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

"We've stopped."

These words were spoken.

Inside the room, no one responded.

The prefect stood by the window, watching the patrol torches move one by one in the night.

These patrols shouldn't be too many.

But there have been more recently.

It wasn't his order.

It was added voluntarily by the people below.

"Bring me the garrison registers for Xiping and Ancheng counties," the prefect suddenly said.

The aide hesitated for a moment, but did as instructed.

Several old volumes were laid out.

Troop numbers, grain supplies, and troop deployment records were laid out on the table.

The prefect was very slow in reading.

The more he looked, the more his brows furrowed.

"Have you noticed?" he suddenly asked.

The staff member bowed his head.

"Ever since the Pingyu Righteous Cavalry Battalion took on the responsibility of providing external support—"

He tapped his fingertip on the page.

"The number of times the county soldiers from these two counties have left the city has actually decreased."

There was silence in the room.

"It's not because things have become more stable," the prefect continued.

"It's because they discovered that they don't have to wait for the county soldiers if something happens."

"No need to rewrite."

"No need for layers of approval."

"That unit will become the default choice."

He paused.

"And the concept of default—"

"Once it's formed, it's not easy to change it."

On the same night.

Pingyu.

The lights were still on at the temporary camp outside the militia camp.

The newly recruited people were divided into several groups.

They were not immediately incorporated into the organization.

No armor was issued.

Just being asked—

Stand guard.

It is not symbolic.

It's a real station.

One stick of incense, one change of personnel.

The wind made the torches flicker.

Some people's legs started to ache.

But no one sat down.

Lü Ding witnessed this scene while inspecting the camp.

The new recruits, not yet organized into their units, stood scattered around the outer edge of the drill ground. Some stood ramrod straight, while others unconsciously leaned towards the battalion flag; some followed Xu Huang's movements with their eyes, while others stared only at the grain carts and armor frames.

He did not step forward.

I only watched from afar for a short while.

After reading it, Lü Ding turned around and whispered to his personal guards:

"Make another copy of the newly recruited roster."

The guard instinctively responded, then paused, startled.

"Young master, shall we divide the troops now?"

"I don't distinguish them," Lü Ding shook his head. "I just remember them."

He looked up and glanced at the crowd on the other side of the training ground.

"Remember where they came from, who they came with, and which line they stood in."

"Those who don't talk much, take notes."

"Record those who look around distractedly."

The guard's heart tightened, and he responded in a low voice.

the next day.

County government office.

Xu Heng held a newly arrived document, his brows furrowed.

"The county government asked us to submit a list of defense duty rosters."

"Xiping, Ancheng, and Pingyu counties will be rotated."

Lu Ding took it and glanced at it.

He did not speak immediately.

"How do we take turns?" he asked.

"Nominally it's a wheel," Xu Heng said in a low voice, "but this watch—"

He lowered his voice.

"Pingyu will be the first to go by default."

Lu Ding smiled, not as a sarcastic remark, but because he had expected it.

"Give it to him, but with one condition."

Xu Heng looked up: "What?"

"State clearly—"

Lü Ding spoke calmly.

"The provisions, travel expenses, and war damage compensation for all those who go to Pingyu Volunteer Camp shall be borne by the county receiving assistance in advance."

Xu Heng was taken aback.

"Will the county agree?"

Lü Ding looked at him.

"If they don't agree, no one will step in."

Xu Heng remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

He suddenly realized something—

Lü Ding never wanted military power.

He was—

Set a price for this unit.

⸻

evening.

Xu Huang reviewed his troops at the drill ground.

New and veteran soldiers were stationed together.

There are no separate columns.

He stood on high ground, looking down at the people below.

Suddenly, he asked a question:

"Do you know what the difference is between the volunteer soldiers and other soldiers?"

No one answered.

"The difference is—"

Xu Huang paused for a moment.

"You weren't transferred here."

"You came here on your own."

He raised his hand.

"so--"

"I won't stop anyone who wants to leave."

The crowd fell silent.

No one moved.

Xu Huang nodded.

"But once you step out of this door, you can never come back."

⸻

That night.

Outside the camp, there were more people.

More than the previous day.

And this time—

Some people began to set up tents outside the camp with their families.

It's not about waiting for a move.

It's about waiting for a position.

⸻

Lu Ding stood on high ground, watching this scene unfold.

He suddenly realized something.

Expanding the army is no longer a question of whether he wants to or not.

But -

Should he catch it?

To catch up means: "The grain supply will double; the armor will need to be replenished; and a major battle is inevitable sooner or later."

I won't catch it.

These people will also migrate elsewhere.

It flows to places where there are truly no rules.

Luoyang.

Xun You stood at the end of the dark alley, gazing at the brightly lit mansion not far away, remaining motionless for a long time.

Dong Zhuo.

He had considered this name countless times in his mind.

Method of killing, timing, consequences, and aftermath—

He had calculated every possibility.

In the end, only one conclusion remains:

If we don't act now, it will be even harder later.

But just as he was about to take that step, a scene suddenly flashed through his mind.

It wasn't Dong Zhuo.

Instead, it was the official road outside Pingyu City.

Lu Ding stood beside the horse, speaking in a flat tone, as if he were advising someone who was not important.

"Some roads look short, but they are actually steep."

"If one day you feel something is wrong."

"Taking a step back is not shameful."

At the time, Xun You did not take it to heart.

He even felt that it was just a local person's self-protective statement.

But when he actually stood before this "shortcut," he suddenly realized—

I am walking down a road of no return.

So, before taking action, he did some seemingly insignificant things.

Xun You did not directly enter the game.

He handed over the actual execution to "those who had already been pushed to the forefront".

And himself.

On the surface, he continued to associate with scholars and even made a public appearance the day before the incident.

In the shadows, he participated in the planning, but deliberately left traces of "disagreement" and "hesitation".

Most importantly, he handed over several key communications in advance to someone who would never die for him—not a confidant, not an accomplice, but a middleman destined to be abandoned.

This step won't save him.

But it can do one thing:

This transformed him from "the only answer" into "one of many possibilities."

Things went wrong even faster than expected.

The defenses around Dong Zhuo were far beyond what an "assassin" could break through.

The knife did not get close.

The person has been exposed.

That night, several alleys were sealed off at the same time.

The streets of Luoyang are like a net that has suddenly tightened.

Xun You did not flee.

It's not that you can't escape it.

Rather, he knew—

At this point, trying to escape would be a sure way to die.

He did not resist when he was taken away.

There wasn't even a single word of explanation.

This, in turn, made the person in charge of escorting the prisoner hesitate for a moment.

"You've already admitted it?" the man sneered.

Xun You merely glanced at him.

There was no intention to explain in that glance.

⸻

He was not imprisoned.

He was not immediately tortured.

What Dong Zhuo wanted was never just one person's life.

Instead, they uprooted the entire line.

Xun You was placed in a secluded courtyard.

There are no chains.

But there are people outside the door, day and night.

Within three days, an investigation began in Luoyang.

It's not an open investigation.

Instead, it follows the relationships, exploring layer by layer upwards.

Someone was arrested.

Someone is missing.

Some people were "invited" to go drinking and never came back.

But strangely—

All clues, when they reach Xun You, will lead to an additional fork in the road.