Chapter Twenty-Four: The Sun Sets in the West

  What did Cao Cao look like? According to historical records, Cao Cao was not handsome and not majestic, and may have even been a bit despicable. Later, when the Southern Xiongnu sent an envoy, he was afraid of being underestimated by outsiders, so he specially found someone with a dignified appearance, Cui Yan, to impersonate him, while he himself pretended to be a servant, holding a sword and standing beside him. After the event, he sent someone to ask the Xiongnu envoy about his impression. The Xiongnu envoy said: "The King of Wei is indeed majestic, but the 'sword holder' by his side has an even more heroic air." - This is how the term "sword holder" originated.

  But after seeing Cao Shuang and Cao De, I think that according to the general law of heredity, Cao Cao's appearance should not be too bad, unless his mother was a female yaksha. Cao Cao's courtesy name is Mengde, so some people guess he is a bastard son, because according to etiquette, the eldest legitimate son is called "Bo", and the eldest illegitimate son is called "Meng". However, this is not a hard and fast rule, and "Meng" also has other meanings, such as striving with effort. Therefore, whether Cao Cao was born legitimate or illegitimate, no one knows - if he were indeed an illegitimate child, then his wife would be virtuous and his concubine would be beautiful, and with Cao Shuang's status, it wouldn't be difficult to find a minor concubine who is not too ugly. Are Cao Cao and Cao De born of the same mother? If they are of the same father and mother, there is no reason why Cao Cao should look so much worse than Cao De.

  After all, Cao De's appearance was a bit weak, but overall it was still passable. His son Cao Zheng was only thirteen or fourteen years old and looked even more handsome than his father.

  Now he raised his head to take a look at Cao Cao, and indeed, it was Cao De's brother, very likely they were born of the same parents. Because these two brothers looked too alike, but not without any difference, after all, they were not twins - one is that Cao Cao's height was shorter than Cao De's, about 1.6 meters; second, his shoulders were wider and his waist thicker, looking like a man who could ride horses and fight battles; third, Cao Cao's skin tone was darker than Cao De's, and the texture was coarser; fourth, his beard was not long enough, even a bit sparse, neither majestic nor elegant.

  Of course, the biggest difference is still in terms of presence. Cao De is just a Diaochan wearing a "stone hat" like Nobita Doraemon, with an aura value close to zero. If Cao Cao were replaced by Cao De, he would probably only notice the person next to him when entering the main tent - that should be Cao Cao's advisor or clerk - even if he glanced over, he would completely ignore this one standing in front of him.

  Cao Song is not to be mentioned, the aura is absolutely strong. Without mentioning the arrogance of being a high-ranking official in the imperial court for many years, just that tonnage can fully replace the sense of existence. In comparison, Cao Cao's sense of existence is also very strong, which aspect does it manifest... Hmm, after careful observation, it is manifested from the eyebrows!

  Cao De has ordinary arched eyebrows and big eyes, as if adding a bit would make him too intimidating, subtracting a bit would make him too gentle, just right, no different from the common people seen on the streets, leaving no impression at all. As for Cao Cao, I guess his eye shape inherited the maternal gene, completely different from Cao Song and Cao De, with thick and dense eyebrows, arched high, eyes narrow and long, always squinting as if sleepy...

  Wait a minute, isn't this the Sleeping Phoenix Eyebrow and Single Phoenix Eye?! Are you Cao Cao or Guan Yu?!

  Xīn was sizing up Cao Cao, and Cao Cao was also sizing him up. To be honest, Xīn's physique wasn't bad at all. At 12 or 13 years old, he had been skinny like a little mouse when he was still in the poor alley, but after these years of getting proper nutrition, he gradually grew taller. He couldn't be described as majestic and towering, but his appearance was quite dignified. By now, he was almost 1.7 meters tall, with proportionate limbs, broad shoulders, and a slender waist. His face wasn't fat or thin, with regular features, the only flaw being that he had single eyelids, and there were just hints of downy hair on his upper lip, which made him look immature for this era, but if it were 2000 years later, he would have looked somewhat "girly".

  Cao Cao probably didn't expect Xun to be so young, and he slightly furrowed his brow, his eyes narrowing into a slit as he asked: "Are you from Yingling or Hongfu?"

  Xing Yun noticed his expression and calmly smiled: "I'm Xing Yun, greetings to my elders." You think you're superior just because you're older? I'm the young one here, what's your problem?!

  Cao Cao had not yet responded when the man to the side raised his hand in invitation: "Please, sir, take a seat and let us speak." Is Xun glanced at the man and saw that he was over thirty years old, with a pale face and no beard, only a short mustache. Hmm, Liu Bei wasn't the only one who was "a scorpion's fart, unique in the world", it seemed that there were indeed many "exposed gentlemen" in this era.

  "This is..."

  "He is a jester."

  He hadn't heard of this Xiaoxian, or perhaps it was Xixia, and estimated that he was just one of Cao Cao's ordinary clerks, so his name wasn't passed down through the ages. He cupped his hands in greeting to the other party, then stepped over to the other side, took off his shoes, and stepped onto the grass mat. The three of them each cupped their hands once more before sitting down together.

  Cao Cao then asked: "I didn't know you were coming, sir. What brings you here to teach me?"

  What are you doing here? Is there something you want to say?

  He smiled faintly: "I heard that Xun Yu of Nanyang once said, 'Cao Mengde is a capable minister in times of peace and a heroic general in times of turmoil...'". Actually, there are two versions of this quote from Xun Yu. One version says, "a capable minister in times of peace, a treacherous hero in times of turmoil", while another version says, "a treacherous villain in times of peace, a heroic general in times of turmoil". However, since it was their first meeting, He could not very well point at Cao Cao's nose and shout "treacherous villain" or "treacherous hero", so he had to mix the two versions together and choose the most pleasant-sounding words to say.

  Cao Cao was indeed delighted, and he slightly stroked his beard. Then, he heard Xun continue to say: "This hero is in his twilight years, so I came to pay my respects." Knowing you're old and about to kick the bucket, that's why I'm here to offer some condolences.

  Cao Cao's smile had just begun to form when he suddenly heard these words, and his expression froze. His eyebrows were about to rise in anger when Xun Yu hastily intervened: "Sir, you must have misheard. My lord is still in his prime, how can it be said that he is approaching old age?"

  Just then a soldier brought in hot water, and Huan Xuan lifted his cup to take a sip, smiling as he replied: "If Cao Gong were still in Dongjun, he would not be old; but now that he has come to Yanzhou, it is truly 'the sun sets in the west'."

  "The sun is thin on the western mountain" is an idiom from Li Mi's "Petition to the Emperor" in the Western Jin Dynasty. This era did not exist yet, so Cao Cao and Xi Zhen roughly understood the meaning of this word, but were somewhat vague, fearing that they would misunderstand it, and asked: "What does it mean?"

  This is exactly the effect that Xun wants to achieve. If he says it bluntly, "If you go to Yanzhou, you will be close to death." Cao Cao immediately understands, and if he gets angry on the spot, it won't be convenient to bring up the next sentence. He comes up with a new phrase, making the other person seem to understand but not quite, and they will ask questions, and when they ask, he can answer - of course, not directly explaining the idiom "the sun sets in the west".

  "Cao Gong was previously in Dongjun, and the only face-to-face enemy was the Liangzhou army... The so-called Liangzhou army here refers to the Western Liang warlords Li Jue and Guo Si who occupied the western part of Sili. At the beginning of this year, Dong Zhuo, who controlled the government, was killed by Lü Bu, and then Li and Guo, led by Dong Zhuo's old generals, joined forces to kill their way into Chang'an, drove out Lü Bu, and thus had Emperor Liu Xie in the palm of their hand. This news was heard when Xun Yu was still in Tancheng, but the specific situation, causes and consequences, I'm afraid only he knew clearly throughout all of Xu Province."

  "...The Yuan brothers are at odds with each other, and Yuan Shao relies on Cao Gong to secure his flank. If General Yuan (Yuan Shu) wants to enter Yan Province, he will necessarily send more troops to support Cao Gong. Thus, although Cao Gong is not completely safe, he is also free from sudden disaster."

  Cao Cao stroked his beard and remained silent, while Xun Yu helped to ask: "Now that our lord has obtained Yan Province, with more powerful troops, shouldn't it be even safer? Why say 'the sun is setting over the western mountains'?"

  He picked up the cup and took a sip of water - actually, in terms of eloquence, he wasn't necessarily that great, but having listened to too many storytelling sessions in his past life, he knew how to create suspense and attract the audience, which was his strong suit. Nowadays, no matter who it was, nobody had this skill, simply because there were no more storytelling sessions - then, unhurriedly, he gestured with his fingers and continued: "The city of Yan had been ravaged by the Yellow Turbans, its walls broken and its people scattered, and although Lord Cao had taken Yan, without one or two years to rebuild and gather resources, I'm afraid his actual strength was still not as great as it had been when he only controlled Dong Commandery. Moreover, their grain supplies would be even more strained..."

  Here is the translation:

  "But, the situation around us has changed dramatically! The Liangzhou army is still in front of us, and behind us is Xuzhou. The General-in-Chief fears that Cao Gong will become too powerful, so he will soon lead his troops into Yan. What's most worrying is that Yuan Shao is now the governor of one province, and Cao Gong is also the governor of one province, they can counterbalance each other. If the General-in-Chief enters Yan, then Yuan Shao will inevitably sit back and watch the fight, waiting to reap the benefits - if Cao Gong wins, Yuan Shao's army will also enter Yan, but if he loses, Yuan Shao can swallow up Yan province. Yan province is a place of four battles, based on this, all sides are enemies, it's just like 'the sunset is infinite, but only near dusk'."

  These words are not groundless, if it were someone who didn't understand or wasn't familiar with Yuan Shao, they might not have been able to say this. Because according to the original history, Yuan Shao basically did just that, as soon as he saw his younger brother Cao Cao starting to grow powerful, he began thinking about stabbing him in the back. Later when Lü Bu raided Yan Province, Cao Cao was fighting him tooth and nail, but Yuan Shao not only didn't send any reinforcements - Lü Bu was someone he had driven out of Ji Province, whether from an enemy or moral standpoint, there was no reason for him not to send troops - instead he told Cao Cao: "Brother, just in case, why don't you send your family to me at Ye City and I'll take care of them?"

  It's true, at that time Cao Cao was in a precarious situation, and his head spun, he almost agreed, fortunately Cheng Yu advised him: "General, you are confused, are you willing to be humble and live under others? Are you willing to be someone else's pawn, like Han Gaozu's Korean Xin and Peng Yue? Besides, what happened to Korean Xin and Peng Yue in the end, you don't know! Cao Cao only then gave up the idea.

  Yuan Shao was indeed using the method of receiving his family to thoroughly swallow Cao Cao's power step by step. He was such a person, and Cao Cao had grown up with him since childhood, didn't he understand his temperament? At this time, after hearing Xun Yu's words, his hand holding his beard trembled slightly, and his eyebrows frowned even more tightly.

  Xie Xian cupped his hands and said, "Indeed, sir, that is a lofty discourse. However, sir, you didn't come just to show off your eloquence, did you? Moreover, the scholars of Yanzhou have already nominated my master as governor, so he cannot decline. Do you have any good strategy to help him get out of this predicament?"

  It's time to get down to business, as I've already said. For now, the situation is still under my control, and I hope nothing unexpected happens later, so that Cao Cao can be led smoothly into the dark, allowing both of my major proposals to pass safely. "As for a good strategy..." He deliberately paused for dramatic effect, glancing at Cao Cao and then at Xun Yu, implying: "I'll only share this with you, Cao Gong."

  Cao Cao waved his hand and drove all the guards out of the tent, then pointed at Xi Zhen: "Zhicai is my trusted advisor, sir, you can speak freely."

  Zhi Cai? Xi Xian Xi Zhi Cai...... Oh my god, it turns out that this guy is actually Xi Zhi Cai!