How Can One Guard Against a Thief for a Thousand Days?

"The Grand Commandant has a point; let us see what Sun Quan has to say." Cao Pi waved his hand, signaling for the others to withdraw.

Cao Pi was well aware of the gravity of the situation. Moreover, with his own ascension to the throne imminent, he could hardly afford to be bogged down in Huainan with Sun Quan. His words were merely intended to provide the noble clans with a semblance of an explanation.

After the tragedy that wiped out the Sima Family, Cao Pi noticed something intriguing: the major clans were not a monolithic block. They were capable of slandering one another for the sake of profit, and many clans that had previously been on good terms with the Sima Family had secretly joined the side of the slanderers, hoping to seize the power left behind in the power vacuum.

As the situation fermented, the clans ceased to care much for the truth. They enjoyed the power inherited from the Sima Family without any moral burden, yet they lived in constant fear that their own families might become the next Sima.

Analyzing the situation based on who stood to gain the most, they found that General of the Guard Cao Hong was the prime suspect. However, as he currently held military power and was stationed at Ye City, the clans were too terrified to speak out, choosing instead to handle the matter by distancing themselves from Cao Hong.

Even the most wicked of men have a few friends, and not all among the clans were vultures feeding on human blood. Chen Qun, one of the four friends of Cao Pi, shared a deep bond with Sima Yi.

Following the tragedy of the Sima Family, Chen Qun had wanted to take Sima Shi and Sima Zhao in to raise