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

Cao Cao's paternal love came too suddenly, causing Cao Pi to panic.

How could he show his wounds to Cao Cao?
To let Cao Cao see that his son was cut off by his grandson with a dagger, thus ending his lineage.

With that one glance, he said goodbye to his position as the heir apparent of Wei.

Even if Cao Cao hadn't spoiled him rotten, he still wouldn't have chosen a eunuch as his successor.

"Father, my injuries have almost healed, Father, please don't worry."

Cao Pi awkwardly chuckled and refused, but cold sweat was pouring down his forehead.

"That won't do. I need to see it with my own eyes before I can feel at ease."

"I heard you injured your leg. Come, let your father take a look."

Cao Cao was overflowing with paternal love. He got up with his cane and wanted to personally pull down Cao Pi's pants.

Cao Pi was thrown into a panic and didn't know what to do.

Just as they were at a loss, the sound of disordered footsteps suddenly rang out outside the hall.

Cao Chong, Sima Yi, Xin Pi, Jia Xu, and others hurriedly entered the hall with solemn expressions.

"Father—"

Cao Chong stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, his expression sorrowful, and hesitated to speak.

Cao Cao's attention was immediately drawn to these people.

Seeing her son's state and glancing at everyone's expressions, a sense of foreboding immediately washed over her.

"Cang Shu, Zhong Da, has something happened in Puyang?"

Cao Cao's voice was slightly hoarse, clearly indicating that he had guessed something.

After all, Henan had been lost, and the war with the State of Chu was now reduced to the Battle of Puyang.

The only thing that could cause Cao Chong and the others to enter the main hall with such solemn expressions is the battle of Puyang.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, but their eyes eventually turned to Cao Chong.

Cao Chong could only take a deep breath and silently bow.

"News has just come back from Yanzhou that Puyang fell two days ago, and the entire garrison surrendered to the puppet Chu regime."

"Cheng Zhongde was captured, beheaded by Liu Bei, and his head was planted on my north bank!"

"Father, Puyang has already fallen!"

Cao Cao's mind went blank for a moment, his cane wobbled, and he slumped down on his backside.

A face that had just regained some color was twisted and deformed again, replaced by astonishment and horror.

He was actually mentally prepared for the fall of Puyang.

After all, the Chu army besieging the city numbered 300,000, while the Wei soldiers defending the city numbered only 7,000.

With 7,000 against 300,000, even if each of them spat, the city walls would collapse.

Let alone Cheng Yu, even if he were to personally oversee the defense, he wouldn't be confident that he could hold it.

The only remaining question is how Puyang City will fall.

The current result is that the seven thousand garrison troops surrendered the city, surrendering to Chu in the form of treason, which led to the fall of Puyang!
This was something Cao Cao could not tolerate.

"Seven thousand soldiers! They are all from Hebei, yet they dare to betray me?"

Cao Cao's face twisted from horror into extreme rage. He slammed his cane on the ground and roared:

"By my order, capture all the families of those seven thousand traitors and behead them all!"

"I will show them what the consequences are for betraying me!!"

Cao Cao's hysterical roar echoed throughout the main hall.

The crowd tensed, exchanging glances with furrowed brows.

Seven thousand soldiers, and their families numbered at least tens of thousands.

These tens of thousands of people are all from Hebei, and they also have many relatives and friends who are all from Hebei.

You killed these people. How much must their relatives and friends hate you? How much must the people of Hebei hate you?
Now that we have lost Henan, the survival of your Wei Kingdom depends entirely on Hebei, on the money and labor of the people of Hebei.

You've chilled the hearts of the people of Hebei like this. Do you want your country to perish?
"Father, please calm your anger. I believe that the failure of Puyang is not the fault of Cheng Zhongde, nor of the seven thousand soldiers, but of Jiang Ji alone!"

For the sake of his own kingdom, Cao Chong was the first to stand up and oppose Cao Cao's mass killings.

Cao Cao's expression changed, his anger turning into suspicion, and he looked at Cao Chong.

"According to the reports from the spies, it was Jiang Ji who instigated the mutiny and took control of Cheng Zhongde, which then incited the garrison to surrender the city to Chu, leading to the fall of Puyang."

"I believe that the surrender of those seven thousand garrison troops to Chu was out of necessity, and their crimes should not extend to their families. If Father is to kill them, then only Jiang Ji's family should be executed!"

Cao Chong filled in the gaps regarding the fall of Puyang.

To save the lives of those seven thousand soldiers, he had no choice but to be ruthless and ask Cao Cao to kill Jiang Ji's family.

Cao Cao's expression changed drastically, his eyes instantly filled with shock and anger.

Clearly, he never expected that the fall of Puyang would be due to Jiang Ji's rebellion.

In an instant, the scene of him severing Jiang Ji's finger with a single sword strike in Xingyang flashed into his mind.

"That treacherous Jiang Ji must be holding a grudge against me for cutting off his finger, which is why he betrayed me and joined the Big Ear Thief!"

"How hateful! I should have killed him long ago. I shouldn't have kept him in Puyang City!"

"How could I not have seen through him? This scoundrel, seemingly upright and honest, was actually such a disloyal, unjust, shameless villain!"

Coming to his senses, Cao Cao pounded his chest, stamped his feet, and cursed loudly, shouting angrily:

"By my order, this traitor Jiang Ji will be executed along with his entire clan—"

"No, I will exterminate their entire clan!"

Cao Chong kept his head down silently, trembling, and dared not utter a sound.

Only Cao Pi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Cheng Yu's defeat was timely and had saved him from the predicament, so that Cao Cao would not have to force him to see his wounds.

His childlessness and lack of descendants, a shameful act for a eunuch, would not be made public.

After cursing for a long time, Cao Cao finally stopped when he was exhausted and sat there panting heavily.

Everyone wanted to offer words of comfort, but dared not utter a sound.

Suddenly, Cao Cao realized something and asked urgently:
“I remember Cheng Zhongde once said that even if Puyang City is breached, he has a brilliant plan to kill the big-eared thief and severely damage the Chu army.”

"Where is Cheng Yu's plan? Why is that big-eared thief still alive?"

Cao Chong swallowed hard before daring to speak:

"Reporting to Father, according to our spies, Cheng Zhongde had secretly hidden himself within Puyang City beforehand..."

Cao Chong then revealed how Cheng Yu had secretly hidden oil and firewood, intending to burn down Puyang City. He also had Cheng Yu's body thrown into a well, hoping to use the plague to kill Liu Bei and his 300,000 Chu soldiers...

I will recount all the events that occurred.

Cao Cao gasped, his face filled with astonishment, and said:

"Zhongde's two plans were truly flawless and unpredictable, so why did they fail to succeed?"

Cao Chong's lips curled into a bitter smile as he sighed:

"The spies did not send back any concrete intelligence, but there were rumors that Xiao He saw through Cheng Zhongde's plan and prevented Liu Bei from entering Puyang City, thus causing Cheng Zhongde's plan to fail at the last minute."

"It was for this reason that Liu Bei became furious and ordered Cheng Zhongde to be executed, his head to be planted on the north bank of the river, and his body to be thrown into the Yellow River."

Cao Cao's figure froze instantly.

If you were doused with cold water, all your anger and disbelief would vanish in an instant.

He deflated like a punctured balloon, slumped down, and froze on the throne, dumbfounded.

"Xiao He, Xiao He, it's that sorcerer again..."

"Such a cunning scheme, yet he saw through it. Could it be that he was sent down by heaven to punish me?"

Cao Cao let out a long sigh and let out a mournful lament.

At this point, Cao Cao had clearly been demoralized by Xiao He and had lost all confidence.

Everyone wanted to offer words of comfort, but few knew how to speak.

Sima Yi's eyes darted around a few times, but he quickly cupped his hands in greeting:

"Your Majesty, I believe that Xiao's discovery of Commandant Cheng's plan has actually helped Your Majesty."

Cao Cao was struck as if by lightning, and suddenly sat up straight, staring wide-eyed at Sima Yi.

Sima Yi coughed lightly a few times and said slowly:

"Forgive my bluntness, but although Commandant Cheng's two plans are ingenious, they are too contrary to the will of Heaven. Even if they succeed by chance, they will surely be despised by the people of the world."

"Since Commandant Cheng is Your Majesty's subject, he will naturally cause Your Majesty to be despised by the people, which will damage Your Majesty's reputation for virtue."

Sima Yi's eloquent speech turned a funeral into a celebration.

Cao Pi's eyes lit up, instantly understanding Sima Yi's implication, and he seized the opportunity to echo:
“Father, Sima Zhongda is right.”

"If Cheng Zhongde's plan succeeds, it is still unknown whether he can kill Liu Bei. However, the people of Puyang will either be burned to death by the fire or die from the plague."

"Such a vicious method, if spread, will surely be despised by the people of the world, and will also damage the reputation of my father as a benevolent and sagacious ruler."

"Your Majesty, I believe that Xiao, by seeing through Cheng Zhongde's plan, has inadvertently made things worse and protected the holy name of Your Majesty."

The two men exchanged eloquent words, which gradually dispelled the gloom on Cao Cao's face, and his sorrowful mood finally began to warm up.

What you say is not without reason.

Cao Cao sighed and nodded slightly, saying:
"The plan to burn Puyang is fine, but this plan to throw corpses and release poison is far too insidious."

"Although I am not like that big-eared thief who claims to be a benevolent ruler, I would not stoop to using such an insidious scheme that goes against the natural order."

"While Cheng Zhongde's loyalty to me is commendable, his scheming and unscrupulous methods are truly regrettable..."

Cao Cao naturally understood that his son was giving him a way out, so he went along with it and said some things against his will, thus getting off the donkey.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Cao Cao's confidence had recovered somewhat.

"The fall of Puyang was expected. So be it. Apart from the execution of Jiang Ji's family, all the surrendered people and orphans will not be held accountable."

"Although Cheng Zhongde's plan was against the will of Heaven, he died loyally for me. I will posthumously confer upon him the title of Marquis of Puyang County and personally hold a memorial service for him. From now on, I will take care of his wife and daughters!"

Cao Cao regained his composure and issued a series of edicts before glancing at his ministers:
"Now the land of Henan has been completely taken over by the big-eared thief. I predict that it will not be long before he leads his troops across the river to invade Hebei and exterminate me and all of you."

"What good strategies do you have to protect the country and defend against enemies? Tell us quickly."

The ministers offered their advice one after another.

The proposed strategies were nothing more than recruiting new soldiers, reorganizing the army, building fortifications on the north bank of the Yellow River, and reinforcing important towns such as Liyang City…

All these strategies were merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause, and could not reverse the situation of Chu being strong and Wei being weak.

Cao Cao's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, clearly dissatisfied with the suggestions offered by his ministers.

"Your Majesty, I believe that none of the strategies proposed by the people can reverse the passive situation of the enemy being strong and us being weak."

"What we need most right now is to quickly improve our military strength in order to resist the imminent invasion of the pseudo-Chu."

"To achieve this goal, I believe we must employ extraordinary measures!"

Sima Yi finally spoke up, rejecting all the suggestions offered by his ministers.

The hall fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Sima Yi.

A glimmer of hope appeared in Cao Cao's eyes, and he hurriedly asked:

"Zhongda, what kind of extraordinary strategy are you talking about? Tell me quickly!"

Sima Yi took a deep breath and said loudly:

"I have two suggestions. First, Your Majesty should immediately select virtuous and capable individuals from among the prominent families of the various prefectures and kingdoms in Hebei and appoint them to serve as prefects and prime ministers in their respective prefectures."

"In this way, the survival of the noble families in that prefecture, the gains and losses of that prefecture, and the survival of our Great Wei can be firmly tied together."

"In this way, the powerful and wealthy families of Hebei will devote all their efforts and resources to resist the pseudo-Chu, defend their own prefecture, and protect our Great Wei to the death!"

Swallowing hard, Sima Yi pointed north:
"My second strategy is for Your Majesty to use generous rewards and titles, or even marriage alliances, to win over the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and other nomadic tribes in the north, so as to entice them to send troops south to help us resist Liu Bei."

"The Xiongnu and Xianbei are mostly cavalry. If they can send their full troops to help, they will surely greatly increase our military strength in a short period of time."

"In this way, we can quickly reverse the situation where the enemy is strong and we are weak, and return to a state of equal strength with the pseudo-Chu. Only in this way can we defend Hebei and repel the northern invasion of the big-eared bandits!"

Upon hearing Sima Yi's two strategies, the hall erupted in an uproar.

Cao Cao's expression also changed, and his brows furrowed sharply. (End of Chapter)