Chapter 34 Chapter 34 The Great Patriot Zhao Bao

Among them are ten bad eunuchs who have harmed the country and the people, known as the "Ten Permanent Attendants", everyone is familiar with it, and Zhao Zhong is one of them.The Zhao Bao and Zhao Zhong to be mentioned here are cousins, but he is very different from his cousin. Zhao Bao lived in the era of Emperor Han Ling in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.At that time, relatives and eunuchs took turns to control the government, making a mess of the court; the emperor was drunk and dreamed of death, selling his officials and nobles, enjoying the last crazy feast; The Xianbei, Wuhuan and other nomadic peoples in China are also coveting the precarious Han Dynasty.

Zhao Bao, whose name is Weihao, was born in Dongwu City, Ganling (now Qinghe, Hebei, at the junction of Wucheng and Xiajin, Shandong). Yi, filial piety to his parents, became famous in the village, and was recommended as filial piety by the governor of the state and county.There was no imperial examination system in the Eastern Han Dynasty. If scholars want to enter the official career, there are two ways to go: promote filial piety or promote Maocai (that is, the scholar we are familiar with. talent).Soon, the imperial court sent Zhao Bao to Guangling (now Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province) as the county magistrate. He could finally benefit the people, be loyal to the country, and display his lofty ambitions.

Zhao Bao's cousin, Zhao Zhong, was already one of the leaders of the "Ten Standing Attendants" trusted by Emperor Han Ling at that time, responsible for handling the imperial documents and conveying the emperor's edicts.He and another great eunuch, Zhang Rang, worked hand in hand, controlled the government, and played tricks on the fatuous emperor. Many officials fawned on the "ten permanent servants" for fear of not being able to catch up, but Zhao Bao, who was clean and self-sufficient, felt that Zhao Zhong's success was the work of the Zhao family. It is a great shame and humiliation. Not only does it not flatter and flatter, but it is also ashamed to associate with Zhao Zhong.

However, gold always shines, even at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty when the world was in chaos.During his six-year tenure in Guangling, Zhao Bao was upright and clean-sleeved, and was deeply loved by the people. However, in Guangling, the politics and education were clear, and the people were rich and prosperous.Zhao Bao's political achievements were affirmed by the court, and he was promoted to the prefect of Liaoxi County in the sixth year of Xiping (AD 177). Compared with the Qin Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty, the area of ​​Liaoxi County in the Eastern Han Dynasty has shrunk greatly, because the northeast of the original Liaoxi County was taken by the emerging Wuhuan regime, while the southeast was established as a vassal state of Liaodong.After Zhao Bao took office, he actively repaired the city, trained soldiers, reclaimed the land, and appeased the people. The whole western Liaoning showed the momentum of unity and hatred, and the Xianbei and other foreign hunting peoples no longer dared to invade easily.

The chief of the Xianbei tribe knew that he had encountered a tough nut to crack, so he began to put aside Yangmou and play tricks, and put his mind on the people around Zhao Bao. According to the bureaucratic system of the Eastern Han Dynasty, local officials could bring relatives and family members to live with them in the second year after they took office.Unfortunately, when Zhao Bao sent people to his hometown to pick up his mother and wife, the news reached the ears of the enemy chiefs, so they set up a sinister and vicious plot. In December of that winter, Zhao Bao's mother and wife arrived in Liucheng (now Changli, Hebei) not far from Yangle City (the seat of Liaoxi County Government) in a carriage.At this time, a group of Xianbei cavalry suddenly appeared and took Zhao Bao's relatives away with lightning speed.Chief Xianbei, who succeeded in the plot, was overjoyed, laughed wildly, and immediately ordered Zhao Bao's mother and wife to be taken hostage to attack Yangle City.

Zhao Bao led 20,000 soldiers out of the city to confront the Xianbei people, but he never expected that his mother and wife had fallen into the hands of the enemy.The Xianbei people pushed Zhao Bao's relatives to the front of the battle, threatening the mother and yelling at the son to persuade him to surrender.Seeing his mother being tied up, Zhao Bao couldn't help feeling like a knife was twisting his heart, and all his internal organs were burned. Suddenly he cheered up and said to his mother loudly: "There is no shape for a son. I want to support the day and night with a small salary. I don't want to do harm to the mother. I used to be a mother and son. Now as a king and minister, righteousness should not consider personal favors or destroy loyalty, but if ten thousand people die, there is no crime." Zhao Bao's mother knew the righteousness, and shouted to her son from a distance: "Weihao! Everyone has his own. Fate, why care about each other, in order to lose loyalty! In the past, the mother of the king's mausoleum used her sword against the Han to strengthen his will and encourage him!" Afterwards, Zhao Bao ordered an attack with tears in his eyes.Chief Xianbei originally thought that Zhao Bao, a filial son, would bow his head and surrender in order to save his mother's life, so he was not prepared to fight. Therefore, the Xianbei people couldn't stand the charge of the Eastern Han soldiers at all, and suddenly fell into chaos, retreated one after another, and fled all the way to Yanshan Yi Bei dared to stop and catch his breath.The distraught chief Xianbei killed Zhao Bao's mother and wife on the way to escape.

After repelling the enemy, Zhao Bao, distraught, buried the corpses of his relatives and wept blood to pay homage.Then, he played this chapter to the court, asking permission to escort the coffins of his mother and wife back to his hometown.Although Emperor Han Ling was fatuous, he was deeply moved by the deeds of Zhao Bao's mother and son. He sent envoys to express his condolences, and issued an imperial edict to confer Zhao Bao the title of Marquis of Qi (Qi, an ancient place name, near Xiajin, Shandong today). After Zhao Bao returned to his hometown for the funeral, he said sadly to the villagers: "If an official who eats the state's salary evades his duties because of self-interest, he is not loyal, and if he sacrifices his mother to preserve his loyalty and integrity, he is not filial. , My mother died for me, I feel very guilty, what face is there to live in this world?" In the following days, Zhao Bao, who was overly sad, vomited blood non-stop, and finally passed away due to exhaustion.

The tragic experience of Zhao Bao’s devotion to his family and his life for filial piety not only made those present weep and those who heard it sigh, but we who read it two thousand years later are also heart-stirring, with tears in our eyes and unable to control ourselves.