All-Heavens Game, the Strongest Player

Chapter 37 Cao Cao Reads "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" at Night

"Insult me? Haha, am I, Cao Cao, afraid of being insulted? Aren't there already few people in this world who insult me, Cao Cao?" Cao Cao said nonchalantly, "Anyway, it won't hurt me. Go find me a copy of that 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' and let me see how well it's written!"

He knew that the so-called "Three Kingdoms" referred to the future states that he, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan would each establish.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is actually a description of a future without the descent of gods.

But he doesn't care.

The future has already changed; seizing the present is what truly matters.

But curiosity always exists.

"This humble general has brought it!"

As Cao Ren spoke, he took out a copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" that he had prepared beforehand and handed it to Cao Cao. Cao Cao didn't care much at first, thinking that it was just a record of some future events.

Since it has already changed, it has little meaning.

But as he watched, his expression changed, gradually shifting from initial curiosity to complete immersion, with various expressions appearing on his face.

"Warm the wine before beheading Hua Xiong, drink it again after the kill, and return before the wine cools down!"

"What a clever scheme by Wang Yun! What a clever honey trap!"

"Gongtai! Would you rather die than forgive me?"

"Guan Yu, I've been so good to you!"

At first, Cao Cao only put himself in the shoes of his own perspective, empathizing with his "future" self. But as he watched, he gradually began to adopt the perspective of others.

"Zhang Fei, you've made a mistake. If you hadn't been drunk, how could Liu Bei have lost Xuzhou?"

"The oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden, a bond that transcends life and death, is so touching!"

"Such a fine strategist, Xu Junshi, is gone just like that. What a pity!"

"Brilliant, Zilong! He single-handedly rescued his lord, charging in and out of the 800,000-strong army at Changban Slope seven times, leaving Cao Cao furious but helpless!"

Cao Ren: “???”

Chu Xiu: "..."

Is it possible that the Cao traitor you're talking about is actually yourself?

But Cao Cao was so engrossed in watching that he completely saw things from Liu Bei's perspective. He laughed heartily at the victory at the Battle of Red Cliffs, and when he saw Liu Bei marrying Sun Shangxiang, he revealed a lewd smile.

Cao Cao was furious when Luo Fengpo lost Pang Tong.

Guan Yu's might shook the land, and he cheered him on.

When Guan Yu was killed by Eastern Wu, he wept bitterly. But when he saw Liu Bei raising an army to attack Wu, he became furious and cursed, "Foolish, utterly foolish! You can only avenge your brother if you gain the country. If you give up the country to avenge your brother, the Han Dynasty will not be restored, and you will not be able to avenge your brother!"

Later, when he saw Liu Bei entrusting his son to Liu Bei on his deathbed, a sense of helplessness at the passing of time was revealed on his face.

Seeing Zhuge Liang's six expeditions to Qishan and his eventual death at Wuzhangyuan, he resonated with eight million viewers across time and shouted, "Respectfully bidding farewell to Prime Minister Zhuge!"

It is clear that he has already fallen deeply into the romance of Shu Han.

On the contrary, there was not much reaction to Sima Yi's usurpation of the throne.

"Ugh, I'm so hungry. How long have I been watching?"

"You watched it for a whole day and night, completely absorbed, and didn't even have time to eat!" Chu Xiu said with a strange expression. "Those curses of Cao Cao were so over-the-top that I almost thought you'd been possessed by Liu Bei!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao chuckled.

"I never imagined the future would be so exciting!"

"Even you, my lord, have become involved and are cursing Cao Cao. This shows the power of this book. What should we do? What if those colleagues who were supposed to join our Cao camp don't come anymore?" Cao Ren said worriedly.

Unlike Chu Xiu, who had already woken up from a nap.

He stayed by Cao Cao's side the whole time, worried about how to deal with the book, and didn't sleep a wink for a day and a night.

"It doesn't matter. Do you think those who pledge allegiance to me, Cao Mengde, are because I've deceived them? No, they understand in their hearts that only by following me can this world be saved! After reading 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' they will all rush to join me without hesitation!"

Cao Cao said.

"If there's anyone who won't come, perhaps it's only Xun Yu? He's still too pedantic; he just can't understand that the fall of the Han dynasty doesn't equate to the fall of the world, and saving the world doesn't equate to saving the Han dynasty!"

At this point, he also felt a pang of sadness. Cao Cao was the most ruthless person in the entire Three Kingdoms period because of his motto, "I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me." He was willing to sacrifice anything when necessary!

However, he was also the person who loved talent the most during the entire Three Kingdoms period.

He was impeccable in his dealings with Chen Gong, Guan Yu, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, and all the civil and military officials under his command. If they hadn't clashed over the fundamental issue of the struggle for imperial power, how could he have broken with Xun Yu?
In fact, his sending empty food boxes was merely an implication that the Han dynasty had no more official rations to offer.

Xun Yu chose to die for the Han Dynasty, rather than be killed by Cao Cao!
"Really?" Cao Ren looked incredulous.

"It's absolutely true. Go to sleep now and don't overthink it!" After saying that, Cao Cao turned around, walked to his bed, hugged his pillow, and fell asleep immediately.

But as Chu Xiu left, he faintly heard Cao Cao talking in his sleep.

In murmurs, they said, "Gongtai, don't go," and "Yun Chang, don't go."

But as they talked, it turned into "Return my strategist" and "Respectfully send off Prime Minister Zhuge," which made Chu Xiu look very strange.

Clearly, the Cao Cao in the dream was also impersonating Liu Bei.

That damned succubus.

However, Cao Cao did not sleep for long before Chu Xiu woke him up because six very special people had come to Cao Cao's camp, people Cao Cao had to see.

First, there were two military generals who were as strong as oxen.

Dian Wei and Xu Chu.

After the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" became popular, both men left their original places and went to Yanzhou to join Cao Cao.

Each person can offer a brief explanation for their reasoning.

Dian Wei said, "When my lord sleeps with a woman, he asks me to keep watch. That's a sign of trust. I only trust Cao Cao!"

Xu Chu's response was: "To kill the woman my lord desires and still live is such a great favor; how could I not come?"

It must be said that although the two of them have simple thinking, they get straight to the point.

When Cao Cao was having an affair with a woman, having Dian Wei keep watch showed that he trusted her. Xu Chu killed Diao Chan and nothing happened, which means that Cao Cao loved him more than Diao Chan. So what reason did Cao Cao have not to come?
Besides them, Cao Cao's four strategists in the original work also seemed to have made a pre-arranged agreement.

Arrived one after another.

Jia Xu did not follow Zhang Xiu, but chose to arrive at Cao Cao's camp ahead of time because he believed in the principle of survival and felt that Cao Cao's camp was safer.

After all, there was "Number One God" Chu Xiu there.

Cheng Yu and Guo Jia were both veterans of Cao Cao's group, and they came to join him at this time, so there was no reason for them not to come.

But what surprised Chu Xiu the most was Xun Yu; he actually came after all.

Cao Cao also looked surprised.

"Have you read 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'?"

"I read it!"

"Then why come at all?"

Why didn't you come?

"You shouldn't have come!"

"But I'm still here!"

Chu Xiu was completely bewildered by Gu Long's words.

"You say I don't understand you, but do you understand me either?" Xun Yu said, "Usurping imperial power will not make your Cao family more noble, but will only make people lose their awe of imperial power. After your Cao family gains the world, others will not respect you either. You will not only bring about your own destruction, but also bring disaster to the people!"

These words startled Cao Cao.

Chu Xiu was also taken aback. He hadn't expected that the disagreement between Cao Cao and Xun Yu was not due to their loyalty to the Han Dynasty, but rather to their insistence on upholding "imperial power" itself.

"Either ascend the throne decisively and cut the Gordian knot, or conceal your ambitions and accumulate strength. What kind of behavior is it that you not only fail to seize the throne but also overstep your bounds of imperial authority?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao, who always admitted his mistakes but was stubborn and never confessed, finally admitted that he was wrong for the first time.

He bowed and said, "Cao Cao has learned a great deal!"

(End of this chapter)