Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 85 Eat first and talk later

Wei Xiaobao said, "If we leave Lü Bu alone and go attack Xuzhou, what if Lü Bu comes back to bite us?"

Xun Yu nodded and said, "As Fengxiao expected, Master also does not agree to attack Xuzhou."

Wei Xiaobao looked at Guo Jia and thought, "You old fellow guessed my thoughts a long time ago. Maybe you knew by observing the stars that Lü Bu would die first. That's not right. It's been raining for over a month. Where did the stars come from?"

Guo Jia was betting that Wei Xiaobao would stop Cao Cao from attacking Xuzhou.

Guo Jia said, "Sir, your wife and family are in Chenliu. If we follow you to attack Xiapi, even if we can defeat Liu Bei, I'm afraid that by the time we return, you and your wife will be separated forever."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Before I left Xuzhou, my elder brother said he was going to station troops in Xiaopei. Why is he going to Xiapi now? Did Tao Qian switch cities with my elder brother?"

Wei Xiaobao asked, "If we go to attack Liu Bei, what if Tao Qian comes to rescue us? Wouldn't that mean another fight between the two armies?"

Xun Yu said, "Sir, you don't know that Tao Qian has passed away. Before his death, he handed Xuzhou to Liu Bei. It is precisely because of this that our lord is so angry and is so eager to send troops to Xuzhou."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "So that's how it is. It seems this old fellow Tao Qian is quite clever. He knows Xuzhou is difficult to defend, and he's worried his two sons will get beheaded if Cao Cao defeats them, so he's letting my eldest brother be the scapegoat. Xun Yu and Guo Jia don't want Cao Cao to attack Xuzhou, so I'm going to go along with them and save my eldest brother first, then find a chance to send him a letter telling them to escape."

Wei Xiaobao said, "If I were your master, I wouldn't be able to swallow this insult either."

Xun Yu and Guo Jia looked at each other awkwardly, then said, "Feng Xiao said that you must have a clever plan to dissuade the Lord from sending troops. Please stop keeping us in suspense."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "What kind of idiotic plan could I possibly have? You two might have already thought of one, but Cao Cao is furious right now, so you're just too afraid to try and persuade him. I've been by Xiao Xuanzi's side for so many years, I'm not called the most popular person for nothing. When did I not clean up the mess for Prince Kang and Brother Duolong?"

Wei Xiaobao asked, "How did Xun Sima persuade your master?"

Xun Yu coughed lightly, glanced at Guo Jia, and said, "Emperor Gaozu was able to ultimately defeat Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Chu, and Emperor Guangwu was able to ultimately restore the Han Dynasty because they first consolidated their rear bases before they could control the world. My lord, Yanzhou is now like Emperor Gaozu's Hanzhong and Emperor Guangwu's Henei. It is the strong rear base of our army. Only by consolidating Yanzhou can we defend our retreat and win the battle."

Wei Xiaobao said, "That makes sense. If it were me, I would advise your master in the same way."

Xun Yu said, "Sir, you are too kind. My lord started the rebellion in Yanzhou and, thanks to his filial piety and advice, quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Shandong. He was deeply respected by the people and built up his current wealth. Although Yanzhou is in ruins, the areas along the Kuahe and Jishui rivers are strategic locations and can be fully protected."

Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "Yanzhou is so big, and you still say it's in ruins? Big Brother still only has Xuzhou, a piece of land, and it's still a mess thrown to him by Tao Qian."

Xun Yu continued, "If we attack Liu Bei, we must leave troops behind to defend against Lü Bu. If we leave too few soldiers in Yanzhou, we won't be able to defend against Lü Bu's attack. If we leave too many, we won't have enough troops to attack Xuzhou."

Wei Xiaobao said, "I can't even touch the grave, so I just kowtow randomly."

This phrase originally meant that people were careless and inconsistent in their work. Wei Xiaobao's mother, Wei Chunhua, often scolded him this way when he was a child. Wei Xiaobao couldn't think of a better way to say it at the moment. He thought about how Cao Cao had first attacked Xuzhou, but had been stabbed in the back by Lü Bu and had returned to defend Yanzhou. Now, knowing that Tao Qian had handed Xuzhou over to Liu Bei before his death, he had angrily abandoned Lü Bu and gone to attack Liu Bei, so he casually said this.

Xun Yu was surprised and asked, "So you are also from Yangzhou?"

Wei Xiaobao smiled and asked, "Are you from Yangzhou too?"

Xun Yu shook his head and said, "It's a pity that I'm not from the same hometown as you, sir. I've only learned a few words of Wu dialect. Speaking of being from Yangzhou, my lord should not attack Xuzhou."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Could it be that Cao Cao's mistress is from Yangzhou and is hiding in Xuzhou now? It's possible. Cao Cao was always flirting with other people's wives, so it's not impossible that he had a mistress from Yangzhou."

Wei Xiaobao chuckled and asked, "Why is that?" Xun Yu replied, "Tao Qian is from Danyang, Yangzhou."

Wei Xiaobao laughed in his heart: "Could it be that the old pervert Cao Cao has seduced Tao Qian's wife? No, Tao Qian is quite old, could it be Tao Qian's daughter-in-law?"

Xun Yu continued, "Most of Tao Qian's former subordinates in Xuzhou are from the Danyang faction, and they have many grievances with Liu Bei, who came from Zhuozhou in the north. Even if you don't attack Xuzhou, I don't think Liu Bei will be able to maintain long-term stability in Xuzhou."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Your Han Dynasty is really complicated. At first, it was the eunuchs and scholars who didn't want to see things right, and ended up with a fight. Yuan Shao had He Jin killed. Then, you rich people in the Central Plains looked down on the poor Lu Bu from the border and insisted on driving him back. Now it's the turn of the people of Yangzhou to look down on the people of the north. The Qing Dynasty was much simpler. As long as they talked about overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and swearing to kill Wu Sangui, they could be united, whether they were from Yangzhou or Taiwan."

Wei Xiaobao asked, "Even after hearing what you said, your master still wants to send troops?"

Xun Yu nodded.

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Your acting skills are terrible, old man. Cao Cao is no fool, so why wouldn't he understand this? You certainly haven't gone to Cao Cao, but these reasons aren't enough to convince him. In Cao Cao's eyes, Xuzhou is like my Diao Chan, and he can't give it to anyone else. I risked my life for Diao Chan, so I'm sure Cao Cao would be the same."

Wei Xiaobao said, "It's a pity that I'm hungry now and can't think of anything to do."

Wei Xiaobao was originally trying to save face, but suddenly he understood and said, "In war, you need to fill your stomachs. Who would be willing to fight for you if your soldiers are hungry? I guess Lu Bu doesn't have much food right now, otherwise you could persuade your master to fight Lu Bu first."

Guo Jia said, "Sir, this is a brilliant plan. Lü Bu has no food, but there is a place with food. If we can capture this place, our army will have plenty of food and fodder. My lord, you won't have to worry about running out of food and fodder after defeating Lü Bu before attacking Xuzhou. This way, we can defeat Lü Bu first and then attack Liu Bei."

Xun Yu slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, why didn't I think of that! Did Fengxiao mean Runan?"

Guo Jia said, "Exactly. If you hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have remembered. The Yellow Turbans' minor leaders, Liu Pi and He Yi, have been entrenched in Runan for several years, so they must have sufficient food and fodder. The Yellow Turbans are just a motley crowd now. If our army wants to take Runan, it will be easy."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Since you have already made up your mind, go and persuade your master tomorrow."

Guo Jia said, "This plan was your idea, sir. I'll have to trouble you."

Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart: "Your grandfather, you still want me to take the blame!"

Wei Xiaobao said, "Let's talk about it later! Xun Sima, have someone bring me a bag."

Xun Yu was puzzled, but he still ordered his servants to bring a cloth bag.

Wei Xiaobao picked up the fish in front of him and put the plate and lid into his pocket. Then he poured all the steamed buns and steamed buns on the table into the pocket, and ran to Xun Yu to take all his buns.

Finally, Wei Xiaobao walked up to Guo Jia and, while pouring Guo Jia's cake into his pocket, asked quietly, "Besides Xun Yu, who else knows that my wife is in Chenliu?"

Guo Jia said: "Except for the students and the confidants who went to deliver the gifts, no one else knows."

Wei Xiaobao tightened his pockets and asked again, "Cao Cao doesn't know, right?"

Guo Jia shook his head.

Wei Xiaobao threw his bag onto his back and said, "When I get home and have my fill, I'll go find your master."

(End of this chapter)