Chapter 14 first quarter

At the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion, crowds of onlookers gathered in front of the merit list. Seeking merit list to recommend yourself to prefect Xu Du, the deadline is ten days, and it will end at noon today.It was nearly noon, and no one announced the list, and this matter has become the talk of the town in Xudu.It is said that the six departments have also posted a list of seeking talents, but no one has released the list.All states and counties also issued lists of seeking talents, and several times a day they reported to Xudu with urgent express reports, but no one had released the list until now.This is the last hour of the last day, and the second school lieutenant general Li Dian and Xu Chu supervised the list.Li Dian stood solemnly on the left with his sword in his hand, with a big drum standing beside him, holding a mallet in his hand. As long as someone revealed the list, he would immediately beat the drum and go up to the hall to be interviewed by Prime Minister Cao.Xu Chu stood solemnly on the right with his sword in hand, and beside him stood a few small officials holding gongs and cymbals. He waited until the middle of noon and heard the horn to announce the time.Close to the imperial palace, in the yamen of the Ministry of Duty, some people are monitoring the clepsydra timing, some people are staring at the sun shadow on the sundial, and several horn players are standing by with their horns.Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty also paced back and forth in the palace, looking at the sunlight outside the palace from time to time, and sometimes simply walked outside the palace, looking anxiously at the shadow of the flagpole in the courtyard.Huang Fu came to report from time to time: "So far, I have not heard of drumming to enter the hall." "So far, I have not received the report of revealing the list." It will arrive as soon as it sounds. If no one reveals the list at that time, the person surnamed Cao will have to resign as prime minister." Han Xiandi said: "Who dares to reveal his harsh conditions?"

Yilang, Zhao Yan, and Kong Rong, the acting prefect of Xu Du who had not been dismissed, passed by the prime minister's mansion one by one in an open chariot.Kong Rong asked, "What is Mr. Zhao Yan doing here?" Zhao Yan said, "Someone recommended himself to be the prefect of Xudu. I, Dr. Zhu Guanglu, and Dr. Jianyi can supervise his administration in the future and have something to do. Kong Rong What do you want me to do here?" Kong Rong said, "Someone has passed the self-recommendation, and I, the deputy prefect, can go and be quiet." Zhao Yan asked loudly through the crowd: "General Li Dian, there is no one yet. Reveal the list?" Li Dian stood still, and replied: "If someone exposes it, he will beat the drums and ascend the hall." Zhao Yan asked again: "General Xu Chu, is it time for the gold to be accepted?" Xu Chu glanced at him and said: "The horn at noon If it rings, it will win the list immediately."

Guo Jia and Xun You came to the Prime Minister's Mansion in the same sedan chair.They looked at the crowd of onlookers and the high-hanging merit list.Guo Jia asked: "Has anyone revealed the list yet?" Li Dian stood still and replied: "If someone reveals the list, he will come up to the hall to be interviewed by the prime minister." Order, the 10-day deadline for the list of meritorious talents will be called and the list will be accepted; now we only have to wait for the horn to be called at noon." Guo Jia and Xun You looked at each other and hurried to the prime minister's residence.

In the prime minister's mansion, Cao Cao was pacing up and down in the lobby. Bai Shao sat beside her in a simple suit. Cao Cao stopped and said, "I have given you the post of Chief Registrar of the Prime Minister's Mansion. You are responsible for receiving documents and participating in confidential documents. You are a companion on the inside, and you have an official position on the outside. You don't have to avoid people when they come. Take a look at the military and political affairs in this day-to-day first." It's important, talk to me and you'll have something to talk about." Bai Shao said nothing.Cao Cao went on to say: "I have just told you the reason for seeking the merit list, and the consequences depend on the last moment. I have issued a military order to the emperor at the court, and no one has revealed the list, or someone has revealed the list and passed me personally. When I was interviewed, Xu Du was a prefect, but after a year, Xu Du did not achieve great governance, so I will resign as prime minister." Bai Shao said, "Why is the prime minister doing this?" Cao Cao said, "Although I can be said to be resourceful, I still do things well. Never hesitate to think about it over and over again. In the past when Dong Zhuo usurped the country, the courtiers repeatedly discussed and discussed without any results. I said this is something that can be done by one person with one knife. Then he ran away. Later, the princes from all walks of life joined forces to attack Dong Zhuo. Yuan Shao and other powerful people stayed put. I led a lone army to attack Dong Zhuo, regardless of victory or defeat. You see today, I am a lone army who does not care about victory or defeat. When the central government becomes bigger, they can only support each other in a corner. It is up to people to plan things, and it is up to God to make things happen. If God wants to help me, I can accomplish things. If God does not help, I will not think much about it. This is like this. It’s like granting you an official position, but you hesitate.” Bai Shao said: “There are not many young girls who hold official positions in ancient times.” Cao Cao said: “In ancient times, I dared to be the first without me.”

Xun You and Guo Jia hurried in, and Xun You said loudly, "Prime Minister—" When he saw Bai Shao sitting beside him like a fairy, both he and Guo Jia were stunned for a moment, wondering if they should avoid it.Cao Cao said: "I have appointed Bai Shao as the head of the Xiangfu to participate in military and political discussions. You don't have to avoid it in the future." Then Xun You reported: "I want to report to the Prime Minister, and I will be here at noon. Why don't you postpone it to the end at noon? A little bit more time, it's not a foul." Cao Cao said: "Why do you choose noon for major decisions, including going out for a large army, and using torture and beheading?" '. Breaking prisons and sending sentences refers to major decisions, including the appointment of ministers, including the execution of prisoners. The Feng hexagram is the hexagram of noon, and the hexagram says, "Fengheng, the king is false, don't worry, it's best to be in the middle of the day." Cao Cao said: " Confucius also said in the Feng Gua that "the sun will be dizzy at the middle of the day, and the moon will be weak when it is full". Unveil the list before you pass the middle, once you pass the time limit, you won't take it." Xun You said: "The prime minister's move is too risky. During this conversation, it may be in the middle of noon. When the horn is sounded, the prime minister is true. He resigned from the position of prime minister?" Cao Cao said: "Survival after falling into death, survival after throwing into death, this has always been the way of using troops. What is there to be afraid of?" There is a clepsydra dripping water on one side of the hall, Xun You, Guo Jia After looking at it, he said eagerly: "Prime Minister, how about one of us to unveil the list and recommend ourselves?"

Cao Cao said: "Tell me, what are your plans for unveiling the list, and what are your requirements?" Guo Jiadao: "I don't ask for anything else." Cao Cao shook his head and said, "The two military advisers are resourceful and can be teachers of kings, but it's hard to be the prefect of a county, especially the prefect of Xudu. You can't pass the interview even if you reveal the list " Cao Cao pointed to a sealed gold-inlaid red sandalwood box on the table and said: "I just asked you what your plans are and what requirements you have. If you agree, you can pass the interview." Xun You said: "Government is impartial. When it breaks, it breaks." Cao Cao shook his head, put his hand on the wooden box and said, "It doesn't conform to the seal inside." Guo Jia and Xun You looked at each other.

Bai Shao watched the scene. Guo Jia went to the side and looked at the clepsydra again: "Master, even if no one recommends himself, I don't think you will be able to resign as a prime minister. Everyone will definitely not agree, and the emperor may not dare not to follow everyone's wishes." Cao Cao said: "How can I Can you lose your trust in the world?" Li Dian and Xu Chu were still standing on the left and right with their swords under the list of seeking talents hanging high outside the prime minister's mansion. They looked at the shadow of the flagpole in front of the mansion, and they also showed anxiety.The drummer standing upright under the big drum drooped his head and prepared to put away the drumsticks, and the soldiers who mingled gold began to prepare to mingjin at any time.At this time, Cao Pi galloped up, got off his horse, and split the crowd of onlookers like splitting waves.In the distance, the horn of the Yamen on Duty Office sounded to announce noon, and the soldiers who mingjin raised their gongs and cymbals were ready to mingjin to accept the list. Cao Pi shouted: "Wait a minute!"Cao Pi rolled up the list in his hand, and said: "You two generals, Pi is on his way to reveal the list!" Seeing this, Li Dian took the drumstick from the drummer and beat the drum himself.

Horns sounded in the distance, drums sounded nearby.Cao Pi rushed into the prime minister's mansion with big strides. Cao Pi bowed in front of Cao Cao: "My lord—no, my lord, Prime Minister, Cao Pi revealed the list and came to interview." Cao Cao twitched his beard and smiled: "Get up and talk." Cao Pi found Bai Shao when he got up, and he was a little embarrassed immediately.Cao Cao said: "Bai Shao is already the head of the prime minister's house, in charge of documents, and also involved in secrets. Of course, he is not as good as your young general in war. You can ask her for advice on poetry and books." Bai Shao looked at Cao Pi calmly with a smile .Cao Pi cupped his hands and said: "Please give me more advice in the future." Then he said to Cao Cao: "Pi reveals the list to take the exam, please ask the Prime Minister for an interview." Cao Cao looked at Xun You and Guo Jia on the left and right, and said: "I have asked them just now. Plan, what are your requirements?" Pointing to the gold-encrusted red sandalwood box on the table, he said: "The sealed clauses in the said box can only be passed, and if they don't, they can't." Cao Pi said: "Pi has been thinking about it for ten days. The rule of Xudu. If someone reveals the list within ten days, Pi will not compete for the first place. If no one reveals the list within ten days, or if someone reveals it and has not passed an interview, Pi will be the last to reveal the list." Cao Cao said: "This remark can be omitted. Talk." Cao Pi said: "It's easy for Xu to be a prefect, not to be corrupt and pervert the law, and to be clean and honest. To maintain the situation without seeking merit but seeking no faults, all you need is a little bit of cleanliness. But you must be like the prime minister on the list. The so-called "great governance within a year" is really not an easy task. It is not easy to make great efforts to govern, appoint people on their merits, enforce the law impartially, make overall plans and take care of everything, and stop when it is time to stop. But it is not like ordinary counties, where the royal relatives, courtiers and famous families gather. There are so many officials in the capital and they are not under the supervision of the eunuch, and various forces hinder each other. It is also a time of war, and it is really more difficult to govern Xudu according to the law."

Cao Cao had been listening expressionlessly, and now he said, "It's difficult, so what list is there?" Cao Pi said: "Ren Pi is the prefect of Xudu, and Pi has an extra request." Cao Cao's eyes lit up: "What can I ask for?" "Pi asked to work part-time in the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Punishment. To govern Xudu, it is easy to be close to the people and difficult to govern the officials. It is difficult to truly be close to the people and care for the people without governing the officials." Cao Cao leaned back and smiled, pointed at the gold-encrusted red sandalwood box and said, "Open the seal and have a look."

Cao Pi looked at the wooden box sealed with a red paper seal, but did not dare to do anything.Cao Cao signaled that Guo Jia came up to unseal, opened the wooden box, took out a sealed letter from inside, unsealed it again, took out a piece of paper from it, opened it, and wrote a few big characters: "Those who require weight can be appointed." Guo Jia Unfold it for Cao Pi to see.Cao Pi immediately kowtowed to Cao Cao: "The prime minister is wise." Cao Cao said: "I am not letting you work part-time in the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Punishment, but I am planning to appoint you as the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and the prefect of Xudu. If there is a Beijing official under the rule of Xudu If you break the law, you can be dealt with within the scope of the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Punishment, and Xudu. This matter can be handled after the emperor requests an order from the upper court. Get up."

Cao Cao asked Cao Pi to get up, and at the same time got up and paced.He said to Xun You, Guo Jia, Cao Pi, and Bai Shao: "We are still conquering the world, and the four directions have not yet been pacified. In Xudu and other counties, we must rule the world first. Xudu waits for the conquered world to be cured." In the unconquered world, the hearts of the people will be favored, and the enemy army will be invincible, and there is no need to worry about being defeated. But now if Xudu is to be cured, Xudu's prefect must be weighted. Only those who really understand the current situation will make this request, and only Only those who make this request can be truly competent." Guo Jia and Xun You nodded in agreement.Bai Shao watched Cao Cao speak with great interest.Cao Cao went on to say: "A single virtuous person does not avoid enemies, and an isolated virtuous person does not avoid relatives. Today, if you plan to use Cao Pi, you will not avoid relatives. Using Cao Pi is a last resort, because the risk is too great. If you do not do well, you will offend everyone. A large number of high-ranking officials will also hurt themselves and their father." Cao Pi hurriedly said: "I understand, I am really frightened when I reveal the list." Cao Cao said: "I will resign as prime minister at the worst, take off this black hat, and leave it behind. Just don’t let go of the military power.” He turned his head and asked Bai Shao: “You just told me why, I still say the same thing, think through everything, make up your mind, and you don’t have to hesitate. It is the biggest problem in human life. Well, do you know what Gu is going to say?" Before the four of them answered, he picked up the writing brush on the table and said, "You all turn around and avoid it. For a moment, I want to write a few words secretly." Xun You, Guo Jia, and Cao Pi all turned their backs. Bai Shao thought it was funny and smiled, and turned around. Cao Cao wrote a few more words on the piece of paper that said "Those who require power can be appointed", folded it and pressed it under the red sandalwood box, and then said: "Turn around, and tell me in turn what I want next." What are you talking about?" Cao Pi shook his head, Xun You and Guo Jia thought about it and shook their heads too, not knowing what Cao Cao was going to say. Cao Cao finally looked at Bai Shao: "What about you?" Bai Shao smiled disapprovingly: "The beloved son is going to go to war, and the father will of course have to teach the opportunity face to face!" Cao Cao stared at Bai Shao: "Think again, what do you want to say?" .” Bai Shao said: “It’s only human nature.” Cao Cao leaned back and smiled.Xun You, Guo Jia, and Cao Pi didn't know why.Cao Cao instructed Cao Pi: "Take a look at what words are written for father?" Cao Pi looked at Cao Cao suspiciously, picked up the red sandalwood box, took out the pressed paper, and opened it. The four words added on it were "face to face". Opportunity".This time it was Cao Pi, Xun You, and Guo Jia's turn to be amazed.The three of them have admiration for Bai Shao.Cao Cao pointed at Xun You and Guo Jia with a smile and said: "In the past, I used to say that you are my confidant, and now she is also—" Cao Cao pointed at Bai Shao and before he finished speaking, Xun You continued, "It is a confidant of my confidants." The cheerleader laughed happily.He said: "I appointed her as the chief secretary of the prime minister's mansion, not on cronyism, but on merit." Bai Shao smiled and said nothing. Cao Cao stopped laughing, and said to Cao Pi, "I was just about to teach you how to do it face to face. Did you see this?" Cao Cao walked to a corner of the lobby, where a large scale was hanging, weighing a stone of rice steadily.Several people surrounded Cao Cao.Cao Cao firmly grasped the scale hammer, and stabilized the scale beam, and said: "Scale hammer, the ancients called it 'Quan', the power of power. First there is the 'Quan' of the scale hammer, and then there is the 'Quan' of power. The name of "power" is the foundation. To understand power, authority, power, and strategy, you must know how to use power. Tracing back to the source, you must understand how to grasp the "power" of a weighing hammer. Although a weighing hammer is small, it can weigh a thousand catties. This is The key to power. A single person can command thousands of troops because of power. To call the world by power is to weigh. Balance is the fundamental method of using power.” As he said, Cao Cao moved the scale hammer left and right with one hand, and supported the scale beam with the other hand , demonstrated: "to the left, the beam of the scale is tilted up, and the world symbolized by the stone rice falls off, and the weight of the scale is overthrown; when the beam of the scale is lowered to the right, the weight of the scale will slip off, and the world will immediately fall. Power must be balanced. It is not appropriate to go too far to the left or too far to the right. It is necessary to have a balance between the left and the right. In governing the country, the usage must be strict, but not too strict. You must not be in a hurry, but you must not be too hasty. You must be slow, but you must not be too slow. righteous." Cao Pi nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand." Cao Cao moved the scale hammer left and right to the right point, held the scale beam steadily, let go and left, and continued to say to Cao Pi while pacing to the seat: "Using power is to weigh the world. If there is a slight difference here, the world will be peaceful, or the world will be turned upside down." Inclination, so we must be cautious and cautious. It is also like deciding everything when it is necessary to be decisive, and it must not be overdone. Hold the middle way." Cao Cao sat down, paused, and said: "Currently, the most difficult thing is to deal with officials, rich people, corruption and perversion of the law. This matter must be done with care. The first thing is to catch major cases and not to disperse the troops. The so-called "there are Jia Zhe heads" , to catch the bandit is ugly', that is, to capture the thief first, to capture the king. Second, we must prioritize, break through each, and kill one by one. Some cases are in the hands, and there is no rush to deal with them. We will talk about them later, and some will go all out to solve them to the end. This is called There is a priority in annihilating the enemy. Third, law enforcement must be treated equally.” Cao Pi said: “Officials are not big or small, and those who break the law must be dealt with.” Cao Cao shook his head: “It’s more than that. , or my cronies break the law, you must deal with it according to the law. To establish authority first establish this authority. Only by enforcing justice is it enough to convince the world." Cao Pi said: "Observe." Cao Cao took out a golden arrow from the Taiwan case and handed it to Cao Pi: "I'll hand over this golden arrow to you, which general will take him because of his relatives' favor and disobedience to the rule of law." Cao Pi immediately accepted it: "Pi obeyed." Cao Cao squinted his eyes and thought for a while, then turned to look at Xun You and Guo Jia on the left and right: "What do you two military advisers say?" Xun You said, "I have seen the prime minister's incisive discussion of power." Guo Jia said: "I have seen the prime minister's proper use of power. "Cao Cao snorted: "It's not flattery, I only see flattery." He asked Bai Shao again: "Where is the master?" The love of the calf." Cao Cao was greatly moved when he heard it: "You always speak out of the ordinary." Cao Cao said and patted Cao Pi on the shoulder: "Son, it's easy to do it yourself, this fact is not easy." Cao Pi couldn't help but pay attention to Bai Shao again. Xun You said to Cao Pi: "According to the proposal of the court, there will be Yushi, Doctor Guanglu, Doctor Jianyi, Yilang and others to supervise the prefect of Xudu to be in power. It's really difficult to be punished heavily." Cao Cao stopped the conversation with a wave of his hand: "Stop singing and sighing three times, what do you think I'm going to say next?" Xun You and Guo Jia thought about it again.Bai Shao said: "Prime Minister always checks left and right like this, isn't it too tiring?" Cao Cao laughed and said, "You can 'reveal the list and take the test' if you can guess it. Now you can't guess it and say that the 'list' is unreasonable?" Xun You laughed and said: "Now there is someone who dares to tease the prime minister." Bai Shao said: "I dare to tease because I am justified." Cao Cao nodded and said: "She is indeed reasonable and restrained, I can't repeat the same. I want to ask the two military advisors , Now there are a lot of affairs in the government and the public, and the ups and downs are so high, what do you see and teach?" Xun You said: "The emperor recognizes Liu Bei as his uncle, and he has given a banquet in the palace for a long time in secret, I am afraid it will not benefit the lord. Although Taiwei Yang Biao accepted the birthday gift of the lord Afterwards, I thanked him many times, but in fact I still have close contacts with Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. Yilang Zhao Yan went around spreading rumors about the lord's monopoly, and also had various activities of forming a party for personal gain, these lords must be investigated." Cao Cao said: "Liu Bei is now the emperor's uncle. I take the edict of the emperor, and he dare not disobey him. If he stays in Xudu, although his name is close to the emperor, he is actually within my control. Why should I be afraid? But Yang Biao Marriage with Yuan Shu's family, if Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao are the two Yuans, it will do a lot of harm. I have already said that when it is time to celebrate birthdays and give gifts, when it is time to celebrate birthdays, give gifts, and when it is time to watch, watch them. Don't take it lightly. Righteousness must kill itself." Guo Jia remonstrated: "My lord's prestige is growing, and the signboard of dedicating the emperor is not very useful. Why don't you do things yourself? Abolish the emperor, and you can't keep the world going." Cao Cao shook his head and said: "The Han orthodox The trend is still there, and this matter should not be acted rashly. There are so many people in the court that it is difficult to see at a glance." He pondered for a while: "It is the winter hunting season, I will invite the emperor to hunt, and all the officials and schools will go out together. In this field hunt, everyone Show your temperament, and we can watch the action." Guo Jia said, "Prime Minister, this is a good plan." Cao Cao said to Cao Pi, "You can practice riding and shooting more these two days." Cao Pi said, "Yes." Cao Cao said to Bai Shao Said: "You can also take a look at it, the Tianzi field hunting scene is huge, it is rare to see." Bai Shao said: "I am not good at riding a horse, let alone archery." Cao Cao said: "It is easy to handle, just take a car. "Guo Jia said: "Field hunting, except for the empress and imperial concubine who ride on the sidelines, none of the civil and military officials bring their family members." To record the great events of the dynasty." Cao Cao said to Bai Shao again: "You can also see the demeanor of the emperor who wants you to accompany him in the palace, and you can be considered a generation of romance." Bai Shao looked at Cao Cao intriguingly.