My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 183 You have to give an explanation to the world! Cao Cao: You ungrateful bastard, how am I inferior to Liu Bei?
Cao Pi, kneeling on the ground, thought he had escaped danger, but he never expected that Xun Yu would not let him go and would force Cao Cao to kill him.

Cao Pi was so frightened that he trembled and almost collapsed on the ground.

Xun Yu is different from counselors like Cheng Yu and Liu Ye. He is not just a subordinate of you, Cao Cao.

He is the head of the Xun family and the leader of the Yingchuan soldiers.

When Xun Yu abandoned Yuan Shao and joined you, Cao Cao, it was more accurate to say that he invested in you with the political resources of the Xun family.

In other words, Xun Yu has a dual identity, one is your subject, Cao Cao, and the other is a shareholder of your Cao Group.

And he is the largest shareholder with a non-family name.

How could you, Cao Cao, turn a blind eye to the words of such an important figure and dare not take them seriously?

Cao Pi was naturally panicked, fearing that Cao Cao would be forced by Xun Yu. In order to give an explanation to the people of the world, he made the act of sacrificing his own relative for the sake of justice.

After all, Cao Ang was killed by Zhang Xiu. In order to win over the hearts of the people, Cao Cao was able to magnanimously accept Zhang Xiu's surrender.

Cao Ang was Cao Cao's favorite eldest son. Cao Cao could let him go, let alone him.

"Wenruo, my son Wen was just killed by the big-eared thief not long ago. It's not appropriate for you to ask me to execute another son."

Cao Cao's face darkened, and he was obviously very dissatisfied with Xun Yu's coercion.

Cao Pi felt slightly relieved when he heard that Cao Cao wanted to protect him.

Xun Yu's face was filled with righteous indignation, and he said sternly:

"The death of Prince Ziwen and Cao Pi's assassination of the emperor are two completely different things. How can they be lumped together?"

"Could it be that the Prime Minister, just because he's still grieving the loss of his son, can he shield and favoritism and allow the regicide to go unpunished?"

"Prime Minister, you are first and foremost the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, a minister of the Emperor, and only secondarily a father."

"I hope the Prime Minister can set an example for the world and enforce the law impartially, sentencing all accomplices in the regicide to death and bringing justice to the people of the world!"

Xun Yu was full of righteousness and gave another bitter remonstration in an impassioned and passionate manner.

Facing the aggressive Xun Yu, Cao Cao clenched his fists and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Your status, Xun Yu, is higher than that of other counselors and generals from other families. I, Cao Cao, respect you much more than others.

But after all, I am the master, and you, Xun Yu, am the minister.

Now I have lowered my stance and pleaded with you, but you still refuse to give in and continue to press me.

What do you want to do?
Are you turning against me, Cao Cao, and rebelling against me for the sake of a dead emperor?

Xun Yu's attitude really angered Cao Cao.

Cao Cao's eyes turned cold, and he didn't say anything, just staring at Xun Yu.

Xun Yu did not back down either. He held his head high and looked at Cao Cao fearlessly.

The two of them stared at each other in front of the emperor's spirit, and the atmosphere became tense.

Cao Pi was kneeling on the ground, with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. His eyes were darting around as he thought about how to protect himself.

Suddenly his eyes focused and a gleam of light flashed.

"brush!"

Cao Pi suddenly jumped up, drew his sword from its sheath, and placed it against his neck.

This sudden action scared everyone.

"Cao Pi, are you crazy? What do you want to do?"

Cao Cao thought he was going to commit suicide with his sword, and was shocked, so he shouted to stop him.

Xiahou Dun, Xu Chu and other confidants were shocked and stepped forward to stop them.

Even Xun Yu showed a hint of surprise, as if he had not expected that Cao Pi would have such courage.

Only Cao Zhi and Yang Xiu were surprised for a moment, then quickly looked at each other with a hint of understanding in their eyes.

"Father, although the emperor was mistakenly killed by Wu Zhi, Wu Zhi followed me to save the emperor, so I cannot escape the blame."

"If a father doesn't kill his son, he will be slandered as disloyal by the scoundrels of the world."

"But even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. If a father kills his son, those villains will regard him as unkind and accuse him of being cold-blooded and cruel, and of not caring about the affection of his own flesh and blood."

"Father cannot kill me, but I also cannot fail to give an explanation to the people of the world. I have no choice but to cut off my hair in lieu of my head, to avoid putting you in this dilemma!"

After saying that, Cao Pi grabbed a handful of his hair and cut it off without hesitation.

Seeing that Cao Pi did not want to commit suicide, but was going to cut off his hair instead of his head, Cao Cao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He had used the trick of cutting off hair instead of head in the past.

When he was on the march and passed by a field of crops, he ordered that anyone who trampled on the people's fields would be executed.

As soon as he finished speaking, his mount was frightened and rushed into the field, trampling a large area of ​​crops.

As the lord, of course he could not execute himself, but if he did not obey the orders he had given, it would be like slapping himself in the face and it would be difficult to convince the people.

So he came up with the idea of ​​cutting off his hair instead of his head.

Our bodies and hair are given by our parents and should not be damaged. Cutting our hair is a serious sin of filial piety.

Cao Pi's move could barely make up for his crime.

"Wenruo, Zihuan has cut off his hair in lieu of his head. Are you still not satisfied?"

Cao Cao sighed and turned to look at Xun Yu again.

Xun Yu remained silent, and it was obvious that he no longer had the indignation he had just felt.

"Wenruo, your body and hair are given by your parents. Zihuan has already cut off his hair in lieu of his head. What else do you want?"

"After all, it was Wu Zhi who mistakenly killed the emperor. Zihuan had nothing to do with it. Why are you so persistent in forcing the Prime Minister to kill his own son?"

"Could it be that in your eyes, Xun Yu, there is only the emperor, and not the prime minister, your lord?"

"Could it be that you are only loyal to the Emperor, but not to the Prime Minister?"

Xiahou Dun finally lost his patience and jumped out to defend his son. He also questioned Xun Yu in turn, shifting the question of whether Cao Pi deserved death to whether Xun Yu was loyal to Cao Cao.

Xun Yu was shocked.

He claimed to be a Han minister and was loyal to the emperor, but that did not mean he was unwilling to be loyal to Cao Cao.

He has a dual identity as both a minister of the Han Dynasty and a subordinate of Cao Cao.

This is also the reason why he never participated in Liu Xie's several previous coups to seize power from Cao Cao.

Now Xiahou Dun's questioning stumped him.

If he denied that he was a minister of Cao Cao, it would be equivalent to a complete break with Cao Cao and standing against Cao Cao.

So how will he deal with himself after today?
Will the future and destiny of the Xun family, as well as family interests, be affected by his break with Cao Cao?

And if he admitted that he was a minister of Cao Cao, then as a minister, he forced his lord to kill his own son. How could this be the way of a minister?
Xun Yu was caught here and was speechless for a moment.

After a long time.

Xun Yu sighed helplessly and silently bowed to Cao Cao:

"I am not forcing the Prime Minister. Everything I do is only for the Prime Minister's great cause of supporting the Han Dynasty."

"If the Prime Minister insists on saving Prince Zihuan, believing that doing so will give the world an explanation, then I have nothing to say."

"I'll take my leave."

After saying that, Xun Yu turned around and walked out of the mourning hall with a look of disappointment on his face.

Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu's receding figure, and vaguely saw an old friend who had lived and died with him, now getting farther and farther away from him...

A hint of disappointment gradually appeared in his eyes.

Cao Pi finally breathed a sigh of relief at this moment, and then he said cautiously: "Father, son——"

Before he could finish his words, Cao Cao slapped Cao Pi hard in the face.

Cao Pi staggered back a few steps, covering his face with his hands, and looked at Cao Cao, whose face was full of anger and disappointment, feeling aggrieved and fearful.

"Do you know how much trouble you have caused me? You really disappoint me!"

Cao Cao was filled with hatred for Cao Pi's lack of fighting spirit and started to scold him.

Cao Pi didn't dare to say anything. He could only lower his head, cover his face, and stand at attention to be scolded.

Cao Cao had almost vented his anger and waved his hand:

"You've caused such a big disaster, you can't stay in Xudu anymore. Go to Hefei and stay with your uncle Miaocai in the name of entertaining the troops to avoid the limelight."

Cao Pi felt relieved and quickly knelt down and kowtowed three times to Cao Cao before standing up and leaving sadly.

"Meng De, I'll tell you the truth. Although Zihuan caused a great disaster, his original intention was to recover the emperor."

"It would be more advantageous for us to have an emperor who dies in his hands than to have him live and fall into Liu Bei's hands."

Seeing that Cao Cao had calmed down, Xiahou Dun began to speak up for Cao Pi.

Cao Cao seemed to be thinking about something, and his expression softened slightly.

"Speaking of Xun Yu, today I finally understand that he is not on the same page with us after all."

Xiahou Dun sighed meaningfully, and his words were obviously hinting to Cao Cao to be wary of Xun Yu.

"I have done my best for him. If he really wants to part ways with me, don't blame me for not remembering our old friendship."

There was a hint of coldness in Cao Cao's eyes.

Then he took a deep breath and turned his gaze to Liu Xie's coffin, his eyes regaining calm.

"Now that things have come to this, we must quickly establish a new emperor so that we can continue to rule the world."

"After the emperor is buried, I will immediately lead my army to Nanyang. First, I will recapture Wancheng, and second, I will see if I can put pressure on Liu Bei to force him to return the queen and the Prince of Jiyin."

"The Prince of Jiyin is of the bloodline of the Son of Heaven, so it is natural to make him the emperor, which is most in line with the law."

Cao Cao made the decision in a cold tone.

Xiahou Dun deeply agreed with this.

Cao Cao came to the coffin and looked at the cold body of Liu Xie lying inside. A look of hatred and resentment appeared on his face.

"Liu Xie, Liu Xie, I raised you for more than ten years, but you are so ungrateful that you betrayed me and joined that big-eared thief. You deserve to die, you deserve to die..."

...

Wancheng.

The whole city was covered in mourning, filled with sorrow.

When Liu Bei heard the news that the emperor had been assassinated, he was naturally shocked. He led more than 30,000 soldiers and rushed to Wancheng at full speed.

When it was confirmed that the emperor was killed by Cao's pursuers, Liu Bei, in addition to being indignant and sad, could only set up a mourning hall in Wancheng to hold a funeral for Liu Xie.

For seven consecutive days, soldiers and civilians throughout the city wore mourning clothes and offered sacrifices to the emperor from afar.

At night, Liu Bei stayed alone in the mourning hall as usual to keep vigil for Liu Xie.

Accompanied by Xiao He, Kong Rong came to the mourning hall and presented the blood edict left by Liu Xie to Liu Bei.

Looking at the will written in blood by Liu Xie, Liu Bei felt mixed emotions and was filled with emotion.

After a long while, Liu Bei held the blood edict in his hand and bowed to Liu Xie's spirit tablet:
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will definitely live up to your trust and assist the Prince of Jiyin in inheriting the throne, defeating the thief Cao, avenging your majesty and restoring our Han Dynasty!"

Kong Rong behind him wanted to say something for a while, but then he gritted his teeth and seemed to have made some kind of decision.

So he took a deep breath and bowed to Liu Bei:

"Lord Xuande, before the late emperor passed away, in addition to this will, he also left behind an oral instruction."

"The late emperor ordered Rong to tell Lord Xuande that if the Prince of Jiyin is capable of being assisted, then he should be assisted. If he is incompetent, then Lord Xuande can become the emperor himself!"

(End of this chapter)