Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 57: Causing a fatal disaster
Cao Cao accompanied Wei Xiaobao back to the military tent, dismissed Xun Yu and others, and looked at Wei Xiaobao with a mysterious expression.

Wei Xiaobao's mood has not yet calmed down. Being able to serve a glass of wine to Master Guan in person, this feeling is much better than when he saw him from afar outside Pingyuan City. At this time, he had already forgotten about finding the jade and returning to the Qing Dynasty.

Seeing Wei Xiaobao's smile, Cao Cao thought he was feeling proud and said, "You are so prophetic! You predicted that Yu She and Pan Feng would go to war, and you even knew that Yun Chang would kill Hua Xiong. You are truly a god!"

Wei Xiaobao heard Cao Cao's words and smiled, saying, "These people are just trying to steal the credit from Yuan Shao, but they don't know Hua Xiong's ability. They only become afraid when someone loses their life. I just knew all this in advance, it's nothing magical."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "I also heard all this from reading stories in a teahouse. Fortunately, I remember the story of Guan Yu beheading Hua Xiong and the three heroes fighting Lu Bu clearly, otherwise I wouldn't be able to fool you."

However, Cao Cao thought that Wei Xiaobao must have collected information about various princes in advance and guessed everyone's thoughts, so he could calculate so accurately. He couldn't help but admire him.

Cao Cao said, "If you don't mind, I will be your military advisor."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "My master is the military advisor to Prince Zheng of Taiwan, and Zhuge Liang is the military advisor to Liu Bei. If I, Wei Xiaobao, were to be your military advisor, wouldn't that make people laugh? I was just about to tell you about the military advisor thing, and you're the one rushing to do business with me."

Wei Xiaobao said, "I don't have the skills to be a military advisor, but I said before that I would recommend someone to you. Do you remember?"

Cao Cao asked, "Could it be Guan Yu, the one who killed Hua Xiong today? He and Liu Xuande are sworn brothers, so I'm afraid he won't come to join my army, right?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Your plan is quite good, but it's just a daydream."

Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Guan Yu will definitely not surrender to you. However, the person I recommend is also very important to you. You will have to rely on him for advice on many things in the future."

Cao Cao hurriedly asked, "Who is this person?"

Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "We agreed before that I can recommend this person to you, but you have to give me something in exchange. In business, it's a matter of money and goods. Otherwise, I'll lose money on this deal."

Cao Cao said, "The man you recommended must be a rare talent. Even if I had to give away everything I had, I would still be willing to receive his help."

Wei Xiaobao coughed and said, "You don't have to be so polite. Just call me Xiaobao. That way we can get closer and it will be easier to negotiate business."

Cao Cao nodded and said, "In that case, I will do as you say."

Wei Xiaobao continued, "Actually, I don't want much money. I just want the seven gems you took from the Seven Star Sword."

Cao Cao was horrified and asked, "How did you know I was the one who took the gem?"

Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "If I know that Guan Yu killed Hua Xiong at Sishui Pass, I also know about the Seven Star Sword. You don't have to be afraid. I won't tell anyone else about this. Besides, you guys are fighting Dong Zhuo so fiercely that he can't make things difficult for you."

Cao Cao pondered for a long time and said, "To be honest, I did take the gem out of Luoyang, but I had already exchanged it for money and food, which I used to recruit soldiers in Shandong."

Wei Xiaobao asked, "Not a single one left?"

Cao Cao nodded and said, "Not a single one left!"

Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart: "You old loser!"

Wei Xiaobao asked, "Where did you exchange the money? Who did you sell it to? Can you still find it now?"

Cao Cao said, "They've changed hands so many times, I'm afraid they're hard to find. I wonder what use these gems are to you?"

Wei Xiaobao calmed down for a moment, waved his hands and said, "Since I can't find it, it doesn't matter."

Wei Xiaobao said it lightly, but in his heart he had already cursed Cao Cao's ancestors for eighteen generations. If Cao Cao had not been still there, Wei Xiaobao would have collapsed on the ground.

Cao Cao added, "My army still has fine horses, silk, Shu brocade, and gold and silver utensils. If you don't mind, I can give them all to you."

Wei Xiaobao asked, "Are there any jade, gemstones, or anything like that?"

Cao Cao shook his head. Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Forget it then. It seems I've come all the way here for nothing. But being able to see Brother Guan Er means it wasn't a wasted trip at all."

Cao Cao saw that Wei Xiaobao was feeling a little disappointed, so he asked softly, "Who recommended him?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "I've been with you for so long, and you're not a bad person. Today, you even recommended Guan Yu to the battlefield. Guo Jia will have to defect to Cao Cao sooner or later, so I'll just do him a favor."

Wei Xiaobao said, "This man is Guo Jia."

Cao Cao was shocked when he heard this and asked, "But is this Guo Jia, the strategist under Benchu's command, Guo Fengxiao?"

Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "That's him. You will meet a very tough opponent in the future, and it was Guo Jia who helped you defeat him."

Cao Cao asked, "This man is currently serving under Yuan Shao. Why is he willing to surrender to me?"

Wei Xiaobao knew that Guo Jia had resigned from Yuan Shao and returned home, and that Xi Zhicai, one of Cao Cao's subordinates, had recommended him to Cao Cao before his death. He could only be vague and said, "I can only tell you this much. As for how you'll recruit him, that's up to you. Now that our deal is concluded, I'll take my leave tomorrow. Even if it's a loss, let's just consider it a friendship."

Cao Cao hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"

Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Let's go back to where we came from. It's a pity that I haven't found a way to go back yet."

Cao Cao stood up and said goodbye with a blank expression.

Wei Xiaobao hurried to find Shuang'er to discuss returning to Luoyang.

Cao Cao returned to his own military tent and called Xun Yu, Xiahou Dun and others.

Cao Cao asked, "Do you know what happened on the battlefield today?"

Xun Yu said, "I heard that Hua Xiong killed several men in a row, but in the end he was killed by a horse archer under Gongsun Zan. This is really a strange story."

Cao Cao laughed heartily and said, "Wen Ruo only knows one side of the story."

Xun Yu said, "I would like to hear your lordship's detailed explanation."

Cao Cao said, "Today I went with Wei Xiaobao to watch the battle. He not only predicted that Yu She and Pan Feng would die at the hands of Hua Xiong, but he also asked me to recommend Guan Yu to go out and kill Hua Xiong."

Xun Yu was shocked and said, "How could this be true!"

Cao Cao said, "The other day I thought it was remarkable that he could see through Jia Xu's scheme, and today I admire him even more. It's a pity that he has decided to leave and is unwilling to stay in the army and serve me."

Xun Yu asked, "My lord, what do you think of Yuan Shao's campaign against Dong Zhuo?"

Cao Cao was surprised by Xun Yu's question. After a moment's thought, he said, "Wei Xiaobao said that Yuan Shao's reservations weren't meant to be a true attack on Dong Zhuo, but rather a way to deplete the forces of the other princes so he could seize control of Jizhou and Youzhou. Judging from Yuan Shao's current behavior and Wei Xiaobao's foresight, this seems to be the case."

Xun Yu nodded and said, "I think so too, so please make a decision on this matter of Wei Xiaobao as soon as possible."

Cao Cao asked, "What do you mean?"

Xun Yu said: "This person cannot be used by me, and he must not fall into the hands of others."

Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu, made a beheading gesture, and asked, "Do you mean to kill him?"

Xun Yu nodded and said, "That's right! Otherwise, if we face off in front of the enemy in the future, I'm afraid there will be endless troubles!"

(End of this chapter)