Three Kingdoms: The Peerless Strategist of Wei

Chapter 32 How did he discover our secret plan?

The rich aroma of meat lingered in the courtyard.

On that very day, Gu Cheng finalized his plans for a long journey and immediately began preparations for various matters.

To put his father-in-law at ease, Gu Cheng specifically instructed Cao Jie to inform her family of his whereabouts.

Cao Jie did not go to inform Cao Cao in person, but sent his servant back to the Sikong Mansion to inform Cao Cao of the situation in person.

Xu Du, the residence of the Minister of Works.

"You know, Liheng is such a playful kid! He's off wandering around again!"

Cao Cao shook his head and sighed, his face full of helplessness.

Cao Ang smiled and said, "My brother-in-law is an extraordinary person from another world. It's not surprising that he has the desire to travel the world."

That makes sense.

Cao Cao nodded slightly, but then frowned and said, "But the place he's going to is Hulu City. I'm about to send troops to attack Xiaopei, and Hulu City is very close to Xiaopei. I'm really worried about your brother-in-law's safety."

"Father need not worry."

Cao Ang immediately bowed and said, "I am willing to lead a team to Lakeland City as I did last time, and protect my brother-in-law throughout the journey."

"Alright, we'll do as you say."

Cao Cao said with a pleased expression, "I don't trust anyone else to protect your brother-in-law. Only if you, Zixiu, go in person can I be completely at ease."

Cao Ang immediately accepted the order, turned around, and took his leave.

Xi Zhicai stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Minister, the Secret Intelligence Division has sent back news that the Mi family has been severely weakened by this incident and no longer has the resources to provide Liu Bei with sufficient financial support. Liu Bei has no choice but to dismiss half of his troops."

A sharp glint flashed in Cao Cao's eyes. He stroked his long beard and sighed, "With the Mi family's financial support cut off, Liu Bei was indeed forced to reduce the size of his army. All of this was exactly what Li Heng had predicted."

"In that case, we should follow Prince Liheng's plan and immediately send troops to attack Liu Bei!"

A cold, murderous glint flashed in Xi Zhicai's eyes as he offered advice to Cao Cao with a sneer.

"Pass on my orders!"

Cao Cao slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his face beaming with excitement. "Order all armies to secretly assemble. We will march east to Xuzhou in the coming days. This time, I will definitely uproot those two traitors, Liu Bei and Lü Bu, completely!"

"promise!"

...

Two days later, inside the Gu residence.

The carriages and horses were all ready, and Zhou Tai and Xu Chu, leading dozens of guards, were already lined up neatly outside the mansion gate.

After bidding Cao Jie a reluctant farewell, Gu Cheng was preparing to mount his horse.

Just at this time.

Da Qiao quickly stepped forward and pleaded softly, "Young master, please take me with you on this trip to Lakeland City."

"You've only recently recovered, so you should stay in Xudu and rest properly."

Gu Cheng gently advised.

"My father and the others were separated from me on the north bank of the Huai River. I thought that if they were still alive, they might have fled north to the Xuzhou area."

"Lakeland City is very close to Xuzhou. I'd like to stop by and find out where they are. Please take me with you, young master."

Da Qiao knelt and bowed, her eyes full of earnest pleading with Gu Cheng.

She was deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of her family, and her reasons were perfectly reasonable, so Gu Cheng naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Alright, as long as you're not afraid of the long and arduous journey, I'll take you with me."

Gu Cheng bent down and reached out to support her slender arm, gently helping her up.

Da Qiao was overjoyed and quickly said gratefully, "Thank you, young master. Wan'er is not afraid of hardship. Along the way, Sister Chan'er and I will take care of your daily life together."

Gu Cheng smiled slightly and reached out to help her into the prepared carriage.

He then leaped onto his black horse, Treading Snow, waved goodbye to Cao Jie, turned his horse around, and rode away.

"My husband is truly destined to attract women. It seems that this Miss Wan'er has already fallen for him and secretly given her heart to him."

"No wonder. A man as extraordinary as my husband, what young lady wouldn't be eager to entrust her life to him if she were lucky enough to meet him..."

Watching Gu Cheng's receding figure, Cao Jie sighed softly and said in a low voice.

It is located ten miles east of Xuchang City.

It was noon, and the blazing sun hung high in the sky.

Gu Cheng then ordered the caravan to stop and rest, to cool off and have a meal in the woods by the roadside.

"Young master, this is a freshly baked flatbread. It tastes even better with mutton. Please try it."

Da Qiao held it in both hands and handed it to Gu Cheng.

Gu Cheng reached out and took it, but said, "How can I trouble Miss Wan'er to do such a trivial matter herself?"

"It's nothing, Wan'er is doing it willingly~~"

Da Qiao responded with a light smile, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

Gu Cheng stopped refusing and took a big bite, praising the taste as excellent.

Seeing Gu Cheng enjoying his food, Da Qiao was secretly pleased. She rested her chin on her hand and quietly watched Gu Cheng eat the pancake.

"Young master, be careful not to choke. Have some fruit wine to help you settle down."

Diao Chan then handed over the wine flask that had been filled.

"Cicada understands me best and is the most considerate."

Gu Cheng smiled and praised him, then took the wine flask and gulped down a mouthful.

Diao Chan, like Da Qiao, rested her chin on her hand and gazed at Gu Cheng with tender affection in her eyes.

"Hey Lao Xu, look at how well our young master Liheng is doing. Aren't you envious?"

Zhou Tai nudged Xu Chu with his elbow, glanced at Gu Cheng and the other two, and clicked his tongue as he spoke.

"What's there to be envious of?"

Xu Chu stared wide-eyed, his face full of confusion and bewilderment.

"Isn't that just stating the obvious!"

Zhou Tai glared at him fiercely: "Of course I envy Young Master Liheng for having so many beautiful women by his side. He has a gentle wife at home, and a lovely lady taking care of him when he's out in the world, always looking out for him."

Xu Chu suddenly realized, but then sneered, "What's the use of being envious? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? In terms of appearance, intelligence, and elegance, how can you even come close to the young master's slightest bit!"

"That makes sense. A figure like Young Master Liheng is a once-in-a-century talent. If I were a woman, I'd be rushing to his side and throwing myself into his arms!"

Zhou Tai said with a sigh.

Xu Chu looked disgusted and quickly moved a few steps away from him.

"Da da da!"

The rapid sound of horses' hooves grew louder as a group of people galloped towards them from the west side of the main road.

Xu Chu and Zhou Tai immediately became alert, grabbed their weapons, and told their guards to be on guard immediately.

The group of men galloped closer, and everyone realized that it was a troop of Cao Cao's soldiers.

"Young Master Gu!"

The young officer in the lead suddenly pulled on the reins and stopped his horse, shouting loudly towards Gu Cheng in the stone pavilion.

Gu Cheng glanced at him from afar and then recognized that the officer was none other than Cao Ang.

"General Wei, we've met again. What a coincidence!"

Gu Cheng greeted him with a smile.

Cao Ang had not told Gu Cheng his real name beforehand, only lying that his surname was Wei.

Cao Ang dismounted and strode into the stone pavilion, smiling as he bowed respectfully: "May I ask where Young Master Gu is headed this time?"

"I am about to embark on a long journey to Hulu County for a few days."

Gu Cheng didn't hide anything and told him frankly.

Cao Ang feigned surprise and said, "What a coincidence! I just happened to be ordered by my superiors to take the lead in Hulu County and investigate the situation in Xiaopei!"

Gu Cheng looked surprised, then smiled and said, "Then General Wei and I are truly destined to meet! Come, come, just for this destiny, we should have a drink!"

He turned to Diao Chan and asked for another sachet of fruit wine, then tossed it to Cao Ang.

Cao Ang burst into laughter and tilted his head back to take a big gulp of wine from the wine flask.

After drinking, Cao Ang suggested, "Since we are all going to Hulu County, why don't we travel together? I can also protect Young Master Gu and his party along the way."

Gu Cheng already had two formidable generals, Xu Chu and Zhou Tai, by his side, so he didn't need Cao Ang's protection. However, seeing Cao Ang's enthusiasm and thinking that it was on the way anyway, he readily agreed to his suggestion.

"Thankfully, he didn't refuse. Now I can finally keep him under my nose and not worry about him anymore..."

Cao Ang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, he was ordered by Cao Cao to come here specifically to protect his brother-in-law. He received the news as soon as Gu Cheng set off.

That's why he deliberately pretended to be passing by by chance, so that he could naturally suggest traveling together and thus protect Gu Cheng's safety closely along the way.

"Last time, General Wei used my strategy to help Cao Sikong capture Shouchun. He should have been promoted and ennobled by now, right?"

Gu Cheng took a small sip of his wine and brought up the incident that had happened in Xia Cai.

Cao Ang quickly bowed and cupped his hands: "It is all thanks to Young Master Gu's brilliant plan that I have indeed made a contribution. I have now been promoted to General of the Household and granted the title of Marquis."

"Cao Sikong truly rewards merit, possessing the magnanimity and methods of a great ruler."

Gu Cheng nodded slightly and said with a smile, "General Wei is so young, yet he has already risen to the position of Lieutenant General. His future is limitless, and he can at least reach the high position of General of the Four Expeditions."

"Young master is too kind. How could I dare to have such a wish?"

Cao Ang said with a hint of self-deprecation.

"General Wei is going to investigate the situation in Xiaopei. I suppose the time for Lord Sikong to launch his campaign against Liu Bei will be around in the next few days."

Gu Cheng took a bite of the flatbread and chewed it, asking casually as if chatting.

"Exactly!"

Cao Ang's blood boiled instantly, and he said confidently, "I've heard that Minister Cao is already gathering troops from all sides, and the army is ready to march east to Xuzhou at any time. Our army will definitely be able to completely eliminate these two traitors, Liu Bei and Lü Bu, in one fell swoop!"

Gu Cheng was about to speak, but the words were on the tip of his tongue, so he swallowed them back.

Cao Ang could tell that Gu Cheng had something to say, so he quickly asked, "Young Master Gu, please feel free to speak your mind!"

"It's nothing, General Wei, come, let's drink!"

Gu Cheng raised the wine flask in his hand.

Cao Ang immediately became anxious, stood up abruptly, and said solemnly, "Young Master Gu is exceptionally intelligent; he must have something important to remind me of. Please, Young Master, be sure to tell me frankly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Ang bowed deeply to him.

Gu Cheng thought to himself that Cao Ang was one of his connections in the government, and now that he had been so courteous, it wouldn't be inappropriate to give him a few pointers.

"General Wei, you're too kind. Please rise."

Gu Cheng reached out and helped Cao Ang up before speaking, "Actually, what I wanted to say was that Cao Cao's eastern expedition to Xuzhou was naturally invincible and unstoppable, but unfortunately, trouble is likely to arise in his rear."

"Backyard on fire?"

Cao Ang's heart tightened suddenly, and he quickly asked, "Please enlighten me, Young Master Gu."

"The young emperor in Xuchang has never been willing to be a puppet to be manipulated. He must have long harbored resentment towards Cao Sikong's monopolization of power and arbitrary decision-making."

"And the group of veteran officials of the Han Dynasty, led by Dong Cheng, had made great contributions in escorting the emperor back to Luoyang, but now all of them have had their power stripped away by Cao Sikong, becoming mere figureheads. These people must be full of resentment and dissatisfaction towards Cao Sikong."

"Therefore, I suspect that the young emperor must have already issued a secret edict to Dong Cheng, ordering him to secretly contact those Han officials who were dissatisfied with Cao Sikong, and to seize the opportunity to launch a coup and take control of the government."

"When Cao Sikong led his army eastward to attack Liu Bei and left Xuchang, it was their only and last chance."

"General Wei, do you understand what I mean?"

Gu Cheng calmly and deliberately told Cao Ang all his calculations and judgments.

Upon hearing this, Cao Ang felt his heart pound and his back go cold; he broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

"That's right, Young Master Gu is absolutely right. The Emperor and those old ministers of the Han Dynasty have long harbored resentment towards my father... Minister of Works, and I have heard about it for a long time."

"Cao Sikong's expedition to Xuzhou is a thousand miles away from Xuchang. If they want to launch a mutiny, this is indeed the best opportunity in a lifetime."

The more Cao Ang thought about it, the more chills ran down his spine.

Just then.

Cao Ang suddenly realized something and quickly asked, "But Minister Cao has always been very wary of the Emperor, and his spies are everywhere in the palace. If the Emperor issued a secret edict to Dong Cheng, how could it possibly escape Minister Cao's notice?"

"I ask you, has the Emperor recently bestowed any rewards upon that Uncle Dong?"

Gu Cheng suddenly changed the subject and asked this question.

Cao Ang paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "The Emperor recently promoted Dong Cheng to General of the Guards and personally bestowed upon him a jade belt to commend his merit in escorting the Emperor back east. Why does Young Master Gu ask about this?"

"That's right!"

Gu Cheng slammed his hand on the stone table in front of him: "The Emperor's secret edict to Dong Cheng must be hidden inside that jade belt!"

Cao Ang was jolted awake, suddenly realizing the truth as if he had just woken from a dream.

"How did Young Master Gu determine that the Emperor's secret edict was hidden in that jade belt?"

"Or, on what basis is Young Master Gu certain that the Emperor will definitely issue a secret edict to Dong Cheng?"

Cao Angqiang suppressed the shock in his heart, pretended to be calm, and asked these two questions.

"Those ministers couldn't see the secret edict written by the emperor himself. Do you think they would risk their lives and fortunes to launch a coup based solely on Dong Cheng's one-sided account?"

"Besides hiding the secret edict in his jade belt, what other way could the emperor possibly deliver it to Dong Cheng without anyone noticing?"