Chapter 24 Mysterious and mysterious

Cao Cao returned to Yecheng and showed the captured Jieyue and Yinshou with spears to the soldiers in the city. Seeing that Yuan Shang was defeated and no one came to rescue them, the morale of the defenders collapsed, and more people fell to the city and surrendered.However, Shenpei, the military division of Hebei, was a person who would rather bend than bend. He still refused to open the city and surrender. He had to fight to the end without food and reinforcements, and even repelled Cao Jun's attack on the city twice. After Yuan Shang fled, he went to Gu'an. Yuan Tan finally got a chance to take revenge after suffering repeated losses. He immediately led his troops to chase after him. Brother Yuan Xi went.As soon as Yuan Shang left, Jizhou was completely hopeless. The documents of surrender from various counties flew into Cao Ying like snowflakes. Yuan Tan had already surrendered to Cao in name, and the only thing left was this lonely city of Ye.Faced with such a situation, Cao Cao decided not to attack any more, but to garrison his troops densely around Yecheng, and use fear and hunger as weapons to fight the final battle against the judge...

Seeing that it was already the end of July, and the judge had been struggling for more than half a month, but there was still no sign of surrender.But the defenders of Yecheng had fallen into despair, and the cries of the soldiers could be heard far and wide before night, but they were afraid to defect because of the prestige of the trial. It was a dark evening, with only a crescent moon hanging in the sky, and the clouds were overcast and low, as if everything in the world was held under a big bowl, groggy and gloomy.Cao Cao rode his horse all the way south to inspect the camp, accompanied by only guards like Dong Zhao and Xu Chu.It was also joyful that the victory was imminent, and the group of people gradually left the company camp and came to the wasteland south of Yecheng.

With the help of the faint torches and the dim moonlight, everyone looked around, and everywhere they looked was a scene of defeat.Zhouza, Yecheng used to be densely populated with many people, but after more than half a year of fighting, everything has changed beyond recognition.Ordinary people have fled or hid in the city, the rice paddies are deserted, and the houses have been demolished by Cao Jun to set up walls and pontoon bridges. Instead of the barking of dogs, the howling of night wolves could be heard in the distance. Cao Cao's good mood seems to have been affected: "A few days ago, I got the military report. Gongsun Du actually gave the Yongning Hou Yinshou I gave him to his son Gongsun Kang, and detained the envoy Liang Mao. This madman doesn't know how to flatter him. , really want to turn against me."

"The scumbags sit in a well and watch the sky, and sooner or later they will be the ghosts of the lord." Dong Zhao said with a friendly face. "It's easy to win a job, but it's hard to keep it. Even if you take Yecheng, it may take several years to restore it to its former appearance!" Dong Zhao didn't take it seriously: "My lord was ordered by the emperor to conquer the Quartet, and the people of the Li people naturally love and admire him. After the war is over, he will persuade the farmers to garrison the fields to benefit the people. It won't take long for the natural population to be densely populated. Yin Guofu, a citizen of Ye County, has a strong foundation. It is not difficult to redevelop." When he was talking, he looked around and saw a low-level earth slope not far away, and pointed out, "My lord, you are tired from riding a horse. Let's climb up that earth slope to see the movement of Yecheng. how?"

"That's good." Cao Cao insisted on taking Hua Tuo's medicine for the past few days, and his headache has been greatly improved. He is not sleepy at all now, so he can simply move around so he can go back to sleep. There is really nothing special about this barren slope, and it is boring to climb up. It is just that Yecheng can be seen more clearly from the height.But seeing that the city is dark and misty, with only a few scattered lights, it seems that the defenders have lost hope of life and are simply waiting to die.Dong Zhao seemed to sigh casually: "In order to fight for this city of Ye, I don't know how many people have bloodied the battlefield, and how many people have died with regrets!"

Cao Cao felt that he was sick and moaned: "Gongren, you are a person who broke through the storm, why do you also sigh like a scholar? Since ancient times, the achievements of emperors, generals and ministers have been exchanged for human lives. People admire." "I'm not lamenting the achievements of the ages, but the auspicious place of Yecheng." "A place of auspiciousness?" Cao Cao was very puzzled. "This Ye city is not comparable to an ordinary county, and it can help to become the hegemony of the world!" Cao Cao smiled: "Oh, you are talking about Duke Huan of Qi. Back then, Duke Huan respected the king and fought against the barbarians, and built nine cities including Wulu, Zhongmou, and Ye to defend the country of China."

Dong Zhao was silent for a moment, and then explained: "Minggong is wrong. I am not talking about the hegemony of the Spring and Autumn Period, but the hegemony of the world today!" Cao Cao was stunned for a while, and then laughed loudly: "Gongren, you must be telling me a joke. Hahaha...the god is acting like a alchemist." Dong Zhao glanced at him from the corner of his eye, feeling that he was smiling unnaturally this time, and then said: "It's fine to make jokes or chat, but it's enough to make Minggong feel relieved, and he is busy with military affairs all day long. I was the prefect of Wei County under Yuan Benchu's command, and I know some old stories about this place, would you be interested in listening to Duke Ming?"

"Okay, tell me." Cao Cao looked at Dong Zhao's graceful face, and had a premonition that he was going to tell something extraordinary. Dong Zhaoqing cleared his throat: "Ming Gong is familiar with poetry and classics, so I won't talk about the ancient and long-term things, I think you have read them all. Let me talk about the leader of the yellow scarf, Zhang Jiao..." Cao Cao quickly interrupted: "Cough! Why did Gongren mention the rebels?" "Whether it's a rebel or a hero, they are all ancient people, and this is not a palace of imperial court, so why not talk about it?" Seeing that he no longer retorted, Dong Zhao continued, "The yellow scarf and its horns are originally giant deer. A person who once studied as an official, intensively studied the wonderful book "Taiping Jing", and was able to write amulets and heal people's diseases. His disciples and disciples were the most prosperous in his hometown. It’s true, instead of going south, he went north, does Ming Gong know the reason?”

Cao Cao gradually listened to it, and couldn't help frowning and shaking his head: "This matter is really inexplicable! Back then, Ma Yuanyi, Zhang Jiao's disciple, was captured in Gyeonggi, and he was ripped apart by the late emperor in the Luoyang market. I also saw it with my own eyes. Raising troops to unite the people of the eight states in the world is to overthrow the great Han society. It stands to reason that to do such an extraordinary thing, he should rush into Henan. It makes sense!" Dong Zhao twitched his beard and smiled: "If Duke Ming followed the way of using soldiers, he would not be able to figure it out, but listening to the sound and discerning the meaning would not be mysterious. Yecheng's decision is based on the truth in advance, which is actually the meaning of 'great cause can be determined'!"

Hearing what he said, Cao Cao understood, and felt relieved for a while: "After all, this horn is a charlatan. With such means to fool the people, what big things can they accomplish?" Unexpectedly, Dong Zhao said something more meaningful: "Zhang Jiao is a thief who fools the people, but the brothers Yuan Benchu ​​and Yuan Gonggong are not charlatans..." "What does this have to do with the Yuan family?" Cao Cao slowly put away his smile. "The relationship here is not trivial, but it has something to do with a prophecy." Dong Zhao stopped abruptly at this point, and then suggested, "There are still a few soldiers and horses in Yecheng's trial match. If you find that the Lord is spying here, open the city gate secretly. It would be very bad to send troops to make a surprise attack. Please, my lord, put out the torches."

Cao Cao felt that Dong Zhao's concerns were a little unnecessary. Yecheng was short of soldiers and food, so how could he have the ability to break through the siege and come here to make a surprise attack?But seeing Dong Zhao staring at him with piercing eyes, he knew there seemed to be some reason, so he raised his hand and said, "That's good! Put out the fire..." Xu Chu has been waiting at the back, and quickly asked the guards to hold the fire in his hand. Throw the fire to the ground and stamp it out. It was cloudy tonight, and it went dark as soon as the fire was extinguished, and the surrounding area was silent, and a few bright spots on the enemy tower in Yecheng in the distance seemed to be floating in the air.After being quiet for a long time, Dong Zhaocai exhaled softly, and said slowly: "I just mentioned a prophecy, in fact, Ming Gong must have heard it, which is the "Han Dynasty, should be Tu Gao" as said in "Spring and Autumn Prophecy". "Those who replaced the Han Dynasty, Dangtu Gao" is the longest and most influential prophecy in Chinese history. mentioned several times in ", explained in different ways)" In the darkness, no one could see Cao Cao's expression. They could only hear him say slowly, "Zhongkang, I have something to discuss with Gongren. Please avoid it for now." "Promise." Xu Chu didn't dare to ask further questions, thinking that this secluded place would not be dangerous, and Dong Zhao would not murder the lord, so he led the people down the hillside in the dark. After the rustling voice faded away, Cao Cao spoke again: "I thought what you were going to say, but it turned out to be that harmful sentence. At the beginning, Yuan Shu assumed the position because of this word, and what happened to him, Gongren will not I don't know." "That's because Yuan Gonglu's explanation is wrong. It is true that the 'tu' in 'dangtu' can lead to the 'road' and the 'tu' is true, but it is by no means that the word 'road' in his name can fulfill the destiny. This sentence The words actually mean something else.” Cao Cao was both curious and a little bit guilty. Discussing this topic was too rebellious. Because it was inconvenient to ask questions, he teased: "Chenwei (the combination of ancient picture prophecy and Weishu. Prophecy is fabricated by alchemists. The adages and pictures that foreshadow good and bad luck, Wei is a kind of book derived from the attached Confucian classics. The "Spring and Autumn Prophecy" and "Hetu Huichang Fu" mentioned in the article are the titles of eighty-one prophecy books between the Han and Han Dynasties. Prophecy is a Confucian The superstitious products derived from the theory have no scientific basis, but a small part of them have gradually evolved into the mainstream traditional culture. The old man never believed in it, but he didn't put his heart into it like Yuan Shao." At the beginning of the Battle of Guandu, Cao's army captured the Hebei army camp, and a large number of prophecy books were seized in Yuan Shao's army tent. "Believe it or not. It's no different. Even if someone understands it, what's the point if it's not the destiny? In fact, the study of prophecy and dimension comes from Hetu and Luoshu. There is a saying that 'he draws pictures, Luo publishes books, and sages follow it' In the old days, Fuxi occasionally saw a dragon horse holding a armor, with red characters and green characters. The armor was like a turtle's back. It was nine feet wide. He dared to change the law of the previous kings, so he secretly wrote it in Wei, and hid it to pass on to the later kings. The theory of prophecy is consistent with that of the five elements in "Hong Fan", which shows that it is not completely unreasonable." Seeing his strong arguments, Cao Cao sneered and said, "The knowledge of the ancients is profound and unpredictable, but the prophecies of today's people are far-fetched and will misinterpret the meaning of the text. How can An Neng be compared with Hetu and Luoshu?" "Not necessarily so." This vast and dark night gave Dong Zhao a lot of courage, and he no longer looked at Cao Cao's face and said, "Although Wang Mang believed in prophecy and forged Fu Rui, it should not be based on one person's fault. I am Emperor Guangwu. A generation of Zhongxing Yingzhu also believed in this way. He raised troops in Nanyang, in view of the saying that "the Liu family is revived, and the Li family is the assistant"; He was persuaded by his subordinates and refused to proclaim himself emperor until someone copied a piece of "Chi Fu Talisman" from the prophecy. , Liu Xiu thought he had the destiny after seeing it, and then proclaimed himself emperor); sacrifices to heaven and earth, all supported by prophecy; The eight generals went to the stars to stay in the same place; only because they read "Hetu Huichang Talisman" at night, they granted Zen to Mount Tai; It is used to watch astronomy and astrology; Piyong is used to teach etiquette; Mingtang is used to issue government orders. However, these three buildings in the era of Wang Mang and Liu Xiu were all used to announce prophecy, which is a national prophecy dissemination agency ) announced the prophecy to the world. If you follow Ming Gong’s words, are these actions of Lord Guangwu wrong?” He brought out the “successful experience” of the founding emperor, how did Cao Cao refute? Cao Cao just snorted and didn't say anything, but he felt infinite emotion in his heart - if you asked me a year ago, I would bluntly say that Emperor Guangwu's superstitious belief in prophecy was wrong, but now I don't think so.If a person becomes an emperor from ordinary people, what kind of transcendence is that?If you don't rely on the destiny to help, how can you serve the world?In the final analysis, destiny is still human will... "Those who represent the Han Dynasty should be Tu Gao." Dong Zhao couldn't hear his reply for a long time, so he explained in a lukewarm manner: "I have heard Tai Shi and doctors discuss in private, but in fact 'Dang Tu Gao' is referring to Wei Que (Wei Que) Que, also known as Que and Shuangque, is an ancient ritual building, referring to the watchtowers on both sides of the palace gate), which is naturally the thing on both sides of the road that is higher than the road, and Wei Que also means court. Today Duke Ming’s feet are the land of Weijun, and Yecheng is the place where the Wei family’s foundation was born. According to this theory, whoever wins Wei will win the court and the world.” Speaking of this, Cao Cao interjected: "Wei Que was originally a pavilion, but in fact it has nothing to do with the court, but it is said that 'the body is above the river and the heart is below Wei Que', and scholars have since said that it is the court." Unexpectedly, Dong Zhao laughed, and asked back: "Which article did this statement come from, can Mr. Ming know?" "Why don't you know, it's "Ranging the King"." Cao Cao suddenly fell silent after saying the name. "Let the king..." Dong Zhao muttered in a low voice, "It is also possible to give in to each other in this world. 'Rebirth, rebirth is less profitable', as long as there is virtue in the world, who is in that position? It’s just that People in the world are stubborn, they give up the basics and chase after the last one after another, they do not cultivate literature and virtue, but only blindly pursue the name of prophecy, so they are defeated one after another. Yuan Shu is arrogant, Zhang Jiao and Yuan Shao think that if they win the city of Ye, they can win the country. Those who can enshrine the Ninth Five-Year Plan and enjoy the world must be those who benefit the common people..." He paused for a moment, and then added, "In other words, as long as the people who are able to benefit the common people have the right to enshrine the Ninth Five-Year Plan and enjoy the world in peace The fate of the ages is like a fleeting moment, if you can't grasp it, you can only make future generations sigh." How could Cao Cao fail to hear such explicit hints?But for some reason, he didn't respond at all.Dong Zhao was extremely disturbed, although it was out of his own mouth and into his ears, but who knows if he would agree.Just as I was about to take a sneak peek at the look on his face, a gloomier cloud passed by, covering the last glimmer of moonlight. It was so dark that I couldn't even see anyone. In the darkness, I could only listen to Cao Cao. He asked softly, "Are you... finished?" "No. Does Minggong still want to continue listening?" Dong Zhao threw the question back again, but he didn't hear his answer for a long time, so he boldly said, "My aunt speaks nonsense, and Minggong aunt listens to it." Everything was silent in the dark, and the two faced each other without looking at each other. Dong Zhao's words gradually became profound: "I have heard some rumors that when the emperor was forced by Li Jue and Guo Si to defeat Cao Yang, he planned to take a boat. Follow the river to the east and settle down in Yanzhou or Jizhou. However, Taishiling (Taishiling, also referred to as Taishi, was an official in charge of compiling history books, astronomy and calendar in ancient times, and was subordinate to Taichang Temple, with a low status). Wang Li said that Taibai Jingtian and Yinghuo went retrograde, and the celestial phenomenon was not conducive to the Son of Heaven going down the river along the river, so he changed his route to the north, crossed the river and crossed Zhiguan to drive to Anyi." "It's nonsense!" Cao Cao sneered, "Ding Chong told me about this incident. At that time, Yang Biao objected to going down by boat, saying that Hongnong has thirty-six tidal flats, and the intertwined river branches are not conducive to boating. Sergeant Liu Ai used to be the county magistrate of Shan County, so he is more familiar with the terrain and does not agree to go by water. The emperor decided to cross the river to Anyi after listening to their advice. This has nothing to do with the sky!" "As Duke Ming said, there is indeed a reason for the river." Dong Zhao did not refute, "But after arriving in Anyi, the emperor immediately offered sacrifices to God, if it wasn't for a change in the sky, why did the emperor rush to sacrifice to the sky? " Cao Cao didn't speak, it seemed that he was caught by his words, and it was completely reasonable for the out-of-phase emperor to sacrifice to heaven.Seeing that he was unable to answer for a long time, Dong Zhao continued: "When he settled down in Anyi, Wang Li told Liu Ai privately that the changes in the sky cannot be changed. They can be avoided for a while but cannot be avoided forever. ; Yinghuo, that is, Mars. The so-called "Taibai Jingtian, Yinghuo retrograde" actually refers to the overlapping of Venus and Mars in astronomical observations. From the current point of view, it is just a normal phenomenon of planetary movement), and sooner or later the two will converge Together, and the meeting of Huo and Jin is a sign of revolution. Han Dynasty Guo Zuo... Guo Zuo..." "how?" Dong Zhao lowered his voice and said, "The state of the Han Dynasty will end, and a new emperor will be established in the land of Wei and Jin." When he said this, he only heard Cao Cao sigh and had no other reaction, so he became more courageous, "Later Wang Li also Tell today's son that the five elements will not be constant if the destiny is gone, the Han Dynasty belongs to Huo De, Dai Huo De is Tu De, and the one who inherits the Han Dynasty is..." Dong Zhao's heart was in his throat, and he didn't know what to say next How will Cao Cao react when he comes out.If he is unlucky to get angry, then all his nine clans will be killed by the butcher's knife; but if he is not angry, then his future wealth and honor will be assured!Although Dong Zhao was determined to take a gamble, he couldn't help but pause when he got to the point of his mouth. After a long time, Cao Cao said again in a gloomy voice, "Finish what you have said." "Please Mr. Ming agree to the next matter, so I dare to finish." "What's up?" Dong Zhao stumbled and said, "Ming Gong, please promise that after I finish speaking, no matter whether Ming Gong is happy or angry, I will not add any crimes to you." "Hey hey..." Cao Cao suddenly let out a sinister laugh, "Dong Gongren, it's so dark here that it's hard to see your fingers, even if the old man agrees to your condition, no one will see and no one will witness, what can you do if you regret it later? " Dong Zhao shivered in shock: I was wrong!When was Cao Mengde under the control of others in his life?Whether the emperor is in his hands, no one in the world can restrain him!Although I can speak, I have no right to negotiate terms with him... Thinking of Dong Zhao's knees limp at this point, he collapsed to the ground, knowing that Cao Cao couldn't see him, he kowtowed to apologize. "It's irreversible. I can kill you just based on what you just said!" Dong Zhao trembled like a leaf in the wind: "Duke Ming, please forgive me..." "As a minister, there are words that can be said, and words that cannot be said. If you make a wrong step, you will be punished by the heavens and unforgivable..." Cao Cao's voice was as cold as ice and snow, but the words had a double meaning. It seemed to be blaming Dong Zhao, but also reminded himself. When disaster strikes, you must be bold, and now you can only survive from death.Dong Zhao clasped the sand with his ten fingers, gritted his teeth, and raised his head suddenly, saying: "Since saying one sentence is death, saying everything is death, the official is full of loyalty for Ming Gong, so I will tell you everything! The celestial phenomena show where the hearts of the people belong. The one who inherits the Han Dynasty is the State of Wei, and the one who wins the world in the future must have the surname Cao..." "Presumptuous! You deceive the public with your demonic words!" Dong Zhao only felt a chill on his neck, as if a sharp sword had been attached to his neck, and he couldn't see clearly in the darkness, so he didn't dare to act rashly any more, desperately defending: "This is absolutely true! The order to go to Anyi is not hearsay! The Taishi Ling Wang Li is still in Xudu, and the attendant Liu Ai is recording the daily life of the current sage, how dare I use them to spread rumors..." "Shut up!" Cao Cao shouted. The night was as quiet as death, everything was melted into the endless darkness, without a trace of life.Dong Zhao was paralyzed on the ground, feeling that he had fallen into a bottomless abyss, his eyes were wide open, but his eyes were filled with darkness, and fear frightened him like a sharp knife around his neck.He remained motionless, awaiting the judgment of fate. I don't know how long it took, but I heard Cao Cao's deep voice from a distance: "It's really dark tonight, we are all blind, what we say at this time is really nonsense! The ancients said, 'Your Bumi If you don't keep secrets, you will lose your status', these far-fetched words are nothing more than chatting, and they can't be mentioned again in the future." It turned out that he had quietly walked away... The breeze blows and the dark clouds dissipate, and the bright moonlight covers the earth again, and everything gradually becomes clear again.Dong Zhaozhen had a sense of gratitude for the rest of his life after the catastrophe, as if all the strength in his body had been exhausted, and he was lying on the ground panting heavily.He stared blankly at the back of Cao Cao leading all the guards away, still feeling the chill on his neck, and stretched out his hand to touch it - where someone put a sword on his neck, it was just a gust of cool wind blowing by chance. Dong Zhao laughed, laughing at himself for being too careful and redundant.People will always change with the situation, everything will happen naturally.There is no one in the world who can guide Cao Cao's aspirations, everything depends on him to think...