Chapter 94: The Greensteel Sword and the Right to Strike First, Report Later

At that moment, Xun Yu arrived as well. He said, “Besides, Yuan Shao’s side may soon be forced to turn his attention elsewhere. The hour for a decisive battle is drawing near, and this is all the more reason not to stir up needless trouble.”

Seeing that Cao Cao was no longer as agitated as before, Cao Peng pressed his advantage. “Uncle, I only meant well by helping you defuse a hidden danger. Do not mistake kindness for insolence. While not many people know about this yet, it is still not too late to draw back...”

In truth, Cao Cao had already been largely persuaded; he was merely too stubborn to admit it, still forcing himself to hold out.

Cao Peng remained beside him, urging him on while gently pulling him along, and Cao Cao, having been given a way down the stairs, finally stepped off.

With Cao Cao settled, Man Chong, who had long been waiting outside, entered with his men.

Man Chong was the man in charge of this assassination case, and so he had the authority to have Empress Fu and Consort Dong taken away and thrown into prison to await judgment.

What had been expected to become a sensational scandal about Cao Cao trying to forcibly take the empress and the imperial consort suddenly subsided without a ripple.

That was because the outcome took everyone by surprise.

In the dead of night, Cao Peng had Man Chong interrogate Empress Fu and Consort Dong again, on the pretext of continuing the investigation into the rebellion involving Fu Wan and Dong Cheng.

The final result was that the two had indeed been involved in the rebellion.

It was not a crime deserving death. After stripping them of their positions as empress and consort, they were reduced to commoners.

This was not overreach, and no one could accuse Cao Cao of tyranny because of it.

Cao Peng was not a merciless man who enjoyed crushing beauty beneath his heel. Empress Fu and Consort Dong were merely pawns sacrificed by politics; in themselves, they were guilty of nothing.

Since he had gone this far, Cao Peng even gave them money and arranged for them to be escorted away.

As the two women of otherworldly beauty departed, they knelt before Cao Peng in formal homage.

“This commoner Fu Shou thanks the general.”

“This commoner Dong Wan'er thanks the general.”

Fu Shou and Dong Wan'er were their true names. By then, they had already been stripped of their titles as empress and consort.

And yet they felt no regret at all. Instead, they felt as though they had been granted new lives.

All along, their fathers had treated them only as political instruments, so they felt nothing improper at the tragic deaths of Fu Wan and Dong Cheng.

After marrying Liu Xie, they had not once experienced a single day of joy as women.

Once the carriage carried off those two peerless beauties, Cao Peng went to see Cao Cao.

His releasing Empress Fu and Consort Dong in this way was unexpected, even to Cao Cao. He had thought the young man would again keep them in the outer estate outside the city.

Cao Peng immediately saw the filthy little thoughts in old Cao’s mind and could not help rolling his eyes.

Did he think a man like him would be as indiscriminate as that?

Cao Cao laughed and asked, “Boy, how could you bear to let go of two such tender, delicate women just like that?”

Cao Peng thought to himself, If I did not let them go, would you expect me to leave them for you, old man?

But aloud he said, “Uncle, do not joke. I came today to show you the proposal for the Embroidered Uniform Guard organization I mentioned to you last time.”

Cao Cao had heard Cao Peng mention it before, but Cao Peng had said he wanted to discuss it in more detail with Chen Qun.

Only today was the full proposal presented to him for the first time.

Its contents were extraordinarily detailed.

Cao Cao was somewhat astonished by Cao Peng’s design.

This organization, called the Embroidered Uniform Guard, united the functions of reconnaissance, arrest, and interrogation. When necessary, it could also take part in gathering military intelligence and persuading enemy generals to defect.

At the same time, the privilege of acting first and reporting later gave the organization absolute leverage over both the army and the administration, allowing the system of oversight to be truly put into practice.

Cao Cao said, “If such an organization is ever established, then aside from you, I would trust no one else to lead it. You must be its head!”

Cao Peng shook his head. “I already have a better candidate to take charge of it.”

Cao Cao was curious to know who could inspire such trust from Cao Peng.

“Man Chong. Steadfast and decisive, brave yet shrewd, and more importantly, a man of iron principle. He is the best choice.”

Cao Cao nodded thoughtfully, though some concern remained. “Bo Ning is indeed reliable...”

“But he does not know how to bend with circumstance. Would he not be too severe?”

Cao Peng said, “Yet no one can match his loyalty. So long as his loyalty is to you, Uncle, then whether the offender is a general in the army or a local official, he will not care whose backing they have. If they violate the law, he will punish them according to the law!”

“Good. I understand. We shall do as you say!” Cao Cao nodded gravely.

There was one line from Cao Peng that he found especially admirable:

No matter who it was, once the law was broken, they had to be investigated and dealt with according to law.

The stone in Cao Peng’s heart finally fell away. He had worried that old Cao would not agree to the creation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Now it seemed Cao Cao’s breadth of mind was greater than he had imagined.

Yet the surprises did not end there.

Cao Cao actually produced a sword and placed it before Cao Peng.

Under Cao Cao’s signal, Cao Peng drew the blade from its scabbard, and it burst forth with radiance.

With a casual swing, it hissed through the air; one stroke carved a deep groove into the granite floor.

Cao Peng looked up and asked solemnly, “I have heard that Uncle possesses a miraculous sword that can cut through iron as though it were mud, called the Green Steel Sword. Could this be it?”

Cao Cao smiled faintly. “Good eyes, Anmin. It is indeed the Green Steel Sword.”

“Anmin, I am giving this sword to you to grant you the authority to act first and report later. No matter who it may be, so long as they dare disobey your orders, you may use this sword to kill them.”

Cao Cao’s expression was stern; he was not joking.

Cao Peng did not stand on ceremony. He nodded and accepted the Green Steel Sword.

With a respectful bow, he said in a deep voice, “Rest assured, Uncle. I will not bring shame upon the name of the Green Steel Sword!”

...

At the very moment Cao Peng accepted the Green Steel Sword, Fu Shou and Dong Wan'er were riding in a carriage out of Xuchang.

Suddenly, Fu Shou called for the carriage to stop and said she wanted to get out and take a look.

Though Dong Wan'er did not know what was going on, she got out as well.

The houses here were elegant, yet empty of all people, steeped in desolation.

And yet the place felt strangely familiar to them...

They remembered now. Was this not the estate of the Fu and Dong clans?

Who would have thought it had declined to such a state?

The contrast between its former prosperity and its present ruin was stark.

Everyone here had already been taken away to the prison, including not only the brothers and sisters of the two women, but also some very young children.

All of it was because they had been implicated.

“Elder sister...” Dong Wan'er’s sorrow swelled until it seemed to fill her chest.

Fu Shou felt no better, though she was more steady and resilient.

“Younger sister, perhaps we still have one chance to save our clan...”