Inside the Chancery.
Xun Yu was sitting in front of the writing desk, carefully processing memorials and documents from various places.
A civil servant walked in quickly and came to Xun Yu: "Your Majesty!"
Xun Yu put down the pen in his hand, looked at the clerk and asked, "Is Mr. Cao Zhang here?"
The literary official looked at Xun Yu in surprise: "How did you know?"
Xun Yu smiled faintly: "It's almost time to come find me, please hurry up and prepare tea!"
The civil servant agreed and walked out, and soon led Cao Zhang in.
Cao Zhang saluted Xun Yu respectfully: "I have met Xun Lingjun!"
Xun Yu stood up and returned the salute: "I have met Beizhong Lang General. Xun Yu congratulates the young master on his victory and return with great honor."
Cao Zhang smiled and said, "You're welcome."
After the two exchanged greetings, the guest and host took their seats. The clerk served them fragrant tea and then left.
Cao Zhang took out an account book and sent it to Xun Yu: "Your Majesty, I have been fighting abroad in the past few months. I will not have time to report to you the detailed accounts of the sales of Cao's official paper and "Thousand Character Classic" in the future. Today I will bring you Yes, please take a look."
Xun Yu glanced at the account book in front of him and smiled faintly: "Young master, you didn't come here today just to reconcile the accounts with Xun, right? There is no need to go around in circles between you and me. Whatever you want to ask, just ask. ”
Seeing Xun Yu being so direct, Cao Zhang nodded: "If you please speak quickly, I won't be polite. I am here to investigate the case of collaborating with the enemy Li Jue."
"Now that Dong Ji has committed suicide by hanging himself, Shi A insists on his confession and refuses to change his story, and the case has come to a standstill. I am stupid and can't figure out how to continue the investigation, so I came here to ask your order for advice."
Xun Yu stroked his beard and responded: "Dong Ji committed suicide, which means he died without any evidence! Shi A insists on giving a confession, so all the finger points are pointed at General Dong Cheng, right?"
Cao Zhang looked at Xun Yu and nodded, deliberately looking embarrassed: "Indeed, according to the current situation, all clues point to General Dong Cheng, it seems that I should invite him back for interrogation and investigation, right? "
"If Master really thinks this way, there is no need to come to me for advice. You should just arrange for Lord Manfu or Commander Zhao to arrest the person. After all, Sikong has given full authority to hand over the case to Master for trial and will not interfere. Ask." Xun Yu responded with a smile.
Cao Zhang stood up slowly, without speaking, but walked to the window and looked at the scenery in the courtyard, with a faint sadness on his face.
Xun Yu also stood up after him and walked to Cao Zhang's side. His eyes seemed to be able to read Cao Zhang's thoughts and understand the difficulty in his heart at this time.
"Your Majesty, you and I know very well that this case has nothing to do with General Dong Cheng. Dong Ji and Shi A are actually trying to frame him. How can I indiscriminately hurt innocent people? What's more, His identity is the head of the country, if I touch him, it will definitely cause chaos in the government and the public." Cao Zhang looked at Xun Yu and expressed his attitude towards Dong Cheng, with anxiety and helplessness in his voice.
Xun Yu nodded slightly: "Young Master is right. We must not touch Dong Cheng now to cause trouble for no reason and destroy the newly stable situation. This is obviously a very detrimental choice for Sikong's great cause."
Cao Zhang glanced at Xun Yu, hoping to find some answers in the counselor's eyes.
Xun Yu remained silent, his face full of thoughts.
"Your Majesty, you also think Cao Pi is the mastermind behind this, right?" Cao Zhang asked bluntly.
Xun Yu was silent for a while, then shook his head slightly: "I have no conclusive evidence. Although there are many doubts about the matter, my identity must not be lied about."
Cao Zhang looked at Xun Yu with understanding and nodded. After all, his status was too special. He was both Cao Cao's most capable assistant and an important minister of the Han Dynasty. He shouldered the important task of maintaining the balance of power between the Han Dynasty and Cao Cao. Every word he said The words are extremely important, so naturally one cannot express his position easily.
Cao Zhang continued solemnly: "If I don't arrest Dong Cheng, how should I deal with brother Zihuan? This is indeed a very difficult problem. He is the mastermind behind the scenes. I have a strong feeling in my heart, but now But there is a lack of conclusive evidence. If he is directly acquitted, it will definitely appear to be hasty and unreasonable."
Xun Yu nodded. He admitted that Cao Zhang was right, and it would definitely be inappropriate to let Cao Pi go directly.
"But after all, he is my brother and my father's eldest son. It is impossible for me to torture him like I did to Shi'a. Even if he admits it, some people will say that I was beaten into submission and cannot convince the public!"
"But if we keep him in custody but cannot find out the results, my father will think that I am not doing my job well, and he will also think that I am deliberately plotting against brother Zihuan. This is not a good choice."
"Now I can't let go, I can't review, and I can't delay. This is where I'm in a dilemma. Cao Zhang sighed and expressed his difficulties to Xun Yu, expecting him to give a clear solution. .
Xun Yu looked at Cao Zhang quietly and said calmly: "Yang Dezu is indeed extraordinary. With just an understatement of advice, he threw the problem to you, the young master. And no matter what you choose in the end, you and Mr. Zihuan will inevitably have deeper grudges. , there will definitely be someone who will plummet in front of Sikong. Such an outcome is the most beneficial to Mr. Zijian."
"It's just that although Dong Ji is dead now, Shi A gritted his teeth, and it seems that the clues have been interrupted. But the young master is not completely without buffering opportunities. In fact, sometimes, there is no evidence, and we can create evidence ourselves." Xun Yu reminded. Cao Zhang.
Cao Zhang's eyes lit up and he looked at Xun Yu: "Creating evidence, what does this mean? Please enlighten me."
Xun Yu looked at Cao Zhang and said, "Young master, when you gave me the Thousand Character Classic, I said that I would never get involved in your fight for the heir apparent. I will definitely not agree with this original intention. It will change.”
"I gave you some tips today, which is considered a breach of my precepts, so I should treat it as a return of favor. You are very smart, I believe you can think of a way to solve the case on your own. I hope you will forgive me." After Xun Yu finished speaking, he turned to Cao Zhang Give him a deep bow to express his apology.
Cao Zhang understood that Xun Yu was a cautious person. After what he said, there was no point in asking questions, so he also bowed to Xun Yu and thanked him: "I am very grateful that you can give me some advice. Then I will not disturb you and go ahead." Resigned."
When Xun Yu saw Cao Zhang saying goodbye, he got up and saw him off. He walked him to the door before turning back.
Xun Yu murmured in a low voice: "I hope he can understand what I said, but I also hope that if we can really find out who is the collaborator, we must not go on a killing spree and let the blood flow like a river."
After walking out of the Chancery, Cao Zhang rode on his horse and slowly returned to his mansion.
He kept thinking about Xun Yu's words in his mind, thinking about what he meant by creating evidence by himself?
