Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 422 Sitting alone in the fire is evil!

Yecheng, under the Tongque Tower, by the Zhangshui River.

In the name of rewarding Xuchang's ministers, Cao Cao summoned them to the Tongque Tower.

Wei soldiers wore armor and held spears, stood under the banner, and tightly controlled the surroundings of the Tongque Tower.

Dozens of Xuchang officials stood under the Tongque Tower. Seeing that King Cao Cao of Wei had not shown up for a long time, he looked worried. They were whispering to each other and seemed to be chatting about something.

"The King of Wei summoned us to Yecheng and promised to hold a banquet to entertain us. Is it possible that there is fraud?" Du Xi's face was hard to calm down and he said: "Is it because Ji Ben, Wei Huang, Geng Ji and others are plotting to rebel? Is there still a remnant party in the country who would like to investigate further?"

Scanning the vigilant Wei soldiers around him, Wei Heng sighed slightly and said: "Ji, Geng, Wei and others rebelled and attacked Chang Shi Wang Bi at night. Wang Bi was seriously injured and fled to Jin Yi's house at night. Because of the darkness, he found out Jin Yi rebelled, so he escaped."

"Like that Jin Yi Ying He, because of the darkness of the night, there are countless people covered. The king will be seriously injured and die. In the anger of the king, Ying He and the remaining party will be held accountable. After all, the current turmoil in Xuchang is mostly caused by our Guanzhong gentry. , this will be tabooed by the King of Wei."

"I hope the King of Wei really means to reward me, instead of pursuing the Xuchang rebellion in the name of hosting a banquet," Wei Heng said.

Du Xi was silent for a while and suddenly asked: "As you said, have you had any contact with Gibbon?"

Wei Heng shook his head and said, "I stay behind closed doors all year round, how can I contact Ji Ben and Wei Huang?"

After saying that, Wei Heng glanced at Du Xi and said, "You should be careful to avoid being slandered by villains."

Du Xi clenched his hands and sighed secretly.

When there was a fire at the city gate of Xuchang, he once had some members of his tribe secretly help Ji, Geng and others in the name of putting out the fire. Unfortunately, these few people were part of a mob. Those who participated in the turmoil did not see Wang Bi until dawn when they saw it. Because they had not captured Wang Bi, they all left in fear, leading to the failure of the uprising. .

"If I had known what happened, I would not have allowed Cao Cao to enter the capital!" Du Xi secretly regretted it.

When Liu Xie was welcomed by Cao Cao, he was not the emperor of the Han Dynasty without soldiers and power, but the emperor of the Han Dynasty with certain rights. He had many soldiers on hand, as well as hundreds of civil and military officials who followed Liu Xie.

It was just that the locust plague was severe at that time, there was no grain, and Liu Xie had no food. In addition, he lacked authority, which caused the soldiers to become unruly and bully the ministers and ministers. Even so, Liu Gong, as the emperor of the Han Dynasty, still had relative rights.

As for why Cao Cao could welcome Liu Xie, it was because of the common needs of both parties inside and outside.

In addition to the lack of food, Yang Feng and Han Xian, who were escorting the emperor, also interfered with the government's affairs. The civil and military officials around Liu Xie were unwilling to accept the status quo. Seeing that they could not expel Yang and Han, they wanted to introduce new forces to regain their own rights.

At that time, Cao Cao had just fallen out with Yuan Shao and expelled Lu Bu from Yanzhou. Its own power is weak, and the area it can control is only Jiyin, Chenliu, Shanyang, Renguo, Chen and other counties, rather than controlling the two states of Yan and Henan as everyone thinks.

In order to strengthen himself and have enough chips to compete with Yuan Shao who occupied Hebei, Cao Cao adopted Dong Zhao's advice and contacted people from Liang and Peixiang in the court, so that he could enter Luoyang and welcome Liu Xie.

The man was affectionate and the concubine was interested, and the two parties hit it off immediately. Liu Xie and Cao Cao formed a short-term alliance. From the first year of Jian'an to the third year of Jian'an, in two or three years, thanks to Liu Xie's emperor's signature, Cao Cao's power expanded rapidly, defeated Yuan Shu, captured Lu Bu defeated Liu Biao and accepted Duan Xuan.

Three years later, because Cao Cao's power expanded and he showed the appearance of a powerful minister, Liu Xie's forces could not bear it anymore and decided to rebel. That is, represented by Dong Cheng, Wang Zifu, Zhong Ji and others, they took out edicts to attack Cao Cao.

The Yidaizhao coup was aborted, and it became clear that Xuchang no longer had the power to resist Cao Cao. However, secretly there were Han officials, mainly Guanzhong gentry. They were frustrated and had no real power, so they gradually united. Such as Fufeng Geng family, Jingzhao Jin family, Feng Yiji family, Jingzhao Wei family, etc.

The officials of Xuchang discussed it for a long time in a nervous mood. After an unknown amount of time, Cao Cao, dressed in civilian clothes, walked up the steps and appeared in front of everyone, surrounded by warriors.

"quiet!"

Xu Chu stood in front of Cao Cao with his sword in hand, his anger dropped from his Dantian, and he shouted loudly.

"The King of Wei is here!"

Hearing this, the officials in Xuchang fell silent and looked at Cao Cao, who was not tall but had an intimidating aura, with eyes that were either hostile, flattering or indifferent.

I don't know who took the lead, but all officials in Xuchang saluted Cao Cao.

Cao Cao put his hand on the hilt of his sword and scanned everyone present with his eyes that seemed to be able to see through everyone's hearts.

After a while, Cao Cao's stern expression relaxed slightly, showing a kind expression, and said: "Ji Ben, Geng Ji, Wei Huang and others led their servants to rebel and burned the city of Xuchang. It was only with the help of the ministers that the king, Shi Pingji, and others could be defeated. Geng and other thieves rebelled, and all the ministers have worked hard."

"In recent years, thanks to the favor of the emperor, I have been granted the title of King of Wei, mostly in Yecheng. The affairs of Xuchang are solely the responsibility of the ministers. Now I am taking the opportunity of pacifying the chaos in Xuchang to recruit the ministers to Yecheng. This is to set up a plan The banquet is to serve you well, and I hope that all your guests will return home after enjoying themselves."

"Thank you, King Wei!"

Seeing that Cao Cao seemed to have no intention of pursuing Ji and Geng's rebellion, the officials in Xuchang let out a sigh of relief, and those officials like Jin Yi who responded secretly also let go of their uneasiness.

Turning around and going up the stairs, Cao Cao winked at Sun Quan.

Sun Quan, who understood Cao Cao's intention, took a step forward and said with a smile: "Ji and Geng rebelled in Xuchang, and sometimes the city was burned. According to Wang Changshi, many officials sent out their servants that night to attack the thieves and put out the fire. Today The king thinks that meritorious deeds should be rewarded, and wants to reward those who send servants to attack thieves and put out fires."

"Those who attack thieves and put out fires stand under the red flag; those who shut themselves up and do nothing, stand under the white flag."

As he spoke, Sun Quan emphasized and said: "Although your Majesty does not want to observe carefully, I hope that your ministers will choose their flags based on their merits and not falsely report their merits."

"This~"

Looking at Cao Cao who was drifting away, many ministers in Xuchang were confused and talked to each other, not knowing what to choose.

Wei Heng consciously stood on the side of the white flag. There was chaos in Xuchang that night. He stayed behind closed doors to protect himself and did not participate in the rebellion of Ji and Geng.

As for why he didn't choose the red flag to show that he had achieved merit that night, Wei Heng felt it was unnecessary. It's just a reward of money, and even Cao Cao is gone. There is not much meaning in standing on the side of the red flag. And standing under the banner, wouldn't it make people laugh if it was known that he did not fight the thieves and put out the fire?

Wei Heng was happy with his choice, but Du Xi was hesitant. That night there was a rebellion, and Du Xi had his servants take part in it, but now he does not belong to any side. In order not to arouse Cao Cao's suspicion, and to better match the servant's confession, Du Xi chose to side with Hong Qi.

Within a few breaths, the officials of Xuchang each stood under the red and white flags. However, they saw that there were only a few people standing under the red flag and many people standing under the white flag.

The Han officials standing under the white flag include Zong Zheng Liu Ai, Da Sinong Wang Yi, Wei Wei Han Bin and other high-ranking officials who had communicated with Cao Cao in the early years.

Seeing the red and white flags clearly distinguishable, Sun Quan's smile became even brighter.

After a while, the attendant sent by Cao Cao came down the steps and issued an order: "Those who stand under the white flag have been ordered by the King of Wei to come to the stage to attend the banquet."

"promise!"

Liu Ai, Wang Yi, Han Bin and others led the Xuchang ministers, arranged them neatly, and slowly stepped onto the stage.

After a while, in the eyes of the red flag Hanchen, Sun Quan showed his white teeth and said: "According to the king's order, all the red flag banners will be taken down and handed over to the school officials for interrogation."

"what?"

Du Xi's expression changed drastically, and now he had woken up.

Cao Cao did not want to reward them, but in the name of rewarding those who attacked thieves and put out fires, in fact, he wanted to find people like Jin Yi who secretly helped Xuchang's rebellion.

After all, if you think about it with your toes, you will know that there were more than a thousand rebels in Xuchang that night. The total number of servants and servants from those three or four families could not reach more than a thousand, and there must be other nobles secretly assisting them.

The situation that night was complicated, and normal people would hide at home. Only those who had planned in advance dared to go out to help.

Of course, there were people who really helped Cao Cao attack the thieves and put out the fire. Before Wang Bi died of illness, he submitted a list of two or three people who really helped Cao Cao.

The school officials interrogated the Red Flag officials, and most of the people who helped Cao Cao went through a process. Those who were not on the king's list would be interrogated strictly to find out those who participated in the rebellion.

As for what is school affairs?

It is an intelligence department under Cao Cao, such as the Jinyiwei of Ming Dynasty, which is Cao Cao's minions and is specially used to arrest those who violate laws and disciplines. For example, at that time, Cao Cao ordered a ban on alcohol. Xu Miao drank secretly and was investigated by the school officials. Fortunately, Xian Yufu persuaded Cao Cao to spare Xu Miao.

When Gai or knew that he would not be able to escape, Du Xi cursed loudly: "The traitor Cao hates Ji Ben for being incompetent and not able to gather people. If it were me instead, Liu Bei would have already entered Xuchang'er!"

"Snapped!"

The school official Zhao Da hit Du Xi hard on the face with the scabbard, causing his mouth to bleed instantly and the pain made Du Xi speechless.

Jia Xu looked at the scene happening in the audience and sighed in his heart.

Although the King of Wei was prosperous in both civil and military affairs, his achievements were even greater than those of the Zhongxia Dynasty, and he was powerful all over the world. But it is a pity that he advocates deceit and power, officials are afraid of his power, and the people are afraid of his power, and do not cherish his virtue.

The current situation is probably because the King of Wei is seeking for his own satisfaction and cannot blame others. Although it is good to hold the emperor hostage to command the princes, if you do not surrender to the princes, you will be devoured by the emperor.

In a daze, Jia Xu couldn't help but think of the Battle of Chrysostom ten years ago. He advised Cao Cao not to rush to fight. If Cao Cao followed his advice, he would seize Jingchu in the south, bestow officials and nobles, and care for the people; he would pacify Bashu in the west, surrender Liu Zhang, and gather the strength of Yizhou.

The Southern Territories surrendered, just like Liu Xiu ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, and then eradicated Gongsun Shu's approach. Hundreds of thousands of troops were sent to attack Wu Chu. Even if ten Huo Juns, Han Xin and Bai Qi were alive, they would not be able to change the overall situation. However, Cao Cao, who was eager for success, had to use his own shortcomings to compete with the other's strengths, and suffered a major defeat.

One wrong step, one wrong step!

Today, in order to eradicate loyal Han officials, political means are repeatedly used to persecute them, which is really hard to say.

Sighs are sighs, but things in this world can no longer be overturned.

Helping Cao Cao become emperor is now an important matter, and it depends on Cao Pi taking the lead.

On the Tongque Stage, the group of officials under the red flag were arrested by school officials, which frightened the Xuchang officials who came to the stage to have a banquet. Most of them were in panic. On the contrary, Cao Cao looked gentle and encouraged everyone to have a banquet and drink wine without being affected at all.

Holding the wine bottle, Cao Cao sighed and said: "Since Emperor Ling's surrender, the Han Dynasty has declined, and the chaotic party has monopolized power. I only follow the emperor's orders to conquer the bandits from all directions and restore peace to China. How can there be traitors and evildoers?"

"Your Majesty, forgive Hong for your courage. Since Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, thieves have appeared in droves, Dong Zhuo has disrupted the government, and the country has been wiped out. As of now, all it has is its name. Fortunately, with the help of your Majesty, China can be safe. However, the Han Emperor brutally destroyed the country. A hero does not have the appearance of a wise king."

Cao Hong stood up from the table and said: "Hong and the other officers in the army stole the throne and became the king. Now I am willing to recommend the king to serve the three generations, obey the heaven and the people, and succeed to the throne as emperor."

Hearing this, Cao Cao became furious and said, "These words are the words of Wujun. I remember your outstanding military exploits in the past, so I should retreat as soon as possible."

"Your Majesty!"

Chen Qun stood up from the table and said sincerely: "Gongsun Yuan surrendered, and the Western Regions surrendered. Since the end of the Han Dynasty, China has been lucky enough to have a great king, so it has the peace it has today. The prophecy said, 'The Han Dynasty is exhausted, and the Huang family will be prosperous'. Today There are seven out of every ten people in the world. Your Majesty, you should obey Heaven’s orders and ascend to the throne of the Emperor!”

The officials from Xuchang were stunned when they saw this scene. It turned out that Cao Cao had called them here because he wanted to take the opportunity to proclaim himself emperor.

Cao Cao put down the wine bottle and said dissatisfiedly: "You princes, you want to sit alone on the fire?"

After speaking, Cao Cao turned around and left, leaving behind all the ministers on the Tongque Platform.

(End of this chapter)