Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 360 Invite Cao Cao to Shu and send troops out of Qishan!
"How can one live if their head is chopped open?"
"Do you intend to kill me and present my head to Yuan Shu?"

Startled, she saw Cao Cao's gloomy face and met his murderous gaze.

The assembled officials, fearful and hesitant to speak, hastily stepped back, making way for Hua Tuo and Xun You.

This person said, "This is Hua Tuo's medical prescription, intended to harm the Prime Minister."

The one who said, "This must be Xun You's scheme, which is why he invited Hua Tuo here, intending to present the Prime Minister's head in order to gain a tremendous achievement."

The courtiers immediately began to argue and shout, all wanting to pin the blame on Hua Tuo and Xun You.

Hua Tuo was just a physician and had never seen anything like this before. He immediately tried to explain that this was a legitimate medical prescription that could truly cure the prime minister.

However, before he could even begin to recite those incomprehensible medical theories, Xun You, quick as a flash, stepped forward and spoke.

"A miracle doctor!"
The legendary physician Hua Tuo truly lived up to his reputation. Without medicine or acupuncture, he cured the Prime Minister with just a few words. Such a miracle of medicine astonished You, who considered him a celestial being!

Xun You knew that at this moment, life and death depended on Cao Cao's decision.

If you were to talk to Cao Cao about medical theories and treatment methods at this point, what would you be doing?
How could he understand it, and how could he believe it?

Since the Prime Minister has already recovered without medicine, it's better to let the facts speak for themselves; perhaps that will have a miraculous effect.

As Xun You spoke, he would occasionally give Hua Tuo meaningful glances.

Although Hua Tuo was flustered, he remained calm. After all, he was a renowned physician of his time and had some experience in handling such matters. With Xun You's prompting look, he immediately followed his lead.

"Mr. Xun, you flatter me!"

Hua Tuo also knew that in this life-or-death situation, there could be no moment of carelessness, so he feigned composure, adopted a dignified posture, stroked his long beard, and said:
"There are also three levels of doctors: superior, middle, and inferior."

The lowest level of medicine relies on decoctions and acupuncture to attack diseases that have already developed, providing emergency relief and pain relief; this is treating existing diseases.
Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes regulating diet and lifestyle, nourishing the body's vital energy before it becomes disordered, and strengthening the foundation and cultivating the original qi; this is how to treat diseases that are about to develop.

A skilled physician uses words to guide and resolve doubts in the mind and emotions, calming the spirit and stabilizing the will; this is the way to treat illness before it occurs.

Therefore, the highest level of medical skill lies not in the mastery of medicine, but in the subtlety of addressing the mind.

As Hua Tuo spoke, he also sorted out his medical knowledge from the brink of life and death, so the more he spoke, the more reasonable it seemed, and the calmer he became.

"What Tuo is using today is precisely this divine medical method."

By attacking the Prime Minister's greatest fear, the Prime Minister was startled and his mind cleared, thus recovering without medicine!

Seeing Hua Tuo speaking so eloquently and as if it were the truth, Xun You almost believed him, thinking that if it wasn't true, then he was just playing along.

With his teammates proving reliable, Xun You readily agreed.

"Mr. Hua's medical skills are extraordinary and have reached a state of perfection, which is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people."

Yuan is cunning; he used psychological tactics to cause the Prime Minister to fall into such a state of mental illness.

The same method used by Hua Tuo to treat the ailments of the heart was employed.

"If I hadn't personally witnessed the Prime Minister's improved condition today, would I have believed that such a miraculous art of healing the mind truly exists?"

Upon hearing this, the courtiers suddenly realized the truth!
"I was wondering just now, is there any good cure in the world that involves cutting open the skull?"
It turns out that Master Hua Tuo was healing by persuading the patient's mind with words; this was an amazing skill, truly a divine physician.

"When all the doctors were at a loss, the miracle doctor cured him with a single word."

Such is the miracle of medicine; the difference between a divine physician and an inferior one is truly worlds apart.

"The inferior doctor treats illness, the traditional Chinese medicine doctor focuses on health preservation, and the divine doctor works on the mind."

The disease healed itself without the aid of medicine.

The doctor's skills are truly extraordinary.

"The method of cutting open the skull earlier was actually a psychological attack to intimidate people. No wonder it was described in such a horrifying way. I knew there was no such thing as a way to kill and heal in this world."

Upon hearing the words of Hua Tuo, Xun You, and the ministers, Cao Cao also became suspicious.

"What you just said was actually a deliberate attempt to frighten and intimidate me in order to save my true self, in order to provide a medical prescription?"
"What a joke! How could there be such a method to cure diseases and save lives? I've never heard of it before!"

Upon hearing Cao Cao's words, Xun You immediately countered with a question.

You only asked the Prime Minister whether his health had recovered.

Do you still care about headaches?
If it can cure diseases and save lives, is this not a medical prescription?

With such miraculous skills, if Hua Tuo wasn't a divine physician, then who else could bear the title of divine physician?

Cao Cao: "."

Cao Cao remained silent, speechless for a moment.

In just a few words, the illness was cured. Isn't that amazing?

Thinking of this, even Cao Cao couldn't help but believe it a little, wondering if this was really the divine doctor's method of treating illness by attacking the heart.
Nevertheless, suspicion is still unavoidable.

Cao Cao's icy expression melted away, and he beamed with a smile.

"I was just joking!"
It was a divine healer who cured me; there has been a misunderstanding. Please forgive me, divine healer.

Hua Tuo naturally refused, but Cao Cao grasped his hand tightly and said:
"I cannot fail to repay the kindness of this divine healer."

I am currently preoccupied with military affairs and have no time to entertain you. Therefore, I have invited the divine physician to stay with my troops for a while. I will repay your kindness once I have finished my business.”

Hua Tuo knew this was a bad idea and dared not accept. He hurriedly tried to decline, but the more he refused, the tighter Cao Cao held his hand, while looking at Xun You and saying:

"Since the divine physician was invited by Gongda, I would like to ask Gongda to accompany him on my behalf during this inconvenient time for me to stay in the army camp for a while."

Xun You understood the meaning behind it. He knew that Cao Cao was still suspicious, so he wanted to keep the two of them under house arrest in the army to observe their future behavior and to prevent them from having any disloyal intentions and causing further trouble for the defense of the pass against Yuan's army.

Thinking of this, Xun You quickly gave Hua Tuo a wink, meaning that it was time to stop while things were going well, and that it was already a great blessing that he had managed to save his life.

Besides, neither of us has any ill intentions. Even if we are placed under house arrest, we can wait for a period of observation. Once Cao Cao's suspicions subside, we can escape.

Although Hua Tuo could not understand the profound meaning behind Xun You's glance, he could guess the general situation at the moment.

Since he couldn't fight city hall, he could only sigh and reply to Cao Cao:
"Since the Prime Minister is so kind as to refuse, then I will stay in the army camp for a few days."

Cao Cao nodded in satisfaction, then ordered his men to bring Hua Tuo and Xun You away to keep a close watch on them.

Afterwards, Cao Cao invited a group of imperial physicians from the army to examine him. They all said that Hua Tuo was miraculous, and that Cao Cao was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, but his spirits were much better than before.

Although I am currently exhausted and physically weak, I can still recover with herbal decoctions.

Under Cao Cao's personal supervision, a physician prepared a decoction for him to take, and his health indeed improved slightly.

Suddenly, the sound of Yuan's army drums was heard from outside the pass. Cao Cao, despite his illness, ordered his men to help him up the city wall to watch.

Having climbed the city wall and surveyed the Yuan army's siege, he felt the autumn wind blowing against his face, chilling him to the bone. Without assistance, even walking was difficult. He sighed deeply and said:
"Even the divine tortoise, though long-lived, has its end."

The flying serpent riding the mist eventually turns to dust.

Lao Ji Fuping, ambition of thousands of miles.

The martyrs are young and strong.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death; fullness and emptiness are all predetermined.

How tragic! Let us sing to express our aspirations!

He sighed for a long time.

Not long after, another letter arrived from Luoyang. Cao Cao immediately took it and read it. He saw on the envelope that it read:

[If you wish to cure the diseases of the world, you can continue the Han dynasty's prosperity.]

Sima Yi respectfully bows, to be opened by the Prime Minister! Cao Cao hurriedly opened the letter and read it. He saw that Sima Yi had intended to persuade Zhang Lu to submit to the court and work together to achieve great things after he was ordered to enter Hanzhong.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong was ungrateful and ambitious, showing no regard for the imperial court.

I have recently heard that Yuan Shu, Lü Bu, Yuan Shao and others have successively declared themselves kings, and Zhang Lu has also declared himself King of Hanzhong. They are simply arrogant and ignorant of the will of Heaven.

Despite repeated attempts to stop him, Yi was nearly murdered by Zhang Lu. To save his life, he had no choice but to flee to Shu, where he rallied his clansman Liu Zhang to eliminate the traitor and uphold the Han dynasty.

Upon hearing that Zhang Lu had declared himself King of Hanzhong, Liu Zhang was furious. The officials of Yizhou, knowing Zhang Lu's ambitions and fearing that he would send troops to attack Shu, agreed to allow the troops from Shu to come to his aid.

Therefore, due to the high mountains and long roads, and being far away from the Shu region, I have been unable to communicate with my lord for a long time.

Jin Yi gathered troops from Yizhou and fought several major battles against Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, winning several victories and finally managing to resume communication.

No sooner had I heard news of my lord than I received two proclamations from the north and south, attempting to put him to death.

How could I not toss and turn, unable to sleep, filled with worry?
If we wish to save our lord from this peril, we have only one plan to offer.

My lord, please bring the Emperor to Shu!

If the lord and Yi attack from both sides, Zhang Lu will surely die, and we can take over the land of Hanzhong to serve as our gateway.

If the emperor enters Shu, Liu Zhang can surrender without a fight!

My lord, under the guise of the Han chancellor, personally visited Shu with the emperor's presence. Since Liu Zhang is a member of the Han imperial family, how could he not be willing to contribute to the country?
Secondly, Liu Zhang himself is unambitious and a mere doorman. All that is needed is to move the imperial court to Chengdu, and Liu Zhang and the officials of Shu will all be promoted and ennobled, and no one will dare to defy the emperor's edict again.

Thirdly, our lord has nearly 100,000 elite troops under his command. It would be difficult and dangerous to fight against the two Yuan brothers in the north and south. But if we enter Shu and seize power, how could we not be victorious?
Fourthly, once our lord enters Shu, the mountains are high and the roads are long. Given the difficulty of the Shu roads, it is enough to watch the fire from across the river.

The two Yuan brothers, Yuan in the north and Yuan in the south, were brothers in name only, but in reality, they had long harbored hatred towards each other and had no possibility of peaceful coexistence.

Once the Central Plains lacks a ruler to act as a buffer, a major war between the two sides is imminent.

On the other hand, our lord is firmly established in Shu, and can sit back and observe the situation of the world, adapting to the changing times.

When Yuan Shao was strong, he helped Yuan Shu; when Yuan Shu was powerful, he helped Yuan Shao. Thus, the world was divided into three, and they waited for the right time to act.

We will wait until the two Yuan brothers are exhausted and fight each other, then lead the well-rested Shu troops out of Qishan and steadily nibble away at the territories of the two Yuan brothers.

When the time comes, if the lord holds the title of emperor and gathers wise men, the Han dynasty will be restored, the old capital will be returned, and the great cause will be accomplished.

With these five benefits, if my lord does not enter Shu now, when will he ever do so?
Do not act rashly and exhaust the court's resources with the two Yuan brothers. Instead, take a step back and give up the Central Plains. This would be like abandoning one deer and letting the whole world chase after it, so as to kill the two Yuan brothers!
I earnestly hope that my lord will have a long-term vision, keep the Han dynasty in mind, and be able to bend and stretch, for only then can he be a true man.

After reading the letter, Cao Cao remained silent for a long time before taking out Xun Yu's letter to read it.

All that could be seen on it was a short sentence.

[If Your Excellency makes a decision, the day your letter arrives in Luoyang, the day the Emperor and his ministers leave Luoyang!]

Let's meet in Hanzhong!

In just one sentence, Xun Wenruo's decisiveness and determination are evident.

After all, even for himself, it would be no easy task to get the emperor and his ministers to leave Luoyang and go to Hanzhong with just a letter.

[Meeting in Hanzhong!]

Although it is only a single line or sentence, one can almost see the bones of nobles filling the streets of Luoyang, and the coercion and intimidation are even more severe than those of Dong Zhuo in the past.

Cao Cao sighed deeply, ordered someone to bring pen and ink, and wrote only one sentence:
[Meeting in Hanzhong!]

From then on, although Cao Cao had the intention to withdraw his troops, the Yuan army outside the pass was watching him closely, so he could not easily abandon the pass and retreat.

Moreover, he also needed to buy time for Xun Yu to withdraw the emperor and his officials from Luoyang.

After struggling for some time, Cao Cao's health, which had improved slightly under the treatment of the divine physician Hua Tuo, gradually began to falter again.

In addition, news came from the north that Duan Wei was blocking Yuan Shao at Baima Ferry, but unexpectedly encountered 10,000 heavily armored Wei cavalry.

Duan Wei fought with all his might but failed to defeat them. He was unable to withstand the attack and requested the Prime Minister's immediate support.

Cao Cao: “???”

Ten thousand heavily armored cavalrymen?

Duan Wei, did you suffer a defeat and are trying to fool me?

That thing could be made without the entire nation's resources being mobilized, and it would take ten or eight years to build.

Yuan Shu, who was the first to develop armored cavalry, didn't he have many heavy cavalry?
However, Duan Wei's defeat and plea for reinforcements made Cao Cao realize that he could no longer delay.

If we continue to delay, even if my body can hold on, and the Huanyuan Pass beneath me can hold on, the north will not be able to hold on any longer.

Cao Cao immediately summoned his men and prepared to withdraw his troops.

After leaving a small number of troops to guard the pass and delay Yuan's army, Cao Cao led the remaining 50,000 troops of Cao Cao and retreated quickly under the cover of night.

Meanwhile, outside the city, Yuan's army continued its nighttime clamor, launching attacks at will.

But tonight, when Yuan Shu personally beat the drum and ordered his men to actually attack the pass, he suddenly sensed something was amiss.

Firstly, Cao Cao, who always insisted on personally commanding troops in battle, was not present on the city wall this time.

Secondly, the resistance from Cao Cao's army this time was significantly weaker than in the past.

Yuan Shu immediately realized that something must have happened in Guanzhong, so he hurriedly ordered his men to send a message to the entire army, put on their armor and go into battle, and take the opportunity to attack the city in order to find out what was going on with Cao Cao's army.

Surprisingly, just as Yuan Shu got serious, Cao Cao's army on the city walls couldn't withstand the pressure and surrendered.

When Yuan Shu led his men into the pass, he learned that Cao Cao had actually fled, abandoning the pass and escaping in the middle of the night.

Yuan Shu: "???"

If you can't even defend Huanyuan Pass, where can you escape to?
We can't just retreat and defend Luoyang, can we?

Are you, Cao Cao, also following Dong Zhuo's example and planning to move the capital to Chang'an?

But in any case, since Cao Cao has fled, let's give chase!

It wasn't a siege battle anymore. Yuan Shu also brought out the three thousand heavy cavalry he had built in Shouchun since he obtained the imperial seal and started the new system in Huainan.

The armored cavalry were fully equipped and exuded a formidable aura.

Such a powerful cavalry force should naturally be entrusted to the most trusted general under his command.

It is indeed Ji Ling of Nanyang; there is no harm in guessing!
Yuan Shu then appointed Ji Ling as commander-in-chief and Xu Chu as deputy commander, ordering them to lead the army to pursue and kill Cao Cao, and to bring Cao Cao's head back.

Ji Ling and Xu Chu gladly accepted the order.

Soon after, thunderous hooves thundered, and dust billowed up.

Guan Yu, who was ordered to lead 10,000 men to cover the rear and ambush the enemy, was already on high alert here.

When he saw the approaching army from afar, with its banners fluttering and bearing the large character "Ji", how could he not be overjoyed? He was eager to seize this opportunity to kill Ji Ling, both to clear his name and to rid the world of this scourge!

then
As the enemy drew ever closer, the dust settled, revealing three thousand gleaming iron armored cavalry sweeping in like a torrent of steel.

Guan Yu: "???"

Ji Ling of Nanyang has no martial ethics!
"Fire arrows! Fire arrows! Fire arrows!!!"

The arrows struck the heavy armor and bounced off instantly. Seeing that the ambushing crossbows were having little effect and Cao Cao was still retreating in the rear, Guan Yu had no choice but to step forward, his face flushed.

"Ji Ling of Nanyang, do you dare to fight?"

(End of this chapter)