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

Cheng Yu froze on the spot, his expression one of astonishment, his lips twitching.

Clearly, his carefully laid out treacherous scheme had failed.

His trusted confidants, who had been secretly deployed, were all captured, and all the firewood and oil he had hidden were also found. His plan to burn Puyang and perish together with others, which he had risked his life for, ended in failure.

"why?"

"My plan was so flawless, why was it still exposed?"

Cheng Yu clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and his face was contorted with extreme grief and indignation.

"Cheng Yu!"

Enraged, Jiang Ji roared and rushed forward, punching Cheng Yu in the face.

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, Cheng Yu groaned in pain as Jiang Ji knocked him to the ground.

"How could you be so vicious? To gain the empty title of a loyal minister, you would not hesitate to burn the lives of an entire city alive?"

"How could you, a renowned scholar of our time, who has read countless books of sages, commit such a beastly and morally bankrupt act!"

Jiang Ji, his face full of indignation, pointed at Cheng Yu and berated him harshly.

He was so enraged by Cheng Yu's actions that he lost his temper and composure, and in a fit of rage, he beat Cheng Yu severely.

Cheng Yu then stood up unsteadily and wiped the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth.

Faced with Jiang Ji's questioning, he disdained to answer, only looking up at the sky and sighing:

"Heaven has not blessed my Great Wei, nor has it blessed the King of Wei. In the end, all my efforts have been in vain."

Oh, heavens, how cruel you are to me, Cheng Yu!

Liu Bei frowned and shouted sharply:
“Cheng Yu, you first ate people in Yanzhou, and now you want to burn all the soldiers and civilians in this city to death. Your methods are so vicious that they are outrageous to both gods and men.”

"It is only because Heaven has eyes that Bowen saw through your wicked scheme, saving the lives of this city from your clutches!"

"You beast, you dare to question how Heaven has treated you so poorly?"

"In my entire life, I, Liu Bei, have never seen such a shameless scoundrel as you!"

Even with Liu Bei's good temper, he was furious at this moment and angrily denounced Cheng Yu's crimes.

Cheng Yu seemed immune to such harsh criticism, his gaze passing over Liu Bei and landing on Xiao He.

As strategists from opposing camps, he finally saw his opponent in person.

That legendary extraordinary person was said to be a deity descended to earth.

That mortal enemy who was always cunning and resourceful, who saw through his schemes time and time again, and who repeatedly outmaneuvered him.

If it weren't for this person, how could Cao Cao have been forced into the predicament of retreating to Hebei?

How could he be forced into such a desperate situation, risking his life and going all in?

Clearly, it was Xiao He again who saw through his wicked scheme, turning his life-risking gamble into a joke.

At this moment, Cheng Yu clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fury, wishing he could rush forward and fight Xiao He to the death.

After gritting his teeth for a while, Cheng Yu's anger suddenly disappeared, and a sarcastic sneer appeared on his lips.

"Even my flawless plan, which I risked my life for, could be seen through. Xiao He, you are indeed a master strategist, a schemer of unparalleled cunning!"

"However, do you really think you can save Liu Bei, save your puppet Chu state, and save the Han Dynasty?"

"This world will surely belong to my Great Wei, and the one who will unify the world will only be my King of Wei!"

"Hahaha--"

Cheng Yu suddenly burst into wild laughter, appearing completely confident.

To Liu Bei and the others, his behavior was nothing more than a deathbed madness, a way to mask his inner despair.

"Since you are determined to die for the traitor Cao, I will grant your wish."

"However, I must remind you to travel slowly on the road to the Yellow Springs. Wait for Cao Cao; I will send him to find you sooner or later."

"You two cruel and vicious ruler and minister can also travel together and watch from the Yellow Springs how I restore the Han Dynasty and bring peace and prosperity to the people of the world!"

After making a grand vow during the hunt, Liu Bei waved his hand and shouted:

“Drag Cheng Yu, that cruel and vicious scoundrel, away and behead him. Place his head on the other side of the river and throw his bones into the Yellow River.”

"I will desecrate this traitor's body, leaving him no place to be buried!"

Liu Bei sentenced Cheng Yu to death.

Given his magnanimity, even if he were to execute an enemy, he would at most behead them.

Afterwards, they would often stitch up the enemy's corpse and bury it.

Cheng Yu's actions enraged Liu Bei, and the method of his execution was unprecedentedly ruthless.

Chen Dao waved his hand, and his personal guards rushed forward and grabbed Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu's body stiffened, clearly not expecting Liu Bei to be so ruthless, wanting to separate his body from his body so that he could not be buried in peace.

In the blink of an eye, Cheng Yu burst into laughter again, looking up at the sky:
"Kill, kill, Liu Bei, kill all you want, what do I, Cheng Yu, have to fear!"

"I will travel slowly on the road to the Yellow Springs, but unfortunately, I am not waiting for my King Wei, but for you, you hypocrite!"

"Hahaha--"

Cheng Yu was laughing wildly as he was dragged toward the Yellow River.

Xiao He frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flickering in his eyes.

In Lao Liu's and the others' eyes, Cheng Yu's words and actions were nothing more than the madness before his death.

He noticed something unusual.

"These wild words of his don't sound like the ravings of a madman; he seems quite confident. Could it be..."

Xiao He's heart skipped a beat. There was only one reason why Cheng Yu dared to be so confident:
Besides the plan to burn Puyang, he also had a backup plan!

This follow-up move, like the plan to burn Puyang, has the power to severely damage the Chu army.

It could even kill Lao Liu!

"What other mischief is this guy up to...?"

Xiao He's eyes darted around, his thoughts racing.

He put himself in Cheng Yu's shoes, racking his brains to figure out how he could kill Liu Bei after the fall of Puyang and his own execution.

Sudden.

Xiao He's darting eyes suddenly stopped, a glint of light flashing in them.

"So that's how it is. This move is even more ruthless than the burning of Puyang..."

Xiao He's lips curled up slightly, and then he stepped forward, blocking Cheng Yu's path.

Liu Bei and the others were all taken aback.

Cheng Yu, who was laughing wildly, suddenly stopped laughing.

Looking at Xiao He, who was sneering, he shuddered and his eyes gradually became uneasy.

"Your Majesty, please issue an order immediately to command our soldiers who have entered the city, as well as all the people of the city, to stop drawing water from the wells in Puyang City."

"Your Majesty should also post a notice to inform the people of the city that the well water has been poisoned, and drinking it will surely cause them to contract the plague and risk their lives. They should be ordered to quickly empty the water stored in their homes and fetch water from the water source outside the city."

Xiao He stared at Cheng Yu with a cold smile, but then bowed to Liu Bei in invitation.

This statement came out.

Cheng Yu's body jolted violently, his face changed drastically in shock, his mouth gaped open in astonishment, and his forehead was instantly covered in sweat.

Liu Bei and the assembled officials were also greatly surprised.

"Bowen, how...how do you know that the well in Puyang is poisonous and that drinking it will cause the plague?"

Liu Bei stepped forward and asked with a look of surprise.

"Because that poison was administered by this thief!"

Xiao He raised his hand and pointed at Cheng Yu, slowly saying:
"This thief went to great lengths to try and take Your Majesty down with him, and even I almost made a mistake."

"He actually made two preparations. The first was to secretly hide firewood and oil, intending to burn Puyang down."

"This plan is a quick one; we can burn Puyang to the ground overnight and see the results."

"His second-hand plan, though slower to take effect, is even more insidious, vicious, despicable, and shameless."

As he spoke, Xiao He turned around and pointed at Puyang:
"Once our army enters the city, whether it is Your Majesty or an ordinary soldier, everyone will naturally have to take their drinking water from the city's wells."

"I suspect that this traitor has already thrown the rotting corpses of the Wei soldiers into the wells throughout the city. In this way, the plague from the rotting corpses will spread silently into the city's water sources."

“Once Your Majesty and your ministers drink the water in the city, they will inevitably be infected with the plague without realizing it, which will then trigger the plague.”

"Your Majesty knows better than anyone how powerful this plague is, so there is no need for me to explain further."

"If the treatment is ineffective, the King's life will be in danger, and the people of this city, as well as our hundreds of thousands of soldiers, may also..."

Xiao He grew increasingly terrified as he spoke, and stopped talking, his sharp gaze returning to Cheng Yu:

"This is the thief's second insidious plan, which is more powerful and more ruthless than the plan to burn Puyang."

"This is also the source of his arrogant laughter just now, because he is not crazy, but rather he has been fearless from beginning to end!"

Xiao He's voice was like thunder, shattering Cheng Yu's scheme.

Cheng Yu was horrified, as if struck by lightning. His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

"This is impossible. How could you see through such a brilliant strategy of mine?"

"What kind of freak are you? What kind of monster or demon are you?"

Cheng Yu was terrified and stunned, his voice trembling and incoherent as he screamed, his eyes filled with endless fear as he looked at Xiao He.

His gaze made it seem as if the person standing before him was not a mere mortal, but an all-knowing god!
An uproar erupted all around.

The horrified and angry gazes of the crowd all turned towards Cheng Yu.

They simply couldn't believe that anyone in this world could come up with such a vicious scheme!
"No wonder that these past few days, those soldiers who died in battle, who should have been buried, you refused to allow it and insisted on gathering them together first."

"So, you secretly threw the soldiers' corpses into the city's wells."

"You, Cheng Yu, how could you devise such a vicious scheme? It is a disgrace to me, Jiang Ji, to have served in the same court as someone like you—"

Suddenly realizing his mistake, Jiang Ji angrily pointed at Cheng Yu and cursed him.

Liu Bei gasped, breaking out in a cold sweat, his shock instantly turning into extreme anger.

"I thought you and that traitor Cao were birds of a feather, but now it seems that, Cheng Yu, your cruelty and wickedness are even greater than that of Cao Cao."

"If Cao Cao had someone like you as his chief strategist, it would be against all reason if he didn't perish!"

Liu Bei launched into a tirade, then waved his hand dismissively in disgust:

"Drag this thief away and execute him immediately. I don't want to see this beast again!"

The guards hurriedly accepted the order.

Out of hatred for Cheng Yu's wickedness, they became even more brutal, grabbing Cheng Yu by the hair and dragging him toward the shore.

The excruciating pain jolted Cheng Yu awake, but this time he could no longer laugh wildly, and he was plunged into deep despair and grief.

"Your Majesty, I have done my utmost, I have done my utmost!"

"I only regret that the big-eared thief had that sorcerer's help, ruining my painstaking plan!"

"Heaven has forsaken my Great Wei, Heaven has forsaken you, King of Wei!" (End of Chapter)