The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 134 Xu You Betrays Yuan and Joins Cao, the Unexpected Poisonous Strategist Jia Xu (5th Update)
Outside the big tent.

As soon as Xu Youfu stepped out of the tent, he ran into the brothers Shen Jing and Shen Zhong, who had obviously been waiting there for a long time.

"Xu Ziyuan, you've finally met your end. Do you regret slandering my father?"

Shen Jing, who should have been severely injured and weak, was now full of vigor, staring at Xu You with undisguised contempt in his eyes. Shen Zhong did not speak, but his mocking gaze was like needles.

Shen Pei was able to hold his position as Chief Administrator and head the shogunate because of his family's deep-rooted influence and strong military.

In the eyes of the Shen family, what was Xu You? He was just a strategist who gained favor with Yuan Shao through old friendships and words, no different from the mediocre Chunyu Qiong. Did he deserve to oppose the Shen family?
"Humph!"

Xu You suppressed his anger, remained silent, and turned to leave. However, his face, which was turned away from the brothers Shen Jing and Shen Zhong, became twisted and ferocious.

Back in his tent, Xu You grew angrier the more he thought about it.

His wife and children were interrogated and imprisoned, and all his family property was confiscated—these thoughts churned in his mind, almost burning away his reason.

Although Yuan Shao had promised to release Xu You's family under the pretext of "pardon" if he defeated Cao Cao, the humiliation suffered by Shen Pei remained.

Shen Pei even mocked Xu You: "I'll arrest your wife and children, confiscate your property, so what? In the General's heart, you, Xu You, are nothing more than this!"
Who was Xu You?
More than a decade ago, he dared to join forces with heroes such as Wang Fen, the governor of Ji Province, and Zhou Jing of Pei State to plot the dethronement of the emperor!

How could Xu You swallow such an irreconcilable humiliation?
Xu You also resented Yuan Shao's stubbornness and refusal to adopt the brilliant plan to launch a surprise attack on Xuchang.

Even if Yuan Shao had truly defeated Cao Cao at Guandu, Xu You would not have received the credit. Without being able to suppress Shen Pei, Xu You would never be able to vent his anger.

"Benchu, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Xu You's eyes flashed with a chilling light as he cursed under his breath, his eyes bloodshot and filled with boundless hatred.

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were locked in a stalemate at Guandu for many days. Both sides sent out a large number of spies to gather intelligence or to instigate defections.

Cao Cao even sent Xu You gold and silver, hoping that Xu You would persuade Yuan Shao to withdraw his troops out of consideration for their old friendship.

At the time, Xu You was in power and scoffed at this gesture of goodwill from an "old friend." Instead, he took the opportunity to advise Yuan Shao to launch a swift attack on Xuchang.

However, at present, Xu You can only seek revenge by relying on Cao Cao's help.

As for Yuan Shao
Xu You no longer cared about anything else; it was just a defeat, and Yuan Shao had been defeated before.

That night.

Xu You disguised himself as a straw man and fell asleep in his tent. Under the cover of night, he quietly left the camp and headed straight for Cao Cao's camp. Before he could get close, he was captured by the patrolling soldiers.

"I am Xu You, Xu Ziyuan of Nanyang, an old friend of Cao Sikong! Go and inform him immediately!"

Upon hearing this, the soldier dared not delay and hurriedly went to the central command to report.

"Xu You?"

Cao Cao was both surprised and delighted. He didn't even bother to put on his shoes and went out barefoot to greet him.

After being locked in a stalemate with Yuan Shao for many days, Cao Cao's army had less than a month's worth of provisions, while Yuan Shao's provisions continued to be transported to Guandu.

If Xun Yu hadn't written to Cao Cao advising him to hold Guandu and wait for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack, Cao Cao would have retreated to Xuchang long ago.

Although he did not know the purpose of Xu You's visit, Cao Cao's intuition told him that he might be able to use Xu You to get out of trouble. So he invited Xu You into the command tent. Without saying a word, Cao Cao first bowed deeply to him.

Seeing Cao Cao greet him barefoot first and then bow respectfully, Xu You had already guessed seven or eight parts of the truth.

"How much grain does Mengde's army still have left?" Xu You asked bluntly. Cao Cao noticed Xu You's strange expression and became suspicious. He casually made up a story: "Enough to last a year."

Xu You scoffed: "Is it really that plentiful?"

Cao Cao quickly corrected himself, saying, "Oh, I misspoke just now. In fact... we can still use it for another six months."

"Hmph! Since you have nothing to say, I'll take my leave!" Xu You stood up indignantly, flicking his sleeves as he prepared to leave.

"Ziyuan, wait! That was just a joke!" Cao Cao was greatly shocked and hurriedly got up to stop him. "To be honest, our army's rations are only enough for... one month's supply."

Seeing Xu You stop, Cao Cao took the opportunity to probe: "Ziyuan, can you report to Yuan Shao? If he is willing to withdraw his troops out of consideration for our old friendship, I am willing to give up Xuchang."

Xu You raised an eyebrow: "Does Mengde not want to defeat Yuan Shao?"

Cao Cao grew increasingly suspicious: "Ziyuan, please don't speak jokingly. I only have a month's worth of provisions, how can I possibly defeat Yuan Shao?"

"What difficulty is there in defeating Yuan Shao!" Xu You sneered. "Yuan Shao's army has stored all its provisions at Wuchao. Although Chunyu Qiong and other generals have more than 10,000 men stationed there, the commander is arrogant and the soldiers are lax. We only need to send an elite force to launch a lightly armed raid and burn their provisions. In less than three days, Yuan Shao's 100,000-strong army will collapse in an instant!"

"Ah!" Cao Cao was stunned. "Ziyuan! You...you didn't come here just to play a trick on me, did you?"

Cao Cao initially thought Xu You was there to persuade him to end the war, so when pressed for details about supplies, he revealed the truth.

To everyone's surprise, Xu You offered such a vicious plan to undermine Yuan Shao's cause. What deep grudge did he hold against Yuan Shao?

Given Xu You's relationship with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao dared not trust him.

If Xu You deliberately used himself as bait to lure Cao Cao into raiding the grain, then Cao Cao would have no way to retreat.

It's no wonder Cao Cao had this concern. Before this, Cao Cao had sent Xu Huang and Shi Huan to intercept and burn thousands of Yuan's grain carts.

"Playing games?" Xu You walked back to his seat, gulped down several mouthfuls of wine, and smiled bitterly. "I almost wish it were so! Let me be frank, I'm here to borrow troops for revenge! That old scoundrel Shen Pei detained my wife and children and confiscated my property. Even Yuan Shao, fearing the strength of the Shen clan's army, refused to uphold justice for me. And now even those two callow brats of Shen Pei dare to humiliate me to my face! Mengde, tell me, how could I possibly tolerate this hatred?!"

Xu You made no mention of the previous slanderous accusations against Shen Pei, but instead poured out the grievances he had suffered at Yuan Shao's hands.

In his anger, he told Cao Cao about his plan to "divide his troops and launch a surprise attack on Xuchang".

Cao Cao was secretly alarmed: If Yuan Shao had used Ziyuan's ingenious strategy, I would surely have been captured by him. But Ziyuan's words...
Cao Cao dared not make a decision on his own, so he summoned his civil and military officials to his tent to discuss the matter.
However, many of Cao Cao's civil and military officials did not believe such outrageous claims.

Xu You didn't care about the doubts raised by Cao Cao's civil and military officials, nor did he bother to explain. Instead, he ate meat and drank wine alone, much to the annoyance of Cao Cao's officers.

Amidst the commotion, a calm and unhurried voice rang out: "We are isolated and alone, without reinforcements or supplies. This is a critical moment of survival. Holding out will surely lead to defeat, while an attack may bring victory. What is there for Cao Cao to hesitate about?"

Everyone looked and saw that the speaker was Jia Xu.

Xiahou Yuan immediately retorted, "That's easy for you to say! Even if what Xu You said is true, how could Yuan Shao not be on high alert regarding the grain storage sites? To risk going there would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den."

Jia Xu glanced at Xiahou Yuan: "Isn't this simple? Could it be that your courage and martial prowess are even inferior to Li Jue and the others?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiahou Yuan was speechless. He then remembered that the seemingly carefree old man in front of him was the cunning strategist who persuaded Li Jue and other defeated soldiers to launch a counterattack on Chang'an after Dong Zhuo's death, driving away Lü Bu. He also helped Zhang Xiu kill Cao Cao's beloved eldest son and was eventually entrusted with important responsibilities by Cao Cao.

All the civil and military officials stopped arguing and stared at Jia Xu.

　The fifth update is here.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)