Chapter Eleven: The Schemer

  Modern society once had a very dazzling term called: Butterfly Effect.

  In more scientific terms, it means that in a dynamic system, a small change under initial conditions can bring about a huge chain reaction over the long term.

  In ordinary people's words, it means that things are hard to predict and the world is really wonderful.

  The world is indeed a wonderful thing, and no one can say for sure what changes will occur in the next second. Just like Yuan Shang now, although he is alone and has limited power, under the agitation of his small butterfly wings, the details of the Battle of Guandu are still changing little by little.

  It's just like Yuan Shao sent Zhang Yan and Gao Lan as vanguard generals to fully support the Battle of Red Cliffs, which completely deviated from historical facts.

  Historically, Yuan Shao sent Zhang Yue and Gao Lan to launch a strong attack on Cao Cao's main camp, while sending Jiang Qi to lead troops to reinforce Wuchao. He used one army for two purposes, but neither was captured. What's more infuriating is that Zhang Yue and Gao Lan were framed by Guo Tu and defected to Cao Cao instead.

  You can't have your cake and eat it too; Yuan Shao ended up losing both his wife and his soldiers.

  Now the situation is different, Yuan Shao learned that Yuan Chang was in a precarious situation in Wuchao after he had a protective heart for his son, and with a flick of his usual hesitant and decadent appearance, he made a decisive decision: to reinforce Wuchao with all his might! The majestic and powerful image that Da Shu did not have in daily life also brought a scolding to Guo Tu.

  Yuan Shao was perhaps an incompetent ruler with some flaws, but it cannot be denied that he was a responsible and good father to his son.

  The story diverges into two paths, one of which tells that Yuan Shao sent reinforcements to help out at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain, while another says that Zhang Liao and Xu Chu were worried about Cao Cao's safety and led their elite cavalry in a daring charge against the enemy lines.

  After rushing for less than twenty miles, the two generals finally met with Cao Jun's rear division. What was strange was that Cao Jun's rear division had not been ambushed by Yuan Jun, but instead was advancing smoothly towards Wuchao.

  The generals who led the infantry in the rear army were two other famous Wei generals, Xu Huang and Yu Jin.

  Xu Huang's appearance was quite impressive, with three long whiskers and an awe-inspiring presence. He sat on a fine steed, holding a large battle-axe in his hand, leading the rear army at the forefront, exuding a heroic aura.

  Seeing Zhang Liao and Xu Chu leading their troops to rush back, Xu Huan couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Looking at them, they didn't seem to have gone through an intense battle either. How could they return in just a moment?

  Xu Huang stepped forward a few steps, and then asked Zhang and Xu Shu, "The two generals were ordered to be the vanguard of the front army. Why are you leading your troops back in a hurry now?"

  Xu Zhu tightly grasped his tiger-headed battle knife, baring his teeth and glaring at Xu Huang in a low voice: "General Xu, has our lord had any news?"

  Xu Huang heard this and was curious, unable to understand what the fierce general was saying. He asked strangely: "What do you mean by these words, General Xu? I don't quite understand?"

  "What nonsense! Ask your master if he's injured!"

  Xu Huan was taken aback and lost his smile, saying: "Sir, everything is fine, nothing's wrong."

  Zhang Liao rode forward on his horse, carefully looked around and asked: "Gongming, has your rear army been ambushed by Yuan's troops?"

  Xu Huan shook his head and said: "We have marched all the way here, but we haven't met a single soldier of Yuan's army. Why did Wen Yuan say such a thing?"

  Zhang Liao let out a long sigh, just as he was about to explain, when suddenly they heard the sound of horse hooves behind Xu Huang. A grey steed slowly approached them.

  On the grey horseback, a hunchbacked middle-aged man was staring intently at Zhang Liao and Xu Chu.

  He was short and stout, with a face that looked like it had been baked by the sun, with patches of dark skin all over. His hair was half black and half white, slightly thinning, combed back and tied up in a bun on top of his head. The years had left deep and cruel marks on his face, and the long years of war and governance had taken their toll on him. At this moment, he looked just like an ordinary middle-aged man, without any outstanding features.

  But looking around the world, no one dares to underestimate this seemingly ordinary middle-aged man.

  Swept away the Yellow Turbans, defeated Dong Zhuo, drove out Liu Bei, eliminated Yuan Shu, destroyed Lü Bu, welcomed the Emperor, commanded the feudal lords. More than half of the heroes in the world were defeated by his hands. The rolling Yangtze River, the surging waves washing away the sand, in today's world, apart from him, who else has the qualifications to dare call himself a hero?

  He is a man of great talent and vision, who appoints people based on their merits, but at the same time kills people like flies. He is naturally suspicious, all for the sake of preserving the prosperity of his Cao family!

  He fought for half his life, killed for half his life, he did many right things and many wrong things, brilliant achievements and battlefields piled with white bones, glory illuminated his whole life.

  Success or failure depends on the account of later generations. Many things from ancient times to the present are paid in jest, he doesn't care how later generations evaluate him.

  He is not someone else, he is Cao Cao, Cao Mengde.

  It was almost instantaneous, and Zhang Liao and Xu Chu hastily dismounted their horses and knelt down on one knee to pay their respects to Cao Cao.

  "Finally, Zhang Liao..."

  "Finally, Xu Chu!"

  "See the master!"

  "Wen Yuan, Zhong Kang." Cao Cao slowly opened his mouth, his voice hoarse like a withered old tree: "I ordered you two to be the vanguard and take Wu Chao, but why are you still here?"

  Zhang Liao and Xu Chu exchanged a glance, Xu Chu scratched his head, not knowing how to respond. Zhang Liao collected his thoughts and replied respectfully: "Reporting back to our lord, the two of us left and returned, truly because we were worried about your safety, it was not intentional, please forgive our mistake."

  "Oh?" Cao Cao's eyebrows rose in surprise, clearly intrigued by Zhang Liao's words: "My safety? What do you mean by that?"

  Zhang Liao briefly reported to Cao Cao about how he and Xu Chu rushed to Wuchao, how the fire started, how the ambush troops emerged from both sides of the mountain, and how a young general whose name was unknown teased them... etc., selecting the key points and reporting them quickly.

  Cao Cao remained silent after hearing it, stroking his beard, thinking for a moment, and then smiled.

  "Pass on the order, the whole army will advance immediately, hurry to Wuzhang at full speed, no delay is allowed."

  "Sir, the land of Ukaku has already caught fire, and I'm afraid there's no grain inside. Xu You deceived us into coming here with his false surrender, but his intentions are unclear. Sir, you should retreat quickly."

  Cao Cao shook his head and smiled: "Xu You has come to surrender, whether it's true or false is unclear, but one thing I can be sure of is that there must be grain in this nest! Don't worry, follow me quickly."

  The mountain outside Wuchang's Da Ying.

  "The three nobles, something is amiss!" Guo Yuan hastily rushed to Yuan Shang's side and whispered: "The road to the southeast has risen again, dust and sand fill the sky, it seems that there are troops coming, I'm afraid Cao's army has returned!"

  Yuan Shang sat on Shan Li's stone, and upon hearing this, his eyelids jumped suddenly.

  "Alas, it's been a short while, and Cao's army has returned again. Who are they rushing to bury now?... Guo Yuan, General Chunyu, how is the transportation of grain going?"

  Kuo Yen heard this and couldn't help but bitterly smile: "The grain and fodder for hundreds of thousands of people, how can it be said that it will be transported just because it is said to be transported? As for the ones hidden in the mountains, I'm afraid only two or three tenths are left."

  Yuan Shang let out a long sigh: "Alright, being able to move these out is already quite good. Send someone to inform General Chunyu that there's no need to move anymore. Hurry and gather the troops, ambush them inside the front camp of Wuchao, and have him be clever about it, waiting for the right moment to charge out!"

  "Wait for the right moment... charge out... and wipe out Cao's army?" Guo Yuan was somewhat puzzled.

  Yuan Shang shook his head: "Kill him? Let him wait for the right moment and come out to rescue us."

  Kuang Yan heard this and suddenly felt a wave of disappointment, this order was truly negative.

  Before long, the Cao army came and went again, with more soldiers and horses than before. Zhang Liao and Xu Chu were still among them, and there were also several other generals added.

  By the light of the fire, Yuan Shang felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. The generals of Cao's army looked unkind at first glance, and compared to them, although Yuan's army had many soldiers, they were far inferior in terms of talent.

  As Cao's army approached, Yuan Shang ordered his rear guard, Guo Yi: "Order the troops hiding on the mountain to wave flags and shout, raise dust and make a loud noise with drums and gongs... Why do I want you to continue?"

  Guo Yuan listlessly nodded his head and said: "Alright..."

  From the time he joined the army until now, Guo Yuanzhen had never seen such a strange battle, with all the fuss and no actual fighting, sneaking around like thieves, what kind of battle is this?

  On the quiet mountain peak, once again the large flags were raised high, amidst the darkness smoke and dust rose, drums shook the sky, and the cries of killing filled the air.

  Even Zhang Liao, a seasoned veteran of many battles, couldn't help but blush at this.

  Here it comes again, still the same old routine...

  Yuan Shang wore a white armor, and once again appeared majestically on the mountain ridge, staring intently at Zhang Liao and Xu Chu below. He shouted loudly: "You two treacherous generals are so shameless! General Yuan had just shown mercy and spared your lives, but you don't know what's good for you and have come to seek death again! Are you tired of living, Lord Shouxing?"

  Zhang Liao: “I'd rather die than surrender!”

  Xu Chu was still reckless and ignorant, but at this time he could see that the Yuan army was just setting up a fake formation. Looking at the white-armored young general standing there with an impudent expression, his mouth dirty, suddenly a surge of anger rose up, and he said: "My lord, Xu Chu requests to go into battle!"

  Cao Cao smiled and slightly waved his hand, looked up at Yuan Shang on the mountain and said in a loud voice: "The young general on the mountain, may I ask for your name?"

  Yuan Shang turned his head and met Cao Cao's gaze.

  The eyes of the two pairs met and collided, for some reason, both of them felt a sudden twitch in their eyelids.

  It's so strange, it's as if our hearts are connected, and why is it always the right eyelid that jumps?

  Yuan Shang stood up straight and shouted loudly down the mountain: "How can this old general not understand the rules? Shouldn't one report their own name and title before asking someone else's name?"

  Cao Cao smiled faintly, a hint of arrogance flashing in his smile, and replied: "My young friend is quite right, I was indeed being reckless. Listen well, my surname is Cao, my given name is Cao, my courtesy name is Mengde. Have you ever heard of me?"