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

Xu Shu's suspicions were correct.

Cao Cao's expedition was indeed prepared for two scenarios. It would be best if he could capture Jingzhou, but if he couldn't, he would go back and slaughter the powerful and disloyal clans in Yizhou.

Cao Cao was adept at dealing with dissent.

The powerful families of Yizhou were well aware that Cao Cao was not benevolent, so they chose to remain silent when Cao Cao was in Chengdu.

Only when Cao Cao was away with his troops did these powerful clans dare to reveal their wicked intentions.

Cao Cao was not entirely unprepared for this attack on Jingzhou.

As early as last year, Cao Cao sent a large quantity of Shu brocade to Cai Mao and agreed that all sales of Shu brocade in Jing and Yang would go to Cai Mao in the future.

Of course, this is all predicated on Cai Mao becoming Cao Cao's inside man!
The reasons for persuading Cai Mao were also quite valid: Liu Biao was 65 years old and already in his senile years, so Cai Mao needed to consider the future of his family; Sun Quan appointed Liu Qi as the Prefect of Nanyang and General Who Guards the East, which clearly showed that he supported Liu Qi and not Liu Cong; and Liu Bei had many capable people under his command, so he would not give Cai Mao an important position.

What appealed to Cai Mao the most was that Cao Cao believed Lady Cai had the appearance of wealth and nobility. If Liu Biao died, Lady Cai could become Cao Cao's principal wife, and Cao Pi would be raised under Lady Cai's name.

He clearly coveted Lady Cai's body, yet he managed to drag it into a political marriage. Only Cao Cao could do such a high-sounding yet shameless thing.

It must be said that the conditions offered by Cao Cao were extremely tempting.

Lady Cai's marriage to Liu Biao was a political alliance between the two families. Now that Liu Biao is old and Liu Qi dislikes Cai Mao and others, and Liu Cong is incompetent, Lady Cai's situation is precarious.

Given the current situation, even if the Cai family were to support Liu Cong, they could only eke out a few more years of survival in Jingzhou.

If Cai Mao wanted to preserve his family's power and status, he had to choose to serve one of the three families: Cao Cao, Liu Bei, or Sun Quan.

When Sun Quan appointed Liu Qi as the Prefect of Nanyang and General Who Guards the East, it was already destined that he and Cai Mao would not be on the same path, and Cai Mao did not want to serve under a junior.

Although Liu Bei possessed heroic qualities, firstly, he was far away in Hebei, and secondly, Cai Mao was self-aware enough to know that with her abilities, she could not attain a high position under Liu Bei unless Liu Bei was willing to marry Lady Cai after Liu Biao's death.

However, Cai Mao could only think about this.

When Liu Bei was in a weak position, if Lady Cai offered herself to him, Liu Bei would elevate her to a high position, just like Mi Zhu.

Now Liu Bei is the most powerful warlord in the open, and countless women want to be his wife. Lady Cai is simply not worthy of his attention. Even if Liu Bei didn't mind, his civil and military officials would strongly oppose it.

You, a powerful family from Jingzhou, have achieved nothing and have no qualifications, yet you think you can trample on our heads just by giving us a woman?

Since Sun Quan and Liu Bei couldn't join them, Cao Cao was the only option left.

Cai Mao and Cao Cao were old acquaintances and had a certain friendship. Now that Cao Cao was offering generous rewards for Shu brocade and taking the initiative to arrange a marriage between the Cai family and the Cao family, Cai Mao really couldn't refuse.

This is another reason why Cao Cao did not immediately advance into Jingzhou after stationing his troops in Baidi City.

To seize Jingzhou, one does not necessarily have to resort to attacking cities and plundering territories. As long as one wins over Cai Mao, the powerful figure in Jingzhou, Jingzhou will be within easy reach!
Cao Cao was able to stabilize Xichuan for one reason: by finding new sales channels for the powerful clans that produced Shu brocade, the shared interests would naturally garner their support. Ultimately, no matter how loud the slogans, it all boils down to the distribution of profits.

Once there are benefits, everyone can make a fortune, and naturally there will be fewer people who oppose it.

Unlike Li Jue and Guo Si, who fought amongst themselves after capturing Chang'an and refused to listen to good strategies, Cao Cao entrusted all political affairs to Jia Xu after acquiring Yizhou.

Among the civil and military officials who followed Cao Cao into Yizhou, only Jia Xu could replace Xun Yu.

Despite being known for his cunning and scheming, Jia Xu was actually a descendant of the great Confucian scholar Jia Yi, a true Confucian scholar who passed down the orthodox tradition. He was recommended for the civil service examination and served as a court official in Chang'an, where he was responsible for selecting talented individuals.

In Yizhou, Jia Xu only needed to have one conversation to get a pretty good idea of ​​who was talented and what their character was like.

After all, in terms of talent, few in the world could match Jia Xu's literary and military prowess; in terms of character, few in the world would have a lower moral standard than Jia Xu.

In order to enjoy his later years in Chengdu, a pleasant retirement paradise, Jia Xu was quite proactive: whoever prevented Jia Xu from living a peaceful retirement in Chengdu, Jia Xu would make sure that person didn't live to old age.

This is another reason why Cao Cao dared to station troops in Baidi City; with Jia Xu in Chengdu, Cao Cao felt quite at ease.

"My lord, Cai Mao has sent someone."

Just as Cao Cao was dissatisfied with Sun Quan, Guo Jia strode into the mansion.

Subsequently, Cai Mao's cousin, Cai Zan, also entered with Cao Cao's permission.

"This humble general Cai Zan greets Lord Cao." Cai Zan's attitude was respectful, showing no disrespect despite Cao Cao no longer being the Minister of Works.

Cao Cao's narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone was somewhat displeased: "I have been in Baidi City for almost a month now. When will De Gui be able to help me enter Jiangling?"

Cai Zan was startled and hurriedly said, "The major clans of Jingzhou are the Cai and Kuai families. Because the Kuai family supports Liu Bei, my elder brother dares not be too hasty, lest he arouse the suspicion of Kuai Yue and others. But please rest assured, Lord Cao, General Zhennan suffers from carbuncles on his back, and recently, due to being preoccupied with affairs, the carbuncles have relapsed. My elder brother will find a way to make the brothers Liu Qi and Liu Cong fight each other, to add to Liu Zhennan's anger. Those suffering from carbuncles are most afraid of anger, and General Zhennan will definitely not live past this year. As long as General Zhennan dies, we can establish Liu Cong as our leader and surrender to Lord Cao. In this way, Lord Cao can take Jingzhou without bloodshed."

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly and snorted coldly, "Too long! At most a month! If I do not hear the news of Liu Biao's death within a month, my agreement with De Gui will be null and void. Whether De Gui surrenders to Sun Quan or Liu Bei in the future is irrelevant to me. I may not need to rely on De Gui to take Jingzhou."

Cai Zan was startled and said, "Lord Cao, a month is too short. With Kuai Shi around, my brother can hardly be completely safe."

Cao Cao sneered again: "Perfect? ​​De Gui, you've really thought things through! How can one be afraid of death when undertaking great tasks? Is there any foolproof method in this world? If you continue to haggle with me, then it will be changed to half a month!"

Seeing Cao Cao's murderous gaze, Cai Zan was even more frightened and hurriedly said, "Lord Cao, please calm down! One month, just one month! I will return to Xiangyang immediately and convey your intentions truthfully. Please wait for the right opportunity!"

After Cai Zan left, Guo Jia slowly spoke: "My lord, a month is a bit too short. If we rush things, Cai Mao might cause trouble."

Cao Cao scoffed, "Cai Mao is just like Yuan Shao; he's the kind of person who hesitates until the fire is at his eyebrows. If I don't urge him on, Liu Biao will still be alive and kicking even after this year. I'm only giving Cai Mao a month before he dares to take the risk. Speed ​​is of the essence in war. The sooner Liu Biao dies, the less Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang will be able to interfere with my taking Jingzhou!" (End of Chapter)