Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1151 Secret Discussion
The news that Cao Ang was probably still alive brought not only surprise but also panic to the officials in Cao's camp.

Because at this critical time when the Wei State could change its lord at any time, the news that Cao Ang, who should have been dead, was still alive was definitely not a good thing, especially since he was under the control of the evil tiger!

Many people began to panic. Cao Cao’s physical condition was unclear. If it was not handled properly, Yecheng would fall apart immediately!
Xun You hurried to find Zhong Yao and asked as soon as they met: "Prime Minister, have you heard about the rumor?"

To Xun You's surprise, Zhong Yao did not show any panic on his face. Instead, he asked Xun You to sit down and said, "Gongda, the more you are at this moment, the more you must not lose your sense of proportion."

Xun You calmed down a little after hearing this. He sighed and said, "When it comes to the future of Wei, I can't help but be anxious."

Zhong Yao said slowly: "There is no point in being anxious. Coming up with a solution is the most important thing."

Xun You was delighted, "Does the Prime Minister have a plan?"

Zhong Yao said, "No."

Xun You's face just froze when he heard Zhong Yao say, "I think Gongda and the rest of you are overthinking."

"Even if the eldest son is still alive, it may not be all bad."

"The First Emperor was a hostage in Zhao State, but he eventually returned to Qin State and ascended the throne, eventually unifying the six kingdoms. Even if the eldest son is in the hands of a fierce tiger today, there may not be any hope for him to return."

Xun You said anxiously: "This is what I am worried about!"

"Now those two young masters are competing for the position of Crown Prince. If either of them takes the position, and the eldest young master comes back, will the Crown Prince give up his position?"

Zhong Yao laughed in silence, "This kind of thing should be considered by you, my lord. What does it have to do with us?"

Xun You asked anxiously, "Why is it irrelevant?"

"Right now, all of us in Yingchuan have placed our bets on the Second Young Master. If the First Young Master comes back..."

Zhong Yao said calmly: "So what if I come back?"

"There are ways to come back."

Xun You didn't react for a moment, "If he comes back, the position of the Crown Prince will definitely change!"

Zhong Yao smiled and said, "If you are worried about unexpected changes, why not find a way to decide the position of the crown prince as soon as possible?"

"As long as the lord gives the order, it's just a matter of one word to choose who to choose."

Xun You said, "But the eldest son is obviously stronger than the other two. If the lord wants to choose, why would he choose someone else?"

"What I am most worried about is that the lord loves his son so much that he agrees to Xionghu's proposal for a truce and misses the best opportunity to defeat him!"

Zhong Yao asked in return: "Gongda, do you think that the State of Wei will not change without the eldest prince?"

Xun You was stunned, "Is the Prime Minister on the side of the Second Young Master?"

"No," Zhong Yao said, "I have always stood on your side."

"Gongda, remember, as long as Ming Gong stands, we don't need to consider other people's thoughts."

Xun You seemed to be thinking about it. "What you mean is that we continue to support the Second Young Master secretly, but not take sides openly?"

Zhong Yao smiled and said, "Almost."

"Supporting the Second Young Master may seem risky, but it actually has the fewest variables."

"Plus, if the secret is true, he will sooner or later face the issue of succession to the throne."

"So he will have to rely fully on our loyalty."

"Gongda, think about it. If the eldest son comes back, he will have a high prestige and everyone will support him. One more or one less won't matter much. In his eyes, are we that important?"

Xun You suddenly realized, "The Prime Minister really woke me up with a word!"

"So what we need to do now is to do our best to build momentum for the Second Young Master?"

"No," Zhong Yao shook his head, "This will be counterproductive."

"Being too obvious can easily expose one's shortcomings."

“So we did the opposite.”

"Try to flatter the Third Young Master in every possible way."

Xun You was stunned, "The Prime Minister is saying..."

Zhong Yao nodded, "It's lonely at the top. The higher you climb, the harder you fall."

"Right now, both of them lack the ability to stand out. What we are competing for now is not who performs better, but who makes fewer mistakes."

"After all, for the next generation of princes, maintaining the status quo is more important than conquering the world. Whoever loses patience is likely to be eliminated first."

Xun You finally understood, and he let out a long breath, and immediately bowed and said, "Prime Minister, you are wise. I really admire you."

Zhong Yao shook his head and said, "It's not that I'm smart, but my desires are less than yours, so I'm not blinded by the benefits."

"Among those who support the Third Young Master, Yang Xiu is the most troublesome. What I can think of, he may not be unable to think of."

"But Yang Xiu also has weaknesses. He is too risky and radical. If you give him a visible benefit, he will definitely take it."

"So in order to win, we need to set some traps."

He said a few words, and Xun You's eyes lit up, "The Prime Minister is really amazing!"

"I'll go back and arrange it!"

He thought about it, but still felt uneasy. "What if Ming Gong likes the eldest son too much..." Zhong Yao thought for a while, "This is actually very simple. I heard that the lady was imprisoned in Jicheng. This should be because the eldest son was forced to obey Xionghu."

Xun You was surprised and asked, "The Prime Minister even knows this?"

"If the eldest son helps Xionghu to deal with us, the people here will definitely be in chaos..."

Zhong Yao said, "I still say the same thing. Wei belongs to you, my lord. It doesn't belong to anyone else."

"In fact, it is very simple to eliminate this variable. Find an assassin to go to Yecheng and send that lady off."

Xun You widened his eyes in disbelief, "This, this..."

Zhong Yao's expression remained unchanged, "If the eldest son works for Xionghu, he will not be qualified to participate in the matter of the Crown Prince of Wei."

"But the evil tiger separated the mother and son, hoping to use this as a threat. As long as that person is alive, the eldest son will definitely be held hostage by the evil tiger."

"So even if we send people to Cao County to persuade the eldest master, he will not dare to act rashly because the lady is in the hands of the fierce tiger."

"In that case, why don't we give it a push and break the chain."

"And the reason why Xionghu granted the eldest son a title of nobility and fiefdom is that he thought he had found a weak spot that he could use to threaten the eldest son."

"In this case, why not just go all out and cut off this weak spot directly."

"Once that lady dies, Xionghu will lose the means to threaten the eldest son, and will have to be on guard against the eldest son causing chaos in Cao County at all times."

"So Xiong Hu's final response must be to find a way to imprison the eldest son, not to mention releasing him."

"In this way, even if Xionghu wants to use the eldest son to cause trouble again, the dispute over the crown prince here has already been settled, and it won't cause any trouble."

Xun You opened his eyes wide in surprise, he was good at battlefield strategy, but he was far inferior to the treacherous things in people's hearts. Now Zhong Yao's words made Xun You understand that Zhong Yao was able to sit in Sili and resist Yuan Xi's offensive alone for several years, he really had his extraordinary qualities!

Seeing Xun You staring at him strangely, Zhong Yao said, "Gongda, I have come this far because I have always maintained a position."

"That means standing by the Lord's side and doing things."

"Now that the news that the eldest son is alive is a destabilizing factor for Cao Ying, especially at this time when they are fighting against the fierce tiger with all their strength."

"So for the future of Wei, and to live up to the trust of our lord, the first thing we have to do is to follow the will of our lord and maintain a stable transfer of power."

"And the eldest son who has surrendered to Xionghu is now our enemy, no matter what the reason is."

Xun You was silent for a long time before he sighed, "I understand."

"The matter of Jicheng..."

Zhong Yao said calmly: "My lord, considering our old friendship, will definitely not be willing to do it."

"You can ask someone to find a way to rescue her. If they can't rescue her, you can just use the excuse of preventing the lady from being humiliated and take action directly."

"I don't think the lord would want any lady to be controlled by a fierce tiger, or even ruin the lord's reputation."

"If we report this matter to the lord, it will make it difficult for him to make a decision. This will become our duty as a subject."

"So Gongda can make his own decision and select the candidates. I believe the Lord will understand."

Xun You thought to himself that he was really an old fox. He was just throwing the problem to himself to solve without getting involved?
He hesitated and said, "If we guess wrong..."

Zhong Yao smiled, "Then Gongda can go and ask the lord for confirmation. As the prime minister, I only deal with state affairs and I will not interfere in family affairs."

Xun You's face froze. You really took off all your clothes.

Zhong Yao finally said, "Some things may not have to be done right away, but you can prepare for them early."

"And I believe Yang Xiu will definitely get impatient. If we just wait, they may take some action."

As Zhong Yao expected, Yang Xiu was also in a mansion at this time, inviting the two to a secret meeting.

He was looking for a pair of brothers, Ding Yi and Ding Yi, who were the sons of Ding Chong who died at the hands of Yang Feng in the Huaicheng assassination.

Ding Chong and Zhong Yao were originally close friends. Logically, the brothers should have supported Cao Pi like Zhong Yao, but they chose to support the young Cao Zhi.

The reasons are very complicated, but an important factor is that the two brothers got a piece of news that when Huaicheng assassinated Ding Chong, Zhong Yao not only did not save him, but also added insult to injury.

Although this news was most likely intended to sow discord, the two brothers' careful analysis of the specious evidence and doubts further confirmed their suspicions.

Moreover, the two of them looked down on Cao Pi as a person, and felt that his actions were not worthy of a noble family. So for various reasons, the two decided to help their good friend Yang Xiu and support Cao Zhi in his fight for the position of crown prince.

Now Ding Yi's face was solemn, "The current situation is very bad."

"Although the Third Young Master has been warned by us to be careful with his words and actions, it is too late."

"The king is seriously ill. The Yingchuan sect is too powerful and has already planted many spies around the king. We have almost no chance to intervene."

Ding Yi also said, "That's right. We don't even know the news in the palace now, so how can we take any measures?"

"If we want to take action, we must know the exact information about the king's physical condition!"

Ding Yi was worried: "How can we get into the king's inner house?"

Yang Xiu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "There is a person."

"This person usually doesn't like the Second Young Master, maybe he can help us."

(End of this chapter)