Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1204 Meeting
Zhong Yao and the other two discussed for a long time and finally came to the conclusion that if Cao Cao was still unconscious and unable to take control of the situation personally, they would have to act according to their own ideas.

The most crucial thing is to get the support of the Cao clan, and the people with the most say in the city are Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren from the Cao clan.

In response to this, the three of them split up and visited the two men separately. After extremely hard work and explaining the pros and cons to them, they finally won Xiahou Dun's support.

As the three of them expected, Xiahou Dun agreed much more readily than Cao Ren, because after all, Xiahou Yuan died at the hands of Yuan Xi, and now Xiahou Dun dreamed of revenge.

Cao Ren was much more cautious. He had fought many battles with the Jin army over the years. In the battles between Cao's camp and the forces of Yuan Xi and Liu Bei, Cao Ren suffered the least losses. Because of this, he knew better than anyone how difficult Yuan Xi was.

He said to Zhong Yao who was visiting him: "It's not that I don't support the Prime Minister, but it's really difficult for Ren to make the decision without your order."

"And according to the Prime Minister's plan, Yecheng will become bait to lure the ferocious tiger. But if the world knows the truth, the Cao family's already limited reputation will be completely wiped out."

"What Cao did before was already criticized by the world. Now that they have done something like this again, in the eyes of the world, how can Cao still have any integrity?"

Zhong Yao said, "General, you are kind and righteous. I admire you, but have you ever thought that if the Wei army is defeated in Yecheng, it may completely lose the qualification to fight for the world?"

"By then, the survival of the Cao family will be in question, so what's the point of talking about people's hearts in the future?"

Cao Ren remained silent, then said, "I will not question the Prime Minister's loyalty, but please allow me to think about this for two days before giving you a reply."

After hearing this, Zhong Yao had to suppress his annoyance and say goodbye. He had to wait because Cao Ren not only had a very high prestige in Cao's camp, but also had the power of tens of thousands of troops. Without his support, the plan to burn down Ye City would not be able to succeed.

He could also vaguely guess the reason for Cao Ren's hesitation, because at the beginning, Cao Ren was from Cao Ang's faction and was not very close to Cao Pi.

Even more troublesome was Cao Hong, who also did not think highly of Cao Pi. Zhong Yao did not know whether Cao Hong had learned the news that Cao Ang was still alive, but if Cao Hong had really heard of it, he would certainly rush back to Yecheng, causing things to change.

Therefore, when Zhong Yao and Xun You issued the military order, they deliberately sent troops to reinforce Cao Hong and stationed him at the Qinghe border to resist the Jin army, so that he could not return in time.

But truth cannot be hidden, which is why Zhong Yao was eager to get the support of Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren, because he was also afraid that Cao Hong would come back to disrupt the situation.

But now he could only wait for Cao Ren to make a decision, and Zhong Yao guessed that Cao Ren would definitely go to see Cao Cao later.

As Zhong Yao expected, as soon as he left, Cao Ren prepared his carriage and went all the way to Cao Cao's mansion, and then asked someone to pass the message.

After the guard gave the business card to the doorman behind the door, the doorman did not come out for a long time. Cao Ren was anxious and paced at the door, thinking that despite his relationship with the Cao family, he was not allowed to come in. What happened to Cao Cao?

He waited for a long time, and became more and more impatient. But at this moment, he saw a carriage approaching from afar. When it approached Cao Ren, the curtain was lifted, revealing Xu Chu's face, and he said, "Greetings, Lord Cao."

"Chu's legs are not flexible and he cannot get off the horse. Please forgive me."

Cao Ren had just been conferred the title of Marquis of Duting. When he saw Xu Chu, he nodded slightly and said, "General Xu is still very powerful."

This sentence contained implicit sarcasm, which was naturally a satire on Xu Chu's arrest of all of Cao Zhi's followers the night before. Cao Ren had a good relationship with Cao Zhi, so he naturally did not like what Cao Pi's followers did that night. This was one of the reasons why he was unwilling to agree to Zhong Yao's request immediately.

Xu Chu noticed Cao Ren's tone and said, "Chu is already a useless man. Everything he did was for you, so he has a clear conscience."

Cao Ren sneered upon hearing this and said, "General, you are quite open-minded, but it's a pity that your legs are disabled, otherwise you might have been made a marquis."

When Xu Chu heard this, he couldn't help but clench his fists in his sleeves. Cao Ren's words touched his sore spot.

Ever since he injured his legs, he has experienced the fickleness of human nature and knows that he can never return to his peak. He is afraid that he will have to stop here in this life. But he is naturally unwilling to accept this, so he joins Zhong Yao and takes a big gamble.

But the development of things was beyond Xu Chu's expectations. After that night, he was neither punished nor rewarded, and everything that happened afterwards seemed to have come to nothing.

This was a move by the Cao Pi faction headed by Zhong Yao to suppress the officials of the Cao Zhi faction and to avoid giving people a chance to criticize them, so they gave a cold shoulder to Xu Chu, who had taken direct action. Everyone knew that the Yingchuan faction was behind Xu Chu, but everyone could only play dumb, and the matter ended in nothing. The only one who was hurt was Xu Chu.

When Xu Chu heard Cao Ren's implicit sarcasm, his heart was filled with anger. Has he really become a discarded pawn?

But Xu Chu couldn't afford to offend Cao Ren, so he handed his business card to the guard and said, "Chu has something to ask you, sir. Please pass it on."

The guard took the business card and went in. Another doorman took it and then closed the door again.

Cao Ren and Xu Chu stopped talking and they remained silent for an unknown amount of time before the mansion door opened and the gateman came out.

They both looked at each other expectantly, and finally Menzi said, "Please follow me, Lord Cao."

After hearing this, Cao Ren looked at Xu Chu proudly and walked towards the door.

Xu Chu looked at Cao Ren's disappearing back and couldn't help clenching his teeth, but another doorman came over and said, "General, please follow me."

Xu Chu was delighted when he heard this, and hurriedly followed him in with his crutches. The doorman walked very fast, and Xu Chu's legs were inconvenient to move, so he had to rely on his arms and crutches to support himself, and could only barely keep up with the doorman's pace, and for a moment he looked quite embarrassed.

The man took Xu Chu through two corridors, and Xu Chu realized something was wrong. He used to be a guard in Cao Cao's mansion and knew all the roads well. The direction he was heading now was not Cao Cao's bedroom at all!

He was about to ask, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he swallowed the words back and just followed silently. Not long after, Xu Chu saw the person who was abusing many people was Cao Pi.

Xu Chu had never seen so many expressions on Cao Pi's face before. Fear, impatience, anxiety, anger, all mixed together, making his face extremely distorted. The moment he saw Xu Chu, Cao Pi said, "Zhongkang, can I trust you?"

Xu Chu hurriedly said, "Sir, you can trust me."

Cao Pi stared at Xu Chu, "Really?"

Xu Chu quickly said, "Of course it's true. Sir, do you still remember what happened in Xudu?"

Cao Pi knew that Xu Chu was talking about the incident in the Xudu Palace where he was caught molesting a palace maid and Xu Chu covered it up for him. His expression softened a little and he said, "Zhongkang, the person I trust the most now is you."

"So how much can I trust you?"

Xu Chu knew that he had to express his opinion at this time, so he said without hesitation: "Chu can die for you."

Cao Pi listened, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face, and he said: "I remember Zhongkang has a son, right?"

Xu Chu said, "Yes, he is already thirteen years old."

Cao Pi nodded and said in a deep voice: "If I take the throne, I will ensure that Zhongkang will be rich and prosperous for generations."

Xu Chu's heart skipped a beat. This condition was not made without reason, so he whispered, "What do you want Chu to do, Master?"

Cao Pi opened his mouth but did not answer. He only said, "Zhongkang, remember what I said today."

"If I need Zhongkang at that time, I will let you know."

"Go wait in front of your father's door first."

Xu Chu went out on crutches. He faintly smelled something bad, but could he turn back now?

Cao Ren had already arrived at Cao Cao's room. Lady Bian and Cao Zhi were struggling to help Cao Cao up. Cao Cao barely opened his eyes, his face pale, and stretched out his hand to Cao Ren, "Zixiao, is it Zixiao?"

"You came?"

Cao Ren saw Cao Cao's lifeless eyes, staring straight at his side, and tears almost fell. He stepped forward and held Cao Cao's arm, saying sadly, "Ming Gong, Ming Gong, what's wrong with your eyes?"

Cao Cao forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, it's just that I can't see clearly. I'll be fine after a few days of rest."

After hearing this, Cao Ren felt even more upset. Cao Cao had always been in a bad temper over the years and always said that he was unwell, but when it came to fighting, he was more energetic than anyone else.

But now he is so optimistic, and what he says seems to be self-consolation, which makes Cao Ren shocked. Cao Cao is not confident, but talking to himself, trying to make himself believe that he can recover. This is a manifestation of loss of confidence!
Madam Bian said softly, "The king was very ill a few days ago, and medicine was of no use, so he asked me to bring him some maltose to eat."

"I hesitated, but the king couldn't bear the pain, so he ate two or three pounds of maltose before the pain was relieved a little."

"But since I woke up yesterday, my eyes have been a little..."

Cao Cao suddenly became furious and pushed Madam Bian out, "What the hell!"

"I'm fine, why do you all act like I'm going to die?"

Cao Ren quickly comforted him: "You are still in your prime. You will be fine after a few days of rest."

After hearing this, Cao Cao's expression eased a little.

If Yuan Xi was present, he should be able to determine that Cao Cao's illness was blindness and glaucoma caused by diabetes, which was not so easy to cure in this era. Moreover, his bad temper was also a manifestation of the late stage of the disease. It can be said that Cao Cao had already stepped half into the gates of hell.

In recent years, Yuan Xi has been tirelessly dumping high-quality sugar at low prices to Cao Cao's territory in order to take revenge. Now it has finally paid off. People of this era are still unaware of the harm of sugar. Overdose is like chronic poison, which finally led Cao Cao step by step into the abyss.

Cao Cao, who knew nothing about the truth of his illness, had no idea that he was dying step by step. He said to Lady Bian and Cao Zhi, "You go out first. I want to talk to Zixiao alone."

After Madam Bian got up from the ground and took Cao Zhi out and closed the door, Cao Cao said to Cao Ren after a long while: "Zixiao, tell me what happened in the city recently."

(End of this chapter)