A Ruthless Hero of the Age

"Your anger won't do you any good."

Lord Yang laughed again.

"Do you know what sort of opponent you're facing?"

"When Sima Yi rebelled and killed the Grand... General, do you know where his followers came from?"

"They were all death-sworn men Sima Shi had trained in secret. Even now, no one knows how he raised so many of them around him, or how he kept them hidden."

"Sima Shi is ruthless and decisive, a keen judge of men, skilled at biding his time and winning people over. In the makings of a ruthless hero, he surpasses even his father!"

In truth, Lord Yang hardly needed to tell him. Cao Mao knew perfectly well what sort of enemy he faced.

Sima Shi was a superb executor and a rational decision-maker.

A leader who could sleep soundly on the eve of a coup.

Whether in domestic governance, strategy, or political intrigue, he ranked among the very best.

Cao Mao even knew things Lord Yang did not. During Sima Shi's campaign to suppress the rebellion in Huainan, a certain young officer who charged in and out of enemy lines seven times had quite literally startled his eye out of its socket.

After his eye burst out, he endured the agonizing pain without making a sound, biting his bedsheet to shreds rather than letting his subordinates find out.

Thus, he steadied his army, defeated the enemy, and finally died from the sheer pain.

Cao Mao truly did not want to cross swords with such an opponent.

He always felt Sima Shi was even more terrifying than Sima Yi.

At least Sima Yi left people a way out. Sima Shi, however, was the sort to cut down the grass and tear out its roots-rational, cold, and decisive in killing.

"Sima Shi now holds the Imperial Court entirely in his grasp. This business of deposing and enthroning emperors is the best proof. His power exceeds even that of Emperor Wu of Wei in his day, and no one can restrain him."

"Had you been born twenty years earlier, there might have been hope."

"But now..."

Lord Yang shook his head and pointed at the ruffians in the distance.

"These Wanderers aren't bad by nature. You'd best find some pretext to dismiss them, lest they be put to death alongside you!"

Only when Liu Lu came over carrying a wine pot did Lord Yang return to his earlier despondency, gulping down wine with a hazy gaze, drowning his life in a drunken dream.

That day, the Cao Residence was as quiet as Yuan City itself. Even the normally boisterous Wanderers remained silent. What had happened that day was beyond anything they could take in. They were merely surplus hands without farmland in an ordinary county town. The great affairs of the Imperial Court were so distant that they could not comprehend them.

The next day, Cao Mao rose early. When he emerged from the inner hall, his face looked somewhat haggard.

Since arriving in this world, Cao Mao had not enjoyed a single peaceful night's sleep.

Countless times, he had considered ways to break out of this predicament, but it was simply too difficult. He could see no opening whatsoever.

"Duke of the Village!"

Liu Lu stood before Cao Mao, panting, with a wooden staff still in his hand.

Without a word, Cao Mao took the staff from him and began swinging it.

The long staff stirred a fierce wind in his hands. As his footwork shifted, its movements grew increasingly savage, sending sharp whistles through the air.

Liu Lu retreated a few steps and stood with the other Wanderers, watching Cao Mao practice.

"Ah, people really can't be measured against one another... whatever the Duke of the Village learns, he picks it up so quickly."

Liu Lu's eyes were full of conflicting emotions.

He had taught Cao Mao this staff technique himself. Who could have imagined that Lord Cao would now practice it better than his own teacher?

A man beside him with a tattooed face laughed. "What sort of man is the Duke of the Village? He already had a fine physique, and over this past year, he's trained without stopping, never wasting a single day. He throws his very life into his practice. It's only natural that he's achieved this much."

Cao Mao practiced everything: staff, sword, bow, and even riding.

Just as Lord Yang had said, his profound lack of security had left him like a starving man who would eat anything. He exhausted every means of increasing his strength, and martial skills were naturally among them.

By the time his morning practice ended, Cao Mao was drenched from head to toe.

Panting, he tossed the staff aside, took the cloth Liu Lu offered, and wiped his eyes.

The training also seemed to serve as a release. The gloom in his eyes vanished, and he felt much lighter.

"Come on! Let's take a look around outside!"

With a broad wave of his hand, Cao Mao led his dozen or so hangers-on out through the gates in a grand procession.

Yuan City was no large county town, and there were few pedestrians on its streets. Cao Mao did not take a carriage. He walked along the road, savoring the refreshing autumn breeze blowing toward him.

Cao Mao was well known in the town.

The passersby he encountered all bowed in greeting, and Cao Mao smiled and waved in acknowledgment.

Whenever he ran into a few children, they clustered around him, laughing and chattering. Cao Mao gave them something to eat, then sent them off to play.

They walked all the way to the southern part of town, where the Gao Family Restaurant stood before them, a two-story building with quite impressive decorations.

The moment the attendant at the entrance spotted Cao Mao, he plunged headlong inside.

Soon, a round, plump man emerged with a face full of smiles. He was the owner of the Gao Family Restaurant.

"I didn't know the Duke of the Village was coming and failed to greet you. Please forgive me."

He treated Cao Mao with the utmost courtesy, standing to one side with his head lowered and his back bent.

Cao Mao nodded and entered the Gao Family Restaurant. Quite a few people were seated inside, loudly discussing something, but the instant they saw him come in, the restaurant fell silent.

Clearly, these people had already heard something.

The owner ushered Cao Mao to his usual seat. Cao Mao disliked private rooms; he preferred this noisy atmosphere of ordinary street life.

"Golden-Crumb Rice. A plate for each of us."

"Coming right up!"

The owner was delighted and hurriedly sent someone to the kitchen.

His courtesy toward Cao Mao was not merely due to Cao Mao's status.

Cao Mao had helped the Gao Family Restaurant a great deal, providing numerous recipes. Even the Golden-Crumb Rice he had just ordered was something Cao Mao had taught them.

In truth, it was nothing more than egg fried rice.

Even a Great Wei noble's household had no grain reserves. To supplement the household income, Cao Mao had approached several local merchants in succession, earning money through partnerships with them.

The laws of Great Wei forbade its nobles from engaging in commerce or owning businesses.

Cao Mao had found a loophole: he offered them guidance and collected gifts of thanks. Those could be called tuition fees, or they could be called investments.

Over the past year, Yuan City had produced quite a few wealthy merchants, and Cao Mao no longer lacked money.

The Gao Family Restaurant was full of familiar faces, yet now none of them dared approach Cao Mao casually. It was as though an invisible barrier had once again risen between him and them.

Amid the silence, someone finally gathered his courage.

A familiar diner smiled and asked, "Lord Cao, we heard an imperial envoy came to Yuan City to invite you to Luoyang to become the Son of Heaven. Is that true?"

Liu Lu answered first. "Of course it's true!"

The people listening with their ears pricked up immediately burst into exclamations, and the way they looked at Cao Mao changed even further.

Before an emperor had ever been murdered in the street, the Son of Heaven remained sacred, at least among the common people, surrounded by a certain mystique and certainly no ordinary mortal.

One could say that the Sima Family had made outstanding contributions to dispelling superstition.

Their fart of an oath by the Luo River proved that vows sworn before heaven, mountains, and rivers could still be broken without fear of divine punishment. Their regicide in the street further taught the world that an emperor was merely a mortal who could be stabbed to death with an ordinary spear.

They had even installed an idiot as emperor, setting a new upper limit for the emperors of China and achieving something without precedent!

With his head lowered, the owner personally brought Cao Mao his meal.

"If you become the Son of Heaven, it will be a blessing for all the people. You'll surely be a worthy ruler like Emperor Wen."

The owner offered a few words of flattery.

Emperor Wen's reputation among the imperial clan differed enormously from his reputation among the common people.

Among the populace, he was better regarded than either Cao Cao or Cao Rui. He had developed Military Agriculture, introduced grain and cloth as media of exchange in markets, stabilized social order, and largely resolved the inflation caused by war.

At the same time, he adopted a defensive strategy across the realm, restored civilian production, abolished numerous prohibitions, lowered customs duties, banned private vendettas, encouraged broad deliberation on lighter punishments, allowed the people to recuperate, and promoted frugality and simple funerals.

These policies had reassured the people of the north and fostered a measure of prosperity, greatly increasing Wei's national strength.

Cao Mao, however, grabbed the owner and pulled him down to sit beside him.

"Have you found anything about the matter I sent Liu Lu to ask you about last night?"

The owner wiped his forehead. "Yes, yes."

"Lord Yang, Yang Zong, once served as chief clerk to the Grand... the regent and Grand General, Cao Shuang."

"Later, after Cao Shuang's rebellion failed, the Duke of Anping Commandery pardoned him and even appointed him a Gentleman of the Secretariat."

"I heard he privately fell out with the current Grand General and defied him repeatedly. The Grand General wanted to kill him, but the General Who Conquers the West pleaded for him with all his might, so he was merely demoted to a local post..."

Cao Mao narrowed his eyes. "Is that really so?"

"Every word is true. You have no idea how much money I spent finding out even this much..."

"Rest assured. I still have many recipes, all from the palace. I'll let you earn even more in the future."

As Cao Mao spoke, he released the owner's shoulder.

Joy lit up the owner's face. Smiling broadly, he hurried to bow to Cao Mao again and again.

"Thank you, Lord Cao! Thank you, Lord Cao!"