Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 255 249. Death Prophecy
"That is the situation... Your Majesty..."

In the Luoyang Palace, Cao Pi sat on his throne with a gloomy face, one hand supporting his chin, his eyes dark, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The following is a messenger sent by Cao Ren, who reported to Cao Pi in detail the rumors in Nanyang in the past half month. Of course, even if Cao Ren did not send anyone to Cao Pi, he would have asked about it, because these rumors have spread to Huainan, Zhongyuan, Guanzhong and other places, spreading like a virus, and it is almost out of control.

Cao Ren also realized that this matter seemed beyond his ability to handle, and it was up to Emperor Cao Pi to decide what to do. So he wrote down the original course of events as if to make up for the loss, and had the courier rush to deliver it to Cao Pi.

Along with Cao Ren's letter, there were also several copies of "Secret Observations" confiscated by Cao Ren.

After reading Cao Ren's letter, Cao Pi did not say anything, but picked up the several copies of "Secret Observations" with different contents and started reading.

Cao Pi inherited many of Cao Cao's advantages. Although he was a little angry, he did not show it. Although the civil and military officials below could see that Cao Pi was angry, at least Cao Pi did not curse or lose his defense, and he still had some composure.

After reading "Secret Stories", Cao Pi still frowned, but his expression became a little strange. His anger was much less, replaced by confusion.

As Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi naturally knew what his father had done and knew that what was said above was not fabricated.

But there is a question, that is, how did Ji Han know about these secret contents?

Cao Ren naturally checked the source of the newspaper. After knowing that it was done by Feng Xi, who was outspoken and fond of making small moves, Cao Ren did not dare to be negligent, for fear that this was another conspiracy of Feng Xi.

However, how old is Feng Xi now? He was not even born when Cao Cao killed Lü Bushe. Moreover, the story about Zhang Xiu's Wancheng Incident seems to have been written as if he was in Wancheng, but Feng Xi was still a child at that time, so it is impossible for him to be there.

So how did he know the details of these things? In a small sense, it was because someone in Cao Wei was not careful with his words. In a big sense, does this mean that Cao Wei had spies from the Han army?

Although Cao Pi thought of Xu Shu, he shook his head. No one would tell Xu Shu about the mess between Cao Cao and Zou. Even if he knew the general idea, he would not know so many details.

"According to an insider...an insider..."

Cao Pi murmured to this word for a few times. As time passed, how many of the people involved in the Wancheng Incident were still alive?

The main culprit, Zhang Xiu, died of illness during the Northern Expedition more than ten years ago. His son also died two years ago when he participated in Wei Feng's rebellion. The possibility of leakage from Zhang Xiu's side is zero.

The other parties involved either died at that time or had passed away long ago. The only one who was still alive and well was... Jia Xu.

Zhang Xiu followed Jia Xu's advice and rebelled again, killing Cao Ang, Cao Anmin and Dian Wei. This was known to everyone in the Cao Wei group, but if anyone could describe the situation in Wancheng that day in such detail, it would probably be only Jia Xu.

Jia Xu is an old fox who never stands under a dangerous wall. He often has multiple plans to ensure his survival. If Jia Xu thinks that Cao Wei will lose, it seems possible that he will contact Ji Han in advance...

Cao Pi was extremely confused for a time. His worries about the situation within the court had long surpassed his concerns about the impact of these rumors.

"Your Majesty...? How should this matter be handled?"

Seeing that Cao Pi was stunned and did not speak for a long time, Hua Xin was quite worried and called out to him softly, pulling Cao Pi back from the conspiracy.

"Oh? Oh, let me think about it..." Cao Pi was also a little troubled by the rumors. If he suppressed them forcefully, the people in the world would be unable to stop talking about them. If he didn't care, in the long run, not to mention the people, even his own civil and military officials would have second thoughts.

"Spread the word everywhere that this 'Secret Observations' is a fake Han document that deceives people. No one is allowed to bring this document into the territory of the Great Wei, and no one is allowed to make irresponsible comments about the late emperor. Those who violate this document will be directly imprisoned and a certain amount of money will be confiscated."

Compared with Sun Quan, Cao Pi's punishment was much lighter, but Cao Pi keenly discovered the key to the problem. The people in Wei had no way to get these things from Jingzhou without reason, so most of them were brought into Wei by the merchants.

Merchants are profit-oriented, so if you kill a few of them, they might still unite against the enemy. But if you put them in jail and confiscate their capital, they will probably all be in danger.

"I respectfully obey your majesty's order."

Cao Pi's method was quite effective. Compared to killing them once caught, which would arouse rebellious psychology, these merchants were more afraid of being caught by the government and having their goods and money confiscated.

After all, it’s not scary if a person dies, what’s scary is that a person is alive but has lost his money.

Cao Wei's movements soon reached the ears of Feng Xi in Jingzhou.

"Cao Pi is really good at understanding the psychology of these businessmen. He is indeed extraordinary. But... hehe, if this is the case, what will you do?"

Feng Xi was mentally prepared that Cao Pi and Sun Quan would have a way to deal with it. After all, the other party was not a simple computer. They would not be foolish enough to be spread rumors by Feng Xi without any reaction. They would definitely find ways to put an end to these rumors.

But Feng Xi knew some more exciting and explosive content than these gossips.

The next day, the "Da Han Daily" suddenly published an article with some supernatural content at the front. It said that Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty and obtained the country in an unjust way, which angered both humans and gods. He ruined the good deeds Cao Cao had accumulated and would be punished by gods. He would die suddenly within five years. From then on, the life span of the Cao family emperors would be shorter and shorter, and after three generations, the country would be usurped by others.

Compared to the previous insignificant news, this news is very explosive. I have heard people cursing others, but I have never heard of asserting that other monarchs will die within five years?

"Xiu Yuan, what's going on?"

Ma Liang hurried into Feng Xi's office with a copy of the "Dahan Daily" and a worried look on his face.

"Ji Chang is here to ask on behalf of Gong Heng, right?"

Feng Xi glanced at Ma Liang and knew that this was definitely something Huang Quan wanted to ask, but he didn't know whether he was too busy or it was inconvenient for him to come in person, so he asked Ma Liang to do it for him.

"Alas, both I and Gong Heng feel that Xiu Yuan's outrageous words are really... Life and death are determined by fate, how can we mortals speculate? Xiu Yuan's outrageous words, if they do not come true, may hurt the momentum of our Han people. Why not quickly take back those newspapers before the words spread and pretend that nothing happened."

Ma Liang has already thought of a way out. Rather than getting hit in the face by a boomerang because of his big talk, it would be better to suffer a little loss now and keep the news within Jiangling.

"Take it back? Why should I take it back? On the contrary, I want all the Thirteen States of the Han Dynasty to know about it."

(End of this chapter)