Chapter 12: Zhang Xiu's Rebellion and the Wager Between Uncle and Nephew

Cao Peng inwardly cursed Cao Cao, calling him a shameless old scoundrel. This entire mess clearly started because you wanted to seek out women, yet now you’re turning the blame around and pushing all the faults onto others. Truly, all those in power seem to share a shameless heart.

Naturally, Cao Peng had no intention of accepting this passively. If you, old Cao, act without compassion, then don’t blame me for responding in kind. After all, you—husband to so many—seem to have no sense of shame.

“Uncle, do you really want me to speak plainly?” he said. “Very well, since there are no outsiders here, I’ll be frank!”

Cao Cao’s brows furrowed, Cao Ang was confused, while Dian Wei remained expressionless.

“After yesterday’s banquet, you asked for a woman, and had Captain Dian lead several dozen armed men outside the city to fetch Lady Zou. Have you forgotten this?”

“And who is Lady Zou? She is the young aunt of Zhang Xiu. Though Zhang Ji has already died, you, using your power to bully others like this—how could Zhang Xiu possibly tolerate it?”

“What’s more, at the banquet, you openly rewarded Zhang Xiu’s subordinate, Hu Che’er, in front of everyone, completely disregarding Zhang Xiu’s pride. With these events happening again and again, aren’t you forcing Zhang Xiu into rebellion?”

Faced with Cao Peng’s rapid-fire accusations, Cao Cao was momentarily at a loss. The truth was, after drinking so much the night before, even he couldn’t clearly recall everything that had happened.

Yet there was something else that surprised him: this nephew of his, who’d always stayed quietly in the background, now analyzed the situation with such clarity—had he been concealing his talents all along?

“I drank too much yesterday. I can’t remember everything you’ve mentioned,” Cao Cao replied. “Even so, you must be exaggerating. You say Zhang Xiu will rebel—that’s simply impossible!”

Cao Cao truly didn’t believe Zhang Xiu had the courage to rebel.

Hearing this, Cao Peng couldn’t help but curl his lip. If it hadn’t been for his quick thinking last night, it wouldn’t be long before they all paid the price for Cao Cao’s foolishness.

Lately, everything had gone too smoothly for the old man. Now, with the emperor under his control and the warlords wary of his every move, armed with elite troops, he was growing arrogant.

“In my view,” Dian Wei spoke up, “the young general is overthinking things. Zhang Xiu is a coward, and his troops are nothing but a rabble—not worth worrying about!”

Normally, Dian Wei would never have spoken up in such a setting, but after being directly involved in these events from yesterday to today, he found it hard not to scoff. All this fuss, all these precautions, just for fear of Zhang Xiu’s rebellion? The thought of that man, whom he utterly despised, mustering the courage to revolt was almost laughable.

Dian Wei’s contempt for Zhang Xiu was not without reason. At the time of Zhang Xiu’s surrender, Cao Cao toasted him, and Dian Wei stood behind with a massive axe, exuding such a terrifying aura that Zhang Xiu dared not meet his gaze.

In truth, both Cao Cao and Dian Wei were not wrong—Zhang Xiu truly lacked such courage. But they overlooked one crucial detail: Zhang Xiu had beside him the cunning strategist, Jia Xu.

Jia Xu had long been active in the turbulent affairs of the realm, though his low profile meant few knew his name. Even Cao Cao only met him during Zhang Xiu’s surrender.

Who could have imagined that such a seemingly unremarkable man would possess a bolder heart than anyone, and that every move he made would be deadly?

In Cao Peng’s eyes, this man perfectly embodied the notion of speaking softly but acting ruthlessly.

“Enough,” said Cao Cao. “I won’t hold last night’s actions against you. As for your talk of Zhang Xiu rebelling, that’s absolutely impossible. You still have much to learn about warfare—don’t jump to conclusions.”

Cao Cao was about to dismiss him, but Cao Peng could not leave yet. Since they refused to believe Zhang Xiu would rebel, he would have to try another approach.

“Uncle, if you don’t believe me, would you care to make a wager?” Cao Peng asked.

“How shall we wager?” Cao Cao agreed without hesitation, seeing it as mere sport with the younger generation, and curious to see what surprises this nephew might bring.

“Now, our army camps on Zhang Xiu’s territory. Though our numbers are few, there’s no one in the land who dares face us head-on. So, even if Zhang Xiu were to attack with several times our force, to ensure success he would surely strike unexpectedly, catching us off guard. I dare predict that in the coming days, he will find some excuse to request permission from you to move his army to higher ground, thus gaining an advantage over us. During this relocation, they will inevitably pass by our camp.”

Cao Peng’s confident analysis made Cao Cao and the others thoughtful.

“How did you come by this information?” Cao Cao asked, his brows knitting.

Cao Peng was momentarily speechless. He certainly couldn’t admit that he’d read it in the history books of future generations.

“These are merely my deductions,” he replied. “Whether they are correct, let us wait and see.”

“Very well!”

No sooner had the words left the two men’s lips than a messenger’s voice called from outside.

“Reporting to the Minister of Works: a captain under Zhang Xiu requests an audience!”

At the sound, surprise flashed across Cao Cao’s face, and he glanced at Cao Peng, his eyes filled with astonishment.