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Fei Qian was right—the current situation was already a tangled mess. How much worse could it get if things grew even more chaotic?
The more Cao Cao thought about it, the more alarmed he became. His brows furrowed tightly, and his eyes darted back and forth incessantly.
At this moment, Cao Cao's mind was no longer preoccupied with Cai Yong at all. Instead, he was analyzing the chain of reactions that would unfold if Yuan Wei were killed by Dong Zhuo…
"Ziyuan, are you suggesting… that this was deliberately arranged by Dong Zhongying? No, that's unlikely. I've met Dong Zhongying before—he shouldn't be capable of such strategizing…"
"...He isn't, but Li Wenyou might be." Fei Qian replied.
"Li… Wen… you…" Cao Cao repeated the name syllable by syllable, recalling that middle-aged scholar who always seemed to lurk in Dong Zhuo's shadow. He could almost feel the man's razor-sharp gaze hidden in the darkness, sending a chill down his spine.
This scheme was as ruthless as they came—simple, effective, and striking straight at the heart of human nature.
Cao Cao pondered. If Dong Zhuo killed Yuan Wei, it would simply be an act of brute force to remove the current head of the Yuan family. The goal would be to split the powerful Yuan clan into two factions, pitting Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao against each other in a struggle for succession. This would alleviate the pressure on Dong Zhuo's forces and throw the unified command of the Guandong Coalition into disarray.
After all, the Guandong Coalition had been subtly orchestrated by Yuan Wei all along. Cao Cao didn't even need to look at recent personnel changes to deduce this. It was precisely why he had dared to march his newly recruited, untrained soldiers straight to the battlefield at Suanzao.
Though Cao Cao wasn't particularly fond of Yuan Wei, he couldn't help but admire the man's strategy this time—Yuan Wei had positioned himself in Luoyang as the central coordinator, with the Guandong Coalition applying pressure from the outside. Under this pincer attack, Dong Zhuo wouldn't even need to be fought directly. Just the presence of troops at Luoyang's gates would plunge the city into chaos, and Dong Zhuo would inevitably meet his end.
But after hearing Fei Qian's words, Cao Cao suddenly realized how overly idealistic he had been. It had never occurred to him that Dong Zhuo would dare to strike directly at Yuan Wei. With this move, the situation instantly became far more complicated…
Logically speaking, if Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao stood united, killing Yuan Wei—or even every Yuan-affiliated figure in Luoyang—wouldn't achieve much. But the crux of the matter was: Would Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu truly stand together?
Cao Cao turned the question over in his mind. Based on his understanding of the two brothers, the likelihood of their cooperation was about as high as the sun rising in the west…
"I hope I'm just overthinking this…" Fei Qian sighed.
What he and Cao Cao were discussing was, of course, the current campaign against Dong Zhuo. On the surface, it seemed the Guandong gentry held all the advantages, while Dong Zhuo's regime teetered on the brink of collapse. But this was merely an illusion—a carefully crafted ploy by Li Ru…
This deduction was something Fei Qian had arrived at after much deliberation, combining his knowledge of future historical events with the intelligence he currently possessed.
By now, the sun had fully set. Stars dotted the sky, and the mournful howl of the wind swept across the wilderness.
Perhaps feeling the chill of the night air, Cao Cao crossed his arms and exhaled deeply. "Still, Li Wenyou's plan has a major flaw. We still have a chance of victory…"
"...That flaw isn't a flaw at all. It's bait." Fei Qian gazed at the distant mountain outlines barely visible in the western darkness. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke his mind. He suspected this was Li Ru's next move—something that would happen sooner or later.
"B… bait?" Cao Cao suddenly grabbed Fei Qian's arm, his eyes widening. "...The capital! Ziyuan, are you saying the Dong thief will move the capital?"
"No! Impossible! The Han… The Han has established its capital in Luoyang for nearly two centuries! Moving the capital…" Cao Cao's grip on Fei Qian's arm tightened, his face paling.
Cao Cao's military instincts were sharp. He immediately realized that if Dong Zhuo and Li Ru relocated the capital, the vulnerability of Dong Zhuo's forces—being overextended in the Luoyang region—would vanish entirely.
First, Dong Zhuo would return to his home territory, where supplies would be more accessible, and he would no longer be an outsider in an unfamiliar city.
Second, this would eliminate the risk of being cut off and trapped in Luoyang, removing the so-called "major flaw" Cao Cao had just mentioned.
Third, by abandoning Luoyang—an isolated stronghold—the Guandong Coalition would lose both their target and their direction of attack. If they dared to pursue Dong Zhuo deep into the narrow corridor between the Qinling Mountains and the Yellow River…
Forget about stretched supply lines and logistical difficulties. Even basic coordination among the coalition's factions would break down. With each warlord harboring selfish ambitions, history might very well repeat the scenario of the Qin dynasty conquering the six warring states…
"...And let's not forget the Yellow Turban remnants still lurking across the land…" Fei Qian murmured. He had to admit—Li Ru had chosen the timing perfectly.
Yuan Wei, the head of the Yuan family, had orchestrated this campaign in secret, even dispatching officials from his Grand Tutor's office to rally support. His intention had always been a swift resolution. Otherwise, how could Qiao Mao's so-called "forged Three Excellencies' decree" have garnered such widespread response from regional governors?
Anyone with sense knew that a mere letter wouldn't convince seasoned administrators to raise armies on a whim. They would have sought repeated confirmation until they were certain it represented the Yuan family's will before committing.
That was why the Guandong Coalition had erupted so spectacularly, with uprisings spanning from south to north.
Yuan Wei had likely intended this as a show of force—a demonstration to Dong Zhuo that holding power in Luoyang meant nothing, for the Yuan family were the true masters of the realm.
Unfortunately for Yuan Wei, his opponent wasn't just the brute Dong Zhuo, but the venomous Li Ru.
In Fei Qian's eyes, Li Ru's plan to relocate the capital was a masterstroke. Not only did it nullify Yuan Wei's strategy, but it also pinned the Guandong Coalition in the Luoyang region. Most of the coalition's troops were provincial soldiers, and the longer they lingered, the more precarious their supply situation would become. Meanwhile, the remnants of the Yellow Turbans—previously on the verge of extinction—would find room to resurge as their suppressors were drawn away…
On one hand, Dong Zhuo would retreat to his stronghold with ample supplies. On the other, the Guandong Coalition would overextend their lines while facing renewed unrest in their home territories.
Add to this the beheading of Yuan Wei, leaving the coalition leaderless. Dong Zhuo could simply sit behind Tong Pass, waiting for the Guandong warlords to turn on each other before picking them off one by one…
Cao Cao, too, grasped this grim reality. What he had initially believed to be a guaranteed victory—a mere show of force to earn merits—was now devolving into a protracted war with unfavorable odds. The sheer magnitude of this reversal was hard to stomach…
Dong Zhuo's murder of Yuan Wei was a calculated move, banking on the enmity between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. The position of Yuan family patriarch was the bloody prize that would drive them to kill each other.