Chapter 23: Zheng Bao’s Old Case
Guo Jia stroked his beard and said slowly, “The ancients said, ‘Trust those you use.’ Liu Xun remembered this ancient teaching and used Liu Ye as his strategist and Zheng Bao as his deputy general, with Chen Lan and Lei Bo as key personnel. However, he forgot the other half of the saying: ‘Do not use those you distrust.'”
Zheng Bao was always thinking of rebelling, Liu Ye was wholeheartedly loyal to the Imperial Court, and Chen Lan and Lei Bo were secretly writing to their Lord. These were all people to be distrusted! Liu Xun, without any precautions, placed his heavy reliance on them. Could such a person, who easily trusted others, contend with Sun Ce? If our Lord uses him to tie down Sun Ce, wouldn’t he ruin our Lord’s grand plan?”
Cao Cao nodded and looked out the window, the events of decades past flooding his mind.
“When I was young, Liu Xun and I were classmates and had a good relationship. I know he has mediocre talent and is easily deceived. He always said he would change, but he never did. This has become his lifelong weakness. As you said, Sir, Liu Xun is indeed unreliable.”
Although Cao Cao had a good relationship with Liu Xun, in the face of Sun Ce’s threat, that relationship was worth nothing.
Cao Cao sighed and smiled at Guo Jia again, “Sir, when you mentioned tying down Sun Ce from an outer line, were you referring to Huang Zu?”
Guo Jia smiled faintly, “Has our Lord forgotten Gan Ning?”
Cao Cao was stunned for a moment and said, “I truly did forget about him. How is he now?”
“He uses Lu Su as his strategist, has captured Chaisang from Huang Zu, defeated Zhang Ying and Ze Rong. In just two months, his troop strength has grown from three hundred to five thousand. He has considerable money and grain and has established a firm base in Chaisang.”
Cao Cao hesitated, “Only five thousand troops? That’s too few. How can they tie down Sun Ce?”
Guo Jia smiled slightly, “Sun Ce started with only three thousand men, and in just two months, his troop strength reached over ten thousand. Within a year, he swept through Wu Commandery, Kuaiji Commandery, Danyang Commandery, and Jiujiang Commandery, expanding his forces to fifty thousand. I observe that Gan Ning possesses both courage and strategy, and he is equally adept at seizing opportunities. If I’m not mistaken, he will certainly seize the opportunity to eliminate Zheng Bao.”
“And then?” Cao Cao asked again.
Guo Jia said unhurriedly, “Opportunities in Jiangdong are now scarce. For someone of Gan Ning’s caliber, the opportunities he can seize, apart from Zheng Bao, are Liu Xun. If Your Highness can lend Gan Ning a helping hand, he will surely reciprocate and tie down Sun Ce for our Lord.”
Cao Cao took a few steps and said, “I want Yuan Shu’s family, but Liu Xun’s price is too high. He actually wants to be the Governor of Yuzhou. I cannot agree to that. I will write a quick letter to Gan Ning. If he can capture Yuan Shu’s family for me, I will lend him a hand. As for whether he can annex Liu Xun, that will depend on his own fortune.”
Pausing, Cao Cao added, “I have long heard of Liu Ye’s brilliant talent and his ability to pacify and govern the nation. I want this man. We cannot let him be recruited by Jiangdong!”
Guo Jia said in a low voice, “Subordinate recommends Jia Xu for Jiujiang Commandery. He has some acquaintance with Gan Ning and will surely not fail our Lord’s trust!”
Cao Cao nodded and immediately ordered, “Quickly summon Jia Xu to see me!”
Cao Cao stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at Pengze County on the map, a barely perceptible cold smile flashing in his narrowed, triangular eyes.
…………
One morning, Lu Su found Gan Ning on the training grounds.
“I received a letter from my good friend Liu Ye today.”
Lu Su asked with a puzzled expression, “Does our Lord have any deep-seated hatred for Zheng Bao?”
Gan Ning’s heart skipped a beat; he had almost forgotten about Zheng Bao.
“This… it’s a bit complicated to explain. Why does the Chief Clerk ask this question?”
“This is not a place to talk. Why don’t we go back to the Official Residence and discuss it?”
In the Official Residence, Lu Su took out a letter, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Gan Ning, who was opposite him.
“Our Lord, please read it yourself!”
Gan Ning took out the letter and read it, frowning, “Zheng Bao surrendered to Liu Xun?”
Lu Su nodded, “Liu Xun thought Zheng Bao had stolen the Imperial Seal, so he led an army of twenty thousand to attack him. Liu Ye then advised Zheng Bao to surrender.”
Gan Ning was still confused, “How did Zheng Bao know that I killed his son?”
“Because I was with you!”
Lu Su sighed, “Ten days ago, I received a letter from my brother. Zheng Bao burned my mansion and had my butler beaten to death. The butler knew I was in Chaisang.”
Gan Ning was startled, “Is your brother alright!”
“He is fine. He is in the manor, and my mother is also in the manor. She likes to live in the manor, and the two of them happened to escape this disaster.”
Gan Ning said apologetically, “Invite them to Chaisang! It will be convenient to take care of them.”
“I have already written to them. If they don’t want to come, I won’t force them!”
Lu Su’s thoughts turned back, and he pondered for a moment, “For Zheng Bao to seek revenge for his son at this juncture, I still find it a bit strange. Could it be that Sun Ben wants to use Liu Xun to eliminate you?”
“There is certainly a possibility, but it’s unlikely to be Sun Ben, rather Lv Fan. I gave Ze Rong to Sun Ben, and with that favor, he won’t deal with me for now. This is evident from his leading troops on a campaign to Luling. As for Lv Fan, I feel he has his eye on me.”
Lu Su smiled slightly, “Lv Fan’s true target is probably not you, but Liu Xun. Sun Ce’s next target is Jiujiang Commandery. If Liu Xun also wants to seize Yuzhang Commandery, he would need a base, which would surely be Chaisang, the closest to Jiujiang Commandery. Moreover, Chaisang is not Sun Ce’s territory, so he wouldn’t have to worry about offending Sun Ce.”
Therefore, Lv Fan has been trying every means to instigate a conflict between Liu Xun and us. This is what is called ‘When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman benefits!'”
Gan Ning nodded slightly, “But Liu Xun is not stupid either. He’s also afraid of Sun Ce raiding his home, so he wouldn’t leave his stronghold. He then used Zheng Bao to deal with me, but…”
Gan Ning stood up, gazed intently out the window, clenched his fist, and said slowly, “Why wait for Zheng Bao to come to Chaisang to attack me? Can’t I take the initiative to attack?”
Lu Su pondered for a moment, “It’s not impossible for our Lord to take the initiative to attack. The key is to know yourself and your enemy. Zheng Bao is not a significant threat. He comes from a salt merchant background and has no experience leading troops in battle, nor has he ever been on the battlefield. I am not worried that our Lord will not be able to defeat him. I am only worried that our Lord will take the initiative to attack and not encounter him.”
There are several routes for Zheng Bao to march to Chaisang. He can go through Zongyang County, or through Wan County to Xunyang County, or even go to Shu County and pass through Linhu County to reach the river.
If our Lord does not know his route and specific location in advance, it is very likely that the two sides will miss each other. Warfare is not fought relying on various coincidences; it mainly relies on intelligence.”
Gan Ning greatly agreed with Lu Su’s theory on intelligence. Gan Ning smiled, “It seems the Chief Clerk knows Zheng Bao very well?”
Lu Su took out a thick letter and said with a smile, “Actually, I also have a letter here, which Liu Ye specifically wrote to me. He detailed Zheng Bao’s habits very meticulously, as if I had met the man himself. I don’t know his intentions. Our Lord can study it carefully. As for Zheng Bao’s movements, you can send Wang Xiaoman to investigate.”
Lu Su handed the letter written by Liu Ye to Gan Ning. In fact, Liu Ye had also written a letter to Lu Su. Liu Ye hoped to use Gan Ning’s hand to eliminate Zheng Bao, so that Liu Ye could wash away the stain of his life serving a traitor.
At the same time, Liu Ye expressed that if Zheng Bao could be eliminated, he was willing to repay Gan Ning.
Although Liu Ye did not explicitly state it, Lu Su could guess that Liu Ye’s repayment might be related to Liu Xun.
However, Lu Su did not want to mention this matter for now. He feared it would distract Gan Ning. Gan Ning needed to concentrate on defeating Zheng Bao.
Zheng Bao was a threat, but also a rare opportunity. By defeating Zheng Bao, their strength would increase another step.
Gan Ning immediately dispatched Wang Xiaoman, leading more than a dozen scouts, to Juchao County in advance to investigate Zheng Bao’s movements.
Historically, the accounts of Liu Ye defecting to Zheng Bao are somewhat contradictory. On one hand, it is said that Liu Ye never truly served Zheng Bao and directly killed him.
However, the “Records of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Lu Su” states that Liu Ye strongly recommended Lu Su to serve Zheng Bao, praising Zheng Bao profusely. Lu Su agreed, but was timely dissuaded by Zhou Yu and then turned to serve Sun Quan.
The timeline here is also incorrect. Zheng Bao died in the early years of Jian’an (196-220 AD), and Sun Quan succeeded to the position in May of Jian’an five years later (200 AD), a difference of a full year and a half.
