Chapter Eighteen: Turning One's Back on the Main Goal to Seek Fame

  Cao Song's life or death is not important - as long as he doesn't die in Xuzhou. However, now Xu is increasingly reluctant to let Cao De follow him to death, because he thinks this guy is too clever, has too much insight, and is too interesting. If he were to live on, who knows what kind of impact he would have, how much he would change the course of history? If he were to die like this, it would be a real shame.

  After arriving in this world, the people who can be said to have considerable "political wisdom" are only three. One is Chen Deng Chen Yuanlong, the second is Cao Hong Cao Zhonghui, and the third is Cao De Cao Qidi. Chen Deng's historical status has been determined, and Cao Hong left a bad reputation as a "slanderous villain". It is estimated that he probably lost his life in the continuous turmoil in Xuzhou in history, but no one knows how he died specifically. But how did Cao De die? He was very clear about it. What if this Cao Qidi could be guaranteed to live a peaceful life?

  Actually, for the Cao camp, there were many strategists and brave generals. Having one more or one less Cao De wouldn't make a big difference. And with Cao De's current state of being like a "stone statue", he couldn't possibly threaten Cao Cao's leadership position, nor Cao Pi's later on. However, what if Cao De could live until after Cao Cao passed away, or even until after Cao Pi and Cao Rui both passed away? Given Cao Cao's average lifespan, and the short lifespans of Cao Pi and Cao Rui, it's not impossible that this could happen. If so, with an uncle like Cao De around, what would be the point of having a Cao Shuang or a Sima Yi? The Cao family's rule would definitely not fall into outsiders' hands!

  Although he doesn't care about the Cao family's dominance, and the current Cao family's dominance is non-existent, it doesn't stop him from finding this fictional future development very interesting, just thinking about it gets him high.

  In this era, due to the backwardness of communication means, there are very few people who can have a comprehensive view. As a traveler from two thousand years later, I have studied the history of the late Han and Three Kingdoms, so I have a great advantage in this aspect. To put it simply, at that time, who else could know that Sun Ce was a prominent figure, that there was a military genius named Zhou Yu in Lujiang, and that among the Sima family in Hebei, only the second son Sima Yi was good at plotting? Who else could think of "supporting the Son of Heaven to command the vassals" before Emperor Xian of Han escaped from Chang'an? Who else could predict that Guanxi would soon decline and that taking control of Hebei would be able to control the Central Plains?

  So Xun Yu had a certain amount of pride in this aspect, and when history was not yet too far off track, at least within the two states of Qing and Xu, he couldn't think of anyone who could surpass himself in analyzing the situation. But at that moment, he began to feel inferior, because he found that Cao De's true strength was more than one level higher than his own.

  Cao De quickly picked up the clues and found out who was behind it all. He analyzed to Shi Yun: "Although Xuzhou is a big place, there are only a few people who know where my father is hiding, right?"

  Xīn nodded his head, counting on his fingers: "Cao Zhonghui brothers, Chen Yuanlong, Tao Shijun, and... that's all."

  "Cao Zhonghui and his brothers wanted to kill my father and son, they wouldn't have waited until today," Cao De continued, "I also temporarily believe that Mr. Chen and Yuanlong had no such evil intentions, so only Tao Shijun is left, perhaps including some of his confidants - however, directly shouting out Tao Shijun's name to attack my family's estate, this would not only provoke the Xu-Yan conflict, but also implicate Tao Shijun's reputation, right?"

  "That's right."

  "So, the mastermind behind the scenes won't be from Xuzhou - Xuzhou is being besieged, which brings no benefit to the people of Xuzhou, and Tao Shangjun's reputation has been tarnished, which also brings no benefit to the officials in the prefecture," said Cao De, unable to help but let out a soft sigh. "If it didn't involve my closest relatives, I would almost suspect that this is my brother's sinister plot..."

  "Not bad," he exclaimed, "Cao Cao can use this as an excuse to send troops to Xuzhou. With Tao Qian's reputation already tarnished, not only will it be justified for him to attack and take over Xuzhou, but the resistance from the scholars will also greatly decrease. Some may even abandon Tao Qian and go to welcome him..."

  Cao De waved his hand to stop Shi Xun from continuing to think: "My brother is not such an unfeeling person, and if this matter were to be exposed, he would be despised by the people of the world and would lose his reputation. The mastermind behind the scenes must be outside Xuzhou, so who else would not want Xuzhou to fall into my brother's hands, or even fall into Yuan Jizhou's hands, but does not care about Tao Shi Jun's reputation? Even if Tao Shi Jun's rule in Xuzhou is unstable, he still has the opportunity to replace him."

  It suddenly dawned on him: "If Xuzhou is in chaos and also rejects Yanzhou, then Tao will only be able to send envoys for help..." He almost said Liu Bei, but after thinking about it, he realized that Liu Bei didn't have the strength to swallow Xuzhou whole. In fact, Liu Bei's eventual acquisition of Xuzhou was due to a series of coincidences - most importantly, Cao Cao was forced to retreat due to Lü Bu's surprise attack on Yanzhou, otherwise Liu Bei's few thousand soldiers would not have been able to withstand Cao Cao. If you rule out Liu Bei, then the only one who can benefit from this is...

  "Yuan Highway!"

  Yuan Shu is currently residing in Nanyang, but his influence has already extended to Yuzhou, which is roughly the same distance from Taicheng as Liu Bei's Pingyuan. Firstly, under the backdrop of the Yuan brothers' struggle for power, he cannot allow his quasi-ally Tao Qian to defect to Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's camp. He will definitely think of a way to stir up conflict between Xu and Yan provinces. Once Xu and Yan provinces really start fighting, Tao Qian can seek rescue troops from Gongsun Zan, and he will also be able to seek rescue troops from Yuan Shu. With Yuan Shu's current strength and his closer proximity to the battlefield compared to Gongsun Zan, if he wants to intervene in the war, it won't just be a matter of sending a few thousand men to deal with the situation like Gongsun Zan did. He may mobilize his entire army, launch a surprise attack on Yan province's forces, and thereby protect the entire territory of Xu province. At that time, he can wear the laurel wreath of "Savior of Xuzhou", and conveniently remove Tao Qian from power, who has been tarnished by suspicion of murdering high-ranking officials, and take his place!

  In the original history, Yuan Shu was because he was cut off from food and grass by Liu Biao, under the pressure of a hasty attack on Yan Province, straight to Chenliu, as a result, Cao Cao killed him greatly defeated, fled to Shouchun - so during the Xu-Yan war, Tao Qian could only ask for help from Gongsun Zan. But this after event, at that time is nobody can predict.

  However, after some thought, Cao De's analysis was reasonable, but in the original history, Cao Song was killed after Yuan Shu's defeat, which means that in the original history, the possibility of the mastermind being Yuan Shu is not high. Indeed, even if I had traveled through time to this era, due to some changes in details, this eternal mystery still cannot be thoroughly revealed.

  He hesitated for a long time without speaking, but Cao De spoke again: "Governor Yuan's plan is a long-term one, but he is still far away in Nanyang. If he finds out about my father and son's whereabouts from Tao Shi Jun and sends someone to harm us, calculating the days it takes to come and go, it should not be possible to arrive on time. Therefore, although he is the mastermind behind the scenes, the one who actually planned this matter must still be within Xuzhou. According to my speculation, perhaps he is hiding among Tao Shang and Tao Ying's two sons!"

  Yi Xun raised his head: "You mean to say that within Taoyang, there are people secretly in contact with Yuan Pu!" Cao De nodded: "That's right. Which people inside Taoyang have this suspicion, does Mr. have any leads?" Yi Xun shook his head gloomily——as a joke, he hadn't really set foot in the official circles of Xuzhou, couldn't even recognize the main advisors beside Tao Qian, let alone Tao Shang and Tao Ying, how could he possibly come up with a list of suspects?

  Think about it, in the original history, whether under Tao Qian's rule, Liu Bei's rule, or Lü Bu's rule, who had ever colluded with Yuan Shu? It seems that there were Chen Gong and Hao Meng... But now one is following Cao Cao, and the other may be following Lü Bu, neither of whom are in Xuzhou.

  Cao De let out a long sigh: "Indeed, we can't stay in Xuzhou anymore..." Ji Hun picked up his pen to add these speculations to the end of the letter to Chen Deng, but was stopped by Cao De: "Don't write it down, lest it leaks. Trust that Chen Yulang will think of this."

  "Did Qi Ye also know Yuan Long?"

  Cao De smiled faintly: "Within Xuzhou, there is no one who does not know Yuan Long's great name. With time, I believe the whole world will also come to know him." As he said this, he suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly and changed the subject: "Actually, if we don't consider my father's and son's lives, then Governor Yuan having control of Xuzhou might not necessarily be a bad thing for you..."

  He couldn't help but curl his lip in a smile - you little thing, you're also trying to test me? He quoted a phrase from the book: "Yuan Shu's grave is dry and bony, with only an empty name, how can he bring peace to the land? Not to mention contending for the world."

  "Is it possible," Cao De stared into Zixuan's eyes, "that Brother Jia can stabilize Xuzhou and then contend for hegemony over the world?"

  "Actually..." He licked his lips, weighed the pros and cons, and finally decided to tell the truth to this clever guy, while also raising his own value, "The idea of giving up Xuzhou was mine, given to Yuan Long, two alternatives were also listed by me..."

  "Two substitutes? And who is the third one?"

  "Liu Bei, courtesy name Liu Xuande."

  "Liu Xuande..." Cao De's face showed a puzzled expression, "His name is not famous, how can he be on par with my brother?"

  "It's not that I'm being overly cautious, but because I've met Liu Pingyuan before, and I haven't met Cao Pi yet. So when Yuan Long said to persuade Tao Qian to send me to meet his elder brother, it's possible that after meeting him, I'll return home, and there will be the Cao family, the Mi family, the Chen family... and then decide what to do with Xuzhou after Tao Qian passes away, perhaps handing it over to Liu Pingyuan, who knows? Hehehe..."

  He's been flattering and bootlicking, why does he think I'm like Zhang Song who presented the map of Shu to Cao Cao? But Zhang Song didn't have a good ending... Suddenly, an odd thought popped into his mind: Zhang Song was killed by Liu Zhong because he colluded with the enemy from within. In other words, it's okay to betray your lord for personal gain, but if you're the mastermind, you can't go back on it. Just leave some pawns like Fa Zheng and Li Yan to carry out the plan, otherwise, you'll be in danger of losing your life...