C172

At the end of the year, Sima Yi, escorted by twenty guards, rode his horse to the front door of his house. He raised his head to look at the lanterns hanging outside the door before jumping off his horse and entering the house.

The old butler standing at the door greeted them while he hurriedly sent people to report to Sima Fang.

Sima Yi walked all the way inside and arrived outside Sima Fang's study. Inside the room, a bright oil lamp was lit and the figure of Sima Fang, who was sitting in front of the desk, was completely revealed.

The servant outside bowed to Sima Yi and stood by the side with his head bowed, waiting for orders.

Sima Yi lightly knocked on the door before whispering, "Father, I'm back."

"Come in." Sima Fang's tired voice came from inside, followed by a light yawn.

Ever since Sima Yi had left this morning, Sima Fang had his servants close the doors to his residence and forbid family members from entering and leaving. He had been waiting in his study for news of Sima Yi. As an old man, he had been sitting in a daze for a whole day, and he could no longer hold on.

Sima Yi pushed open the door and immediately discovered that Sima Fang's expression was extremely drowsy. Thus, she had the servant prepare some porridge and side dishes before walking in and closing the door. She went to the desk to bow towards Sima Fang and asked in a small voice, "Is Father not feeling well?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a bit tired!" Sima Fang inadvertently shook his head before pressing his hand for Sima Yi to sit down. "Zhong Da, what's the situation today?"

Sima Yi said in a low voice, "Father, Gongsun Xu's actions today are a little strange. He suddenly ordered an entire army to attack fiercely this morning, causing a large portion of the city's walls to collapse. If it wasn't for Xiahou Yuan fearlessly counterattacking, the city might have already fallen today! Who would have thought that in the afternoon, when he saw that the attack was ferocious and Xiahou Yuan was barely able to resist, Gongsun Xu would suddenly call for the retreat! I think, something may have happened on the side of the Qinghe County! "

"So it's like that." Sima Fang stroked his beard, frowned and thought for a while, then nodded: "Zhong Da is right. This old man thinks that this is the most likely scenario, otherwise Gongsun Xu would not have suddenly changed his plan! The question is, what happened? "

Sima Yi lowered his voice and asked, "Father, could it be that something has happened to Gongsun Zan?"

Sima Fang frowned, and shook his head: "This is very unlikely! Gongsun Zan's forces have the advantage, and is also on the side of the besieged city. Since Yuan Shao does not dare to leave the city to launch a sneak attack, the possibility of Gongsun Zan being attacked is very small, so it should not be him getting into an accident! "

Sima Yi abruptly came to his senses as he said with a smile, "Father is right. Yuan Benchu is indecisive and not very courageous, so he shouldn't be going out of the city to attack Gongsun Zan!" After speaking to here, he stopped, rubbed his forehead and thought for a while. "Since it's not Gongsun Zan, then perhaps it's impossible for it to be Zhang Yan. Wait, Father, do you think there's any internal conflict in Army of Heishan? "

"Hmm?" Sima Fang's eyes lit up, and nodded: "Zhong Da is very quick-witted, this is very likely to happen! I have long heard that the inside of the Army of Heishan is unstable, so there's no way Yuan Shao would let this opportunity slip by. He must have colluded with some of the generals of the Army of Heishan long ago.

Sima Yi's eyes flickered incessantly as he asked in a low voice, "If this is the case, do we have to change our decision?"

"You can't!" Sima Fang flatly opposed to that. He leaned his body forward a little and said softly: "Army of Heishan is a motley crowd, and Zhang Yan that guy's prestige in Army of Heishan is very high, so no matter who colluded with Yuan Shao, once Zhang Yan returned to the Mausoleum of Books, the rebel would definitely be defeated quickly. At most, it would only create some trouble for Gongsun Zan, and it would be impossible to provide strong support for Yuan Shao! Furthermore, Mo Bingmei is an expert in hiding and assassinating people, even the high walls cannot stop her free will, if she were to come and go, it would be better to just wait and see! Oh right, this old man suddenly had a guess about Zhong Da. Do you think he will send someone to contact us again tonight? "

"Father's meaning is …" Sima Yi abruptly widened his eyes as his expression instantly turned serious. He asked in a low voice, "Could it be that the reason Gongsun Xu suddenly withdrew his troops is actually to get us to cooperate? On that day, he clearly expressed that he would let Cao Cao go back to the Yanzhou.

Sima Fang sighed: "It's a pity that we can't get the news, if not we could have dealt with it in advance!"

Sima Yi was about to speak when the servant outside suddenly gave a muffled groan. Following which, the door was suddenly pushed open as a black-clothed man strode in.

"Who is it?" With a clang, he pulled out the treasured sword at his waist. When he clearly saw the appearance of the approaching person, he hurriedly put away his treasured sword and cupped his fists as he said, "So it's Mo Xiaoniangzi who has come to pay respects. I apologize!"

At this moment, Sima Yi was deeply moved by his father's foresight. He had just guessed that Gongsun Xu would send someone over when Mo Sect came knocking personally. Then he suddenly became alarmed, how long had this Mo Bingmei been here for? Did you hear what you just said?

Mo Bingmei nodded lightly to Sima Yi, took two steps forward, then cupped his fists and bowed to Sima Fang. "I came uninvited, please forgive me."

Sima Fang smiled kindly: "It's fine! No worries! Mo Niangzi, quickly, sit down! Zhong Da, serve tea! "

"Don't bother, I will leave soon!" Mo Bingmei stopped Sima Yi from pouring some tea, then took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over to Sima Fang.

received the letter and read it swiftly. He then took the letter and lit it on the oil lamp, and said in a soft voice, "Please report to General Gongsun that this old man will find a way to open the west gate within three days at the latest. At that time, raise the fire as the signal and request General Gongsun to be prepared to send troops into the city anytime!"

Mo Bingmei frowned and asked: "Why is it the west gate?"

Sima Fang smiled slightly: "There are quite a few county soldier s at the west gate cooperating with the Cao Army to defend.

A smile surfaced on Mo Bingmei's face, and he cupped his fists: "Mr. Sima is willing to take the risk to help, General Gongsun Xu will definitely not forget Sima Family's kindness! I hope that old mister can take note of my own safety! "

Sima Fang said sternly: "Mo Niangzi's words are wrong! My Sima Family has already sided with the General Gongsun, this is our duty! Oh right, this old man has something that I am unsure of, I hope that Mo Niangzi can enlighten me. "

Mo Bingmei laughed coldly, and said in a deep voice, "When Marquis Jin sent people to cut off the flow of the river moat, he accidentally discovered one of the Nine Prefectures' cauldrons, the Jizhou Cauldron! Now, the Qinghe County City is in a state of panic, there is chaos everywhere, and the destruction of the city is just around the corner! "

"What?" "Nine Prefectures Cauldron?" Previously, when he was reading the ancient texts, he was extremely curious about the existence of the Nine Prefectures Cauldron. He didn't expect that he would suddenly find out from Mo Bingmei that one of the nine prefectural cauldrons, the Jizhou Cauldron, had been unearthed and even landed in Gongsun Zan's hands!

Sima Yi was also extremely shocked when he heard this, but he immediately snapped out of it and asked in a solemn voice, "Mo Niangzi, is that really the Jizhou Cauldron forged by Da Yu?" From his point of view, the timing of the Jizhou Cauldron digging was too coincidental, and it was hard to doubt that it was Gongsun Zan's doing.

Mo Bingmei raised his right palm, and said with a solemn face: "I swear in the name of the ancestor of the Mo Sect, that the Jizhou Cauldron is definitely real, and not something the Marquis Jin himself can do!"

Sima Fang and his son looked at each other, they were extremely shocked. Mo Sect had swore in the name of the Mo Sect's ancestor that what he had said was definitely true! In that case, could it be that Gongsun Zan was truly fated? Otherwise, how would the heavens suddenly help and allow the Jizhou Cauldron to fall into Gongsun Zan's hands at this critical moment?!

"I shall take my leave now. Mr. Sima, please act in accordance to this agreement!" Mo Bingmei left the study room after saying that sentence.

Sima Yi hastily rushed to the door and looked outside, only to see a black figure leap onto the roof before disappearing into the night. He lowered his head to look again, and saw the servant that was waiting outside the door lying down weakly on the steps. He could not help but take in a breath of cold air, this Mo Sect was truly extraordinary, if she really came to assassinate him, the entire household would probably be annihilated by her alone! Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh. What was the use of having high status and power? If he were to meet an assassin as skilled as Mo Bingmei, he would be forced to submit!

"Zhong Da, come in!" Sima Fang called Sima Yi into the room and advised with a smile, "Since the Qin Dynasty, Mo Sect has been suppressed by the imperial government repeatedly. When the Martial Emperor ascended to the throne, he put in so much effort to eliminate all the adventurers, but he still wasn't able to eliminate all of them. and I are now considered a family, you don't need to be so flustered! Sit down, let's discuss about how to open the city gates. "

Unknowingly, Mo Bingmei had already returned, she gently leaned on the roof of the study, and quietly listened to the conversation between Sima Fang and his son.