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

Because Xun You knew—

This is not a reward.

Instead, they formally handed the knife to Lü Ding, leaving it to him to see if he dared to actually use it.

After reading the document, the messenger led three hundred county soldiers away in a cloud of dust, not lingering for even a moment longer.

The crying outside the city subsided, but the people did not.

The grain carts are still there.

One by one, the lights went out, leaving only the sound of the patrolling footsteps.

Lü Ding did not return to the village.

He stood on a high place outside the city, looking at the line of grain piles as if they were a river running across the county.

Xun You stood beside him, remaining silent for a long time.

"The prefectural government has put you in charge of grain transport," he finally said, "which seems to be giving you a formal title."

"But if something goes wrong with the grain transport, you'll be the first one held accountable."

He looked at Lü Ding, his voice very low.

"But the real issue isn't this step."

"But what happens after the grain runs out."

He paused for a moment.

"Will these people kneel again?"

Lü Ding did not deny it.

"You should understand," Xun You continued, "that the grain can only last for a while at most."

"Once this batch is shipped out, the next batch will arrive."

"You can't stand in front of the grain cart for the rest of your life."

Lü Ding turned his head and looked at him.

"So, what do you think they're lacking?"

Xun You thought about it.

"It's not grain."

"It's the confidence to survive."

Lü Ding remained silent.

Xun You slowly said:

"They weep before you today not because of your benevolence."

"It's because you dare to take responsibility."

"But one cannot rely on others to support them for a lifetime."

He paused for a moment.

"If you only give them food, they will only wait for the next time."

"But if you let them—"

"You can make a living on your own."

Lü Ding replied in a low voice:

"Then they won't come begging for food anymore."

Xun You nodded.

"That's what it means to win the hearts of the people."

"It means that people don't have to bow their heads."

The night wind blew across the grain pile.

Lu Ding suddenly smiled.

"So, how can we help them live better lives?"

Xun You did not answer immediately.

He looked at the figures that had not yet dispersed in the distance—the porters carrying grain, the night watchmen, and the women dozing against the carriage shafts.

These people are quiet and don't make a fuss.

Just enduring it.

"It's not better," Xun You finally spoke, "it's more stable."

Lü Ding turned his head to the side.

"In chaotic times, 'good' is too much of a luxury," Xun You said. "But if there's no stability, people can only gamble."

"Gambling won't make you sick."

"I'm betting I won't get killed."

"I'm betting on this trip to make it back alive."

He spoke softly, yet each word was deliberate and forceful.

"What you're doing now is flipping the gambling table for them."

Lu Ding remained silent for a while.

But the grain was ultimately imported.

"It might happen this year, but not necessarily next year."

"I can't rely on grain to support them for the rest of my life."

Xun You nodded.

"Therefore, the roots are in the fields."

Upon hearing this, the night seemed to fall silent for a moment.

Lü Ding looked up.

"You think so too."

"It's not that I wanted to," Xun You shook his head, "it's that you've already come this far."

"The right to grain is in your hands."

"Next—"

He looked at Lü Ding and said, "If you don't touch Tian, ​​they will eventually be pushed back to square one."

Lu Ding slowly exhaled.

"Kata is from a samurai family."

"Yes," Xun You admitted quickly, "that's why it's difficult."

"But you're not trying to seize the land."

Lü Ding looked at him.

"You want to let Tian—"

Xun You paused for a moment, then said, "Start living for others."

Lü Ding chuckled softly.

"That's easy for you to say."

"But you and I both know that if we touch this, the backlash will be significant."

Xun You did not deny it.

"The tenants will be afraid."

"The gentry will hate it."

"The prefectural government will take a look."

"But if you want to win the hearts of the people, this blow will come sooner or later."

He paused, then added:

"However, we won't cut everything right now."

"But—"

"Try it first."

Lü Ding did not respond.

He looked further out of the city, at the fields swallowed by the night.

"I tried it in Lüjiazhuang."

Xun You certainly knew.

Contracting out to individual households.

Only 30% will be accepted.

I don't care if prices will rise next year, I only care if people can survive this year.

That village has already begun to change.

"But that's your own land," Xun You reminded him.

"Push down Pingyu, push down Runan—"

"That's none of your business."

Lü Ding nodded.

"Therefore, it cannot start with me."

Xun You was taken aback.

"So, who do you plan to start with?"

Lü Ding did not answer immediately.

He turned and looked towards the city.

"The Shen family."

Xun You's expression changed slightly.

"You made a very good choice," he said.

"But do you know why?"

"Because the Shen family has no shortage of food," Lü Ding replied.

"We don't lack land either."

"What they lack is one—"

He thought for a moment and used a very light word.

"A mechanism that allows a family to survive even in chaotic times."

Xun You understood.

The Shen family was not a small family.

However, it's not considered top-tier in Runan.

Being stuck in the middle makes you most vulnerable to being squeezed out.

If the contract is successfully completed, the Shen family will be the first to reap the benefits.

If it fails—

They are also the easiest to be pushed out as a shield.

"You're letting the Shen family test the waters for you," Xun You said.

"It's not for me," Lü Ding corrected, "it's for this path."

He paused for a moment.

I won't force it.

"We won't let them bear it for nothing."

"How should the accounts be settled, how should the land be divided, and how should the taxes be paid?"

Write everything down clearly.

Xun You looked at him and suddenly sighed.

This sigh was not one of relief.

It is complicated.

"Yunzhong."

For the first time, he used Lü Ding's courtesy name.

Have you ever thought about this—

"If this path is successful."

"You can never go back."

Lü Ding looked at him.

"I know."

"You'll be under everyone's watchful eye."

"You will be said to be—"

Xun You slowly said:

"A person who has broken the ancestral rules."

"A person who stirs up trouble."

"Even—"

He didn't finish speaking.

Lu Ding took over the conversation.

"The kind of person who is most likely to be criticized in chaotic times."

Xun You nodded.

"But you still want to do it?"

Lü Ding smiled.

The laugh was neither light nor heavy.

"Because I stood before the grain heap today and watched that man die."

"I suddenly realized something."

Xun You waited for him to continue.

"People don't die from starvation."

"Because—"

Lü Ding looked up at the night sky.

"In his entire life, he never owned a single piece of land that truly belonged to him."

These words were spoken.

Xun You remained silent for a long time.

a long time.

He then whispered:

"You mean to say that the word 'way out' is—"

"Write it in the land deed."

Lü Ding did not deny it.

Night was falling.

In the distance, the sound of a change of sentry could be heard from the direction of the city gate.

Xun You looked at Lü Ding and suddenly said:

"I'll be there for you, until we finish promoting this whole thing."

But I must tell you something.

Lü Ding looked at him.

"The moment a system is implemented, the first drop of blood is shed—"

"It won't spill onto the grain."

"It will drip onto people."

Lü Ding nodded.

"I know."

"But if it doesn't flow."

He whispered:

"More will flow in the future."

The two stood side by side.

The grain carts stood silent in the night.

The fields lay further away, silent and still.

But a path that no one has ever dared to walk before has already been trodden lightly with the first step.