That night, Yang Ling sent someone to clear out the side room and let Mi Zhen stay there for the time being.
Early the next morning.
After a night of thinking, Yang Ling already had an idea in mind.
After breakfast, he set off for the Prefectural Shepherd's Mansion.
The servants in the mansion are all dressed in white cloth.
Although Cao Song's body has not been recovered yet, a mourning hall has been decorated with his clothes in the lobby.
Cao Cao looked haggard, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he hadn't had a good night's rest.
"Sir is here."
He nodded slightly towards Yang Ling.
Yang Ling returned the gift, feeling a little embarrassed.
Boss Cao's father had just passed away, and it was really unreasonable that he came to beg him because of the Mi family's affairs.
Seeing Yang Ling's hesitant look, Cao Cao forced a smile and said,
"Is there something wrong, sir?"
"Zhou Mu, let me tell you the truth. My subordinate came here today to intercede for Mi Fang."
Yang Ling decided to tell the truth frankly.
After all, Boss Cao is suspicious by nature. If you hide it from him, it's okay if he doesn't know.
Once he knows the truth, it will be troublesome.
So Yang Ling told Cao Cao that Mi Fang and Mi Zhen approached him to cooperate with Moutai wine.
Cao Cao's expression did not change at all after hearing this, and he said without comment,
"Now I am about to go to war with Tao Qian, the traitor, and the Mi family is a well-known local family in Xuzhou. Please tell me, sir, why should I let Mi Fang go?"
"the reason is simple."
Yang Ling calmed down and said slowly,
"The backbone of the Mi family is Tao Qian's associate, Mi Fang's brother Mi Zhu."
"Whether Zhou Mu kills Mi Fang or keeps him alive, it will have no impact on the war situation."
"Instead of doing this, it would be better to release Mi Fang with great fanfare."
"In this case, if Tao Qian gets the news, he might become suspicious of the Mi family."
Cao Cao didn't speak, his face was as dark as water, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
Alas, none of these ancients were fuel-efficient lamps.
Yang Ling could only bite the bullet and said,
"Besides that, my subordinates also do it for their own personal matters."
"Private matter?"
Cao Cao looked at Yang Ling in surprise.
"What's the private matter?"
Yang Ling deliberately looked embarrassed and laughed dryly,
"My feelings for Mi Fang's sister...actually...well, Zhou Mu, you know."
"That's it! There is no need to be embarrassed, sir. We are all men."
Cao Cao suddenly understood, blinked at Yang Ling, and showed an "I understand you" smile!
"Zhou Mu, what happened with Mi Fang..."
Yang Ling hesitated to speak.
Cao Cao touched his chin and fell into thought.
Not long after Mi Fang was imprisoned, Cao Cao learned his identity and the purpose of his trip to Yanzhou.
He had even guessed that Mi Fang's sister Mi Zhen was in Yang Ling's house.
But the reason why he didn't send anyone to search was because he wanted to see what Yang Ling would do next.
Cao Cao doesn't care about Mi Fang or Mi Zhen, he cares more about whether Yang Ling is loyal to him!
So today Yang Ling took the initiative to come to the door and tell the truth frankly, which made Cao Cao very happy!
And indeed, as Yang Ling said, it would be useless for Mi Fang to stay in Yanzhou.
In this case, it might as well be a favor and let Mi Fang go.
"Sir, you have helped me a lot. How can I refuse if you ask me today?"
Cao Cao suddenly smiled,
"Then I'll listen to you and let Mi Fang go!"
"Thank you Zhou Mu!"
When Yang Ling heard this, he happily handed over his hand.
After the two exchanged pleasantries, Yang Ling stood up and left.
As soon as he left, Dian Wei walked into the lobby.
"Following the Lord's instructions, everyone has been gathered."
"knew."
Cao Cao nodded and took Dian Wei to another lobby.
The hall was crowded.
Not only Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Xiahou Dun and others were present, but also local Yanzhou officials such as Chen Gong and Zhang Miao were present.
Seeing Cao Cao walking in, everyone said in unison,
"I've met Zhou Mu."
Cao Cao nodded to everyone expressionlessly, walked straight to the hall, and asked,
"Fengxiao, how is the army?"
"Reporting to my lord, most of the troops have been assembled and the troops can be dispatched by tomorrow morning at the latest."
Guo Jiagong said.
"That's good."
Cao Cao then showed a satisfied smile, then looked at everyone with cold eyes and said bitterly,
"In this expedition to Xuzhou, I will make Tao Qian pay with blood!"
"Yuan Rang! Man Cheng! Wen Qian!"
Xiahou Dun, Li Dian, and Yue Jin came out of the crowd and responded in unison,
"The end will be here."
"You three are the vanguard of our army. Whenever we capture a city, we will massacre it!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall was frightened.
No one expected that Cao Cao would be so furious that he would not even spare the people of Xuzhou!
"Lord, this matter is about Xuzhou..."
Xun Yu opened his mouth, but before he could finish speaking, he was rudely interrupted by Cao Cao.
"I have made up my mind on this matter, no one can persuade me!"
Xun Yu was a little reluctant and wanted to say something, but his sleeve was pulled by Guo Jia on the side.
He looked towards Guo Jia.
Guo Jia winked at him and whispered,
"My lord is very angry right now, so don't say anything else."
Xun Yu had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
But the Yanzhou nobles on the side took this opportunity to jump out.
"State Shepherd, calm down."
But it was Chen Gong who stood up, cupped his hands and said,
"The reason for your father's death is still unclear whether it was Tao Qian who ordered it or whether his subordinates acted recklessly. No matter who did it, it has nothing to do with the people of Xuzhou. I hope Zhou Mu will think twice."
Cao Cao had blue veins on his forehead and said angrily,
"Didn't you hear what I just said?"
"Cao Amo! You have gone too far!"
At this time, the middle-aged scholar standing aside suddenly stood up.
He is none other than Bian Rang, a celebrity.
As soon as he saw Bian Rang, Cao Cao remembered what he had said in private about ridiculing him, and his face became more and more gloomy.
"Bian Wenli, what do you want to say?"
"You are just an eunuch. Without the help of our Yanzhou family, how could you become a state shepherd?"
Bian Rang scolded sternly,
"But you don't care about stability and development, and you also waste people and money to attack Xuzhou. It's really too presumptuous!"
His sentence "after eunuch" instantly hit Cao Cao's pain point!
Cao Cao felt the blood rising from the top of his head, and he wished he could strike Bian Yi with a knife!
He suppressed the anger in his heart and gritted his teeth and said,
"Bian Wenli, I see how talented you are, don't force me to kill you!"
Chen Gong, Zhang Miao and others on the side also hurriedly stopped him.
But Bian Rang waved his sleeves and said arrogantly,
"You can kill me if you can!"
Cao Cao was so angry that he was shaking all over, and suddenly remembered his previous conversation with Yang Ling.
Since Bian Rang was seeking death, he might as well follow Yang Ling's suggestion and kill this person!
His heart skipped a beat, and his eyes flashed fiercely.
"Dianwei!"
"The general is here!"
Dian Wei took a step forward and responded in a deep voice.
"Kill him for me!"
