The Dong Commandery, where Cheng Yu was stationed, was quite close to Luoyang.
On a modern map, both would fall within the same province—Henan.
So it didn’t take Cheng Yu many days to reach Luoyang.
Once he arrived, he made his way to the Ministry of Works and met with Miss Mengde.
During the journey, he had already learned from a casual conversation with Chief Clerk Pei Yue who this “Miss Mengde” was, and how important she was within the Ministry.
When Pei Yue spoke of her, his face was full of reverence.
After all, Miss Mengde had been managing the Ministry’s affairs in place of Cao Song for quite some time.
Everyone in the Ministry knew who was really in charge, and naturally obeyed the young girl’s commands.
Although Cheng Yu had already formed an impression from what Pei Yue told him along the way, when he actually saw Mengde in person, he couldn’t help but be shocked by her age.
So young.
Far too young.
It was hard to imagine that such a small girl could carry the weight of the entire Ministry of Works on her shoulders, contending with the crafty, silver-tongued officials at court.
‘She possesses both extraordinary cunning and a ruthless streak… This is the wise ruler I’ve been searching for,’ Cheng Yu thought to himself, bowing respectfully to her.
“Cheng Yu of Dong Commandery greets Miss.”
At the same time, Mengde was also studying Cheng Yu.
‘So this is the legendary man of the Eastern Han who once turned his fellow villagers into military rations to supply the army—Cheng Yu?’
This story about Cheng Yu appeared only in the Wei Jin Shiyu, a single historical text.
But renowned Three Kingdoms historian Pei Songzhi commented on the book, saying: “Only Fan Xuan compiled the Wei Jin Shiyu—lacking in literary rhythm and substance, its contents are base and crude. Yet it spread widely at the time because of the strange tales it included.”
In other words, most of what it recorded were just sensationalized tabloid rumors, so the story of Cheng Yu making rations out of his hometown folks was likely fake.
And yet—Pei Songzhi still cited that very story in his annotations for the Records of the Three Kingdoms.
Given Pei’s reputation for rigorous scholarship, it might just be true after all.
Real or not, the fact that this tale has been pinned to Cheng Yu’s name for thousands of years without anyone objecting—whether in official history or folk tradition—says a lot.
If the same story had been told about someone like Xun Yu or Zhuge Liang, countless people would have protested. But with Cheng Yu? No one questioned it.
That alone speaks volumes—deep down, everyone believed that with Cheng Yu’s personality, he could very well have done such a thing.
***
One episode in the Records of the Three Kingdoms goes like this:
During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Wang Fu, who served as the assistant magistrate of Dong’e County, defected to the rebels.
The county magistrate fled the city, and the townsfolk—men, women, young and old—also fled into the countryside.
At the time, Cheng Yu was still living in his hometown.
He sent people to secretly observe Wang Fu and discovered that Wang had very few troops.
So Cheng Yu went to some of the county’s powerful families, like the Xue clan, and said:
“Now that Wang Fu has taken the city but hasn’t strengthened its defenses, it’s clear he’s only here to loot. He doesn’t have the forces to hold this place. So why don’t we take the opportunity to retake the county seat and fortify it? Dong’e is a well-fortified city with ample grain stores.”
“If we bring back the magistrate to help us defend it, Wang Fu won’t be able to hold on. And when he retreats, we’ll have the chance to launch a counterattack. That would wipe him out entirely.”
Xue Fang and the others agreed with Cheng Yu’s assessment.
But the local officials and commoners refused to go along with it.
They said, “The rebels are in the west. We can only flee east.”
Cheng Yu sighed helplessly and said, “You can’t plan anything with ignorant peasants.”
Later, Cheng Yu devised a plan to trick both the officials and civilians into launching an attack on the city.
While they were distracted, he successfully reclaimed Dong’e County.
Then he found the county magistrate and joined forces with him to defend the city.
When Wang Fu and his men realized they couldn’t retake it and attempted to flee, Cheng Yu followed through on his earlier plan—opening the city gates to launch a pursuit.
As expected, Wang Fu’s army was utterly destroyed, and Dong’e County was completely secured.
Although Cheng Yu clearly looked down on commoners, he still had aspirations of becoming an official and wanted higher-ranking authorities to recognize his talent.
He refused multiple invitations from kindhearted officials like Liu Dai, but the moment someone shrewd like Cao Cao extended a single offer, Cheng Yu immediately accepted.
This reveals Cheng Yu as a classic elite self-serving individualist—one who, like many in later generations, believed in equality for those above him but strict hierarchy for those beneath.
No wonder he remained fiercely loyal to someone like Boss Cao, even after the man committed atrocities like city massacres.
It’s worth noting that many of Cao Cao’s advisers actually opposed such massacres.
Cheng Yu opposed them too, but only because such actions would make governing Xuzhou more difficult in the long run.
Like many people from modern times, Cheng Yu viewed Cao Cao’s slaughter of cities as the natural expression of a true hegemon.
In Cheng Yu’s eyes, only those above him in status were truly “human.”
Those below were at best servants—or livestock.
So when Cao Cao’s army ran out of provisions and Cheng Yu slaughtered some livestock to feed the troops—wasn’t that completely reasonable in his view?
To be honest, Miss Mengde didn’t like people like Cheng Yu.
She came from a modern society that at least pretended to value equality.
But now, she had no choice but to rely on Cheng Yu.
Because there were no better options.
People generally don’t reach full maturity until their thirties.
While Cao Cao had many advisers, all except Cheng Yu were still in their twenties and clearly still growing.
Mengde couldn’t entrust her father to them with peace of mind.
Although Cheng Yu hadn’t yet reached his full potential and still lacked experience in handling government affairs, his natural talent combined with thirty years of life experience were enough for him to handle political intrigue.
After all, one doesn’t need to sit in court to begin learning the games of scheming.
“Starting today, you are now Cao Cheng Yuan.”
Mengde handed him the bronze seal and yellow ribbon belonging to the position.
In the Han dynasty, each of the Three Excellencies had the right to appoint officials within their own administrative offices without approval from the imperial court.
That was why Mengde could bring Cheng Yu on board in just a few days.
“You’d better not disappoint me.”
“Yes!”
Cheng Yu accepted the seal and ribbon with visible excitement, attaching them to his belt.
From this day forward, he was officially an official in the Ministry of Works with a salary rank equivalent to 400 bushels.
***
After giving Cheng Yu his appointment, Mengde gestured for her father—who had been hiding behind a screen—to come out.
She began speaking to Cao Song with patient concern.
“Father, this is the man I’ve found to temporarily advise you in my place. If you run into any issues at court and feel uncertain, consult him. But when it comes to actual administration, you’ll still need to handle it yourself. Cao Cheng Yuan is still new and lacks hands-on experience in governance.”
“While I’m away, above all else, focus on playing it safe. If he offers multiple strategies, always pick the most cautious one. No mistakes—that’s the real victory. As for everything else, we’ll deal with it when I return from the North.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Cao Song nodded earnestly.
After so many years together, he fully trusted his daughter’s abilities.
It was thanks to Mengde’s behind-the-scenes management that he had held the position of Minister of Works for over five years, while most Han dynasty officials in similar positions lasted less than two.
A mediocre man needs a mediocre man’s way of survival.
Having long accepted his own mediocrity, Cao Song knew that his best path now was to quietly enjoy being a high-ranking official—with his daughter’s help.
That’s why he felt no dissatisfaction with her arrangements before she left.
‘What’s wrong with winning without lifting a finger?’
As Mengde continued to explain various matters to her father, Cheng Yu stood beside them, wearing a slightly speechless expression.
In that moment, their roles seemed reversed.
Although Mengde was the daughter, she behaved like a mother fussing over her wayward son before a long journey.