Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 215 Cao Cao was terrified
Yingchuan, Xu County.

In the dark and damp dungeon, Fu Wan was lying on a worn straw mat and sleeping. He looked in poor condition and looked listless.

It’s not that anyone abused him, but there was no sunlight in the dungeon, and it was torture for people just to stay there.

In addition, he was detained alone and had no one to talk to for so many days.

Fortunately, Fu Wan had a strong willpower. If it were anyone else, they would have probably committed suicide and would not have been able to endure for so long.

But even so, after more than a month he could no longer bear it. Even his reactions became slow, and he was either awake or asleep all day.

"Father, father..."

In a trance, Fu Wan heard a familiar voice in his ears.

With the faint light of the candlestick in the dungeon, he saw that his daughter, Empress Fu, had appeared in his cell at some point, squatting beside him, looking at him with a worried look on her face.

"Queen?!"

Seeing Empress Fu, Fu Wan's spirits suddenly lifted. He sat up from the ground and asked in surprise, "Why is the Empress here? Did Cao the thief put you in prison too?"

If Empress Fu wasn’t right in front of him.

He really thought he was hallucinating.

Empress Fu wore a veil and plain clothes, but even so, it could not conceal her plump and graceful figure, making her look mature and charming.

Hearing Fu Wan's words, Empress Fu shook her head and said, "The thief Cao has not put me in prison. I came here to visit my father."

As she spoke, she put down the food box she had brought, took out the food inside one by one, and placed it in front of Fu Wan.

"I have already pleaded with His Majesty, and His Majesty promised me that he would discuss with Cao the thief and let my father be placed under house arrest like Lord Yang, instead of being imprisoned in prison."

Even though Fu Wan was rebellious against the emperor, he was still her father after all, so Empress Fu could not bear to see him suffer in the cell, and asked Emperor Xian of Han to place him under house arrest in the Fu Mansion.

When Fu Wan heard this, his face immediately fell, and he said unhappily, "I won't go back! I will die in this prison! Queen, how can you bow your head and beg for mercy from the fake emperor?"

When Empress Fu heard this, a trace of fatigue appeared on her graceful and delicate face. She sighed slightly and said, "Why is father so stubborn? I have made it very clear that your majesty is the real emperor, not a fake emperor."

"I really don't know what has bewitched my father and Lord Yang to believe so firmly that the emperor in Yecheng is the legitimate emperor."

"Doesn't my father believe me anymore?"

Fu Wan looked around and saw that no one was around, so he lowered his voice and said, "Queen, your father already knows that you and Yang Biao have swapped the emperor, so why do you have to hide it from me?"

"You intentionally let the fake emperor depose the queen this time, isn't it just to wash away the stigma of submitting to the fake emperor? You did a great job!"

Empress Fu suddenly widened her beautiful eyes, her head filled with doubts and confusion.

Substituting the emperor?

Clear away the stigma?

When had she ever done such a thing!
"Father, you are really possessed. I am leaving now."

Empress Fu gave up the last thought of persuading Fu Wan, stood up and walked out of the prison in disappointment, but she couldn't help but feel a strong impulse rising in her heart.

She wanted to see the fake emperor of Yecheng with her own eyes and wanted to know why he could deceive so many people.

Walking out of the dark dungeon, Empress Fu looked up at the blue sky. The bright sunshine shone on her fair cheeks, making her look even more beautiful.

She murmured: "Yecheng, the false emperor..."

……

Sikong Mansion.

The news of Gongsun Zan's defeat and death and the fall of Yicheng had already reached Xu County.

Cao Cao, who was playing chess with Xu You, was greatly frightened when he learned about this.

"Gongsun Zan is so unbearable!"

Cao Cao slapped the secret report brought by the scout on the chessboard, his face looking very ugly.

He originally thought that even if Gongsun Zan couldn't defeat Yuan Shao, he could still contain him. At the very least, Yuan Shao's strength would be greatly damaged, right?
Who would have thought that only half a year or so had passed and Gongsun Zan had actually lost, and Yuan Shao had won so easily!
What a crap White Horse General!
At this level?

Xu You, who was sitting opposite Cao Cao, also had a bad look on his face. The moment he heard the news, his heart sank.

"Without Gongsun Zan, the balance between Your Majesty and Yuan Shao is broken. Yuan Shao can gather troops to attack Yecheng without restraint. Your Majesty is in danger now."

"I have to find a way to help His Majesty out of this predicament."

Xu You's mind raced, and he began to think about how to use Cao Cao to help Liu Xie out of trouble, but he felt that no matter how he thought about it, it was inappropriate.

Cao Cao supported the false emperor and was a natural opponent of Liu Xie. Under such circumstances, it would be a blessing if he did not send troops to attack Yecheng. How could he possibly provide help?

However, even though he knew this, he still decided to give it a try.

"Ah Man, this matter cannot be ignored."

"If Yuan Shao annexed Youzhou and took Yecheng again to hold the emperor hostage, his next target would definitely be Yanzhou."

"Having occupied four states, Yuan Shao's army is unstoppable. How can A Man resist him?"

"I think we must not sit idly by and watch Yuan Shao conquer Ye City now!"

"As long as Yecheng is in the hands of the emperor, Yuan Shao will never be able to integrate Jizhou, let alone move south to Yanzhou."

Cao Cao was well aware of the current situation without Xu You explaining it.

He sighed and said, "I know what Ziyuan said, but what can I do? I can't openly send troops to help Yecheng. If I do that, wouldn't I become a traitor who pretends to be the emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Xu You fell silent, and for a moment he could not think of any reason to persuade Cao Cao.

From Cao Cao's point of view, since he supported Emperor Xian of Han, he should have sent troops to kill the emperor of Yecheng.

It would be fine if he didn't send troops, but if he went to help, it would be tantamount to serving the king, and would be a disguised acknowledgement of the emperor's identity in Yecheng.

Otherwise, why would you be unwilling to watch the false emperor fall?

After a long while, he slowly raised his head and said calmly: "Why don't you consider directly serving the emperor of Yecheng? Just as we discussed before, put the blame for the false emperor on Dong Cheng."

"With this reason, plus your merit in leading troops to defend the king, the emperor will certainly not blame you. In order to buy horse bones for a thousand gold coins, he will even give you a generous reward."

After thinking it over, Xu You began to persuade Cao Cao to surrender.

Apart from this, he really didn't know how to assist the emperor.

"If I surrender to the emperor right now, what difference would that make me want to die? The emperor can't even protect himself, so if I surrender to him, can I expect him to defeat Yuan Shao?"

There was no way Cao Cao would listen to Xu You's nonsense.

The reason why he kept a retreat route was because he saw that the emperor of Yecheng had driven away Yuan Shao and the situation was very good.

But now that Yuan Shao has destroyed Gongsun Zan, as long as he annexes Youzhou, Yecheng will be in danger.

In this situation, how could he possibly surrender?

"I don't think so."

Xu You did not agree with Cao Cao's opinion, and pulled him to analyze it carefully: "Ah Man, think about it, there are tens of thousands of troops under Lu Bu in Xuzhou. If you surrender to the emperor and join forces with Lu Bu to fight against Yuan Shao, you may have a chance of victory."

"Besides, as long as you, the one who welcomed the emperor to move the capital to Xu County, acknowledge the status of the emperor of Yecheng, who in the world can refute it? By then, when the emperor issues an imperial edict to all the princes, they will have no reason to disobey and will certainly unite to defend the king and fight against Yuan Shao together."

Xu You tried hard to persuade Cao Cao with patience and kindness.

But Cao Cao also had ambitions in his heart. It was impossible for him to give up his ambitions before things got to the worst. He rejected Xu You's proposal without hesitation, saying, "What Ziyuan said is just a hypothesis. You were once under Yuan Shao's command, so you should know his strength better than I do. Once Youzhou falls into his hands, even with the help of me and Lu Bu, it will be difficult for the emperor to win, and it will only cause me to lose troops and generals."

"The best option right now is to take advantage of the fact that Yuan Shao is attacking Yecheng and Yuan Tan is not in Qingzhou. We can take this opportunity to join forces with Zhou Yu to defeat Lu Bu and capture Yangzhou!"

If you serve the emperor, you have to fight with Yuan Shao for the emperor.

He didn't know how many soldiers and horses he had would be killed.

Yuan Shao's power was great, which had both advantages and disadvantages for him.

At least he could take advantage of the struggle between Yuan Shao and the emperor to expand his power to the south.

If they could capture Yangzhou, even if Yuan Shao's army came in the future, they could rely on the danger of the Yangtze River to confront him.

"But……"

When Xu You wanted to continue his persuasion, Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and asked suspiciously, "Why does Ziyuan always persuade me to serve the emperor of Yecheng?"

Xu You's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Only then did he realize that his repeated exhortations had been a bit too harsh. Cao Cao was already suspicious and could not continue.

So he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and said naturally: "As the saying goes, it is better to help someone in need than to add icing on the cake. I just think it is better to serve the emperor in his time of crisis than to surrender in the future when he has no choice."

Cao Cao did not agree with Xu You's words. Just as he was about to refute, Xu Chu hurried into the back garden and reported to him: "My lord, an angel has arrived with an imperial decree."

Cao Cao frowned and said unhappily, "In the past, you always accepted it directly for me. Why did you come to inform me today?"

Xu Chu hesitated for a moment and said, "But the angel said that the lord must go out in person to receive the order... By the way, the angel came from Yecheng."

Cao Cao's expression suddenly froze.

Xu You on the side also looked up in surprise.

Is this angel from Yecheng?

At first, they both thought that the imperial edict came from the palace. No one expected that it was actually an order from the Emperor of Yecheng!
Everyone in the world knows that Cao Cao supports the emperor of Xu County and regards the emperor of Yecheng as a false emperor. How could he possibly respect his will?

Now that the imperial edict has arrived, people can immediately see that there is something strange in it.

Cao Cao still had some doubts when he asked, "Did you hear clearly? Is it the imperial edict from Yecheng? And he asked me to receive it?"

"Correct."

Xu Chu nodded heavily.

After confirming again and again that Xu Chu's message was correct, Cao Cao's face kept changing, and all kinds of speculations and conspiracies against him in Yecheng emerged in his mind.

"Go and have a look first."

In the end, he decided to take a look at what the imperial edict said first.

At the gate of Sikong Mansion.

The angel from Yecheng had been waiting for a long time with the imperial edict in his hand. When he saw Cao Cao coming out of the palace, he immediately shouted loudly: "The emperor has ordered it. The traitor Cao Cao accepts the order--!"

This voice immediately attracted the attention of the people around.

"How dare you!" Cao Cao was furious. He interrupted the angel before he could finish the rest of his words. "Someone, take this fake envoy down!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several soldiers stepped forward and pressed the angel from Yecheng to the ground.

The angel of Yecheng struggled and angrily scolded Cao Cao: "How dare you, Cao thief! I came here to convey the emperor's will, how dare you be rude to me!"

The Han envoy must be a strong and resolute person in order to be qualified.

As an envoy of the emperor, he is not afraid of death at all.

"Emperor?"

Cao Cao sneered and said, "The one in Yecheng is just a fake emperor! The emperor is in Xu County, in the imperial palace!"

"If it weren't for the fact that today is my birthday and I don't want to see bloodshed, I would have beheaded you, the fake envoy, and displayed your head to the public as a warning to others!"

"Get him out of town!"

After saying that, he turned around and went back home.

Xu You took a deep look at the angel who was cursing and being driven away. He recognized this person. It was Cui Yan's younger brother Cui Lin!

After returning to the palace, Xu Chu asked in confusion: "My Lord, I remember your birthday is not today?"

Cao Cao's mouth twitched, and he cursed, "You are the only one who talks too much! Go and get the imperial edict back to me!"

"Eh."

Looking at Xu Chu's running back, Cao Cao rubbed his eyebrows with a headache, feeling that sooner or later he would be pissed off to death by this idiot.

If he didn't use the birthday as an excuse, how could he let this "fake emperor" angel go?
Killing an angel is a matter of breaking up relationships, and doing so is tantamount to cutting off one's own escape route.

If you fail in the future, you won’t be able to surrender to the emperor.

After a while, Xu Chu came back with the imperial edict snatched from Cui Lin's arms.

Cao Cao took the imperial edict, opened it and read it carefully.

But soon his face changed drastically and he was frightened to death by the imperial edict.

Seeing this, Xu You hurried over and asked, "Ah Man, what does the imperial edict say?"

Cao Cao seemed not to hear it. After a long while, he came to his senses and threw the imperial edict to Xu You, gritting his teeth and saying, "The emperor ordered me to send Fu Wan, Yang Biao and the queen to Yecheng!"

"What a great conspiracy!"

The news that Yang Biao, Fu Wan and others were loyal to the emperor of Yecheng had long been suppressed by him. Ordinary people were still unaware of it, and only the officials in the court knew about it.

However, once this imperial edict is issued, he will no longer be able to conceal the news. Everyone in the world will know about this because Yang Xiu and Fu De are already serving under the emperor in Yecheng!

There will only be two choices before him at that time.

Either follow the order of the Emperor of Yecheng and send the person over;
But once he respected the will of the Emperor of Yecheng, it meant that he would be charged with the crime of falsely establishing an emperor.

Even if he blamed everything on Dong Cheng and claimed that he had been deceived, he still had to be loyal to the emperor of Yecheng.

If he refused to send him away, it would mean that he still firmly believed that the emperor of Xu County was the legitimate heir of the Han Dynasty.

Yang Biao, Fu De and even Empress Fu who disobeyed the Emperor of Xu County had to be beheaded.

In this way, everyone will know that Yang Biao, Fu Wan, the two close ministers of the emperor, and Empress Fu, all recognize the emperor of Yecheng.

After reading the imperial edict, Xu You was overjoyed.

Cao Cao has been forced into a desperate situation!
In other words, no matter what choice he makes, His Majesty will ultimately further solidify the orthodox status of the Han Dynasty.

When Cao Cao saw Xu You put down the imperial edict, he said with a sullen face: "Fortunately, I didn't let the angel read the imperial edict just now, but this imperial edict can be concealed for a while, but it cannot be concealed forever."

"Ziyuan, what should I do?"

Now he was not sure what to do.

Both are dead ends, there is absolutely no solution!
Xu You suppressed his inner ecstasy and sighed, "Aman, we have no choice, let's vote."

(End of this chapter)