As the living embodiment of the proverb "Speak of Cao Cao and he appears," Cao Cao's angry cursing had an immediate effect.
As the unfortunate subject of that saying, Cao Cao's furious curses proved remarkably effective.
"Prime Minister, urgent intelligence from Jiangdong."
Xun You had barely stepped inside when he saw Cao Cao's face—so dark it looked as though ink might drip from it.
Beside him, two maidservants trembled violently, kneeling with foreheads pressed to the floor, shaking like leaves in a storm.
"Gongda!" Cao Cao called out, his expression visibly easing.
But after snatching the letter from Xun You's hands and skimming it quickly, he still couldn't help but erupt:
"With intelligence like this, why wasn't it delivered sooner?!"
With that, Cao Cao stuffed both Xiahou Yuan's letter and the Jiangdong report straight into Xun You's arms.
He reclined back onto the couch, his voice heavy with undisguised exhaustion.
"Hah… Liu Bei… one moment of hesitation back then, and I let him grow into this."
Xun You first picked up the report from Jiangdong. The contents were numerous and scattered, but when condensed, they amounted to four key points:
First—Liu Bei is currently conquering Yi Province; Jingzhou's defenses are empty.
Second—Liu Bei's civil and military officials held a secret assembly every three months, even traveling back and forth from Yi Province at great cost.
Third—Jing Province now had water-powered workshops that improved civilian livelihoods, and advanced iron-smelting techniques that produced astonishingly sharp and resilient weapons.
Fourth—Sun–Liu relations were closer than family; the papermaking formula for Zuo Bo paper and iron-smelting methods had both been gifted to Jiangdong.
The moment Xun You saw "Liu Bei attacking Yi Province," he understood why the Prime Minister was furious.
Liu Jiyu had shown goodwill more than once. In Cao Cao's eyes, Yi Province was already meat in the pot—once Hanzhong fell, taking Yi Province would be as easy as curling a finger.
Yet Liu Bei, with nothing but poor lands, dared to set his sights on Yi Province.
Still, Xun You found the report bearable overall. Liu Bei had never been a man to sit still.
Now that Sun and Liu were allied—and Jiangling had been lent to Liu Bei—any attempt to strike Jiangdong would make Liu Bei the laughingstock of the realm.
Yi Province was, in truth, his only viable choice.
But the Yiling route into Shu was notoriously difficult.
How had Liu Bei pulled it off?
Then Xun You opened Xiahou Yuan's letter—and completely lost his composure.
"This is a grave threat," he declared at once.
"It must be eliminated first."
Cao Cao, lying on the couch, nodded in agreement.
But… how?
March through Guanzhong to attack Hanzhong? The roads were treacherous, and Yong–Liang hadn't even been pacified yet.
March south from Xiangfan?
That route climbed uphill the entire way—attacking from low ground was already a disadvantage.
Cao Cao still vividly remembered Wen Qian's defeat there. The loss of several thousand men had cost him nights of sleep.
Xiangfan… was no easy target either.
Ironically, the plan already in preparation—war against Jiangdong—now seemed the most promising.
After all, Zhou Gongjin was dead.
Who could stop him now?
For a moment, Cao Cao found himself trapped between two impossible choices.
Xun You sensed his lord's hesitation and spoke up.
"Our navy still requires refinement," he said carefully.
"But Liu Bei now controls the land of abundance and possesses a growing foundation. If he is not removed, Your Excellency will never know peace."
"We should reinforce Xiangfan to apply pressure on Jiangling," Xun You continued,
"and also dispatch troops to support General Xiahou Miaocai. Yong–Liang must be settled—there can be no further delay."
Cao Cao nodded slowly.
Xun You's reasoning was sound—and perfectly aligned with his own thinking.
And there was one unspoken point both men understood:
That was Hanzhong.
The true foundation of Han imperial dominance—now once again in the hands of a man surnamed Liu.
Did this Han… truly still have fate on its side?
The doubt lingered only for an instant.
Between Cao Cao and Liu Bei, this was already a struggle that could end only in death.
Heaven's Mandate?
Could it withstand iron cavalry?
To his own surprise, Cao Cao felt a flicker of anticipation—almost excitement.
With their course decided, Cao Cao turned to the remaining details in the report and continued discussing them with Xun You.
"Zhang Lu claims that Yangping Pass fell due to Liu Bei's new siege weapons," Cao Cao said.
"Is this merely an excuse?"
"We'll know once General Xiahou Miaocai's follow-up arrives," Xun You replied.
"Now that Hanzhong has fallen, there will be deserters. We should be able to extract details from the chaos."
"And this secret meeting every three months…" Cao Cao frowned.
"It feels deeply suspicious."
Even if they had to travel back from Yi Province just to keep the schedule—this was far from normal.
"Continue investigating," Xun You said decisively.
"And these iron-smelting and papermaking methods…" Cao Cao said, clearly covetous.
Iron-smelting was vital. As for papermaking—though Zuo Bo paper existed, outright seizing it would look unseemly.
Xun You smiled.
"The formulas were sent along with the intelligence," he said.
"They were delivered immediately for verification."
Cao Cao finally burst into laughter.
For once today, there was some good news.
Liu Bei truly was benevolent—holding nothing back from his 'elder brother' in Jiangdong.
What belonged to Jing Province belonged to Jiangdong.
And what belonged to Jiangdong…
Belonged to him, Cao Cao.
Xun You quietly exhaled in relief. When Hanzhong and Yi Province were mentioned earlier, the Prime Minister's expression had been indescribable—
Like a young man admiring a beauty, only to learn she had already married someone else.
At that moment, a guard rushed in.
"Prime Minister, news from Xuchang—Xu Shu has fled. His whereabouts are unknown."
In an instant, Xun You understood the look on Cao Cao's face.
Ah... this time, the young beauty he forced into marriage has hopped the wall to elope with her lover.
On the Ying River, aboard a small boat, Dong Jue, Shi Tao, and Xu Shu sat at the bow, lightly disguised, drinking tea and watching the scenery.
It was only early February. Xuchang's winter wasn't harsh, but it carried a bleak, desolate air—hardly anything worth admiring.
Yet as the saying went: when the heart is unburdened, the world feels vast.
After the upheaval in his family and four wasted years in Xuchang, Xu Shu felt—truly for the first time—that he could breathe again.
Even desolation became scenery in his eyes. The chill became wine. Pointing at the riverbanks, he could speak at length with ease.
After reading the letter, Xu Shu had made his decision quickly.
Leaving was inevitable.
The only question was how.
When he had first come to serve his mother, Shi Tao had volunteered to accompany him. Naturally, they would leave together as well.
Thus, he waited until the New Year, seized the chance when Shi Tao returned to Xuchang to report for duty, and reconnected.
For Shi Tao, there was no objection at all.
The Four Friends of Nanyang—how many years had it been since they last gathered?
Dong Jue sipped his warm tea and smiled.
"Military Advisor, you seem utterly confident about the route south. You've clearly thought about this more than once."
Xu Shu smiled faintly, dipped a finger in tea, and sketched on the table.
"With my lord in Chengdu, there are only three or four possible routes south."
"The shortest is to retrace the path Gong Xi used to come north," Xu Shu said.
"Return the same way—but…"
He shook his head, a half-smile on his face.
"With Kongming and Shiyuan assisting, and Yi Province taken so easily, Hanzhong will inevitably be their next target."
"Strike while unprepared. At this moment, Hanzhong is either under attack—or already taken."
"Either way, with Xiahou Yuan stationed in Chang'an and the Tong Pass checkpoints, that route is near impossible."
Dong Jue nodded in agreement.
Xu Shu then turned southward, as though seeing the stern, bearded general with his own eyes.
"General Guan guards Jiangling," he said.
"He once crushed Yue Jin, and since Red Cliffs, Jing–Xiang has been heavily fortified. That path is even more impossible."
It was the shortest route—but Dong Jue had never even considered it.
Xiang, Fan, Wan—military checkpoints all the way. Choosing that road would be suicide.
"The waterways are different."
Xu Shu's spirit soared—this was his escape from the cage.
"From Xuchang into the Ying River.
Ying into the Huai.
Then into the Fei."
"Following the current downstream—outside the dry season, one can travel a thousand li in a single day."
At that point, Xu Shu fell silent.
In Xuchang, he had unconsciously traced this route countless times.
Because of his uncooperative stance, both he and Shi Tao had long been forgotten there.
rank of 600-bushels is name only—a post that felt more like abandonment than employment.
For a time, they had even become jokes over tea and wine.
The Prime Minister had gone to great lengths to recruit a strategist—only to leave him idle at rank of 600-bushels.
But now, standing at the bow, watching Xuchang vanish swiftly behind him, Xu Shu felt a strange exhilaration.
Talent is like a precious sword—only in the hands of a worthy lord can it serve the world.
Better to sheath its brilliance and remain obscure
Than to let it be wielded by a treacherous villain.
Xuchang—
The day I return is not far.
The three fell silent, until Dong Jue raised a hand.
"Those people—are they refugees?"
On the riverbank, a group of peasants knelt in the earth, digging with bare hands. None looked up at the passing boat.
Shi Tao glanced once, then turned away.
"Tuntian farmers."
Dong Jue repeated the word in his mind—only then understanding.
"What are they digging for?"
"Food," Shi Tao said coldly.
"Find it, you live. Don't—and you die."
Dong Jue could hardly believe it.
"Our lord once told us," he said slowly,
"that under Cao the bandit, the tuntian tax is five in ten. That's why in Jing and Yi Provinces, taxes are never allowed to exceed that."
"Five in ten—and it's still come to this?"
Shi Tao looked almost curious.
How had Liu Bei known such specific numbers about Cao Cao's tuntian system?
Then he glanced at Dong Jue and understood.
Spies. Used well.
Still, Shi Tao shook his head.
"Five in ten? Six is the norm. Eight is not rare."
He said no more.
Dong Jue understood and didn't press further.
He remembered Shi Tao's former post under Cao Cao:
Director of Agriculture.
No doubt this touched memories better left buried.
And it wasn't even spring plowing season—yet there were already starving people.
Silence fell over the boat.
Life aboard—eating, sleeping, relieving oneself—was hardly pleasant.
But for Xu Shu, all of it was bearable.
Though they sped downstream, none of them dared relax.
In Xu Shu's mind, even combined, he and Shi Guangyuan amounted to only twelve hundred shi. In these renewed times of war, Cao Cao was unlikely to mobilize troops just to capture them.
Still—he would not gamble.
He dared not gamble.
He never wanted to return to that suffocating, airless city—the one that would always remind him of his mother.
Once they left the Ying and merged into the Huai, the boat's speed increased markedly.
After entering the Fei River and passing Chaohu Lake, the next stop was Ruxukou—Eastern Wu territory.
Dong Jue carried many identities.
At Ruxukou, he produced the appropriate credentials as needed.
The three smugglers from the north passed inspection—and successfully entered Jiangdong.
"Let's rest for a while," Xu Shu said, his face slightly pale.
Even in Jiangdong, reaching Jing Province would still require more time on the water.
But at least now, they were safe.
Xu Shu planned to rest here briefly—and see for himself what the famed prosperity of Jiangdong truly looked like.