Overthrowing Wei: Starting with Cao Cao's "I'd rather betray the world than surrender

Lü Ding did not reply immediately.

It wasn't hesitation, it was deliberate.

Yuan Shao's envoy had been waiting outside Pingyu for two whole days.

He wasn't turned away, nor was he invited into the city; he simply rested at a temporary post station by the main road. He had no shortage of food and drink, and people came and went, but no one ever gave him a satisfactory answer.

This is more agonizing than rejection.

On the evening of the third day, the envoy was finally invited into the manor.

It's not the main entrance.

It's a side courtyard.

The room was small, with low windows, so that once you sat down, your gaze fell directly on the official road outside the village. There were occasional pedestrians in the distance, but no sign of any soldiers.

Lü Ding arrived very slowly.

He only brought Xun Heng with him.

The envoy did not rise, but merely cupped his hands in greeting: "Young Master Lü."

His tone was still polite, but it already carried a hint of suppressed impatience.

"We should proceed along the northern route and not linger," he said.

Lü Ding nodded: "The road is there."

The envoy frowned almost imperceptibly.

"Since the road is there, why not let it pass?"

Lü Ding did not answer immediately, but glanced out the window and asked a completely unrelated question:

"Has Your Excellency witnessed the chaos in Pingyu City along your journey?"

The messenger was taken aback.

"It's a good thing that there's no chaos in the city," he said.

"And what about outside the village?" Lü Ding then asked.

The messenger was silent for a moment.

In the past two days, he had naturally observed that night patrols continued uninterrupted, and the supply routes remained unbroken, making the area even more secure than many counties that had already responded to Yuan Shao's call.

"The situation outside the village is also stable," he said.

Lu Ding then continued, "Since we are stable, we shouldn't rush things."

That was said very lightly.

But this was the first time the envoy had ever looked at him properly.

"Young Master Lü," the envoy said slowly, "I am acting on the orders of Yuan Sili."

Lü Ding replied, "I know."

"Then you should understand, if you take the northern route—"

"What I understand is something else," Lu Ding interrupted him.

The atmosphere inside the room paused.

Xun Heng remained silent, simply closing the bamboo slip in his hand.

Lu Ding raised his eyes, his gaze steady:

"Yuan Sili raised an army in order to punish Dong Zhuo."

"It's not about a road."

The messenger's hand gently tightened around his sleeve.

This is the first time someone has pointed it out.

But instead of pressing his advantage, Lü Ding took a step back.

"Your Excellency might consider this," he said calmly, "If the army passes through Pingyu, and Pingyu becomes chaotic as a result—"

"Should this chaos be blamed on Dong Zhuo or Yuan Sili?"

The room fell silent.

A gust of wind blew past the window, causing the bell under the eaves to ring softly.

The messenger did not answer immediately.

He couldn't answer that question.

Before the righteous army arrived, the region was already in chaos.

Such words, once spread, are more fatal than no response.

"Is Young Master Lü threatening me?" the envoy whispered.

Lü Ding shook his head.

"I'm leaving you some room to maneuver."

The messenger looked up.

Lü Ding continued:

"I won't block the way."

"If we want to travel the northern route, Pingyu will not be an obstacle."

Upon hearing this, the envoy's expression visibly relaxed.

But the next sentence brought him back down to earth.

"But when the army passes through Pingyu, it must divide into camps, set a time limit, and avoid disturbing the people."

"If anyone uses military chaos as an excuse—"

Lü Ding paused for a moment.

I bet.

"What if we can't suppress it?"

The messenger pressed for further details.

Lü Ding answered very steadily:

I'll take responsibility.

This sentence is completely unadorned.

The messenger finally sat up straight.

"Then what is this?"

"It's considered borrowing a route," Lü Ding said, "not acting on orders."

The messenger was taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

Lü Ding looked at him:

"In official documents, one cannot write 'By order of Yuan Sili'."

"Written as: Pingyu defends itself, the righteous army borrows a passage."

Just eight words.

The envoy remained silent for a long time.

This is for the road.

It's also a line.

Once it is written as "奉檄", Pingyu will be a link in Yuan Shao's army, and if something goes wrong, the responsibility will be clear.

However, if it is written as "borrowing a route," then Pingyu was merely a local area defending itself, while the righteous army proceeded smoothly—

Whether things go wrong or not, whether they succeed or not, they won't immediately fall back on Yuan Shao's head.

This is to cover for him.

The messenger finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Young Master Lü, do you know what you're doing?"

Lü Ding nodded: "I understand."

"You are disobeying the proclamation, yet you want the whole world to see you."

Lü Ding smiled.

The smile was very faint.

"I don't seek the world to see it. Nor can I."

"I only pray that Pingyu will not descend into chaos."

The messenger remained silent.

After a long silence, he finally spoke:

"I will report back truthfully."

As he stood up, he suddenly stopped.

"If Yuan Sili asks in the future why Pingyu did not respond—"

Lu Ding answered for him:

"Just say—"

"Pingyu did not rebel."

"It just wasn't chaotic."

The messenger glanced at him.

This glance was no longer that of a manor lord from outside the city.

Instead, we are watching someone who has already been able to control the "narrative".

By the time the messenger left, it was already dusk.

Xun Heng said in a low voice, "He will agree."

Lü Ding did not turn around.

He has to agree.

"Because he cannot take a stable city with him."

"We can only take one safe route."

That night, someone from the Shen family came.

It wasn't the head of the family who came in person, but Shen Rang.

After he entered, he only said one sentence:

"Several companies in the city have already expressed their opinions."

"Willing to provide grain, willing to provide manpower."

Lü Ding asked, "Conditions?"

"There's only one," Shen Rang said. "He hopes to receive Young Master Lü's protection."

Lü Ding nodded.

Tell them the rules are not changing.

Shen Rang paused for a moment, then said:

"There's one more thing."

"The head of the village has come today to inquire—"

"In the future, if anything happens, should we report to the county government first, or to you first?"

There was silence in the room.

This is the key.

Lü Ding did not answer immediately.

He thought for a moment and only said one sentence:

"As usual."

"Report to the county government first."

"Come find me again tonight."

Shen Rang looked at him and suddenly understood.

—Nominally in charge of the government, but in reality in charge of the village.

This is not taking.

Yes, that's the answer.

After Shen Rang left, the manor did not immediately quiet down.

On the contrary, it's a more covert kind of busyness.

Chen Erhe was coming and going more frequently than usual. The visitors were not refugees or guards, but familiar faces from the various villages' stewards and neighborhood leaders. They didn't enter the main hall, but waited in the side courtyard for a single word.

One sentence is enough.

"I need to speak with Young Master Lü tonight."

That very night, the news spread throughout the villages and hamlets surrounding Pingyu.

There was no notice.

No one dared to write it down.

But everyone understood—

The county government office still exists, and officials still walk around during the day;

But the one who can truly control the night has changed.

Meanwhile, changes also began to occur at the county government office.

Xu Heng did not change any of the old systems.

The county government office remained open as usual, and documents were received and sent as usual. When the village head came to report, the registration was still carried out according to the old rules.

But one thing is starting to become subtle.

Cases involving night patrols, gatherings, or disputes over grain routes would be quietly "dragged" to the next day.

They dragged it out until dawn.

Drag it on—

Someone has already taken the initiative to suppress the matter.

The clerk knew it in his heart, but he wouldn't write it down.

Xu Heng wouldn't ask any more questions.

Only once, late at night, gazing at the lights over the drill ground, did he whisper something to the person beside him:

"Pingyu at night is no longer the same place as the county government office at night."

The man did not respond.

Because this is not a complaint, it is a judgment.

On the morning of the third day.

The reply from the county has finally arrived.