Chapter 310: The Emperor's Blood Edict: Nine Clans Should Be Executed The imperial city of Xu County, in front of Deyang Palace, the important area of ​​the imperial palace, is now in ruins. There were broken limbs everywhere, blood all over the ground and flowing down the stairs. Cao Cao's troops were lined up in front of the palace. Cao Hong stood at the door and shouted inside: "Dong Cheng, old villain, now that your plot has been exposed, why don't you release the emperor and surrender!" "You have held the emperor hostage. If he is harmed, you will kill all your clans!" Inside the palace gate, Liu Xie was trembling in fear, and Dong Cheng shouted beside him: "We are following the imperial edict to attack the traitor Cao Cao. You are eating the state salary, why don't you repent?" "Now we are surrounding the palace. I wonder who is plotting rebellion and who will be executed along with his entire clan!" After he shouted, he ordered his archers to shoot arrows. There were bursts of muffled sounds, and many Cao soldiers were killed. Dong Cheng was feeling very proud when he saw this, but then he heard a shout from outside the hall saying that Cao Sikong had arrived. Then Cao Cao and Xun Yu came slowly towards the palace. When they arrived, they said in a deep voice: "We are about to surround the rebels in the palace, why are you hesitating here and not entering!" Cao Hong, Cao Chun and others saw this and hurried forward, clasping their hands and saying: "They are holding the emperor as a hostage, so we dare not enter!"

When Cao Cao heard this, he looked at the brightly lit hall and pointed upwards: "Shield soldiers, come forward, help me break open the palace door!" As soon as these words came out, Xun Yu was shocked and said hurriedly: "If Lord Cao does this, it may disturb the emperor!" But as soon as he spoke, Cao Cao turned around and shouted angrily: "Now I have come to eliminate the rebels. The rebels are in the palace, and the emperor is in danger." "If we delay for even a moment, the emperor will suffer, and it will be too late to regret!" "Don't hesitate, help me to break open the palace door and kill the rebels!" After hearing his angry shout, Xun Yu did not dare to say anything more. When Cao Hong and Cao Chun saw this, they immediately ordered their soldiers to rush forward and break down the door. One of the reasons why they were unable to attack the palace was because they were afraid of Liu Xie. One reason is that Dong Cheng has archers, and it is difficult for them to move forward. With Cao Cao's approval, the two men ordered their men to advance with shields and charge forward. As everyone pushed forward, the door bolt was broken in a moment. Dong Cheng was shocked when he saw it, and quickly ordered people to block the entrance. But as the gap was opened, long spears and lances thrust in and stabbed fiercely. With a series of muffled sounds, a large number of soldiers were stabbed to death on the spot. Blood flowed along the palace door, making Liu Xie look dazed. A moment later, the door burst open, and Cao Cao walked in, surrounded by a group of guards. He pointed at Dong Cheng and cursed: "How dare you, traitor, gather a crowd to rebel and hold the emperor hostage!" Dong Cheng looked at Cao Cao and knew that he had no chance of survival, so he pointed at Cao Cao and cursed: "Cao thief, I will attack you in the name of His Majesty!" "Now that things are going badly, all you can do is die. But if the world knows about this, I will definitely kill you!" When Cao Cao heard the imperial edict, he looked at Liu Xie and asked: "Does the emperor want to kill Cao this time?"

"I, I..." Liu Xie looked around and was speechless for a while. Dong Cheng saw his cowardly appearance and could not help but get angry and said: "Your Majesty ordered me to eliminate the thieves, why are you acting like this?" In the midst of his anger, he took out a blood edict and shouted: "Here is the blood edict of the emperor. Why don't you kill Cao the thief and set the court right?" Unexpectedly, before he could finish his words, a long arrow suddenly shot out and hit Dong Cheng in the neck, killing him on the spot. It turned out that before Cao Cao entered, he ordered Xu Chu to find an opportunity to shoot Dong Cheng. As Dong Cheng fell to the ground, Cao Cao no longer hesitated and ordered his men to step forward and kill everyone. For a while, the hall was filled with clanging sounds. By the time everyone was dead, the hall was filled with corpses and blood was everywhere. Seeing this, Liu Xie couldn't help but vomit on the spot. Cao Cao looked at his appearance and slowly stepped forward, picked up the blood edict and said: "Is this edict written by the emperor himself?" Liu Xie was vomiting. When he heard this, he raised his head and saw Cao Cao's pair of tiger eyes. Those eyes were filled with anger and confusion, which frightened him. He wiped his mouth hastily, his body trembling, and muttered: "This is my decree. This is my decree." With a loud bang, Cao Cao suddenly drew out his sword. Seeing this, everyone was shocked, and Liu Xie was so frightened that he sat on the ground and said: "I wonder what Sikong wants to do by drawing his sword?" His handsome face turned pale with fear, but Cao Cao fell to his knees, holding the sword in both hands and said: "If Your Majesty wishes to kill Cao, no imperial decree is necessary!" "Cao is right here, please kill him!" Cao Cao's kneeling down naturally scared everyone again. Cao Hong, Xu Chu and others hurried forward and told their lord to stop. All the soldiers also glared at Liu Xie. Liu Xie looked at the expressions of the crowd and was trembling with fear. Although Cao Cao was kneeling in front of him, he was sure that if he dared to kill Cao Cao, he would definitely be killed by the generals! Looking at the sharp sword in front of him, he felt his mind was in chaos and said hurriedly: "Even if you are innocent, how can I bear to kill you?" Upon hearing this, Cao Cao did not retreat, but continued in a deep voice: "My crime has been recorded in the imperial edict, and it is punishable by death!"

When Liu Xie saw that he could not get up, he felt that he was in a difficult situation. But at this moment, Xun Yu couldn't bear it anymore and hurried forward and said: "This must be a forged edict written by Dong Cheng. Sikong should not do this!" He wanted to push the blame on Dong Cheng, but Cao Cao looked up and said: "Dong Cheng is a relative of the emperor. How dare he act recklessly without your Majesty's order?" When Xun Yu saw Cao Cao like this, he was shocked. He had no idea what Cao Cao was up to! It was obvious that Cao Cao did not really want to die. And threatening Liu Xie in this way was not necessarily intended to embarrass Liu Xie. So what exactly does Cao Cao want to achieve now? Move the capital? Obviously not, there is no need to do so! If it's not about moving the capital, then what else? After thinking for a while, Xun Yu suddenly had an idea and shouted: "This must be Yuan Shao's plan to sow discord!" "Your Majesty, this edict must have been forged by Dong Cheng at Yuan Shao's request!" Liu Xie was almost driven to tears at this time. When he heard these words, it was like he had grabbed a life-saving straw. "Yes, yes, this must be a forged edict made by the traitor Yuan Shao!" "Sikong is indeed innocent, please stand up immediately!" After hearing this, Cao Cao raised his head and said suspiciously: "Is this edict really made by Yuan Shao?" "Sikong, this edict was definitely made by Yuan Shao!" Liu Xie somehow managed to summon some strength, and hurriedly stood up and said: "I was trapped in the hands of the enemy in the past. If it weren't for the Sikong, how could I have built the capital in Xu?" "You are a minister who is the pillar of our Han Dynasty. How can I harm you?" "I hope Sikong can get up quickly and stop doing this!" He hurriedly stepped forward to hold Cao Cao's hands, ready to help Cao Cao up. Cao Cao saw this and stood up, then frowned and said: "From this perspective, Xu County has most likely been infiltrated by Yuan Shao's spies." "The emperor is uneasy here, please move the capital to Shouchun!" He again proposed moving the capital, but not to Chang'an, but to Shouchun. At this time, Liu Xie just wanted to end this matter as soon as possible. When he heard about moving the capital, he nodded quickly. But after he reacted, he was shocked and said: "What is the matter, Sikong? If you are not going to Chang'an, why are you going to Shouchun?" If Dong Cheng could take him out of Chang'an, he would naturally be willing to go to Shouchun. But Cao Cao took the initiative to propose to send him to Shouchun, which puzzled him. He really didn't know what was wrong with Cao Cao today and why he mentioned it like that. Xun Yu was also puzzled. When he heard that Cao Cao was going to move the capital to Shouchun, he was shocked and said:

"What does Sikong mean by this? Didn't Sikong advocate moving the capital to Guanzhong before?" But facing their doubts, Cao Cao said seriously: "Today I caused Your Majesty to be intercepted by the thieves, which is a great crime!" "Even if we go to Guanzhong, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to protect Your Majesty!" "I think Liu Bei has a lot of the spirit of Emperor Gaozu and can accomplish the deeds of Emperor Guangwu!" "If Your Majesty is invited to Shouchun, Liu Bei will be able to protect Your Majesty's safety." "Even if something unexpected happens in the future, this man is surnamed Liu, so he can protect the Han Dynasty from falling into the hands of others!" Before seeing the blood edict, Cao Cao wanted to have a good talk with Liu Xie. But now that he has seen the blood edict, he is determined to depose Liu Xie! You know, since Liu Xie arrived in Xuchang, he has been tolerant in everything. Xutian hunting, although a bit disrespectful, is just beating. But what did Liu Xie do? He wrote a letter in blood, calling on everyone to murder Cao Cao! If Guo Jia had not discovered this plan in advance, Cao Cao would not have known how he died. How much hatred and resentment could make Liu Xie treat him like this? It seemed that he was too tolerant, which made Liu Xie a little proud. So now he has made up his mind that as long as Liu Xie dares to nod, he will give Liu Xie to Liu Bei. Then secretly send troops to intercept and kill them along the way, and then blame it on Yuan Shao! If Liu Xie cannot be killed, then Liu Xie is lucky! If he could kill Liu Xie, he would establish a new emperor after defeating Yuan Shao! With this thought in mind, his words were naturally more serious. When Xun Yu heard this, he was panicked for a moment. He thought that it was his and Liu Xie's actions that made Cao Cao give up, so he tried to persuade him: "How can Sikong say such a thing? Where does this put Your Majesty?" "If Your Majesty goes there, what will Liu Bei do if he really wants to usurp the throne?" "Now that the imperial court is protected by the Minister of Works, they have no intention of usurping the throne." "If Sikong is not here, who else can help Your Majesty?" Although these words were spoken bluntly, they were like a heavy hammer hitting Liu Xie's heart! Yes, he has always felt that Liu Bei is his own person. But he never thought about the possibility that Liu Bei was plotting to usurp the throne! What if Liu Bei really wanted to usurp the throne after he went to Shouchun? You know, he only knew of Liu Bei and had never seen him. He didn't know whether Liu Bei was tall or short, fat or thin. Even Cao Cao felt that Liu Bei had the style of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu, so how could he be Liu Bei's opponent? As for Cao Cao, he was of a different surname after all, and if he declared himself emperor he would be attacked by everyone.

But Liu Bei also had the surname Liu, and he was proved to be a clan relative! If Liu Bei became emperor, it would at most be a change of emperor, and it would not cause much resistance from the scholars of the world at all! How could he be so confused that he thought going to Huainan would be better than Guanzhong? Considering this, and seeing Cao Cao's determined look, Liu Xie hurriedly said: "Sikong, what Lord Xun said is absolutely right. Apart from Sikong, who else in this world can truly protect me?" "Although Liu Bei is a relative, he may not be as loyal as Sikong!" "Instead of moving the capital to Huainan, I will go to Guanzhong!" "Even if Sikong is no match for Yuan Shao, I will live and die with him!" He was really anxious now, fearing that Cao Cao would send him directly to Huainan. Seeing Liu Xie pleading like this, Cao Cao said coldly: "I advised Your Majesty to move the capital to Chang'an at the beginning of the year, but Your Majesty has been reluctant to agree." "I also heard that your majesty's intention was to entrust Huainan, so I advised to move there." "Why does Your Majesty want to move the capital to Guanzhong now?" Seeing him like this, Liu Xie felt a little uneasy. He glanced at Dong Cheng's body and pointed at him and said: "It's all because of this villain. I want to move the capital, but this villain won't allow it!" "Now that Cao Gong has eliminated the thieves, I have no more obstacles to stop you. I will certainly agree to it!" Liu Xie's move of putting the blame on Dong Cheng immediately made Cao Cao feel ashamed. Although he hated Dong Cheng's conspiracy, he still respected Dong Cheng as a man. Compared with him, Liu Xie is simply hopeless. The emperor was unique in being so heartless. I am so ashamed of those old ministers of the Han Dynasty who risked their lives for me! Thinking of this, his eyes were already full of contempt as he said: "If this is the case, Dong Cheng is despicable and his entire clan should be killed!" "Come here, help me capture Lady Dong!" Upon hearing this, the soldiers went to the harem and captured Dong Cheng's daughter, Concubine Dong. When Empress Fu heard this, she also hurried forward and cried. When Liu Xie saw this, he cried out: "Sikong, Dong Cheng is guilty, and Concubine Dong is innocent!" "I hope Sikong will have mercy on me and not kill me!" But Cao Cao saw this and became furious: "Anyone guilty of treason will be executed along with his entire family. How can this girl be spared?"

"Is there something hidden in your words, Your Majesty?" As soon as he said this, Liu Xie stopped talking, looked at Concubine Dong in the distance, and burst into tears. When Cao Cao saw him like this, he felt even more disgusted. He ordered Concubine Dong to be taken out and strangled to death outside the palace gate. (End of this chapter)