According to Guo Jia's arrangements before his death, Sima Yi and Zhang Chunhua were taken in by Zhang He, and Zhang He strictly followed Guo Jia's instructions:

Once Cao Cao had no intention of appointing Sima Yi, he immediately sent them back to Sima Lang in Tangyang.

Cao Cao, who was in deep pain after Guo Jia's death, repeatedly recalled his last conversations with Guo Jia. He noticed that Guo Jia always mentioned Sima Yi intentionally or unintentionally, and also had a very strong intention to recommend. These made Cao Cao relieve the previously unexplained sense of estrangement to Sima Yi and sent someone to call Sima Yi to his tent.

At this time, Sima Yi was about to set off with Zhang Chunhua to reunite with Sima Lang. Just as Zhang He prepared everything and arranged for them to set off, Cao Cao's direct guards intercepted them on the way.

Seeing this, Zhang He rode his horse between Sima Yi and Zhang Chunhua and asked the guards about the situation:

"What do you want to do?"

The guards did not act rudely to Zhang He:

"You report to General, I am hereby order from Lord Sikong to invite Mr. Zhongda to the tent for a while, and there is no malice."

Sima Yi, who had no intention of serving Cao Cao, just wanted to take Zhang Chunhua back to Tangyang as soon as possible. Unexpectedly, at this time, he was in trouble, and Cao Cao suddenly wanted to see him, which made him feel very uneasy.

He had previously rejected Cao Cao's recruitment on the grounds of his own rheumatism. Now Cao Cao came to him directly and did not rule out the possibility of provoking a crime. After thinking about it for a while, he said to Zhang Chunhua beside him:

"Chunhua, take the lead. I will follow you immediately after seeing Cao Cao."

The quick-minded Zhang Chunhua heard the unusual smell from Sima Yi's words, so she refused to leave first:

"Do you want to leave me behind again? No matter where you are going next, I will follow you, even if you die..."

Unexpectedly, her intentions were seen through, Sima Yi had to smile bitterly:

"Silly girl, I'm just going to Cao Cao's place, not to hell, how could I die?"

Zhang He, who had been following Cao Cao for several years, also realized that Cao Cao's summoning seemed unusual. He clearly saw that the guards who came to intercept them had iron chains and shackles on the saddle, so he felt very uneasy.

However, Sima Yi was not afraid. After whispering to Zhang He, he rode his horse forward to the center of the two guards and said to them: "I'm sorry, the two generals lead the way."

Before leaving, he said to Zhang Chunhua: "You are here to wait for me, and I'll be back soon."

Looking at Sima Yi's gradually moving away, Zhang He always recalled the short and shocking words he said to himself just now: "If I haven't come back in an hour, I will take Chunhua away no matter what method I use..."

Before coming to Cao Cao's tent, Sima Yi suddenly became uneasy for some reason. He had no confidence in his future fate. After breathing a sigh of relief, he walked into the tent under the guidance of the guards.

In the tent, Cao Cao was sitting upright on the collapsed place, discussing something with the person standing in front of him.

The soldiers standing outside the tent reported:

"Qi Bao, Sima Yi has been brought here."

After putting down the bamboo slips in his hand, Cao Cao replied without raising his head:

"I got it, let him in."

After stepping into the tent, Sima Yi did not see Cao Cao at first sight, but his back looked familiar but could not remember it.

When this man turned around and met with him, Sima Yi remembered the scene when he was in Bingzhou:

The young man in front of him was the one who generously gave his horse to himself when he needed help.

Cao Pi, who saw Sima Yi's face soon, also recognized his identity, but it was not convenient for Cao Cao to say hello to him because he was present.

Although the two of them said nothing, Cao Cao still read from their eye contact that they knew each other. However, he was not in a hurry to verify this from Cao Pi. He looked at Cao Pi and said:

"Pier, you go out first, Sima Yi and I have something to say."

"Yes, father." Cao Pi turned around and bowed to Cao Cao and immediately said back.

Cao Pi passed by Sima Yi when he walked towards the door of the tent. When he and Sima Yi were standing shoulder to shoulder, he and Sima Yi looked at each other again with their light, as if they had something to ask each other, but all of this was blocked by Cao Cao's presence, and they could only put their thoughts deep in their hearts.

Seeing that Cao Pi had walked out of the tent, Cao Cao looked at Sima Yi:

"We haven't seen each other for a long time, Zhongda, I remember when we met last time in Xudu, I asked you to join me and serve the court. You said you had to go to Wen County for something, so I asked me for leave. At that time, I promised you and kept waiting for you to come back, but..."

Speaking of this, Sima Yi already knew that Cao Cao was scheming old accounts with him.

The deliberate pause suddenly made the atmosphere very nervous. Cao Cao lowered his head and stretched out his fingers to draw irregular circles on the table. Suddenly he raised his head and looked at Sima Yi's eyes with extremely sharp eyes, which caught Sima Yi off guard:

"You don't seem to take me seriously..."

A simple complaint, when Cao Cao said it, contained an extremely dangerous murderous aura. Sima Yi was prepared for this. He bowed to Cao Cao without any hesitation and replied:

"At that time, I was infected with wind numbness and couldn't get on the bed, so I was unable to come to serve you. Please forgive me, Lord Sikong."

Cao Cao, who has been sending people to secretly monitor Sima Yi, naturally would not believe his excuses, but Cao Cao is not in a hurry to expose him:

"Oh? I see you are very energetic now. Is your illness cured?"

Sima Yi felt that he was forced into the corner by Cao Cao, but he still restrained his inner panic:

"Mr. Xie Sikong is concerned, and after many days of cultivation, it's fine."

Cao Cao stopped his fingers circled the table, and then beat the table with five fingers rhythmically, then slapped the table and smiled, "Since that's the case, don't leave this time, just go back to Yecheng with me."

Deep down, I was always worried that Cao Cao would take the opportunity to detain Sima Yi, but after this sentence, he thought about it, reminded himself not to follow Cao Cao, otherwise he would become more and more involuntary in the future. However, rejecting him at this time would be like seeking death, so he could only use the dragging technique he had used before to relieve himself:

"This is great. Unfortunately, I want to send an old friend home first and then serve you later. Please allow it."

"Ha ha ha ha..."

For some reason, Cao Cao suddenly burst into laughter after hearing Sima Yi's words, making Sima Yi completely confused. Instead, he became more and more panicked. He could only use his hand tightly clenched in his sleeve to relieve his nervousness.

Suddenly, Cao Cao's laughter stopped and he turned to Sima Yi with an extremely serious look: "You said similar things last time, but you ran to Yuan Xi to go against me everywhere. This time, who will help me to help again?"

Unexpectedly, Cao Cao knew his whereabouts well. Sima Yi felt that his life was in danger. No matter how many excuses he made seemed to be useless, he simply let go of all the burdens in his heart and calmly answered:

"I did help Yuan Xi defend your attack for personal reasons, but I never made any suggestions for their strategic offense. Everything I did was to help him protect himself. If Lord Sikong wanted to punish him for this, I had nothing to say."

Looking at Sima Yi's fearless look, Cao Cao stared at him for a long time and laughed out loud again:

"What a man who is ready to die. I don't plan to do anything to you. You don't have to be so nervous."

After saying that, Cao Cao threw a bamboo slip into Sima Yi's heels: "I have already written your appointment on it. You can go back and do what you want, and then come to me with this appointment."

Sima Yi bent down and picked up the bamboo slips. After unfolding, he found that Cao Cao appointed him as the military Gongcao. Sima Yi had no objection to this position, but as he looked back, he was surprised to see that in addition, Cao Cao also made him serve as Cao Chong's teacher, responsible for teaching him and Zhou Buyi, which puzzled Sima Yi.

"What? Don't you want to?"

Cao Cao saw his doubts from Sima Yi's expression, and his eyes suddenly became full of murderous intent again.

Sima Yi, who was intuitive and sensitive, quickly denied: "No, I just felt strange. Who is this person named Zhou Buyi? Why did he get the honor of studying with Mr. Chong?"

Cao Cao did not answer him but patted his palms twice. Soon a person came in outside the tent. Sima Yi raised his face and couldn't help but be shocked: the young man in front of him was the person who had played chess with him in Wuzhong City before...

This time, the account was quite impactful for Sima Yi, and it made it difficult for him to figure it out for a while. However, before he could think about what was going on, Zhou Buyi had already saluted Cao Cao:

"Wenzhi has met Lord Sikong."

Regarding Zhou Buyi, Cao Cao's attitude was obviously different from Sima Yi. He stretched out his hands and raised his face upwards like a kind elder:

"You don't have to be too polite to Wenzhi. I'll ask you to come this time to introduce you and Chong'er's future teaching teacher to you."

As he said that, Cao Cao pointed his right hand at Sima Yi standing beside Zhou Buyi. Zhou Buyi turned his face and looked at Sima Yi, and bowed respectfully to him: "Zhou Buyi pays respect to Mr. Lingling, and I would like to ask you for more advice in the future."

At this time, Sima Yi felt like he was unable to get on the throne. At this moment, he had to bow to Zhou Buyi first, but he looked at Zhou Buyi with a strong doubt and conjecture.

After introducing them to know each other, the urgent voice of the messenger sounded again outside the tent:

"Report to the lord! Gongsun Kang of Liaodong sent an envoy to send you a gift."

"Pick it in..."

Cao Cao ordered the soldiers to come in, but did not let Sima Yi and Zhou Buyi leave the camp. Therefore, after looking at each other, they had to stand aside and quietly watch the two soldiers walking to the middle of them carrying an exquisitely crafted wooden box.

After squinting his eyes and looking at the box, Cao Cao said to the soldiers:

"Open it. This Gongsun Kang is as arrogant as his old man Gongsun Du. He ignored the imperial court's many decrees. He did not expect that he would give me gifts at this time. It was really new."

The soldier opened the lock on the box mouth and slowly lifted the box cover. Everything in the box was exposed in front of everyone:

It was actually Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang and the head of the Lou Ban...

After fleeing to Liaodong in a panic, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang defected to Liaodong prefect Gongsun Kang.

When he first met Gongsun Kang, Yuan Xi remembered that Sima Yi had reminded himself that he must be respectful when facing Gongsun Kang, and should not raise his value with the prominent status of the Yuan family in the past. Instead, he should use the fall of western Liaoning and the cold lips as a guide to persuade Gongsun Kang to unite with him to fight against Cao.

Gongsun Kang, who was originally swaying, was moved by Yuan Xi's remarks and decided to accept them and treat them with courtesy.

On weekdays, he also had a lot of interactions with Yuan Xi, mostly discussing the strength of the Cao army and the details of the war in western Liaoning. For a moment, the relationship between the two sides quickly heated up, almost reaching the point of being heart-to-heart.

However, the subsequent development was unfortunately reported by Sima Yi: Yuan Shang, who was unwilling to live in Gongsun Kang for a long time, gradually discovered that Gongsun Kang seemed to trust Yuan Xi very much, so he started to think about seizing Liaodong.

At the same time, Cao Pi sent Tian Yu to lead 30,000 cavalry to advance towards Liao Tun City. Although he did not officially declare war on Gongsun Kang, it put great pressure on him. Gongsun Kang, who did not want to get along with Cao Cao because of the Yuan brothers, also could not bear to harm Yuan Xi. In a dilemma, he had to go to Yuan Xi in person to discuss with Yuan Xi overnight to see if there was any strategy to retreat Tian Yu's troops.

After arriving at the residence where Yuan Xi was staying, Gongsun Kang had just walked to Yuan Xi's door and heard someone discussing something inside. He stopped the follower who reached out to knock on the door and stood at the door and listened quietly to the conversation inside the room.

At this time, Yuan Shang in the room had no idea that Gongsun Kang was standing outside the door, so he thought there was no one around and he directly revealed his bold plan to Yuan Xi:

"I heard that Tian Yu's men had arrived fifty miles northwest of Liao Tun City. Gongsun Kang would definitely ask his brother to discuss how to retreat to the enemy tomorrow. The brother could ask for his order to lead his troops to fight Tian Yu and then attack Xiangping. Before the oath, he could set up a trap to kill Gongsun Kang, and the land of Liaodong would fall into the hands of our brothers. At that time, we can use this as the foundation and regain our lost territory again."

Yuan Shang's words made Gongsun Kang outside the door furious. He immediately shook his sleeves and left with his entourage.

After hearing Yuan Shang's words, Yuan Xi remembered Sima Yi's repeated advice to him, so he quickly stopped him:

"Don't do it nonsense. At the moment, Tian Yu's army is approaching, and Gongsun Kang's attitude towards us is shaking. If we show our intention to resist at this time, it will not only be difficult to succeed, but it may lead to self-destruction."

Under Yuan Xi's repeated opposition, Yuan Shang had to reluctantly give up his ideas. He didn't know that because of his almost stupid ambition, he had already sounded the death knell for himself and Yuan Xi.

Sure enough, the next day, Gongsun Kang sent someone to invite Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to discuss the matter of resigning from Cao's army. Yuan Xi felt uneasy in his heart. He had no plans to go at first, but Yuan Shang had once again ignited the idea of ​​assassinating Gongsun Kang, so he ordered Lou Ban to take several subordinates to follow him on his back.
To be continued...