Chapter 736: Speechless
It is said that Cao Pi and Cao Zihuan were riding in a lone boat, with only his famous companions Sima Yi and Sima Zhongda beside him. The two of them talked about world affairs and commented on people in the world. They both had great ambitions, but the immediate concern was still the Cao family's family affairs.
Cao Ang, who was once loved by thousands of people, unexpectedly died on the battlefield, and his body was probably rotting in the stinking ditch. Cao Pi suddenly became the eldest son, and he was the eldest son. He originally occupied the most advantageous position, but Cao Zhi, Cao Zhang and even Cao Chong were all so outstanding, which made Cao Pi feel uneasy and completely unable to figure out what his father, Cao Cao, was thinking.
Xia Houcheng's arrest and Cao Song's tragic death were like a coup, which not only ignited the temptation to seize the direct descendants, but also opened Pandora's box. The demons in the hearts of every Cao family member were released at this moment, and their ambitions for power were all ready to move.
None of the generals with foreign surnames who led the troops dared to participate openly. Everyone knew that this was a family matter of the Cao family, and rashly participating would only cause blood to be spilled.
But the staff around Cao Pi, Cao Zhi and others were different. They had long been labeled as loyal to a certain prince, and their relationship with their master could only be one of mutual prosperity and mutual loss.
Therefore, Sima Yi absolutely went all out on the issue of Cao Pi's ascendance. Of course, his ambition is no less ambitious than Cao Pi's, but now even Sima Yi himself probably doesn't know that the world will be dominated by the Sima family in the future.
When Cao Pi entered the mourning hall to pay homage to his grandfather Cao Song, Cao Zhang finally heard the news and came over. Cao Zhang knew in his heart that Cao Pi came here with bad intentions, but since he was indeed assigned by his father to come to his hometown to deal with such a big matter, he naturally felt a little bit tougher.
So when Cao Pi asked about the death sentence for Xia Houchen, although Cao Zhang was respectful on the surface, his tone was cold and said: "My grandfather died unjustly because of Xiahou's dereliction of duty. Now his body is still cold. My brother often thinks about his grandfather's care for me. It hurts me to think about it." It’s deep in my bones. Xiahoucheng is also my younger brother, but I was assigned by my father to investigate and deal with him strictly. I really don’t dare to open up for Xiahoucheng.”
After saying that, he looked downcast and glanced at Xia Houheng, who was coming over, and said, "That day, there will be a public trial of the whole family in the mourning hall. The charges have been finalized. Xia Houheng is here, and the second brother can ask him."
Cao Zhang said a few words to make this case look like an ironclad case so that Cao Pi could not offend Xia Houcheng. Otherwise, where would Cao Zhang's dignity be in front of his subordinates in the future?
After that, regardless of whether Cao Pi answered or not, he knelt down in front of Cao Songling with a bang and cried in a loud voice: "Grandpa! My eldest brother and you were both unfortunate enough to be taken advantage of by bandits. We brothers will definitely avenge this. Brother, please forgive me." My condolences, brother! Sooner or later, your grandson will avenge your blood!"
"After that, he knelt down and cried loudly.
Cao Pi didn't expect that Cao Zhang, who had always been rough and arrogant, would be so sharp with his words this time. He couldn't help but get tongue-tied. After thinking for a while, he said: "Revenge? But you don't know who the enemy is?"
Cao Zhang was slightly startled, stopped crying and said: "The thief generals Yang Feng and Han Xian have been crowned, but the thief chief Yuan Shu is still at large. Please ask your second brother to take the lead in asking my father to take the tiger and wolf soldiers to break through Luoyang and kill Yuan Gonglu, the old man." dog!"
Cao Pi sneered slightly and said: "Yang Feng, Han Xian, Yuan Shu! Since the grievances have their owners and the debts have their owners, why did the third brother take it upon himself to kill the younger brother Xia Houcheng?"
This time, it was Cao Zhang's turn to be slightly startled, and he said calmly: "Foreign enemies are bound to be retaliated, but internal management is not strict, so this kind of accident happened." Xia Hou claimed that he had left his post without permission. According to the clan rules, he should be beheaded as a warning to others. "But he forgot to distinguish that he did not make his own decision, but made a decision clearly at the whole clan meeting.
Cao Pi still said coldly: "Then I would like to ask, who is the guard here? Where did the bandits come from without being detected? Why is only Xia Houcheng one person being tried?"
Cao Zhang was a little confused for a moment, but then he realized that his second brother was trying to make things worse and get out of hand. It would be up to Cao Zhang to see how it would end. Xia Houcheng's superiors are all important ministers and generals guarding the border. They can even be traced back to Cheng Yu, Jia Kui and Liu Ye. The higher level is Cao Zhi, the fourth brother who was granted the title of Chen. What will happen then?
Cao Zhang stared at Sima Yi who bowed his head and said nothing. They all said that Zhongda was resourceful. Could this be the idea he gave to Cao Pi? Thinking about the fact that he lacked such an outstanding think tank around him, he couldn't help but feel jealous, and he hated his father for not giving him a few wise advisers.
In fact, from another perspective, the reason why real resourceful people do not approach Cao Zhang is naturally because they are not very optimistic about Cao Zhang's prospects.
Cao Zhang was nervously thinking about how to respond. Unexpectedly, after hearing Cao Pi's question, Cao De jumped out and shouted: "The second young master is absolutely right! The guard along the river here is Xue Ti, Xue Xiaowei, the guard of Chen County." It's the chariot and chariot, and the Huaixi defender is Zang Ba and Zang Xuangao. These three are Xia Houcheng's superiors. Xia Houcheng allowed the thieves to advance straight in. These three people are to blame and should be dealt with severely!"
Cao Zhang felt bad. Seeing the old man Cao De spitting everywhere, he was speechless for a moment. At this time, the hostages and the families of the deceased heard that Cao Pi was coming, and they all gathered in the mourning hall. At this moment, they were so incited by Cao De that they could no longer hold back. They immediately became excited, knelt down and cried loudly. I want the Cao brothers to seek justice for them.
Xue Ti, whose courtesy name was Xiaowei, was a native of Dongjun, Yanzhou. According to the official history, he served successively as a minister of Yanzhou, prefect of Taishan, Shangshu Ling, and governor of the Zhonghu Army. Finally, he was promoted to Shangshu and was given the title of Marquis of Guannei. He is currently an important minister trained by Cao Cao. He has always wanted him to protect the army, and he is inextricably linked to Liu Ye and Liu Ziyang, one of the three great advisers;
Che Zhou, also known as Gong Sun, was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou by Cao Cao. According to the official history, he was attacked and killed by Liu Bei in January 200 AD. He was an important minister who followed Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to move eastward. Cao Cao gave him the position of Chariot and Cavalry General. His status was even higher than that of Cao Cao's beloved minister Dong Zhao and Dong Gongren. Behind his back, he had an unclear relationship with Xun Yu and Xun Wenruo;
Zang Ba, named Xuangao, was born in Huaxian County, Taishan County, and was the son of the famous minister Zang Jie. In the official history, Zang Ba's experience is even more complicated. When he was young, he summoned several people to rescue his convicted father, and then went into exile. Later, he became the Cavalry Commander under Tao Qian, responsible for recruiting troops to resist the Yellow Turban Army. Together with Sun Guan, Yin Li and others, they gathered troops and stationed in Kaiyang, and later formed an independent force. In the second year of Jian'an, he led troops to defeat Xiao Jian and occupied Jucheng, which led Lu Bu to send troops to attack Zang Ba, and then the two reconciled. After Lu Bu's defeat, he surrendered to Cao Cao with Sun Guan and others, and was appointed as the Prime Minister of Langxie. Zang Ba made great achievements in the battles between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, Sun Quan and other princes, and was promoted to the general of Zhendong. After the founding of Cao Wei, Zang Ba was granted the title of Zhi Jinwu and owned 3,000 households. During the reign of Emperor Wei Ming, he granted another 500 households, and after his death, he was given the posthumous title of "Marquis Wei", which shows that Cao Cao favored him. But behind him, there are the shadows of Yu Jin, Yu Wenze and Jia Kui and Jia Liangdao. The most important thing is that Zang Ba is one of the important generals who secretly supports Cao Zhang!
None of the three people, Cao Zhang, could move. Cao Zhang froze on the spot, speechless for a moment in response to Cao De's flying saliva.
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
