112 Tian Feng, Quick of Mind

"I urge you to defect immediately."
"Sever the head of Yuan Benchu."

The letter had originally been blotted out by Guo Jia, and now that Xu You had burned away a portion of it, it appeared even more fragmented. Yet, the greatest advantage of the Chinese script is that even with missing characters or scrambled order, one can still discern the general meaning.

After reading the殘 letter, Yuan Shao had already conjured a grand drama in his mind where Xu You was colluding with Cao Cao to take his life. At this thought, Yuan Shao was nearly consumed by rage. If he could have tolerated Xu You’s smuggling of military rations, the accusation of colluding with Cao Cao was something he absolutely could not forgive.

"Xu Ziyuan, I have treated you well. Even when you smuggled rations, I did not take your life," Yuan Shao shouted, pointing at Xu You’s nose. "I never imagined you would repay my kindness with treachery, colluding with Cao Aman to plot my demise!"

Xu You understood Yuan Shao’s temperament all too well; Yuan Shao was naturally suspicious. With matters having reached this point, Yuan Shao believed he had caught him red-handed and would refuse to listen to any defense. Xu You thought to himself, "My life is at an end! My life is at an end!" He felt no desire to explain further, as anything he said would only be dismissed as a hollow excuse. In truth, Yuan Shao gave him no opportunity to speak. After a torrent of abuse, Yuan Shao waved his hand and commanded, "Guards, drag him out to the noon gate and behead him."

This time was different from the last. Yuan Shao truly intended to kill him. Currently, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were the two greatest powers in the world. Since Yuan Shao had always looked down upon Cao Cao, he could never tolerate his own subordinates defecting to him. Once Xu You harbored the intent to defect, his life was forfeit.

Just as the soldiers were dragging Xu You out of the tent, Tian Feng and Ju Shou rushed over. Having heard that Yuan Shao had arrived at Xu You’s tent in a fury alongside Ju Yi, they had come post-haste.

"My Lord, you must not! You must not!" Tian Feng pleaded on behalf of Xu You once more.

Tian Feng had gathered a rough understanding of the situation, but he sensed something was amiss; there was a deeper issue here. However, lacking deep insight into the specifics, he had not yet grasped the full picture. It was Tian Feng who had first stood up to plead for Xu You earlier that day, and now he was doing so again.

Yuan Shao glared at Tian Feng and roared, "Yuanhao, if you plead for him again, I shall have you executed alongside him!"

Tian Feng knelt before Yuan Shao and begged, "My Lord, this is likely a ruse! Please, let me examine the letter in your hand. Once I have seen it, you may then make your decision."

Yuan Shao thought to himself, "A ruse? What ruse? What could you, Tian Feng, possibly know? I have caught him red-handed; killing him is perfectly justified." With that, he handed the fragment to Tian Feng, thinking that if Tian Yuanhao insisted on seeing it, he would let him see it so he would be convinced.

As Tian Feng took the letter, Ju Yi interjected, "Advisor Tian, when we arrived, Xu You was in the act of burning this letter. The Lord has verified that the handwriting is indeed Cao Cao’s. If Xu Ziyuan had nothing to hide, why would he be burning it?"

Observing the confrontation between Ju Yi and Xu You, Tian Feng sighed inwardly, thinking that if civil officials and military generals could not get along, how could the Lord ever achieve greatness? "General Ju Yi, do not be hasty. Let me examine the letter before a final decision is made," Tian Feng said urgently.

Upon examining the letter, Tian Feng quickly discovered the irregularities. The key passages had been blotted out, and then a portion had been burned. This did not make sense. If one were to blot it out, why burn it? Or, why not simply burn it entirely? The two actions were clearly redundant.

Tian Feng turned to Xu You and asked, "Ziyuan, why did you burn this letter?"

Xu You, who had closed his eyes in resignation, slowly opened them. He had not wished to answer Yuan Shao, as the Lord was blinded by impulse and would not listen. But Tian Feng was different; he was a man of reason.

"The letter was smuggled in beneath my dining tray. After reading it, I realized the Lord would surely misunderstand, so I intended to burn it," Xu You explained earnestly. "I never expected that just as I went to burn it, General Ju Yi would storm in. This must be a counter-espionage ruse; otherwise, it could not be such a coincidence."

After hearing this, Tian Feng was even more convinced it was a trap. "My Lord, if Cao Cao were to send a letter, it would be complete. Look, this letter is covered in blots; it is clearly a counter-espionage tactic," Tian Feng stated solemnly.

"Hmph!" Yuan Shao snorted, pointing angrily at Xu You. "Does this need further explanation? The blots were surely made by Xu You himself."

Tian Feng retorted, "If Xu You had blotted it, why would he still burn it? If he had skipped the blotting and simply burned it, would you not have been unable to see the letter at all?"

Yuan Shao was momentarily struck dumb. Blotting clearly took more time than burning; had he simply burned it, they would have found nothing but a pile of ashes.

Seeing the Lord falter, Zhang He, who was quick-witted, argued, "Perhaps Xu Ziyuan initially wanted to blot it, but later realized that was not secure, and thus chose to burn it as a second measure."

Tian Feng nodded, first acknowledging Zhang He: "General Junyi, there is some logic in what you say." He then turned and pointed to the inkstone in Xu You’s tent. "My Lord, the brushes are dry, and there is no wet ink on the stone. Therefore, I can conclude that the blots on this letter were not made by Ziyuan. The letter was already blotted when it reached his hands."

"My Lord, if Ziyuan were truly conspiring with Cao Cao, the letter would be clear, not blurred in a way that invites speculation. Without a doubt, this is a counter-espionage ruse! Cao Cao is maneuvering to force you to kill Ziyuan. If you act now, you will fall right into his trap."

Yuan Shao was a suspicious man, but he was also indecisive. Having been certain of Xu You’s guilt, he now wavered under Tian Feng’s reasoning, becoming torn and uncertain.