amaotonovel Chapter 632 Shifting the Blame to Cao Wei
Chapter 632 Shifting the Blame to Cao Wei
Recently, Cao Pi has been indulging in sensual pleasures and living a life of leisure, so even Zhong Yao dares not bother him on trivial matters, for fear of irritating Cao Pi and then not being able to see him when something big happens. Therefore, Zhong Yao did not come to Cao Pi to discuss his ideas as soon as he had them, but only came to Cao Pi to sign off on them after everything was already settled.
In other words, the preliminary work for the mission to the puppet Han dynasty had been completed. Even Liu Jun, who was serving as the magistrate of Pingyang, had been summoned to Luoyang. As long as Cao Pi agreed, the mission could be carried out.
So early the next morning, Xu Shu, along with his deputy Liu Jun and the rest of the delegation, set off, and Cao Pi led all the civil and military officials out of the city to see them off.
This was a major event that concerned all the officials and civil servants, and Cao Pi had to attend to show his importance and to demonstrate that he stood on the same side as the gentry.
Outside Luoyang City.
Cao Pi held Xu Shu's hand and said, "Minister Xu, this matter is now in your hands."
Xu Shu solemnly replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will certainly not fail in my mission..."
He suddenly stopped talking here because he was aiming for the talks to fall apart. What if they actually went through?
This was the first time he had ever made such a grand mission only to botch it, so he really didn't know how to assure Cao Pi.
The main reason was that he sincerely hoped the negotiations would succeed. If they did, he and Liu Bei would remain good buddies, but if they failed, they would only be able to meet on the battlefield.
Xu Shu actually hoped that Liu Bei would restore the Han Dynasty, but only if the current environment could not be changed and the current practices in Jiangnan could not be brought to the Central Plains. Otherwise, he would rather support Cao Wei.
Xu Shu struggled for a long time but couldn't come up with an excuse, so he could only say, "Your Majesty, please wait. I'm leaving."
After speaking, he took three steps back, bowed to Cao Pi, and then turned and left.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he saw several cavalrymen rushing towards him. Xu Shu paused in his tracks, intending to watch the spectacle before continuing on his way.
Cao Pi, Zhong Yao, and their ministers felt a chill run down their spines. Judging from the urgency of the messenger's message, something major must have happened. The messenger was coming from the west, and Liangzhou was currently occupied by the big-eared bandit. What major event could have happened in the west? Could it be that Guan Ping, who was guarding Jieting, had finally decided to attack?
Amidst everyone's confusion, the cavalry charged forward. The lead knight dismounted and, with a man of a different ethnicity—a man with a prominent nose, slightly curly hair, and an appearance distinctly different from the Han Chinese—rushed before Cao Pi and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this is Kumarajiva, the envoy from the Kingdom of Kucha. He says he has important matters to discuss with Your Majesty."
Kumarajiva was also fluent in Chinese. After the messenger finished his introduction, before Cao Pi could even ask any questions, he knelt down with a thud, kowtowed, and cried out, "Your Majesty, the Emperor of Great Wei, please save our Kucha! That damned General Ma Chao not only destroyed Kucha, but also plundered all of Kucha's wealth and people and fled westward. Your Majesty, we Kucha have not done anything to harm the court. Why did you send troops to punish us? We beg Your Majesty to rescind your order and spare Kucha, bypassing the Western Regions."
What the hell? My Great Wei is sending Ma Chao to conquer the Western Regions?
You've got it wrong. What merit or ability does my Great Wei have to command Ma Chao?
Cao Pi, Zhong Yao, and the officials present were all dumbfounded. After a long while, Cao Pi asked curiously, "Wait a minute, did Ma Chao run off to the Western Regions?"
Kumarajiva quickly replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. Ma Chao suddenly led his army into the Western Regions, burning, killing, looting, and committing all sorts of atrocities. Wherever he went, not a blade of grass grew. Our Western Regions countries were simply unable to resist. I was fortunate enough to escape and could only come to the Han Dynasty for help. When I passed through Liangzhou, Governor Huang Quan of Liangzhou said that he could not make a decision on this matter and sent me to Luoyang to ask Your Majesty for help.”
Upon hearing that Huang Quan had tricked them into coming, the Cao Wei rulers and ministers simultaneously thought to themselves, "What a national treasure!"
That damned Huang Quan is such a scoundrel, actually shifting the blame onto their Great Wei. What are they supposed to do?
If we don't do something, they've come begging to us. If we don't do something, wouldn't that prove to everyone that they can't do anything to Ma Chao? That would be so embarrassing if word got out.
But even if they wanted to, they couldn't. Ma Chao was the General of the Cavalry of the pseudo-Han, not the General of the Cavalry of Cao Wei. Cao Wei couldn't just summon him back with an imperial edict. The only way to help Kucha was to send troops. The problem was that Liangzhou was also in the hands of the pseudo-Han, and the Wei army couldn't get through. They couldn't possibly go around the Great Wall to the Western Regions, could they?
So this job can't be taken. Whoever's mess it is, they should clean it up. Let Kumobattha go to Jiangling to find Liu Bei.
But going to Liu Bei doesn't seem appropriate either. If we go to Liu Bei, wouldn't that just prove that they can't solve this problem? That would be embarrassing if word got out. What should we do?
Cao Pi pulled aside his important ministers, including Zhong Yao and Liu Ye, to discuss the matter. They decided to leave the envoy from the Western Regions in Luoyang until Xu Shu returned, and then make a final decision. If all else failed, they would let the envoy die in Luoyang, as if the incident had never happened.
Now everything in the Great Wei must give way to Xu Shu. Before Xu Shu returned from the pseudo-Han, the Cao Wei court was given a collective holiday.
After discussing and agreeing on the plan, Zhong Yao stepped forward and tricked the envoy from the Western Regions into entering Luoyang City, while Xu Shu formally bid farewell to the court officials and embarked on his journey south.
On the way, Deputy Envoy Liu Jun asked curiously, "Ma Chao's burning, killing, and looting in the Western Regions was certainly not ordered by the King of Hanzhong. If that's the case, why did Ma Chao do it?"
The Cao Wei regime did not recognize Liu Bei's imperial title, but respected his character and could not address him by his given name directly. They also dared not call him "Big-Eared Bandit" like Cao Pi and Zhong Yao did, so they could only continue to refer to him as the King of Hanzhong.
After all, not just anyone can call someone a "big-eared thief."
Xu Shu laughed and said, "Is there even a need to ask? Ma Chao was, after all, the overlord of Xiliang. How could he be content to remain subservient to others for long?"
"Ma Chao's defection to the King of Hanzhong was a last resort, not his own wish. The King of Hanzhong also knew that Ma Chao was uncontrollable, but he released Ma Chao during the Northern Expedition in order to seize Longxi. It is easy to release someone like Ma Chao, but difficult to bring him back."
Liu Jun said, "I understand. Ma Chao is not stupid. He knew that he was no match for the late emperor (Cao Cao) and the King of Hanzhong in the Han Dynasty, and he was unwilling to be controlled by the King of Hanzhong any longer, so he ran to the west and established himself."
“Ma Chao’s actions are easy to understand, but I don’t quite understand Huang Quan’s actions. Why did he trick the envoy from Kucha into going to Luoyang instead of sending him to Jiangling? Is he just trying to annoy the Great Wei?”
Xu Shu laughed and said, "What's so hard to understand? I guess he doesn't want to put the King of Hanzhong in a difficult position. After all, the King of Hanzhong is known for his benevolence and righteousness, and Ma Chao is nominally his subject. If he finds out what Ma Chao did in the Western Regions, he would have to issue an edict to summon Ma Chao back to the capital to save face. But do you think the King of Hanzhong can still summon Ma Chao back? If he can't, wouldn't he be slapping himself in the face?"
"On the contrary, it would be different if we tricked the envoy from the Western Regions into coming to Luoyang. If the envoy goes to Luoyang first and then to Jiangling, the King of Hanzhong can ignore him and even kill him without any consequences. Why did you come to me after you went to Cao Wei? Don't you know that I am a mortal enemy of Cao Wei?"
"So as long as we send the envoy from the Western Regions to Cao Wei, the King of Hanzhong won't have to deal with the mess in the Western Regions, understand?"
The Western Regions were nominally vassal states of the Han Dynasty. If the Han Dynasty attacked its vassal states without cause, it would be condemned. If Liu Bei did not want to bear this infamy, he would have to deal with Ma Chao, but Liu Bei could not deal with Ma Chao.
In this situation, if one neither wants to get involved in the mess in the Western Regions nor bears the infamy of unjustly attacking vassal states, what can one do but shift the blame onto Cao Wei?
Liu Jun suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. This Lord Huang Quan is very thoughtful."
Xu Shu laughed and said, "Of course! Lord Huang is a renowned scholar, his abilities and character are beyond reproach. But let's not talk about that. You're about to meet your uncle (Liu Bei). Aren't you excited?"