In the main hall of Sikong Mansion.
Cao Cao was sitting in the middle, with Xun Yu and Guo Jia standing in front of him, with faint smiles on their faces.
"I didn't expect that Ziwen only relied on his own 10,000 troops and Duan Xuan's assistance to defeat Li Jue again and killed tens of thousands of his troops. It seems that he would have no trouble in conquering Chang'an. It’s so difficult.” Cao Cao looked at the two of them and said with a smile.
"Sikong's analysis is correct. Li Jue's another big defeat will definitely let Ma Teng, Han Sui and others see the young master's strength. If the young master goes to persuade them in person, they should not dare to refuse the recruitment and will accept the imperial court's rewards and arrangements. , send troops to assist the young master, Li Jue is surrounded by enemies on all sides and will definitely be defeated." Xun Yu also agreed with Cao Cao's judgment and admired it sincerely.
"Master Ziwen really put down the three assistants in less than a hundred days, defeated Li Jue, subdued Ma Teng and Han Sui, and put down Yongliang, which had been in chaos for many years. He is truly an unparalleled talent." Guo Jia He also praised Cao Zhang repeatedly.
When Cao Cao heard the two praising Cao Zhang, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up. He was very proud. After all, that was his son. He could achieve such a miraculous victory, and he felt proud of his face.
"Sikong, the northwest region has been completely pacified this time, which relieves your worries. In the past two months, the sales of Cao Gong Paper and "Thousand Character Classic" have also been very good, and the profits have been considerable. I think Sikong should be able to Prepare a large amount of military supplies to deal with enemies in other areas." Xun Yu suggested to Cao Cao.
"Wen Ruo, who do you think the first enemy we should deal with is?" Cao Cao asked Xun Yu with a smile.
"We have conquered Zhang Xiu twice with no results. My suggestion is to let him go first and target Xuzhou in the west first!" Xun Yu suggested to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao nodded slightly and turned to look at Guo Jia: "What do Fengxiao think?"
Guo Jia responded: "I second the proposal!"
Cao Cao stood up slowly and looked into the distance with infinite fascination: "Lü Bu, the unparalleled one in the world, it seems that this time we are destined to win or lose..."
As soon as Cao Cao finished speaking, a servant hurriedly walked in from the outside and reported to Cao Cao: "I would like to report to Sikong, Taichang Yang Biao, Yang Xiu, the chief secretary of Sikong Mansion, and Mr. Cao Zhi are outside asking for an audience."
Cao Cao was slightly startled when he heard the servant's report: "Why did Zijian come to see me with Yang and his son? Let them in."
Cao Cao returned to his seat and sat down again, waiting quietly.
After a while, Yang and his son entered together with Cao Zhi and saluted Cao Cao respectfully.
Cao Cao waved his hand to signal the three of them to excuse themselves, and then asked: "Why do you three come to see me together?"
Cao Zhi took a step forward and said respectfully: "Reporting to my father, my son has discovered an extremely confidential matter. I dare not make any arbitrary decisions, so I asked Dezu to make an appointment with Yang Taichang to meet with my father and ask him to make a decision."
Seeing Cao Zhi speaking so solemnly, Cao Cao frowned slightly and asked, "What is so important?"
Cao Zhi stepped forward and presented the letter Li Jue wrote to Dong Cheng to Cao Cao: "Please ask father to read it."
Cao Cao took the letter and unfolded it, looking at it seriously, his expression became solemn.
Xun Yu and Guo Jia looked at the change in Cao Cao's expression and realized that something extremely important had really happened.
Cao Cao put down the letter and asked Cao Zhi: "Zijian, where did this letter come from?"
"Father, it was submitted by Dong Ji, a servant of General Dong Cheng's palace. I have asked Yang Taichang to do an appraisal and it is confirmed that it is Li Jue's handwriting." Cao Zhi responded respectfully.
"Where is Dong Ji now?" Cao Cao asked.
Yang Biao took a step forward and said, "We have already brought him down to the hall to wait for Sikong to make his decision."
"Tell him to come in." Cao Cao ordered.
After a while, Dong Ji entered and knelt down in front of Cao Cao to salute.
Cao Cao asked and asked Dong Ji to tell what happened.
Dong Ji repeated his confession to Yang and his son in front of Cao Cao.
After hearing this, Cao Cao said nothing and fell into deep thought.
After listening to Dong Ji's story, Xun Yu and Guo Jia's faces were as dark as water, realizing that this matter was not trivial.
Cao Cao was silent for a while, then stood up silently, walked slowly to Dong Ji's side, and asked, "Tell me, how did Dong Cheng know about Cao Zhang's military situation at the front?"
Dong Ji hesitated: "I, the villain don't know..."
"Don't know? Come here, drag him out and chop him down!" Cao Cao stood up and waved in greeting.
Several guards rushed into the hall and were about to drag Dong Ji.
Dong Ji was frightened and begged: "Sikong, what I told is the truth. I really don't know. I only know that this letter was sent to General Dong's mansion by Shi A..."
When Cao Cao heard Dong Ji's words, he waved to the guards: "Wait a minute!"
The guards stopped, and Cao Cao walked up to Dong Ji again: "Tell me, who is Shi A?"
Dong Ji responded in panic: "Back to Sikong, Shi A was a swordsman adopted by General Dong Cheng. He used to work as a nurse, but later he went to work in the residence of Master Cao Pi for some reason. This time Master Cao Zhang went on an expedition, he seemed to I went on an expedition with the two Xiahou masters."
Cao Cao listened to Dong Ji's answer, frowned and muttered in a low voice: "Zihuan? There are also things about Boyan and Junlin..."
"Sikong, what I said is the truth. I have told you everything I know. I will never dare to lie to you. I..." Dong Ji defended anxiously.
"Okay, let's take him down first and make arrangements for him. When the matter is found out, I will give you a big reward." Cao Cao did not listen to Dong Ji's ramblings anymore and waved his hand to signal to his subordinates to take Dong Ji out.
After Dong Ji was taken away, Cao Cao looked at Cao Zhi: "Zijian, what do you think of this matter?"
Cao Zhi responded respectfully: "Father, if what Dong Ji said is true, it should be Dong Cheng who arranged for his cronies to infiltrate brother Zihuan, and during this expedition, he followed the two younger brothers of the Xiahou family as undercover agents. , this military information should be passed on to Li Jue by him."
Cao Cao looked at Cao Zhi and nodded, and said with a bit of resentment: "The analysis makes some sense. It seems that Dong Cheng had already planned the plan. Zijian, you performed well this time and discovered the traitor in time." Otherwise, we don’t know how he will harm my Cao family.”
When Yang Xiu heard Cao Cao praising Cao Zhi, a proud smile appeared on his face.
"Xu Chu!" Cao Cao greeted directly without any further hesitation.
Xu Chu, who was guarding the door, immediately entered quickly and came to Cao Cao: "Here!"
"Take two hundred tiger soldiers and invite General Dong Cheng to me. I have something to ask him face to face!" Cao Cao coldly gave the order to Xu Chu, emphasizing the word "please" intentionally.
Xu Chu understood and immediately bowed his hands and saluted: "Here!" After saying that, he turned around and walked out.
"Wait a minute!" Xun Yu saw that Xu Chu was going to lead people to arrest Dong Cheng, and he hurriedly stopped him.
Xun Yu quickly walked up to Cao Cao and said, "Sikong, after all, Dong Cheng is the current emperor of the country. This matter of collaborating with the enemy has not yet been found out. Isn't it a good idea to arrest people directly like this?"
Yang Biao also hurriedly stepped forward and echoed: "Yes, Sikong, Dong Cheng is an important minister in the court after all. I hope you will think twice."
Cao Cao was already angry. He stared and said, "So what if he is the emperor's father-in-law? Can he harm my son? I am so loyal to the emperor. What does Dong Cheng mean by doing this? This is treason. I can Let him go? If you touch my son, Cao Cao, he will die!"
Cao Zhang's recent performance makes Cao Cao feel extremely proud, but Dong Cheng wants to stab him in the back, how can he not make Cao Cao angry? !
"Sikong, if someone really conspires to rebel, he will certainly not be punished. But I think there is something fishy in it, and we need to find out first before taking action." Guo Jia also stepped forward to persuade Cao Cao.
"What's weird? What's weird?" Cao Cao was already furious and didn't understand what Guo Jia was referring to.
"Sikong, if Dong Cheng is really colluding with Li Jue, how secret is this? How could a servant like Dong Ji easily overhear the conversation between him and Yin Bi? He did not destroy this confidential letter after reading it, but kept it for future reference. What? These are all against common sense." Guo Jia reminded Cao Cao.
"Yes, Sikong, and think about it carefully. Even if Dong Cheng really arranged for his guardian to be with Master Zihuan, why could this person follow the two Xiahou Masters on an expedition? How could he master high-level military secrets? , Aren't these suspicious?" Seeing that the time was ripe, Yang Xiu also stepped forward to remonstrate, and in an understatement, directly pointed the finger at Cao Pi.
Yang Xiu's words made Cao Cao wake up instantly, and he calmed down and thought about the process.
Xia Houshang and Xia Houru were recommended by Cao Pi to Cao Zhang to join the army. Shi A followed them, and it was Shi A who took back Li Jue's letter and gave it to Dong Cheng? Is this Dong Cheng's arrangement, or is there something wrong with Cao Pi?
Cao Cao suddenly woke up and realized that the root of the problem actually lay with Cao Pi, not Dong Cheng.
"Zhongkang! Go to Cao Pi's mansion and bring him and that Shi Adu back to me!" Cao Cao calmed down and gave Xu Chu his instructions again...
