Chapter 2039: Chapter 1817: Calm Before the Storm (2)
Although Fa Zheng found some traces of Mao Jie’s army nearby, honestly, without catching them red-handed, if Mao Jie doesn’t come to visit you, there’s really nothing you can do, as both sides are ultimately in different systems.
"How are things in Chang’an lately?" Sima Yi suddenly asked Fa Zheng.
"How would I know? I haven’t paid any attention to Chang’an recently," Fa Zheng replied casually.
Upon hearing this, Sima Yi glanced at Fa Zheng but dropped the matter. Since Fa Zheng was unwilling to talk, he wouldn’t press the issue.
As for Fa Zheng truly not knowing about such matters, Sima Yi wouldn’t believe it. He didn’t buy Fa Zheng’s claim of sneaking over here, especially since even if he did, Sima Yi believed someone would have briefed Fa Zheng.
With such a major event with the Southern Huns at Chang’an, if the only capable and intelligent Fa Zheng simply sneaked here, Sima Yi would be the first to disbelieve.
Moreover, a person like Fa Zheng, even without instruction, could distinguish between priorities. After the Southern Huns were defeated in their southward move, the primary task wasn’t to deal with the remaining defectors or communicate with the Northern Frontier, but to keep an eye on Chang’an.
To say something inappropriate, the gathering point of the world’s storm currently is in Chang’an, at the Emperor’s position. In this situation, all other matters should be placed second; Sima Yi doesn’t believe Fa Zheng can’t see this.
The response from the other party translates into plain speech as: Don’t meddle in this matter; I won’t share the details with you, just focus on your own tasks.
But presently, Sima Yi is truly itching to know, as during his departure, the situation in Chang’an was not quite clear, but now, he suddenly realizes the situation has changed, and quite significantly.
Cao Cao’s retreat revealed his true intentions to Sima Yi, and regardless of Liu Xuande’s sincerity, Liu Bei couldn’t possibly take action against the Emperor’s position in the short term.
This implies that despite the various grudges between Cao and Liu, in the current scenario, Cao Cao and Liu Bei are aligned.
As Sima Yi’s mind untangles the entire context, he concludes that the current situation won’t allow Liu Bei to ascend, even though from Sima Yi’s perspective, Liu Bei might have the strength to challenge both, but it wasn’t necessary.
Confronting Cao Cao and Sun Ce, Sima Yi knows, even with a knee, that losses would be substantial. Now that Cao Cao and Liu Bei can continue discussions, and since Cao Cao has already conceded to the Emperor once, there’s genuinely a basis for collaboration between Liu Bei and Cao.
Though it doesn’t adhere to the typical logic of two weak joining forces against a strong adversary, under conditions of common intent, it becomes very feasible.
In Sima Yi’s contemplation, if Liu Bei exhibits sufficient courage and offers substantial benefits, Cao Cao might not bow again, as the recent concession to the Han Dynasty wasn’t out of question.
Thus, in Sima Yi’s contemplation, it’s not impossible for Liu Bei to take control of Chang’an; with proper maneuvering, directly sidelining Liu Xie as a puppet, granting Cao’s faction sufficient autonomy, there’s potential for sitting down and negotiating.
After all, the Han Empire’s banner hasn’t fallen, and the Liu Cao Sunx, at most, can be considered extravagant partisan struggles without severely impacting the lives of the ordinary populace.
The current living conditions of the Han Dynasty’s citizens are far better than fifteen years ago, twenty-five years ago, or even fifty years ago, regardless of Liu Bei’s rule, Cao Cao’s administration, Sun Ce’s governance, or even Liu Zhang’s regime.
Under such circumstances, the Han Dynasty’s banner hasn’t collapsed, and for the majority populace, Liu, Cao, and Sunx’s banners don’t have the legitimacy the Han flag does, thus creating foundations for sitting down and negotiating.
In essence, politics is merely compromise. Cao Cao’s goal is the Han General of Western Campaigns, and Liu Bei’s current aim seems like Duke Zhou; clearly, these two can coordinate.
Moreover, the current situation clarified to Sima Yi, with Chen Zichuan beside Liu Bei, under normal circumstances, even if Cao Cao and Sun Ce unite, they only end up lagging behind Liu Bei even more. Given this, why not adopt an alternative approach.
As warfare ceases to be a winning strategy, why not shift to a temple struggle, although Sima Yi believes many under Liu Bei realize that prolonging this will eventually lead to victory. But how long would it take?
If they turn to a temple struggle, without delving any deeper, those aspiring to climb the ranks can presently reap benefits. From Sima Yi’s humanistic angle, if Cao Cao openly places this opportunity on the table, what of Liu Bei’s faction wouldn’t waver significantly?
After all, if there’s a chance to mix in twice for such merits, why not try, even if it fails, it’s none of their concern. If it truly evolves into a temple struggle, those scheming civil officials would have at least a thirty percent higher chance of safely extricating themselves.
Taking into account all these benefits, Sima Yi estimates there’s a considerable chance Liu Bei is persuaded by his subordinates to sit down and negotiate with Cao Cao.
As for Sun Ce, what concern is there? From Sima Yi’s perspective, if Liu Bei’s faction and Cao’s faction have the opportunity to encroach on Sun Ce’s interests, why not take it?
If they offend Sun Ce, what then? Once they’re on the negotiation table, it practically becomes set in stone; Sun Ce’s faction simply lacks the strength to overturn it.
After realizing these, Sima Yi became highly interested in the situation at Chang’an, because if this were the case, the Liu Family’s imperial clan should start connecting now, preparing to erode the Emperor’s foundations.
Unfortunately, Sima Yi doesn’t have many eyes in Chang’an, compounded by his current position at the junction of Sili and Bingzhou; travel involves too much time, making remote control impractical. Otherwise, Sima Yi wouldn’t mind manipulating the situation remotely.
As Sima Yi realizes this, Zhou Yu, liberated from heavy administration en route south, also speculates this possibility through various details.
Thus, the further south Zhou Yu moves, the more silent he grows, gradually distancing from Chen Xi and Xun Yu, as given the likely events in Zhou Yu’s view, it spells disaster for their Eastern Wu forces.
Liu Bei belongs to the Imperial Clan, regardless of how belligerent Cao Cao becomes, the previous voiding of his jurisdiction already displayed his intentions; Cao Cao is a Han Official, implying if Liu Bei and Cao sit down for talks, where does this leave Eastern Wu, or specifically, Sun Ce?
Continuing to walk the path of division is nothing short of courting death.
As for taking a seat at the negotiating table, Zhou Yu could only conceive aligning with Cao’s faction, then leveraging Cao’s enticement to enter negotiations; however, this inevitably necessitates maintaining a consistent pace with Cao.
The Eastern Wu forces themselves are the weakest among the three sides; although Cao experienced foundational setbacks early on, his base remains robust, and his Civil and Military Officials only slightly inferior to Liu Bei, lacking merely elite veterans.
Under these circumstances, if they rely on Cao’s enticement to enter negotiations, it would inevitably lead to Liu’s hostility and leak consistency with Cao; shortly, their lack of autonomy would result in gradual constraints by Cao.
To exaggerate, their subsequent weakest standing may render them prone to absorption by Cao.
Moreover, temple struggles differ entirely from battlefield contests; although Zhou Yu is confident in his strategic prowess, within temple rivalries, given Zhou Yu’s present sentiment, he and Chen Xi would soon be entrapped.
Though Chen Xi due to his Spiritual Talent might remain unscathed, losing most authority, his safety and position may remain intact; whereas he and Sun Ce, let’s be honest, would undoubtedly be drowned by political waters.
Thus, Zhou Yu is contemplating how to spoil the potential Cao-Liu negotiations, with tentative clues already forming in his mind...
