The heavy blow of the defeat of Jingwei in the decisive battle made Cao Cao's condition worsen rapidly.
Jizhou was lost, Youzhou was lost, Qingzhou on the north bank of the Yellow River was lost, and Xuzhou was captured by Sun Ce. Wei's empire was instantly reduced by half.
What's even more serious is that the Yellow River burst its banks, leaving millions of people in dire straits, waiting for the Wei court's food and grass assistance, but the court had no food and grass to rescue them. As a result, countless people had to leave their homes and go to Xuzhou to seek help. Want food.
Sun Wu was adding insult to injury to Cao Wei.
They knew that Cao Wei had no food to save the people, so they set up porridge shacks in the border areas to rescue the people. Sun Wu would take care of the food, drink and housing of the people who were willing to stay, and would also give them land.
Such a huge temptation caused countless people to flock to Xuzhou.
Cao Wei wanted to stop it, but it aroused resistance from the people. Sun Wu even saw the opportunity and dispatched troops, forcing the Wei army to give up the obstruction. Tens of thousands of people broke away from Cao Wei's rule and entered Xuzhou in one day.
Cao Cao's headache became even worse.
In Xudu City.
Cao Cao lay motionless on the bed. If it weren't for the hissing sound of pain coming from his mouth, one would have mistakenly thought that he was dead. Several ministers and sons stood around. Standing at the front are the two sons: Cao Pi and Cao Zhi.
Cao Pi's escape made Cao Zhi furious.
I originally thought that Cao Pi and Ye Jing would live and die together, but I didn't expect that Cao Pi and Xun Yu, two shameless people, left Ye Jing and fled south. Now they have to compete with themselves for the throne. Fortunately, Cao Pi has suffered a previous defeat, and his father is He has lost confidence in him, and his hopes are far greater than Cao Pi.
Looking at his father who was dying on the bed, Cao Zhi felt a little sad, but also a little nervous and excited. The complicated emotions made his expression ugly. He didn't feel like crying, and he didn't feel like smiling. On the other hand, Cao Pi's acting skills are very superb. His eyes are full of reluctance to be abandoned by his father, tears are streaming down his face, and he looks devastated.
All the ministers lowered their heads and waited for the results of the imperial doctor's examination.
After a while, the imperial doctor got up and packed his things.
Guo Jia hurriedly stepped forward to ask. He was so excited that he coughed violently and said: "Wen...Taiwan Doctor Wen, how is the emperor's condition?"
Dr. Wen shook his head and said: "The emperor's head pain is caused by wind. The root of the disease is in the head, and the wind saliva cannot come out. If you take decoction and medicine indiscriminately, it cannot be cured. I heard that there is a miracle doctor in Pei State, Hua Tuo, whose medical skills are rare in the world. If you suffer from the disease, If there are diseases of the internal organs and the medicine cannot cure them, drink Ma Bo Tang, which will make the patient feel as if he is drunk to death. Then use a sharp knife to cut open his abdomen and wash his internal organs with the medicinal soup. The patient will feel no pain at all, and then use external medicine. That’s when things calm down.”
Guo Jia hurriedly asked: "Where does this person live now?"
Imperial Physician Wen said with some embarrassment: "This person currently lives in...Medical Xianlu, Chang'an."
"Ahem!"
Cao Cao coughed violently from behind. It didn't take much to think that he was angry after hearing what Doctor Wen just said. Guo Jia turned around and saw that Cao Cao had opened his eyes slightly. He was coughing violently and his face was red, but he shook his head and waved his hands persistently.
Guo Jia leaned forward and choked with sobs: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Chang'an in person to ask a miracle doctor to treat your illness."
Cao Cao smiled indifferently and said feebly: "The sage said: 'If you blame God, you have nothing to pray for.' Now that my destiny has been exhausted, even if the miracle doctor is still alive, can I still save him?"
Xun Yu knelt down and cried in tears: "Your Majesty is good at protecting the dragon body. It will be a disaster soon."
Cao Cao looked up at the roof and said to himself: "I have been in the world for decades, conquering the Yellow Turbans, defeating Yuan Shu, destroying Lu Bu, and defeating Yuan Shao. All the heroes are destroyed. The world is divided into four parts and my Wei Dynasty has the advantage of the general situation. I thought that With this great benefit, we can first defeat Zhangxiu and unify the north, and then conquer the south of the Yangtze River. Unexpectedly..."
Everyone in the room lowered their heads.
"Unexpectedly... ahem, Zhang Xiu used the weight of sharp weapons to break through Jingxingkou and capture the land of Jizhou, causing the Wei Dynasty to be completely defeated and completely wiped out!" When he said this, he shed tears of grief.
Looking at his son, he first saw Cao Pi. At this moment, Cao Pi was crying. He looked like a heartbroken son who never wanted to leave his father. Cao Cao felt happy, but it was a pity that he had the bad record of losing the capital; he looked again When he came to Cao Zhi, he saw that Cao Zhi didn't look like crying, didn't smile like smiling, and looked unclear. Cao Cao was furious. Could it be that he couldn't wait for him to die and take over?
Cao Zhi suddenly became alert to Cao Cao's glance. He was so frightened that he wiped out all other thoughts and burst into tears in a hurry, with snot and tears instantly falling down his face.
But in Cao Cao's eyes, this seemed extremely artificial.
Then he addressed the important ministers in the house: Guo Jia, Xun Yu, and Cao Hong, saying: "I am critically ill now and can no longer talk to you, so I have to deal with family matters..."
At this point, the whole room fell silent.
Cao Pi and Cao Zhi trembled almost at the same time, their ears raised instantly.
The two brothers had been fighting openly and secretly for many years, and they always ended in Cao Pi's victory. But now it was different. Cao Pi had the stain of losing Kyoto, which gave him great confidence to get the throne, and many ministers in the court were loyal. Own.
"My eldest son, Cao Ang, was born to the Liu family. Unfortunately, he died in Yecheng at an early age. Today, the Bian family has four sons: Pi, Zhang, Zhi, and Xiong. The third son Zhi, whom I love throughout my life..."
"boom!"
Cao Pi felt a thunder explode in his head, his whole body was in a state of paralysis, and his hands could not stop shaking in his sleeves.
Cao Zhi, on the other hand, tightened his breath and waited with bated breath for the words of passing the throne.
Cao Cao: "But... San Zizhi is vain and less honest. He is addicted to alcohol and indulgence, so he is not established!"
Cao Zhi was stunned.
Cao Pi was stunned.
Never expected that there would be such a big turn.
"The second son, Zhang, died in battle, and the fourth son, Xiong, was ill and could not survive. Only the eldest son, Cao Pi, is honest, kind and respectful, and can inherit my business. It is appropriate for you and others to assist him."
Cao Pi felt it was difficult to breathe, but he didn't know that sweat had soaked through his clothes. He cried bitterly and knelt down and said, "Father...!"
Other ministers shed tears.
Cao Zhi stood there dumbfounded.
He couldn't figure out why Cao Pi, who lost Kyoto, could still get his father's approval to inherit the throne instead of himself? Isn't he his father's favorite son? My literary skills are higher than Badou's, and he is recognized as a good gentleman and talented man in the Wei Dynasty. Why can't he inherit the throne?
Cao Zhi was filled with unwillingness.
He hated Cao Pi, why didn't he live and die with Ye Jing instead of escaping back?
He hated his father for not passing the throne to him.
But he didn't dare to show any of his hatred, so he gritted his teeth and endured it.
Cao Cao made funeral arrangements for his wives and concubines, letting them live in the harem and offering sacrifices every day. He also ordered his ministers to wait for his death and build seventy-two tombs outside: "Don't let future generations know where I am buried. For fear of being discovered by others."
After finishing speaking, he let out a long sigh, took one last look at Cao Pi, and died.
