Chapter 7 1. Cao Cao borrowed a knife to kill Kong Rong

The banquet was about to end, and the attendants supported Han Song, who was drunk by the high officials of the Central Plains, to retreat. Cao Cao was sitting on the square couch of purple wood, when he saw Xi Chi getting up and leading the officials to leave, he thought about it and stretched out his hand: "Mr. Xi, please stay!" Xi Xi hurriedly agreed and sat back in his seat. Cao Cao glanced over and saw that Xun Yu was also asking him whether he should stay or not.He sighed deeply in his heart, bowed his hands to Xun Yu, and said very respectfully: "Xun Lingjun, let's go back to the mansion tonight and have a good rest! Please forgive me for sending you off soon."

Xun Yu's expression changed slightly, and he seemed to understand something for a moment, and a faint look of pain flashed in his eyes.He hesitated for a moment, bowed to Cao Cao for a moment, and then walked out of the hall. Seeing this, Jia Xu, the regular servant of Sanqi, also had a flash of brilliance in his eyes. He stared at Xi Xi, then looked at Cao Cao's unnatural expression, and guessed something in his heart.But he showed no signs of showing, and stood up with the rest of the people to bid farewell to Cao Cao, and then followed Xun Yu and filed out. While accepting their farewell, Cao Cao looked up at Xun Yu's back slowly walking out of the hall, and secretly sighed in his heart: Wen Ruo (Xun Yu's word for Wen Ruo) ah Wen Ruo!well!It's not the truth that I don't trust you!The truth of this big matter discussed in secret tonight is that it is difficult to leave it to you after you have figured out your temperament!Instead of pushing you into a dilemma, it's better to choose the right person to do it.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the hall in a blink of an eye, and saw that everyone in the hall had dispersed, except for Xi Xi who was sitting at the head of the long seat on his right, looking at him with a blank expression. Cao Cao coughed and was about to speak.At this time, Cao Hong, who had been standing in the corner of the hall, came up in a hurry, holding a few wooden slips, and handed them to him. When Cao Cao looked at these wooden slips, he knew that it was the information sent back by Cao Hong's spy in Kong Rong's residence.He opened the wooden slip and glanced at it, only to see that it read:

When Kong Rong saw Zhao Yan tonight, please transfer the secret melody to His Majesty. The secret melody said: "I respectfully ask Your Majesty to be arbitrary and restore the ancient system, and not to grant titles to ministers with their land within thousands of miles around the capital." Seeing this, Cao Cao's face changed slightly: he was the only one among the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty who was conferred the title of Marquis of Wuping County by Emperor Xian, and his fief Wuping County was only three hundred miles away from Xudu, which happened to be in This capital has a radius of thousands of miles.It seems that what Kong Rong's secret performance is pointing at is clearly aimed at himself!

Hello Kong Rong!It's really deceiving!You have always been cynical and rude to the truth when it came to power. The truth sees you as a descendant of a sage and a leader of scholars, and treats you with tolerance and courtesy... It’s fine if you don’t come to this celebration banquet tonight. I didn’t expect it Instead, he made such a ruthless move to the truth in secret!Cao Cao was furious, but the shock and anger were only fleeting.He quietly threw those wooden slips into the fire under the wine cauldron during the banquet, and watched them slowly being burned to ashes until finally dissipated in a few wisps of green smoke.

Cao Cao raised his face to look at Cao Hong, and said in a deep voice, "Go down now, and keep all the attendants and other people away from this hall. I want to discuss state affairs with Dr. Xi, and no one is allowed to disturb you." Cao Hong hastily bent down to answer, and obeyed the order. After all the irrelevant people in the hall had withdrawn, Cao Cao put on a smiling face and cupped his hands to Xi Xi: "Master Xi, I would like to congratulate you on your promotion to the post of Doctor Censor! Today's banquet, in fact, the two of us It should have been congratulations..."

"Where! Where! Xi Mou's promotion to Yushi doctor this time is all due to the success of the Prime Minister and Xun Lingjun." Xi Ji waved his hands in panic, "Without the full support of the Prime Minister, and Xun Lingjun's blind humility, Xi How can someone claim this honor?" In this regard, Xi Ji is not a pretense.When Cao Cao was promoted to prime minister at that time, he originally wanted Xun Yu to concurrently serve as the doctor of imperial history.However, Xun Yu tried his best to accept his humble resignation, and strongly recommended Xi Xi to take up the position.Therefore, Xi Ji, the official censor whose name and status in the imperial court is second only to Prime Minister Cao, really depends on the success of the prime minister and Xun Lingjun.On the surface, Cao Cao needs him to balance the criticism from the government and the public on his sole responsibility for military and political affairs, but in essence, it is impossible to check and balance Cao Cao at all with Xi Xi's smooth and submissive character.

"Dr. Xi respects Confucianism and Bowen, and keeps the Tao. It is well-deserved for you to take the position of 'Censor Doctor'. Why should you be humble? I believe that you are in this position. We will definitely be able to establish guidelines, establish discipline, sweep away filth and eliminate evil!" Cao Cao raised the bronze dragon-patterned wine baron and took a sip of the fine wine, then frowned suddenly, and said with a heavy expression, "However, for you to be such an honorable and important person, 'Doctor Yu Shi', some people who eat vegetarian food in the corpse, show off their vanity, and rebel against the law are quite critical in secret!"

"This... this..." Xi Xi was startled and angry, but he didn't dare to explode in front of Cao Cao, he just gritted his teeth secretly, "Master Prime Minister, Xi has always firmly supported your internal and external strategies in the court, and has always It’s about staying upright and sticking to your own opinions. Now that I think about it, I probably offended some cunning villains on these matters. I also hope that the prime minister can see clearly and give Xi some justice..." "After listening to Dr. Xi's words, you must be very clear about the slander of some ignorant villains?" Cao Cao just looked at him with a faint smile, "Don't worry about Dr. Xi. Blinded by villains."

"Yes...yes... Xi also believes that the prime minister's eyes are sharp and discerning, and he will definitely not wrong Xi." Xi Xi stretched out his hand to wipe the dense sweat on his forehead due to high tension, "Prime Minister Xi is extremely grateful to Xi for his kindness and trust." Cao Cao looked at Chi Chi's tense and uneasy expression, and suddenly felt a sense of pride in playing with the world.He smiled sinisterly, and said again: "However, Dafu Xi should not be taken lightly! Those who came to the truth and slandered you, there are some cunning villains who are really dismissive, and the truth has scolded them It was bloody, and they were kicked out with sticks. But—” He suddenly drew his tone, looked at Xi Xi deeply, and said slowly, “Some people are in high positions and are quite famous in the government and the public. , the truth can't do anything to them!"

When Xi Xi heard this, he raised his heart to his throat again, his face was full of tension mixed with anger, and hurriedly asked Cao Cao: "Who? Who are they? Xi dared to ask the Prime Minister to tell frankly that Xi dared to fight with Cao Cao Confront them face to face!" "This person—do you really want to know?" Cao Cao's face suddenly became very serious, "He is—Kong Rong, the doctor of the Taizhong!" "So it's Dr. Kong... Doctor Kong?" Xi Ji couldn't help but fell back to his seat, his face full of shock, "He... what prejudice does he have against Xi?" "Dr. Xi doesn't know something. A few days ago, the truth asked Shangshu Hua Xin to bring the final draft of the edict appointing you as Doctor Yushi. When he took it to the palace to use the seal, Dr. Kong was also present. When he saw the final draft of the edict, there was Say your name to the emperor..." When Cao Cao said this, his tone suddenly paused, but he stopped talking. "My lord prime minister, he... what words did he say to His Majesty?" Xi Xi straightened his upper body from his seat in anxiety, stretched his neck, stared at Cao Cao's throat, wishing he could use a hook to get the answer from Cao Cao The hook in his throat was pulled out. "This...you'd better ask the Minister Hua Xin who was there at the time." Cao Cao stroked his beard and avoided his questioning, "That's all! Doctor Xi, don't take this matter too seriously... ..." "No...no...this matter is related to Xi's reputation, Xi must beg the prime minister to tell you frankly." Xi Xi still insisted on asking. Cao Cao sighed softly, and said slowly: "I have always respected Dr. Kong for his observance of etiquette and his reputation, but I didn't expect him to slander you behind Mr. Xi's back——Hua Shangshu told Ben Xiang, Dr. Kong said this to His Majesty at the time: "Xi Li is greedy for honor and wealth, does not keep the way firmly, conducts himself without integrity, and is dishonest in serving the king. How can he be a doctor of imperial history?"" In fact, when Cao Cao recounted Kong Rong’s advice to Emperor Xian, he deliberately omitted some content. Kong Rong’s original words were as follows: If you can’t check and balance the domineering ministers and serve the Han Dynasty, how can you be a royal doctor?” Of course, no matter how “frank” Cao Cao is here, he will not explain this part of the omission to Xi Xi.At that time, when he recommended Xi Ji to be the doctor of imperial history, didn't he just see his most important advantage of "not being able to check and balance domineering ministers when facing important events"? "Ah! Doctor Kong...he..." Xi Ji fell back on the seat, his face became very ugly, "He...how can he talk nonsense and slander Xi with vicious words!" "Mr. Xi, the truth finally convinced Hua Xin to persuade His Majesty to appoint you as Doctor Censor—in this way, his slander was in vain after all!" Cao Cao smiled coldly, pretending to be gentle and said, " Dr. Kong is the leader of the imperial court, and you are also a veteran and important minister of the imperial court—you two still value peace, so don't take these meaningless disputes to heart!" "Huh! This Kong Rong!" Xi Xi said angrily, "He went to His Majesty and said that Xi Mou was 'greedy for glory' - according to Xi Mou, he wanted to sit in the place where Xi Mou now lives. The position of 'Doctor Yushi' is the real one! He nonsensely said that Xi Mou was 'dishonest to the emperor'—huh! When he was in Beihai County, he was self-respecting and arbitrarily arbitrary, so how can he be regarded as 'respectful to the emperor'?" The more he talked, the more angry he was, a vicious thought popped up in his heart, so he said: "Xi heard someone talk about that when Kong Rong was the prefect of Beihai County, he once declared very rebelliously that he would rule the world. Those, why bother with golden swords!" "What? He said such a sentence?" Cao Cao was shocked when he heard it. "He said, 'He who rules the world, why bother with a golden sword'-"Liu" is also a person who has a golden sword! Liu's not Ruling the world, could it be that he, the Kong family, is going to rule the world? This is a rebellious word! Master Xi heard it clearly?" "This... this..." Seeing that Cao Cao was so shocked by this sentence, Xixi realized how outrageous the lie he had just made up, and that Kong Rong was loyal to the Han Dynasty It is recognized that no one will believe it if it is spread out, so he hurriedly said, "This... Xi just remembered that some refugees from Beihai County talked about Kong Rong and seemed to have said this sentence... Xi also has some memories It's not real anymore..." "Where there are suspicious words, there must be suspicious things, and they must be thoroughly investigated!" Cao Cao's brows were raised, his face suddenly turned livid and terrifying, and he stood up from the wooden bed with a "huh", his eyes were serious Looking closely at Xi Ji, "It is our duty to honor the Son of Heaven and protect the Han Dynasty. No matter who you are, whoever dares to show any disrespectful heart, disrespectful words or disrespectful words towards me, you will be killed." No pardon!" Hearing Cao Cao's murderous words, Xi Xi couldn't help shaking his heart violently, and the five internal organs in his chest stirred as if they were turned upside down——Oops!I just fell into his carefully woven language trap!Prime Minister Cao tried his best and finally elicited the "unnecessary" slander that he casually said to Kong Rong when he lost control of his emotions for a while.Could it be that Prime Minister Cao tried his best to sow dissension with words tonight, just to provoke a secret fight between himself and Kong Rong?Do I want to become a pawn in his hand to deal with Kong Rong?Oops!Oops!I'm afraid I fell into the trap of Prime Minister Cao... His thinking is getting clearer now, but his emotions are getting more and more confused: However, this Kong Rong is really a bit hateful!Why would he mock me so much in front of His Majesty? ... He was unkind first, so don't blame me for being unrighteous later... Oops!no!Even though I hate him so much, I shouldn't have given him such a serious slander against my conscience!Who would have believed that Kong Rong would say such disrespectful words? "Mr. Xi! It is your responsibility to supervise the officials and clean up the discipline! The truth is that you can take it seriously. For those who have ulterior motives, you must investigate and catch them to the end. You will never be soft-hearted! "Cao Cao's voice was as cold as ice, "Originally, the truth is to persuade you and Dr. Kong to work together tonight, and Qi Kuang's government. However, from what you said, Kong Rong seems to have such a Waiting for the words of disrespect—ah! The laws of the Han Dynasty are imposing, and the truth does not dare to abolish the public for private reasons!" "Cao...Prime Minister Cao..." Xi Xi finally plucked up his courage while trembling, and interjected, "There is no one to prove what Kong Rong said back then, 'The one who rules the world, why use a golden knife', now, Xi Xi This is just hearsay... that's all! That's all! Xi is willing to listen to your teachings, and is willing to work together with Dr. Kong to help the Han Dynasty..." "Huh? Dr. Xi! You don't want to be so soft and cowardly! For those who are not inferior, you should 'rather be in vain than indulge'! It doesn't matter if you don't have witnesses" or "hearsay"! If you want to check the truth, you can let it go Check!" Cao Cao slowly walked up to Xi Ji, who was huddled in horror, with his hands behind his back, and ordered without any objection, "The Prime Minister will let Lu Cui, the law Cao Jishi of the prime minister's mansion, come to assist you Yushitai to cooperate. Investigate and deal with Kong Rong's disobedience to the Dao and the law!" Hearing the name "Lu Cui", Xi Ji's heart tightened even more: he is the most capable cruel official under Prime Minister Cao's subordinates!It is said that he is best at playing tricks and weaving charges.Prime Minister Cao sent him to investigate and deal with Kong Rong together with him, clearly wanting to put Kong Rong to death!It seems that Prime Minister Cao's real intention to keep his secret discussion tonight is that he kept talking about reconciling his relationship with Kong Rong?It is simply a trick to kill with a borrowed knife!From the very beginning, I fell into the trap carefully set up by Prime Minister Cao... But do I dare to stand up and reject him at this time?Can I refuse him again?If you reject him, I'm afraid he won't let you go... Thinking of this, Chi Chi broke out in a cold sweat.Even though the inside and outside of the hall were filled with the scorching heat of midsummer in May, at this moment he was shivering non-stop as if he had fallen into an ice cave.