In March, the first day of the lunar month is Xinmao, and there is an eclipse on the day.
Yuan Shao was immediately dumbfounded.
In the Han Dynasty, or in ancient times, solar and lunar eclipses were very important events. There were even many people who lost their heads because of solar and lunar eclipses.
Yuan Shao was prospering in Shui De, but he took over and walked away on the spot without giving any face to God. This immediately affected a large number of people, and even some of the imperial censors began to write letters, "... Only Shi Xihe, subverting Those who have bad virtues indulge in drinking, leave their official posts, disturb the order of heaven, and abandon their positions. It is the first day of autumn in the autumn, Chen Fu gathers in the room, plays drums, stingy men run away, and common people go away... Today is like a warning. , If you ignore what you hear and know, and do not act carefully and obey your will, you may offend Heaven and cause frequent disasters..."
Some people even connected this celestial phenomenon with the previous locust plague, and then stated that some ministers were not benevolent, which caused the heaven to be angry and there was chaos in Jizhou for a while.
Why is it not the emperor’s problem?
Because everyone knows that the emperor is not yet an adult and cannot control the affairs of the Han Dynasty, so he has little to do with Liu Xie. So who does?
The first one to bear the brunt was Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao was furious and immediately said angrily: "There may be an eclipse of the sun, which will be seen in the north and south! How can there be a disaster for the whole world! If there is a disaster, where will it come from and where will it come from!"
Attendant Shi Nuonuo could not answer.
But the common people, well, they are common people only if they have names and surnames. Naturally, they will not calm down the discussion because of Yuan Shao's explanation. In addition, there were indeed few entertainment programs in the Han Dynasty and there were not many melons to eat, so we had nothing to talk about anyway. It is also the right intention to conquer the West for copper coins.
As a result, Yuan Shao's originally tall and bright image became covered with a layer of black dust.
However, this is just the beginning, and worse will happen later...
April, hope.
Zang Hong changed his banner in Bohai and declared that he would leave Yuan Shao's command and return to the Han Dynasty!
Bohai County was originally regarded as the base camp for Yuan Shao's army, but during the previous locust plague, several counties had no harvests. The poor and lower-middle peasants who were used to the moonlight clan suddenly couldn't survive. Then Yuan Shao said that these groups had overdrawn their consumption in advance. Those who have credit are those who do not understand planning and are not enterprising, and are not worthy of government assistance. Therefore, quite a few farmers in Bohae County were forced to leave their homes and flee.
In fact, this is not a big deal, ants, if it rains, a few ant nests will always be flooded, who can blame this? But the problem is, Yuan Shao sent troops to attack Bingzhou, one after another, well, one after another. With regard to money and food in various places, this is not just a matter of Yin eating Mao food, but directly killing the goose to get the eggs!
Bohai was not a very prosperous and prosperous county in the first place. In addition, many farmers fled due to previous disasters. Therefore, Yuan Shao's recruitment may be able to support other counties in Jizhou, but for Bohai County, it is The misery is unspeakable, and in addition, Yuan Shao's Shui De caused a solar eclipse...
Zang Hong was originally Yuan Shao's number one, ahem, he was the leader, eh, eh, it's just the same thing, just understand it. I think back then during the Jujube Alliance, the princes from all over the country staged a farce, fighting endlessly for power and profit, and then Afraid of contamination and passing the blame, Zang Hong ignored it and became the one to swear an oath at the altar, and then accepted the position of leader of the alliance on behalf of Yuan Shao. Therefore, he also gained Yuan Shao's respect. Soon after, he approached Zhang Chao to ask for it and awarded Bohai. The post of governor.
Yuan Shao's thinking model is very manly and in line with social standards. Zang Hong swore an alliance for Yuan Shao and took the position of alliance leader. Although everyone knew that this alliance leader had no purpose other than a name, Yuan Shao still thanked him.
Zang Hong, who gave him an important position and promoted Zang Hong from a young Congcao in a county to a prefect, was considered a great favor.
However, just such a leading figure that Yuan Shao established in the front has become a vanguard against Yuan Shao. How can Yuan Shao swallow his breath?
Almost as soon as he received the news that Zang Hong had changed his banner, Yuan Shao immediately gathered his troops and sent troops to the Bohai Sea!
However, as the saying goes, good fortune never comes alone and misfortunes never come alone, but in real life, good fortune rarely comes and misfortunes basically never stop...
The same is true for Yuan Shao.
Just when Yuan Shao was angrily preparing to lead the army to attack Zang Hong personally and let the chattering guys around him know that the word "Yuan" could not be said or written casually, a sudden illness struck Yuan Shao, causing Yuan Shao to collapse immediately.
On the way to war.
Speaking of which, Yuan Shao has gradually approached the life expectancy of an average man in the Han Dynasty. In addition, in the past two or three years, he has basically been traveling here and there, conquering east and west, and the burden on his body is also very heavy, so after the ups and downs of his mood
, it is inevitable that evil winds will enter the body, causing lingering pain...
As soon as Yuan Shao fell ill, the Yuan family immediately became turbulent.
In the Han Dynasty, illness and pain could not be cured by asking a doctor to prescribe a prescription and take some medicinal soup. Because of the imperfect medical technology, too many people died of illness like this.
There are also a lot of people there, so the problems that were originally suppressed under the water gradually surfaced.
The eldest son Yuan Tan followed Yuan Shao in the army at the beginning, so he was also recognized by the military generals. Therefore, many people thought that Yuan Tan should be Yuan Shao's heir and should take charge of affairs when Yuan Shao was bedridden.
…
The second son, Yuan Xi, has a friendly personality. Because he is a concubine, he is gentler in dealing with others. He also married the daughter of a wealthy family in Jizhou. Therefore, many people in Jizhou also believe that if Yuan Tan cannot inherit the great cause, then Yuan Xi is also a good choice.
…
However, things are so interesting. Yuan Shao neither approves of Yuan Tan nor looks down on Yuan Xi, but prefers his youngest son Yuan Shang. Therefore, almost all the bets of the Jizhou nobles have come to nothing!
Immediately, letters of condolences were sent to Yuan Shao from all over Jizhou, expressing their concern and condolences for Yuan Shao's health. Some even said that they would burn incense and pray for Yuan Shao at home every day, etc., and then they would definitely add a sentence at the end of the letter, suggestions and recommendations.
They were betting that Yuan Tan or Yuan Xi would return to Yecheng to take charge of the overall situation.
Seeing these letters, Yuan Shao couldn't help but lie on the bed and scream angrily, pounding the bed hard, "I'm not dead yet!"
As a result, Yuan Shao's impression of Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi became worse and worse, and he became more and more fond of Yuan Shang, who was around him every day.
After all, according to the standards of the Han Dynasty, filial piety is the first priority. If you are filial, you are a good person. If you are pure filial piety, you are a great person. Sincerity and filial piety are the best good people. Yuan Shao thought that if Yuan Shang was so filial, he must be a very good person in the future.
So, Yuan Tan said that he would come back to fulfill his filial piety, but Yuan Shao refused; Yuan Xi said that he would come back to serve tea and water, but Yuan Shao scolded him.
For a time, people in Jizhou were panicked, and even the army that set out to conquer Zang Hong from the Bohai Sea was delayed and stopped moving forward...
Apart from Yuan Shao, the place where the solar eclipse was seen was not just in Jizhou, but Feiqian in Bingzhou also saw the solar eclipse.
A doctor in the academy didn't know which muscle was in the wrong place, and gave Fei Qian a seal, saying that the solar eclipse was a warning sign from the sky, indicating that disaster was coming, and that Fei Qian should treat his people well and recuperate.
Only by eliminating disadvantages and reducing taxes can natural disasters be avoided.
Fei Qian smiled and praised the doctor in public, and thought that the doctor was very knowledgeable about natural disasters, so he named the doctor a patrolman of blessings and disasters, and asked him to go full-time to check the blessings and disasters in various places...
Regarding the changes in Jizhou, there were two different voices under Fei Qian's rule. One was to take advantage of his illness to kill him. Since Yuan Shao was currently weak and unstable, he might as well march eastward to capture Jizhou; the other was to sit back and watch the situation.
Just develop, don’t get involved too early, first stabilize your own fundamentals.
After two or three days of discussion, Fei Qian finally decided not to send troops.
After all, after successive battles, there are a lot of damage. In addition, April and May are the seasons when crops grow in the fields and livestock breed on the grasslands. It is indeed too reluctant to send troops at this time, and even if the army can attack,
Entering Jizhou, however, how to effectively manage the front line from east to west, from south to north, and spread too much, is also a big problem. If it is not done properly at that time, there will be no gain in the warehouse and no loot in the field, how can it be possible?
lasting?
So it’s better to get down to business and plant it honestly for a year or two before talking about it.
Even though most people agree with Fei Qian's decision, some people still feel regretful. After all, Jizhou is a fat place. It would be a shame to have such a good opportunity but to just watch.
After the policy was adopted, Fei Qian tightened his military lines. Except for continuing to support Liu He's part of the expenses in the north so that Liu He could cause trouble in Youzhou behind Yuan Shao, the rest of the areas were basically in a state of contraction.
defensive status.
Putting aside Fei Qian, who was focusing on farming again, in Yuzhou, Emperor Liu Xie also thought this was a great opportunity to deal with Yuan Shao. He caught Cao Cao off guard during the meeting of the imperial dynasty and openly said to the ministers: "
Now that the sky has sent a warning sign, it is because the important minister has lost his morality! Now the general Yuan does not want to serve the king, but acts tyrannically, the people are displaced, and the war continues. This is a serious crime! Now that I have heard of the turmoil in Jizhou, I can take this opportunity to send troops to Hebei.
I wonder what you, my beloved, do you think of the campaign against disobedience?"
He said that he had lost his love for Qing, but Liu Xie's eyes only stayed on Cao Cao.
Cao Cao lowered his head slightly, holding the board between his chest and abdomen with both hands, motionless, like a wood sculpture.
Man Chong, who stood aside, raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the astrological signs are now a warning. It is for the rulers to reflect on themselves in order to seek blessings from the gods. How can we use weapons and weapons again to cause the people to suffer..."
Liu Xie turned to Man Chong and said: "Ai Qing's words... who is the so-called politician?"
"This..." Man Chong blinked his eyelids twice and said, "As a politician, you should uphold your righteousness and not seek benefits, know your way and not take into account your merits, not reward private labor, and not punish private grudges. If you lose your benevolence,
Your Majesty does not need to worry about losing his power. Anyone who commits injustice should die..."
Liu Xie couldn't help but laugh. According to Man Chong, I don't want to do anything now and just wait.
"Cao Sikong, how do you feel about this matter?" Liu Xie didn't bother to pay attention to Man Chong, so he directly named Cao Cao and asked.
Cao Cao calmly cupped his hands and said, "What your Majesty said is absolutely true! However, there are many big families in the east of the river, most of which are in Wubao. They have a small number of people and vassals, and they have accumulated food and grass. But now Yanyu is tired and exhausted, and the warehouses are empty. They really want to beg for thieves.
But it’s powerless! If you can’t express your righteousness clearly and express your righteousness, reprimand the evil and worship the good, reward the good and proclaim virtue, you can make sure that people who have strayed will know how to return!”
Liu Xie looked at Cao Cao, suddenly smiled, nodded and said: "As I love you. But... what if you still ignore the king's order and only pursue your own desires?"
Cao Cao responded: "We should attack it! However, if the separatist regime lasts for a long time, if we attack it immediately, it will definitely lead to people's betrayal. Soldiers and armor are important weapons of the country. They should not be used lightly, nor should they be regretted lightly. If you raise troops, you should be cautious.
You can win.”
Liu Xie pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.
After the court meeting, Cao Cao returned to his government office and held a small court meeting.
Liu Xie began to compete with Cao Cao for power. This was actually what Cao Cao expected. However, what Cao Cao didn't expect was that this day came so quickly and so early.
After everyone was seated, Cao Cao gently knocked on the table and said, "What do you think of today's events?" Imperial power and prime minister power were born to be enemies and could not get along at all, and what Cao Cao said now
, is also a test of attitude.
After a brief silence, the Xiahou brothers and the Cao family's children unanimously expressed their stance. This is not strange. It can even be said that if the Xiahou family and the Cao family did not have absolute control over the army, maybe Cao Cao would have been
Empty...
Cao Cao nodded slightly, and then turned to the other people, Liu Ye, Man Chong, Cheng Yu, Chen Qun and others, especially Xun Yu who was sitting at the top...
Liu Ye remained silent. This is understandable. After all, Liu Ye was more or less from a royal family, so it was not convenient to express any opinions on this kind of matter. Man Chong frowned and did not speak. It didn't matter, at least he was in the meeting
He also blocked a round for Cao Cao.
Cheng Yu has always been taciturn and would not take the initiative to speak when asked by name, so it is normal for him not to speak now. Chen Qun joined this small group relatively late, so his qualifications are there, and he sits relatively far back.
Therefore, when others did not speak to express their opinions, he naturally would not disregard the order and speak first.
But Xun Yu, the only one who should speak now, did not speak.
Cao Cao's face was calm, and he tapped his fingers on the table unhurriedly. He was beeping like a woodpecker, using sound waves to detect insects under the bark of the tree, and he seemed to be very calm.
At the court meeting, Liu Xie sent troops to Jizhou to force Cao Cao to state his position. Cao Cao also asked his subordinates about their position here. This has always been the case in politics and officialdom.
Does Liu Xie really care whether he sends troops or not?
No, what Liu Xie cares more about is whether Cao Cao and Yuan Shao stand together...
And now, Cao Cao wanted to know who among his small group had a crooked butt?