The weather in Xiangyang was gloomy. It was early winter in October, and it started to rain lightly in the afternoon.
The patter of raindrops hit the eaves, making a tinkling sound.
After everyone sat down and chatted with each other, Wang Can took the initiative to ask Pang Tong: "Pang Tong, what did you get when you went north to Yingchuan to look for Mr. Sima Decao this time?"
Pang Tong said: "Mr. De Cao is very knowledgeable. I discussed with him for a long time. I even built a thatched cottage where he lived. I often talked with him. I gained a lot and helped me solve many academic doubts."
"Then what does he think of the general trend of the world?"
Wang Can asked.
Pang Tong wondered: "Why is Mr. Zhongxuan interested in the general trend of the world?"
"My family are all in the north, and I'm worried."
Wang Can made an excuse.
In fact, he really didn't like Jingzhou. He wrote several poems in history, expressing his helplessness about living in Jingzhou and his longing for his hometown and the north. So recently I heard that Liu Xie returned to Luoyang and wanted to know if the world would be peaceful. When can I return to the north?
Before Pang Tong could speak, Shen Chen shook his head and said, "Brother Zhongxuan, don't even think about returning to the north. There will be no peace in the north for at least ten years."
"But the emperor has already arrived in Xuchang."
Wang Can argued: "If the emperor can work hard to govern, Henan may be pacified soon. Liu Shijun came to worship a few days ago. Maybe the emperor ordered to come, and the emperor's army will go north to help the emperor clear out the enemies from all directions. .”
Liu Biao himself is a disobedient person, so why would he help Liu Xie?
Shen Chen sneered in his heart, but he must not say such nonsense, so he said: "Brother, you don't really think that the emperor has real power. Cao Cao is a traitor in troubled times. The so-called "welcoming the emperor" is just holding the emperor to order the princes. Back then, What Zhang Yi failed to accomplish has been accomplished by Cao Mengde."
Holding the emperor hostage to order the princes?
Everyone looked at each other. In fact, this operation was not invented by Cao Cao, but by Zhang Yi during the Warring States Period.
"Zuo Zhuan" records that Zhang Yi suggested to King Hui of Qin that he send troops to Luoyang from Guanzhong to capture the Emperor of Zhou, and then use the authority of the Emperor of Zhou to issue orders to the princes of the world. This is called "holding the Emperor to order the princes".
However, Sima Cuo, another minister of King Qin Hui, held an objection. He believed that kidnapping the Emperor of Zhou would easily arouse the public anger of the princes in the world, and they would inevitably unite to crusade. Therefore, there was no need to bear such a bad reputation, and the Kingdom of Shu should be destroyed first. , occupy the land of Shu, strengthen yourself, and then plot the whole world.
In the end, King Qin Hui chose Sima Cuo's suggestion, sent troops to attack Shu, and captured the land of Bashu. Later, Li Bing and his son built Dujiangyan. Since then, Sichuan has an eight hundred-mile plain. As a result, Qin gradually became stronger. When Qin Shihuang sent troops Sweep the world and unify the world.
Therefore, Zhang Yi's strategy of coercing the emperor to control the princes was actually a failed strategy, but as the saying goes, the same strategy can work wonders under certain specific conditions. When Cao Cao used it now, it was very successful.
However, Wang Can felt that Shen Chen's words were wrong. He shook his head and said: "Cao Cao can be regarded as an official. How can he be so against the people's heart when he has been deprived of his wealth for a long time? Aren't he afraid that the world will punish him?"
"So this requires disguise."
Shen Chen said: "Didn't Cao Cao use the name of flattering the emperor? But think about it, the emperor is now in Xuchang, all the troops and horses are controlled by Cao Cao, and he is surrounded by Cao Cao's people. He talks about flattering, but in fact he is It’s just to control the emperor, can’t you see it?”
"This is just your conjecture, Ah Chen. At least I don't see what Cao Cao is forcing the Emperor to do now. Does it mean that just because all the troops and horses are controlled by Cao Cao, does it mean that the Emperor is also controlled?"
Wang Can still held different opinions.
Shen Chen thought for a while and said: "Of course not, but now that the emperor has no strong support outside and no troops inside, how can the power in his hands be demonstrated? It's not that Cao Cao just listens to whatever he says. Isn't this coercing the emperor to use his power? Order the princes?"
Wang Can said with a smile: "The Duke of Zhou inherited power and returned power to King Cheng when he grew up. Marquis Bolu took power when Emperor Xuan was young, and when Emperor Xuan came of age, he also handed over power. Is it possible that when the emperor was young? Shouldn't the ministers assist you when you are in trouble? This is a normal thing in itself, nothing unusual."
During the Han Dynasty, the status of Duke Zhou and Huo Guang was still very high. Although Huo Guang's family was wiped out after his death, the problem is that Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty did not wipe out his family because Huo Guangquan was in power, but because his wife and children were not living up to expectations, so he had to He was killed by Liu Xun only after causing trouble.
Including Liu Xun himself and the entire Han Dynasty, all emperors respected Huo Guang very much. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty was a hero of the Qilin Pavilion, and Huo Guang ranked first. Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty all paid tribute to Huo Guang and rewarded him.
Therefore, when praising those people who were very virtuous even though they were powerful, they always used Zhou Gong and Huo Guang as examples.
certainly.
The antonyms of the two of them are basically Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo, and later Cao Cao was added.
Shen Chen also smiled and said: "I think one should judge a person's deeds regardless of his heart. My brother thought Cao Cao was Duke Zhou Huo Guang, but he didn't know he was Wang Mang Dong Zhuo. I would like to ask Duke Zhou and Huo Guang, would they massacre hundreds of thousands of people under their rule? Will Zhou Gong and Huo Guang wantonly kill famous people and force Yanzhou to rebel? A virtuous person may be cruel at heart, but a cruel person will definitely not be virtuous at heart."
Wang Can was silent for a moment, not because Shen Chen argued over it, but because Shen Chen came from Xuzhou and might have seen too many tragic scenes, so he had a biased view of Cao Cao, so he didn't want to comment on this issue. Debate with Shen Chen.
Seeing that the atmosphere on the court was a bit awkward, Xu Shu said: "Since we are talking about merits and disregarding our intentions, we should look at it later. There is no need to make a conclusion so early."
"Don't you think Cao Cao's atrocities are enough to explain everything?"
Shen Chen was very puzzled.
Wang Can said softly: "People may be cruel, but they can also change. Who knows what he is like? Maybe at that time, for Cao Cao, massacre of Xuzhou was also a last resort."
Xu Shu also said: "Yes, whether it is to use the emperor to command the princes, or to serve the emperor to punish disobedient ministers, we will see in the future. This matter will not be discussed."
"Oh well."
Shen Chen felt frustrated for the first time. He had been with Wang Can for so long, and it was the first time he had seen him so stubborn.
He turned to look at others, only to find that everyone, including Pang Tong, had calm expressions on their faces. No one seemed to agree with Shen Chen's opinion.
At this moment, Shen Chen had a lot on his mind.
It was difficult for him to understand why these people chose to turn a blind eye to the naked massacre.
After thinking about it for a long time, I suddenly remembered the poem "Seven Sorrows" written by Wang Can. Those words and sentences describing the scenes of troubled times were all answers.
Shen Chen finally understood the reason, and felt a little sad for a moment, and couldn't help but sigh softly deep in his heart.
So that’s it.
he thought.
This is the difference between ancient and modern values.
When Wang Can came to Jingzhou from Chang'an, he saw a woman throwing her baby in the grass. Such a tragic situation made everyone who heard it sad and everyone who saw it shed tears.
But what about Wang Can?
His choice was to turn his head and not look, and then sit in the carriage and leave with peace of mind.
You must know that although Wang Can went to Jingzhou to avoid trouble, he was not an ordinary person. His grandfather and great-grandfather were both three princes, with prominent family backgrounds and huge wealth.
Such a big man might be able to save the baby by showing some kindness and giving some money and food to the lower-class women.
But he had no intention of helping the woman at all. When he arrived in Jingzhou, he immediately wrote a poem called "Seven Sorrows" to worry about the country and the people.
It was like a war in a certain Middle Eastern country in later generations. A certain wealthy young man took a private plane and visited that country and saw countless tragic scenes.
However, this young man did not choose to contribute money or effort to help those miserable people. Instead, he took a lot of photos and posted them on WeChat Moments: "Look, the children in this country are really pitiful."
It sounds a little ironic.
But to people at that time, it was nothing.
Because they are upper class people.
They just find this kind of war very painful.
As for the people at the bottom who are in hot water, in a word, it has nothing to do with me.
The same goes for Cao Cao's massacre of the city.
Later generations were born in peaceful times, and they were deeply indignant at the atrocities committed by the Japanese pirates. Therefore, looking at the past and the present, they believed that Cao Cao's massacre of the city was wrong and there was no way to cleanse him.
But to people at the time, this was nothing.
Even if they were massacred, they would not have too many negative views on Cao Cao. At most, they felt that this man killed too much.
Even a humble gentleman like Xun Yu only tactfully told Cao Cao not to conquer Xuzhou, and did not make much comment on Cao Cao's massacre of the people.
In the final analysis, in the eyes of the scholars of the Han Dynasty, the common people at the bottom were not even as good as grass.
Before the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were countless powerful officials.
But what about after the Tang and Song Dynasties? How many powerful ministers did they have?
This is because before the Tang and Song Dynasties, government affairs were controlled by aristocratic families.
Without the imperial examination system, the people at the bottom would never get ahead.
Including the Han, Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a struggle between the emperor and the aristocratic families. Only those top aristocratic families were qualified to compete with the emperor.
For example, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan, was considered the founding emperor. He once asked his ministers with great expectations what kind of emperor he was, and then he was immediately shocked by the ministers, saying that he was not even as good as Emperor Huan of Han and Emperor Ling of Han, and that he was an incompetent and faint emperor. .
As a result, Sima Yan didn't even dare to fart.
If this matter had been tried in the Qing Dynasty, the Qing emperor would have dragged him out and executed him long ago.
So what these so-called famous families lament is not this troubled world, nor is it their pity for the people at the bottom.
But because of the advent of troubled times, the power of their aristocratic family is no longer there.
What Wang Can misses is the heyday of the family when his grandfather and great-great-grandfather were three princes.
He eagerly hopes that the court can put down the rebellion, and then, relying on the shadow of his ancestors, he can return to the court to hold an official position and regain his family's reputation.
As for the suffering of the people at the bottom, the same sentence remains.