Chapter 6 6. Occupy Gangneung

Liu Bei changed his route and turned to Xiakou, Cao Cao decided not to pursue him, because he was still thinking about Jiangling. Jiangling's current name is Jingzhou City, but it used to be called Shashi City.Now, the most famous cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River are Wuhan Three Towns, Yichang, etc., but at that time the most famous city was Jiangling. The geographical location here is important. It is located in the west of the Jianghan Plain, bordering the Yangtze River in the south, bordering the Hanshui River in the north, controlling Bashu in the west, and connecting Hunan and Guangdong in the south. It was called "the thoroughfare of seven provinces" in ancient times.After Liu Biao occupied Jingzhou, he used its convenient water transport conditions to build a military logistics base here, which was also Liu Biao's naval base.

Cao Cao led the tiger and leopard cavalry to Jiangling, but there was no battle. Liu Biao's generals Cai Mao and Zhang Yun accepted Liu Cong's order and led their troops to surrender.Cao Cao decided not to return to Xiangyang for the time being, but to rest here.The follow-up troops of Cao Jun continued to come in a steady stream, and this became the temporary base of Cao Jun going south. Liu Biao's navy has been in operation for many years, with thousands of large and small ships, and more than 30,000 main force of the navy, all of which are now included in the establishment of Cao's army.Cao Cao recalled the hardships of practicing the navy in Xuanwu Pond at the beginning of the year, facing the vast river and the mighty ships of all kinds, he couldn't help feeling a lot of emotion.

Cao Cao ordered that Cai Hao and Zhang Yun still command the navy, firstly out of trust in the surrendered generals in Jingzhou, so that they should not be suspicious, and secondly, there were really no generals under Cao Cao who were familiar with the affairs of the navy. At this time, it was already late autumn, and Yecheng in the north had already passed the autumn season, and the weather was slowly turning cold.Although the temperature along the Yangtze River is hotter, the year will pass in a blink of an eye. This is the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), and it is an out-and-out eventful year.

Cao Cao began to deal with the affairs of Jingzhou in Jiangling. The first order he issued was to appoint Liu Cong as the governor of Qingzhou and to be named Liehou.How to deal with Liu Cong, the former Jingzhou old people are waiting and watching, he must make an explanation as soon as possible. Cao Cao's idea was that Liu and his son had been in Jingzhou for too long and had far-reaching influence. Even if Liu Cong had no idea himself, it was inevitable that someone like Wang Wei would appear at some time and pull Liu Cong to rebel.Therefore, the best way is to get Liu Cong away from Jingzhou.Of course, the governor of Qingzhou is an empty post, and Liu Cong will not have any real power. Changing from governor of Jingzhou to governor of Qingzhou has not changed much in name.

Cao Cao thought that Liu Cong would accept it, but Liu Cong was not interested in taking up the post in Qingzhou, and more importantly, he had no sense of security. He would rather stay with Cao Cao, and it didn't matter whether he was an official or not.So Liu Cong wrote a letter to Cao Cao to express his thoughts, and Cao Cao ordered Liu Cong to be reassigned as an admonishing doctor. At this time, the admonishing doctor is even more idle, but he is higher in rank than the governor of the state.For this reason, Cao Cao also issued a special order to inform the soldiers and civilians of Jingzhou.

Liu Congkong's post of governor of Jingzhou was very important. Theoretically, the post should be held by Cao Cao's old department. This person had better be a civil servant and familiar with military and political affairs. At the same time, he was deeply trusted by Cao Cao and had considerable qualifications.At present, there are at least a few people around Cao Cao who meet these conditions. For example, Dong Zhao is one of the ideal candidates. But the governor of Jingzhou chosen by Cao Cao was unknown. His name was Li Li. According to history books, he was from Zhuojun and his character was Jianxian.

Looking back, Che Zhou, Shan Jing and others who were appointed by Cao Cao as governors of Xuzhou before were also very inconspicuous.In Cao Cao's eyes, assassination may not be an important role, but the appointment of Li Li still surprised many people. According to the records of "Five Elements of the Later Han Dynasty", in the folk songs sung in Jingzhou at that time, there was "I don't want Li Li to be Nobility" sentence. In the name of Emperor Xian, Cao Cao conferred the title of marquis on 15 people including Kuai Yue, in recognition of their contribution to the cause of "peaceful liberation" in Jingzhou.The specific list of these fifteen people is unknown, but besides Kuai Yue, it is conjectured that Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, Han Song, Wenpin, Zhang Xi and others should all be among them.

Kuai Yue, a powerful native of the Jingzhou faction, was not only enshrined as a marquis, but also conscripted to serve in the imperial court as Guanglu Xunqing and became one of the ministers of the empire.Cao Cao once said in a letter to Xun: "I don't like Jingzhou, but I like Kuai Yiduer." Yidu is Kuaiyue's word.Kuai Yue died eleven years later. He should have died as a minister. Before he died, he entrusted Cao Cao with family affairs. Han Song's courtesy name is Degao. During the Battle of Guandu, he was sent to Xu County by Liu Biao's order. When he came back, he spoke well of Cao Cao and angered Liu Biao. He was almost killed by Liu Biao. Later, Liu Biao's wife Cai and others came out to help him. He only saved his life by speaking. Although he is not in good health, he was still appointed by Cao Cao as Dahonglu Minister. Like Kuai Yue, he became one of the new ministers of the empire.

According to the "Three Kingdoms Liu Biao Biography", Zhang Xi was also called to the imperial court to hold an important position, and he served as a servant, which can be regarded as a ministerial level.There is also Liu Xian, named Shizong, who used to be Liu Biao's deputy governor of Jingzhou. This position is the deputy governor of the governor, which is a bit similar to the deputy governor. He also went to Xu County before and left a deep impression on Cao Cao. . According to the "Lingling Xianxian Biography", Liu Xian was invited to attend the Cao Cao conference.Cao Cao asked Liu Xian: "How did Liu Mujun sacrifice to heaven and earth?" Liu Xian replied: "Liu Mujun, as an important minister of the Han Dynasty, was in the position of Mubo. Where should I pay the tribute, but I can't reach the emperor after writing the chapter and table, so I sacrificed myself to heaven and earth, and proclaimed my sincerity to the world."

Liu Xian's words brought out the "group of murderers", which aroused Cao Cao's nerves. Sure enough, Cao Cao asked: "Who are the group of murderers?" The soldiers, with hundreds of thousands of foot and horsemen, who dare to refuse to accept the crime?" Liu Xian said: "The Han Dynasty is late, and the people's livelihood is haggard. There are no loyal people to support the emperor and pacify the sea, but everyone supports their own self-respect. I'm afraid. It is Chiyou and Zhibo who have reappeared today." What Liu Xian meant was that I'm not afraid of death anyway, so I can scold you as much as I want, what's the matter with you?

Facing such tough bones, Cao Cao was speechless, but looked at him with admiration.After Jingzhou was pacified, Cao Cao called Liu Xian and asked him to be the Minister of State, and later served as the Minister of State of Wei State when Wei State was founded.In Cao Cao's eyes, Liu Xian is a rare talent. Cao Cao ordered Wenpin to be appointed as the prefect of Jiangxia County, and he still commanded his old troops. Since then, Wenpin has entered the ranks of important generals of the Cao army.There is also a man named Deng Yi. When Liu Biao secretly contacted Yuan Shao, Deng Yi advised him not to listen, and Deng Yi resigned under the pretext of illness in a fit of rage.Cao Cao invited Deng Yi out and asked him to serve as a servant of the court. At the most tense moment of the Guandu stalemate, a fire was lit behind Liu Biao, and Zhang Xian and others raised troops to rebel against Liu Biao in Changsha County, leaving Liu Biao with no time to look north.Cao Cao heard that Huan Jie was the mastermind behind this incident, so he found Huan Jie and appointed him as the director (master book) of the Prime Minister's Office. Wang Can was also conscripted to work in the prime minister's mansion and appointed as the director of the prime minister's mansion (the prime minister's 掾).Unlike others, Wang Can joined Cao's camp not because of circumstances or political speculation, but because he admired Cao Cao from the bottom of his heart. He is a poet at heart, with the temperament and enthusiasm of a poet.Previously, Wang Can had been living in frustration. Since he came to Cao Cao's side, he seemed to see the sky through the dark clouds. He enthusiastically advocated for Cao Wei's cause, and his destiny has also changed substantially.In a short period of three to five years, his position was promoted again and again, and finally became the person with the highest political status among the "Seven Sons of Jian'an", and the only one who was conferred the title of Marquis. Celebrity Liu Ba, styled Ziche, was born in Lingling County.Liu Biao called Liu Ba many times to come out to be an official, but he refused all of them. At this time, Liu Ba took the initiative to come and ask Cao Cao for an official position. Cao Cao also appointed Liu Ba as the director of the prime minister's office (Prime Minister's Office), but then by mistake, he was exiled to Yizhou after the Battle of Chibi, and finally served in Shuhan.Liu Ba is a genius and a great talent. Liu Bei commented that he is "extremely intelligent", and Zhuge Liang believes that "I am far inferior to Ziche in planning strategies." Also recruited by Cao Cao were Kui Xi, Han Ji, Liu and others.Cao Cao heard that Dou Fu, the grandson of the late famous minister Dou Wu, was also in Jingzhou, so he sent someone to find him and arranged him to work in the prime minister's mansion. In addition to these administrative talents, Cao Cao also recruited several artistic talents, including the famous calligraphers Handan Chun and Liang Hu, and the famous musician Du Kui.Handan Chunzi Zishu was one of the most famous calligraphers of that era. After entering the Cao camp, he was deeply loved by Cao Pi and Cao Zhi brothers.Du Kui, styled Gongliang, was good at music and served as a court musician (Ga Le Lang). After fleeing the chaos, he went to Jingzhou. Liu Biao asked him to play ga music with another musician, Meng Yao. Cao Cao appointed him as a military planner and later ordered him to create Yale. Liang Hu, another famous contemporary calligrapher, was also in Jingzhou at this time. Cao Cao and him were not only members of the Luoyang Calligraphy Salon, but also had a relationship.After Cao Cao graduated from Taixue, he wanted to be a Luoyang order. At that time, Liang Hu was the secretary of the selection department who was in charge of the selection and appointment of cadres in Shangshutai. Cao Cao heard that Liang Hu was also here, and sent people to look for him everywhere. Liang Hu was a little scared, thinking that Cao Cao was going to trouble him, so he tied himself to the door to apologize.In fact, Cao Cao just missed his old friend and didn't want to punish him, so he kept him by his side to work as a secretary and still give full play to his strengths. It is said that Cao Cao often hangs Liang Hu's characters on the tent to admire during the march and battle. Later, many palaces were built in Ye County, and the names of the palaces were all inscribed by Liang Hu. In addition to the above-mentioned people, what Cao Cao misses most when he comes to Jingzhou this time is an old friend. Cao Cao has been looking for him. This person's name is Wang Jun. Wang Jun's character Ziwen, his deeds are included in "The Biography of Yishi" written by Huang Fumi. He became famous when he was young and was appreciated by the famous party members Fan Pang and Xu Zhang. Get acquainted and become good friends. At present, Yuan Shao held a funeral for his mother in Runan County, and gathered guests from all over the world. Cao Cao also went to join in the fun, and Cao Cao was accompanied by Wang Jun. At that time, more than 30,000 people came to the meeting, which gave the Yuan brothers enough face, but Cao Cao didn't take it seriously. He quietly said to Wang Jun: "The world is going to be in chaos, and these two brothers must be the ones who caused the chaos. These two people also). To save the world and plead for the people, if you don’t kill these two people first, chaos will break out!” Wang Jun replied: "If that's the case, who can save the world, who else can save you (those who help the world, who can save Qing)?" The two looked at each other and smiled. It can be seen that Cao Cao and Wang Jun are not only friends, but also have a deep relationship. After Dong Zhuo's rebellion, Cao Cao escaped from Luoyang to develop in Chenliu County, and lost contact with Wang Jun ever since.Later, Cao Cao heard that Wang Jun took refuge in Wuling County in Jingzhou. After Emperor Xian moved his capital to Xu County, he recruited Wang Jun to serve as a councilor in the name of the emperor, but there was no result. One possibility is that Wang Jun himself did not want to come out again. It may be that Wang Jun did not receive the imperial edict. "Yishi Biography" also records that on the eve of the Battle of Guandu, Liu Biao quietly made friends with Yuan Shao.Wang Jun once persuaded Liu Biao that Cao Cao was the real hero and would be able to become the overlord, but Liu Biao didn't listen.Later, Wang Jun died of illness in Wuling County at the age of sixty-four.Judging from this situation, even if Wang Jun died in the Battle of Chibi, he was more than ten years older than Cao Cao. It seems that he and Cao Cao were old friends. Cao Cao never forgot this old friend. When he arrived in Jingzhou, he inquired about Wang Jun's whereabouts, and finally learned that he had passed away in Wuling.Cao Cao sent someone to bury Wang Jun in Jiangling, greeted the funeral in person, and awarded Wang Jun the title of sage on the table.