Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 435 Cao Cao’s request, death list!

After crying bitterly, Xu You wiped the tears from his face, looked at Cao Cao and asked, "Why... did you tell me this?"

He was now under house arrest in this small courtyard by Cao Cao and knew nothing about the situation and news outside. Cao Cao could have simply not told him the news of his selection into Lingyun Pavilion.

Even more despicable means could be used, such as concealing the truth about his entry into the cabinet, erasing his name from the list, creating the illusion that he had been forgotten by the emperor, in order to further attack him.

But Cao Cao did not choose to do so.

Cao Cao collected his thoughts and said disdainfully: "Although I am unscrupulous, I will not resort to such a boring trick."

"Besides, this little trick can only fool you temporarily at most. With your intelligence, it won't take long for you to realize that I'm deceiving you. What's the point?"

It’s not that Cao Cao didn’t think about deceiving Xu You, but even if he used this method to make Xu You despair, or even defect to him, it wouldn’t have much effect.

Because once Xu You regains his freedom, he will definitely know the truth.

Of course there is another reason, which is that he just disdains to do it.

"The imperial army will soon march south. That will be the day for me to fight to the death with the imperial court. If I succeed, I will win. If I fail, I will die."

"If I fail in the end, I hope you can promise me one thing."

Cao Cao said slowly that this time the emperor's construction of Lingyun Pavilion made him feel an unprecedented crisis.

The power that people unleash in the face of visible interests is terrifying. In order to enter Lingyun Pavilion and leave their names in history, the civil and military officials of the imperial court will do their best.

Even though he controlled most of the South and had countless elite soldiers and generals, he was not sure of winning.

Xu You was silent for a moment, then asked, "What's the matter?"

Cao Cao looked at him deeply, and then said: "When that day comes, you will know it yourself. Now it is too early."

After saying this, Cao Cao left the courtyard.

Despite the enormous pressure, he now has no way out. The outcome is uncertain and everything is possible.

He would never just sit there and wait for death!
……

The news of Lingyun Pavilion caused a great response both in the government and the country.

Not long after, Emperor Xian of Han also issued an imperial decree, announcing the establishment of Dengtian Pavilion, whose system was the same as Lingyun Pavilion, and announced the first batch of names.

However, the influence brought by Dengtian Pavilion is far less than that of Lingyun Pavilion. After all, it is an imitation, and its momentum is far inferior.

The key lies in the short poem "Lingyun", which is not only catchy but also widely circulated, so much so that even some children can recite it.

However, Cao Cao was not concerned about this matter. He sent invitations to all the major families in Jingzhou, Jiangnan, and Jiangdong, inviting the heads of the major families to attend the banquet.

Xiangyang, the prefectural government office.

The banquet had been set up in the lobby of the mansion, and was filled with guests who were dressed in luxurious clothes and had extraordinary demeanor.

They were all the heads of the Jingzhou gentry, Jiangnan and Jiangdong aristocratic families who were invited by Cao Cao to attend the banquet.

But they all had bitter looks on their faces.

Faced with Cao Cao's invitation, they actually did not want to accept it, but Cao Cao now had a strong military force, and Jingzhou as well as Jiangnan and Jiangdong were all under his control, so they did not dare to refuse even if they wanted to.

After all, Cao Cao issued the edict in the name of the "Son of Heaven". If they did not obey, they would be violating the edict of the "Son of Heaven" and would be directly eliminated.

So they had no choice but to come to the banquet obediently.

To be honest, many heads of aristocratic families were very nervous about today's banquet, because as aristocratic families they had heard rumors a long time ago that the emperor in the north was about to lead his troops south.

At this point Cao Cao gathered them all together. They all vaguely guessed what Cao Cao's purpose was, which was nothing more than winning them over or asking them to contribute money and effort.

"Today's banquet is not simple."

The Huang family head sighed and said with some disappointment.

The Huang family was a native aristocratic family in Jingzhou.

It is also a first-class aristocratic family.

Sitting next to him were the heads of the Wujun Zhang family and others.

The Zhang family of Wujun, together with the Gu family, the Lu family and the Zhu family, are known as the Four Families of Wuzhong and are very influential in the Jiangnan area.

"Alas, in this situation, who can stay out of it?"

The head of the Zhang family sounded helpless.

After a pause, he looked at the heads of the families and said in a low voice, "What do you think of this dispute between the real and fake emperors?"

This was undoubtedly a sensitive topic, and the expressions of the heads of other large families all changed slightly.

Everyone's eyes flickered.

In fact, they all had their own judgment in their hearts as to whether the emperor was real or not. Everyone knew that the emperor in the north was the real one, but it was just difficult to say it out loud.

After all, they are now a noble family with their roots in the south. If they offend Cao Cao, they will not be able to survive.

They were all quite clear about Cao Cao's methods.

"Hahaha, this is not something we can criticize. Let's just drink!"

The head of the Pang family suddenly laughed out loud and winked at everyone.

Because at this time Cao Cao walked into the lobby.

The heads of the families reacted immediately. They looked at their noses and hearts, and shut their mouths and stopped talking.

"What are you guys talking about? Why don't you tell me?"

Cao Cao walked to the main seat and sat down, then asked with a smile, his eyes sweeping over the heads of each family one by one.

All the family heads were a little nervous when they heard this. Finally, the head of the Gu family laughed dryly and said, "We are just discussing the reason why the emperor summoned us here."

"After all, it is a banquet given by the Emperor. This is a great honor. We are truly flattered."

Hearing this, other family heads also spoke up and agreed.

Cao Cao smiled slightly, picked up the wine jar and poured himself a glass of wine, saying: "Actually, it's not that important, but there are some things I want to discuss with you."

"But before that, I want to ask you a question."

"I'm sure you all have heard about the news that the fake emperor in the north is about to march south, so I want to ask you, who do you think will win this battle?"

Hearing his words, the atmosphere at the table froze.

No one expected Cao Cao to ask such a sharp and straightforward question!
The expressions of the family heads were all stiff.

To be honest...is there anything else to say?
The emperor in the north holds the legitimate power and has the support of the people. How can he be compared with the fake emperor in Xiangyang city?

Although your strength, Cao Cao, is not weaker than that of the imperial court, you have lost in the overall situation, not to mention that the recent impact of Lingyun Pavilion is even more significant.

So even though the battle had not yet begun, the imperial court had already gained a great advantage.

But even though they thought so in their hearts, they certainly didn't dare to say such words in front of Cao Cao. "Haha, Sikong, what are you talking about?"

The head of the Zhang family laughed dryly, cupped his hands and said: "The false emperor is a false emperor after all, how can he be compared with the orthodox Han Dynasty."

"We all believe that Sikong can lead the imperial army to defeat the false emperor, eliminate Lu Bu and other traitors, and recover the Han Dynasty!"

These words were spoken with great confidence and righteousness.

Cao Cao frowned, then relaxed.

He put down the wine glass in his hand, then looked at the heads of the families, smiled faintly and said, "Patriarch Zhang is right."

"Lü Bu and Yuan Xi set up a false emperor. These two thieves have evil ambitions and are trying to steal the Han Dynasty. As a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, I will do my best to defeat them."

"But to be honest, many people in the world have been deceived by the false emperor and believe that the orthodox Han Dynasty is in the north and not in Xiangyang."

"Fuck, even though I have the will to defeat the enemy, I feel that I am powerless."

"I sincerely invite all the family heads to come here today because I have a plan and I hope that all the family heads can help me."

Hearing this, everyone was shocked.

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They were all good at smoothing things over and playing Tai Chi, but it was really unexpected that Cao Cao asked them for help so bluntly and directly.

"Sikong, we have already provided a lot of food and supplies and have done our best to fight the bandits. How else can we help?"

The head of the Lu family said with an embarrassed look on his face.

They are already doing their best to provide food and supplies, and now they are asked to continue helping. Are they going to let them risk their entire family to fight?

This is absolutely impossible.

Cao Cao smiled, not angry at what the Lu family head said, and said, "I know what you are worried about, so let me analyze the pros and cons with you, okay?"

"Now my chances of winning against the Pseudo-Emperor's court are slim. You all know this, and I know this too. There's no need to hide it."

Cao Cao stated this fact frankly, which surprised the other family heads and made them look at him with a changed look.

Cao Cao hadn't finished speaking yet, and he continued, "But if I lose, it may not be a good thing for you and the family behind you."

"You have helped me, and you will certainly not escape the reckoning afterwards. With the cruelty of Lu Bu and Yuan Xi, it is inevitable that they will not exterminate your families just like they exterminated the Yuan family."

"Everyone... aren't you afraid?"

All the family heads fell silent upon hearing this.

Because Cao Cao touched their pain points!

This is what they are most worried about. Although they were forced to help under the coercion of Cao Cao, who knows whether the emperor will severely punish them afterwards?
It hasn’t been two years since the Yuan family was exterminated!
But if they fully support Cao Cao now, they will really not even have the chance to defend themselves afterwards.

"I have a list here."

Seeing that no one was talking, Cao Cao took out a piece of paper from his bosom and said with a chuckle, "As you all know, His Majesty has ordered the construction of Dengtian Pavilion, so that the names of all meritorious officials will be listed in it and recorded in history."

"In order to commend you for your help to the court, I intend to ask His Majesty to have your names listed in the Dengtian Pavilion."

"What do you think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked!
"Sikong, you must not do that!"

The head of the Huang family cried out in shock, "The merits of our Huang family are not enough to enter the Dengtian Pavilion. Sikong is really showing you favor!"

"Let's leave this spot to other meritorious officials!"

Entering Dengtian Pavilion means being tied up tightly on Cao Cao's warship, with no chance of getting off!

When Cao Cao is defeated in the future, the name on the Dengtian Pavilion will be the list of people to be purged by the court!
The heads of other major families were also panicked. They never expected that Cao Cao would use such means to threaten them!

"Why do we, the Zhang family, deserve to be listed in the Dengtian Pavilion? Please ask Sikong to remove us from the list!"

"Yes, our Gu family has contributed very little and our contributions are insignificant. We are not ashamed to enter the Dengtian Pavilion."

"Please think twice, Sikong!"

All the family heads refused, staring at the list in Cao Cao's hand, wishing they could rush up to snatch it and tear it into pieces!
This is not a list of heroes, it is clearly a list of deaths!
Cao Cao took in everyone's reactions. The next moment, the smile on his face disappeared. He snorted coldly, "I thought you were all loyal to the Han Dynasty, but I didn't expect you were just pretending to help!"

"Could it be that you also want to support that false emperor?"

There was no hiding the threat in Cao Cao's tone.

After hearing this, all the family heads felt extremely annoyed.

This Cao Cao is so disgusting!
The Zhou family head took a deep breath and said helplessly: "Sikong, why don't you tell us the strategy first? How do you need us to cooperate?"

Cao Cao's intention was very clear. If they refused to help, he would put their names on the Dengtian Pavilion.

The faces of the other family heads looked as if they had eaten a fly, and they all echoed the sentiment.

Cao Cao's expression eased a little after seeing this, and he said, "The false emperor is about to lead his troops south. I plan to have your majesty move to Changsha and build a defense line along the Yangtze River to destroy most of the docks and only leave some."

"This is a huge project, and I need your full support!"

Cao Cao made his intention clear. Xiangyang City was too close to Sizhou and was unsafe, so he needed to cross the river and move to Changsha.

The Yangtze River is a natural line of defense, and he needs to rely on this line of defense to resist the imperial court.

After hearing what Cao Cao said, the heads of the families felt even more bitter.

If they do not help Cao Cao, their names will be listed in the Dengtian Pavilion. If they help Cao Cao, they will also be liquidated if Cao Cao is defeated.

It's really a dilemma.

Cao Cao saw the faces of the family heads and knew what they were thinking, so he said in a deep voice: "Everyone, now you have no other choice but to help me defeat the false emperor."

"I, Cao Cao, hereby promise you that after I defeat the false emperor and recover the Han Dynasty, I will give you wealth and glory beyond your imagination!"

"Now tell me, what is your decision?"

Faced with Cao Cao's words, the heads of the families hesitated for a while, and finally sighed deeply and chose to compromise.

"I, the Huang family, am willing to help Sikong fight against the false emperor."

"I, Pang, am willing to help Sikong fight against the false emperor."

"I am Zhang...!"

The heads of various families expressed their attitudes one after another.

There was no other way. Just as Cao Cao said, they had no other choice but to board this pirate ship.

"Okay! I'll toast to you all!"

Cao Cao laughed loudly and raised his glass to toast, "When we defeat the false emperor, you will all be the greatest contributors!!"

As long as he builds up the defense line and blocks the imperial navy's route southward, coupled with the strong support of the major families, he can turn the entire south into an iron plate!
By then, even if the imperial army approaches, he will have nothing to fear!

(End of this chapter)