I am a commoner, but I will lead the empress to unify the world

Huang Tao glanced at the four people and finally said,

“When we return, it will be dark, but the emperor should not have rested yet and will definitely summon us.

We told him the truth and told him Shen Changgong's first plan. If he surrendered, we could surrender as well. We would not have to bear the infamy and we could still survive.

If you don't surrender, we will each go home, and I will quietly go to the Prince of Jin's mansion to see him."

Several people were shocked when they heard this and said,

"Sir, the Prince of Jin is loyal to the Emperor. If you tell him the second plan and try to persuade him to surrender, he will be furious and will probably kill or capture you."

"Sir, we all share the same fate. How can we let you take risks alone? We will go with you."

"Yes, sir, it's too dangerous for you to go alone."

Huang Tao waved his hand and said,

"I'm not trying to persuade the King of Jin to surrender. I'm just telling him what Shen Changgong said. As for what to do, let him figure it out himself.

Of course, I will also distance myself from you and say that you did not enter the general's tent and I was the only one who went in. You were not aware of it, so there will be no suspicion of deceiving the king.

If King Jin really kills me, please help take care of my family.

Then implement the third plan and select suitable people in the army to carry out rebellion.

When you get home tonight, think carefully about who would be the best person to recruit."

"We understand."

Several people nodded.

Huang Tao looked deeply, sighed, and said nothing more.

They rode at full speed all the way back to Luoyang City and headed straight for the palace. Huang Tao asked them to stay in the carriage while he went to pay a visit to Emperor Cao De of Wei alone.

At this time, Cao De had just finished dinner and was taking a walk in the imperial garden to digest his food. When he heard that Huang Tao had arrived, he immediately summoned him.

Huang Tao met Cao De in a pavilion in the imperial garden.

"Alright, alright, get up and get down to business. What did Shen Changgong say?"

Huang Tao organized his words and said,

"Your Majesty, Shen Changgong is arrogant and domineering. He completely rejected my proposal.

He refused to allow our Great Wei to become their vassal, refused to help them march south to attack the two states of Qian and Chu, and did not want our Great Wei to become a state within their state. He was determined to destroy our Great Wei.

Hearing this, Cao De’s face turned pale and he sighed heavily.

After all... has it come to this?

Am I doomed to die?

"Your Majesty, but Shen Changgong also said that if Your Majesty is willing to surrender, he can make Your Majesty a duke, so that You can enjoy Your Majesty's old age in Shengjing, without worries about food and clothing, and without danger to Your life."

Huang Tao would try to persuade others by first talking about the bad outcome to lower the other party's bottom line, and then talking about a slightly better one.

This is called the house-demolishing effect.

If I tell the emperor that he has no choice but to surrender and be under house arrest for life, the emperor of Wei will definitely not accept it.

But let me tell you that you are bound to die, but now there is a way to prevent you from dying.

Is that easy to accept?

Sure enough, Emperor Wei's expression softened a little.

Huang Tao did not try to persuade him. If he did, it would be like making his position clear and saying that he wanted to surrender.

But he did not scold Shen Changgong harshly. What if the emperor wanted to surrender, and he acted indignant and ready to die? Would the emperor still have face?

He just lowered his head and said nothing.

But I have to speak, the King of Wei asked,

"Huang Aiqing, what do you think about this matter?"

Huang Tao immediately said,

"Your Majesty, I will obey you completely."

He kicked the ball back.

Emperor Wei was annoyed for a moment, waved his hand and said,

"Go down. I will discuss this with the ministers in the court tomorrow."

"The minister obeys the order."

Huang Tao backed away.

Cao De sat in the pavilion, his eyes deep, thinking.

If you surrender, you won't die, but you will live a life of humiliation, be under house arrest, and be looked down upon.

If you don't surrender, you can die heroically, leave your name in history, and be remembered forever.

It’s really hard to choose.

……

After Huang Tao went out and got on the carriage, several people hurriedly asked,

"What did the Emperor say?"

"The Emperor hasn't expressed his opinion yet. How could he make a decision on such a big matter all at once?

Let's wait and see, and let the emperor think about it himself."

"Then what do we do now?"

Huang Tao thought for a moment and said,

"Let's go home. I'll change my clothes and go see King Jin."

"Ah? You still want to see Prince Jin?"

"I have to meet him. I have to tell him about this. Prince Jin is loyal to the emperor. Now there is a chance to save the emperor's life. I think he should help fight for it.

The most important thing is that tonight and tomorrow morning, we need to see the attitude of the King of Jin to confirm whether to implement the third plan."

"Alas, Master Huang has suffered so much."

"It's all for my family."

The carriage first took Huang Tao home, and then went on to take other officials.

After Huang Tao returned home, he changed into casual clothes, quietly went out, and took his own carriage to rush to the Prince of Jin's Mansion.

He had a smooth journey and arrived directly at the back door of Prince Jin's Mansion.

Boom boom boom!

After knocking on the door, a servant opened the door after a while, looked at him and asked,

"who are you?"

"Please inform the King of Jin that Huang Tao, the Imperial Courtier, requests an audience."

"It's Mr. Huang. Please wait a moment."

After saying this, the servant walked inside.

He was not surprised at all by this kind of thing, as he had seen it too many times.

After all, the King of Jin was in a high position and had great power, so there was an endless stream of people sending him gifts. Moreover, such matters certainly could not be done through the front door in an open and aboveboard manner, but only through the back door.

This is how the term "backdoor" comes from, as people often use it to describe connections, bribery, and unfair transactions.

King Cao Xiang of Jin had not rested yet and was very surprised when he heard that Huang Tao was coming.

Wasn't Huang Tao on a mission to the Yan army camp? Why is he here in the middle of the night?

After thinking about it, he asked someone to bring Huang Tao in.

In a side hall, Cao Xiang met with Huang Tao.

After paying respects and sitting down, Cao Xiang asked someone to serve tea, and then said,

"Sir Huang, didn't you set out to the Yan army camp today? Why did you come to my palace?"

As he spoke, Cao Xiang couldn't help but yawn.

He didn't sleep all night last night and was fighting the whole time.

We returned to Luoyang in the morning.

After the meeting, he went back to the military camp and redeployed the troops. After all, nearly 100,000 men were killed in this battle, and the defense of Luoyang City was even more empty. As the commander-in-chief, he naturally had to worry more and redeploy the troops.

He was busy until dark. He had just finished dinner and had not yet gone to rest when Huang Tao came.

Huang Tao laughed and said,

"After paying my respects to His Majesty, I immediately came to see Your Majesty, just to ask for a cup of tea."

As he spoke, Huang Tao picked up the teacup with a smile and took a big sip.

He was indeed hungry and thirsty, after all, he hadn't eaten for a day.

Cao Xiang frowned and said,

"You came to my palace through the back door in casual clothes, but you didn't just want to have a cup of tea, did you?"