Three Kingdoms, Myth

Originally, after Chen Xi revealed the truth about the Xuzhou massacre, given Liu Bei's usual concern for the people, it seemed inevitable that Liu Bei would pursue a relentless conflict with Cao Cao. Unfortunately, while Chen Xi predicted the beginning correctly, he didn't anticipate how the situation would unfold. As for the outcome of destroying Cao Cao, things were veering off course, and Chen Xi couldn't allow that to happen!

Even Chen Xi had to admit that Cao Cao's public relations strategy was a brilliant move, akin to what he had previously instructed Liu Yan to do. However, although Chen Lin and Mi Heng's writings were sharp and persuasive, they struggled to provide solid proof that Cao Cao had indeed killed so many people. All they could do was spread the message that Cao Cao had carried out a massacre, hoping to resonate with other warlords across the land.

The problem was that the dead couldn't testify, which blocked any possibility of an accurate count. As long as Cao Cao insisted that he only slaughtered one village and that the rest was done by other forces, and as long as he had concrete evidence to back his claims, the warlords might just let this matter slide, even if they didn't completely absolve him.

Moreover, the letters from Chen Lin and Mi Heng could be dismissed as nothing more than enemies throwing dirt at each other, making the truth harder to discern.

Of course, these weren't the most important issues. For Chen Xi, even if Cao Cao managed to clear his name, if Liu Bei was determined to eliminate Cao Cao, it was only a matter of time. Currently, the only warlords in the Central Plains capable of facing Liu Bei in battle were Yuan Shao and the remnants of Dong Zhuo's forces. Cao Cao simply couldn't afford to drag this out!

The biggest issue now was that Liu Bei was wavering. In fact, all of Liu Bei's advisors, except for Chen Xi, were not enthusiastic about the idea of eliminating Cao Cao. This was why Jia Xu's analysis had clearly shown bias in favor of Cao Cao—Jia Xu and the others didn't want to fight Cao Cao because it wasn't a profitable venture!

To Jia Xu and the others, Cao Cao was indeed a threat, but the biggest threat to Liu Bei's forces was Yuan Shao in Jizhou. They didn't want to jeopardize their own strategic position, nor did they want to push a potential ally like Cao Cao into Yuan Shao's arms.

Given these considerations, even though it was clear to everyone that Cao Cao's hands were stained with blood, Jia Xu had subtly steered the conversation toward figures like Que Xuan, diverting attention from Cao Cao. The others agreed as well; while the exact death toll was impossible to calculate, they all had a rough estimate in mind.

But the situation now was that none of them—Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Liu Ye, or Li You—were willing to give an estimate. Instead, they focused on Cao Cao's relief efforts and his suppression of those who slaughtered civilians, which rekindled Liu Bei's hope that Cao Cao might indeed share his ideals.

If Chen Xi didn't know Cao Cao's true nature from history, he might also think that Jia Xu and the others' reasoning made sense. But knowing what he did about Cao Cao, Chen Xi was determined not to let this opportunity slip by. Allowing a tiger to return to the mountains was absolutely unacceptable.

"Traitor Cao!" Liu Bei, now fully alert, suddenly became furious, his eyes turning bloodshot. "Jia Wenhe, tell me the truth!"

Liu Bei's icy gaze locked onto Jia Xu. "Tell me everything!"

"What I said earlier was indeed the truth. As for the number of people Cao's army killed, there is no actual data—it cannot be accurately counted," Jia Xu replied calmly, unfazed by Liu Bei's anger.

Liu Bei's face turned ashen. He wasn't a fool and quickly realized the implications of Jia Xu's words. No accurate count—a clever evasion!

With a single blow, Liu Bei shattered the table before him and stormed out.

After Liu Bei left, the entire room fell silent. After a while, Chen Xi cleared his throat. "Prepare yourselves. We need to eliminate Cao Mengde."

"Zichuan, what are you trying to accomplish?" Liu Ye sighed. The others in the room also looked at Chen Xi with bitter expressions. From their perspective, the most important thing to do in Xuzhou was not to waste their forces on killing Cao Cao but to build up their reputation, so they could smoothly take control of Xuzhou later.

"I'm going to eliminate Cao Mengde. He has done something unforgivable," Chen Xi said calmly.

"Zichuan..." Liu Ye started to say something but stopped. He had remained silent earlier, but his mind was clear as a mirror. He understood everything perfectly, and he agreed with Jia Xu and the others' conservative approach. This wasn't the time for a full-scale battle with Cao Cao, which would only give Yuan Shao more confidence.

"This isn't a small matter—it's already big enough. Soon, this will be known throughout the land. Whether people believe it or not, the Xuzhou Massacre will spread across the world. This is the best chance to eliminate Cao Cao. If we miss this opportunity, who knows when another will come?" Chen Xi said firmly. He couldn't think of a better time to eliminate Cao Cao than now, especially under the guise of a righteous cause!

"Zichuan, give me a reason," Guo Jia said concisely.

"Cao Mengde's potential far exceeds Yuan Benchu's. I don't want to create a future enemy who will cost us even more effort to deal with," Chen Xi replied, looking at the others. "Honestly, how would you evaluate Cao Mengde if this Xuzhou incident hadn't happened?"

The others exchanged glances and silently nodded. They couldn't deny that Cao Cao was indeed a formidable ruler.

"But that's not the reason you want to kill him here and now. I've looked closely at Cao Mengde's troops, and they're no pushovers. If we go to war, although we might eventually win by dragging it out, there are too many variables. This whole business with the proclamation has stirred things up so much that Yuan Benchu now has the justification to intervene," Jia Xu said with dissatisfaction. To him, potential had nothing to do with reality—their biggest enemy right now was Yuan Benchu!

"Exactly. The waters have already been muddied. Although our proclamation will reach everyone, once the fighting starts, its impact will be greatly diminished. This righteous condemnation will become a joke. To other factions, it will look like we're just smearing our enemy," Guo Jia agreed. The biggest problem lay precisely in that—the proclamation would lose its power once the fighting began.

"...I was careless. Let's put the proclamation aside for now. Cao Mengde's actions have muddied the waters, giving Yuan Shao a legitimate reason to intervene. We're no longer at the moral high ground. Even with Tao Gongzu's testimony, we probably won't gain much from it," Chen Xi said, rubbing his temples, his expression dark. The testimonies that Cao Cao could present were a significant hurdle.

"What's more important is that attacking Cao Mengde has no real value. It would only benefit Yuan Benchu. Even if we heavily damage Cao's forces, eliminating Cao Cao completely might be impossible. Yuan Benchu would be more than happy to step in. Essentially, we'd be pushing a potential ally into Yuan Benchu's arms," Li You said with a sigh. "The biggest problem now is that no warlord, including Tao Gongzu, can prove how many people Cao Cao actually killed."

"We can prove it!" Chen Xi sneered. "Isn't Cao Mengde showing us how it's done? Can he present evidence that he didn't kill those tens of thousands?"