Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 14: Ruthless Cheng Yu, wanted along the way
Xuchang was originally Xu County. After Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty moved his capital eastward, he made it his capital, so it was also named Xudu.

But Xu County is just a small county after all, and cannot compare with the grandeur of Luoyang and Chang'an.

Therefore, since the arrival of the Han Emperor last year, Cao Cao has been building palaces and a new capital here.

Outside the entire Xu County, laborers were coming and going, carrying stones and cutting wood, a busy scene.

On the top of the city wall, there was a scholar standing on the parapet. He had a long beard and a beautiful mustache, was eight feet tall, and had a dignified appearance.

This person was Cheng Yu, a counselor under Cao Cao, and one of the four great counselors under Cao Cao.

In the eyes of the world, the four great advisers under Cao Cao each have their own strengths.

Xun Yu was a man of great talent in governing the country, good at coordinating and adept at strategy.

Xixian and Xizhi are both good at making extraordinary plans and always anticipate the enemy's advance.

Qin Zhen was well-versed in all aspects, including military management, people management, general trends, and extraordinary strategies.

Compared with the first three, Cheng Yu is more inclined to lead troops in battle.

Therefore, Cheng Yu always stayed in the rear. As a meritorious official who persuaded Cao Cao to welcome the Han Emperor together with Qin Zhen and Xun Yu, Cheng Yu was granted the title of Shangshu.

In addition, he also served as the General of the Eastern Army, the Prefect of Jiyin, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of Yanzhou. Compared with Qin Zhen, he held great power.

Originally, he was to go to Jiyin to take up his post that day, but because Cao Cao was on an expedition to the west, there was no one to guard Xuchang, so he was left to guard Xuchang and wait until Cao Cao returned to the east before taking up his post.

But this lord was a man who could not sit still. In addition to handling state affairs, he had to go out every day to inspect the construction progress outside the city.

Seeing that everything was in good order outside the city, Cheng Yu called the supervisor and asked:

"What is the current progress of the construction inside and outside the city? How long will it take to be completed?"

The supervisor was also a capable man under Cao Cao, named Zao Zhi, and was originally a military commander.

As it was the slack season for farming, he brought his villagers to build the city walls.

Facing Cheng Yu's question, Zao Zhi hurriedly bowed and said:
"Mr. Cheng, according to the current progress, the city wall can be expanded by this summer at the latest."

"But the huge trees needed for the palaces in the palace are hard to find. If we want to complete the construction, it will take several years."

When Cheng Yu heard this, he frowned and said:
"Even if the palace is short of wood, why waste the craftsmen? Just call them all over and repair the city wall first!"

Zao Zhi heard this and hesitated:
"But the ministers in the court are quite dissatisfied with the small size of the palace!"

"Besides, your majesty is worth a fortune, but now you don't have an inner palace. How are all the concubines and maids going to be accommodated?"

"Why bother with them!"

Cheng Yu was quite displeased and said:
"Just be in charge of the construction of the imperial court, and bring all the others to build the city wall."

"If the work is delayed until summer, won't it delay this year's spring ploughing?"

"Just follow my instructions. If anyone dares to ask, just let him come and find me!"

Seeing Cheng Yu like this, Zao Zhi had no choice but to lower his head and say:

"Just follow Mr. Cheng's advice, and I will transfer the manpower right away."

Seeing this, Cheng Yu nodded and walked towards the city.

But before they got halfway, they saw a knight galloping over, shouting:

"Minister Cheng, General Guo has an urgent matter to report!"

General Guo is also known as Guo Jia. Due to the existence of Qin Zhen, Guo Jia lost his position as military advisor and is currently serving as General of the Sikong Mansion.

Hearing that it was Guo Jia's urgent matter, Cheng Yu simply jumped on his horse and headed towards the Sikong Mansion.

When he arrived at the office, he stepped into the room and said in a deep voice:
"Why did Fengxiao come to me? Did Cao Gong's army fail?"

Guo Jia is already 27 years old this year, with red lips and white teeth, but unfortunately he has been taking Wu Shi San for many years, so his face is a little pale. He shook his head after listening to this:

"If Cao Gong's army had been defeated, it wouldn't have come to this!"

"Something big happened, so I came to see Mr. Cheng!"

"This is a letter from the Lord, please take a look, Mr. Cheng!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yu hurried forward and took the letter and began to read it at a glance. Halfway through, his expression darkened:
"How dare Qin Zixuan betray Cao Gong and leave?"

He and Qin Zhen had no personal hatred, but they could be said to have never had any contact with each other. They had different political views and could be considered political enemies.

After seeing the whole story, he directly classified Qin Zhen as a defector.

When Guo Jia heard what Cheng Yu said, he frowned and said:
"Zixuan is not a rebel. If he were a rebel, he would have defected to the enemy. Why would he resign and leave?"

"He must have been wronged in the army, so he left!" Although Guo Jia was brought in by Xun Yu to check and balance Qin Zhen, the two actually had a good relationship.

The two of them often drank, chatted and visited brothels together.

Of course, Qin Zhen went to the brothel to drink, but Guo Jia stayed there every night.

Now when he heard Cheng Yu's words, he knew that Cheng Yu had the intention to kill him, and hurriedly said in a deep voice:

"According to Lord Cao's order, we are to keep Zixuan. Lord Cheng must act with caution."

When Cheng Yu heard this, he sneered:

"I know what Cao Gong means. He must be reluctant to give up Qin Zhen's talent."

"But Fengxiao, why don't you tell me how we can be careful?"

"Now that Qin Zhen has left the Yushui camp, his whereabouts are unknown. How can we stop him?"

Guo Jia frowned and said:
"What are you talking about, Mr. Cheng? Zixuan's son is still in the city. Why can't we keep him here?"

"If Mr. Cheng doesn't want to, I will go to Zixuan's house and persuade Cai Zhaoji to write a letter to persuade Zixuan to come back!"

"Feng Xiao is still thinking about looking for Qin Zixuan's family?"

When Cheng Yu heard this, he glared coldly and said:
"Fengxiao may not know that Qin Zhen's Xiaowu left the city a few days ago!"

"I was already informed of the school affairs at that time."

"I thought that he was still on a long expedition. Since Cai Zhaoji wanted to go and pay homage to Lord Cai, I would definitely allow her to do so."

"If I had known earlier that Qin Zhen had the intention of treason, I would have put his family under house arrest that day to see where he could escape to all alone!"

"Zixuan's family has left?"

Guo Jia shuddered when he heard this, and then he glared at Cheng Yu and said:

"How dare you let the school officials monitor Zixuan's family?"

The Xiaoshi was an intelligence agency under Cao Cao, similar to the two factories and one guard in later generations, and was specifically responsible for supervising all officials.

Guo Jia was so smart that he knew this was unusual as soon as he heard it.

But after hearing this, Cheng Yu shook his head and said:
"How can I do that? The school commander Lu Hong only obeys Cao Gong's orders!"

"This is what Cao Gong meant!"

"But now it seems that Lord Cao is also far-sighted, and Qin Zhen is indeed a rebellious child!"

When Guo Jia heard this, he could no longer hold back and shouted:
"How can anyone tolerate you treating a wise man like this?"

"Zixuan devoted himself to Cao Gong, but Cao Gong behaved like this. It's simply appalling!"

"No wonder Zixuan insisted on leaving. If it was Jialai, Jia would also find it unbearable!"

He was really confused, and he could understand why Cao Cao was suspicious.

But now Cao Cao has admitted his mistake, and you, Cheng Yu, are still here with your firm ideas.

How did Qin Zhen leave? Don’t you have any idea?

If Qin Zhen hadn't been forced by all parties, how could he have reached this point?
He felt it was unfair for Qin Zhen every time he thought about it. Not only was he wronged in the government, but there were also military police guarding his door. Who could accept this?

When Cheng Yu heard this, he said in a deep voice:

"It's too late now!"

"The most urgent task is to quickly bring back Qin Zhen's family!"

Without waiting for Guo Jia to speak, Cheng Yu stepped forward and said loudly:
"Come here, order General Cao Chun to lead a thousand soldiers and horses to the north and quickly bring back Qin Zhen's family!"

"Also, have General Cao Hong immediately issue a wanted notice for Qin Zhen and have it spread throughout all the counties. Don't let Qin Zhen escape from our army!"

When Guo Jia heard this order, he glared and shouted again:
"Does Mr. Cheng want to kill Qin Zixuan?"

"Cao Zilian and Zixuan have always been at odds with each other. Isn't it a case of public revenge for personal gain by Cheng Gong doing this?"

Facing Guo Jia's harsh criticism, Cheng Yu remained calm and said:
"If Qin Zhen is willing to return, I will not kill him."

"If he doesn't come back, I'll kill him!"

"He has great talent. If he cannot be used by Cao Gong, he should not be used by others!"

After saying this, Cheng Yu strode out of the mansion, ready to deal with the matter personally.

(End of this chapter)