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

The clerk had barely finished speaking.

On the official road, the wind suddenly stopped for a moment.

Lü Ding did not immediately refute.

He simply stood there, his gaze slowly shifting from the clerk's face to the rows of new recruits standing inside the city gate.

A thousand people.

It's quiet.

Do not move.

But everyone was watching him.

Only then did Lü Ding speak.

"I know this is a transfer order from the county."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.

Lü Ding looked at the clerk.

"But I have a question."

"This order in your hand—"

Which one are you tuning?

The clerk was taken aback.

"Naturally, they are newly recruited volunteers from Pingyu."

"Yiyong?" Lü Ding repeated, his tone calm. "Yiyong is a name."

"What I'm asking about is—military order."

For the first time, the official road was truly quiet.

The clerk's brows slowly furrowed.

"Military order... has not yet been incorporated into the county army's order of command."

Lü Ding nodded.

"That's right."

He raised his hand and pointed inside the city gate.

"They were indeed registered."

"But I only bought—"

"County register".

These three words, once spoken, acted as a watershed moment.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

The clerk's expression changed slightly.

"The county register is also part of the prefecture register."

"Yes," Lü Ding admitted readily, "so nominally it's in the prefecture."

"But you mobilize troops—"

"It's the military that's being transferred."

He paused for a moment.

"Not a human head."

The officer outside the city couldn't help but whisper a reminder:

"No military rank assigned, transfer him back—"

"If something happens, who's responsible?"

For the first time, the clerk's face truly darkened.

He finally realized that this was not a case of arguing.

This is a deadlock in military affairs.

"So what do you mean?" the clerk asked in a low voice.

Lü Ding did not evade the question.

"The meaning is very simple."

"The soldiers are here."

"The person is here."

"But it was not included in the county army's ranks, and no military unit, division, or flag was established for it."

"If the county needs to transfer—"

"Please give me the military order first."

As soon as those words were spoken...

Even the common people on both sides of the official road understood what was going on.

—It's not that we don't want to give it to them.

You can't take it away.

The clerk opened his mouth, but couldn't reply immediately.

Because he knew it very well.

Once he establishes a military order on the spot—

That would be overstepping one's authority.

That is to take all the responsibility upon oneself.

"Young Master Lü," he took a breath, "the military supplies in the prefecture are urgent, this matter can be addressed later."

"A backup plan?" Lü Ding asked rhetorically.

He finally turned around and faced the county soldiers outside the city.

"Then let me ask one more question."

"The night before, there was a night attack outside the village, burning grain and killing people."

"Do you know?"

The clerk was taken aback.

"This... is still under investigation."

"It's still under investigation," Lü Ding nodded.

"Therefore, the murderer has not been apprehended."

"The road is not yet stable."

"The region is not yet at peace."

He looked at the clerk and said, word by word:

"If I am transferred now, who will seek justice for the bloodshed of last night? In these chaotic times, who will protect the safety of the county?"

The clerk turned pale.

"These are two different things."

"No," Lü Ding shook his head.

It's the same thing.

He reached out and pointed to the new recruits inside the city gate.

"If they are taken away today—"

"How am I supposed to tell the people of Pingyu?"

He paused for a moment.

Tell them—

"The knife is being slashed at our own doorstep, and the soldiers we recruited are about to run away?"

These words, like a heavy stone, crashed onto the official road.

The clerk fell completely silent.

He suddenly realized that this was no longer a question of whether or not to deploy troops.

But -

"If the troops are indeed transferred away, and if what happened last night happens again, he will be held responsible."

Just then.

The ranks of the county soldiers outside the city stirred slightly.

It wasn't that I wanted to move, but the silence of the thousand people made me feel somewhat uneasy.

The accompanying officer beside the clerk whispered:

"This soldier—"

"I'm afraid it can't be adjusted."

The clerk closed his eyes briefly.

he knows.

It's highly unlikely that these troops can be transferred today. If they are forced to leave, it might lead to a rebellion.

"Young Master Lü."

He finally changed his tone.

"I need to report this matter to the prefecture."

Lü Ding nodded.

"That's how it should be."

"The soldiers won't run away."

The clerk gave him a deep look.

He didn't say another word.

"withdraw."

The county soldiers began to retreat.

It's not a collapse.

It was an extremely restrained withdrawal.

The flags were put away.

The official road was empty again.

But everyone knows—

This retreat is not the end.

It's about coming back in a different way.

The city gate slowly closed.

Xu Heng then let out a long breath.

"What you just said," he said in a low voice, "was practically defying orders."

Lu Ding watched the receding figures of the county soldiers outside the city wall and said softly:

"They chose it themselves."

"I don't believe that those who committed murder and arson the night before last have no connection with them."

The wind picked up again.

The official road was deserted.

But a real confrontation has already been etched into everyone's hearts.

And in the distance.

A fast horse was galloping along the official road.

He wanted to take a message back with him—

The soldiers of Pingyu were registered.

But now, no one can be transferred away.

Pingyu City, on the contrary, became even quieter.

It's not that no one is speaking, but that everyone is waiting.

Waiting for news.

Wait for the county's attitude.

In the past few days, the city gates have been opening and closing as usual, the drill grounds have been used for training as usual, and the newly recruited thousand men have continued to line up, change shifts, and patrol every day.

No one told them whether they wanted to leave or not.

But no one dared to mention the words "troop deployment" in front of them again.

Because everyone knows—

The news of what happened on the official road that day has already spread.

Moreover, it spread faster than any official document in the county.

On the morning of the fourth day.

A new official document was sent to the county government office.

It's not a military supply allocation.

It's not about urging accountability.

Rather, it is a piece of writing with a gentle tone, yet every word is sharp and incisive.

Xu Heng unfolded the document, but after reading only the first line, his fingers paused slightly.

[Note: Newly recruited volunteers in Pingyu have been temporarily organized into the "Pingyu Volunteer Corps" and recorded in the county's military register for emergency deployment.]

There was no mention of being transferred.

The destination was not specified.

Only four words were written—

A provisional establishment.

Xu Heng slowly exhaled.

He finally understood.

The county did indeed take a step back.

But this retreat was not a retreat to Pingyu.

But -

Given the current situation, neither side dares to make the first move.

⸻

That afternoon.

Lü Ding was invited into the county government office.

Xu Heng personally accompanied him, speaking very slowly:

"The soldiers have already been given military ranks by the prefecture."

Lü Ding did not respond immediately.

He knew very well that this was not a gesture of goodwill.

—Once you nod.

This army was no longer nominally just "Pingyu's".

—But he shook his head.

The next time they come, the official documents won't be so lukewarm, and the number of people won't be the same as last time.

Lü Ding looked up and gazed out the window.

From the direction of the drill ground, the command rang out again.

Not urgent.

Not chaotic.

Not a single word was wrong.

He suddenly smiled.

"Department number, you can connect."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall relaxed slightly.

But the next moment, Lü Ding continued speaking:

"However, there are three things."

Xu Heng subconsciously looked up, his pen frozen in mid-air.

"Speaking."