Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1474 Funeral
Cao Pi took a few hard breaths, slowly opened his eyes, and saw that it was still Empress Guo guarding the bed, so he said, "I think I really can't make it this time."

Queen Guo bit her lip and was speechless for a moment. The doctors had already said that they were helpless against Cao Pi's condition, so she was mentally prepared. But when she heard Cao Pi speak, she still felt a little uncomfortable.

She said, "There are few reliable people around your Majesty. If your Majesty makes a mistake, I will let them be buried with you."

Cao Pi shook his head and said, "Forget it. The Wei Kingdom is in turmoil now. No one will play both sides. Even if we kill them, can we kill them all?"

"Help me up. I want to write my will."

Seeing Cao Pi's persistence, Empress Guo knew that she could not persuade him, so she helped Cao Pi to sit up from the couch, took a short table and placed it on the couch, and then placed silk, writing brush and ink on it, and asked, "Do you want me to write for you?"

Cao Pi shook his head, feeling dizzy, and struggled to pick up the pen to write. The candidate for succession was naturally Cao Xun, who was only six or seven years old. But when he wrote about the ministers of state, Cao Pi stopped writing and said, "Is Xiahou Dun still in charge of the army in the city?"

Empress Guo said: "To be exact, it was him and Cao Ren."

Cao Pi frowned slightly, "Have they made any unusual moves recently?"

Empress Guo hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes, they sent soldiers to guard the residence of Sima Yi and others, and the family members were not allowed to enter or leave at will."

Cao Pi put down his pen and thought for a long time before he asked, "How is the battle going on Sima Yi's side?"

Queen Guo said: "We have already reached Jiangling. The passage from Yizhou to Jingzhou has been opened."

Cao Pi asked again, "Where are the Jin troops in the north?"

Empress Guo said: "The Jinniu Road is almost at Jiameng Pass, but there was not much fighting on the Micang Road."

After hearing this, Cao Pi couldn't help but tighten his pen and said self-deprecatingly: "The Wei Kingdom is finished like this."

"But I died before the fall of Wei, leaving this mess to you and your son."

Empress Guo said, "Since Yizhou will be lost sooner or later, why don't you give up Chengdu and go directly to Jingzhou?"

Cao Pi sighed and asked, "Has Sima Yi already taken control of almost all the military power in Wei?"

Empress Guo nodded, and then seemed to understand something, and asked in surprise, "Did your majesty intentionally create the situation where his family is the only one in power?"

"Why did your majesty do this?"

Cao Pi had an ambiguous look on his face. "I just wanted to see if he was completely loyal."

“I have always felt that if a person has enough power, even the most selfless person will have his or her own ideas.”

"When my father was alive, he once told me that Sima Yi had the eyes of an eagle and the back of a wolf, and asked me to be cautious when I use him."

Empress Guo was surprised and said, "Since Your Majesty knew, why did you give him so much power? If Wei State..."

Cao Pi sneered: "What does that have to do with me?"

"I have done enough for the Wei Kingdom. If it weren't for Sima Yi, would the Wei Kingdom have been able to survive until now?"

"After I die, I don't care about the flood. As long as this mess can hold up until now, let it be."

"As for you and your son, all I can leave you is to find a way to save your lives."

"So I can't give you too much power, but do the opposite. Only in this way can you survive the inevitable internal strife that will follow."

Empress Guo had a puzzled look on her face at first, but then she asked, "Your Majesty, are you saying that it is a crime to possess a treasure?"

Cao Pi showed admiration on his face, "Yes, you are very smart."

"If I hand over all the power in the army to you, it will kill you and your son. After all, the Cao clan controls the military power in Chengdu and they are all eyeing the city covetously. Even if I give you the seal and military token, you can't hold it."

"In that case, it's better to have nothing in my hands."

Empress Guo nodded with a complicated look on her face, and then she heard Cao Pi say, "Call Dong Zhao, Chen Qun, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Mao into the palace."

Queen Guo was surprised and asked, "Xiahou Mao?"

"Not Cao Ren?"

"And Dong Zhao? No Zhong Yao this time?"

It was no wonder that she was surprised. Xiahou Mao was Xiahou Dun's son. Although he also served in the army, his prestige and ability were far inferior to Cao Ren's.
Cao Pi said calmly: "No need for Zhong Yao."

"When the late emperor was alive, he said that Zhong Yao would never betray him, so the late emperor did not let him be the minister of state because he was reliable enough."

Empress Guo was puzzled and asked, "If he didn't become a regent those two times, would he still be loyal?"

Cao Pi said, "He is loyal to the late emperor, what does it have to do with me?" "When it comes to settling things peacefully and resolving conflicts, no one can match Zhong Yao. If he can become a pillar of the court, I'm afraid Wei will be much calmer."

“But it’s different for others.”

A malicious look appeared on his face. "Dong Zhao has always been suspected of having an affair with the Yuan family. Chen Qun is a villain who changes his mind according to the situation and seeks profit for his family. Xiahou Dun previously supported Cao Zhi, and there are rumors that Xiahou Yuan defected to the enemy. Now the appointment is also a dilemma."

"These people must have their own ulterior motives when they get together, and Cao Ren, who is the most loyal to the Cao clan, must be excluded."

"I'm tired of it. I just want to watch a good show, even if there's a flood after I die."

As he spoke, he put the edict aside, picked up a piece of silk, and wrote a completely different secret edict.

Empress Guo watched from the side. As Cao Pi continued to write, her face became more and more surprised. When Cao Pi finished writing, she was almost speechless. Finally, she whispered: "Your Majesty, in this case, the State of Wei will be..."

Cao Pi laughed out loud, "Don't you think this is interesting?"

"Since Wei has wronged me, I will drag Wei to be buried with me."

He handed the secret decree in his hand to Queen Guo, "Sitting in this position, you will understand the powerlessness I feel standing on a broken ship that is about to sink."

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"My father handed over the Kingdom of Wei to me. I have to say that he had a very good vision. I did a lot of ridiculous things when I was young, but I never bowed to anyone, including my father."

"Now that I can't bite off a piece of meat from Jin, let's at least let the world be in chaos for a while."

Seeing Empress Guo put the secret decree into her bosom and hide it, Cao Pi said, "As for whether this secret decree can be put into use, it depends on your ability."

On that day, Dong Zhao, Xiahou Dun and others were summoned into the palace and received the imperial edict in front of Cao Pi. After that, everyone went back and began to impose martial law in the entire city, while preparing to welcome Cao Pi's death at any time.

Half a month later, Sima Yi, who was fighting with the Jin army in Yiling, received a military order from Xiahou Dun, ordering him to retreat to Baidi City immediately and hand over the military power to Xiahou Mao who was about to arrive. Then Sima Yi returned to Chengdu alone.

This military order was issued by Xiahou Dun in his capacity as a general. Sima Yi sneered after receiving it. Xiahou Dun wanted to get back the military power that was given to him some time ago, but last time he got the emperor's edict. You, Xiahou Dun, want to call me back just because you are a general?

He said to the messenger who delivered the letter: "Please report back to the general. The general is away and cannot obey military orders."

"What's more, our Great Wei is currently engaged in a battle with the Jin army and cannot withdraw. If we withdraw now, it will inevitably lead to collapse. How can our Great Wei resist the enemy then?"

What he said sounded high-sounding, and it was indeed true. Over the past half month, the fighting between the two sides was extremely fierce, especially the cavalry led by Zhao Yun, which caused considerable trouble for the Wei army's retreat.

As the Jin army continued to increase its troops and blocked all the gaps in Jingshan Maicheng, the Wei army could no longer enter the Jianghuai Plain. Sima Yi was forced to gather all the troops surrounding Maicheng and retreat, deploying them around Dangyang and Jiangling. The initial full-scale offensive has turned into a half-attack and half-defense strategy.

The attacking force was the Hannan Army, and the defending force was the Jin Army. Although the Wei Army was not at a disadvantage in terms of the number of soldiers, it would be difficult to make further breakthroughs under the current circumstances.

Sima Yi thought that in the end, he was still defeated by the terrifyingly powerful foundation of the Jin army. If he had known this would happen, should he have insisted on attacking Nanzhong? Maybe he could have found a better retreat route?
He asked Du Xi, "Why do you think Xiahou Dun wants me to go back now?"

Du Xi replied: "I'm afraid your Majesty is not in good health."

"If Xiahou Dun really wanted to seize the military power of the general, he should have brought the imperial edict with him under normal circumstances, but he did not do so, which shows that something happened in Wei State."

"The reason why he is so anxious that he doesn't even try to hide it is that His Majesty's health is worrying. Xiahou Dun is already preparing for the situation after His Majesty's death."

Sima Yi nodded slightly. "Your Majesty has been seriously ill for several times, but I thought he could at least hold on for a year or two. I didn't expect it to be like this. Now I can't move forward or backward. This can be said to be the worst outcome."

Du Xi thought about it, a hint of cruelty flashed in his eyes, "Actually, there is a way."

Seeing Sima Yi staring at him, Du Xi said, "Why don't you go to Baidi City in person and capture Xiahou Mi directly, so that he won't dare to act rashly."

Sima Yi said, "Isn't this rebellion?"

Du Xi said angrily, "Your Majesty may have been held hostage by Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Dun has already sent troops to control the general's family. Now they just haven't torn their faces apart. Does the general want to be controlled by others for the rest of his life?"

Sima Yi listened and said calmly: "That being said, even if Xiahou Mao is captured, it may not be a threat to Xiahou Dun. Besides, Xiahou Mao must be on guard and is not so easy to deceive."

Du Xi said, "I have a plan. Maybe I can trick Xiahou Mi."

Sima Yi said: "Then tell me about it."

Du Xi said: "General, as long as you take a few troops back to Baidi City and pretend to be sick and stay in bed, Xiahou Mao will definitely be alerted. Then I will lead a group of soldiers from Cefang to the back of Baidi City and cooperate with the general's men in the city to launch a sudden attack. I should be able to catch Xiahou Mao off guard."

Sima Yi smiled, "You followed me so much, but you lost your head. What do you want?"

Du Xi said, "Wei State has treated the general badly. I am just speaking up for him!"

"If your majesty dies now, the Cao clan will definitely attack the general. Please take the initiative!"

(End of this chapter)