Chapter 23: The Assassin's Strange Talent

  He had gone to Cao's camp, intending to persuade Cao Cao, but hadn't expected that as soon as he arrived at Snake Hill, he would run into someone who wanted to kill him. The general was less than forty years old, more than thirty, with a yellow face and short stubble on his chin. Although he wore a helmet and armor, his appearance was completely unimposing, not like a military commander, but rather a county clerk. Even when he raised an eyebrow and shouted, "Take him away and behead him!", his tone and expression were no different from saying "Get out of here and stop bothering me!"

  But the soldiers, of course, wouldn't take it as a joke and came to bind him. Shi Yun struggled and shouted: "I'd rather die than be bound! Who are you? What grudge do you have against me? If you can understand, I'll die with my eyes closed!" He felt that something was fishy, could it be that the guy in front of him was also a spy for Yuan Shu? However, the position of "Riding Colonel" wasn't low at all. If Cao Cao really had such a "deep-sea" hidden beside him, there's no way he would have been able to defeat Yuan Shu so thoroughly later on. So, why did this guy want to kill him? Who was he exactly? Who were the Riding Colonels under Cao Cao at that time... Ah, damn it, I forgot those details from history books!

  At this moment, his inner unwillingness surpassed his doubts, and his doubts exceeded his fear. His face turned bright red, but at first glance, it seemed like he was angry with himself. The general didn't say a word, staring at Shi Xun for half a day, until the rope had wrapped around Shi Xun's body several times and the soldiers were about to tie the knot. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he laughed loudly: "Indeed, you are a heroic and daring man!"

  He waved his hand, ordering the soldiers who had tied him up to retreat, then he personally got up and came over to help Shi Xun remove all the ropes from his body. Shi Xun was even more confused, and couldn't help but ask: "Why are you being rude first and polite later?"

  He then untied all the ropes, threw them to the ground, turned to Shi Yun and suddenly clasped his fists together, bowing down: "I apologize. Only because many people have attempted to assassinate my master recently, I had to test you specially. The situation was unavoidable, please forgive me, Mr. Shi."

  He Xun took a deep breath, but then thought again and felt that it wasn't right: "Can one really determine the truth with just one try?" The other person nodded deeply: "To be fearless in the face of danger, to be undaunted by strength, to uphold justice, to confront each other openly - isn't this the mark of a heroic warrior? How could those petty thieves and spies possibly do such a thing?" He Xun thought about it and realized that in this era, there were no specialized espionage agencies, and the cultural requirements for assassins and killers were very low. Ordinary scholars would not stoop to such things, so how could those rough men have shown the "scholarly pride" he had just seen?

  For example, later in the Western Jin, Guo Chong praised Zhuge Liang and told five anecdotes about him. One of them was that Cao Cao sent an assassin to kill Liu Bei. The assassin analyzed the situation with Liu Bei and they hit it off immediately. However, when Zhuge Liang arrived, he became slightly flustered and quickly made an excuse to leave. Liu Bei then said to Zhuge Liang, "I have found a remarkable person who can complement you." Zhuge Liang asked who it was, and Liu Bei replied that it was the man who had just left. Zhuge Liang said, "I saw that this man's expression was flustered, he must be an assassin sent by Cao Cao." Indeed, when Liu Bei looked for the man again, he could not find him.

  Pei Songzhi's refutation of Guo Chong's five points in his annotation to the Records of the Three Kingdoms says: When it comes to this point, he said that Liu Bei had a discerning eye for talent. If someone could really win him over and make him happy, and even say that they could be a supplement to Zhuge Liang, then that person would definitely be an extraordinary scholar at the time! Who would dare to take such an extraordinary scholar and turn them into an assassin, throwing away their life?! This is more unreliable than using a meat bun to hit a dog!

  So at this time, the assassins were probably mostly just those two guys who came out of nowhere, with decent martial arts skills (of course, they're clearly not as good as Guan Ni and Bai Wuchang), but their intelligence is discounted, and as for elegance and demeanor, these are attributes that are beyond their reach.

  He was actually quite lucky, he had just been scared to the point of almost wetting his pants. If it weren't for the fact that he had encountered too many dangers recently and his nerves had been tempered to become more resilient, plus he had a belly full of excuses that hadn't been used yet before meeting Cao Cao, his unwillingness to give up would have overcome his fear. At that moment, one misstep... Actually, this has nothing to do with being careful or not, it should be said that one was unlucky, and if the general in front thought he was pretending, then he would definitely be dead.

  Thinking of this, my entire back was drenched in sweat - people are often like this, when faced with danger, one is caught off guard and doesn't have time to think carefully, or maybe their reaction is disrupted by other situations or emotions. Saying they're scared is just that, it's not until afterwards when thinking back on it that they realize they were really scared. That's what "fear after the fact" means.

  But at this time, he couldn't help but carefully savor the taste of fear. The other party had apologized, and he had to react quickly. What could he do? Could he jump up and scold them for not accepting the apology? He was still on someone else's turf, after all. If he provoked the other party into a rage, it would turn from a test of intentions to a real killing intent, and he wouldn't even have the chance to feel afraid afterwards. For now, he could only calmly make a fist: "Your lordship is cautious in protecting your master, which is not surprising. But may I ask how you are addressed?"

  That officer, while beckoning Mr. Shi to sit down opposite him, ordered the soldiers to bring hot water to calm Mr. Shi's nerves, and introduced himself: "I am Zhong Mou Ren Jun, styled Bo Da."

  Oh, so you're Ren Baida.

  It is said that Ren Jun was in Cao's camp, but his presence was very weak. This is because he followed Cao Cao early on and died relatively early. It seems that after the Battle of Guandu, he didn't last long and passed away. Moreover, this person had been in charge of transporting grain for a long time and did not have any outstanding military achievements. Compared to Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao, and Xu Chu, he was far inferior. However, Xun Yu knew Ren Jun's name because people said that Xun Yu was Cao Cao's Xiao He, but in reality, it was Xun Yu and Ren Jun together who could be considered a complete Xiao He - the "tuntian" strategy that allowed Cao Cao to stand out among the heroes was proposed by Zang Ba, and executed by Ren Jun.

  So Xi hurriedly paid his respects: "I've long admired you, I've long admired you." Ren Jun heard these words as mere courtesy - at this time, he had just left Yunzhou and knew that there were indeed not many people who knew him - but in fact, they were Xi's sincere words.

  Ren Jun asked, "Is the gentleman coming from afar to see my master, I don't know what's the matter?" Xun smiled slightly and said, "This is not something that can be clearly stated at present. Let's wait until I meet with Cao Cao, and then I'll come up with a plan - but it must be quick, for the opportunity will slip away if we hesitate."

  Ren Jun did not dare to slack off and hastily dispatched troops to escort Shi Xiong to Cao Cao's large camp. At this time, Cao Cao's main camp was not far from Sheqiu County, just thirty miles northwest, near Suixiang. Riding horses at full speed, it would take less than an hour to arrive. By now the sun was approaching noon, and Shi Xiong had spent the entire previous night deep in thought, unable to sleep soundly. He got up early without eating much, and after running for half a morning - plus being frightened by Ren Jun - he felt mentally exhausted, his stomach growling with hunger.

  In this state, it's hard to muster the courage to persuade others. So, Xu Zong dismounted his horse outside the camp, stretched his legs and asked two soldiers from Tuo City to bring him some dry rations, which he nibbled on for a while, then leaned against a big tree and dozed off for a bit. Only after taking a deep breath did he order the soldier sent by Ren Jun: "Go and pass on the message."

  What would Cao Cao do if he went to report himself? Zhen Ji had thought about it from all angles. If he was lucky enough, Cao Cao would be overjoyed and wouldn't even have time to put on his shoes, running out barefoot and grabbing his hand saying: "Zi yuan yuan lai, how can I teach you?" - no mistake, the only one who could get this treatment is Xu You, Xu Zi Yuan during the Battle of Guandu...

  He has no official position, just a commoner, and didn't even mention what he came for. Cao Cao's most likely response would be to ignore him - if that's the case, then it's better to hand over Cao De's letter first, but this thing is more effective when handed over later rather than sooner. Think about it, why did Pang Tong hide the letters of recommendation from Zhuge Liang and Lu Su in his sleeve and not show them to Liu Bei? Is he still observing Liu Bei, testing him, "I also choose my master"? Don't be ridiculous, he doesn't want to surrender to Cao Cao, and he was rejected by Sun Quan, so if he doesn't surrender to Liu Bei, where else can he go? Really go back home and farm? He just wants to wait for the best moment to take out those two treasures and sell them. This person's psychology is like this: things that seem good at first glance may not be cherished, but only when they are almost missed, then picked up again, do they become treasured as rare and precious things.

  So, it's like this: a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a servant girl, a servant girl is not as good as a prostitute, a prostitute is not as good as a thief, and getting caught stealing is not as good as not getting caught... Hmm, it seems I've been thinking a bit too much.

  In a relatively good situation, Cao Cao would allow himself to enter, but his attitude was not very enthusiastic. Then he had to try to persuade Cao Cao with his three-inch tongue first. If he failed, he would take out Cao De's letter. Of course, the best situation was that the persuasion was successful, and then take out the letter, which would definitely make Cao Cao feel more impressed. Anyway, this letter was a safety net, and there was no hurry to hand it over.

  But unexpectedly, Cao Cao actually gave an order using the word "please". So he followed the guards to the front of the big tent, the guards lifted the curtain, and it was then that he hesitated before taking a step forward.

  That's one small step for a man, but one giant leap for me!

  He was a bit strange, when he first met Liu Bei on the plain, why didn't he have this anxious and yearning heart? He could tell that it wasn't because of the difficulty and challenge of persuading Cao Cao. Of course, he was half a fan of Cao, but being in this era, not facing complex and seemingly distant historical materials two thousand years later, his heart should be putting Liu Bei and Cao Cao on the same level. Anyway, in this life, it's either surrender to Cao or surrender to Liu, under the premise that the intention has not been decided, what's the difference between Cao Cao and Liu Bei?

  He took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and lifted the flap of the tent, striding in. As he entered, he saw that apart from the guards, there were only two people inside, who surprisingly did not sit, but stood up to greet him. Cao Zhen was somewhat taken aback by this honor, and bowed: "Greetings, Lord Cao." He raised his head to take a closer look, and indeed, it was Cao Cao himself.

  I am the recommended separator line

  The second volume's main event has begun, the protagonist is going to persuade Cao Cao——By the way, does everyone still remember what this protagonist's real name is? Ah Fei, that's right, Ah Fei. So I'll take the opportunity to give a shout-out to San Guo Ah Fei's "Dòu Zhàn Sān Guó" (book number 3032615)——This is a mercenary adventure through the Three Kingdoms history. Similarly writing about the Three Kingdoms, each with their own clever differences, I hope friends will read Ah Fei's articles while collecting, recommending, and liking mine, thank you!