Cao Cao asked almost instinctively, "Why? How did you know I wanted Chong'er to succeed to the throne?"
I said, "Emperors must be ruthless."
"Our Cao family's next emperor doesn't need to be ruthless."
We didn't really think much about the few words we exchanged, and once we finished speaking, it was too late to take them back.
Cao Cao's expression shifted, but he managed to cover it up by saying, "What nonsense are you spouting, Xiao Qiang? How could Chong'er become emperor?"
I simply said, "Prime Minister, there's no need to hide anything anymore. If you admit it, at least everyone will call you a man. Besides, hiding it won't help. To put it bluntly, your intentions are as clear as day."
Who is Sima Zhao?
What a rude mouth! Why did I bring him up now?
However, Cao Cao didn't delve into it. He glanced at me, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Since you say there's no need to hide anything, then I'll be frank. I will eventually take control of this vast empire. I will recruit all talented people, and kill those who are disobedient. My successor won't need to wage war like I have; he will only need to know how to govern. It's just a pity..."
I nodded and said, "Yes, just like the helper and the chef. The helper peels the garlic and washes and cuts the vegetables, while the chef just stir-fries them."
Cao Cao looked at me and chuckled coldly: "Your analogy is quite interesting."
The moment I saw that ambiguous look in his eyes, I knew it was bad—he was already plotting to kill me! Some things can't be said outright. Even if his trusted generals and advisors understood his intentions, they could only call him Prime Minister because the time wasn't right. If Cao Cao were to openly declare himself emperor at this point, he would at least bring himself another powerful group of enemies—I've been at Liangshan for too long, and I'm really not used to dealing with these people from the Three Kingdoms period…
Seeing that Cao was about to call for the guards, I quickly came up with a clever idea: "Prime Minister, do you remember what Chong'er told you? Of all the talented people in the world, those who help you should be given important positions. Those who don't help you mean there's something you haven't done well enough, which is also a good lesson. What's that saying again—'Only the virtuous should rule the world.'" This was the first time I'd ever heard Cao Xiaoxiang say this to me.
Cao Cao asked in astonishment, "How did you know?"
I sighed and said, "Well, you are his biological father and I am his adoptive father. We are just two old brothers."
Cao Cao angrily retorted, "What do you mean!"
"The little guy is actually still alive..."
Cao Cao, enraged, laughed and shouted, "Guards!"
I quickly waved my hand and said, "If you don't believe me, I'll let him talk to you."
Just then, a squad of soldiers rushed in, swords drawn, waiting for Cao Cao's order. I showed him my phone, dialing as I spoke: "You'll hear his voice soon. Don't you want to see your son again?" I shook the phone vigorously at him. "If I lied to you, you can kill me later. You won't lose anything in the time it takes to say a few words, but if it's true, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. I'll say it again—the little guy isn't actually dead. I spent every day with him recently: he likes salty food, and he always kicks off the covers from left to right when he sleeps. Also, he's most afraid of you tickling him with your beard..."
Cao Cao was completely stunned. He stared at the strange little box in my hand, listened to my last few words, and remained speechless as if bewitched. He seemed to be talking to me, or perhaps he was just muttering to himself: "What if you lie to me..." Then, as if he had found the answer, he said, "So what if I let you lie to me this once?" He waved his hand weakly and told the guards, "You may leave."
Seeing this touched me deeply. The bond between father and son is unbreakable; even this cunning and ruthless figure had moments of despair. Although he clearly felt I was deceiving him, he still didn't want to let go of that sliver of hope. At that moment, he was just an ordinary father…
I called Mulan urgently and said, "Quickly, get Little Elephant on the phone! His father is burning with jealousy and wants to kill me to vent his anger!"
Mulan said anxiously, "My brother took the baby elephant up the mountain to hunt. Why didn't you say so sooner? Should I lead my troops to rescue you now?"
"...Never mind, by the time you arrive, the daylily will be too cold."
I plopped down on the ground, spread my hands, and said to Cao Cao, "Just kill me. I know there's no point in arguing with you."
Cao Cao stared blankly at my phone for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Who exactly are you?" Although he didn't get to speak to Cao Xiaoxiang, he heard someone answer from the other end of the phone.
I said weakly, "I don't object if you want to treat me like a god, but of course a god won't just let you kill him. I know it's a paradox, but we're all from the same root, why are we fighting each other so fiercely? You decide what to do."
Cao Cao resolutely asked, "If I go with you, can you guarantee I will see my son again?"
I jumped up in a flash: "This is why I came here."
Cao Cao stared intently into my eyes, as if he were engaged in a fierce internal struggle. Finally, he slammed his hand on my shoulder and said, "I'll go with you!"
I knew the fish had taken the bait, and now it was time to toss him around a bit to vent my anger. So I deliberately said, "Think it over. If I'm lying to you, not only will your life be in danger, but you'll also lose your empire. If you win this battle against Eastern Wu, you'll already own most of the country." I had to provoke him a bit to see how much the little elephant really meant to him. To be honest, I wasn't happy about sending such a good son back.
Cao Cao asked, "How shall we proceed?" Then he added, "If you can fly through the clouds, I can completely trust you."
"That old bastard!" I snapped. "Enough nonsense, let's take a taxi." I definitely couldn't take that car, otherwise we'd have to cross the river back to Xiakou, and I was afraid Cao Cao's bottom line would collapse. Besides, would our Master Zhang let go of such a good opportunity to kill Cao Cao?
I contacted Liu Laoliu and asked him to open a temporary military road so we could set off from Wulin.
As we entered the military road, I said worriedly, "We'll be in trouble if we don't have a vehicle." The battle at Chibi will begin in three days, and this is a new road. We don't know how long it will take us to get there.
As I was looking around, a horse-drawn carriage suddenly came leisurely from the intersection. I quickly waved and called out, "Tankeshi!"
As the driver approached, he suddenly exclaimed with delight, "General Xiao, it's you!"
I recognized the man immediately—Black Tiger, one of Xiang Yu's men. I pushed Cao Cao into the car and called out, "You're driving a taxi now?"
Upon seeing an old friend, Black Tiger exclaimed joyfully, "Yes, quite a few of our old brothers did this. Liu Bang even exempted us from some taxes." He then pressed down the "Empty Cart" sign on his horse's head and asked, "Where to?"
"How much would it cost to go to the Northern Wei, to General Mulan's place?"
Black Tiger said unhappily, "Look at what you're saying. Do you think I'd take your money? This is my first time on this road, so I'll just treat it as practice."
I took out some Yucai coins and argued with Black Tiger for a long time, but in the end I forced them into his pocket.
Cao Cao watched us chat idly for a while, and said to me with a sense of frustration, "Excuse my bluntness, but this really doesn't seem like a place for immortals."
Chapter 198 Cao Cao
Now that I was already on the "pirate ship," I stopped hiding my intentions and asked Cao Cao, "Prime Minister, what are your thoughts on the Battle of Red Cliffs?"
"Red Cliff?" Cao Cao asked, puzzled.
It just occurred to me that the so-called Battle of Red Cliffs is a name given by later generations after the event. Cao Cao had no idea that he would suffer a major setback at Red Cliffs.
I said, "It was you who pacified Eastern Wu this time."