Chapter 28 Recruitment

Jia Xu said that the generals in Liangzhou were good at what they were doing, and immediately raised troops to attack Chang'an. The imperial court sent Xu Rong and Hu Zhen to lead their troops to resist, but Xu Rong died in battle and Hu Zhen defected to the enemy.Lu Bu organized the second confrontation with the state army, but they were still outnumbered and defeated. In June of the third year of Chuping (AD 192), only two months after the elimination of Dong Zhuo, the city of Chang'an fell.Taichangqing Zhongfu, Taifu Lu Xu, Dahonghe Zhou Huan, Chengmen School Captain Cui Lie, and Yueqi School Captain Wang Qi died in the battle. More than 10,000 officials and people resisted until the death.Situ Wang Yun and Sili Xiaowei Huang Wan who planned to assassinate Dong Zhuo were killed, and the archer Sun Rui narrowly escaped because of his low-key behavior.After the Xiliang army entered the city, they plundered the palace and folk property again, and redistributed the treasures that had been robbed by Dong Zhuo in the past.Li Jue proclaimed himself the General of Chariots, Guo Si the General of the Rear, Fan Chou the General of the Right, and Zhang Ji the General of Zhendong.Chang'an fell under Xiliang's iron heel again. What was different from before was that Li Jue and Guo Si only cared about money and the army, not politics, and took Jia Xu as the minister to handle the government affairs.But they are more rude and cruel than Dong Zhuo, and they regard human life as worthless!

It is rumored that on the day when the city was broken, Lu Bu led his soldiers to kill Qingsuo gate of the palace and told Wang Yun to flee quickly.Wang Yun insisted on refusing to leave, and shouted to Lv Bu: "It is my wish for the spirit of the country to secure the country. If I don't get it, I will sacrifice myself to die. The court is young and only depends on me. It is inevitable. I can't bear it. Work hard to thank the princes of the Guandong, and keep your country in mind." Lu Bu saw that he would not leave, so he had to run away by himself. Before his death, Situ Wangyun was still looking forward to the princes of the Guandong, hoping that they would change their minds and come to the king's rescue.But he didn't know that the Guandong shepherds who swore in those days had long forgotten the imperial court, and they were all raising their own kingly careers on their respective territories...

Just when Wang Yun was buried for the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao was immersed in his longing.Holding on to the female wall of Puyang City, he looked down at the army showing their might below, and the joy in his heart was beyond words.After losing his arm, Bao Xin, he learned from the pain and re-deployed the strategy of calming the chaos.Afterwards, he led his troops to the east, dispatched Cao Ren, Le Jin, and Yu Jin to pursue them closely, regained Rencheng's lost ground, and finally completely defeated the Yellow Turban Army at the end of the year. It was compiled as Qingzhou soldiers.Moreover, in the process of quelling the chaos, he gained more than a million men and women refugees. With these people's farming output, there is no need to worry about the issue of military rations.

Today is a special day. Cao Cao's direct line troops, Bao Xin's men and horses, the newly formed Qingzhou soldiers, and Li's powerful Xiangyong gathered together, and they swore to perform martial arts under the city of Puyang.And none of the prefects of the various counties dared to ignore Cao's majesty, and led their troops here one after another to attend this grand ceremony.And beside Cao Cao, state and county officials stood respectfully and respectfully on both sides, waiting for his dispatch at all times. There is no doubt that the entire Yanzhou has been conquered by Cao Cao's strong strength.After Liu Yan, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, and Gongsun Zan, he has become another strongman who dominates one side.Even Yuan Shao had to admit it, and quickly sent someone to bring the "edict" and formally appointed him as the governor of Yanzhou.

At this moment, Cao Cao was full of ambition, watching the soldiers change into various formations and formations under the command of the general, with a smile on his face all the time.But looking up and looking up, everywhere he can see is his own territory, patches of fields, dense forests, and mountains. The pleasure of commanding one party is simply incomparable.When he was guarding the door in the north of Luoyang in the past, he never expected that he would have such a strong day. "The majesty of the emperor can be said to shock the world!" "With such a force, why do Yuan Shu and Gongsun's generation suffer!"

"I wish to do the work of a dog and a horse." "Cao Shijun is really a minister of the country." "This is not only the glory of the envoy, but also our glory, the glory of the people of Yanzhou!" ... The praise lingered in Cao Cao's ears, and he turned his head to look. It was Li Feng, Xue Lan, Xu Si, and Wang Kai, the former officials of Ganzhou Temple.It sounds nice, but are you really convinced?Cao Cao immediately probed and said: "Masters, I intend to send soldiers from Yanzhou to hunt Qingxu and expand the land in the east. What do you think?" In Cao Cao's mind, what he said about sending troops in the coming sun was false, but it was true to take the opportunity to turn a deer into a horse.

"I am willing to follow the general's wishes!" None of these officials dared to say no. Suddenly there was a deep voice that was out of the ordinary: "This is absolutely impossible!" Everyone was taken aback, seeing that it was Biejia Bichen who spoke.Those officials hadn't yet gained Cao Cao's trust, fearing that he would hurt themselves by pulling out his whiskers, they quickly accused him of being a failure.But Bi Chen ignored it, and said bluntly: "It is too hasty to make the emperor enter the army. First, the civil strife in Yanzhou is extinguished, and the people's livelihood is poor, so soldiers cannot be used; The third..." He saw Cao Cao's stern eyes staring at him, so he didn't dare to say any more.

There are always different kinds of people, and at this time there are those who are bold enough to poke a hornet's nest. Wan Qian, who is on the side, sees that he dare not speak up, and takes up the conversation in a high-pitched voice: "This is the third and most important one. Entrusted to the imperial court and boasting of being loyal and good, how can you take away people's land and violate the land of other states?" These two sentences are too serious, and they have criticized Cao Cao's selfishness to the point that everyone present bowed their heads. It was so low that I didn't even dare to make a sound.

Cao Cao looked closely at the two of them, and asked sternly, "Is this what the second lord thinks?" "Yes." Wan Qian made a bow neither humble nor overbearing; although Bi Chen felt timid, he also nodded. "Hahaha..." Cao Cao suddenly turned his anger into joy, "Well said! Well said!" Except for the three of Xun Yu, everyone was stunned, wondering if he was speaking ironically. Cao Cao gave a deep salute to Wan Qian and Bi Chen: "You two are really kind words, Cao is very grateful." He turned his head and looked at the people standing there, "Yanzhou's industry is pioneering, and there are Yuan Shudong and Gongsun in the south. How can I attack the land of Qingxu now? I, Cao Cao, don’t like blind obedience. What I want is to know everything without saying anything. Only in this way can I govern the land of Yanzhou well. Because it’s not just me, Cao It is also the fame of the adults, and it is the safety of the people of the world! Please think twice...Xu Tuo, please write this matter down, and take my family's private brocade and give it to Wan and Bi Ergong after you go back."

Wan Qian and Bi Chen broke out in a cold sweat, and they no longer declined the benefits at this moment, and bowed to thank them; while those who blindly obeyed had ugly faces.Cao Cao was also afraid that they would lose face, so he reached out to hold Li Feng and said, "Uncle Jie, your Li family has contributed a lot to the eradication of the Yellow Turban this time, and it has actually benefited the people of Yanzhou a lot. If everyone can put their hearts together and help each other, the world will It's not difficult!" When he said this, his eyes naturally swept to Xu Si and Wang Kai.

All three of them smiled happily, but they were still aggrieved.Xu Si and Wang Kai were Liu Dai's former troops. As soon as Cao Cao arrived in Yanzhou, he promoted them to Zhonglang General, but the actual military power was weakened; The salt became Cao Cao's official salt.They all felt that Cao Cao was just acting, and they couldn't really believe it. At this time, the soldiers and horses outside the city had finished their drills, and all the soldiers raised their banners, swords and guns, and shouted to defend Yanzhou. The scene was extremely enthusiastic, and the voice shook the world.Cao Cao took off his pockets and greeted the soldiers, then turned around and said, "Okay, let's see what we need to see, everyone go back to deal with business. After a while, we will have a banquet with the eunuchs and subordinate officials at the posthouse. I still have something important to do, so I'll go ahead." Xu Tuo reminded with a smile: "All the county generals are here today, what else do you need to do? Why don't you meet with everyone first?" "You don't know that Bao Xin once recommended a Mr. Mao Jie to me. I have already sent Cheng Li and Wei Zhong with rich gifts to invite him to work. I'm afraid the man has arrived by now, and I have to go see him quickly. Lah." As he spoke, Cao Cao glanced at Xi Zhicai with a smile, "Brother Zhicai, there is a saying in "Lu Lan" that 'the holy king does not care about the one who returns, but the reason for returning', right?" "Cough, cough..." Xi Zhicai coughed a few times, and said with a sigh of relief, "General, I can't show off my knowledge... Cough, cough..." "I'm just playing tricks... You seem to have been coughing for more than a month, so you must take care of yourself." Cao Cao patted him on the shoulder and took Xu Tuo down the city. "Send the envoy." Li Feng, Xue Lan and others rushed to send gifts, but they were extremely unhappy: Cao Mengde has been using private parties more and more since he entered Puyang. For the sake of Xiaolian, please ask Cheng Li to come out to work, Xun Yu and Xi Zhi only deal with state affairs, Chen Gong, Le Jin, and Yu Jin divide the state soldiers, even official documents are monopolized by Xu Tuo, and now they don't ask why they have hired a Mao Hsu, if this goes on like this, where will our group of people gain a foothold?Could it be that you are willing to be someone's deputy? Cao Cao didn't have time to think about this, so he hurried back to his residence immediately after leaving the tower.During the six months of battle, what he has been brooding over is Bao Xin's death.In order to make up for this regret, he took Bao Xin's family to Puyang, raised his sons Bao Shao and Bao Xun, and gave them the same treatment as Cao Zhen.Afterwards, he remembered that Bao Xin had recommended Chen Liu Maojie before his death, so he hurriedly asked Wei Zhong and Cheng Li, two natives, to go there with a heavy gift, and appointed him as the governor before they met. It is said that seeing is worse than hearing a hundred times, but this Mao Jie is worth hearing a hundred times.When Cheng Li and Wei Zhong excitedly led him in, Cao Cao only took one look and felt regretful.This Mao Jie was less than forty years old, about seven feet tall, dressed in coarse cloth, with a sallow complexion, an aquiline nose and a thin mouth, sparse eyebrows with thick stalks, and a short yellow beard.The so-called intelligent eyes are not small, but they are a pair of dull fish eyes, empty and lifeless, and there are also a pair of bags under the eyes that are drooping. To exaggerate, they are about to fall to the chin! Cao Cao's appearance is not good, but he has high demands on others. Seeing his appearance, he felt disgusted, but he got up very politely and said: "Mr. .” "Don't dare." Mao Jie's voice was buzzing and nasal, it sounded like a broken bell. "Please sit down." Mao Jie sat down proudly, sitting upright with his dead fish eyes hanging down, without saying a word.Theoretically speaking, since he accepted the appointment of the governor, no matter how old-fashioned he was, he had to be a little polite, but this person didn't even bother to say a word on the scene, and when he sat there without saying a word, the atmosphere suddenly cooled down. Seeing this, Cheng Li quickly had nothing to say: "Brother Xiao, everyone knows that you have insight, and I think I am not bad. At the beginning, Liu Gongshan wanted to hire me several times, but I didn't come. But when I saw the old The county magistrate Cao is willing to drive away immediately, do you think I am not wise?" Mao Jie tugged at his two mustaches, smiled without saying a word. Cao Cao was a little unhappy at such a cold scene, what capital does this person have to be proud of his talent?So he asked artificially: "Mr. Mao, Bao Xin once recommended you to me, and said that you had been to Liu Jingsheng's and Yuan Gonglu's tents, and you were not very satisfied. How dare you ask Mr. Wang about his life's wishes." "I have never considered any volunteering in my life." Mao Jie slightly raised his eyelids, and looked at Cao Cao with those dead fish eyes. "Now if we talk about volunteering... it is to do the errands assigned by the boss wholeheartedly." What kind of volunteering is this? Running a job well is what ordinary petty officials should do. After spending so much effort, is it possible to recruit a petty official?Cao Cao was a little impolite: "Sir, you are too modest. If I randomly assign you errands, can you handle them well?" "I encourage you to do it." "Okay, I'll give you an errand now... Dare I ask, sir, how can I achieve supremacy in Yanzhou's fourth war?" Cao Cao deliberately made things difficult for him. I saw Mao Jie getting up slowly, and said unhurriedly: "Today, the world is falling apart, the ruler of the country has moved, the people have lost their jobs, famine has exiled, the public has no reserves for the years, and the people have no ambition to stabilize. It is difficult to last. Today Yuan Shao , Although Liu Biao's scholars and people are strong, they have no worries about long-distance, and they have not established a foundation. The righteous man wins, and he keeps his position for wealth. Then the career of overlord can be accomplished.” Serve the emperor to beg for disobedience, cultivate farming and planting with livestock and military funds! Hearing such wise words, Cao Cao was astonished, and hurriedly got up and bowed: "Mr., if you say something right on the head and give advice, you will be negligent in the officials. Please don't worry about it." "Don't dare." Mao Jie gave way with a hand. "Please sit down quickly." The second time Mao Jie took his seat, he was still sitting upright, with his dead fish eyes hanging down, and he was still cold again.Cao Cao thought this person was interesting. It turned out that he was a deadhead who didn't like to talk. He was full of knowledge but didn't like to talk about it. He quickly asked, "Mr. Mao Jie nodded slightly: "I am a humble person, what is the eye? This is actually a false award from a friend. However, after traveling to various places downstream, some of the experience of selecting officials is true." "Appreciate further details." "The fall of the Han Dynasty to this point is due to the tyranny of the Dong thief, but the root of the disaster has been there for a long time. The eunuchs rule the country and the relatives intervene in power, and the selection of officials is not true. The officials use morality to correct the world, and the officials use their talents to manage civil affairs. If the department is not handled properly, the people will not be able to return to their hearts. The officials appointed by Kao Liang Ji and Wang Fu are all flatterers. If such officials are selected by them, they must be dirty officials and cruel officials. The big Han has used such unbearable officials for many years People, how can there be no Yellow Turban Rebellion?" Mao Jie paused and said, "Let's take this as a lesson and act with caution. Now that the general has been involved in Yanzhou affairs, it is time to examine the officials carefully. First, observe From the family background, see if there are any children of the family who rely on power to deceive others illegally, and see if there are any people from poor backgrounds who take bribes. Keep the good ones and discard the bad ones, this is only the first step." Cao Cao nodded in approval again and again. "Then, let's see what it can do. You can take a look at Wenzong's case file and examine whether the remaining officials handled the case properly and made any mistakes. Of course, people are not sages and sages. Whether there are too many mistakes or not, should you make mistakes? Choose the good ones or promote them or take permanent positions, and the bad ones may be demoted or relocated." Mao Jie opened his dead fish eyes, buzzing his nose and said again, "then the next general You have to pay attention, carefully observe the words and deeds of officials, and then choose the best from the best among those who handle things properly. See if they judge the situation based on reason, whether they have true insights, and whether they can speak out and argue. Pick out such people, It is the selection of important personnel for the general’s reserve. With the increase of power affairs, these people will be promoted to fill the vacancies, and then new talents will be found. In this way, competent officials will emerge in endlessly. If the civil affairs are handled properly, then the use of troops will be worry-free. .” "Oh!" Wei Zhong stretched out his thumb, "Sir, you are truly worthy of the word "wisdom eye". I think that this small state is engaged in Qucai, and you are worthy of being an elector!" Cao Cao couldn't help sighing: "If Mr. Liang Hu was the Minister of Selected Department, how could I just go to the north of Luoyang City to be a small county lieutenant." "The general's words are wrong." Mao Jie shook his head and said, "The selection of officials is based on seniority and knowledge. No matter how capable people are, they should go through the experience to accumulate experience. If I take up the post of Liang Hu in the past, the general will even be a lieutenant in the north of Luoyang. Even if you can’t make it, first find a small county to experience it for two years, and let’s see the political achievements.” "Hahaha... Brother Xiao is outspoken!" Cao Cao appreciated it in his heart, and now his buzzing voice sounded like Huang Zhongda Lu Hongliang, and it didn't sound like a broken bell. There is the style of the ancients. Then please select officials for me, and pass this test well." "No." Mao Jie was neither modest nor courteous. Cheng Li smiled and said: "I think it's getting late, the general must not neglect the generals of the various counties. Let's talk about this today. Let's take Brother Xiao to the office first, and give him the seal of the official clothes by the way. Let's take care of it today." Take a break, and move your family in two days. General, you should change your clothes quickly, and the post may be ready." "Okay, let's talk about it another day." Cao Cao politely sent Mao Jie out of the gate, and then went back to the back hall to change the deep clothes. The beautiful new gown was tailored to every detail, and it was really sweet and pleasant for him to wear it for him by Xinna's wife of the Qin family and his concubine Huan'er.Cao Cao felt more and more energetic. He picked up the small comb and combed his beard himself, humming a ditty while tidying up. Mrs. Bian leaned aside with her big belly, couldn't help laughing and said: "You are really proud today, could it be that you have eaten bee droppings, and you are almost as beautiful as heaven." "Of course, Yanzhou Dading, the army is strong and the horse is strong, and we have won another sage." Cao Cao shook his head and said, "I followed Xun Yu's words before, to win the favor of Yanzhou people, and to strengthen the center of the Central Plains. The next step, I will Seems to follow Mao Xiaoxian's words, serve the emperor to beg for disobedience, cultivate farming and planting for livestock and military capital." Bian didn't understand so much, and just said: "This is all about you big men." "I'm going to give birth in half a month, and I'm going to have to work hard for Madam." Cao Cao strolled over and touched her belly, "Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" "My family wants a girl, and they have already given birth to two bald boys." "I'm still looking forward to a son. It is said that King Wen has a hundred sons." Cao Cao said naively. "You're busy with other things just having a baby, don't be shy." Mrs. Bian poked him on the forehead with a smile. "I will serve the emperor to beg for disobedience, cultivate farming and planting for livestock and military funds..." Cao Cao muttered, "If this child is still a boy, let's name him Cao Zhi." "Everything is up to you." Mrs. Bian said with a smile. Cao Cao touched Bian's stomach again, and then went away laughing.