Guan Yu is a fierce general of our time. You should get closer to each other in the future."

With so many people around, Cao Cao couldn't afford to make a scene, so he reluctantly sat down and drank a few cups with them.

After a while, Guan Yu took his leave. After seeing Guan Yu off, Cao Cao returned to his tent and asked, "Your Majesty, what do you think of Guan Yu?"

Emperor Liu Xie praised Guan Yu lavishly, saying, "Guan Yu is loyal, brave, and chivalrous; I greatly admire him."

"What does Your Majesty think of Liu Bei?"

Cao Cao was greatly displeased when he heard Liu Xie praise Guan Yu, because in Cao Cao’s view, Liu, Guan and Zhang were one entity, and Liu Xie’s praise of Guan Yu was tantamount to praising Liu Bei.

To everyone's surprise, Liu Xie raised his wine glass, angrily gulped it down, and then slammed the glass down on the table with a loud bang.

Liu Xie sneered, "If it weren't for Cao Cao pleading for Liu Bei, I would never have forgiven him."

"This?" Not only was Cao Cao stunned, but Guo Jia, who was standing next to him, also widened his eyes.

It seems the emperor holds a grudge!
Cao Cao thought that Liu Xie had changed his impression of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, so he asked, "Since Your Majesty dislikes Liu Bei, why are you so enthusiastic towards Guan Yu?"

Liu Xie said, "Lord Cao, to be honest, I do admire Guan Yu very much. Moreover, I think we can recruit Guan Yu. Even though Guan Yu is Liu Bei's second brother, with the sincerity of both of us, Lord Cao, we may be able to win him over and have him serve us in the future."

"To be used by us?"

Cao Cao pondered this carefully. He hadn't expected that the emperor would try to win over Guan Yu and sow discord between Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.

Of course, Liu Xie had already spoken to Guan Yu, suggesting that he either openly distance himself from Liu Bei or distance himself from Liu Bei and try to win over Guan Yu.

Otherwise, it would indeed be inconvenient for Liu Xie to get too close to Guan Yu.

As a result of the discussion, Liu Xie received Guan Yu's tacit approval.

Guan Yu figured that his elder brother and third brother both knew what was going on, but they were just superficially distant, so it wouldn't have much of an impact.

Cao Cao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you have drunk so much wine, you should rest early. I will take my leave now."

After leaving the tent, Cao Cao looked at Guo Jia and asked with his eyes.

Guo Jia said, "My lord, I think that His Majesty's actions not only save us trouble and eliminate the worry that His Majesty and Liu Bei are getting too close, but also make it easier for you to win over Guan Yu. Haven't you always admired Guan Yu?"

Cao Cao stroked his beard and laughed, "Yes, ever since I first met Guan Yu at Hulao Pass, Fengxiao, I have greatly admired him. Guan Yu killed Hua Xiong while the wine was still warm, and the three heroes fought Lü Bu. Although Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei are all very brave, Guan Yu is the one who captivates me the most!" It was absolutely destined that Cao Cao would meet Guan Yu, and his admiration for Guan Yu was from the bottom of his heart!

"Since His Majesty favors Guan Yu so much, perhaps he can really win Guan Yu over from Liu Bei's side."

Liu Xie's proposal made Cao Cao more and more tempted.

Guo Jia then mentioned the stretcher and stool, saying, "Your Majesty is skillful and has done many amazing things. Those two little things may seem insignificant, but they are very useful."

Cao Cao nodded. "They are indeed good. They are all useful for marching and fighting. Tell Cao Hong and Xiahou Yuan to have the soldiers make more of them."

The next day, Cao Cao continued his advance towards Ku County. Liu Xie was not idle either; he wrote a letter to Lü Bu and handed it to Yue Jin, saying, "Wenqian, please deliver this letter to Lü Bu."

Zhao Yun understood that since the emperor dared to openly present the letter, he didn't mind being discovered by Cao Cao.

Sure enough, Yue Jin first gave the letter to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao opened the letter with suspicion, and after reading it, he laughed loudly, "Although Your Majesty is not knowledgeable in military affairs, it is not a bad move that you thought of taking the initiative to contact Lü Bu to launch a surprise attack on Huainan."

Cao Cao handed the letter to Guo Jia, who nodded in approval after reading it: "It seems that His Majesty has a good impression of Lü Bu. Although His Majesty has publicly commented on Lü Bu several times in court, saying that he is greedy and fickle, His Majesty still cherishes his past merits. If we can let Lü Bu launch a surprise attack on Huainan, with Yuan Shu's army currently in Chen and Shouchun vulnerable, it will indeed be of great benefit to us."

Cao Cao had no more doubts, and immediately ordered the letter to be resealed and sent to Lü Bu.

Lü Bu had recently been getting quite close to Cao Cao. Upon receiving a personal letter from Liu Xie, he did not hesitate at all and decisively launched an attack on Huainan.

A few days later, the news reached Yuan Shu, who was greatly surprised. He hurriedly left half of his troops to garrison Qiyang, while he himself returned to Shouchun first.

In the novel, Cao Cao launched an attack on Shouchun, and Yuan Shu ordered Zhang Xun and others to defend Shouchun. In fact, in historical records, Cao Cao did not attack Shouchun. He fought the Battle of Chen with Yuan Shu!

Yuan Shu's army was stationed in Qiyang. Zhang Xun, Qiao Rui, and others relied on the city's strong defenses to hold off Cao Cao. Cao Cao launched several attacks but failed to breach the city, and the battle became increasingly intense.

The stretcher designed by Liu Xie quickly came in handy for treating the wounded, and it was also very convenient for cleaning up corpses.

While Liu Xie couldn't help in the battle, his medical skills quickly proved invaluable.

He took the initiative to comfort the wounded, and sometimes he couldn't stay idle and personally helped with the treatment.

"Your Majesty, how could I possibly trouble you?"

Cao Ang led his men to carry back dozens of wounded soldiers. When he saw Liu Xie bandaging the soldiers, he quickly tried to stop him.

Liu Xie shook his head. "The soldiers are fighting desperately on the front lines. I'm just sitting here doing nothing anyway. Zixiu, there's no need to persuade me anymore. I'm not that delicate."

Seeing that Xiahou Lan was also injured, Liu Xie waved his hand and hurriedly ordered, "Lie down quickly, scissors!"

Liu Xie's voice was deep and powerful. Xiahou Lan dared not resist. Just as she lay down, someone handed Liu Xie a pair of scissors.

Liu Xie moved swiftly, cutting open Xiahou Lan's clothes in just a few strokes, and then began to treat his wounds.

The place was filthy and chaotic, filled with the stench of blood, but Liu Xie remained focused and completely unaffected by his surroundings.

Even without anesthesia, many wounded soldiers suddenly felt less pain. No matter who they were, when Liu Xie treated them, they were both excited and quiet, afraid that any movement would affect him.

After a while, Liu Xie sighed, "I must urge Physician Hua as soon as possible to develop Mafeisan (a type of anesthetic) so that wounds will be treated less painfully in the future."

Sometimes, Liu Xie would chat with his soldiers to distract them.

By noon, Dian Wei was also carried in. He was covered in wounds, clutching a large iron halberd, and muttering, "Damn it, I've only killed twenty Yuan soldiers. I haven't had enough yet."

Upon seeing Liu Xie, Dian Wei's eyes widened in surprise, and he instinctively tried to kneel down, but Liu Xie waved his hand and said, "Lie down quickly. What time is it? Why are you still clinging to your big iron halberd?"

Dian Wei chuckled sheepishly and said, "Your Majesty, what brings you here? These two iron halberds were made for me by Your Majesty, and we can't afford to lose them again."

During the last Battle of Wancheng, Dian Wei's iron halberd was stolen by Hu Che'er. After returning to the city, Liu Xie specially found the best blacksmith in Xudu to make an identical one.

Liu Xie smiled, and seeing that there was still a short arrow stuck in his chest, he said, "Lie down quickly."

Liu Xie had been studying medicine with Hua Tuo for two months, and treating such simple external injuries was no challenge for him at all.

After removing the arrow and bandaging it briefly, Dian Wei stood up again. "Your Majesty, I have to return to the front lines. If Cao Cao hadn't insisted that I come and treat my wound, I would have pulled the arrow out myself long ago. This injury is nothing, just like a tickle."

Liu Xie couldn't dissuade him at all. Dian Wei picked up his heavy iron halberd and turned to leave. After taking a few steps, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, knelt down and kowtowed to Liu Xie, and said honestly, "Your Majesty, thank you so much for saving me again."

Liu Xie waved his hand and instructed, "Be careful when you get back."

(End of this chapter)