Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 8 Should the truth be told?

Liu Bian still had a lot of good feelings towards Cao Cao.

In his previous life, when he was young, he also hated this treacherous hero because of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but the Cao Cao in history books was somewhat different.

Although he still had some shortcomings, Liu Bian deeply agreed with the statement that "the only heroes in the world today are you and Cao."

Damn it, does that mean Jiangdong Jerry should be included?

Liu Bian was also a Jiangdong native in his previous life, but he also looked down on some of the Jiangdong Jerrys from the bottom of his heart!
And at this moment, this "hero" was standing in front of him. How could Liu Bian not be curious?

Cao Cao in history books is a short man with dark skin. In Liu Bian's opinion, Cao Cao is not that dark, just a little darker than the spoiled children of the aristocratic families. However, his height... seems to be less than seven feet.

People often say that a man is seven feet tall. In fact, seven feet is the average height of a man in that era who has sufficient nutrition intake.

Historical books often record the height of some celebrities as "eight feet" or "more than seven feet", just like people in later generations say "Do you want to fall in love? I'm 180cm tall with eight-pack abs." A height above the average height is a characteristic, and if it is lower than this number, it may be taboo for the sake of the respected person.

Cao Cao was also looking at the Crown Prince Liu Bian with curiosity.

It was no wonder that he was not curious. The whole Luoyang had been in an uproar for the past two days because the emperor had suddenly sent an edict to the Secretariat to appoint Liu Bian as the crown prince and grant him the power of regent. However, this time no useful news came out of the palace. Almost all the three dukes and nine ministers, and the two thousand stone-level officials in the court wrote letters requesting an audience with Liu Hong, but they were rejected and could not even enter the palace.

The only ones who could enter and leave the palace were Gao Wang and a group of petty eunuchs who were unaware of the truth.

But in this situation, Liu Bian summoned him into the palace, and for a moment Cao Cao didn't know what kind of political signal it contained.

"Meng De, please sit down. I have ordered the Chinese chef to prepare a few more dishes for you."

Liu Bian gestured for Cao Cao to sit down with a friendly smile on his face.

To the 28-year-old Cao Cao, the 12-year-old Liu Bian could be considered his nephew, but he did not dare to be careless at all.

Not to mention that this person is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, just the rumors of the past two days have made Cao Cao dare not underestimate such a twelve-year-old young man.

Soon, the eunuchs and palace maids presented exquisite dishes one after another.

Liu Bian didn't know whether Cixi could eat 108 dishes, but his meal of nine dishes was already a relatively luxurious lunch.

There were nine dishes on each of Liu Bian and Cao Cao's tables. In fact, this number was nothing among the wealthy families, but Cao Cao's eyes widened and he stood up.

"Too... too much feast!"

Cao Cao muttered, his eyes filled with shock.

If we simply consider the preciousness and luxury of the dishes, this meal would be just an ordinary one among the wealthy families, but all nine dishes were cooked with beef, mutton and pig.

Regardless of its own value, in terms of etiquette alone, this is the highest standard for entertaining guests!
"How can I be worthy of enjoying the grand feast?"

Cao Cao immediately stood up, walked to the front of the hall and knelt down to decline. Regardless of whether he wanted to enjoy the Tailao banquet or not, he had to decline first according to etiquette.

"Meng De, there's no need to refuse. What are you worthy of?"

"If you are neither virtuous nor capable, who can be considered virtuous and capable?" Liu Bian held the ivory chopsticks and gently tapped the porcelain plate with the tips, making a crisp and rhythmic sound. Liu Bian's words rang like the tolls of a bell in Cao Cao's ears, "You are a traitor in peacetime and a hero in troubled times!"

"I have seen many men, but none like you! The world is about to fall into chaos, and only a man of destiny can save it. Are you the one who can bring peace to the world?"

Seeing Liu Bian's half-smile, Cao Cao was already terrified.

At the age of 28, he was not yet the hero who could remain calm in such a situation. He was even a little nervous and had a premonition that he would die here today.

"Xu Shao and Qiao Xuan were both famous scholars of their generation, and those who were commented on by them all became famous scholars themselves."

Liu Bian picked up a piece of boiled beef and put it into his mouth. The crisp chewing sound was particularly clear in the hall where you could hear a pin drop, but Cao Cao trembled more and more, as if Liu Bian was chewing not beef but his bones.

"The world is about to be in chaos, and I don't deny that. Whether it's the scholars and eunuchs, there are also the Qiang and Hu in the west, the Xiongnu and Xianbei in the north, and Liang Province has not been peaceful recently." "Speaking of peace, there are also Taiping Dao believers spread across every continent of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Bian pointed his ivory chopsticks at Cao Cao and said with a smile, "The Han Dynasty is about to fall. The one who can keep the world at peace must be this man!"

"Meng De, could you explain to me what it means to say, 'The Han Dynasty is about to fall, and the one who will bring peace to the world must be this man'?"

"Your Highness!" Cao Cao banged his head against the ground. His inner defenses collapsed completely like a sandbank blocking a flood. He was surrounded by unprecedented panic.

Just for this sentence, it would not be an exaggeration for Liu Bian to execute both him and He Yong's clans, and the officials and scholars could not find any excuse to object.

"Explain to me what his mother meant by 'The Han Dynasty is about to fall, and the one who will bring peace to the world must be this man!'"

The focus of this sentence is not the second half, but the first half.

Is the Han Dynasty about to perish?

Even if this sentence is a point of view that everyone agrees with tacitly, you cannot say it openly!
Should we tell the truth?

There are some things you can’t tell everyone even if they are true!

"Your Highness!"

Cao Cao was furious, but he still felt that the prince did not summon him to kill his entire family. However, Liu Bian still refused to give in and kept nagging him word by word.

"What's that mother saying, 'The Han Dynasty is about to fall, and the one who can bring peace to the world must be this man!'"

Cao Cao couldn't explain, or rather, he had no way to explain, so he could only lie on the ground and bury his head in his arms like an ostrich.

The eunuchs and palace maids standing by didn't dare to breathe, for fear of being implicated.

Gao Wang was also confused. The prince had mentioned to him several times that Cao Cao was a man with the talent to save the world and even wanted to give him a banquet, so why was he making things so difficult for him?
"What is Meng De doing? I don't blame Meng De at all. It's all because of the traitor He Yong who speaks wildly. He has no respect for his king or his father, and is worse than an animal!"

"What does this have to do with Meng De?"

Cao Cao raised his head in astonishment and met Liu Bian's gaze, but saw that the coldness and cruelty in his eyes had disappeared completely, replaced by a gentle smile.

Is this a knock on him?
After all, Cao Cao was not an ordinary person. Although he had not completely calmed down, he was not as confused as before.

"However, although He Yong is a traitor and a lunatic, he is quite good at judging people. I am also very optimistic about Meng De and would like to appoint him as the General of the Tiger Guards."

"But I'm afraid these remarks will be used to accuse Meng De in the future..." Liu Bian asked Gao Wang to take a blank piece of silk and hand it to Cao Cao. "Meng De should tell me when He Yong met Meng De by chance, and how he said such rebellious words. Then, on the silk scroll, express your loyalty and scold He Yong a few words."

"If someone writes a letter to impeach Meng De in the future, I will present this silk letter to my father. With this silk letter, I believe Meng De will be safe and sound."

Cao Cao's hands trembled slightly as he took the silk book. He understood the meaning of Liu Bian's words.

With this silk book, he will definitely be safe. But if he doesn't write this silk book, will there be disaster of killing?
And the prince wants to appoint him as the General of the Tiger Guards?
The rank of Huben Zhonglang Jiang was equivalent to that of a two thousand stone official, commanding fifteen hundred Huben imperial guards and being in charge of the imperial guards.

"Meng De, please eat quickly. I specifically asked the Chinese chef to prepare today's lunch. I wouldn't say I'm frugal, but if it weren't for Meng De, I wouldn't be enjoying such a delicacy today."

Seeing that Cao Cao was still hesitant, Liu Bian added the last straw to Cao Cao's trembling shoulders.

"The food is cold, and the people may get cold too."

Liu Bian pointed to the small knife used to cut meat on Cao Cao's dining table.

"I do not want the Han Dynasty to lose you, a loyal and steadfast minister who helps the country to maintain peace!"

You tried to assassinate the crown prince with a knife, Cao Mengde. Do you think the Chief Justice will believe me or you, a guy who is neither a good person nor a bad person?

(End of this chapter)