Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

That night, Sima Yi, Sima Fu, Sima Kui, Sima Tong, and Sima Min were assassinated in Yecheng, Sima Xun and Sima Jin were murdered in Xudu on the same day, and Sima Bada disappeared without a trace.

At noon the next day, the extermination of Sima's family in Yecheng shocked the government and the public, and all the sons and daughters of the gentry who were close to Cao Pi were in danger.

Cao Pi encountered the biggest crisis since he came to the throne. On the one hand, he ordered people to strengthen the defense of the palace. reason.

Just half a day later, Cao Hong came to the palace to report to Cao Pi.

At this time, the Wei Palace was brightly lit, and Cao Pi had no mood to rest at all.

Seeing Cao Hong's return, Cao Pi frowned and asked, "Uncle Zi Lian came so fast, could it be that he has already caught the murderer?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, although the murderer has not yet been captured, I found Sima Zhongda's two sons in the rice vat of the Sima Mansion." Cao Hong replied with clasped fists.

Cao Pi hurriedly asked: "Can they see the murderer?"

Cao Hong shook his head and said, "Because Sima Shi and Sima Zhao were young, their mother hid them in the kitchen to escape disaster, so they don't know what happened outside..."

"What about them?"

"Your Majesty, please take a look at these things first." Cao Hong sent a stack of letters from his arms to Cao Pi's desk, which he considered 'strong physical evidence'.

Cao Pi was full of doubts, and opened the letters one by one to check.

The more Cao Pi looked at it, the more frightened he became, then he swallowed his saliva and said, "Uncle Laozi Lian sent an order for me outside the palace to call civil and military officials to see him overnight."

"Wei." Cao Hong cupped his fists and retreated.

Half an hour later, Jia Xu, Hua Xin, Chen Qun, Wang Lang, Zhong Yao and other important officials all arrived.

Cao Pi spread the letters obtained by Cao Hong on the table and asked his courtiers to identify the authenticity.

"Sima Yi colluded with Guan Yu to frame Lu Taishou? No wonder Xiangyang was broken so easily..."

"Sima Yi failed to dissuade the former king, but instigated Hu Xiu and Fu Fang to join the enemy..."

"Sima Yi hooked up with Ji Miao and others to create chaos in Xudu, intending to lure Guan Yu north to snatch the emperor..."

"Sima Yi secretly communicated with Sun Quan, accepting huge bribes and not doing anything?"

"Sun Quan can't buy him, he wants to send assassins to kill his whole family..."

……

Dali Zhongyou was given a seat by Cao Pi because of a leg problem. He hadn't had time to read the letter, but after hearing the discussion, he thought that the case would be solved before I played?

Chapter 648 Will Be the Voice of a Master

After the death of Xun Yu and Xun You, Zhong Yao went on to become the leader of the Henan gentry, and was successively promoted to Dali and Xiangguo by Cao Cao. He was dismissed because of his involvement in the Wei satire case last year, and now he is re-appointed as Dali by Cao Pi.

Zhong Yao had a high status among the gentry in Henan. He had to express his opinion when Sima Yi's entire family was silenced. Seeing everyone discussing the authenticity of the letter in the hall, he didn't care about the embarrassment of his official reinstatement. Take a look, old man? I don’t believe that Zhong Da (Sima Yi) will treason, and Shu Da (Sima Fu) and others will also die, this matter is not that simple.”

Cao Pi saw that Zhong Yao was full of aura, Hua Xin and Chen Qun decisively passed the letter over, and he also wanted to see what the other party thought.

There were more than a dozen letters on the table, but the content was concise and to the point. After a quick glance, Zhong Yao divided the letters into two piles.

"These so-called evidences are all letters, and none of them are evidences of Zhongda's collaborating with the enemy. The letters on the left say that he colluded with Ji Miao, Geng Ji, Wei Huang, Guan Yu, Hu Xiu, etc., which are definitely framed by someone with a heart; In addition, framing Yang Xiu, causing the loss of Xiangyang, Lu Chang being beheaded, and even the failure of the former king's southern expedition are all nonsense. Although Zhong Da is the Sima of the Prime Minister's Army, he has no chance to command the army at all. He can make trouble under the eyes of the former king. ?”

Zhong Yao said a lot, and the whole story was his own subjective assumptions, but the last sentence brought out Cao Cao, which made his argument stand instantly, and soon attracted the support of many people in the hall.

Seeing that everyone was still reminiscing, Zhong Yao pointed to the stack of letters on the right and said: "These letters seem to be from Sun Quan, and it is difficult to deduce whether they are true or false. However, I would like to raise some doubts here;

One is the problem of General Yu Jin. He should be imprisoned in Jingzhou when he was defeated by Guan Yu. Even Lu Meng was beheaded by Guan Yu. Who can rescue him to Jiangdong?

The second is that Sun Quan promised to give Zhongda [-] million kickbacks, and asked the king to redeem General Yu back to Wei State with one billion yuan. Not to mention whether the amount is too exaggerated, based on the tone of Sun Quan's letter, it seems that Zhongda has already paid the money Otherwise, why would you keep writing letters to remind me?I've never seen a deal where you pay first and do it later;

The third is the issue of assassins. Everyone knows about Jiangdong’s combat strength. General Zhang can defeat [-] with [-], but Sun Quan’s assassins can quietly sneak into Yecheng and wipe out the entire Sima clan. ? "

Zhong Yao analyzed the problem and found that the contents of the letter were indeed full of loopholes. Everyone in the hall whispered that they believed it, and speculated whether it was killed by other enemies.

Cao Pi was a little moved when he heard the last sentence. Now that Cao Hong has not caught the murderer, his Wei Palace is not safe. At this time, he thought of Xu Chu who was sick, and planned to send the imperial doctor to ask him tomorrow. If he recovered, he had to let him go immediately. To be in charge of the guard.

"Do you have anything to add, gentlemen?" Cao Pi interrupted the noise and continued to ask.

"Your Majesty, the whole family of Sima Changshi died unjustly, so you can't listen to slander and make things worse..."

"Your Majesty, I think this is Liu Bei's or Sun Quan's plan to alienate them. These assassins may be sent by them."

"Zhong Dali said just now that Sun Quan's soldiers don't have this strength, they must be assassins from Jingzhou..."

"Yes, yes, Guan Yu took advantage of the death of the former king to deliberately assassinate the important ministers of the state of Wei..."

……

"Is there any more?" Cao Pi found that these people were all trying to excuse Sima Yi, and all of them were officials representing the Henan gentry. Besides, they were inferring the murderer. Some speculated about Jingzhou, some speculated about Yangzhou, and some speculated that it was Hu. people.

Cao Pi found that Taiwei Jia Xu was as stable as an old dog, and felt that the other party must have some good ideas, so he asked sincerely again.

"Your Majesty, I have a different opinion."

Before Jia Xu could speak, a loud voice suddenly came from the back of the hall, everyone looked for the reputation and it turned out to be Dong Zhao.

Dong Zhao joined the army as Yuan Shao at first, and he worked hard under Yuan Shao's tent, but his younger brother Dong Fang was in Zhang Miao's army, and Zhang Miao had conflicts with Yuan Shao, so Yuan Shao listened to the slander and wanted to punish him. He escaped and forcibly became Zhang Yang's staff.

During Cao Cao's plan to welcome Emperor Xian to Xudu, Dong Zhao jumped left and right to help Cao Cao succeed. After this battle, he became Cao Cao's absolute confidant. He was successively appointed as Yin of Henan, Mu of Jizhou, and Mu of Xuzhou.

Dong Zhao completely offended the Henan gentry because he first advocated Cao Cao's proclaiming the public to build the country. He squeezed out and suppressed him politically.

When Cao Pi ascended the throne as the Queen of Wei, all the gentry in Henan who supported him benefited, but Dong Zhao, who was a hero, was only appointed by Cao Pi as a master craftsman.

Will be a master craftsman in charge of palaces, ancestral temples, mausoleums and other civil constructions, with a rank of two thousand stones, which can be regarded as a well-paid yamen in the prosperous age.

Although the salary of the chief craftsman is at the same level as that of the county guard (similar to the head of the housing and construction department and the mayor), the power and status he possesses are very different, and the founding fathers who have made great contributions are treated lightly.

Dong Zhao walked to the front of the hall, bowed his hands to Cao Pi and Zhong Yao respectively, and then said slowly: "I have other opinions on Zhong Dali's speculation."

"I would like to hear the details." Zhong Yao frowned and nodded slightly.

Dong Zhao replied: "Leaving aside the letter on the left, I also think that Sima Zhongda will not be treasonous. After all, there is no benefit in joining Liu Bei, but the letter on the right about Jiangdong is debatable."

Seeing that Dong Zhao paused on purpose, Zhong Yao waved his hand to signal him to continue.

Dong Zhao nodded lightly in response: "Actually, Yujin is in Jingzhou or Jiangdong. There is no need to guess about this question. Your Majesty will send someone to check it out. The second point is about the kickback and sales. I also suggest checking it out." Let’s talk again; let’s focus on the last point, that is, whether there are such powerful assassins in Jiangdong, Dali’s deduction is based on the war in Hefei, and I believe that war and assassination are two different things.”

"Although there is a difference between war and assassination, they can also be regarded as the basis for inference. Gongren (Dong Zhao) should come up with a basis for his different opinions. Shouldn't someone be sent to investigate?" Zhong Yao said coldly. Smile.

Cao Pi sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, and suddenly felt a strange sense of refreshment. When the monarch saw that his courtiers were in harmony, he was likely to be ostracized by his courtiers. The current situation is very good. Maybe Sun Quan often has such an experience?

Dong Zhao responded calmly with a smile: "Of course there are evidences. Dali still remembers Sun Bofu. How did he die?"

Zhong Yao was taken aback when he heard this, and thought that Dong Zhao was very powerful, but he didn't say anything when he knew the answer, so he could only reply in embarrassment: "It seems to be a long time ago, right? At that time, the old man was restraining Ma Teng and Yuan Shao in Guanzhong. I have no time to take care of Jiangdong's affairs."

"Sun Ce, the little overlord with high martial arts skills, it is said that he was seriously injured by the three assassins when he attacked first, and died early due to the attack of the injury. I don't know if there is sufficient evidence for this?" Dong Zhao didn't take Zhong Yao's face into consideration. , throwing out the facts directly.

Chapter 649 A Whale Falls to Everything

"It turns out that Sun Bofu was seriously injured...it's similar to what happened to Sun Wentai..." After all, Zhong Yao had rich experience in officialdom struggles. Seeing that the facts Dong Zhao said could not be disputed, he quickly lifted Sun Jian out to change the subject.

Dong Zhao was not an idler either, and was not distracted by Zhong Yao at all, and continued to throw out evidence: "Sun Jian's third son, Sun Yi, was like a father, and he died at the hands of assassins in the end, so it's not that Jiang Dong has no assassins, but The assassins over there are quite famous."

"Uh... Sun Shiyi is really... I don't know what will happen to Sun Quan..." Zhong Yao continued to talk about him from left to right.

Seeing that Zhong Yao was in a predicament, Cao Pi waved his hand to stop him and said, "Let's go here. I just heard about it. It seems that there are indeed assassins in Jiangdong, but it doesn't explain too much, too much. Wei is a resourceful man that the late king relied on, do you have anything to say?"

Jia Xu turned around and bowed his hands to salute, and replied: "Sima Changshi was greatly favored by the King of Wei. If it is hard to believe that he plotted treason, Dali's analysis is not unreasonable, but the view of being a great craftsman is also very unique. The minister also agrees." It is recommended to check it first, so that everyone will not be suspicious."

"It's really hard to decide what to say, so let's speak according to the facts." Cao Pi nodded and said to himself.

Seeing that the old fox Jia Xu didn't express his opinion, he was as stable as an old dog that neither side would be offended, Cao Pi said again to his servant Wen Hui: "Manji, Qing has been the governor of Yangzhou for many years, and I will leave it to you to verify whether Sun Quan redeemed people."

"Wei." Wen Hui answered with cupped hands.

"It's late at night, let's go first..." Cao Pi waved his hand wearily.

"Wei." All the ministers replied in unison.

"Uh..." Chen Qun originally wanted to ask Sima Yi's orphan, but thinking that Cao Pi had a close relationship with him, he would definitely arrange for Sima Shi and Sima Zhao properly, so he could only turn around and ask in private.

The officials retreated gradually, Cao Pi looked at the empty hall with some melancholy, he hadn't rewarded Sima Yi properly yet.

The genius child Cao Chong died young, and the battle between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi kicked off. This bloody and undercurrent struggle lasted for ten years. It was not until the 22nd year of Jian'an that Cao Pi was established as the Prince of Wei.

From the bottom of his heart, Cao Cao hoped that Cao Zhi would ascend the throne, because the supporters behind him had a complex structure, not as powerful as the Henan gentry behind Cao Pi, and the complex structure was easy to be controlled by the king. Can be easily emptied.

Due to the favorable status of Cao Pi's eldest son, he has won the support of many fringe courtiers. Cao Cao, who is proficient in political struggle, tilted his own resources and Yang Xiu, Ding Yi and others worked hard, and Cao Zhi's chances of winning gradually increased.

Lieutenant Cui Yan and Shangshu Mao Jie were implicated and died. Shangshu ordered Xu Yi to be expelled from the power center. These important ministers who supported Cao Pi had accidents one after another. To Cao Cao.

Cao Pi won the competition for the reserve position. Among his four close friends, Sima Yi contributed the most. He stayed by the prime minister's mansion and Cao Cao's side. In addition to reporting Cao Cao's movements to Cao Pi in a timely manner like Yang Xiu, he also secretly offered a lot of secrets. Move, lose move.

Because he has always been feared by Cao Cao, Sima Yi hides very well both in the open and in the dark, and Yang Xiu is a complete failure in this respect.

"Your Majesty...Which lady do you want to sleep with tonight?" When Cao Pi was contemplating, the eunuch who was close to him came over to ask for instructions.

Cao Pi was stunned: "Gu is not in the mood today..."

"Should we find someone to go to Tongque Terrace..." the eunuch continued to probe.

"Uh... in a few days... I don't want to serve the bed tonight... I'll talk about it when Xu Chu comes back..." Cao Pi waved his hand lightly.

Originally Cao Cao’s concubines were expelled by Empress Dowager Bian, and most of them could only return to live in Tongque Terrace because they had no livelihood. Don't let things go.

Cao Pi didn't dare to be blatant now, either he secretly sent eunuchs to Tongque Terrace to get it, or he went to Tongque Terrace to enjoy it by offering sacrifices to Cao Cao.

Cao Pi was worried about the assassins in the city, so he was not in the mood to invite people to sleep. Not only that, but he also increased the palace guards.

In the next few days, Cao Hong scoured the city to search for the murderer, Xu Chu was also recalled to the palace due to his illness, and the swordsmen who participated that night also returned to the Tiger Guard camp in batches.

For a day without catching the murderer, Cao Pi's uneasy heart could not be relieved for a day.

Since Xu Chu chose in the second half of the night, and they were all extremely skilled swordsmen, there were almost no traces of committing the crime. Cao Hong and Sima Yi had old grievances, so they were perfunctory when looking for clues, and Dali Zhongyou was unable to solve the case for a long time.

There is a saying that all things come from a whale. The Sima family is a famous family in Henan, and the interests involved behind it are very large. After the Sima family was wiped out, there was a huge power gap. After calming down, various forces rushed to enter.

After Dong Zhao started that night, more and more people began to doubt the Sima family, because it was not the Henan gentry who wanted a piece of the pie, so they had no choice but to step down.

The two cubs left in Miemen were sent to Cao Hong's army for protection. Xu Chu wanted to sneak in several times to kill the grass, but was finally stopped by his brother Xu Ding, because if Xu's family was exposed, he would be implicated. He suggested writing a letter to discuss with Xia Houchong.

Before Xu Chu's letter was delivered, news also came from Xudu. On the day Sima Yi was killed, the entire family of Sima Xun and Sima Jin who were in Xudu were killed.

When the news reached Yecheng, the court of Wei State was shaken.

All the gentry began to privately raise tribes to protect themselves, and the whole north fell into an inexplicable panic. Cao Pi urgently ordered the garrisons to investigate and act as assassins. In fact, he was worried that Emperor Xian would be intercepted by assassins.

In the last ten days of July, there was still no news of assassins in various places, but the situation of Sima Yi's collusion with the enemy gradually became clear.

During this period of time, news from various sources gathered in Yecheng, including the information collected by Wen Hui, the situation reported by Cao Ren, and the relics of Xia Houdun (Letters from Zhuge Jin) sent by Xia Houchong.

All this information shows that Yu Jin is indeed in Jiangdong, and it also confirms Sun Quan's idea of ​​wanting Wei Guo to redeem it with a billion dollars. It doesn't matter whether Sima Yi withdraws the kickback, because even if it is false, people who are interested in it are willing to believe it is true Yes, and put pressure on Cao Pi and the Henan gentry in public opinion.

In the case of "conclusive evidence", Zhong Yao could only convict Sima Yi of accepting bribes and dereliction of duty, and forcibly pressed down the charges of collaborating with the enemy that his political opponents had woven for him, because this was the only way to protect the two cubs. Criticism of the gentry.

For the stability of the court, Cao Pi could only sacrifice Sima Yi's reputation, but the problem of assassins still existed, so he was sad all day long, and he was not as energetic as when he first came to the throne as King Wei.

After listening to the quarrel of the ministers all day, Cao Pi was nervous and exhausted.

After the value was dispersed, Xia Houchong secretly asked to see him.

6 Chapter Fifty: Jiangdong Assassin Case Solved

Cao Pi and Xia Houdun were about the same age, so they had a close friendship, but Xia Houchong was seven or eight years older than them. Cao Pi respected and was very polite to Xiahou Dun's eldest son.

After giving Xia Houchong a seat, Cao Pi reminded: "Sun Quan's assassins are rampant. Besides Xudu in Yecheng, there are also his people. Ziman must be very careful in Xudu, and more guards should be arranged at home."

Xia Houchong nodded his thanks, and replied solemnly: "My lord, please retreat others, and I have something confidential to report."

In addition to a few maids serving in the palace, only Cao Pi's confidant eunuch Gao Miao remained.

"Xiao Gao, take them out first, and let the tiger guards guard the gate of the palace, and no one else is allowed to enter the palace without a pass." Seeing Xiahou's serious face, Cao Pi thought that there must be something important.

"Wei." Gao Mou replied sharply.

"Ziman can now say, is there something on the emperor's side..." Cao Pi guessed.

Cao Pi is already planning to replace the Han Dynasty, thinking that Liu Xie still wants to resist, right?If Sima Yi really hooked up with Guan Yu, how much secret work would he have by his side?

Xia Houchong shook his head and replied: "Your Majesty, don't worry, everything will be as usual in Xudu..."

"That kid wants to say..."

"The death of the Sima family caused panic. Your Majesty wants to quell the disputes in the court as soon as possible. As for the assassins, there is no need to worry..."

Cao Pi was startled when he heard it, and wondered why Xia Houchong said that?Does he know something inside?