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

Deng Ai was taken aback, and Guan Yinping was also greatly surprised.

The two naturally understood that Xiao He's task for Deng Ai was aimed at Sima Yi.

However, although Sima Yi served Cao Cao, he was not among the most senior or highest-ranking strategist in Wei.

Not to mention figures like Cheng Yu, Xin Pi, and Jia Xu, even Jiang Ji, who came from a humble background, was ranked ahead of Sima Yi.

Is it really necessary to use such drastic measures to deal with such a minor character?

Annihilate the entire family!
Xiao He had served Liu Bei for many years, and his advice on military strategy was always based on facts, but this was the first time he had been so ruthless, punishing an enemy with the thunderous method of exterminating his entire family.

"Grand Commandant Xiao, do you really intend to... exterminate the entire Sima clan?"

Deng Ai thought he had misheard and had to ask to confirm.

"You heard me right, I'm going to wipe out the Sima clan!"

Xiao He nodded heavily without the slightest hesitation.

This order to exterminate the entire clan was, in his view, half for personal reasons and half for public good.

Sima Yi received great favors from three generations of the Cao family and was entrusted with the care of two emperors, Cao Pi and Cao Rui. However, in his old age, he seized military and political power in Cao Wei through the Gaopingling Coup, paving the way for the Sima family to usurp the throne of Wei.

You can call it a coup if you want. After all, the Cao family's empire was also seized through usurpation. It's just karma that the Sima family seized it. What goes around comes around.

But you made a solemn oath, pointing to the Luo River as your witness, and tricked Cao Shuang into giving up resistance and surrendering. In the end, you broke your oath and exterminated his entire family. That's really unethical.

The problem is that your descendants are too incompetent and disgusting.

Sima Zhao murdered the emperor in the street, creating a legendary event that has been passed down through the ages.

Sima Yan bestowed titles upon members of the Sima clan as kings, selected an idiotic son to inherit the throne, and even chose a wicked empress for his son as his wife, which led to the War of the Eight Princes, a bloodbath that ravaged China.

As a result, China was severely weakened, and the nomadic tribes took the opportunity to move south, which led to the Five Barbarian Invasions, plunging the Han people into the darkest period of the past three hundred years. The entire northern Han population was nearly wiped out by the nomadic tribes.

The Sima clan, starting with Sima Yi, can be said to have accumulated almost all the stains of disloyalty, injustice, inhumanity, filial impiety, and wisdom.

To put it bluntly, the Sima clan was the most vile and shameless clan in history.

On a grander scale, the Sima clan were historical sinners responsible for the sinking of China and the collapse of the Chinese nation.

Xiao He deeply loathed and despised this clan, and wanted to annihilate them to vent his anger; this was his selfish motive.

According to intelligence reports, Cao Cao's strategy of digging the Ji River to flood tens of thousands of people in Yanzhou was actually proposed by Cao Pi.

With Cao Pi's limited intelligence, even Sun Quan could easily outwit him back then. How could he come up with such a despicable and ruthless scheme?

Sima Yi was Cao Pi's mastermind, so the plan to dig the Ji River must have been proposed by Sima Yi.

He had mentioned this to Lao Liu before.

At that time, Liu Bei was extremely angry and loathed Sima Yi, saying that he should be killed.

You, Sima Yi, devised this treacherous plan, disregarding the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. So, isn't it perfectly reasonable for me to exterminate your Sima clan?

This is justice.

Now that his 50,000 troops have landed at Mengjin, which is only a river away from the Sima clan's hometown, why wouldn't he take the opportunity to wipe out the Sima clan?

Deng Ai, certain he hadn't misheard, then said:

"I understand the Grand Commandant's order, but there is one thing I don't understand, and I don't know whether I should speak of it or not?"

Xiao He knew he was puzzled, so he said:
"The plan to dig up the Ji River was taught to Cao Pi by Sima Yi. He disregarded the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Yanzhou with a single treacherous scheme. What's wrong with me wiping out the entire Sima family?"

Xiao He could not bring up the Five Barbarian Invasions, so he could only explain his motives as justice.

Guan Yinping, standing beside him, suddenly realized what was happening and immediately retorted angrily:

“My husband did the right thing. Sima Yi is so vicious, he deserves to have his entire Sima clan wiped out!”

Deng Ai's doubts were completely dispelled, and he happily said:

"Don't worry, Grand Commandant, Ai knows what to do...what to do."

Deng Ai immediately accepted the order and led over eight hundred light cavalry across the river by boat, heading straight for Hanoi County on the north bank.

With one matter settled, Xiao He continued his journey south, leading his army to attack Luoyang.

...

Luoyang City, the Imperial Palace.

Inside the empty golden palace, only Cao Pi remained.

Although the emperor in Luoyang was a puppet, he still had to hold court meetings as a matter of appearances.

Today also marks the first time Cao Pi, in his capacity as regent, has presided over the morning court session since arriving in Luoyang.

Everything was decided by him; the young emperor's son on the throne only needed to nod and stamp the document.

After the morning court session ended, the emperor and his officials withdrew, but Cao Pi, for some inexplicable reason, stayed behind.

After glancing around and seeing that no one was around, Cao Pi walked up the steps and came to the dragon throne.

As he gently stroked the dragon throne, Cao Pi's breathing gradually became heavier, and a strange light appeared in his eyes.

After taking another careful glance around, Cao Pi took a deep breath, placed his hand on the dragon table, and slowly squatted down.

After holding the half-squatting position for a moment, he gritted his teeth and sat down with a thud.

In an instant, Cao Pi felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his whole body trembled violently.

After taking several deep breaths to suppress his surging blood and qi, he finally regained his composure.

So he straightened his back, raised his head, and looked down at the main hall.

At this moment, it seems that the entire landscape of the country is spread out before our eyes.

In a daze, a scene appeared in Cao Pi's mind:
In the empty hall, a large number of officials gathered, bowing and kowtowing before him, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" He, clad in a dragon robe and wearing a jade crown, stood high above, his aura of supreme authority commanding the entire realm, receiving the homage of his officials.

This is what it feels like to rule the world...

Cao Pi's eyes gradually became hazy, and the corners of his mouth turned up as he became immersed in his fantasy.

"Second son!"

A voice suddenly rang in my ears.

Cao Pi was startled, instantly snapping out of his fantasy and back to reality, and hurriedly jumped up.

When he looked up, his face contorted with guilt, searching for the person who had suddenly entered the hall, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The visitor was none other than Sima Yi.

The mastermind behind the scenes, with a playful smile on his face, strode into the hall and slowly approached.

"Zhongda, I was just... just..."

Cao Pi looked embarrassed and guilty, stammering and unsure how to explain.

Sima Yi smiled faintly and cupped his hands in greeting, saying:
"When Qin lost its throne, the whole world scrambled for it. The Han dynasty's fate was sealed, and our great Wei took its place. This is the mandate of heaven."

"This position will belong to you sooner or later, young master."

"Young Master is merely testing his own creations in advance; why should he explain to Yi?"

Cao Pi was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.

Sima Yi also laughed.

The two, master and subject, understood each other perfectly without saying a word.

"Although this position will eventually belong to you, young master, you should be patient for now and avoid giving others any leverage against you."

Sima Yi stopped smiling and gave a subtle reminder with his eyes.

Cao Pi understood, coughed a few times, and said embarrassedly:

"I just acted on impulse and was careless. Don't worry, Zhongda, I won't do it again."

Sima Yi was finally relieved.

Cao Pi then shifted the topic to the current battle, asking:

"Zhongda, why have you come to the palace to see me at this time? Is it because the battle at Dagu Pass or Xingyang has gone badly?"

Sima Yi took out two silk scrolls from his bosom and handed them over, smiling faintly:
"Second Young Master, you are overthinking this. This is a military report just sent from the Three Passes and Xingyang. The situation is under our control, so please do not worry."

Cao Pi hurriedly took the silk scroll and examined it carefully.

Cao Ren declared that everything was fine in Xingyang, and no signs of an attack by the Chu army were found in the direction of Chenliu to the south.

Meanwhile, the generals guarding Dagu Pass, including Guo Huai, Li Tong, and Hou Cheng, reported that they had repelled several fierce attacks by Liu Bei, and that the three passes of Dagu Pass were as solid as a rock, urging Cao Pi to rest assured.

"Good, good, it's good that nothing's wrong. If Xingyang and the Three Passes are safe, then Luoyang is safe, and we can rest easy."

Cao Pi breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile returned to his face.

He closed the military newspaper and looked eastward again:
"Luoyang is safe and sound. The key to victory or defeat in this war lies on the eastern front."

"Zhongda, do you think Father can withstand the two traitors, Guan and Xiao?"

A hint of worry reappeared between Cao Pi's brows.

After all, Guan Yu and his son-in-law were an invincible duo.

In the Battle of Xuchang, Cao Chun was killed...

In the Battle of Yanling, Cao Cao was decisively defeated…

Given this precedent, Cao Cao was always uneasy about having to face the combined forces of these two men in Yanzhou.

"Guan Yu's military command is unparalleled, and Xiao He's strategic brilliance is also unmatched. These two, joining forces to attack our Yanzhou, now have nearly twice the strength of our army; they are indeed not to be underestimated..."

Sima Yi then changed the subject, saying:
"However, Cangting is a defensive line that the King has carefully constructed by mobilizing the manpower and resources of the people. Its strength is no less than that of Gongsun Zan's Yijing defensive line back then."

"I believe Your Majesty will learn from the lessons of previous defeats and will choose to hold the strategic position and not fight, thus responding to all changes with constancy."

"If that is the case, I believe Your Majesty is confident that you can hold Cangting and repel the two traitors, Guan and Xiao."

Cao Pi breathed a sigh of relief, and his slightly furrowed brows completely relaxed.

With the situation on both the eastern and western fronts looking very favorable, he could rest easy and easily complete his regency duties in Luoyang, thus securing a great achievement.

Cao Pi was in a great mood, so he took Sima Yi to a side hall, ordered some snacks to go with the wine, and chatted and laughed with him.

"Zhongda, on our way to Luoyang, when we passed by your Sima family's residence, I noticed a maidservant beside your wife who looked unfamiliar..."

After a few drinks, Cao Pi suddenly changed the subject.

Sima Yi's lips curled up slightly. After feigning a moment's thought, he said:
"That girl's original name was Guo Nüwang. She was the daughter of Guo Yong, the governor of Nanjun. Later, Guo Yong and his wife died in the war, and the girl was forced to wander in a foreign land at a young age."

"Two years ago, my wife met this girl by chance and felt an instant connection with her, so she took her in as her sworn sister and brought her into our Sima family."

"Later, Yi felt that the name Guo Queen was too domineering, so he changed her name to Guo Zhao."

Cao Pi suddenly realized what was going on, and personally refilled Sima Yi's wine cup, with a hidden meaning:

"Zhongda, judging from your wife's younger sister's appearance, she will likely be of immeasurable nobility in the future..."

Sima Yi understood the underlying meaning in Cao Pi's words, so he poured him another cup of wine and asked with a smile:

"If the Second Young Master takes a liking to my wife's younger sister, I will send someone back to Hanoi right now to bring her to Luoyang to serve him. What do you say?" (End of Chapter)