Chapter 19 19. Sitting on the bench doing nothing

In June of the fourth year of Guanghe (AD 181), the scorching sun scorched the earth like flames, and the city of Luoyang in the afternoon was exceptionally quiet. The hot weather made people feel extremely depressed, especially for the officials of the capital.Han officials pay the most attention to their appearance. No matter how hot the weather is, they must be well-dressed and neat, and they must walk steadily. How can they not suffer in such a dog day? Cao Cao and his colleague Chen Wen walked side by side outside the East View, and the two of them sighed in unison. Day and night, I think about it, now I finally returned to the capital to be an official, but there are so many Yilangs in the court, there are less than ten people who really have something to do, most of them are just sitting on the bench, what? No errands either.

Although Cao Cao and Chen Wen were recommended by the political tycoon Qiao Xuan and recruited by the emperor himself, they also had no positions and were like candidate officials. They were said to be responsible for dealing with the holy words, but the emperor spent every day in the West Garden to escape the summer heat. Can't even see his face. Cao Cao and Chen Wen stepped into the gate and quickly took off their official hats when they saw no one around. The East Temple was tall and open, and it was much cooler.The two of them felt that they had come early today, so they wiped off their sweat, found a place to sit among the cumbersome files, and casually picked up two volumes of biography that had just been transcribed.

Coincidentally, what Cao Cao was looking at was the biography of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, and it happened to be the part about the Battle of Kunyang. Ban Gu's generous writing was very suitable for him.Read "In the early days, Mang sent two lords, wanting to be mighty and mighty, to vibrate Shandong, armored armor, armed with banners, and the tools of war and attack were very powerful. To drive tigers, leopards, rhinoceros and elephants, magnificent beasts, with giants and giants as a base Lieutenant, since the Qin and Han Dynasties, there has never been a teacher." Cao Cao closed the book and said to Chen Wen: "The battle of Kunyang in the past is still unbelievable. My ancestor emperor defeated nearly a million enemies with only a few thousand elites. What a god! Although the dispatch is well planned, the soldiers are brave, it is also God's will!"

Unexpectedly, Chen Wen hadn't answered yet, but he heard a burst of loud laughter from the middle door: "Hahaha...a joke! The battle of Kunyang was done by manpower, why is it God's will?" Cao Cao was taken aback for a moment, then looked around, and saw an official standing outside the middle gate.This person looks about fifty years old, and he is also dressed like a doctor Yilang. He is short, thin, withered, and has a humble appearance. portrait.Cao Cao felt displeased when he heard that this man deliberately refuted him, and saw that it was a man with a humble appearance and shorter than himself; he put down the scroll in his hand, and deliberately asked Chen Wen: "Nowadays, scholars have not known the battlefield for a long time. It's too dangerous, and the words are so weird..."

The man realized that Cao Cao's words were aimed at him on purpose, smiled and pinched his upturned mouse beard, and said, "Strange? What is it that God's will is the real weirdness! Since ancient times, the use of troops has not been restricted by the law, and there is nothing wrong with it." In practice, something is mobilizing morale. "Thousands of people with one mind can break a million mobs. In the First Battle of Kunyang, Emperor Shizu said that the interests came first, and the fight followed. There is a saying in the art of war that "the three armies can seize the spirit, and the general can seize the heart." This is nothing but common sense."

"Common sense?" Cao Cao, who read military books and annotated "Sun Tzu", dismissed his words, "I'm afraid it's easier said than done! If you don't understand war, you're just talking about the ancients." The man stopped arguing with him and shook his head with a smile, still staring at Hu Guang's portrait in a daze.This aroused Cao Cao's curiosity even more, and asked, "May I ask what this lord is thinking?" The little man stroked his beard and muttered for a while, "I don't care about everything and ask Uncle Hu, there is Mr. Hu in the middle of the world. The painting is really good. Just imagine how heroic Mr. Hu was back then!"

Cao Cao almost laughed out loud, this man is really weird, to say something out of everyone's opinion.Everyone in the world knows that Hu Guang is old and cunning, but he is good at obeying the holy will and wandering away from eunuchs and relatives.Cao Cao got up and walked to the screen wall, and also looked at the portrait.This is a picture of heroes drawn by the emperor's special order six years ago. On the left is Huang Qiong, and on the right is Hu Guang, like a pair of door gods.Back then, when the "dominant general" Liang Ji was in power, these two men were strong and soft, and supported the court when the imperial power was at its weakest.Painting them here is to commend their achievements, and secondly, it is also a warning to future generations to learn the way of firmness and softness of being an official.He looked at this picture of Hu Guang, which obviously depicted him in old age, dressed as a duke, holding a longevity stick in his hand, although his beard and hair were all white, but his face was full of smooth smiles, which was similar to the one on the left who was full of righteousness Huang Qiong, who is young, old and spicy, is in stark contrast.Cao Cao often saw Hu Guang when he was a child, and he vaguely remembered this appearance-it is not a heroic appearance.

Cao Cao turned his face and smiled with the mentality of being arrogant and capable: "Forgive me for speaking bluntly, Mr. Hu can be seen to be mean, but not heroic. Would you like to teach me a little bit?"