Xu Chu Makes Jiangdong Take the Blame

Seeing Cao Pi speak in such a manner, Zhuge Jin, having prepared well in advance, looked him straight in the eyes and retorted, "What does the King of Wei mean by this? Does the timing of a congratulatory gift matter so much? Would this not chill the hearts of those in the world who favor Wei?"

"Oh? Even if those who favor Wei came later, I would never turn them away. It is your master who lacks a sense of the times. If I had not personally led a great army here, Sun Zhongmou would likely not have sent congratulations even after a year, let alone half a year, would he?" Cao Pi sneered.

"Uh, the truth is that because Jiangdong previously coordinated with the State of Wei to strike at Jing Province, my lord had many matters to attend to after the failure. Furthermore, news of your ascension only reached us recently." Zhuge Jin deliberately brought up the alliance, implying that since Jiangdong had suffered losses to support Cao Cao, he should not be blamed for the late arrival of congratulations.

Cao Pi tapped his desk and asked coldly, "Sun Zhongmou is busy with many things? So, he was busy preparing assassins to wipe out the entire Sima clan, is that it?"

In this campaign against Sun Quan, besides Jia Xu, Cao Pi had brought along Wen Hui and Jiang Ji, who were familiar with Huainan. Both Jiang Ji and Sima Yi had served in the Prime Minister's office, and since there were no major conflicts of interest, their friendship was quite good. He was skeptical about the cause of the Sima family's death; at the very least, he did not believe it was the work of assassins sent by Jiangdong.

Inside the main tent, a dozen pairs of