Chapter 15 Cao Cao's Ridicule and Carrying Duke Wei
At the end of the 20th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao was leaving Guanzhong and returning to Wei County in Jizhou.
In September, he led a large army to personally conquer Xiliang, defeated Han Sui and Ma Chao, and pacified Xiliang in Guanzhong. He originally wanted to stay in Guanzhong and use troops against Hanzhong.
But unexpectedly, someone suddenly rebelled in the river, and the momentum was so great that he had to go back.
While still in Guanzhong, Cao Cao had already learned about Sun Quan's invasion of Huainan.
It was already November of the 20th year of Jian'an. Since others were in Xiliang, Huainan was not far away from Xiliang, but it was at least thousands of miles away.
Although the straight-line distance was only 1,500 kilometers, which was about 4,000 miles from Han to Li, the road traffic in the Han Dynasty was inconvenient. By the time he had just conquered Xiliang and received the news, almost three months had passed.
After receiving this news, Cao Cao felt sad and hurried back to Guandong, wanting to know what was happening in Huainan and Hejian.
He wasn't actually worried about Sun Quan at first, after all, he had already made arrangements before leaving.
Even if Sun Quan attacks Hefei, as long as Xue Ti, Zhang Liao, and Li Dian can hold off for a month, reinforcements from Chen Du and Runan will arrive soon, and Sun Quan's worries can be easily solved by then.
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Unexpectedly, a rebellion also broke out in Hejian. The old Yuan clan colluded with Wuhuan and gathered more than 100,000 people with great momentum, threatening Yecheng.
Two things happened at the same time, giving Cao Cao a headache.
Because the Hejian Rebellion occurred in the hinterland of Jizhou, a large number of troops and horses must be dispatched to quell it. Once troops and generals are mobilized and Huainan cannot get support, I am afraid that Sun Quan will take advantage of it and really capture Hefei, which will embarrass him.
On this day, Cao Cao had arrived in Luoyang. Luoyang was in dilapidated condition. Although it had been repaired and the city had recovered a lot, it was still in ruins. There were no people in the city or the surrounding plains.
The former imperial palace was almost in ruins. The only remaining two palaces in the Nangong were built by Liu Biao when the emperor fled to Guandong.
After Cao Cao entered Luoyang, he moved into the Nangong Palace. He only had Dong Zhao, Lou Gui, Sima Yi, Liu Ye and others around him.
Last autumn, the Chinese military advisor Xun You died of illness on the way to Huainan with him, which made Cao Cao heartbroken.
Guo Jia set up a strange plan and should have adjusted the strategy with the army. However, his health was not good. He often coughed and was very weak. He had been recuperating in Yecheng.
Cheng Yu stayed in Yecheng to participate in the military affairs, and assisted Cao Pi on the left to guard the rear.
Xun, or needless to say, was still in Chendu.
So currently the only ones following Cao Cao are some counselors from the later period of Cao Wei, and Sima Yi is gradually beginning to be reused.
At this time, Cao Cao was sitting in the Nangong Palace and sighed about how time flies and how time has changed.
Forty years ago, he also served as the northern captain of Luoyang in this prosperous capital of the Han Empire. He killed the uncle of Shi Chang Shi Jian Shuo in a battle. From then on, "there is no trace in the capital, and no one dares to offend."
Many years have passed, and the former imperial capital has now become a ruin. Only the rubble of the palace walls are left, still telling the story of its former glory.
After sighing with emotion, Cao Cao looked around and said: "Feng Xiao made a plan to lure Sun Quan to attack Jingzhou, but Liu Bei has not yet transferred the main force to Guanzhong, and forced Sun Quan to attack Huainan. Sun Quan was afraid of Liu Bei's power, so he actually came to attack. This thief is really disgusting.
"
Liu Ye was puzzled and said: "Zheng Zheng and Liu Bei are confronting each other in Guanzhong. Since they are tempting Sun Quan to attack Jingzhou, why bother with such trivial matters? We have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses such as Yang Fu and Jiang Xu in Xiliang, and
Many princes in Guanzhong have surrendered, and there are enough troops. I can just send a general to return to the defense."
Cao Cao shook his head and said: "Sun Quan's son is nothing to worry about. He is just afraid that the civil strife in Hejian will lead to insufficient reinforcements in Huainan, which will allow Sun Quan to succeed."
Lou Gui said: "The Prime Minister might as well write a letter saying that he is willing to negotiate peace with Sun Quan, using the Yangtze River as the boundary. The Prime Minister will continue to contain Liu Bei's main force in Guanzhong. When Liu Bei mobilizes Jingzhou troops and horses to rush to Guanzhong, he will ask General Cao Hong to send troops with him.
.If it doesn't work, you can also ask General Cao Hong to assist Hefei."
Regarding Cao Cao's return to defense, his advisers, including the newly recruited generals such as Yang Fu, expressed opposition.
Because although Han Sui and Ma Chao were driven away, Han Sui only ran to Jincheng County next door, while Ma Chao defected to Liu Bei and did not run far.
The two men have extremely high prestige among the Qiang people, and there are millions of Qiang people in Xiliang. Once Cao Cao returns to Guandong, the two men will make a comeback, and with Liu Bei's army, everyone is worried that they will not be able to resist.
So they all think that all they need to do is send people to return to defense.
Cao Cao's army of more than 100,000 troops invaded Xiliang in the pass, but the number of troops increased and his strength became stronger and stronger.
The other Guanzhong princes Yang Qiu, Hou Xuan, and Cheng Yin who joined forces with Han Sui and Ma Chao surrendered to Cao Cao.
After reaching Xiliang, Yang Fu, Jiang Xu, Jiang Yin, Zhao Ang, Yin Feng, Yao Qiong, Kong Xin, Li Jun, Wang Ling and others came to surrender.
There were actually 200,000 soldiers and horses, and there was no shortage of troops to return to the defense. There was no need for him to go there in person.
However, Cao Cao was worried about the safety of Ye City. Hejian was the hinterland of Jizhou and was too close to Wei County. Therefore, Cao Cao left Xia Houyuan, Zhong Yao, Yang Fu and other 120,000 troops in Guanzhong, and he planned to return to Jizhou to rescue Yecheng.
and Huainan.
Hearing Lou Gui's suggestion, Cao Cao shook his head: "Zi Lian is stationed in Yingchuan and has to be on guard against Shen Chen. Sun Quan's son is capricious. If he just writes books and conspires with him, I'm afraid he still wants the land of Huainan."
"Report!"
At this moment, a messenger suddenly came from outside the palace to report.
"Come in."
Cao Cao shouted.
The messenger quickly entered the palace, knelt down on one knee and said: "Report, General Wugan Zhonglang sent General Jia Xinjia, together with General Yan Rouyan, to attack the rebellion of Su Bo and Tian Yin in Hejian. The rebellion in Hejian has been put down."
"oh?"
Cao Cao laughed loudly: "I heard that the rebellion in Hejian was huge before, but I didn't expect it to be put down in the blink of an eye. My son is indeed very talented."
"Congratulations, Prime Minister, since the rivers are level, I guess there will be no serious problems in the Jianghuai River."
Liu Ye suggested: "Perhaps we should return to Guanzhong at this time and continue to be the enemy of Liu Bei. After Hejian is pacified and Jianghuai reinforcements arrive, Sun Quan will retreat in recognition of the difficulty. By then, Jingzhou soldiers and horses will be transferred to Guanzhong one after another, and he will naturally understand
Who should be beaten?"
"Hmm."
Cao Cao stroked his beard and pondered, the problem in Hejian had been dealt with, but the news reported that Sun Quan led 100,000 troops to surround Hefei, which still made him very worried. He thought for a while and said: "It is better to wait in Luoyang for two days to see the situation in the south."
"Report!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another news came from outside.
Xu Chu entered the door and said, "Report to the Prime Minister that another messenger has come from Yecheng, saying that it is Xue Ti from the south who has an urgent message."
At that time, communication between the north and the south was inconvenient, and when news from Huainan was sent to the Guanzhong area in the northwest, it was not delivered directly, but had to be sent to Yecheng first, and Cao Pi had to read it before sending it to the west.
So Cao Cao just learned about Sun Quan's northward journey more than 20 days ago in November. Now more than 20 days have passed, and Cao Pi has put down the rebellion in Hejian, sent the letter to Guanzhong, and almost met Xue Ti.
report, so they sent someone over again.
Cao Cao quickly said: "Let the messenger come in."
The messenger entered the palace, held up a secret letter in his hand and said: "Prime Minister, the urgent message from the south has been sent to Yecheng. The man with five sense organs will send Lingbei to the prime minister overnight."
"Get it quickly."
Cao Cao said.
The messenger delivered the letter to Cao Cao's desk.
Cao Cao immediately opened it and read it.
His eyes quickly scanned, and the expression on his face changed from solemn at first, to astonishment, then disbelief, and finally the corners of his mouth tilted up, revealing a sense of disdain and ecstasy, and then he suddenly burst out laughing.
Cao Cao threw the letter on the table, laughing with joy.
Many counselors below looked stunned. After looking at each other, Dong Zhao stepped forward and asked: "Prime Minister, why are you so happy?"
Cao Cao laughed so hard that his nose almost ran out and he was out of breath. He pointed at the letter and said: "My son, Sun Quan, I am so laughing that I am dying of laughter. What do you think?"
"I don't know what I mean."
Dong Zhao replied.
"Hahahahaha."
Cao Cao wiped his nose, got up from the seat, and continued to grin: "Sun Quan led an army of 100,000 to the outside of Hefei City, and Wen Yuan led 800 people out of the city to fight to the death. Unexpectedly, Sun Quan was killed by Wen Yuan
They were forced to the hillside and almost captured alive. The Wu army was in chaos and trampled on them, killing thousands. Wenyuan returned with a great victory."
"oh?"
Everyone was surprised. Lou Gui praised: "General Wenyuan is really a tiger general."
"more than."
Cao Cao waved his hands and said cheerfully: "Sun Quan became so angry that he besieged the city for more than a month and could not break the city, so he prepared to withdraw his troops. After Wen Yuan learned about it, he led his troops to pursue him. At the Xiaoyaojin Ferry, Sun Quan's son was almost killed by Wen Yuan again.
Captured alive. There were only 7,000 people in the city of Hefei. Seven thousand people! Sun Quan had 100,000 children, but he was almost captured by Wen Yuan twice. It is really a joke for the ages!"
It turned out that before Sun Quan came, Xue Ti reported the situation to Yecheng. After Cao Pi saw it, he immediately sent the affairs of Hejian and Huainan to Xiliang. Because of the long distance, he made a stop in Yecheng, which led to August
Sun Quan surrounded Hefei, and it took nearly three months for the letter to reach Xiliang.
In early November, Cao Cao learned the news and was worried that the rebellion in Hejian and the war in Huainan would cause civil strife, so he immediately set off from Xiliang and walked for more than a month. He did not arrive in Luoyang until December.
It happened that Sun Quan was so angry that he surrounded Hefei for a month, causing the news from Hefei to not be conveyed.
After Sun Quan retreated in September, Zhang Liao led his army to attack and defeated the Jiangdong Army again, so Xue Ti sent the battle report to Yecheng. Yecheng also happened to put down the Hejian rebellion, so he sent the Hejian battle report to Huainan
The battle report arrived again and again, and was delivered to Cao Cao almost at the same time.
When Cao Cao was happy to see that Hejian was peaceful, he suddenly received a hilarious battle report. The two great events were superimposed, which almost made him die of joy.
Even when he was smiling and laughing, he felt that his stomach hurt. He couldn't help but cover his stomach again, but he still couldn't bear the smile. He lay on the table and laughed non-stop. He felt that the thirty-three-year-old Sun Quan had given him this sixty-year-old
The old man brought so much joy that his abs almost burst out laughing.
In all my life of fighting, I have never seen such a shameful thing. Sun Quan's father and brother have been heroes all their lives in vain. Having such a son and brother really brings shame to the ancestors of the Sun family.
"Prime Minister, since Hejian and the south have been pacified, why not stay in Guanzhong and attack Liu Bei?"
After Cao Cao finally calmed down, Liu Ye immediately suggested.
Dong Zhao rolled his eyes, suddenly stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Prime Minister, today the Prime Minister is in Guanzhong, Liangzhou, in the west, and in Huainan between the rivers in the east. Since ancient times, ministers have assisted the world, and no one has achieved such achievements as the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister should practice
In ancient times, he was awarded the fifth-class title and was promoted to the Duke of Wei."
Cao Cao was startled by this suggestion at first, then he looked left and right, eyes darting around, instead of scolding him, he stroked his beard and said: "Those who build the fifth level are saints, and they are not controlled by human ministers, so how can they be tolerated?"
?”
"Prime Minister, I have been a minister to the world, but I have not achieved today's achievements. I have achieved today's achievements, but I have not been able to serve others for a long time."
Sima Yi had been silent until now. How could he not speak now? He immediately stood up and said: "Now the public is ashamed to be virtuous but not good enough. He is happy to protect his reputation but not responsible. His virtue is better than that of Yin and Zhou. This is the highest virtue."
This is the extreme point. However, Taijia may not be able to become a king. Nowadays, it is difficult for the people to change, even more than in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties. The power of the ministers makes people doubt themselves about important matters, so we must seriously worry about it."
"That's right, Prime Minister. Although the Prime Minister has powerful virtues and knows magic, he has not determined the foundation. It is a plan for the future. The foundation of establishing the foundation is to announce it to the local people and establish it for self-defense. Public loyalty and loyalty are revealed.
, The power of God lies in the face, Geng Yan’s words under the bed, and Zhu Ying’s unfounded opinions cannot be ignored. Zhao has received extraordinary kindness, and I dare not not say it.”
Dong Zhao continued.
Do other people think this is okay?
In addition to Lou Gui, Liu Ye also stood up to persuade him to come forward.
For a time, the palace was filled with flattery.
Cao Cao said no, no, no, but he remembered it in his heart.
At that time, he led the army back to Guanzhong. At the same time, under his instruction, Dong Zhao responded with a letter and went to Yecheng.
At the beginning of the 21st year of Jian'an, Cao Pi sent people to Chendu. At that time, Chendu's imperial censor Xi Lu was Cao Cao's lackey. After gaining trust, he immediately threatened Liu Xie to give the order.
Liu Xie had no choice but to agree, and ordered Xi Luchijie to go to Chang'an, Guanzhong, where he canonized Cao Cao as Duke of Wei and named the country "Wei".
At the same time, the Nine Tins symbolizing authority were given to the ten counties of Hedong, Hanoi, Weijun, Zhaoguo, Zhongshan, Changshan, Julu, Anping, Ganling, and Pingyuan in Jizhou as Wei Gong's feudal territory.
Yecheng was established as the capital.
Cao Cao returned to Yecheng in January of the 21st year of Jian'an, received the title of Duke, established the capital in Yecheng, established a group of ministers and officials, and the institutional status was like that of princes and kings with different surnames in the early Han Dynasty.
In February of the same year, Cao Cao appointed Guo Jia as Shangshu Ling, Liang Mao as Shangshu Pushe, Mao Jie, Cui Yan, Chang Lin, Xu Yi, He Kui, Zhang Ji, Du Ji and others as Shangshu, Du Xi, Wei Qi and others as ministers.
Attendants: Zhong Yao is Dali, Hua Xin is the imperial censor, Chen Qun is the censor Zhongcheng, Wang Xiu is the chief agricultural officer, Cheng Yu is the guard, Yang Junqian is the lieutenant, Yuan Huan is the doctor, and Wang Lang is the prefect of Wei County.
, Zhang Fan is the prefect of Zhao County, Xia Houshang, Liu Gong is the minister of Huangmen, Huan Jie is the general of Huben Zhonglang, Gao Rou is the minister, Liu Fang, Sun Zi are the secretary, and Lu Yu is the official.
In March, the Duke of Wei began to build an ancestral temple to worship the God of Sheji and the ancestors of the Cao family.
Since then, the powerful minister Cao Cao has completed a change in his identity. He is no longer a powerful minister, but has become a relationship between emperor and princes similar to the relationship between the emperor of Zhou and Duke Huan of Qi.
The hegemonic rule that was originally superior to the emperor began to have a legal name, and most of the Han officials in the dynasty officially became subordinate officials of the Duke of Wei, and had a formal title of principal minister with Cao Cao. The central bureaucracy of the Han Dynasty
The system was replaced by the official office of the Duke of Wei.
In name, Cao Cao was only the Duke of Wei, but in fact he already had the power of the emperor. Those ministers in the court who originally seemed to be taking Han salaries and occupying Han positions have all become Wei ministers. The existence of the Han Dynasty is no longer important to them.
Of no importance.
Cao Cao used a gradual approach to lay a solid foundation for Cao Pi to usurp the Han Dynasty in the future.