Chapter 463

Chapter 463

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Side Story Side Story 8 (7)

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Can a strategist not ascend the throne?

Chapter 463 Side Story 8 (7)

When Zhao Yun spoke these words, Cao Cao couldn’t help but twitch his eyelids.

Having Cao Ang return to the capital was also the Emperor’s intention, not to ensure Cao Cao’s safety by having Cao Ang accompany him as a bodyguard, nor because of changes in the Hanzhong direction requiring his swift return.

Cao Ang, along with Cao Hong, had participated in the campaign against Tang Mao. Under normal circumstances, he should naturally stay longer to ensure the Qiang people wouldn’t rebel again after surrendering!

This clearly meant he was to be escorted back to face judgment!

Did Cao Ang do something wrong?

According to the principles of filial piety, he did not.

His reunion with his father greatly alleviated the regret of the old father in another world who had lost his beloved son.

In this world, there was no Wancheng incident; Cao Ang did not die protecting his father, nor did he encounter trouble during the Yanzhou mutiny. After becoming a subject of the new Emperor, he lived peacefully to this age.

Even though Cao Cao had not seen Cao Ang’s descendants, hearing about the growth of his children from his son, now in his thirties, was already a comfort.

But Cao Cao himself was the King of Wei, second only to the Emperor. Putting himself in others’ shoes, he could not fail to understand that Cao Ang’s act of shielding, seemingly to solve problems without alerting others, was undoubtedly a violation of the ruler-subject relationship!

This wasn’t about the Emperor being suspicious or not; it was a necessary choice for a ruler to stabilize the world.

Whether to judge this severely or leniently depended entirely on Qiao Yan’s attitude.

Facing Zhao Yun and Zhang He’s invitation to return to the capital with his son, Cao Cao even momentarily considered whether to seize control of Qinghai’s troops and establish independence in the western frontier to avoid a reckoning in Chang’an.

But as soon as this thought arose, Cao Cao remembered that, regardless of Qinghai’s resources, his other children were in Luoyang and Leping, making it impossible for him to take such actions and confirm his rebellion.

Moreover, the strength of his strategists and generals in this world was far inferior to that in another world.

Rather than making a decision he might regret for life, it was better to think about how Cao Ang could plead for leniency.

Just as he thought this, Zhao Yun handed him another envelope.

Zhao Yun said, “The Emperor has a secret letter for General Cao.”

Cao Cao took the letter, opened it, and saw five words: “Guo Fengxiao is also here.”

He suddenly sighed deeply, “Please lead the way.”

He was not of this world; witnessing the prosperous era after the turmoil was already a rare experience for an ordinary person. Why engage in something as futile as a stone against an egg?

Perhaps the journey to Chang’an might bring another kind of gain.

Only Cao Hong seemed out of the loop.

He thought Cao Cao’s leadership aura seemed stronger than before, and though a bit confused on a couple of common sense issues, he was still the same person.

Hearing that Cao Cao and Cao Ang were to go to Chang’an, he asked, “Why Chang’an? The Emperor moved the capital to Luoyang years ago. Is there still preparation for war in the western frontier, prompting the Emperor to command from Chang’an?”

Cao Cao: “…”

Now he understood why Qiao Yan was so at ease letting Cao Ang and Cao Hong assist him here.

The former had grown into a steady official but lacked political sensitivity, and the latter was even more so.

Cao Cao replied, “Just think of it as the Emperor going to Chang’an to escape the heat.”

This explanation sounded quite unreliable. Compared to rebuilding the Ganquan Palace of the Han Dynasty as a summer retreat, Qiao Yan clearly preferred spending the money on Luoyang and Chang’an’s underground drainage systems.

But Cao Hong didn’t think much of it and sent Cao Cao and Cao Ang on their way back to the secondary capital.

Only on the road to Chang’an did Cao Cao realize how his identity had been exposed.

“Since the Emperor met General Cao, twenty-three years have passed. I heard that during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, General Cao once said, ‘To have a son like Qiao Yeshu,’ greatly admiring the Emperor’s abilities, and for over twenty years, never underestimated the Emperor.”

“Since female officials frequently rose and made achievements, General Cao should also be clear whether they reached high positions due to the Emperor’s support or their previously buried talents. Thus, your gaze that day completely betrayed you.”

Jiang Tang rode alongside, explaining this to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was startled, suddenly realizing that even a subordinate and translator under Qiao Yan should not be underestimated.

“General Cao should not underestimate others. Since Prefect Cao is willing to be a good son, I can only be the villain due to the Emperor’s favor. Moreover, this situation is not unique to General Cao; how can one not be cautious?”

Seeing Jiang Tang’s gaze towards Cai Zhaoji, Cao Cao understood.

So there was another person in the same situation as him.

No wonder Jiang Tang was more vigilant about such anomalies.

Unfortunately, recognizing him and sending him back were two different matters. Even Zhang Qiying of the Taishi Path, used as a front by Qiao Yan, couldn’t explain this phenomenon of crossing worlds, let alone Jiang Tang.

Cao Cao couldn’t learn more from her, except that during their passage through Liangzhou, the meals included foods sent from overseas, unsuitable as military rations, hinting from Jiang Tang and Cao Ang that this was likely not a last meal.

And from Qiao Yan’s instructions to Zhao Yun, allowing Cai Zhaoji and him to read more books along the way, conveyed another signal.

Cao Cao belatedly realized that Cai Zhaoji, after over a decade among the Xiongnu, could still transcribe Cai Yong’s hundreds of volumes from memory, a feat possibly due to her repeated recitations.








For many years of reading, the words within have become instinct, but such skill is not something an ordinary person can match.

In this world where developments differ from his past experiences, if Cai Zhaoji could remember more, once everything returns to its place, it would surely play an extraordinary role!

This might just be the opportunity the heavens have provided to break through the chaotic situation of the tripartite confrontation!

Cao Cao’s mind raced, and he had already set aside some of his previous worries.

If the previous concealments were handled properly, perhaps they could even turn into an opportunity for advancement here.

From Cao Ang’s descriptions of the Da Yong dynasty, it was not hard for Cao Cao to guess that some special methods were still in the hands of the Da Yong Emperor, such as papermaking, printing, and the formulation of gunpowder and the improvement of firearms.

What price would he have to pay to possibly obtain these things?

Although the world he came from was more than ten years later in time, the trajectory of history had already taken two turns by the end of the Guanghe era, so what experience could he possibly use for exchange?

As Cao Cao pondered these thoughts, their convoy had already passed Hanyang and arrived at the Wei River Valley between Hanyang and Chang’an.

Between the two mountains of the valley, several artillery platforms were set up at high points, along with some long iron tubes that Cao Cao had never seen before, their purpose unknown.

Even Cao Ang only knew that they were weapons being tested by the Emperor.

This left no doubt that even if the Qiang people of Liangzhou were to cause trouble as they did in the past, they would have no chance to break into the Guanzhong region.

“Why does General Cao think this way?” Jiang Tang asked upon hearing his sigh. “What the Qiang people seek is simply not to be treated like slaves, not to be seen as disposable sacrifices, but to be treated fairly by the Son of Heaven like the people of Huaxia, to have the opportunity to serve as officials, so they no longer have to huddle in the Huangzhong Valley by the thousands, just to survive the harsh winter.”

“The Emperor has given us a way to live, incorporated the Qiang people and the people of Liangzhou who once did not submit to the Han into the trade system, and with the demeanor of the Central Plains, he has awed all directions. Why would we commit acts of rebellion?”

“During the peak of the Han dynasty, it was said that one Han could match five barbarians, but once the Central Plains changed, the Qiang and Hu, in their quest for survival, still had thoughts of invading. But now, what the Emperor can offer far surpasses what we could gain from plunder, and the Emperor’s majesty far exceeds that of the Han dynasty of old. We also clearly know that if any side makes a wrong move, the others will be ready to take their place.”

She pointed to the high mountains and said, “Are we afraid of the artillery and the long spears being tested? No, we are afraid of the rules that the Emperor has established, of returning to a more miserable situation.”

“If we were truly afraid of military force, how could the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions willingly become subjects of the Emperor?”

Using barbarians to control barbarians and enriching the country while strengthening the military are the true means to stabilize the border regions.

Cao Cao couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

In his world, in the ninth year of Jian’an, Gao Gan surrendered with Bingzhou, but just two years later, Gao Gan allied with the Xianbei and Xiongnu to the north and rebelled. Although Zhong Yao and Zhang Ji held Chang’an, it was still an unexpected battle.

In the twelfth year of Jian’an, to eliminate the remaining forces of the Yuan clan and to deal with the Wuhuan, Cao Cao chose to personally lead an expedition to Liaodong.

Yet, in just ten years, in the twenty-second and twenty-third years of Jian’an, these Wuhuan people caused trouble again in Liaodong.

In the thirteenth year of Jian’an, Ma Chao was appointed by Cao Cao as a General and stationed in Liangzhou. Three years later, in the sixteenth year of Jian’an, Ma Chao allied with the Qiang people of Liangzhou and rebelled. If not for Zhang Ji, as the Governor of Jingzhao, recruiting refugees and then enticing the Di people to migrate north with benefits, Liangzhou would have been in great chaos.

If these rebellions were handled according to the methods of Da Yong, making them balance each other, wouldn’t it be much better than the current situation of hitting east and west?

Although every time a rebellion is quelled, it’s because the military strength of the Central Plains far surpasses that of the barbarians, and the efficiency is unquestionable, but any military expenditure in these already difficult times is a burden.

He underestimated the potential of the Qiang and Hu, and lacked the vision to see the world as one.

But realizing this now, it seems it’s not too late!

Meanwhile, as he pondered the attitude towards the northern tribes, the convoy heading to Chang’an to meet the Emperor had already passed through most of the Guanzhong Plain and was approaching the city of Chang’an.

Nearly ten years had passed since the king of the Kushan Empire came here to pay homage.

In these ten years, even with the capital moved to Luoyang, taking away a significant part of the gold and horse markets, the fertile lands of Guanzhong had still gathered a population of a million.

More than a decade of peace and the existence of institutions like the Academy of Painting and the Medical College made this place seem more like a cultural center than Luoyang, which was the political and commercial hub.

Previously, when he was in Qinghai and Liangzhou, Cao Cao could only vaguely glimpse the scene of Da Yong from the development of various technologies. Now, he truly felt the awe-inspiring strength.

After all, when he left his own world, he was also in Chang’an.

And these two Chang’ans, one was only a temporary command post for the campaign against Hanzhong, already desolate due to the chaos of Li Jue and Guo Si and the Emperor’s move to Xuchang, only slightly regaining its prosperity after tens of thousands of military and civilian households from Hanzhong were moved to Chang’an and the three auxiliary regions.

The other…

The other could not simply be described as a secondary capital.

It was a truly worthy capital of a flourishing empire!

When the newly renovated Chang’an palace opened its doors to him, Cao Cao couldn’t help but temporarily set aside all his complex thoughts and focus entirely on the meeting with Qiao Yan.

As he passed through the doors of the hall, he saw a map hanging in the room, with the vast territory of Da Yong marked in three colors indicating the provinces and regions controlled by him, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei.

The Emperor of Da Yong stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the map before him. Though he did not turn around, the aura of a long-reigning Son of Heaven pressed heavily upon them.

Hearing the doors close behind him, Qiao Yan then spoke unhurriedly, “I’ve been waiting for a long time, please take a seat.”

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This side story will end tonight.