High Martial Arts Three Kingdoms: The Incompetent Strategist

Cao Cao saw the doubt in Tang Ke's mind and added, "The key now lies with that survivor. Whoever he bites will die. Yuan Shao will make him talk. To be honest, we asked you to find a fake assassin, but you actually found a real one. It really surprised me. But you should still tell him to stick to the Ten Attendants and not let it affect you."

Tang Ke carefully pondered the meaning behind Cao Cao's words. This guy probably realized that something was wrong with him. But now, to ask him to collude with Ma Yuanyi to frame the Ten Attendants was just wishful thinking.

He had already fallen out with Ma Yuanyi, and Ma Yuanyi was most likely going to drag him down with him, so how could he possibly cooperate with him to attack others?

While Tang Ke was lost in thought, someone came to deliver an imperial edict, ordering him, Cao Cao, Chen Lin, and others to stay temporarily at He Jin's residence. They were not to leave without the edict and were to await investigation.

Tang Ke looked at Ma Yuanyi, who was bound like a dumpling and on the verge of death, and felt increasingly uneasy.

The next day.

early morning.

While He Jin was serving breakfast, someone came to deliver an imperial edict, ordering him to lead everyone into the palace for an audience.

He Jin was puzzled. Logically, such matters should be investigated by the Commandant of the Capital Region, and the results should be reported to the Emperor. That was why he recommended Yuan Shao to be the Commandant of the Capital Region, striving to keep the initiative in handling each case.

"May I ask, Your Majesty, is His Majesty still injured? Why would you personally inquire about this matter?" Cao Cao saw He Jin's doubts, pulled the eunuch who came to deliver the decree all the way to the door, and secretly slipped him a silver ingot.

"Oh, General Cao, you are always so polite to me. I'm so flattered."

The eunuch put away the silver and said with a beaming smile, "It was Eunuch Feng who suspected that there were accomplices of the assassin among those present yesterday, so he petitioned His Majesty to personally investigate. Right now, the Commandant of the Capital Region and all the officials have already been summoned to the Chengde Hall for discussion! I think you should also prepare to be questioned."

Cao Cao thanked him repeatedly, but after seeing the eunuch off, he returned to his seat and told everyone what had happened, which immediately angered everyone present.

"Why were all the others called over, but we were left standing here? Have they already become suspicious of us?"

Tang Ke had a guilty conscience and was the first to jump out. Treason was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. The most important thing at hand was to get close to the emperor's brother-in-law.

He Jin stroked his beard and said, "Ziyou, in my opinion, they may just be suspicious of you."

The others all looked at Tang Ke, their expressions showing deep sympathy.

"What? Trying to play the 'kill the dog after the rabbit is caught' game?" Tang Ke picked up his teacup and took a sip, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

Cao Cao said noncommittally, "Even if you're a dog, I'm afraid you're not a good one. Tell me, what is your relationship with these assassins?"

"What does this have to do with me?" Tang Ke carefully repeated the words he had prepared last night: "To tell you the truth, the survivor of that assassin is my enemy. He was chasing me back then. If the general hadn't happened to appear and save me, I would probably have died at his hands long ago."

"Then why did he cooperate with you in the assassination?"

"Cooperate with me my ass! I just managed to get the letter you gave me to them, I didn't expect them to actually do it."

"What about the opera troupe?"

“Then I’m even more innocent. They said the opera troupe had offended Yuan Shu and was having financial difficulties, so they wanted to win this performance opportunity. Then the female lead slept with me for one night.”

"Lust is a double-edged sword, you're not innocent!" Cao Cao glared at Tang Ke fiercely, looking as if he wanted to punch him right then and there.

"Forget it, we're all in the same boat now. It's best to think about how to deal with the current situation. We originally wanted to deal with Zhang Rang's gang, but we failed to get Zhang Rang and instead stirred up a hornet's nest with Feng Xu."

He Jin stood up and said, "Let's go to the palace and meet them first."

After changing into their official robes, He Jin and Cao Cao set off for the palace. Along the way, they were accompanied by heavily armored guards, carrying long spears and riding identical black horses, exuding a murderous aura.

Tang Ke was uneasy throughout the journey, and several times he wanted to take the opportunity to run away, but he was unable to do so because the guards were too tight.

Although he successfully tied himself to He Jin's big ship, the risk factor was still very high, not to mention the ticking time bomb that was Ma Yuanyi.

Taking advantage of this moment, Cao Cao analyzed the situation for him. Currently, the palace eunuchs are divided into two factions. One faction is the Ten Attendants, led by Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong. They have a bad reputation and are despised by the people. Therefore, although He Jin has old friendships with them, he still wants to get rid of them as soon as possible.

The other faction was the Qingliu faction, led by Feng Xu and Xu Feng. These people acted very differently from the Ten Attendants. Apart from their physical disabilities, they were completely loyal to the emperor.

However, their status as eunuchs made it difficult for them to be accepted by the civil service, and their ideal of "serving the public good" made it difficult for them to associate with the greedy, treacherous, and ruthless Ten Attendants. Being caught in the middle, their lives were not easy.

He Jin did not want to distinguish between the good and bad forces of the eunuch group; his ultimate goal was to eliminate them all at once. However, eliminating the Ten Attendants, who were obviously more destructive, was the top priority at present. Therefore, he had been trying to win over the Qingliu faction.

In the past, these self-righteous eunuchs looked down on his butcher background and made no progress. Only recently, under the suppression of Zhang Rang and others, did they have to ease the tension.

But things are getting a bit out of control right now, and by some twist of fate, they've ended up facing Feng Xu first!

Tang Ke was secretly astonished. It seemed that he had played a part in stirring things up.

As the two chatted idly, they unknowingly arrived at the Jiade Hall. The guards in front of the hall stood with their spears in hand, their faces expressionless. It was as if even if the sky were to fall and the earth were to crack, they would remain unmoved.

Upon entering the hall, they found a group of people arguing heatedly. When they saw Tang Ke and his party enter, they all fell silent and craned their necks to look in their direction.

Behind them stood guards, ready to defend themselves.

Emperor Ling of Han sat on the dragon throne, looking down at them as they followed him into the palace and knelt on the ground.

"Rise." Emperor Ling of Han waved his hand. "I summoned you here today mainly to have the Commandant of the Capital Region question you about my assassination attempt yesterday. You must answer truthfully."

"Yes!" the crowd replied in unison.

Emperor Ling turned his gaze to the young man sitting in the front row. The wound on his face still throbbed faintly, and a cold glint appeared in his eyes: "Yuan Shao, you must interrogate him carefully. If there are any accomplices of the assassin, you must find them and not disappoint me!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured, Benchu ​​will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust."

Yuan Shao stood up, holding a register in his hand, and slowly walked past the crowd, marking each person's name with an X as he passed.

It wasn't until it passed in front of Tang Ke that it finally made a big checkmark.