Mythical Version of Three Kingdom

In a certain place in Xue County, Lu State, Cao Lie, who had lost his right arm, listened to the news from Xu Province that Cao Song had been murdered and that Cao Cao had angrily marched on Xu Province. He couldn’t help but burst into tears.

On the day that Cao Song had ordered Cao Lie to deliver a letter, they were ambushed. After a bloody battle, only Cao Lie barely managed to escape. Fortunately, heavy snowfall deterred the pursuers, allowing him to survive, but not long after, he lost consciousness due to the cold and blood loss. A passing hunter found him and took him in.

Cao Lie’s life was spared, as the hunter, with a mindset of helping if he could, fed him daily herbal soups. After more than ten days, Cao Lie woke up, though his injuries would take many more days to heal enough for him to ride a horse. He stayed with the hunter to recuperate, planning to deliver the letter to Cao Cao once he recovered.

As for Cao Song’s safety, Cao Lie hadn’t been too worried—after all, Zhang Kai had over 500 men, and capturing them wouldn’t be easy. But now, receiving this news, it struck him like a bolt of lightning. Holding the letter that might be Cao Song’s final words, Cao Lie wept bitterly. He silently took up his long knife, packed his belongings, and prepared to deliver Cao Song’s last message to Cao Cao, regardless of whether it cost him his life.

”Ah Lie, your wounds haven’t healed yet, and you’re leaving already?” The hunter asked as he watched Cao Lie gather his things.

”Thank you, elder, for taking care of me these past days.” Cao Lie bowed to the hunter. ”I must deliver this letter to my lord.”

Cao Lie set off on his journey, unaware of the immense pain that would strike Cao Cao when he finally received the letter—after he had already slaughtered half of Xu Province. Cao Cao would realize that the empire he could have seized had been handed over to someone else. Adding to this was Chen Gong’s betrayal, with most of Yanzhou falling into Lu Bu’s hands. Not only had Cao Cao failed to gain new territory, but he had also lost the hearts of the people and the land that once belonged to him. All of this because he had not received his father’s letter in time.

Most devastatingly, after half of Xu Province had been massacred, Cao Cao could no longer turn back. He and Tao Qian had become mortal enemies. Any hopes of a peaceful transfer of power had become a joke. Even if Cao Cao knew the full truth, he could only swallow the bitter consequences. He had let go of a chance for success and instead created a lifelong enemy.

Meanwhile, Xi Zhicai’s letter inviting Cao Cao to recruit talents arrived late in Chenliu by several days. The messenger, following Xi Zhicai’s instructions, diverted to Xu Province to catch up with Cao Cao, intending to deliver the letter that mentioned the possibility of recruiting two top-tier strategists—the Zhuge brothers—and Cao Cao’s potential ally, Cai Yan.

Of course, the messenger had no idea of the letter’s contents; he only knew it was important. And so, he unwittingly marched toward his death in Xu Province.Imagine receiving a long-awaited confession from the woman you love, alongside news that top strategists have expressed interest in joining your cause. Everything seems perfect, but in the next moment, reality strikes, and due to your own mistake, it all turns into a dream.

When Xi Zhicai’s letter of recruitment, along with Cai Yan’s letter of scorn and the Zhuge brothers’ declaration of lifelong enmity, all arrived at the same time, what a blow it would be to Cao Cao!

On top of this, the land of Xu Province that should have been his and the solid foundation he could have built in Yanzhou—all of his long-fought efforts—would go up in smoke. The loss of beautiful women, the loss of land, and the departure of talented allies would all vanish before Cao Cao’s eyes. How could any heart bear such a blow?

In Mount Tai, Fenggao, Liu Bei slashed apart the entire main hall with his sword, leaving it in ruins. Standing amidst the debris, he summoned his civil and military officials without caring about his appearance.

”Mobilize the troops!” Liu Bei roared. ”I will kill Cao Mengde! I will kill him! That butcher—I once thought he was, like me, a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. But what he has done—how can that be the act of a man?!”

”My lord, please calm your anger. Don’t let the situation in Xu Province provoke you so much,” Li You said calmly. Although Dong Zhuo had also committed massacres, none had gone so far as to wipe out an entire province. Was this really just for revenge?

”Calm my anger?” Liu Bei’s bloodshot eyes glared at Li You. ”Are the people of the Han Empire merely pigs and dogs to Cao Mengde? Tens of thousands of lives—the Si River is choked with bodies! Has Cao Cao gone mad? If he wants revenge, he should go after Tao Gongzu. Win or lose, I would still respect him as a man. But this—what is this?”

”How many troops should we deploy?” Lu Su asked, his head lowered, trying to remain calm. Even he, usually gentle-natured, felt anger at Cao Mengde’s actions. Attacking unarmed civilians—such behavior might be excusable as a rare mistake, but what was this?

”How many troops are needed to destroy Cao Mengde?” Liu Bei asked, his bloodshot eyes turning to Chen Xi. ”Zichuan, tell me. How many men do we need to eliminate Cao Mengde? I will do it, even if it means delaying our campaign in Qingzhou! I, Liu Xuande, once swore to protect the people of the Han Dynasty in the name of the Han!”

”One hundred thousand,” Chen Xi, his face slightly pale, replied. ”And we would need to commit all our civil and military officials to the effort to ensure success.”

Cao Cao had gone mad—that was Chen Xi’s first thought when he received the news. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians had been slaughtered. As Liu Bei said, this was not the act of a human. If he had massacred hundreds of thousands of barbarians, people might call him brutal, but the border citizens would sing his praises. But to massacre Han people—there was no justifying it.

”Deploy 100,000 troops! Zhao Yun, Hua Xiong, each lead a corps as the vanguard. When you encounter Cao’s forces, regardless of the banners they fly, leave no survivors. Kill them all to avenge Xu Province!” Liu Bei raged. He had resolved that it would be a fight to the death with Cao Cao. Cao Cao’s actions had completely violated Liu Bei’s principles!

”My lord, we cannot do this. We don’t have enough winter clothing and linen for 100,000 soldiers. Even if we start collecting them now, it will take over ten days to acquire the necessary clothing from the major merchants,” Lu Su stepped forward to stop Zhao Yun and Hua Xiong, calmly explaining.

”Then how many troops can we deploy right now?” Liu Bei asked, taking a deep breath to calm his anger. Though he wanted nothing more than to kill Cao Cao, he wasn’t about to disregard the lives of his soldiers. In this cold winter, sending troops without proper clothing would be deadly.

”Fifty thousand. The remaining supplies, including military rations, medicinal herbs, spirits, and clean linen, will need to be collected. It will take about ten days to prepare. Unfortunately, Lady Zhang has returned to Jizhou for the New Year, and we’ve already counted Zizhong’s supplies,” Lu Su replied helplessly.

Lady Zhang, who should have been under house arrest, had already come to terms with Liu Bei’s rule, so restrictions on her had been eased. She had returned to Jizhou before the New Year and wouldn’t be back for another month.