Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1258 The End
Cao Cao's arm trembled, and he pointed through the hands of the crowd and pointed at Cao Pi who was kneeling below. Seeing this, Mrs. Bian quickly motioned Cao Pi to come over.

When Cao Pi saw this, he hurriedly crawled to the bed and said, "Father, what do you want to say?"

Cao Cao leaned sideways and tried to open his mouth, but no sound came out. He only felt the strength in his body rapidly draining away and his vision becoming increasingly darker.

Finally, Cao Cao let out an unwilling grunt, his eyes widened, his arms drooped dejectedly, and he remained motionless.

Cao Pi raised his head and looked into Cao Cao's eyes. He was so frightened that he was speechless for a while.

Xiahou Dun, who was supporting Cao Cao, felt his touch gradually getting colder. He reached out to feel Cao Cao's breath, but found that there was no life at all.

Xiahou Dun knelt down with a plop and said sadly, "Ming Gong is gone!"

Cao Zhi, who was kneeling the farthest away, burst into tears upon hearing this, and the others present also cried out in grief. Cao Pi buried his head deeply, and under the cover of his sleeves, a look of joy as if a burden had been lifted off his shoulders appeared on his face.

Finally dead!

Soon the sad news spread from the Prince of Wei's mansion and throughout the entire Xu Du. Officials of Cao Wei hung white flags outside the mansion gates, and the whole Xu Du was filled with grief.

But there were exceptions. Some people were extremely happy, especially Liu Xie. After hearing the news, he couldn't help laughing and didn't stop laughing for a long time.

He asked the palace maids to bring out the little remaining wine in the palace, and asked all the concubines in the harem to drink with him.

It was already winter, and the wine was ice-cold. The concubines could not stand the cold wine and could not drink it after just two sips.

When Liu Xie saw this, he sneered and said, "Drink, why don't you drink?"

He pointed at the young lady from the Cao family who had just been crowned as the empress and sent to the palace by Cao Cao, and mocked her, "Can't Concubine Cao drink?"

After hearing this, Cao had no choice but to take a sip of the cold wine, but she choked and started coughing.

When Liu Xie saw this, he burst into laughter. He raised the wine jar and poured the full jar of wine into his throat.

The wine was icy cold, but it turned into a hot stream when it entered his throat, flowing down his throat into his stomach. Liu Xie laughed and said, "It's great!"

"Happy!"

"Queen, did you see that? He is finally dead!"

"After all, he didn't have time to kill me!"

The concubine beside him hurriedly whispered, "Your Majesty, there is a new King of Wei, be careful there are ears behind the walls."

Liu Xie was drunk and waved his hand, saying drunkenly: "What are you afraid of? I've been waiting to see how they treat me!"

"Everyone in the world is watching. Do they dare to kill me?"

The next morning, the imperial court and the city of Xu officially received the news of Cao Cao's death, and the entire city was under martial law.

Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong jointly took charge of the military affairs in the city. Xiahou Dun was in charge of the funeral. Xudu was sealed off. Cao Zhang, Cao Zhen and Xiahou Shang patrolled the city to prevent chaos.

When the news reached the barracks outside the city, many soldiers became riotous and took the opportunity to leave, most of whom were the few remaining Qingxu soldiers.

After hearing this, Cao Zhen wanted to lead his troops to pursue, but Xiahou Shang advised him, "Opening the city gates now will only lead to more chaos. Now that the prince is about to ascend the throne, the most important thing is to ensure the stability of Xudu. Other things are not worth worrying about."

"Besides," he hesitated, "brother's body has not recovered yet, so you should be careful."

After hearing this, Cao Zhen gave up. Sure enough, not long after, Xiahou Dun got the news, consulted Chen Qun and Sima Yi, and issued completely opposite orders.

In order to stabilize the situation and appease the departing soldiers, Xudu sent out proclamations to the surrounding counties, informing them to prepare for the supply of the departing Qingxu soldiers and to provide them with the food and clothing they needed as much as possible.

As soon as this edict was issued, the people in the surrounding counties, who had been worried and anxious for fear that the Qingzhou soldiers would turn into bandits, suddenly calmed down. Many of the scattered Qingzhou soldiers, who had already shown signs of gathering together to become bandits, dispersed after receiving food, thus preventing a lot of troubles from happening.

The most embarrassed people in the city now are Chen Qun and Sima Yi. They never thought that they would surpass Zhong Yao and Xun You to become the ministers entrusted with the care of the young emperor. How will these two people survive in the Yingchuan faction in the future?

In other words, the two men's overstepping of authority had already caused a rift in the Yingchuan faction. A large number of Yingchuan officials had always been dependent on and trying to please Zhong Yao and Xun You. Now that the list of the entrusted children was released, many of them went to Chen Qun and Sima Yi's residence overnight to show their goodwill.

This made the two men at a loss for a moment. They knew very well that achieving success overnight was not a good thing, and Cao Cao's move before his death was indeed cruel, which turned them into isolated ministers. Now many Yingchuan officials believed that the two men must have secretly betrayed the Yingchuan faction in exchange for the position of ministers entrusted with the care of the young emperor!

Some unwilling officials went to Zhong Yao's house to testify, but were stopped outside the house and told that Zhong Yao was bedridden due to excessive grief over Cao Cao's death and would not see any outsiders for the time being.

Everyone had to leave in disappointment, but they didn't know that Zhong Yao was now in the study room of the mansion, talking to Xun You who came secretly.

Listening to Xun You's complaints, Zhong Yao showed a hint of sarcasm, "Does Gongda really want to be the minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor?"

"This position is not comfortable to sit in." "Isn't it good like this now? We are far away from the center of the vortex and can spend this period of time in peace and quiet. Isn't this good?"

"There's still a long way to go, why is Gongda in such a hurry?"

Xun You gradually calmed down after hearing this, but he still couldn't help but complain: "It's fine for me, but the fact that the Prime Minister was not selected is problematic no matter how you look at it!"

"And it's a long article." Xun You hesitated for a moment, "He is the son-in-law of Xun Lingjun. There are doubts about Xun Lingjun's death in Shouchun. What does this mean?"

"And what puzzles me the most is Dong Zhao!"

"The king knew that the prime minister and Dong Zhao were not on good terms, but he still appointed him as the minister to take care of the orphan. Will he take this opportunity to take revenge on the prime minister?"

"What I am most worried about now is whether the king changed his mind before he died and showed goodwill to Xionghu through Dong Zhao and Chen Qun?"

After hearing this, Zhong Yao's face also looked a little gloomy. The appointment of the ministers to be entrusted with the care of the young emperor was indeed beyond his expectations, especially Dong Zhao. How did he get in?

What was Cao Cao thinking?

Was it a foolish act before death, or had he planned this long ago?
Zhong Yao's body trembled. No wonder Cao Cao did not make a decision every time he impeached Dong Zhao. This may indicate that there is a deeper relationship between Dong Zhao and Cao Cao that he is not aware of. The trust that Cao Cao has in Dong Zhao may be far greater than what he sees on the surface!
I am so stupid that I haven’t even figured this out!
Zhong Yao calmed down after a long while and said to Xun You: "I need to think about this matter carefully. You go back first and don't act rashly."

"Maybe we should retreat in order to advance. I will find a few opportunities to meet the Crown Prince, no, the King of Wei."

However, Zhong Yao did not find an opportunity, because on the third day after Cao Cao's death, civil and military officials including Chen Qun and Dong Zhao, under the order of the Queen of Wei, helped Cao Pi to succeed to the throne of Wei and honored the Queen as the Queen Mother.

During this period, something happened to Cao Zhi. Cao Zhang found Cao Zhi privately and said that Cao Cao asked Cao Zhi to stay by his bedside before his death. There must be some arrangement, but he didn't have time to say it.

He said to Cao Zhi: "Everyone knows that you and my second brother don't get along. There are many people in the city who are dissatisfied with my second brother. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to make a big bet and overthrow my second brother!"

Cao Zhi heard this and said with a wry smile: "I have no intention of doing this. There is the story of the Yuan brothers. The Cao family is not pitiful at all. Brother, please leave now."

After hearing this, Cao Zhang said bitterly: "Don't regret it in the future!"

Cao Cao's death was a major event, and the news was transmitted at the highest level, using the Han Dynasty's post stations. The "Han Jiu Yi" said: A post station can travel a thousand miles (about 400 kilometers) day and night, so within a few days, the news spread throughout the world, and then reached Youzhou through Yuan Xi's intelligence network.

At this time, Yuan Xi had already led his troops out of Jicheng and pursued the Xianbei army along the way. Finally, he encountered the Xianbei army that was blocked by Zhuge Liang near Yijing. The two sides fought a fierce battle that lasted for two days and two nights.

Yuan Xi led his troops to penetrate the Xianbei settlement and split it into two parts. Zhu Luohou and Suonu were forced to lead their armies separately and support each other, hoping to take the opportunity to attack Yuan Xi's army from both sides.

But what they didn't expect was that after Yuan Xi broke through the Xianbei formation, he did not stop and went straight into Yijing.

Marquis Juluo then realized that Yuan Xi's first choice was to stop his men from going south. As for the logistics of the Jin army, they would be mobilized from Jizhou later, so there was no need to worry about the logistics route.

As a result, the Xianbei cavalry was caught in a dilemma. If they wanted to break through Yijing, they would have to pay several times the price, and it was uncertain whether they would succeed.

If they turn back to attack Jicheng, I'm afraid the Jin army will be well prepared. As long as they harass and attack from behind, the Xianbei army will have no chance of survival!
So after the two sides joined forces again, Zhu Luohou and Suonu discussed for a long time and both had the intention to retreat.

If they had no way to retreat before, they might have had to fight to the death, but now the Wuhuan are willing to join forces with them. If they can verify and join forces with the other side, at least food can be guaranteed. Otherwise, are they going to starve to death in this snowy place?
In Yijing City, Yuan Xi said to Zhuge Liang: "The military advisor defended very well this time. If we hadn't stopped them here in advance, we would have been unable to stop them from looting once they entered Jizhou."

Zhuge Liang said modestly: "If we have known the news so long in advance and still haven't stopped it, then it would be my dereliction of duty."

He then said with regret: "These Jizhou troops were originally intended to advance to Chang'an and Xudu and pursue the Wei army, but unfortunately the plan was disrupted by the Xianbei invasion."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "But it buys time for reorganizing the troops."

"Now that the Xianbei's desperate plan has been stopped by us, they have few options left. We can proceed to the next plan."

Zhuge Liang said, "I have already made the arrangements."

"I heard that the Lord's wife passed away, and the Lord fell ill due to excessive grief. He is still ill and has not recovered yet. I hope the Lord will put his health first. Although Cao Cao has passed away, his son has succeeded him. It is hard to say whether he can destroy the Kingdom of Wei within a few years. I hope the King will consider the long-term."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Thank you Prime Minister for your concern. I will take care of my health."

"But even if it's a long war, I have confidence. After all, whoever succeeds Wei will probably not live long."

Zhuge Liang was puzzled and asked, "Why?"

Yuan Xi said leisurely: "The current Queen Mother is Madam Bian. Her children all have short life spans. I'm afraid none of them will live past the age of 40."

"It is very likely that Cao Pi will die early. If so, the internal foundation of Wei will collapse and it will not last long."

(End of this chapter)