Three Kingdoms: Prince of the Great Wei, Prime Minister Cao

Chapter 1: The Uncertain Crown Prince of Great Wei, Everyone’s a Dark Horse!

In the seventeenth year of Jian’an, AD 212, as the embers of the Han dynasty’s glory still lingered, the realm was divided into three factions teetering on the edge of war. The gleam of blades and swords in this tumultuous era remained undiminished despite the fall of heroes and great men. The resonant calls of war drums, symbolic of battle and carnage, echoed on, undeterred by the passing of brave souls.

The grand Battle of Red Cliffs, merely four years past, appeared as nothing more than a prelude to a new round of conflicts vying for dominance. The power struggle between Cao, Sun, and Liu persisted…

During this time, Liu Bei had led his forces into Shu for a year, and his estrangement from Liu Zhang loomed.

In the recently pacified Guanzhong region, Cao Cao launched another southern campaign, commanding a four-hundred-thousand-strong army that crossed Chao Lake for the second time, aiming to exert pressure on Jiangdong and annihilate Sun Quan.

Sun Quan, not one to await his doom passively, raised a hundred thousand troops and marched north to counter Cao Cao’s advances.

During the season of late autumn, in October, continuous rain veiled the land of Huainan, and the dark clouds refused to disperse, casting a gloomy and oppressive atmosphere.

In the provincial capital of Yangzhou, Shou Chun, within the provincial seat, a youth of about fifteen or sixteen, with a handsome appearance and the early signs of a scholarly beard, sat across from a refined scholar whose pale complexion hinted at illness.

Neither of them spoke first. Their gazes remained fixed on the delicate and luxurious food container opened before them. Yet, within the container, there was absolutely nothing inside!!

That was not all. A brazier burned with a vigorous flame not far from the food container. Surrounding the brazier were stacks of bamboo slips and cloth scrolls adorned with text, seemingly prepared to be reduced to ashes.

“Young Master, have you come to deliver a message on behalf of the Prime Minister?”

After a long while, A refined scholar’s voice broke the silence in the room. With his intellect, Xun Wenruo, who could not understand the intention behind Lord Cao Cao, whom he faithfully served, sending him an “empty food box”?

The emperor’s death is called “passing,” the feudal lords’ death is called “passing away,” a nobleman’s death is called “decease,” and a commoner’s death is simply “death.”

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An empty box signified not just the absence of salary (“decease”)… It could also be interpreted as nothing left, please make your way out (“deceased by one’s hand”).

Reflecting on the intensifying conflicts and contradictions between Xun Wenruo and his lord Cao Cao over matters of “addressing you as Lord,” “Bestowing the Nine Marquis,” and “loyalty to Han and opposition to Han” in recent years, Xun Yu felt a trace of complex desolation and then found release.

Desolation in the end that the principles of loyalty between lord and retainer had led to this point, a point of forcing oneself to die. Also, Release in the knowledge that after today, he no longer needed to struggle painfully between the positions of “Han” and “Cao.” After his death, the annals of history would only record that he, Xun Yu of Yingchuan, Xun Wenruo, remained loyal to the Han Dynasty until his death.

Across him, the young and handsome man Xun Yu called “Young Master,” Cao Ju, the eighth son of the current Grand Chancellor of the Han dynasty, Cao Cao, suddenly heard these words. A touch of bitterness and helplessness appeared at the corners of his mouth.

If he were indeed the “natural-born” son of Cao Cao…

Today’s visit must have been to “carry out his father’s command” to send Xun Yu, this talented strategist who had stood in the way of Cao Cao’s ambitions, on his journey to the underworld.

However, there’s a crucial issue. He wasn’t that person!

To be more precise, Cao Ju was a “latecomer” time traveler, one who had traveled through time and space. Different from those who mostly migrated to the era of the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty or the period of warlords fighting against Dong Zhuo.

When he first transmigrated into this world a year ago, never mind dealing with Dong Zhuo, even the world-famous Battle of Chibi had concluded three years prior. The vast river continued to flow eastward.

In this vast world, the once brilliant and peerless Commander Zhou Gongjin was no longer on the great river. Instead, Sun Zhongmou, the lord of Jiangdong, had risen to prominence after the Battle of Chibi, commanding hundreds of thousands of soldiers. And then, now the ruler of Jing and Xiang, who possessed both the ambition of a hero and the territory of military power, Liu Xuande!

There should be another addition besides Sun and Liu.

With such thoughts, Cao Ju couldn’t help but laugh at himself: a time traveler who came from another world, who knew the rise and fall of Cao Wei, who aimed to seize the opportunity of the current uncertainty of the “Crown Prince of Wei” to compete with the other sons of the Cao household, and to strive for the continuation of the Wei dynasty’s dominance, thereby rewriting the history of the Central Plains during the chaos of the Five Barbarians, all as the eighth son of the Cao household.

Everyone is a dark horse with an undecided heir (Crown Prince) position. Although Cao Ju was ranked after Cao Ang (who died at Wancheng), Cao Shuo (who died young), Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi, Cao Xiong (who died young), and Cao Chong (who died of illness), who could be certain that the old eighth could not stage a comeback?

Lady Bian had not yet been officially recognized by Cao Cao, and his third brother Cao Pi, who was now in the same position as him among the illegitimate sons of the Cao household, might not have such a secure position as the first designated heir of Cao Wei. Perhaps even Cao Pi lived each day with trepidation, like walking on thin ice!

Amidst contemplation, Cao Ju looked at Xun Yu, who had already retired as the Grand Minister and had been granted the title of Guanglu Dafu by his father Cao Cao. Saving this great Han scholar Xun Lingjun, preventing him from taking poison and dying, persuading him not to engage in counterproductive conflicts with his father, Cao Cao, regarding matters of formal address and overstepping boundaries – these were the first steps in Cao Ju’s plan for his own comeback.

The political resources and factional strength represented by the alive Xun Lingjun would undoubtedly become a strong and crucial support in his journey to seize power. But before that, a thorny issue needed to be resolved. How to persuade Xun Yu!

Cao Ju’s peripheral vision glanced at the empty food box. At the very least, he understood one thing: in response to Xun Yu’s question, he couldn’t admit it. He must take the initiative in steering this conversation.

Thinking this through, Cao Ju chuckled lightly and said, “Master, at this point, does it really matter whether Ju came here on my father’s orders to see you off?”

Cao Ju’s rhetorical question left Xun Yu momentarily stunned, and his eyes dimmed. Yes, did it matter? Xun Wenruo had already formed an intention to die. What did it matter if the current Cao household’s eighth son came to send him off by his father’s command? What was there for someone facing death to hold onto?

Noticing Xun Yu’s expression, Cao Ju didn’t remain silent. His question just was merely about seizing the initiative. The true words he wanted to use to persuade Xun Yu to abandon his suicidal thoughts were yet to come.

Hence, he continued, “I have heard… At the beginning of the year, when Dong Zhao and others advised the Emperor, and he granted my father the title of Duke and bestowed the Nine Marquis, you criticized Dong Zhao by saying, ‘Living off Han’s rewards while dying as a loyal Han subject.’ I also heard that you advised my father afterward…”

“(My lord) originally raised righteous armies to restore peace to the dynasty, upheld sincerity in loyalty and observed the virtue of yielding. A nobleman cherishes people through virtue. This is not suitable.”

“Master’s loyalty to Han is indeed admirable in these chaotic times.”

In his words, Cao Ju spared no expense praising Xun Yu’s loyalty to Han. It was as if he and his father, Cao Cao, who desired to overstep boundaries, didn’t have the same intentions. However, in the next moment, Cao Ju’s tone suddenly shifted.

“However…”

“Though I admire the Master’s actions, I can’t help but have three doubts. I hope the Master won’t mind explaining.”

“Firstly,” “Master, you’ve spoken of ‘living off Han’s rewards,’ but where do those rewards come from?”

“Secondly, since you consider yourself a loyal Han subject, your loyalty is evident to all. But what exactly are you ‘loyal’ to, Master? Is it the distant Emperor in Xudu? Is it the Liu Han lineage that has continued for almost four hundred years? Or… Is it the populace of commoners who live on Han soil, within its borders, the Han ethnic group composed of people from all corners of the realm?”

“Thirdly, retaining the virtue of yielding, not being suitable like this – I dare ask Master… If you were in my father’s position as the present powerful minister, could you truly yield?”

At the right time, the rainstorm raged outside. The oil lamp inside the room flickered dimly. The young and handsome man who had posed the three questions fell silent. He calmly looked at the final loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, waiting for the response of the unparalleled strategist, Xun Wenruo.