Chapter 814 The Emperor Dies!
Among the four kingdoms in the Central Plains, if we talk about the most majestic imperial palace, it must be Wei. Let’s not mention the eastern capital Luoyang for now. After all, Luoyang is located in the middle of the four kingdoms and cannot be the capital.
Chang'an was the second largest city after Luoyang.
In the dark night, the lights in the Weiyang Palace were on. Cao Mao was staring at the huge geomancy map in the hall, lost in thought. The land of Wei State had been expanded in this way since he ascended the throne, and until now there has been no increase at all.
Emperor Wu was an entrepreneurial monarch, and Emperor Wen was a conservative monarch. Both had made great contributions to pioneering. Even the treacherous Sima Yi conquered Yizhou for the Wei State. However, in all these years since he ascended the throne, not only had he failed to expand the territory, he was almost losing Hedong.
He muttered to himself, "Hedong is rotten, and the blood of Wei will be shed here. We have to reform the system and make changes. Cao Lin, oh Cao Lin, if you know what's good for you, just hand over the power obediently, and I will make you rich and prosperous."
There were signs of something wrong between the emperor and the general, and anyone with a keen sense of smell could smell it, especially the aristocratic families who were extremely sensitive to politics. The political situation in Wei had returned to the political struggle that they loved to see.
As soon as the emperor released the news that he wanted to employ the gentry, some of them began to move closer to him. Although these gentry had lost power for a long time, they were still famous at home and abroad, and fame was the capital for becoming an official. In particular, the gentry had only lost power at the central level, but still had extensive connections in the local areas. Once these people became prominent, they were no longer rootless.
On the third day after Cao Lin met with Cao Mao, an imperial edict from the imperial palace landed in the Shangshu Province, igniting the entire Wei State. The content of the edict was roughly as follows:
"I have read history books and learned that King Su made use of his relatives of the Ji clan, and thus was able to stabilize the Zhou Dynasty. Although I am smaller and humbler than King Su, I am also willing to follow King Su's principles, and thus made use of his relatives, and the State of Wei prospered.
I have heard that King Su not only made use of relatives of the Ji clan, but also sought wise men from all over the world. When he heard that a wise man was coming, he hurried to meet him without even having time to swallow his meal. Every time I read this, I just felt that with a saint like King Su, could the thousand-year existence of the Zhou Dynasty be an accident?
I want to follow the example of King Su, not only making use of clan members, but also employing wise men from all over the world to make the Great Wei more prosperous.
I wonder what the Wei Dynasty relied on to seize its current vast territory?
It is because of the wisdom and bravery of Emperor Wu, the loyalty of the ancestors of the Xiahou and Cao families, and the assistance of many famous figures at home and abroad such as Xun Lingjun. Now I only have the assistance of my clan relatives and therefore cannot unify the State of Wei.
The scholars of Wei State left Wei State and went to Guandong to look for their wise leader. The nobles of Wei State abandoned their ancestral land and went to the distant Guandong to seek the future. This is my fault.
I was unable to employ wise men, which led to this result. This is what I do not want to see, and this is what the Great Wei cannot bear.
Now I want to change all this, so I issued this decree.
Tell the county governors to select the local virtuous and upright people from all counties, those who have talents but are lost in the wilderness, those who have lofty reputations but are not treated with courtesy by the court, and those who are concerned about the country and the people but cannot share the country's worries. I am willing to give them honorable positions. "
This order immediately caused an uproar. In the distant Later Han Dynasty, Emperor Ling of Han issued the most stringent party-ban order, not allowing scholars to serve as officials. But this time, the emperor issued an order to release the scholars and allow them to return to the court.
Since the Sima Yi incident, this is the first time that the royal family has sent out such a clear signal in such a formal and large-scale manner.
Emperor Cao Mao directly issued a clear decree, which showed his great determination. This time, the emperor really kept his word. If Cao Mao withdrew this decree, the gentry would completely abandon him.
An emperor who changes his orders every day is not worthy of the loyalty of these nobles. They will wait for the next emperor to appear.
After Cao Mao issued this edict, it was quickly sent to various counties by court envoys, and the reactions of the scholars were varied.
Many scholars began to come to Chang'an, especially those aristocratic families who urgently needed high-ranking officials and titles to beautify their appearance, but there were also many people who were unwilling to come and wanted to live in seclusion.
Over the years since the establishment of the Wei State, constant political infighting has made many people miserable and unwilling to step into this muddy water.
Scholars came in groups from various fields, calling their friends to come and pay homage to the emperor. This time, Cao Mao's order to seek talents made many great scholars and sages appear in Guanzhong, making it quite lively for a while.
Cao Mao listened to the report of his close ministers with excitement, and clenched his fist and said: "As long as these scholars come to the court, I will have another force that I can use. In many aspects, I can exclude the power of my relatives and execute it myself.
Why did I make up my mind only now? Damn Sima Yi, if he hadn't caused chaos in Wei, how could the Queen Mother have hindered me for so many years? "
All we can say is that it is hard to tell what good and bad fortune can bring. Without Sima Yi, Cao Mao would not have become emperor, but with Sima Yi, the political trauma caused has only been slightly eased for the Wei State until now.
This easing did not mean that Wei's political trauma was truly healed, but because Murong Ke had caused greater damage to Wei, forcing the emperor and the empress dowager to forget the pain they had once suffered.
The fastest group to enter Chang'an were naturally the old nobles in Guanzhong. These people returned to their hometowns, and as soon as they received the imperial edict, they headed straight for Chang'an. Cao Mao immediately met with these people.
In the General's Mansion in Chang'an City, the atmosphere has been extremely solemn since the imperial edict was issued. Even the servants spoke in extremely low voices for fear of offending some important person. One can imagine the extremely depressing atmosphere in the mansion now.
In the main hall, Cao Lin and his followers were sitting with sullen faces. They were the ones who were most affected by this imperial edict. These scholars were bound to become officials when they entered the court, and high-ranking officials at that, and those official positions would come from their hands.
Even if it does not come from their hands, the court has limited power, and any adjustment of official positions is unacceptable to them. Since ancient times, many official positions have been gradually abandoned due to adjustments.
The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers had been so glorious in the early Han Dynasty. However, in the late Han Dynasty, they gradually declined with the emergence of the Secretariat, and Cao Lin could not tolerate the loss of power.
"Tell me, what should we do now?"
Cao Lin's voice was quite dull. He looked at everyone, hoping to get a good response instead of a bunch of complaints against the emperor. He had heard too much of that kind of words and didn't want to listen to it anymore.
Everyone in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment. In the confrontation between the ministers and the emperor, almost no minister could win, so how could they come up with any ideas?
Cao Chengsi walked in from outside, and everyone saluted to him. Cao Chengsi saluted to Cao Lin and said, "Father, please don't embarrass you anymore. The emperor is the father and the ruler, and it is the natural position of the ministers. How can you have any ideas? As long as you still hold on to this idea, you can only be slaughtered.
The son knows that his father is a loyal minister, but the son hopes that his father will not be a blindly loyal person. In the early Han Dynasty, the Jingnan princes rose up against Emperor Li of Han. To Emperor Li of Han, this could be said to be very disloyal. But who can say that the Jingnan princes were not loyal ministers?
My son has already figured out who is bewitching Your Majesty. We will impeach these people and call on righteous men to kill them. As long as we can kill all the treacherous people around Your Majesty, Your Majesty will naturally know that you are the only loyal minister of the Great Wei."
Cao Lin couldn't help but hold his forehead when he heard this, and everyone else in the hall looked surprised.
Cao Lin knew that Cao Chengsi would say this, but he was still very hesitant, feeling that it was inappropriate, or rather, he didn't dare to.
If this plan fails, he will die and his clan will be destroyed. The struggle between him and the emperor has not reached the current level.
To pacify the princes.
Cao Lin naturally knew that he was far from being able to compare with the princes who participated in the Jingnan Campaign.
All the people under Cao Lin's command were stunned by Cao Chengsi's words. They all thought that this was Cao Lin's intention, but they did not expect that Cao Lin would have such a radical idea.
Some people wanted to persuade Cao Lin immediately, but some people seemed to have opened the door to a new world. It turned out that this was possible. Now our power is still strong, so why can't we use powerful force to accomplish our goals?
"Chengsi, your ideas are really too radical. Your father thinks you should be more conservative."
Cao Chengsi smiled slightly and said, "Father, if you hesitate when you should make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. I know you will hesitate, and I also know that you agree with me in your heart, so I have sent someone out."
???
Cao Lin was stunned when he heard this, and he couldn't even speak. He said with his eyes wide open: "Chengsi, what do you mean by sending people out? What did you do?"
Cao Chengsi still had that slightly smiling expression, but in Cao Lin's eyes, he looked like a demon urging him to die. Cao Chengsi said, "Just as you thought, those nobles had colluded with Liang and Yan for a long time, and deliberately passed on information, causing the defeat of the Hedong army. When they were arrested, they resisted violently, trying to escape the punishment of the Great Wei law, so you had no choice but to execute them on the spot, with thousands of arrows piercing their hearts, and then searched the mansion for evidence of their collusion with the enemy."
quiet.
silence.
Deathly silence.
It is often said that the sound of a beautiful singing voice can linger in the ears for three days, but now it seems that the same can be said for heart-stirring words. After Cao Chengsi finished speaking, no one spoke in the entire hall. Only the sound of panting could be heard. Everyone was stunned by Cao Chengsi.
Cao Lin's hands were shaking. He pointed at Cao Chengsi tremblingly. After a long while, he roared in a low voice: "Don't you care about the lives of your family members at all? Don't blame me for not considering the relationship between father and son. I can't protect you in this matter."
What Cao Lin said meant that he wanted to give up Cao Chengsi and throw him out in order to calm the anger of the gentry and the emperor.
Upon hearing this, Cao Chengsi bowed respectfully without any fear, and said calmly, "Father, you are wrong. Things have come to this point, how can you still want to take a step back? Do you think that if you throw me out, those nobles and His Majesty the Emperor will let you go?
You occupy such a high position, even if this did not happen, how many people would want to kill you?
Now that we have this evidence, killing you would be a great achievement."
Cao Chengsi's words were so respectful, yet they were filled with a hint of sarcasm. Emperor Cao Mao's evaluation of Cao Lin was Cao Shuang, and Cao Chengsi's evaluation of his father was also Cao Shuang.
If Cao Lin had not been so indecisive, he would not have resorted to such a desperate measure. Now he is forcing Cao Chengsi to do these things and force Cao Chengsi to go all the way.
Almost every word he said hit Cao Lin's heart hard. The most terrifying emotion in this world is suspicion. Once suspicion arises, someone will have to bleed before the blood can be stopped.
Cao Chengsi then misled Cao Lin by telling him that the person bleeding was none other than Cao Lin himself, which formed a perfect closed loop in Cao Lin's heart.
It has to be said that Cao Chengsi is really a genius at playing with people's hearts, but it's a pity that he is not very good at military affairs. Facing a military god of war and political master like Murong Ke, it is not enough to just play with people's hearts.
The reason why Cao Chengsi kept forcing Cao Lin to do these things was very simple. He was an ambitious man. Ever since Cao Rui indulged in sensual pleasures, the throne of the Cao family had never been passed down from father to son in a normal way. This made Cao Chengsi see an opportunity. As long as the opportunity was right, he might be able to become the king of the south.
The most crucial thing is that Cao Chengsi believes that he is the most outstanding among the descendants of the current Emperor Wu. He thinks that Cao Mao is not qualified to be the emperor of Wei. If he were Cao Mao, he would have killed all the generals and others long ago.
Of course, Cao Lin had no idea of Cao Chengsi's thoughts. As a classic indecisive person, a man without his own opinion but good at being guided, he was successfully forced to go to Liangshan by Cao Chengsi.
He had no choice but to become a pawn in Cao Chengsi's plan. He chose to go all the way with Cao Chengsi, began to mobilize the army and kill those scholars. This matter could not be resolved easily. He could only directly mobilize the army, launch a coup, and control the emperor first.
Cao Chengsi did not reveal a smug smile. He still smiled with confidence, but there was a sharp cold light flashing in his eyes.
This is just the first step of his plan and it is far from over.
No one would have thought that the general's counterattack would be so swift and quick, and leave no chance of survival. This is not something a normal person could do.
They were right.
Cao Chengsi is a madman.
…
As the sun was about to set, a tragic scene occurred in Chang'an City. The scholars who came out of the palace returned to their residences, and then they were hunted down by people from the General's Mansion.
When those vicious soldiers rushed in, the soldiers could only ask in fear: "Who are you?"
Naturally, no one would answer. They would just rush over and kill these people. There was no need to disguise the scene. After all, no one would come to investigate the real reason. From this moment on, this was no longer a political struggle, but a fight between life and death, with the winner taking all.
The chaos in the city soon attracted the attention of the imperial palace, which immediately closed all the doors and went on full alert. However, the General's Mansion had its intentions unintentional, and there was no chance for the guards loyal to the emperor to be mobilized. Although Cao Lin had failed in the war in Hedong, he was qualified to mobilize the army, and instead thousands of people were transferred into the city by him.
The power in Chang'an City has suddenly become unbalanced.
These things happened in a flash. The emperor was certainly more powerful than Cao Lin, but a coup d'état was never a test of absolute strength between the two sides, but rather a surprise attack.
Cao Lin didn't know how many things Cao Chengsi had done, but he knew it must be a lot. His son had been preparing for this day for a long time, and his identity as a general gave Cao Chengsi a great deal of cover.
The city of Chang'an has begun to fall into initial chaos, but everything is still under control. Almost all streets have been under martial law, and these things have nothing to do with ordinary people.
The other dignitaries now had no idea what had happened. Suddenly there was chaos outside. This sudden situation was beyond everyone's expectations.
In the palace, Cao Mao was completely confused. He had no idea what was going on. He only knew that there was chaos outside and the palace was immediately on alert. Until now, he had no idea what was happening outside the palace.
Cao Lin, Cao Chengsi and others were sitting in the army, fully armed. Cao Lin still had a sad look on his face. He was truly a top-notch coward. He couldn't make up his mind until now and had to rely on Cao Chengsi to push him step by step.
Cao Chengsi covered his entire face with a ghostly mask and said in a hoarse voice, "Father, what we need to do now is to negotiate with the emperor.
Hand over the heads of these nobles to the emperor, and let the emperor issue an edict to tell the people of the world that these people are treacherous officials who are disrupting the government, and that we are indeed clearing the court of corrupt officials. Otherwise, our actions will not be recorded in history.
How can our righteous actions be demonstrated? "
These words made everyone in the military camp feel uncomfortable. Some people may indeed be able to say such things outside, but it is really uncomfortable to see them being so hypocritical in front of their own people.
But everyone still agreed with Cao Chengsi's words. This was all they could do now. They couldn't just rush into the palace and kill the emperor. Who would dare to take the blame for regicide?
The only way was to brand Cao Mao a dictator. Even if Cao Mao was not a wise and powerful monarch, it was absolutely impossible for him to be a dictator. The historians would never go against the principles and record the incident. Moreover, even if the historians of Wei had lost their integrity, the historians of several other countries would have recorded the incident truthfully.
Therefore, regicide is absolutely unacceptable, and to purge the emperor's attendants means to purge the emperor's attendants, and to punish the tyrant means to punish the tyrant. These are two completely different political banners.
Cao Lin was a loser, but after all, he had been a general for so many years, and after being taught by hand, he still knew what to do, so he immediately ordered: "Send these heads to the front of the palace immediately, and let someone inform the emperor that we have killed the treacherous villains. Now as long as His Majesty is willing to issue an edict to pardon our sins, everything will be over."
Cao Lin's messenger soon arrived outside the palace wall, arranged all the heads of the nobles, sent them in, and then repeated Cao Lin's words.
When the news reached the palace, Cao Mao finally knew what had happened. His morale was shaken and he finally managed to calm himself down. He still couldn't believe that Cao Lin would actually rebel.
He hadn't done anything yet, so why did Cao Lin rebel?
Since ancient times, there have been countless cases of emperors weakening the power of powerful ministers, and basically, the powerful ministers gave in voluntarily. Cao Lin should have been mentally prepared. How dare he rebel? Did he think he could really control the Wei State?
Does he think that by controlling himself today, he can make everyone in the world obey him?
Are those local nobles so easy to get along with?
It's ridiculous!
Looking at the heads that died with their eyes open, Cao Mao felt dizzy again. He had just met these people not long ago. Some of them he considered to be talented and could be entrusted with important tasks. However, now they had all turned into corpses and appeared in front of him.
"Go tell Cao Lin that I will never submit to him. This world belongs to me. I am the emperor of Wei. I will never submit to a minister, especially a rebellious minister."
Cao Mao has had a very strong character since he was a child, and it is still the same now. Faced with Cao Lin's coercion, he chose to confront it head-on instead of pretending to be submissive.
When Cao Mao's words reached the military camp, they immediately caused an uproar. The emperor's reaction was beyond Cao Lin's expectations. He asked in disbelief, "Are these the emperor's original words?
I have such a large army here, enough to even attack the imperial city. Your Majesty, won’t you consider it?
I have tried my best to control the soldiers. If His Majesty the Emperor does not agree with me, I really don’t know what will happen.”
Cao Lin was still talking nonsense here, but Cao Chengsi, who was wearing a mask, said directly: "Father, at this point, what else is there to think about?
Since Your Majesty is unwilling to issue an order, there must be traitors around you. We have killed those traitors, and now Your Majesty must be surrounded by those eunuchs. These eunuchs destroyed the Qin Dynasty, and the Later Han Dynasty also perished because of eunuchs. Now they are harming our Wei Dynasty again. This is intolerable. We will rush into the palace now to protect Your Majesty and eliminate the last traitors!"
Cao Chengsi's words sounded high-sounding, but what he said was frightening. Attacking the imperial palace was something no one dared to even think about, but it sounded so normal coming from Cao Chengsi's mouth, as if it was a matter of course. He even said it with righteousness, as if he really wanted to eliminate the treacherous people around the emperor.
It has to be said that Cao Chengsi has reached the highest level of deceiving others, that is, he has deceived himself.
Cao Lin was still about to hesitate, but Cao Chengsi urged him again. Cao Lin gritted his teeth and decided to do it, because he always felt that if he didn't make up his mind, his son would have to do it himself.
"My fellow soldiers, because there are treacherous people around the emperor, the country is in danger, so we gathered here to fight for the great Wei. Now we have killed the treacherous people, but the emperor has not issued an order of pardon for us. This must be because there are still treacherous people around him.
Eunuchs have been people of corrupt morals since ancient times, people who have brought chaos to the court, and people who have caused the demise of the country since ancient times. Now they surround the emperor, blinding the emperor's ears, causing the emperor's eyes to be unable to distinguish between loyalty and treachery, causing the emperor to be unable to pardon us, and causing the emperor to do foolish things.
Now we are attacking the palace, not because we are disrespectful to the emperor, but because we want to rescue the emperor from the water and fire, we want to pull the emperor out of the vortex of eunuchs and flatterers.
Loyal ministers always have to go through more, loyal and righteous men always have to take on more responsibilities, just like us now, just like the princes who once fought in the Jingnan Campaign. Fellow soldiers, please strive forward. Let us gather together and fight together for the bright future of the Wei Dynasty.
Break into the palace, this is the final battle, a bright future will beckon us."
Cao Lin is indeed incompetent, but he is quite good at boosting morale. His majestic appearance and eloquence have definitely made great contributions to his success.
As soon as the soldiers heard his declaration, the last bit of their worry disappeared and they completely believed that they were saving the emperor. From Cao Lin's point of view, this was not wrong.
So far, he has not thought about regicide. He just wants to control the emperor. As for future matters, he will talk about it later. But now he just wants to be a completely powerful official, especially since he is a relative of the clan. Unlike officials from other clans, the clan will not object too much.
The encouraged soldiers rushed towards the palace. The walls of the imperial city were not built for war and could not withstand any attack. They soon began to crumble. Cao Chengsi left the camp to make other preparations. At this point, both sides had no way out.
In the palace, Cao Mao learned that Cao Lin had started to attack the city, and his face turned pale instantly. Cao Lin's decisiveness was totally unlike him. Cao Mao even thought that Cao Lin had been deceiving him in the past and that he had had evil intentions for a long time.
Cao Mao's attendants were in a state of panic all day long. The banner of Cao Lin's army was to purge the emperor's side, and they named and pointed out that the eunuchs around the emperor were all treacherous. What did this mean? Once Cao Lin's army rushed in, these people would surely die.
"Your Majesty, this evil villain Cao Lin actually dared to attack the imperial palace. He wants to rebel and become the emperor."
Now the only one who can save their lives is Cao Mao, but little do they know that Cao Mao himself is on the verge of collapse, let alone them.
Cao Mao listened to the shouts and cries coming from the distant palace wall. He carefully recalled every step he had taken, but still could not find any mistakes. He did not do anything. The only mistake he made was not killing Cao Lin directly.
But he never thought of killing Cao Lin, he just wanted to take back power.
"Is it because I have too high a limit? But it has been like this for thousands of years. Why did Cao Lin rebel directly? Did he think I would kill him?"
This was a question that puzzled Cao Mao: why did Cao Lin rebel?
Not only he couldn't figure it out, Cao Lin, who was now rebelling, couldn't figure out why he had chosen the path of rebellion.
Is it because your son forced you to do so?
But if he was really a loyal minister, he would not have come to this point. After all, it was countless greed that led to all this happening.
The defense of the imperial city was crumbling. With a loud bang, the gate of the palace opened instantly and soldiers rushed into the palace like a torrent. Perhaps this was the only time in their lives that these people could enter the palace. The high palace walls and wide corridors were solemn and dignified, but in this solemnity, there were countless corpses lying on the ground and countless arrows stuck in the ground.
Cao Lin rode into the palace wearing armor on a horse. Looking at the familiar buildings, he was filled with emotion. He had come here countless times, but he had never thought that one day he would lead a large army to break through here. He had never thought that he would draw his sword against the owner of this palace.
Even if I think about it in a dream, I will suddenly wake up.
But all this happened today. He felt a person appear beside him, wearing a ghost mask. It was his son. He said with emotion: "Chengsi, is this what you want?
Now that your wish has come true, we should go to see the emperor."
Cao Chengsi didn't say anything, just nodded, and the army continued to advance forward and killed those soldiers who were unwilling to surrender.
The palace tonight is bloody.
"The Emperor is coming, the Emperor is coming!"
Cao Lin was following the army forward when he suddenly heard the palace guards shouting loudly. In the brightly lit palace, Cao Mao was standing on the emperor's carriage with a sword in his hand.
His figure was extremely tall and straight, he exuded a heroic spirit, his eyes were wide open, and his blood was rushing out.
He appeared in front of the army with a rumbling sound. As soon as he appeared, he pointed at Cao Lin and shouted, "Cao Lin, are you going to massacre the palace?
Who gave you the courage to rebel now and plunge our Wei into civil strife? Are you worthy of our ancestors?"
Everyone could hear Cao Mao's angry voice clearly. The battlefield fell silent for a moment. The soldiers on both sides stared at the emperor. This was the monarch of the Great Wei.
Cao Lin stepped down from his horse and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, I know that you are being coerced by treacherous people, so the words you said are not from your heart. There must be hidden arrows aimed at you now. I know it all, and I will come to save you right now.
Look at the soldiers under my command. They are all loyal subjects of Your Majesty. They are all loyal and upright people of our Great Wei.
This will surely completely clear away the dark clouds that have been hovering over the bright and clear world of our Great Wei."
So that's how it is. After hearing Cao Lin's words, the soldiers immediately understood that His Majesty had to say those words.
“Shameless!”
Cao Mao was almost driven crazy by Cao Lin. He didn't expect that at this time, he could still lie with his eyes open. The key point was that those soldiers still believed him. This was what made him most angry.
How could he know that no one in this world is willing to admit their mistakes.
The same is true for the soldiers.
If the general is really wrong now, then what have become of those who broke into the imperial city?
A person who helps the evil.
They certainly could not allow themselves to become accomplices of the tyrant, so the general could only be the one to blame. Under normal circumstances, Cao Mao would have been able to react quickly, but after experiencing so many ups and downs and being stimulated several times in such a short period of time, Cao Mao's mind was already groggy and it was impossible for him to think rationally. He was now completely overwhelmed by his anger.
The king must not raise an army out of anger!
Now Cao Mao was raising an army out of anger. In anger, he made a series of wrong responses, which ultimately led to the current situation where he was in a dilemma.
Cao Lin naturally did not dare to kill the emperor, so he asked a dozen of his personal soldiers to "protect" the emperor, not to let the emperor appear in front of everyone and not to use swords against each other, and then he killed his way to the front hall of the Weiyang Palace.
Only after he entered the palace did Cao Lin breathe a sigh of relief. He first killed all the eunuchs around the emperor, and then placed a dozen heads next to Cao Mao. The dozen or so armored soldiers beside Cao Mao were still "protecting" him.
Cao Lin's soldiers took over the defense of the imperial palace, which was completely under his control, including the emperor's seal and tiger talisman. With these, he could completely control the entire army of Chang'an City.
After Cao Lin received these in his arms, he stepped forward and knelt respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, I am late. I have allowed these treacherous villains to threaten you for so long. This is my fault."
After being completely controlled by others, Cao Mao finally calmed down, only to feel cold sweats coming out. The situation suddenly became like this. He asked in a hoarse voice: "General, why do you want to purge the emperor's side? I have never treated you unfairly. I have been kind to you."
Cao Lin also sighed a little, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, why do you want to use the nobles? I don't understand this either."
At this point, the monarch and his subjects were able to talk calmly. Cao Mao stared at Cao Lin and said, "You know the reason very well. You can't beat Murong Ke. If you don't recruit the nobles, the kingdom of Wei will perish in my hands."
When Cao Lin heard Murong Ke's name, he felt a dull pain in his chest, as if the wound from the arrow had not healed yet. He didn't know what to say to the emperor's words.
Because he really couldn't beat Murong Ke, and he even felt scared when he heard Murong Ke's name.
Seeing that Cao Lin didn't say anything, Cao Mao knew that Cao Lin was still the Cao Lin he knew. So what was going on today?
He deliberately asked in a deep voice: "General, are you going to kill me?"
Cao Lin's face changed drastically and he said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, why do you think so? I am trying to clear the emperor's entourage, not to kill him and seize the throne. I have never thought of killing you. You are the emperor, how can I lay hands on you?"
Cao Mao felt relieved after hearing this. It was indeed the Cao Lin he was familiar with. "General, I have never thought of killing you. I just wanted you to retire with the title and high position. I will not treat you unfairly, but I didn't expect you to do these things. Who asked you to do this? I believe you are not that kind of person. Tell me, then we can get along well in the future.
These eunuchs are just some house slaves, not worth mentioning. As for those nobles, let them die. There are still many of them. I don't care. You are my relative, one of my own."
Cao Mao was very interested in the person behind Cao Lin, but he didn't have to know. The main purpose of his words was to reassure Cao Lin and let him know that he would not pursue the matter of mutiny.
Even though Cao Lin now has the advantage and even Cao Mao's life and death are in his hands, in this world swords have always been controlled by the mind, and Cao Mao still believes that he can turn the tide.
Just keep calm.
Cao Lin is really not worth mentioning.
As Cao Lin listened to Cao Mao's gentle words, he regretted more and more that he had done these things, because he had no idea what to do next. When his son Cao Chengsi had planned it, he had only planned up to this point, and he didn't know what to do next.
After hearing what the emperor said, Cao Lin was thinking about whether to hand over his son. At this point, he actually backed down.
He truly deserves to be called the great general of the second generation of Cao Shuang!
Cao Mao was very sensitive and could sense Cao Lin's hesitation and indecision. A slight smile appeared on his face, "General, I..."
“Puff!”
The unarmored body was so fragile under the sharp sword. The bloody blade pierced through his chest and accurately pierced Cao Mao's heart. His life stopped in an instant. He lowered his head in disbelief, and then fell heavily to the ground, blood gushing out of his mouth, his eyes still wide open, staring at Cao Lin!
Cao Lin's face was splattered with Cao Mao's blood. He stood there in a daze. He opened his mouth and the salty blood flowed into his mouth. He did not react.
There seemed to be endless sounds roaring in my mind, like a mighty thunder.
The emperor is dead?
The emperor died in front of him?
Why did the soldiers kill the emperor without his order?
Who did it?
Cao Lin looked up in a daze, and saw that the soldier who killed the emperor was pinned to the ground by others.
There were not many people in the hall, they were all his confidants, and there were no outsiders, which made him feel relieved, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
Confidant?
Which crony would do that?
That is regicide. Letting your master bear the stigma of regicide, is this something a normal subordinate would do?
Cao Chengsi!
Almost in an instant, Cao Lin thought of his good son, bribing his confidants, and even killing the emperor. These were all things he could do.
Where is he?
Cao Lin suddenly realized that Cao Chengsi was not in the hall.
What is that?
Behind Chengzhu, Cao Lin saw a mask, it was a ghost mask!
The ghost mask worn by Cao Chengsi!
Cao Lin looked at the soldier who was being pinned to the ground. His clothes were a little different from those of the others. This man was the Cao Chengsi he had thought of before.
Cao Lin didn't know what to say. He looked around, wondering where his good son had gone.
————
The regicide incident that occurred in the State of Wei had extremely bad consequences. A mere normal personnel appointment triggered a vicious coup, resulting in large-scale killings and escalating to the point of regicide.
This almost unscrupulous regicide completely destroyed the political bottom line of the Xia Dynasty. Since the regicide was difficult to be effectively punished, the damage to political morality was immeasurable. Ancient historians' evaluation of the regicide in Wei even surpassed Dong Zhuo's killing of Emperor Min of Han, which shows its destructive power.
This is the first vicious political incident since the disappearance of the Luo family. This is just the beginning, not the end. ——"The Fission of the Chinese: After the Disappearance of the Luo Family"
(End of this chapter)
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