Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1277 Candidates

When Hua Xin made this proposal, everyone agreed, because although proclaiming himself emperor at the moment seemed unreliable, it was a life-saving straw in a difficult situation. After all, in the eyes of Cao Wei officials, Wei's hope of defeating Jin was now very slim.

If Cao Wei could peacefully take over the Han Dynasty, it would have a righteous cause and could win the support of some wavering aristocrats. Although it is still unknown how much of a role this would play, it would still be of some help, which is better than sitting and waiting for death.

While most of the Cao Wei officials were praising the move, a small number of people, including Sima Yi, remained silent. After all, in their opinion, this was too hasty.

Sure enough, someone stood up to object, and said, "Your Majesty, I think this matter is a bit too hasty."

"The matter of the emperor abdicating is of great importance. Whether in terms of civil governance or military achievements, it is necessary to create momentum. However, the king has only been on the throne for a short time, and the people in Xudu have not yet settled down. If the emperor resists at this time and the Han officials question it, I am afraid that complications will arise."

When everyone saw this person speaking so impolitely, they all looked over. After identifying the person who had spoken, they were all extremely surprised, because the person who made the suggestion was Dong Zhao.

Dong Zhao and Zhong Yao were the main leaders in Cao Cao's process of conferring titles of duke and king, so their status has also risen over the years.

Although Dong Zhao was always suppressed by Zhong Yao, he eventually became Cao Cao's trusted minister. Instead, Zhong Yao began to lose power, which also made the Cao Wei officials who were opportunistic start to move closer to Dong Zhao.

When Dong Zhao was alive, he never sang a different tune from Cao Cao, so his unprecedented speech made Cao Wei officials confused for a moment. What was Dong Zhao trying to do?
Didn't he know that Cao Pi was even more capricious than Cao Cao?
As expected, Cao Pi's face darkened. "Lord Dong, are you saying that I am not worthy of this position?"

Dong Zhao bowed quickly and said, "I dare not."

"But I think that now that Jin is eyeing us like a tiger, if Wei were to abdicate at this time, people would think that Your Majesty is afraid of the tiger."

"This matter is of great importance. It requires either auspicious signs or civil and military achievements. Civil governance is a long-term approach, while military achievements are the ones that produce immediate results."

"I think that the area around Xudu is not yet pacified, and Xiangyang, a few hundred miles away, is still being attacked by the rebel army. At least we can defeat them and take back the gateway to Jingzhou, so as to stabilize people's hearts and avoid giving people a reason to criticize us."

Cao Pi was furious when he heard this and snorted coldly, "It's easy for you to say that. If you can defeat Liu Bei, why don't you go and defeat Xiong Hu and conquer Yecheng?"

Dong Zhao patiently explained: "At this time, Liu Bei was fighting on two fronts. He and Wu had already suffered heavy losses. He was unable to send more troops to Jingzhou. In other words, Guan Yu was a lone soldier."

"If we can capture and kill Guan Yu, pacify the capital, and seize Jingzhou, we will be able to divide the world into two with Jin. Your Majesty will surely be very powerful, and the whole world will bow down to you."

After this was said, many Cao Wei officials also felt that what Dong Zhao said made sense. Cao Wei really needed a big victory to boost morale, and this goal was well chosen. It was difficult for Wei to defeat the Jin army now, but the Hannan Kingdom was much weaker, so it would be much easier to attack Liu Bei!
As a result, officials who secretly supported Dong Zhao all spoke up in agreement. Seeing this, Cao Pi slapped his side and said, "Well, Guan Yu has repeatedly provoked our Wei Dynasty, and it's time to make him suffer!"

"Who can retrieve Guan Yu's head for me and pacify Jingzhou?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the officials of Cao Wei fell silent. Those who had echoed them enthusiastically just now were all civil servants. After all, they only had to speak, and it was not their turn to send troops, so they could naturally speak freely.

The military generals, on the other hand, remained silent from beginning to end. To be honest, in the hearts of most of the Cao Wei generals, they would rather face the Jin army than Guan Yu.

This is not to say that the Jin army was more powerful, but that the Jin army's war equipment was too terrifying. The unanimous response of Cao Wei's generals when they encountered it was to retreat inside the city and defend, not seeking merit but avoiding mistakes.

Faced with the Jin army's actions, the Wei generals would not be criticized. After all, everyone was in a losing position, and the only thing that mattered was not losing the city.

But this time the fight against Guan Yu was different. Guan Yu himself was an extremely difficult commander and general to deal with. Cao Pi not only required him to be killed, but also required him to recapture Jingzhou. This was too difficult!
Cao Pi looked at the silent crowd and became even more angry. He said coldly, "Why, a mere Guan Yu makes you so embarrassed?"

All the generals lowered their heads and dared not respond. Cao Pi slowly glanced at the back of their heads, wanting to find something to throw at them.

His temper has become more and more violent recently. He gets angry at the slightest provocation, and even his abuse of the women in the harem cannot help but calm him down a little. Only by eating a lot of maltose can he calm down a little.

Since last year, Cao Pi's teeth had been experiencing intermittent pain, and the pain lasted longer and longer. Although the doctor prescribed a pain-relieving prescription, Cao Pi was very resistant to these extremely bitter herbs. He spit them out after drinking a few sips, and ordered his men to drag the doctor out and beat him up.

After he changed several waves of doctors, the later doctors had no choice but to suggest eating candy to relieve the pain. As a result, Cao Pi began to eat more candy, and the result was that Cao Pi's toothache began to turn into headache.

At that time, doctors did not know the cause of diabetes. Cao Pi was addicted to sugar and naturally could not stop. So he unknowingly embarked on the same path as Cao Cao.

Now he glanced at everyone coldly. When he saw Sima Yi, he paused slightly, then glanced at him again, and finally said, "Lord Xun, who do you think can control Guan Yu?"

The person he called was of course Xun You. Now that Xun Yu of the Xun family had passed away and Xun Chen had been ill for many years, Xun You had become the backbone of the Xun family. As the highest official in charge of foreign affairs, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and stand up and say, "I think General Yu Jin is the most suitable."

Cao Pi asked, "Who will be the commander?"

When Xun You heard this, he knew that Cao Pi could appoint Yu Jin as a general, but would not let him lead the army as the chief commander. It seemed that he was still suspicious of generals from other families. So he thought about it and said, "Marquis of Yanling can be the chief commander." Marquis of Yanling was Cao Zhang. When these words came out, many officials' faces changed slightly, and they thought to themselves, Xun You, are you stupid?
When Cao Cao was alive, Cao Zhang had a close relationship with Cao Zhi, but a bad relationship with Cao Pi. Now Xun You recommended Cao Zhang to fight Guan Yu. If he wins, Cao Zhang's prestige will skyrocket, and the situation will be unpredictable.

Cao Pi did not answer, but raised his head slightly, looked at the sky outside the palace, and suddenly said: "Once upon a time, Uncle Xia Hou went out of Jingzhou, but was ambushed by a fierce tiger and died in battle. When my father found out, he was extremely sad and almost fainted, causing his health to deteriorate."

"My uncle's death is closely related to Guan Yu. At that time, Guan Yu assisted the tiger in blocking the way, so he can be said to be an accomplice."

"Xiahou is Cao's closest relative, so this vengeance must be avenged. It is only natural for Cao to send a general to avenge him."

"My original choice was Xiahou Shang, but he is in Huaicheng and cannot leave. Xiahou Heng, are you willing to avenge your father?"

Everyone is from a different generation. Xiahou Heng is the eldest son of Xiahou Yuan. He married the daughter of Cao Cao's brother Haiyang Aihou. He is extremely favored by Cao family. It is reasonable to let him be the commander-in-chief, but the key issue is that Xiahou Heng has no experience in leading troops!

This was clearly an attempt to let Yu Jin prepare wedding clothes for Xiahou Heng, and Cao Pi wanted to cultivate his confidants. But the problem was that if it was any other enemy, it would be fine, but the opponent was Guan Yu. Not to mention that the outcome was unpredictable, unless Cao's army went all out, they might not even be able to return!
Xun You heard this and said hurriedly: "Xiahou Heng is the commander-in-chief, and it is difficult for him to..."

Cao Pi said coldly: "Of course there are others."

"I heard that my uncle died in battle that day, but the surrendered general from Yizhou that he brought with him survived. I remember his name was Li Yan. He was quite capable of planning for his own future. What was his other name?"

Xun You hurriedly said, "Fei Guan, he is Liu Zhang's son-in-law."

Cao Pi sneered after hearing this and asked, "Liu Zhang is also in Xudu now, right?"

"Li Yan can use his merits to atone for his crime, but Fei Guan can forget about it."

Everyone knew clearly that Fei Guan was a relative of the Liu clan, and there would naturally be hidden dangers if he was sent to fight Guan Yu. This was understandable.

Xun You saw this and said quickly, "Although Li Yan is well versed in military affairs, the matter of the commander-in-chief still needs to be discussed in the long run. Marquis Yanling..."

Cao Pi said decisively: "I have other arrangements for the Marquis of Yanling. You all go back and think about the selection of the commander-in-chief. We will decide tomorrow and then we will send the troops immediately!"

After the court was dismissed, all the officials were discussing the matter. It was true that Cao Wei did not have any candidates who could be its commander-in-chief, but Guan Yu on the opposite side could be ranked among the top three in the world in terms of comprehensive ability in marching and fighting. Logically, the only one who could compete with him was the rapidly rising Sima Yi.

But Cao Pi just missed this minister of state, and no Cao Wei official could guess what he was thinking, including Xun You.

Xun You is now in a rather awkward situation. He and Zhong Yao failed to be selected as ministers of state. In addition, Cao Pi has been moody since he ascended the throne, and his mind is even harder to guess than Cao Cao. Xun You has no choice but to bide his time and act according to the circumstances.

Naturally, news of what happened in the court today also spread among Cao Wei officials and generals, especially Cao Pi's evaluation of Fei Guan, which made Liu Zhang's family, who were under house arrest in Xudu, even more nervous.

Fei Guan now relayed what happened in the court in front of Liu Zhang. After listening, Liu Zhang looked worried and said, "The king is probably still brooding over the fact that you killed Xiahou Yuan, and he is probably looking for a chance to take revenge on our entire clan."

Fei Guan thought to himself, how could it be me who killed Xiahou Yuan? He clearly wanted to give up on us at the beginning, okay?
He said, "If you think so, I will go to jail and die."

Liu Zhang's face darkened. "What are you talking about? Do you really think your life is so valuable?"

"He is looking for an opportunity to attack my Liu clan, in order to undermine the emperor's prestige and prepare for his abdication!"

"He is just using this as an excuse to accuse you of something on time!"

Fei Guan couldn't help but ask: "What should we do now?"

Liu Zhang pondered for a moment, and finally said, "You go back first. For the sake of my daughter, I can't just watch you die. But you have to remember that our lives are now in the hands of others!"

After Fei Guan left, Liu Zhang thought about it and wrote a letter, then gave it to his confidant and asked him to take it out of the house.

When the confidant left the mansion, the Cao army soldiers guarding the gate searched him but let him go.

When Liu Zhang left Yizhou, he took a lot of wealth with him and had already bribed the Cao army soldiers guarding the gate. Moreover, in Xudu, an important place of Cao Wei, no one would think that Liu Zhang would dare to do anything outrageous.

The confidant brought the letter to another small mansion not far away. After announcing his name, someone inside welcomed him in and said, "Madam wants to see you."

(End of this chapter)