My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 189 Are you asking me to kill myself? Cao Cao: You are both foolish and useless. I can only appoint my prodigy as the heir!
"What did you say? Say it again?"

Cao Cao suddenly sat up straight, opened his eyes wide and asked excitedly.

Cao Zhi was startled and said hurriedly:

"Reporting to Father, I want to tell you that Yang Xiu has found out that the person who drove Xiao He away that day was none other than my second brother."

Cao Cao's body stiffened, and the anger on his face, which had eased, flared up again.

Cao Pi again...

He never dreamed that the blind fool whom he wanted to tear into pieces would actually be his own stupid son who was incapable of accomplishing anything and was always causing trouble!
If it weren't for Xiao He, Liu Bei would probably have been crushed like an ant by his iron hooves.

During the southern expedition, not to mention capturing Jingzhou, I'm afraid Jiangdong would have been taken into their possession long ago.

All the generals in Guanzhong, Zhang Lu, Liu Zhang, etc., should be wiped out by him like fallen leaves swept by the autumn wind.

At this moment, he had already unified the world and was lying on the Bronze Sparrow Tower, enjoying a happy and romantic life, accompanied by fine wine and beautiful women, and enjoying his old age.

But not only was his dream shattered, but he was also repeatedly defeated by Liu Bei, losing soldiers and generals, cities and territories, and even his four nephews and nieces: Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhang, and Xiahou Yuan.

The culprit is Cao Pi!
The key point is that he had once said that after finding out who drove Xiao He away, he would kill all nine generations of his family!

Doesn't this mean that I will be killed too?

Isn't this just slapping himself in the face and making him a laughing stock to the world?
Cao Cao became angrier the more he thought about it. He struggled to get off the bed and shouted angrily:
"I'm going to Shouchun, I'm going to chop off that blind, stupid fool with my own hands—"

Cao Zhi's lips curled up in secret joy, and he quickly dodged and did not stop him.

For him, he naturally wished that Cao Cao would go to Shouchun in person and kill his stupid elder brother.

This would be equivalent to eliminating a competitor for him once and for all.

Bian, the principal wife, only gave birth to four sons. Cao Xiong died young, and the third brother Cao Zhang was killed by Liu Bei. If the second brother Cao Pi is also killed now, wouldn't Bian only have him as the only legitimate son?

Who else is qualified to compete with him for the throne?

Those bastards?

They didn't even have the chance to sit at the table.

Cao Zhi did not stop it, but Cao Ren, Cao Chun and other clan members could not help but stop it, and allowed Cao Cao to kill his own son in anger.

Several people rushed forward, supported Cao Cao, and tried to persuade him earnestly, urging him to calm down.

Cheng Yu, Xu Huang and other ministers from other families were not in a position to interfere in Cao Cao's family affairs, so they could only stand aside awkwardly and dare not say a word.

After the initial anger, Cao Cao finally recovered and leaned back on the couch weakly.

"Prime Minister, no matter what serious mistake Zihuan made, we will not investigate him until you return to Xudu and stabilize the situation."

"Everything should be prioritized to stabilize people's hearts and minds. We must not make things worse."

Cao Ren handed Cao Cao some water to calm him down while trying to comfort him.

Cao Zhi, who was standing by, saw that Cao Cao's anger had subsided and that he had not gotten what he wanted, and he felt quite unhappy.

Cao Cao took a few sips and glanced at Cao Zhi inadvertently. Suddenly, his heart was shocked and he suddenly realized something.

"Zijian, why didn't you report your second brother's stupid behavior earlier, but only today?"

Cao Cao's eyes shot towards Cao Zhi, so sharp that it seemed as if he could see through his thoughts.

Cao Zhi couldn't help but get nervous, his eyes rolled around, and he hurriedly explained:
"I actually wanted to report this to you early this morning, but I never had the chance, so I kept putting it off until today. I beg your forgiveness."

This statement came out.

Not to mention Cheng Yu, a shrewd man, even Cao Ren and Cao Chun, his uncles, could not help but frown and immediately understood Cao Zhi's little thoughts.

His explanation is too naive.

After Cao Cao drove Cao Pi to Hefei, he took you south to attack Wancheng. It was obvious that he wanted to make you the crown prince and train you.

How come you didn't have the chance to report to Cao Cao during this entire month?
You simply want to take advantage of the fact that Cao Pi has committed a catastrophic disaster today, so you are taking the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, giving Cao Pi a push and pushing him into the abyss from which he cannot escape.

If everyone can guess it, how could Cao Cao not guess it?
The anger on Cao Cao's face disappeared, replaced by disappointment, and he was about to start cursing.

The words came to his lips, but he swallowed them back and just waved his hands weakly:

"Except Zixiao, all of you please go out."

Cheng Yu and others felt as if they had been pardoned and took their leave one after another.

Cao Zhi's eyes were filled with disappointment. He stood still and looked at Cao Cao with confusion.

Weren't you furious at first, saying that you would find out who drove Xiao He away and kill them?
How come now that they know it was Cao Pi, there is no punishment except a few scoldings?

Then wouldn't it be in vain for me to kick someone when he's down?

"What are you still standing here for? Get out now!"

Seeing that he didn't move, Cao Cao waved his hands in disgust, as if he couldn't wait for him to get out of here.

Cao Zhi sensed a bad premonition from Cao Cao's attitude, but he didn't dare to ask more questions, so he had to take his leave.

Only brother Cao Ren was left in the big tent.

"Prime Minister..."

"There are no outsiders here, so there's no need for Prime Minister. Just call each other brothers."

Cao Cao waved his hand and interrupted Cao Ren.

Cao Ren was stunned for a moment before changing his tone and saying comfortingly:
"Although we have lost a talented person and Hefei and Wancheng, it is not a serious loss to our Cao family."

"Brother, you must take care of your status. Don't get angry and hurt yourself. That would be a big mistake."

Cao Cao sighed and said bitterly:

"Look at all the sons you fathered. Ziwen was a reckless man with courage but no strategy. He ruined his life in vain."

"Zihuan is both foolish and irresponsible. How many disasters has he caused and how many stupid things has he done?"

"Speaking of Zijian, I originally had high hopes for him. This time, during the southern expedition to Wancheng, I intended to bring him along to train him, hoping to establish him as the heir." "But I didn't expect him to be so greedy that he would even resort to tampering with his brother's misfortune in order to compete for the throne. He seems to be straightforward, but I didn't expect him to be a man of talent but no moral integrity, and a man of sinister intentions."

"Can I appoint such a person as my heir and trust him with the foundation of our Cao family?"

Cao Cao poured out his grievances to Cao Ren, revealing all the troubles in his heart.

Cao Ren could only listen to his complaints silently, and apart from sighing, he couldn't express his opinion.

Brothers should be brothers, and sons should be sons.

No matter how dissatisfied Cao Cao was with his son, he was still someone else's son. He might scold him harshly today, but tomorrow the father and son might be in love and everything would be back to normal.

But if you, as an uncle, make arbitrary comments about your nephews, it means you don’t know the relationship between you and your nephews and don’t understand the ways of the world.

"Zihuan and Zijian are still young, after all. They tend to act impulsively and lack consideration. We should give them more time to hone their skills..."

Cao Ren had no choice but to respond, and could only say some clichés that elders usually use to get by.

"It's often said that a child's character can be seen at the age of three. By this age, their talents, intelligence, and character have already been determined. Zixiao, do you really think you can still hone them into anything?"

Faced with Cao Cao's question, Cao Ren was speechless for a moment.

Cao Cao's expression gradually grew serious, and he said in a deep voice:

"If I had won the southern expedition, unifying the world in my lifetime would have been a piece of cake."

"When the time comes, leave them a peaceful and prosperous era. Even if they are mediocre in intelligence and lack moral integrity, with the assistance of uncles like you, there won't be any major chaos in the future."

"But now the big-eared thieves have risen in Jingzhou, have completely controlled the Yangtze River, and dominate half of Jiangnan. They are threatening to challenge our Cao family and confront us from north to south."

"Furthermore, Guanzhong, Liangzhou, Hanzhong, and Bashu have not yet been pacified. Whether I can wipe out the bandits and pacify the world in my lifetime remains to be seen."

"Brother, let me ask you this: if I were to die before that big-eared thief, whether it's Zihuan or Zijian, regardless of their personalities, with their talents and strategies, could they be a match for him?"

Cao Ren was shocked.

He naturally understood what Cao Cao meant. After hesitating for a moment, he could only comfort him:
"Brother, the two rivers are still in your hands, and the Central Plains are also in your hands. Even though that big-eared thief has gained power for a while, he only controls the two provinces of Jing and Yang. Is he worthy enough to challenge you?"

"Brother, you are in your prime. I believe that in your lifetime, you will lead us to wipe out Liu Bei and his band of thieves and unify the world!"

Cao Ren's words were still just polite talk.

Cao Cao turned a deaf ear to him. Suddenly, he took Cao Ren's hand and said in a low voice:

"Zixiao, what do you think of Cang Shu's intelligence and character?"

Cao Ren was stunned.

The Cang Shu mentioned by Cao Cao was Cao Chong.

What did Cao Cao mean by suddenly mentioning Cao Chong and asking for his opinion?

Cao Ren rolled his eyes a few times and was suddenly startled.

Cao Cao was disappointed with Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, and wanted to cultivate Cao Chong as the heir to the Cao family.

"Cang Shu was known as a child prodigy. His intelligence naturally surpassed all his brothers' children. As for his character, he was also quite kind and compassionate. However, his mother was..."

Cao Ren stopped talking at that point and did not continue.

The implication is that Cao Chong's talent and character are indeed better than Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, but his mother is the concubine Lady Huan, so Cao Chong is a bastard's son.

Since ancient times, the succession has been based on the principle of choosing the legitimate son, the eldest son, or the most virtuous son. Although Cao Chong was virtuous, he was neither the legitimate son nor the eldest son, so he was ranked last and could only be judged by his virtue.

"Now is a time of great contention. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. How can we cling to old ways?"

Cao Cao heard Cao Ren's concerns and refuted him without hesitation.

Cao Ren was speechless.

From Cao Cao's words and expression, it was obvious that he had made up his mind to go his own way and help a bastard take the throne.

Cao Ren knew his brother's personality and thoughts best. Hadn't he done many eccentric things in his life?

Since Cao Cao has made up his mind, let alone a concubine's son, even if it is an illegitimate child without a name, Cao Cao dares to help him to the throne!

"The Cao family's legacy belongs to my elder brother. It is up to my elder brother to decide who will be the heir."

Cao Ren then had no objection, but reminded:

"But Cang Shu is still bedridden and hasn't recovered after a long period of treatment. I'm a little worried. What if..."

Cao Ren didn't dare to continue.

Since the beginning of the year, Cao Chong had been ill and had not been cured for a long time, and his health was getting worse and worse.

The doctors all hinted that Cao Chong should be mentally prepared, implying that Cao Chong might not be able to survive this.

Cao Cao took a deep breath and said meaningfully:

"Before Wancheng fell, didn't you send Zhang Zhongjing to the capital to treat Cang Shu?"

"This man is said to be as great a doctor as Hua Tuo. With his help, it is possible that Cang Shu's illness can be cured."

"If he can truly survive this, wouldn't that prove that he is blessed by destiny and chosen by heaven as my heir? How could I, your brother, go against heaven's will?"

Having said that, it can be seen how determined Cao Cao is.

Cao Ren did not dare to spoil Cao Cao's fun, so he could only say:

"Brother, you have been blessed by heaven, and Cang Shu will surely be blessed by heaven as well. I believe that he is a lucky man with divine support, and he will definitely be able to cure Zhang Zhongjing!"

After receiving his brother's approval, the gloom on Cao Cao's face was slightly dispelled.

So he took a deep breath, waved his hands and sighed:
"Chong'er's life and death will be left to fate."

"Let's return to the capital first and decide on the new emperor!"

(End of this chapter)