Chapter 50 Chapter Eight Power in Hand

From the end of the Battle of Guandu in the fifth year of Jian'an (200) to the eleventh year of Jian'an (206), six years have passed in a flash. After continuous fighting, Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Bingzhou among the four northern states have all been included in Cao Cao's sphere of influence. Only the northern part of Youzhou is under the actual control of Gongsundu. Gongsun Du took advantage of the successive years of melee in the mainland to expand his power in the Liaodong Peninsula and the Northeast. ), also had a considerable scale, and it was meaningless to be a prefect. He simply created a new state, named Pingzhou, and he served as Pingzhou Shepherd, and at the same time he called himself Marquis of Liaodong.

Gongsun Du also sent people across the Bohai Sea to the Shandong Peninsula, occupied a part of the area, and set up a new state there, called Yingzhou, and appointed the governor of Yingzhou. Although Gongsun Du, thousands of miles away, has actually become another emperor and is doing rebellious activities every day, Cao Cao has no plans to send troops to attack him now.In Cao Cao's list of opponents, separatist warlords like Gongsun Du who are far away in the sky can be ranked at the bottom. In the ninth year of Jian'an (204), Cao Cao appointed the fifty-five-year-old Gongsun Du as General Wuwei in the name of Emperor Xian, and granted him the title of Marquis of Yongning Township.Gongsundu accepted Cao Cao's appointment and no longer mentioned his Pingzhou and Yingzhou to the outside world, but the actual control area remained unchanged.

Gongsun Du has two sons named Gongsun Kang and Gongsun Gong.In the year when Cao Cao appointed Gongsun Du as General Wuwei, Gongsun Du died, and his son Gongsun Kang succeeded to the throne. The court appointed him as the prefect of Liaodong County, and actually controlled the territory left by Gongsun Du. In any case, at this time, the entire area north of the Yellow River, except for the ethnic minorities outside the Great Wall, has all been included in the territory of the "Cao Tong District".The Yizhou area on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River was occupied by Liu Zhang, the area between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River was occupied by Cao Cao, Liu Biao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei respectively, and the area south of the Yangtze River was occupied by Liu Biao, Sun Quan and others.

This is the general trend of the world after Cao Cao pacified the state in the eleventh year of Jian'an (206). Compared with ten years ago, the current situation is clearer and simpler, because in these ten years, Tao Qian, Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shu, Sun Ce, Yuan Shao Waiting for people to pass away one after another, the weak are eliminated, and the strong are stronger. For Cao Cao, this is the result of the hard work of the soldiers. Since Jiwu started his army, there have been battles almost every day, and hundreds of people have died in every battle. The victory is hard-won, and the credit should be To everyone.After the general situation in the north was initially determined, Cao Cao ordered that the families and orphans of the dead soldiers be given compensation, and rewards were given to the meritorious soldiers.

When Cao Cao started his army, he was General Fenwu, barely considered the commander of a miscellaneous army. At that time, the backbone was only Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahouyuan, and Xiahou. Their identities were Sima or other Sima under General Fenwu. Similar to the leader.Later, as the size of the army became larger and more generals joined, Cao Jun's organizational system also underwent great changes. By the time of the Battle of Guandu, Xiahou and the others had been promoted to generals of various titles at the level of army commander, or school lieutenants at the level of division commander. Among them, Xiahou served as General Jianwu, which can be regarded as a major general; He is the Captain of the Superintendent, so he can be regarded as a senior colonel; Cao Hong was first Captain of Yingyang, and later served as General of Yangwu Zhonglang, so he can be regarded as a brigadier general and deputy commander; Cao Chun commanded the tiger and leopard cavalry, the specific military position is unknown, it should be Captain level.Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu, the younger generation of the Cao family, are both "tiger and leopard cavalry guards", that is, officers in the tiger and leopard cavalry troops.

The Cao and Xiahou brothers have made rapid progress, but compared to other generals with different surnames, they are still slow. Before and after the Battle of Guandu, Yu Jin and others had already been promoted to generals, side generals, and benevolent generals. Generals, Zhang and Xu Huang are partial generals. The positions they hold can be regarded as army commanders or deputy army commanders.Xu Chu, who has a lower rank, is also a school lieutenant, so he can be regarded as a division commander. These circumstances show that the status of the brothers Cao and Xiahou in the Cao army is not the highest, at least it is still the case now.Their promotion speed is no faster than that of other generals with different surnames, and they are even slightly behind.

Cao Cao's employment strategy has always been highly praised by later generations. One of them is that rewards and punishments are clearly defined. There is usually a strict military merit assessment and registration system. Randomness in job promotion. In the eleventh year of Jian'an (206), Cao Cao returned to Xu County from Huguan to evaluate the contributions of the generals before and after the battle of Guandu. It turned out that Yu Jin, Le Jin and Zhang Liao had the greatest contribution.Cao Cao presented the emperor and commended the three of them. Cao Cao said in the commendation order:

"Yue Jin, Yu Jin, and Zhang Liao are powerful in force, well-planned, dedicated and loyal, with integrity and righteousness. Every time they face the enemy, they take the lead (often as the supervisor when they face an attack), and sometimes they personally beat the drums to help the battle. Without them An unbreakable formation. Every time they are sent out to fight, they resolutely carry out their orders, appease the soldiers, and make decisive decisions when things happen, and they have never made any mistakes.” So Yu Jin was promoted to General Huwei, Le Jin to General Zhechong, and Zhang Liao to General Dangkou.

In addition to these generals, the counselors also contributed a lot, and the one who contributed the most was naturally Xun. As early as the eighth year of Jian'an (203), Cao Cao wrote a letter to the emperor to present Xun as the Marquis of Long Live Pavilion based on the merits of Xun and his predecessors.Cao Cao wrote in his memorial to Emperor Xian: "Servant and Shang Shuling Xun, accumulated virtues and deeds, from childhood to adulthood, there was no fault (no regrets for young adults), encountered troubled times, but embraced loyalty, and strived to create peace. I began to raise righteous soldiers and conquered everywhere, and Xun Xun Work together to help the court plan, and the suggestions he put forward are not unsuccessful after being put into practice (speaking and giving advice, nothing is not effective). With Xun's merits, I was able to succeed, just like the sun and the moon are revealed when the clouds are removed. After His Majesty arrived in Xu County, Xun was in a very important position by His Majesty's side. He was loyal and dedicated, and no matter what he handled, he was accurate and precise. Now the world is peaceful, it is Xun's credit, and he should be awarded a high title. In recognition of the meritorious service he has established (it is appropriate to enjoy the high title, to honor the meritorious service)."

But Xun resolutely refused. He was the secretary-general of the imperial court (Shang Shuling), and the relevant documents needed to be passed on from him. Cao Cao had no choice but to write a letter to Xun, saying: "Since working with you, the establishment of the imperial court has been assisted by you, sir. You have helped to make suggestions and make suggestions. You have made many achievements. I hope you will not refuse." After repeated persuasion, Xun finally Only then would he accept it. Soon after, Cao Cao praised Xun You's achievements, saying, "Since Xun You, the military commander, began to assist me, it was Xun You's idea to obey without any conquest, and to defeat the enemy before and after."

The reason why Xun resolutely resigned was because being a marquis usually requires military merits, and killing the enemy on the battlefield is usually the most direct condition, but it is usually difficult for literati to be a marquis.Generally speaking, the title of Marquis is not based on position and status. Even if a person with a high position reaches the Sangong, it is difficult to be a Marquis without special achievements. If a person with a low position has a special contribution, he can also be a Marquis.Xun believed that he had no "field battle merit" and was not worthy of the title of Marquis. Among Cao Ying's military generals, Le Jin was named Marquis earlier. In the battle of Yongqiu that defeated Zhang Chao, he was the first to climb to the top of the city (climbed first), so he was named Guangchang Tinghou.Later, Yu Jin made outstanding contributions in the battle of Zhangxiu, and was granted the title of Marquis of Yishouting.Zhang Guandu's defection on the front line accelerated Yuan Shao's demise, and he was named Dutinghou.Among the Cao and Xiahou brothers, it seems that only Xiahou was granted the title of Marquis earlier. It was when Emperor Xian first arrived in Xu County. There is another person who is in a special situation, and he is Xu Huang.Xu Huang was originally Yang Feng's subordinate. When Emperor Xian passed through Anyi on his way back from the east, Yang Feng made great contributions in escorting him.In addition to the above-mentioned few, Zhang Liao, Le Jin, and the other brothers of the Cao family and Xiahou family have not yet been granted the title of Marquis. In February of the twelfth year of Jian'an (207), Cao Cao played a tribute to the emperor in Ye County, and awarded more than 20 meritorious officials, all of whom were named Liehou, and the rest were also graded and rewarded.Cao Cao said in the order: "In the past, Zhao She and Dou Ying were generals, and they were rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold, and all of them were given to their subordinates within a day, so they were able to accomplish great things and leave a lasting impression. I can't be wrong when I read such an article. They developed admiration. I fought together with the generals and scholar-bureaucrats, and relied on everyone's unstinting efforts to quell the dangers and quell the chaos. I was rewarded by the court. So I want to take out the rent and tax of the fief and distribute it to the soldiers to reward everyone for their contributions. The orphans of the dead soldiers should also be graded and distributed to the rented grain. Give it your all and share it with everyone.” The list of more than 20 people who were conferred this time is unknown. According to the available information, Cao Chun's Gaoling Tinghou and Zhang Liao's Dutinghou were all conferred this time. Presumably other military generals with outstanding military exploits were also conferred. Hou.In addition to military commanders, at least Guo Jia, among the counselors, also received the title of Marquis this time, and he was given the title of Marquis of Weiyang Ting. When Xun was granted the title of Marquis of Long Live Ting, there were 1,000 households in Shiyi. This time, another 1,000 households were added, making a total of 2,000 households.Cao Cao once again recalled Xun’s contribution in the memorial to the emperor, saying that he encouraged himself to persist in fighting during the Battle of Guandu; after the Battle of Guandu, he wanted to conquer Liu Biao first, but he decided to march north only after Xun’s correct analysis and judgment. Jizhou.Cao Cao believed that if Xun's two important suggestions were not followed at that time, the situation would be completely unimaginable. These two suggestions of Xun's "survive with death, and bring good fortune with disaster" are beyond his own reach. Xun was humble again, and Cao Cao wrote to him many times, asking him not to refuse.Cao Cao even wanted Xun to be the third prince, but Xun asked Xun You to come forward and decline. It took more than ten times before Cao Cao gave up this idea.In this big seal, Xiahou, who had already been named the Marquis of Gao'an Township, was granted 1,800 households in Shiyi based on the merits of Xinli, bringing the total to 2,500 households.Xun You, who had already been granted the title of Marquis of Lingshuting, added another 400 households in Shiyi, making a total of 700 households.