The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

The reply was written by Cao Cao.

In his reply, Cao Cao first praised Xun Zhen greatly, expressed his admiration for Xun Zhen's courage to be loyal and not afraid of life and death, and then briefly recounted the comments of Luoyang scholars on Xun Zhen's arrest and extermination of Ye Zhao. All the upright scholar-bureaucrats, scholars, and imperial students all praised him. Although Xun Zhen had never been to Luoyang once, his reputation in Luoyang was unique for a while.

After that, Cao Cao briefly introduced the current political situation in Luoyang.

Since March of this year, after the court restored the state shepherd due to Liu Yanzhi's petition, so far three state shepherds have been worshipped, one is Liu Yan, the one is Yizhou shepherd, the other is Huang Wan, the other is Yuzhou shepherd, and the other is It was Liu Yu, worshipped as the shepherd of Youzhou.

The position of "shepherd" has a long history. It is said that when Shun set the world into twelve states, he established the state shepherd, also known as the state uncle. During the Xia Dynasty, the world was divided into nine states, and there were also state shepherds, as in Shun time.

After entering the former Han Dynasty, there was no such position. In the three years of the former Han Dynasty, Emperor Huidi began to dispatch the censors to monitor the three assistants, and later set up censorship censors in all states. It was set up again, and then in the fifth year of Yuanfeng, the provincial governor was set up. This was the beginning of the establishment of the post of state governor. The prefect ignores the military and politics, and only takes the responsibility of assassinating and inspecting the state.

After Emperor Wu, in the eighth year of Emperor Suihe's reign, Da Sikong He Wu and Prime Minister Zhai Fangjin jointly presented a performance, saying that "the meaning of "Spring and Autumn" is to use the noble to overcome the lowly, not the humble to respect the respect", but now the prefect's rank is only 600 stone, "the position of the emperor". The doctor was sent, and the two thousand stones were approached." This is "the order of severity is inconsistent, and the order of the ranks is lost." Therefore, he petitioned the emperor, asking "to stop the governor and replace the state shepherd, in order to comply with the ancient system", and won the emperor's license.

Although the proposal of He Wu and Zhai Fangjin is actually just to change the name of the prefect to the state shepherd and raise the rank salary to 2,000 stone, the actual position has not changed, but from the perspective of centralization, this proposal by the two of them But it was a big mistake. Precisely because the governor has the power to supervise the two thousand stone prefects, the power is too great, so he should not be given a high rank, "to control the heavy with the light, and respect the humble", this is the balance of the court, and the governor has the weight. , and then give it a high rank, then who will restrict the governor in the local area?

So just two years later, in the second year of Emperor Ai's construction of Ping, the court changed the state shepherd to the prefect because of Zhu Bo's petition, but within a few years, Emperor Ai collapsed, Emperor Ping ascended the throne, the Queen Mother came to the dynasty, and Wang Mang took control. After the administration of the state, Wang Mang was fond of ancient times, so he changed the governor to the state shepherd.

In the former Han Dynasty, the governor and the governor of the state changed each other several times, but whether it was the governor of the governor or the governor, the only difference was the rank and salary, and there was no obvious difference in power and position.

Guangwu Zhongxing, established this dynasty. Guang Wuxiong is very talented and shrewd in political affairs, and naturally he will not do stupid things, so he abolished the system of state shepherds, changed to imitate Emperor Wu, and reset the state governors in twelve states except Sili, while Yu Sili installed Sili Colonel. After this change, the prefect has not changed again. Until March this year, due to Liu Yan's petition, the imperial court restored the state shepherd.

It seems that the imperial court has a "story" to rely on in changing the governor to the state shepherd this time, and it is imitating the story of the former Han Dynasty - the Han Dynasty attaches great importance to "story". There have been similar things before, so the implementation is "reasonable" and "evidence", and the resistance will not be too great, but, unlike the previous Han Dynasty's several times when the governor changed the state, this time the governor is different. After changing the state shepherd, the state shepherd had real military and political power in the state, and the state ministry changed from a "supervision area" to an "administrative area".

The state shepherd has real power, mounts the horse to manage the army, dismounts to manage the government, the state department becomes an administrative area, and the prefects of each county must obey the orders, and because the state shepherd has high rank and weight, only the court officials can be the state shepherd, such as The three people who came out as state shepherds this year are all originally Jiuqing, Liu Yan and Liu Yu, and they are clansmen, so you can imagine that after the state shepherd arrives at the state department, his prestige must also be high. In this way, if it is short-lived The implementation may not bring too much influence and bad consequences, but if it is implemented for a long time, it is tantamount to planting the seeds of local separatism.

The emperor probably knew about this, so two of the three state ministers he appointed this year were from the clan. Although Huang Wan was not a clan, he was a son of the clan. , but it's just a waste of time. Sun Jian and Huan Jie were nothing, but Xun Zhen knew that, with the development of the current situation, the power of the state and herdsmen would eventually become uncontrollable, and the imperial court became useless.

Cao Cao did not comment on the court's "prefectural shepherd's establishment" this time, but because Xun Zhen was from Yuzhou, he specifically said a few words about Huang Wan, who was the shepherd of Yuzhou. 's court.

He first mentioned Jian Shuo, He Jin, and Yuan Shao.

The emperor trusted Jian Shuo, thinking that the marshal, the superintendent, the clerk and the captain, although the general He Jin was also under his subordinates, but He Jin was the general after all, and Yuan Shao and others were reunited around him, Jian Shuo still Fearing him, he was worried that he would be detrimental to him, so he and the permanent servants jointly suggested that the emperor send He Jin to the west to attack Bianzhang and Han Sui.

After listening to them, the emperor gave He Jin a hundred chariots, a tiger and an axe, and planned to send him to lead the troops out of the capital. He Jin got a secret message, knowing that this was a conspiracy of Jian Shuo and Chang Shi, so he asked Yuan Shaodong to attack the rebellion in Xuzhou and Yanzhou, saying that when Yuan Shao returned, he would send troops.

This incident happened not long ago. Therefore, Yuan Shao just left the capital and is not in Luoyang, so this letter was written by Cao Cao.

When Cao Cao wrote this paragraph, he cryptically wrote: The reason why Jian Shuo persuaded the emperor to send He into and out of the capital, and the emperor agreed, was not just because He Jin, Yuan Shao, etc. had conflicts with the eunuchs, but the deeper reason was the involvement of the eunuchs. When it comes to who is to be the crown prince.

Liu Bian, who was born by Empress He, was the eldest son and should be made the crown prince, but the emperor did not like him. There is a pet, He Jin also holds great power, so the emperor is hesitant.

The emperor took Jian Shuo as the marshal, and although He Jin was a great general, he also belonged to Jian Shuo. On the one hand, it was because the emperor trusted Jian Shuo, but on the other hand, it was also because the emperor did not want Liu Bian to be the crown prince, so he was unwilling to give it to him. He Jin had too much military power to avoid changes in the future, and this time when Jian Shuo and others said it, the emperor agreed to send He into and out of the capital, which was also for this reason.

——Now the political situation in Luoyang is really complicated. There are political struggles between scholar-bureaucrats and eunuchs, and there are also disputes between "crown princes". He Jin, as Liu Bian's uncle, got close to Yuan Shao and other scholars and dug into the depths, and there was no helplessness in it. Although Xun Zhen had never been to Luoyang, he knew from the letters from Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others, and some words from the people sent to Luoyang to inquire about the news, that the brothers He Jin and He Miao were at odds, and He Jin tended to be a scholar. People, He Miao tended to be eunuchs. The reason why Empress He was favored and became empress was because of the power of eunuchs. Therefore, He Miao has always opposed He Jin and Yuan Shao and other scholars getting too close, but not forming alliances with scholars. , what can He Jin do? The eunuchs such as Jian Shuo, who are trusted by the emperor, will of course obey the emperor's wishes for their own interests and support the establishment of Liu Xie as the crown prince. strength.

On the one hand, it is necessary to borrow the strength of the important scholars to ensure that Liu Bian can be established as the crown prince, and on the other hand, he feels that He Miao's words are good. The power of the imperial court will be monopolized by the scholars.

Because of this, He Jin is actually quite contradictory, and Xun Zhen, who is thousands of miles away, can only feel his hesitation in the letters from Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, etc. and some things he has heard.

Having said about He Jin, Yuan Shao, and Jian Shuo, Cao Cao also mentioned the optimistic thing about the next emperor's military parade in Yuping.

From Cao Cao's letter, Xun Zhen knew that the emperor's military parade was optimistic but because of He Jin's petition. He Jin's Sima Xuliang and fake Sima Wudang said to He Jin, "The Six Taos of Taigong said: The emperor's general military affairs can be intimidating to the Quartet." He Jin thought Of course, he entered the emperor, and the emperor called soldiers from all directions, and taught martial arts in a peaceful and optimistic manner.

Then, Cao Cao said something about Bao Hong and Zhao Jin.

Bao Hong was a junior commander of the Eighth Commander of Xiyuan, and was only under Jian Shuo and Yuan Shao. Zhao Jin was the subordinate of Jianshuo, the captain of the upper military academy, and was the Sima of the other divisions of the upper military. When Cao Cao was writing the letter, Bao Hong was sent by the imperial court to Runan to attack Gepi Yellow Turban, and Zhao Jin was sent to pacify the rebellion of the Banzhen barbarians in Ba County. Zhao Jin belonged to Jian Shuo, while Bao Hong belonged to Yuan Shao.

Because he couldn't transfer He Jin out of the capital, Jian Shuo asked the emperor again to attack Yuan Shao's party.

The eight candidates for the Eighth Commander of the West Garden are the result of a balance between the scholar-officers and the eunuchs. There are eunuchs and scholar-officers. In contrast, the scholar-officers have the upper hand, such as Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Bao Hong, Zhao Rong, Chunyu Qiong and others were all scholars. Although Jian Shuo was a captain of the army and commanded the other seven captains, only Feng Fang was the only **** with him. Feng Fang was the deceased long-time attendant and general of chariots and cavalry. Cao Jie's son-in-law, so, in order to further control the military power, Jian Shuo asked the emperor to send Bao Hong out of Beijing to fight the chaos.

As a balance, at the request of the scholar-officials, he also dispatched his other Sima Zhao Jin to attack the rebellion in Berkshire.

Yuan Shao's party suffered a loss in this matter. Bao Hong was a lieutenant in the army, and Zhao Jin was only a commander of a certain department. There is no need to say more. Yuan Shao was first sent to fight the rebellions in Yanzhou and Xuzhou, and Bao Hong was sent out of the capital. The three captains, upper, middle, and lower, were only left in the capital by Jian Shuo, without Yuan Shao and Bao Hong in front of them. Cao Cao, the fourth-ranked captain of the Dianjun Army, was the first to feel the pressure, not to mention that Cao Cao and Jian Shuo still had a grudge. When Cao Cao was the northern captain of Luoyang, he was young and vigorous. When Jian Shuo's uncle Jian Tu died, Cao Cao's life in the West Garden was quite difficult, but fortunately, he came from a family of eunuchs, and his father was trusted and loved by the emperor. to persecute and persecute him.

Next, Cao Cao mentioned Gaixun in the letter.

Before Yuan Shao left the capital, he befriended Gai Xu. Gai Xun said to Yuan Shao, "The Son of Heaven is smart, but he has disadvantages in his left and right ears. If we work together to punish the fortunate, and then recruit the handsome, to promote the Han Dynasty, and then retreat, wouldn't it be happy!" But he was congenial, Not long after entering the capital, he formed a party with Yuan Shao and others. Xun Zhen had heard of Gai Xun in Fu Xie's letter, and Gai Xun had also heard of Xun Zhen from Fu Xie's mouth. After Xun Zhen's arrest and annihilation of Ye Zhao came to the capital, quite a few people in Yuan Shao's party were surprised and shocked. After Gai Xun found out, he disapproved and said something to Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others, saying: "Although I and Xunhou have never met before. We met and heard his name for a long time, so the prefect of Hanyang, Fu Gong, paid great attention to Marquis Xun, and repeatedly told me that Marquis Xun was a handsome, loyal and righteous man, and now Marquis Xun has captured Ye Zhao, why is it surprising?"

Cao Cao sighed in the letter and said: "Qing and Yuan Gusu do not know each other, but Yuan Gu knows Qing, is this the friendship of ancient gods?"

At the end of the letter, Cao Cao said to Xun Zhen, "Now that Duke Huang is the shepherd of Yuzhou, you don't have to worry about your clan and hometown." Ying Yin Ling all greeted them and asked them to take care of the Xun clan, and finally mentioned: "Xiangyang Cai Degui, a nobleman in Jingzhou, I am a friend of mine, I do not have the letter to give Degui, and I will give you the honor, and you will be in Changsha. If you don’t like it, you can go for it.”

The "Degui" in Cai Degui is obviously a word~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Xun Zhen doesn't know who this person is, but with Cao Cao's meticulousness, since he dared to tell this person about Xun Zhen's stay in Changsha, he dared to tell Xun Zhen about it. Zhen said, "If you are not satisfied in Changsha, you can rely on it", then this person must be reliable.

In the whole letter, Cao Cao said a lot of things, but not a word about Xun Zhen's future.

Although Cao Cao wanted to exonerate Xun Zhen, he had nothing to do with Zhao Zhong in front of him. He had nothing to say about Xun Zhen's future. And because Cao Cao knew that Xun Zhen had always been open-minded and generous, he would not care about this, so there was no word of comfort for him in the letter.

Although Cao Cao's letter did not mention Xun Zhen's future future, but as he expected, Xun Zhen did not care about it at all.

Xun Zhen knew the direction of history, so why should she worry about her own future?

Although the court battles in Luoyang are fierce now, due to the emperor's reign, it is far from the time to see the poor. The situation, the struggle between the scholar-officers and the eunuchs is gradually intensifying. It should not exceed the year after the next year at the latest. In short, it will be a maximum of another year or two. Just wait until today's Zibeng, and when He Jin and Yuan Shao summon the princes and heroes from all over the world to enter the capital. , he Xun Zhenzhi, this "temporarily dormant Qianlong" can leap into the sky.