Chapter 26 Chapter 5 Guandu, Guandu

The fifth year of Jian'an (200 years) is the year of Gengchen in the lunar calendar, which is also the year of the dragon; the following year is the year of Xinsi, which is also the year of the snake.According to the five elements, every year of the dragon and snake will be unfavorable to the saint.Most people would not take this matter to heart, because except for the emperor, everyone is not a saint, so there is no need to worry about it. But there is one person who is more concerned. Although he doesn't regard himself as a saint, he always feels that something will happen in this year. This person is the world-renowned Grand Scholar Zheng Xuan.

In the early years of Jian'an, when Emperor Xian recruited famous people from all over the world, the post of Minister of Agriculture (Da Si Nongqing) was originally specially reserved for him, but he has not yet taken up the post. The last time Zheng Xuan was called was when He Jin was a general. After He Jin failed, Zheng Xuan returned to his hometown of Beihai in Qingzhou, where he lived in seclusion.His fame is too great, more than a thousand people voted for him from all directions, and later famous students include Zhao Shang, Cui Yan, Gongsun Fang, Wang Ji, Guoyuan, Xi Ji and others.

After Yuan Shao occupied Jizhou and controlled parts of Qingzhou, Zheng Xuan's hometown became the "Yuan Tong District".Yuan Shao often brings Zheng Xuan to parties and various events to support himself. Zheng Xuan knew Yuan Shao during He Jin's time, and he didn't have much affection for this political celebrity who was much younger than him, but out of helplessness, he didn't dare to refute Yuan Shao's face. At a party, everyone heard that Zheng Xuan, the most famous scholar in the world, was going to attend. Some people who thought they had a bit of knowledge in their stomachs couldn't help but eagerly prepared some questions, trying to embarrass Zheng Xuan and make themselves famous by the way.Unexpectedly, Zheng Xuan answered all the questions fluently, his profound knowledge and quick thinking were amazing, and everyone was impressed.

Greetings and intrigues all day long, just taking time to read a few books, dare to challenge Mr. Zheng who is buried in the pile of books all day and only occasionally comes out for a drink?Zheng Xuan taught everyone a lesson. Yuan Shao recommended Zheng Xuan as a talented person in the name of Jizhou Mu, and praised him as Zuo Zhonglang.Yuan Shao's idea was a bit naive, if Zheng Xuan accepted, Yuan Shao would become Zheng Xuan's political benefactor. Although this was a good thing that others wished for, it was not good for Zheng Xuan.Prior to this, similar recommendations had been rejected by Zheng Xuan as many as thirteen times.

Later, Emperor Xian's edict arrived at Beihai Kingdom, and Emperor Xian sent a special car to take Zheng Xuan to Xu County to take up his post.Zheng Xuan agreed this time, but soon after leaving, he felt unwell, and asked to return home before he took office.Although Zheng Xuan did not formally assume the post of Da Sinong, later generations generally call him Zheng Sinong.Zheng Xuan is an intellectual who concentrates on learning and education, but his reputation is too great, and it is not easy to study quietly and live a clean life. Not only the imperial court and people like Yuan Shao respected Zheng Xuan, but even the Yellow Turban Army treated Zheng Xuan very politely when they heard Zheng Xuan's name.According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty Zheng Xuan Biography", Zheng Xuan once encountered many yellow scarf soldiers on the way. When they heard that it was Zheng Xuan, they kowtowed and worshiped, and made an appointment not to enter Gaomi County, Zheng Xuan's hometown territory).Who says knowledge is not power?

In the fifth year of Jian'an (200), Zheng Xuan was seventy-four years old. At that time, he was already extremely old, and he felt more and more unwell.In the spring of this year, Zheng Xuan dreamed of Confucius and talked to him in the dream.Zheng Xuan, who has a deep study of five elements and Yi Xue, associated this dream with the Year of the Dragon and Snake. He always felt that this dream indicated that he would die soon, so he felt depressed. At this moment, Yuan Tan, governor of Qingzhou, came to Gaomi County in person, and wanted to pick him up to Ye County. Zheng Xuan thought that Yuan Shao asked him to accompany him to drink and eat again, so he didn't want to go, but Xiao Yuan's attitude was very firm, so he couldn't go.Zheng Xuan had no choice but to pack his luggage and set off with Yuan Tan.

When the group reached Yuancheng County (now Hebei Daming), Zheng Xuan's health was really failing and his condition worsened, so they had to stop there.In the summer, Zheng Xuan passed away. Before he died, he was sick and devoted himself to explaining "Book of Changes". In the eyes of many of Zheng Xuan's students, their teacher is the contemporary Confucius, and Zheng Xuan is also worthy of this honorable title. He devoted his life to learning and did not participate in world disputes. He is a pure scholar. This time Yuan Shao knew that Zheng Xuan's physical condition would not permit, but still insisted on asking him to come, the purpose is to let him join the army.At this time, Yuan Shao had decided to launch a full-scale attack on Cao Cao. For this reason, he made careful preparations. In addition to mobilizing almost all the elite troops under his command, he also did a lot of ideological and public opinion mobilization work, and Zheng Xuan's army was one of them. .

Yuan Shao was determined to win this battle, and there were a large number of books and classics accompanying him, many of which were related to laws and regulations, which showed that Yuan Shao not only focused on whether this battle could be won, but also began to think about what to do after winning. . Yuan Shao originally planned to take over the imperial court immediately after defeating Cao Cao. If Emperor Xian was willing to cooperate, he would be allowed to be the puppet emperor. If he was not willing to cooperate, he would appoint someone else. Yuan Shao asked Chen Lin, a big writer, to write a call to action and publish it to all counties.It has always been this routine to use your mouth before you do anything to create public opinion.

This essay is about 1,300 words, and Chen Lin put in a lot of effort to expose Cao Cao’s black history, starting with Cao Cao’s grandfather Cao Teng, and listing several of Cao Cao’s crimes: 1. The eunuchs such as Cao Teng, Zuo, Xu Huang, etc., who were often served by Cao Cao's grandfather in his old life, were all evildoers and harmed the common people.Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was the adopted son of a beggar's family. After taking power, he often did corrupt things.As for Cao Cao himself, he is a typical "superior eunuch and ugly", with no talent and no virtue, and he is fond of fighting for chaos.

2. Cao Cao was in crisis several times, and Yuan Shao helped him, but Cao Cao didn't want to repay, but took the opportunity to develop his power and attack Yuan Shao. 3. Cao Cao likes to kill people indiscriminately. The former Jiujiang prefect Bian Rang was a well-known man in the world. Because he was not attached to Cao Cao, he killed him, and all scholars were angry. 4. When Emperor Xian returned to the east, Yuan Shao himself was under the control of Gongsun Zan and could not get out, so he sent his servant Xu Xun to Cao Cao to deliver orders to protect Luanjia and repair the suburban temple. It became a decoration.

5. The former Taiwei Yang Biao enjoys a very high prestige. Because of personal grievances, Cao Cao punished him at will, regardless of the charter.Yilang Zhao Yanzhong remonstrated bluntly, which aroused Cao Cao's disgust, so he killed him without authorization and did not report to the emperor. Sixth, Cao Cao set up official posts such as Faqiu Zhonglang General and Mojin Xiaowei to specialize in tomb robbery. 7. Cao Cao's rule was brutal, and the people in Yanzhou and Yuzhou all complained. From ancient and modern books, there are no ministers who are greedy, cruel, fierce and innocent, surpassing Cao Cao. 8. Yuan Shao fought with Gongsun Zan, and Gongsun Zan was besieged for more than a year. Cao Cao secretly wrote to Gongsun Zan while it was still unbroken, hoping to collude with him and jointly murder Yuan Shao. The proclamation is specially used to build momentum for the crusade, and you can say how bad the enemy is.Yuan Shao was scolded by Gongsun Zan's proclamation before, and if you compare it, you will find that Chen Lin's proclamation is more powerful and more lethal. This essay has no empty slogans, but a combination of arguments and evidence, which is well-founded, and at the same time broke the news wantonly to shake up Cao Cao's black history. The things mentioned in the article that Cao Cao killed Bian Rang, Xu Xun conveyed Yuan Shao's order, Cao Cao set up a tomb robbery organization, and Cao Cao secretly contacted Gongsun Zan, etc., are not seen or rarely seen in other historical materials. One possibility is that Yuan Shao created something out of nothing and reversed black and white. It may be true, but it is rarely seen in historical materials after deletions and revisions by later historians. Regardless of whether it is true or not, these materials were processed by Chen Lin, and Cao Cao's dark history was immediately spread everywhere, which had a profound impact at that time. Cao Cao was often criticized later, and many materials also came from here. In the article, Cao Cao was referred to as "superior eunuch and ugly". Although it is a personal attack and not worth advocating, it has also become a very famous saying. The packaging also looks elegant and imposing. Cao Cao also saw this article. At that time, he was worried about the war in front of him, and he had a migraine again. After reading the article written by his old friend Chen Lin who scolded him, his head suddenly stopped hurting.