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"My lord, Sima Zhao, pays homage to your majesty. Long live your majesty, long live, long live!"

Sima Zhao, who lowered his head and folded his hands, walked forward in small steps. He came to the palace, prostrated on the ground, and kowtowed once every time he shouted "long live".

The words and deeds during the pilgrimage are meticulous and extremely standard, and the demeanor and tone are extremely respectful, making it impossible to find a single fault.

When Cao Fang saw Sima Zhao's appearance, her face showed joy and she was about to speak. Fortunately, before she spoke, she glanced at Cao Shuang subconsciously.

But he saw Cao Shuang staring at Sima Zhao with a gloomy expression.

Cao Fang, who had already spoken half a word, quickly stopped talking, put down her outstretched hand, and stopped speaking.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Sima Zhao, who rested his hands on the ground and pressed his forehead against the back of his hands, did not hear the emperor's call and did not dare to make any movement.

Of course, no one could see the look on his face at this time.

This time, Man Chong stood up again:

"General?"

"snort!"

Cao Shuang snorted, flicked his sleeves, turned his head, and said nothing.

Seeing Cao Shuang's move, Cao Fang shrank and did not dare to speak out.

He is ten years old. Although he is not very old, he has already understood a lot of things by staying in a place like the palace.

In particular, Empress Dowager Yu, who was supposed to be Cao Fang's biggest supporter in the palace, was forced to move to a separate palace by Cao Shuang. Mother and son could not see each other more than once throughout the year.

It made Cao Fang even more cautious.

Therefore, seeing the appearance of the general, Cao Fang naturally did not dare to make any decisions.

The scene in front of them made many veterans feel angry:

Cao Shuang is such a jerk!

Man Chong tilted his head slightly and glanced at Ting Wei Gao Rou.

Gao Rou understood and stood up:

"Your Majesty, now that we are facing a powerful enemy, we must retreat from the thieves. Now that Taifu has sent envoys here, it is a good opportunity to work together to defeat the thieves!"

The words were spoken to the emperor, but his eyes were looking at the general.

Thinking of the war in Jingzhou, Cao Shuang reluctantly raised his chin and gestured to Cao Fang.

Seeing this, Cao Fang stretched out her hand again and shouted: "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Seeing this, all the old ministers were secretly angry.

It's just that in addition to his status as an auxiliary minister, Cao Shuang also has another level of relationship, that is, clan kinship.

The relationship between him and the emperor was not only a matter between the emperor and his ministers, but also an internal family matter within the Cao family.

As a minister with a foreign surname, no matter how much I couldn't stand it, I still had some concerns and didn't dare to interfere easily.

After all, we are not close to each other!

Sima Zhao, who had been lying on the ground, breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the emperor's words and stood up quickly.

"General Sima Zhonglang, you said you came here to discuss how to defeat thieves?"

Cao Shuang sat there and asked condescendingly.

"Back to General, that's right."

Sima Zhao replied respectfully.

"Oh?" Cao Shuang said in a long voice, "But I don't know what the master's plan is?"

Seeing how he was still putting on airs, many veterans secretly cursed:

This guy is so clueless!

"Back to the general, the thieves in Shangdang and Hedong are rampant. The Taifu wants to personally lead the army and cross the river to the north to defend against the enemy."

"Therefore, Taifu asked Zhao to come and report to Your Majesty that the enemy in the north will be blocked by Taifu so that Your Majesty does not have to worry."

After hearing this, Cao Shuang looked at Sima Zhao, his expression calmed, and he straightened his body:

"What did you say? You mean that the Taifu wants to lead the army across the river and go north?"

"Back to General, that's right."

Hearing Sima Zhao's affirmative answer, Cao Shuang's heart moved:

Doesn't that mean that Xuchang no longer has to worry about the army in Luoyang?

Not to mention Cao Shuang, everyone in the court, except for a few people such as Man Chong and Gao Rou who had learned the news in advance, the remaining ministers were in a commotion.

Those who think faster can guess Sima Yi's intention at once.

So some people couldn't help but sigh in their hearts:

Taifu...this is taking the overall situation into consideration!

In the last few years, Cao Rui suffered a lot of blows and became more suspicious, so he sent more guards to block the palace.

In addition, female officials were set up in the harem to serve as female ministers, so that Dian Sheng could carry out affairs outside the palace, thereby reducing contact with foreign ministers.

Cao Rui's move, apart from liking women, may not mean that he was beaten into self-isolation.

After arriving in Xuchang, Queen Mao was sentenced to death for inquiring about Cao Rui's condition.

All the palace servants who served him that day were also executed.

Under such high pressure to block news, the fact that Cao Rui once cursed Sima Yi in private was only spread within a small area.

In addition, before Cao Rui died, he left a will to make Sima Yi his assistant minister - this was Cao Rui's last desperate attempt to protect Wei from being divided.

Cao Rui's edict to make Sima Yi the assistant minister was very confusing to the ministers in the court.

Maybe someone in the court has realized something is wrong.

But under the pressure of foreign enemies, no one dared to raise this issue clearly - even Cao Shuang never publicly said that Sima Yi had a desire to be independent.

However, what Cao Shuang has done in recent years has gradually lost people's support.

In contrast, some people now think that Sima Yi is thinking about the overall situation, which is normal.

Compared with the bad one, normal people will naturally prefer the less bad one subconsciously.

While everyone was confused, Cao Shuang still asked again and again in disbelief:

"Is this true?"

As soon as this question was asked, someone frowned again.

The general's words really seem to be too narrow-minded, or in other words, not magnanimous enough.

Even if you don't believe it, you shouldn't ask directly.

Because this is considered to be a public suspicion that the Taifu deceived the Emperor in the court.

Besides, if the Grand Tutor leads an army north to fight against the bandits, such a major matter, one only needs to send people to Luoyang to inquire about it, and they can find out.

Wouldn't it be beneath the general's dignity to ask such a question at such a time?

After Cao Shuang asked this question, he realized that he seemed to be too reckless.

But before he could open his mouth to make amends, Sima Zhao had already said loudly:

"How dare Zhao lie about such a big matter in front of His Majesty?"

As soon as Sima Zhao finished speaking, the servant Wang Guan couldn't help but stood up and said:

"The general and the Taifu guard the two capitals separately. The Taifu guards the Western bandits in the north, and the Taijun serves as the Wu bandits in the south. Therefore, the late emperor asked the Taifu and the general to assist His Majesty."

"Now that the bandits have invaded Jingzhou, the war is urgent. The general must focus on getting rid of the bandits at this time. Regarding the matter in Jingzhou, the general should make an early decision."

Wang Guan was lonely and poor since he was a child, but he was ambitious. Later, he was called by Cao Cao to serve as the Prime Minister's literary advisor.

During the four dynasties of Cao and Wei, he held many positions.

In the era of Cao Rui, he was recommended by Sima Yi and served as a lieutenant. Later he was promoted to Shangshu, Henan Yin, and then Shaofu.

After Cao Rui's death, the general assisting the government, Cao Shuang, took full power and lived a luxurious life. He repeatedly misappropriated money and materials from the palace and treasury for his own use.

The Shaofu was originally in charge of the income and expenditure of the imperial family. After Wang Guan learned about what Cao Shuang had done, he specially created a book and sealed up the royal property.

In order to facilitate himself to continue to occupy the royal family's property, Cao Shuang transferred Wang Guan to the position of Taiwen.

Therefore, Wang Guan has been dissatisfied with what Cao Shuang did for a long time. How can he tolerate it now when he sees that Cao Shuang is so confused about the importance?

Although Man Chong, Gao Rou, and Wang Guan were all deprived of real power by Cao Shuang, they were all veterans of the four dynasties and had great reputations.

With an army of thieves approaching, and in front of everyone in the court, Cao Shuang naturally couldn't easily refute the reputation of the three of them.
To be continued...