Xudu, Cao Pi's residence.
"Idiot, what a stupid idiot!" Cao Pi looked at Shi A in front of him and cursed angrily, venting his anger.
Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu on the side looked at the furious Cao Pi and did not dare to persuade him. They could only turn their eyes to Shi A.
"Shi A, what you just said is true?" Cao Zhen asked.
"Reporting to the three young masters, what I said is the truth. Originally, Li Jue wrote a reply to General Dong Cheng and asked me to send it back to Xudu at starry night, saying that as long as he killed Cao Zhang, he would return to Xudu and take back the emperor. , I will thank General Dong deeply for letting me leave Chang'an!"
"But I think he was so confident that he must take action, so he didn't leave in a hurry. He lurked near Chang'an, hoping to wait until there was definite news before reporting to the Young Master."
"As a result, Li Jue sent Li Huan, Li Ying, and Li Shi out of the city to intercept the emperor's envoys and attack Cao Zhang's camp. However, they were ambushed and lost their troops. Li Shi was directly killed by Cao Zhang and lost tens of thousands of troops. Horses, there are less than 20,000 soldiers and horses left in Chang'an City now."
"And now Cao Zhang has gone to Tianshui to see Ma Teng in person to recruit them. I see that the military situation has changed too much and I don't dare to delay any longer, so I rushed back to Xudu at night to report!" Shi Aru recounted the battle ahead truthfully. Read it again.
"This Li Jue is such an idiot! We have arranged everything for him, and the princes of Xiliang have also rejected the imperial court's call for peace. As long as he defends Chang'an, Cao Zhang has no chance. If you insist on being smart, you will ruin the good situation in vain!" Cao Xiu! After listening to Shi'a's story, he complained with great regret.
Cao Pi stood up and echoed Cao Xiu's words, and said angrily: "Who says it's not the case?! These Xiliang barbarians are simple-minded and will never become a great weapon. I originally expected to use their hands to get rid of Ziwen, but now it's better. In order to make someone else's wedding dress, you can give him military exploits in vain!"
Cao Zhen also stood up and said angrily: "Yeah, I really didn't expect that this Li Jue was so useless and was defeated by Ziwen so easily. All our efforts were really in vain."
Cao Xiu suddenly remembered something and said to Cao Pi: "Zihuan, what I'm worried about now is not only Ziwen's military exploits, but also that you may get into trouble."
"What's wrong with me?" Cao Pi obviously didn't understand what Cao Xiu meant.
"Listening to Shi'a's report just now, don't you think Li Jue fell into the trap precisely because he believed the military information Shi'a provided him?" Cao Xiu reminded Cao Pi.
Cao Pi thought about it and suddenly realized something: "You mean, he found out that we used Xiahou Shang and Xiahou Ru to convey military information to Li Jue?"
"It's very possible. Otherwise, why would he let Xiahou Shang and Xiahou Ru be robbed in his place? How could all the actions be so targeted? It's very possible that when Shi A went to Chang'an to report the news, he deliberately released it to the Xiahou brothers. The purpose of the news is to find Shi A and then set a trap for Li Jue!" Cao Xiu expressed his analysis.
"Ah? If that's the case, that would be troublesome. When Xiahou and his two brothers go back to Ziwen for an interrogation, they will definitely tell everything that Zihuan told them before he left. That doesn't mean that Cao Zhang has the control over what we have done to Li. Jue passed on the evidence of military intelligence?!" After hearing this, Cao Zhen first became nervous and said anxiously.
Cao Pi's expression became solemn. He knew very well that if Cao Zhang had the evidence of "collaboration with the enemy", he would not let him go and would definitely take the opportunity to settle all the previous grudges together.
Considering how much Cao Cao dislikes himself, if his crime of collaborating with the enemy is proven, it is unknown whether he can save his life, let alone fighting for the throne in the future.
"Wen Lie, you usually have the most ideas. You have to help Zihuan quickly think of a way to deal with it. Otherwise, once Ziwen comes back victorious and pursues this matter in front of Sikong, Zihuan will be finished." Cao Zhen urged anxiously. Cao Xiu.
Although Cao Pi remained calm on his face, he was a little panicked in his heart. He looked at Cao Xiu with expectant eyes, hoping that he could come up with a practical solution quickly.
Cao Xiu was thinking quietly. Cao Pi and Cao Zhen looked at him expectantly, neither daring to say anything for fear of disrupting his train of thought.
Cao Xiu suddenly raised his head, turned to look at Shi A, and asked, "Did you just say that Li Jue wrote a personal letter to Dong Cheng? Where is the letter now?"
Shi A quickly took out the letter from his arms and sent it to Cao Xiu: "Please take a look, Master."
After Cao Xiu took the letter and read it carefully, he showed a smile on his face and said to Cao Pi: "Zihuan, don't worry. With this letter from Li Jue to Dong Cheng, you can completely clear your relationship."
Cao Pi looked at Cao Xiu with a solemn expression: "Wen Lie, I understand what you mean. When we chose to contact Li Jue as Dong Cheng, one was to gain his trust, and the other was to push him aside if something happened. On my head. But now how can we convince my father that Dong Cheng did this?"
"A person must have his own motive for doing something. Dong Cheng had good reasons for dealing with Ziwen. He had no heirs, so he regarded his nephew as his own and loved him very much. However, Cao Zhang punished him on the street. Nephew, this is not giving him face first."
"Subsequently, Cao Zhang asked the four major families to participate in the sale of Cao Gongzhi, and he did not bring Dong Cheng with him. Do you think he would have no resentment in his heart?"
"Coupled with the reply letter from Li Jue, it can be proved that Dong Cheng provided military information to Li Jue. Li Jue has controlled the government for many years, and most of the officials in the court have seen his handwriting. It can definitely be concluded that it was Li Jue. It was written by Jue himself, but Dong Cheng cannot explain it clearly." Cao Xiu said to Cao Pi.
Cao Pi said to Cao Xiu anxiously: "I understand what you said. But Wen Lie, have you ever thought about how this letter got into my hands since it was for Dong Cheng? What if I went to report Dong Cheng to my father? Cheng, can you explain this matter clearly?"
"My father is suspicious by nature. Cao Zhang originally reported me to me, but I took out such a letter to report Dong Cheng. How could my father believe it?!"
After hearing what Cao Pi said, Cao Zhen couldn't help but echoed: "Yes, Wen Lie, let's talk to Sikong ourselves about this matter. We will definitely not be able to explain it!"
A sly smile appeared on Cao Xiu's face. He looked at the two of them and said, "It's definitely not possible for us to report it ourselves, but what if Zijian is the one to report it?!"
"Zijian?" Cao Pi was slightly startled at first, then suddenly realized.
After all, Cao Zhi has now joined the ranks of the fight for the heir apparent. When bidding farewell to Cao Zhang, one of his poems directly stole Cao Zhang's limelight, and Cao Cao's unstinting preference for him also showed that if he came forward to report, Cao Cao's The level of trust will increase a lot.
Bringing Cao Zhi into the water and turning the original separate fight with Cao Pi into a fight between the three sons can make Cao Pi and Cao Zhi constrain each other, which will give Cao Pi more opportunities.
"Wen Lie, of course Zijian is the best person to report this matter to his father. But the problem is how we are going to hand Dong Cheng's evidence of crime into his hands. This needs to be carefully considered." Cao Pi first affirmed. After hearing Cao Xiu's plan, he raised his concerns.
"There must be a brave man under a heavy reward. As long as he is willing to pay, what can't be done? We can bribe the princess's bodyguards, let alone the servants of Dong Cheng's mansion?" Cao Xiu smiled faintly, obviously Cao Pi's worries have long been It's within his scope of consideration.
"Dong Cheng's nephew usually bullies men and women. He is also very mean to the servants in Dong Cheng's mansion. He often beats, scolded and insulted him. Everyone knows this. We only need to find a servant close to Dong Cheng to bribe him, and we will say that he has been abused. I have been beaten severely by Dong Cheng’s nephew, so I feel resentful towards him.”
"Not long ago, he overheard the conspiracy between Dong Cheng and his nephew. The nephew Yin Bi had a grudge against Cao Zhang and begged Dong Cheng to avenge him. Dong Cheng happened to be dissatisfied with both Cao Zhang and Sikong, so he arranged for someone to bribe him Shi A, let him sneak into the army and convey military information to Li Jue."
"This servant has always wanted to report, but he had no evidence. Until he cleaned Dong Cheng's room and found this secret letter, he decided to report Dong Cheng to vent his anger." Cao Xiu fully told his plan.
After listening to Cao Xiu's plan, Cao Pi pondered for a moment. Overall, this plan was relatively complete. Although there were minor flaws, it was basically justified.
"If this is the case, the servant should not report directly to Zijian, but to Taichang Yang Biao! Yang Biao is now very close to Cao Zhang. And his son Yang Xiu is Zijian's subordinate. , if the father and son report together, the credibility will be higher!" Cao Pi expressed his thoughts to Cao Xiu.
"Zihuan thought more carefully, but for this strategy to succeed, there is one person who is extremely crucial. He can determine the success or failure of the matter!" After Cao Xiu finished speaking, he looked at Shi A aside.
Shi A immediately understood what Cao Xiu meant, and knelt on one knee in front of them: "Sir, I, Shi A, have no wife or children, and only my mother at home. Master Zihuan is very kind to me, as long as he is willing to take care of my mother for me." , Shi A is willing to sacrifice his life for the young master, and he will kill Dong Cheng with one bite!"
Cao Pi hurriedly stepped forward and stretched out his hand to help: "Jing Ke assassinated Qin Youfan and sacrificed his life to help Qi. I, Cao Pi, can have Master Shi to protect him with my life. I am truly lucky. Master, please rest assured. From now on, I will serve your mother as I would my own mother!" "
Shi A was moved and responded: "Young Master is so kind to me, Shi A will definitely fight to the death!"
Cao Pi looked at Cao Xiu, and the two looked at each other with meaningful smiles, knowing that their plan could be implemented smoothly.
