Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 192 I'm doing my best to play along with your act.
Zhang Xiu rebelled rashly due to a misunderstanding, which led to his soldiers falling into their current predicament.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiu felt a surge of shame, and the weapon in his hand clattered to the ground.

Zhang Xiu dismounted and knelt on one knee before Cao Cao, saying, "Minister Cao, I am blind and have misunderstood you."

Now that the truth has come to light, Zhang Xiu is willing to die to atone for his sins.

But I beg you, Situ, spare my innocent soldiers.

Cao Cao thought to himself, "He clearly fell for my sixth son's trick, yet he still took the initiative to admit his mistake... It's really rare to see such an honest person like you these days."

Cao Cao dismounted and came to Zhang Xiu, helped him up, and said gently, "General Zhang, this matter is not entirely your fault."

It is also because I did not discipline them properly that my subordinates acted recklessly and caused so many misunderstandings.

Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, how can I blame you?

Zhang Xiu raised his head, looked at Cao Cao, his eyes filled with gratitude and guilt, and said, "Lord Situ, you are so magnanimous, I have no way to repay you. In the future, I will definitely serve you with all my heart and soul."

Cao Cao laughed heartily, patted Zhang Xiu on the shoulder, and said, "Good! With General Zhang's assistance, how can I worry about failing in my great undertaking?"

……

Wancheng.

After listening to the report from his personal guards, Jia Xu was filled with doubt and muttered to himself:

"There are actually 10,000 cavalrymen lying in ambush outside the city?"

"But why would Cao Cao have laid an ambush outside the city?"

"If he didn't believe in the surrender, he shouldn't have entered the city with only a few dozen guards and his nephews!"

"Furthermore, the scene of our surrender should have been harmonious. After all, we sincerely requested to surrender."

"This ambush was a last-minute decision even for us. How could he have foreseen this unexpected situation?"

"Then who exactly is this person who came up with this plan?"

Cao Cao's advisors Xun You, Cheng Yu, and others were not in Wancheng, but remained in the Yushui camp.

The city's defenses were still Zhang Xiu's men, so it was impossible for them to have secret communications.

"This is really strange!" Jia Xu thought about it for a long time, but still couldn't figure out why Cao Cao's army had laid an ambush.

However, the situation is not yet at its worst. If they surrender now, Cao Cao will likely accept them back.

After all, it was Zhang Ji who rescued the emperor from Chang'an, and Zhang Xiu treated the emperor and officials with great respect along the way, earning him a good reputation among them.

“There must be some key information I don’t know about, otherwise we wouldn’t have lost so miserably…” Jia Xu stood up, preparing to lead the city’s garrison out to surrender. “Then we can ask Zhang Xiu what exactly happened.”

This surrender, however, is more thorough than the last one.

"Sigh... Not only the city defenses, but also the granaries and armories had to be handed over, and most of the soldiers deserted..."

"Hmm?" Jia Xu suddenly realized something and muttered to himself, "Most of the soldiers..."

……

Cao Cao entered the city again, but this time he brought a large army with him.

The city's defenses were replaced by Zhang Liao and Xu Huang's men, while Zhao Yun and Cao Chun's soldiers set up camp outside the city.

Even if Zhang Xiu wanted to rebel this time, he was powerless to do so. Most of his men had already fled, and he was truly willing but unable to do anything about it.

Cao Yan, accompanied by Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Zhao Yun, Xiahou Lan, Cao Ang, and others, followed behind Cao Cao.

Back when they were at Anyi City, Zhang Xiu was too far away to see Cao Yan's face clearly, so even now he still thinks Cao Yan is Cao Cao's bodyguard.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "The martial arts skills of your guards, Minister Situ, are truly among the best in the world. Even Lu Bu is only on par with them!"

As he said this, Zhang Xiu couldn't help but glance at Zhao Yun, thinking to himself, "To have such martial arts skills at such a young age, he's even more of a monster than Lü Bu."

Cao Cao laughed and said, "You know what, back in Juancheng, my few guards beat Lü Bu so badly that he fled in a sorry state."

"Ah!" Lü Bu was like a god of war in their Xiliang army.

Unexpectedly, he was actually defeated by these guards!

This immediately prompted Zhang Xiu to exclaim in surprise, "How many heroes there are in the world!" As Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu were talking, they arrived at the government office in the city.

Jia Xu stood in front of the government office, with several officials behind him holding the city garrison seal, household registers, and account books.

Cao Cao ordered someone to take the items and led Zhang Xiu, Jia Xu, Cao Yan, and others into the main hall.

After taking the seat of honor, Cao Cao said to Zhang Xiu, "This matter is a misunderstanding caused by my lax discipline and lack of discipline among my troops."

"A misunderstanding?" Jia Xu felt increasingly suspicious.

Cao Cao continued, "Although General Zhang will not pursue the matter, our army has always valued military discipline. Violating military discipline and forcibly taking people are serious crimes that cannot be ignored!"

At this point, Cao Cao turned to Xu Chu and shouted, "Zhongkang, go and bind Cao Anmin and bring him here to be questioned!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" Xu Chu clasped his hands and left. Before long, he returned to the main hall carrying Cao Anmin, who was bound hand and foot.

Xu Chu threw Cao Anmin to the ground and then stood back at the entrance of the main hall.

Cao Cao glared at Cao Anmin, his heart filled with rage: "Of all people to rob, you had to snatch Zhang Xiu's aunt! If it weren't for Zian's quick thinking, I, Cao Mengde, might really be dead here this time..."

"Do you know your crime?!" Cao Cao roared.

Cao Anmin was so frightened that he trembled like a leaf.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he chose to confess directly, "Nephew...nephew knows his crime and will accept Situ's punishment!"

Cao Cao stared intently at Cao Anmin for a moment, then suddenly said, "Drag him out and execute him to uphold military law!"

"Ah!" Cao Anmin suddenly looked up, staring at Cao Cao with disbelief in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Cao Ang and Cao Chun immediately knelt before Cao Cao and pleaded, "Father, Anmin is guilty, but his crime does not warrant death!"

"My lord, please show mercy!"

"..."

But Cao Cao never replied.
Left with no other choice, the guards came in, grabbed Cao Anmin's arms on either side, and dragged him out of the hall.

Although Zhang Xiu was honest, he was not stupid. How could he not see that Cao Cao was deliberately putting on a show for him?
If Cao Cao really killed his own nephew, how could he continue to serve under Cao Cao?

Zhang Xiu stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and shouted loudly, "Minister Situ, please wait!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xiu step forward, Cao Cao finally raised his hand to stop the two guards who were dragging Cao Anmin away.

"It was just a misunderstanding. Besides, my aunt is unharmed. Although my brother is suspected of violating military discipline, his crime does not warrant death. Please, Situ, have mercy."

It was just about robbing someone.

If Cao Anmin hadn't just happened to snatch it from him, Zhang Xiu probably wouldn't have even bothered to lift an eyelid.

Looking at Zhang Xiu, who was both flexible and assertive, Cao Cao couldn't help but nod to himself, "He knows his limits and knows when to advance and retreat; he's a smart man."

Cao Cao's decision to execute Cao Anmin, while somewhat of a bluff, clearly revealed his true intentions.

Moreover, Cao Cao used the pretext of violating military discipline and committing the serious crime of plundering people. Even if Cao Anmin could be spared the death penalty, he would still be unable to escape punishment.

As expected, Cao Cao accepted Zhang Xiu's advice, but he still said, "Since Marquis Xuanwei has pleaded for Cao Anmin, then Cao Anmin will be spared the death penalty. However, it is a fact that Cao Anmin violated military discipline and plundered people; he may be spared the death penalty, but he cannot escape punishment!"

When Cao Anmin heard that he didn't have to die, he was so frightened that his soul almost left his body, but he finally caught his breath.

With the help of his guards, Cao Anmin, whose legs were too weak to stand, knelt down before Cao Cao again. He first bowed to Cao Cao and said, "Thank you for your mercy, Minister of Works."

Then he turned to Zhang Xiu and bowed to apologize: "Thank you for pleading for me, Marquis Xuanwei. I did something wrong and I am sorry to you and your aunt."

Zhang Xiu nodded and said nothing more.

He had already finished his performance in cooperating with Cao Cao, and since both sides had made their positions clear, the matter was pretty much over.

The outcome was not bad. Cao Cao finally smiled and said, "Remove Cao Anmin from all his posts and confine him to his home for a year... He should stay at home and study hard."

"Phew~~~" Cao Anmin let out a long breath.

He didn't hold any official position; all he was left with was confinement.

Anyway, it's better to play at home than to lose your life.

(End of this chapter)