Cao　said；　〃Thirty　and　more　years　have　I　gone　up　and　down；　and　many　bold　leaders　have　fallen　before　me。　The　only　ones　that　remain　are　Sun　Quan　in　the　south　and　Liu　Bei　in　the　west。　I　have　not　yet　slain　them。　Now　I　am　very　ill；　and　I　shall　never　again　stand　before　you；　wherefore　my　family　affairs　must　be　settled。　My　first　born………Cao　Ang；　son　of　Lady　Liu………fell　in　battle　at　Wancheng；　when　he　was　young。　The　Lady　Bian　bore　four　sons　to　me；　as　you　know。　The　third；　Cao　Zhi；　was　my　favorite；　but　he　was　vain　and　unreliable；　fond　of　wine　and　lax　in　morals。　Therefore　he　is　not　my　heir。　My　second　son；　Cao　Zhang；　is　valiant；　but　imprudent。　The　fourth；　Cao　Xiong；　is　a　weakly　and　may　not　live　long。　My　eldest；　Cao　Pi；　is　steady　and　serious；　he　is　fit　to　succeed　me；　and　I　look　to　you　to　support　him。〃

Cao　Hong　and　the　others　wept　as　they　heard　these　words；　and　they　left　the　chamber。　Then　Cao　Cao　bade　his　servants　bring　all　of　the　rare　incenses　and　fragrances　that　he　burned　every　day；　and　he　handed　out　to　his　handmaids。

＇e＇　Kevin；　a　reader：　〃Cao　Cao　has　been　portrayed　as　an　evil　character　because　usually　in　a　novel；　you　need　a　good　guy　and　a　bad　guy。　Liu　Bei　is　of　course　the　good　guy　and　Cao　Cao　is　the　bad　guy　in　this　case。　But　in　reality；　that　was　not　the　case。　Cao　Cao　was　one　of　the　smartest　humans　ever　to　be　born　in　China………not　smart　like　Zhuge　Liang；　but　in　a　different　way。　Cao　Cao　was　amazing　in　everything。　No　wonder　he　controlled　the　biggest　area。　No　wonder　he　had　so　many　followers。　Yes；　he　seems　to　be　very　cold　hearted　at　times；　but　if　you　meet　any　successful　people；　they　know　when　to　separate　their　business　from　peronal　matters。　Remember；　this　is　only　a　novel　even　though　it　is　very　based　on　the　real　story；　but　do　not　forget　that　there　are　lots　of　embellishments。〃　。。