I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 283 You dare to take this job?

"Sikong, this is different from what we agreed on! This, this... you've broken your promise!"

It's quite a sight to see a Xiongnu man accusing the Han people of breaking their promises.

Especially Cao Cao, a Han dynasty Confucian scholar who had received a traditional education, blushed slightly upon hearing this.

However, Cao Cao is no longer just Cao Cao!
In his heart, there still lives a Liu Miao!
What does face matter? How much is that worth? The most advantageous thing for Cao Cao is to completely control Liu Qubei now!

Cao Cao chuckled and said, "I heard Yuan Rang say that you have been scouting the terrain of Guanzhong and Nanyang along the way. This makes us have to be on guard!"

Liu Qubei quickly protested, "This is a misunderstanding!"

"I see. But even if it's a misunderstanding, we should investigate it thoroughly! Anyway, there's plenty of time in the future. Why doesn't the Right Wise King stay in Xuchang for a while?"

Looking at Cao Cao's sinister smiling face, Liu Qubei immediately regretted his actions.

Why should I get involved in this mess?
Why not just enjoy mutton and watch songs and dances in your own Right Wise King's tent? Why bother playing mind games with the Han people when you have nothing better to do?
……

Blast!

The events in the imperial court unfolded like wildfire in an instant.

As Zhang Xiu overshadowed Cai Yan, people paid less attention to Cai Yan and instead began to discuss Zhang Xiu's actions.

Some people think Zhang Xiu did nothing wrong.

A mere Right Wise King of the Xiongnu dared to openly humiliate the Emperor of Han in the imperial court. In the past, he would have been spared even if he had been skinned alive!

Some people believe that Zhang Xiu's actions were a disgrace to the dignity of a great nation.

Why bother with such a mere barbarian? Can't we convince him of the importance of propriety, music, poetry, and literature? Why start fighting in front of the emperor and his officials? What kind of decorum is this!
The former mostly consisted of ordinary people from the city.

The latter were mostly famous scholars and Confucianists.

"This is an insult to civility! People's hearts have lost their way!"

"Isn't this putting Cao Sikong in a very difficult position? Liu Miao's men have run away now, so isn't Cao Sikong just cleaning up his mess?"

However, when news spread that Cao Cao had effectively placed Liu Qubei under house arrest, these scholars and Confucianists were dumbfounded.

Cao Cao, at least now, represents the face of the Han Dynasty!
How could he do such a thing?

These renowned scholars and Confucianists suddenly realized that since Liu Miao rose to power, the moral standards of the entire Central Plains and even the whole world had been declining day by day...

The Southern Xiongnu also learned of the news.

Upon hearing this, Chanyu Luan Ti Huchuquan had the same reaction as Liu Qubei, exclaiming in shock, "How could the Han court do such a despicable thing?"

However, sending envoys to Xuchang is clearly pointless now.

Since Cao Cao has already done this, why would he be afraid of what others say about him?
Moreover, having the Xiongnu envoys debate in the Han court... it would be much more satisfying to just fight Cao Cao with real swords and spears!
Therefore, Hu Chuquan immediately made a decision—

Go south!

They marched south to the border and forced Cao Cao to hand over Liu Qubei!
However, the resolution was quickly rejected.

There is no other reason.

The Right Wise King Liu Qubei led the Dugu tribe, a branch of the Xiongnu.

The powerful Gu Duhou in the Dugu tribe was quite influential, and these people opposed Hu Chuquan's expedition, lest Cao Cao actually kill Liu Qubei.

"This won't work, that won't work, what do you suggest we do?"

Immediately, a wise man among the Xiongnu offered Huchuquan a suggestion—

"Just as the Han people were able to take back Cai Yong's daughter, the Chanyu was able to take back the Right Wise King as well, wasn't he?"

Hu Chuquan suddenly realized what was going on and immediately tried to contact Xu You, who was still in Xuchang, through the same channels he had used before.

Xu You has been living a very comfortable life these past few days!
With Cai Yan's return to Han territory, all the money and provisions that Liu Miao had promised went into his pocket.

With this money and grain, plus his relationship with Cao Cao, Xu You quickly annexed land in a short period of time, becoming a leisurely landowner again, and was once again able to buy luxury goods and live a very happy life!
That day, Xu You returned home with a thick stack of land deeds and contracts, only to find an uninvited guest already waiting there.

Upon seeing this person, Xu You immediately smiled knowingly.

Because he knew that another big deal was coming!
Upon hearing the request from the Chanyu (ruler) brought by the other party, Xu You looked troubled: "This... is not easy to handle!"

"If the matter succeeds, the Chanyu is willing to offer tens of thousands of sheep and a thousand gold pieces as a reward!"

This price is actually not low.

However, Xu You had just received a huge sum of money from Liu Miao, so how could he possibly be interested in such a small amount?
Seeing Xu You's ambiguous attitude, the other party also became ruthless: "As long as the Right Wise King can return to the North safely, we will accept any conditions that the Chanyu can agree to!"

Xu You narrowed his eyes.

"If that's the case, then it's not unacceptable! Hahahaha!"

Xu You was indeed extremely influential.

He quickly found the place where Cao Cao had placed Liu Qubei under house arrest.

Cao Cao was also a very suspicious man. In order to prevent Liu Qubei from escaping, he did not put him under house arrest in Xuchang City, but instead imprisoned him in a fortified village not far from Xuchang!
That fortified village rarely sees any movement of people, and the person in charge of guarding it is Xu Chu's elder brother, Xu Ding!
However, this did not stump Xu You.

Xu You kept a close eye on the times when those warehouse managers from the fortified villages went out to shop in the markets of Xuchang, and directly bribed them with huge sums of money.

The other party was initially terrified, but was quickly persuaded by Xu You.

This is because Xu You's ability to bewitch people is unparalleled in the world!
"You just need to give this to the people inside; it's nothing serious." "You just need to pass on a message to them; even if someone finds out, they won't blame you."

"You just need to transport the goods out as agreed, just like you always do. You'll even get some extra money this way, so why not?"

"..."

With Xu You's efforts to overcome each obstacle, a meticulous plan was quickly perfected.

Soon after, a bucket of swill was transported outside the fortified village.

Xu Ding, who was originally in charge of guard duty, unfortunately got food poisoning that day and suffered from severe diarrhea, so he was unable to come to his post.

His soldiers, having finally escaped Xu Ding's supervision, naturally began to slack off, paying little attention to things like swill, and easily let him pass through the checkpoint and leave the city.

It wasn't until a day later, when Xu Ding had recovered somewhat and forced himself to return to his seat, that he realized something was wrong!

Xu Ding's already weak face turned pale again!
"Search! Search! We need to find them alive or dead!!!"

Unfortunately, the soldiers searched the fortified village from top to bottom but could not find any trace of Liu Qubei.

Xu Ding's face was now completely devoid of color...

Dejected, Xu Ding arrived at Cao Cao's gate. Ignoring the questioning looks from others, he immediately knelt down.

"I beg you, my lord... to take my head!"

Cao Cao was in a great mood!

The Right Wise King Liu Qubei had already agreed to many things for him!
If things develop as desired, Cao Cao's military strength could very well experience a leap forward!
Cao Cao had always coveted heavily armored cavalry.

Unfortunately, Cao Cao lacked both Yuan Shao's superior warhorse resources and Liu Miao's trade resources and technological support, leaving him stuck in the middle, unable to achieve anything significant.

However, taking advantage of Liu Qubei's incident, Cao Cao was confident that he could obtain the resources to build heavy cavalry and complete the formation of the heavy cavalry!
"Let's call them the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry!"

The formation of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will undoubtedly give Cao Cao more leverage in his future struggles with Yuan Shao, and will also give Cao Cao more say in his relationship with Liu Miao. How could Cao Cao not be happy?

But when he saw Xu Ding kneeling in front of his door, Cao Cao's face turned pale along with Xu Ding's.

"what happened?"

Xu Ding told Cao Cao everything he knew, and Cao Cao, upon hearing it, swayed precariously!
"Please, my lord, take my head!"

What use would I be to take your head???

Unlike Xu Ding, who stubbornly believed that the matter was his responsibility, Cao Cao, with his suspicious nature, immediately saw through the clues in the whole incident.

"You're usually so cautious, how come you had an upset stomach yesterday, and then this happened?"

"And why does the swill deliveryman always have to deliver it when you're not around?"

Cao Cao immediately became alert—

conspiracy!

A complete conspiracy!
Cao Cao clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fury that was almost tangible!
audacious in the extreme!

Cao Cao never expected that someone would actually dare to take Liu Qubei away right under his nose.

Cao Cao never expected that after the great purge in Yan Province and the imperial edict in the belt, someone would actually be able to take Liu Qubei away right under his nose!
"check!"

"Summon Man Boning and investigate thoroughly!!!"

"I want to see who has ruined my grand plan!"

Man Chong and Man Boning, who had received orders from Cao Cao, quickly arrived in Xuchang to thoroughly investigate the matter.

The maids and guards around Xu Ding.

The warehouse manager and guests inside the fortified village.

Even the soldiers stationed along the way were all invited by Man Chong to be guests in the imperial prison.

Although Xu You acted discreetly, Man Chong still managed to uncover some clues.

However, Xu You was not only discreet in his actions, but also thorough, which prevented Man Chong from finding any evidence.

As a renowned scholar, a friend of Cao Cao, and the first strategist to defect from Yuan Shao's side, Xu You was clearly not someone Man Chong could interrogate like other prisoners by imprisoning him in the imperial prison and subjecting him to severe torture.

Therefore, Man Chong had no choice but to go to Xun Yu and ask him to step in and resolve the issue.

Xun Yu was also extremely busy because Liu Qubei's matter disrupted Cao Cao's plans.

However, upon hearing that the person behind him might be Xu You, Xun Yu still put down his work and went to find Xu You.

Upon seeing Xu You, even the usually mild-mannered Xun Yu couldn't contain himself and immediately launched into a tirade: "Xu Ziyuan! You dare take on this job? Do you really think the Lord won't kill you?"

Xu You was still feigning ignorance: "What is Wenruo talking about?"

"What else could it be!"

Xun Yu was so anxious he almost jumped up!
He kept stomping his feet: "Xu Ziyuan! Let me tell you, you're in big trouble this time! Utterly big trouble!"

"You'd better come with me now to apologize to the Lord and make amends for his losses! Otherwise, you can expect to lose your head!"

(End of this chapter)