Chapter 29 (29) The Truth of the Murder Case

Cui Yan was a very respectable celebrity in the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Cao was quite afraid of his righteousness, but Cui Yan was unjustly killed by Cao Cao because of a letter. Yang Xiu was born in a famous family, learned and talented, and showed his intelligence in front of Cao Cao many times, but was killed by Cao Cao for an inexplicable crime. So why did Cao Cao kill Cui Yan and Yang Xiu?Which sensitive nerve did they touch Cao Cao?Please pay attention to it - the truth of the murder case. From the death of Xun Yu and the death of Kong Rong mentioned in the previous two episodes, it can be seen that Cao Cao will never allow others to oppose him politically, especially openly.However, after that, Cao Cao killed Cui Yan and Yang Xiu who had never opposed him, which left Cao Cao with the eternal charge of "killing without reason".

Cui Yan was a very respectable celebrity in the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Cao respected his moral integrity, but he was killed by Cao Cao because of a letter. Even Chen Shou, the author of "Three Kingdoms", called out for Cui Yan.And killing the clever Yang Xiu left Cao Cao with a bad reputation as a "jealous talent".So why did Cao Cao kill Cui Yan, and why did he kill Yang Xiu?Behind the killing of Cui Yan and Yang Xiu, what ulterior secret hides Cao Cao?Professor Yi Zhongtian of Xiamen University is a guest on "Hundreds of Lectures", and will give you a wonderful taste of the "truth of the murder case" in the Three Kingdoms.

Cui Yan's death was a big unjust case at that time, and it was a recognized unjust case, and there was no doubt about it.We know that Kong Rong was killed by Cao Cao, and Chen Shou did not dare to write a biography of Kong Rong when he wrote "Three Kingdoms".But Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms" is a biography for Cui Yan, and it is said in "Cui Yan Biography" that Cui Yan's death "is the most deplored by the world, and it is still unjust."So what this sentence means is that Cui Yan's death was considered an unjust case by some people, and until Chen Shou wrote "Three Kingdoms", everyone still thought it was an unjust case and was wronged.

So why is Cui Yan's death an unjust case?Then we have to talk about two issues: first, what kind of person Cui Yan is; second, how Cui Yan died. What kind of person is Cui Yan?My evaluation is sixteen characters - "all-rounder in civil and military affairs, important minister of the court, honest gentleman, and highly respected".Cui Yan was a very famous scholar at that time. He learned swordsmanship and fencing when he was young.This man is very smart. He studied very well as soon as he studied, and became a disciple of Zheng Xuan, the master of Confucian classics at that time.So he is an all-rounder in civil and military affairs. He followed Yuan Shao at first, and then Cui Yan followed Cao Cao. He has always been an important counselor and helper under Cao Cao.

In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao restored the prime minister system.The political system of the Han Dynasty was that the prime minister could open a mansion, that is, establish his own office.The saying at that time was that the residence and office of the emperor was called the palace, the palace, and the residence and office of the prime minister was called the mansion, and it was called the prime minister's mansion. Let's read Zhuge Liang's "Teacher's List", he said "the palace and the mansion are all one", that is this means.Then Cao Cao can open a mansion if he becomes the prime minister. There are two institutions under the prime minister's mansion, one is called Dongcao and the other is called Xicao. What do Dongcao and Xicao mean?It is equivalent to our current organization department, which is responsible for selecting cadres.Cui Yan was the head of the first organization department and he also served as the head of the second organization department. So when Cui Yan held such an important position, he selected many talents. There are many things to understand."

Moreover, when Cui Yan selected these cadres, it was entirely out of public interest, and he was based on talents, and he required both ability and political integrity, which has always been praised by the court.And Cao Cao also made it clear that Cui Yan is a very decent person. He is an example. He can make the greedy people clean and the brave people more motivated. He is such a person. Fourth point, Cui Yande is highly respected.Cui Yan is a man of talent, as we have said before, after Cao Cao became the king of Wei, he felt ashamed of himself when he received the envoys of the Huns. Receive the envoy of the Huns.A handsome man with a tall stature, a loud voice, and a whole body of righteousness.Once this person is upright, he is upright.So Cao Cao was in awe of him when he saw him. "Three Kingdoms • Cui Yan Biography" said: "The Taizu also respected and dreaded Yan", that is, Cao Cao respected Cui Yan and was a little afraid when he saw Cui Yan.Cui Yan was such a person, but he was killed by Cao Cao in the end. Not only was he killed by Cao Cao, but he was completely framed.

According to Mr. Yi Zhongtian's analysis, Cui Yan is an upright and upright person, and Cao Cao also respects Cui Yan very much.However, in 216 AD, Cui Yan was killed by Cao Cao.So why did Cao Cao kill Cui Yan?Where is the injustice of Cui Yan's death? Mr. Yi Zhongtian just mentioned that Cui Yan is such a person of high morals and integrity, why did he anger Cao Cao?According to historical records, Cui Yan was killed by Cao Cao because of his involvement in a strange literary prison case.Why did Cao Cao, who was smart all his life, use literary prison to harm Cui Yan?Where is the injustice of Cui Yan's death?

What were the charges against Cui Yan at that time? "Slander in the belly".What is slander?The belly is the belly, and it means to slander in the belly and slander in the heart.This is out-and-out git logic.It is said that this person is slandering in the stomach and in the heart, how do you know?If "defamation of the abdomen and heart" can be used as a crime, anyone can be killed.Is there a reason for this?You can't say for no reason that I caught one first, that you are slandering me now, that you are scolding me in your stomach, isn't that okay?There is always a trace of something.

A little bit.What's the matter?At that time, a man named Yang Xun wrote a letter to the emperor. What was the reason for writing the letter?It was Cao Cao who became the king of Wei, so after he became the king of Wei, this Yang Xun wrote a letter to the emperor, praising Cao Cao for his ability and power, and praising Cao Cao.This incident aroused repercussions in the court, saying that Yang Xun is a flatterer, and flattering like this is too shameful.After a lot of discussion, it turned to Cui Yan, saying Cui Yan, you see, as an organization minister, or a cadre minister, you are the person in charge of selecting officials, why did you choose such a sycophant?Are you dereliction of duty?Since Cui Yan is involved in this matter, Cui Yan is going to come and ask, so he told Yang Xun that you bring me the letter you wrote, and let me see what you wrote. What a sycophant.After reading it, Cui Yan wrote back a letter. The original text was as follows: "Provinces are good things, as time goes by, there will be changes." Just such a sentence, this sentence became the cause of his death. up.

Then let's analyze this sentence, what does this sentence mean?We translate it as: I have read the article you wrote, and things are okay. Time, time, as time goes by, the situation will change.This is what the literal translation of this passage means, so what exactly does this passage mean? Chen Shou, the author of "Three Kingdoms", believes that Cui Yan supported Yang Xun and countered those who criticized him.Even if you, Yang Xun, posted this letter praising Cao Cao, this matter is still possible. As time changes, the situation will change. Although everyone criticizes you now, everyone will understand in the future.You can understand it this way. According to Chen Shou's point of view, this letter is understood in this way.

But the letter Cui Yan wrote to Yang Xun was reported to Cao Cao again.This whistleblower is another understanding.That is to say, I have read your article praising Cao Cao, and the things Cao Cao did are not bad. Time, time, as time changes, the situation of Cao Cao will also change.That's a whole other meaning, right?So Cao Cao was very angry after seeing this report. What did Cao Cao say?He said, "It's a good ear", "it's just", this "ear" is not a good word, this Cui Yan is disrespectful.In the next order, he was sentenced to "Kun Xing loser".What is Kun Xing losers?Just shave off your hair and go to hard labor. This kind of punishment is very heavy for a person like Cui Yan.As I said earlier, Cui Yan is a man of good looks, with high morals, and he values ​​his own image and reputation very much.It is a great humiliation for such a person to shave off his head and put on rags to do hard labor.But Cui Yan was very calm, with a calm expression, without any anger, or complaints, or sadness, or depression, nothing at all.In other words, Cui Yan was not affected by the punishment of "Kun Xun Xun".So Cao Cao sent someone to say: Is that so?Three days later, let's hear the news.Three days later, Cao Cao sent someone to look at it, but Cui Yan was still calm and showed no abnormalities.So Cao Cao said such a sentence. Of course, this is not in the official history, but in Pei Zhu. According to the materials in Pei Zhu, Cao Cao said this sentence at that time: What does Cui Yan mean?Do you want me to do it myself?Immediately someone passed this sentence to Cui Yan, and Cui Yan nodded after hearing this and said: Ah, this is my mistake, I didn't expect Mr. Cao to mean that.Well, committing suicide, Cui Yan committed suicide. The death of Cui Yan once again showed Cao Cao's natural suspicion.Moreover, Cao Cao, who was over sixty at this time, was almost suspicious.He interpreted the words in Cui Yan's letter, "As time goes by, there will be changes" as a sign of a change in the sky, and Cui Yan was unjustly killed for this.This sentence can obviously be interpreted differently, but why didn't Cui Yan defend it at the time?Why didn't Cao Cao ask about it?No matter what Cao Cao does, he won't be insane. Is he really confused, or is there something else hidden?What is the history of Cui Yan's cause of death?How did Mr. Yi Zhongtian analyze it? There is no need to analyze this matter, everyone understands that this is a big case of injustice.And what Cao Cao did was almost hysterical.Some people say that Cao Cao's ambitions have grown and his power has grown. He can do whatever he wants, and he can do whatever he wants. This is because of this factor.But no matter what Cao Cao did, he would not be insane, not to the point of insanity.Then he killed Cui Yan, there will always be his reasons.Second, this matter is obviously wronged. I said it just now, right? There are two interpretations for that passage. Why didn’t Cui Yan reply?He didn't defend himself a word, so why?Cui Yan's death "Three Kingdoms" has a conclusion. The conclusion given by Chen Shou is that the four words are called "reliance on the old and ungodly".What is clinging to the past and being ungodly?Just because they are old friends, they have a bad attitude and are not pious.And I gave examples, such as Xu You, who died for this reason, and Kong Rong, for example, who died for this reason. This is Chen Shou's point of view.But I think this statement can be discussed. So why did Cao Cao kill Cui Yan?I think there are three possibilities: The first is called nervousness.Because you know that Cao Cao went from the story of Xiao He, to the title of Duke of Wei to the king of Jin and Wei, step by step, regardless of his subjective wishes, in the eyes of everyone, he just wanted to usurp the Han Dynasty, which is almost a common view.Moreover, people who hold this view are often those who are upright and noble, because under the historical conditions at that time, maintaining the current emperor and the current dynasty is the morality that a so-called gentleman must uphold; Cui Yan is just a person with high morals , so Cao Cao was nervous, thinking that Cui Yan's letter said that he, Cao, would be unlucky in the future, and he thought so.The question is why Cui Yan didn't answer?He explained, what I said is to support you, isn't it all right, just show your attitude, isn't it all right to show your loyalty.I think there are two possibilities, of course I guess, one is called disdain, and the other is called not needing.What is disdain?It is because Cui Yan is a real gentleman, a person with high status, high moral character, and a beautiful person, he may think of me as a manly man, if he wants to kill, he will kill him, and he will kill him as much as he likes. , What am I pleading?Without pleading, this is a possibility.Another is that Cui Yan had long expected that Cao Cao would not let him go, so there was no need to plead, and pleading was useless. There may be other reasons why Cao Cao killed Cui Yan, so what other reasons are there?I will put forward two more reasons, one is revenge killing.We know when Cao Cao got Cui Yan. It was the ninth year of Jian'an. , I checked the household registration just now, and said that there are 300,000 people in Jizhou, which is a big state.Very proud, this is the pride of a villain. Cui Yan, who had just been released from prison, stood up and said: Mr. Cao, now the world is falling apart, and the people are dying. When the king arrives, he should not ask about the customs first, or appease the people, but think about it first. How much oil and water, how much food, population, and army he has gained, can expand his power. Is this what the people of our state place their hopes on Ming Gong?As soon as this remark was said, all the guests turned pale with fright, Cao Cao immediately changed his face, and stood in awe, yes, Mr. Cui, you are right.The power of justice, the power of morality, but I think this lump may have formed in Cao Cao's heart. Cui Yan's righteous words to Cao Cao had to make everyone respectful, but Cao Cao probably had a knot in his heart.From the grudge in 204 AD to the murder in 216 AD, Cao Cao waited for twelve years, and he finally solved the knot with Cui Yan's death.Cui Yan used his death to prove that he was an upright gentleman, while Cao Cao used his death to prove that he was a traitor.So is Cui Yan's death just that simple? The third possibility is to arrange the funeral. He killed Cui Yan to arrange the funeral.Because we know that the issue of Cao Cao's successor was brought up on the agenda in his later years, the two brothers Cao Pi and Cao Zhi fought openly and secretly for this reserve position.At this time, Cao Cao secretly solicited the opinions of all the officials, and many of them secretly wrote back to Cao Cao, saying that I was in favor of whom to choose, but Cui Yan replied publicly, saying: "The Spring and Autumn Annals" righteousness establishes a long-term successor, and you must choose the oldest successor. That is to choose Cao Pi, not to mention the general of the five senses - that is Cao Pi - benevolent, filial and smart, he should be the prince, and I, Cui Yan, are willing to die to defend this righteous way.Cao Cao was shocked when he saw it, because Cao Zhi's wife was Cui Yan's niece, and Cui Yan should have supported Cao Zhi according to his personal relationship, but he supported Cao Pi, so Cao Cao respected him very much.So it should not be the reason why Cao Cao killed Cui Yan, right? Isn’t the point of view consistent, but what is very interesting is that Pei Songzhi added a note here. What is the note?It is said that Cao Zhi's wife, that is, Cui Yan's niece, was killed by Cao Cao one day because she wore a beautiful dress.His note was not in "Three Kingdoms: Biography of Cao Zhi", but in "Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Cui Yan", and it was noted here. I think Pei Songzhi seems to be implying something, implying that Cui Yan's death is actually related to Cao Zhi and Cao Pi It may be related that the brothers compete for this reserve position.Well, in fact, some people died because of this, such as Yang Xiu. From the analysis of Mr. Yi Zhongtian, it can be seen that there may be many reasons for Cui Yan's death, but participating in the competition between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi brothers for the reserve position may be one of the reasons, so Cao Cao is merciless towards Cui Yan, who he respects.According to historical records, one year before Cao Cao's death, Yang Xiu was also killed by Cao Cao because he was caught in a dispute for the heir apparent. Is this really the case?Mr. Yi Zhongtian will analyze the real cause of Yang Xiu's death for us. From the analysis of Mr. Yi Zhongtian just now, it can be seen that Cao Cao in his later years is gradually arranging the funeral of the regime transition.If it is said that in the process of conquering the world, talents are crucial to his career; and during the transition of power, Cao Cao will not be merciful to any talents who may affect the transition of power.Then Cui Yan's death may be related to this, and Yang Xiu was also considered to have participated in the struggle for the heir apparent in history, so how does Mr. Yi Zhongtian view Yang Xiu's death?Does Yang Xiu's death have anything to do with his personality? What kind of person is Yang Xiu?Smart people, Yang Xiu can be said to be extremely smart, and secondly, Yang Xiu is a humble person.Because Yang Xiu is smart and humble, he has a very good relationship with all Cao Cao's sons. Cao Cao's sons are all vying to make friends with him, and Yang Xiu dare not offend anyone, so he also goes to make friends.So Yang Xiu's death was not because he offended anyone, he didn't offend anyone, but Yang Xiu was still killed by Cao Cao.So whether it is "Three Kingdoms" or "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", it is believed that Yang Xiu's death was because Yang Xiu was on Cao Zhi's side in the battle for the heir apparent, and Yang Xiu was Yuan Shu's nephew. Cao Cao killed Yang Xiu before he died. But I think this statement can also be discussed. Although this is the statement of "Three Kingdoms" and "Hou Hanshu", why can it be discussed?There are two suspicious points: First, Yang Xiu is indeed Cao Zhi's party, but he is not a dead party, but a living party.After Cao Cao decided to make Cao Pi the crown prince, Yang Xiu wanted to alienate Cao Zhi, but Cao Zhi held him tight, and Yang Xiu didn't dare to turn his back on Cao Zhi, maintaining such a relationship.Since he is not a best friend, what are you doing killing him?This is the first point.The second point is that the relationship between Yang Xiu and Cao Pi is not bad, and it is very good.Yang Xiu once gave Cao Pi a sword. The man who made the sword was called Wang Mao, so this sword is called Wang Mao's sword.Later, when Cao Pi became the emperor, he wore this sword on his body when he left the palace one day. When he took out the sword, he thought of Yang Xiu. He said to stop: Do you know that this is the sword of Wang Mao that Yang Dezu gave me? ,—Where is Wang Mao now?Say where.Said, look at Wang Mao.He drove the car to Wang Mao's house and gave Wang Mao many gifts.As the saying goes, love the house and the black, Cao Pi even went to visit Wang Mao, how could he hate Yang Xiu?Cao Pi himself doesn't hate Yang Xiu, what did you Cao Cao kill for him?It doesn't make sense. According to the analysis of Mr. Yi Zhongtian, it can be seen that Yang Xiu was indeed involved in the battle for succession, but his relationship with the popular candidates for successor at that time——Cao Zhi and Cao Pi, was neither far nor close, and no one dared to offend.Although Yang Xiu supports Cao Zhi, he is not a best friend, so it is unlikely that Cao Cao will kill Yang Xiu because of the issue of establishing a prince.So why was Yang Xiu killed by Cao Cao?Is Cao Cao really jealous of Yang Xiu's talent? What is my opinion?I think Cao Cao killed Yang Xiu for himself.As we have said before, Yang Xiu is very smart, but in my opinion he is a little smart.According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty",—because there is no biography of Yang Xiu in the "Three Kingdoms", no one dared to write a biography of Yang Xiu. It is said that Yang Xiu is very smart. He works under Cao Cao and handles these official documents. He feels that this kind of work does not require much time for him, so he always sneaks out to play.Sneak out to play, what if Cao Cao writes a note to ask about something?He has done all the calculations in advance. He can figure out what questions Cao Cao will ask today, and he can figure out what the first question Cao Cao will ask, what the second question will be, and what the third question will be. He wrote down the answer to this idea in advance, put it in the place one by one, and then said to his subordinates: Remember, when Mr. Cao comes later, you can take this piece when you ask the first question. , You take this piece when you ask the second question, and you take this piece when you ask the third question.Then he went out to play by himself, and he dealt with Cao Cao like this, and he was very successful.As a result, one day it was called man's calculation is not as good as the sky's calculation. One day when he went out to play, there was a strong wind and the paper was blown all over the place. His men picked it up out of order. Cao Cao asked the first question He handed in the third answer when he asked the second question, and handed in the first answer when he asked the second question.Cao Cao saw what was messed up, so he called Yang Xiu over to ask, and Yang Xiu confessed honestly.Cao Cao hated him to death, saying how could you fool me like this?Just hate him. What's even less clever is Yang Xiu, who still wants to show off his intelligence. There are several stories in it, saying that Cao Cao repaired the prime minister's mansion. After repairing it, he went to see it. He didn't say anything and wrote a word on the door: "live". .Yang Xiu immediately said, let's make the door smaller. If there is a "job" in the "door", it means "rich". The prime minister thinks the door is too big.He guessed.Another time, someone sent a box of crisp candy, or cheese I forgot, Cao Cao took a bite, and then wrote a "he", united together.Yang Xiu took it and ate it. What do you mean, you see, isn't it "one bite"?It's such a clever thing to eat one bite at a time.It's fine for you to show off and show off, but he still has to guess Cao Cao's military arrangements.When Cao Cao was fighting Liu Bei in Hanzhong, he couldn't fight back, and he couldn't retreat. One day someone came to ask Cao Cao what the password in the army was tonight. Cao Cao said chicken ribs, chicken ribs are tasteless, and it's a pity to throw them away.After the password was passed out, Yang Xiu packed his luggage at home. People asked him why, and he said that you still don't understand. The king of Wei planned to go back and abandon Hanzhong.Then this is a military operation, what kind of cleverness are you playing at this time!Not long after returning, Cao Cao killed Yang Xiu. What was the charge? "Leaking out words and teachings, handing over to the princes", eight characters, translated into modern Chinese, is the crime of leaking state secrets, forming a party for personal gain, and lying to deceive the public. Before Yang Xiu died, he said such a sentence, he said that I also knew that I died too late, and I should have died long ago.But I don't know that Yang Xiuming doesn't understand why he deserved to die long ago. Has he figured this out?If Cao Cao wanted to kill Cao Zhi because of his close relationship with Cao Zhi, as understood in "Three Kingdoms" and "Hou Hanshu", then he didn't figure it out, why?He didn't know who Cao Cao was, what kind of person?As a dictator, Cao Cao definitely wants to monopolize power. Regardless of whether he wants to be emperor in the end, or whether he wants the title of emperor, he will monopolize power in this dynasty, there is no doubt about it.So how can such a person tolerate others guessing their own thoughts?He wants to engage in secret politics and spy rule, how can he tolerate you seeing through my thoughts?He can only see through your mind, you will never figure out me, it is called God's grace is unpredictable, or God's power is unpredictable.And you, Yang Xiu, not only guessed my thoughts, but you also yelled everywhere, at least it seemed that I, Mr. Cao, did not have a city mansion, and you, Yang Xiu, could see through my trivialities at a glance, and you even asked me the order of the questions. You guessed it, such a person is still worth it?Definitely kill him. Even Cui Yan's death may be due to this reason.What is Cui Yan?Cao Cao secretly asked for Li Chu's opinion, and Cui Yan answered publicly, which is called "exposing the board", which means publishing an open letter.Then you have to know that it is a rule for Cao Cao to ask for opinions in secret. This kind of matter cannot be solicited publicly. Is your answer by Cui Yan breaking the rules? This is the first point.Second point, why do you want to answer publicly?People are replying secretly, aren't you trying to put on a show?It means you are aboveboard, right?It means you have no suspicion, right?It means that you will not form a party for personal gain just because Cao Zhi's wife is your niece. You want to show this, right?Cao Cao was dissatisfied.Thirdly, even if Cui Yan didn’t mean it, he didn’t mean to show off, he was just being open-minded, and he was just being private, but your public answer doesn’t make it seem that Cao Cao’s secret solicitation for opinions is a bit sneaky?Don't you compare Cao Cao like this?Can Cao Cao tolerate it?What's more, Cao Cao, who is in power at this time, is already a murderer.I guess the real reason for Cui Yan's death and Yang Xiu's death is probably in this place. And we know that Cui Yan and Yang Xiu were killed in the last years of Cao Cao. At this time, the struggle within the Cao Wei Group was extremely fierce, because several sons of Cao Cao were vying for the position of successor, so how did they compete? of?Who will win in the end?Please watch the next episode - The Controversy for the Inheritance.