Chapter 39 Five, Cao Pi stands out

The yellow curtains hanging down from the top of the Baiyu Hall in the Prime Minister's Mansion were gently fluttered by the autumn wind, like stacked golden waves, looking extremely magnificent. Cao Cao was sitting on a red sandalwood square couch, with the tall screen carved with the pattern of "Seven Stars Arching the Moon" on the back, staring at the black jade table in front of him with burning eyes, and remained silent.On the black and lacquered black jade desk, there was a tall stack of playlists neatly stacked, the height was almost as high as Cao Cao's chest who was sitting on the wooden couch.

His eldest son Cao Pi, the general of Wuguan Zhonglang, the second son Cao Zhang the mighty general, and the third son Pingyuan Hou Cao Zhi stood in front of the Wuyu table with their hands down, their expressions dignified and solemn. "Do you know why my father called you here today?" Cao Cao moved his eyes from the tall pile of playlists to the faces of the three sons, scanned around slowly, and asked expressionlessly. road. "My child doesn't know, please show me." Cao Pi's three brothers hurriedly bowed and replied after hearing the words. Cao Cao slowly raised his hand, pointed to the stack of playlists on the black jade table, and said slowly: "Here are forty-five state prefects, governors, and twenty-eight virtuous officials. Let’s play together and ask the imperial court to put on a watch for the father Jin Gong... You talk about how the father should respond to this matter at this moment? Don’t be cautious, just say what you think in your heart. Listen carefully for the father!”

However, Cao Zhi's face was serious, he took a step forward, bowed and said: "Father, in my child's opinion, you should abide by the way of being a modest gentleman, and take the initiative to present it to Your Majesty, and resign from the support of these prefects and famous scholars!" As soon as he said this, both Cao Pi and Cao Zhang couldn't help being startled. They looked at him inexplicably in surprise, but they seemed to have their own thoughts, thinking secretly, and didn't say much. The expression on Cao Cao's face was as deep as an abyss, without the slightest fluctuation, he still asked slowly: "Do you have any reason?"

"Father! In my child's mind, you have always been a great hero who upholds the sky and saves the world and the people. When Dong Zhuo took power and disrupted the Han Dynasty, you raised the banner of righteousness in Chenliu, led the volunteers, and fought bloody battles against Dong Zhuo. Later, with the help of Lord Xun Ling, you dared to be the first to welcome His Majesty to Xudu, and served the emperor as an order not to be a minister, and wiped out Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Lu Bu and other traitors in troubled times in one fell swoop, and finally cleared the Central Plains, and you're done." Cao Zhi He raised his eyebrows, his eyes were bright, and his face was not timid. He looked straight at Cao Cao and said, "Now that the Central Plains is safe, the world has yet to be settled. At this time of rectifying the chaos, Zhi'er believes that the father should lead by example and respectfully Keep the minister's day, uphold the loyalty of loyalty, keep the reality of retreat, stand on the cliff, and don't give Liu Bei, Sun Quan and other rebels any excuse to slander their father!

"Since Jian'an thirteen years ago, Your Majesty canonized you as the Prime Minister of the Great Han Dynasty. You are in charge of the government alone. You are not famous when you are worshiped. In the hundreds of years since the founding of the country, only the virtuous Prime Minister Xiao He has enjoyed this honor. And Xiao He's meritorious virtues are only specially bestowed as "Entering the court without tending, and walking on the sword". The father has one more than him 'Praise is not famous'. All this is enough to prove that the imperial court's respect for the father is unmatched since the founding of the Han Dynasty. Zhi'er implores the father to respect his name, and not to lose his reputation for the sake of false name! A gentleman loves others with virtue , not to seduce people for profit. The actions of these prefects and famous scholars and officials did not follow the etiquette and law, and they were selfish. They gave my Cao family a bad reputation of being unmodest, disobedient, disrespectful, and unruly! Please, my father, please do not Believe me!"

After he finished the long piece of advice in one breath, he closed his mouth and looked at his father intently, waiting for his answer with a very serious expression. I saw Cao Cao sitting motionless on the red sandalwood couch, his face was still gloomy, as deep as an ancient well.He listened to Cao Zhi's words without missing a word, slowly stretched out his palms, patted twice, and said slowly: "Zhi'er really speaks eloquently and eloquently! However, your words Why does it sound like what Xun Yu said for my father?" "That's right. These words are exactly what my child learned from the principles of heaven taught by Lord Xun Ling." Cao Zhi did not hide or evade, and said frankly, "Since my father mentioned Lord Xun Ling, my child will say a few more words here. According to my child, the heroic achievement of clearing up all rebellions and clearing the Central Plains was achieved by Xun Lingjun and his father. Now Xun Lingjun can still be respectful and humble, treat himself with respect, and only occupy the position of a minister , neither feudal nor marquis. Compared with him, the honor enjoyed by the father is far superior—are you not satisfied?"

"Presumptuous! Have you ever talked to your father in such an aggressive manner? Hmph! You only read a few poems and wrote a few poems with them, and you dare to criticize him in front of your father?" Cao Cao listened. He finally couldn't bear it any longer, straightened his body, got up from the couch, waved his sleeves, and shouted at Cao Zhi, "the principles of heaven, the rules of etiquette, the truth is better than his Xun Yu?" What's wrong? Don't bring out the great truths he said to suppress the truth! These more than 70 watches were submitted by scholars and people from all over the world voluntarily. What can the truth do? When Tongque Terrace was built last year, Truth has already written an article "Let the County Self-Ming Benzhi Order" to announce to the world that I, Cao Mengde, are by no means greedy for merit and power. Is what the Prime Minister said empty words? It is precisely because of this that the Prime Minister is asking you for your opinion on the matter of wearing more than seventy watches... I never thought that you, a child, would be so rude!"

When Cao Pi saw it, he pulled Cao Zhi's sleeve hastily and winked at him.Only then did Cao Zhi regain his enthusiasm, bowed his head with some reluctance, and said in a low voice: "Since my father is so open-minded, humble and indifferent, my son was really rude and offended you just now. Please forgive me, father." crime." Seeing that the third brother had already bowed his head and admitted his mistake, Cao Pi hurriedly bowed beside him and said, "Father calm down! The third brother also said this for the sake of his father's integrity, but he was too blunt, so please forgive me !"

Cao Cao snorted, then sat down resentfully on the red sandalwood couch, gradually regained his composure, and asked Cao Pi slowly, "Pi'er, what's your opinion on this matter?" When Cao Pi heard this, his eyebrows twitched suddenly, and the thoughts in his heart had crossed thousands of hills and ravines for a moment, and turned back and forth for no less than a hundred turns.Before coming here today, Sima Yi had reminded himself many times in private that only by cleverly persuading his father to be promoted to Duke, would he be able to cater to his father's favor, in exchange for his greater favor and trust in him .Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth fiercely, looked up at his father, and at the same time leaned forward and replied: "My son thinks that my father has been in the position of prime minister for a long time, but the title he enjoys is the same as that of Zhang Xiu, Zhang Lu, Liu Cong and other rebellious ministers who surrendered and surrendered are comparable, and the child feels unwilling to see it. There is an old saying that only extraordinary achievements deserve extraordinary rewards. The father has made great achievements for the imperial court, and the imperial court should not hesitate to reward them It’s up to you to treat each other fairly! Whether you resign from the title or not is your business; whether the court grants the title is the court’s own business! But they are not even willing to show such a little sincerity. Don’t make people feel chilling? Also, if the father is always humble and self-restraining, the soldiers and subordinates below may feel uneasy! In my child’s opinion, these seventy-three watches are exactly what destiny belongs to. , what the hearts of the people want—the father can fully accept it without shame!"

Hearing Cao Pi's words, Cao Zhi couldn't help shaking his whole body, and turned his eyes, looking at his elder brother Cao Pi as if looking at a stranger, with deep surprise in his eyes.But Cao Pi didn't dare to face him squarely, and turned his face slightly to avoid his direct gaze. Cao Cao saw all this in his eyes, but kept his expression on. Finally, he asked Cao Zhang, "Zhang'er, what do you think?" Cao Zhang looked at him with both eyes, and without blinking, he raised his voice and replied: "I think the third brother is right. Xun Lingjun's contribution to the court is almost the same as that of his father - if he can also be promoted to the throne If he is not willing to be promoted to a noble and a gift, but he is content with his current job and does not ask for a reward, the father will have to wait patiently! The child also hopes that his father can be promoted The ceremony will last forever, but my son hopes that the promotion of his father will convince the people of the world, without saying a word!"

"Hey... don't you know that treating Mr. Xun Ling for your father can be said to be heart-to-heart, benevolent and righteous? In the past twenty years, there have been 178 memorials written for my father to ask the court to award and reward Mr. Xun Ling! Take Mr. Xun Ling Even making him the lord of ten thousand households and the lord of the three lords is not enough!" Cao Cao sat up straight, shook his head slightly, and said deeply, "But he has always been Humility, and desperately refusing to be rewarded! The court treats him very well, and the truth treats him well. However, he is so humble, and the truth has nothing to do. Forget it! Zhi'er, Zhang'er, you both think that Xun Lingjun He deserves the honor of being the Marquis of Ten Thousand Households and the Lord of the Three Dukes, how about I send you two to the Xun Mansion to persuade him to accept this reward?" "I obey, my son!" Cao Zhi and Cao Zhang both showed joy on their faces when they heard this. "Also, both of you told Xun Lingjun by the way, the truth is that you have decided to betroth your younger sister Cao Rong to his eldest son Xun Yun, and our Cao family will become good friends with his Xun family from then on." Cao Cao pondered for a moment, and then Wen Sheng said, "I hope you two can live up to the trust of the truth and let Xun Lingjun accept the kindness of the truth. You two go!" "Perhaps my father rationed sister Rong to brother Xun Yun? That's really great!" Cao Zhi and Cao Zhang cheered happily, bowed and resigned from their father, and they left happily hand in hand. The moment the two of them stepped out of the gate of Baiyutang, the gentle look on Cao Cao's face suddenly cooled down.He frowned tightly, his face was gloomy and ugly, and he sighed secretly in his heart.Unexpectedly, Xun Yu's influence was so great that even his two sons stood on his side to dissuade him from being the Duke of Jin.Alas, it seems that if I don't remove his stumbling block in front of me, I'm afraid I will never be able to ascend to the position of Duke!However, how easy is it to remove the stumbling block of Xun Yu?Seeing Xun Yu's actions, he himself will never back down.Isn't this forcing yourself to kill the killer?However, as a contemporary Confucian, Xun Yu was also a hero in the fight against chaos, and his reputation is so high that there are few others.Back then, Truth killed a mad Confucian named Kong Rong, and it even aroused menacing words from all over the world, disturbing Truth for several years.If Truth starts attacking Xun Yu again this time, I'm afraid that even Zhi'er and Zhang'er will look sideways at Truth and face each other with anger.What's more, Xun Yu's lofty character, virtue and conduct, his true nature has always been deeply admired - if he really wants to raise the sharp knife in his hand, I'm afraid I can't bear it, and it's hard to make a move, right? Thinking of this, Cao Cao felt extremely sad.God, God!Why do you treat me Cao Cao so unfairly?This Central Plains Shenzhou is all based on the truth, the wars in the east and the west are cleared up, and the people in the four directions are all in order to bring peace, but what kind of shitty etiquette and principles have you made Xun Yu leave my Cao family and return to Han Court, so that the truth has to bow down to the mediocre emperor who does nothing!The Liu clan themselves are fatuous and incompetent, causing eunuchs to rule the country, the troubles of the party, the disaster of Dong Zhuo, and the melee in the Central Plains. They are no longer worthy of being the lords of China!It was my own self-defeating, self-defeating, eradicating Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Lu Bu and other rebels who harmed the country and the people, and restored the stability of the Central Plains, and the peace of the Han Dynasty monarchs and ministers.So, what can be disputed about the fact that he enjoys the gift of the Duke of the country and the gift of Jiuxi?The truth is really not reconciled!Not reconciled! "Father...you...what's the matter with you?" Just as his mind was agitated, Cao Pi's panicked voice seemed to float from far, far away, calling him back to reality. "Oh...Pi'er..." Cao Cao was certain in his heart, he quickly came back to his senses, and immediately became calm as usual.He pondered for a moment, beckoned to Cao Pi, let him come closer, pointed to the tall stack of push watches on the black jade table, and said slowly, "Actually, I don't think that the Duke The ceremonies of nobles and nine tins are precious treasures, and they must be obtained. The forty-five push-and-wear watches presented by the prefects and governors of the forty-five states and counties on behalf of the soldiers and people under the rule are all supported by the people of the world. , The true love and kindness of my Cao family! It doesn't matter if you are the Duke or not, as long as you have the sincere hearts of the people, my Cao family will be invincible. "Pi'er! Zhi'er and Zhang'er are kind-hearted people who don't know the dangers of the world and the dangers of people's hearts. They are used to following the rules and don't dare to have extraordinary thoughts or act outside the rules. After all, it is because they have too little experience. From now on, As a father, you should pay more attention to teaching them. And you are the eldest son of my Cao family, you are older and have more experience, so what you said today, you can still understand the painstaking efforts of being a father for the great cause of the Cao family I am very relieved for my father! In today's situation, my Cao family is sailing against the current. If you do not advance, you will retreat. If you advance, you will have great power. If you retreat, you will lose your power. If you are controlled by others, you will not be able to control others! We can't destroy our own family like Huo Guang, although it is hard to get off, we can only work hard." "Father said it so earnestly, my child should understand it, and share weal and woe with you." Cao Pi trembled when he heard it, and hurriedly bowed his head and replied respectfully, "My child is willing to do his best to share his worries and problems for his father!" After hearing this, Cao Cao nodded in satisfaction, and shouted outside Bai Yutang: "Come here!" Cao Hong, the general who was waiting outside the gate of the hall, entered in response, clasped his fists and asked, "Please show me, Prime Minister." Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then ordered solemnly: "Go and summon Dr. Dong Zhao and Sima Yi who have been waiting in the front hall to be summoned by the real minister." Cao Hong bowed his body and left after receiving the order. Cao Cao pointed to the screen behind him, and said to Cao Pi: "Pi'er, go behind this screen and wait for a while, listen to the truth and discuss with them about the matter of honoring your father as Duke Jin." .Later, as a father, I still want to hear your opinion." Cao Pi understood that it was his father who was testing how he observed his words and deeds, so he responded respectfully, turned to stand behind the tall screen, and listened to all the noises in front of him.