Liu Bei remained silent for a mont. "In that case, clarify this matter with Lord Tao and send Cao Bao's letter of questioning to Xiapi. Also, inform Lord Tao that I will not interfere with other affairs in Xuzhou. After defeating Cao ngde, I will return to Taishan."
"Understood," Li You replied calmly.
"Then continue gathering supplies from Taishan, set up camps, and take in refugees. Build shelters centered around Tancheng. Yun Chang, Yi De, Xingba, Zijian, each of you will lead 3,000 troops to eliminate the bandits who are slaughtering the people of Xuzhou."
With Liu Bei's order given, he no longer worried whether this would provoke the local powers of Xuzhou.
"Understood." Guan Yu and the others stood up, saluted Liu Bei, and then left the county office of Tancheng to prepare their troops for the task of eliminating the bandits and gathering the refugees.
"Zichuan, do you think Cao ngde realizes his mistake?" After only the strategists remained, Liu Bei, looking puzzled, asked the civil officials.
"I don't know, but given Cao Cao's character, he might stop once he's vented his anger. After all, he is a man of firm resolve and wouldn't kill for the sake of killing." Chen Xi lowered his head, uncertain of how to gauge Cao Cao.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Guo Jia, who had recently been closely watched, said. His alcohol was restricted, beautiful won were out of the question, and his supply of Wushi Powder had been confiscated. According to Guo Jia, he was living worse than a dog, but it was evident that his spirit had greatly improved.
"Tell us what you think. I also suspect there's sothing we're unaware of, but so far, Wenhe hasn't received any reports." Chen Xi looked at the now-thin yet sharp-eyed Guo Jia.
"We have accurate intelligence from Xuzhou. It's clear that Lord Tao intended to hand Xuzhou over to Cao ngde, but after Cao ngde's massacre, that plan is naturally void," Guo Jia said, coldly laughing.
"What's more important is that we can be sure Cao ngde didn't know about Lord Tao's intentions. Otherwise, he could have just sent an envoy to question Tao Qian, and upon confrontation, given Tao Qian's current mindset, he would have willingly handed over Xuzhou. However, now, I'm confident that Cao ngde has learned of this from another source, and it's accurate information." Guo Jia’s face remained calm as he spoke. Though this was his conjecture, based on Cao Cao's current situation, it seed highly probable.
Liu Ye seed lost in thought. After a while, he stood up and said, "I might understand Cao ngde's thinking now. Fengxiao is right. There's a high chance that Cao ngde has learned of this, and what he's doing now is trying to salvage the situation. Given Cao ngde's nature, even if he had vented his anger, he wouldn't be providing relief to the people; he'd likely just drive them away."
"Yes, disaster relief is too strange a move for Cao ngde. It's not that we underestimate him, but given his temperant, he shouldn't be helping those he considered enemies. The logical move would have been to expel them," Jia Xu chid in, then his expression darkened. Guo Jia and the other strategists, seeing Jia Xu's face, seed to realize sothing, their expressions also becoming grim.
"What is it, Zichuan?" Liu Bei asked, puzzled, looking at his strategists before calling Chen Xi by na.
"Cao ngde might be trying to pin this on us. If he indeed has evidence that Tao Qian intended to give him Xuzhou, then if Tao Qian passes away, we'll be at a disadvantage," Chen Xi said with a bitter smile. "Of course, this is just my guess, but given how little the people know, Cao ngde's actions could easily obscure the truth. And as Wenhe's intelligence suggests, Cao ngde is aware that soone has been stirring the pot."
"He wouldn't pin it on us unless we went to see Lord Tao and Tao handed Xuzhou to us, only to pass away shortly after." Guo Jia opened his fan, covering his cold smile. "It may seem unrealistic, but if we actually go to Xuzhou, it could very well happen. Whether it’s Cao Cao or the local Xuzhou clans, they both have a strong interest in making it happen."
"Then we'll never be able to clear our nas," Liu Ye said, exasperated. "If at that mont, Cao ngde can produce solid evidence, and coupled with his current efforts to win over the people, we won't just be at a disadvantage; it will be a complete disaster. Until we understand how Cao ngde got this information, it’s best not to approach Lord Tao. Any misstep, and we'll be in deep trouble!"
"Who ca up with such a devious plan?" Chen Xi frowned. "The lack of transparent information makes it difficult for the people to truly understand the situation. We’re also forced to speculate on Cao ngde’s actions in the massacre, as we have no evidence to prove how many people he killed. And to make matters worse, other forces were involved in the slaughter as well."
"Send an envoy to question Cao ngde. Treat it as a declaration of war. Regardless, the displacent of the people of Xuzhou is indeed his doing. Whether he provides relief or not, it’s just atonent. Although 'knowing one’s mistakes and correcting them' is a virtue, it doesn't an correcting them absolves the guilt. If that were the case, why would we need laws or armies?" Liu Bei decided.
It was clear that compared to the earlier fervor of wanting to eliminate Cao Cao, Liu Bei had cald down significantly. In his mind, Cao ngde might have participated in the massacre, but it was likely just to vent his rage. After all, in Liu Bei's mory, Cao Cao was still the sa man who, under the walls of Hulao Pass, risked his life for the people and the emperor, pursuing Dong Zhuo.
"Very well, Lord Xuande is right. Send the envoy. Cao ngde must have received news of our army’s presence in Donghai, and there's no need to lose our composure over a mont of anger," Jia Wenhe agreed.
"Lord Xuande, before you send an envoy to question Cao ngde, I think it’s best to clarify one thing," Chen Xi said, sowhat troubled.
It seed Liu Bei believed Cao ngde had only killed a few hundred or a thousand people and was planning to question Cao Cao, expecting that if Cao Cao provided an explanation and took responsibility for the aftermath, the matter could be put to rest.
After all, Cao Cao’s efforts in Yanzhou and other places had proven him to be a capable minister. Unlike Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, who harbored ambitious intentions, Liu Bei’s mories of Cao Cao were still of their mutual agreent under the walls of Hulao Pass to restore the Han dynasty. And given Cao Cao's current behavior, it seed he had indeed recognized his mistakes, making Liu Bei soften considerably.
Liu Bei hoped that Cao Cao could achieve even greater feats and work alongside him to restore the Han dynasty. So he was willing to give Cao Cao so leeway.
As for the thousands of lives lost, Liu Bei could overlook them as long as Cao Cao provided proper arrangents for the survivors. After all, Cao Cao was avenging his father—a reason that could justify even killing. This excuse had been used for 400 years in a society that upheld filial piety.
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