Chapter 49: Unification of the World
Guo Ding received the reward, and Liu Xie smiled slightly. The position of Ting Wei was not a trivial matter in the current situation, with no troops or power. When Cao Cao was in power, even court discussions were not his place, and it was really not worth mentioning. Liu Xie's approach to Guo Ding made Song Ji initially suspicious, but Liu Xie's explanation suddenly enlightened him.
Xuchang is the new capital, and within the new capital, all those who can command troops are high-ranking generals, and these people are all Cao Cao's confidants. When Liu Xie moved the capital from Chang'an, although some military generals were brought along, either they defected to Cao Cao or their military power was rendered useless, leaving behind only a few powerless civil officials. However, almost everyone overlooked the position of Tingwei, which oversees the nationwide investigation and interrogation, with hundreds of subordinates under its command, and is also responsible for maintaining law and order in the entire Xuchang city. If one were to launch a coup, this would undoubtedly be a surprise attack.
Although Guo Ding is usually careless, he is not muddled. He has always remained neutral, waiting for someone who can see his value, because such a person must be a far-sighted one. However, the one trying to win him over today is Liu Xie, which makes him slightly disappointed, as it is impossible for Liu Xie to achieve anything with his current abilities, so he feels somewhat helpless.
Liu Xie came to the prison gate, not entirely to win over Guo Ding. He had a more important matter, which was to visit Zhou Jinzhong. Guo Ding had already made all the arrangements, but it was said that after Zhou Jin walked away yesterday, Zhou Jinzhong became somewhat deranged and feared startling the emperor, so he asked Liu Xie to bring two prison guards along, but Liu Xie refused and only brought Li Chen with him to the cell.
The jailer led Liu Xie and Li Chen to the closed door of Zhou Jin's cell, then hastily left. Inside the cell, they saw a person sleeping with disheveled hair covered in grass clippings. On the ground was an empty bowl containing some dark red shredded meat. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the remains of a mouse. Liu Xie and Li Chen were both shocked. The mouse's shredded remains had stained the white ceramic bowl's walls bright red, with clear signs of being chewed on. They couldn't help but feel nauseous, especially given the cell's severe stench. The two almost threw up. Liu Xie recalled Guo Ding's words and slightly furrowed his brow. Could Zhou Jin have gone mad? If so, his own thoughts would be wasted. He was about to leave when he hesitated, unwilling to give up. He shouted inside: "Zhou Jin! Zhou Jin!" three times in a row, but Zhou Jin showed no reaction whatsoever.
