The second year of Jian'an, or 197 AD. The first month.
The realm was in turmoil, and the Han Dynasty had fallen into a bloody struggle among the warlords.
In the north, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were locked in a fierce, all-out clash.
In the south, Jing Province had only just been pacified, while Sun Ce broke away from Yuan Shu, swept across Jiangdong, and carved out a domain in Jiangnan.
In the east, Lu Bu occupied Xuzhou and eyed every direction like a tiger ready to pounce.
Cao Cao was based in the Central Plains. Though he had welcomed the Han emperor, powerful enemies surrounded him, so he led a great army south to attack Zhang Xiu.
Zhang Xiu led his followers in surrender, and Cao Cao was overjoyed. He encamped by the Yu River, rewarded Zhang Xiu's subordinate generals, and took Lady Zou, the widow of Zhang Ji, as his concubine. For a time, no one could match his swagger.
At that moment, by the banks of the Yu River, in the Cao Army's camp,
a scholar stood outside Cao Cao's main tent with his hands behind his back.
He stood nearly eight feet tall, his hair bound atop his head. His brows were sharp, his eyes bright, his face chiseled as if by a knife, and his expression stern.
Standing before him was Dian Wei, guarding Cao Cao's camp. Nine feet tall and immensely brawny, he faced the scholar in a tense standoff.
Seeing that the scholar still would not leave, Dian Wei frowned and said,
"Why not return to camp and rest, Military Advisor? The lord is already furious. If you don't leave soon, I'm afraid he'll punish you!"
Hearing this, the scholar simply stepped past Dian Wei and shouted toward the inside of the tent:
"The affairs of the state come first! Lord Cao has only just welcomed the Son of Heaven, yet he's already so eager for glory and lost in wine and women. Has he forgotten how Dong Zhongying met his end?"
After that shout, not a sound came from inside the tent.
Looking at the scene, Dian Wei sighed softly and said,
"If you'd listen to me, Zixuan, you'd leave at once."
"The lord has been displeased with your conduct these past few days. After what you did today, he'll surely punish you!"
Zixuan was the young man's courtesy name. His given name was Qin Tian, and he served under Cao Cao as a General of the Household for the Army.
Faced with Dian Wei's advice, Qin Tian frowned and said,
"The situation is already critical beyond measure. If Lord Cao won't see me, what can I do?"
Dian Wei could only suggest,
"You always say the situation is critical beyond measure, yet you refuse to explain."
"Lord Cao is suspicious by nature. How could he believe you?"
"Why not tell me the whole story? I'll pass it on to Lord Cao. If he agrees to see you, I'll send word. How does that sound?"
At this, Qin Tian shook his head.
"I can't speak of it now. Lord Cao must hear it from me himself! Otherwise, disaster will be upon us!"
"But if Lord Cao won't see you, what can you do?"
Dian Wei was growing impatient.
"Best go back, sir. As things stand, the lord will never see you!"
Seeing Dian Wei's expression, Qin Tian sighed again and drew a piece of silk from his robes.
"Very well. If he won't see me, then make sure you deliver this letter to the tent."
"If Lord Cao reads it and still refuses to see me, I'll have no face to come again!"
As he spoke, he handed the silk to Dian Wei, then walked away, looking dazed.
Watching Qin Tian's dejected figure, Dian Wei shook his head and sighed.
But just then, a voice rang out, full of authority:
"Qin Zixuan, did you just call me Dong Zhuo?"
Hearing this, Qin Tian turned around. A middle-aged man, not particularly tall, was walking barefoot out of the tent.
He wore only a single robe. His face was broad, his mouth wide, his eyes long and narrow, and his beard reached his chest. It was Cao Cao, Cao Mengde.
In the cold wind, he stood straight and radiated authority.
Seeing Cao Cao emerge, Qin Tian showed no fear. He turned and said,
"Lord Cao, you're mistaken. Dong Zhuo was an enemy of the state!"
"Lord Cao supports the Han Dynasty, so you shouldn't be lumped together with an enemy of the state. Yet your conduct now is far worse than his."
"Though Dong Zhuo was lawless, he still heeded Li Ru's counsel. Now Lord Cao takes another man's wife and spends every day indulging in pleasure, casting the affairs of state aside. How is that any different from Dong Zhuo at Meiwu?"
Hearing this, a cold light flashed in Cao Cao's eyes. He said in a low voice,
"Qin Zixuan, if anyone else dared say such things and disrupt my army's morale, I would kill him without hesitation!"
"But in light of your many years of outstanding service, I'll spare your life!"
"Return to camp at once. Otherwise, I won't let you off today!"
Looking at the cold light in Cao Cao's eyes, Qin Tian felt a wave of disappointment. Ever since the warlords' alliance against Dong Zhuo, he had served Cao Cao for seven years.
And now Cao Cao treated him with such coldness.
Was it because he came from a humble family? Or because he wasn't a member of Cao Cao's clan?
At the thought, he closed his eyes in despair.
"Lord Cao truly has no wish to hear what I have to say?"
Looking at the expression on Qin Tian's face, Cao Cao felt a pang of reluctance, but his face remained cold.
"If you have good advice, I'll hear it. If you defy me again, I won't spare you!"
Qin Tian opened his eyes.
"Even if I have good advice, Lord Cao may not listen. Very well. Since Lord Cao refuses to see me, I'll be on my way!"
"But I'll leave you with one warning: Zhang Xiu will rebel tonight. Lord Cao, take care!"
With that, he headed toward his own tent.
Hearing those words, Cao Cao's face twisted with anger. He roared,
"Qin Zixuan, you keep disrupting my army's morale! If I don't kill you today, it's only because of my own virtue!"
"Don't let your talent go to your head. Do you really think Cao Mengde can't manage without you?"
No matter how much he shouted, Qin Tian did not turn back.
Seeing this, Dian Wei stepped forward and tried to persuade him.
"My lord, Zixuan has never been wrong before. If he says Zhang Xiu will rebel, he must have a reason!"
"Even you're taking his side?"
Cao Cao glared at Dian Wei with his tiger-bright eyes.
"Zhang Xiu has already surrendered, and all his forces have joined our army. How could he rebel again?"
"By saying this now, you'll only make Zhang Xiu, a surrendered general, afraid. If he really does rebel, it'll be because he was driven to it!"
As he spoke, he looked toward Qin Tian's retreating figure.
"This man is nothing but a scion of a humble family. If I hadn't taken him in, he'd have died amid the chaos long ago!"
"At first, because he was modest, I treated him with great warmth. I lavished him with beautiful wives and concubines and one reward after another."
"But now he lets his talent go to his head and defies me again and again. If I let him go on like this for a few more years, there'll be no place left for me to stand!"
"Leave him be. I know what I'm doing!"
With that, Cao Cao flicked his sleeve and walked back into the tent.
Watching him, Dian Wei sighed inwardly. Cao Cao's words seemed to be aimed at him, but weren't they just as much a warning to himself?
As Cao Cao's personal guard, he understood him all too well.
That was simply Cao Cao's temperament. In ordinary times, he treated the worthy with respect and disliked empty formalities.
But when it came to a struggle for power, he grew suspicious of everyone.
He claimed not to listen to Qin Tian because he disliked being insulted, but in truth, he feared that Qin Tian's achievements would eclipse his own.
And it was only natural. Ever since the campaign against Dong Zhuo, Qin Tian had been right every time. The whole realm praised him as a prodigy of the highest order.
But for Cao Cao, that was hard to bear.
Qin Tian had an almost terrifying gift for strategy. He had warned Cao Cao that a pursuit would end in defeat, and Cao Cao had barely made it back alive.
He had said Liu Dai would die, and Liu Dai had indeed fallen in battle!
He had said the Yellow Turbans would surrender, and Qin Tian had truly won over a million of them!
When Lu Bu launched a surprise attack on Yanzhou, Qin Tian alone had defended Cao Cao's home territory.
For seven whole years, whenever the two disagreed, Qin Tian was always right and Cao Cao was always wrong.
If their lord had been someone with no understanding of military strategy, that might have been bearable.
But Cao Cao himself was a man of great wisdom and ambition.
Could he really accept being outdone by one of his own subordinates?
Qin Tian was a freak of nature, so capable it was almost frightening. He was equally adept at training troops and governing the people.
He commanded great respect among both soldiers and commoners!
Before, at least Xi Zhicai had shared some of the credit for Qin Tian's brilliance, offering Cao Cao a little comfort.
But after Xi Zhicai died last year, Cao Cao grew more and more wary of Qin Tian.
Qin Tian's actions in the past had also made Cao Cao suspicious. Take the Battle of Xuzhou, for example: when the Cao Army wanted to massacre the city, Qin Tian had vehemently pleaded against it, saving countless people of Xuzhou.
In the eyes of the people, Cao Cao became evil, while Qin Tian became good.
And that raised the question: what did a strategist want with so many people's loyalty?
Likewise, Qin Tian was extremely strict with the army. He had nearly thrown even Cao Hong in prison for embezzlement. As a result, all the generals both respected and feared him, and they all said the Military Advisor had the bearing of an ancient famed general.
What did a strategist want with such high standing among the generals?
All these things filled Cao Cao's heart with fear!
It could be said that Cao Cao did not distrust Qin Tian because he doubted him. He simply could not trust him—he didn't dare!
If Qin Tian's warning proved true this time, Old Cao might start doubting his own abilities!
So Dian Wei understood Cao Cao's state of mind.
But he had seen everything that just happened, including the disappointment in Qin Tian's eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he said,
"My lord, the Military Advisor just said he was leaving. If he really goes, what should we do?"
After he said this, silence fell inside the tent. A long while later, Cao Cao finally replied,
"If he wants to leave, let him. I refuse to believe that without Qin Zixuan, I, Cao Cao, will be reduced to a stray dog!"
After those defiant words, Lady Zou's qin music sounded once more inside the tent.
Its plaintive, mournful notes filled the heart with sorrow.
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