Chapter 376: The conspiracy is not secret, the hero's death After killing Guo Jia, he would escape back to Xiliang. This was Ma Chao's real thought. After all, the current Cao Cao is no longer the same Cao Cao as before. The territories under Cao Cao’s command now only include Guanzhong, Liangzhou, Hedong and other places. Seeing that Hedong was about to fall, Cao Cao was left with only Guanzhong and the Xiliang area where they were. It was precisely because the servant was strong and the master was weak that if his father had respected Cao, Cao Cao would still have been able to fight. But if his father raised the banner of rebellion, Cao Cao would instantly lose half of his land. Therefore, in Ma Chao's view, Cao Cao can be respected or not. If he wants to fulfill his wish, he will let Cao Cao die of old age. If his wish was not fulfilled, even if he killed Guo Jia and fled back to Xiliang, Cao Cao would be unable to do anything to him. So now he doesn't care much about what he says, and he is not afraid to reveal his thoughts in his words. Seeing him like this, Wei Huang was even more delighted, thinking that Ma Chao was just what they needed, so he said: "Since the general has this intention, then just do it. Why bother about what Cao Gong thinks?"

Seeing him persuading him to take action, Ma Chao felt strange and looked at him with a critical look. "Why, do you have a grudge against Guo Fengxiao? Why do you want to persuade me to act immediately?" Seeing this, Wei Huang simply revealed his plan and said to Ma Chao: "Now the emperor has issued an edict to fight against the thief. God has mercy on Cao, the thief, who is now critically ill. I am worried that the general will be a minister for generations. Why don't you take this opportunity to serve the country?" "Just ask the general to promise to persuade your father to come, and we will seize Chang'an with the help of both inside and outside forces." "With Liu Zhengdong's troops coming, the situation in Guanzhong can be settled in one fell swoop, and there will be no more troubles." "This achievement is as great as the sky. Why should I worry about not being promoted to a higher rank or a higher position in the future?" Ma Chao listened to his instigation, and a look of deep thought appeared in his sunken tiger eyes. Indeed, it is certain that Cao Cao is now critically ill, because he was present when Cao Cao vomited blood. Now Cao Cao's first-line heir, Cao Ang, has also died in Wancheng. Although there are still generals such as Cao Hong, Xu Huang, and Xu Chu in the city, they are no longer a concern. Once their Xiliang troops arrive in Guanzhong, wouldn't Chang'an and the emperor be within their grasp? In the past, Dong Zhuo was able to dominate the world for a time because he entered the capital. If Dong Zhuo could do it, why couldn’t his Ma family do it? Thinking of this, his mind suddenly became active and he selectively ignored Liu Bei mentioned by Wei Huang. "But I don't know who your accomplices are, and how many troops can they mobilize?" After thinking for a while, he asked about the power behind Wei Huang, but Wei Huang just shook his head and smiled: "The general has not responded yet, how can I be in league with the general and answer first whether it is a yes or no." "If the general agrees, he must first swear an oath of blood with me and swear to heaven that he will never betray me." Wei Huang was naturally no fool. He was wary of the possibility that Ma Chao would agree in person and then report him secretly. In this era, oaths were still quite binding. Upon hearing this, Ma Chao hesitated for a moment, then bit his finger and swore an oath of blood. After the two of them swore their oaths, Wei Huang mentioned a group of accomplices. Upon hearing this, Ma Chao frowned and said: "They are all civil officials, how can they act without any soldiers? We must bring another army!"

Although he was a military general, he did not have the military power in his hands, and he could only mobilize a few hundred personal followers. Inside Chang'an City, there were at least 20,000 troops, and these few hundred people couldn't even open the door. Seeing that he was worried, Wei Huang said bluntly, "My family has three or four hundred servants in different places, totaling more than a thousand. Isn't that enough?" "Too few! A thousand soldiers and horses are not enough to accomplish this task. We need twice as many to accomplish this task!" According to Ma Chao's estimation, in order to open the city gate, at least three thousand soldiers would be needed to ensure effectiveness. These words stumped Wei Huang. Ever since the death of Zhong Ji and others, there was almost no one in their circle to lead the army. It would be extremely difficult to gather another thousand people. However, Ma Chao could see his dilemma. After thinking for a while, he said a name: "I wonder if you know Liu Xiongming. Can you persuade him to help?" Liu Xiongming was originally from Lantian. When he was young, he collected herbs and hunted, and lived at the foot of Fuche Mountain for a long time. People at that time believed that this person could control the clouds and mist, so during the Li-Guo Rebellion, many people joined him. Later, when Cao Cao entered Guanzhong, he appointed this man as his general. At that time, he was stationed at Nanmen Pavilion south of Chang'an, with more than 3,000 troops under his command. This was the only person Ma Chao could think of who had troops besides Cao Cao's confidants. If he could convince this man to secretly send troops, he would be able to capture the gate of Chang'an. Wei Huang naturally knew Liu Xiongming, but he only knew that there was such a person and had never met him in detail. However, he also knew that Ma Chao was doing this to ensure that things could proceed smoothly, so he hesitated for a moment and said: "Although I am not familiar with it, I can still give it a try. General, you can contact your father, and we will go and persuade Liu Xiongming ourselves." "If this can be accomplished, we will report back to the general and take action when the time is right." Upon hearing this, Ma Chao nodded in agreement, walked towards the mansion, wrote a letter in his own handwriting, and asked his confidant to deliver it to Xiliang. After Wei Huang persuaded Ma Chao, he naturally met with Fu Wan and others again. Everyone was delighted to hear that Ma Chao had joined the group, except Jin Yi who said: "It would be fine if we have Ma Chao now, but why do we need to win over foreign generals? If we act in such a careless manner, there will be disaster!" When everyone heard this, they realized that there were too many people in the conspiracy, but Fu Wan thought for a while and sighed: "We are weak and have no choice but to seek help from outside forces. We will just go and persuade Liu Xiongming, and don't need anyone else!" This time, they sent Geng Ji to persuade Liu Xiongming to secretly send troops to Beijing to defend the king. In fact, this is also the result of the butterfly effect and historical inertia. In the original process, Ma Chao also tried to win over Liu Xiongming, but was rejected by Liu Xiongming. Because of this, he was praised by Cao Cao, but later he was forced to betray Cao Cao because of his subordinates. Now that Ma Chao was about to rebel, he thought of this person first. However, in the face of Geng Ji's persuasion, Liu Xiongming agreed without hesitation. As a result, when he was sending out his troops, some people knew that Liu Xiongming's move was most likely to be a rebellion, and they were frightened, so they went to the residence of Jia Xu, the Prefect of the Guards, to report the matter. When Jia Xu heard that there were already many foreign troops hidden in Chang'an City, he was shocked and hurried to discuss with Guo Jia. After hearing this, Guo Jia realized that someone was planning a rebellion, so he had no choice but to go to the Sikong Mansion. At this time, in Sikong Mansion, Cao Cao was seen sleeping on the bed, pale and barely breathing. Beside him, several beautiful women stood in front of the couch, and the doctor held Cao Cao's wrist and sighed: "Sikong's pulse is weak, and the disease has penetrated deep into his five internal organs. No medicine can save him!"

As soon as these words were spoken, several beautiful women covered their faces and cried, while a young man stepped forward and grabbed the doctor and said: "You old man, you are not worthy of being called a famous doctor. How dare you say that medicine cannot cure my father? If you don't cure my father today, I will kill you!" As soon as the young man said this, the doctor immediately apologized, but the young man continued to do so until a beautiful woman shouted: "Zihuan, how can you be so rude to a gentleman? Let him go and leave with me!" The man called Zihuan was Cao Cao's second son Cao Pi, and the woman who questioned him was Cao Cao's concubine Bian. Faced with her questioning, Cao Pi did not dare to disobey and had to let her go and step aside. Seeing this, Bian went forward to confirm with the doctor, and then said to the cold woman beside him: "Madam, we have consulted all the doctors in Chang'an City, but they all say that they cannot treat it. What should we do?" The person she called Madam was Cao Cao's current wife, Ding, who was also Cao Ang's adoptive mother. She had a strong personality and was taciturn. After listening to what Bian said, Ding did not reply. She just looked at Cao Cao with a sad face and shed tears silently. In the original story, Ding and Cao Cao severed their relationship due to Cao Ang's death, but in this timeline, the two did not break up. Although Cao Cao was lustful and Ding was infertile, the relationship between the two was very good. But even though Mrs. Ding had a strong character, she had just experienced the pain of losing her son, and now she was experiencing the pain of losing her husband. She was also heartbroken. So in response to Bian's question, she could only shake her head and wipe away her tears. When she cried like this, Cao Cao's wives and concubines also covered their faces and cried, and even Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi, Cao Chong and others also cried non-stop. "Madam, why are you crying here? Why are you all gathered here?" But at this moment, a weak voice sounded. Everyone looked and saw that Cao Cao opened his eyes. "Husband/Sikong/father!" When everyone saw him, they quickly surrounded him. In the eyes of everyone, Cao Cao seemed to have aged by dozens of years, with a look of old age on his face and gray hair and beard. Although his eyes were open, his pupils were somewhat cloudy and lacked the former spirit. Seeing this, they felt a pang in their hearts and tears flowed unconsciously. "Madam, what are you doing? My husband is not dead yet, why are you crying here?" Looking at the crowd, Cao Cao smiled slightly on his pale face and murmured: "I think the summer season has passed outside, and the people are about to harvest. It's a time for all the people to rejoice, so why are you hurt?" "Just smile, don't be so sad. Life and death are common things. Why should you be so sad?" It would have been better if he hadn't said this. Once he said this, everyone cried even louder, and the whole room was filled with wailing. "No need to do that. Well, I guess you guys don't want to see me, so go out and Madam can stay!" Cao Cao closed his eyes, with tears in the corners of his eyes, as if he didn't want to see everyone like this. After he said this, Cao Pi and others were reluctant to leave, but were still taken out of the house by Bian. For a moment, only Ding and Cao Cao were left in the room, staring at each other. Before Cao Cao could say anything, Ding burst into tears again. When Cao Cao saw this, his eyes also turned red for a moment. He stretched out his hand to stroke his back and smiled: "Just now I dreamed of Zixiu, who asked me if my wife was okay. I told her that she was fine." "If there is a spirit, Zixiu will definitely blame me for lying to you when he sees you so sad. So stop crying."

After hearing this, Ding couldn't hold it back any longer and cried on Cao Cao. Cao Cao said with pity: "Madam, you may cry now, but your husband will not live long. I am worried that you will not be settled yet, so I ask you to stay here." "I hope Madam will remember this carefully, so that you will know how to deal with your husband's affairs after his death." His voice was a little weak, which made Ding's crying gradually become smaller. After a long time, she raised her head and looked at Cao Cao with tearful eyes. Seeing this, Cao Cao couldn't help but raise his lips, closed his eyes, and slowly said: "I have just woken up, but my health is not good yet. I know I will not live long. I have made these last words, and I hope you will respect them." After listening to this, Ding quickly stood up to get a pen and paper and wrote down everything Cao Cao said: "When I am in the army, I abide by the law. As for minor anger and major mistakes, they should not be followed." "The world is not yet stable, and we cannot follow the old ways. After I die, please keep my great mourning as when I was alive. Do not neglect it." "All officials who are to be present in the palace shall raise their voices on the fifteenth day; after the funeral, they shall take off their mourning clothes; and each official shall take up his duties." "All the generals and soldiers stationed in the garrison were not allowed to leave their garrisons and were buried in the northern suburbs of Chang'an without any gold, jade or jewelry." "My maids, concubines and entertainers are all hardworking. They can be remarried, returned to their hometowns, settled in the mansion and treated well." "The remaining incense can be shared with the ladies, and no sacrifice is required. If there is nothing to do in the houses, you can learn to make shoes and sell them." "All the ribbons I have received from my service as an official are stored in my collection. The rest of my clothes and furs can be stored in a separate collection. If you cannot, your brothers can share them." Cao Cao's will is not much different from the historical ones, and also arranges for wives, concubines, houses, property, and descendants. He asked for very little for himself: no title, no fame, no burial objects. The only difference is that the mausoleum was moved from Yecheng to an unknown place in the northern suburbs of Chang'an. As he spoke, Ding shed tears, and her tears soaked the paper of the suicide note. Only after Cao Cao finished speaking did he stop crying and step forward with the will. But Cao Cao didn't even look at her. He wiped Ding's eyes with effort and said with a smile: "I am so ashamed that I couldn't help you with your dressing. So, Madam, go and call Guo Fengxiao!" As he said this, he closed his eyes again, as if trying to conserve the last bit of energy to meet Guo Jia. When Mrs. Ding saw this, she felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. She wiped her tears and walked out of the inner hall. Unexpectedly, as soon as she came out, she saw Guo Jia approaching with a serious face and said: "My name is Guo Jia. Nice to meet you, Madam. I wonder if the master has woken up now?" As he was asking, he saw that Ding's eyes were red, and his heart skipped a beat. Madam Ding had a sad face, pointed to the inner room and cried to Guo Jia: "Jijiu Guo has arrived at the right time. My husband is waiting for him in the house!" When Guo Jia heard this, he immediately put the matter out of his mind and hurried into the house. As soon as he saw Cao Cao lying on the couch, he went straight up to him, took Cao Cao's hand and said: "My lord, Guo Jia has arrived. I wonder why you called me here?" Hearing his voice, Cao Cao slowly opened his eyes and said weakly: "Why are you here so fast, Fengxiao? Is there something important you want to discuss with me?"

Seeing Cao Cao like this, Guo Jia couldn't stop crying. He quickly shook his head and forced a smile: "It was clearly the Lord who summoned me, why did you ask me what I came for?" After he said this, Cao Cao also grinned and said with some difficulty: "I am very annoyed by their crying, but Feng Xiao is the only one who pleases me!" "But you and I know each other well. I wonder if I don't know that you have important business to attend to. Why don't you tell me now and leave it to me for condolences?" Hearing this, Guo Jia felt a sharp pain in his heart. After hesitating for a moment, he could only lower his head and said: "I have received news that Fu Wan, Ma Chao and others may be planning a mutiny." "I dare not conceal such an important matter, so I come to report it to my lord." He thought that this news would make Cao Cao angry, but he didn't expect that when Cao Cao heard it, he shook his head and smiled: "Although I know it now, I am powerless to stop it. Just be filial and do what you want!" "There is a letter under my pillow. Just pass it to Yuan Rang and ask him to come and help." "Hedong Shangdang, if you can't defend it, there's no need to defend it any longer. Just withdraw your troops to Guanzhong and wait for Liu Bei to come north." This was obviously a request to entrust Xiahou Dun with his care. Guo Jia was shocked and said hurriedly: "My Lord, what are you talking about? Our army can still fight. Why should we withdraw now?" "Feng Xiao, don't lie to me. I know how much food and grass my army has!" Cao Cao smiled, his eyes looked a little empty, and his face was a little sad. "Since there is insufficient food and grass, why bother fighting again? Just surrender." "I respect Liu Xuande, and I have no regrets about surrendering to him." "It's just that I forced Wen Ruo before, and now I am ashamed to see it. Feng Xiao, remember to apologize to me." "There are many people I feel guilty towards, but Wen Ruo is the only one I feel guilty towards!" Guo Jia heard his words and tried to dissuade him, but Cao Cao seemed to sense something and slowly closed his eyes and said: "Oh, there's one more person. I don't know how to deal with him." "I have done nothing in my life that I regret, except that Zixuan left me, which was my fault." "If Fengxiao sees this in the future, please tell Zixuan for me." "I do not regret losing a good advisor in this life, but I regret losing a close friend." Having said this, his voice gradually faded away until there was no sound at all. Finally, Guo Jia couldn't bear it anymore and knelt on the ground, crying and sobbing. (End of this chapter)