Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 413 Cao Cao Wants to Surrender

The Zhen family is now in a desperate situation, and the only person who can save them is Zhen Mi.

But Zhen Yi's expression instantly turned cold after hearing this, and he asked the second clan elder, "It's not enough to harm the Zhen family, you also want to drag my sister into it?"

He had finally managed to get Zhen Mi out of the Zhen case, so how could he possibly implicate her again?

The elder of the Second Branch said angrily: "If she doesn't plead with the Emperor, my Zhen clan will be exterminated!"

"All of the people in this prison are your relatives. Do you really want to watch them all being beheaded?"

"Don't forget that you are the head of the Zhen family!"

He was angry at Zhen Yi's inaction and cold-bloodedness.

Until now, he still refuses to let Zhen Mi plead for mercy.

Even if Zhen Mi's plea to the emperor would affect his favor for her, it would still be better than the destruction of the Zhen family.

Zhen Yi remained unmoved and said calmly: "Of course I will not watch my people die, so I took the initiative to plead guilty to Your Majesty."

"I have already thought of a way to save Zhen from death. It depends on whether you are willing to cooperate."

As he spoke, his eyes swept over several elders of the clan.

Seeing the look Zhen Yi gave them, the elders felt a chill in their hearts and had a bad premonition.

The second clan elder asked in a deep voice: "Just tell me what you want to do. As long as it can save my Zhen family from annihilation, I will cooperate with you."

Zhen Yi said without hesitation: "Although the crime I committed this time is extremely serious, we are loyal ministers and have made indelible contributions to the court. Your Majesty will not kill me."

"But there must be an explanation for the murder of the imperial envoy and the corruption, and that explanation must be bloody."

"You are the masterminds of the murder of the imperial envoy. As long as you write a confession in blood and then hit your head against the wall and commit suicide, taking all the blame, then the explanation will be settled."

"And I will take the initiative to hand over all of the Zhen family's assets and wealth to the imperial court in exchange for the lives of my Zhen family members."

"This is also the last chance His Majesty leaves us."

That day, the emperor did not directly judge the Zhen family in the court. At that time, Zhen Yi understood what the emperor meant.

Just as Zhen Mi had told him before in Wuji County.

After all, the emperor still cares about old friendships.

Even though Zhen committed such a serious crime this time, the emperor still gave them a chance to deal with it themselves.

The emperor's purpose in checking Zhen's accounts was to take back financial power.

The purpose of punishing them was to maintain the reputation of the imperial court.

As long as these two points are met, the Zhen family can avoid the fate of being exterminated and will only lose their current power.

However, as long as Zhen Mi is not involved and is still favored by the emperor, then their Zhen family will have a chance to rise again in the future.

"Bump yourself into the wall?"

The face of the fourth clan elder turned pale in an instant, and he began to tremble all over as he spoke with trembling lips.

The elders from other clans fell into silence.

Zhen Yi said indifferently: "Since you dared to do it in the first place, you must be prepared to bear the consequences."

"I've given you the method. It's up to you to decide whether or not to use it."

"The lives of my entire Zhen family are in your hands."

After Zhen Yi finished speaking, the entire dungeon fell into silence, and pairs of eyes from the Zhen clan members turned to the cells where the clan elders were.

The elders are the oldest and most prestigious people in the clan, and no one dares to openly ask them to die.

But no one wants to die.

The elder of the second branch looked at Zhen Yi, a trace of deep anger flashed in his eyes, and his teeth were clenched.

He knew clearly that Zhen Yi proposed this method in front of all the tribesmen just to force them to agree and to die!
"Are you sure this method can keep my entire Zhen family safe?"

The second clan elder stared at Zhen Yi and asked.

Zhen Yi didn't say anything, just looked at him straight.

Seeing this, the Second Branch Elder stopped asking questions and said in a deep voice after taking a deep breath, "I am willing to die for the family. I hope the Patriarch can treat my family well."

After saying this, he pulled off the hem of his shirt, bit his finger, and began to write a confession on it.

The elders from the third and fifth branches sighed and followed suit.

Only the fourth elder murmured with tears in his eyes, "I didn't participate in the murder of the imperial envoy, why should I die too? I won't accept this!"

He did not participate in the plan of the second branch elders at first, but judging from Zhen Yi's expression, he wanted him to die with him.

The second clan elder glanced at him and said, "Knowing the truth and not reporting it is also complicity. Besides, you also participated in the embezzlement of disaster relief supplies, so you can't escape responsibility."

"Hurry up and write. We are all half buried in the ground. It is worth it to exchange our lives for the continuation of the family."

The elder of the fourth branch of the clan was speechless. He could only wipe away his tears while tremblingly tearing off the hem of his shirt and starting to write a letter in blood.

Soon they finished writing the blood letter.

The second branch elder straightened his clothes, stood up, bowed deeply to the outside of the prison, and said, "It was this old man who was confused for a moment and harmed the family. This crime is the responsibility of this old man alone. I hope that all the clansmen will not blame me, the second branch."

After saying that, he slammed into the wall of the cell!
Accompanied by a muffled sound, blood splattered everywhere.

The body of the Second Branch Clan elder fell weakly.

Upon seeing this, many members of the second branch of the Zhen family in the cell cried out in grief and knelt on the ground crying.

Then the elders from the third, fourth, and fifth branches followed suit and committed suicide just like the elder from the second branch.

The sound of crying filled the cell.

Zhen Yi looked at this scene, and there was a hint of heartache in his eyes, but more of it was a sense of relief.

Zhen is saved.

……

Jingzhou, Xiangyang.

Cao Cao had been paying attention to the war situation in Sizhou. He learned the news shortly after Ma Chao was defeated and Chang'an City fell.

"Waste, just waste!!"

After reading the intelligence, Cao Cao was so angry that he yelled, "One hundred thousand cavalry! A full one hundred thousand cavalry! How did he lose?"

"Even if there were 100,000 pigs, they wouldn't be defeated so quickly!"

"Why didn't he die at the hands of that bastard Lu Bu!"

Cao Cao was truly puzzled by Ma Chao's defeat. You know, the strength of the Western Liang Army was world-famous, and one hundred thousand cavalrymen were enough to sweep across the world!

Moreover, Ma Chao also occupied the important place of Chang'an. Even if he defended the surrounding passes, he could hold out for three to five years without any problem!

But only two months after the war began, Ma Chao was defeated and forced to flee. Not only did he lose all his 100,000-man army, but he was also forced to flee outside the Great Wall. How shameful! How shameful!
But what made him most angry was not Ma Chao's defeat, but the fact that the expected scene of both sides suffering losses did not occur at all, and the imperial court did not suffer much damage at all.

Now that Chang'an has been captured, the emperor will inevitably move the capital back.

Once the imperial court occupied Chang'an, he would fall into a passive situation of being beaten. Although Jingzhou had a good geographical location, it was isolated and helpless, with enemies on all sides.

This made Cao Cao feel as if he was back to the time when he occupied Yuzhou and was surrounded by enemies on all sides.

The only difference is that the enemies he faced before included Sun Quan, Liu Biao, Yuan Shao, etc., but now the only enemy he faces is the imperial court.

But this enemy is stronger than all the previous ones combined.

When Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu and others saw that Cao Cao was angry, they all lowered their heads and dared not say a word. No one wanted to offend him at this time.

Seeing this, Cao Cao sighed, turned and left the lobby, walking towards a small courtyard deep in the mansion.

Xu You is still under house arrest.

However, Cao Cao did not imprison him in the room with iron chains as he had done before, but allowed him to move around in the courtyard.

Of course, the security has also been strengthened to prevent the Embroidered Uniform Envoy from sneaking in again.

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Xu You was drinking and reading in the yard at this time. When he heard the footsteps, he did not even raise his head, as if he did not hear them.

"I'm busy outside, but you're relaxing here, drinking and reading."

"Looks like you have to stop drinking."

Upon seeing this, Cao Cao snorted coldly, somewhat annoyed that Xu You was living so comfortably as a prisoner.

Hearing this, Xu You finally looked at him straight in the eye and said calmly, "It seems that you are in big trouble this time, otherwise you wouldn't come to me."

"But I advise you to save your energy. Don't expect me to give you advice again. You can kill me or chop me up as you wish."

Before, he had hoped that Cao Cao would set him free, but later he realized that this was simply impossible given Cao Cao's shameless character.

So now he is numb, just eating and waiting to die all day, and even wishes Cao Cao would kill him.

Cao Cao sarcastically said, "I have countless talented advisers under my command. Do I need you to give me advice? You think too highly of yourself."

"I just happened to be passing by so I came in to see what you were doing."

Although he did have the idea of ​​discussing with Xu You, he instantly gave up the idea after hearing this guy's arrogant words.

We can’t let Xu You continue to be so proud.

Xu You sneered, "Really? Then it seems that the person who asked me for help before was called Cao A Man, not Cao Mengde. I recognized the wrong person."

Cao Cao immediately became furious and put his hand on the sharp blade at his waist.

But Xu You still looked indifferent.

It was as if he didn't care at all whether he would be beheaded or not.

Cao Cao had to suppress his anger and asked, "If I let you go, will you speak for me in front of the emperor?"

"puff--!"

Xu You was drinking, and upon hearing this, he spat out the wine in his mouth and choked and coughed.

But he didn't have time to wipe the wine off. He looked at Cao Cao in astonishment and said, "You, what did you just say? Let me go back?!"

He didn't know if he had heard it wrong.

Cao Cao actually planned to let him go?
After staring at Cao Cao for a while, he sat up straight and asked with narrowed eyes: "What kind of trouble have you run into?"

Cao Cao just asked him if he was willing to say good things in front of the emperor, which showed that he had the idea of ​​surrendering again. He must have been in big trouble.

"Ma Chao was defeated, and now the imperial court has invaded Chang'an."

Cao Cao did not hide anything from Xu You and answered directly with a somewhat depressed tone.

Ma Chao was defeated, which meant that he was the only force left to oppose the imperial court.

Although he is much more powerful now than before, not only does he command an army of hundreds of thousands, but he also occupies Jingxiang and Jiangdong, but he still feels unsure.

"Ma Chao was defeated?"

Xu You was also shocked when he heard the news.

Ma Chao's power was so strong that he was one of the only two people who could fight against the imperial court. But now he had fallen under the imperial court's attack.

Although he was very happy in his heart, Xu You said calmly on the surface: "The emperor today is a rare wise ruler in the history. Reviving the Han Dynasty and unifying the country is the general trend. Ma Chao's defeat is inevitable."

"It's a good thing that you have the thought of surrendering, which means you are not hopeless yet."

"If I were you, I would immediately take the fake emperor to Yecheng and surrender to the emperor. Just like we discussed before, I would say that I was deceived by the fake emperor. This way, I can still save my life."

"As for speaking well of you, that's for sure. Given our friendship, how could I watch you get punished by the emperor?"

"At worst, I can use my own merits to atone for your sins."

Cao Cao was hesitant when he heard this and sighed, "But how can the emperor forgive me if I have committed such a crime?"

"And I am also hesitant now, because the power now is much stronger than before, and it may not be impossible to compete with the imperial court."

Xu You sneered, "You think too much. Even a strong man like Ma Chao ended up being defeated. How can you possibly be a match for the imperial court?"

"The emperor unified the north and led his cavalry south. How can you resist the imperial army with only Jingzhou and Jiangdong?"

"Even if you can rely on the many waterways in Jingxiang and Jiangdong to develop a navy to compete with the imperial court for a while, it is not a long-term solution after all."

"Moreover, the great granary of Yizhou has also been recaptured by the imperial court. The grain production in Jingzhou and Jiangdong is limited and it is difficult to support you..."

Xu You analyzed the situation to Cao Cao in a torrent of words.

But halfway through his words, he suddenly realized that Cao Cao was staring at him intently, listening to his analysis with great concentration, which made him react instantly.

"Cao Aman! You are so shameless!"

Xu You slammed the table and stood up, pointing at Cao Cao's nose and cursing, his face turning extremely pale.

Cao Cao didn't want to surrender and ask for his opinion at all, but was using this opportunity to get him to talk and let him analyze the situation!
He had been paralyzed by Cao Cao's words of surrender, so he was not careful for a moment and fell into this guy's trap!

Seeing that Xu You had seen through his intentions, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel it was a pity.

He did come here today on purpose to trick Xu You into talking, and under the guise of surrender, he wanted to get advice from Xu You.

He benefited a lot from Xu You's words just now. He knew his strengths and weaknesses, and what to do in the future.

Cao Cao restrained his expression, laughed and said: "All is fair in war, this is an ancient saying, Ziyuan, you are still too careless."

"But your words have enlightened me. I know how to fight against the imperial court. I will ask Xu Chu to bring you a few pots of good wine to express my gratitude."

After saying this, Cao Cao turned and left the yard.

Xu You was so angry that he was shaking all over. He shouted at Cao Cao's back: "Cao Mengde! You will definitely lose!"

"Your Majesty will definitely unify the world! In the end, you will become a pile of bones like Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao!"

(End of this chapter)