Chapter 287: Hunting in Xutian, the Imperial Decree Dong Zhao, whose courtesy name was Gongren, was a native of Dingtao, Jiyin. He was one of Cao Cao's important ministers. This person was also the key person who pushed Cao Cao towards hegemony. He was originally a soldier under Yuan Shao and had made many military achievements. However, he left Yuan Shao's army because Yuan Shao believed in slander. Since joining Cao's army, he became the main force behind Cao's attempt to hold Emperor Xian hostage. In the original history, Dong Zhao repeatedly advised Cao Cao to act like a king and a hegemon, and planned and promoted Cao Cao to the title of Duke. After Cao Cao forced Xun Yu to death, he planned for Cao Cao to become king. Although he was not one of the five great advisers under Cao Cao, he was Cao Cao's true confidant. Seeing that Xun Yu and Cao Cao had different opinions, he took the initiative to stand up and support Cao Cao. As Dong Zhao expressed his opinion, another person stood up and said: "Now that Liu Bei is causing trouble in the southeast, it is time for the Minister of Works to move the capital!"

"Sikong, just submit your petition, and we will review it!" The person who made this statement was called Lou Gui, a former friend of Cao Cao. He initially followed Liu Biao, and later joined Cao Cao's army and was appointed as a general. However, this person did not lead the army, but just followed Lao Cao to discuss military and national affairs. This person and Dong Zhao have one characteristic in common, that is, they are typical Cao faction members. He did not have much friendship with the Yingchuan scholars headed by Xun Yu. The two people's statement made Cao Cao smile, stroking his beard and smiling: "What you two said is exactly what I want to say. I wonder what your plans are?" He glanced at everyone one by one, and Jia Xu stood up to show his agreement. Guo Jia hesitated for a moment and also expressed his agreement to move the capital. Only Xun You remained silent for a long time, then slowly stood up and said: "My uncle's intention is not to stop Duke Cao from moving the capital, but to worry that the emperor will not respond!" "If Cao Gong can convince the emperor, why shouldn't we respond?" His words naturally gave Xun Yu and Lao Cao a way out. Upon hearing this, Cao Cao stroked his long beard and looked at Xun Yu and said: "I wonder if this is what Wen Ruo meant?" Xun Yu listened, then sighed slightly, straightened up and said: "That is exactly what I am suggesting. If you can convince the emperor, we, as his subjects, will obey your orders!" After hearing these words, Cao Cao sneered and said: "My proposal is also for personal gain, how can the emperor not agree?"

"Well, since Wen Ruo has such concerns, I will personally go to the court and speak to the emperor about this matter." "Wen Ruo, as the Minister of Chancellery, just prepare food and fodder for me and arrange everything!" "Once this matter is settled, the emperor will move west from Xu County, and I will personally lead the troops north to attack Hedong." "After I leave, I will leave all matters here to you. I hope you can help me!" After he finished speaking, he asked everyone to leave, and Xun You also hurriedly stroked Xun Yu's arm and walked out. Unexpectedly, as soon as they left, they saw Dong Zhao coming back and saying: "Sikong, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should tell you or not!" Seeing Dong Zhao return, Lao Cao smiled and said: "Gong Ren is my right-hand man. If you have anything to say, you can tell me!" Dong Zhao heard this and came to Cao Cao and whispered: "I noticed today that Lord Xun seemed quite dissatisfied with Lord Cao's proposal to move the capital." "Although this is your Majesty's intention, it also reflects the thoughts of Zheng Sinong and others." "Your Excellency is an old minister of Lord Cao, yet you act like this. I am afraid that if other ministers hear of this, they will find it difficult to be on good terms with Lord Cao." "They should not do so, and neither should the emperor. How can Lord Cao persuade them?" Cao Cao listened, the smile on his face faded slightly, and he narrowed his eyes and said: "I have also gone to the court to see the emperor first. What do you think, Gongren?" Although he just said that he wanted to persuade Liu Xie, he actually just wanted to enter the palace and have a good "communication" with Liu Xie. When this idea was openly proposed in the court, Zheng Xuan and others certainly would not allow it. But when he met Liu Xie in private, he was 90% sure that he could accomplish this task. After all, the young emperor Liu Xie was only eighteen or nineteen years old. He could not deal with a shrewd man like Zheng Xuan, but it was a piece of cake for him to deal with Liu Xie. But as he spoke, Dong Zhao smiled and shook his head: "Although Cao Gong's move is feasible, it is likely to attract slander." "Even if the emperor agrees, it will surely cause criticism from the ministers." "I have a plan that can help Lord Cao. It can convince the emperor and shock the ministers." When Cao Cao heard this, he was overjoyed and immediately asked for advice. Dong Zhao immediately said: "As the old saying goes: Spring is foraging, summer is seedling season, autumn is hunting, and winter is hunting. Now is the end of winter, so it's time to hunt!" "The reason why these officials dared to disobey Lord Cao's words is because you have little help from the court." "Lord Xun and Zheng Sinong both support the emperor, so it will be difficult for you to accomplish anything." "Why not go to court tomorrow and invite the emperor for a hunting party first, instead of moving the capital." "In this way, we will gather our troops outside the city and overwhelm them with our military might. They have never fought a battle before and will be terrified when they see our three armies."

"When everyone is shocked, Sikong can then speak in the right direction, and maybe it will work!" When Cao Cao heard his words, he responded happily and immediately ordered people to prepare good horses, hawks, dogs, bows and arrows. When the court went to court the next day, everyone thought that Cao Cao was going to submit a petition to move the capital, and they were all waiting. Xun Yu knew that he couldn't stop him, so he could only hope that Liu Xie would agree directly without causing any conflict. But no one expected that Cao Cao would not talk about moving the capital, nor about state affairs, but just come out and say: "In ancient times, the emperors collected crops in spring and summer, hunted in autumn and hunted in winter. They went out to the suburbs at all four seasons to show their military might to the world." "At this time when the world is in turmoil, I dare to ask Your Majesty to go out of the city to hunt and discuss military affairs!" To be honest, Liu Xie had a good life in the past two years, especially after Zheng Xuan entered the court and Liu Bei rose to power. Because Liu Bei and Zheng Xuan were one inside and one outside, he felt that the Han Dynasty was about to rise. When he heard Cao Cao invite him to hunt, he said happily: "It's all thanks to Sikong Yaxing. Since I entered Xu, I have never gone out of the city to hunt!" "Since Sikong sincerely invites me, I will give it a try!" The young man believed it and thought it was an interesting move, so he agreed. The next morning, at the invitation of Cao Cao, he led dozens of riders out of Xu County. As for the hunting ground, one could see the three armies arrayed there, setting up an enclosure several dozen miles in radius. Cao Cao rode on his horse, Huang Feidian, and followed Liu Xie in, saying: "Today the emperor is in Xu, so it is difficult for him to see our army. I wonder what the emperor thinks of them?" Liu Xie followed him all the way, and seeing that he was on the same line with him, he could not hide it. When he heard the word "our army", he was even more annoyed and said: "It is indeed a mighty army. Our dynasty is so powerful to have such troops!" But just as he finished speaking, Xu Chu rode out on his horse and shouted loudly that Cao Sikong had arrived. Then the three armies followed his orders and bowed and shouted, "Greetings to Sikong." When this sound rang out, it was deafening and echoed throughout the wild. His majestic appearance frightened Liu Xie so much that he trembled in fear. He wanted to scold him, but all the ministers were watching from a distance and could not go forward. At this time, he was surrounded by Cao Cao's troops and his confidants. Seeing Xu Chu so powerful, he was angry but dared not say anything. He could only turn his gaze to the young general behind Cao Cao and said: "Who is this? I didn't know there was such a general in the court." Seeing him asking questions, Cao Cao stroked his beard and smiled, then turned around and said: "Mengqi, since the emperor is asking, why don't you step forward and recommend yourself?" Upon hearing this, Ma Chao rode his horse forward, bowed to Liu Xie, and introduced himself. Liu Xie heard this and was about to speak, but Cao Cao waved his hand and said: "We are hunting today. I don't know how good Mengqi is at archery. Let's go and test his archery skills!" Seeing this, Ma Chao didn't know what Cao Cao meant, but he still obeyed and got on his horse. After a while, a shout was heard in the forest, followed by a large number of wild animals running out. Ma Chao drew his bow and shot two arrows in quick succession, both hitting the target. Suddenly, a roar was heard, and a wild boar emerged from the forest. Cao Cao saw it and pointed at it, saying: "Why don't you test-shoot to show your majesty's military prowess?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xie had no choice but to draw his bow and arrow and shoot at the wild boar. After three consecutive arrows missed the target, Liu Xie became furious. Seeing the enemy running away in all directions, he hurriedly asked Cao Cao to shoot him. Unexpectedly, when Cao Cao saw this, he picked up his precious carved bow and shot an arrow, hitting the wild boar's head. After shooting several arrows in a row, the wild boar was killed on the spot. When all the ministers saw this, they were all silent. When the officers and soldiers under Cao Cao saw this, they all shouted "Mighty!" In contrast, Liu Xie felt completely humiliated and said unhappily: "I am exhausted. I will stop here today and return to the palace first." But as he spoke, Cao Cao seemed not to have heard half of what he said. He looked at the trees in front of him and smiled: "Your Majesty is already tired after leaving the palace. I guess you are exhausted." "We just happened to have hunted a lot of wild game. We can eat it right here and share it with all the ministers!" Seeing that he pretended not to hear, Liu Xie became furious and said: "I want to go back to the palace. Does Sikong not allow me to do so?" However, when Cao Cao heard it, he did not bother to listen and rode his horse towards the forest. As soon as he arrived, Xu Chu stepped forward and said to Liu Xie coldly: "Please follow the Lord and feast with the ministers!" When Liu Xie saw this, he was so angry that his face turned red. He hurriedly ordered the guards, but found that the guards had been sent away without him knowing when. At the moment, only Xu Chu and his guards were with him, and they all had cold expressions on their faces. Liu Xie was shocked when he saw this, but Xu Chu insisted again and left no room for refusal. This scared Liu Xie. He thought that Cao Cao had separated the ministers today and let them follow him. Could it be that he wanted to kill the emperor? If another emperor saw this, he would surely be furious, but Liu Xie had been bullied by Dong Zhuo since he was a child. After he grew up, he was destroyed by Li Jue and Guo Si. The long-term precarious situation made him extremely distrustful of the princes. Also, because he came to power illegitimately, he was often afraid that the princes would want to depose him. Seeing Cao Cao acting so recklessly, he thought that Cao was going to turn against him, and his legs trembled, and he could only let everyone lead him into the forest. After being threatened, he dared not rebuke Cao Cao again when he saw him again. He could only say submissively: "I am not feeling well and would like to return to the palace to rest. I hope Sikong will allow me to do so!" Cao Cao was delighted to see his attitude soften, but he looked worried as he said: "It must be because it's cold today, and the wild animals have disturbed Your Majesty!" "It's okay. I'll wait until I withdraw my troops back to the city and then summon a doctor to take a look." After saying this, he gave an order and directly ordered the troops to withdraw. Upon hearing the order, his subordinates retreated one after another. When they reached the periphery, the ministers hurried forward to question them.

Liu Xie was so frightened that his face turned pale and he wanted to complain, but when he saw Cao Cao he was very frightened and hurriedly said nothing was wrong. When the old ministers of the Han Dynasty saw this, they knew something was wrong, but they were afraid of Cao Cao's power and dared not say a word. So everyone returned to the palace. Cao Cao wanted to take advantage of the situation to submit a memorial, but seeing that Liu Xie was really not feeling well, he had to give up. Anyway, his goal this time had been achieved, and he didn't want to push the situation too far. However, his easing up caused trouble instead. After Liu Xie returned to the imperial city, he felt cold hands and feet and could not get up from his bed. When the attendants saw this, they were all shocked and hurriedly asked the imperial physician to come in and treat him. After taking a dose of medicine, Liu Xie finally recovered. When Empress Fu saw him, she hurriedly asked why. Then she heard Liu Xie crying: "Zi Tong, you don't know that I am afraid that I will be harmed by Cao the thief today!" After that, he recounted what happened today, and then said in tears: "Since I ascended the throne, treacherous heroes have emerged one after another. First I suffered the disaster of Dong Zhuo, and then I suffered the rebellion of Kuai and Si." "We have Cao Cao now and thought he was a loyal minister to the country. I didn't expect him to monopolize power and abuse his power." "This person is so offensive today, he must have some ulterior motive, my wife and I are afraid that disaster will come to us!" When Empress Fu heard this, her beauty paled and she looked surprised: "Now there are ministers and officials in the court, all of whom are enjoying the Han salary. How dare Cao Cao act like this?" When Liu Xie heard this, he burst into tears and shook his head quickly: "Although I have relatives living abroad, they are still far away from here. Cao Cao is confident that his army is strong, so he dares to act recklessly!" Empress Fu felt very distressed when she saw him crying like this, and hurriedly comforted him: "Don't be afraid, Your Majesty. I am a woman and don't understand state affairs." "You can call the father-in-law to relieve your majesty's worries!" As she said this, she hurriedly asked the eunuch to allow the father-in-law Fu Wan to come to the court to discuss matters. After hearing what Liu Xie said, Fu Wan burst into tears and said: "We never expected Cao Cao to be so tyrannical. We were unaware of this and only caused Your Majesty to be humiliated!" "But Cao Cao is too powerful, and I, an old minister, have no power, so it is difficult for me to help him!" "Only General Wei Dong Cheng can be trusted. He will be loyal and fight against the enemy." When Liu Xie heard this, he was delighted and hurriedly asked Fu Wan to call Dong Cheng over. But Fu Wan heard this, thought for a moment, and hurriedly shook his head and said: "If Cao the thief wants to act, he will conduct a strict investigation of the comings and goings in the palace." "If I can enter the palace now, Cao will know about it. If I call Dong Cheng again, it will be difficult to carry out my plan." "Your Majesty may as well give me an imperial edict and make me a jade belt to sew inside it." "Give him a robe as well, and let him go home to see the emperor. Then no gods or ghosts will notice!" Upon hearing this, Liu Xie nodded repeatedly and ordered Fu Wan to leave. He also ordered the palace people to fetch a jade belt, with a secret decree written in blood, and had Empress Fu sew it into the jade belt, ready to give it to Dong Cheng.

(End of this chapter)