Tiger Guards

Chapter 410 Speechless
For the rest of the day, Sun Ce and Zhao Ji adjusted the camp area.

Zhao Ji occupied the northwest and west of Chen County, while Sun Ce's main force was moved to the southwest.

Various siege weapons were categorized and distributed to each battalion. More than 30,000 prisoners of war and laborers from both sides also began civil engineering work, officially digging trenches and building fortifications around Chen County, as part of the preliminary civil engineering work for the project.

At the same time, Zhao Ji formally issued an official document to Cao Cao urging him to pay attention.

The messenger rode swiftly along the west bank of the Honggou Canal, passing through Fule City, where Zhang Yang was stationed. He could change horses and receive additional escorts from Zhang Yang.

The cavalry galloped swiftly, and by nightfall, Zhao Ji's urgent military dispatch was prominently displayed on Cao Cao's desk.

Under the dim light of the oil lamp, Cao Cao stroked his beard, which was not thick and he was reluctant to trim it.

Under Xun Yu's persuasion, he led the entire army upstream against the current of the Ji River, but after arriving at Junyi in Chenliu, he hesitated again.

Xun Yu's initial intention was to enter the State of Chen, escalate the conflict, and then seize an opportunity to act.

However, military situations are unpredictable, and the situation can change drastically in just one day.

Not to mention that so much time has passed, and the situation on the front lines in Chen State is completely different from when they left Juye Marsh. They are not comparable at all.

Cao Cao waited quietly, and soon Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu and Ding Fei arrived together.

The four men took their seats on the left side of the main tent. Xun Yu sat in the front row, where Cao Cao raised the military letter sent by Zhao Ji and waved it around, saying sarcastically, "Wenruo, this is a military letter from Grand Marshal Zhao, urging our army to quickly go to Chen to join the battle."

Dian Wei, who was on duty behind him, took the silk scroll and handed it to Xun Yu.

Xun Yu held the military documents and read them; Zhao Ji's intentions were no longer a question to be pondered.

By forcing Cao Cao's army to march quickly, their fate was practically sealed.

Once they arrived in Chen, Zhao Ji would force them to participate in the attack; if the march was slow, the wording would become increasingly harsh, until he would send a fearless messenger to Cao Cao's army to rebuke or arrest Cao Cao in person.

It's practically an open secret; once you stick your head out, this blow is unavoidable.

But if they retreated, Zhao Ji would accuse them of colluding with Yuan Shu and of having ulterior motives in coming to Chen to help in the war.

In that case, they would most likely let Yuan Shu's central army go and turn around to attack their own side.

As for Lü Bu... the wealth in Shouchun City, his merit in punishing the traitor Yuan Shu, and his prestige were enough to make Lü Bu compromise.

When Lü Bu and Zhao Ji, this duo, each get what they want, that's when things get the most troublesome.

At this moment, Cao Cao truly didn't know what to do.

Who would have thought that Zhao Ji would abandon Yuan Shu's readily available head and instead try to take advantage of this tough nut to crack?

No one dared to gamble on Zhao Ji's true intentions; losing the bet would mean the death of their entire family.

If we withdraw our troops now, Zhao Ji will immediately use the imperial court to confirm that our side is in league with Yuan Shu and that our troops are plotting against Chen. If we delay our advance, all that awaits us is Zhao Ji's well-prepared army.

If we follow Zhao Ji's instructions and march hastily to Chen State... If Zhao Ji has any sense of shame, he will force them to launch a fierce attack on Chen County; if he has no sense of shame, he will ambush and defeat them halfway, and then he will naturally be able to obtain evidence of their treason from the captured military documents and prisoners' confessions.

Seek favors from high-ranking officials to gain the emperor's protection.
How can it be?

Sikong Zhang Xi and Taiwei Yang Biao both met bad ends, while Yang Qi and Yang Zhong died of illness or old age and were secretly executed.

Now the power of the officials from Yan and Yu provinces in the court has weakened to the extreme, leaving only Chen Ji and Xun You. Chen Ji is an opportunist who is best at seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages. How could he possibly risk his life to open a channel for the emperor for Cao Cao?

Xun You's leg had only recovered a few days ago, and Zhao Ji's first attack only broke his leg. If he attacked again, it wouldn't just be his leg that was broken, nor would it just be Xun You's problem.

Even if Chen Ji and Xun You risked their lives to open a channel for their side to the emperor.

But will the emperor intervene?

Yuan Shu rebelled and openly established a system of titles and ranks, bestowing titles upon officials and nobles. As a result, Zhao Ji was the most anxious. What about the imperial court?
The officials also discussed the matter, and Kong Rong described Yuan Shu as "a skeleton in a tomb," meaning there was no need to take a madman seriously.

The bones in the tomb cursed the Yuan family, which had held high office for four generations, for having no successor and beginning to decline; they also criticized Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao as inhuman, even worse than guard dogs.

There's no need to take a mad dog seriously. Once its frenzy subsides, it's not far from death.

This was not just Kong Rong's opinion, but also represented the mainstream view of the officials and the emperor. When Yuan Shu rebelled, the emperor was not worried, let alone now that the rebels' momentum has been contained and they have suffered a heavy blow from Zhao Ji. Under these circumstances, the rebel forces are panicking and thinking of ways to retreat, and they are no longer a cause for concern.

So if the emperor and his ministers weren't really in a hurry, why would they risk offending Lü Bu and Zhao Ji to step in and mediate for Cao Cao?
This move, whether successful or not, will provoke retaliation from Zhao Ji and Lü Bu.

The most terrifying thing was that when the ministers and the emperor mustered up the courage to try to intervene and mediate the war, they were ignored by Zhao Ji and Lü Bu... This was a fatal blow to the emperor's dignity.

Before the mediation, no one knew whether it would succeed. Everyone assumed that the emperor had this influence, and naturally they would respect the influence of the emperor and the Han court.

However, if mediation fails, it will severely damage the emperor's prestige and the court's influence.

If they were in the same position, the officials would naturally be unwilling to gamble; for them, such a thing would be a loss regardless of winning or losing.

Therefore, given Cao Cao's rationality, he could not possibly place his hopes on the ministers or the emperor.

For the high-ranking officials, the most important thing now is to stabilize the court order. With time to settle things over several years, the influence of the officials and the court can be quickly restored.

This is especially true for the emperor, who, since he does not directly govern, is unlikely to make mistakes.

No matter how many disasters have occurred in various places over the years, no one has ever blamed or angered the emperor.

Therefore, although the emperor had already come of age and reached adulthood, there was no need for him to rush to seize power and personally lead an expedition. If he waited another three to five years, the emperor's chances of success would be greater.

We can't rely on high-ranking officials or the emperor, nor can we ask Zhao Ji to let us off the hook. We can't exactly ask Lü Bu for help either.
Xun Yu was deep in thought. After reading the military dispatch, he passed it on to Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and Ding Fei, all of whom looked troubled.

Now we are truly in a dilemma. If we back down, it will mean political death. We might as well go all out and fight Zhao Ji.

Even if we suffer a crushing defeat, this way we will let Yuan Shao, the emperor, the nobles, and the people of the world know that we dare to fight against a powerful minister like Zhao Ji.

Even if the army is severely weakened and retreats back to Hebei, Yuan Shao will still regard his side as his backbone and arm.

If political death were to occur, and the evidence and public opinion confirming the crime of plotting rebellion against Yuan Shu were confirmed, even if the army were to retreat safely back to eastern Yanzhou, it would certainly trigger internal turmoil.

Even Yuan Shao would dislike Cao Cao's heavy reputation and fear that it would affect him, so he would take the initiative to cut ties with Cao Cao.

As the four remained silent, Cao Cao's voice was hoarse: "The situation is critical. What are your thoughts? Wenruo, speak first. It was I who strongly recommended sending troops to punish the traitorous minister of Chen. Now that Zhao Ji has ill intentions, what should we do?"

The family members and hostages have already been sent to Yuan Shao, so there is no room for them to offer hostages to Lü Bu or Zhao Ji now.

This problem is too difficult; even Xun Yu is stuck on it.

If Yuan Shu hadn't rebelled, and they hadn't raised an army to quell the rebellion... then they could have just killed the envoy sent by Zhao Ji; why all the worries?

But Yuan Shu rebelled, and they were still very close to Zhao Ji.

The army could withdraw, but the cost was too high, so high that Cao Cao was willing to gamble with Zhao Ji's courage and shamelessness by leading his army.

In fact, when it comes to moral bottom lines... Cao Cao was somewhat guilty about doing bad things.

Zhao Jizhen is different. He has seen too many morally bankrupt acts accumulated over two thousand years. Although he possesses above-average morality, his moral ceiling is high, but his floor is also surprisingly low.

For example, in the present moment, Zhao Ji would rather fabricate a false charge beforehand so that he can kill Cao Cao with a clear conscience.

What could Cao Cao do?
What solutions could Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and others offer?
This is also the biggest disadvantage of the imperial court in the Central Plains. As Han officials, they are naturally subject to the control of powerful ministers on one side of the court.

When Zhao Ji and Lü Bu control the court, and they reason with you and act according to the rules, your schemes will have room to be implemented.

When Lü and Zhao were willing to squander the credibility of the Han dynasty to engage in reckless actions, many of their schemes became like trees without roots, unable to gain a foothold or be implemented.

Seeing the four men remain silent, Cao Cao sensed that someone had come up with a solution, but perhaps the idea was too insidious to share in public.

Cao Cao had no choice but to say, "Lü and Zhao are usurping power. I want to see just how rampant these two really are."

There was no other way but to obey orders and do as Zhao Ji arranged.

Otherwise, if he were branded as a traitor, he would be truly finished.

(End of this chapter)