I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 322: Li's house door opens, Cao Mengde sighs that life is difficult

"What, Lord Su is saying that the fake prince is hiding in the Li family?!" Liu Bei exclaimed.

Lunu City of Zhongshan State.

In front of the Li family mansion, which was second only to the royal palace in size, all the generals and soldiers who received the order from General Su Yao gathered here.

"Are you serious about what you said, my lord?"

Cao Cao's face was solemn, and he clenched his fists:
"If this news is true, we must not let this thief go!"

"But the Li family is not an ordinary family. Do you have evidence to prove your statement?"

Cao Cao had his own meaning behind what he said.

You know, since he entered officialdom ten years ago and served as the Northern Inspector of Luoyang in charge of the capital's public security, Cao Cao has been a typical ambitious and passionate young man.

After he took office, he changed the style of his predecessor who had colluded with officials and dignitaries and became ruthless and impartial. Anyone who broke the law was beaten to death regardless of their background. For a time, the capital was quiet and no one dared to break the law.

But the price is also heavy.

His father Cao Song was the richest man in the world and was one of the Nine Ministers, but he still could not protect such a strong-willed Cao Cao.

Cao Cao, who had offended too many people, was eventually demoted and dismissed from office, and several years passed in a flash.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Cao Cao became much more tactful when he came out of retirement again and served as the Prime Minister of Jinan.

Although he is still impartial and fair, he continues to handle affairs as before.

But he no longer goes on a killing spree.

Because he knew very well that these local aristocratic families were deeply intertwined and any move would have a ripple effect, making it impossible to deal with them all.

If you want to achieve something, you have to make compromises and trade-offs.

At that time, in that small state of Jinan, all the officials in more than ten counties were dependent on the powerful, corrupt and unscrupulous.

So after Cao Cao took office, he made great efforts to rectify the situation. He dismissed eight out of ten senior officials at once. Jinan was shocked, and corrupt officials fled one after another. Finally, the local "political and educational system was well governed, and the county was peaceful and prosperous."

But Cao Cao was very clear that this was only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.

Even with the support he received in the court and his strong style, he was unable to shake the wealthy families behind the corrupt officials in Jinan.

Soon, reality once again taught Cao Cao how to behave.

Not long after, he was moved to Dongjun to serve as the prefect by the joint efforts of the noble families in Jinan.

Yes, this time Cao Cao was not dismissed, but just transferred.

This is the result of his watertight style.

Cao Cao resisted all kinds of provocations and did not start a massacre, leaving the aristocratic families with no way to start a war. They had to work together to get rid of this great god.

However, such an incident was undoubtedly a huge blow to Cao Cao.

He knew that he had failed again.

As soon as he leaves, all his hard work in Jinan will be gone in an instant.

Therefore, Cao Cao, who was full of enthusiasm but suffered a crushing defeat, refused the appointment and chose to go home to live a secluded life and strengthen his spirit.

After he left, Jinan returned to its original state as expected.
As the saying goes, one can know the whole country by looking at one place. This shows how deeply corrupt the world is.

Today, in the process of suppressing the rebellion, they also killed many ambitious people and corrupt officials who were affiliated with the bandits.

But Cao Cao knew very well that those people were just small shrimps on the stage.

They are completely different from the wealthy and powerful Li family in front of them.

The Li family still has two officials with the rank of 2,000 stones in the court.

The descendants of the Li family were spread all over Zhongshan, and almost all local officials were under their control.

Look at Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju of Zhongshan. The rebels have been entrenched here for several years, but the Li family has been able to maintain their lofty status and will not leave the mountains unless they choose. This shows how powerful their influence is.

If you accuse someone without any evidence, you will really be in trouble.
Cao Cao's words won the hearts of everyone, and everyone looked at Su Yao nervously.

Especially Zhen Jiang, who was holding the little girl's hand. As neighbors in Zhongshan State, Zhen Jiang knew the power of the Li family in the local area better than Cao Cao.

Seeing that Su Yao remained silent and could not produce any evidence, he said softly: "Lord Su, if this fake prince is really hiding in the Li family, this matter is very serious."

"We need to be careful and think of a way to capture the prince while not offending the Zhongshan Li family easily."

"Miss Zhen is absolutely right."

Liu Bei stepped forward and said in a deep voice
"We should put the overall situation first. We can use courtesy first and then use force. If Li refuses to hand over the person, we will make plans later."

Immediately afterwards, everyone came up to express their opinions, advising Su Yao to act cautiously and not be impulsive.

In response, Su Yao said "Huh?"

"Act cautiously and then make calculations?"

"How can there be so many best of both worlds solutions in the world?"

"Besides, his Li family is harboring a serious criminal, and I haven't said how to punish him yet, why are you all afraid that I will offend him?"

"If a prince breaks the law, he will be punished just like a commoner. How can the Li family be above the law?"

"Now that the Li family has refused to respond to our calls, it means they are determined to fight to the end."

After that, Su Yao waved his hand and ordered:

"Cheng Lian, break the door!"

"Here!"

Cheng Lian responded loudly, and immediately dozens of red-robed Bingzhou Chiyun Knights came with large wooden stakes, ready to break down the door by force.

hiss--

Such a scene made everyone present gasp and become extremely nervous.

It's so easy to hide someone in this deep courtyard.

If you force your way in without any evidence and fail to find anyone, you'll end up in a lot of trouble.

However, Su Yao's will is unshakable.

These brave border generals of Bingzhou don't care about these wealthy families in the Central Plains.

So, with the sound of horns, the knights approached the gate step by step.

At this moment, the door slowly opened, and a middle-aged man walked out surrounded by dozens of family soldiers. He was Li Tie, the head of the Zhongshan Li family.

"Lord Su, generals, I am sorry for not welcoming you so late at night."

"I am Li Tie from Zhongshan. I wonder why you have mobilized so many troops?"

Li Tie's face was calm, but there was a hint of provocation in his tone.

He could never have imagined that this audacious Lord Su would dare to come to his house and cause trouble like this.

In Li Tie's opinion, his hiding of Zhang Dong was foolproof. These officers and soldiers just looked for him outside and had nowhere else to go, so they came to try their luck here.

The officers and soldiers could not have any real evidence.

Li Tie didn't give Su Yao and the others any good face at all.

In response, Su Yao took a step forward, looked directly at Li Tie, and said in a deep voice:

"Someone reported that the fake crown prince Zhang Dong was hiding in your house, so we came here to verify it."

"The Crown Prince of the False Dynasty? Report?"

Li Tie was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter:

"Lord Su, you are joking. My Li family is a prominent family in Zhongshan, and we have been loyal to the imperial court for generations. The rebels of this pseudo-dynasty are entrenched here, and none of us work for them. Our loyalty to the Han Dynasty is a well-known fact.

How could we hide a serious criminal of the imperial court? Or the prince of the fake dynasty?
This nonsense is really ridiculous!"

"I don't know who has slandered and framed me. Lord Su, please call this lunatic to confront me. I will not let him off easily!"

After saying this, seeing that no one responded, Li Tie looked around grimly, his eyes resting on the little girl who reported the news:
"You wouldn't believe what this beggar-like girl says, would you?"

(End of this chapter)