Volume 2: The King's Way Chapter 125: Honest Confusion
The pork banquet on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month added some luster to the “cheap meat”, but because the people participating in the banquet only knew that pork was delicious and did not know that castrated pigs were easier to raise, it did not cause much waves.
At most, it was difficult for the chefs of the major families to think about the recipes of white male meat, braised pork, and pork rib soup based on the description of the master...
Xun You was also in Jinling and observed for two more days.
It was discovered that Gan Ning was really "exiled" to Kuaiji, and various signs showed that Bai Tu really just wanted Sun Ce to send troops to the Wankou and Wancheng areas - this offensive plan was full of loopholes in Xun You's view.
Although Bai Tu nominally agreed with Xun You to join forces with Cao Cao's troops representing the imperial court outside Shouchun City, anyone with a little common sense would understand that this statement was completely unreliable.
Gan Ning's proposal was to truly join forces with Cao Gong in Shouchun.
Most of the navy trained by Gan Ning in Danyang were in Wuhu. As long as they sent troops from Wuhu and broke through Ruxukou on the other side of the river, they could enter Chaohu Lake and defeat the navy of Chaohu. They could then take advantage of the spring and summer flood season to follow the Nanfeishui River directly to Xiaoyaojin and break through Hefei. Then, they could follow the Beifeishui River all the way to Shouchun.
Historically, the Eastern Wu used Ruxukou as its northern gateway, while the Cao Wei stationed naval forces in Chaohu Lake. Whenever the Chaohu navy was defeated, the next battle would be a tug-of-war at Xiaoyaojin - the Feishui River would be cut off from flowing north and south during the dry season, but would reconnect during the flood season. This connection point was Xiaoyaojin, and the city of Hefei next to it got its name from this.
When Cao Wei wanted to move south, they mostly attacked Ruxukou, and rarely went through Wancheng and Wankou.
The main reason is that there is no waterway to the north of Wancheng, and due to the obstruction of Dabie Mountains, Wancheng can only go north through Shiting and Jiashidao, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack for both sides!
Therefore, Bai Tu sent Sun Ce to take Wancheng, which was tantamount to saying to Xun You - you guys fight, and I'll just stand by and wait.
Xun You could see that many of Bai Tu's advisers were not happy with this decision.
He could understand this. If he were serving under Bai Tu, he would also urge Bai Tu to fight for Huainan instead of choosing the easiest place to attack.
Because of the current situation, Yuan Shu has changed from a hedgehog to a cake to be divided!
Once the emperorship was announced, not only Liu Bei, but also Cao Cao and Bai Tu would be able to attack Huainan with all their strength. Liu Biao would never dare to risk being disapproved and stab him in the back at this time.
At this time, he actually behaved as if he was not fighting for anything, which undoubtedly established an image of a person who "has no intention of competing for supremacy" in Xun You's mind.
Moreover, Xu, who did not want to reveal his name, also made another contribution - when Xun You was investigating Bai Tu's reputation among the people, he discovered the "deep well disease" that was widely circulated in Jiangdong.
Although considering Bai Tu's achievements and reputation, he would never cause any public resentment unless the wrath of heaven and people made ordinary people feel the pain, but the fact that such sarcastic words were allowed to spread caused Xun You to lower his rating of Bai Tu again and again.
In Xun You's opinion, Bai Tu is already a typical "saint" - a saint can be worshipped in a temple, but is not suitable to be a ruler!
Therefore, Xun You was not overly wary of Hua Xin and others' obvious intention to join Bai Tu's army.
Being a saint's lackey, although the upper limit is much lower than being a subject of the ruler, the lower limit is also much higher!
In Xun You's opinion, as long as Cao Gong could unify the north in the future, he could directly take back Jiangdong with a decree and carry Saint Bai into the temple to worship him. Similarly, the civil and military officials under Bai Tu might not be as popular as Cao Cao's confidants, but they were fundamentally different from surrendered generals and surrendered ministers.
Even if Bai Tu was really "bewitched" and raised an army to resist the royal army, it is more likely that such a person would be given a noble title, or at most be imprisoned. Even if he was beaten to a pulp and could not reconcile, he would only die in an accident or from illness. At least in the official caliber, he would not be regarded as a traitor...
Therefore, joining Bai Tu...especially for famous scholars and upright people, joining Bai Tu is a choice with very stable returns.
It’s just that Lu Bu’s troops are more troublesome. Those people are too hostile to Cao Gong, which makes Xun You uneasy - if Bai Tu is "bewitched" in the future , it will definitely be the fault of this group of people!
[Lü Bu also has a daughter who seems to be very close to Lord Bai. If the two of them become closely related in the future, it will be even more troublesome... It seems that I need to remind my lord!] Xun You was thinking silently in his heart.
At the same time, Xun You's expression gradually became dull...
On the 18th day of the first lunar month in the second year of Jian'an, Xun You sat quietly in the posthouse from morning until evening, then had a simple meal. He then went to the governor's mansion to bid farewell to Bai Tu.
Bai Tu gave Xun You a set of jade wares that conformed to etiquette as a return tribute to the court. The old-fashioned nature of Bai Tu was very consistent with Xun You's mind.
The next morning, Xun You officially left Jinling. His return route was unknown, and Bai Tu only sent people to escort him to Chaisang. It was very likely that he would take a detour through Jingzhou and return to Xu Du.
"Zijing, do you think we really fooled them?" Bai Tu talked about this matter with Lu Su after Xun You left.
After all, there are unreasonable things like "strategies" in this world. If Xun You talked about them behind his back when he was in Jinling, he might find out about them in an unscientific way.
"Xun You is Cao Cao's strategist. Although he looks a little dull and not good at speaking, it is impossible to fool him completely. Especially since Cao Cao sent Xun You to Jiangdong, it means he is wary of his lord! If we talk about how much we can fool him... Logically it should be 50-50. However, our approach will make him believe 70% of it." Lu Su said.
Xun You did as Lu Su expected, and he used the strategy of "foolish on the outside, wise on the inside" to spend a whole day sorting out what he had seen and heard since arriving in Jiangdong, as well as his previous understanding of Bai Tu.
I found a lot of suspicious things, for example... If Bai Tu really had no ambition, why did he worship Lu Bu as his adoptive father? And the civil and military officials around , how could a person without ambition put together such a lineup?
Although this can be explained by "Mr. Bai is well aware of the righteousness and wants to establish a pure land in the troubled times in Jiangdong", there are still many abruptnesses after all.
However, just as Lu Su said, Bai Tu was dishonest in words, but honest in actions - Jiangdong's current deployment did not seem to be wild. Bai Tu really transferred Gan Ning, who advocated war, to Kuaiji, and really only wanted to send troops to Wancheng...
The "deep well disease" is real. Xu, who has been in contact with Xun You the most recently , is also slandering Bai Tu from the bottom of his heart. It couldn't be more true.
In the absence of any news channel about the "imminent drought in Huainan", Xun You could only believe that Bai Tu was really a "saint"!
"Logically speaking, the person who would have stirred up the fortunes of the Han Dynasty and turned against Yuan Shu was most likely under Cao Cao's command...but they aren't worried about the severe drought in Huainan at all?" Bai Tu was a little confused.
"My Feng Shui Scroll has not discovered the plan of the Fortune Scroll before. Maybe... the Fortune Scroll cannot see the changes in Feng Shui." Lu Su was just speculating. After all, the Ten Volumes of the Heavenly Book did not appear often, and he did not know of any example of the collision between the Fortune Scroll and the Feng Shui Scroll.
"Fifty percent... seventy percent... whatever! As long as I can make him believe that 30% is a profit." Bai Tu thought about it and stopped worrying about it.
