Chapter 116: The Scene of a Total Collapse

"Report!"

A thunderous shout echoed throughout the great hall.

Everyone turned to look toward the entrance, where a guard hurried in, knelt on one knee, and held up a bamboo scroll with both hands. "Report, my Lord, an urgent official dispatch."

"Present it to me," Liu Biao commanded.

The guard rushed forward, and Liu Biao's trusted aide, Cheng Qi, stepped in to take the scroll and place it on the desk.

Liu Biao picked it up and scanned the contents. In an instant, his expression shifted violently, and he slammed his hand onto the desk in fury. "That scoundrel Cao!"

"Er..."

The gathered scholars and Confucian masters exchanged bewildered glances, unsure why Liu Biao had suddenly flown into such a rage.

After a moment, Wang Jun could not help but ask, "Lord Liu, what is the matter?"

Liu Biao threw the bamboo scroll toward him and shouted angrily, "Look! Look at the 'sage' you all claim is rectifying the state and supporting the monarch. He has murdered a noble consort, a prince, and high-ranking ministers. The Emperor is now his prisoner, and yet you still speak in his defense!"

The crowd was struck dumb with shock. Wang Jun hurriedly picked up the scroll and scanned the contents. His face turned ashen, and he stammered, "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. This must be a fabrication."

"This is an official dispatch from Xuchang. Could it be false?" Shen Chen asked.

Wang Jun glared at him, snarling, "If it is a newly arrived dispatch, how did you know of it?"

Shen Chen laughed. "I have a blood feud with Cao Cao. Years ago, I sent men to lurk in Xuchang, hoping for a chance to assassinate the traitor, though no such opportunity ever arose. However, news of this has already spread throughout the capital. My scouts returned with the report, and I learned of it yesterday. If you do not believe me, surely you have friends and acquaintances in Xuchang? Write a letter and ask. He murdered the Empress's brother and a pregnant noble consort—he even killed the unborn prince. Can Cao Cao possibly suppress such news?"

"This..."

The others were speechless, crowding around to see for themselves.

Wang Jun’s hands trembled as he muttered to himself, "How could Lord Cao... how could he..."

Only Shen Chen stood tall and cold, watching him with indifference.

How could Cao Cao not do such things? If he were truly loyal to the Emperor, he would not have pushed Liu Xie to such an extremity.

In the early years of the Jian'an era, when Cao Cao first welcomed Liu Xie, Liu Xie was so enraged by the affair of the Gentleman Zhao Yan that he berated Cao Cao. At the time, Liu Xie still commanded some military power—the imperial guards were his strength. When Cao Cao was being berated, the surrounding guards had their hands on their blades, glaring at him with such hostility that they terrified Cao Cao half to death.

From then on, he dared not enter the palace to see Liu Xie, choosing instead to control power from the Secretariat. Like a frog being boiled in water, he slowly replaced the palace guards, taking complete control of Liu Xie.

Later, he began to bully the Son of Heaven. The *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* claims the hunting trip at Xutian revealed Cao Cao's usurping heart; the specifics are unknown, but by mid-199 AD, Liu Xie had indeed issued the "Girdle Decree," ordering Dong Cheng to find reliable men to conspire and kill Cao Cao.

When the plot was exposed at the end of the year, Liu Bei fled. Dong Cheng, Zhong Ji, Wu Shuo, Wang Zifu, Wu Zilan, and even the pregnant Consort Dong were all executed by Cao Cao. Even when Liu Xie personally begged for mercy for Consort Dong, hoping to save the prince, it was to no avail.

This incident caused such an uproar that Cao Cao could not silence it. News spread across the land. Yuan Shao, who had been struggling to find a pretext to challenge Cao Cao, was overjoyed upon receiving the Girdle Decree and finally ordered a full-scale assault.

Though he had previously sent Yan Liang and Wen Chou to attack, Yuan Shao had been cowardly, and even Liu Bei had dared not attempt a rescue, all because the manifesto *Proclamation Against the Yuzhou Governor* lacked sufficient persuasive power. He feared the scholars of the world would not support him, and thus he remained hesitant.

Many claim the Girdle Decree is a fabrication because it is not mentioned in that manifesto. But that text was written between the sixth and eleventh months of the fourth year of Jian'an, when Yuan Shao sent Yan Liang and Wen Chou to attack Yanzhou, while the Girdle Decree surfaced at the end of the fourth year and the beginning of the fifth. The timelines do not align.

Therefore, those trying to whitewash Cao Cao by claiming the Girdle Decree did not exist can give up; it is documented in all official histories in black and white—it cannot be erased.

Now that the decree is out and the news is scattered, let us see how you justify this!

Shen Chen said coldly, "Do you still not believe that Cao Cao is a Wang Mang or a Dong Zhuo? At least Wang Mang did not murder a noble consort and a prince, even when the Emperor begged for mercy. Is this the act of a loyal subject? The Emperor issued a decree ordering his brother-in-law to kill a traitor to the state—is this still the 'virtuous man' you speak of?"

In that moment, the many profoundly learned masters and scholars stared at one another in blank confusion.

Wang Jun coughed twice, his chest tightening so much he could not speak. Some wailed in agony, as if their faith had collapsed, cursing Cao Cao to suffer a miserable death, while others muttered in disbelief.

"Why has it come to this..."

Li Yan’s eyes widened, and he slumped to the floor, losing all the composure of a celebrated scholar.

"Lord Cao... oh no, the traitor Cao..."

Ying Rong’s hands trembled, a bitter expression etched onto his face.

Only a few, like Wei Xi and He Qia, exchanged glances with no real feeling. They would later defect to the state of Cao Wei; they were scholars who prioritized family interests and cared little for how the Emperor was bullied, provided their own status remained intact.

Shen Chen sneered, "I once held you great scholars in high esteem, but seeing you like this today, I truly find you pathetic. You mistake Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo for the Duke of Zhou or Huo Guang, and view a brutal tyrant as the savior of the nation. If the Master were alive again to see his disciples in such a state, he would surely find no grief greater than this."

"Shen Chen!"

Wang Jun suddenly snapped out of it, gritting his teeth. "Do not be so arrogant! The Emperor must have been deceived by villains; someone is trying to frame a loyal man like Lord Cao."

Shen Chen nodded. "Ah, yes, of course. Deceived by villains, so the Emperor had to write a decree in blood on his inner garment. Deceived by villains, so he couldn't send the decree to the Secretariat to be proclaimed to the world, but had to secretly hand it to his brother-in-law. Deceived by villains, so even Consort Dong was implicated. Tell me, how do you explain these things?"

"This..."

Wang Jun felt his chest tighten further, unable to utter a word.

Because this was truly indefensible. The Emperor had been reduced to writing a blood letter on his own clothing; the palace was clearly filled with Cao Cao’s men. If there had been any other loyalists left, there would have been no need to give the decree to Dong Cheng—it could have been openly issued to the world.

Most importantly, even if Dong Cheng had conspired to rebel, Liu Xie had begged for mercy for Consort Dong. The Emperor had pardoned the consort, so by what right did you, Cao Cao, execute her and the prince in her womb?

All signs indicated that the Emperor was indeed under house arrest, that he had conspired to kill Cao Cao via the Girdle Decree, and that Cao Cao had discovered and countered it. For these scholars who had just been praising Cao Cao’s loyalty and patriotism, this was a slap in the face.

They lost their righteous posture, their faces burning with shame, wishing they could crawl into a hole.

Seeing their silence, Shen Chen sighed, "You are blind. The reason the words and deeds of villains make such an impression on you is that they are consistent, unashamed, and unrestrained!"

"Good people are often disheartening because they are always willing to pay a higher price to discipline themselves. You see so much of this that you grow weary of the good, focusing only on the evil of the wicked. In time, you begin to think the evil of the wicked is not evil at all."

"But you never stop to think: Cao Cao has already done so many wicked things—can he ever become good? When a good person commits one wrong, you all attack in a swarm; when a wicked person does one good deed, you sing his praises. You fail to see that while he serves the Emperor in name, he is merely 'holding the Emperor to command the vassals' to seize legitimacy for himself."

"Before this Girdle Decree, did he not successfully convince you all that he was a virtuous man loyal to the state? You speak of benevolence and morality, claiming to support the dynasty, yet now that the truth of Cao Cao is revealed, you still refuse to believe it, choosing instead to attack a good man like me. Is this what you call the laws of heaven?"

These words left the majority of the scholars ashamed and unable to show their faces, their once-proud heads bowed, daring not meet Shen Chen’s eyes.

Upon hearing this, Wang Jun felt a sharp pain in his chest and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed backward.

"Master Ziwen! Master Ziwen!"

The surrounding scholars were horrified, rushing over to support him.

Wang Jun did not die—in history, he would pass away from illness in 202 AD at the age of sixty-four—but after this blow, he would likely not live much longer. He was deathly pale as he was carried away in a panic to the city infirmary.

Seeing this, Liu Biao gave a cold snort. "A bunch of reputation-seeking hypocrites. I once considered recruiting them into office."

Shen Chen said, "The world is ignorant; only you, my Lord, have true insight. I beg you to proclaim to Jingzhou the crimes of Cao Cao, that I may have the justification to lead a campaign against the traitor."

"Very well," Liu Biao nodded. "Send men to post notices throughout the province, exposing the villainy of the traitor Cao."

Beside him, Kuai Yue’s face went pale. He was not a royalist, but he valued his family's interests. He had supported Liu Biao’s submission to Cao Cao, keeping it well-hidden. Now that Cao Cao had revealed his true face, it would be difficult to incite the Jingzhou gentry to speak for him in the future.

With this thought, Kuai Yue cast a sinister look at Shen Chen.

It was all because of this brat. He had not taken him seriously before, but it seemed that if this youth were not removed, he would surely become a great disaster in the future.

Shen Chen, unaware that Kuai Yue now viewed him as a thorn in his side, bowed to Liu Biao. "Thank you, my Lord. In that case, I take my leave. I shall head north, draw my sword, and march on Luoyang to seek justice for the people of the world!"

"Go then," Liu Biao waved him off dismissively. He did not believe that Shen Chen could accomplish anything with just a few thousand men. However, now that the Girdle Decree was out, Cao Cao’s reputation would soon be ruined. Sending a few men to make a show of force was not a bad idea.

"Brother Shen!"

"Hmm!"

Shen Changqing walked along the path, greeting the familiar faces he encountered with a nod. Regardless of who they were, no one had any extra expression on their faces, as if they were indifferent to everything.

Shen Changqing had grown accustomed to this. This was the Demon Suppression Division, an institution dedicated to maintaining the stability of the Great Qin Empire. Their primary duty was to slay demons and monsters, though they had other side businesses as well. It could be said that everyone in the Demon Suppression Division had blood on their hands. When one grew accustomed to life and death, one became indifferent to many things.

When he first arrived in this world, Shen Changqing had been uncomfortable, but over time, he had become used to it. The Demon Suppression Division was vast, and those who remained were powerful experts or those with the potential to become so. Shen Changqing belonged to the latter.

The Division was divided into two roles: the Suppressors and the Exorcists. Everyone who joined started as an Exorcist, the lowest rank, and climbed the ladder step by step, hoping to eventually become a Suppressor. Shen Changqing's predecessor had been a trainee Exorcist, the lowest of the low.

With the memories of his predecessor, he was very familiar with the environment. It did not take long before Shen Changqing stopped in front of a pavilion. Unlike the rest of the Division, which was filled with a murderous aura, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, offering a different kind of tranquility amidst the blood-stained surroundings.

The doors were open, and people occasionally entered and exited. Shen Changqing hesitated for only a moment before stepping inside.

The environment changed instantly. A scent of ink mixed with a faint smell of blood greeted him, causing him to frown instinctively before relaxing. The blood-stench on everyone in the Demon Suppression Division was almost impossible to wash away.