With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 269, Sima Yi Feigns Illness
Xu Huang shook his head. “Left Wise King, you are wrong. Originally, the Prime Minister didn’t care about this matter at all. It was the court and His Majesty who were furious when they learned that you had taken Cai Zhonglang’s eldest daughter. This is not the Prime Minister’s fault. You brought it upon yourself by provoking someone you shouldn’t have. I think you should understand what the Prime Minister is saying. You must immediately send the person to Xudu and sincerely apologize.”

The current Left Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu is named Liu Bao, who is the son of Chanyu Huchuquan. The previous Chanyu was Yufuluo, who died in the second year of Xingping (195 AD).

"We've always kept to ourselves, so isn't Prime Minister Cao's request a bit excessive?"

"Left Wise King, you can't say that. If we're to be honest, it was you who were disrespectful to the court first!"

Liu Bao, the eldest son of the Chanyu, considered himself of noble status and no one had ever dared to criticize him to his face. He immediately flew into a rage, shouting, "Insolence! How dare you be so disrespectful to me!"

Xu Huang ignored his outburst and continued, “The Southern Xiongnu had already submitted to the court, but they took advantage of the Yellow Turban Rebellion to repeatedly cross the border to plunder and cause chaos, wreaking havoc in the region. In recent years, the court has been in turmoil and the warlords have been divided, but you have become even more outrageous, burning, killing, looting, and wantonly disturbing the people. You may not know me, but I am more familiar with what you have done over the years.”

Xu Huang once served in Baibo, and the previous Chanyu Yufuluo had colluded with Guo Tai of Baibo, running rampant in the Hedong area of ​​Bingzhou, and had done a lot of robbing people and goods.

At that time, Xu Huang was also a famous general of the White Wave Army, and no one knew better than him just how hateful these foreigners were.

Xu Huang's gaze was sharp, and he said firmly, "You have clearly moved to Han territory, yet you have repeatedly indulged in plunder and robbery without restraint. Both His Majesty and the Prime Minister are greatly dissatisfied. I advise you to send the people back immediately and go to Xuchang to apologize."

"What if I don't do as I say?" Liu Bao glared at Xu Huang, his teeth clenched and his eyes wide with anger.

Xu Huang sneered, "The majesty of Heaven is inviolable. If you remain obstinate, can you bear the consequences? How did the Southern Xiongnu submit to the court back then? Has the Left Wise King forgotten?"

Liu Bao clenched his fist, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. "Are you threatening me?"

Xu Huang replied loudly, "I am reminding you not to make a mistake, lest you bring disaster upon yourself. I doubt the Left Wise King would want to become a sinner of the Southern Xiongnu, would he?"

Liu Bao was furious and told him to obediently hand over Cai Zhaoji, but he was very unwilling.

Whether as the Left Wise King or as Cai Zhaoji's man, Liu Bao was unwilling to bow his head. In the end, he flicked his sleeve and shouted angrily, "Go back and tell Prime Minister Cao that I will not send the person back."

Because Cai Zhaoji was already his woman.

Liu Bao took a liking to Cai Zhaoji at first sight and forcibly took her into his harem. Cai Zhaoji even bore him a child.

Liu Bao remained adamant and unwilling to back down. Xu Huang snorted coldly and warned, "Left Wise King, you will soon regret your decision today."

Liu Bao still held a sliver of hope, thinking that Cao Cao wouldn't order an attack on Pingyang just for a woman.

Xu Huang returned and reported the truth to Cao Cao. Cao Cao's face darkened immediately upon hearing this, and he said in a deep voice, "Liu Bao has quite the audacity to disobey my orders."

Xu Huang immediately volunteered: "My lord, since he is so stubborn, we don't need to be polite to him anymore. This humble general is willing to be the vanguard to capture Pingyang."

Cao Cao turned to Guo Jia and asked, "Fengxiao, what do you think?"

It would be fine for Cao Cao to intimidate the Southern Xiongnu, but he would hesitate to start a direct war.

First and foremost, his immediate priority is to pacify Youzhou.

Secondly, although the Southern Xiongnu were still a nomadic people, their main base in Pingyang was a fortified city, so once a battle broke out, it would inevitably be another tough fight.

Seeing Cao Cao hesitate, Guo Jia quickly asked, "My lord, what are you worried about?"

Cao Cao said, "I naturally don't care about the mere Southern Xiongnu, but the most important thing right now is to take back Youzhou. I plan to deal with them after Youzhou is pacified."

Guo Jia shook his head and said, "My lord, I am worried that if we do not send troops in time, once the news reaches Xuchang, His Majesty will personally intervene in this matter."

Guo Jia leaned closer and whispered to Cao Cao, "Once Your Majesty intervenes, you can rightfully bring your troops over and even completely occupy Hedong. At that point, you probably won't be able to drive them away even if you want to."

Cao Cao suddenly realized that the emperor's territory was in the south, while Cao Cao's territory was in the north. The two sides were clearly separated and tended to not interfere with each other.

But if, as Guo Jia said, the emperor openly used the pretext of attacking the Southern Xiongnu to send troops to occupy Hedong, it would indeed be a big problem for Cao Cao.

"Good, immediately appoint Sili Colonel Zhong Yao as the commander-in-chief, and personally lead an army of 20,000 to conquer Pingyang."

Cao Cao then looked at Xu Huang, "Gongming, you will be the vanguard in this campaign to Pingyang."

Xu Huang immediately clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, "This humble general obeys!"

Although the two were speaking in hushed tones, Xu Huang still managed to overhear some of their conversation. He knew they were worried that the emperor would intervene personally.

Whether it's Lü Bu or Zhao Yun, as long as they come and don't leave, Cao Cao will be restless and unable to eat or sleep.

Suddenly, Cao Cao remembered something and said to Guo Jia, "I almost forgot about Hedong if you hadn't mentioned it. The Sima family of Wen County in Hedong is a prestigious family. Sima Lang has been assisting me for many years now, and I have heard him speak of it before. His brothers are also quite learned and capable. Judging by their age, his second brother, Sima Yi, should have come of age by now. Summon this man immediately. If he is talented, let him stay by my side."

Guo Jia nodded and immediately sent someone to Wen County.

…………

On the outskirts of Wen County, there is a natural hunting ground. In spring and summer, the birds sing and the flowers bloom, the mountains are lush and green, and all kinds of wild animals are most active, making it a good time for horseback hunting.

Two young men were hunting on horseback. One was dressed in blue, and the other in dark robes. They were about the same age, around twenty years old.

The woman in green had a deep and calm gaze, and possessed a composure far beyond that of her peers.

The other person had a gentle gaze and a carefree nature, but he always seemed very hesitant when he encountered prey.

The man in green spotted a wild deer, spurred his horse and gave chase. His sharp eyes calmly locked onto the prey, and he fired an arrow, hitting the target squarely.

The man in blue was Sima Yi, and the other was his younger brother Sima Fu. The two were only one year apart in age, but their personalities were worlds apart.

The deer's throat was instantly pierced by the arrow, and the accompanying guards rode forward, picked up the prey, and cheered.

Sima Yi showed no sign of pride. He enjoyed the hunting process. The moment his prey was hit, his emotions would quickly return to calm, and he would start looking for the next prey.

Sima Fu stared at the bloody throat of the fallen deer, his face turning pale with fright. Another prey appeared, and Sima Yi urged, "Don't just stand there, hurry up, or it will escape again."

Before Sima Fu could recover from his shock, the wild deer darted through the bushes and ran away from them.

Sima Yi glanced at his younger brother and shook his head in disappointment. "We're out hunting, you know. If you can't even bear to kill such a small prey, how will you ever achieve anything great?" Sima Fu retorted, "Does it have to be killing? I don't like this bloody way of doing things."

Sima Yi laughed and said, "This is a chaotic world where the strong prey on the weak. If you are not strong enough, you will become someone else's prey. If you don't want to be killed by others, you have to eliminate the danger in advance."

The dragon has nine sons, each different from the other. In Sima Yi's view, the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, is the same in real life.

After returning from the hunt, Sima Yi had a very fruitful haul. When he got home, his family quickly gathered around him, chattering with envy. However, soon after, news arrived that Cao Cao had summoned him.

His family was very envious, thinking this was an opportunity for him to rise to prominence, but Sima Yi didn't smile at all.

Back at his residence, his wife Zhang Chunhua noticed his indifferent reaction and asked, "Husband, Prime Minister Cao has summoned you to serve him, why are you so sullen? Isn't this a good thing?"

Sima Yi sighed, “The current situation is unpredictable. My elder brother once wrote to me that His Majesty has regained control of the imperial regalia, and Prime Minister Cao has left Xuchang. He is now the Governor of Ji Province. He has summoned me to Ye City, which is probably to make me his subordinate. This is not an official decree from the court. On one side is the Emperor, and on the other is the Prime Minister. If I make the wrong choice, it will be difficult to change my stance.”

"So what are your plans?"

Sima Yi shook his head. "Let's wait and see. We can't afford to make a mistake on this step."

Zhang Chunhua was somewhat worried, "But Prime Minister Cao has ordered a conscription. If we disobey, we can't afford to be punished if he blames us."

Sima Yi replied, "Therefore, we must come up with a proper solution."

Sima Yi was extremely intelligent and quickly came up with a plan: to feign illness.

To fake illness, one must deceive everyone, including family members, and not let them know the truth.

The couple discussed it all night long. The next day, before dawn, Zhang Chunhua suddenly cried out in the yard, "Help! Something terrible has happened!"

Upon hearing the news, everyone rushed over. Sima Fu was the first to rush into the room, where he saw his second brother lying stiffly on the bed, his body motionless.

Looking at his face, he was startled. Sima Yi's mouth was crooked and his eyes were slanted, he looked like a completely different person, with a lot of drool dripping from the corners of his mouth and his body twitching uncontrollably.

"What's wrong with Second Brother?" Sima Fu hurriedly looked at his sister-in-law and asked anxiously.

Sima Yi opened his mouth with difficulty, making unclear sounds. Sima Fu could hardly believe it. "He was fine yesterday, how could he have changed like this overnight?"

Zhang Chunhua shook her head repeatedly, "I don't know either."

Before long, his father, Sima Fang, also arrived after hearing the news. He was also startled and hurriedly invited a doctor to treat his son.

After a thorough examination, the doctor diagnosed Sima Yi with gout based on his symptoms.

The whole family panicked, but Zhang Chunhua cooperated extremely well. She was only twelve years old this year, ten years younger than Sima Yi, but she showed amazing acting talent.

Next, Sima Fang invited many doctors to treat his son. Zhang Chunhua served him personally, decocting the medicine and feeding it to Sima Yi every day.

While the medicine was being decocted, the medicine was real, but when it was being fed to Sima Yi, Zhang Chunhua had already cleverly changed the medicine.

One night, the young couple were talking when a maid accidentally overheard them.

Even though Sima Yi was lying in bed and unable to speak, the maid heard the two of them talking normally in the room.

The maid was shocked. Driven by curiosity, she peeked through the crack in the window and saw a scene that shocked her.

Sima Yi, who had been lying in bed like a dead man all day, actually sat up, got out of bed, and stretched his limbs flexibly.

Sima Yi lay in bed for an entire day, not daring to move an inch in front of others. Only someone like him could endure that; anyone else would have given up long ago.

Whenever it was late at night and no one was around, Sima Yi would get out of bed and stretch his legs a little.

Pretending to be sick is not an easy thing to do.

"Husband, how much longer will this go on?" Zhang Chunhua asked with concern, unable to bear it any longer.

Seeing her husband lying stiffly in bed every day, sometimes for the entire day, Zhang Chunhua felt truly heartbroken.

The couple had only been married a short time, and she hadn't even had a chance to enjoy their honeymoon before this happened.

Sima Yi shook his head. "I'm not too sure either. Maybe Prime Minister Cao will send someone to test me. So let's wait a little longer. It will pass eventually."

The maid was terrified. She dared not linger, because the two people inside kept glancing in their direction, very alert. The maid was afraid she would be discovered.

But when leaving, in a moment of panic, I accidentally bumped into a flowerpot next to me, making a little noise.

The two people inside were startled. Sima Yi's face immediately darkened, and a murderous glint appeared in his deep eyes.

Sima Yi took a step forward, wanting to chase after her, but Zhang Chunhua quickly shook her head, "Husband, you can't just go out like that, let me go instead."

Sima Yi is currently feigning illness; once he goes into the courtyard and is seen by someone, his deception will be exposed.

Zhang Chunhua quickly chased after her, and the maid didn't go far before she caught up with her.

"lady……"

The maid was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she knelt on the ground, trembling.

The sky was overcast tonight. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky and struck down hard, illuminating the courtyard and revealing the same frightening expression on Zhang Chunhua's face as Sima Yi's.

Not a family, do not enter the door.

Sima Yi's feigned illness was no small matter, and Zhang Chunhua naturally knew that she could not easily reveal it. At this moment, she looked down at the kneeling maid and had already decided to kill her.

Don't let her young age of twelve fool you; her decisiveness and ruthlessness are just like Sima Yi's!

(End of this chapter)