Chapter 78: He Escaped Again

A mere ten thousand troops, none of them even Yuan Shao’s trusted generals—Cao Cao understood exactly what Yuan Shao intended.

“Yuan Shao is truly at the end of his rope. Does he not know what sort of man Liu Bei is? No matter. If I can seize this chance to be rid of Liu Bei, it will ease my heart at last. Who among you will take Liu Bei’s head in this campaign?”

These were Cao Cao’s words as he convened his civil and military officials to discuss their strategy. He did not regard the ten thousand men Yuan Shao had sent as any real threat; his aim was singular—to eliminate Liu Bei, the man who had foiled him time and again.

“Lord Minister, let me be the one to slay this knave and redeem myself!”

The speaker was Cao Ren.

Cao Ren had been feeling stifled as of late. When Cao Cao had gone to Guandu and left him behind in Xuchang to defend the city, he hadn’t been pleased. After all, fighting in battle was the path to military merit—Cao Hong, Yue Jin, Yu Jin, and Xiahou Yuan had all distinguished themselves in clashes against Yuan Shao’s forces. But Cao Ren, not only had he missed out on any worthy exploits, he had even let Liu Xie, the only valuable hostage in Xuchang, slip through his fingers. The humiliation still weighed heavily on him.

Cao Cao glanced at Cao Ren, then swept his gaze across the other generals. He was well aware that Liu Bei was accompanied by the formidable Zhang Fei, whose prowess rivaled that of Guan Yu. When Guan Yu had first come to him, he’d confessed that his own skills were nothing compared to his sworn brother Zhang Fei, who, he claimed, could stride into the midst of an enemy host and take the head of a general as easily as reaching into a sack.

Though this was likely Guan Yu’s modesty speaking, if Zhang Fei were truly unworthy, Guan Yu would not have praised him so.

“Very well. You shall be the commander in this battle, with Li Dian as your deputy. If you bring back Liu Bei’s head, it will count as the greatest of achievements!”

Cao Ren accepted the command with enthusiasm, but as Cao Cao watched him depart, he felt little confidence in the outcome.

Once these arrangements were made, the ordinary generals withdrew, and Cao Cao gathered his most trusted advisers. He spoke in a low voice: “Once we drive off Liu Bei, we must not allow Yuan Shao another moment’s respite. We will march immediately toward Ye and devour Yuan Shao’s territory, city by city.”

“Brilliant, my lord,” said Xu You. “It is rumored that since his defeat, Yuan Shao has been bedridden, his days surely numbered. If we strike now, we will catch him off guard. The moment Yuan Shao dies, Ye will be leaderless, ripe for the taking!”

Since defecting to Cao Cao, Xu You had been outspoken, especially in all matters concerning the war against Yuan Shao. No sooner had Cao Cao spoken than Xu You eagerly voiced his support.

“What Ziyuan says is reasonable. Yuan Shao’s three sons each command a city. Once he is dead, they will fight for succession. We can profit from their discord and claim Hebei for ourselves. Even if the Emperor is in the hands of Sun Ce in Jiangdong, with Hebei in our grasp, we can establish our own rule!”

This time, Xun You lent his support as well. After all, if they could truly unite the lands of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, Cao Cao would become the most powerful lord in the realm. Though the Emperor would remain in the hands of Sun Ce, Cao Cao could disregard the Han dynasty’s authority and proclaim a new era. With sufficient strength, the Emperor’s title was no longer needed.

Cao Cao nodded slightly at their words, saying nothing, but his eyes revealed that he no longer held the Han dynasty in any regard.

Cao Ren and Li Dian, brimming with fighting spirit, set out to confront Liu Bei. Before departing, Cao Ren repeatedly cautioned Li Dian and the other officers to make absolutely certain that the enemy did not discover their true objective was to assassinate Liu Bei. Otherwise, that slippery eel would be sure to escape.

If each warlord of the late Han possessed a particular talent, Liu Bei’s was flight. If he could still be counted a warlord at this stage, it was well known that his greatest strength lay in running away. Even under Cao Cao’s watch, he had slipped through their fingers two or three times already. This time, Cao Ren was doubly careful, fearing Liu Bei might escape again.

“Mancheng, when we face Liu Bei on the battlefield, let us first lose a few skirmishes to lure him in. Then, we’ll surround him with our elite troops. You and I, with our trusted men, will seek out Liu Bei and bring back his head as our report. The lord minister has long desired his death. If we succeed, the reward will be immense!”

As they marched, Cao Ren repeatedly instructed Li Dian, desperate for a feat to atone for having lost Liu Xie.

Just as their discussion reached its end, a Cao army scout came racing toward them, urgency in his every step.

Cao Ren recognized his own scout, and at the man’s expression, a chill crept into his heart.

“Did something go wrong?” he asked.

“General, Liu Bei and Liu Pi have been raiding south of Xuchang. Upon learning of our advance, they unexpectedly split their forces. Liu Pi, with seven to eight thousand men, is heading straight for us, while Liu Bei, with Zhang Fei and others, has taken a different route.”

“A different route?”

“Yes, General. Because you instructed us to keep a close eye on Liu Bei’s movements, I returned the moment they divided their forces to report to you!”

The scout had certainly earned merit with this report. Upon hearing the news, Cao Ren quickly consulted with Li Dian and decided to split their troops as well.

Li Dian, with three thousand men, would pin down Liu Pi, who, after all, was once a Yellow Turban bandit and no master of warfare. Cao Ren himself would lead the main force in pursuit of Liu Bei. Since Liu Bei had fled before the battle was even joined, there was no need for further subterfuge.

Cao Ren assumed Liu Bei, having run off before any clash, would flee elsewhere, but to his surprise, his pursuit drove Liu Bei straight back toward Ye, returning whence he came.

Naturally, Cao Ren dared not pursue deep into Yuan Shao’s territory and had no choice but to return, empty-handed and disgraced.

In the end, it was Liu Pi who suffered the brunt of the defeat—his seven or eight thousand men were nearly annihilated by Li Dian and Cao Ren, and he himself barely escaped their clutches.

Though victorious, Cao Ren could not hold his head high, for his true mission was to kill Liu Bei, not merely rout an unimpressive force of seven or eight thousand men.

Meanwhile, Liu Pi, having escaped to Ye, did not accuse Liu Bei of desertion before Yuan Shao. Instead, he blamed himself for failing to heed Liu Bei’s advice to conceal their main force and lure the enemy into a trap.

Thus, Liu Bei’s standing in Yuan Shao’s army subtly rose, and Guo Tu, who managed the affairs of Ye during Yuan Shao’s illness, began to trust Liu Bei all the more.