My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 234 I'm Not Afraid of Death
After Cao's army cleaned up the dead and wounded from both armies in the palace and restored order in the palace, they temporarily withdrew from the palace.

Emperor Liu Xie was temporarily protected (under house arrest), but that was all. He was not subject to any further restrictions, and Liu Xie's concubines were not liquidated for the time being.

Because Cao's army had more important things to do first - although Dong Cheng and Lu Bu were dead, the families, maids and servants of General Wei's Mansion and General You's Mansion were still alive, and there were more than a thousand people in total. There were also the families of Wang Zifu, Zhong Ji, Wu Shuo and Wu Zilan. The total number of people who needed to be executed from the six families was about 1,700.

These people are obviously of higher priority, and if they are not rounded up immediately, they may slip through the net. After killing all those outside the palace, it will not be too late to come back and deal with Concubine Dong in the palace.

People in the palace can't escape.

As Cao's army retreated, Liu Xie, who had been frightened by the fierce battle for most of the night, heaved a numb sigh of relief, feeling extremely tired and exhausted.

His physical energy consumption was not great, but his spirit was extremely tense. With the last hope shattered, he sat back on the imperial couch in a daze.

"Your Majesty, take care. I bid you farewell." A soft female voice sobbing interrupted Liu Xie's confusion.

Liu Xie raised his eyes in confusion, and it took him several seconds to identify the person in front of him. It was Dong Guiren, the daughter of Dong Cheng.

"My beloved...my beloved, why do you say that?" Liu Xie asked this question subconsciously and then regretted it.

How could I be so dejected that I asked such a foolish question!
Lady Dong was also stunned when she heard this. Her originally respectful attitude was replaced by a hint of desperate mockery:

"Your Majesty, you still ask me why I said that? Is this still the same resolute and resolute Majesty who dared to resist Cao? Your Majesty said with your own mouth that my father was a forged imperial edict and a traitor. Shouldn't I, the daughter of such a heinous person, be put to death?"

"Don't say that, my beloved. You know I was just distraught for a moment and I don't want to see all this!" Liu Xie finally came back to his senses and regained some of his imperial demeanor.

Empress Fu, who was originally sitting on the side, couldn't help but come over when she heard Concubine Dong mocking the emperor, and spoke for Liu Xie, asking Concubine Dong to be careful with her wording.

But these obviously mean nothing to a dying person.

Concubine Dong did not expect a miracle to happen. She just couldn't figure out one thing and wanted to confirm it with Liu Xie one last time.

So she calmed down for a few breaths before asking a question calmly: "Your Majesty, do you still remember that one time when you were chatting with me and you mentioned that three years ago, Your Majesty had summoned General Fu Bo Zhuge Jin to the Shiqu Pavilion newly built by Cao Cao. At that time, he should have been just an envoy of General Zhengnan Liu Bei, and he had just been promoted to the rank of Pinglu Xiaowei after he came to the capital to report his achievements."

Dong Guiren was also Liu Xie's confidant and one of his most favored bedmates. Liu Xie would not hide many of his private conversations from her. So she knew about Liu Xie's meeting with Zhuge Jin three years ago.

Liu Xie recalled it briefly and nodded quietly to indicate that he had not forgotten.

Concubine Dong then continued calmly, "I remember that your Majesty asked Zhuge Jin where the virtue of the Handan came from. When your Majesty was confused, Zhuge Jin gave a temporary and comforting answer, saying that it might be because Emperor Gao took revenge for Emperor Yi. Is that true?"

Liu Xie pursed his lips: "Yes!"

Lady Dong: "If your Majesty had just... refused to surrender and refused to admit that my father and General Lu were the forged emperors, then what would Cao Cao do? Would he really dare to kill the emperor? If he did, how would it be better than Xiang Yu killing Emperor Yi?"

Liu Xie didn't dare to look at Concubine Dong. He knew that there was no point in scolding her for being rude at this time, because Concubine Dong knew that she was going to die and nothing could threaten her.

Liu Xie still had some feelings for Concubine Dong. He hoped to speak some reason to her in the last moments of her life instead of using the little remaining imperial power to suppress her.

So Liu Xie slowly organized his words for a long time before he started to defend himself: "My beloved concubine, I know what you expect, and I can also tell you that I am not simply afraid of death. Imperial power is very complicated, and the way of heaven is even more complicated. It is not enough to just have the determination to fight to the death.

Emperor Yi swore to his death that he would not give in to Xiang Yu, which certainly prevented Xiang Yu from gaining the throne and gave Emperor Gao an excuse to fight against the rebellion, but the throne also belonged to Han from then on, not Chu. If I fight to the death, in the current situation, I can indeed make Cao thief a thief that the whole world will punish.

But can the world be returned to the Han Dynasty? Even if it is not returned to the Han Dynasty, can peace be achieved? Impossible. If I die, Cao Cao will become a traitor who kills the king. Now Yuan Shao and Cao Cao have deployed their troops on the Yellow River, and hundreds of thousands of troops are about to march south. At least 70% of the world will fall into Yuan Shao's hands in an instant.

The imperial family governors of the three southern states might fight against Yuan Shao, but they would not be able to defeat Yuan Shao, who controls the power of the ten northern states. In this way, the Han Dynasty would still not be able to maintain its rule, and even the change of dynasty and rapid restoration of peace would not be possible. In this case, how can I despise my precious body?

I am not afraid of death, but it is meaningless to die today. Those who followed Cao to cause chaos will come in droves. Since General Wei and General You failed to control Xudu, they have already been defeated this time. One more death will not help me. "

After all, Concubine Dong was a woman, and even if she had read a little, she was not very good at it. She had heard Liu Xie occasionally retell Zhuge Jin's orthodoxy and the philosophy of virtue and luck, and she wanted to copy it with only a partial understanding. Now, after listening to the emperor's analysis, she realized that the situation was completely different.

"So, Your Majesty is not afraid of death... but dying today will not help. I am already dying, and I believe Your Majesty has no reason to lie to me. If there is a spirit after death, it will naturally be able to distinguish between the truth and lies of the living. I bid farewell to Your Majesty."

Concubine Dong finally bowed to Liu Xie and remained silent.

The couple and concubine sat facing each other in silence for a long time, when the clanging sounds of armored soldiers were heard outside the palace.

It was obvious that all the family members and servants of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu who stayed in Xu Du had been captured and sent for interrogation and execution, and Cao Cao had freed up his hands to deal with the remnants of the inner palace.

Liu Xie closed his eyes in pain, and when he opened them again, he saw Cao Cao himself, wearing armor, standing opposite him.

Cao Cao bowed to the emperor in accordance with the military etiquette of wearing armor, and then said calmly: "Your Majesty, Dong Cheng forged the imperial edict to rebel, and his children should be exterminated." Liu Xie turned his head to take one last look at Concubine Dong, and just said: "This girl is pregnant."

Cao Cao sneered: "Do you want to keep him to avenge your mother? Well, since it is a favor from Your Majesty, you can forgive him as appropriate."

The so-called forgiveness, of course, does not mean not killing, it is just changing the way of killing and leaving the body intact.

Cao Cao did not want to stain his hands with the blood of the emperor's concubines, so he did not ask about the final execution. Instead, he asked Guanglu Xun Xi Lu, who was well versed in etiquette, to discuss the specific handling methods.

Xi Lu's final suggestion was to find a few palace maids, take white silk and strangle Concubine Dong to death, leaving her body intact.

It was also announced to the public that when Concubine Dong heard about Dong Cheng's rebellion, she died of excessive fright and was buried.

As long as Cao Cao confirmed that Concubine Dong was dead, he accepted these details.

……

After killing all of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu's relatives in Xu Du, Cao Cao returned to Sikong Mansion, but he still felt overwhelmed and had a terrible headache.

The trouble is far from over!

He wanted to follow Jia Xu's strategy and lure the snake out of its hole, but he never expected to lure out such a big snake! He even claimed to have the emperor's secret decree!
Yuan Shao's attack is imminent, and this is definitely bad news. Although he may still fight for the territory he actually controls, the generals in Guanzhong will definitely choose to at least remain neutral and will no longer help him. They may even side with Yuan Shao.

There is no need to worry too much about the princes in the south, because Zhang Xian can hold Liu Biao back, Zhang Lu can hold Liu Zhang back, and Sun Ce can hold Liu Bei back.

But Cao Cao had a strong psychological quality after all. He quickly adjusted his mindset and realized one thing:
If I don't lure the snake out of its hole, the Yidaizhao will still exist, and Dong Cheng will still take action. Maybe he will take action later, after Yuan Shao and I have started fighting, and then the harm will be much greater!
So, there is nothing to regret!
We should always look forward.

After enduring the pain of his headache for a while, Cao Cao felt that the pain caused by not sleeping all night had eased a little. He quickly called Xun Yu, who had also not slept all night, as well as Sima Lang and Geng Ji, and asked them some urgent questions.

"Have the families of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu been counted? Have all of them been captured? If there are any that slipped through the net, report them immediately!"

Geng Ji, who was in charge of the arrest and investigation, immediately reported: "Reporting to the Minister of Works, Dong Cheng has a pair of young sons and daughters, who seem to have been taken away in advance. According to the list of the number of his family members, they are not found. I have tortured many of his close followers and attendants, but none of them know where they are. They are very secretive.

In addition, as for Lu Bu…even his legal wife Yan and Lu Bu’s daughter were not found and were taken away in advance. It can be seen that they had planned to make a desperate attempt! "

Cao Cao felt a headache coming on again when he heard this: "They were all taken away? How do you usually check the defense of Xudu? How can the families of these noble and close ministers be allowed to leave the city? Why don't you keep a close eye on them!"

Geng Ji immediately knelt down and pleaded his case, saying that he had done everything to the best of his ability, followed the rules, and was careful and prudent.

Cao Cao smashed an inkstone in anger, and then suddenly realized: "Gao Shun! Gao Shun was sent out to lead troops a few days ago! Send people to Runan to bring Gao Shun back! Remember to bring back all of Gao Shun's personal soldiers and attendants! No one can be left behind! Go quickly!"

Geng Ji was stunned, and quickly accepted the order: "I will do it now!"

After Geng Ji left to deliver the message, Cao Cao suddenly thought of another question, but Geng Ji was gone, so he had to ask Sima Lang:
"Boda! Have you paid attention to the two rare iron wire ring soft armors that were taken from the bodies of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu during the battle last night? What is their origin?
Have you found out where these rare treasures are produced? The Central Plains has never seen such exquisite soft armor since ancient times. It can be worn under a brocade robe, and there is no flaw on the outside! If it weren't for Lu Bu's precious armor that prevented arrows from shooting deep, why would Zihe (Cao Chun) be ambushed and killed last night! "

This matter should not have been Sima Lang's business. He was not in charge of intelligence work in the Sikong Caoyuan. However, Geng Ji and others had other things to do and left, so he could only try his best to help answer the question:

"Reporting to the Minister of Works, I have asked Wang Bi's subordinates and collected information from various sources. It seems that this kind of soft armor has only appeared in the past year. I heard that... Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan has one, but it does not seem to be produced in Hebei. Yuan Tan also got it from someone else. It was only because he liked to show off that he revealed some clues."

Cao Cao slammed the table and said, "Why don't you check where this kind of soft armor with iron wire rings is produced! The person who produced this kind of precious armor must have taken the opportunity of sending envoys to the capital to give gifts to important officials in the court, and then gave such precious armor to Dong Cheng and Lu Bu! Maybe this thief is a foreign prince who conspired with Dong Cheng!"

Sima Lang immediately took the order and went to conduct a thorough investigation.

After Sima Lang left, Xun Yu reminded Cao Cao worriedly, "Please think twice. This matter may need to be investigated, but even if the results are found, they should not be publicized. At this time, if you say that a certain foreign lord is an accomplice of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu, it will help them gain fame and create an excuse for them to mobilize troops against the court."

Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, but soon realized: Indeed, it is necessary to investigate, but even if the results are found, they cannot be announced to the public! Just be on guard in your heart!

If it were announced, wouldn't the other party be equivalent to a righteous minister who signed the secret letter to fight against rebellion?

-

Third update!!!

　Third update!!! ...

　　But the price of three updates is that tomorrow morning's update may be delayed until noon because the overnight manuscript has been used.

　　A group of animals are shouting for the third watch every day!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)