Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

Chapter 202: Bleed to death
Seeing that this winter was about to pass, Lu Bu finally made up his mind and sent an envoy to Yangzhou to discuss a marriage with Yuan Shu.

With Chen Gong advising him, Lu Bu still had some sobriety when he arrived. He knew that after delaying this for a long time, he was becoming more and more disadvantaged. Although he was unwilling to accept it, he still used "two points of Xuzhou" as a weight on the scale to show that Show his determination to form an alliance with Yuan Shu.

The news soon spread to Yanzhou, and of course there was Zhongji's contribution. He never failed to do this kind of thing, and he did it skillfully and secretly.

While Cao Cao still did not relax his surveillance of Liu Xie and Zhong Ping, he also responded quickly, allowing Cao Hong to lead troops into Xuzhou and stationed at Xiapi, restraining Yuan Shu in the south, controlling Lu Bu in the east, and responding to Le Jin stationed in Pengcheng in the west. .

Not long after Cao Hong left, Zhong Ji learned from his son that Xiahou Dun had returned today. During the court meeting, he and Zheng Tai had a heated argument about Yu Fulo's petition to return to the Huns, and he spread the news in front of all the officials. passed.

When the two old men came down to court, they looked at each other with disgust, flicked their sleeves, and ran away in opposite directions.

Zhu Zhan watched this great drama, and when he returned to his house, Fu Wan was already waiting inside.

"The Cao thief is under strict surveillance. I have been waiting for an opportunity for a long time before I found an opening to meet with Your Majesty. Your Majesty knows our plan and will try to keep Cao Ren today so that we can act with peace of mind."

After Zhu Zhan heard this, he let out a sigh of relief: "In this case, everything just depends on renovation."

"If it fails, it will be difficult to do anything in the future."

The servant walked out quickly after a while, bowed and invited Yang Ding to come in.

Early on the next morning, after the meeting was over, Yang Ding used Dong Cheng's name to send a greeting card to Cao Cao's house, and personally waited in front of the house for the servants to come in and report.

"Ahem, why is General Anxi here?"

Yang Ding naturally noticed that Guo Jia's eyes were on him. If it were anyone else, he might have shown a bit of panic on his face at this time, but Yang Ding became more and more calm. He just pretended that he had not sensed that Guo Jia was looking at him and concentrated on waiting. The servant came out.

Zhu Zhan was very open-minded: "How can we be so hesitant to do such a big thing? I heard that Cao Cao has always suffered from headwinds. If the renovation fails, we will try other methods, either using medicine or stabbing him again." , Even if we can’t kill him, why can’t we hurt him?”

Fu Wan was secretly surprised. He had never heard that Zhu Zhan and Yang Ding were such loyal ministers before!
He didn't know that there was any kind of compilation in it, but he felt admiration for Zhu Zhan and others from the bottom of his heart. He drew his sword and cut his sleeves, pointed to the damage, and solemnly promised Zhu Zhan: "This is what I said. It only enters my ears. If there is any leakage, it will be spread like this!"

"General, please come in."

Yang Ding recognized that one of them was a counselor valued by Cao Cao. He nodded slightly and said as a greeting: "I have come to discuss matters with Sikong about the Northern Army."

Guo Jia was extremely sensitive to Yang Ding's gaze, and the fleeting alertness in it made him feel a little unusual.

"Is it about the reorganization of the Northern Army?"

The hangover headache hadn't gone away yet, so Xi Zhi wanted to rub his temples, but he couldn't be rude in front of Yang Ding. He was blown by the wind and coughed again while covering his chest.

Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia secretly drank wine all night in Cao Mansion the day before. The two drunkards had just sobered up and were planning to go find a girl to have fun together. Unexpectedly, they bumped into Yang Ding.

Zhu Zhan understood what he was thinking, and when he was moved, he confided in a low voice what he was thinking: "Why should the emperor be like this? Who wouldn't hate the thief Cao Cao for being tyrannical and monopolizing power? He just wanted to kill the thief. Now we have the courage to kill the thief." The only one your Majesty relies on is the father-in-law. If we fail and die, the father-in-law must protect himself until the future comes."

Yang Ding looked helpless, as if he was really sent here by Dong Cheng. He glanced at Guo Jia from the corner of his eye.

Fu Wan was a little worried. As the saying goes, if you want to win, you must first worry about defeat. Cao Cao was suspicious by nature. If Yang Ding missed a flaw, even if Zhu Zhan and others could not be found, Dong Cheng would definitely be implicated.

A trace of worry about his old friend's health flashed in Guo Jia's eyes. He didn't care whether he was rude or not. While rubbing his eyebrows, he bit open the wine bag at his waist and poured a sip of wine into his mouth.

After Fu finished wiping the tears from his eyes, he couldn't stay in Zhu Zhan's house longer, so he just talked for a few more words and then left in a hurry.

"Exactly."

This man was very unfamiliar to him, and he was not sure whether this sudden drunkard would hinder him in assassinating Cao Cao.

He has a more active mind than ordinary people and is good at observing people's hearts. Although this caution can also be understood as a distrust of his identity, Guo Jia can't help but move his emotions and want to go in other directions.

There are not many people your Majesty can rely on. If you go to Dong Cheng again...

"My theater-goer looks bad, why don't you go find a doctor for treatment?"

When Yang Ding passed by Xi Zhicai, he could even express concern.

Xi Zhicai was slightly startled, then smiled and replied: "It's just a small problem, it doesn't matter."

Yang Ding originally said this out of etiquette. He only responded when he got the show, and without further words, he raised his feet and followed the person who led the way to the study.

After Yang Ding left, Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia looked at each other and saw in each other's eyes what the other was thinking: A son with a lot of money cannot sit down in the hall.

Although there has been no movement from Liu Xie in the past few days, the previous act of bestowing clothes on him has exposed his intentions. Cao Cao has never relaxed his control over the palace, and now he is just waiting for the actions of Liu Xie and others.

Regardless of whether Yang Ding has other intentions or not, since he is here, there is no reason not to be on guard against him.

There are many people coming and going in Cao Cao's house, and countless greeting cards are received every day. Yang Ding has sent greeting cards several days in advance in order to visit him today.

Although Cao Cao knew that Yang Ding was coming, he still only wore a short brown shirt with a large collar, a coarse linen robe, and a black scarf on his head. He looked just like a commoner.

Yang Ding was disgusted with his pretentious manner in his heart, but he was very careful and respectful on his face: "Yang Ding, Yang Zhengxiu, I came here to pay a visit to Sikong." He stood about four or five feet away from Cao Cao, showing no trace of etiquette or emotion. The mistake was that when he entered, he noticed the guards standing in front of the hall and on both sides of the curtain.

Yang Ding lowered his eyes to estimate how certain he was of killing with one strike. The short blade in his sleeve was close to his skin, and it had been warmed by the body temperature, making it difficult to feel the coldness anymore.

There were many official documents and books on the table. Cao Cao sat behind the table with a smile on his face. "I have read all the invitations from the past few days. Emperor Xiaoling changed the Northern Army into five schools, and there has been no change since then. Why does the uncle insist on reorganizing the army into eight schools?"

Yang Ding took a step forward: "Although there are two armies of the north and south in the capital garrison, since Emperor Wu, the name of the southern army has disappeared, while the name of the northern army has survived. The northern army has increased to eight battalions and exists precisely because the number of palaces is increasing day by day. Only by building additional camps can we protect the emperor. Sikong imitated the old capital palace in Xudu, built palaces and palaces to welcome the emperor. His heart was always loyal and he was always present in the royal family. The uncle was grateful for Sikong's loyal heart, but he had no choice but to do so. Worrying about the emperor’s safety.”

Cao Cao said: "The palaces in Luoyang are extremely magnificent. They were not built in a day. They were created in Xudu. How can we compare them? In the past, Emperor Ling had five schools in Luoyang. How can they be increased now? The five schools of the Northern Army are among the official residences. It's enough to tolerate it, no need to go too far. If we increase the number of troops now, it will be inconsistent with the system and damage the emperor's benevolence, so we can't do it."

When Yang Ding heard that Cao Cao used Liu Xie as an excuse again, he felt angry in his heart, and continued to argue according to Cao Cao's words: "If we don't increase the number of troops before, the world will be in peace, and the emperor will have no worries in the capital. Now the world is in turmoil, and there are treacherous people. It is better to be more defensive in Xudu."

As he spoke, he walked around the table and came to Cao Cao: "In the matter of the Northern Army, my uncle is bent on serving the emperor and has no selfish motives at all. Sikong is determined not to moderate the camp... I have a plan, or the best of both worlds, I am willing to serve Sikong One person knows.”

Cao Cao did not retreat, but turned sideways to face him: "What's the best way to repair it?"

Yang Ding's fingertips had already hooked the end of the thin blade. At this time, he was only two palms wide away from Cao Cao. It was a good time to stab him. His eyes widened immediately, and before he finished saying "Death to Cao Cao, the thief", the thin blade was already Coming towards Cao Cao's neck.

Cao Cao made a quick decision and used all his strength to throw the bamboo slip he was holding in his right hand at Yang Ding's face. He tilted his head and neck back, narrowly avoiding the blow.

Yang Ding did not have such good luck. One of his eyes was smashed in and dripping with blood. Regardless of the scarlet in front of him, he identified Cao Cao's location from the sound and rushed forward to stab him again.

Cao Cao didn't care to call his left and right people to come forward. Taking advantage of Yang Ding's blindness, he kicked the opponent in the chest and reached out to draw the knife from his waist.

At this time, the guards on the left and right also reacted, swarmed up, restrained Yang Ding's limbs, and tried to pull the thin blade out of Yang Ding's palm.

Yang Ding just sneered and clutched the thin blade tightly. He knew that he had no way out. He glared at Cao Cao with a pair of bleeding eyes. He didn't know where the strength came from, which made him break away from the guards for a moment. He mustered up all his energy to kick the desk table towards Cao Cao, regardless of whether it could cause damage to Cao Cao, and threw the thin blade with great force.

Cao Cao's expression changed. The table happened to be between him and the pillars of the room. It was difficult to dodge for a moment, and he had no time to draw his sword, so he had to reach out to block it.

The sharp blade arrived in an instant, and Cao Cao felt a sharp pain in his left forearm, followed by a burning numbness. When he looked back, he saw that the thin blade had completely submerged into the pillars of the room, leaving only the tail. A little bit of the end is exposed, still trembling slightly.

The guards in front of the hall noticed that something had happened, and they rushed in one after another at this time, and the house was surrounded by water.

Seeing that Yang Ding had been tied up, Cao Cao waved his hand to summon a doctor to treat the wound on his arm. A piece of skin and flesh was cut off near the elbow, but he still kept his expression calm and asked with a bit of a smile: " Xiu Gao is in the fourth town, who instigated you to do this dangerous thing? "

Yang Ding just kept silent.

Most of the guards outside the house came under Xi Zhicai's orders and had already sealed off the surrounding area to prevent any information from leaking.

Cao Cao bandaged the wound. He was not surprised why the blade was not poisonous. After all, the weapon was made lightly and Yang Ding carried it close to his body. If it were poisonous, Yang Ding himself would be poisoned to death before it could hurt him.

He asked a few more questions, but Yang Ding seemed determined not to speak, and just stared at him with a pair of bloody eyes.

Cao Cao was angry and wanted to call his left and right officials to pull Yang Ding to the front hall for torture.

Yang Ding suddenly revealed a contemptuous sneer. He moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but Cao Cao had already been fooled once and was determined not to get closer.

A trace of disappointment flashed in Yang Ding's eyes. When he was dragged down by the guards, he turned around suddenly and spit out blood at Cao Cao.

The blood fell on the ground, staining a large area of ​​floor tiles red. Mixed with the blood and gore, there was also half a piece of dark red flesh.

The doctor stood next to Cao Cao and saw clearly the piece of flesh on the ground - it was the tongue that had been bitten off in half.

"Si, Si Kong..."

The doctor was trembling, not knowing whether he should warn him or not.

Cao Cao followed the doctor's eyes and saw the half of the tongue. He knew that it was impossible to get the messenger from Yang Ding's mouth. In order to leave a witness, he was unwilling to let Yang Ding die like this, so he appointed the messenger in the mansion. Many doctors went to treat Yang Ding, but they only managed to save his breath.

However, Yang Ding wanted to die. He kept his mouth shut and refused to take medicine. When he found the opportunity, he chewed his tongue and bit his lips to prevent the bleeding from stopping. He spent the whole night bleeding and died without making any sound.

Before seeing Yang Ding leave the palace, Zhu Zhan and others knew that the assassination had failed and the other party was probably in danger. Fu Wan stopped Liu Xie's move to summon Cao Ren in the palace.

I don't know how many people will be involved in Yang Ding's matter. At this time, I can be quiet and I can't make any more moves.

Liu Xie was only thinking about Liu Bian. Now he was obeying Fu Wan's words and huddled peacefully in the palace. Sometimes he couldn't help but regret that he had taken action against Cao Cao too early and should not have done the secret edict.

Fortunately, Qing Zhong is reliable and has not taken any action until now.

At this time, Liu Xie, who was deep in the palace, began to be delighted with Zhongping's reliability again.

Regarding Dong Cheng, who will definitely be implicated in this matter, Liu Xie can only try his best to help when the dust settles. If it fails... there is no other way.

(End of this chapter)