Chapter 9 ugly family history

Time flies so fast, four years have passed in a blink of an eye. Cao Cao still lives in Uncle Seven's home, but the smart ghost at the time is now a bold and free-spirited young man.The countryside of Qiao County is not comparable to the colorful world of Luoyang, but Cao Cao has formed a rather two-faced character.When he was at home, he was a good boy who studied hard. Under the guidance of Cao Yin, he read all over the three tombs, five classics, eight suo and nine hills; but when he stepped out of the house, he was dissolute and sensual. Waiting for a group of informal youths from the countryside to attract me, everyone is so happy to swim around.

However, in the isolated countryside of Qiao County, people only see the people around them, but they don't know much about the changes in the outside world.Just as everyone in the Cao clan has witnessed Cao Cao's growth, they don't know that the current emperor, who is only one year younger than Cao Cao, has gradually entered adulthood. The first important event for the emperor as an adult was to get married, so in the fourth year of Jianning (AD 171), Liu Hongli made the daughter of Jin Wu and Song Feng the queen.This Empress Song was elected to Ye Ting as a noble person the year before, and she had never been favored by Liu Hong, but the registered empress was quite particular about her family background, and the Fufeng Song family had intermarried with the clan for several generations, so she was a suitable candidate.The emperor moved his finger inadvertently, and the whole world might shake three times. Liu Hong himself was not very satisfied with the appointment of the empress this time, but it created an opportunity for the Cao family to grow in power.

In early May, Cao Ding returned to his hometown in Qiao County.He is Cao Cao's family uncle and Cao Hong's biological uncle. Although he is well-known, his talent and learning are very mediocre.After more than ten years in the officialdom, Cao Song and Cao Chi have held high positions, but Cao Ding is still standing still at the county guard level. But the world is impermanent, and I don't know which cloud has rain. Cao Ding's eldest daughter married Song Feng's nephew Song Qi a few years ago.With the establishment of the Empress Song, the chickens and dogs of the Song family ascended to heaven, and Song Qi became an official and promoted overnight and was granted the title of Marquis of Liqiang.When the son-in-law gained power, the father-in-law naturally followed suit. Cao Ding no longer had to be his prefect of Wu County, and was immediately promoted to the capital as a servant and concurrently as a minister.Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, said that "wealth and honor do not return to the hometown, such as brocade clothes walking at night." After so many years of hard work in the officialdom, Cao Ding can finally show off in front of the villagers in Xie Ren's spare time.

The rich have distant relatives in the mountains, not to mention the nobles returning home.It's not surprising to be a servant, as long as you have some talent, or profound experience, or some royal relatives, you can take the position.What is rare is the position of Shangshu. Although it is a position of six hundred shi a year, he can deal with the emperor every day. Wanting to recommend or slander someone is just a matter of words.With such good relatives who are three feet away from the sky, how can they not curry favor?When Cao Ding came back, the whole Cao family was in a commotion. They saw that he was carrying a wealth of wealth, gold, silver, and treasures in large carts and small carts.Seeing this situation, the elders rushed to flatter this relative.Lao Tzu took his son, and his brother led his brothers. Cao Ding's family was full of friends, and all the clan members who had not moved for a long time and were out of touch all came to make amends.

Cao Cao didn't take it seriously at first, and he was still busy with himself all day long.It wasn't until Cao Hong ran over with the good silk from Wujun brought by his uncle that he became a little tempted. "Let's go, there are still plenty of good things! My uncle has shown kindness. People from the clan will have a share. Don't be in vain. You also go to see a gift and earn some good silk. Let's make a quiver. How decent it is to go out to shoot and hunt!" Cao Hong pulled Cao Cao and was about to leave. "Don't go!" Cao Yin came out of the back hall with a serious face holding a book.

"Seventh Uncle, why don't you allow me to hide it?" "No reason!" Cao Yin threw the book on the desk, "If I'm not sure, I'm not sure." Cao Hong had heard that their old brothers had bad tempers, and he was a bit grumpy in the past. He said with a smile, "Seventh Uncle, don't be angry. You are all relatives. You should move around in terms of emotion and reason. It's not that I prefer my uncle. , It’s just human nature to see a gift, you can’t make him a big deal. He was still talking about you just now, so you can go with us.” Unexpectedly, after finishing these few words of love, Cao Yin became angry: "Get out!"

It was the first time Cao Hong saw the gentle and refined Qi Shu being so unreasonable, he didn't know what to say for a while: "Qi Shu...you are..." "Hold your silk and go!" Cao Yin didn't listen to what he said, "He is your uncle, I don't care if you see him or not. Meng De was entrusted to me by his father, so you have to listen to me !get out!" Cao Cao didn't know what was going on, so he waited until Cao Hong left with a mutter, and asked tentatively, "Seventh Uncle, what happened to you today? Why are you not allowed to visit Fourth Uncle?"

"What do you know? I'm doing this for your own good. Sigh..." Cao Yin sighed, "How can you set foot in that wrong place?" "What is right and wrong?" "Wealth and honor can only be obtained directly, not in a mere way. Thinking about him, Cao Yuanjing is the sheriff of two thousand shi after all. He has no achievements and no honors. Why do big carts and small carts go back to the family's wealth? These properties are obviously obtained by bribery. It's all reviled dirty money!" Cao Cao's heart trembled: Fourth Uncle's wealth is not even a fraction of my father's and Second Uncle's. Could it be that what we eat and use is also such scolded dirty money?But Cao Yinwu complained spontaneously: "Since your grandfather became a eunuch, the world has always criticized our family, let alone taking bribes and taking people's wealth. He corrupted not only himself, but our family." The reputation of the son. Since Wu Jun has brought so much property to swagger through the city, people will point and point along the way. Do I want to have the face of my Cao family? Those people in the clan are really not ambitious, and they are rushing to curry favor with such despicable people. Little man, there is no cure for this world! Cough, cough, cough..." He became more and more excited as he spoke, until finally he coughed.

Cao Yin is actually the most outstanding in talent, learning and character among the Cao family's generation, far better than Cao Song, Cao Chi, and Cao Ding brothers who started their careers from "graciousness". The reason for trusting each other.But for some reason, Cao Yin had an idea of ​​avoiding the world, thinking that the officialdom was filthy, so that he closed his doors to study and ignored world affairs, willing to live a life of poverty.Although he stays behind closed doors, he always complains about things that are unheard of. He goes up to the princes and lieutenants, down to the county clerks, and there is no one he can't scold.In the past two years, such attacks have become more and more frequent, and Cao Cao has gotten used to seeing them a lot, and no longer tried to persuade him in vain, but beat his back silently.

Cao Yin was still aggrieved, and counted the number of people in the clan.Cao Cao just beat his back until he couldn't stop cursing, then smiled and said, "Uncle Seven, what's the use of you sitting at home and scolding like this? Why don't you talk to them face to face if you have something to say?" Hearing his nephew's question, Cao Yin fell silent.Although there are many things that he is not used to, but he dare not get angry with others, he can only stay on his own and get angry behind closed doors. Cao Cao had lived with him for more than four years, and he had already figured out his temper. He beat his back and said, "You have a bad cough recently, so don't be so useless. If you really feel that the world is not right, go out." To be an official, even a county lieutenant, is a good job. If you live behind closed doors, don’t worry about those messy things. Wouldn’t it be better for us to listen to the sound of rain in summer and watch the snow fall in winter?”

Cao Yin shook his head: "Forget it, you kid is right, don't be so angry! Zi said sixty ears are good, I am only thirty and I have this kind of virtue. It seems that there is still a long way to go. After all, he is Hong'er's uncle , don’t look at the face of the adults, but also look at the face of the child.” This is how he laughed at himself. "Uncle Qi, there is something I've always wanted to ask you." "Say." "Do I have a biological uncle alive?" Cao Yin was startled, straightened up as if he had been pricked by an awl, and glared at him: "Have you heard any gossip? What nonsense!" Cao Cao originally tested Cao Yin with doubts, but seeing Uncle Seven's reaction was so resistant, he simply made it clear: "I already know my father's life experience, Xiahou Dun's father is my uncle...isn't that right?" Cao Yin didn't answer directly, but lowered his head again: "Oh...it's just a layer of window screen, why do you have to pierce it? Since you have adopted the Cao family, you are the descendants of the Cao family. What's the use of it... You should stop asking, because if you ask clearly, your heart will be sick..." "Seventh Uncle, if you don't understand, it's even more uncomfortable if you keep this disease in your heart." Cao Cao grabbed his shoulders, "There is one thing that I still can't understand after thinking about it. Why did my grandpa want to live with so many nephews? What about the neighbor's son?" This incident seemed to have touched Cao Yin's sore spot. His face flushed with shame, his face twitched twice, but he still opened his mouth: "Ever since you knew Xiahou Dun, I expected that there would be such a day... you Now that I'm older, even if I don't say sooner or later, you will know from other places, so I'll tell you..." "Ok." Cao Yin sighed, and it took a long time before he spoke: "Our ancestor Cao Can rebelled with Gaozu back then, and later succeeded Xiao He as prime minister, you should know that, right?" "Yes." Cao Cao nodded. "But since then, there has never been a prominent descendant in the family. When it came to my grandfather, that is, your great-grandfather's generation, our Cao family suffered a lawsuit due to a dispute, and it was completely declined. In the end, it was not as good as Xiahou. At that time, your great-grandfather was the poorest, and if the villagers lost their cows, they would come to our house first to search. The members of the Cao family thought that if we could get another high-ranking official, no one would dare to look down on us. But there is no one outstanding in the whole family? He can't write a pen, can't fight in battle, and can't get along with other officials and officials. How can he be a high-ranking official? It's just in time for the Zhongchang servant Zheng Zhong to kill Dou Xian set a precedent for an eunuch to become a marquis, so some people moved their minds to send their children to the palace as eunuchs. The population of each family in the clan is relatively small, but your great-grandfather has four sons, and they all come to tease you Grandpa sent a son to the palace, and if he had a future, everyone would be rewarded. They calmly persuaded him at the beginning, but later they threatened to stare at him. If a good child is sent to the palace as a eunuch, wouldn't his life be ruined? Your great-grandpa couldn't bear it. He held his four sons and cried for two days, but he couldn't offend the aggressive relatives. In the end, he sent the youngest son, your grandfather, into the palace. When he first entered the palace, your grandfather was just Xiaoan The emperor's attendant, where is the glory and wealth? The people in the clan gradually forgot the sacrifice your great-grandfather made for them, and your great-grandfather was depressed and died of illness within a few years. "I didn't expect your great-grandfather to die..." Cao Yin suddenly opened his eyes wide with anger, "Your grandfather's three elder brothers, and those who forced your great-grandfather to send their children to the palace, they gave away all the property They all grabbed points, not even a penny! They abandoned this child who had no future in the palace. No one wrote a letter to him for more than ten years. do not care!" Cao Cao couldn't help being furious when he heard this: "There are such heartless things in the world! My grandfather became an eunuch because of them, but they want to rob him of his property instead. They are really animals..." He He wanted to scold the beast, but when he started talking, he remembered that they were his uncles after all, and even the elders of Uncle Seven's family, so how could he swear... "Emperor Xiao'an died young, and the Yan family took control of the state affairs. Later, Sun Cheng punished the Yan family." Cao Yin continued, "At that time in the palace, you killed me and I killed you. The sky was dark and your grandfather had no one to rely on. He survived the humiliation. He was gradually promoted until the emperor of filial piety came to the throne. Who would have expected that the people in the world would have such thick skins!" "what happened again?" "What's the matter? Hmph! Those who abandoned your grandfather before, heard that he was famous, and began to flatter him shamelessly. Until your grandfather was awarded the title of Marquis of Fei Ting and promoted to the Grand Changqiu for his great achievements, all the clansmen were shocked again. Gathered to your grandfather. They know that your grandfather has received a lot of favors, but it is impossible to have an heir. The court allows the adopted son to pass on the country, and he will adopt a son sooner or later. This group of people is eager for their children to inherit your grandfather's legacy. Family business..." "I understand!" Cao Cao suddenly realized, "My grandfather must have remembered the past and refused to adopt the children of his family, so he adopted my father from Xiahou's family." "That's right..." Cao Yin nodded, with a trace of apology on his face, "At that time, my father also took me to Luoyang to drill a camp, and was scolded by your grandfather. I also heard what the old man said. When your grandfather was still in the limelight, he was passing through his hometown with the great eunuch who left Beijing on business. He wanted to go home and have a look, but no one would recognize him when his family robbed his land. It was Xiahou Dun's grandfather who read He was treated with kindness when he was young. This incident touched him a lot, so he would rather hand over his wealth and favors to Xiahou's family than to take advantage of his clansmen." Cao Cao sneered: "It would be the same for me." "Although your grandfather is an eunuch, he has a strong character, and his official position is fairly upright, no less than that of Zheng Zhong and Sun Cheng. Zhang Huan from Sanming, Liangzhou, didn’t all get rich because of his recommendation? But when it’s the turn of my own tribe...huh!" "It must be that I don't care about the virtuous and the foolish!" Only then did Cao Cao understand why the seventh uncle was full of knowledge but never became an official. It turned out that he was somewhat dissatisfied with his grandfather. Why did uncle become an official?" Cao Yin waved his hand: "The smell is unbearable! Don't talk about it!" "What's wrong?" Cao Yin snorted and said, "Your second uncle, he went around in the name of your grandfather, bluffing and cheating everywhere. The officials in the county and county don't know about our family's affairs. Because of his old man's reputation, who would dare to ignore it? That's it. In a few years, he was promoted to Xiaolian. Then he won the fourth son and let him become an official. The family ugliness should not be exposed. Since he is already an official, it is not easy for your grandfather to break the door here, but he is an old man. In the first life, no one in the clan has achieved more than six hundred stone officials!" "Although the people in the clan were ruthless and ungrateful first, what my grandfather did was a bit too much." Cao Cao couldn't help sighing when he heard that his second uncle Cao Chi had such a past, "Because the old enmity has affected the future generations, and it has made a lot of trouble. An uncle's official salt turned into a private salt, most regrettably missed your future." "Everyone understands the truth of the deep pain of hatred, but it is inevitable to be extreme when things come to an end. Without personal experience, you will not understand." Cao Yin stroked his beard, "Meng De, Seventh Uncle, I have learned a lot about shame since I was a child. , and living in such a family background, how could I give up my shameless face and become an official? Why don't I just study behind closed doors and forget about worldly affairs..." At this point, Cao Cao finally figured out his family history. Although he had heard a lot of rumors, he never thought that the truth was even uglier than the rumors! "If you don't ask about world affairs, can you escape Yoyo's mouth?" Suddenly a voice interrupted the meditation of the two uncles and nephews, and a man of about forty years old walked in with his hands in his hands.He has a majestic appearance, a tall stature, and very luxurious and decent clothes. There is a smug smile on his slightly wrinkled face, and he is quite friendly.Cao Cao met him when he was young, and this is Cao Ding, the fourth uncle of the family.Thanks to his good maintenance, his appearance has not changed for so many years, and he does not look old at all. Compared with Cao Yin, his younger brother, he looks younger.No matter how awkward Cao Cao felt, etiquette is indispensable, so he hurriedly saluted, "My nephew greets my fourth uncle! Please forgive me for not paying my respects to my nephew when you come back often." Cao Ding glanced at him, didn't say anything, and then said to Cao Yin: "Lao Qi, you are so hard-hearted! I have worked so hard to come back from a long way, and you didn't come to see me. I really don't think so. Is this my cousin?" Cao Yin didn't even look at him, but turned his head away. Cao Ding swallowed his saliva, and continued: "Why bother? The old man has already passed away, and the past will be blown away, and we brothers can't afford to act rashly. My brother knows that you have a strong character and ambition, but you are still here. What's the point of hurting yourself if you don't have the ground? With your talents and learning, wouldn't it be better than me to be an official? As long as you want, I will do it. What kind of filial piety, talent, righteousness, Mingjing is up to you to choose! As for which subject you are not qualified for? Our Cao family is about to prosper now, brother can find an official for you?" "I dare not expect too much!" Cao Yin waved his sleeves, but still did not look at him. In front of his nephew, Cao Ding was a little bit embarrassed, but he tried his best not to explode: "It's been more than ten years, and you are still so stubborn. Yes! This is a troubled time, not what you expected. I don't want to do it." It's fine as an official, you live a poor life, and my brother will give you more land, so don't suffer yourself..." Before he finished speaking, Cao Yin slapped the table and shouted: "Who wants your dirty money?" After all, Cao Ding came here with good intentions, how can he stand such a squeeze?Even Cao Cao felt that Uncle Seven's trouble was unreasonable this time.Sure enough, Cao Ding couldn't bear it anymore and roared: "Old Qi! Don't be ashamed! How did I offend you? Why do I get angry like this? I think it's dirty? Do you love it or not? You deserve it!" "You take bribes and take people's wealth, and you still have the face to show off here shamelessly? Bah!" Cao Yin turned his face and confronted him. "Who has embezzled and accepted bribes? Who has seized people's wealth? These properties are gifts from colleagues along the way, and everything is a gift from others. I don't hesitate to share them with everyone, and I've lost my whole body. It's unreasonable!" "Cao Yuanjing, you are so clever! Don't pretend to be a good person with me." "I'm really dizzy, my hot face is on my cold ass, and I came here to lick your tough bone. Bah!" Cao Cao was really dizzy at the moment, the two uncles were arguing hoarsely, but the root cause was old things, he didn't persuade him, and he didn't persuade him. Cao Ding said resentfully: "Lao Qi, open your eyes and see, what kind of world is it now? Can you be clean if you want to be clean? It's useless to talk about the set of benevolence, righteousness and morality! You just hold your books here Just stay! Everything I have is mine, and I don't care about you anymore!" "Don't show off to me here," Cao Yin said aggressively, "If you are not a relative of the Empress Song, who would give you things for nothing? Don't forget that good fortune is hard to give up, so you can hold on to his thick legs! Don't look at you now that you are prominent and arrogant, let's wait and see, companions are like companions, if the Song family makes a mistake, you have no place to cry! Since Emperor Xiao'an, which family's relatives have a good end ? You left here as soon as possible, and don't add bad luck to me, so as not to implicate me in the future!" "You, you..." The knife is afraid of the right sheath, the Song family has no favor and is the queen, and her position is very unstable. This is what Cao Ding is most worried about. Cao Yin has read poetry and books and has profound insights, so it is so easy to say lay bare.Cao Ding hesitated for a while, then said: "You are clean! You are the only one who is clean! Don't be surnamed Cao if you are capable! I don't have time to argue with you, so just shut the door and dream of your Spring and Autumn Dream here!" "Stupid! You go away!" Cao Yin chased away the guest, "A gentleman will never make a bad sound, don't force me to say something nasty." "Bah! Fake and noble!" Cao Ding replied, turned his head and left, but stopped at the door, turned his head and glanced at Cao Cao, "Boy! You follow me, follow my fourth uncle and I will enjoy wealth, don't stay here with this Old stubborn." "No!" Cao Yin stood up, "Meng De can't go with you." Then he grabbed Cao Cao's sleeve.Cao Ding did not show any weakness, grabbed his other hand and shouted: "Why not? He is also my nephew!" Cao Cao suffered a lot, and was rambling about by his two uncles. He really didn't know who to listen to. of. Cao Ding staggered, let go of his hand and took out a roll of letters from his arms: "Don't make trouble, old seven! Brother Jugao has a letter for me, asking me to take him to Beijing when I take office. This child is old, and he should have He was enlightened by his father to see the world. In the final analysis, we both have no relatives or reasons for him, and you don’t care about him! Let go!" The words "no relatives and no reason" completely dispelled Cao Song and his son. Cao Yin's life experience was clearly revealed, so Cao Yin couldn't help but not let go.He let go of Cao Cao's sleeve, and suddenly looked up to the sky and cried: "Brother Jugao, you are so ruthless! Since you planned it this way, you shouldn't have sent the child here... Go! Go! You are all ruthless things... " His crying made Cao Cao feel very uncomfortable.Cao Yin is weak and has no heirs, so he really treats him as his own, and no matter how much knowledge he has given him, how can he abandon the four years of hard work in nurturing him?His eye circles were also moist, and he turned his head to Cao Ding and said, "Fourth Uncle, you have to stay here for a while, and I will stay at Seventh Uncle's house for a few days, okay?" "Forget it..." Cao Ding sighed, "Boy, baby, this is also your filial piety!" After saying that, he walked away. Cao Cao didn't dare to be rude, so he helped Cao Yin to sit down, and hurriedly followed to see off his fourth uncle.As soon as I went out, I found that many people with foreign surnames were guarding the gate of the courtyard.It turned out that their old brothers were hysterical just now, and they didn't close the gate or door, which alarmed the others, and they all ran outside and stretched their necks to watch.The family ugliness was publicized, Cao Cao saw them whispering to each other about his family affairs, he really wanted to find a crack in the ground and sneak in! Cao Cao, who was born to feel good about himself, understood for the first time what inferiority complex is!And the inferiority complex brought by this family has been deeply rooted ever since, and has troubled him for a lifetime...