Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 91 Joining the Army Just to Make a Living

Wei Xiaobao remembered Guo Jia's wink at him outside the city gate that day. His heart skipped a beat. He stood up shakily and asked, "Could it be that because Cao Cao knelt down to apologize to me in front of the soldiers and I didn't help him, he decided to kill me?"

Guo Jia nodded.

Wei Xiaobao continued, "I helped him subdue Dian Wei and Xu Zhu, recommended you, and even brought him so much food and fodder from Runan. So he's going to kill me just for such a trivial matter? I know he's stingy, but he wouldn't be this mean, right? You're not trying to scare me just to sober me up, are you?"

Guo Jia sighed and said, "The letter that you sent to Liu Pi has fallen into the hands of the lord."

Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh and said, "How could I have forgotten this! But the letter only said that I was Zhang Jue's disciple, and it was also to trick Liu Pi into surrendering. How could it be that he wanted to kill me?"

Guo Jia said, "Liu Pi, to save his own life, told the lord that the letter was written by Zhang Jue himself. The lord suspects that Zhang Jue is not dead and is being hidden by you in Chenliu. The Qingzhou soldiers were originally recruited from the Yellow Turban Army, and Dian Wei and Xu Zhu are loyal to you. At the celebration banquet tonight, all the civil and military officials were even more enthusiastic about you. If I were the lord, I would probably not tolerate you either."

Wei Xiaobao cursed: "Damn it! I was mocking Cao Cao for being so proud of winning money, but in the end I was the old horse that lost its hoof."

Diao Chan asked, "Xiaobao, you mean the horse stumbled?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "It doesn't matter if it's the front or the hind hoof. If either one is missing, we can't run. Wives, pack up quickly. While Cao Cao is drunk, let's escape overnight!"

Guo Jia asked, "Sir, where are you going after escaping from Chenliu?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "Anywhere is fine. We can't just stay in Chenliu and wait for death, right? Xia Pi or Shouchun are all fine. If all else fails, I'll flee back to Youzhou."

Guo Jia said, "Sir, don't panic. The Lord will not attack you immediately. Otherwise, he would not be welcoming you back from the city and holding a banquet to celebrate your victory."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Cao Cao is a very suspicious person. He has already begun to doubt me. Sooner or later he will make a move on me."

Suddenly, Wei Xiaobao nodded and looked at Guo Jia, asking, "You didn't drink tonight just to send me back. No wonder you were willing to come into the house with me today. It turns out you were prepared!"

Guo Jia smiled slightly and said, "My tricks really didn't escape your notice. There is one more thing I want to confirm with you."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Ask."

Guo Jia asked, "Is the young master who came to Chenliu with the ladies the current emperor?"

Wei Xiaobao was slightly surprised and immediately understood that although Guo Jia had never met Liu Xie in Luoyang, he should have guessed it long ago with his intelligence.

Wei Xiaobao nodded.

Guo Jia then asked, "In other people's eyes, is Liu Xie the same as Zhang Jiao?"

Wei Xiaobao was so shocked this time that his jaw almost dropped: "How did you know?"

Guo Jia said, "Yang Feng and Guo Si have both been claiming that the emperor is in their army, and the various princes have long suspected this. I've been observing the stars lately and nightly, and I've noticed that the emperor's star is dim and unclear, seemingly in the east yet not in the east. I've tried several calculations but couldn't understand why, until I saw the letter in Liu Pi's hand."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Your astrology skills are truly remarkable, but I'm afraid to risk my life to learn them. You said nothing escapes my eyes, but I think you can't hide any secrets from me." Guo Jia said, "If that's the case, sir, your crisis is easily resolved."

Wei Xiaobao asked, "What does this have to do with whether Cao Cao kills me or not?"

Guo Jia said, "The Lord is suspicious of you for two reasons. First, he's worried you might be involved with Zhang Jue, and that he could control the Qingzhou troops and undermine their very foundation. Second, he's worried that as your prestige grows, we, your subordinates, will become dependent on you. The first of these is easy, but I'll need your Madam's help."

Wei Xiaobao saw Guo Jia pointing at Mu Jianping and understood what was going on. He asked, "So she copied the letter?"

Guo Jia nodded and said, "Sir, you were entrusted by Minister Lu to persuade Zhang Jue to surrender. Zhang Jue will surely have a letter for you to pass on to the Minister."

Wei Xiaobao said, "There's no letter. The accident happened before we escaped Guangzong, and then Zhang Jue became Liu Xie. The story is complicated and strange. I will tell you slowly when I have time later."

Guo Jia said, "So we must first invent something out of nothing. The emperor, or Zhang Jue, will then write another letter as a backup. Then, we will manipulate the letter to make the lord believe that this letter was forged by Cai Wenji in order to deceive Liu Pi."

Mu Jianping waved his hands hastily and said, "How could I imitate Zhang Jiao's handwriting?"

Guo Jia said, "Cai Wenji is the daughter of Cai Yong and a student of Lu Zhi. She is famous for her calligraphy and music. Only if this letter comes from her will it not arouse the lord's suspicion."

Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue at Mu Jianping and said, "You don't have to teach me to read these few days. Just practice calligraphy with little Liu Xie."

Mu Jianping knew that Wei Xiaobao wanted to slack off, but she couldn't do anything about it, so she reluctantly said, "Okay, but Sister Diao Chan and Sister Shuang'er won't make sure you study hard."

Wei Xiaobao made another face and turned to ask Guo Jia, "How do we solve the second problem?"

Guo Jia said, "The second thing to solve is to borrow a corpse to revive it. As the Art of War says, those who are useful should not be borrowed; those who are useless should be borrowed. Borrowing the useless and using them is not me seeking the child, but the child seeking me."

Wei Xiaobao rolled his eyes at Guo Jia and said, "Can you speak human language?"

Guo Jia remained unimpressed and continued, "Sir, you and I know that the Emperor is not the Emperor, but in the eyes of the world, especially our Lord, he is the Emperor. A fake Emperor is useless to you, but to our Lord, he is a banner for recruiting talent and commanding the masses. As long as this banner exists, we are both subjects, so who can hold a higher prestige than the Emperor?"

Wei Xiaobao hurriedly shook his head and said, "Originally, we came to Chenliu to ask Cao Cao for protection, but I had other things to do, so I didn't want Cao Cao to know that Liu Xie was with me. Now you want me to hand Liu Xie over to Cao Cao. Not to mention that it will delay my work, how can I explain the fact that I kept his affairs secret all this time?"

Guo Jia said, "Sir, your actions are always mysterious and unpredictable, so I dare not ask you any questions. However, in the current situation, Sir, you have to take the emperor and his wives with you. In the chaos and turmoil, things will be difficult. It would be better to send them to Luoyang temporarily. It is safer and more convenient."

Wei Xiaobao looked back at his three wives, thinking about how they hadn't eaten or slept well in Chenliu these days, and finally made up his mind and said, "Let's go back to Luoyang first."

Guo Jia continued, "Since you have made up your mind, sir, I will discuss this with Xun Wenruo immediately and report it to you tomorrow. As for why we concealed this from you, we will also discuss a response."

Wei Xiaobao watched Guo Jia leave, feeling something was amiss. He muttered to himself, "Why would Cao Cao suddenly want to kill me? Those Qingzhou soldiers are just like Xu Zhu, serving Cao Cao just to make a living. I'm broke, who would want to join me? They say whoever gives you milk is your mother, but I'm a nobody, so how can I be someone's father? Could it be that these two old foxes, Guo Jia and Xun Yu, are setting a trap for me?"

(End of this chapter)