😈 Story 19 : Cao Cao's Secret Letter

😈 Story 19 : Cao Cao's Secret Letter

1. Cao Cao was worried that Liu Bei and Lü Bu would join forces.

After handling important matters, Cao Cao held a banquet in the backyard and summoned his strategists to discuss the matter. He said, "Liu Bei has stationed troops in Xuzhou and has become its governor; recently, Lü Bu suffered a defeat and sought refuge with Liu Bei, who has allowed him to reside in Xiaopei. If these two join forces and attack us, it will be a great threat! Do you have any good ideas on how to deal with them?" Xu Chu said, "Please lend me 50,000 elite troops, and I guarantee to cut off the heads of Liu Bei and Lü Bu and present them to the Prime Minister (Cao Cao)."

2. Xun Yu proposes the "Two Tigers Fighting for Food" strategy

The strategist Xun Yu said, "General (Xu Chu) is brave, but lacks strategic acumen. We have just pacified Xuchang and it is not advisable to launch a war immediately. I have a strategy called the 'Two Tigers Fighting for Food' strategy."

Xun Yu explained, "Although Liu Bei governs Xuzhou, he has not yet received an official decree from the emperor. You can petition the emperor to issue an edict officially appointing Liu Bei as the governor of Xuzhou, and then secretly write a letter to Liu Bei instructing him to kill Lü Bu."

• If successful, Liu Bei would lose the help of the fierce general Lü Bu, making it easier for us to deal with him later.

If unsuccessful, Lü Bu would certainly kill Liu Bei because of it.

This is the "Two Tigers Fighting for Food" strategy.

Cao Cao listened and immediately requested the emperor to issue an edict, which was sent to Xuzhou, appointing Liu Bei to a high-ranking position and enclosing a secret letter.

3. Liu Bei was unwilling to kill Lü Bu

After receiving Cao Cao's letter, Liu Bei told Lü Bu all the reasons and showed him Cao Cao's secret letter.

After reading it, Lü Bu cried and said, "Cao Cao wants us to be at odds and kill each other!"

Liu Bei said, "Brother (a respectful term for Lü Bu), don't worry, I, Liu Bei, swear I would never do such an unethical thing." Liu Bei invited Lü Bu to drink with him, and he didn't leave until very late.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei asked Liu Bei, "Brother, why didn't you take the opportunity to kill Lü Bu?"

Liu Bei replied, "Cao Cao is afraid that Lü Bu and I will join forces to attack him, so he's using this scheme to make us fight each other so he can benefit from it. How can we let him use us?"

Guan Yu nodded in agreement. Zhang Fei said, "I just wanted to kill this villain to avoid future trouble!"

Liu Bei said, "That's not something a true man (a man of ambition) should do."

4. Xun Yu devises another "using one tiger to devour another" strategy

The next day, Liu Bei sent a messenger back to the capital and simultaneously wrote to Cao Cao, saying that this matter should be handled slowly and a solution would be found later.

The messenger reported back to Cao Cao that Liu Bei had not killed Lü Bu. Cao Cao asked Xun Yu, "What if this plan fails?"

Xun Yu replied, "I have another plan, called the 'Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf' plan."

Cao Cao asked, "What is this plan?"

Xun Yu said, "We can secretly send someone to Yuan Shu, falsely claiming that Liu Bei has submitted a memorial to the emperor, intending to seize Nan Commandery. Yuan Shu will be furious and attack Liu Bei. Then, you can pretend to use an imperial edict, ordering Liu Bei to attack Yuan Shu. With both sides fighting, Lü Bu will surely become disloyal (wanting to take advantage of the situation). This is the 'Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf' plan."

Cao Cao was very pleased. He first sent someone to Yuan Shu to deliver the message; then, falsely claiming to be in the emperor's name, he sent an edict to Liu Bei in Xuzhou.

Liu Bei received the edict in Xuzhou and went out of the city to greet it. Upon opening the edict, he indeed found it ordered him to lead troops to attack Yuan Shu. Liu Bei accepted the order and sent the messenger back first.

His subordinate Mi Zhu said, "This is another of Cao Cao's tricks!"

Liu Bei said, "Although it's a trick, the emperor's orders cannot be disobeyed."

1. Was Xun Yu's plan good or bad?

2. What are the expected values ​​of Xun Yu's plan?

3. What was Liu Bei's best attitude?

4. Xun Yu devised another plan after one failed; how would you evaluate this?

5. Cao Cao constantly inquired about strategies; how would you evaluate this?

1. Was Xun Yu's plan good or bad?

Yes, very good. Because he clearly understood that his camp had just stabilized, and many political and internal affairs needed to be rearranged. Suddenly summoning troops at this time would cause instability within his camp, including political, military, and economic fluctuations. A large army would require food supplies, and the presence of troops would reduce the manpower and time needed for farming and food production. If a strategy could be used, there would be no need to mobilize the army.

2. What are the expected values ​​of Xun Yu's plan?

It's about increasing the likelihood of two fierce forces devouring each other, leading to direct action. It's like a two tigers fighting over food. The ideal scenario is: both tigers kill each other; the next best is: both tigers severely injure each other; the third best is: both tigers are injured.

3. What would be Liu Bei's best approach?

Liu Bei's best approach would be to not even open the letter, even though it's from Cao Cao. This is best, as the letter is likely a scheme to sow discord.

Liu Bei's next best approach would be: after reading it, to be frank and communicate openly.

Liu Bei's next best approach would be: to arrange the strategy and personnel, and continuously express his opinions to Lü Bu. He would only partially trust Lü Bu, while simultaneously observing Lü Bu's private movements, military actions, and troop deployments.

4. Xun Yu's strategy: if one plan failed, he would immediately devise another. How would you evaluate this?

Actually, it's excellent. He's demonstrating to us that you shouldn't start with just one plan. Initially, you might have dozens or even hundreds. When the first plan fails, he immediately comes up with a new one. When your boss asks you a question, you can't say, "Let me think about it some more," you must immediately have another plan.

5. Cao Cao constantly seeks advice. How would you evaluate this?

Cao Cao's excellence lies in this: when the first action fails, he will consult those with strategies—his strategists, his think tank—to update the plan.

Liu Bei was too bound by his own value system. Mi Zhu has already said: This is Cao Cao's strategy, not the emperor's intention. But Liu Bei still believed in the order and values ​​of the Han Dynasty. In fact, no strategy can help this. What's needed is to quickly understand and transition one's thinking to the new era when the values ​​of the old society collapse. We cannot be rigid and inflexible. It's a bit like in 1911, when the Qing Dynasty had already collapsed, yet in the 1920s and 30s, some people were still living in the fantasy of the Qing Dynasty. It's a bit like in 2026, when OO has collapsed, yet some people are still living in the fantasy of OO.