Chapter 353 The one who messes up the world is actually him!
Chapter 353 He is the one who is causing chaos in the world!
…
With extremely complicated emotions, Cai Yong and Ma Su slowly walked into the lobby of the Tingwei. What he saw was that the officials and civil servants holding account books were busy taking their positions, preparing to record the content of the next interrogation;
The prison guards were busy taking the war criminal Cao Cao out of the prison and taking him to the lobby for interrogation.
Ma Di finally followed. He wanted to see what the end of the hero would be like.
Cai Yong had nothing to do with him, so he simply let his adopted son accompany him as his personal attendant.
"Mengde, Mengde, I hope I can save you." Cai Yong closed his eyes, listening to the noisy sounds in the lobby, and sighed secretly.
There is no need to elaborate on the process of the defeat of Chang'an, and Cao Cao must bear full responsibility. The only uncertainty now is whether Cao Cao has room for excuse - to be precise, whether Cao Cao can find a reasonable reason to escape guilt and relieve himself of some guilt.
, and thus avoid death.
As long as you don't die, you have a chance to make a comeback.
Otherwise, all bets are off!
However, according to the information currently available to Cai Yong, the possibility of Cao Cao wanting to reduce his guilt is too low. Because the latter was the top commander of the Western Expeditionary Army at the time, and because of the latter's strong request, there was no deputy general in the army.
With only a bunch of generals accompanying him, it would be difficult for Cao Cao to escape the blame for the annihilation of his entire army.
How to explain to the court that this great defeat was the result of God's will, and not the crime of war or the commander-in-chief, has become the key to whether he can be exonerated in this court trial.
In this disastrous defeat, the Han army lost 50,000 elite cavalry and the entire Guanzhong area, as well as a large amount of money, food, and baggage, and gained nothing.
This result was so tragic that it was unacceptable. Civil and military officials all criticized it. This also made Yuan Shao, who had promoted Cao Cao to the general of the Western Conquest against all opinions, face a very serious political dilemma. In order to be able to give the imperial court
To make a reasonable explanation to the people of the world, the person first responsible will definitely receive the most serious punishment.
And the consequences don't stop there. If Yuan Shao is unable to turn the tide, defeat the Xiliang army and regain the Guanzhong area, he may not be able to sit down safely as the general.
This is also one of the drawbacks of aristocratic families controlling the court. Everything is based on political achievements. If you have political achievements, let alone a general, you can live in the palace and sleep with a few of the late emperor's concubines. It's okay - the late emperor has died anyway; without political achievements,
Even if you are from the fourth generation and the third generation, you will not be able to use it.
Thinking about these things, Cai Yong, who was worried, walked to the chair of the chief judge and sat down slowly. He opened the file that recorded the defeat, glanced at it briefly, and closed his eyes to think about it.
According to the description in the file, the Xiliang army this time had a total of 100,000 horses, all of which were cavalry; while the imperial court only had 50,000 horses, 80% of which were cavalry.
One hundred thousand versus fifty thousand.
The difference in military strength between the two sides was doubled, and the enemy was outnumbered, which was one of the main reasons for the defeat;
Ding Yuan's eight generals led 8,000 troops and rebelled against the enemy.
Cao Cao made a command mistake and chose to go out of the city to fight with the Xiliang army in the field. This was the third reason.
Of course, because of the first and second reasons, it will be difficult for Cao Cao to defend Chang'an City this time, whether he goes out to fight in the city or not.
But if we can't defend it, it doesn't mean that the whole army will be annihilated.
In other words, Cao Cao's guilt for losing the city and territory was relatively small, but his guilt for wiping out his entire army was so great that it made people's heads tingle. Not to mention being acquitted, he was lucky to be able to save his whole body and not harm his family.
Disaster!
too difficult.
At this time, a young official in green clothes walked in quickly.
"Cai Yushi, Cao Cao brought him here."
After hearing these words, Cai Yong came back to his senses, closed the file, and raised his eyes to look down the hall.
Ma Su also retracted his head, rubbed his sore neck, and silently deduced the whole incident.
A moment later, the thirty-four-year-old Cao Cao walked in from the door in chains, escorted by the government officials. His hair was disheveled, his beard was bifurcated, and his bright eyes showed deep reluctance.
He went to the hall, slightly held the shackles and looked at the elder Cai Yong sitting high in the hall. He sighed for a while and didn't know what to say.
Cai Yong looked at this talented and close friend, and asked half helplessly and half caring: "Meng De, do you have anything to say?"
Cao Cao laughed and said angrily: "Why do you need to ask more questions, Mr. Cai? Everything is condemned according to the original meaning. Now that I have been defeated by the bandits, I have nothing to say. Please behead me quickly!"
After a slight pause, he added: "Cao is fully aware that there is no chance of survival this time, so he just wants not to harm his family."
"Well, that's not the case."
Cai Yong nodded slightly guiltily. In his understanding, when General Yuan Shao asked him, as Cao Cao's close friend, to preside over the trial, there must be some hint. This hint was that Yuan Shao wanted Cao Cao to survive.
So he said: "Meng De, the matter has not reached the final stage, you might as well make an excuse or two, there is no chance of survival."
Hearing the latter sentence, Cao Cao sneered. How could it be possible? Yuan Shao asked Cai Yong to preside over the trial to make it clear that he wanted Cao Cao to die.
Not only that, Yuan Shao even blamed the cause of his death on the loyal elder Cai Yong.
Insidious and vicious! Turn your back and be ruthless!
If this is Yuan Shao's true face, then his motivations for instigating He Jin to kill the ten regular servants, and He Jin's motivation to summon foreign troops to the capital, as well as the reason why the ten regular servants "happened" to learn about He Jin's latest movements every time
The inside story is worth thinking about.
Hiss~~
He is the one who is causing chaos in the world!
Cao Cao took a breath and instantly understood the truth that he would only figure out five or six years later - the low-minded He Jin was instigated and controlled by Yuan Shao, and gradually ruined the Han Dynasty.
Seeing Cao Cao's reaction, Ma Di stuck his head out from behind Cai Yong and gave Cao Cao a thumbs up.
It has to be said that people's political consciousness is really different. Although Cai Yong was very knowledgeable, he was not aware of such a profound level. He was still struggling with how to save Cao Cao. And Cao Cao was about to die.
, and suddenly realized all the conspiracies and tricks.
Even Yuan Shao promoted Cao Cao to the post of General of the Western Expedition against all objections, with other motives. If Cao Cao defeated the Xiliang army and regained Guanzhong, Yuan Shao would take the greatest credit; if Cao Cao could not regain Guanzhong, it would be Yuan Shao's fault.
Or if it fails, the biggest consequences will be borne by Cao Cao.
In the original time and space, Cao Cao hated He Jin very much at first, and once said such cruel words as "He who will bring chaos to the world will not enter." However, after becoming Sikong in August of the first year of Jian'an (196), Cao Cao married He Jin.
He took He Jin's daughter-in-law Yin as his concubine, and also adopted Yin's son, He Jin's grandson He Yan, and doted on her very much.
It was probably at that time that I saw Yuan Shaoxiong occupying Hebei, capturing Qingzhou, annexing the state, advancing on Youzhou, and overwhelming the world; in addition, Yuan Shu also occupied Yuzhou, Huainan, and Jiangdong at that time (Sun Ce was still Yuan Shu's subordinate at the time, in 197
The most fertile places in the world, such as Yuan Shu's announcement of disengagement when he became emperor in February, made Cao Cao deeply realize that the artificial promotion of the Yuan family was the main reason for the rapid collapse of the Han Dynasty.
After all, any fool can see through the drawbacks of summoning foreign troops to the capital, and there is no reason why Yuan Shao can't see it. What's more, Yuan Shao personally led his troops into the palace, killing people in the palace with rivers of blood, and slapped the Han Empire hard on the face. A slap in the face.
No matter what the reason is, when a minister dares to lead his troops into the palace and kill them, he will never have the slightest thought of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism in his heart.
"Meng De, don't you really want to defend yourself?" Cai Yong looked at Cao Cao with a hint of regret in his tone. He picked up the file on the table and shook it, "Then I will deal with it impartially."
When Cao Cao heard what he said, his expression suddenly changed. The matter of pleading guilty involved many interests in the court, and even Yuan Shao himself had to avoid it. This could be seen from the fact that he asked Cai Yong, who was the censor, to try him.
——As long as Cao Cao pleads guilty and dies, this incident (the defeat of Chang'an) will be over. After that, Yuan Shao will still be a general, taking charge of the government and being powerful all over the world.
No, I can't let Yuan Benchu succeed!
"The thieves are strong and our army is small. It is not a crime of war." Cao Cao raised his head and said word by word.
Cai Yong just looked at him but did not speak. He knew that Cao Cao had more to do, and he also knew that this reason alone was not enough, and it was far from enough to absolve him.
"I cannot escape the blame for the failure of the Western Expedition. However, eight generals from Ding Yuan rebelled against the enemy. The reason is still unclear, so I hope that the court will find out the matter before convicting me of the crime."
"Well... please tell me the details of the battlefield that day." Cai Yong hesitated and decided to listen to Cao Cao's words.
Cao Cao did not ask the imperial court to pardon his capital crime immediately, but only asked the imperial court to investigate the reasons why Ding Yuan's eight generals rebelled before convicting him.
If the imperial court agrees to Cao Cao's request, it will provide Cao Cao with a long survival time to deal with the matter of exoneration. After all, the Cao family also has connections and connections. Moreover, as time goes by and new wars break out, people The defeat of Chang'an will soon be forgotten.
So Cao Cao told Cai Yong the details of the defeat of Chang'an and the rebellion of Ding Yuan's eight generals. At the end, he said: "The eight generals chose to rebel when the two armies were facing each other. I think there is something fishy about it. May I ask Mr. Cai, what happened in Luoyang City at that time?"
When Cai Yong heard this, he couldn't help frowning, stroking the long beard under his chin, and didn't speak for a long time. He was hesitating about what to say.
At that time, some incidents did occur in the court related to Ding Yuan's generals. Some officials believed that when Lu Bu murdered Ding Yuan, he said, "Those who want to follow will stay, and those who do not want to follow will leave." These generals (eight generals) Since he did not stop Lu Bu from committing evil acts and did not disperse, he is considered a traitor like Lu Bu and cannot be entrusted with important tasks.
Even if they have been entrusted with important tasks now, all the family members of the eight generals should be arrested and detained together to prevent them from rebelling against the Xiliang army.
This proposal was quickly approved by Yuan Shao, and all the family members of the eight generals were arrested. After the court learned that the eight generals had rebelled, they killed all their family members without leaving any one alive.
What Cai Yong was thinking about was whether the arrest of the family members of the eight generals was directly related to the rebellion of the eight generals. He was not good at fighting and didn't know the whole story.
Normally, after learning that the family members are under control, the eight generals should fight harder. Why would they choose to fight to the death?
Cao Cao saw Cai Yong's hesitation and bowed directly and said: "I hope Duke Cai will tell you frankly."
Cai Yong recounted what happened in the court in those days, and then expressed his analysis, "Mengde, do you think they were worried that the imperial court would settle the scores after quelling the Xiliang army, so they rebelled?"
of?"
"..."
Cao Cao was so angry that his beard stood up. He suppressed his anger and asked in a low tone: "Does Mr. Cai know who initiated this proposal?"
"Hmm... It seems to be the censor Chen Lin, and it seems to be the Yilang Xu You. I can't remember clearly."
"I would like to ask Mr. Cai to speak frankly to His Majesty about this matter, and we must find out this matter, otherwise I, Cao Cao, will never rest in peace!"
After saying this, he gave Ma Su a meaningful look and added: "Mr. Cai, you don't want me to be harmed by an adulterer."
"I will try my best, try my best."
Cao Cao quickly held the shackles with both hands, bowed his head and knelt down, bowed deeply to Cai Yong, and then walked out of the hall under the escort of the government officials and returned to the prison.
After Cao Cao left, Ma Di stepped out from behind Cai Yong and said, "Father, I want to see Cao Mengde in the prison."
Cai Yong was startled, looked Ma Su up and down, and scolded: "Shu Zi, what kind of monster are you trying to do?"
"I went to ask my adoptive father about the situation of the Xiliang Army. These key questions were not asked by my adoptive father just now. And I heard that the coach of the Xiliang Army, Han Suizhong, has a new adopted son. He is nine feet tall and extremely powerful.
.”
Is Shuzi teaching me how to do things?
Cai Yong glared, blew his beard and said, "So what?"
"I suspect that person is Lu Bu!" Ma Di said calmly: "If we can know the details of the Xiliang army, it may be of great help to Cao Cao in exonerating him, and at least he can save his life."
After thinking about it, Ma Di confidently added: "My foster father doesn't want Cao Cao to be beheaded, right?"
Hearing this, Cai Yong's right hand started to tremble. He endured it for a while, and then he barely managed not to slap his adopted son in the face.
This traitor actually dared to threaten him!
The wings are stiff.
Looking at Ma Su, who was much taller than himself, Cai Yong couldn't help but recall that when he was a child, he was often beaten by his father. Suddenly one day, his father stopped beating him. At first, he was puzzled for a long time.
I thought that what I did was in line with my father's expectations.
Until one day, he heard his father complaining to his mother, "The brat is growing up so fast, he is taller than me. Don't hit him, I feel uncomfortable; hit him, what if he fights back? What if I
How embarrassing it would be if word got out about my son being beaten."
Then Cai Yong understood the truth that he would no longer be beaten, just like today, at this moment.
He controlled his trembling hands, took a visit token from the clerk, and threw it on the ground in front of Ma Su.
Then he snorted coldly and walked away.
Ma Su was actually prepared to be beaten, but he didn't expect that nothing happened in the end. He happily picked up the visit order and walked towards the Tingwei Prison with the steps of disowning his relatives.
He saw the flame of revenge in Cao Cao's eyes.
He wants to save Cao Cao.
Not for the sake of national justice, not for saving the world's widows, but simply because he disliked Yuan Shao.
After Cao Cao returned to Tingwei Prison, he was immediately escorted to the most tightly guarded cell. Generals who had violated military laws were usually imprisoned here, so the environment was much better than ordinary cells: the cell area was also large, and the windows were well ventilated.
There was still sunlight coming in in the morning, so it was very clean and tidy.
The only embarrassing thing is that Cao Cao is the only prisoner in the entire prison - a few months ago, the late emperor Liu Hong passed away, the young emperor Liu Zhu ascended the throne, issued a general amnesty, and all the prisoners on death row were released.
Ma Su had never been to Tingwei Prison, so the prison boss showed strong curiosity about this young and excessive visitor. He carefully checked the visit token in Ma Su's hand and found that there was no problem before letting him go.
enter.
When Ma Su's figure disappeared through the door, the prison head immediately said to the warden who came over: "Sir, could he be Cao Cao's brother or son? There are regulations in the sky prison that no relatives are allowed to visit the prisoners on death row while they are in custody.
...We won't be punished, I'm so scared..."
The warden raised his hand and slapped the prison chief with a big hat, and slapped the hat off his head. He angrily shouted: "What nonsense? This is Cai Yong Cai Gong's son. He is only eight years old this year! He Cao Cao
How can he give birth to such a tall son if he is so short!"
"Hiss~ He is the hero who single-handedly killed Dong Zhuo, the reincarnation of the Red Emperor Cai Su?!"
The warden slapped him with another big hat, "Shut up! Stop talking nonsense! Can you say such nonsense? Are you trying to kill Mr. Cai's son?!"
The prison boss didn't bother to straighten his messed up hair, and quickly covered his mouth. He nodded fiercely and spat out a few words from between his fingers, "I know...I know."