Chapter 16 Prostitution

The second year of Zhongping (AD 185) was another year of many disasters. Just after the first month, Cao Cao got the news that a fire broke out in the Luoyang Palace. The fire ignited from the Nangong and spread rapidly, so that all the buildings and palaces to the south of the road from the Imperial Palace were spared.Such a violent fire could not be extinguished at that time. The emperor took the empress dowager, empress, prince, and concubines to the West Garden to escape, while the eunuchs and Yulin retreated to the North Palace for temporary placement.As soon as the gates inside and outside the palace were closed, the fire was cut off, and the next thing to do was to hope that it would rain.But the heavens are not so beautiful, and when the nectar is needed, there is not even a single raindrop, which makes the fire burn endlessly.During this period of time, the entire city of Luoyang was illuminated by fire, and the night was like day.

The fire burned for half a month until the Nangong complex was completely reduced to rubble and coke. When Liu Hong returned to Luoyang City, he was very sorry to see the tragedy.After learning from the pain, he was determined to restore the Nangong Palace, and build it even more magnificent than that built by Master Guangwu Liu Xiuxiu back then.So he immediately delivered an edict on the ruins of Nangong, announcing that the taxation of the world would be increased to ten yuan per mu. Liu Hong wanted to use this method to collect money to support the Nangong project, but the increase in taxes once again aroused the dissatisfaction of the people.Within a few days, the Yellow Turbans in Hebei really resurfaced, and the rebel leaders Zhang Niujiao and Chu Feiyan, who were active in the Montenegro area, formed a team again, wantonly looting official residences and overthrowing landlords and local tyrants.Since the main force of the imperial court was still in the northwest, the riots in Hebei failed to form an effective suppression situation.For a time, small heads of yellow scarves with various names abounded. The big-eyed leader surnamed Li called himself "Li Damu", and the tall and bearded one called himself "Zuohuzhangba". They call themselves "Zuo Xiao", and those with a loud voice call themselves "Lei Gong", and then Liu Shi, Huang Long, Guo Daxian, Wang Dang, Sun Qing, Yu Du, Bai Rao, Sui Gu, Fu Yun, Zhang Baiqi, Luo Shi... ...All kinds of bandits are flying all over the sky. Among the valleys and dense forests of Changshan, Zhaojun, Zhongshan, Shangdang, Hanoi and other places, the shadow of the Black Mountain Army can be seen everywhere. Seize the opportunity.

With Hebei in such chaos, the war in the Northwest will not be easy.Qianghu and the bandits invaded Longyou, Huangfusong and Dong Zhuo turned to fight. Although they drove the rebels out of Sanfu, they were unable to continue their pursuit.The situation in Liangzhou was in chaos. Governor Zuo Chang was dismissed from office. The successor, Song Xiao, was a scholar and had no way to defend against the enemy. In desperation, he once again proposed to promote the "Book of Filial Piety" to defeat the enemy, and staged Xiang Xu's farce again.Barbaric Qiang people, fierce bullies, and fierce bandits each occupied one side. They not only attacked the official city but also killed each other.

Even in this unfavorable situation, the emperor still did not give up on the oppression of the people, and it seemed that he would not stop until Nangong was repaired.He ordered all the counties and counties under his control to insist on a tax of ten qian per mu of land, and those who violated it would be severely punished. When it came to Jinan, Cao Cao scratched his head again.He has just achieved results in revamping the administration of officials, seeing that corrupt officials are almost banned in Jinan, and the harsh decrees of the imperial court have arrived again.An acre of land can produce less than three dendrobiums of grain, and there is not much left after deducting the tax of ten qian. Doesn't this force the common people to their death?He locked himself in the room and thought over and over again. If he did not implement the imperial court's decree, the result would be obvious, and he would have to leave Jinan.What would be the outcome if that were the case?I don't care about my own future, after all, with my father taking care of me, there won't be too much loss.But what about the people in Jinan?What about the corruption-free situation that has been achieved through hard work?

In the end Cao Cao succumbed, he could only follow the emperor's wishes and raised taxes.For this reason, he went to the field to watch the people work.The poor people even sold their cattle and worked hard in the fields. They were so skinny that they didn't even shed tears.Although the landlords have land, they still look uncomfortable. After learning the lesson of the Yellow Turban, they dare not bully the tenants anymore. The raised taxes have to be filled by themselves, and they have to suffer from this kind of splint when they fill up the country with volunteers. .In front of Cao Cao, those local tyrants condemned the court's immorality, and now no one cared about him as a prestigious county general.But what else can Cao Cao do?Capture them all?If you push it any further, Jinan will rebel... Cao Cao recalled that when he served as the Order of Dunqiu, he refused to recruit soldiers to punish the powerful. Compared with it now, it seems that his moral bottom line has dropped a lot. Could it be that his human nature has been corrupted? ?

He crossed manors and fields in a carriage, and all the people he witnessed were lifeless, so he had to go back to Dongping Mausoleum in silence.While walking, I saw many people rushing along the road carrying paper cows and paper horses in groups, and some well-dressed people were holding incense burners and wine cups, muttering while walking.This aroused his curiosity, and he said, "Lou Yi, what are they doing here? A funeral?" Lou Yi rode on the horse and quickly replied: "My lord, this is not a funeral, but a sacrifice. We have been in Jinan for a while, and I have discovered that the people here have this habit. There are some special days on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar new year. The people carried the sacrifices to sacrifice, as if they were begging some god or something."

"Could it be Zhonghuang Taiyi again?" Cao Cao shuddered thinking of Zhang Jiao's past. "That's not true. It is said that this kind of sacrifice has lasted for more than a hundred years, and Zhang Jiao has only been around for a few years. It can't be the ghost of Taipingdao." Cao Cao heaved a sigh of relief, Taipingdao had left a deep impression on him... The team of people had disappeared while speaking.But he thought about it again, now that the counties and counties are taxed heavily, and the people are already struggling in production, why do they still invest money and energy in this kind of sacrificial activities?He hesitated for a while, but still shouted, "Stop!"

Lou Yi quickly dismounted, grabbed the side of the cart and asked, "My lord, do you have any orders?" Cao Cao waved his hand to signal him to move away, carefully looked at all the servants, picked and picked, and finally chose a boy who looked quite clever, nodded and said: "Come here...don't look at others, it's you, come here!" The little boy was only eleven or twelve years old, he was just a boy doing odd jobs in the outer courtyard, not to mention running errands, he hadn't even spoken a word to Cao Cao, he came out this time just to feed the horses.Seeing Cao Cao calling him, he trembled a little before approaching him, he even forgot to salute, and took two steps forward tremblingly.

"I have an important errand for you." Cao Cao didn't care about his attitude, "You chase after the team of people carrying tribute just now, and see where they go and what they do. Tell them to find out. Then come back and tell me, go!" "Back...back...my lord, that group of people...they..." The boy was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly. "Speak clearly to me!" Cao Cao said impatiently according to Shimu. "Back...back...my lord, that team...they..." "Forget it! I'll take care of anything else." Lou Yi interjected.

Unexpectedly, Cao Cao's stubbornness came up, and he pointed to the boy's nose and said: "No! I will use him today! I don't believe it, I am a majestic country and even a child can't handle it." "He's too young." Lou Yi persuaded again. "Young what? Since I'm in the official temple, I'm the person who handles the affairs. I need to be young for this job. Xiahou Yuanrang and Sun Wentai both killed thieves when they were twelve or three. When I was thirteen, I stole things, Climbing over walls, talking nonsense, fighting in groups, why not?"

All the attendants gritted their teeth and tried not to laugh out loud when they heard the county general unintentionally tell the scandals of their childhood.The little boy was crying, and then he thought about his words: "If you go back to your lord...the people have already gone far, and there is a mountain in front of you, and I don't know the road well. Already... let's look for it next time." "Come here." Cao Cao waved to him, "I have something important to tell you." The little boy moved his face towards him without knowing it, but Cao Cao raised his hands and pinched his little ears: "Listen to me, you boy. The people go to sacrifice regardless of their work. This matter is big or small. If there is any conspiracy It’s like a leak in the house at home. Leakage is an urgent matter, but you tell me to wait fifteen days before repairing it. If it rains heavily during these fifteen days and all the furniture in the house is destroyed, the responsibility is Are you taking care of it or I am taking care of it?" "Let go, let go! Let go!" The twisting boy showed childishness, "I'm just obedient... I'll do whatever you say..." Only then did Cao Cao let go: "Such a trivial matter still troubles me, go!" "Let's go now, little one." The little boy cried while covering his ears. "Why are you crying?" "If you can't find it, how can I do business with you, you must hit me." Cao Cao laughed and said, "It's enough to tell you to follow and search. Whether you can find it is one thing, but whether you can find it is another matter. I will give you a ride on my horse. If you can't find it, I won't punish you. If you find it, you won't be punished." I have a reward!" "Thank you sir!" The little boy laughed through his tears, and immediately rushed to Cao Cao's Dawan horse. He was small, and it took him a long time to climb up.Lou Yi was a little worried when he saw it, and shouted: "Boy! This horse was given to our lord by the general. It is worth enough money to buy a county magistrate. You have to be careful." I don't know if he heard it, He ran away in a flash. Cao Cao looked at his back and couldn't help sighing: "Oh... It took so much time to explain some errands, it would be great if Yilu was by my side." Lou Yi also missed him a lot, but he couldn't say anything, so he said, "I'm afraid this kid will steal your lord's BMW." "Don't be suspicious of employing people, but don't be suspicious of people who are suspicious." Cao Cao said as he untied the bag from his waist, "Lou Yi, this is for you. Go find a farmer and exchange the money for two pieces of clothes worn by farmers." "This is you?" "When the boy comes back and explains it, we both pretend to be ordinary people to find out the truth." Lou Yi was taken aback when he heard this: "Adults must not put themselves in danger, if there is a mistake, the little one can't bear it." "What are you talking about? It was the two of us back then, and even dozens of thieves fought, so why not visit the common people?" "My lord was only a county magistrate at the beginning, but now he is a majestic county general. Besides, the victory of Yingchuan and the victory of Wancheng made your lord powerful in the Kanto region. Although you are famous in the world, you will inevitably have hatred. Xin, if you want to hurt an adult, you will be in danger. You must guard against it." Cao Cao was startled, but immediately understood.Lou Yi's words were actually tactful, saying that he broke the sky, but because he suppressed the Yellow Turbans and killed countless people, the poor people actually hated themselves from the bottom of their hearts. If people recognized him as a commoner, they would inevitably be beaten.But who can blame him for having such a reputation?He waved his hand: "Forget it, let's wait for that boy to come back." The prime minister's car stopped aside, and everyone sat on the ground, just waiting for the boy to come back and report.I don't want to wait for two hours, and there is no one on the post road.Cao Cao recalled Lou Yi's words at this moment, presumably that child could not find those people, fearing that he would not be able to pay the job, he abducted his Dawan horse and went.Seeing that the sky was getting late and there was still a long way to go back, he had no choice but to curse himself for being blind, and led others back to Dongping Mausoleum in dismay. When we arrived at the Prime Minister's Mansion, it was already dark, and Cao Cao was so angry that he fell asleep in bed without even eating dinner.This sleep lasted until the middle of the night, when suddenly woke up by the sound of conversation, sat up and listened dazedly, it turned out that Lou Yi, the gatekeeper, was arguing with someone. "You can't go in, my lord is asleep." Lou Yi said in a low voice. "I'm back, and I have to do business now." A slightly immature voice replied. "Son, go back to sleep first. Let's talk about something tomorrow." "Let's talk about it tomorrow? If the room leaks, we'll make it up tomorrow. Will you take care of it if it rains?" When Cao Cao learned that the boy had returned, he couldn't help but smile when he heard that he used the example of leaking a room.Lou Yi was still arguing with him outside: "Don't be so stubborn, sir, that's just a joke." "My lord! My lord! I'm back!" The boy ignored him and shouted at the top of his voice. "Stop shouting, it's too rude..." "Lou Yi!" Cao Cao put on his clothes, "Call him in!" Before Lou Yi could answer, the door of the room slipped open, and Tong'er rushed in: "My lord, the little one is back for business." Lou Yi also followed in. "You're not very young, but you have a pretty loud voice." Cao Cao yawned and looked at his ragged clothes full of patches. "Why have you been here for so long and still look like this?" "Back to the adults, little... small..." The child was confident when he saw Cao Cao, but he became nervous again when he saw Cao Cao, and knelt on the ground and couldn't understand, "I...after I arrived...then I...result... ..." Lou Yi became very angry: "What are you trying to say when you wake up your lord in the middle of the night?" Tong'er panicked even more, kowtowing again and again: "The little one is wrong! The little one is wrong!" Cao Cao didn't have dinner, he was a little hungry now, so he got up and patted him on the shoulder: "Boy, have you eaten yet?" "No." The child replied timidly. "Lou Yi, this child and I haven't eaten yet. Go and wake up the cook, make two bowls of hot soup cakes (noodle soup) and bring them here." After Lou Yi left, Cao Cao pulled the child up and told him to sit down: "Think about the errands beforehand, and then speak slowly." "No." Tong'er sat there muttering for a long time before whispering, "I've made up my mind." "Go ahead." "The young man went after those people on horseback. Because he couldn't find them, he turned several hills and finally found them in a small ancestral hall in the mountains. Several rich men burned incense and prayed there, and the poor people kowtowed to them. The witch makes a pot to collect money. Those who have money throw more, and the poor throw one or two." The child wiped his nervous sweat, "It must be like this every first and fifteenth day of the new year." "Didn't you find out who they sacrificed to?" The child scratched his hair: "The little one was afraid that the adults would blame me for not understanding, so I found a hunter's family in the mountains, exchanged my good clothes with his children, and tied the horse to his house, so I ran out and mixed with people." It's in the pile..." Cao Cao's eyes lit up: This child looks cowardly, but he is extremely careful in handling things. "I asked those old farmers, and they said that they worshiped...some kind of pig or monkey, anyway, they can keep everyone safe and well. The wizard also said that if he didn't worship him, God would bring disasters. Now During the war years, there were only paper cows and paper horses. If it was a peaceful day, real cows and real horses would be enshrined. I found out that I got lost on the way back, and finally returned to Dongping Mausoleum. The city gates were closed. Fortunately, someone recognized it. Your horse is only allowed to come in when it is young." "Tell me again, who are they enshrining?" "It's a pig, a monkey, or a pig's whiskers..." Tong'er scratched his head, the more anxious he became, the more he couldn't remember. Cao Cao suddenly realized: it was Zhu Xuhou Liu Zhang. Zhu Xuhou Liu Zhang is the grandson of Han Gaozu and the son of Qi Wang Liu Fei.When the great ancestor Liu Banglong returned to Dahai, Empress Lu was good at governing and proclaiming the system, and Lu Lu and Lu Chan wanted to usurp. Liu Zhang assisted Zhou Bo to put down the Lus, and killed the false prime minister Lu Chan.Emperor Xiaowen ascended the throne, and he was crowned King of Chengyang, famous in the Guandong states.Since the former Han Dynasty, people in Qingzhou have enshrined the statue of Liu Zhang one after another. There are no less than 200 ancestral halls and incense tributes.At the beginning, it was just a tribute to and gratitude to Liu Zhang. Later, when Wang Mang usurped the government and the world was in turmoil, the common people remembered the old virtues of the Liu family. If you can't get a wife, can't find a husband's family, and can't have a son, you will come to Zhu Xuhou.In addition, some country gentry and witches took the opportunity to recruit money and donate money to profit from it, and publicized Liu Zhang's mighty and effective effects, and they simply boasted that he was an omnipotent god.Therefore, the custom of offering sacrifices to Liu Zhang from father to son and son to grandson continued in Qingzhou. While talking, Lou Heretic came in with two bowls of soup cakes.Cao Cao personally took a bowl and handed it to the child: "You are quite clever, eat it quickly!" After the steaming hot noodles entered the mouth, the child finally let go of his courage and said with a smile: "Master, do you have anything else to tell me?" "Hey, have you learned how to ask for orders? You are not needed now." Cao Cao also picked up the bowl, "Lou Yi, what do you think we should do?" "In my humble opinion, the common people should be advised to avoid such sacrifices in the future, which will cost money and delay farming." "Liu Zhang is a hero of the country..." Cao Cao dropped the half sentence, ate a few mouthfuls of soup cakes, and suddenly put his bowl away and said, "Just as a hero, he shouldn't harm the people, let alone die. It will harm future generations! I have made up my mind to destroy Zhu Xuhou's ancestral hall, and from now on, no sacrifices to Liu Zhang will be allowed in Jinan." Lou Yi shivered in fright: "My lord, this is not a joke. It is the ancestral hall of the imperial family. How could it be destroyed as soon as it is said?" "I know this, but this is adultery. Mencius said, 'If you don't violate the farming season, the grain can't be eaten'. If the farming season is delayed because of such a thing, won't the court force me to destroy their house? There are local tyrants and wizards who are bewitching people's hearts and making profits, and they must be completely eradicated!" Cao Cao walked around the room twice with his hands behind his back, "Since the Yellow Turban chaos, the common people have not admired poetry and books, but heresy. There will inevitably be other troubles in the future. If a minor illness is not cured, it will lead to serious troubles. Let's do something simple and destroy all the statues in Liu Zhang's ancestral hall to cut off this curse." After finishing speaking, he walked to the desk and picked up a pen. Lai wrote an order, "Tomorrow, this will be handed over to the master book, passed on to the ten counties, and executed as a whole." "No." Lou Yi took the bamboo slips and left. Seeing that the boy was eating deliciously and sweetly, Cao Cao put the bowl he had eaten half in front of him again, and said with a smile, "Half a child eats me to death. You long body When you are not at home to eat your father, go to the Yamen to eat me." Unexpectedly, after finishing this sentence, the empty bowl in the child's hand almost fell to the ground, and tears rolled in the circles of his eyes.Cao Cao was also stunned: "What's wrong with you?" The child wiped his tears: "My mother and I are dead. I am from Dongping. There was a famine in my hometown. My parents gave me everything they stuttered. They starved to death. Later, people in the village rebelled. If I was young, they would If I don’t want it, I must be wearing yellow too..." He felt that he had slipped his tongue when he said this, and he covered his mouth and dared not say another word. "If it weren't for your young age, you would have wrapped up your yellow scarf and rebelled." Cao Cao shook his head helplessly, "You don't have to be secretive, I can think of this. There is no food and no way to survive, so what are you waiting for instead? Then why did you come to Jinan of?" Only then did the child feel relieved, and choked up, and said, "I followed the fleeing people here. When I was begging along the street, I met some servants in your mansion. They looked at me pitifully and left me to do some odd jobs in the mansion. It can be regarded as having something to eat.” Seeing his miserable life experience and hearing that he was taken in by Qin Yilu, Cao Cao couldn't help being moved. He put his arms around the child and said, "Cry, it's fine if you cry out. From now on, you have to work hard, let go of your courage, and stop crying casually." Hearing what he said, the child couldn't bear it anymore. He hugged Cao Cao's neck and grinned and cried, his snot and tears wet Cao Cao's clothes.It took me a long time to cry like this before I stopped crying.Cao Cao patted him on the back and comforted him: "Although you are poor, you are much stronger than me. When I was young, I wanted to cry only on my mother's grave...I haven't asked your name yet?" "The little one's surname is Lu," the child blushed, "it's... called Bald." "Lu Tuer! Hahaha... what kind of name is that?" Cao Cao laughed. "My lord, my hair grew thin when I was a child, and my parents called me bald." The child laughed through his tears, "My lord said that I will be rewarded for completing errands, so you can reward me with a name." Cao Cao nodded, but couldn't think of anything for a while, turned around and saw a volume of Qu Yuan's "Songs of the Chu·Ultimate Moves" on the table, pondered and said: "The opening chapter of "Ultimate Moves" says, "Youth is grateful, and the day will only shine. The energy of spring is vigorous, and all things come to an end.' You are a young man, like the dawn of the day and the arrival of spring in the evening, from now on you will be called Lu Zhao." Cao Cao picked up his pen again and wrote a sign on the palm of his hand. Show him the words. The child looked at the characters in Cao Cao's hands, and also gesticulated with his fingers: "I can recognize this character, it's Zhao Zhan." "Wrong, this is how the word Zhaozhan is written." Cao Cao wrote in his hand again, "If you like the character Zhan, then you can use the character Zhan after Yuanfu①." "Lu Zhao, Lu Zizhan, thank you for your name." Lu Zhao knelt on the ground and kowtowed. Cao Cao was so happy tonight, he stood up and shouted, "Lu Zhao!" "The little one is here!" "You asked for an errand just now, I'm thinking about it now. I order you to go to sleep and lead the way for me tomorrow, to catch those wizards and evil people, and drive them out of Jinan!" "No, I understand, my lord wants to learn from Ximen Bao to rule Ye and throw all those witch flatterers into the river." Cao Cao looked up to the sky and laughed: "That's a good example! I didn't see it, you know a little bit about history." "It's all from the blind father-in-law who listened to the singing in the village." Lu Zhao laughed. "It's good to be able to firmly remember the name of a capable minister at a young age. I think you have the intention of making progress. From now on, you will be a book boy by my side, and you must study hard while doing errands. Maybe you will be able to achieve a job in the future." Fame!" "How can a small one have such abilities?" Lu Zhao scratched his head. "There are Fifth Boyu and Hu Guang in the distance, and Zhu Jun and Wang Yun in the near. They are all from the background of petty officials, haven't they all become famous ministers? You should work hard." "promise." "Go, go! I'm going to bed too. Tomorrow, we'll set off to dig out the lair of those gangsters together! It's been a long time since I've had such a good time, and I'm sure I'll have a good dream tonight." Cao Cao stretched his waist and went back to the back room. .