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Jia Xu departed as suddenly as he had arrived, leaving behind only a letter. At the end, he did not, of course, sign his true name, but merely wrote this: "The name is known, so it is omitted.".
Yet within the letter, apart from some conventional expressions of gratitude for the hospitality, he did bring up one point of advice—urging Fei Qian to take the three counties of Dingyang, Gaonu, and Diaoyin, east of Beiqu, at the earliest opportunity. The route to seize Shang Commandery indeed lay correctly along this path. After all, in that direction ran a Qin dynasty straight road. Although it had not been repaired for many years, it was still far easier than blazing an entirely new trail. The Qin Straight Road stretched from Xianyang directly to the foot of the old Great Wall in the Yin Mountains. Back when the empire defended against the southern incursions of the nomadic tribes, the Qin army's supplies could basically be dispatched one day and arrive the next. It was just that, at present, the timing was still a little too early.
As Fei Qian rode his horse toward the encampment, he passed the letter over to Jia Qu and Du Yuan, who were at his side, to read in turn.
In order to hasten the completion of the academy, Linghu Shao had already assumed his post. Though he was still rather young and could not yet produce any noteworthy insights in classical scholarship—appointing him as an Erudite might invite some dissent—serving as an Education-Promoting Officer ought to pose little problem. Thus, nowadays, he could basically be found every day on Peach Mountain, a scroll of bamboo slips in hand, sitting there from morning till dusk. It was unclear whether he was reading or supervising the construction—perhaps both.
Jia Qu finished reading the letter and handed it to Du Yuan. "With Gaonu to the north and Diaoyin to the south, plus Dingyang, they would form a tripartite, mutually supporting posture. If we could take them, we would be stably established within Shang Commandery."
Du Yuan added, "However, at the earliest, we cannot deploy troops until after the autumn harvest. At present, provisions are indeed quite scarce."
Fei Qian nodded. A thought suddenly occurred to him. If viewed from the perspective of strategic vision, he himself should rank among those who were far ahead of their time. That was why he felt little particular surprise at Jia Xu's letter. But for someone utterly directionless, not knowing which way to turn, a letter of this sort might be no less than a divine elixir. At the same time, on the tactical level, he was probably still rather weak. In that case, should he not seek out some people...
Jia Qu said, "However, we have now captured a great many Xianbei. Profound resentment is hard to avoid. Should we launch a campaign against Shang Commandery, we must indeed guard against the Xianbei."
The strategy Fei Qian currently employed was essentially to ally with the Southern Xiongnu and the Eastern Qiang in order to confront the Xianbei to the north. Fei Qian replied, "For now, we need not be overly concerned. The Xianbei King Tanshihuai died suddenly. Budugen is entrenched in Yunzhong and Yanmen, while Kebineng is concentrated in Dai Commandery and Shanggu. The two are at odds with each other—this is precisely an opportunity we can exploit." So long as he did not attack the home bases of Budugen in the two commanderies of Yunzhong and Yanmen, there would be no irreconcilable conflict with him.
In the area near Shang Commandery and Xihe, there were only scattered, splinter Xianbei tribes that did not belong to Budugen's jurisdiction in the first place. Therefore, even if Budugen received some pleas for help, he most likely would not focus his full attention here. It was a matter of leading the poor peasants to struggle against the landlords.
After the autumn harvest, once winter set in, they would truly need to strengthen their defenses against the southern raids of the nomadic tribes. That was the time when these tribes urgently needed to head south to obtain supplies in order to survive the long, harsh winter.
"Must await the right season," Fei Qian murmured. Suddenly, he pointed toward the flock of sheep within the encampment and said, "Look at that sheep—that lamb there..."
"Oh!" Jia Qu and Du Yuan both exclaimed, exchanging a glance of surprise.
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Meanwhile, a thousand li away, Cao Cao was also passing a brief intelligence report in his hand to Wei Ji beside him. Wei Ji, now clad entirely in black, silently accepted the small scrap of silk. Unfolding it, he saw written two characters: "Already Refused."
Wei Ji handed the silk strip back and said, "As expected. His Excellency Liu is of the imperial lineage, steadfastly upholding the Way, loyal, generous, righteous, and principled. How could he possibly agree to such a treasonous affair?"
Cao Cao nodded, then fell silent.
This year, Cao Cao had suffered setback after setback. At the beginning of the year, in high spirits, he had dispersed his family wealth to recruit troops and bid farewell to his wife and children. Yet upon reaching Suanzao, he discovered that the various lords had no intention of advancing at all, endlessly entangled in power struggles. This ultimately led to him and Bao Xin advancing alone, only to be routed. After Cao Hong fought desperately to cover his escape, Cao Cao had gathered his spirits and headed south to Yangzhou to recruit anew. He had painstakingly scraped together nearly ten thousand soldiers once more. He had originally intended to return to Suanzao and continue the campaign against Dong Zhuo.
Yet he never imagined that at Longkang, a night panic would erupt, and like a dusting of snow meeting a blazing sun, his ten thousand troops would scatter, leaving fewer than two thousand. Unable to bear the shame of returning home in such a bedraggled state, Cao Cao, with no other choice, headed north to Henei to seek refuge with Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao, it must be said, treated Cao Cao rather well. He gave him a thousand men and horses and also distributed provisions and pay. He did not, on account of Cao Cao's earlier disrespect toward him in Luoyang, create any difficulties or make things awkward. Yet, to Cao Cao, it seemed that this Yuan Benchu—who had once been so spirited and dashing—had become a different person. Having been raised amidst luxury and never knowing the toil of sowing and reaping—this was a common failing of the princely class and nothing particularly surprising. But what Yuan Shao was doing now, when the house of Han had not yet fallen, was attempting to pull off the very deed of lending aid to Liu Xiu from Nanyang! How was this any different from outright treason?!
Cao Cao recalled the last banquet he had attended, hosted by Yuan Shao. A group of men had sat behind their desks, drinking. During the feast, Yuan Shao had repeatedly held up a jade seal for all to see. His intention was so obvious it was as if he barely bothered to disguise it. According to the Han official system, different seals and ribbons were worn according to one's rank. Seals were divided into gold, silver, and copper grades. The knobs atop the seals were distinguished as turtle-shaped or nose-shaped. Ribbons varied in color—green, purple, blue, yellow, and black.
Yet in all these distinctions, there was absolutely no jade seal! Who alone was permitted to use a jade seal? Only the Son of Heaven! Among all those present, clad in magnificent robes and hats, bearing themselves with imposing dignity, not a single person uttered a word. The house of Han was in decay, every heart harbored disloyalty. Who could still preserve their fealty and integrity? Including Cao Cao himself. To live under another's roof, dependent on their every breath—this bitterness was unbearable. There were things he wished to say yet dared not speak openly; there was anger he could not let show on his face.
"Boju, if we were to seek a place to establish ourselves, where would be best?" Cao Cao clasped his hands behind his back and gazed up at the sky.
After being defeated by Fei Qian, Wei Ji had traveled all the way east. He had originally intended to seek refuge with Yuan Shao, thinking that with his renown, he would at least be able to secure a position of some standing. But, regrettably, reality was forever cruel. Yuan Shao's territory was vast and his forces strong. Just among those who had already expressed their leaning, or who had already pledged themselves to Yuan Benchu, there was the Ji Province faction—Tian Feng, Shen Pei, Ju Shou—and the Yu Province faction—Guo Tu, Feng Ji, Xu You. These two major advisor cliques had already formed their own inner circles along regional lines, and there was considerable mutual rivalry and friction between them. But just because they were vying against each other did not mean there was an opening for Wei Ji to slip in and maneuver between both sides.
Those who had already secured a firm footing at Yuan Shao's side, though constantly competing for ever greater power, maintained a high degree of wariness toward anyone attempting to join their ranks. Wei Ji had been there two days; aside from a single distant glimpse of Yuan Shao's face, he had achieved nothing. He could not even get an audience. With no other choice, he had to seek another path. At that moment, Cao Cao, desperately short of advisors, appeared. And since the ties between Cao Cao and the Wei clan had always been good, Wei Ji turned and threw himself into Cao Cao's embrace.
Although, in his heart of hearts, Wei Ji desperately wanted Cao Cao to immediately turn his forces west and annihilate Fei Qian—that pain that cut to the very bone—he also understood deep down that Cao Cao's current strength was not yet sufficient to contend with Fei Qian. He could only bury his hatred within his heart for the time being. "My lord, what of Yan Province?"
Yan Province was Cao Cao's home territory. Moreover, Cao Cao had previously served as Chancellor of the State of Jinan within Yan Province and had gained considerable renown for his virtue. Therefore, if Cao Cao could truly go to Yan Province, it would be relatively easy to gain the support of the local gentry there.
"Yan Province, ah..." Cao Cao repeated the words, then nodded slightly. "...Must await the right season as well."
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A/N: Yuan Shao had initially lodged himself under Han Fu, the Governor of Ji Province. Then, before the Suanzao coalition had even broken apart, he and Han Fu had already planned to recommend Liu Yu as the new Son of Heaven. At this time, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were not on good terms and looked down upon each other. Liu Yu refused—this is the origin of the matter referred to in this chapter. But it must be noted that at this time, Han Fu was still the Provincial Governor. Shortly after, Yuan Shao began scheming to seize the position of Provincial Governor himself, and in a volte-face, allied himself with Liu Yu's adversary, Gongsun Zan. Politics... And Cao Cao at this time—whether he was already nursing independent ambitions, or still retained some of that righteous, almost naive indignation, disdaining to associate with political speculators like Yuan Shao—using the pretext of suppressing the Black Mountain Bandits, he broke away from Yuan Shao's main force.