Your Majesty, please spare Diao Chan; your yang energy is too strong.

"Admit what? This is fucking not me!"

Cao Cao was on the verge of collapse.

Damn it, if I really did it and admitted it, then it doesn't matter.

Because they are indeed right.

This matter is indeed beneficial to me.

The problem is, I really didn't make this myself.

How can you expect me to admit it?

"Is it really not the lord?"

The officials frowned slightly.

This doesn't mean they didn't trust Cao Cao; it's just that from any perspective...

On the surface, Cao Cao was the biggest beneficiary.

At the same time, he is the most qualified person to accomplish this.

Other people.

There's no need to go through all this trouble to help Cao Cao!

"It's really not me."

Cao Cao's face darkened, and he shook his head again.

Does Cao Cao resemble someone who does things but doesn't admit them?

"Could it be Che Zhou?"

Cheng Yu hesitated for a moment.

"impossible."

However, Cao Cao refuted his words as soon as he spoke.

“Che Zhou is a man who never takes risks. He would never act on his own without my orders.”

"Besides, it was him who did it, so why would he send a letter to inquire about it?"

"It absolutely couldn't be him."

Cao Cao shook his head.

No one knew Che Zhou better than him. If the other party was such an unconventional person, he would never have let him take charge of Yanzhou.

What he needs is a stable rear, not a rear where accidents could happen at any time.

Therefore, it absolutely cannot be the other party.

Not to mention, if he did it, wouldn't it be enough for him to just send a message explaining the situation?

Why do I need to ask this question specifically?

This is superfluous.

So it absolutely couldn't be him.

"If it wasn't him, then could it be someone else who acted without the lord's consent?"

This time it's Xun You.

"possible."

Everyone also nodded.

As I said before, no one would help Cao Cao for no reason.

On the surface, Cao Cao was undoubtedly the ultimate beneficiary of this event.

From any perspective.

Cao Cao is the prime suspect.

This is why they didn't want to target other warlords, but instead insisted on focusing on Cao Cao.

Because the other feudal lords had no motive.

Is it realistic to say it's Liu Biao, Liu Bei, or Lü Bu? No, it's not realistic.

What good would this do them?

No.

Not only would it bring no benefit, but if it were exposed, it would also completely offend Yuan Shao.

You have to try.

The key issue is that we lack the ability.

For example, Liu Biao's Jingzhou and Jizhou were separated by Yanzhou.

No matter what you do.

He had neither the motivation nor the ability to accomplish such a thing.

It's even less likely that they would give all the benefits to Cao Cao.

It's totally unrealistic.

This is why they kept speculating within Cao Cao's camp.

Only the ultimate beneficiaries.

That's the most likely person.

Just like in the original story, Cao Cao clearly had no evidence to prove that Cao Chong was killed by Cao Pi.

But why are you so certain?

Because he is the biggest beneficiary.

Whoever is the biggest beneficiary is the most likely one.

This has been true since ancient times.

So the current situation is no exception.

"The others?"

Cao Cao was still not entirely convinced.

"is it possible?"

"All our forces are now concentrated on the battlefield against Yuan Shu."

"Only Che Zhou, because he is stationed in Yanzhou, can mobilize some troops."

"No one else has that possibility."

"Moreover, if it really were someone else, how could we not have received even the slightest bit of information?"

"So I suspect it wasn't done by our people."

"If they were our people, there's no way they wouldn't have received any news at all."

Cao Cao shook his head and offered a different opinion.

"Too."

Everyone nodded, but then their brows furrowed.

"But...it wasn't done by our people?"

"And who did this?"

"Could there be other feudal lords who would help us at this time?"

"And what was his purpose in doing this?"

"To put it another way, according to our information, it was Xiahou Dun who led the men to abduct Yuan Xi."

"Could someone be impersonating Xiahou Dun?"

Xun You frowned.

After Cao Cao's analysis, he also realized that it was unlikely that the people in his own camp were involved.

However, he found it even more unbelievable to those in other factions.

"Yuan Rang?"

Cao Cao's eyes lit up.

“This matter is not simple. Yuan Rang is currently in our camp. We only need to send someone to invite him over for questioning, and we will know the answer.”

Everyone nodded: "That's right."

Although they also guessed that if Xiahou Dun really went out, they couldn't have gone without getting anything.

But no matter what, if there is any suspicion, it must be verified.

We should send someone to inquire.

Getting definite news is much better than them just sitting here guessing.

"Go quickly and invite General Xiahou here."

Cao Cao immediately gave orders to his subordinates.

Soon, a bewildered Xiahou Dun was brought over from the front lines.

After understanding the cause and effect of the matter.

Xiahou Dun immediately shook his head.

"It wasn't me, it absolutely wasn't me. I've been following the lord all this time, how could I have had time to go to Ji Province?"

Xiahou Dun said firmly.

"It's not you?"

Now it was Cao Cao's turn, and he was somewhat skeptical.

"It wasn't me, brother. I've been by your side all this time. Don't you know what I've been up to? If it were me, how could I deny it?"

"And do you think I'm capable of coming up with such a solution?"

Xiahou Dun remained silent.

"this........."

Cao Cao nodded.

Rough words are not rough.

Xiahou Dun had been right in front of him for some time, and given his intelligence, it was highly unlikely that he would have come up with such a method.

But who is he?

This time, Cao Cao was truly confused.

"If that's the case, then this matter is getting interesting."

However, at this moment, Guo Jia, who was standing to the side, did not share their confusion; instead, he revealed a playful smile.

It's not that he hadn't thought of it before.

However, Cao Cao ultimately benefited.

So I never thought about it in a deeper way.

However, this has now been denied by both Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun.

He then realized that this matter was not so simple.

"What do you mean by that, Fengxiao?"

Cao Cao immediately turned his gaze to Guo Jia.

Cao Cao trusted this strategist under his command very much.

"Everyone thinks we did it, including ourselves."

"Don't you guys think this is kind of interesting?"

Guo Jia said with a half-smile.

"Fengxian means........."