108. A Natural-Born Lucky General
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Once the two riders drew near, Cao Xiu dismounted and saluted Cao Hong. The latter glanced at the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry behind him and said with a smile, “Wenlie, this cavalry unit must have fifty men by now, mustn’t it? Have you been promoted to captain?”
Cao Xiu replied, “It is all thanks to Uncle’s excellent instruction. I earned a few merits on the battlefield, and so I was promoted.”
Cao Hong nodded. “Is Elder Brother in the county?”
Cao Xiu answered, “The Lord is currently in the county office of Dongwuyang.”
“Excellent. I shall go pay my respects to Elder Brother at once.”
“In that case, Uncle should go ahead. I still have a duty to perform and must inspect the surrounding area.”
“Go, then.”
Cao Xiu bowed, gave a sharp whistle to his men, and departed. Only then did Xun Yu speak, smiling. “Your nephew possesses an extraordinary bearing, General. He will surely become a man of great consequence.”
Cao Hong laughed. “You have a discerning eye, Master.”
In later years, Cao Xiu would be enfeoffed as Marquis of Changping, granted a fief of two thousand five hundred households, and rise to Grand Commandant, overseeing military affairs in Yangzhou and guarding against Eastern Wu. He would become one of the important generals of Wei in its later years. At present, however, he was not yet twenty, and Xun Yu had already recognized his unusual promise. If that was not a discerning eye, what was?
A day later, Cao Hong and his party arrived beneath the walls of Dongwuyang County. Cao military banners already lined the battlements. The drawbridge lay across the moat, and the city gates stood open. Many commoners, bringing their families with them, were carrying luggage or pushing wooden carts into the county, clearly intending to settle there once more.
The men guarding the gates belonged to Cao Cao’s personal guard battalion. The moment they saw Cao Hong’s banner, one of them stepped forward to salute, while another ordered the entering civilians to pause and make way for Cao Hong’s troops. Everything proceeded in perfect order, without the slightest confusion.
Xun Yu observed this and secretly praised it. “General Zilian mentioned that Cao Gong has an adviser named Liu Ziyang, a kinsman of the Han imperial house with considerable talent. Dongwuyang is now only beginning to recover, yet everything is orderly despite the devastation. I presume this arrangement is his work. It is ingenious, though it still requires some refinement.”
After leading the soldiers into the county, Cao Hong immediately instructed Shi E and Pan Zhang to take them to the military camp. Xun Yu, meanwhile, sent his young page, Xun Qian, to find an inn. Once everything had been arranged, the two men went directly toward the county office. Xun Yu no longer rode in a carriage, but had exchanged it for a fine horse.
They rode along the road, casually surveying the conditions on either side.
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Dongwuyang had already recovered a little of its vitality. Peddlers and laborers had begun trading in the marketplace, though the goods on offer were still limited to basic necessities and food. Cloth shops, rouge stores, pawnshops, and pottery shops—businesses catering to more substantial spending—had yet to reopen. Along the entire street, only a single smithy was operating.
From this alone, it was clear that restoring Dongwuyang’s production would not be accomplished in a day. The scene before them was a common one after war. In his previous life, Cao Hong had worked as a mercenary and had undertaken missions in parts of Africa still ravaged by conflict. What he had seen there was no better than this. Nearly two thousand years separated the two eras, yet in this respect they were no different.
The desolation and suffering brought by war were the same in every age. Perhaps because the sight felt so painfully familiar, Cao Hong was suddenly overcome by a bleak sorrow, and he found himself unable to escape it.
Xun Yu, however, was studying the surroundings with considerable interest. Suddenly, he pointed toward several commoners carrying heavily laden cloth bags and asked, “General Zilian, do you know what they have in those bundles?”
Cao Hong shook his head to indicate that he did not.
Xun Yu smiled. “If my guess is correct, they are carrying five-zhu coins.”
“Five-zhu coins? So many of them? What are they for?” Cao Hong stared in puzzlement at a man holding a bag as large as a human head. If it truly contained that many five-zhu coins, it would be enough to purchase an entire acre of farmland. Clearly, a city merely beginning to recover like Dongwuyang had no use for such an abundance of money.
“There are indeed many,” Xun Yu said, shaking his head, “but I suspect these are the inferior coins cast by Dong Zhuo at Meiwu. Their inscriptions are blurred and their purity poor. After Dong Zhuo abandoned Luoyang, large quantities of these small coins were left behind, and refugees fleeing Luoyang carried them eastward into the lands beyond the passes. In addition, Yanzhou has suffered repeated disturbances by bandits and is desperately short of goods. Since these coins have little value in the market, it is only natural that one should see enough of them being exchanged for a measure of rice.”
Cao Hong had spent most of his time recruiting soldiers in Yangzhou. When he returned to Xiangyi, the Wei family had already restored the local administration to perfect order, so he naturally knew nothing of the situation. He said at once, “Dong Zhuo truly brought ruin upon the realm and misery upon the people.”
As they spoke, they entered the county office. At that moment, a group of people emerged through the gate. The man in front was short in stature and wore a belt bearing a pair of short halberds and a ring-pommeled saber. It was Cao Cao himself. At his side walked Liu Ye in a long robe, while Dian Wei, clad in military attire, followed behind, accompanied by six palace guards.
The moment Cao Cao stepped outside and saw Cao Hong and Xun Yu, he froze. Then he burst into hearty laughter, opened his arms, and strode toward Cao Hong.
“Zilian! My dear Zilian! I have missed you terribly!”
Cao Hong immediately dismounted and was about to bow, but Cao Cao took several quick steps forward, embraced him, and exclaimed, “My worthy brother! There is no need for such formality! You have worked hard this time!”
“Elder Brother gives me too much credit. I merely contributed what little strength I could,” Cao Hong replied modestly.
Cao Cao suddenly lowered his voice. “Your route passed through the greatest concentration of powerful clans, and there were fortified estates everywhere. Yet when I arrived here and inquired after you, I heard that you had wiped those powerful families out to the last man. It gave me immense satisfaction!”
Cao Hong understood at once. No wonder the powerful clans along his route had seemed even more numerous than the bandits. Fortunately, his recruitment battalion had fought with reckless determination, while the Soul-Seizing Blades had made it easy to scale the fortified estates. Moreover, the enemy had repeatedly made the same mistake as the young master of the Gan family, assuming that Cao Hong’s small force could be easily bullied. That was why he had been able to carve his way forward by slaughtering his enemies all along the road.
“It was only because the lads fought with their lives,” Cao Hong said. Then he pointed to Xun Yu beside him. “Elder Brother, allow me to introduce a learned gentleman.”
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Cao Cao gave an appreciative exclamation and looked toward Xun Yu. The latter clasped his hands in salute, and Cao Cao, impressed by his extraordinary bearing, returned the gesture.
“Zilian… who is this gentleman?”
“This is Xun Wenruo of the Xun family of Yingchuan. He has come to place himself under your command, having heard of your reputation. I met him on the road.”
The name Xun Yu carried tremendous weight throughout Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and the region around Luoyang—far greater even than that of the renowned Northern Four Companions. Cao Cao and Dian Wei were both natives of the region and naturally knew the name. As for Liu Ye, a learned scholar himself, he understood even more clearly that behind Xun Yu stood the Yingchuan Academy, a sacred ground of the scholarly world.
Hearing the name, all three men were visibly moved. Cao Cao in particular was first startled, then overjoyed. He seized Xun Yu’s hand and laughed heartily.
“So it is Wenruo! Wenruo himself!”
His delight was no pretense. Everyone knew what it meant for Xun Yu to come and join Cao Cao: it meant that Cao Cao had won the recognition of the scholars.
Xun Yu was somewhat at a loss beneath Cao Cao’s exuberant welcome. Yuan Shao had treated him generously, but there had always been a sense of lofty condescension in his manner. Cao Cao, by contrast, possessed a sincerity that came from the heart.
That sincerity was deeply moving.
Just as Xun Yu was beginning to feel helpless, Cao Cao turned to Cao Hong with a smile.
“Zilian! The moment you return, you bring me a gentleman of such renown. You truly are a heaven-sent bringer of good fortune!”
Liu Ye and Dian Wei exchanged knowing smiles, entirely in agreement. Cao Hong had not only saved Cao Cao before, but had also spent his entire fortune assisting him. Now he had brought Cao Cao a scholar of Xun Yu’s stature. Each time, he delivered precisely what Cao Cao desired most. If that was not the mark of a bringer of good fortune, then what was?
Cao Hong offered an embarrassed smile and said nothing. Could he really declare, “I am simply a heaven-sent bringer of good fortune”?
Cao Cao did not wait for him to answer. Instead, he laughed and said, “Zilian, Wenruo, come with me. We shall open the granaries and distribute grain to the people of the county!”
Cao Hong was just about to agree when Xun Yu said, “My lord, wait!”