Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 420 Gradually tampering with one’s heart

AD 218, the twenty-third year of Jian'an, Yecheng.

In the palace of the King of Wei, the attendants were holding scarves and walking in a hurry through the corridors.

Anyone who encountered a soldier who was blocking his way would shout urgently: "Xuchang is reporting urgently!"

Seeing the attendants' clothes and the scarf in their hands, they all gave way and did not dare to stop him.

After crossing the high threshold, the attendant knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, urgent report from Xuchang!"

"What's the matter?"

Sima Yi opened the scarf and saw the contents of the letter. His expression suddenly changed and he said: "Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Ling Jiben, Shaofu Geng Ji, Prime Minister Sizhi Weihuang led more than a thousand people including miscellaneous people and family boys to rebel at night. They attacked Chang Shi Wang Bi, and then burned the city gates, hoping to kidnap the emperor and go south."

Ji Ben, Geng Ji, and Wei Huang were all natives of Guanzhong, and were incompatible with the Guandong scholars whom Cao Cao relied on.

Although he was not in a high position, he saw that Cao Cao had killed queens and princes in recent years, and also killed loyal Han people because of Yang Xiu's case. It is known that Cao Cao had the intention of usurping the Han Dynasty.

Seeing that Liu Bei was seizing control of the south, Ji Ben, Geng Ji, Wei Huang and others had been planning for many years, hoping to kidnap Liu Xie and go south to join Liu Bei.

"and then?"

Cao Cao's face instantly darkened, he put down the brush in his hand and asked: "What will happen to Wang Bi's life or death? Will the rebels be suppressed?"

Sima Yi browsed the contents of the scarf and said: "That night, Wang Changshi was hit by a sharp arrow in the shoulder and fled in the chaos. He found out that Jin Yi was working with three thieves, so he ran to Nancheng to contact the officials in the city."

"At dawn, Wang Changshi and Yingchuan Zhonglang, General Yan Kuang, sent out troops to suppress the bandits. Ji Ben, Geng Ji, Wei Huang, Jin Yi and other thieves and their families were all captured by Wang Changshi. More than a thousand people in his tent were illegal. Death comes."

"Wang Changshishu, please ask your Majesty, what should be done with the captured traitors?" Sima Yi asked.

Cao Cao showed anger and said: "Tell Wang Bi that anyone who raises an army to rebel is from the Yi tribe."

"promise!"

As he said that, Cao Cao threw the brush in his hand on the table and cursed: "Why are these Han officials in Xuchang so stubborn and stubborn? They gathered a crowd to rebel and wanted to coerce the emperor to go south. How can they be stupid!"

Cao Cao is really angry and annoyed. Can't these Xuchang officials live in peace?

He couldn't even defeat the soldiers in the field, and he still wanted to kidnap Liu Xie and go south to Wuhan. It really made him want to laugh!

Don’t you think Liu Bei really wants to prosper the Han Dynasty?

It is estimated that Liu Bei did not have the intention to revive the Eastern Han Dynasty, but he had the idea of ​​​​promoting his own Han Dynasty.

Liu Xiezhen was in Liu Bei's hands, and it didn't take long before he either died violently, or he sank and died while crossing the river in a boat.

"What's the situation in Xuchang City today? Is the Emperor injured?" Cao Cao asked.

After Cao Cao defeated Hebei, in order to reduce Liu Xie's influence, he moved his office to Yecheng. Today, the political center of Cao Wei is not in Xuchang, but in Yecheng.

The prime minister, Chang Shi Wangbi, was fully responsible for welcoming the emperor to Xuchang.

Although few people know about the Prime Minister Chang Shi Wang Bi, he followed Cao Cao as early as when Cao Cao raised troops in Chenliu.

After Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, he was granted the title of king. Later, Cao Cao ordered the king to go to Luoyang as an envoy. After making outstanding achievements, he moved to the chief register and fought with the army. Cao Cao captured Lu Bu in Xiapi. Not only did Liu Bei want to kill Lu Bu, but the king also wanted to do so. Advise Cao Cao to kill Lu Bu.

After following Cao Cao for decades, Wang Bi had no talent or talent, but he was more loyal. This is why after Cao Cao moved his base camp north to Yecheng, Wang Bize took charge of Xuchang affairs.

Sima Yi shook his head and said: "Ji Ben, Geng Ji and others were just a mob. Although they planned carefully, they acted laxly. At dawn, everyone dispersed and were defeated by Wang Changshi. The emperor lived in the palace, safe and sound. Ran Shang There are more people hiding in Xuchang City without being noticed."

Cao Cao sneered a few times and said: "It seems that there should be many people in Xuchang City who are interested in helping the rebels."

Pacing with his hands behind his back, Cao Cao was extremely annoyed with Liu Xie, a hot potato.

Although this strategy of "holding the emperor's hand to command the princes" is a good one, it has advantages and disadvantages.

In the early years, he accumulated fame by welcoming the emperor, sweeping Yanyu, and many sages rushed to join him, thus increasing his strength.

During the Battle of Guandu, he was able to wrestle with Yuan Shao who occupied Hebei. Thanks to the emperor, he used diplomatic means to win over the Kansai generals and block the Bingzhou offensive.

However, as he unified the north and formed a confrontation between the north and the south with Liu Bei, the emperor gradually became a hot potato.

Cao Cao wanted to imitate Wang Mang and replace the Han Dynasty by becoming a duke and king. However, when he reached Queen Wei, he hesitated, not knowing whether to go down.

Today, the rebellion started by Ji Ben, Geng Ji, and Jin Yi in Xuchang seems to be pushing him forward. If he does not replace the Han Dynasty, his Wei Kingdom will be dominated by the Han Dynasty for a long time. No matter how much he tried to appease people's hearts, the ignorant officials might think that the world was still owned by the Han Dynasty.

"Please, Your Majesty, calm down!"

Sun Quan seemed to see Cao Cao's troubles and said: "Ji, Geng, Jin and others rebelled. Most of them were powerful kings who controlled Xuchang with few people, and the Han Emperor lived in Xuchang for a long time. The Han Emperor had been kind to him for a long time, and it was inevitable that there would be people who had no ambitions. Even outsiders, deliberately rebelling.”

"The current strategy is for your Majesty to take the opportunity to completely eradicate those who are deliberately evil to prevent another rebellion in Xuchang. If you invite the officials of Xuchang into Ye City and secretly investigate whether any of them are involved in this conspiracy, they will not be caught. Wang Changshi observed. Although this strategy does not cure the root cause, it can cure the symptoms."

Cao Cao glanced at Sun Quan and said calmly: "If you want to cure the root cause, how should you do it?"

Sun Quan bowed his head and said: "The Han Dynasty is in decline, and with the help of the king, the world can be settled. However, the Emperor of Han does not recognize the kindness of the king, and often wants to conspire with foreign ministers to murder the king. Now if we want to eradicate the rebellion of the unruly people, we can only Your Majesty obeys the mandate of Heaven and implements the virtuous government of the three generations."

Compared with the previous two verbal objections, Cao Cao was silent and thoughtful this time.

What Sun Quan said revealed the essence of the current situation. It is not that there are many loyal Han people, but that Liu Xie is the emperor and rules the world legally. Even if he is a puppet, he is still the emperor. In order to get rid of Liu Xie's influence, he had no choice but to abandon his hometown of Xuchang as the political center and chose Yecheng as the foundation.

Liu Xie is in Xuchang. No matter how much Cao Cao monitors him, Liu Xie can extend his favor, plan the big pie, and attract others to join him. In other words, if Liu Xie does not die, there will be rebellions in the future.

Replacing the Han Dynasty and stripping Liu Xie of the emperor's cloak may be the only way to eradicate the rebellion in the name of the 'emperor'.

While pacing, Cao Cao suddenly asked: "How is Huo Jun doing now?"

"Inform your Majesty, Huo Jun takes Jiang Qian's head and sends it to Wuhan together with the Huainan King's Seal to show Liu Bei that he has no intention of rebellion. Afterwards, Liu Bei recruited Huo Jun to Wuhan, granted him the title of Recorder, and kept him in Wuhan. The military and political affairs of Jianghuai are ruled by Deputy Governor Pang, who also serves as the governor of Xuzhou." Sima Yi replied.

Huo Jun rejected the Huainan king and offered Liu Bei a strategy to defeat Wei. Liu Bei reciprocated his kindness by making Huo Yi and Liu Chan a brother-in-law, ensuring the future prosperity of the Huo family. However, the above things are secret matters, in order to achieve the strategic intention of confusing Cao Cao.

The next day, Liu Bei issued a royal order to let Huo Jun step down from the post of governor of Xuzhou and grant him the title of minister. He stayed in Beijing to lead the central government with Fazheng, Zhuge Liang and others, which showed that Liu Bei was afraid of Huo Jun.

"Record the affairs of the minister and stay in Wuhan to govern the country."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and sneered, "I wonder if Huo Jun regrets it now?"

As he said this, Cao Cao shook his head regretfully and said, "If Huo Jun accepts the title of King of Huainan and raises his troops to rebel against Liu, then great things will happen!"

In Cao Cao's current eyes, Huo Jun undoubtedly made a wrong choice.

He dominated the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers, ruled all the people, and granted kingdoms and territories without any choice; but he chose to show his loyalty to Liu Bei, and now he was jealous of him and had his military power reduced, which really made him want to laugh.

"Your Majesty, although Huo Jun did not rebel, he made Liu Bei suspicious of Huo Jun, reduced his military power, and stayed in Beijing." Sun Quan said: "The most important thing now is to put an end to the Xuchang Rebellion."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and thought, and said: "As Zhongmou intended, I will recruit officials from Xuchang to go north to Yecheng to see if there are any Ji, Jin, and other party members there."

"correct!"

Cao Cao thought of something and said: "The king will be loyal to the affairs of the state, put down the rebellion, and give him money and silk. Let him live well and recuperate, and he will be of great use."

"promise!"

Sun Quan listened thoughtfully to Cao Cao's deployment.

After the rebellion of Ji, Jin, Geng and others, Cao Cao should now be thinking of proclaiming himself emperor. The strategy planned by himself and Cao Pi may be implemented.

"Your Majesty, Pei Daijun has returned to Ye to report on his duties." The attendant reported.

"Xuan!"

Cao Cao sat back on the couch, resting his hands on the table with a kind expression. The attendant also took the opportunity to pick up the brush he had thrown away and replaced it with a brand new one.

Although there was a history of the Xuchang Rebellion, Cao Cao now felt a lot more relieved because of the rift between Liu and Huo.

After a while, Pei Qian walked into the hall, bowed and said, "I, my lord, pay my respects to the king!"

Cao Cao smiled and said: "Three years ago, Dai County was in chaos, so I gave you a big responsibility. After Qing rectified it at the age of three, Dai Dai County was in peace, and I was very relieved."

As he spoke, Cao Cao changed his voice and asked: "I heard from the planners that when you governed Daijun, you treated the people with generosity and punished the barbarians with severe punishments. I wonder if this is the case?"

Three years ago, Wuhuan was rampant in Dai County. Cao Cao wanted to launch a large army and asked Pei Qian for his opinion. Pei Qian said that Wuhuan of Daijun had no intention of rebellion yet, and now he should use strategies to resolve the rebellion in Daijun.

Pei Qian rode into Dai County to appease Wuhuan Chanyu and persuade him. Chanyu was pleasantly surprised and returned the property and population to Daijun. After appeasing the Wuhuan Chanyu, Pei Qian executed more than ten people including Hao Wen and Guo Duan who had colluded with the Wuhuan people to intimidate Daijun.

In the meantime, Pei Qian knew that Wuhuan was powerful and did not dare to condone it with loose policies. Instead, he adopted harsh punishments. Once a foreigner broke the law, Pei Qian would never show mercy.

After three years of rectification, the atmosphere of Dai County has been greatly changed. Seeing Pei Qian's outstanding achievements, Cao Cao also recalled Pei Qian to Yecheng and wanted to appoint him as prime minister to manage Cao Cao.

Pei Qian was neither humble nor arrogant. He raised his hands and replied, "Your Majesty, this is indeed true."

"I treat the people leniently, because the people are harassed by the barbarians and many are poor, so I treat them leniently. I treat the barbarians harshly, because the barbarians are unruly and unruly and often disturb the people, so I impose strict laws to control their hearts. . If you treat the Hu people generously and indulge their ambitions, the Hu people will definitely disturb the people. When the county officials send troops to stop them, the Hu people will rebel!"

As he spoke, Pei Qian spoke seriously and said: "In my humble opinion, I believe that if the successors govern the county unbalanced and fail to distinguish between leniency and strictness, and Wuhuan's power becomes difficult to contain, then there will be a rebellion in Daijun."

Cao Cao frowned, disapproving of Pei Qian's subsequent words, thinking that Pei Qian was justifying the political methods of Han Kuan and Hu Yan who governed Daijun.

His face gradually calmed down, and Cao Cao said: "What the planner said may be biased. You have made great achievements in running the county, appeasing the Han and Hu, and it took three years to achieve success. There is still a shortage of Cao Cao in the Prime Minister's Palace, and you can take over the post. "

"promise!"

Seeing that Cao Cao didn't believe what he said, Pei Qian didn't argue too much. Time will tell everything. After all, the situation in Daijun is too complicated to be explained clearly in a few words.

Daijun Wuhuan is powerful and has colluded with Xianbei Kebineng and others in recent years. How can it be solved so easily.

(End of this chapter)