Chapter 507: Zhang Jie: The Little Black Fan Is Actually Me

The story took place during the campaign between Cao Cao and Liu Bei for Hanzhong.

Although Cao Cao's army had captured Yangping Pass, Liu Bei held the dangerous terrain and refused to fight.

Cao Cao wanted to advance, but was blocked by Ma Chao and others, making it difficult to progress;

he wanted to retreat, but felt it would be a loss of face and was unwilling to give up the previous results.

At this time, Cao Cao was very conflicted, in an awkward situation of "tasteless to eat, a pity to discard."

One night, the cook brought chicken soup to Cao Cao. Cao Cao saw the chicken rib (chicken bone) in the bowl,

felt touched in his heart, and just as Xiahou Dun came in to ask for the night password, Cao Cao said casually:

"Chicken rib! Chicken rib!"

Yang Xiu, who was serving as the marching registrar in the army, heard this password,

and immediately ordered his soldiers to pack their bags, preparing to retreat.

Xiahou Dun saw Yang Xiu packing his things and asked in surprise:

"The war is not over yet, why have you already started packing your things, preparing to retreat?"

Yang Xiu explained: "Chicken rib, tasteless to eat, a pity to discard."

(This chicken rib thing, eating it has no meat, throwing it away feels like a pity.)

"Now advancing cannot win, retreating fears people laughing, staying here is useless, better to return early."

(Now advancing cannot win, retreating fears people laughing, staying here is useless, better to return early.)

"Tomorrow the King of Wei will definitely order the army to return." (The King of Wei will definitely order the army to return tomorrow.)

Sure enough, as Yang Xiu expected, Cao Cao ordered the army to return to the capital the next day.

Cao Cao heard that Yang Xiu had packed his bags without authorization before the military order was issued,

and was spreading rumors of retreat everywhere, thinking that Yang Xiu was disrupting the army's morale.

Cao Cao was furious and executed Yang Xiu on the charge of "disrupting my army's morale."

Of course, Zhang Jie felt that these were not Yang Xiu's main causes of death;

his main cause of death was only one, and that was that he was involved in the struggle for the succession.

Yang Xiu and Cao Zhi were soulmates in talent. Both were representative figures of Jian'an literature,

with flying literary talent, so they appreciated each other in literature and had close contact.

They had many letters back and forth, Cao Zhi once wrote to Yang Xiu (*Letter to Yang Dezhu*),

and Yang Xiu also replied (*Reply to the Marquis of Lin Zi*), deeply discussing the relationship between literary creation and establishing merit,

showing their high resonance at the ideological level.

But the relationship between Yang Xiu and Cao Zhi was far more than a simple friendship between literary friends,

but deeply bound political allies and core partners in the struggle for the succession.

Their relationship was a key link in the "struggle for the heir" of the Cao Wei regime,

and its closeness eventually led to Yang Xiu's tragic ending.

When Cao Cao hesitated about who to make the crown prince, Yang Xiu firmly stood on Cao Zhi's side,

becoming the core strategist of his succession team (historically known as "wings").

Yang Xiu used his position as Cao Cao's registrar, able to access core secrets, to advise Cao Zhi many times.

The most typical event was that in order to test the adaptability of his sons, Cao Cao tested them,

and Yang Xiu prepared more than ten answers for Cao Zhi in advance,

making Cao Zhi "respond immediately" when answering, once deeply pleasing Cao Cao.

In the famous "Sima Gate Incident," Cao Zhi, under Yang Xiu's guidance,

beheaded the gatekeeper and privately opened the Sima Gate, which only the monarch could pass through.

Although this series of behaviors once gave Cao Zhi an advantage in the competition,

it also completely exposed their behavior of forming cliques for private interests, causing Cao Cao's great disgust and vigilance.

As Cao Pi was established as the crown prince and Cao Zhi lost power, the relationship between Yang Xiu and Cao Zhi became a death warrant.

And even after Cao Zhi had no hope of competing for the succession, he still maintained close contact with Yang Xiu ("continued to connect with Xiu without stopping"),

without taking the initiative to cut ties. This made it impossible for Yang Xiu to withdraw from this failed political gamble.

For Cao Cao, in order to ensure the smooth transition of power to Cao Pi, he had to clear out the core brain trust around Cao Zhi.

Yang Xiu was outstanding in talent and deeply involved in the struggle for the succession, naturally becoming the primary target.

Eventually, Cao Cao executed Yang Xiu in the 24th year of Jian'an on the charge of "leaking imperial instructions and colluding with feudal lords."

Before he died, he also said: "I knew I would die late" (I knew I would die late),

which shows that he knew his fate had long been bound to Cao Zhi.

After explaining Yang Xiu's 'Kuo' character, the other Zhang Jies looked at Heavenly Dragon Zhang Jie and Pirate Zhang Jie,

now only they two hadn't proposed their 'character'.

Heavenly Dragon Zhang Jie and Pirate Zhang Jie's gazes met in the air for a moment, and they reached a tacit understanding.

"Ahem."

Pirate Zhang Jie coughed tactically twice: "I have three characters, please listen quietly."

"Oh, you're going to propose three characters at once?"

The other Zhang Jies became interested, wondering what Pirate Zhang Jie had to say.

Pirate Zhang Jie didn't keep them in suspense, raised his right hand, and made an OK gesture:

"Yao, Shun, Yu!"

"666, it's actually a top-tier single-character ID."

Water Shui Hu Zhang Jie was almost flashed by Pirate Zhang Jie's open-mindedness.

Same nine years, why are you so showy?

He could only shout 666 to express his exclamation.

"In terms of opening the server ID."

Zhuan Yi Tian Zhang Jie and the others all gave Pirate Zhang Jie a thumbs up.

There's nothing wrong with these three characters and these three people!

Heavenly Dragon Zhang Jie raised his hand at this time and said the doubt in his heart:

"Why is there no Tang? Bird-born-fish-soup, aren't they always appearing together?"

Pirate Zhang Jie spoke to solve his confusion: "When Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang are together,

everyone knows Tang is the founding monarch of the Great Shang Dynasty.

But if it's just a single 'Tang', it's very difficult to define."

"That's the truth."

Consumption Zhang Jie and Pirate Zhang Jie stood together: "Tang's recognizability is not very high.

To a certain extent, it's not as good as his greatest enemy and most famous descendants,

Jie and Zhou; these two are the most famous tyrant combinations in Chinese history."

"Also true."

Heavenly Dragon Zhang Jie put down his raised hand.

Then, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he said the character in his heart:

"Kun!"

The moment his voice fell, the image of that man instantly appeared in the minds of all the Zhang Jies.

That man was wearing suspenders, had a middle-part hairstyle, and was holding a basketball:

"Hello everyone, I am a personal trainee with two and a half years of practice, specializing in singing, dancing, rap, and basketball..."

Zhuan Yi Tian Zhang Jie, who had been evoked with long-lost memories, smacked his lips:

"The little black fan is actually me?"

Consumption Zhang Jie gave Pirate Zhang Jie a look and asked a question:

"Are you still blacking him?"

Pirate Zhang Jie looked innocent and gave a negative answer: "I stopped blacking him long ago."

Although they didn't say who the person they were blacking was, everything was unspoken.

Is the little black fan showing his chicken feet?

Water Shui Hu Zhang Jie supported his forehead with his hand, unable to hold back:

"I can't even imagine how popular that man would be if it were the Year of the Rooster."

It is said that the peak produces false support, and the twilight reveals true believers.

Even if the tide recedes, the man in suspenders still lives in the memories of countless people.

It is precisely the countless little black fans who saved that man from fire and water,

as for where the fire and water came from, Zhang Jie advises not to pursue it...

Heavenly Dragon Zhang Jie's curled mouth never let go: "In the blink of an eye,

I have been sent to the Heavenly Dragon world by the Great Luck Heavenly Venerable for 10 Kun years." ===== CHAPTER 508 =====