Three Kingdoms: Prince of the Great Wei, Prime Minister Cao

Chapter 37: Guo Heng perishes due to weakness, Han alone collapses due to strength!

While marching with the southern-bound army, Cao Ju suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run through his body, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

“Strange, could it be that someone intends to harm me?”

Cao Ju raised his head and looked around in all directions. After observing for a while, he still saw no suspicious individuals.

“It seems I’m being overly suspicious! It must be the approaching autumn season; the temperature is gradually cooling down.”

After muttering softly, Cao Ju, who was on horseback, turned his body slightly and quietly instructed Dian Man, who was accompanying him:

“Ziqian, after thinking for a while, I still feel that wearing a white robe on the battlefield is somewhat ominous and unlucky.”

“Think about it. What kind of person wears white clothes on the battlefield?”

“Privately, find me an alternative set of light armor!”

“If conditions allow…”

“Well, leather armor would be best!”

In the event of unfavorable circumstances in battle, leather armor would at least be lighter. That way, when Cao’s eighth young master needed to escape, he could run faster. Whether he could outrun his elder brother, Cao Pi or Cao Zhang, was another matter…But he shouldn’t end up like his deceased elder brother, Cao Ang, lagging behind and inevitably guarding the rear for his father, Cao Cao.

“Wearing a white robe and armor is ominous?”

Upon hearing Cao Ju’s remarks, Dian Man stumbled in astonishment, almost falling off his horse. But when Dian Man saw the earnest expression on Cao Ju’s face, he suppressed the absurdity he felt and softly acknowledged.

“Young Master!”

“Man, I understand!”

Seeing Dian Man’s agreement, Cao Ju breathed a sigh of relief. No longer fixated on the “mediocre” outfit of a white robe and silver armor, he shifted his thoughts elsewhere.

As the army marched south, there were no disturbances in the days that followed.

One could even say that it was almost painfully dull.

However, during this time, Cao Ju also saw another side of his father, Cao Cao.

Diligence!

Even while on the march, Cao Cao constantly dealt with political matters sent from various regions, never resting for a moment. Frequently, Cao Ju saw that the prepared meals, once placed into the large carriage designated for Cao Cao’s military affairs, remained largely untouched when they were brought out again. The food had grown cold. This couldn’t help but make him sigh. It was not without reason that our own father managed to rise among the heroes of the late Han period and surpass Sun and Liu to establish dominance over a third of the realm!

Switching roles with him, I definitely wouldn’t be able to achieve such heights. A more likely scenario is that in the future, after becoming emperor, he’ll implement the Three Departments and Six Ministries system to share the pressure with his subordinates. As for those melodramatic plots seen in later TV dramas, where mountain bandits rob caravans, a young woman assassinates the commander of an army, and a series of romantic entanglements ensue?

None of that has occurred throughout the past few days of marching.

Were mountain bandits daring to intercept the road?

Heh, with the twenty thousand Cao troops at the forefront… Even if the likes of Cheng Yaojin from the Wa Gang or the one hundred and eight generals from Liangshan with their Liangshan Army came, don’t think they’d have any chance of succeeding in robbing the road.

A more likely scenario was the “Wa Gang Army” and the “Liangshan Army” would be directly wiped out by the twenty thousand Cao troops, not a single one left.

Because…

A thief is still a thief!!! Even if they are renowned among rebels like the Wa Gang Army and Liangshan Army.

As for the twenty thousand Cao troops, despite being often referred to as the “Cao Army” in numerous novels and articles, they were the most formally structured official military forces of the Great Han.

“Guo Heng perishes due to weakness. Han alone collapses due to strength.”

“Could this statement really be just casual talk?”

“The Wa Gang Army, Liangshan Army, and other such rabble-rousing mobs could only display their might during the decline of the Sui and Song Dynasties.”

“If this were placed in the late Han Dynasty…”

“Dong Zhongying’s Western Liang Army, Gongsun Zan’s White Horse Army, Yuan Shao’s Northern Army, Ding Yuan’s Bingzhou Army, Cao Cao’s Tiger and Leopard Army, Liu Bei’s Shu Army, they would be enough to make them drink a toast.”

“Even the great sorcerer Xiuer, if he were in the late Han Dynasty.”

“Unless his mana bar is long enough to summon meteorites daily…”

“Otherwise, facing Dong Zhuo, Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Lü Bu, these warlords who, if placed in other dynasties, could achieve great dominance, it’s likely they wouldn’t even be able to revive the Han dynasty three times over.”

“The incidents of mountain bandits blocking roads in public and the assassination of Cao Cao by a young woman would be even less likely to happen unless the woman attempting the assassination is Dongfang Bubai, the Invincible East Palace Mistress, or she’s like the one in a TV series who killed off all but two main characters, like Jiang Yuyan, the Queen of a Generation…”

“There might be a slight possibility of hurting Cao Cao with the protection of two hundred thousand troops.”

“Other than that, for any other woman attempting this.”

“The twenty thousand troops would teach that little fairy a lesson in General Yuwen Chengdu-style cruelty: ‘Even a grain of rice in the bowl must be finished, never wasted.”

“For this reason, if someone were to say that Li Rongrong in ‘The Sui Tang Romance’ is the most pitiful female lead, and Qin Qiong has the greenest hat among male leads, Cao Ju would acknowledge it!”

“Just as he was thinking like this, using boredom to pass the time during the march.”

“Suddenly, a wave of exclamations from countless Cao soldiers reached Cao Ju’s ears.”

“Protect the Prime Minister!”

“Protect our Lord!”

“Form ranks, quickly form ranks!”

After understanding clearly, Cao Ju suddenly looked up.

No way! Are there really some fools who are seeking death?

But at his feet, Cao Ju swiftly arrived behind Xu Chu like lightning, drew his sword, and pointed it forward.

“General Xu Chu!”

“Protect Father with me, guard his sides.”

Are you going to guard the Lord?

Xu Chu looked at Cao Ju standing behind him, barely showing half his body, and fell silent.

Who’s following whom, exactly? And who are we protecting?

Also, Young Master, could you move your sword further from Chu’s neck?

It’s a bit unnerving. At this moment, a roar that shook the mountains and forests resounded inside and outside.

“Roar!”

Following right after the roar, before it even subsided, several long howls echoed.

“Ah-woo!”

“Ah-woo!”

“Ah-woo!”

Before long, a scene that caused chaos among the army suddenly unfolded on the open ground several hundred yards away from Cao Ju and the many Cao soldiers. There, a fierce tiger roared. A pack of wolves chased. A fierce tiger battling a pack of wolves, the spectacle was unfolding!