Three Kingdoms: Mistakenly Becoming Liu Bei's Adoptive Father at the Start

On the way out of the palace, Liu Liang said to Zhao Yun, "Go find Cao Cao quickly and tell him that I have something urgent to discuss with him."

Zhao Yun agreed and turned to leave.

Half an hour later, Liu Liang, accompanied by Zhao Yun and Zhou Cang, arrived at the side hall where Cao Cao was staying in the palace.

Xi Zhicai and Xun Yu were already waiting at the door.

Cao Cao invited Liu Liang into his study, while blocking Zhao Yun and Zhou Cang from entering.

Zhou Cang frowned and was about to take a step forward.

Zhou Cang's thinking was straightforward: he was there to protect his elder brother, and there was no reason for him to let his elder brother go in and risk his life alone.

Just then, a hand gently tugged at the hem of his clothes.

Zhou Cang turned around and saw that Zhao Yun's expression was normal; he simply shook his head slightly at him.

Those eyes clearly said: No rush, let's see.

Although Zhou Cang was unwilling, he had always trusted Zhao Yun, so he stopped in his tracks and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

But the large hand still gripped the knife hilt tightly, observing the surrounding situation.

After Liu Liang went in, Cao Cao personally poured him a cup of plain wine.

"Have you met the Emperor?"

Liu Liang took the wine glass and nodded in acknowledgment.

"I saw him."

Cao Cao asked, "How is it?"

Liu Liang said, "He's still a child."

Cao Cao chuckled twice and drank the plain wine in his cup in one gulp.

"If a child were to govern the world, how could the world not descend into chaos?"

Liu Liang was very pleased with Cao Cao's ambition, but he still couldn't resist making a few sarcastic remarks: "A child is innocent, yet he is entrusted with the most important responsibilities of the state; it is not his fault. Back then, Huo Guang assisted Emperor Zhao, who also ascended the throne at the age of eight. Yet Huo Guang was able to devote himself wholeheartedly to his duties, and there was no uproar among the officials. This shows that whether a child governs the world or not, whether there is chaos or not, does not depend on the child, but on the intentions of his ministers."

Cao Cao's smile froze slightly, then he burst into laughter, pointing at Liu Liang and laughing without saying anything more.

Liu Liang chuckled twice, then suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Lord Cao, Chang'an is not safe; it is not advisable to stay any longer."

"hiss......"

Cao Cao's eye twitched, but before he could respond, Xun Yu spoke up: "Mr. Zishan, there is something I don't understand."

Liu Liang said, "Please speak."

Xun Yu said, "Back then, you strongly advised Cao Cao to advance westward, saying that Hangu Pass could be breached, Chang'an could be entered, and the Emperor could be welcomed. Now that Chang'an has been entered and the Emperor has been met, you say that we should withdraw. Your words seem to... be somewhat inconsistent."

That's a polite way of putting it, but the meaning is clear: that's not what you said in the first place.

Xi Zhicai picked up his teacup but didn't drink it; he just looked at Liu Liang.

Liu Liang nodded: "Wenruo asked a good question. Back then, we advised Cao Cao to advance westward, and now we advise him to retreat eastward. These are indeed two different arguments. But one thing has changed in between."

Xun Yu asked, "What is it?"

Liu Liang said, "Dong Zhuo."

Liu Liang said, "Back then, we advised Cao Cao to advance westward, which enabled him to secure Guanzhong in one battle, defeat Dong Zhuo, and welcome back the Emperor. If Cao Cao had accomplished this, his prestige would have soared, and his position would have been at its zenith. Then, holding the Emperor hostage to command the disobedient would not have been a pipe dream. That was the original plan, wasn't it?"

Everyone nodded.

Liu Liang looked around at everyone: "But what about now? Where is Dong Zhuo?"

Liu Liang asked and answered himself: "Dong Zhuo fled. Two hundred thousand Xiliang troops, without fighting a single battle, fled. They fled cleanly and orderly, retreating back to their stronghold in Liangzhou. Did the main force of the Xiliang army suffer a single loss?"

Xun Yu remained silent.

Liu Liang said, "Wenruo, the grain that Cao Cao seized at Hangu Pass is enough to last for half a year, but that was Zhao Cen's accumulated wealth, not Dong Zhuo's. Dong Zhuo's 200,000-strong army is currently in Liangzhou, intact, and can return at any time."

Xun Yu frowned slightly.

Liu Liang continued, "The times are beyond our control. I initially thought that once we captured Chang'an, we could clean up the mess. But where is the mess? The warlords are still fighting outside the city, Dong Zhuo is eyeing us covetously in Liangzhou, and the emperor is trembling with fear in the palace. This is a mess, and also a dangerous situation. Faced with the ever-changing situation, we cannot stick to old ways and remain unchanged."

Xi Zhicai put down his teacup and followed Liu Liang's words, saying, "What Mr. Zishan said is true. 'Holding the emperor hostage to command the disobedient'—that's easy to say. But on what basis can one command? On what basis can one command? On what basis can one command? To put it bluntly, who can our lord command now? Yuan Shao? Would he listen? Yuan Shu? Would he submit? Gongsun Zan? He's busy fighting Liu Dai's forces for grain outside the city; how could he have time to listen to our lord's orders?"

Liu Liang said, "Speculation is not strength, and being ahead is not about winning over the masses. Cao Cao now holds the Emperor in his hands, but which of those lords outside the city truly submits to him? They are just robbing, killing, and waiting. They are waiting for an opportunity to rush in and snatch the Emperor from Cao Cao's hands. Therefore, we must retreat. We must retreat from Chang'an, return to Yanzhou, return to Cao Cao's own territory, recruit soldiers and horses, and stockpile provisions. We can only come out to clean up the mess after those wolves have been bitten until they are bloodied and exhausted."

Xun Yu seemed convinced and asked, "And what about the Emperor?"

Liu Liang said, "Stay in Chang'an."

Xun Yu said, "The emperor is in distress; how can we, as his subjects, abandon him..."

Liu Liang said, "We must not abandon him. Only by keeping the emperor in Chang'an can we safeguard the legitimacy of the Han Dynasty. In this world, strength is fundamental. When you have strength, the emperor is icing on the cake. When you lack strength, the emperor is a death warrant. Dong Zhuo understood this principle, which is why he fled. If Cao Cao doesn't understand this, then he can only stay in Chang'an and wait to be torn apart by those wolves."

Xun Yu sighed deeply: "Mr. Zishan, when you advised Cao Cao to advance westward, did you ever imagine this day would come?"

Liu Liang did not evade his question, saying, "I did think about it. But in my initial calculations, Dong Zhuo would defend Chang'an to the death. As long as he held out, Cao Cao would have a chance to defeat him in one battle. But he ran away, taking 200,000 troops with him. This escape completely changed the situation. I am not a god, I cannot foresee every step. What I can foresee is the enemy's situation, but what I cannot foresee is the hearts of the people. Dong Zhuo was willing to abandon the emperor and run back to Liangzhou, this move I did not foresee. Since I did not foresee it, I must change my course."

Xun Yu said, "I initially disagreed with advancing westward. Now that Master Zishan is advising us to retreat eastward, I still disagree. But I have come to understand the reasons behind it."

Xun Yu then turned to Cao Cao: "Lord Cao, I have nothing to say."

Cao Cao grunted in agreement, his attitude resolute: "The Emperor, I will not bring him."

Xi Zhicai cupped his hands and said, "My lord is wise."

Cao Cao then looked at Liu Liang: "Mr. Zishan, what about you? Where are you going?"

Liu Liang said, "Naturally, we'll go to Luoyang."

"Alas! Liu Bei has a good adoptive father!" Cao Cao sighed. "Everyone has their own ambitions. We'll meet again someday."

Liu Liang chuckled inwardly, almost saying, "I can be your godfather too, if you're willing."

But on second thought, that's absolutely not allowed.

Cao Cao is a cunning and treacherous man. Even if you agree to call him your godfather now, there's no guarantee that he won't turn against you later, feeling that he's taken advantage of you.

Given Cao Cao's methods, he would not have hesitated to kill his adoptive father.

Compared to the honest and kind-hearted Xuande Gong, it would be safer to be Liu Bei's adoptive father.

Coming back to his senses, Liu Liang clasped his hands in return, saying, "Thank you for your kind words, Lord Cao. We have different paths but the same goal. Farewell."

After saying this, he turned around and left the palace with Zhao Yun and Zhou Cang.

After Liu Liang left, Cao Cao suddenly realized something and asked Xi Zhicai and Xun Yu, "Just now, Liu Zishan said before he left that we 'arrive at the same destination by different paths.' What did he mean by that?"

Xun Yu pondered for a moment and said, "It means that you and I are working together to restore the Han Dynasty. It doesn't matter who we serve, so we have the same goal even if we take different paths."

Cao Cao shook his head slightly: "No, that's not what I meant."

Xi Zhicai said, "Could it be that Liu Zishan believes he shares the same thoughts as our lord?"

"The same idea?"

Cao Cao muttered to himself, when suddenly his heart clenched and he shuddered for no reason.