Meng De POV
He slowly raised his sleeve and managed to block it. Unlike before, he didn’t seem as stern or as righteous as he did so.
“…”
Nor did he speak. However, the pathetic sight of the silent, shrivelled fat scholar only further fanned the flames of my fury.
“You’re right. I am indeed a treacherous thief like you say. My crimes are beyond pardon and not even death can redeem me.” I then raised my arm and pointed at him, “But even so, I am still far better than a hundred pacifist scholars like you! If it weren’t for weak officials and scholars like you, the Great Han empire would never have become the way it is now!”
He continued to remain silent, though I wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t able to refute what I said. All he did was turn his flushed face away. In any case, I have no intention of leaving him with any face at all.
*Ta*… *Ta*…
The room was quiet and before long, light footsteps could be heard as Xun Yu came back with a tray that had 2 cups of tea on it.
“Lord Kong Rong, I’ve already written it.” I said in a calm tone as I picked up the piece of silk I was writing on earlier and shook it in the air, “If you are willing to shoulder the responsibility, I will be more than happy to offer you my position. You will be the Imperial Chancellor and I’ll be the Palace Counsellor.”
“That’s…”
“Lord Kong Rong!” When I heard him try to stammer an ambiguous excuse, I interrupted him abruptly.
He looked at me and I looked at him. During this time, Xun Yu silently set down the cups of tea in front of each of us. When she was done, I continued.
“Lord Kong Rong, I mean what I said from the bottom of my heart. If you are willing to, I really can give you my position.” I took a deep breath and spat it out before slowly asking, “Let me ask you. Are you willing to be hated by the world, endure untold suffering and hardship, and use what time you have left in your limited life and take on the responsibility of saving the world and the Great Han?”
Kong Rong continued to remain silent after I finished.
“Alright, this is already the third time I’m asking you this and you remain silent.” I nodded and folded the piece of silk before keeping it in my sleeve, “Clearly, you were just throwing out empty theories before about the situation we are in and have never really given thought on how to improve the situation. In that case, whatever I said before, no matter how unseemly, is apt and there is no need to take back what I said.”
“Wu…” He seemed a little unsatisfied at what I said. But this was in vain as he clearly had no counterarguments against me.
As I looked at Kong Rong, I began to wonder, what use could there be for such a person for the Great Han?
But in the end, my answer was still the same: None at all. That sort of arrogant, incessantly complaining attitude of his means that he is nothing but talk no matter when or where.
After coming to this conclusion, I decided that I ought to continue along my new style and took out a letter from the shelf behind and placed it on the table as I said, “Kong Rong, do you know what this is?”
Kong Rong frowned and leaned forward to have a look before returning to his seat, “No.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you.” I said as I opened the letter and turned it so he could read it, “These are the testimonials I have received from many Imperial Court officials. All of them have adverse opinions about you, about how you have untoward designs, how you undermined the reputation of the Imperial Court, how you disrespected Court rituals etc; all in all, enough charges for me to sentence you to death.”
When I finished, I looked up and saw his eyes bulge for a moment before returning to normal.
Naturally, I know that most of what’s written in this piece of silk are just baseless rumours. But why not use it to rid myself of a good spot of trouble? He can’t actually cause real, substantial harm but being able to control debates is enough of a threat to me.
In future, no matter how my plans proceed, I can be sure that this renowned scholar will stand up and argue against what they are. When the time comes, I’ll have to expend time and effort to deal with him again.
As for Kong Rong, he was currently frowning and had a grave expression on, looking like he was cornered.
“Looks like Imperial Chancellor Cao is thinking of using this as an excuse to kill me?”
Even now, he continued to speak in that tone filled with faux politeness which only strengthened my resolve to end him once and for all.
“I wasn’t, but now I am.” I honestly said what I thought and shook my head as I continued, “Kong Wen Ju, oh Kong Wen Ju, you might have thought that you were an intelligent scholar of renown. But saving the world takes a lot more than that. My killing you is something that is inevitable. Perhaps I might actually make you more famous by killing you! Men!”
I got up and gestured when I finished.
“Here!” The 2 guards outside came in and saluted.
I picked up the piece of silk from the table and recited loudly from it, “Kong Rong Kong Wen Ju disrespected and spread lies about Imperial Court and is suspected of having treasonous motivations!” When I said this, I threw the piece of silk at Kong Rong before I continued, “Take him away and lock him up! He will be executed at the end of this month!”
“Yes!” The 2 soldiers acknowledged the order and hauled Kong Rong away.
“Cao Meng De! I was merely being honest and do not deserve death! My ancestors and forefathers have served the Great Han as officials every generation! I never thought I’d be executed by a despicable fiend like you! Shame! Shame!”
“Hmph.” I ignored his yells and turned around as I couldn’t be bothered with the sight of a pathetic loser like him.
“Imperial Chancellor.” Just then, Xun Yu stepped forward and called out to me, “No matter what, Kong Rong is someone who is well-known throughout the nation, and is popular in Xu and Ji states. If you were to execute him so quickly, would the masses accept it?”
“And so what if they don’t? He was blocking my way so I killed him.” Just then, the words I’d said before came to mind yet they seemed a little wrong, “In this world, if you want to accomplish great things, then you have to betray the world and not let the world–”
— Won’t the people just think that you usurp and control the Han?
Wu!
For some reason, Xuan De’s words from long ago came to mind all of a sudden. My heart began to tighten up once more as I recalled the first time I ever told anyone my personal motto.
Now, my motto has been reversed in both word order and meaning. From how things went today, with both Ma Teng and Kong Rong, it’s likely the misunderstanding Xuan De said would happen would only deepen and the name of Cao Cao will be hated more and more.
“… Hu.” I sighed and shifted my gaze to Xun Yu, “Xun Yu, do you think that I’m a villain?”
“…” Xun Yu looked at me wordlessly for a moment before bowing respectfully, “You are my lord and the Imperial Chancellor of the Great Han. No matter what you do, it’s always been for the good of the Great Han. Xun Wen Ruo does not have much else to say about this.”
What Xun Yu said wasn’t very clear but I believe what she means is that she is loyal to me because she is loyal to the Great Han.
Very good. Very good indeed.
To be honest, I’m actually a bit scared right now. I’m scared that I might go too far and fast that I can’t stop myself and even deviate from my original intentions for doing all this. Having someone by my side who is more loyal to the Great Han than me means that I’ll always have reliable, unbiased advice.
“Xun Yu, if, and I’m just talking about a purely hypothetical scenario here,” I said as I placed my hand on Xun Yu’s shoulder, “If I should act improperly over the course of my mission and fall prey to greed or shirk my responsibilities; when the time comes, you have to stop me by any means necessary, before I commit an irreparable mistake.”
“Your retainer understands and will act accordingly when the time comes.”
“Un.” I acknowledged her reply and nodded slightly before leaving the room with Xun Yu in tow. It was hot as ever and much brighter outside than in the room, so much brighter that I had to shield my eyes for a bit.
“Xun Yu, do you think there will be any change in the world from Liu Bei’s death?”
“Fate has its ways. In these troubled times, it’s not strange at all for anyone to die anytime.” Xun Yu said, “Guo Feng Xiao said before that Imperial Uncle Liu is a threat to you as long as he lives. Now that the threat has been eliminated, you should feel comforted.”
Comforted… Huh?
Yes, logically speaking, I ought to be comforted that a competitor is no longer around. Yet I have been subject to so much heartache and actually blanked out for 3 days. This really isn’t like me.
But that’s reality. I clearly expected much, much more from Xuan De.
… Xuan De, if only you were still alive. If only I’d given you a better chance back then. I won’t admit defeat easily, but I really wanted to see what kind of world would manifest under your leadership and rule.
Unfortunately, it’s too late to say all this. No matter how much I regret what I’ve done or what I should’ve done, the ending won’t change. All I can do is to grab on to the last remaining route to save the world and keep sprinting ahead non-stop.
“Xun Yu, relay my orders.”
“Yes.” Xun Yu said while simultaneously pulling out a brush and a bamboo scroll to jot down my words.
“Tell the various battalions to continue their movements and gather at the Yangtze River. Relay the mobilisation orders to Qing state troops and several other battalions nearby that have not yet begun to move. The gathering points are Yang state, Wan city and Fan city.”
“… Imperial Chancellor, this is–”
I nodded and Xun Yu stopped as she understood immediately.
I am Cao Cao Cao Meng De, the villainous retainer of the Great Han.
And what I should do next is to move south.
Meng De POV
He slowly raised his sleeve and managed to block it. Unlike before, he didn’t seem as stern or as righteous as he did so.
“…”
Nor did he speak. However, the pathetic sight of the silent, shrivelled fat scholar only further fanned the flames of my fury.
“You’re right. I am indeed a treacherous thief like you say. My crimes are beyond pardon and not even death can redeem me.” I then raised my arm and pointed at him, “But even so, I am still far better than a hundred pacifist scholars like you! If it weren’t for weak officials and scholars like you, the Great Han empire would never have become the way it is now!”
He continued to remain silent, though I wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t able to refute what I said. All he did was turn his flushed face away. In any case, I have no intention of leaving him with any face at all.
*Ta*… *Ta*…
The room was quiet and before long, light footsteps could be heard as Xun Yu came back with a tray that had 2 cups of tea on it.
“Lord Kong Rong, I’ve already written it.” I said in a calm tone as I picked up the piece of silk I was writing on earlier and shook it in the air, “If you are willing to shoulder the responsibility, I will be more than happy to offer you my position. You will be the Imperial Chancellor and I’ll be the Palace Counsellor.”
“That’s…”
“Lord Kong Rong!” When I heard him try to stammer an ambiguous excuse, I interrupted him abruptly.
He looked at me and I looked at him. During this time, Xun Yu silently set down the cups of tea in front of each of us. When she was done, I continued.
“Lord Kong Rong, I mean what I said from the bottom of my heart. If you are willing to, I really can give you my position.” I took a deep breath and spat it out before slowly asking, “Let me ask you. Are you willing to be hated by the world, endure untold suffering and hardship, and use what time you have left in your limited life and take on the responsibility of saving the world and the Great Han?”
Kong Rong continued to remain silent after I finished.
“Alright, this is already the third time I’m asking you this and you remain silent.” I nodded and folded the piece of silk before keeping it in my sleeve, “Clearly, you were just throwing out empty theories before about the situation we are in and have never really given thought on how to improve the situation. In that case, whatever I said before, no matter how unseemly, is apt and there is no need to take back what I said.”
“Wu…” He seemed a little unsatisfied at what I said. But this was in vain as he clearly had no counterarguments against me.
As I looked at Kong Rong, I began to wonder, what use could there be for such a person for the Great Han?
But in the end, my answer was still the same: None at all. That sort of arrogant, incessantly complaining attitude of his means that he is nothing but talk no matter when or where.
After coming to this conclusion, I decided that I ought to continue along my new style and took out a letter from the shelf behind and placed it on the table as I said, “Kong Rong, do you know what this is?”
Kong Rong frowned and leaned forward to have a look before returning to his seat, “No.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you.” I said as I opened the letter and turned it so he could read it, “These are the testimonials I have received from many Imperial Court officials. All of them have adverse opinions about you, about how you have untoward designs, how you undermined the reputation of the Imperial Court, how you disrespected Court rituals etc; all in all, enough charges for me to sentence you to death.”
When I finished, I looked up and saw his eyes bulge for a moment before returning to normal.
Naturally, I know that most of what’s written in this piece of silk are just baseless rumours. But why not use it to rid myself of a good spot of trouble? He can’t actually cause real, substantial harm but being able to control debates is enough of a threat to me.
In future, no matter how my plans proceed, I can be sure that this renowned scholar will stand up and argue against what they are. When the time comes, I’ll have to expend time and effort to deal with him again.
As for Kong Rong, he was currently frowning and had a grave expression on, looking like he was cornered.
“Looks like Imperial Chancellor Cao is thinking of using this as an excuse to kill me?”
Even now, he continued to speak in that tone filled with faux politeness which only strengthened my resolve to end him once and for all.
“I wasn’t, but now I am.” I honestly said what I thought and shook my head as I continued, “Kong Wen Ju, oh Kong Wen Ju, you might have thought that you were an intelligent scholar of renown. But saving the world takes a lot more than that. My killing you is something that is inevitable. Perhaps I might actually make you more famous by killing you! Men!”
I got up and gestured when I finished.
“Here!” The 2 guards outside came in and saluted.
I picked up the piece of silk from the table and recited loudly from it, “Kong Rong Kong Wen Ju disrespected and spread lies about Imperial Court and is suspected of having treasonous motivations!” When I said this, I threw the piece of silk at Kong Rong before I continued, “Take him away and lock him up! He will be executed at the end of this month!”
“Yes!” The 2 soldiers acknowledged the order and hauled Kong Rong away.
“Cao Meng De! I was merely being honest and do not deserve death! My ancestors and forefathers have served the Great Han as officials every generation! I never thought I’d be executed by a despicable fiend like you! Shame! Shame!”
“Hmph.” I ignored his yells and turned around as I couldn’t be bothered with the sight of a pathetic loser like him.
“Imperial Chancellor.” Just then, Xun Yu stepped forward and called out to me, “No matter what, Kong Rong is someone who is well-known throughout the nation, and is popular in Xu and Ji states. If you were to execute him so quickly, would the masses accept it?”
“And so what if they don’t? He was blocking my way so I killed him.” Just then, the words I’d said before came to mind yet they seemed a little wrong, “In this world, if you want to accomplish great things, then you have to betray the world and not let the world–”
— Won’t the people just think that you usurp and control the Han?
Wu!
For some reason, Xuan De’s words from long ago came to mind all of a sudden. My heart began to tighten up once more as I recalled the first time I ever told anyone my personal motto.
Now, my motto has been reversed in both word order and meaning. From how things went today, with both Ma Teng and Kong Rong, it’s likely the misunderstanding Xuan De said would happen would only deepen and the name of Cao Cao will be hated more and more.
“… Hu.” I sighed and shifted my gaze to Xun Yu, “Xun Yu, do you think that I’m a villain?”
“…” Xun Yu looked at me wordlessly for a moment before bowing respectfully, “You are my lord and the Imperial Chancellor of the Great Han. No matter what you do, it’s always been for the good of the Great Han. Xun Wen Ruo does not have much else to say about this.”
What Xun Yu said wasn’t very clear but I believe what she means is that she is loyal to me because she is loyal to the Great Han.
Very good. Very good indeed.
To be honest, I’m actually a bit scared right now. I’m scared that I might go too far and fast that I can’t stop myself and even deviate from my original intentions for doing all this. Having someone by my side who is more loyal to the Great Han than me means that I’ll always have reliable, unbiased advice.
“Xun Yu, if, and I’m just talking about a purely hypothetical scenario here,” I said as I placed my hand on Xun Yu’s shoulder, “If I should act improperly over the course of my mission and fall prey to greed or shirk my responsibilities; when the time comes, you have to stop me by any means necessary, before I commit an irreparable mistake.”
“Your retainer understands and will act accordingly when the time comes.”
“Un.” I acknowledged her reply and nodded slightly before leaving the room with Xun Yu in tow. It was hot as ever and much brighter outside than in the room, so much brighter that I had to shield my eyes for a bit.
“Xun Yu, do you think there will be any change in the world from Liu Bei’s death?”
“Fate has its ways. In these troubled times, it’s not strange at all for anyone to die anytime.” Xun Yu said, “Guo Feng Xiao said before that Imperial Uncle Liu is a threat to you as long as he lives. Now that the threat has been eliminated, you should feel comforted.”
Comforted… Huh?
Yes, logically speaking, I ought to be comforted that a competitor is no longer around. Yet I have been subject to so much heartache and actually blanked out for 3 days. This really isn’t like me.
But that’s reality. I clearly expected much, much more from Xuan De.
… Xuan De, if only you were still alive. If only I’d given you a better chance back then. I won’t admit defeat easily, but I really wanted to see what kind of world would manifest under your leadership and rule.
Unfortunately, it’s too late to say all this. No matter how much I regret what I’ve done or what I should’ve done, the ending won’t change. All I can do is to grab on to the last remaining route to save the world and keep sprinting ahead non-stop.
“Xun Yu, relay my orders.”
“Yes.” Xun Yu said while simultaneously pulling out a brush and a bamboo scroll to jot down my words.
“Tell the various battalions to continue their movements and gather at the Yangtze River. Relay the mobilisation orders to Qing state troops and several other battalions nearby that have not yet begun to move. The gathering points are Yang state, Wan city and Fan city.”
“… Imperial Chancellor, this is–”
I nodded and Xun Yu stopped as she understood immediately.
I am Cao Cao Cao Meng De, the villainous retainer of the Great Han.
And what I should do next is to move south.
