Three Kingdoms: A wise grandson, Cao Wei can last for three generations!

Xun Yu signed his name on the imperial edict granting him the title of conferment.

After the court session ended, Cao Rui stood under the corridor, watching Xun Yu walk out of the council hall.

Xun Yu saw him and walked over.

"Young master, that piece of candy you had yesterday was very sweet."

The two smiled at each other.

In February of the seventeenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao was granted the title of Duke of Wei, bestowed with the Nine Bestowments, and established the ten commanderies of Ji Province as the State of Wei, with its capital at Ye City.

Xun Yu was not forced to commit suicide, there was no empty food box, and there was no poison.

He is still alive, still sitting in the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, still reviewing documents and handling government affairs every day.

Only occasionally would he stare blankly at the wrapper of the maltose candy on the table for a while.

Then he sighed and continued working.

When the news reached Jingzhou, Liu Bei was discussing with Zhuge Liang the matter of taking Yizhou.

"Lord Wei?" Liu Bei put down the military report in his hand, his brows furrowing slightly. "Cao Cao is about to usurp the Han throne."

Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan, his expression calm: "My lord, it's only a matter of time before Cao Cao becomes the Duke of Wei. Now that he's taken this step, we must also speed up our pace. The matter of Yizhou cannot be delayed any longer."

Liu Bei nodded, then glanced at the military report: "Where is Pang Tong? Still no news?"

Zhuge Liang sighed: "Shiyuan went to Xuchang and I heard he's doing very well under Cao Cao. He's a talented man, and Cao Cao won't mistreat him."

Liu Bei was depressed. Pang Tong was originally one of his men—at least that's what he thought. "The Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix, possessing either one would bring peace to the world." But now the Young Phoenix had gone to Cao Cao, and he only had the Crouching Dragon left.

"Kongming, do you think it would be easier for us to take Yizhou if Shiyuan were here?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "My lord, even without Shi Yuan, we can still take Yizhou. It just requires a bit more effort."

He unfolded a map and pointed to the terrain of Yizhou: "Liu Zhang is weak and incompetent, Zhang Lu is in the north, and Fa Zheng and Zhang Song are in the interior. As long as we..."

Liu Bei listened and nodded repeatedly.

March of the seventeenth year of Jian'an.

Yizhou.

Liu Zhang sat in the governor's mansion in Chengdu, with a letter in front of him. It was written by Fa Zheng, saying that Liu Bei had been staying at Jiameng Pass for more than half a year, and that his supplies were running low, requesting reinforcements and supplies.

"My lord," Zhang Song said, standing to the side, "Liu Bei has been stationed at Jiameng Pass for a long time. If we don't increase his supplies soon, I'm afraid he might cause trouble."

Liu Zhang hesitated. He had invited Liu Bei to Shu hoping he would help fight Zhang Lu. But after Liu Bei arrived, he stayed at Jiameng Pass, neither advancing into Hanzhong nor returning to Jingzhou. Liu Zhang was starting to get worried.

"How about...we wait a little longer?"

Zhang Song was anxious: "My lord, we can't wait any longer! Liu Bei's provisions at Jiameng Pass are only enough for a month. If we run out of food, what will happen to his tens of thousands of troops?"

Liu Zhang was getting annoyed by his urging and was about to speak when suddenly a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.

"My lord! Something terrible has happened!"

A guard rushed in, his face pale: "Liu Bei has raised an army at Jiameng Pass! He says he's on his way back to Jingzhou, and is passing through Chengdu, so he's asking our lord for passage!"

Liu Zhang's face turned deathly pale.

Borrowing a route? Returning to Jingzhou? Nobody believes that!

He suddenly stood up, dropping the teacup in his hand and shattering it on the ground.

"Quickly! Summon all the generals for a meeting!"

......

Xudu.

"Young Master, someone from the Prime Minister's residence has come and asked you to come over." Xu Hu's voice came from behind.

Cao Rui snapped out of his daze: "What is it?"

"I don't know. But the person who came said it was urgent."

Cao Rui's heart skipped a beat. He quickly changed his clothes and followed the person who came to the Prime Minister's residence.

Cao Cao sat in his study, a map spread out in front of him, his brows furrowed.

"Grandfather, what's wrong?"

Cao Cao looked up and pointed to the map: "Liu Bei and Liu Zhang have fallen out."

Cao Rui leaned closer to take a look and saw that it was a topographical map of Yizhou.

"Liu Zhang killed Zhang Song, and Liu Bei raised an army to attack Chengdu. Zhuge Liang led Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun from Jingzhou to support Shu. Yizhou will belong to the Liu family."

Cao Rui paused for a moment, then asked, "What does Grandfather intend to do?"

Cao Cao shook his head: "There's not much we can do. Let him fight. We'll make our move after he takes Yizhou and competes with Sun Quan for Jingzhou."

At this moment, Cao Rui suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Grandfather, what if we intervened in Hanzhong?"

"You mean, send people to Hanzhong to keep Liu Bei occupied?"

"Zhang Lu is in Hanzhong and doesn't get along with Liu Bei. If someone were to send him some troops and supplies, causing him to fight Liu Bei—Grandfather, do you think Liu Bei could still peacefully take Yizhou?"

"The method you mentioned," Cao Cao sat down, picked up his teacup, and took a sip, "is not impossible. But it depends on the timing."

"opportunity?"

"Zhang Lu has been operating in Hanzhong for many years, and the Five Pecks of Rice sect is deeply entrenched. If Liu Bei really goes to war with Zhang Lu, should we help Zhang Lu or Liu Bei?"

Cao Cao put down his teacup, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "Helping Zhang Lu might not be appreciated. Helping Liu Bei would be like raising a tiger to cause trouble."

Cao Rui thought for a moment: "Then shall we just watch?"

"Watch this." Cao Cao tapped the map with his finger. "Liu Bei is taking Yizhou. Once he takes Yizhou, he'll definitely fall out with Sun Quan over Jingzhou. At that time—"

He didn't finish his sentence, but Cao Rui already understood. Sitting back and watching the two sides fight, waiting until they were both exhausted before making a move—this was Cao Cao's forte.

March 23rd, the seventeenth year of Jian'an.

The peach blossoms in Xudu are in full bloom. When the wind blows, the petals fall on the shoulders of pedestrians on the street, like a pink snow.

Cao Rui carried the lacquered wooden food box in his arms, his steps light and quick. The food box was already empty—Xun Yu had eaten the candy, and the candy wrapper was neatly folded and tucked into his sleeve.

"Young master, where are you going?" Xu Hu followed behind, noticing that Cao Rui was heading in the wrong direction. "The road to Master Xun is over there."

"I'm not going to see Lord Ling today," Cao Rui said without turning his head. "I'm going to see Master Jia."

Xu Hu paused for a moment, looking at the food box in Cao Rui's hand, then realized what was going on, his expression turning somewhat strange: "Young Master, you wouldn't be thinking of...?"

Cao Rui turned around and glanced at him, revealing a harmless smile.

Xu Hu swallowed hard and silently took two steps back.

The two soon arrived at Jia Xu's residence.

Cao Rui stood at the door, took a deep breath, wiped the smile off his face, and put on a sorrowful expression—his brows furrowed slightly, the corners of his mouth turned down, and his eyes held three parts worry, three parts pity, and four parts hesitation.

He practiced in front of the bronze mirror last night. Although the mirror was blurry, he felt he had acted quite well.

Xu Hu watched from the side, thinking to himself, "Young Master, your expression is even more somber than when you saw Ma Chao retreating in Weinan last year."

Cao Rui raised his hand and knocked on the door. The old servant opened the door, and upon seeing him, quickly stepped aside: "Young master, the master is in the study."

Cao Rui nodded, walked through the front hall, and around the bamboo grove. Jia Xu was sitting under the eaves, a chessboard in front of him, a wine jug in his hand, squinting in the sun.

The March sun wasn't strong; it shone on his wrinkled face, making him look like an old cat dozing.

"Sir." Cao Rui walked over, his voice low.

Jia Xu didn't move or open his eyes, he just grunted in response.