Inside the small side hall, the gathered civil and military officials could only stare at one another.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then the exact same thought popped into every single head all at once.
Can someone seriously actually be this clueless?
Zhang Fei was the first who could not hold it in.
"Wait, this Cao Pi really is Cao Cao's own son? Not adopted or picked up from a trash bin?"
Cao Cao was many things. Subhuman, certainly. But his mastery of warfare was undeniable. One does not simply win a brutal battle like Guandu without knowing how to fight. 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? Did he read too many books until his brain went soft, or what?"
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 Lightscreen with a face full of speechless disbelief.
"My Big 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 easy to provoke. 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 Yizhou lay.
"And hey, that would also lighten the load Kongming is carrying over there. Honestly does not sound half bad to me."
[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 Cao 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 Cao 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 will keep marching.
The eastern route: Cao Xiu, Zhang Liao, and Zang Ba led 80,000 commandery troops to attack Dongkou.
The central route: Cao Ren led 20,000 men against Ruxu.
The western route: Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang, Xu Huang, and Zhang He led roughly 70,000 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 in agreement.
"Cao Ren's force is likewise a feint. The Lightscreen has mentioned Ruxu multiple times, and it is clearly a strategic choke point. If it is such an important place, the fortifications would surely be heavy. Even 20,000 elite soldiers may achieve little."
His gaze then settled on the final route, and his voice dropped.
"70,000 men at Jiangling. Four great generals. 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 matches. The location matches. 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 Xiangyang-Fancheng and beat Cao Cao so badly the old fox nearly ran."
His face twisted with disdain.
"And yet that so-called brother-in-law brought 100,000 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. Cao Wei only came because that man broke faith in the first place."
He folded his arms and let out a snort.
"I will not even bother commenting. That brother-in-law of ours has skin thicker than Jiangling's walls."
Nearby, Ma Liang and Jiang Wan exchanged whispers.
"This Li Shimin... from the Lightscreen'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 did not 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 was not a compliment.
[Lightscreen]
[At this stage, Cao Wei was stronger than Jiangdong, but the gap was not insurmountable.
Wu still carried the morale boost of its great victory at Yiling.
Yet Cao 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.
"Hahahaha, oh man... So many troops, so many generals, and yet he insists on using his weakness to strike the enemy's strength. By his father's military law, leading troops to no success while wasting men and generals should be a capital crime."
He slapped his thigh for emphasis.
Jian Yong chuckled.
"That may be difficult. After Red Cliffs, I do not recall Cao's side punishing anyone either."
Guan Yu, however, looked toward the Lightscreen 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 BailangMountain 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 people worth mentioning here. First, that poor bastard Liu Ye.
After his blunt arguments with Cao Pi, he completely fell out of favor. After that, there are no records of him ever being granted a private audience again.
Then Cao Pi died young, and Cao Rui took the throne. At first, Cao Rui showed Liu Ye a lot of favor.
Liu Ye thought: This is my chance. I have to get this right.
So he changed his whole approach. Instead of giving direct, honest advice, he spent all his time trying to figure out what the Emperor wanted to hear before he even said it.
But it did not take long for someone to expose his two-faced act, and Cao Rui pulled away from him.
Liu Ye could not handle being pushed aside. He eventually lost his mind and died at the age of 55.]
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 would not 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 had 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 different rulers, to hold the answers to every problem, and yet never be allowed to use them... how could a heart like his not shatter?"
At those words, everyone went still.
Each of them felt the weight of it.
The Lightscreen 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 did not actually feel like he had been beaten.
He wanted to keep swinging. Remembering how he had 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 trust him completely.
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, which one should I smack first?]
Zhang Fei snorted.
"I do not know much about high strategy, but I know exactly what is going on in Cao Zihuan's head. He is 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 Lightscreen.
"This Jia Xu should not bother with strategy. It is useless. What he ought to do is slap Cao Zihuan right across the face."
"Yide..." Liu Bei said, already feeling the familiar headache coming on.
The ministers nearby looked at Zhang Fei's broad palm.
Bah. It is obvious, Yide. You just want to be the one doing the slapping, do you not?
[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 Yizhou 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 is 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 Cao 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 laughed. "Hahaha, why bother? Just slap him."