Chapter 57

Xizhi Cai, in history, was actually just a minor figure. It wasn't that he lacked ability or influence, but rather that he lived too short a life, dying young.

Xizhi Cai was recommended to Cao Cao by Xun Yu and was referred to in historical records as a "strategist," a key advisor who provided plans and strategies. Later, when he died, Cao Cao was deeply saddened and said to Xun Yu, "Since Xizhi Cai's death, I don't know who to consult with anymore. Do you have anyone else to recommend?" Thus, Xun Yu recommended Guo Jia.

Xun Yu recommended many notable scholars to Cao Cao throughout his life, but why did he recommend Guo Jia after Xizhi Cai's death? This suggests that the two were of the same caliber... or rather, they were of the same type of strategist. Guo Jia's intelligence was top-notch, so Xizhi Cai must have been no less capable.

However, because he died young, his role in the rise of Cao Cao's group is not mentioned in historical records, not even his full name. Was "Zhi" his given name or his courtesy name? What was the other part of his name? It turns out that, like other scholars of his time, he had a single-character given name, "Xian," and "Zhi" was his courtesy name.

Shixun couldn't help but glance at Xizhi Xian again. He seemed quite ordinary in appearance, with a pale complexion, suggesting poor health and a short life. Shixun didn't have time to observe Xizhi Xian in detail; he needed to focus on dealing with Cao Cao. He pointed upward, then thought for a moment and changed it to downward—originally, he wanted to talk about Yuan Shao, who was in the north. According to the habits of his previous life, north was up and south was down, but in this era, north was down and south was up.

"Yuan Shao, a descendant of three generations of high officials, dominates Hebei. For now, he cannot be challenged. However, he is currently in conflict with Gongsun, and the war in You and Ji will not end in less than five years. Cao Gong only needs to feign cooperation, and the troops of Ji will not enter Yanzhou..." Shixun paused and added, "Yuan Shao is good at planning but indecisive, slow to act, and not a significant threat."

Cao Cao remained silent, deep in thought. Xizhi Xian pointed and was about to speak, but Shixun interrupted him—He needed to discuss Xu Province last, and Xizhi Xian shouldn't disrupt his order: "In the west, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, Li Meng, Wang Fang, and Jia Xu, all former generals of Dong Zhuo, hold similar ranks. Who would be willing to serve under a colleague? Without a leader, they will eventually quarrel. At that time, Cao Gong can lead troops into Henan and reap the benefits."

"Thirdly, in the south, Yuan Shu has seized control of Nanyang with a large army but limited supplies, which come from the Yangtze River. Liu Biao has entered Yichang and commands the entire province, and he has always been on bad terms with Yuan Shu. If he cuts off Yuan Shu's supplies, how will Yuan Shu survive?"

Xizhi Xian speculated, "He might fight Liu Biao or lead his troops into Yanzhou..."

"Exactly," Shixun continued with a calm smile, though his cheeks were starting to ache. He took a sip of water to relax. "If Yuan Shao and Liu Biao fight, Cao Gong will have no worries on the southern front. If Yuan Shu leads his troops into Yanzhou, without supplies, how can he last? Engaging in a prolonged conflict will make it easy to defeat him."

Shixun paused, waiting for Cao Cao and Xizhi Xian to respond. Sure enough, Xizhi Xian asked, "Mr. Shixun, you just said that Yanzhou is a place of four battles, but you also said that the north, west, and south are not significant threats. Isn't this contradictory? Is Tao Qian in the east our main enemy?"

"Not at all," Shixun shook his head, adopting the demeanor of a cunning advisor. "Individually, the north, west, and south are not significant threats, but if Yuan Shu invades Yanzhou and Tao Qian supports him, Yanzhou will be in danger! If Yanzhou is in danger, the troops of Ji will certainly move south to prevent Yuan Shu from taking over all of Yanzhou. At that time, Cao Gong will also be in danger! The heartland of Guandong will fall into chaos, and who knows if the warlords of Liang will not seize Henan and seek to advance eastward? At that time, Li Jue and Guo Si will control the two capitals, Fan Chou and Zhang Ji will enter Jing from Wan, and Li Meng and Wang Fang will enter Yanzhou from Yangwu. The Han Empire will be in grave danger!"

This was the argument Shixun had prepared before coming to Yanzhou, but now he needed to change it, seamlessly shifting the focus from the alliance between Xu and Yanzhou to the million-strong Yellow Turban rebels and Guan Hai's fate. Without waiting for Cao Cao and Xizhi Xian to react, Shixun made a sudden turn: "For now, the troops of Xu Province have occupied Hua and Fei, and have deeply penetrated Rencheng, threatening the heartland. If Cao Gong cannot quickly resolve the Yellow Turban issue, by the end of the year, Zang Ba will move from Mount Tai to Jibei, Cao Bao will move from Daye to Jiyin, and Yuan Shu will respond, moving from Chen to Chenliu. Not only will Yanzhou be in danger, but Cao Gong will not be able to retreat to Dongjun. That is why Shixun has come to offer advice."

Cao Cao's face was as calm as water. He slowly put down his hand, which had been stroking his beard, and asked for the first time, "The Yellow Turbans are already besieged. They will be eliminated soon. Then, with a victorious army, I can drive out Zang Ba and Cao Bao, and send a general to guard Yongqiu to block Yuan Shu's advance—what is there to worry about?"

Shixun shook his head gently. "It's not that simple—please ask, Cao Gong, if the Yellow Turbans, numbering in the millions, refuse to surrender and must be killed, how much time and how many soldiers will it take? If some escape and scatter, how long will it take to eliminate them? By next year, Yanzhou, which has been ravaged by war, will have lost most of its population and farmland. Without supplies, how can you drive out Zang Ba and Cao Bao and block Yuan Shu?"

Xizhi Xian frowned slightly. "What should we do?"

Ah, the moment has come. Shixun looked at Xizhi Xian and Cao Cao, trying to catch even the slightest expression on their faces. They didn't seem shocked, indicating they had already analyzed the situation to some extent, though perhaps not as systematically as he had. Shixun could see a hint of anticipation on their faces, as if they were listening to a story and hoping the storyteller would reveal the ending without waiting for the next day. After all, if the story doesn't turn around at the last moment, what's the point of all the foreshadowing? It's not like he's writing a tragic ending, like a certain god of fields...

The more they anticipated, the more Shixun wanted to keep them in suspense, but he also needed to maintain the drama without overdoing it. He glanced around, took a sip of water, and then held up two fingers, finally revealing his plan: "I have a strategy that can turn the million-strong Yellow Turbans into good citizens and transform Yanzhou into fertile land within a year—but Cao Gong must agree to one condition."

The rest was simple. Cao Cao or Xizhi Xian would definitely ask, "What condition?" Shixun would say that Guan Hai's life must be spared. He would then present his arguments, saying that as long as Cao Cao refused, the Yellow Turbans would not surrender, leading to a lose-lose situation. All the crises he had mentioned would then come to a head, and Cao Cao would be in trouble. Cao Cao might hesitate or negotiate, and after resolving this issue, Shixun could offer another strategy to deepen Cao Cao's impression and goodwill. Finally, he could propose the second topic of the alliance between Xu and Yanzhou.

He thought it was a good plan, but suddenly, Cao Cao burst into laughter: "Hahahaha..." Shixun was taken aback—Cao Cao, what are you doing? I'm here to persuade you, not to surrender. What's with this "laughing at Huang Gai for not recognizing talent" atmosphere?

His heart sank. This was bad.

As a cunning hero, Cao Cao, like Liu Bei, was a master of acting. He always thought one thing, said another, and did a third, making it impossible for others to guess his true intentions. Without these skills, he would have been easily manipulated, and no one would have followed him to conquer the world.

However, the two had different styles. Liu Bei was truly "impassive," always maintaining a serious expression, making him seem always upright and righteous, more like a statue than a living person. Shixun hadn't noticed this before; when he went to Pingyuan to seek reinforcements, Liu Bei seemed quite pleased when he said, "Even Kong Rong knows I exist," indicating that he was still new to the game and hadn't fully developed his acting skills. Cao Cao, on the other hand, was the opposite of Liu Bei. He laughed and cried freely, with exaggerated expressions, able to immerse his entire face in a bowl of vegetables when happy and wail at a friend's tombstone when sad... Of course, no one knew if he was truly happy or sad.

In short, Liu Bei was like a character in a Takeshi Kitano yakuza film, where a lack of expression is the best expression. Cao Cao was like a character in a Stephen Chow comedy, where the more exaggerated the expression, the better.

However, since Shixun entered Cao Cao's camp, Cao Cao had been as calm as water, rarely showing a smile or a frown, which was quite different from the historical records. Shixun hadn't noticed at first, but when Cao Cao started laughing wildly, he suddenly realized: "You've been acting all along, haven't you? You weren't really being led by me!"

Cold sweat broke out on his back—his clothes were already stinking from the frequent cold sweats over the past few days...

Cao Cao laughed so hard he was almost out of breath. Finally, he calmed down a bit, reached out, and slammed his hand on the table, making Shixun's heart race as if it were about to jump out of his chest.

"Good!" Cao Cao's voice was as loud as his slap on the table, nearly making Shixun jump off the mat. "What a fine strategy to persuade the million-strong Yellow Turbans, Shihongfu." He pointed at Shixun. "I heard you persuaded the Yellow Turbans to retreat at Duchang, saving Kong Wenju. You must have had some connection with Guan Hai. Now you come to me, using your eloquence to persuade me to retreat or to spare Guan Hai's life. How can you, who have read the classics, associate with bandits, rebel against the state, and use your smooth talk to threaten me? Do you think my sword is not sharp, or that I dare not kill you because Kong Wenju trusts you?"

The word "kill" sent a chill down Shixun's spine. Cao Cao's气势 was overwhelming, his eyebrows raised, his eyes wide—Shixun hadn't expected those narrow eyes to open so wide. He slammed the table and shouted, his voice so loud that it could be heard three miles away. Shixun felt as if a hammer had struck his head, and his mind went blank.

After slamming the table and scolding Shixun, Cao Cao paused, as if giving Shixun a chance to savor his authority. Seeing that Shixun didn't respond, he called out to the guards, "Come, bind this traitorous madman, take him outside, and behead him at the camp gate!"

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