Ninety: An Unusual Affair

Seeing the advice offered by Cao Hong, Cao Cao fell into thought. “To break camp, perhaps...?”

Cao Hong said, “Brother, you have now taken Tiger Prison Pass, and the whole world knows it. You were outnumbered and defeated on the Bian River, and that too is now common knowledge. Since the matter of the butcher from the east moving west is already settled, and most of the people of Luoyang have been relocated, with wealth and goods long since flowing into the pass lands, why still wear yourself out against him? Even if you win, you still cannot stop the Son of Heaven from going west. And in the end, you will only weaken yourself again and let the lords of the eastern provinces sit back and watch tigers fight.”

Liu Ye, who had been listening nearby, stepped forward and said, “My lord, General Cao speaks with reason. As for Sun Wen-tai, his current garrison in Yingchuan, standing off against Dong Zhuo, is in truth only an act of necessity. He came north from Changsha, but now Jing Province is under the control of Liu Biao, which cuts off his route home, and his grain and supplies are furnished by Yuan Shu. To campaign against the butcher from the east is the very basis of his footing and survival. Without that pretext, would Yuan Shu still allow him to station troops in Yingchuan and deliver provisions? Even if I were to take Luoyang, it would only be a field of ruins. Sun Wen-tai has no road of retreat, but Your Excellency can still devise a new plan.”

After hearing this, Cao Cao nodded and said, “Well spoken! In that case, let us make our preparations and return with the army to Xingyi.”

Afterward, the generals entered one of the large houses within the fortress. The main hall had long since been prepared with a banquet. The dishes on the table could not compare with the delicacies of the prefectural residence in Wu Commandery, but they were still respectable enough. After all, Cao Cao had no base, no revenue, and everything depended on the wealth of himself, his many clan cousins, and Wei Zi. It was little more than living off what remained in storage, so frugality was essential.

At the feast, besides the commanders already familiar to Cao Hong, there were three newcomers. One was named Ren Jun, styled Bodar, a pale-faced young man of about twenty. He had come to Cao Cao in the days when Cao Cao entered Henei from Suanzao, drawn by his reputation, and had also brought with him several hundred men from his clan, most of them sturdy, able-bodied fellows.

Another was named Zao Zhi, a little over thirty, with no small measure of skill. He had reached the stage of refining qi into spirit, and his cultivation was on par with Cao Ren.

The last was called Li Qian. He was already somewhat advanced in years, in his forties, and though not highly accomplished in martial arts—only at the stage of refining essence into qi, not even as strong as Liao Hua or Pan Zhang—he was hearty by nature, a fine drinker, and well acquainted with Cao Cao. According to Xiahou Dun, he had been an old subordinate of Cao Cao’s from the days when Cao Cao crushed the Yellow Turbans. After the chaos of the uprising passed, he returned home to farm, and upon hearing of Cao Cao’s defeat, had hurried back to offer support.

Among these three comrades, Ren Jun seemed to be in poor health and not very tolerant of liquor, so he spoke little. Zao Zhi was likewise sparing of words, while Li Qian kept tugging Cao Hong into conversation. Raising a cup, he said with a laugh, “General Cao, what I admire most are men of loyalty and courage. Before you returned, I heard you had risked your life to save our lord. And after you came back, I heard you had sold off all your property to support him. The first, old Li here thinks he might still manage; but the second, old Li simply has no way of doing.”

Cao Hong asked, “May I ask why that is?”

Li Qian laughed heartily. “There are still many kinsmen in my hometown. If I were to sell off the family estate, I fear those uncles and elder cousins would go dig up my ancestors’ graves!”

Cao Hong burst out laughing when he heard this, knowing it was the truth. In this age, family truly mattered more than the state. Many clans, in order to preserve themselves, would even send different members of the family to serve different powers, so that if one side fell, the other might still be relied upon. Such examples were countless throughout the history of the Three Kingdoms.

For instance, the famous Zhuge Liang had one elder brother and one younger brother, one serving Eastern Wu and the other Cao Wei, while he himself served Shu Han. Likewise, Cao Cao’s commander Xiahou Yuan had a son, Xiahou Ba, who saw the Sima clan growing too powerful in Cao Wei and, in order to protect himself, fled to Shu Han. At the time, Emperor Liu Shan even pointed to his own son and said to Xiahou Ba, “That is your nephew,” because his empress had been born to Zhang Fei and Xiahou Yuan’s daughter.

So for this straightforward man, Cao Hong held quite a favorable impression. Then Li Qian said again, “General Cao, forgive old Li for meddling, but I simply wanted to ask: is your wife a disciple of the Yin-phantom Xu Deng?”

Cao Hong smiled and said, “It seems my brother and Brother Li are indeed very close. Even such matters have been told to Brother Li.”

Li Qian gave a mysterious smile. “It was not my lord who told me, but my nephew.”

Cao Hong paused in surprise. “Your son is...?”

Li Qian smiled. “My nephew is named Li Dian. He is ten this year and gets along well with the lord’s eldest son. It was the eldest son who told my nephew, and then my nephew told me.”

Li Dian... So Old Li was the uncle of a famed general of Cao Wei. Cao Hong immediately remembered the name. Historical records said Li Dian was a commander gifted in both letters and arms, a man of broad righteousness, and he took part in the battle at Xiaoyao Ford that made Zhang Liao famous throughout the realm.

He had not expected Li Dian’s family to already have ties with Cao Cao as far back as the Yellow Turban uprising. No wonder Cao Cao trusted Li Dian so much. It seemed that by the later stages of the struggle against Yuan Shao at Guandu, Li Dian had been entrusted with grain transport. If he was only ten now, then during the Battle of Guandu he would have been barely over twenty. Grain transport was a vital duty, for the provisions had to move before the armies did, and such a task absolutely had to be given to someone trusted. This showed that Li Dian was indeed a general deeply favored with confidence.

Cao Hong quickly decided to cultivate a good relationship with Li Qian, while also finding an opportunity to meet Li Dian. Since Li Dian was only ten now, it was precisely the age when one begins to form idols in the heart. If Cao Hong could become that idol, then later within Cao Wei he would gain yet another steadfast ally.

So Cao Hong and Li Qian drank merrily together. The banquet continued until sunset, and only then did the generals return to their own quarters within the fortress to rest. By then Cao Cao was also thoroughly drunk and went off to sleep on his own. Cao Hong, led by a camp woman, came to a side building within the stronghold. Just as he was about to remove his clothes and rest, he heard Liao Hua’s voice calling from outside the door, “Young master! Young master!”

Hearing Liao Hua’s summons, Cao Hong said at once, “Yuanjian! Come in.”

Liao Hua entered the room in full armor. Taking one look at him, Cao Hong saw that the youth had refined his essence inward, and his eyes shone with bright spiritual light. He had actually reached the stage of refining qi into spirit, and Cao Hong smiled. “Yuanjian, it seems you’ve been diligently practicing martial arts lately! Your cultivation has improved.”

Liao Hua smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, “It is all thanks to the careful guidance of Guard Captain Dian that I have made such progress.”

So it was Dian Wei. That fellow truly was decent enough. He must surely know that Liao Hua was under my protection; by giving him such guidance, he was in effect repaying my recommendation.

Cao Hong asked, “What matter brings you here, Yuanjian?”

Liao Hua stepped forward a couple of paces and lowered his voice. “When the young master was absent, we were all stationed in the fortress awaiting orders, though we would occasionally go out on patrol. Five days ago, while I was out on patrol as ordered, I saw Wen Gui bringing ashore from the Yellow River a wounded fellow covered head to toe in blood. Young master, you even know this person.”

Cao Hong froze at the words. Pan Zhang had actually brought someone ashore from the Yellow River? And he knew him? He immediately asked, “Who?”

Liao Hua replied, “It was a thousand-man captain under Qiao Mao, the prefect of Dong Commandery, named Qiao Fa.”

So it was that thousand-man captain who had clashed with Pan Zhang? Wasn’t he formerly Pan Zhang’s family servant? More importantly, he was a soldier under Qiao Mao, prefect of Dong Commandery. He should have been in the Suanzao camp—so why had he ended up in Henei, and covered in blood at that?

At once, Cao Hong thought of a possibility. Had the allied army fallen into internal strife? He asked, “Where is that brat Wen Gui? And is Qiao Fa dead yet?”