Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1200 Dilemma
Xu Chu led his men to turn Yang Xiu's mansion upside down, but in the end, they found no trace of the four people.

This made him feel quite frustrated, because having the four of them gathered together was already the most ideal situation. As long as they were all captured in one fell swoop, Cao Zhi's faction would be completely destroyed.

However, something that had already been set in stone had gone astray. Xu Chu looked at the mess of corpses on the ground and felt a little panicked. He had not found the real culprit, but had killed a lot of people. He could foresee what was waiting for him in the court tomorrow.

Out of desperation, he had to send someone to ask Sima Yi for help. Sima Yi was waiting anxiously in the mansion at this time. When he heard the bad news, he almost knocked over the tea bowl in his hand.

He understood that once Cao Zhi's four friends escaped, they would have almost no chance. If Cao Zhi and his group counterattacked tomorrow, Zhong Yao might not be able to protect himself!

In other words, he and Xu Chu would most likely be sacrificed!

Thinking of this, a stern look flashed in his eyes. He handed a piece of silk to the visitor and said, "Give it to General Xu and have him kill everyone on the list one by one."

The man hurried back. At this time, Xu Chu was still waiting anxiously in Yang Xiu's house. When he saw the letter brought back by the man, he hesitated for a moment, then led his troops out and killed along the way according to the name on the silk.

The people of Yecheng listened to the occasional shouts and screams coming from outside, and waited tremblingly for the arrival of heaven. They wanted to go out of the house to take a look, but found that the long street had been completely blocked.

The smell of blood that came from time to time and the bloodstains on the long street also made people realize that something must have happened last night!
At this time, Zhong Yao was sitting in the mansion, facing the anxious Xun You, he said: "Don't worry."

"Since we have done it, let's make it an ironclad case."

"Except for the four friends, most of the officials who openly or secretly supported the Third Young Master this time have been arrested, except for a few who resisted and were killed."

"The remaining thing is to accuse them of treason and treason, and torture them severely, killing a number of them so that there is no evidence to prove the crime."

"As long as we link the evidence of treason to the rebellion in Jizhou last year when Guan Yu attacked Xudu, these people will be unable to turn the tables."

Xun You's face changed slightly, "But the school office doesn't have any relevant evidence. If we investigate later..."

Zhong Yao said leisurely: "It doesn't matter if you don't have it, you can make it."

"The intelligence from the school affairs office is hard to tell whether it's true or false. If you add a few more pieces of information, who can tell the difference?"

Xun You said in a hoarse voice: "Wouldn't that be tantamount to betraying you, sir?"

Zhong Yao leaned forward and stared at Xun You, "Gongda, don't forget that our Yingchuan sect always stands on the side of the king."

"Now the king's life or death is uncertain, what we have to do is to support the second son to take the throne as soon as possible. If the two sons fight at this time, it will only allow the fierce tiger to reap the benefits."

"The Second Young Master is more suitable to be the Crown Prince. Otherwise, would the Third Young Master, who is close to the Emperor and weak, be allowed to take the throne?"

"He might ask for peace with the fierce tiger and bow to the emperor the next day!"

"Besides," Zhong Yao paused, "Gongda has also heard that the eldest son is very likely still alive, right?"

Xun You nodded upon hearing this. Some time ago, there were rumors about the Korean Peninsula, which were very convincing, saying that Cao Ang was not dead, but instead had surrendered to the evil tiger and now had a fiefdom on the Korean Peninsula!
This news was not good news for Cao Pi's faction, because if Cao Ang could come back, all the investment made by Cao Pi's faction over the years might be wasted!

Zhong Yao said, "The Third Young Master has a good character, but he has a fatal weakness: he is too soft-hearted!"

"If the Third Young Master succeeds to the throne and the First Young Master comes back, the Third Young Master may even give up his throne to the First Young Master!"

"Since the eldest son has surrendered to Xionghu, then what will happen next is self-evident. Isn't this just handing over the Cao family's foundation to the other party?"

Xun You was in a heavy mood. He had to admit that what Zhong Yao said made sense. Now that Cao and Yuan were fighting for life and death, in this situation, Cao Pi was obviously more suitable than Cao Zhi!
Zhong Yao sighed and said, "Gongda, if Ming Gong is sober, he should understand our position."

"We are not doing this to fight for power, but to continue the Cao family. You will understand our painstaking efforts!"

"Now that things have come to this, there is no turning back!"

Xun You heard this and gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll let the spies from the school go collect evidence!"

"The Four Friends"

Zhong Yao's face darkened. "I will ask Xu Chu to continue the search. There is no point in them staying alive. We can only send them off as soon as possible!"

After seeing Xun You off, Zhong Yao stood in front of the window and thought of Ding Chong who was assassinated together with him, and sighed in his heart.

Your death and your son's current situation are fundamentally caused by the evil tiger. If there hadn't been the evil tiger, your family wouldn't have been in such a desperate situation.

It’s your two sons’ fault for making the wrong choice. I will avenge you.

Cao Zhi did not sleep the whole night, and he and Madam Bian had been taking care of the unconscious Cao Cao.

During this time, Cao Cao woke up briefly, and Mrs. Bian quickly brought him medicine. Cao Cao drank a few sips, but fell into a deep sleep again and has not woken up since.

Cao Cao looked pale and unhealthy. Even Cao Zhi could see it. He was afraid that Cao Cao was dying.

He said to the exhausted Madam Bian, "Mother, can you take a rest for a while?"

Madam Bian shook her head and said, "No, the king will wake up at any time. If it's too late to take the medicine, it will be bad."

"How about Zhi'er go to sleep first?" Cao Zhi hesitated for a moment and said, "I'll stay with mother. How about mother take a nap first? If father wakes up, I'll wake her up immediately."

Mrs. Bian couldn't hold on any longer either. She nodded when she heard this, then leaned back on the bed, closed her eyes and took a rest.

Cao Zhi was actually also very tired, but since yesterday, Cao Qing had come to him and told him that he must serve by the bed and must not leave the bed at all.

In this way, the first person Cao Cao sees when he wakes up is Cao Zhi, which will inevitably affect the crucial competition for the crown prince. In the worst case scenario, Cao Cao's last words will determine the ownership of the Wei Kingdom!

Cao Zhi also understood this, so he followed Madam Bian and insisted on keeping watch all night, but what surprised him was that Cao Pi never showed up from beginning to end!
This made Cao Zhi feel extremely strange and a little uneasy. What was Cao Pi thinking?
Doesn't he care about the position of crown prince?

Impossible, he wants the throne more than anyone else!

Thinking of this, Cao Zhi felt even more uneasy. This situation was too abnormal. Something must have happened that he didn't know about!
He sat by the window, thinking hard, but heard someone calling him outside the window. When he turned around, he saw Cao Qing, who looked anxious and was gesturing to him through the window.

Cao Zhi quickly leaned out and asked, "Sister, why are you here?"

Cao Qing lowered her voice and gritted her teeth, "Third brother, things are bad, and you are still so leisurely!"

"Last night, that group brought people and arrested all the officials and nobles who supported you. Many of them were killed on the spot!"

After hearing this, Cao Zhi's face changed drastically. He then understood why Cao Pi was so fearless and did not even come to stand guard. The other party was cutting off the source of his trouble and directly cutting off his limbs!

He was panicking and asked, "Where are Dezu and the others?"

Cao Qing said: "The whereabouts of the four friends are unknown, and the forces in the city that support the third brother have been uprooted. If you don't do something, you will have no hope of turning things around!"

"My second brother is vindictive. I'm afraid he won't let you go after he takes over!"

Cao Zhi's expression changed several times, and he forced himself to calm down and said, "Sister, how should we deal with this now?"

Cao Qing said, "You must tell your father when he wakes up that Cao Pi wants to murder him!"

"This is the last chance. As long as Father nods, everything can be saved!"

"If father falls asleep again, you must do everything you can to wake him up and tell him everything!"

Cao Zhi listened and nodded heavily. Cao Qing looked around and saw that there was no one around, so she said, "I'll go collect information first, and I'll come to you as soon as there's any change."

"You must hurry up. Maybe my second brother has already started to take action in the mansion!"

Cao Zhi watched Cao Qing leave, then got up and went to the inner room. He saw that Cao Cao was still unconscious and Madam Bian had her eyes closed. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly approached Cao Cao, tried to reach out his hand, gently pulled Cao Cao's sleeve and shook him.

He shook it several times and found that Cao Cao didn't respond at all. He became even more anxious. Cao Pi didn't come over all night. He must be planning something behind the scenes. He didn't have much time left!
Thinking of this, Cao Zhi hardened his heart, reached out to pull Cao Cao's collar, and shook him even harder.

Cao Cao seemed to be aware of something in his sleep and called out, but he still did not wake up. However, this call woke up Mrs. Bian who was taking a nap. Seeing Cao Zhi shaking Cao Cao, she subconsciously said, "Zhi'er, what are you doing?"

Cao Zhi was shocked. He immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowed and cried, "Mother, I am dying. Mother, save me!"

Mrs. Bian was confused and asked, "What's going on?"

"Who dares to kill Zhi'er? Are you having a nightmare?"

Cao Zhi immediately told her what happened in the city, and finally cried, "Mother, all these things happened last night. My second brother is trying to force me to death!"

After hearing this, Mrs. Bian's expression changed. She could naturally tell that what Cao Zhi said was true. If he wanted to use this to frame Cao Pi, the lie was too clumsy.

This kind of thing really seems like something Cao Pi and the Yingchuan School would do!

However, it was really difficult for Mrs. Bian to make a choice at the moment. Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were both her sons. No matter how the two of them fought, the benefits would not go to outsiders.

All are brothers and sisters, and Madam Bian naturally did not want Cao Pi and Cao Zhi to kill each other like the Yuan family did, ending up with one side dying. So on this point, Madam Bian had her own stance.

She said, "There may be some misunderstandings about this matter. Pi'er will never do anything to you. I will find a chance to ask him about it. Don't worry."

Cao Zhi became anxious when he heard this.

Peace of mind?

How can I feel at ease about this?

Moreover, if this matter is delayed any further and Cao Pi kills all his people, what use will it be even if Cao Cao wakes up?

Thinking of this, Cao Zhi gritted his teeth and said, "Mother, have you ever thought about my second brother's style of doing things?"

"If my father were still alive, it would be fine. But if my second brother becomes the King of Wei, would he allow me to live?"

"Can mother stop him then?"

(End of this chapter)