Talking with Cao Cao part 1

Yun was sitting on Thunder as he and his group which traveled to Xuchang. In his group were Dian Wei, Zhang He, Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, and Gan Ning who didn't want to stay idle and joined Yun to Xuchang disregarding his orders.

"You should have stayed in Xiapi. Who will command the navy if you die in Xuchang?" says Yun seriously while looking at Gan Ning who is relaxed lying almost on his horse.

"And miss this party? I already missed the last war because I had to train my new recruits on the ships so they could coordinate with the other ships. And Yueying is a capable General even if she is only my strategist," says Gan Ning having his hands folded behind his head.

"Are we running into an ambush in Xuchang?" asks Zhang Liao seriously as Lu Bu only grins at him.

"Most likely, if we don't accept the reward which Cao Cao gives us it would show some hostility against him by doing so. He is trying to pull us to his forever it seems but Yun denied all his advances because of the plot he is following," says Lu Bu explaining their current situation to Zhang Liao as they could see the city of Xuchang in the distance.

"Remember we are doing this for the best for this Empire and not because of some selfish reason. If we want a stable Empire we will need a great leader and we all know that I am only a warmonger and nothing more. I would rather leave it in capable hands such as Sun Quan than Cao Cao," says Yun seriously as everyone notices that Yun isn't carrying his spear with him.

He has an extra sword strapped to Thunder's saddle with his other sword and shield. Yun left his spear with Zheng since it was the symbol of the house which could fall into Cao Cao's hands while Thunder and Shadow could flee by themselves if something were to happen in Xuchang.

They reached the gate of Xuchang where they were controlled by the guards of the city. The guards rapidly made their way when they found out who they were controlling out of fear of offending Yun and his group.

Yun continued on his path with his group as they reached an inn where they were going to stay in until their departure or death depending on what Cao Cao decided to do.

They stayed the night there before leaving the inn the next day to get to the Cao Manor in which not only Cao Cao resided but also the Emperor. It was the current Imperial Residence until Luoyang was rebuilt and it shows its former beauty.

Yun knew that it would still take some years until Luoyang was back to its former prime of being the Imperial Capital it used to be but didn't voice his opinion on it.

"So when do you think the Emperor will leave Xuchang for Luoyang?" asks Gan Ning joking about the Emperor's current situation which wasn't different from before when Doing Zhuo was in charge.

"Most likely in ten years," says Lu Bu seriously since he still saw the Emperor as a supreme being as he did before.

"He will never leave Xuchang," says Yun coldly as he continues moving forward.

"What do you mean?" asks Lu Bu seriously now.

"When he leaves Xuchang he won't be the Emperor any longer. He will just be an ordinary man and Cao Cao's descendants will be called Emperor," says Yun coldly while his shield was strapped to his back while his swords were adorning his belt at the moment.

"What about Sun Quan? Didn't you want him to become Emperor? How are you going to do that with Cao Cao's descendants becoming the next Imperial Line?" asks Gan Ning now curious since he knew about Yun's plan like everyone else.

"He will declare himself Emperor of Wu when Cao Pi declares himself Emperor of Wei and Liu Bei declares himself Emperor of Shu. The Empire will be split in three until a winner comes forward to claim the whole Empire as his own. And I will be helping my son-in-law to claim it," says Yun as he rests his arms on his swords as they walk toward the Cao Manor.

Gan Ning wanted to say something but stopped himself as Yun stood still before a gate that had more guards protecting it than the gate that led into the city.

"It seems we are there," says Gan Ning looking around a bit trying to find some weaknesses for them to exploit as they get stopped by the guards.

They asked out of the group to hand over their weapon which Yun didn't allow by shouting, "I won't let go of my weapons! You must be crazy to even think that I, Zhao Yun, would surrender my weapons to you! I would rather die with my weapons in my hands than give them away!"

Yun was releasing his Qi which intimidated the guards as his group followed his example of releasing their Qi suppressing the guards as Yun continued walking further inside with his weapons on his body when someone suddenly stood before Yun having some trouble standing straight.

"General Zhao, please calm yourself," says the man firmly standing tall but he still needed to look up a bit to see Yun in the eyes.

"And why should I when the guards offended me, General Xu" says Yun looking down upon Xu Chu who is standing before him.

"We are doing this to guarantee the security of the Emperor, General Zhao. Please hand over your weapons or I won't be able to let you through," says Xu Chu standing across from Yun trying to not fall from the pressure Yun was releasing at the moment.

"It seems we won't be able to agree with each other today," says Yun before his Qi slowly took a humanoid shape which put even more pressure on Xu Chu while taking a firm grasp of his swords before Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan appeared beside Xu Chu helping him by releasing their Qi as well.

"That is enough, General Zhao! You can keep your weapons on you!" shouts Xiahou Yuan trying to calm down Yun whom he considers a friend.

"I hope you are telling the truth, friend," says Yun as he lets go of his swords while his Qi dissipates making the pressure they were feeling disappear.

"Cao Cao won't like this behavior from one of his subordinates," says Xiahou Dun a bit in rage when Yun looked at him coldly.

"I am a mercenary hired by Cao Cao. Not his mutt that will follow his every order like you and the others. I follow the flow of money and nothing else," says Yun in a warning tone to Xiahou Dun before passing the three generals with his group which dissipated their Qi as well.

The guards were soon back standing while the trio looked at the leaving group when Xu Chu looked at Xiahou Yuan angrily before saying, "How could you let him through with his weapons! He is a danger to our Lord's future!"

"He won't be able to use his full strength. Didn't you see that he hasn't brought his spear with him? General Zhao is a master in the use of the spear but he came only with two swords and his shield which indicates that he didn't come to cause trouble," says Xiahou Yuan not knowing that Yun also mastered other weapons besides the spear.

If he knew that he let Yun enter the manor with the weapon he was most proficient in, Xiahou Yuan wouldn't have let him in. Yun has the most experience using his shield which many only saw as a defensive tool instead of a weapon.

Yun continued walking in deeper into the courtyard when he heard Gan Ning say, "This went well."

"Not now," says Yun seriously after hearing Gan Ning's sarcastic tone knowing full well that this wasn't the best way to go and talk to Cao Cao but he won't risk their lives by handing over their weapons making them defenseless.

They crossed the courtyard and a servant took them deeper into the manor as Yun memorized the path the servant took them before Yun and Lu Bu were separated from the group.

Cao Cao only wanted to see Yun and Lu Bu after all and Yun was going to respect this part since Cao Cao was still his contractor which means that he would follow Cao Cao's orders as long as they didn't threaten his life.

Cao Cao was eating at the moment when Lu Bu and Yun entered the room. He gestures without saying anything to them to sit down and join him.

Soon two maids entered bringing in two sets of the same food Cao Cao was enjoying at the moment which were placed before Yun and Lu Bu as they looked at the food with suspicion when Yun began to eat the food taking bites from every serving to find out if it was poisonous before finishing some of the serving leaving some untouched which Lu Bu saw.

Lu Bu then began to eat the dishes that Yun didn't eat since Yun told him to not eat the dishes that he was going to finish beforehand. Lu Bu finished eating when Cao Cao saw that Lu Bu didn't even touch the poisoned food while Yun finished without trouble.

"Don't you like to eat the rice, General Lu?" asks Cao Cao trying to get Lu Bu to eat the rice.

"I am more of a meat person," says Lu Bu seriously as he places the chopsticks on the side showing that he finished eating while Yun finished his meal completely.

"So why have you called for us?" asks Yun while his body was detoxifying itself from the poison he had eaten some moments ago.

"You said something about a reward for our deeds in the last war," says Lu Bu excitingly pretending that he didn't know about the poison in their food.

"Indeed, I wanted to give General Zhao the title of Marquis of Xu while making Lu Bu a Marquis again which is the Marquis of Guangling. The Emperor wants to bestow those titles upon you two for your great service of getting rid of the treacherous Yuan Clan which dared to crown themselves Emperor with the use of the Imperial Seal," says Cao Cao seriously while Yun and Lu Bu knew that Cao Cao was saying bullshit.

They both knew that the Emperor was just a puppet and nothing more at the moment which Cao Cao used to gain more power. But Yun and Lu Bu couldn't reject those titles upfront since they came from the Emperor even if Cao Cao forced them from the Emperor.