Three Kingdoms: The Peerless Strategist of Wei

Chapter 12 exposes Cao Cao's weakness

【Dragon Scale Armor】offers more than twice the protection of ordinary armor and comes with the unique ability to withstand three fatal blows within a day.

This is absolutely a rare treasure that can protect lives in life-or-death situations.

Adrenaline, this substance, when injected in a life-or-death situation, has the miraculous effect of bringing the dead back to life.

As for this "curved plow blueprint," Gu Cheng already sensed that another opportunity to make a fortune was coming his way.

He reached into his robes and grasped at the air, conjuring up the [Curved Plow Blueprint] out of thin air.

"Brother Youping, I have a task for you."

Gu Cheng handed the blueprints to Zhou Tai and instructed him, "After we return to Xuchang, you immediately gather materials, hire craftsmen, and make as many of these plows as possible for me, according to these blueprints."

"Quyuanli?"

"This plow is quite different from ordinary plows, Liheng. Why do we suddenly want to make this strange-looking plow?"

Zhou Tai looked at Gu Cheng with a puzzled expression.

Gu Cheng, however, countered with a question: "I'll just ask you one question: Do you want to make a lot of money?"

"Of course I want to!" Zhou Tai answered readily and decisively.

Gu Cheng immediately waved his hand: "Since you want to make big money, don't ask so many questions, just do as I say!"

Zhou Tai had already witnessed Gu Cheng's abilities, so he didn't ask any more questions and happily put the drawing away.

Gu Cheng downed his drink in one gulp, then smiled and said, "Everything's packed, let's head back to Xuchang!"

That same day, Gu Cheng and his entourage set off for Xudu.

Half a month later, after accepting Liu Biao's tribute, Cao Cao led his army back in triumph.

In this battle, Cao Cao defeated Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao, greatly enhancing his prestige.

...

Xudu, the Sikong Mansion.

Inside the main hall, Cao Cao spoke to his principal wife, Lady Ding, about his intention to betroth Cao Jie to Gu Cheng.

Madam Ding showed no joy whatsoever and asked, "What kind of family background does this Gu Cheng come from?"

"This child's ancestors had produced several prefects, but by his generation, the family had declined somewhat and could barely be considered a low-ranking aristocratic family."

Cao Cao did not hide anything and answered in detail.

Madam Ding frowned slightly and said, "I know that my husband disdains to associate with those prestigious families, but after all, my husband is the Minister of Works of the Court. When it comes to marrying off his daughter, shouldn't we at least consider a marriage between people of equal social standing?"

"A good match in terms of social standing?"

Cao Cao sneered and said, "Madam, the world is in chaos now, and you still cling to the old rule of marrying someone of equal social standing. Your vision is too narrow."

Madam Ding was slightly taken aback, sensing the underlying meaning in his words, and quickly asked, "According to what you're saying, husband, does this Gu Cheng possess some extraordinary ability?"

"This man possesses extraordinary talent, unparalleled in the world. From now on, he will be my Zhang Liang, Cao Cao's Zhang Liang!"

Cao Cao said in a resolute tone.

Lady Ding's expression changed slightly as she gradually understood the deeper meaning behind Cao Cao's words.

After her eyes darted around a few times, she spoke again: "So it turns out that my husband values ​​his talent. There's no need to use his daughter to win him over. He can simply recruit him into the court as an official and reward him handsomely."

"Madam, you don't know this, but this Gu Cheng is a complete eccentric."

Cao Cao sighed helplessly and then told Lady Ding the whole story.

Madam Ding was utterly shocked and exclaimed in disbelief, "In all the world, there really is such a remarkably resourceful and extraordinary person?"

"To encounter such an extraordinary person, and to be mistaken by him for my father-in-law, is truly a blessing for me, Cao Cao."

After a moment of reflection, Cao Cao sighed and said, "But this man is naturally inclined to live in seclusion. I really have no other choice but to use the plan proposed by Xi Zhicai. Let's make the best of a bad situation by making him our son-in-law first, and then recruit him to serve as an official in the court. We'll be family now, so surely he won't refuse."

Lady Ding suddenly realized Cao Cao's good intentions and remained silent for a moment.

After all, she came from a prestigious family and had a deep-rooted sense of social class. Although she could understand Cao Cao's intentions, there was still a hurdle in her heart that she couldn't overcome.

Cao Cao, seeing this, said, "My lady, there is one more thing I haven't told you. Gu Liheng is the savior of your precious son."

"What?"

Lady Ding was startled and looked at Cao Cao with a look of shock on her face.

Cao Cao then recounted the Battle of Wancheng, in which Cao Ang was seriously wounded but was rescued by Gu Cheng.

Upon hearing this, Madam Ding's conflicted and hesitant expression vanished instantly, and she even showed a hint of guilt.

"I never imagined he would save Ang'er; he's a great benefactor to our Cao family!"

"It was my mistake to question this marriage; everything is up to my husband to decide!"

Madam Ding looked ashamed and immediately changed her mind.

Seeing that he had persuaded the lady, Cao Cao breathed a long sigh of relief and stroked his beard as he laughed.

Changing the subject, Madam Ding said with concern, "But I have long told Jie'er that I will choose a talented young man from a prestigious family as her husband in the future. Now, I am afraid that Jie'er is not willing to marry him."

"My daughter agrees!"

A resolute voice came from behind them.

As soon as Cao Cao and his wife turned around, they saw their daughter, Cao Jie, walking out from behind the beaded curtain.

It turned out that she had just come over to greet her parents and, hiding behind the curtain, had overheard their conversation.

"Jie'er, this marriage will likely require you to marry into the Gu family under the name of the Yang family's daughter. You'll have to make do for a while. Are you really willing?"

Cao Cao was both pleasantly surprised and puzzled.

Cao Jie blushed and nodded gently: "He is Brother Zixiu's savior and can assist Father in achieving great things. What does it matter if I suffer a little grievance? Besides..."

She swallowed her words halfway through, her cheeks turning even redder.

"Besides what?" Cao Cao asked.

"Besides, Father described him as having such great abilities, and I also want to see for myself what kind of extraordinary man he really is."

Cao Jie spoke softly with her head down, her cheeks flushed with shyness.

Although the Han Dynasty was relatively open-minded and women were not bound by strict etiquette, Cao Jie still felt somewhat shy and embarrassed when expressing her admiration and curiosity for a man in front of her parents.

Cao Cao instantly realized what he meant and laughed heartily, "Jie'er, don't worry, the perfect husband I've chosen for you will definitely not disappoint you!"

After finalizing the marriage, Cao Cao changed into ordinary clothes and, under the protection of Dian Wei, left the mansion incognito, heading straight to Gu Family Village on the outskirts of the city.

...

Gujiazhuang, on the eastern outskirts of Xudu.

"Liheng, I've already calculated it. Seven days from now will be an auspicious day."

"Then, I will send my daughter to the Gu residence, and the two of you can have your wedding ceremony. What do you think?"

Cao Cao said with a smile on his face.

Gu Cheng said calmly, "Uncle, it's good that you've set the date. But according to etiquette, it's the younger generation who should go to pick up the bride. How can we let Uncle send her over?"

"It's alright. I've never been one for formalities; I prefer things to be kept simple."

Cao Cao said with a magnanimous expression.

The reason he wanted to keep everything simple was that he didn't want to make a big fuss and accidentally give himself away.

Gu Cheng, unaware of the inside story, smiled and said, "What a coincidence! I also hate trouble the most. In that case, I'll just leave everything to Uncle's arrangements."

The two of them then finalized all the details of their marriage.

"Young master, our first batch of five hundred curved plows has been completed."

As the two were talking, Zhou Tai stepped forward and bowed to report.

Gu Cheng nodded: "Five hundred sets are far from enough. Keep making them, make as many as you can."

"Understood." Zhou Tai bowed and cupped his hands in greeting.

Cao Cao, standing to the side, asked with a face full of curiosity, "Liheng, what exactly is this curved plow?"

Gu Cheng looked at Cao Cao's curious expression, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly had an idea.

He immediately smiled and said, "Uncle, I have an opportunity to make a lot of money from that Minister Cao, which can be used as a dowry for my daughter's marriage. I wonder if you would be interested?"

"Make a fortune off Cao Cao?"

Cao Cao couldn't help but laugh, and said with great interest, "This is quite novel and interesting. Tell me about it."

Gu Cheng took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "Uncle, you have connections in the government, so you must have already heard the news that Minister Cao will soon be implementing the military-agricultural settlement policy in Yingchuan County."

As soon as those words were spoken...

Cao Cao was startled, and a look of horror flashed in his eyes.

The implementation of the land reclamation policy was a top-secret plan he and Xun Yu had discussed privately. It was still in the discussion stage and no final plan had been set yet.

Only he and Xun Yu knew about this matter; even Xi Zhicai was not involved.

Such a top secret was revealed by Gu Cheng in a single, casual remark!

"He even predicted my plan to implement land reclamation; my wisdom as a son-in-law is truly..."

Cao Cao was overwhelmed with emotion and couldn't find the right words to describe it.

Having barely suppressed the shock in his heart, Cao Cao feigned surprise and asked, "How did you know, my nephew, that Minister Cao is going to implement the military-agricultural colony policy?"

"Uncle, let me ask you, does Cao Mengde lack brave and fierce generals?"

Gu Cheng asked while sipping his wine.

"We don't lack anything." Cao Cao shook his head.

Gu Cheng then asked, "Does he lack strategists to offer advice?"

"We don't lack anything." Cao Cao shook his head again.

"Does he lack troops?" Gu Cheng then asked.

Cao Cao smiled and said, "In this world, apart from Yuan Shao, he has the most troops, so naturally he has no shortage of them."

"Then, Uncle, what do you think he lacks most?" Gu Cheng asked with a meaningful smile.

Cao Cao lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "What he lacks most is, of course, provisions!"

"Uncle is right, what he lacks most is food and supplies!"

Gu Cheng put the wine glass in his hand on the table and sat up straight.

"Although Cao Mengde occupied the fertile land of the Central Plains, this place was also the one most severely damaged by war."

"In such a large territory, the total number of registered able-bodied men is probably less than the population of Yuan Shao's Ji Province alone."

"With a smaller population, there will naturally be less grain and fodder that can be collected."

"Without sufficient provisions, how will Cao Mengde feed a large enough army to pacify the surrounding warlords, let alone contend with Yuan Shao in the future!"

These words struck Cao Cao like a thunderclap, instantly plunging him into deep thought.

"He truly has keen insight; he sees my real weakness clearly."

Cao Cao secretly admired him, looking at Gu Cheng with an appreciative gaze.

"However, the land of the Central Plains is ultimately fertile. As long as there is no war, the displaced people can be reunited and the abandoned fields can be reclaimed. Sooner or later, the former prosperity will be restored."

"But Yuan Shao will soon unify Hebei, and he will definitely send troops south, not giving Cao Mengde enough time to recuperate and recover."

"Therefore, Cao Cao had to solve the major problem of food shortage in the shortest possible time, and implementing the military-agricultural colony policy was the only way he could take."

Gu Cheng hit the nail on the head, clearly expressing Cao Cao's helplessness and predicament.

These words startled Cao Cao so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.

"This child's wisdom and insight are truly unfathomable. Fortunately, I discovered him first. If he had unfortunately fallen into the hands of other lords, the consequences would have been unimaginable..."

Cao Cao secretly rejoiced.

After calming himself down a bit, Cao Cao nodded slightly: "What my nephew says makes a lot of sense, but what does Cao Sikong's promotion of the military-agricultural colonies have to do with what you're talking about about getting rich?"

"Uncle, you're a shrewd and insightful person, can't you figure this out?"

Gu Cheng said with a smile, his words carrying a hint of teasing.

"You little rascal, you're teasing me now..."

Cao Cao muttered to himself, but could only feign self-deprecation and say, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, my dear nephew. Please explain yourself clearly."

Gu Cheng remained unhurried and poured himself another glass of wine.

"If the imperial court wants to promote the military-agricultural colonies, it will naturally need to gather displaced people, allocate land to them, and let them cultivate the land in peace. The government will then share the profits with them according to a set ratio."

"There are plenty of land officials, but if you want to farm, you not only need land, but also a lot of oxen and farming tools."

"These things are definitely not available to displaced people, so in the end, the government has to distribute them in a unified manner."

At this point, Cao Cao suddenly realized that he had fully understood Gu Cheng's intention.

He immediately took over the conversation, saying, "Nephew, I understand. Your curved plow is a farming tool. You want to use my connections to sell your plow to the government?"

"Uncle has finally figured it out."

Gu Cheng let out a long breath and quickly drank a few sips of wine to moisten his dry throat.

Cao Cao, however, said, "Township farming is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Although the court needs plows, it is not in a hurry to use them. We can build them slowly. Why must we buy your plows?"

Gu Cheng smiled and turned to Zhou Tai: "Youping, go and bring over a sample from our mansion for Uncle to see."

Zhou Tai immediately went down to give the instructions.

Before long, several servants carried a complete curved plow into the courtyard.

Cao Cao's eyes lit up immediately.

Although he came from a noble family, after becoming a local lord, he personally went down to the fields to show his emphasis on agriculture.

He had naturally seen many plows used for tilling the land.

But the plow in front of him looked completely different from the plow he remembered.

"Nephew, this plow you've made looks quite different from ordinary plows!"

Cao Cao circled the plow, his eyes filled with curiosity.