Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3922 Unaware of Fate, Yet Fearless
The main tent of the central army of the Flying Cavalry.

A huge map hung on the tent wall, densely marked with the enemy's and our own positions, as well as the strategic locations of mountains and rivers.

Four or five braziers were placed inside, which kept the tent from getting too cold.

Fei Qian sat upright in the main seat, draped in a black cloak, surveyed the civil and military officials, and announced in a loud voice: "Cao Mengde has sent an envoy to formally inform us that he will personally come here tomorrow to 'request a surrender meeting.'"

Upon hearing this, the tent fell silent for a moment, as if the news was too great to swallow immediately and needed to be chewed over before digesting the astonishing implications contained in these few words.

Fei Qian smiled. "What do you all think?"

Before Fei Qian could finish speaking, Huang Cheng, sitting beside the military general, couldn't contain himself any longer. He jumped to his feet, his armor plates clanging crisply. His face flushed with excitement, he clasped his hands in a fist salute and exclaimed in a booming voice, "Congratulations, my lord!! This is a godsend! The world can be pacified!"

Huang Cheng looked around, seemingly trying to share his inner joy, "That old scoundrel Cao is now at his wit's end! He's delivered himself to our doorstep! Hahaha! Once he steps into our camp, all it takes is a single order from our lord, and our executioners will come out and capture him! Imprison him or kill him, it's all in a moment's decision! Cao's army, having lost its leader, will scatter like birds and beasts! No matter how high the walls of Sishui Pass are, without its leader, the morale of the army will crumble instantly, and it can be breached in a day or two! This way, we can save our army the losses of attacking the city, and then we can drive straight into Shandong, and the world will be at peace!"

Huang Cheng spoke extremely quickly, his spittle almost flying out, his joy and excitement overflowing.

Arrested!

Kill them!
Simple and straightforward!
It is filled with the most basic logic of battlefield combat, as well as the exhilarating feeling of settling scores...

Jiang Jiong, who had just arrived at the camp, was clearly surprised by such good fortune upon his return. He couldn't help but rise and echo Huang Cheng, "My lord! General Huang's words are exactly what I was thinking! Why should we treat a mere defeated general, a stray dog, with courtesy? He delivered himself to our doorstep. Should we neither capture nor kill him, nor should we expect our entire cavalry camp to set up a grand procession, play drums and music, and welcome him in to be worshipped? I also believe that we need not waste any more words; we should simply capture him! This battle can then be won in one fell swoop!"

Huang Chengjiang's straightforward suggestion was met with approval from the other guards on duty inside the tent, and a cheerful yet restless atmosphere seemed to fill the air...

However, Jia Qu, who sat to the side of the civil officials and strategists, kept his brows furrowed, twirling his beard with his fingers. He exchanged a glance with Zhuge Liang but remained silent.

"What does Liang Dao think?" Fei Qian noticed Jia Qu's actions and asked him directly.

Upon hearing Fei Qian's question, Jia Qu bowed respectfully and said somewhat hesitantly, "If Cao Mengde really comes... arresting him, or even killing him outright... isn't out of the question..."

Huang Cheng immediately became somewhat dissatisfied, 'What do you mean by "it's not impossible"? Is there some better way?'

Jia Qu nodded to Huang Cheng and Jiang Jiong, "General Huang, General Jiang is commendable for his bravery. His method of capturing and killing the old thief is indeed simple and effective..."

Huang Cheng waved his hand and said, "Stop with the official jargon, just speak plainly, even a rough man like me can understand! What does 'simple and effective' mean? Isn't this the best way?!"

Jia Qu smiled and slowly said, "Capture and kill is indeed one method, but... it's definitely not the best method..."

"What do you mean?" Huang Cheng raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Jia Qu said, "If Cao Cao does indeed arrive here, capturing or killing him would be as easy as taking something out of a bag for our army... The difficulty lies not in the capture itself, but in what happens afterward! How will our army deal with the remnants of the army within the pass, the gentry of Shandong, the emperor and his officials, and even... the opinions of the people throughout the land..."

"And what's with all this gossip?" Jiang Jiong couldn't help but say from the side. "Where do all these gossips come from? The common people don't care about such things!"

Jia Qu couldn't help but smile, and instead of arguing with Jiang Jiong, he simply shook his head and remained silent.

Huang Cheng retorted, "I think Zhong Yi makes sense! You scholars always talk about idle gossip, but I haven't seen many such people! After our army wins and takes control of the country, we'll be in charge of everything. What idle gossip will there be? Let's see who dares to be idle!"

Zhuge Liang, standing beside Jia Qu, smiled and picked up where Huang Cheng left off, "If the goal is only temporary victory, then it doesn't matter what you do..."

"A temporary victory or defeat?" Jiang Jiong stared at Zhuge Liang. "After capturing and killing Cao Cao, how can it be considered only a temporary victory or defeat?"

Zhuge Liang cupped his hands in greeting to Fei Qian and said quite frankly, "With your wisdom, my lord, no one will dare to speak ill of this battle for the next thirty to fifty years. When your son ascends the throne, rumors will surely begin to spread, shaking the foundation of your heir. A hundred years from now, the clamor will rise and fall, one after another, impossible to eradicate completely..."

"Haha, haha!" Huang Cheng laughed loudly, "What do you mean, 'a hundred years later'? A hundred years from now, we'll all be dead, who'll care... uh, um? This... Kongming, you're talking... ah, no, Kongming, are you serious?"

Huang Cheng was laughing for a moment when he suddenly felt something was wrong, so his smile froze. He secretly glanced at Fei Qian before asking Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang nodded slowly, "If we are not careful... this is inevitable."

Fei Qian glanced at Zhuge Liang and couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

Zhuge Liang's political stats are truly maxed out.

In an era where most people are short-lived, few people think about what will happen ten years from now, let alone a long-term plan...

"After me, who cares what the world will do?" is almost an inevitable mentality of short-lived species.

For humankind, death is not a transition, nor a cycle, but the absolute end of individual consciousness, experience, and interests.

Therefore, the afterlife has zero value in an individual's utility function.

Using simplistic and one-sided economic logic and value orientation to measure human life and death will naturally lead to the conclusion that "one is only responsible for the benefits gained during one's lifetime, and does not need to pay for the costs after death." This kind of calculation is the most direct thinking logic of short-lived species.

After all, the consequences of a 'raging flood' are in the future and uncertain, and most importantly, these consequences are borne by others!

Under this mindset, as long as one is happy in the moment, that's all that matters; as for the rest, who cares?
Zhuge Liang cupped his hands in greeting to Fei Qian and said, "Cao Mengde is no ordinary defeated general. He is the Chancellor personally appointed by the Emperor of Han, in charge of the affairs of the Secretariat. In name, he is the head of all officials, second only to the Emperor. Killing him is easy, but we will inevitably bear the infamy of murdering a minister and disrespecting the Emperor; imprisoning him is also easy, but we must consider how to settle him, whether his former subordinates will be willing to accept this, and whether the Emperor will approve. These are all matters of great importance and should be carefully considered."

Huang Cheng was still somewhat dissatisfied, "How could you, Kongming, speak so well of Cao Cao?!"

"Uncle Ye!" Fei Qian's face immediately darkened. "How dare you be so rude! Kongming is from Langya! How could he possibly say anything good about Cao Mengde? Apologize to Kongming now!"

Huang Cheng was taken aback, then realized that he had indeed said the wrong thing, so he stood up and bowed to Zhuge Liang to apologize.

Zhuge Liang returned the greeting.

Fei Qian reiterated: "Let's stick to the facts! No unfounded accusations or attacks on others!"

Huang Cheng acknowledged and sat down again, saying, “This humble general is a rough man, and my words were spoken without thinking; it is my fault. But in this situation, what is the point of talking about being a prime minister? That is merely an empty title of the past! When that traitor Cao Cao captured and killed the two Yuans, imprisoned the Yuan family, and forced Liu Biao's son to surrender, did he ever speak of etiquette to those people? If we were the ones defeated today, trapped in a desperate situation by Cao Cao's army, would Cao Mengde be polite to us? Would he hold a banquet and tell us that envoys are not to be killed in war? He would probably have already sharpened his knife, waiting to chop off our heads! Now that that traitor Cao Cao has delivered himself to our doorstep, if we don't eliminate him now, when will we? Are we going to wait for him to catch his breath and then turn around and bite us?”

Jiang Jiong also said, "General Huang is right! On the battlefield, it's a matter of life and death, and the victor is king! What's the point of talking so much nonsense? If we don't kill him, are we really going to let him go back? Wouldn't that just leave future troubles?! In my opinion, if we feel that killing him immediately would damage our lord's reputation, then we should escort him first! Didn't we build the Feixiong Pavilion in Chang'an City to entertain distinguished guests? There must be quite a few private rooms inside. Let Prime Minister Cao experience it and reflect on his life's deeds. Wouldn't that be perfect?" Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang's handsome face showed a faint smile, and he nodded, "The Feixiong Pavilion certainly has private rooms prepared... However, I am not pitying Cao Cao, nor am I bound by worldly formalities... What I and the Chief Administrator are considering is twofold: 'precedent' and 'consequences'." These two matters concern the hearts and minds of the people and are the foundation upon which our army will one day govern all directions; they must be carefully considered.

"Precedent? Consequences?" Huang Cheng frowned.

Jiang Jiong also looked puzzled.

“Indeed, a precedent.” Jia Qu spoke again, “General Huang, are you aware of the Battle of Changping during the Warring States period, where Qin general Wu’an Jun massacred over 400,000 surrendered Zhao soldiers?”

Although Huang Cheng wasn't as well-versed in literature as Jia Qu or Zhuge Liang, he still knew some historical allusions and nodded, saying, "The God of Slaughter, huh? I know about that."

Jia Qu slowly said, "The massacre of Lord Wu'an was certainly due to the Qin army's shortage of supplies at the time, making it difficult to deal with hundreds of thousands of surrendered soldiers. It also stemmed from an attempt to intimidate the six states east of the mountains with terror and destroy their will to resist… But what were the consequences?"

Jia Qu paused, then continued, "While this action was indeed chilling, it also thoroughly ignited the shared hatred and determination of the Zhao state and even the six states east of the Hangu Pass. Later, in the defense of Handan, the people of Zhao held out to the death, the Qin army suffered a crushing defeat, and the unification of the six states was delayed by ten years… This should serve as a lesson."

Huang Cheng pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, Your explanation, Zhizhong, is a bit far-fetched... That talk of Bai Qi burying his soldiers alive is different from our current task of capturing and killing Cao Cao—these are two different things!"

Jia Qu nodded. "I cited the example of Lord Wu'an because that's a well-known story... If we're talking about something similar, after King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he imprisoned Wu Geng, the son of King Zhou of Shang, in Yin territory, and established the Three Supervisors to keep him under control. But after King Wu died, the Three Supervisors joined forces with Wu Geng in a rebellion... Is General Huang aware of this?"

"Huh?" Huang Cheng paused for a moment, "I'm not too sure about that... but doesn't that just mean they should be killed?"

Jia Qu took a breath, stole a glance at Fei Qian, and slowly said, "This is a small state replacing a large city... We must be cautious..."

"What? What did you say, Zhizhong?" Huang Cheng didn't understand.

Jia Qu smiled and offered no explanation.

Zhuge Liang, standing to the side, said: "In short, Cao Cao is the prime minister personally appointed by the emperor! He is the deputy of the state! As for the two Yuan brothers and Liu Biao, they are merely officials with a salary of two thousand piculs of grain..."

The prestige of the prime ministers of the Han Dynasty was unmatched by any prime minister in later dynasties...

Clearly, Zhuge Liang's explanation was simply intended to make it easier for Huang Cheng to understand...

The power of the prime minister in the Han Dynasty was all-encompassing!

It can reject imperial edicts, establish its own government, and govern the imperial family...

Simply put, the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty was a "Deputy Emperor" who established his own government and was independent of the imperial power!
Furthermore, during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the practice of continuing ancestral sacrifices even after a state was destroyed was an important political tradition. Preserving Shang sacrifices demonstrated the legitimacy of the Zhou regime, suggesting that it was ordained by Heaven and not a result of plunder and usurpation.

Therefore, the Zhou Dynasty made some compromises to the reality at that time, enfeoffing Wu Geng and establishing the Three Supervisors, using Guan Shu, Cai Shu, and Huo Shu to form a co-governance model. This was the best solution that could be thought of at the time, both to appease the Shang people and to use blood-related princes for supervision.

As for why a rebellion later occurred, it was because this method was clearly not a long-term stable structure. The Shang remnants viewed the Three Supervisors as oppressors, the Three Supervisors viewed the Duke of Zhou as a usurper of power, and the Duke of Zhou needed to maintain the authority of the central government. Thus, the outbreak of conflict was only a matter of time.

Jia Qu and Zhuge Liang's meaning was already very clear, but it was indeed not easy to say such things openly.

Jiang Jiong frowned and pondered for a moment, finding the argument plausible. But then he recalled another story and offered a counterexample: "What about the conflict between Wu and Yue during the Spring and Autumn Period? The King of Wu defeated Yue and besieged Kuaiji, which could have easily wiped out Yue. The King of Yue surrendered, but Fuchai, instead of heeding Wu Zixu's advice to completely destroy Yue and kill Goujian, allowed them to become vassals and pay tribute, preserving their ancestral temples. What was the result? Goujian endured hardship and humiliation, spending ten years building up his strength and ten years training his troops, ultimately conquering Wu with three thousand Yue soldiers. Isn't this clear evidence of womanly compassion and nurturing a tiger only to have it become a future threat? It shows that being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to oneself!"

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "General Jiang's example of Wu and Yue differs from the case of Changping in its circumstances and origins, so they cannot be generalized. Fuchai's acceptance of Goujian's surrender was not purely out of so-called womanly benevolence, but also had its strategic considerations. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the feudal lords vied for hegemony, and although wars were constant, there was still a saying about reviving the extinct and continuing the interrupted, and advocating winning over distant lands with virtue. Destroying a state and extinguishing its ancestral sacrifices was not the best option." At that time, the Wu state's ambition lay in the north, aiming to contend for the Central Plains with Qi and Jin. Turning Yue into a vassal state, forcing it to submit and pay tribute, would both extract its manpower and resources for the northern expedition and prevent the Wu army from being bogged down in the southern mountains for too long. This was a choice based on the circumstances at the time… As for Goujian's success in restoring his kingdom, firstly, his extreme forbearance and extraordinary willpower; secondly, Fuchai's later years were marked by extravagance and debauchery, exhausting the state's resources in the northward conquest and leading to increasingly lax control over Yue; and thirdly… Wu's excessive exploitation of Yue caused widespread resentment among its people… Therefore, accepting surrender was not impossible, but it required effective control, preventative measures, and vigilance against the enemy's hidden desire for revenge!

Zhuge Liang paused briefly, then continued, "Moreover, not all acts of surrender are directed at Wu and Yue… Therefore, Bai Qi's massacre of those who surrendered and Fuchai's acceptance of Yue serve as lessons for today. Bai Qi's killing of them completely blocked any path of negotiation for submission, making the people of Zhao understand that they would die either surrender or be reborn, so they might as well fight to the death and hope for survival. Fuchai's failure was a strategic blunder, stemming from excessive exploitation and his own corruption and negligence, not from the act of accepting surrender."

Jia Qu added promptly, his tone grave, "Now that Cao Cao has come, his situation is different from those who were captured after exhausting their strength on the battlefield. He has proactively sent an envoy in the name of the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty to inform us and come for a meeting and discussion. If we were to launch a sudden attack from within the camp, capture and kill him, it would certainly be a momentary satisfaction, eliminating the formidable enemy before us. But how would the people of the world view us? Would they think our army is narrow-minded and intolerant? Or would they think our army is tyrannical and untrustworthy, luring and killing a high-ranking official?"

Zhuge Liang also said, "Cao Cao is cunning and treacherous; he certainly wouldn't be without a backup plan. As for the remnants of Cao Cao's army within the pass, if they know they will either be captured or killed, will their morale collapse and they surrender at the first sign of trouble, or... it remains to be seen."

Huang Cheng said arrogantly, "Then let's fight! What's there to be afraid of?! My soldiers are already itching for battle, and can't wait to launch an attack on the city tomorrow!"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said nothing more.

After listening to Jia Qu and Zhuge Liang's arguments, Jiang Jiong felt he could understand some of their reasoning, but he still looked somewhat unconvinced and indignant. Unable to find a more direct and compelling reason to refute them, he hesitated for a long time before finally muttering dejectedly, "Then...so according to you two, are we really going to talk to him politely? What's the point of talking to Cao Mengde? All that talking and pretense will only lead to war in the end! It'll be a waste of effort, and we might even fall into his trap!"

Jia Qu shook his head, "Our lord is so wise, how could he fall for a trap?"

Jiang Jiong looked at Fei Qian, "My lord! That's not what I meant!"

Fei Qian smiled, waved his hand, and asked the usually taciturn Huang Zhong, "Hansheng, you've been pondering for a long time, do you have a plan?"

Upon hearing Fei Qian's question, Huang Zhong quickly bowed slightly and said cautiously, "I have only recently joined your ranks and my understanding of the overall situation is indeed limited. Such matters, involving military and national strategies and the hearts and minds of the people, are not for me to presume to comment on. I only know that wherever my lord's orders point, that is where my blade will be! If I am ordered to charge into battle, I will never retreat, even at the cost of my life!"

Xu Chu, standing to the side, patted his chest, causing his armor plates to rattle loudly, and said, "Me too!"

Fei Qian was speechless for a moment.

Alright, should we just change Xu Chu to Third Master Xu?

However, after Huang Zhong and Xu Chu said that, Huang Cheng and Jiang Jiong stopped arguing and expressed their willingness to follow Fei Qian's arrangements, saying that they would have no objections no matter what.

Fei Qian laughed and said, "Gentlemen, there's no need for that... If you feel that Cao Mengde, as the Prime Minister, is too much of a concern... then let's suppose that each of you leads your troops to Shandong, establishes the prefectures and counties, and right now a powerful local family arrives... and the question becomes: capture or kill them, see them or not?"

what?
How can these be the same?
Huang Cheng and other military generals initially felt that the two matters were not comparable, but upon further reflection, they realized that Fei Qian's words seemed to make some sense...

Fei Qian smiled, his gaze slowly sweeping over Huang Cheng and the other generals in the tent. "Capturing and killing a member of the Cao family is a simple matter. However, this could potentially provoke future troubles; this is the precedent and consequence we should consider..."

After Fei Qian finished speaking, he began to observe the crowd.

Leaving aside the civil officials and strategists, among the military generals, it was Huang Zhong who first seemed to realize something, raising his eyebrows and saying softly, "So that's the 'precedent'!"

Then Jiang Jiong and Xu Chu seemed to understand, only Huang Cheng lagged behind, seemingly still not quite understanding what this 'precedent' and 'consequences' were...