The first thousand three hundred and ninety-seventh chapters boarded that position
Chapter 1,397 Getting to that position
Cao Cao looked sad again when he mentioned Yi Xiaotian.
Regarding this matter, if it were the past, he would never have the slightest worry.
But now...he also vaguely felt that the distance between him and Yi Xiaotian was getting farther and farther.
Although... just like he always vowed... as long as he is alive, he is willing to believe in Yi Xiaotian.
But... the situation now is different from that then.
Now, he is the Duke of the country... He is the king of a country. The officials under him are always watching his actions. Now, because of some things left over from the past, there is a split among the officials.
Just like Xun Yu said, he never supported Cao Cao's proclaimed king at any time...
One is because Cao Cao's doing this will damage his image in the hearts of the people, and the other reason is very obvious...
Today's Wei State is not as stable as it seems... The faster Cao Cao becomes king, the faster these conflicts will break out.
Because people's status rises, all boats will rise, and when gaps slowly appear, various disagreements will arise.
Looking back at the time when he was still the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, the North at that time was really monolithic under his command.
But when things reached their peak, they encountered major changes.
That was the battle at Red Cliff...everything inevitably went downhill.
Even in the following series of large-scale battles, including the Battle of Xiangyang, the Battle of Chang'an, and the Battle of Hanzhong, Yi Xiaotian helped him turn the tide...
But that's how people are, if you just live in one breath, if you don't rush to the end in one go, you may not be able to reach the heights you once had in this life.
"Brother Yi, what on earth is he thinking about?"
"I...I'm not blaming him...it's just that the villa's recent actions have failed to make the ministers doubt their intentions."
Cao Cao really wanted to defend Yi Xiaotian, but now he was more willing than capable. In the past, he could call Yi Xiaotian brothers as he pleased, but what about now?
The ministers put him on a high pedestal. Once he did any "willful" behavior, countless people used it to criticize him. But if he wanted to punish these people, they would become even more excited...
What kind of man should die for his country... If he could exchange one life for Duke Cao's innocence, he would be willing to die... All kinds of people who are not afraid of death are running crazier than the weeds at this time.
"Even if Brother Yi only comes back temporarily, the two of us have a good talk in person. After these turmoils have been settled, I will not stop him from developing wherever he goes...but...but Brother Yi."
"Lord...I think this may be Mr. Yi's helpless move, right?"
"ah?"
Suddenly, Jia Xu's words stunned Cao Cao.
He looked at Jia Xu in confusion, as if he wanted to seek an answer from the other party.
Jia Xu nodded, seemed to have straightened out his thoughts, and continued:
"As long as you, my lord, are still pursuing that throne...as long as you are still the king of a country, we will inevitably have a fundamental conflict of interest with Youjian Villa in the future——"
"Perhaps he took this into consideration...that he would slow down the development of Youjian Villa in the north and start looking for a foothold elsewhere."
"As for the issue of rebellion that the ministers are worried about, I think... with Mr. Yi's character and conduct, as long as we don't go to war with him, he will never take the initiative to interfere with us..."
"My lord, please don't forget that although sir, he has helped us out of danger more than once over the years, from the beginning to the end, he is just a businessman..."
"For a businessman, what we should give is freedom, not shackles... Unfortunately, you have also discovered... With the current situation in Wei State, this shackles will naturally appear whether you intend it or not."
Jia Xu spoke eloquently, and Cao Cao became increasingly depressed.
"Then...then what should we do?
Can we just watch helplessly as the ministers become hostile to Youjian Villa?"
"I don't know at the moment... There are only two points that are relatively obvious... First, the irreconcilable conflict between Mr. Cui and Mr. Yi started in this assessment... The best solution is naturally to let the eldest son appear in front of everyone.
In front of us, but this...is beyond our control."
"In addition... if you want to solve this problem once and for all and give Mr. Yi free choice forever... you have to ascend to that position."
This statement really stunned Cao Cao.
Yes... In fact, the solution to everything has always existed... It's just that after so many years, Cao Cao himself has become numb.
Deep down in his heart, he didn't even realize that he could persist until that time. Otherwise...how could he have a laissez-faire attitude towards the so-called dispute between the sons and watch their development?
After a long time, in the silent palace, Cao Cao said helplessly:
"Sure enough... Wen He, you and I are already old..."
Jia Xu did not respond, but this was the clearest response.
——
the other side.
Although Man Chong had acted extremely quickly, as expected... after the officers and soldiers salvaged the body of a young eunuch in the moat outside the palace city, all the clues were lost.
Man Chong, who found nothing, had no choice but to take Huang Cheng back to his home in Yecheng.
Huang Cheng was a little shaken as soon as he arrived at the house. It seemed that the hard work of the past few days had finally crushed his spirit...
Man Chong ordered his subordinates to recruit a doctor for Huang Cheng. In the next period of time, with his protection, Huang Cheng should not encounter any danger.
But Man Chong hated this feeling.
There is nothing to do but watch the passage of time——
In fact, he has already locked the target.
He had heard of the connections between Cui Yan...Sima Fu...as well as Cao Pi and Sima Yi.
But just like before... the examination lasted for a full year, and the thorough investigation by nearly a hundred examiners failed to find evidence of their secret collusion. Man Chong could not gain much in just these two days.
After much thought...Man Chong finally thought of a place.
It was not the so-called place where evidence of the crimes of Cao Pi, Sima Yi and others could be found. Instead, it was the place where Cui Yan had repeatedly tried to draw fire.
There is a villa.
Since we can't find any evidence, why not just choose to stay?
After suddenly figuring this out, Man Chong immediately arranged for manpower to go to Youjian Villa to stay——
Sure enough, on the night of the next day, Man Chong's subordinates captured a minister of the Ministry of Finance... He took advantage of the night to sneak into Youjian Villa quietly. As expected, he probably wanted to do some shameful things, but...
But unfortunately, before Man Chong could go to interrogate him, the official from the Ministry of Revenue was assassinated directly in front of Man Chong.
For a moment, Man Chong was extremely angry.
This was the first time someone dared to challenge his ability in person like this.
