Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 350 Everyone is living life to the fullest!

After examining Cao Anmin before him, Cao Cao pondered for a moment and then probed him again.

"In Anmin's opinion, what should we do now?"

"Uncle, are you joking?"

Faced with Cao Cao's probing, Cao Anmin looked back in surprise.

"With your uncle's talent, how could he not know?"
Now that my nephew has revealed Yuan's secret plot, why doesn't Uncle turn the tables and use these letters to test the loyalty of our ministers?

Cao Cao's eyes narrowed, and as he pondered, he continued to probe.

"Oh? Does Anmin mean that I should play along, pretend not to know, and secretly observe the reactions of my ministers after receiving the letter from Yuan's camp before making a decision?"

That is exactly the case.

Whether the officials were in cahoots with Yuan Shikai cannot be determined by these 132 letters.

Even if the letters are intercepted and not delivered, does that mean those traitors who harbored ambitions to communicate with Yuan Shikai would not communicate with him?

Those who were in contact with Yuan Shikai would still do so even if they didn't receive a letter, while those who weren't in contact with Yuan Shikai wouldn't do so even if they received a letter.

Ultimately, whether the officials were in cahoots with Yuan Shikai had nothing to do with these 132 letters. On the contrary, these 132 letters helped Uncle Shikai see the true intentions of the officials.

We could easily use this letter to Yang Xiu to stage a play.

He betrayed the plan of the King of Han to openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass in order to persuade Yang Xiu to surrender, and deliberately set a trap to test Yang Xiu.

As for the 132 letters, they pretended not to know about them, and while we were distracted by the matter of Yang Xiu, these people took the opportunity to carry out their plan.

Anyway, they didn't know that the King of Han trusted his nephew very much and had already told me the whole plan.

It's entirely possible to pretend that the King of Han didn't fully trust his nephew and had anticipated that I would betray Yang Xiu's information.

So, while I was betraying Yang Xiu to attract my uncle's attention, the 132 letters he deliberately concealed were the real plan.

In this way, everything would be reasonable and perfectly in line with the image of Yuan Shikai as a treacherous schemer who manipulates people's hearts, and the ministers would not suspect anything.

But how could they know how deeply my nephew had infiltrated, earning the King of Han's complete trust in me and entrusting me with the entire plan?

The nephew, however, was devoted to his uncle and betrayed everything, putting the entire situation under his uncle's control.

Therefore, the reactions of the ministers after receiving the letter were all sincere. The loyal ones would tell the whole story like a nephew, while the disloyal ones would keep the letter to themselves and conceal it.

If that is the case, then it will be clear who is loyal and who is treacherous. Uncle can then wipe out all the traitors in this area who are colluding with Yuan Shikai, thus having a legitimate reason for the campaign and preventing any trouble.

Cao Cao: “???”

Upon hearing this plan and seeing Cao Anmin speaking eloquently as he devised the strategy, Cao Cao's gaze became increasingly suspicious.

Such an intricately linked plan, how could you, my dear nephew, have come up with it?

Why don't I believe it?

Seeing that Cao Cao remained silent and was looking at him suspiciously, his eyes grew increasingly gloomy.

Cao Anmin was filled with bitterness.

Hanwang has screwed me over!
I've tried so hard to live, why don't you believe me, Uncle?

I've told you everything I could. If you still have doubts, I can't possibly tell you the whole truth. The truth is:

[The King of Han is also in league with Cao Cao! His real plan is for me to betray him, isn't it?]

In this situation, where life and death hang in the balance, how could Cao Anmin not know that the King of Han's plan was extremely malicious?

The reason Yang Xiu was able to betray them, and the reason those 132 letters were able to be betrayed, is because none of that mattered; they were all illusions used to deceive people in this scheme.

The King of Han was not lying; the core of his plan was indeed to make me betray him.

At this moment, nothing matters anymore—nothing about Yang Xiu, the 132 letters, testing people's hearts, or whether Cao Chen was in league with Yuan Shao.

The moment I betrayed the King of Han's plan to my uncle Cao Cao, the King of Han's scheme had already succeeded.

The uncle now faces a choice: to intercept or not to intercept.

If the letters were intercepted, it might seem like they would disrupt the King of Han's plan, but the problem is, these letters weren't part of the King of Han's plan in the first place, so what could they possibly disrupt?

Whether the letter was intercepted or not, the King of Han didn't care at all; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent someone to betray him.

As long as the uncle stops the letter and pretends nothing happened, it seems he can quell the matter.

Can we really pretend that nothing happened?
Looking at the names on those letters, wouldn't your uncle become suspicious?
Why did the King of Han write to you 132 people instead of others?

It's impossible that all these people were in cahoots with Yuan Shikai, but what if the Prince of Han were to fish in troubled waters and hide the real people in cahoots with Yuan Shikai? What if there were actually a few, or even a dozen, people in cahoots with Yuan Shikai?
If we don't investigate the people mentioned in these letters, how can my uncle feel at ease?
Suspicion breeds distrust, and the hearts of the ruler and his ministers turn against each other, leading to disunity and discord. How can Huanyuan Pass remain unconquered for long?
However, if Uncle Cao Cao chooses not to intercept the letter, he can use this as a way to test people's hearts.

Cao Cao's doubts might be dispelled, but the suspicions of his ministers would arise.

Our lord has begun to suspect us. Is there really any way out if we continue to stay in Cao Cao's camp?

Similarly, due to the discord between the ruler and his ministers, Huanyuan Pass fell without being attacked.

And it doesn't stop there. After all, is sincerity revealed through testing truly loyalty?
Cao Cao's suspicions remained, but he was just waiting for the right moment to act.

Having figured all this out, Cao Anmin felt a chill run down his spine and his hair stand on end.

The King of Han's methods were truly unpredictable, manipulating people's hearts with ease.

The beginning of a scheme is often its end!

From the moment he betrayed the King of Han to Cao Cao, Cao Cao had no other choice.

As for whether he could betray the King of Han by not following his plan?

What a joke! If you infiltrate Cao Cao's camp under your own identity and don't betray information, how can you save your life?

Even if he could suppress Yang Xiu's letter, once the 132 letters came to light, how could he not be punished by Cao Cao for not betraying the information beforehand?

As for telling his uncle everything he had thought of, so that his uncle would know the truth about the plot that "the King of Han's plan was to betray him."

So here's the problem: even if the uncle is persuaded and willing to believe it, the chain of suspicion remains unbroken.

Because if my uncle were to say something like:
Since Yuan Shu's order is for you to betray the plan to me.

How do I know that everything you're betraying right now wasn't done at your behest by Yuan Shu?
Your real purpose is to help him hide a deeper scheme.

The chain of betrayals leads to endless suspicion!

Good heavens, this has backfired!

Cao Anmin was truly horrified upon closer examination. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that the King of Han's plan not only left Cao Cao with no choice, but also left himself with no choice!

Cao Anmin finally understood why the King of Han never doubted the loyalty of someone like himself—because it didn't matter.

The King of Han didn't care.

Whether loyal or treacherous, whether siding with Han or Cao, it was all part of the King of Han's plan, leaving them with no other choice!

Their scheming against people's hearts has reached such a level that no one in the Han state is not a loyal subject.

It's just a matter of different ways of expressing loyalty.

Cao Anmin's clothes were soaked through, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead. "Anmin, this plan you just mentioned, was it your idea?"

Meeting Cao Cao's suspicious gaze, Cao Anmin knew that it was no longer possible for him to continue betraying the King of Han in order to gain Cao Cao's trust and save his life.

To survive, one must fabricate a story to justify oneself.

Therefore, Cao Anmin nodded proudly, “No! This is the King of Han’s plan!”

My nephew's mission this time was truly entrusted to me by the King of Han, who told me the whole plan.

Using Yang Xiu as bait to attract attention, the real purpose was to secretly communicate with Yuan Shikai through letters.

The reason why he was able to convince the courtiers and dispel their doubts was that this was the true plan of the King of Han in sending his nephew here.

It was only because my nephew cared about his uncle and was loyal to the court that he informed me in advance, which led to this plan.

Otherwise, if the nephew had not told him, the uncle could have considered it.

At that time, I told him about Yang Xiu's matter, and while my uncle was distracted by monitoring Yang Xiu, these three hundred men suddenly launched an attack.

Even though Cao Cao's army was prepared and killed all three hundred men, they also intercepted all the letters.

If such a commotion were to occur, it would surely become known to all the officials that there were many in Cao Cao's camp who were secretly colluding with Yuan Shao.

If this is the case, then everyone will be suspicious of each other, how can the ministers not become disloyal?

In this regard, it is not important whether these letters can be delivered to the intended recipients, as long as the fact that 132 people in Cao Cao's camp may be in league with Yuan Shao is known to everyone.

Yuan's scheme has succeeded.

After Cao Anmin finished speaking, he clasped his hands and bowed deeply.

"The strategy that my nephew offered to turn the tables on his father was not only to appease Uncle, but also to appease the hearts of the officials."

Only by distinguishing between the loyal and the treacherous, and clearly identifying friend from foe, can we unite as one to resist the false Han.

Cao Cao remained silent.

It turns out this plan wasn't Cao Anmin's idea, but Yuan Shu's original plan. Oh well, it's alright now.

As for Cao Anmin's willingness to confess and devise a plan to turn the tables on Yuan Shu's plan?

After all, if Cao Anmin did not voluntarily confess about these 132 letters, he would be held accountable once the matter came to light.

To save his life, he betrayed Yuan Shu, confessing everything and offering a plan to turn the tables on him as a pledge of loyalty—a move reminiscent of Cao Anmin.

The only question here is whether Yuan Shu would really trust Cao Anmin so much that he would tell him the whole plan.
However, this matter could not be forced out of him. If Yuan Shu did not fully trust Cao Anmin, then Cao Anmin would not have been able to reveal the part of the plan that Yuan Shu had not told him.

So it seems that Cao Anmin, this good nephew, is surprisingly trustworthy.

Cao Cao was shocked!

But then I thought about it again, and it made sense. My good nephew was so afraid of death that he was just going with the flow.

If he were in Yuan Shu's camp, his life and death would be at Yuan Shu's mercy, and he would surely betray his uncle completely.

Now that he's in Cao Cao's camp, his life and death are in his own hands. It would be strange if he didn't betray Yuan Shu.

Seeing that Cao Anmin's words and actions were reasonable, Cao Cao began to believe him to some extent, but some doubt still lingered in his eyes, so he asked:
"If we follow your advice and turn the tables, are those who received the letter from Yuan's camp and then voluntarily confessed truly loyal?"

If someone is truly treacherous but appears loyal, feigning righteousness while harboring treacherous intentions, how could their true nature be known?

Cao Anmin: "."

This question nearly stumped Cao Anmin. No, he was a treacherous villain disguised as loyal, feigning righteousness while harboring ulterior motives.

Isn't this me?
Fortunately, in his desperation to survive, he displayed some quick wit and immediately slammed his fist on the table, rising to his feet and replying:

"Uncle is confused!"
A person who voluntarily confesses may not be loyal, but a person who does not voluntarily confess is definitely disloyal!

My uncle can take this opportunity to rightfully eliminate those who are certainly disloyal.

As for those who appear loyal but are actually treacherous, this incident has exposed their true colors.

From now on, my uncle only needs to feign politeness with them while secretly keeping a watchful eye on them.

Now that these people have been exposed because of the letters, how could they possibly still conspire with Yuan Shikai under their uncle's very nose?

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao found it to be reasonable!
However, since this plan came from Cao Anmin, Cao Cao dared not fully believe it, and he was even more unaware of whether Yuan Shu had any deeper hidden schemes, which even Cao Anmin was unaware of.

Therefore, he dared not make any rash moves and simply raised his hand to signal Cao Anmin to step back.

"I am already well aware of what has happened here."

"Please step back, Anmin, while I consider this."

Cao Anmin had already done everything he could to survive, and even if he were asked to speak again, he wouldn't be able to come up with any reason. Therefore, he stopped trying to persuade him and withdrew with his hands clasped.

After Cao Anmin left, Cao Cao sat alone for a long time, wanting to summon his wise men for advice. However, thinking of the 132 letters he had received, he wondered who else he could trust.

Amidst his worries, he couldn't help but think about the current battle situation.

Even with Cao Cao's army defending the city, they still suffered three thousand casualties. It's uncertain whether Huanyuan Pass can hold out for thirty days.

If Huanyuan Pass falls, Cao Cao's army will be wiped out there, and Luoyang will be a flat plain, allowing Yuan Shu to gain the upper hand.

Cao Cao gave a bitter smile and a long sigh, "When the art of war is so strong, even I cannot protect myself, let alone others."

He paused mid-sentence, as if he had made up his mind.

"If we use this method, we may be able to break the divisive scheme in this letter and put people's minds at ease."

"Yuan Shu is still lurking outside the pass, watching us intently. If we follow this method now, we'll be in league with the traitor Yuan, wouldn't he become even more rampant?"

In a flash, Cao Cao couldn't help but recall Cao Anmin's scathing words from earlier.

Those who voluntarily confess may not be loyal, but those who don't voluntarily confess are definitely disloyal!

Cao Cao suddenly laughed, "We can use this as an opportunity to turn the tables, make an example of someone to warn others, and then reassure the people. This will ensure our safety."

Furthermore, although Cao Anmin seemed to have confessed everything, Cao Cao still felt a vague unease in his heart.

He always felt that Yuan Shu's schemes couldn't be so simple. Wouldn't he have been wary of Cao Anmin betraying him? And how could he have told Cao Anmin the whole plan?

But if Cao Anmin was unaware of this, Yuan Shu's hidden scheme would remain unfulfilled for a long time.

What was unknown was what terrified him even more.

Fortunately, he had already devised a plan. Even if Cao Cao's camp became suspicious and uneasy because of these 132 letters, he still had a way to reassure the people.

Therefore, we can follow Cao Anmin's plan and act accordingly, turning the tables on him once again!
Let's see what Yuan Gonglu and Cao Anmin are really up to, so he can make a good response.

Whatever Yuan Shu's true intentions may be, it certainly wasn't to have Cao Anmin betray him.

If he doesn't even know the real plan behind Yuan Shu sending Cao Anmin, how can he feel at ease?
Cao Cao then ordered someone to summon Anmin to discuss important matters. The uncle and nephew, each with their own thoughts, had already made all the necessary arrangements.

That night, Yang Xiu suddenly heard that Marquis Cao Anmin of Duting had come to visit, and that a letter from the King of Han had arrived.

Xiu's face turned deathly pale!
He thought to himself: I'm going to die!

(End of this chapter)