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WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. AND BY 'MAY', I MEAN IT PROBABLY DOES...
It's chapter 16, and the Lords of the Central Plains (If you haven't been paying attention at all up to this point, I'm referring to Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Lu Bu, and Yuan Shu) continue to play a dangerous game of intrigue against each other. The prize: the strategically important region known as the Xu Province. In the RoTK video games, this part of the story gets its own scenario, and with good reason. The events of the last several chapters (not including chapter 15, which dealt mostly with events in the Southland) have been focused on this region and the people who dwell therein.
Cao Cao has the emperor under his thumb, but he's still surrounded by powerful rivals. Lu Bu and Liu Bei in Xu, Yuan Shao in Huai Nan, Yuan Shao in Ji, and even Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao in Jing. He could probably overcome each of these opponents on a one on one basis. But the game being played on the Central Plains at the moment is one of diplomacy. In this, Cao Cao has one major advantage only. He has the Emperor, and that means that he has the power to dispatch "Imperial Edicts". Everyone knows that the orders come from Cao Cao, and not Emperor Xian, but nonetheless, no self-proclaimed "loyal servant of the Han" would dare to disobey an Imperial decree, bogus or not.
I love this part of the story, because the events move pretty swiftly, and it's fun to see one of the great leaders outwit all the others. Lu Bu really comes into his own in this part of the story, as is evidenced by his deeds at a banquet to which both Liu Bei and an invading general under Yuan Shu, Ji Ling, have been invited. Lu Bu is well aware of his fearsome reputation as a man no one would willingly face on the field of battle. Up until this point, his impulsiveness has kept him from standing on the necks of all his enemies, but his clever use of his archery skills at once affords protection to Liu Bei and causes a massive invading army to leave the region without a single casualty to either side. And the best part? He came up with his plan and successfully executed it without any help from Chen Gong. Now THAT ought to shut up all the Lu Bu haters out there...
Unfortunately, Zhang Fei, ever the winner of the "What the F*CK?!" award, continues to muddy the waters between Liu Bei and Lu Bu, and Cao Cao can be the only one profiting from that. Liu Bei loses a power base. Lu Bu loses excellent underlings. Lu Bu and Liu Bei are both quite determined not to let Yuan Shu take over Xuzhou, so he doesn't really gain much from the situation either.
But Cao Cao is not to get his fingers on the Xu Province just yet. Know why? You might remember back in Chapter 10, Cao Cao was trying to capture Xu then, too. But someone back in the west (coughcoughLuBucoughcough) stirred up some trouble, so he had to drop what he was doing and go back to confront the new threat. Guess what happens again? That's right. Trouble in the west. Zhang Ji, a partner in the Li Jue/Guo Si cabal, has died from a battle wound, and his nephew, Zhang Xiu, has taken control of his army. With Cao Cao engaged in the intrigue in Xu Province, Zhang Xiu sees his opportunity to march on the capitol, gain control of the Emperor, and thus oust Cao Cao from power. And Cao Cao, naturally, is like "Oh HELL no!"
Of course, Zhang Xiu doesn't currently have a big enough army to confront Cao Cao head on. And Jia Xu knows it, so he counsels Zhang Xiu to surrender.
It is here that one of Cao Cao's glaring character flaws comes to the surface. A beautiful woman can turn the heads of many men, and Cao Cao is not at all immune to feminine charms. At times throughout the novel, Cao Cao will let his libido do his thinking for him. And each time, it will lead to a crushing defeat. River Yu, Red Cliffs, etc. etc. Perhaps Cao Cao should have paid closer attention to what happened when Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu were turned against each other by Diao Chan. But then...should have, could have, would have, didn't...
This time, the woman in question is Lady Zhou, the widow of the late Zhang Ji, and aunt to Zhang Xiu. In our day and age, it's not all that big a deal for a widow to take up with someone new. But back then, it was a crime against family honor, and Cao Cao, in his hubris, perhaps doesn't realize just how dangerous Zhang Xiu can be when he is pissed off. Especially when this very pissed off Zhang Xiu has Jia Xu to give him all sorts of advice about how to deliver a military rochambeau to His Imperial Scottishness.
Unfortunately, Cao Cao is to pay a very terrible price for his behavior. Cao Cao's eldest son and heir, Cao Ang, as well as Cao An Min, will not survive the Battle of Wancheng, nor will his bodyguard, the incomparable Dian Wei...
In the later Star Wars books, everyone's favorite Wookie, Chewbacca, meets a true heroes death. A moon falls on him, pretty much. Dian Wei dies a death nearly as heroic, and I have to say that if I weren't a fan of Dian Wei before his death, I became one afterwards. Dian Wei, drunk and without his weapons, nonetheless manages to hold the main gate of Wancheng long enough for his Lord, Cao Cao, to escape to the relative safety outside the city. And after Dian Wei dies, not a single one of Zhang Xiu's men dares to step over his body and rush through the main gate. What a true hero of the Three Kingdoms!
They say that heavy is the head that wears the crown, and Cao Cao, as the chief minister of state, was pretty much the highest ranking noble in the land. When he abused his position to gain Lady Zhou as a bedfellow, he paid in blood, and though it sucks that Cao Ang and Cao An Min and Dian Wei all had to die for his mistake, one cannot deny that it was a resounding defeat for Cao Cao, and one that he would never forget. It appears that in the late Han, a piece of poontang pie was very expensive indeed.
Finally, one other event of note occurs in this chapter. The introduction of Chen Gui, father of Chen Deng, into the story brings the fall of Lu Bu ever nearer. Chen Gui and Chen Deng are very intelligent, and very devious, men, and Cao Cao could not have chosen better instruments to bring low his great enemy, Lu Bu. Indeed, I think when you get right down to it, Chen Deng was far more dangerous to Lu Bu than Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shu combined.
Anyways, enjoy this, the sixteenth installment in the Sanguo Yanyi...