Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1308 Changes
As Zhong Yao expected, a few days later, news came that after Guan Yu captured Xiangyang, he did not take Xinye and attack Nanyang directly, but went east to Fancheng, then turned north and marched outside the Jin army's defense line, heading straight for Xu Du.

After Sima Yi learned about this, he was secretly amazed. When Cao Cao was alive, Zhong Yao was able to single-handedly fight against the Jin army in Sili. For several years, Gao Gan and the Black Mountain Army were unable to capture Yecheng. In the end, Huaicheng was lost because Zhong Yao was transferred.

In Sima Yi's mind, Zhong Yao was the one with the strongest comprehensive ability among the Wei ministers. He even had a feeling that there was no room for two tigers in one mountain, and that he and Zhong Yao would part ways sooner or later in the future.

However, Sima Yi concealed it very well. At present, he still needed the help of Zhong Yao's faction. The small circle of the three had already involved too many top resources of the Wei State. Moreover, Zhong Yao was old, and Xun You was not in good health. This circle, the connections and relationships involved, would sooner or later fall into the hands of Sima Yi alone after the death of the two!

Before that, he just needs to keep his head down and be harmless to people and animals.

Sima Yi lowered his head, mingled with the officials, and went to the Wei Palace. Although he tried his best to be inconspicuous, he was still stopped halfway.

"Zhongda, congratulations!"

Sima Yi raised his head slightly when he heard this, but saw Chen Qun walking towards him. He couldn't help but frowned, and then returned the greeting without saying a word.

At the beginning, Chen Qun was not included in the three-person circle that Sima Yi participated in, which made Sima Yi quite strange, because in terms of friendship and qualifications, Chen Qun was far more qualified than Sima Yi.

Later, Sima Yi also secretly asked Xun You for information, because as far as he knew, Xun You and Chen Qun had a very good personal relationship at first. Although Xun You did not explain it clearly, from just a few words, Sima Yi gradually guessed the general reason, which was that Zhong Yao did not seem to trust Chen Qun very much.

Sima Yi guessed that the reason might be that Chen Qun was not easy to control. He joined the Yingchuan faction and always put his own interests first. He was able to adapt to the situation and would decisively join another camp if the situation was not good.

This was the case when he first joined Liu Bei, and also when he joined the Xun family. Chen Qun, as Xun Yu's son-in-law, was also one of the first people to draw a clear line with the Xun family after Xun Yu broke with Cao Cao, which made Xun You feel resentful.

Although Xun You and Xun Yu had different political views, they were still members of the Xun family. Chen Qun cut ties with them quite cleanly for a while, and quietly became Cao Cao's regent without Zhong Yao and Xun You knowing anything. It is certain that Chen Qun betrayed some people, so when Zhong Yao was in Yecheng, he pulled Xun You and Sima Yi in to form a new small circle.

Facts have proved that the division within the Yingchuan faction was welcomed by Cao Cao and even Cao Pi. After Cao Cao's death, Zhong Yao and Sima Yi were suppressed one after another, and Xun You was almost marginalized. It was not until Guan Yu launched a massive attack that the three of them regained power.

Chen Qun proposed the Nine-Rank System, allowing Cao Pi to reorganize the court situation. At the same time, he and Hua Xin manipulated Liu Xie to abdicate. It can be said that he was quite appreciated by Cao Pi. However, the abdication ceremony went wrong, causing Hua Xin to begin to lose power. It seems that Chen Qun was afraid of being affected, so he took the initiative to greet Sima Yi today.

Sima Yi naturally did not show any emotion on his face, and immediately said respectfully: "Yima greets the Minister of the Chancellery."

Chen Qun, however, held Sima Yi's arm affectionately and said, "Zhongda, this time you may be promoted to a higher position than me. I will have to be taken care of by you in the future."

Sima Yi knew that Chen Qun was just being polite. The Shangshu was in charge of foreign affairs, and Sima Yi would probably use this title to lead the troops. Chen Qun's position as Shangshu Ling was the core of the emperor, and he was in charge of the memorials and documents of all officials. As long as Chen Qun was still in this position, it meant that his favor would not diminish.

He and Chen Qun exchanged a few words of courtesy. Zhong Yao and Xun You were wary of Chen Qun, but Sima Yi did not think so. If he could make good use of the conflicts between the Yingchuan factions, he might be able to set up his own chess game for the future.

He whispered, "Today, the court will not only have to deal with the offensives from Jin and Hannan, but also the arrest of officials after the abdication. Does the Minister of the Chancellery have any instructions?"

Chen Qun didn't expect Sima Yi to be able to guess his intention. Surprise flashed across his face. Seeing that no one was around, he whispered, "Some people are dead, but His Majesty still cares about a few of them."

"For example, the one other than us..."

Sima Yi understood and said immediately, "Thank you for your reminder, Shangshu Ling."

What Chen Qun was talking about was naturally the three outsiders among the six ministers of state, who, besides Chen Qun and Sima Yi, were Dong Zhao.

Dong Zhao was reported to have had an affair with Liu Xie, which led to the abdication, so he was reported and imprisoned a few days ago. However, some officials believed that this was a false accusation, and that Dong Zhao's collusion with the enemy was just a rumor, framed by political enemies, because no evidence was found from beginning to end.

Now Chen Qun’s meaning is very clear, Cao Pi wants to protect Dong Zhao.

Sima Yi had actually already guessed this result. Although Dong Zhao and Zhong Yao had always been at odds, and Zhong Yao was in power this time, the regents were, in the final analysis, pawns used by Cao Pi to suppress the Cao and Xiahou clans, and it was impossible for them to be abandoned in a short period of time.

Now the Yingchuan faction is divided internally, and Cao Pi probably played a significant role in it. Chen Qun was one of the players. Sima Yi's position is also very delicate, and he is the candidate that both factions want to win over. That's why Chen Qun hinted at Sima Yi everywhere.

Sima Yi sneered in his heart. Judging from the tactics of checks and balances of power, this young emperor of Cao Wei was quite capable. I'm afraid that when Cao Cao was alive, he might not have been able to see that he had such talent.

No, it should be that he saw that Ming Gong's vision and magnanimity were indeed extraordinary. Even though Cao Pi had done so many things that crossed the line, he still gave the throne of King of Wei to him in the end. If it had been given to Cao Zhi, I'm afraid the State of Wei would have been destroyed long ago, right?
Thinking of Cao Pi's methods, Sima Yi couldn't help but admire him secretly. Cao Pi's prestige suffered a considerable blow due to the previous abdication incident, but when he went to court the next day, he immediately directed his spearhead at Cao Zhi, saying that his words bewitched Liu Xie, which led to everything happening.

This successfully shifted the conflict between Cao Wei and the Han Dynasty onto Cao Zhi, forcing Cao Zhi to almost commit suicide on the spot. In the end, he composed a seven-step poem, which made Cao Pi feel deeply pity for him and sent Cao Zhi into exile. However, he still put the blame on Cao Zhi in the end, which greatly reduced the negative impact of the abdication.

Thinking of this, Sima Yi bent his waist even lower, lowered his head and followed Chen Qun and other officials into the court, thinking that he had to keep pretending.

On that day, a heated debate broke out in the court of Cao Wei on how to stop the offensive of Jin and Hannan respectively. As expected, Sima Yi, who was appointed as the Secretary of State in charge of foreign affairs and military affairs, first did to rush to the area between Xudu and Fancheng to deploy defenses, and together with Cao Hong, Li Dian and others who had been stationed in Nanyang earlier, to stop the Jin army and Guan Yu army that were about to attack.

The contraction of the Xu Du defense line was caused by Cao Ren's loss of Xiangyang and Cao Hong's unsuccessful attack on Shouchun. The appointment of Sima Yi marked the reduction of the Cao clan's military power. Although Xiahou Dun, who was the general at the time, argued in court, he was naturally powerless to stop it.

The only one in the clan who is qualified to be the Shangshu is Xiahou Shang, who is stationed in Luoyang, but now he is unable to escape.

And the most important point is that Xiahou Dun's position as general was not very prestigious. He could be said to be the least capable of fighting among the Cao clan. The only reason he was promoted to the position of general was because of his loyalty to Cao Cao during his lifetime.

After Cao Pi ascended the throne, he did not move Xiahou Dun's position. Instead, he adopted the method of praising and killing, allowing Xiahou Dun to occupy a high position and making all officials feel that his virtue was not worthy of the position. Naturally, not many officials responded to what Xiahou Dun said.

Sima Yi knelt among the officials, with a lingering question in his mind. He wondered why Cao Pi hated the descendants of the Cao clan so much. Shouldn't this be his base?

Logically speaking, with foreign enemies surrounding them, Cao Pi's actions would simply be cutting off his own foundation. Was he ever bullied by the descendants of the Cao family, or was it because the descendants of the Cao family supported Cao Zhi that he had such a strong hatred for him?
Sima Yi knew that there must be some reasons that he didn't understand, but he had no time to care about it at the moment, because he was about to mobilize his troops to go to war, leading Cao Wei's few military advisors to find a way to stop the joint offensive of the Jin army and Guan Yu at the same time. Thinking of this, he almost wanted to curse. Is this something he can do?
The debate in the court brought his thoughts back to the topic. Now that the military affairs had come to an end, it was time for the ministers to impeach and offer suggestions on how to deal with Liu Xie.

An official stepped forward and said, "Liu He, the former Han minister, was previously a subordinate of Xiong Hu. After the Huaicheng Rebellion, he came to Xudu and made many persuasive remarks around the emperor of the former Han Dynasty. Moreover, his wife is a daughter of the Yuan family. This shows that Liu He is actually a traitor of Xiong Hu!"

"Now that such an incident has occurred, Liu He's crime is unforgivable and he should be executed according to the law. I hope Your Majesty will conduct a thorough investigation to serve as a warning to others!"

As soon as this was said, many people echoed it, and some even impeached Dong Zhao and others. Finally, the scope became wider and wider until it affected Xun Chen.

Xun You, who was listening nearby, also looked unhappy. The blow had obviously been magnified. If the impeachment of Dong Zhao was instigated by Zhong Yao's faction, then Xun Chen's move had obviously backfired and hit the Xun family.

If this goes on, the fact that Xun Yu worked for the Han Emperor Liu Xie will be uncovered sooner or later. If the Xun family continues to be trapped, the Yingchuan faction will also be affected. Is the force opposing the Yingchuan faction in the court so strong now?
Is there a counterattack from the Cao clan or other factions?

Thinking of this, Xun You was horrified. He couldn't go on like this. If the court was divided like this, how could he fight against the foreign enemies?
But at this moment, someone stepped forward and said, "Jin and Hannan sent letters at the same time, requesting to exchange prisoners."

When these words were spoken, everyone looked at him sideways. What was going on? Had anyone mentioned this before?
When they saw that Cao Pi also looked surprised, they realized that even the emperor didn't know about this!
(End of this chapter)