Just when Liu Bei led his army to station Jiameng and made Liu Zhang feel uneasy, as early as the first month of 212 AD, Cao Cao had already led his army back to Yecheng. For this reason, Cao Pi, Cheng Yu, Jiang Ji and others came to the bank of the Zhang River to welcome him.

When Cao Cao, Sima Yi and others saw the lineup of ceremonial wars coming to greet him, Cao Cao vaguely felt that after experiencing the Hejian quell, Cao Pi, who was also the deputy prime minister, had gathered many officials around Cao Pi, who was either the supporter of Cao Zhi or the swaying people. In addition, although he had been far away in Guanzhong to quell the rebellion, the spies placed in Yecheng still paid close attention to the actions of all the officials in the city. Cao Cao learned from the inquiry that since Cao Pi temporarily took over his position and entered the Prime Minister's Mansion, officials and guests from the mansion had been in constant contact, which had attracted Cao Cao's attention.

Seeing the scene in front of you, Cao Cao suddenly turned his head and smiled at Sima Yi and Jia Xu beside him:

"It seems that if I come back a little later, I'm afraid no one in Yecheng will remember me, Cao Cao."

Sima Yi and Jia Xu are both sensible people. They know that Cao Cao's words are actually joking on the surface, but in fact, the meaning revealed inward is already very unfavorable to Cao Pi.

Sima Yi got this signal from Jia Xu's eyes:

You must never speak for Cao Pi at this time, otherwise you will be suspicious of Cao Cao. By then, not only will you harm Cao Pi but you will also harm yourself.

After the two sides met, Cao Cao pointed at Cao Zhi beside him and smiled at the officials standing behind Cao Pi:

"The reason why this time was able to quell the rebellious rebellion in Guanzhong was that Ma Chao, Han Sui and other rebels fled in a hurry and achieved victory, my son made great contributions to establishing it, and he deserved to be my son of Cao Mengde!"

In fact, everyone who went on the war with the army understood that Cao Zhi had no active role at all.

At that time, Cao Xiu was very unaware of why Cao Cao deliberately carried Cao Zhi into the ranks of heroes. He wanted to come forward to question him, but Cao Zhen, who was standing aside, reached out to stop him and warned him not to be troublesome.

But Sima Yi and Jia Xu knew Cao Cao's intentions well, but they just didn't say it out loud.

After Cao Cao said this, many officials standing behind Cao Pi couldn't help but mutter privately. Cao Pi immediately understood his father's intention and felt very unbalanced.

Wu Zhi, who was standing beside him, whispered to him: "The young master must show his attitude at this moment. He must never mention the contribution of Hejian to quell the rebellion in front of the prime minister. Instead, he should praise the fourth young master's contribution."

Cao Pi, as Wu Zhi said, did not mention his previous merits, bowed to Cao Cao and said:

"My father is as wise as a torch. With someone like your fourth brother by your side, he will definitely be able to help him pacify the world in the future."

After hearing Cao Pi's words, Sima Yi and Jia Xu both showed a slight smile.

Cao Cao never expected Cao Pi to do this, and he couldn't help but be surprised.

The most uncomfortable person is Cao Zhi, who is arrogant and arrogant. After being praised by Cao Cao and Cao Pi twice, he felt ashamed and felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, but he had to force his smile. In fact, Sima Yi knew very well that Cao Pi's words were asking for credit for Cao Zhi on the surface, but they never mentioned them in the letters sent to Yecheng by Cao Cao. Smart people, such as Jiang Ji, Gao Rou, Cheng Yu, Dong Zhao, etc., all understood that this was just a method Cao Cao took to balance his two sons.

But it was Cao Pi's actions that aroused the sympathy of those who did not have a clear position at the moment, because those who followed Cao Cao's western expedition knew very well that Cao Zhi was simply an irrelevant person except for his two remarks of peace; let alone those who stayed in Yecheng, because Cao Pi gave all his credit to his subordinates after the war, but he did not record it at all, but his subordinates saw Cao Pi's irreplaceable general style and noble character with his own eyes.

In the end, no matter which side it is, there will be many people who sympathize with Cao Pi and despise Cao Zhi.

After entering Yecheng, Sima Yi came from afar to welcome the family members of civil and military officials at the gate. He saw Zhang Chunhua holding a baby waiting for him, so he quickly ran to Zhang Chunhua with his back on his back.

At first, Sima Yi did not notice that there was a baby in Zhang Chunhua's arms. When he clearly noticed that the lively and cute baby in front of him was "striking his teeth" in his mother's arms, he realized that Zhang Chunhua was already pregnant long before he went to the army. In order not to distract himself, she deliberately did not tell him.

"It made you suffer..."

Looking at Zhang Chunhua's thin face, Sima Yi couldn't help but feel very guilty. He bent down and hugged Sima Shi, who was already three years old. Sima Shi looked at the father in front of him who had not seen for nearly a year, and even without anyone's guidance, he decisively shouted the word "father" at Sima Yi.

Seeing this scene, the couple showed happy smiles at the same time. Zhang Chunhua looked at the baby boy in his arms and asked Sima Yi, "Give your son a name."

Sima Yi pondered for a moment and reached out to touch the baby's forehead:

"The two teachers I respect most in my life are my two teachers. The name of Shi'er is derived from Mr. Xi Zhicai's name. As for this kid, he is Sima Zhao..."

Zhang Chunhua smiled and said, "If you want to avoid the names of elders and ancestors, you are better, just do the opposite."

"What does that matter."

After saying that, Sima Yi put Sima Shi on his shoulder and turned his head to Zhang Chunhua:

"My Sima Yi's son will definitely not be an ordinary person in the future, and of course he should not be subject to worldly restrictions."

At this time, the people of Yecheng and the sides of the road welcomed Cao Cao's return. The entire city was filled with an extremely jubilant atmosphere. However, for Sima Yi and his family of four who returned home together, the satisfaction and happiness brought to them by the reunion of the family was far greater than the unattainable military victory.

However, they did not notice that Zhao Rui, who was also standing among the officials, looked at them with extremely cold eyes...

The Guanzhong Allied Forces were defeated and the Hejian Rebellion was put down. For Cao Cao, this was a victory between the east and west battlefields, but for Fu Shou in the deep palace, it was a huge blow.

She stood outside Deyang Hall, looking up at the flowing clouds that were constantly floating towards the northeast of the sky, and couldn't help but talk to herself sadly:

"Are you going to abandon Your Majesty and go to Yecheng?"

At this moment, a marten velvet cloak suddenly appeared behind her and gently covered her shoulders. She turned her head and looked at Fu Ruoxin, who had already been in a state of breaking with her due to Sima Yi's affairs. At this time, she was staring at herself with some worry:

"Although it's already spring, it's still cold in the morning and evening. Don't get cold..."

"You go and go find your Sima Yi. I think that Cao Cao will attack me in less than two years. If you continue to stay here, you will only be implicated by me. I don't want you to be involved again."

At this time, Fu Shou seemed to have no hope for his future, so he seemed a little pessimistic.

In Fu Ruoxin's opinion, the sister in front of her looked a little tired and haggard, and she could no longer see the previous high spirits and was determined to revive the queen's demeanor of the Han Dynasty, and she looked like a tiger in the evening who had lost her vitality.

“It’s too late…”

Fu Ruoxin shook his head with an expression that made Fu Shou uncomprehensible:

"When you want to kill Cao Cao step by step, the fate of you and me and the entire Fu family has been destined..."

The two sisters were filled with extremely sadness and slimness about the future, and were heard by Liu Xie, who happened to pass by Deyang Palace.

Two days later, Cao Cao secretly wrote a letter to Xun Yu, who was in Xudu, asking him to seek opportunities and methods to assassinate Empress Fu.

Xun Yu was shocked after receiving the letter, and then he felt the chill of Cao Cao's heart. He knew that Cao Cao was testing him, and at the same time he understood that Queen Fu had been secretly against Cao Cao, and this rebellion in Hejian might not have anything to do with her. With his understanding of Cao Cao, he would definitely not let Queen Fu go.

Because Xun Yu was a strategist with his own independent consciousness, he was determined to revive the Han Dynasty and was almost no longer on the same path as Cao Cao now. However, while he understood Cao Cao's character, he also knew himself. He would never do such a ruthless act as a killer, so Xun Yu decided to do something that was impossible.

On the day he received the letter, Xun Yu immediately rushed to the palace to pay homage to Emperor Liu Xie.

Out of his identity, Xun Yu did not tell Liu Xie about Cao Cao's intention to kill Empress Fu, but in order to save Empress Fu's life, Xun Yu suggested that Liu Xie take advantage of Cao Cao's contribution to pacifying Guanzhong and give Cao Cao a high honor so that Cao Cao has no reason to kill Empress Fu. Therefore, even though he knew that doing so would increase Cao Cao's ambition and arrogance, he still suggested that Liu Xie give Cao Cao the honor of "praise and worshipping him, not going to the court, and not going to the palace", just like Xiao He back then.

Both Xun Yu also wanted to remind Cao Cao through this incident that no matter how powerful he is, he could only be a minister peacefully.

Liu Xie looked at Xun Yu with an anxious expression and knew that his heart was on his side, but what could this happen? How could Xun Yu alone change Cao Cao's already expanding ambitions?

"I understand what I mean by my dear, so just do it according to your ideas."

Xun Yu discovered that Liu Xie had been locking himself in the deep palace since the Battle of Chibi, and he could hardly see him except for the serious morning court. This time, Xun Yu went to the palace to see Liu Xie, who was like his soul was pulled away. His eyes were no longer as bright as before, and he became dim and lost.

Soon Xun Yu sent a document to Yecheng. However, when Cao Cao opened the document, he found that what Xun Yu wrote in the document was not a report that Fu Shou had already been killed, but a reward given to him by Emperor Liu Xie.

After reading it, Sima Yi, who was standing aside, noticed Cao Cao's stiff expression. He slowly folded the official document written by Xun Yu, and then suddenly threw it hard on the ground:

"Okay, Xun Yu, I value you so much and trust you, but you still care about the emperor!"

Sima Yi bent down and picked up the bamboo slips on the ground. After opening them, he was shocked, because Cao Cao did not inform Sima Yi or anyone about his intention to kill Queen Fu in advance.

After carefully reading what Xun Yu wrote, Sima Yi folded it back and put it respectfully back in front of Cao Cao:

"Prime Minister, no matter how much you have resentment towards Queen Fu, since the emperor has given you such a great honor, if you still insist on taking Queen Fu's life, it will make you very passive."

After Sima Yi's reminder, Cao Cao also realized another meaning of Xun Yu's doing this, that is, remember that he will always be a minister, and must not act ruthlessly and be ruthless in his actions.

However, it is precisely because of this that Cao Cao has a clearer understanding of Xun Yu. He believes that if Xun Wen can no longer help him plan the world, he may even become a stumbling block for him...
Chapter completed!