"Hah-"

Xu He pounced again with a short blade in his hand, seeing that Cao Cao's body was desperately grabbed by the sergeant Chen Wu, and there was no way to avoid it, and he was about to die under the assassin's knife.

Unexpectedly, Xu He, who pounced on him, screamed, and the short blade that stabbed over was so soft and powerless that he just added another knife wound to Cao Cao's body, and he fell to the hall in pain.

Cao Cao looked at it, it turned out that the captain Ding Fei had already led the troops to kill Xu He's accomplice, hurried to the hall gate, saw that the aid was not in time, and hurriedly threw a sword to save him, this sword was extremely powerful, and the force pierced his back, directly stabbing him to death on the spot.

Cao Cao, who survived in death, was in good spirits, and struggled to break free from the sergeant Chen Wu, who had exhausted his strength, Ding Fei and other soldiers also stepped forward one after another, hacking Chen Wu, who still had a trace of breath, to death, and then helped Cao Cao who fell to the ground with all his hands and feet.

"Ming Gong, quickly call the ulcer doctor, call the ulcer doctor!"

Ding Fei's face was agitated, and he hurriedly tore off the strip of cloth to help Cao Cao bandage and stop the bleeding, while shouting hoarsely.

"It's lonely, heh, one or two traitors can't harm Lone's life."

Cao Cao, who was frightened and had multiple knife wounds, knew that he wanted to minimize the negative impact of this matter, so he endured the severe pain and showed a smile, signaling Ding Fei not to make a fuss, he only suffered a few skin injuries.

But Ding Fei, who is usually witty, was like a mourner at this time, his teeth chattered, and he looked at the blood flowing from Cao Cao's wound and said tremblingly:

"Ming Gong, on this blade—"

Cao Cao finally noticed at this time that the blood flowing from his wound was slowly turning from bright red to black brown, his heart jumped, and he already understood Ding Fei's fear, but Cao Cao, who reacted instantly, grabbed Ding Fei's palm and said abruptly:

"It's all right, it's just a minor injury."

"Yes,,, Fei knows...

Ding Fei felt the strength of Cao Cao's palm in his hand, and immediately understood, and quickly changed his words, and Cao Cao showed a smile with satisfaction.

"Don't let the officers and men of the army know about this matter, and those who leak it will be killed! Let Zilian - "

Cao Cao originally wanted to send Cao Hong to see him, but the words behind him were getting lower and lower, Ding Fei wanted to get close to his ears and hear clearly, but found that Cao Cao, who had been holding on, had passed out.

···

Although Cao Cao's assassination was tightly sealed among Cao's army, it inevitably caused an uproar among the high-level civil and military forces.

Cao Pi, who was fighting with the army, received an urgent report and hurried over.

Since her half-brother Cao Ang died in Nanyang, and Mrs. Ding and Cao Cao quarreled and returned to her mother's house, Mrs. Bian successfully ascended to the throne and took over the affairs of the backyard of Sikong Mansion, and Cao Pi, who was already sixteen years old, also received special treatment from his eldest son, and was personally taught by Cao Cao, as if he had been cultivated as the heir of the Cao family.

Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang and other young sons and nephews of the Cao family who had emerged in the army also obeyed their father's orders, and their attitude towards Cao Pi became more and more respectful.

Cao Pi knew that all this had nothing to do with him, and only his brother could enjoy it, but now, it was all his own.

With a stealing joy, a panic, a dazed Cao Pi came to the army, he remembered his mother's advice before leaving, his father treated Cao Cao's martial arts with filial piety, treated Cao Cao's subordinates with respect and courtesy, treated the Cao family peers with generosity, and diligently studied the art of war and horsemanship every day, and never dared to slack off for a day.

But the sixteen-year-old's shoulders could not support this huge burden after all, when he heard the news that his father was seriously assassinated, Cao Pi's eyes darkened, and he felt that the sky was about to fall, and he was frightened and uneasy, and he only knew that he followed Ding Fei step by step to his father's bedroom in the city.

"Ming Gong, the eldest son is here."

After seeing Ding Fei escorting Cao Pi in, he bowed and retreated, and Guo Jia, who was kneeling in front of the couch, hurriedly whispered to Cao Cao on the couch.

Cao Cao, whose face was bloodless and angry, opened his eyes when he heard the sound, he turned his eyes to look at Cao Pi, and raised his hand weakly, signaling him to come forward and obey orders.

Cao Pi had tears in his eyes, and first bowed to Cao Hong and Guo Jia, who were kneeling in front of the couch, and then hurriedly kneeled to Cao Cao's couch and said respectfully:

"My lord, the child is here."

"Hmm." Cao Cao bowed slightly, turned his gaze and said: "Zilian, Fengxiao, this lonely son is obedient and virtuous, lonely loves him very much, you think he can continue the business of Lone?" ”

Cao Hong and Guo Jia had already expected it in their hearts, and although their tone was sad, they still hurriedly bowed down and said:

"The eldest son is a talented man, and with the capital of the Ming Lord, he will definitely be able to magnify the cause of the Ming Gong."

"Okay, okay." Cao Cao paused and tried to smile, "Lone was seriously injured in the assassination this time, if there is an accident on the way to retreat, this son will inherit the name of Lone, Zihuan is still young, and he will rely on Erjun's careful assistance in the future." ”

"Hong (Jia) is deeply favored by the Ming Gong, and he will be repaid to the son."

"Okay." Cao Cao nodded, and said: "This traitor stole the hair, Lone was seriously injured, it is difficult to capture Qingzhou again, the withdrawal of the army will be handed over to the second monarch to preside, remember, after the army retreats to the north bank, you can send an envoy to inform Zang Ba and other Taishan troops to retreat, before that, be sure to block the news to the outside world, not to leak out." ”

"No, no!"

Guo Jia and Cao Hong glanced at each other and hurriedly responded. Although Zang Ba's Taishan troops and horses served Cao Cao, they were still Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others' private soldiers, and the withdrawal of the military was very important, if it was accidentally leaked out, or the soldiers and horses of Mount Tai in the south retreated in advance, the Cao army brigade that urgently retreated north was in danger of being attacked by Yuan Tan's chasing troops, so it was necessary to give up the car to protect the commander, and use the soldiers and horses of Mount Tai on the southern line to ensure the safe retreat of Cao's army.

Moreover, if Cao Cao is seriously injured and dies, there will definitely be a shock to the government and the opposition, and at this time, the strength of the Taishan soldiers who are side branches will be damaged, which may not be a good thing for the stability of the center.

"The second thing, if there is an accident, I am afraid that the Son of Heaven will listen to slander, and he will be manipulated by the traitorous villain, causing a lot of turmoil in the court. This matter can be closely coordinated by Lu Hong, Zhao Da, and you and others, once the treacherous matter is discovered, it is necessary to nip the disaster in the bud, but must not hurt the Son of Heaven. ”

"No, no." Cao Pi, Cao Hong, and Guo Jia received orders again.

The Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty is a banner in their hands, with him, the Cao army has the advantage of righteousness in foreign expeditions, if the Cao army loses the commander Cao Cao, who uses soldiers like a god, then no matter whether Xiahoudun or Cao Hong leads the troops, they will rely more on the nominal weapon of Wang Shi's expedition.

"The third thing... Cao Cao's breath became weaker and weaker, he eased down, and then said again: "Yuan Shangse is very inward, and his talent is far inferior to his father, and he must not be the opponent of Yan Yan in Guanxi, if Yecheng is lost, Liyang, Dunqiu and other cities on the north bank must be sent to seize it, and it must not fall into the hands of the soldiers and horses of Guanxi, otherwise Guanxi will ride across the river to the south, and the new capital Juancheng will be in danger." ”

"No, no."

If you want to protect the Central Plains, you need to cross the Jingjing, benefit, and become a horizontal trend to be able to compete with it.

"No, no."

Cao Pi, Cao Hong and Guo Jiaqiang endured the sorrow in their hearts and respectfully bowed their heads to the order. And when Cao Cao said this, he also sighed, unwilling to say any more.

The two were a little strange, raised their eyes and saw Cao Cao staring at Cao Pi, and immediately understood that Cao Cao had something else to say to Cao Pi, Cao Hong and Guo Jia hurriedly bowed and retreated, leaving the space to Cao Cao and Cao Pi, the father and son.

"Ru Xiao Ru Mu."

Cao Cao quietly looked at Cao Pi's tearful face for a while, and suddenly said softly, but before Cao Pi could reply, he changed his tone again and said sternly:

"Son, do you know that although you can inherit Lone's name, you can't inherit Lone's prestige and popularity. In the future, although you are in a high position, you need to rely on your uncle in military affairs, and Xun Lingjun, Zhong Degong and others are present in civil affairs, war plots, etc., and there are arrogant generals like Zang Ba and Chang Feng who need to be checked and balanced. ”

Cao Pi was dumbfounded, not knowing how to answer his father's question for a while.

"As the lord of the people, but everything can only be decided by the courtiers, it's very humiliating, isn't it?" Cao Cao smiled bitterly and continued:

"But even if there is a great humiliation, you have to grit your teeth and endure it. When my father sent people under the fence, Qu Yi greeted Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao, why don't you have to endure many humiliations, you are still young, you can endure these humiliations, so that you can have a chance to achieve great things. Next, the rise and fall of this clan and even a country may all depend on you alone, you can only endure it silently, Wen Lie, Zidan and other juniors can help you, as for the father, I am afraid I will not see the day when you become a great weapon. ”

"Your Excellency!" Cao Pi's tears poured out again, but this time he held back and didn't cry, and kept wiping away the tears on his face.

"That's right, good boy, go outside first, and leave your father alone for a while."

"No." Cao Pi subconsciously responded, but he reacted immediately, and when he stood up, he was stunned and said:

"Your Excellency!"

"Go, let your Uncle Lian come in and see your father."

Cao Cao shook his head, the situation at this time did not allow him to grow up with his children, and he had to try his best to make some efforts for the foundation of the Cao family before he died.

Seeing this, Cao Pi could only bow and salute, then turned around and walked out. And at this time, Cao Cao's voice behind him sounded again.

"Zihuan, life is a life, the grass grows in spring, the road to being a father has come to an end, but the luck of the Cao family will never be cut off. You still have a long way to go, don't look back, just move forward! ”

When Cao Pi heard this, his body was stunned, and tears came out of his eyes again, but he resisted the urge to turn back and reached out to wipe away the tears.

"The child knows."

After saying that, the sixteen-year-old took a long breath, held his head high, took a big stride, and without looking back, walked out of the room.

"Uncle Zilian, my lord, please."

Cao Pi, who was standing outside, had a resolute gaze, and Cao Hong and Guo Jia were quite surprised when they saw this, they actually witnessed the growth of a young descendant in such a way.

Cao Hong didn't dare to slack off, arched his hand towards Cao Pi and Guo Jia, and walked indoors.

The door closed behind Cao Pi, making a rattling sound, like a layer of yin and yang separating the father and son, Cao Pi's body moved, he saluted Guo Jia, and walked quickly towards the corridor door on the side.

It wasn't until he walked to a no-man's corner that Cao Pi's footsteps stopped, the drizzle was still falling, and the rain fell on his immature body, cold to the bone, but Cao Pi shivered and let the rain hit his face on his back and wash away his tears.

I will definitely magnify my father's foundation, and the Cao family will never die!

···

The battle of Qingzhou in the eighth year of Jian'an, the Cao army who won the victory and won again and again was about to wave his hand to conquer Linzi City, but at this critical moment, the commander of the army, Cao Cao, was accidentally assassinated by the secret dead soldier Xu He, although the assassins were killed, but Cao Cao himself was seriously injured, after urgently ordering many aftermaths, a generation of troubled heroes died, Cao Hong, Guo Jia and others who led the troops were ordered to obey Cao Cao's last order, block the news, keep it secret, quickly abandon the city of Qingzhou, and retreat north to cross the river, Cao Pi, the eldest son of the guardian, retreated to Juancheng.

When Yuan Tan in Linzi City reacted completely and urgently sent troops to chase and kill, the Cao army had already crossed the river and left, and Yuan Tan, who was in the air, gritted his teeth angrily, and only defeated several soldiers and horses of Mount Tai who had to retreat in a hurry at this time.

However, although it was not able to catch up with the Cao army brigade, but Qingzhou's urgent need has been relieved after all, Yuan Shang and Cao Cao's two armies retreated successively, and Yuan Tan also made a comeback, recovering all the cities in Qingzhou, and crossed the river with strong troops and horses, preparing to wait for an opportunity to seize the remaining half of Jizhou in Yuan Shang.

In this grim situation, Yuan Shang, who was threatened by the east and west, had to seek a break as soon as possible. Although he really wanted to turn around first and defeat the Qingzhou Yuan Tan soldiers and horses behind him, but Yecheng's trial and match sent envoys for help one after another, and Feng Ji and others also warned bitterly that they must face the difficulties now, as long as they repelled the Guanxi soldiers and horses, Qingzhou Yuan Tan will definitely lose their hearts and will never dare to plot against Jizhou again.

The brave wins when they meet on a narrow road, and at the moment there is no reason to abandon the original plan at the critical moment of rescuing Yecheng, and the whole army will turn around and attack Qingzhou again, once the infantry of Kansai is allowed to launch a pursuit from behind, I am afraid that the 50,000 troops that have been gathered recently will be destroyed.

In this case, Yuan Shang could only stubbornly and Yuan Xi, who had recently arrived, led the troops into Yecheng thirty miles away, and confronted the Xiliang army besieging Yecheng from afar, and the trial in the city learned that Yuan Shang's reinforcements had arrived, and he also hurriedly encouraged the officials in the city to go out of the city to meet the enemy, preparing to work with Yuan Shang's reinforcements, echoing inside and outside, and repelling the Xiliang army that had been besieging the city for a long time in one fell swoop.

On that day, the armies of Yan and Yuan fought on the banks of Zhangshui.