Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1089 The Crown Prince
Mrs. Ding took off her outer long gown and folded it, then went to take off her inner clothes. Thinking that these things would soon be handed over to the hateful tiger outside, she felt even more ashamed and angry.

She quickly took off her inner clothes and stuffed them into her folded outer clothes. Then she sat on the edge of the bed for a while before finding a new set of clothes to change into.

Mrs. Ding usually lives a simple life and doesn't have many clothes. The last time Mrs. Huan came to visit her, she saw that Mrs. Ding's old clothes were patched, so she quickly had someone send a few new clothes for Mrs. Ding.

During this period, after Mrs. Ding learned about Mrs. Huan's experience of leaving Cao's mansion, she sighed and thought that it was a good result. In comparison, she was indeed going to suffer the retribution for Cao Cao's evil deeds, right?
Madam Ding calmed down a little, then she held the clothes, opened the door and walked out. She walked in front of Yuan Xi, stuffed the clothes into Yuan Xi's hands, and said expressionlessly: "If the king has nothing else to do, I'm sorry that I can't see you off."

Yuan Xi lowered his head to examine his clothes, and reached out his hand to lift up the outer garment. When Mrs. Ding saw this, she was immediately defeated. She stepped back a few steps, gritting her teeth and staring at Yuan Xi, like a ferocious beast that was ready to eat anyone.

Yuan Xi finally reacted, stopped and smiled, "Thank you, Madam, for your trouble."

"I won't disturb Madam from reminiscing about the past. Cao Xian, let's go."

Cao Xian responded, and as he left, he smiled and said, "My husband, please get in the car and take a closer look. No one will disturb you."

Mrs. Ding almost vomited blood and staggered back a few steps. Mrs. Huan hurried over and helped her sit down.

When Madam Ding came to her senses, Yuan Xi had already left. Madam Huan advised: "The king is hard on the outside but soft on the inside. He did not mean to insult you intentionally. Madam, please do not take it to heart."

Mrs. Ding knew in her heart that this was indeed the case. Although Yuan Xi's words seemed excessive, he actually still kept to the bottom line in his actions. If he had acted like Cao Cao, perhaps she and Cao Qing would have been taken into the rear palace together long ago. How could they be living alone now?

She sighed to Madam Huan, "Thank you for your concern, Madam. That man treated you like this, and yet you still tried to excuse me. I am really ashamed."

Madam Huan shook her head and said, "Why should women be women? They are all down and out. Now I don't ask for anything. I am already satisfied if I can spend the rest of my life in peace."

Mrs. Ding was in mixed feelings. She wondered what the instigator of all this was doing in Xudu, and she didn't expect anything from him. She just hoped he could arrange a good home for Cao Qing.

What she didn't know was that Cao Cao did not stay in Xudu, but built a temporary palace in Yecheng, and at the same time built a high platform on a large scale.

This was obviously a preparation for a higher level in the future, but now Cao Cao's plan was disrupted a lot by Yuan Xi, especially after Yuan Xi shifted the focus of expansion from Jianghuai back to Youzhou, the pressure on Jizhou suddenly increased.

Yecheng is one of the most important military strongholds in the Central Plains. It has been plagued by wars in the past two years. However, Cao Cao was somewhat dissatisfied with the response and performance of Xiahou Dun, the commander-in-chief of Yecheng, so he came to Yecheng in person to stop the offensive of Yuan Xi's army.

Cao Cao was in a very bad mood these days, not only because his health was getting worse and worse and he suffered from headaches and insomnia at night, but also because the helpless Jiangdong was once again defeated by the ferocious tiger, and the surprise attack launched by Li Dian in Qingzhou was also thwarted.

After this battle, Yuan Xi's power increased again. Cao Cao guessed that Yuan Xi still had a lot of surplus soldiers in Youbing, and that he might turn around and deal with him with all his strength next year. However, Cao Cao was short of soldiers and financial resources, and he might not be sure of being able to stop the enemy's offensive next year.

This made Cao Cao even more irritable, but he had nowhere to vent his anger, so he could only vent most of his anger on the inner house, especially on Madam Liu.

It has to be said that Cao Cao, who was devoted to the Taoism of Huang-Lao and skilled in Taoist sexual techniques, had many tricks. He used various methods to get Mrs. Liu to cooperate with him. If Yuan Xi knew the inside story, he would sigh that this was no longer standing up to pedal, but rather doing bicycle stunts.

Now Madam Liu was lying face down on the couch, her whole body motionless. She had fainted, with only a faint breath coming in and out of her nostrils. Cao Cao's irritability was slightly relieved. He stood up, threw away the wooden stick as thick as a child's arm, walked to the table, and read the military intelligence.

As he watched, he frowned.

He had seen this news once during the day, but seeing it again still surprised Cao Cao, and he even suspected that he had seen false information.

But what was said in this secret letter was extremely certain: Jiange on Jinniu Road in Yizhou had actually been breached!

Cao Cao knew how difficult it was to capture Jiange. He thought that even if he went there in person, he might not be able to capture it so easily.

But in this letter, Xiahou Yuan swore and made it very clear that it was Sima Yi who used a trick to lure out the defenders and inserted an ambush under the city gate in a very short time, and broke through the city gate unexpectedly before the defenders could react.

The time was calculated extremely accurately. A difference of half a cup of tea would have resulted in failure. But in the end, it was a complete success. The one who presided over all this was Sima Yi!

Before sending troops, Xiahou Yuan was extremely pessimistic about Sima Yi, the young military advisor, but since it was Cao Cao's order, he could only obey. Moreover, Xiahou Yuan himself was proficient in military tactics, so he did not think that the presence or absence of Sima Yi would have any impact.

As a result, in the past six months, Sima Yi used several strategies to help break through several dangerous cities on Jinniu Road, and gradually won Xiahou Yuan's trust. Now that Jiange has been captured, Xiahou Yuan has not hesitated to praise him, saying that it is Cao Ying's fortune to have such a talent. However, Cao Cao thought of another problem.

Sima Yi is so powerful at such a young age. How powerful will he become in the future?
Who in Cao’s camp could suppress him?

Several candidates flashed through Cao Cao's mind, Zhong Yao, Xun You, and Chen Qun, all of whom might be able to defeat Sima Yi, but these people were also from outsiders!
Cao and Xiahou families, there is no one like them!

He thought of Cao Ang, whom he had placed high hopes on. He was the only one among his descendants who had the ability to integrate and suppress various forces. However, his path was cut off by the ferocious tiger!
Cao Cao had gradually guessed whether Cao Ang was dead. Although he was not completely sure, it did not seem that the situation was the worst.

But Cao Cao roughly guessed Yuan Xi's purpose, which made him even more troubled. It was clear that the other party would use Cao Ang to deliver a fatal blow to his own camp at some point in the future!
So from this point of view, Cao Ang's survival may not be a good thing for Cao Cao to establish a successor. On the contrary, it may cause turmoil in the camp!

But for some reason, even though he knew that Yuan Xi had bad intentions, Cao Cao felt very complicated, and even had a very complicated gratitude towards Yuan Xi.

After all, if Cao Ang were alive, it might not be a good thing for Cao's camp, but for Cao Cao himself, it was a hidden hope in his heart.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao was horrified. The ferocious tiger might be taking the opportunity to weaken his will. If he relaxed at all, he might lose opportunities in the next confrontation, leading to a great defeat, and in the end he might even die and his clan would be wiped out!
By that time, both Cao Ang and Madam Ding might lose their usefulness and be either killed or live a life worse than death!
If he wanted the Cao family to have a good ending, he must give it his all in the upcoming life-and-death battle. If he could end it decently, the Cao family might be able to survive in the future!

Cao Cao suddenly realized that he had made plans for failure before the fight even started. Was it because he had no confidence that he could defeat the fierce tiger?
Am I really old?

The headache came again, Cao Cao held his head, trying desperately to suppress the wailing in his mouth. At this moment he suddenly realized that he was not only old, but also about to die!

He grabbed the maltose and Wu Shi San on the table and poured them all into his mouth, trying to relieve the pain, but in the end he fell to the ground powerlessly, his whole body twitching.

No, I can't die yet. If I die now, the Cao family and even my own foundation will be ruined!
After an unknown amount of time, he finally managed to hold on from the waves. He was sweating profusely and almost exhausted, but he still sat up slowly. The fierce light returned to his eyes. He didn't have much time now, so he could only speed up!

He spread out the bamboo slips and began to draft a secret order, asking Zhong Yao to come to Yecheng, to entrust him with his affairs after his death.

Before in Yecheng, he had talked to Xun You and Chen Qun, but did not promise anything, because both of them were from Yingchuan gentry, and the strength of the Yingchuan gentry was now too great and they could not be allowed to grow any further!

In comparison, although Zhong Yao is also from the Yingchuan faction, he has always been stationed in Sili and has an ambiguous relationship with the Yingchuan faction. It is better to choose him than to choose others.

Zhong Yao's literary talent and military strategy were impeccable, and Cao Cao regarded him as his own Xiao He. He was also good at calligraphy, which was very much to Cao Cao's liking.

The rest are people from the Cao and Xiahou families. The positions of the first two people must not be occupied by the Yingchuan faction.

If Xiahou Yuan could conquer Yizhou, he would naturally occupy one spot, but as for the other one, it would be a bit difficult.

Although Xiahou Dun was remarkable in logistics and internal affairs, he did not have any military achievements, and it would be difficult for him to win the support of the people in the future. After much deliberation, he could only choose between Cao Hong and Cao Ren.

To be fair, Cao Ren was actually better than Cao Hong in doing things, but he had one fatal weakness, which was that he was not decisive enough. In other words, he was not ruthless enough to people.

In contrast, Cao Hong risked his life and offered his horse to save Cao Cao in his early years, so Cao Cao thought again and again and finally wrote down Cao Hong's name.

The last person, Cao Cao was undecided between Chen Qun and Xun You. Both of them had close ties with the Xun family, but in the end they both chose to cut ties with the Xun family.

At this time, Cao Cao thought of Xun Yu who died in Shouchun, and his heart was filled with emotion. The pen in his hand paused for a long time, and finally wrote Chen Qun's name.

And now there is only one last question left.

This is of utmost importance, and is fundamental to the future of Cao's camp. It is also the most difficult issue for Cao Cao to decide on: who will be the heir.

Cao Pi or Cao Zhi, who should you choose?

(End of this chapter)