With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 109, Training Lu Xun

"Your Majesty, would you mind telling me about the current situation?" Jia Xu asked.

Since we are to offer advice and strategies to Liu Xie, we must understand the situation as soon as possible.

Liu Xie smiled and said, "The reason I have come to see you today is precisely for this purpose."

Jia Xu was taken aback again. "So, from the very beginning, Your Majesty anticipated that I would serve Your Majesty?"

Liu Xie smiled without saying a word, his expression somewhat mysterious, which further confirmed Jia Xu's guess.

Jia Xu nodded and said, "These past few days, Cao Cao and I have met and he has mentioned Your Majesty many times, saying that Your Majesty is very intelligent and should not be underestimated. In my opinion, Cao Cao has ultimately underestimated Your Majesty."

From this moment on, Jia Xu began to address Cao Cao by his given name, which also signified that he had officially switched his allegiance to Liu Xie.

Liu Xie did not hide anything. He talked about Wang Cai and Ma Kui, and also mentioned Prince Chen and Liu Bei. He even told him about Xu Huang, who was placed next to Cao Cao, and Yang Biao and others.

Jia Xu listened quietly, becoming more and more astonished. Gradually, even his gaze towards Liu Xie was filled with a sense of awe.

An hour later, Liu Xie finally finished speaking, and the room fell silent for a while before Jia Xu exclaimed sincerely, "Your Majesty, I never imagined that you could do such a thing right under Cao Cao's nose. Even the deaths of Cheng Yu and Cao Hong were your doing."

Liu Xie found a stool, sat down opposite Jia Xu, looked at him, and said, "Let's skip the formalities. I am, after all, the emperor. If I can't do anything, then I might as well not be the emperor."

"Your Majesty has done very well. In fact, whether Cao Cao is holding the emperor hostage or serving the emperor, it is a double-edged sword. Cao Cao can use the emperor's name to command the world and punish the disobedient, but he also unconsciously becomes a Han subject himself."

"Everything that Cao Cao once owned has now nominally become His Majesty's. Even if Cao Cao wanted to usurp the throne in the future, he would have to spend a lot of effort to erase the traces of the Han Dynasty little by little."

Jia Xu stood up and sighed heavily. "It's easy to be a Han official, but it's difficult to erase the traces of the Han dynasty. His Majesty has already established Cao Cao as a model of loyalty, and many people agree with this. His Majesty has also built the Lingyan Pavilion to commend Cao Cao's loyalty and righteousness. Tell me, how could Cao Cao possibly erase these things?"

"He needs Your Majesty's approval now, and he needs to be a loyal subject, at least on the surface. The more desperately Cao Cao needs all of this now, the more he will hate it in the future. Your Majesty, Cao Cao has locked you in a cage, but hasn't he also locked himself in a cage?"

Unlike other strategists, Jia Xu quickly grasped the situation and generously helped Liu Xie analyze the circumstances and offer advice.

Because Jia Xu was not stupid at all. If he could not serve Liu Xie, would Liu Xie still need to keep him alive?

"Do you think Cao Cao would usurp the throne?"

Liu Xie knew the course of history, but he still couldn't help asking out of curiosity.

Jia Xu looked at Liu Xie and smiled, "This does not depend on Cao Cao, but on the general trend of the world. If Cao Cao's strength is strong enough to defeat Yuan Shao in the future, I believe Cao Cao's ambition will also grow."

"But if Cao Cao's strength is weak and he is struggling to survive, he cannot do without Your Majesty more than anyone else. Your Majesty, although he is using you, you are also Cao Cao's talisman now."

Liu Xie sighed and said with deep emotion, "That's right, people change. Back when Dong Zhuo was just the governor of Xiliang, he had no ambition to occupy Luoyang. Li Jue and Guo Si were just Dong Zhuo's generals before. Before Cao Cao welcomed the emperor, he was just a minor governor of Yanzhou."

Jia Xu nodded in agreement and said, "However, there is one point that is very advantageous to Your Majesty. If Cao Cao wants to become stronger, he must constantly pacify the surrounding warlords. He has far more enemies than Your Majesty. He has to deal with all the warlords in the world, while Your Majesty only needs to control Xuchang when necessary!"

The two chatted for a long time before Liu Xie got up to leave. As he was leaving, Liu Xie stopped and turned to look at Jia Xu. "Don't worry, your family is in Chen. The King of Chen is taking care of them. They will be fine."

From beginning to end, Jia Xu hasn't asked about his family at all. He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I believe you will not harm them!"

When masters clash, they don't need to reveal everything.

Jia Xu knew that, on the one hand, it was inconvenient for his family to stay by his side, and on the other hand, his family was also a means for Liu Xie to control him.

Upon arriving outside and seeing Liu Biao, Liu Xie sighed and patted Liu Biao's shoulder twice forcefully.

Liu Xie said earnestly, "Wang Wu and Li Zhong are both excellent. They risked their lives for me, and I will never forget their loyalty. Their families must be taken good care of."

Liu Biao nodded vigorously, choking back tears as he said, "Your Majesty, you are the one who has truly been wronged. Don't worry, I've made all the arrangements."

Politics is always inseparable from intrigue and killing!
Liu Xie was at the center of the vortex, and he knew that many people would lose their lives in the future.

With no other option, Liu Xie sighed helplessly and quietly left.

Cao Cao wanted Liu Xie to obey him, and Liu Xie wanted Cao Cao to obey him. How could this power struggle not result in deaths?

Cheng Yu, Cao Hong, Deng Zhan, Wang Wu, Li Zhong—whether they are big shots or small fry, a great many people are destined to die!
Cao Cao felt that the emperor was disobedient, but didn't Liu Xie also feel that Cao Cao was disobedient?

…………

When Cao Cao learned that Jia Xu had been kidnapped, he was also greatly surprised. "These damned bandits, I wish I could kill them all."

Guo Jia sighed helplessly, "My lord, although we have quelled many Yellow Turban rebellions in the past two years, there are still many bandits, large and small. Zhou Cang of Woniu Mountain, Sui Gu of Shequan, Liu Pi and Gong Du of Runan... and so on, they are as numerous as hairs on a cow. Although they do not directly oppose the court, they often kill and rob. It is not surprising that Jia Xu was targeted by bandits when he returned to his homeland with his wealth." "Outrageous! Here, issue the order to immediately send Cao Ren to Woniu Mountain to quell Zhou Cang."

Guo Jia shook his head. “My lord, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? I think it would be better to let the Prince of Chen share your burdens, which would also weaken his military strength.”

"Excellent, this plan is brilliant." Cao Cao immediately went to the palace to request an order.

No sooner had Cao Cao left than Liu Xie stared at his retreating figure, cursing the old fox inwardly. "That scheme of using someone else to do the dirty work was too clever of him."

Zhao Yun worriedly advised, "Your Majesty, I have heard that the bandits of Woniu Mountain are extremely fierce. Although Prince Chen's forces are not weak, he ultimately lacks capable generals. Attacking a mountain is not like fighting on flat ground, so I'm afraid it will be quite difficult."

"In that case, I will personally write a letter to Zhou Cang to persuade him to surrender, or perhaps I should send Guan Yu to help?"

After thinking for a moment, Liu Xie sighed and shook his head, saying, "King Chen has 20,000 troops, but no good general by his side. We can't always send Guan Yu to help."

Although he had Zhao Yun and Wu Anguo by his side, Cao Cao would be on guard if they left Xuchang.

With his gaze falling on Lu Xun, Liu Xie beckoned over, calling Lu Xun over after he had just finished practicing his sword.

"Boyan, from now on, you will go to the State of Chen and help the King of Chen send troops to deal with the bandits of Woniu Mountain."

"Me? Your Majesty, are you asking me to go with Prince Chen on this military expedition?" Lu Xun was somewhat confused.

Liu Xie nodded. "After you go, remember not to reveal your identity. You will temporarily serve as an advisor to Prince Chen. I will write to Prince Chen and ask him to give you more opportunities to gain experience."

Liu Xie then discussed the matter with Lu Xun again. The two drew a simple sand table on the ground and discussed each possible scenario.

"If the bandits of Woniu Mountain are in a high position, looking down from above, what would you do?"

Lu Xun thought for a moment and replied, "I will send a group of men to hold them off from the front, and then select elite soldiers to flank them and launch a surprise attack."

"If they come down the mountain and attack, how should we respond?"

"If the attack is on a hillside, we can set up more cover and use antlers and rocks to slow down their advance. If it is on flat ground, we can dig more pits."

Lu Xun was exceptionally intelligent and had a high level of comprehension.

Some people are like this; they don't even need a famous teacher to guide them, and they've already far surpassed many others from the start.

Liu Xie nodded repeatedly, "You are still young, you must not be arrogant or underestimate your opponents, you must accumulate more experience."

"Go, I only want one result: to subdue the bandits of Woniu Mountain at all costs."

Fourteen-year-old Lu Xun left Xudu without attracting anyone's attention.

Because nobody knew just how much potential Lu Xun possessed.

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu, seeing Liu Xie's confidence in Lu Xun, still reminded him, "Your Majesty, even if Lu Xun is exceptionally talented, he is still young and cannot stay by Prince Chen's side at all times. Therefore, we must find a powerful general to place by Prince Chen's side."

Liu Xie nodded and paced back and forth in the room. At this moment, his mind was like a scanning machine, constantly searching for any other talents worth recruiting.

Taishi Ci is definitely out of the question; so far, he has shown no intention of coming to Xuchang.

"Have it!"

After a while, Liu Xie's eyes lit up. "There is someone who is currently feeling frustrated and unfulfilled."

"Whom is Your Majesty referring to?"

"Jin Fan Gan Ning".

Jia Xu thought for a moment, "When I was in Nanyang, I had heard a little about this man's reputation. Gan Ning is a chivalrous and righteous man with a great reputation, but he is a bit arrogant. He is currently under the command of Liu Biao and I heard that he has not been given important responsibilities."

Liu Xie nodded. Although Gan Ning had a great reputation, his life had been very bumpy. He first relied on Liu Biao but was not given important positions. Later, when he wanted to join Sun Quan, he was detained in Jiangxia by Huang Zu.

For about ten years, I was frustrated and unsuccessful, wasting my time.

Liu Xie immediately wrote a letter to Gan Ning.

Gan Ning had just returned to Xiangyang by boat with a group of brothers. Along the way, the sound of brocade bells and the clatter of gongs and drums attracted many onlookers. However, the more flamboyant he was, the more dissatisfied Liu Biao became with him.

(End of this chapter)