Chapter 31 Cao Pi ascended the throne

The raging fire gradually wrapped the Prime Minister's Mansion and then spread around with the wind.

Those who can live near the Prime Minister's Mansion are naturally all well-known dignitaries. The area near the Prime Minister's Mansion is also the most suitable place for Xu Du to live, and there are large houses around him. Now that the fire has spread, the surrounding houses are in trouble.

Thick smoke rolled out from the door, and many people were gushing out from the door, with noise, shouting and help.

Cao Zhang helped Mrs. Bian stand in front of the door, staring at the door in front of him. Although the fire had begun to spread towards the door, the two of them had no intention of leaving.

Finally, Cao Pi rushed out of the inside in a dusty face. At this time, the gorgeous clothes on Cao Pi had already burned black holes, and some places were still blazing with blue smoke. Looking at his face, Cao Pi's face had been blackened by thick smoke. His lips were burned and his hair was covered with neatly combed. If Cao Pi had not been wearing Prince Wei's clothes, it would have been difficult for anyone to recognize that the person in front of him was Cao Pi at a glance.

"Mother!" Cao Pi immediately rushed to Mrs. Bian. When Mrs. Bian saw that it was Cao Pi, she immediately asked, "Zihuan, where is your father?"

"Mom, the child is incompetent. When the child feels that his father is there, his father's place has been completely burned. He is probably in danger of being in trouble..."

"Ah!" Mrs. Bian shouted and fainted. Cao Zhang hurried forward and supported Mrs. Bian. Then Cao Zhang asked, "Second brother, what about Xu Chu, have you ever seen Xu Chu?"

Cao Pi shook his head: "When I got there, I didn't see Xu Chu."

"Maybe Xu Chu has taken his father away now!" Cao Zhang said.

At this time, Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and others had already arrived. But the fire was too big now, and no one could rush into Cao's mansion. Although everyone knew that Cao Cao had not come out yet, they could only worry outside.

As time goes by, the fire becomes stronger and stronger, and the heat waves roll in under the wind, but Cao Cao still does not appear. At this time, everyone knows that the chance of Cao Cao still surviving is very small.

Finally, the officials of Xudu City guarding the city led a brigade of soldiers to come over. After hearing that the Prime Minister's Mansion had caught fire, the officials immediately mobilized all the soldiers in the city to put out the fire. At the same time, many people were mobilized. For a moment, the people in Xudu City were crowded with people running everywhere with containers.

As the first place to catch fire, and its special status naturally received the most care. The leading officials all understood that if the fire in the Prime Minister's Mansion could not be extinguished in time, and when Cao Cao blamed him in the future, I wonder how many people would lose their heads.

Of course, except for a few Cao Cao's confidants, no one else knew about Cao Cao's skull, so naturally he would not know that Cao Cao was in danger now. Most people were also ready to take this opportunity to show off, let Cao Cao take a good look and leave some good impression on Cao Cao.

Cao Pi looked at the officials who were striving to command the fire to put out the fire, and a trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes. This suit, Cao Pi wanted the fire to burn more and more vigorously, and it would be best to burn the bodies of Cao Cao and Xu Chu to ashes. For Cao Pi, as long as he could hold power, let alone a prime minister's mansion, it would not matter if the entire Xu Capital City was burned. At worst, it would be possible to move the capital to Yecheng.

But these officials were trying so hard to put out the fire, which was not worthy of Cao Pi’s intention. Speaking of which, these officials who were striving to put out the fire wanted to take this opportunity to flatter, but unexpectedly, the flattery hit the horse’s legs.

There is a saying that water and fire are ruthless, but this fire cannot be done with everyone working together. Seeing that the fire is gradually being controlled, Cao Pi's heart gradually sinks. It seems that tomorrow, the fire in the Prime Minister's Mansion should be extinguished. If he finds that Cao Cao is dead at that time, Xu will definitely be in chaos.

We must make arrangements for everything while everyone is still panic. Thinking of this, Cao Pi secretly called Xiahou Shang.

Cao Pi took out the tiger talisman from his arms and handed it to Xiahou Shang, and said, "Boren, you immediately go out of the city to recruit a large army and occupy various gates of Xudu. No one is allowed to enter or leave!"

"I will obey the order!" Xiahou Shang finished speaking and immediately ran out of the city.

Seeing Xiahou Shang gone far away, Cao Pi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had a hundred thousand troops in his hand. As long as he had these hundred thousand troops in his hand, Cao Pi himself was the biggest in Xudu!

Cao Pi secretly looked at the people around him and began to think about it silently. Tomorrow, when you find that Cao Cao is dead, Cao Pi must collect the rights left by Cao Cao as quickly as possible.

Cao Pi himself was the crown prince of Wei. After Cao Cao died, it was natural for Cao Pi to ascend the throne. In addition, he had an army of 100,000, so Cao Pi was not worried that his brothers would dare to find him uncomfortable.

As for Chinese civil officials in the court, Jia Xu, the old fox, is the best at protecting himself, and will definitely not oppose Cao Pi tomorrow. Although other old ministers such as Chen Qun and Liu Ye have great prestige, they are not enough to shake Cao Pi's status.

As for military generals, Xiahou Dun has been ill at home since he followed Cao Cao back to Mopi. It seems that Xiahou Dun is really sick. Cao Ren is far away in Jingzhou, and the rest of Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu should not be able to play against Cao Pi. So at this time, Cao Pi thought about it seriously and it seemed that the overall situation had been decided.

Sima Yi was anxiously waiting for news from the Prime Minister's Mansion, and finally, the servant hurried over.

"How is it, what is the Prime Minister's Mansion now?"

"Sir, the fire in the Prime Minister's Mansion has already affected the surrounding houses. There are many people putting out the fire now, but I guess even if the fire is put out, there will be nothing left in the Prime Minister's Mansion."

"Have you ever seen the Prime Minister?"

"I haven't seen it, I only saw His Highness the Crown Prince giving orders!"

At the same time, the people sent by Sima Yi to the city gate also came back.

"Return to the Lord, General Xiahou Shang has just left the city!"

"Did you see clearly?" Sima Yi was excited.

"I see clearly, it's indeed General Xiahou Shang."

"Has he headed west?"

"Sir, General Xiahou Shang is indeed heading west!"

When Sima Yi heard this news, he breathed a sigh of relief. Cao Pi's 100,000 troops are now stationed in the west of Xudu. Needless to say, Xiahou Shang must have been to mobilize troops.

Sima Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the overall situation was settled. Now it was time to collect the fruits of victory. I believe Cao Pi would need him very much now.

Thinking of this, Sima Yi put the bag he had prepared long ago back into the house, then walked out, and rode his horse towards the direction of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

At the same time, many officials in Xudu City had long been alarmed by the fire.

The Prime Minister's Mansion is the center of Xu Capital. It is naturally a big deal that the Prime Minister's Mansion caught fire.

Anyone who has been to the Prime Minister's Mansion knows that the Prime Minister's Mansion is very strict, with one post every five steps and one whistle every ten steps. If there were any flames, it would have been put out long ago. But now the Prime Minister's Mansion is not only on fire, but it is also so big that it can burn the entire Prime Minister's Mansion. It is indeed impossible to reasonably infer that it is indeed impossible.

Some smart people who are politically sensitive have already smelled some different flavors from this fire.

If the fire is not an accident, then the matter will be complicated. If you can set fire in the Prime Minister's Mansion and make the fire so big, you must be a person in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Moreover, this person's identity and power are absolutely extraordinary. After thinking about it, there are only a few people who meet the conditions.

At this time, most officials did not know about Cao Cao's craniotomy. Ninety-nine percent thought Cao Cao was still alive. For some old fox in the officialdom, they only dared to make a secret guess and stay at home honestly, for fear of being implicated when they went out.

The situation was a little different from what Cao Pi expected. By the day after the next day, the fire was still not extinguished.

The soldiers put out the fire for a night, and by the time of day, they were already very tired, so the rhythm of fire extinguishing began to gradually slow down. In addition, many houses around were burned, which made the fire covered a large area, so until the next morning, the fire was still burning.

In the early morning, the sun gradually rose, but the sky above Xudu City was still covered with a layer of black clouds. This was not the fog in the early morning, but the thick smoke produced by the fire.

The people woke up early in the morning. After opening the door, the burnt smell scattered in the air immediately penetrated into people's nostrils. The pungent smoke stimulated people's sense of smell. Countless tiny black particles were sprinkled flat on the ground.

The fire last night had already alarmed all the people in Xudu City. The people came to the street and looked at the red place last night. They saw that there was still thick smoke rolling there, and the whole piece was covered by gray-black smoke.

However, for a large number of ordinary people in Xudu City, a fire in the Prime Minister's Mansion is not a very important matter. At most, it is a small topic for everyone to talk about it after dinner. When you have nothing to do, you can talk about it as a new thing, or you may accidentally recall it many years later. After all, the lives of these big officials in the great families are still too far away from them in the eyes of ordinary people!

However, another thing deeply affected the lives of the people of Xudu. That is, when everyone was about to leave the city during the day, they found that the city gate had been blocked by many soldiers, and no one was allowed to leave the city.

It's winter now, and there is no work to do in the fields. If you can't leave the city for a day or two, it doesn't matter to the people in the city. But for those who live outside the city, this impact is too great.

Xu Ducheng is only allowed to enter but not leave. Those who come from outside the city will not be able to leave the city after entering the city. It is okay for those who have relatives in the city to temporarily seek refuge with relatives. If there are no relatives in the city, a large part of them may have to sleep on the streets.

In the officialdom, the news spread the fastest. The news that Xiahou Shang blocked the city gate quickly reached the ears of officials in Xudu City. Xiahou Shang was Cao Pi's confidant, which was a tacit matter for everyone to understand. Now Xiahou Shang has controlled all the city gates and only allowed people to enter the city but not leave the city. This made everyone realize that Xudu is about to change the world!

In the afternoon, the fire was finally extinguished. Except for some sporadic small fireheads, there were no fires in other places.

There was a piece of rubble in the prime minister's mansion. The burnt wood was covered with blue smoke. Most of the flowers, plants and trees in the yard had been burned to ashes, and some of the luck left behind also turned into pieces of charcoal. There was a thick layer of ashes on the ground, which fluttered in the wind from time to time. The entire prime minister's mansion was covered with charcoal everywhere. When people walked in, they seemed to have entered a black world.

There is no vitality at all! There is no less than half of the breath of life in the prime minister's mansion. From time to time, some small flames are beating in the breeze. The smell of charred wood permeates the air. Combined with this black piece, it looks particularly cold and terrifying, and even makes people feel suffocating.

Cao Pi looked at the black area in front of him, and a strange feeling arose in his heart. It was not a pleasure or anger. Cao Pi lived here for so many years, and everything around him was so familiar. In some places, Cao Pi could even walk through with his eyes closed, but now, all of this has become ruins.

The ruins in front of him were all created by Cao Pi. At this time, Cao Pi seemed to be an artist, facing the work he had just completed, which made Cao Pi very satisfied, but Cao Pi still felt very uncomfortable when he looked around.

Immediately afterwards, Cao Pi walked quickly towards Cao Cao's residence. Cao Cao was the thing Cao Pi was most concerned about.

The house where Cao Cao opened his cranios had already collapsed in the fire, leaving only a piece of rubble and a few beams and pillars with blue smoke. The flames in some places were still burning, and even the solid stone foundation was smoked black.

The house was completely burned down, almost burned to ashes. Looking at the scene in front of him, Cao Pi felt a little excited in his heart. The house had been burned like this, and the people in the house would definitely not be able to survive.

Cao Pi waved his hand, and several soldiers rushed forward immediately and began to clean up the ruins. Cao Zhang and others had already come over next to him, and everyone was anxiously waiting for the result.

After a soldier moved half of the beam away, he suddenly shouted: "There is a corpse!"

This sound immediately attracted everyone's attention. More than a dozen soldiers rushed up immediately, lifting the rubble outside with all their strength, and then pulled out a charred corpse from the inside. From the figure of the corpse, this person looked very similar to Cao Cao.

"Father!" Cao Pi suddenly screamed, rushed forward, leaned on the corpse that was almost charred, and burst into tears. Tears couldn't help but slid out of Cao Pi's eyes, making people feel sympathy when they saw it, but only Cao Pi knew that this was not tears of sadness, but tears of excitement.

At the moment when he saw Cao Cao's body, Cao Pi realized that he had finally succeeded. After waiting for so many years, Cao Pi finally succeeded. His excitement could no longer be suppressed and turned into tears and flowed down.

"Another corpse was found!" A soldier shouted, and then another group of people surrounded him. After a while, another corpse was dug out.

"This should be General Xu Chu!" Cao Pi looked at the corpse and said in tears: "I didn't expect General Xu Chu to be so responsible and would protect his father at the last moment!"

After Cao Pi said this, everyone naturally thought that Xu Chu died of protecting Cao Cao. In addition, Xu Chu's body had been burned long ago, and without a precise autopsy, the real cause of Xu Chu's death was fundamentally seen from the outside.

Xudu, the Han Dynasty Palace.

Emperor Xian stood in front of the hall gate, looking at the thick smoke rising in the distance.

That direction should be the position of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Could it be that the Prime Minister's Mansion has changed? Thinking of this, a hint of chill suddenly arose in Emperor Xian's heart.

"Your Majesty, it's cold outside, put it on!" A woman's voice came from behind. Emperor Xian looked back and saw a woman in the palace dress, holding a brocade robe in her hand. This woman was Queen Cao Jie.

Cao Jie is Cao Cao's daughter. After Cao Cao killed Empress Fu, he priced his three daughters for Emperor Xian, including Cao Xian, Cao Jie and Cao Hua.

Among the three sisters, Cao Jie is the most beautiful and does things the most appropriate. Cao Cao believed that Cao Jie had the temperament of being a mother in the world, so he asked Emperor Xian to grant Cao Jie the queen.

Emperor Xian did not like Cao Cao's daughter to be his woman, but Emperor Xian had no choice but to be at the mercy of Cao Cao. Because of Cao Cao, Emperor Xian disliked his three wives at the beginning, but later, Emperor Xian found that the three sisters of the Cao family were very understanding, and gradually, Emperor Xian also accepted the three sisters of the Cao family.

Emperor Xian put on the robe handed over by Cao Jie, then pulled Cao Jie over, stopped him in his arms, and said, "Empress, look over there, it seems to be the Prime Minister's residence!"

Cao Jie nodded slightly without saying anything, and Emperor Xian continued to say, "You must be very worried about your father. Otherwise, you three sisters should go back and see the Prime Minister first..."

Cao Jie looked up at his husband, and a warm feeling rose in his heart, and at the same time, the warmth smelled bitter.

Emperor Xian is a good person, very smart, and is also very good to his sisters. If it is in normal times, Emperor Xian should be considered a good emperor. Unfortunately, Emperor Xian was born at the wrong time, which made Emperor Xian's voice full of tragedy.

Cao Jie sympathized with Emperor Xian very much, and at the same time he was sympathetic to himself. Being a queen is a very glorious thing to outsiders, but if even the emperor is just a puppet, then the queen will naturally not be able to do much better. What's more, the ruling powerful minister is his father.

Generally speaking, the empress of a puppet emperor is definitely not popular, but the three sisters of the Cao family are supported by Cao Cao, so no one in the palace dares to trouble the three sisters of the Cao family. But even so, Cao Jie still feels that he is very unhappy. For some reason, every time Cao Jie sees Emperor Xian, he always feels a sense of apology in his heart. Every time he feels Emperor Xian’s care for him, Cao Jie feels guilty.

Cao Jie also understood that Emperor Xian might not be the emperor for a long time. If one day his father Cao Cao was happy, he might depose Emperor Xian and become emperor. Although Cao Jie felt that this was very unfair to Emperor Xian’s goods, Cao Jie was unable to stop such a thing. For Cao Jie, the only thing he could do was to try his best to save Emperor Xian’s life.

"Your Majesty! Empress! Something is wrong!" The eunuch's spy voice interrupted Cao Jie's thoughts.
To be continued...