Chapter 28 1. The Past and Present of "Ghost" Jia Xu

Jia Xu is not a drinker, but whenever he encounters a critical moment and needs to analyze and make a decision by himself, he likes to close the door and drink a pot quietly.It's just that the wine he drank was really "beautiful wine". The taste of the wine was very light and not very strong.And he likes to let himself completely let go of his thoughts in that slight drunkenness, making them as active and agile as antelopes running on the grassland, so many exquisite inspirations can spew out. No way, people born in Wuwei County, Liangzhou, a bitterly cold place in the northwest, were more or less able to drink a little alcohol since childhood.This is a practical need for them who live in the wind, snow and yellow sand all year round to keep out the cold and warm up.As a native of Wuwei County, Jia Xu was naturally influenced by this custom.But there is a bottom line for him to drink. He only drinks a little to think more clearly, and never drinks for fun like other Liangzhou people.This "bottom line" has also been extended to all aspects of Jia Xu's residence. He only does everything that is beneficial to him and never gets involved in anything that is harmful to him.

Prime Minister Cao has issued a prohibition order, but the scope of this prohibition order is only for the common people, and has not yet included celebrities, officials, and civil and military officials.Speaking of which, I really have to thank Kong Rong who was abandoned by Prime Minister Cao.When he heard that Prime Minister Cao even wanted to ban famous scholars, bureaucrats, and civil and military officials from drinking alcohol, he wrote an article to refute it by citing classics: "Heaven has a star of the wine flag, the land is in the county of Jiuquan, and people have the virtue of ordering wine." Therefore, Emperor Yao did not drink a thousand bells and could not become a saint. And Jie and Zhou subjugated the country with color, why can’t marriage be banned today?” Although Jia Xu was very angry at Kong Rong’s frequent blatant ridicule of being a “family slave of the five surnames” , but he also felt that Kong Rong's essay was correct.Prohibition of alcohol is of great significance, but it should also be governed according to the time, place, and person, and should not be paranoid.Sure enough, after seeing Kong Rong's article, Prime Minister Cao suspended the promotion of alcohol prohibition among bureaucrats and celebrities.

Today, Jia Xu sat alone in the clean room and poured wine slowly by himself. It was precisely because he wanted to conduct a comprehensive, in-depth, systematic, and detailed analysis of the current turbulent situation in Xu Capital City, and then make a comprehensive analysis. In short, make a comprehensive plan for your future.This was a critical juncture that could no longer be avoided. Prime Minister Cao finally couldn't control himself and beheaded Kong Rong with a knife, which made the Han-Cao rivalry that had been half-hidden before suddenly public.In fact, Jia Xu should be one of the first to notice this sign, so he is not surprised at the moment.Since the victory at Guandu, he has already discovered that Cao Cao's relationship with the Han court has undergone subtle changes as his power has gradually expanded.So he has also acted according to the camera, secretly and quietly delivered a lot of important ideas in the process of Cao Cao's career as Cao Dai Han, and Cao Cao has long secretly regarded him as a confidant and counselor, and secret letters came to visit him from time to time. .It's just that, in order to prevent the Han court officials from becoming suspicious and giving others a handle, he and Cao Cao have always tacitly shown a lukewarm, neither far nor near relationship in external occasions.Now that Cao Cao has killed Kong Rong, he has torn his fig leaf of "respecting the Han and being loyal to the emperor", and his connection with himself is getting closer—is it true that I, Jia Xu, have also arrived, so I have to bite the bullet and walk from behind the scenes to the front desk and Cao Cao's station When we were together?Doing this, is there any trouble?Is it appropriate to do so?How much benefit will it bring to yourself by doing so?

Thinking of this, Jia Xu raised his neck and took another sip of thin wine. As the thoughts and ideas in his mind became more and more violent, the cup in his hand was almost crushed.For the Han Dynasty, he actually didn't have much affection.First, he was not from a famous family, but just a small, filial and honest man in Xiliang, who never got any shade from the Han Dynasty's aristocratic system; When he became an official, those famous scholars and bureaucrats in the Han Dynasty actually didn't think much of him in their hearts.When he was a captain in Yongzhou, Dong Zhuo, who was scolded as a "national traitor", was boldly promoted.Speaking of it, this Dong Zhuo has a bad reputation, but his ability to recognize people and talents has far surpassed those vain princes in the court.

It's a pity that Jia Xu didn't survive a few years in the Liangzhou military camp in Kansai, and that Dong Zhuo was killed by Situ Wangyun's secret tricks and serial schemes.As soon as Wang Situ succeeded in his plan, he got so complacent and arrogant that he wanted to kill all the Xiliang people brought by Dong Zhuo indiscriminately!It was Wang Yun's extremely narrow lore order that made Jia Xu, who had originally intended to join the imperial court, feel as cold as ice.Therefore, in order to protect himself, he encouraged Li Jue, Guo Si and other Xiliang Xiao generals to fight back, and finally attacked Chang'an, killed Wang Yun, and avenged Dong Zhuo who had once given him the kindness of knowledge.

However, after entering Chang'an, Jia Xu really approached the power center of the Han Dynasty that he had once superstitiously believed in and once subdued, and only then did he truly discover that the huge Liu family's court was full of scars inside. Hundreds of holes, crumbling... How much space can a place like this provide for oneself?And Jia Xu knew that messing around with Li Jue and Guo Si here would not have a good ending.But he himself has no military power in his hands, so of course it is impossible to establish a family on his own.Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was certainly the master of keeping the text, but after serving him patiently for a period of time, he felt that Emperor Xian's talents were not enough for him to devote himself to it.In the end, he abandoned everything in Chang'an City, left behind the hustle and bustle, and wandered like a lone wolf among the princes who were constantly fighting in the Central Plains, looking for his own "true destiny" Lord".

To be honest, he had changed many masters before defecting to Cao Cao.Ruthless as Dong Zhuo, cowardly as Niu Fu, rough as Li Jue, soft as Duan Yao, superficial as Zhang Xiu, even Liu Biao, who was known as "Xibo", wandered around his tent and came back.It wasn't until he met Cao Cao that he realized that this General Cao, who was reputed to be "the eunuch and the ugly", was actually a rare hero in the world!When Guo Jia saw Cao Cao, he jumped up excitedly: "It's really my lord!" This kind of feeling that a horse is happy to meet Bole has actually planted seeds deeply in Jia Xu's heart.

Jia Xu always remembers that he once helped Zhang Xiu attack Cao Cao in Wancheng, and Cao Jun was defeated. Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang and his confidant Dian Wei were killed in the battle. "He was also killed by an arrow, and he fell to the ground and fled in a hurry, which can be described as extremely embarrassing.However, such great shame and deep hatred did not blind Cao Cao's discerning eyes.On the eve of the Battle of Guandu, when Jia Xu persuaded Zhang Xiu to surrender to Cao Cao's tent together, Cao Cao led the crowd out of the city to welcome Jia Xu as his guest of honor.Moreover, after being in Xudu for so many years, Cao Cao has never held any grudges against him, and has always trusted him.This kind of kingly style of "releasing personal grievances and demonstrating virtue in the world" made Jia Xu cast his eyes on the ground.To put it bluntly, Jia Xu just hoped to meet a lord who could give him a reliable sense of security from the inside out—and now, he finally met him.

After arriving in Xudu, he realized that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is not an easy place to live.Previously, Jia Xu had also conceited that his strategy skills were rare in the world, but after seeing the inscrutable strategies and talents of Xun Yu, his uncle and nephew Xun You, and Guo Jia, he voluntarily retired to a corner of the officialdom and kept quiet. All the talents are not dared to show others lightly because of Cao Cao's personal inquiry. The sentence he presented to Cao Cao at the grand meeting of Zhuquechi that day, "Jade is neither adornable nor broken - it can only be used as a Hulian weapon for sacrifices in the ancestral temple" did contain what Sima Yi said. Guess the meaning of "turning Kong Rong into a dead thing like a 'Hulian weapon' is swept out of the court, moved into the ancestral temple and discarded forever".His original intention was: the best policy would be to exile Kong Rong to the Confucian Temple in Qufu, State of Lu for monitoring.After all, Kong Rong's behavior of "preferring to be broken than to destroy everything", that faction's determination to oppose Cao Cao's behavior, and his intention to pour his own blood on Cao Cao, almost all discerning people in the court could see it. up.However, regarding Kong Rong's disposal, he also saw that Cao Cao was in a dilemma.If you kill them in a hurry, the disaster will happen quickly and shallowly, but it will cause a momentary uproar between the government and the public;Especially now that the Southern Expedition is imminent, it is hard to guarantee that Kong Rong will not take the opportunity to make some "amazing move" later.He is a man who can do anything on the spur of the moment. What if Kong Rongmao rashly gathers his disciples to cause chaos after Cao Cao leaves Xudu?The descendants of Kong Sheng took the lead in rebelling against Prime Minister Cao, I am afraid that this trouble will be even more difficult to deal with.Therefore, at the critical moment, Cao Cao can only pay attention to the last layer of deep meaning in Jia Xu's words, "When you meet a god, kill a god", "When you meet a Buddha, kill a Buddha", it will only make things worse.If he wants to do big things, he can only do "the lesser of two evils". Even if it arouses material controversy, even if he is notorious, in order to eradicate hidden dangers, he will not care about it.

Now that Cao Cao's relationship with the Han court has broken down, he may not get much help from the Han court for his southern expedition to Jingzhou.Didn't Xun Yu declare that he was suffering from heartache and recuperating at home the day after Kong Rong was imprisoned?Should this be the beginning of his refusal to assist Cao Cao?Then, Cao Cao should soon condescend to visit his humble house in Jia's mansion, and come to urge him to openly enter Cao's mansion, right?I'm finally about to step up to the front stage to show my talents again... But, will I be able to succeed right away if I come out again this time?yes!If he can assist Prime Minister Cao to win the Southern Conquest this time, then he will surely be recorded in the annals of history as the founding father of Cao's new dynasty. What a huge temptation this is for him!But, can I really assist Cao Cao to conquer Jingzhou in one fell swoop this time?

While Jia Xu was thinking hard, the wooden door of the clean room was knocked several times. "What's the matter?" Jia Xu still sipped slowly while holding the wine glass, without raising her head. "Report to the master, there is a guest outside the gate of the house to ask for an audience." "Isn't this seat already established a rule? No casual guests are allowed to enter... You just push him away." "My lord, this guest claims to be an old friend of yours, not just someone else." "An old friend? What's his last name?" Jia Xu raised his eyes slightly. "He claimed his surname was Cao, but he didn't say his name." "Hey...is it another grand general, Cao Hong? You go out and tell him that I am drunk and lying on the bed, so it is inconvenient for us to see each other." "Hmm... this guest is not the General Cao Hong who came here every day." Hearing this, the wine glass in Jia Xu's hand trembled suddenly, her whole body trembled, and the slight drunkenness in her mind suddenly dissipated completely: Could it be that he is here?He really subdued himself and came to my humble house in Jia's mansion!Thinking of this, Jia Xu immediately put down his wine glass, straightened his body, and said slowly to the outside of the room: "Very good. I invite this distinguished guest surnamed Cao to wait in the living room first. I will meet you after I change clothes." .”