Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 594 588. The Fish That Slipped Through the Net
"…Meet the Grand Commander of the Han Army."

Only after Bao Feng untied Cao Zhi did Cao Zhi bow reluctantly.

"Brother Zijian, what do you think I should do with you?"

Feng Xi smiled and looked at Cao Zhi.

"If the Grand Commander wants to kill me, he can just do it directly."

Cao Zhi held his head high, looking as if he was ready to die bravely.

"That's not necessary. Cao Pi's lineage is now extinct. Although your father Cao Cao is a traitor to the Han Dynasty, he is still the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. Even my late Emperor Zhaolie recognized his status.

In the past, Cao Mengde was also a passionate young man who could say things like "I wish that after I die, my tombstone will be engraved with 'Tomb of the Han Zhengxi General'". Moreover, whether he joined the 18 princes to attack Dong Zhuo or rescued the emperor from the hands of Li, Guo and other thieves, he had made contributions to the country.

Now I can't bear to see their descendants die out, since the main culprit Cao Pi and his family are dead, although you have committed the sin of following the thief, it is not yet time for you to die.

I have long heard that Brother Zijian is quite talented. Now that the Han Dynasty is revived, we need to compile documents. I wonder if Brother Zijian is willing to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence?"

Cao Zhi was a famous talent after all, and it would be a pity to kill him like this, so Feng Xi still had a heart for talent. In fact, he had long had the idea of ​​compiling a document similar to the Yongle Encyclopedia or Encyclopedia of later generations. However, in terms of status, Cao Zhi must not be too high, so it is not an exaggeration to say that he made meritorious contributions while serving his sentence.

"If it's about compiling a book, I'll do my best."

Cao Zhi was also relieved when he heard Feng Xi's words. He must want to live, otherwise he would have committed suicide like Cao Li. Why hide? Now that he heard that Feng Xi wanted to recruit him, he naturally took the opportunity to climb up and agreed.

"In that case, go down and rest first, and then prepare to go to Jingzhou. Also, you have to stop taking Wu Shi San. It's poisonous. The more you take it, the more you get addicted."

Feng Xi casually gave a few instructions, waved his hand, and asked Bao Feng to take Cao Zhi away.

In the following days, the Han army was busy issuing notices to reassure the people and restore the livelihood of the people in Luoyang City. However, different generals from the three armies took turns to guard the four gates of Luoyang, and the inspections were extremely strict.

Under such circumstances, those who tried to disguise themselves, or even blend into vehicles were found out. Many of them were Cao Wei officials or related personnel who wanted to escape from Luoyang, but they were caught unexpectedly and taken directly to Tianlao to wait for their actions to be investigated.

"wrong."

Feng Xi frowned as he looked at the list that Zhuge Liang, Ma Su and other civil servants had checked over the past two days. The list counted all the officials of Cao Wei who had been seen since the beginning of the Han army's northern expedition and their fates. However, Feng Xi did not see a few names that should have been on it.

"Grand Commander, what's wrong? Is someone missing?"

Seeing Feng Xi so serious, Ma Su couldn't help but become serious too.

"Four people, Sima Yi, Sima Zhao, Sima Shi and his son, where are they, and Cao Rui? Where are these four people?"

Feng Xi looked through the list and did not see these four people at all, as if Cao Wei did not have these four people at all, which made Feng Xi alert.

"Wait a moment, Grand Commander. I will bring the insider over right away."

Ma Su knew that Feng Xi would never make a fuss. Since Feng Xi mentioned these people, he would naturally investigate them with all his heart.

"Grand Commander, Ma Zhubu said you were looking for us?"

After a while, the carefree Wang Shuang brought the still somewhat reserved Guo Huai into Feng Xi's reception room. "You two take a seat first. I asked you two to come here to ask, as generals of the Guanzhong Army, do you know the whereabouts of Sima Yi?"

Feng Xi waved his hand and asked Ma Su to continue investigating other people, while he first questioned Wang Shuang and Guo Huai.

"Sima Yi? Oh, that old guy. I remember it was his idea for us to attack Jieting from Chang'an. He was also there at Jieting later. I just don't know when he disappeared."

Wang Shuang scratched his head, seemingly unclear about Sima Yi's whereabouts.

"General, I don't know about this. When General Cao Zhen was returning to Luoyang, he stopped in Hongnong County. Sima Yi said he had caught a cold. General Cao personally visited him and confirmed that he could not march with the team, so he left him in Hongnong to recuperate, saying that he would come to Luoyang after he recovered."

Guo Huai recalled what happened at that time and told him the story.

"Oh? Why does Boji know so well?"

Feng Xi couldn't help but feel curious when he saw that Guo Huai knew everything clearly.

"Before General Cao left, he left some soldiers to monitor Sima Yi. Everyone knew about the rumors that were circulating before, so they were worried about Sima Yi. And those soldiers were my subordinates, so General Zhang He told me this personally."

Feng Xi nodded in understanding, as if he had understood the key point. He then comforted Guo Huai with a few words before sending the two away.

Afterwards, Feng Xi directly dispatched dozens of elite cavalry, led by Bao Feng himself, to Hongnong to find the doctor who treated Sima Yi mentioned by Guo Huai, to find out the situation.

Ma Su went to inquire at the Imperial Academy and learned that Sima Zhao and Sima Shi had not attended classes for a long time. They probably disappeared after the Han army broke through Guangcheng Pass.

As for Cao Rui, even those who knew the inside story only knew that he was trapped in Chang'an because the Han army conquered Liang Province in the Northern Expedition. But after the Guanzhong army left Chang'an to attack Jieting, no one paid attention to Cao Rui's movements, and he never appeared in other people's sight again, as if he had disappeared out of thin air.

Feng Xi listened to the results of Ma Su's investigation in the past few days and knocked on the table in annoyance. Bao Feng came back yesterday, but the news he brought was not good. The doctor who treated Sima Yi had died, and Sima Yi's residence was naturally deserted, and the people around him could not explain why.

"Who are the remaining Wei army generals in Hebei now?"

Feng Xi thought about it again and again and asked Ma Su.

"There are Wang Xiong, the governor of Youzhou, Liang Xi, the governor of Bingzhou, Tian Yu, Qian Shao, and others who protect Wuhuan, and the General of the Central Army Wu Zhi who oversees the military affairs of the two states."

Ma Su thought for a while and summarized the information he had previously known.

"Wu Zhi? That's right. Sima Yi is definitely going to find Wu Zhi."

When Feng Xi heard the most crucial name among them, he immediately slammed the table and stood up.

Sima Yi and Wu Zhi were old acquaintances. When Cao Pi was fighting for the throne, Wu Zhi and Sima Yi were Cao Pi's right-hand men, and Wu Zhi even hid in a basket and sneaked into Cao Pi's mansion to give him advice. It can be said that these two were Cao Pi's most trusted aides at the time, and the relationship between them must have been very close.

Feng Xi also knew that if it were the original timeline, after Wu Zhi returned to Luoyang, he would petition Cao Rui and say that Chen Qun was not talented enough and it would be better to use Sima Yi. If he said that there was no selfish motive in this, he would definitely be lying.

"I will write a letter right away, and you, You Chang, will have someone deliver it right away."

Feng Xi thought for a moment, then took the pen and began to write.

(End of this chapter)