Chapter 44 Chapter 44: The Scholar with a Strange Tongue

Liu Dai and Wang Zhong returned to Xudu soon, and immediately went to see Cao Cao.They knelt on the ground and said in trepidation: "As far as we know, Liu Xuande has no ambitions, and he respects the court wholeheartedly. Moreover, he has a high reputation in the eyes of the local people and is good at using soldiers. Even against us enemies, he has not forgotten. Shi Yirende. He is indeed an outstanding individual, not someone who pursues the defeated enemy just to show off his abilities." Cao Cao was furious when he heard this, he suddenly raised his eyebrows, with a look of anger and resentment on his face, and cursed: "Shut up! Are you my ministers of Cao Cao or Liu Xuande? Holding my prime minister Flag, take my army, why did you go to Xuzhou?"

Cao Cao looked back at the generals on the left and right, and said sternly: "It is intolerable for such a situation to occur. Tell them to conquer Liu Xuande in Xuzhou, but they insult my reputation in Xuzhou. Now let everyone take a good look at the actions of such criminals. Lie face. Drag them to the gates of the camps to make a public display, and then sentence them to death!" In order to appease Cao Cao's anger, Kong Rong who was standing aside hurriedly came forward to persuade him: "Liu Dai and Wang Zhong were not Liu Xuande's opponents in the first place. Didn't the prime minister know this beforehand? These two people, and condemned to capital punishment, will instead arouse the sympathy of the prime minister in the hearts of others. They all serve the same lord. Wouldn't this make them feel uneasy secretly? So it would be a big mistake to do so. Heartfelt."

When Kong Rong finished speaking, Cao Cao's expression returned to normal.He ordered: "The two people will be exempted from the death penalty, but the current official title must be removed. As for their punishment, it will be determined later." Afterwards, Cao Cao claimed that he would personally lead an army to attack Xuzhou on another day. Kong Rong once again advised Cao Cao to respect himself.He said: "It's the middle of winter, and it is a taboo for military strategists to send troops rashly. It is not too late to send troops in the next spring. It is time to make diplomatic connections and stabilize the domestic situation. Besides, Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Zhang Xiu of Xiangcheng are They colluded secretly and dared to show disrespect to the court. Therefore, the prime minister sent envoys to Jingxiang and Jingxiang to appease their grievances, satisfy their desires, and appreciate their ambitions. We will try our best to endure them for the time being and welcome them with generous gifts. Well, they will definitely join the Prime Minister’s command. If both Jingzhou and Xiangcheng can finally be brought under the Prime Minister’s influence, it will be as if the world responds to a call from all over the world, and the heroes from all walks of life are bound to hear the news and come to surrender.”

Cao Cao said: "Your plan is very suitable for me, so send someone there now!" Therefore, it was immediately decided to send Liu Ye as Cao Cao's envoy to Zhang Xiu in Xiangcheng. Jia Yi, the first counselor in Xiangcheng, greeted Cao Cao's envoy.He expressed his heartfelt welcome to the envoy, and asked about the envoy's purpose.Liu Ye replied calmly: "In today's chaotic world, if you want a hero who combines benevolence, courage, virtue, trustworthiness, and strategy, like Han Gaozu, I don't think there will be anyone else except our lord Cao Cao." Yes. I heard that you are a high-sighted scholar hiding in Hubei, how would you respect me?"

Jia Yi replied: "That's true, I think the same as you." In order to prove that his answer was not deceitful, Jia Yi also tried his best to praise Cao Cao's virtues in front of his master Zhang Xiu, and urged Zhang Xiu to turn around in time. best course of action." At this time, it happened that Yuan Shao from Hebei also sent an envoy to Xiangcheng with his own letter for the same purpose. Two envoys with the same secret mission appeared in the same place at the same time. Liu Ye, Cao Cao's envoy, was very disturbed by this.If you meet with the envoys sent by Yuan Shao in Hebei, although each of you can maintain your own dignity, you will always feel very uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, you can move to my private residence for a few days and see how the situation changes." Liu Ye had no choice but to ask his only friend, Jia Yi.Jia Yi replied generously.So Liu Ye temporarily lived in Jia Yi's private residence with a glimmer of hope. Jia Yi welcomed Yuan Shao's envoys into the city, and asked face to face: "I heard that you sent troops to attack Cao Cao some time ago. We are relatively ignorant here, and we don't know the result until now. Excuse me, what is the final victory or defeat?" The special envoy replied: "It is winter now, so we are temporarily in a state of truce. The decisive battle between the two sides will not take place until next spring. At this moment, our lord Yuan Shaojiu pays homage to the names of two real national soldiers, Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Zhang Xiu of Xiangcheng, and sincerely I hope to welcome the two heroes into our banner. I have sent you as an envoy to express my sincerity. Please tell your lord the situation of my mission this time."

The envoy thanked you again and again, and babbled about the reasons. Jia Yi sneered and said: "Isn't that the kind of thing? Special envoy, you have worked hard, you should go back quickly! You can only talk to Yuan Shao. Why do you always have doubts about your own flesh and blood brother Yuan Shu, and can't be compatible?" ? With such a small capacity, how can he recruit the soldiers of the world?" After Jia Yi finished speaking, he tore up Yuan Shao's handwritten letter and returned it directly to the envoy. Jia Yi's protagonist, Zhang Xiu, has been hiding behind and eavesdropping on their conversation. He was shocked when he heard Jia Yi's refusal.

Afterwards, he asked Jia Yi, "Why did you take such a rude move without telling me the other party's intention and letter?" Jia Yi replied calmly: "Because if you are also at a disadvantage, it is better to surrender to Cao Cao." Zhang Xiu shook his head and said: "No way, have you forgotten the wars in the past few years? Cao Cao and I have a grudge, and we have always been incompatible with each other. Now if we accept his strategy of seducing friendship and submit to him, You will definitely be harmed by him in the future.” "No, no, my lord thinks this way because I don't understand the heart of a hero. Cao Cao has great ambitions, so how can he always hold grudges for the past defeats? Compared with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao has three advantages. First, he supports the emperor; Second, conform to the trend of the times; third, have great ambitions and be proficient in governing the country."

"However, now that Yuan Shao is rich and powerful, Cao Cao is still relatively weak." "I don't ask about the present, I only talk about the future. If your first consideration is to live a peaceful life for a year or two, then you can join Yuan Shao." After Zhang Xiu was robbed by Jia Yi, his self-confidence was shaken, and his heart was even more uncertain. Jia Yi accompanied Liu Ye to meet Zhang Xiu the next day. Liu Ye said solemnly: "Cao Cao is by no means a narrow-minded person who loves to hold grudges. If he is limited by his prejudices, why is he sending me here today with such generous gifts?"

Zhang Xiu was finally persuaded by him. He accepted Cao Cao's invitation, set out from Xiangcheng, and swore to surrender under Cao Cao's door. Cao Cao came out to greet him in person. He took Zhang Xiu by the hand and welcomed him into the lobby. Then he conferred the title of General Yangwu on Zhang Xiu, and the title of Zhijinwu on Jia Yi, who had made great mediation efforts. Xiangcheng's inducement to surrender achieved such a great success only through diplomatic means.In Jingzhou, on the other hand, it ended in complete failure. Liu Biao of Jingzhou is indeed the lord who dominates one side among the heroes of the separatist princes.He owned a large area of ​​fertile land along the river bank, and his soldiers were strong and strong. Even Sun Ce's father Sun Jian in Jiangdong was defeated and died unfortunately when he invaded his territory, so that Sun Ce specially set up a monument full of resentment for his father.This piece of land caused Sun Jian's first fame to be wiped out.

Therefore, Liu Biao just met the envoy Cao Cao sent to lure him to surrender with a smile.In his eyes, Cao Cao was not yet qualified to be his opponent, so he unceremoniously drove the envoy back. After Zhang Xiu heard about this, he really wanted to try his hand under Cao Cao's command. He said to Cao Cao, "I have been with Liu Biao for many years. Let me write him a letter." In the letter, Zhang Xiu elaborated on the trend and interests of the world, and tried his best to persuade the other party from both public and private aspects.For the sake of caution, when he handed the letter to Cao Cao, he added: "If you send a eloquent person to Liu Biao with this letter, you will be able to accomplish everything." Cao Cao asked, "Are there any good candidates to be lobbyists?" Kong Rong stood up and recommended: "As far as I know, there is only Mi Heng from Pingyuan. If Mi Heng is sent to Jingzhou, I don't think he will insult the prime minister's reputation like the previous envoys." "What kind of person is Mi Heng?" "He is my neighbor. He is knowledgeable, eloquent, and talented. He has a sharp tongue, and his satire is elegant. It's a pity that he lives in poverty and doesn't get close to anyone. However, he and Liu Biao have been in contact since the days of scholars, and it is said that the two still have correspondence until now." "Oh, then he'd be the right man." Cao Cao wanted to summon Ni Heng immediately, and the Xiangfu immediately sent someone to summon him. Mi Heng of Pingyuan, the character is Zhengping.After being greeted by the envoy of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he came leisurely to the palace where Cao Cao and his ministers were sitting in his usual dirty clothes that smelled bad.He stood in the middle of the pavilion and looked around unceremoniously. Suddenly, he yelled loudly, "Ah, there is no one, no one! The world is so vast, why is there no one?" When Cao Cao heard this, he reproached loudly in displeasure: "Miheng, why do you say there are no people? Not to mention between heaven and earth, even in this palace, my subordinates are full of talents. Don't tell me you didn't see it with your eyes?" ?" Mi Heng let out a dry laugh like a dead leaf falling to the ground, "Haha! Is this what you are talking about? I would like to see, what kind of talents are the talents in the prime minister's eyes?" Cao Cao had heard about the scholar's strange words and deeds beforehand, as well as his surly temperament, so he didn't particularly blame him, but just said without any surprise: "You interesting guy, if that's the case, , let’s start from the row of people standing on the right and ask for advice one by one. You should watch with your eyes, listen with your ears, and remember well. First of all, there are Xun Yu and Xun You. They are resourceful and good at using soldiers. They are far more than before Talents like Xiao He and Chen Ping. Next are Zhang Liao, Xu Chu, Li Dian, and Le Jin. They are all brave generals, with unworthy courage. They are heroes who rushed out from thousands of troops. Look again , Yu Jin and Xu Huang in the left row, their military ability is better than that of Cen Peng and Ma Wu in ancient times; Xiahou Dun is the number one genius in the army, Cao Zixiao has the ability to govern the country, and he is called a lucky general in the world. How about ? You scholar, are you still saying that there is no one?" Immediately after hearing this, Mi Heng laughed like no one else around: "Oh, the prime minister's feeling is really good, what I saw with my own eyes is very different from what you said." Cao Cao said: "As the saying goes, there is no one who watches the ministers. If I, Cao Cao, misread my subordinates, I might miss a big deal. You scholar, don't be shy, just judge according to your opinion. " "Then I will comment on all of you here unceremoniously, and I hope you will not be disappointed after hearing it. First of all, let me talk about Xun Yu, he can pay tribute to mourning; Xun You can visit graves; Cheng Yu can guard gates; Guo Jia can Write essays and poems; Zhang Liao can beat drums and ring gold; Xu Chu can herd cows and feed pigs; Li Dian can pass books to send gifts; Dogs; Yu Jin can build walls with negative plates; Xiahou Dun is a one-eyed dragon, he can hold an ophthalmologist's medicine box and dress up as a person selling eye medicine. As for the others, it is more troublesome to talk about one by one, but in general, it is like dressing hangers for clothes, rice bags for eating, wine barrels for drinking, and meat bags for eating meat. It’s just that sometimes they move their hands and feet, and sometimes they make sounds from their mouths, but they cannot be called human beings. Because praying mantises can also move their hands and feet, and earthworms can also move their hands and feet. It can make a sound. Is the prime minister blind? He regards these things as human beings. Ah, how strange! How strange!" In the hall, only Mi Heng clapped his hands and laughed wildly.Those extreme wild words and malicious slander made all the people in the house look angry, and the audience suddenly fell into a terrible silence.Hearing Mi Heng's wild words, even Cao Cao's heart was ignited with uncontrollable anger.Since he knew the nature of this mountain man in advance and agreed to invite him to the prime minister's residence, there was nothing he could do about it.So Cao Cao grimaced and asked loudly, "You scholar, you have just evaluated them, so how capable are you?" You Heng closed his big mouth, raised his arrogant nostrils slightly, and breathed in through his nasal cavity, and said brazenly: "Everything about astronomy and geography is understandable; I know everything about the three religions and nine streams. And only you Only a person like Heng can say such things... No, this is not enough to describe my talent. I can make the emperor Yao and Shun, and I can match virtue with Kong and Yan... These are a little bit for me It’s not difficult. You don’t understand it at all. To put it more simply, I’m full of plans for governing the country and keeping the people safe, and I can’t tolerate other selfish desires. It is precisely because I have such talents that I can be called a real person. Therefore, seeing I'm so sick of you shit buckets." At this time, the sound of Jianhuan suddenly sounded from the seat. "If you tell me to talk, you will fart indiscriminately. Bah! You poor scholar with a long tongue and a rotten tongue! Don't move!" I saw one person standing up, shouting and cursing angrily. Everyone looked around, it turned out that Zhang Liao, who had been holding his eyebrows coldly and forbearance just now, finally couldn't hold back, he held his sword hilt, and almost jumped up to kill Mi Heng. "Wait a moment." Cao Cao resolutely stopped Zhang Liao's reckless move.He changed his original thought and said to the ministers: "I heard that there is a lack of an official playing drums in the music workshop in the palace, and a banquet for court congratulations will be held in the palace in the near future. Do you want Miheng to be the drummer? Since he is omnipotent, let him be the drummer. How about it? You won’t have any objections.” Everyone understood that Cao Cao's intention was to make things difficult for Mi Heng.Who knows that Mi Heng didn't refuse, but said proudly: "What, let me play the drums? That's fine." He readily agreed and left the Prime Minister's Mansion that day.