Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1320 Peace Talks
Over the past few days, the allied forces of Yuan Xi and Guan Yu have jointly cleared seven or eight towns outside Xu Du. Although the Jin State did not bring large-scale engineering equipment this time, other light equipment could not be resisted by these small towns. The Wei army was defeated after only a slight resistance and had to retreat in a hurry.

During this period, Xiahou Dun and Cao Zhen also led their troops to fight, but they were unable to withstand Guan Yu's flank attack and had to retreat in embarrassment. The most important significance of these battles was to make the Cao Wei court understand that the Cao army was no longer able to fight the two countries head-on.

Moreover, the previous strategy of dispersing into three routes for defense has also proved to be a failure. The current Cao Wei does not have the ability to fight on multiple fronts. This has made most of Cao Wei's ministers pessimistic about defending Xu Du. They believe that only by pushing to a place like Chang'an that can defend a few important places alone can the retreat be stopped.

Therefore, there has been endless debate in the court of Cao Wei in recent days on whether to move to Chang'an. This is also the result that Yuan Xi most hopes to see, because Chang'an does not only have one road to Guanzhong. There is also a river valley passage to the north leading to the Hetao Plain. This road connects Bingzhou and Liangzhou, and its layout was laid when Yuan Xi attacked Bingzhou.

Of course, Yuan Xi's intention was not unknown. Zhong Yao argued in the court, telling the court about the consequences of abandoning Xu Du at this time. If the plan was abandoned at this time, all three prefectures of Yingchuan would be lost!
But his voice is not the mainstream now, because the people most afraid of among Cao Wei officials are Yuan Xi and Guan Yu. The several battles in which the two had participated before have already frightened them. Now that the two have joined forces to appear at the gate of the city, how many of them would not be panicked?
Then another voice emerged, proposing to hand over Liu Xie in exchange for peace.

The person who held this view was also from the Yingchuan School, and was Sima Hui, who was known as a good man.

After Sima Hui defected to Cao Wei, he took an idle official position and spent the whole day discussing Confucian classics with others, but kept silent on major issues. This attitude did not offend anyone and he was also regarded as a famous and elegant scholar, which earned him the trust of many people.

In addition, his ancestral home is Yingchuan, and he has close ties with the scholars in Jingzhou. He is a springboard for the Yingchuan faction to win over the scholars in Jingzhou, so his words carry a lot of weight.

Now he spoke in the court: "Since the former Han emperor has abdicated and the Han dynasty has perished, the former emperor is actually of no use to Wei."

"And Guan Yu's fame is that he came here to seize the emperor of the Former Han Dynasty. So why not hand him over to persuade the troops to withdraw?"

Zhong Yao came out and objected, "No."

"The other party claims to be after the emperor, but in reality they want to destroy the State of Wei. Handing over the emperor of the Former Han Dynasty is like seeking the skin of a tiger. Who knows if they will go too far and turn against us?"

Sima Hui stroked his beard and said, "The commander-in-chief is worrying too much. If Jin really has evil intentions, then whether to attack Xudu is not decided by the emperor of the Former Han Dynasty."

Zhong Yao sneered: "Isn't that it?"

"If we hand over the emperor of the former Han Dynasty, wouldn't that give them an advantage?"

Sima Hui said: "Excuse me for being blunt, but now that the Wei Kingdom has been established, the situation that should have been resolved has been resolved. There is no need to add unnecessary trouble and keep this trouble."

"Let's not talk about the State of Jin. Guan Yu is actually interested in the Emperor of the Former Han Dynasty. If we hand him over, it may lead to a fight between the two sides, and we can find an opportunity to turn things around."

Cao Pi's heart was moved, and he said, "I would like to hear the details."

Sima Hui said: "Hannan Kingdom respects the legitimacy of the former Han emperor, so they are determined to obtain it."

"Although the Jin State acted insidiously, the basis of their claim to the throne still lies in the words of the emperor of the former Han Dynasty." He paused here, and Cao Pi and others looked grim. After all, this was the most embarrassing thing that had happened to the Wei State in recent years.

Sima Hui continued, "So Jin may not be unwilling to covet the former Han emperor. If we throw him out, it may cause disputes between the two countries, thus creating opportunities for us."

When this was said, it unexpectedly gained the support of many officials in the court of Cao Wei. Zhong Yao watched from the sidelines and found that in addition to Sima Hui's diehard supporters in Jingzhou such as Cui Jun and Shi Guangyuan, there were also officials from aristocratic families such as Jia Kui and Wang Lang who liked to make friends with celebrities. He couldn't help but feel depressed, and always felt that things were gradually getting out of control.

But Zhong Yao also didn't think that these people had been bribed by the State of Jin. The most likely possibility was that they were not interested in defending Xu Du, the base camp of the Yingchuan faction.

Most of them were scholars from Jing and Yi, or from Sili. A few were from the Yingchuan School. Their families had already moved away, so the loss of Xu Du did not have much impact on their families.

Those who truly wanted to protect their family would be suspected by Cao Pi of putting public interests above personal interests and would choose to wait and see, such as Chen Qun who became mute from beginning to end.

Zhong Yao looked around and suddenly his body shook slightly. He couldn't see the current situation clearly.

As soon as Cao Pi came to power, he used the conflicts between himself and Chen Qun, Xun You, Sima Yi and other factions with special identities in the Yingchuan faction to divide the relationship within the Yingchuan faction. Now, he insists on refusing to defend Xu Du for the sake of Cao Wei, which makes him appear to be a person who is confused and has selfish motives!
I am afraid that the more I insist, the more Cao Pi will resist. The fact that he has not expressed his opinion yet is proof of this. It seems that Cao Pi has made up his mind and it is meaningless for me to say anything!
Thinking of this, he sighed in his heart. He had been loyal to Cao Wei for two generations, but because of this he had done some things that were not worthy of being mentioned in public. It seemed that Cao Pi was even more narrow-minded than Cao Cao. He had long been dissatisfied with some of his practices. He was probably worried that he would become the second Huo Guang. What was happening in the court today was the inevitable result of the accumulation of contradictions.

As expected, Cao Pi said, "I heard that the emperor of the Former Han Dynasty was ill. How is his condition now?"

Hua Xin stepped out and said, "His condition is very serious. When I went to check on him, his whole body was swollen and he couldn't even speak."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces changed drastically, and they couldn't help but move away from Hua Xin. Although people didn't know the working principles of the epidemic at that time, they all knew that the closer people were to the patient, the more likely they would get infected. Hua Xin, you went to see a seriously ill person and stood leisurely in the crowd. Aren't you trying to kill everyone?
Are you, Hua Xin, really not a spy from the State of Jin?
Seeing that everyone was moving away from him, Hua Xin cursed in his heart, I was going to investigate under Cao Pi's orders. Do you think I thought about it first?

Cao Pi said, "There is a great epidemic in the city now. Many people I know have fallen ill, and some have even died. Gongda is also bedridden. I am deeply saddened to hear this news."

"I..." At this moment, Sima Hui started coughing violently. His body kept shaking and he finally fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

Cui Zhouping, who was standing by, stepped forward and touched Sima Hui's head, and found that it was burning hot. He blurted out, "Oh no, it's an epidemic!"

Hearing this, the officials in the Cao Wei court immediately panicked and fled away, secretly cursing in their hearts that no matter how many precautions they took, they still couldn't prevent it. Sima Hui was also confused, asking, "Why are you going to court when you are sick?"
You are the real spy, right?
The news that Xudu was spreading an epidemic and the situation was getting worse also reached Yuan Xi's camp. Yuan Xi, who was originally preparing for an internal and external attack, sighed to Zhuge Liang after hearing about it: "I'm afraid we won't be able to win this time."

If there is an epidemic in the city or the army, the infected side will undoubtedly be defeated, but the other side is often reluctant to attack because it is likely that the epidemic will spread to its own army, causing greater losses than fighting.

The first battle between Yuan Xi and Cao Cao in Jizhou was because after Yuan Xi besieged the city, an epidemic in the city spread to Cao Cao's army, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides, forcing Cao Cao to retreat.

Now it was Yuan Xi's turn to attack the city, so he knew that the morale of the soldiers would be low after this news came out. In this case, it would be better to retreat for the time being.

Zhuge Liang said: "But as for General Guan..."

Yuan Xi said, "That depends on whether the military advisor's prediction can come true."

"If Cao Wei doesn't value the emperor of the former Han Dynasty, especially since there is a great epidemic in the city now, if they pretend to be more worthy, they may really hand him over."

Sure enough, two days later, Xudu sent an envoy, saying that it wanted to negotiate with the State of Jin.

When Zhuge Liang heard the soldier pass on the messenger's name, he hurried out to greet him, walked towards him and said, "Zhou Ping, how are you?"

Cui Jun and Cui Zhouping smiled bitterly and bowed from a distance, but did not come forward. They said, "How are you, Kong Ming? Kong Ming is now famous all over the world, and I am proud of him."

"Kong Ming, please don't come close. There is a major epidemic in the city right now. There are people who are seriously ill around me. It is better for us to keep our distance."

His words were quite ambiguous. Zhuge Liang stopped and said, "As for the method of disinfection for the epidemic, I will ask someone to find some clean clothes for you. There are also some herbal medicines for prevention, which should be of some use."

"By the way, are the others healthy?"

He was naturally referring to someone he had met in Jingzhou. Cui Jun said with a gloomy expression, "Mr. Shui Jing died of a serious illness last night."

Zhuge Liang was stunned when he heard this, and bowed in the direction of Xudu from a distance, saying: "Sir, your passing away is not my wish, but my fault."

Cui Jun shook his head and said, "This is not Kong Ming's fault. There is no taboo when two armies fight. It's just a military order."

"Besides, if we calculate the time, there was an epidemic in Xudu before Jin started its war."

Zhuge Liang sighed inwardly. If he had not learned that there was an epidemic in Xu Du, he would not have been so decisive in appointing the Jin army to lead the army.

The two stood there at a distance, facing each other in silence for a long time, until the soldiers brought a change of clothes and medicinal soup. Cui Jun put on his clothes and drank the herbal medicine. He saw something with a white tie next to it and was confused about how to use it. After the soldier demonstrated it, Cui Jun finally understood how to use it and put it on his mouth.

He breathed in and although his breathing was slightly blocked, it was still smooth. At this time, he saw Zhuge Liang coming over and asked, "What is this?"

Zhuge Liang said: "This is cotton cloth from the north. It is made into a mask and can prevent the spread of diseases. It is very useful."

After he explained, Cui Jun said, "Does Kong Ming have many ways to prevent the disease?"

"Because I'm in charge of foreign affairs, I've also inquired about the news in Jin. In recent years, epidemics have often broken out in Wei, but there has been no major epidemic news in Jin for a long time. Is that right..."

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Yes, there are many ways to prevent and treat the disease here. Although we cannot eradicate it, we can greatly reduce the possibility of its occurrence."

"Now, the number of people who died from epidemics under the rule of Jin has been reduced to one-tenth or one-twelfth of the original number."

Cui Jun was silent for a long time after hearing this, and then he sighed: "Just from this incident, we can see how big the gap between the two countries is."

Zhuge Liang nodded, "Zhou Ping is right. The patterns and perspectives of the two sides are completely different."

(End of this chapter)