Chapter 255

"The common people? This is a heavy topic. The situation you described reminds me of the living conditions of the people in Jinan State that I saw when I was the Chancellor of Jinan;"

"Indeed, you are very right. This world is sick, and it is sick to the core!"

"It has reached the point where it must change!"

"The greed of the aristocratic clans is outrageous;"

"The corruption and depravity of the imperial family are equally shocking;"

"It's no wonder you would have such thoughts!"

"I heard people say years ago that you, Su Boyuan, are thirsty for talent and never look at a person's background, only their talent and character;"

"I didn't know why back then, but today, I finally understand!"

"You are truly a benevolent person who cares for the common people, Su Boyuan!"

"I hope we won't end up on opposite sides in the future."

Cao Cao himself was also a person with ideals and ambitions.

He had also thought about changing all of this.

He had tried hard when he was the Chancellor of Jinan, but the result was obvious: he failed.

He received a backlash from the local aristocratic clans and had to resign from his post.

"Who knows?"

Su Xuan shook his head with a smile: "Nowadays, chaos in the world is inevitable!"

"This is not something that can be changed by eliminating one Dong Zhuo;"

"Even if we kill Dong Zhuo and rescue the Son of Heaven this time, can the Son of Heaven truly return to peace?"

Cao Cao shook his head helplessly: "I'm afraid not!"

"Nowadays, lords everywhere are growing in power, holding military and financial power, and their ambitions have naturally been magnified countless times;"

"Even my Cao family, and I, Cao Cao, have developed ambitions that shouldn't exist, let alone other lords!"

"This world can never go back!"

"In the end, it can only be said that one lord will sweep across the world, settle the universe, and change the dynasty, so that the thirteen provinces of the Great Han can return to peace;"

"However, by the time that happens, I'm afraid this world will no longer belong to the Great Han!"

Speaking of this, Cao Cao drank another cup of wine, his thoughts wandering: "Do you know, Su Boyuan? When I came, I made up my mind that this time, I would make a final effort for the Great Han;"

"Do my best to punish Dong Zhuo and rescue the Son of Heaven!"

"After that, I will start fighting for myself, for my Cao clan, and for those who have pledged their service and trust in me;"

"I also want to compete properly with the lords of the world;"

"As for the final result, I don't care anymore!"

"A real man, born in troubled times, if he doesn't build some achievements and fight for it, wouldn't it be a wasted life?"

"Come! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Su Xuan and Cao Cao toasted each other.

Su Xuan looked at Cao Cao and said: "It's rare that you are willing to reveal your inner thoughts, Brother Mengde! Rare indeed!"

"Haha!"

Cao Cao laughed heartily: "Yes! In the past, I always wore a mask, suppressing the thoughts in my heart, but today, facing you, Su Boyuan, I don't want to do that anymore!"

"After all, you are also very frank, how can I fall behind?"

"Actually, do you know? The situation today is all caused by Lord Yuan Shao and the Lord Yuan clan!"

"Whether it was He Jin fighting for power with the eunuchs, He Jin's death, or Dong Zhuo and Ding Lord Yuan bringing troops into Luoyang to serve the king, these were all planned by the Lord Yuan clan and Lord Yuan Shao!"

"I tried my best to stop it at the time, but unfortunately, I failed in the end!"

"And now, Lord Yuan Shao, the culprit of the world's chaos, has become the leader of the coalition to punish the rebels and Dong Zhuo, and rescue the Son of Heaven. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"

What is wrong with this world?

Even such absurd things can happen.

A weasel paying a New Year's call to a chicken, a cat crying for a mouse.

It is simply the biggest joke in the world.

"This is actually quite normal!"

Su Xuan smiled faintly: "The Lord Yuan clan's ambitions are constantly expanding, and I am not at all surprised that they would do such things;"

"Over the years, the aristocratic clans have been constantly expanding, squeezing the living space of the common people!"

"But they are still not satisfied!"

"The Lord Yuan clan is the best example!"

"From the very beginning, they wanted to replace the Liu clan and become the co-ruler of this world;"

"It's just a pity that they themselves are full of internal contradictions and mutual strife, which gave Dong Zhuo his chance!"

"Otherwise, the situation today would be far from what it is."

"Hmm?"

Cao Cao's expression tightened, and he looked at Su Xuan with surprise and gravity: "You actually knew about these inside stories long ago, Su Boyuan?"

"It seems I underestimated your intelligence channels!"

"Also, what do you mean by saying that the internal strife among Lord Yuan Shao and his peers gave Dong Zhuo his chance?"

"Isn't this situation because the Lord Yuan clan miscalculated Dong Zhuo's ambition?"

He thought he had seen through everything. Could it be that there were things he hadn't seen through?

"Naturally not!"

Su Xuan sneered and shook his head: "At least, not entirely!"

"Don't you think Lord Yuan Shao's behavior is a bit strange?"

"When you killed Zhang Rang and rescued the Son of Heaven, you had plenty of time and opportunity to gather the troops of the Eight Colonels of the Western Garden and the Sili Colonel, and then unite with Ding Lord Yuan to confront Dong Zhuo;"

"But what did Lord Yuan Shao do?"

Cao Cao frowned: "Lord Yuan Shao dispersed the troops. By the time we rescued the Son of Heaven, most of Luoyang had already fallen into Dong Zhuo's hands. It was too late for us to gather the troops."

"No!"

Su Xuan shook his head: "Mengde, have you forgotten that Lord Yuan Shao was responsible for contacting both Dong Zhuo and Ding Lord Yuan?"

"How could he not know Dong Zhuo's movements?"

"Since he knew Dong Zhuo's movements, why would he make such a stupid move and disperse the troops completely?"

"And, why didn't he gather those troops immediately afterwards?"

"Don't tell me that Lord Yuan Shao and the Lord Yuan clan had no control over those troops at the time;"

"You must know that most of the Eight Colonels of the Western Garden were Lord Yuan clan people;"

"Many of He Jin's subordinates were also Lord Yuan clan people."

"Even He Jin was just a dog of the Lord Yuan clan!"

"Although He Jin himself didn't know it, it was a fact."

He Jin was completely fooled by the Lord Yuan clan.

Played in the palm of their hands without even knowing it.

He always thought he was in an equal partnership with the Lord Yuan clan.

Simply ridiculous.

After Su Xuan's reminder and analysis, and recalling the past, Cao Cao reacted and looked at Su Xuan in shock: "You mean, Lord Yuan Shao deliberately lost to Dong Zhuo, letting him steal the Lord Yuan clan's success and occupy Luoyang?"

"Indeed!"

Su Xuan nodded affirmatively.

Cao Cao frowned, confused: "Then what was Lord Yuan Shao's purpose?"

He was a bit confused for a moment.

"Think carefully, what benefits does the current situation have for Lord Yuan Shao?"

Su Xuan reminded him.

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Su Xuan, shocked: "Lord Yuan Shao wanted to use Dong Zhuo to throw the Great Han world into chaos, to make the Great Han truly chaotic;"

"Also, he wanted to use Dong Zhuo to kill Lord Yuan Wei, Lord Yuan Ji, and even Lord Yuan Shu?"

He finally understood.

All of this was indeed Lord Yuan Shao's calculation and conspiracy!