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

The young general was none other than Deng Ai.

Yesterday, following Xiao He's orders, I crossed the Yellow River by boat and, before the Hanoi Prefecture received any warning, led 800 light cavalry straight to Wen County.

Xiao He's order to him was to exterminate the entire Sima family.

Upon arriving at the Sima family manor, they encountered Sima Fu, who came to his death. Without saying a word, they stabbed him to death with their spear.

"Who...who are you, that you dare...how dare you—"

Sima Fu's eyes widened in shock and indignation as he glared at Deng Ai.

Before he could finish speaking, Deng Ai sheathed his silver spear.

With a "plop" sound, a bloody hole appeared in Sima Fu's chest, and blood gushed out like a spring.

Sima Fu cried out in pain, fell backward to the ground, and died instantly.

The Sima family servants on either side were completely dumbfounded.

Zhang Chunhua, standing on the steps, was so frightened that her face turned pale, as if she had seen a ghost.

Hanoi is the heartland of Wei, so the general who comes must be a Wei general.

This person couldn't possibly be unaware of the Sima family's status and position.

But where did he get the audacity to openly stab a member of the Sima clan to death without uttering a word?

While Zhang Chunhua and his group were still in shock and disbelief, Deng Ai had already charged forward on horseback, brandishing his spear.

Guns rang out and fell, guns rang out and fell...

In an instant, more than a dozen of Sima family servants were killed amidst screams and howls, while the rest scattered in all directions.

Zhang Chunhua then realized what was happening and hurriedly turned to flee into the mansion.

In her panic, her legs went weak and she couldn't walk fast at all.

Deng Ai followed closely and thrust his spear into her leg.

"Ah~~"

With a hoarse scream, blood gushed from Zhang Chunhua's leg, and she collapsed to the ground.

Deng Ai raised his blood-stained spear, ready to take her life.

Ignoring the pain, Zhang Chunhua hurriedly turned around and called out:
"My husband, Sima Yi, is a high-ranking official in the Wei Dynasty and a close friend of the Second Prince, Cao Zihuan. If you dare to harm me, he will never let you off the hook!"

Clearly, even at this point, she still mistakenly believed that the young general in front of her was a Wei general.

The murderous intent in Deng Ai's eyes grew even stronger.

Xiao He's order was to exterminate the Sima clan, naturally sparing neither men nor women.

Unfortunately, the woman in front of him was Zhang, the legal wife of Sima Yi, the culprit of the Sima clan.

Then there's even less reason to spare her life.

Deng Ai hesitated for only a moment before his blood-stained spear whistled down.

It wasn't a single shot that killed him, but a flurry of stabs.

"Puff puff!"

A series of tearing thuds followed as Zhang Chunhua was stabbed seven or eight times, blood spurting out.

A series of screams rang out…

Zhang Chunhua, who had been stabbed like a sieve, let out weaker and weaker cries of agony. Her body twitched a few times, and in the blink of an eye, she became a blood-stained corpse, lying stiffly on the steps, motionless.

At this time.

More than 800 light cavalry then charged in.

Deng Ai pointed his blood-red spear at the wide-open gates of the mansion and shouted sharply:
"Charge in! Slaughter the entire Sima clan, leave no one alive!"

Eight hundred Chu cavalry, like tigers and wolves, charged into the Sima family manor.

Just as Deng Ai was about to go inside himself, he suddenly noticed the carriage in front of the door.

It likely also harbors members of the Sima family.

Deng Ai turned his horse around, and his spear swept across, tearing the carriage curtain to shreds.

A young woman, sitting upright in the car, suddenly came into view.

The woman was no more than seventeen years old, her face as pale as paper, clearly in a state of fear. Yet she remained seated, not panicking to the point of losing her composure or fleeing with her head in her hands.

Just by that courage, you can tell he's no ordinary person.

"Who are you? State your name."

Deng Ai pointed his blood-red spear and shouted sharply.

Guo Zhao, sitting upright, took a deep breath and said calmly:

"My name is Guo Zhao. I am not a member of the Sima family. I am merely a guest in the Sima family mansion."

Guo Zhao? Never heard of him.

Deng Ai was not one to kill indiscriminately. Upon learning that she was not from the Sima clan, his murderous intent diminished somewhat.

Looking at the woman's appearance and demeanor, she was not like an ordinary woman.

Deng Ai hesitated for a moment, then shouted:

"Leave a few men to keep an eye on her, then take her back to Luoyang and hand her over to the Grand Commandant. The rest of you, follow me and charge in!"

Having said that, Deng Ai turned his horse around, grabbed his blood-stained spear, and charged into the Sima residence.

Guo Zhao, sitting in the carriage, knew he had gotten away with something and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking back at the Sima Mansion, seeing the corpses scattered everywhere and hearing the wailing sounds rising and falling from within, Guo Zhao's eyes were filled with both fear and confusion.

"Who exactly are these people? How dare they slaughter the Sima clan in the heart of Wei?"

"He said he would take me to Luoyang, and that he would hand me over to some Grand Commandant, but I've never heard of a Grand Commandant being appointed in Wei..."

"Then who is this Grand Commandant he mentioned?"

Guo Zhao's thoughts were surging, and he fell into a deep state of confusion and bewilderment...

Inside a pavilion at Sima Manor.

The head of the family, Sima Fang, was having a private conversation with his eldest son, Si Lang.

"Boda, has Miss Guo been sent away yet?"

Sima Fangbian sipped warm wine and asked casually.

Sima Lang bowed slightly to refill his father's wine cup, replying:

"Just now, my sister-in-law saw her off from the mansion. My third brother led twenty servants to personally escort her to Luoyang. They should have already set off."

Sima Fang nodded slightly, but then sighed:

"Although my Sima family is not a renowned clan, it is still a prominent family in Hanoi. If Zhongda wants to assist the second young master, then so be it. Why must he resort to such means to curry favor with him?"

"Boda, why didn't you try to dissuade your brother back then?" Sima Fang's words implied that he disapproved of Sima Yi's method of currying favor with Cao Pi by offering beautiful women.

“Father is right, he is right.”

Sima Lang first agreed, then changed the subject:
"However, my second brother also said that whether our Sima family can advance from a famous family in Hanoi to a prominent family in the country depends entirely on the second young master."

"For the sake of the future of my Sima family, it is inevitable to use some extraordinary measures at this critical time."

Sima Fang remained silent.

After a moment, a hint of helplessness crossed his face, and he sighed, waving his hand:

"That's enough. Your father is old and there are some things I can no longer manage. You two brothers can discuss and decide on everything."

Having said that, he drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

Sima Lang breathed a sigh of relief, quickly poured him more wine, and said with a smile:

"Father, rest assured. Zhongda always acts with great care. Since he is determined to place his bet on the Second Prince, he will not make a mistake."

Sima Fang nodded slightly, his eyes narrowing as if recalling the past.

“I once recommended the King of Wei, and I am quite familiar with his temperament. Between the two young masters, this Prince Huan is indeed more like the King of Wei.”

"As for that young master Cang Shu, he is indeed exceptionally intelligent, a prodigy rarely seen in the world. It's just a pity that he is not good at political maneuvering and doesn't know how to flatter the King of Wei. He is more benevolent than ruthless."

"If this were a peaceful time, King Wei would most likely choose Prince Cang Shu as his heir. Unfortunately, we are currently in the midst of the struggle between Wei and Chu, and Wei is in a weak position. King Wei will probably choose the second prince as his heir in the end."

Sima Lang looked on with admiration and clasped his hands in praise:

"Although my father has been out of office for many years, he still has a keen understanding of the affairs of the world. Indeed, Zhongda said the same thing."

Sima Fang's lips curled slightly upward, his gaze shifting southward, and he said meaningfully:

"If this battle is over and King Wei can successfully repel Liu Bei, and if the Second Prince can successfully complete his task of overseeing the court in Luoyang, I suspect that King Wei will make him the heir apparent."

"After all, with Yuan Shao's example as a warning, King Wei's wisdom and strategy should be able to see that delaying the establishment of an heir will only cause his two sons to fight each other, and his ministers to form factions and fight openly and secretly, plunging our Great Wei into internal strife and giving Liu Bei a free ride."

Sima Lang agreed wholeheartedly and laughed:

"I heard from Zhongda that the King of Wei's defenses are flawless. As long as we hold our ground and do not engage in battle, the Chu army will surely not fight within three months—"

The words have not yet fallen.

Suddenly, a series of wails came from outside the pavilion.

Immediately afterwards, a servant stumbled in, shouting:

"Reporting to you, sir! A group of men has suddenly stormed in. For some reason, they're killing everyone they see!"

Sima and his son's expressions changed drastically.

Sima Fang slammed his wine cup on the table and roared:

"Who is so audacious as to cause trouble on the inland river and provoke the Sima family?"

"Boda, quickly help your father to see what's going on!"

Sima Lang quickly grabbed his sword and helped Sima Fang rush to the main hall.

Upon entering the hall, the father and son were horrified.

Before my eyes was a scene of carnage, a truly horrific sight.

One by one, the wounded servants, like frightened birds, were rushing towards the inner hall.

Sima Xun, the fifth son, covered in blood, stepped forward with his sword drawn and cried out in grief:
"Father, elder brother, a young general has suddenly appeared out of nowhere, leading eight hundred cavalry to attack our Sima family."

"My third brother and sister-in-law were outside the mansion gate when that brat killed them on the spot!"

"That bastard led his army in and slaughtered every member of our Sima clan he saw, even shouting that he would exterminate our entire Sima family!"

"According to the surviving servants, my seventh and eighth brothers have both been killed by him!"

a bolt from the blue!

Sima Fang was struck dumb by a bolt from the blue; his mind went blank for a moment, and he swayed and fell to the ground.

"Father--"

The two Sima brothers, disregarding their grief and indignation, hurriedly helped Sima Fang up.

"Shuda is dead? Youda and Yada are dead too?"

"This, this, this..."

Sima Fang's face was as pale as paper, his eyes were glazed over, as if his soul had been shattered, and he was uttering incoherent words.

He had many children, including eight legitimate sons.

But no matter how many sons one has, they can't withstand dying like this.

In the short time it took to go to the outhouse, his three sons were killed?
Even though Sima Fang had seen many storms, he could not withstand such a heavy blow, and his spirit and will were instantly broken.

"Who dares to act so lawlessly as to treat my Sima family like this?"

"Who is it? Who on earth is it—"

Sima Lang jumped up, drew his sword, and screamed hysterically in grief and indignation.

"Whoosh~~"

An arrow pierced the sky and arrived.

"puff!"

It struck Sima Lang squarely in the chest.

The eldest son of the Sima family abruptly stopped his grief-stricken cries and staggered to the ground.

Seeing their eldest son and elder brother die before their eyes, Sima Fang and Sima Xun's father were completely stunned, frozen in place, speechless.

At this time.

With a bow in one hand and a spear in the other, Deng Ai spurred his horse into the courtyard.

The Chu army's iron cavalry surged in from behind, hacking and slashing until they surrounded the entire courtyard in the blink of an eye.

"You scoundrel, who are you to dare kill my elder brother—"

Sima Xun, emboldened by who-knows-where, leaped up, spitting as he roared at Deng Ai.

Without uttering a word, Deng Ai fired a shot.

"puff!"

Sima Xun's heart was pierced. He let out a muffled groan, staggered back half a step, and collapsed onto Sima Lang's corpse.

Sima Fang had just recovered a little, his face contorted with endless grief and indignation, and he was about to struggle to his feet to question them.

The moment his buttocks left the ground, Sima Xun, the Fifth Prince, died right before his eyes.

Sima Fang was dumbfounded again. (End of Chapter)