Chapter 58

Xun felt that his luck was truly bad, or perhaps he had offended the heavens too much... This morning, he had just been tied up by Ren Jun's order, and now, less than two hours later, he was being tied up again, with the same outcome: to be taken out and beheaded.

He was momentarily stunned by Cao Cao's imposing presence, sitting there dumbfounded without any reaction. It wasn't until two guards rushed in and put the rope around his neck again that he came to his senses, thinking to himself, "Is this really the end for me?" In history books and novels, was there ever a more pitiful lobbyist than himself? Even the incompetent Jiang Gan, who failed to persuade Zhou Yu, wasn't beheaded. When he fell for the counterintelligence and returned, Cao Cao didn't kill him. Why are you so angry today? I came to persuade you, not like Kan Ze who came to submit a false letter of surrender!

He straightened his back, changing from a sitting position to a kneeling one, ready to beg for mercy. But a casual glance at Xi Xian revealed that he had turned his head away, not looking at him. However, the expression on the side of his face showed no sign of hatred or pity. What kind of expression was that? Was he secretly laughing?

No, no, this must be a play within a play. Upon careful thought, since Cao Cao had been acting all along, and he hadn't been able to move him at all, why didn't Cao Cao interrupt his long speech, ask directly about the topic, and then have him beheaded? Was he just bored or had nothing better to do, to listen patiently to such a long speech? Besides, he hadn't even said the words to beg for Guan Hai's life; Cao Cao was just guessing. "You guessed wrong, and if I don't save Guan Hai, so what?"

What reason do you have to kill me? You have no reason to kill me! I'm not just a commoner; I'm a scholar, and there are still people from my family serving as officials in Qingzhou and Xuzhou... Wait, I still have Cao De's letter in my chest. What do I have to fear?

With this thought, his courage grew, and he wanted to laugh out loud. But then he thought, Cao Cao had already laughed, and doing it again would be like Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi, likely to backfire. So he stiffened his neck and began to recite a poem:

"The Jingwei bird carries tiny twigs, to fill the vast sea. Xingtian wields his axe and shield, his fierce resolve never fades. Unconcerned with the fate of his kind, he transforms without regret. Since his past resolve is set, the good times will surely come."

Fortunately, Cao Cao had said "tie him up and push him out" rather than "push him out directly." The two guards, experienced as they were, still needed some time to tie him up. Xun, meanwhile, was not entirely passive. He put on a brave face, recited the poem, and at the same time shrugged his shoulders and twisted his neck to delay the process as much as possible.

The poem he recited was one of Tao Yuanming's thirteen poems on the "Classic of Mountains and Seas," but with two words altered. The original ending was "Though their past resolve was set, the good times will never come." Xun changed it to "Since their past resolve was set, the good times will surely come," completely reversing the meaning. Tao's poem was originally quite tragic, but the ending was somewhat despondent, typical of a hermit's poem. In his previous life, Xun had always felt that the first six lines were incredibly powerful, but the last two lines were a letdown, so he had long wanted to change them. In this life, after deciding to plagiarize, he began to recall, organize, and alter the works of Tao Qian and others, and conveniently changed the ending of this poem—ready to use whichever ending suited the situation.

Given the current situation, of course, he had to use the altered ending. His meaning was clear: I have a noble ideal, and you, a person of your kind, can't understand it. For this ideal, I'm not afraid to die, and the ideal will surely be realized one day. Suddenly, Xun realized that after his alteration, the poem had become quite red and mainstream.

If he recited this poem in front of Liu Bei, the rough man wouldn't understand it. If he recited it in front of Kong Rong, it would still be vague, as Kong Rong's poetic style didn't match. But in front of Cao Cao, he knew Cao Cao would understand—this poem matched Cao Cao's "An old steed in the stable still dreams of traveling a thousand miles; a hero in his old age still has unyielding aspirations" perfectly.

Sure enough, when Cao Cao heard him start reciting the poem, his expression changed, and he listened intently, more seriously and engaged than when he was acting. When the poem was finished, the guards had tied the knots and were about to push Xun out. Before Cao Cao could speak, Xi Xian stood up and blocked them: "My lord, please wait."

Xun thought, "Your acting is much worse. How long has it been? You only say 'please wait' after he's already tied up. Only a fool would believe this wasn't prearranged." Instead of paying attention to Xi Xian, he took a big step forward, saying, "Lord Cao knows his days are numbered and has no way out, so he wants me to be buried with him. I'll go ahead and wait for you underground. Don't be late."

"Sir, please stay!" Cao Cao, seeing the act was about to fail, had to call out. He personally ran down from his seat, dismissed the two guards, and grabbed Xun's shoulder. Xun tried to shake him off but couldn't—Cao Cao's strength was indeed formidable, and he held him firmly in place.

"Cao Cao was rash and offended you, sir. Please forgive me." As Cao Cao spoke, he helped Xun untie the ropes. Xun wanted to maintain his composure, but unexpectedly, Cao Cao suddenly bowed and kowtowed to him. Xun was taken aback and had no choice but to kneel and return the gesture: "Lord Cao, there's no need for this. Please stand up, quickly stand up."

The two men supported each other by the arm and stood up together. Cao Cao pulled Xun to sit down, and Xun tried to refuse, but he couldn't match Cao Cao's strength and stumbled to the main seat, sitting down sideways.

Cao Cao tightly held Xun's hand, as if afraid he would run out and wait for execution if he was unhappy. He repeatedly apologized: "Cao Cao has heard of your reputation but feared it was a trick, so I tested you. Please don't take it to heart." Xun thought, "Indeed, you and Ren Jun are a perfect match. Your excuses are the same. I've already analyzed the international situation for you in such detail; how could you not tell if I was faking it? Don't be ridiculous!"

He realized that Cao Cao had seen through his intentions (though only partially) and wanted to give him a scare. If he begged for mercy, he would never save Guan Hai's life. But now the situation had changed, and Cao Cao was begging for forgiveness, with Xi Xian supporting him. His momentum was overwhelming—fine, he would press his advantage and insist on saving Guan Hai's life today.

Hearing Cao Cao ask, "Cao Cao is ignorant. I don't know whose great work you just recited," Xun pretended to be modest: "I dare not, my humble work is not worthy of Lord Cao's attention." "Oh," Cao Cao exclaimed, "I didn't expect you to have such talent! Cao Cao is blind and has offended you. Please forgive me." He straightened his back, as if ready to kneel again. Xun thought, "You're not done yet. While the oil is still hot, let's get to the main dish and cook this big dish."

Since he had the upper hand, he didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the core of the issue: "Why won't Lord Cao show mercy to Guan Hai?"

Cao Cao pursed his lips and didn't answer, but Xi Xian spoke up: "Guan Hai led a million Yellow Turbans, wreaking havoc in Qing and Yanzhou, with a well-established reputation. If we show mercy, it would be like letting a tiger back into the mountains. If he raises the banner again, what will we do? Please think carefully, sir."

Xun thought, "I've already thought about it, all night long." He ignored Xi Xian and continued to ask Cao Cao: "Does Lord Cao know why the Yellow Turbans rose up?"

Cao Cao frowned slightly: "It's all because the court failed to govern properly, and local warlords seized land, leaving the people without land, and their families starving on the roads. The Zhang brothers took advantage of the situation with their heretical teachings, leading the people to break the law and take desperate measures."

Xun clapped and cheered: "Indeed, Lord Cao is worthy of his name. I heard that in the past, in Jinan, you destroyed the temples of false gods, punished the warlords, encouraged farming, and comforted the people. That's why I dared to come and plead for Guan Hai. If someone else came, they would only say that Zhang Jiao's heretical teachings misled the people, without understanding that the root cause of the Yellow Turbans was the people losing their land. Lord Cao, imagine if a million Yellow Turbans could all become farmers and get their land back, how could Guan Hai still have followers? Even if he had rebellious thoughts, he would be just a commoner, easily captured by a local official. But if the people can't farm or eat, wouldn't there be a second or third Guan Hai among the million?"

Cao Cao still held Xun's hand with one hand, while the other stroked his beard, deep in thought. Xun couldn't read his expression and continued: "How did I persuade Guan Hai in Duchang? I simply appealed to his sense of justice and described the suffering of the women and children who followed him. Guan Hai once said that he was forced to take desperate measures because his land was taken by warlords. If there were peace, he would return to farming. If Lord Cao shows mercy to Guan Hai today, I am willing to go and persuade a million Yellow Turbans to lay down their arms. Not only will the war end, but Yanzhou will be safe. Lord Cao will gain 300,000 households and 200,000 soldiers in a day. With them farming, next year there will be plenty of food, and there will be no fear of the Yuan brothers or others."

Xi Xian interjected again: "A million Yellow Turbans, though once peaceful farmers, have long followed Zhang Jiao's heretical teachings and have been on the run. If we let them go, and Guan Hai and others coordinate, the embers could reignite. What then?"

Xun thought, "You're right, but I have a plan to make Yanzhou safe and ensure the Yellow Turbans can't regroup. But if Lord Cao is suspicious, I dare not offer it."

——————————I am the recommendation line——————————

Recently, I've been following Jing Jiangxiao's "Rebooting the Ming" (Book ID 3064526), and it's really well-written. While you're collecting, recommending, and liking my work, you can also check it out. Over the years, stories about traveling back to the Ming Dynasty, to the reigns of Wanli, Jiajing, and Chongzhen, have become repetitive. But this one is creative, traveling back to the Zhengtong era and being forced to ally with the eunuch Wang Zhen. Do you think his future is at the Battle of Tumu or the Battle of Tumu or the Battle of Tumu?

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends