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

Chapter 207, Guan Yu undergoes bone-scraping treatment to remove poison.

Guan Yu hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, you're not going to cut off my left arm, are you?"

For a military general, losing an arm is more painful than being killed.

Therefore, Guan Yu was very worried and kept his eyes fixed on Liu Xie.

Liu Xie gently shook his head and reassured him, "Don't worry, it's not that serious. I will definitely save your arm!"

In fact, if you were hit by a poisoned arrow, you had to receive immediate treatment, regardless of the severity of the poisoning or the location of the wound. Under the rudimentary medical conditions of ancient times, you could not delay treatment.

The longer it drags on, the more trouble it will become.

Furthermore, since Liu Xie transmigrated to this world, he has experienced many battles, both large and small, and he has never even heard of poison arrows, let alone seen them.

However, after his examination, it was confirmed that Guan Yu's left arm had indeed been hit by a poisoned arrow. Otherwise, the wound would not have turned black and swollen, which are symptoms that only appear when poisoned.

Moreover, Guan Yu had been poisoned for two days, and his wounds were clearly infected.

Time was of the essence, so Liu Xie asked Wu Anguo to fetch his surgical kit and Lin Tong to bring the poisoned arrow he had extracted, and then examined it again.

The arrowhead of this poisoned arrow had turned black. Liu Xie examined it carefully and said with certainty, "It's obvious that this arrowhead was previously filled with gold liquid. Whether it's gold or silver liquid, the cost is extremely high."

Liu Xie looked at Guan Yu and laughed, "Yun Chang, it's because you killed Yuan Shao that they're willing to use poisoned arrows against you at any cost."

Guan Yu snorted arrogantly, "I didn't think that much about it. I just wanted to kill Yuan Shao."

Lin Tong said worriedly, "Your Majesty, we've run out of anesthetic."

"Huh? How could it be gone?"

Liu Xie was both surprised and somewhat angry.

To treat Guan Yu's poisoned wounds, all the rotten, poisoned flesh and blood must be removed.

Because the damaged skin and flesh are right on top of the bone, they must be removed. You can imagine how painful this kind of surgery is. How could it be done without anesthetic?
Seeing Liu Xie's anger, Lin Tong felt helpless. "Your Majesty, after several battles, there are many casualties every day. The amount of anesthetic powder is already limited. I have tried my best to conserve it, but it still ran out early."

Guan Yu didn't know what anesthetic was, so he hurriedly asked. Liu Xie patiently explained it to him. After listening, Guan Yu smiled dismissively and said, "Your Majesty, please go ahead and cut me. It's alright, I can take it."

Guan Yu was very calm, and even showed a hint of disdain for the anesthetic.

Liu Xie reminded him, "Yun Chang, I know you are exceptionally loyal and brave. You would not care about ordinary injuries, but the pain of scraping the bone is excruciating and cannot be taken lightly."

Guan Yu shook his head, his tone firm, "Your Majesty, as long as I can save this arm, I can endure any pain. Please use the knife."

Whether we try to persuade them or not, the anesthetic is already gone. Even if we send someone back to Xuchang to get more, it would be too much of a waste of time.

Liu Xie waved his hand and quickly made a decision, dismissing everyone else and keeping only Zhao Yun behind.

The story of Guan Yu undergoing bone-scraping surgery is clearly recorded in the Records of the Three Kingdoms and is not a fabrication.

However, in official history, Guan Yu was shot in the right arm, not the left. In the novel, it was Hua Tuo who scraped his bone, but in official history, it was someone else.

But none of that matters now; Liu Xie has become a true participant.

Guan Yu handed over his left arm, and finally put down the "Spring and Autumn Annals" in his right hand.

Zhao Yun helped him remove his clothes, fully exposing the arrow wound on his left arm.

Liu Xie glanced at Guan Yu, picked up the scalpel, and said, "I'll begin now. By the way, did you bring back all those letters?"

Liu Xie wanted to distract Guan Yu, so he mentioned the letters.

Guan Yu nodded, then turned and pointed to the headboard. "Your Majesty, those letters are right by the headboard. I was afraid someone would take them, so I've been using them as a pillow for the past two days."

Guan Yu knew that these letters were very important to Liu Xie. Even though he was seriously injured and almost unconscious, Guan Yu did not allow anyone else to touch the letters or the imperial seal.

Liu Xie nodded and asked Zhao Yun to bring the letter over. "Yun Chang, you can take a look at it when you have time and see what's written in it."

Zhao Yun took the package and handed it to Guan Yu.

After receiving Liu Xie's tacit approval, Guan Yu casually opened a letter and began to read it carefully.

The more Guan Yu looked, the angrier he became, and his brows gradually furrowed. "I never expected that someone would betray the court and secretly collude with Yuan Shao."

Liu Xie didn't reply. His knife was already heating up over the fire. Then, with a swift motion, the knife cut downwards, opening the wound, and a lot of black blood flowed out from the cut.

Guan Yu didn't utter a sound; he continued reading the letter, his attention completely focused on it.

After reading one letter, Zhao Yun had already opened the other one for him.

Zhao Yun watched quietly from the side. Liu Xie acted quickly and accurately, first cutting away the rotten and damaged flesh with a flick of his wrist, and then continuing to clean inside.

Guan Yu's left arm seemed to have completely lost sensation. He didn't move it at all, even though the pain was excruciating.

He read the letter while getting angry, his brows furrowing from time to time. It was hard to tell whether he was frowning from pain or from anger.

After Cao Ren was defeated, Cao Cao had him carried back to his main tent. Then, Cao Cao immediately gathered his men together and assigned them tasks. He was told that he had to launch a decisive attack and take advantage of the Yuan army's defeat to immediately recover lost territory and expand the victory.

Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, Yu Jin, Yue Jin, Cao Ang, and others were all dispatched by Cao Cao. After making these arrangements, Cao Cao said to Guo Jia, "Fengxiao, although Yuan Shao is dead, my pressure is greater than before."

Guo Jia knew that Cao Cao felt very depressed and frustrated about Cao Ren being beaten.

Guo Jia advised, “My lord, we must not be too hasty in everything. Although we do not have many troops now, we have already gathered tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers. Moreover, there will be many more surrendered soldiers in the future. Baima, Yanjin and other places will also return to your hands. Your strength and prestige are destined to rise rapidly. For now, my lord should not argue with His Majesty. His Majesty has done almost everything he needed to do.”

Cao Cao still has about 20,000 troops, while Liu Xie has four or five thousand men around him.

However, Cao Cao has already gathered more than 40,000 prisoners of war. Now, Cao Cao has sent troops to continue the pursuit, and the number of surrendered soldiers will increase further.

And these surrendered soldiers will soon be converted into Cao Cao's troops.

Seeing that Cao Cao's expression had softened considerably, Guo Jia continued to advise, "Before, Yuan Shao was powerful, and we needed His Majesty to intervene. But now, we don't need to. As the Son of Heaven, His Majesty only needs to stay in Guandu and support you, my lord."

Xun You interjected, "But it's infuriating to see Cao Ren get beaten like this. Besides, it will take at least a few months for the surrendered soldiers to completely submit and become your fighting force."

Guo Jia countered, "Gongda, do you know how long it took His Majesty to get to where he is today?"

“Previously, Gan Ning and his men were by Prince Chen’s side, but His Majesty was wary of Cao Cao and dared not transfer them to his own side. But now, these thousands of soldiers have completely become His Majesty’s personal guards. His Majesty has been waiting for this day for four whole years.”

"In just a few months, your forces will reach 100,000, and Yuan Shao's army will be driven back to the north bank of the Yellow River. Then, we can simply wait for Yuan Shao's two sons to fight each other and reap the benefits. It won't be long before we can completely take over Hebei."

Guo Jia had a clear understanding of the situation; he could see ten steps ahead before taking a single step, and he had already foreseen the changes in the situation to come.

Xun You was still somewhat anxious. "You must know that the thousands of people around His Majesty are not simple. What should we do if His Majesty takes them back to Xuchang?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao frowned and his eyes widened considerably.

Cao Cao had to take Xun You's warning seriously. If Liu Xie suddenly turned back to Xuchang while Cao Cao was pursuing Yuan Shao's army, with these several thousand men by his side, Xuchang would immediately change hands.

Guo Jia laughed, “I think there is no need to worry about this. Right now we have few soldiers, and prisoners of war cannot be used for us immediately. You can suggest to His Majesty that we let Lü Bu, Gan Ning and others assist us. In this way, wouldn’t His Majesty’s troops be transferred away from him?”

Xun You's eyes lit up immediately, and he praised, "Yes, do it this way. Separate His Majesty from Lü Bu and the others, leaving only His Majesty and Prince Chen in Guandu. Even if His Majesty wants to return to Xuchang, he can't do anything about it."

Cao Cao nodded. "That's good. As long as Your Majesty stays obediently in Guandu, there's no need for him to interfere in anything else. Even if Lü Bu and Gan Ning can't obey my orders, as long as they are temporarily separated from Your Majesty, there's nothing to worry about."

The matter was settled, and Cao Cao immediately went to visit Cao Ren.

Cao Ren lay on the bed, silent and looking very unwell, sulking.

After being lashed a hundred times, Cao Ren's buttocks were not only bruised, but his legs were also covered in welts, and he could only sleep on his stomach from then on.

Hearing footsteps, Cao Ren looked up and saw Cao Cao's distressed expression. All of Cao Ren's resentment and dissatisfaction vanished instantly.

He struggled to get up, but Cao Cao hurriedly said, "Lie down and don't move. Sigh... Zixiao, I'm really sorry to have troubled you this time."

Cao Cao waved for the others to leave, then sat down next to Cao Ren.

Cao Cao suddenly sighed, "Zixiao, I know you feel wronged. You have been by my side since the campaign against Dong Zhuo. Over the years, you have worked hard and fought for me. I remember how many injuries you have suffered."

Deeply moved, Cao Ren said through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with tears, "My lord, I'm not angry with anyone else, nor am I feeling wronged myself. I'm just heartbroken for you."

Cao Ren became more and more agitated as he spoke, his eyes flashing with hatred. "When we went to Luoyang to welcome His Majesty, he was in such a sorry state, dressed in rags and starving. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them a group of refugees. They couldn't even fill their stomachs and were being bullied at will by Han Xian and others. It was you, my lord, who gave His Majesty dignity and provided him with care and comfort."

"Everything His Majesty has now was given to him by the Lord, but now he is pointing fingers at us and trying to ride on the Lord's head and give orders. We have sacrificed so many soldiers for him. Zihe and Miaocai are all dead. The more I think about it, the more resentful I become. Why should we be treated this way!"

Cao Ren became increasingly distressed as he spoke, and Cao Cao's mood was also heavy, but he did not lose his composure. "Zixiao, His Majesty's achievements today are not entirely due to us. Besides, he has also made us who we are. Think about it, if we didn't have the emperor, which of the feudal lords in the world would have taken us seriously? Would those virtuous ministers and famous scholars have been willing to assist me?"

Cao Ren clenched his fists tightly, the veins on his arms bulging. "Anyway, the territory is ours, the soldiers are ours. Without us, the emperor has nothing, he can't do anything. My lord, why don't we just rebel? Yuan Shao is already dead, and whether we have the emperor or not, no one in the world can be our match in the future."

Cao Cao shook his head. “That’s unacceptable. This world belongs to the Han Dynasty. If we rebel, all the prestige and status we’ve built up will vanish in an instant. Besides, His Majesty is now powerful enough. If we turn against him, the consequences will be unimaginable. Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, and others are among the bravest generals in the world. If a war breaks out, many more people will lose their lives. Once the Cao family is branded as a traitor, they might be completely wiped out from this world.”

Cao Cao patted Cao Ren on the shoulder and advised, "Don't think too much about it. Just focus on recovering. If you want to go back to Xuchang now, I'll send someone to take you back tomorrow."

Cao Ren shook his head and said stubbornly, "I won't go back. I want to stay by my lord's side. By the way, does my lord just want His Majesty to continue like this?"

Cao Ren couldn't swallow this insult. He stared intently at Cao Cao, desperately hoping to retaliate immediately and teach the emperor a lesson.

Cao Cao smiled and, to put Cao Ren at ease, told him what Guo Jia had just said to him.

Cao Cao said, "Originally, the reason I sent troops to deal with Yuan Shao was to use Your Majesty and Yuan Shao to wear each other down. Now that Yuan Shao is dead, Your Majesty no longer needs to personally command the battle. Zixiao, rest assured, Your Majesty's performance ends here."

As long as Liu Xie is kept by my side and remains in Guandu, I won't let him interfere with anything else.

Cao Cao had already pictured Liu Xie's daily life from now on. He smiled, a smile of satisfaction. "Doesn't His Majesty enjoy playing chess? Let Duke Fengxiao Da play chess with him when he has some free time, so he can relax. His Majesty has worked so hard for so long, he deserves a good rest."

Cao Ren nodded in agreement, "Good, that's the right way. Let's stop him from causing trouble everywhere and just let him stay in Guandu."

Cao Cao wanted to use the gentlest method to place Liu Xie under house arrest at Guandu.

Originally, after visiting Cao Ren, Cao Cao immediately wanted to visit Liu Xie.

A soldier told him, "His Majesty is treating General Guan's wounds and will not see anyone for the time being."

(End of this chapter)