Early the next morning, Yuan Xi handed over Hejian City to Cai Ji as promised. In addition to Tian Yi and other original Hejian defenders, about 6,000 soldiers and horses left Hejian with Yuan Xi. Cai Ji did not block this, firstly, because she had an appointment with Yuan Xi before, and secondly, Yuan Xi's purpose this time was to go to Handan to rescue Yuan Shang. Although Cai Ji didn't think that Zhang Nan and Jiao Touch would willingly accompany Yuan Xi to their deaths, it was always a good thing to have more soldiers and horses to trouble Cao Cao. What's more, Zhang Nan and Jiao Touch are both powerful in Youzhou, known for their rebelliousness, if the two of them betrayed Yuan Xi and returned to Youzhou, Cai Ji would have an excuse to completely destroy him.

And just when Yuan Xi was marching towards Handan without hesitation, Cao Cao, who was besieging Yuan Shang outside Handan City, finally responded to the "Prime Minister's Incident". To Liu Xie's surprise, Cao Cao did not put pressure on the imperial court and seek to pay homage to the prime minister as speculated by the outside world. On the contrary, he wrote a "Let the Virtuous" freely, saying that he was only shallow in his knowledge and was not enough to worship the prime minister. Liu Xie, who was a little confused about Cao Cao's roads, immediately summoned the advisers around him to the imperial city to discuss countermeasures.

At this moment, after seeing Cao Cao's recital circulated in the hands of the ministers, Liu Xie, who was sitting on the dragon couch, couldn't wait to ask the ministers present, "What do you think of this matter?" ”

"Congratulations to Your Majesty, Cao Cao is afraid of public opinion, and he doesn't dare to make a mistake." Lang Liao Mei was the first to congratulate Liu Xie.

Liao Mei's statement sounded quite pleasant to Liu Xie. In fact, during the days when Cao Cao remained silent, Liu Xie really secretly speculated whether Cao Cao did not dare to take over the phase because of the world's leisurely mouth. After all, the voices of opposition to the prime minister between the government and the opposition still have a slight upper hand. Even Cao Cao's henchman Xun Yu was sick at home and didn't dare to express his position. However, before the young king could breathe a sigh of relief, Zhao Yan, who was also a councilor, had unceremoniously retorted, "Cao Cao did not object to the reinstatement of the phase in the compromise, which shows that his so-called concession is just a retreat. ”

"Zhao Yilang has a point." Dong Cheng also echoed and said, "Cao Cao is a wolf, and this time he is a virtuous man. I'm afraid there are other plans. ”

Zhao Yan and Dong Cheng's words made Liu Xie's face, which was still eager to try, immediately stiffen. That's right, if you don't restore the fù prime minister system, how can you let Xianyi say it. An analysis along this direction. Cao Cao's originally humble wording "Let Xianfu" suddenly became aggressive in Liu Xie's eyes. In addition, Cao Cao has always been asked for, and the young Tianzi, who couldn't hold his breath, slapped the table and said, "Do you have another plan?" Could it be that Cao Mengde can't look down on the phase. I want to make it a public call! ”

Liu Xie's voice shouted so loudly that the ministers present lowered their heads one after another. Doctor Wu Shuo hurriedly explained to Cao Cao, "Your Majesty is angry. Cao Cao is from the Duke of Zhou, and this time he wrote and excused himself only to express his position, and there was no disobedience. The minister thought that His Majesty might as well push the boat along the river and worship Cao Cao. ”

Hearing that the first important minister around the Son of Heaven was blatantly "begging for officials" for Cao Cao, Zhao Yan's face suddenly showed disdain. In his opinion, Wu Shuo is indeed deeply trusted by the Son of Heaven, but Wu Shuo himself is too tactful and cannot adhere to the way of pure ministers in front of Cao Cao and Cai Ji. saw Zhao Yan snort coldly and asked Wu Shuo rhetorically. What does Dr. Wu mean by this? Is it possible that His Majesty still asks Cao Mengde to pay homage to the prime minister? ”

In the face of Zhao Yan's harsh ridicule, Wu Shuo said for tat without changing his face, "Cao Cao and Cai Ji have made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, if the imperial court does not reward and punish clearly, how can the people of the world be convinced." ”

Wu Shuo's words were not so much arguing with Zhao Yan. It is better to say that he is still persuading Liu Xie. Because he knew very well that Zhao Yan, who was resolute and loyal, would not compromise with Cao Cao. The Son of Heaven also needs loyal ministers like Zhao Yan to promote righteousness in the court. But righteousness alone will not allow Liu Xie to regain power. Compromise and conspiracy are also the only way for Liu Xie to become pro-government. As the so-called odd is complementary, the heat between the two ultimately has to be controlled by the young emperor himself.

It is true that Liu Xie had also discussed with Wu Shuo the pros and cons of restoring the prime minister's system before, and knew that he had no conditions to bargain with Cao Cao at the moment. But he was still a little unwilling to take the initiative to ask Cao Cao to pay respects. And just when Liu Xie was hesitating, the auxiliary general who was sitting on the side bowed his hand and said, "Your Majesty, Doctor Wu's strategy." It is the words of the old minister to seek the country. ”

Fu Wan is the seventh grandson of the great Situ Fu Zhan, the marquis of the lord, and the eldest daughter of Emperor Huan of Shang Han Huan, the eldest princess of Yang'an, Liu Hua, is the wife. And he and Princess An's daughter Fu Shou is the queen of the dynasty. Compared with Dong Cheng, who was born and climbed to the position of a general by nepotism, he is really a well-known relative of the emperor after this kind of royal family. In addition, Fu Wan has always been deep and generous, which makes his words quite weighty among the government and the opposition.

No, seeing that the old man had spoken, Liu Xie finally sighed helplessly, gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go!" Spread my will, abolish the three dukes, and worship Cao Cao as prime minister. ”

"Majesty!" Zhao Yan's eyes widened and he said hurriedly.

But he didn't want to be stopped by Liu Xie raising his hand, "This matter is over, and the secretaries don't have to argue again." ”

Hearing that the young emperor talked about this, even if Zhao Yan and the others were dissatisfied, they had to suppress the complaints to the bottom of their hearts. As for Wu Shuo and Fu Wan, they both secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, like Zhao Yan and others, they can't get used to Cao Cao's style of coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes, but it is really not a way to face Cao Cao's hard top with heavy troops.

On the other hand, Liu Xie was also extremely depressed after being forced to present the seal to Cao Cao, so he simply waved his hand to signal the ministers to retreat from the court, and then left the hall without looking back. Liu Xie's move carried an immature willfulness in the eyes of most courtiers. But at present, many people have no energy to care about the love of the Son of Heaven, since Cao Cao is destined to worship the prime minister, then he can also deal with it.

Just when the ministers were putting on their shoes outside the hall with their own hearts, a yellow door attendant trotted to Dong Cheng's side and whispered to him, "General, Dong Niangniang summons." ”

As soon as Dong Cheng heard that his daughter wanted to see him, he immediately glanced around subconsciously. Seeing that most of the ministers had left one after another, he turned around and nodded to the small yellow door and said, "Lead the way." ”

Dong Cheng's daughter, Dong Guiren, had just been diagnosed by the imperial doctor not long ago, and she was pregnant with a dragon fetus. Although Liu Xie had two sons with Fu Hou before, he was still overjoyed after learning that Dong Guiren was happy. Not only give a lot of tonics. He also often went to the palace to visit Dong Guiren. Thinking that his daughter was deeply favored by the Son of Heaven, Dong Cheng felt that the little setback he had suffered on the top of the main hall before was nothing, and even the steps under his feet were relaxed.

Not long after, Dong Cheng came to the dormitory where Dong Guiren was under the guidance of Xiao Huangmen. However, before he stepped into the dormitory, the sound of Liu Xie and his daughter laughing could be heard in the hall. I thought it was just my daughter who wanted to see her Dong Cheng, but when she heard that Liu Xie was also there, her heart suddenly turned seventeen or eighteen thoughts.

At the same time, the small yellow door on the side had already entered the hall and reported to Liu Xietong, "Your Majesty." General Dong asked to see him. ”

Liu Xie stopped teasing with Dong Guiren, and turned his head to say, "Pass." ”

The little yellow door who had been ordered bowed down and exited the dormitory, and made a gesture of invitation to Dong Cheng, who was waiting outside the hall. Dong Cheng immediately straightened his clothes and stepped into the hall, bowing to the Son of Heaven on the couch and saluting, "Minister Dong Cheng has seen Your Majesty." ”

"Why does Dong Qing need to make this big gift." Liu Xie raised his hand to signal Dong Cheng to get up, and turned back to Dong Guiren and smiled. "How? I didn't break my promise. ”

"Thank you." Dong Guiren gratefully blessed Liu Xie, and immediately came to Dong Cheng with the support of the palace maid, and called deeply, "Daddy." ”

Dong Cheng hugged his daughter, took pity on him, and solemnly admonished, "You have the blood of the heavenly family, so you have to be careful in everything." ”

For Dong Cheng, the fact that his daughter is pregnant with a dragon fetus is more important than anything else. After all, a dragon fetus is not something that can be conceived if you want to. In fact, Dong Guiren had also been pregnant with a dragon seed before, but unfortunately it failed to take shape in the end. Therefore, whether it is Dong Cheng or Liu Xie. are quite concerned about Dong Guifei's pregnancy. Especially Dong Cheng, as long as his daughter can give birth to a dragon son this time, then his status in the court will also rise. In fact, not only Dong Cheng, but even Cao Cao, who leaned towards the government and the opposition, also had the same idea. It's just that although Cao Cao stuffed his three daughters into the palace, so far there are no signs of pregnancy in the three of them.

Dong Guiren rarely saw his family once. is about to be a mother again, and she can't help but babble a lot with her father. Liu Xie sat on the side, sipping tea while watching the concubine chatting happily. However, this made Dong Cheng bitter, as soon as he was not a woman, he was not good at chatting about family matters; Second, since he entered the palace, Dong Cheng felt that it was not his daughter who summoned him, but Liu Xie. Anxious to know the emperor's purpose, he perfunctorily entertained his daughter for a while. He impatiently coaxed him, "The hour is not early, you are pregnant, you need to rest a lot." ”

Dong Guiren was quite satisfied to see his father, and after Dong Cheng's reminder, out of consideration for the fetus in his womb, he obediently got up and said goodbye to Liu Xie and his father. After his daughter left, Dong Cheng flicked his long sleeves and asked the young Son of Heaven in a pretended manner, "Your Majesty asked Xiao Huangmen to summon the ministers to the inner palace, I'm afraid that you don't just want the ministers to see your daughter, right?" ”

Liu Xieben still wanted to put on a score, but Dong Cheng couldn't wait to ask such a question, so he had to sigh and clench his fists, "Dong Qing, who knows me." This was the case above the main hall before, and I... I'm really unwilling! ”

Unwilling? Unwilling to listen to Wu Shuo's words and worship Cao Cao? Dong Cheng slandered Liu Xie's indecisiveness in his heart. However, he thought about it, since the Son of Heaven said that he was unwilling, it meant that the Son of Heaven was not satisfied with Wu Shuo this time. Thinking of this, Dong Cheng immediately thought about it, and bowed his hand to Liu Xie and said, "Your Majesty." The minister heard that there is a saying in Donglai that people have to bow their heads under the eaves. Now the government and the opposition all need to rely on Cao Cao's snort to survive. It is not unreasonable for Doctor Wu and the Marquis of Buqi to persuade His Majesty to take the overall situation as the priority and worship Cao Cao.

"People have to bow their heads under the eaves?" Liu Xie recalled Dong Cheng's words, and couldn't help but raise a trace of self-deprecation and said with a wry smile, "This is quite appropriate. But I don't know when I won't bow my head. ”

"Go back to your majesty, and don't bow your head when you leave the eaves." Dong Cheng punned.

Facing Dong Cheng's words, Liu Xie asked with a fixed expression, "What does Dong Qing mean by this?" ”

"Get out of the roof." Dong Cheng replied with his head down. He believed that with Liu Xie's wisdom, it was impossible not to know the meaning of these words. The key is whether the Son of Heaven on the other side dares to think about it.

Sure enough, after Liu Xie was silent for a long time, he asked in a slightly hesitant tone, "In this way, wouldn't I be protected by the eaves?" ”

Dong Cheng, who had expected Liu Xie's answer, straightened his back and hugged Liu Xie with a righteous posture, "Your Majesty Mingjian, only by putting aside the eaves can Your Majesty straighten your waist and point the country." What's more, there is not only one eaves in the world that can shelter His Majesty from the wind and rain. ”

Dong Cheng's words have been very obvious when he talks about this meaning, that is, he wants Liu Xie to leave Xu Capital and join other princes. However, the experience of being displaced since childhood made Liu Xie hesitate. After all, whether it is Dong Cheng or Li Xun, Yang Feng or Cao Cao, Liu Xie has moved from one roof to another, and the situation has not changed substantially. Almost every prince only regarded him Liu Xie as a puppet, not the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Dong Cheng saw that Liu Xie was silent, and further encouraged him, "Your Majesty, as long as the imperial court is in Cao Cao's hands for one day, the imperial court will be subject to Cao Cao for one day." Please also think twice. ”

Although Liu Xie's surface has not changed much at this time, deep down in his heart has been surging by Dong Cheng. Yes, as long as you leave Xudu and leave Yuzhou, you can completely get rid of Cao Cao's control. But how do you escape from the impregnable Xu Capital City? Where do you go after you escape the city? After thinking about it so far, Liu Xie, who felt that the time was not yet ripe, finally said cautiously, "This matter still needs to be considered in the long run." ”

Although Liu Xie vetoed Dong Cheng's construction, Dong Cheng did not continue to pester Liu Xie. In his opinion, as long as the Son of Heaven has relevant ideas, it will be done. As for how to implement it, to be honest, even Dong Cheng himself is not ready at this time. Therefore, Dong Cheng immediately respectfully hugged his fist towards Liu Xie, "Your Majesty." ”

Regardless of Dong Cheng's plan to let Liu Xie gradually escape from the "roof", at least on the third day after the two met, Cao's messenger had already conveyed Liu Xie's decision to Cao Cao, who was far away in Handan City. After learning that the Son of Heaven had ordered the abolition of the Third Duke and worshiped Cao Cao as the prime minister, Cao Ying suddenly fell into an excitement.

"Congratulations, Father." In the big tent, Cao raised his head and congratulated Cao Cao. In his opinion, the court worships his father as the prime minister, indicating that his father has taken another step towards the position of the Duke of Zhou.

At the same time, under the leadership of Cao Ang, Gao Fan, Shi Jian and other Cao Ying civil and military officers also congratulated Cao Cao Qi one after another. In the midst of singing praises of merit, only Xun You remained silent, neither congratulating Cao Cao nor admonishing Cao Cao. Thinking of Xun Yu, who was far away in Xudu, who also treated the matter of worshipping the prime minister in a closed-door way, Cao Cao couldn't help but ask Xun Yu with a blank face, "Gongda doesn't seem to be happy to see the lonely minister?" ”

Facing Cao Cao's heart-wrenching question, Xun You turned around and bowed without changing his face, "Back to the lord, I think it's not time to pay homage to the prime minister." ”

As soon as Xun You's words came out, many Cao generals present showed surprise. Everyone knows that Cao Cao started by relying on two major forces, Wen is the Ruying family, and Wu is the Qian Pei martial artist. And the uncle and nephew of the Xun family are the leaders of the Ruying family. Now Xun Yu is sick behind closed doors, and Xun Yu directly said "It's not time to pay homage to the prime minister", what kind of drama is this.

Compared with his confused subordinates, Cao Cao suddenly laughed after staring at Xun Yu for a long time, "Kong Zhang, write a book for Gu, Gu wants to refuse this matter." (To be continued)