Chapter 246: Kill all of Jingyang! Kill all of Xiliang! Let everyone be buried with him! My son, I will avenge you!
At night, inside the tent.

Guo Jia, Cao Hong, Cheng Yu, Yu Jin and other counselors and generals all looked anxiously at Cao Cao who was lying unconscious on the couch.

Dian Wei knelt on Cao Cao's couch, his face full of shame, and he didn't dare to get up.

As for Ma Dai, although he looked uneasy, he did not kneel down again, but just stood aside with a nervous expression.

After all, his mission was to launch a surprise attack on Yangquan, not to protect Cao Ang. Your Young Master Cao was beheaded by Guan Ping, and it was also your fault, Dian Wei. What does it have to do with me?

I helped you bring back your son's head. If you count it seriously, I have made a contribution.

In that case, why should I kneel?
Just when everyone was getting nervous, Cao Cao, who was in a coma, finally woke up.

"Ang'er, my Ang'er~~"

Cao Cao sat up suddenly, and the first thing he said when he opened his eyes was to cry out his son's name.

While everyone breathed a sigh of relief, they were also worried that Cao Cao would faint again from excessive grief and anger after just waking up.

"Sikong, the dead cannot be resurrected. Please put the country and the world first, and be patient and take care of yourself."

Guo Jia rushed forward and tried to persuade him.

"Brother, you must not be too sad, or you will hurt your body!"

"You must take care of yourself so that you can lead us to kill Liu Bei and Guan Ping in the future and avenge Zixiu~~"

Cao Hong also supported Cao Cao and persuaded him with tears of grief and anger in his eyes.

With the persuasion of the two, Cao Cao was able to suppress his grief and anger, and did not suffer from a splitting headache and faint on the spot.

"Sikong, it was Jia's plan that went wrong and was discovered by Xiao Fang, causing the eldest son to be killed by the enemy!"

"Jia is guilty, please punish him!"

Seeing that Cao Cao's emotions had stabilized, Guo Jia half-knelt on the ground and apologized to him.

Dian Wei kowtowed again and said with shame:

"My lord, it was Wei who failed to protect Master Zixiu."

"Wei is the real sinner. Please allow me to die as a token of my sin!"

Dian Wei was so emotional that he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide.

Cao Cao's face changed, his grief and anger turned into panic, he struggled to jump off the bed and held down Dian Wei's sword.

"Ziyi, stop messing around!"

After Cao Cao caught Dian Wei, he said sternly:
"You have already risked your life in this battle, and have done your duty to protect Zixiu. It was his bad luck that he could not escape this disaster. What crime have you committed?"

"I have already lost a beloved son, how can I lose a powerful general like you!"

Dian Wei had tears in his eyes and was choking with sobs, his expression showing both shame and emotion.

Cao Cao pressed Dian Wei's sword back, then turned around and supported Guo Jia.

"Feng Xiao, your plan is beyond comprehension. It was the country bumpkin who was so smart that he was almost a demon. How can you blame your miscalculation if this plan fails?"

"If I have to blame someone, I should blame that big-eared thief, that country bumpkin, and that son of Guan Yu!"

"You should cheer up and help me kill all of Liu Bei's ministers one day to avenge my son, instead of complaining about yourselves!"

At this time, it was Cao Cao's turn to comfort Guo Jia and Dian Wei.

Dian Wei jumped up, his face burning with anger, and said angrily:

"My lord, rest assured. I swear to heaven that sooner or later I will kill Liu Bei, Xiao Fang, and that dog head of Guan Ping to avenge the eldest son!"

"If you break your oath, I will make you live a life worse than death!"

Guo Jia also stood up and said resolutely:
"Jia must learn from his pain and use all his wisdom to help Sikong defeat Liu Bei's chief minister and avenge Sikong's son's murder!"

Seeing the two ministers, one civil and one military, express such a great attitude, Cao Cao's pain of losing his son was slightly relieved.

"It's strange to say, Fengxiao's plan is perfect. Who would have thought that brother would have the courage to withdraw troops to rescue Lu Bu when he was suppressed by Yuan Shao?"

"Xiao Fang, that country bumpkin, even if he is a master of calculations, could he be so calculating?"

Cao Hong frowned and expressed his doubts.

Cao Cao was shocked, and after hearing the hidden meaning in his words, he asked in a deep voice:

"Zi Lian, what do you want to say?"

Cao Hong coughed a few times, then bowed and said:
"Yuan Shao is now very powerful. There are countless people in our army and in the prefectures who are secretly flirting with Yuan Shao and plotting a way out."

"Since there are people who can secretly communicate with Yuan Shao, there must be many who secretly collude with Liu Bei."

"My foolish brother is guessing, could it be that a traitor leaked the secret of our sneak attack on Yangquan to Liu Bei, rather than Xiao Fang discovering it?"

Cao Cao's heart trembled, and he seemed to be suddenly enlightened.

He suddenly raised his head and glanced at everyone present with suspicion.

Everyone subconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to look Cao Cao in the eye.

"Sikong, those who know of Jia's plan are all Sikong's trusted ministers. It shouldn't be possible that any of them secretly defected to Liu Bei."

However, Guo Jia did not agree with Cao Hong's guess.

"Fengxiao, those who know your plan may not all be my brother's confidants..."

Cao Hong's tone was meaningful and he glanced at Ma Dai.

Cao Cao's gaze then fell on Ma Dai. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and a cold and suspicious look flashed across them.

Cao Hong's hint was already obvious.

The ones who secretly communicated with Liu Bei and leaked the sneak attack plan must be Ma Teng's uncle and nephew!

Ma Teng's allegiance to him was only nominal.

Now that Ma Teng saw that he was suppressed by Yuan Shao, the situation was unfavorable, and he was in danger of being destroyed at any time, it was reasonable for him to seek another way out in advance. However, Yuan Shao had always hated the people of Xiliang, so Ma Teng naturally did not dare to hope to surrender to Yuan Shao, so he could only place his hopes on Liu Bei.

If he wanted to cling to Liu Bei's new support, he must not help him launch a surprise attack on Yangquan, thus offending Liu Bei.

So Ma Teng could pretend to send troops to help in the battle, but secretly inform Liu Bei, allowing Liu Bei to set an ambush in advance and kill his beloved son in one fell swoop.

This also explains why Liu Bei did not kill Ma Dai, but instead let him return intact.

Cao Cao's thoughts raced, connecting all the doubts in an instant, forming a perfect closure.

The suspicion in his eyes instantly turned into endless anger.

"Ma Dai, how dare your uncle Ma Teng carry—"

"Sikong!"

Guo Jia shouted loudly, interrupting Cao Cao's rage, and said:
"Although our army was defeated in this battle, the former general's willingness to send troops to help prove his loyalty to the court!"

"My lord, you should reward the former general handsomely to show his loyalty, so that he can continue to guard Guanlong for the court with peace of mind!"

While Guo Jia was giving his advice, he kept winking at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao suddenly understood and swallowed back the angry words that were about to come out of his mouth.

There is no conclusive evidence as to whether Ma Teng had secret contact with Liu Bei, it is just speculation.

If we fall out with Ma Teng now, what will Guanlong do?
In the north, Yuan Shao's 150,000 troops were overwhelming him, and in the south, Liu Bei was about to capture Huainan and his troops would be heading towards Xu Du at any time.

If this forced Ma Teng to rebel and caused chaos in Guanzhong in the west, he would really be caught in a situation where he was surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Tolerate!
I can only endure it!

Even if Ma Teng really colluded with Liu Bei and killed your precious son, for the sake of the overall situation, you can only grit your teeth and swallow your blood and pretend to be confused.

Not only should he pretend to be confused, but he should also reward Ma Teng and try his best to calm his mind and ensure that there would be no trouble in Guanlong.

After taking a deep breath, Cao Cao secretly loosened his clenched fists.

"Fengxiao, Ma Shoucheng has made great contributions to the country. I was going to reward him just now. Why do I need you to remind me?"

Cao Cao walked up to Ma Dai and patted him on the shoulder:

"Ziyue, although my Ang'er died, you are able to return alive, which is a blessing in disguise. I am very relieved."

"Go back and tell your uncle that the emperor will never forget his and your Ma family's loyalty to the court, and neither will I, Cao Cao."

"I will petition the emperor to appoint him as General of the Guards. You can let him guard Guanlong for the Han Dynasty without any worries."

"When I defeat the thief Yuan, I will go to Chang'an to have a talk with him. Then I will become his brother and we will live and die together!"

Guo Jia was surprised.

He just reminded Cao Cao not to turn against Ma Teng. Unexpectedly, Cao Cao not only promoted Ma Teng from general to general of guard, but also promised to become sworn brothers with Ma Teng!
In order to win over Ma Teng, Cao Cao really spent a lot of money...

Ma Dai, who was originally sweating heavily, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his back.

Naturally, he was worried that Cao Cao would become suspicious and determine that his Ma family was secretly communicating with Liu Bei, and that he would be in danger of his life in anger.

However, he did not expect that Cao Cao's attitude changed 180 degrees in an instant, catching him off guard.

It took Ma Dai a while to react. He immediately showed a flattered look on his face and thanked Cao Cao.

Cao Cao appeased and won over Ma Dai again before sending him away to rest.

"Brother, it is highly suspected that the uncle and nephew Ma Teng secretly communicated with Liu Bei and killed Zixiu!"

"Brother, it would be fine if you didn't kill Ma Dai, but why did you confer a title on Ma Teng and swear brotherhood with that Xiliang bastard?"

As soon as Ma Dai left, Cao Hong jumped out and asked in confusion.

Cao Cao sighed helplessly and asked:
"Brother, let me ask you, now that I have killed Ma Dai and forced Ma Teng to rebel, causing chaos in Guanzhong, what should I do?"

Cao Hong was speechless and instantly understood Cao Cao's difficulties. All his resentment was immediately blocked.

After a while, Cao Hong could only stamp his feet and sigh helplessly.

Cao Cao walked with heavy steps back to the outer tent and to the wooden box containing his son's head.

When I opened the wooden box, that familiar face came into my eyes again.

Cao Cao's body swayed, and suddenly he felt a surge of grief and anger, and he staggered as if he was about to fall down again.

"Sikong!"

Everyone around was shocked and rushed forward to support Cao Cao.

But Cao Cao waved his hand and pushed everyone away.

He took a few deep breaths, forced himself to swallow his grief and anger, suppressed his rage, and finally did not faint again.

"boom!"

The wooden box was closed.

When Cao Cao raised his head, his face was twisted with murderous intent as ferocious as a beast.

"The hatred of killing a son is irreconcilable!"

"Ang'er, don't worry. Your father will not let any of the enemies who killed you go!"

"After I defeat Yuan Shao, I will lead my army south to destroy the big-eared thief. I will kill all the people in Jing and Yang states, and use the blood of all of them to pay tribute to your spirit in heaven!"

"As for that bastard Ma Teng, your father will definitely slaughter all of Xiliang and his Ma clan, and let them be buried with you!"

Cao Cao came outside the tent holding the wooden box and looked up at the dark night sky.

Word by word, swearing bitterly:

"I, Cao Cao, swear to heaven that if I cannot do this, I, Cao Cao, will be punished by heaven and earth and die a miserable death!"

(End of this chapter)