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

Although Xiahou Yuan was not Xiahou Juan's biological parent, the kindness he showed in raising her during the famine years was even greater than that of a biological parent. Now that Xiahou Yuan was in trouble, Xiahou Juan could not stand idly by no matter what.

Therefore, even knowing that Cao Cao was using moral blackmail, Xiahou Juan had no choice but to agree.

"I am willing to obey the order of Sikong Jun."

To avoid undermining the authority of military law by rescuing Xiahou Yuan, Cao Cao had Xiahou Juan stage a scene of "a niece sacrificing her life to save her uncle."

First, Xiahou Juan deliberately showed up outside the government office, shouting, "Please, Minister of Works, make the decision!" Then, he went inside and, in front of Cao Cao's civil and military officials, asked Cao Cao to find a way to rescue Xiahou Yuan.

After being refuted by Cao Cao on the grounds that "I have always enforced military law and will not compromise because of the hostages of the enemy," Xiahou Juan kowtowed to the ground, weeping and recounting the past, claiming that he was "willing to die in place of his uncle." However, this move was still refuted by Cao Cao, who even pretended to be angry and ordered Cao Xiu to escort Xiahou Juan back to Qiao County.

Just as all the generals were moved by Xiahou Juan's filial piety and righteousness and made their requests, Guo Jia stepped forward at the right time and said, "The Han Dynasty governs the country with filial piety, and we cannot stop the people from practicing filial piety and righteousness." He suggested that Xiahou Juan exchange Xiahou Yuan for him. Cao Cao pretended to refuse and even scolded Guo Jia. It wasn't until Xiahou Juan kowtowed until his head was bleeding that Cao Cao finally relented.

Cao Cao then put on a show, declaring, "This is a disgrace, and all generals should be ashamed and then brave." This boosted the morale of the generals, and only then did Cao Xiu personally escort Xiahou Juan to Guanjin.

To prevent Liu Bei from taking advantage of the situation to detain the hostage and not return Xiahou Yuan, Cao Cao also sent people to widely publicize the story of "Xiahou Juan sacrificing his life to save his uncle," and ordered Xiahou Juan to offer sacrifices to his ancestors every ten miles.

Only after the public outcry had been built up did Xiahou Juan finally arrive at Guanjin City.

Cao Cao's cunning propaganda campaign had long been seen through by Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, but despite their understanding, Liu Bei knew it was a trap and did not fall for it.

Liu Ye once commented that Liu Bei was "deliberate but slow to act".

"Du" refers to Liu Bei's broad-mindedness, his ability to tolerate others, and his capacity to gather talent; "Chi" refers to Liu Bei's cautious decision-making, which often led him to miss opportunities due to emotional or moral concerns.

Therefore, Liu Bei's decisions could not remain rational when it came to emotions and morality.

Therefore, when Liu Bei saw Xiahou Juan weeping blood and with a cut on his forehead, he completely forgot all the words he had discussed with Zhuge Liang about how to respond.

He only said, "The war between the two families has harmed the innocent, which is my fault." He also said that he could release Xiahou Yuan and that Xiahou Juan would not need to stay as a hostage.

Xiahou Juan stated directly that she was engaged to Zhang Fei, and even if she wanted to go back, she had to break off the engagement with Zhang Fei first; otherwise, remarrying after returning would be unjust to Zhang Fei.

Liu Bei always judged people by their actions, not their intentions.

Regardless of whether Xiahou Juan's actions were instigated by Cao Cao or were genuine, Liu Bei believed that as long as Xiahou Juan truly practiced filial piety and righteousness, he should be commended.

Therefore, Liu Bei secretly admired this filial and righteous woman: she is truly my brother's wife!
Xiahou Yuan was then released, and Xiahou Juan was sent to Zhuo County.

Although Xiahou Yuan was injured in one eye, his life was not in danger. After learning from Cao Xiu that Xiahou Juan had risked his life to save him, the usually irritable Xiahou Yuan became silent.

If this were any other time, Xiahou Yuan would have been furious and clamored to fight Liu Bei to the death.

Cao Xiu noticed Xiahou Yuan's unusual behavior but dared not say anything. He simply reported the truth to Cao Cao in private after returning to the city.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao sighed and said, "Miao Cai dotes on his deceased brother's orphan. If this incident can help Miao Cai to restrain his temper, it wouldn't be bad."

Mid-April.

Because Gongsun Du of Liaodong intended to retake the counties of Donglai, and Chang Xi of Donghai had also rebelled, and Chen Deng, the governor of Guangling, sent an urgent report claiming that "Sun Quan has stationed troops at the river mouth, seemingly intending to march north," Cao Cao, after weighing the pros and cons, withdrew his troops and returned to Ye City. What Cao Cao didn't know was that Gongsun Du's capture of the counties of Donglai and Chang Xi's rebellion were genuine, but Chen Deng's urgent report was deliberately fabricated.

Firstly, Chen Deng deeply hated Sun Ce and did not intend to spare Sun Quan even after Sun Ce's death. Therefore, he kept stirring up trouble in Jiangdong. Sun Quan was annoyed by this and ordered Cheng Pu to garrison troops at Jiangkou, which became the fact that "Sun Quan garrisoned troops at Jiangkou".

Chen Deng met with the righteous men sent by Zhuge Liang to distribute proclamations and spread messages in the counties of Qing and Xu. He decided to secretly help Liu Bei again. So, based on the fact that "Sun Quan stationed troops at Jiangkou", he fabricated the idea that Sun Quan "seemed to have the intention to go north".

Influenced by Liu Bei, Chen Deng also avoided the misfortune of dying young from illness.

Chen Deng initially preferred to satisfy his appetite rather than heed Hua Tuo's advice. This was partly because his family was on the verge of extinction and he was powerless to save it, and partly because the powerful ruler Liu Bei, whom he believed in, had lost power and he himself could not fulfill his ambitions. Thus, he developed a complacent and lazy attitude.

Now that Liu Bei is gaining momentum in the north, Chen Deng has seen hope; in addition, Liu Bei's previous instructions have also prompted Chen Deng to give up his bad habit of eating raw food.

The fact that the people who supported Liu Bei had their fates altered was one of the reasons why Liu Bei was able to force Cao Cao to retreat in this battle.

Even Chang Xi's rebellion was influenced by Liu Bei's rise to power in the north.

It wasn't that Chang Xi wanted to be loyal to Liu Bei, but rather that he felt that by gathering a crowd to rebel at this moment, he could demand more benefits from Cao Cao.

After Yuan Shao's defeat at Guandu, Chang Xi rebelled once, but later surrendered to Cao Cao again after being persuaded by Zhang Liao. Cao Cao, considering the overall situation, gave Chang Xi many benefits as a way of appeasement.

In Chang Xi's view, only by showing his fangs from time to time could he demand more benefits from Cao Cao.

Therefore, Changxi also harbored this idea when he rebelled.

What Chang Xi didn't know was that after the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao was in a good mood because he had defeated Yuan Shao. That's why, after a long siege, he sent Zhang Liao to persuade Chang Xi to surrender and offered him many benefits.

Now that Cao Cao's northern expedition against Liu Bei has failed and he is already in a very bad mood, how could he be happy when he hears of Chang Xi's rebellion?

Therefore, Cao Cao directly dispatched Yu Jin, Zang Ba, and Xiahou Yuan to jointly attack Chang Xi, and strictly issued a military order that "those who surrender after being surrounded will not be pardoned."

It was no wonder that Changxi died. Of all people to surrender to, he had to surrender to Yu Jin. Yu Jin pretended to talk about old friendships with Changxi, but after the conversation, he beheaded Changxi with tears in his eyes.

Chang Xi died without understanding what he had done to offend Yu Jin, that he was still beheaded by Yu Jin after surrendering. Even if he had surrendered to Zang Ba or Xiahou Yuan, Chang Xi would have been able to survive.

In the counties of Donglai, Cao Cao dispatched Zhang Liao and Li Dian to assist Cheng Yu in driving out Gongsun Du's troops.

When Gongsun Du recaptured the counties of Donglai this time, although his momentum was great, he was no match for Cheng Yu and others. His general Liu Yi was even captured alive by Zhang Liao.

To intimidate Gongsun Du, Cheng Yu ordered Liu Yi to be killed, and then sent assassins to deliver dried meat to Gongsun Du, claiming it was a gift from Cao Cao, only asking that the two families reconcile and cease their conflict.

After Gongsun Du tasted it on the spot, the assassin claimed it was Liu Yi's flesh and said that if it were to be used again, it would be Gongsun Du's flesh, which frightened the elderly Gongsun Du so much that he fainted.

Gongsun Du fell ill due to excessive fright, which aggravated his old ailment, and he died a few days later. His son, Gongsun Kang, then succeeded him as the ruler of Liaodong.

Thus, the Northern Expedition initiated by Cao Cao came to a temporary end with the withdrawal of troops from Cao Cao and Liu Bei and the deaths of Chang Xi and Gongsun Du. (End of Chapter)