Inside the small side hall, the gathered civil and military officials could only stare at one another in silence.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then the same thought rose in every mind at once.
Could anyone truly be that naive?
Zhang Fei was the first who could not hold it in.
"Is this really Cao Cao's son?"
Cao Cao was many things, subhuman, certainly, but his mastery of warfare was undeniable. One does not simply win a high-difficulty slaughter like Guandu without knowing how to swing a blade. To call him capable was an understatement.
Even the usually composed Ma Liang could not stop himself from frowning.
"How did a man like Cao Cao end up with a son this innocent?"
That was everyone's thought.
No one could quite make sense of it.
Liu Ye's advice had been sound from beginning to end, every word supported by reason and circumstance.
Pang Tong, having personally tasted the bitterness of talent left unused, cared less about Cao Pi's foolishness and more about Liu Ye's fate.
After the prediction at Yiling came true, one would hope this Cao Zihuan finally realized the caliber of the man standing before him."
Guan Yu looked at the Light Screen with a face full of speechless disbelief.
"My elder brother marched in anger, and that at least I understand."
"But Cao Cao's son also marches in anger?"
His brows drew together, his tone cold and sharp.
"Naive and quick to rage. How can such a man command armies?"
"When troops should have been sent, he stood by and watched from the riverbank."
"And when troops should not have been sent, he suddenly raises an army instead?"
Zhang Fei, on the other hand, looked as if he had just heard the funniest story in the world.
"Second Brother, why worry for him?"
He grinned, thoroughly delighted.
"If our 'blue-eyed brother-in-law' gives Cao Zihuan a good thrashing, it might actually knock some sense into the boy."
He tilted his head toward the western direction, where Yi Province lay.
"That should also ease some of Kongming's burden over there. Not a bad thing at all."
---
[Lightscreen]
[Cao Pi was hell-bent on seeking revenge and washing away his humiliation.
Naturally, Liu Ye jumped out once more to oppose the plan. Honestly, at this point in the Wei court, everyone knew their Sovereign was playing with a less-than-full deck of cards.
Think about it: when Sun Quan's envoys first arrived to surrender, the entire court cheered. Cao Pi personally enfeoffed him as the King of Wu and even grandly penned a formal 'Letter to Sun Quan, King of Wu.'
To grant a kingship one day and declare him a rebel the next, it was a massive blow to his imperial dignity.
Only Liu Ye, that long-suffering loyalist of Wei, had the guts to speak the truth to power.
But Liu Ye was not Wei Zheng, and Cao Pi was certainly not Li Shimin.
Cao Pi acted as if he had heard absolutely nothing.
You keep talking; I'll keep marching.
The eastern route: Cao Xiu, Zhang Liao, and Zang Ba led eighty thousand commandery troops to attack Dongkou.
The central route: Cao Ren led twenty thousand men against Ruxu.
The western route: Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang, Xu Huang, and Zhang He led roughly seventy thousand troops to assault Jiangling.]
---
Zhao Yun was the first to shake his head.
"The eastern route can only serve as a diversion."
"Even with Zhang Liao, commandery troops are still commandery troops."
Guan Yu nodded.
"Cao Ren's force is likewise a feint."
"The Light Screen has mentioned Ruxu multiple times. It is clearly a strategic choke point."
His eyes narrowed.
"If it is such an important place, fortifications would surely be heavy. Even twenty thousand elite soldiers may achieve little."
Then his gaze settled on the final route.
"Seventy thousand men at Jiangling. Four great generals."
His voice dropped.
"That is undoubtedly the main assault."
Zhao Yun gave a slow nod.
"This should be the battle where Zhu Ran, relying on the city walls built by General Yunchang, shook the might of Wei."
The timing matched.
The location matched.
There could be no other possibility.
Zhang Fei clicked his tongue and sighed.
"Second Brother cut down Yan Liang and shattered Yuan Shao's momentum."
"He marched into Xiangfan and beat Cao Cao so badly the old fox nearly ran."
Then his face twisted with disdain.
"And yet that so-called brother-in-law brought a hundred thousand men in a sneak attack against Second Brother, only to end up hiding behind the very walls Second Brother built just to keep Cao Wei out."
He snorted.
"And Cao Wei only came because that man broke faith in the first place."
He folded his arms.
"I won't even bother commenting."
He paused, then added with utter contempt:
"The thickness of that brother-in-law's face is probably greater than Jiangling's walls."
Nearby, Ma Liang and Jiang Wan quietly exchanged whispers.
"This Li Shimin…"
"From the Light Screen's tone, he sounds like someone famous in the historical records."
Jiang Wan replied in a low voice.
"Perhaps those words are merely spoken under Li Shimin's name. They cannot be fully trusted."
Though the men in the hall didn't understand what "playing cards" or "kings and jokers" were, they could vaguely intuit the meaning from Cao Pi's erratic behavior.
Whatever it meant, it definitely wasn't a compliment.
---
[Lightscreen]
[At this stage, Cao Wei was stronger than Jiangdong, but the gap wasn't insurmountable.
Wu still carried the morale boost of its great victory at Yiling.
Yet Wei chose to divide its forces.
Though Zhang Liao, despite illness, defeated Lü Fan on the eastern route, he died of illness in the same year.
On the western route, the main offensive ultimately besieged Jiangling for half a year and withdrew without success, establishing Zhu Ran's fame.
In the end, Sun Wu won Yiling completely.]
---
Zhang Fei nearly laughed himself breathless.
"So many troops, so many generals, and yet he insists on using his weakness to strike the enemy's strength."
He slapped his thigh.
"By his father's military law, leading troops to no success while wasting men and generals should be a capital crime."
Jian Yong chuckled.
"That may be difficult."
"After Red Cliffs, I don't recall Cao's side punishing anyone either."
Guan Yu, however, looked toward the Light Screen with a rare sigh.
"So Wenyuan died while ill…"
There was a trace of old sentiment in his eyes.
This old acquaintance from Hedong had truly lived a life without regret.
From White Wolf Mountain to Hefei, his name would echo through generations.
To be remembered in the martial temples by later ages, to receive incense offerings for a thousand years…
For a general, to ride into battle while sick, still break a powerful foe, and finally die after the campaign…
That was almost a perfect curtain call.
---
[Lightscreen]
[There are two more figures worth mentioning. First, that poor bastard Liu Ye.
After his blunt debates with Cao Pi, he fell completely out of favor. There are no further records of him ever being granted a private audience again.
After Cao Pi's early death, Cao Rui took the throne and initially showed Liu Ye great favor.
Liu Ye thought, 'This is my chance! I have to nail this!'
He abandoned his style of direct, blunt counsel and instead spent every waking moment trying to guess what the Emperor wanted to hear before he said it.
But this two-faced act was quickly exposed by a whistleblower, and Cao Rui distanced himself.
Liu Ye couldn't handle the rejection. He eventually descended into madness and died at the age of fifty-five.]
---
Pang Tong let out a cold laugh.
"With Cao Zihuan's temperament, he likely already detested Liu Ziyang after Yiling."
"The fact that Cao Rui later favored him at least proves his talent had become widely recognized."
He smirked.
"Cao Zihuan simply chose not to see it."
Jian Yong burst into laughter.
"Of course he ignored it."
"After all, it was only through his own shortsightedness that Liu Ziyang's name became famous."
Zhang Fei slapped the table.
"If Cao Zihuan had been like Yuan Shao, Liu Ziyang probably wouldn't have kept his head, let alone his job."
The atmosphere in the hall was lively and almost cheerful.
Only Liu Bei looked deeply pained.
"Such talent…"
He let out a long sigh.
"Why suffer indignity under Cao Cao's line?"
"With such a name yet no achievements allowed to take root, only to become a joke for later ages…"
He shook his head.
"What a pity, Liu Ziyang."
"Well, it looks like that other guy was wrong then,"
Zhang Fei said. He'd forgotten Fu Xuan's name, but he remembered the critique.
"If he was so smart, how did he end up going crazy and dying?"
Mi Zhu, who understood a bit more of the world's weight, shook his head.
"It is precisely because Liu Ziyang was so brilliant that he went mad. To serve three successive lords, to possess the keys to the world and yet never be allowed to turn the lock... how could a heart like his not shatter?"
At those words, everyone fell silent.
Each of them felt the weight of it.
The Light Screen had truly not exaggerated when it said his luck was poor.
---
[Lightscreen]
[The other person worth mentioning is Jia Xu.
The campaign against Jiangling eventually ended because of a plague, which meant Cao Pi didn't actually feel like he'd been beaten.
He wanted to keep swinging. Remembering how he'd ignored Liu Ye twice, Cao Pi tried to be a good student this time, but he only learned half the lesson.
Since looking at Liu Ye just gave him a headache, he went to Jia Xu for advice instead.
Jia Xu's talent needs no introduction; even Cao Cao once praised him as the man who made the world 'place its trust and weight' in him.
Facing his father's veteran minister, Cao Pi was on his best behavior. He asked with great gravity: 'Between the two troublemakers, Jiangdong and Yizhou Province, which one should I smack first?' ]
---
Zhang Fei snorted.
"I don't know much about high strategy, but I know exactly what's going on in Cao Zihuan's head,"
He shook his head.
"He's just like those fresh recruits from good families.
"Every one of them thinks himself Wei Qing or Huo Qubing."
"Then one battle later, they wake up."
He jabbed a finger toward the Light Screen.
"This Jia Xu shouldn't bother with strategy."
"It's useless."
"What he ought to do is slap Cao Zihuan right across the face."
"Third Brother…" Liu Bei said, already feeling the familiar headache coming on.
The ministers nearby silently looked at Zhang Fei's broad palm.
Third General, you just want to do the slapping yourself, don't you?
---
[Lightscreen]
[Jia Xu was already in his seventies, reaching the end of his road.
A man who had been cautious his entire life decided to let his brilliance shine one last time. His memorial to Cao Pi was long, but incredibly pragmatic.
It could be summarized in three words: 'Focus on development.'
Jia Xu saw the board clearly. Both Yi Province and Jiangdong were guarded by natural fortresses.
Furthermore, Zhuge Liang could govern a nation, Sun Quan knew how to read a situation, and Lu Xun was a master of maneuvers.
These were the elite of the era; attacking them head-on was a gamble with too many variables.
His core philosophy was: catch up on production and grow the economy. When you have eight gold mines and the enemy only has two, what's the rush?
The Way of War is to secure victory first, then seek battle. Use civil means before military ones. Just out-develop them until they wither away.
It was a vision of grand statesmanship. However, Cao Pi was very unhappy. 'I, the Great Emperor of Wei, came to you for a cool war plan and I get lectured on farming instead?'
And so, 'The Emperor did not accept the advice'.]
---
Jian Yong sighed and laughed.
"At that point, it really would have been better to just slap him."