Chapter 18 disheartened

In the early morning of the next day, Cao Cao found Lou Yi and told him to go to the capital as soon as possible. "Tenshi's errands can't be wasted anymore, you go and call Zhang Jing back, the official affairs of Tai County are still waiting for him to deal with. Tell those folks to leave, just leave a few people to look after them." "No, let's get ready, little one." "Wait!" Cao Cao took out a memorial from his sleeve, "Pass this to the province for me." "Promise." Lou Yi stretched out his hand to pick it up, but Cao Cao held it firmly, and said, "Listen well, this is an important thing, please don't let my father know before handing it in. Also, don't leave in a hurry after finishing the job." , What is the reaction to this memorial, you can find out for me and come back to report."

"I understand." Lou Yi didn't dare to ask more. Only then did Cao Cao let go, watching him retreat step by step. The content of this memorial is to express grievances for the party leaders Chen Fan and Dou Wu eighteen years ago.Although the party members have pardoned him, Chen Fan, who died unjustly, has not yet been rehabilitated.Although there are many conflicts between eunuchs and party members, they are fighting undercurrents and have not been revealed, and the matter of Chen Fan is a taboo that the court must never bring up. Cao Cao carefully considered every word in this memorial, starting with his own prohibition on prostitution, talking about Chen Fan's past in Qingzhou, and finally stating that "Chen, Wu and others are upright but see framed, treacherous evil prospers the court, and good people are crowded", openly demanding the restoration of Chen Fan. The reputation of Fan and Dou Wu.If this memorial is handed over, there will inevitably be a big disturbance.Cao Cao did this recklessly and gave it a go.Once he succeeds, he can grow upright and be famous among scholars, but if he fails, he will end up like Wang Yun and Xu Qiu, and his life may even be in danger.

After seven days of anticipation of this uncertain future, there was no news from the capital, as if this fierce memorial had been thrown into stagnant water.Cao Cao anxiously awaited the news from Luoyang, and waited and waited, Lou Yi and Zhang Jing didn't come, but Qin Yilu waited! Today's Qin Yilu is no longer a servant of Cao's family. Unexpectedly, he is more glamorous in brocade than when he was with him.He was led into the mansion by the guards, and when he saw Cao Cao, he knelt down and worshiped: "Little Qin Yilu pays homage to Master Cao." Master Cao?In the past, the one who opened his mouth was a master, and the one who shut his mouth was a master, but now he calls himself Mr. Cao. Cao Cao felt uncomfortable, and said coldly, "How are you doing now?"

"Thanks to your old man, the little one dared not meet your father when he returned to Luoyang." Qin Yilu's tone was already very alienated, and there was a look of complacency on his face. Servant." "He Miao!?" Cao Cao exclaimed in surprise. He did not expect Qin Yilu to commit himself to this man's family: He Miao is the younger brother of Empress He. Ten permanent attendants Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong's buddies.Didn't Qin Yilu entrust He Miao's subordinates to the eunuch for everything he did back then? Qin Yilu seemed to want to scare Cao Cao, so he purposely said sarcastically, "Master Cao, you're being impolite when you call my lord by my name in front of me?"

"Yes, yes, I made a mistake." Cao Cao still had to apologize even though he was tired of it. "Two days ago, my lord had a memorial delivered to the province, right?" Cao Cao's head was dripping with sweat, and suddenly he couldn't answer a word. Qin Yilu sneered and said: "It's a pity that your big Hua Han failed to impress the audience. The emperor forbids what the memorial said, and there is no court discussion at all. It is only handed over to Sangong for a look. Poor, just because of your memorial, Another implicated death of three old ministers!"

"What did you say?" "At the time, Situ Chen Dan strongly supported your memorial, and was convicted of disobeying the emperor. Liu Taobao, the senior official, failed to present Chen Dan, and went to the court to slander the emperor. As a result, they were sent to prison together, and Zhang Rang sent someone to poison them to death that night. " Cao Cao's face was pale.Both Liu Tao and Chen Dan were veteran ministers who used to be in the public arena, so they were killed by the ten permanent servants without a trace, and this incident was actually triggered by a memorial of their own.

"You can't bear it anymore?" Qin Yilu laughed even more wildly, "It's not over yet. Lao Yang Cijiu was seriously ill, and when he heard that Liu and Chen Ergong were dead, he died immediately!" "Elder Yang, old man..." Cao Cao felt a stick in his throat, he was completely defeated by this slave who had been obedient to him before.Yang Ci is the backbone of the court's upright ministers, and once he falls the court's righteousness will be completely annihilated. "Guess who became the Taiwei? It's Xu Xiang! Xu Xiang, nicknamed 'Silent Opening', is the best friend of Zhang Rang. Alas... three old officials of the public office died one after another. You should also understand your own Isn’t it a bit heavy? My lord has the virtue of being good at life and spoke good words for you. In addition, your father begged hard, and his old friendship with Mr. Xu saved your life. They tried their best to persuade Long live I don't blame you." Qin Yilu was triumphant.

Cao Cao really wanted to kick this despicable and shameless villain to death. He gritted his teeth and said, "My father needless to say, I will also be grateful for Uncle Xu, but your lord is really kind!" "That's why you don't understand. My lord is very happy to hear that you destroyed Liu Zhang's ancestral hall. He said that Liu Zhang killed Lu Hou's family. The Lu family is a relative, and my lord is also a relative. Write it in one stroke. If you don't have two relatives, you have contributed to the He family!" "You fart!" Cao Cao was furious.

"Don't worry, don't worry..." After all, Qin Yilu has been with him for ten years, and he is very afraid that he will get angry. "I tell you the truth, my family is now the uncle of the country, and I admire your reputation very much." Cao Cao now heard that his son Chou Yinmao was coming, and Qin Yilu was here to win him over for He Miao. "Master Cao, you have affection for the young one, and He Guojiu is also very good to the young one. So Xiao's wishful thinking wants the two to get married. Now my uncle Er Guo is about to be promoted to the general of the chariot and cavalry, Once the mansion is established, you can keep pace with Uncle He Jin of the great country. You are in this position now. You were hated by eunuchs before, and forced by postal supervisors later, so you might as well rely on my lord. One can save your life without harm, and two, you can guarantee your salary. Miss, San can also reassure your lord, do you think this is the truth?"

Cao Cao bowed his head pretending to be contemplative and remained silent. "Don't think it's a loss of status to be a subordinate. Le Yin from Anping and Ying Shao, a famous scholar from Runan, are now attached to my lord." Qin Yilu said this and went to Cao Cao, "Don't look at my lord and Zhang Rang now. The acquaintance is deep, and one day there will be changes in the court, and my lord also wants to eradicate the eunuchs with the help of the nobles. This is not contrary to your long-cherished wish in life, what do you think?" Cao Cao didn't want to get involved in the muddy waters of his relatives, not to mention that He Miao was more advanced than He Miao, and it was difficult for the two brothers to separate themselves from each other.But now that it is hard to protect himself, how dare he offend the uncle of the country again?He turned his head around, frowned as if thinking, nodded slowly and said: "Okay. But I have to think about this matter again, and I have to ask my father."

"That's good! That's good! The master will definitely agree. If you really can't talk to the old man, I will go! With my clever mouth, I will definitely succeed." Qin Yilu smiled happily, and called Cao Song the master when he was happy. Cao Cao saw that he had been deceived, so he quickly issued a eviction order politely and sent him away.When it calmed down, Cao Cao's heart also turned cold. How can this official continue?The emperor is fatuous, treacherous ministers are in power, and his relatives are rampant, and he is firmly held in the hands of others, and his father has to bow his knees to the eunuch for mercy when he is old. He wandered to the study in a daze, and saw the book boy Lu Zhao copying books and practicing calligraphy while he was away.Seeing him coming, Lu Zhao hurriedly got up and gave up a few cases, and said in a panic, "Your little one is wrong!" "Isn't it just using my book case? Knowing that learning calligraphy is not wrong." Cao Cao sat down, "What are you copying?" "It's "Lunheng" by Wang Chong." "Oh? You dare to read such a profound book." "The small ones are not for reading, but for copying." Lu Zhao smiled sheepishly. "This set of books has the most volumes and many characters. If I can copy them down, I will be able to recognize a lot of characters." "You don't know how to do it, so go and copy the "Book of Filial Piety" first." Cao Cao said, listlessly picked up the bamboo slips copied by Lv Zhao, and realized that there are always virtuous people in conduct, but officials don't always meet them.Whether you are virtuous or not is talent; when you meet or not, it is time.Talents are high and clean, and they cannot be guaranteed to be honorable; they can be thin and dirty, but they cannot be guaranteed to be humble.Or if you are talented and clean, you will be in the low class if you don't retreat; if you are thin and turbid, you will be in the crowd.Each of the world has its own way to get scholars, and scholars can also advance individually. "My lord, what's wrong with you?" Lu Zhao's eyes widened. "What's wrong?" "You...you cried." Cao Cao wiped away the unknowingly shed tears. What "Lunheng" said is not false at all, in today's world, no matter how hard I try, I will not achieve anything in my official career.Now that we have come to a dead end, why waste our youth here?Do you have to stay until your blood is broken?Forget it, turn back!If you don't think about yourself, you have to think about your wife and children... Fifty-year-old Xiaolian has a lot of things, even if he lives in seclusion for another twenty years, he can still be like them.Wasn't Huang Wan imprisoned at home for twenty years?Let's wait for a peaceful world, hope that the stupid emperor will die early, and hope that all the old eunuchs will die... "My lord, am I not good at writing?" "No, you write very well." Cao Cao patted Lu Zhao's head, "Son, may I introduce you to a teacher?" "Of course, who is it?" "It's my younger brother Cao Ziji, he has read a lot of books and literature." "Where is he?" "In my hometown, Peiguoqiao County, he taught a family school. Go and study with him." Lu Zhao was terrified: "My lord, don't you want me? I won't leave you." "Silly boy, who asked you to leave me? Let's go home together!" "You are no longer an official?" Lu Zhao stared at him in surprise. Cao Cao shook his head and recited "Li Sao": "I regret that I didn't notice the way, and I will turn back. Return to my car to recover the road, and the journey is not far away... I am no longer an official, I am Take you and Lou Yi home. There are my son Ang'er, my son Anmin with Ziji, and my nephew Xia Houmao in my hometown. You can play and study with them in the future, okay?" "En." Lu Zhao nodded excitedly. While talking, Lou Yi came back, and shouted as soon as he entered the door: "My lord, your memorial..." "What are you shouting for? I already know." Cao Cao got up and looked at Lou Yi, "You rest and order someone to pack your things. I'm resigning." "Ah? You don't have to be like this, my lord. The master talked to Xiang Xiang to move Zhang Rang, and it is said that Erguo uncle also helped, and the court will not impose any guilt on you. It is just that you will be transferred to leave Jinan and be reassigned as the prefect of Dongjun." "You don't understand! The officials here were replaced by me, Cao, but the court transferred me away from these people in order to prevent me from forming a power. Jinan is far away from the capital, and Dongjun is close. Put it under your nose and take care of it. And He Miao is holding on to my shortcomings and trying to drag me into the thief boat of my relatives!" Cao Cao laughed a few times, "The ten permanent servants just don't want me to talk, so I won't say anything. .Let’s resign and go home, leave a book and seal, and leave tomorrow.” This time it was a bit like fleeing from a disaster. All the furniture was gone, and Cao Cao tidied up hastily. The next morning, Cao Cao left Dongping Mausoleum in a small carriage of the people, without even saying goodbye to the King of Jinan and the county magistrates under his rule.When the car passed the field, I saw the people rushing on the road carrying wood and stone. "What are they going to do?" Lu Zhao was curious. "I don't know." Lou Yi rode on the horse and looked around, "It seems that someone built a house." Cao Cao smiled bitterly and said, "I know. They must have heard that I was leaving and wanted to rebuild Zhu Xuhou's ancestral hall." "Return to repair? These people are too ignorant." "It's not ignorance, it's self-deception." Cao Cao sighed, "There is so much suffering in the world, people always have to find sustenance for themselves. The army was chaotic and the court was fatuous, and the army was rebellious and defeated. Who else can we rely on except for gods? So Chen Fan destroyed They will rebuild the god statues, and I will destroy them and rebuild them again! It’s nothing more than finding a home for myself.” "Then where is our destination?" Lu Zhao blinked at him with eyes like black beans. The childish words made Cao Cao terrified: "Maybe...in my hometown." He didn't dare to think any more, and hurriedly urged Lou Yi to continue on his way. In the spring of the third year of Zhongping (AD 186), Cao Cao rejected the appointment of the imperial court as the prefect of Dongjun County, and left the official again to return to his hometown.Compared with the last time he was dismissed from Dunqiu Ling, this time he was already disheartened.Cao Cao worked hard to govern Jinan for a year with the heart of reforming the government, but his glorious achievements seemed to be short-lived.After he left, upright officials such as Zhang Jing, Liu Yan, Wu Zhou, and Hou Sheng of Jinan Kingdom were attacked by eunuchs again, and Xiao Xiaoxiao, who bought officials, once again flooded the yamen; the stone materials purchased by the exhausted treasury were finally bought by eunuchs at 10% of the value The money sold was not even enough to pay off the peasants; the statues of Liu Zhang's ancestral hall were erected again soon, and witches and alchemists were bluffing and deceiving.The cold wind is still there, and all efforts are in vain...