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

Chapter 274 The cunning Cao Cao reorganizes military discipline; Xiahou Yuan is punished by being forced to raise horses (1st update)
To everyone's surprise, the city gates opened.

Cao Ren spurred his horse out and shouted to Xiahou Yuan, "The Minister of Works has ordered that if you see Xiahou Yuan, the Commandant of the Army, you must order him to bind himself and enter the city."

Xiahou Yuan's expression changed drastically. He quickly spurred his horse closer and asked in a low voice, "Zixiao, when did the Commander arrive at the hunting grounds? How could this be..."

Cao Ren looked at Xiahou Yuan expressionlessly and repeated, "The Minister of Works has ordered that if anyone sees Xiahou Yuan, the Commandant of the Army, he should be ordered to bind himself and enter the city."

Seeing that Xiahou Yuan was still in a daze, Cao Ren whispered a reminder: "The Minister of Works is very angry because you abandoned your post and suffered a defeat. We cannot delay any longer."

Xiahou Yuan's expression changed again, his shame barely concealed.

A mansion within the city.

Cao Cao sat upright in the main seat, his expression solemn.

Guo Jia, Cao Hong, Zhang Liao, Li Dian, Yue Jin, and other civil and military officials all stood solemnly.

After capturing and releasing Yuan Tan, Cao Cao led his troops back to Puyang to reorganize, and then headed straight for Hanoi.

Upon arriving at Shequan, Cao Cao discovered that Xiahou Yuan had mobilized his entire force to pursue Liu Bei, which infuriated Cao Cao so much that he wanted to kill someone on the spot.

Cao Cao's military order was to have Xiahou Yuan cooperate with Zhong Yao in Hanoi to contain Liu Bei, and he also instructed Xiahou Yuan not to directly clash with Liu Bei.

Instead, Xiahou Yuan went and chased after Liu Bei.

Is Liu Bei so easy to catch?

Not only are they pursuing, but they're also not leaving any troops to defend themselves. Are they going to fight a desperate, do-or-die battle?
If Cao Cao hadn't come and Liu Bei had secretly ambushed and attacked Shequan, Xiahou Yuan and his two thousand elite soldiers would have starved and frozen to death in this freezing weather.

When Cao Cao sent men to investigate, he learned that Xiahou Yuan had been defeated and was returning home. This news ignited Cao Cao's anger, which led to the order for arrows to rain down from the city walls and for Xiahou Yuan to bind himself and enter the city.

Seeing Cao Cao's anger, even someone as close as Guo Jia dared not say anything to persuade him.

As the cold wind blew in, Cao Ren, leading the self-bound Xiahou Yuan, lifted the curtain and entered.

"Reporting to the Minister of Works, Xiahou Yuan has been brought here."

Cao Ren cupped his hands in response, then returned to the right side of the column, bowing his head in silence.

Xiahou Yuan, dejected, knelt down and begged for forgiveness: "This guilty general, Xiahou Yuan, pays his respects to the Minister of Works."

"Oh? You call yourself a criminal general, do you know what crime you have committed?" Cao Cao's narrow eyes and cold brows, though not loud, carried the imposing presence of Mount Tai, making Xiahou Yuan dare not raise his head even slightly.

Xiahou Yuan kowtowed to the ground, decisively admitting his mistake: "I abandoned my post and suffered a defeat."

Cao Cao glanced at Cao Ren, and Cao Ren, sensing Cao Cao's gaze, tensed up instantly.

"According to military orders, what should be done?" Cao Cao looked at Xiahou Yuan again, his tone and authority unchanged.

Xiahou Yuan gritted his teeth and closed his eyes: "According to military orders, he should be executed!"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the civil and military officials were shocked and looked up at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao's gaze was cold and stern as he slowly swept over the crowd, finally landing on Xiahou Yuan. He said in a deep voice, "Since you know you should be executed, do you have any complaints?"

Xiahou Yuan pressed his forehead to the ground, his voice hoarse: "This humble general has disobeyed military orders and is willing to die!" Cao Cao looked up and asked softly, "Where are the executioners?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Ren finally could not contain himself and stepped forward, clasping his hands in a fist and saying, "Minister! Although Miao Cai has made a mistake, considering his past military achievements, I humbly request that he be punished leniently!"

Cao Cao sneered: "Military orders are as solid as mountains. How can we let personal matters interfere with public duties? If we spare him today, others will follow suit tomorrow. If this continues, where will military discipline be?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of the generals below the hall changed.

Cao Hong clenched his fists, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Zhang Liao, Li Dian, Yue Jin, and the others also felt a renewed sense of awe.

Cao Ren knelt on one knee, his voice trembling: "Minister! Although Miao Cai disobeyed military orders, his actions were aimed at eliminating Liu Bei to remove a major threat to your cause. This was a case of poor judgment, not a lack of loyalty. If you execute Miao Cai, I fear it will discourage the troops!"

Cao Ren offered a good way out, saying, "This is due to poor judgment, not a change in loyalty," which downplayed the seriousness of disobeying military orders. He pointed out that all the generals in the hall had times when they were not good at making decisions, and they were all risking their lives to serve Cao Cao. If they were to be executed simply for poor judgment, who would be willing to serve Cao Cao wholeheartedly in the future?

Cao Cao's gaze was cold and stern, and he remained silent. His imposing presence, like a mountain, made all the generals afraid to even breathe.

A moment later, Cao Hong also stepped forward, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and said, "Minister! Although Miaocai has made mistakes, considering his many years of fighting and numerous meritorious deeds, I beg you to spare his life and allow him to atone for his crimes through meritorious service!"

Seeing this, Zhang Liao also stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Minister, we are facing a formidable enemy and are in dire need of capable men. Xiahou Dianjun is brave and skilled in battle. If we execute him for a momentary mistake, it will be a loss to our army. It would be better to let him atone for his crime and perform meritorious service, and then observe his future performance."

Li Dian followed closely behind and solemnly said, "Minister, military discipline is important, but the morale of the soldiers should not be neglected. Xiahou Dian has always been popular with the troops. If this matter shakes their morale, it may be detrimental to future battles."

Le Jin stepped forward and shouted, "This humble general is willing to guarantee with his life that Commander Xiahou will never dare to commit this offense again! Please, Minister of Works, reconsider!"

All the generals knelt down and pleaded in unison, "Please, Minister, reconsider!"

Cao Cao frowned, his gaze sweeping over the generals who were pleading for Xiahou Yuan's life, finally settling on Guo Jia, who had remained silent, and he raised his eyes in a gesture of respect.

Guo Jia understood, coughed lightly, stepped forward slowly, and cupped his hands, saying, "Minister, what the generals have said is all reasonable. Xiahou Dianjun disobeyed military orders and should indeed be severely punished to serve as a warning to others. However, his loyalty is evident, and we are currently in need of capable men. If he were executed, it might hurt the morale of the soldiers. It would be better to spare his life and instead punish him with caning as a warning to the army, which can also be used to rectify military discipline."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then turned to Xiahou Yuan: "Since that's the case, for the sake of the generals, I will spare your life. However, you may escape death, but you cannot escape punishment! Effective immediately, Xiahou Yuan is stripped of his position as Commandant of the Army, given fifty strokes of the cane, and sent to the stables to tend horses, as a warning to others! If he dares to disobey military orders again, he will be executed without mercy!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed in unison, "The Commander is wise!"

Xiahou Yuan kowtowed again: "This humble general is willing to accept punishment without complaint!"

Cao Cao surveyed his generals and solemnly said, “I hope you will all take today’s events as a warning. Military orders are absolute, and those who disobey will be punished! However, considering your loyalty to the country, I am not an unfeeling person. I hope you will all strictly abide by military orders in the future, and also remember: a general should be cautious and vigilant, and should not rely solely on brute force. Although bravery is the foundation of a general, it must be supplemented by wisdom and strategy to defeat the enemy; if one only relies on brute force, one will ultimately be nothing more than a reckless brute.”

The generals responded in unison: "We will obey the instructions of the Minister of Works!"

Cao Cao nodded slightly, his expression softening: "You may all step down."

All the generals left, leaving only Cao Cao and Guo Jia in the hall.

Seeing Cao Cao's worried expression, Guo Jia praised him gently, "Your Excellency's rewards and punishments are fair and just, and your soldiers are in awe of you. Today's actions have both protected General Xiahou and restored military discipline, achieving two goals at once."

Cao Cao sighed: "Although Miao Cai is brave, he is too rough around the edges. If he cannot restrain his temper and learn more about strategy, he may follow in Sun Ce's footsteps in the future."

　Update 1 is here!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)