After Cao Cao returned to the Cao Mansion with Yin, he left Yin in the care of his father and fell asleep himself. He had never slept so peacefully. According to the Cangtou at home, his snoring was loud, like a dragon sending thunder from the sky, and Cao Cao could only Thinking it was a joke, he said: The thunder from the sky can only determine the life and death of dozens of people, and the thunder fire burns a place several feet away. Just like Dong Zhuo, sleeping in one room, can determine the ups and downs of the world. This is the real thunder. Woolen cloth.
At 3 o'clock in the morning, he returned to Xianyang Garden to resume his duties. He did this neatly and neatly. Dong Zhuo admired him very much. He immediately appointed him as a minister, allowed him to enter the two palaces, and also participated in the discussions between the minister's desk and the shogunate. It is better to rush early than to rush in time. This happened to be the time when Dong Zhuo's shogunate held a court meeting, and Cao Cao was able to participate in the court meeting in Dong Zhuo's house for the first time.
The meeting place was Yuan He Jin's residence. Cao Cao had long heard that Dong Zhuo had not only re-employed members of the Yuan family, but also recruited young people from all over the world, regardless of previous suspicions. He had met many distinguished people the day before yesterday and was already prepared in his heart. However, after sitting at the table, Cao Cao looked at everyone in the table and still couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. shock.
In addition to the old troops under Dong Zhuo's command, he also recognized many celebrities in the front ranks, including old people who resigned and returned home due to the turmoil in the previous dynasty, such as Cai Yong and Xun Shuang, and hermits who were famous for their virtue and conduct, such as Hua Xin, Tao Qiuhong, as well as the old men recommended by Yuan Shao to join the He Jin shogunate, such as Wang Yun, He Yong, and Zheng Tai. Nearly a hundred people gathered together to discuss government affairs here, which gave Cao Cao the illusion that the government was prosperous and the Han Dynasty was reviving.
But when he stepped forward to talk to the princes, he realized that something was very serious. How could Dong Zhuo, a vulgar general, disrupt the Qing Dynasty? When the ministers here heard about Dong Zhuo's summons, most of them were unwilling to accept the call. However, Dong Zhuo forced the conquest with force. For example, after Cai Yong declined politely, the envoy said: "Dong Gong once said: 'I can also destroy my clan.' Cai Gong is Do you want to test whether the blade of Dong Gong's sword is sharp?" Cai Yong hesitated for a day and finally accepted the call to Beijing. The same was true for other famous people. Only Shen Tupan was saved from being summoned by his emanations into the mountains. Chen Ji and others moved to Xuzhou early because of Chen Chong's letter warning, leaving only an empty village for the envoy.
Cao Cao couldn't help sighing after hearing this, thinking that the ministers only wanted to be wise and protect themselves, but had no interest in the country, while Dong Zhuo relied on violence and did not understand people's hearts. Such a situation could actually make the court's culture flourish for a while, which shows that the world has lost its courage and elegance has fallen. It's a predictable thing.
After everyone had gathered, Dong Zhuo took the chair and said to all the staff: "Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, the most important thing is to appease the people of the states and counties. To appease the people, the first step is to reorganize the administration of officials and start from the west of the former emperor." Since the Yuan Dynasty, all counties and dynasties have been in a state of filth, and corrupt officials are rampant. Many county guards have bribed regular servants with money and materials, so that they can steal high positions. In the fish and meat village, there is a rumor that: 'The hair is like a leek, and it will come back to life after being cut; The head is like a chicken, it crows again after being cut off; officials should not be feared, but the common people should never be taken lightly.'
I often hear "Poetry" says: "Be cautious and anxious, as if you are in a valley." Walking on thin ice with fear and fear. "I have assumed the responsibility of assisting the king and safeguarding the country. I am always cautious, lest I lose the country." As the government is so dark, the source must be rectified first. I have already asked the Chancellor, and a list has been compiled in the past few days. They are all county guards who colluded with Chang Shi to plot against the Han Dynasty. I am determined to list them all today. Removed from office. "
After hearing these words, Cao Cao's heart surged, and he looked at the princes around him. Although they tried their best to maintain their composure, they all lost their composure, were at a loss, or opened their eyes in shock. In the past twenty years, everything from the Second Palace to various states and counties has been connected with it. If Dong Zhuo really dismissed all the state and county officials, it would be a rare and generous move since the founding of the People's Republic of China. But what everyone is more concerned about is how Dong Zhuo will arrange to fill the vacancies after so many governors and state ministers are vacant?
Dong Zhuo did not delay and circulated the list to all his staff. Everyone read it one by one and could not help but feel swayed. The Han Dynasty now had thirteen states and one hundred and five counties. The list included the governors of four states and two governors. Seventeen people guard each other. If Youzhou and Yizhou had not already established state pastors, so the court could not intervene, and Liangzhou fell to the rebels, the weight of this list would be even more amazing.
After everyone had finished reading, Dong Zhuo took back the list and said with a smile to everyone: "I first fight against the evil for the country, and then I will promote the virtuous. My subordinates are all warriors, and they don't know how to govern the people's livelihood. You are all the pillars of the country. So I can only ask you to recommend wise men to me, who can bring peace to the people and be loyal to the court."
Wu Qiong and Zhou Ai stood up first. They were now Dong Zhuo's most trusted ministers. Zhou Ai first said: "Just now, the Taiwei had four characters. Ai Shen believed that this is the 'original and clear source'. Now the Taiwei wants to purge the officials and appease people's hearts." , then we cannot focus on the clean flow. If we focus on the clear flow, we must also focus on the leader."
Dong Zhuo looked sideways at him and asked, "Who are you talking to? Could it be Yuan Shao? I have forgiven him for his arrogance, but is it possible that he still feels inadequate?"
Zhou Ai nodded and continued to elaborate: "The Taiwei pardoned Yuan Shao, which shows that the Taiwei is broad-minded, but the Taiwei's important use of Yuan Shao shows that the Taiwei has a heart to serve the country with his fists. In ancient times, Qi Huangyang did not shy away from promoting talents. Relatives and enemies, now Dong Gong promotes talents regardless of previous grudges, and the world looks up to him, who would not fall in love with him? And Yuan Shao, as the leader of Qingliu, is not only exempted from crime, but also driven by Dong Gong. Yuan Shao is so happy that he will not cause disaster! "
When Cao Cao heard this, he rolled his eyes at Zhou Ao, and secretly thought to himself that if Yuan Shao was such a person, why did the general die? This is to insult Dong Zhuo because he doesn't know Yuan Shao's nature. He couldn't help but viciously speculate on how many benefits Yuan Shao had promised Zhou Ao.
Dong Zhuo nodded slightly, and then started to consult the list: "What is the best position for Yuan Shao?"
At this time, Wu Qiong said: "It is better to place Yuan Shao in a border county. In the wild land far away, even if Yuan Shao wants to cause trouble, he will be unable to do it. According to my opinion, Bohai County is adjacent to Youzhou and to the east is Canghai. , with the trouble of Xianbei in the north and the trouble of Yellow Turban in the south, the Taiwei can make Yuan Shao the governor of Bohai."
Dong Zhuo believed that these words were true, so he confirmed Yuan Shao as the governor of Bohai. Then he discussed the other governors of the prefectures and counties, and they should be the first to persuade Dong Zhuo to use Yuan's old officials as the main ones. Wu Qiong analyzed: "Since where? Since he came to power, the Taifu sect has spread all over the government and the public, and only the Xu Xiang sect can compete with it. After the Changshi Rebellion, the Xu family was destroyed, and the Taifu sect became the dominant one. The Taiwei used to be the official of the Taifu, so he could be the same sect. Love depends on each other, and now that the Taiwei has pardoned Yuan Shao, why not do it as a favor?"
He Yong, Wang Yun, Zheng Tai, Xun You and other disciples of the Yuan family immediately agreed, and the others could not get in the conversation. However, they did not show favor to Dong Zhuo, so naturally they were willing to protect themselves and allowed the disciples of the Yuan family to speak alone in front of Dong Zhuo. In the end, The new governor is tentatively appointed as follows:
Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou, Kong Niao, the governor of Yuzhou, Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, Jiao He, the governor of Qingzhou, Chen Wen, the governor of Yangzhou, Zhang Zi, the governor of Nanyang, Yuan Shao, the governor of Bohai, Wang Kuang, the governor of Hanoi, Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, Zhang Chao, the governor of Guangling, Qiao Mao, the prefect of Dongjun, Yuan Yi, the prefect of Shanyang, Gongsun Du, the prefect of Liaodong, Zhang Yang, the prefect of Shangdang, Jia Cong, the prefect of Runan, Fan Xiang, the prefect of Qinghe, Wang Zhang, the prefect of Julu, Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei, Chunyu Qiong, the prime minister of Beihai, Geng Qia was the Prime Minister of Le'an, Zhu Liang was the Prime Minister of Jinan, Chen Ji was the Prime Minister of Pingyuan, and Cui Jun was the Prime Minister of Changshan.
Among them, apart from the old officials of the Yuan clan, only Gongsun Du was recommended by Xizhonglang general Xu Rong, and there were five others, Geng Qia, Zhu Liang, Jia Cong, Fan Xiang, and Wang Zhang, who were personally promoted by Dong Zhuo because of their reputation as a wealthy family. Dong Zhuo was quite satisfied with the list and thanked Wu Qiong and Zhou Ai, saying: "You two are my true prime ministers." He was determined to end the shogunate and finally went through the motions and asked his staff if they had any other suggestions.
At this time, Cai Yong stood up from the banquet and said to Dong Zhuo: "The people in the list are all outstanding people who have been famous in the world for a long time. I dare not have any objections, but since Dong Gong valued Yuan Shao, he should know that since Xiping, , Yuan Shao is even more famous, why doesn’t Duke Dong reuse it?”
Everyone was shocked when they heard this and couldn't help wiping their sweat to look at Dong Zhuo's expression. They all knew who Cai Yong was talking about, but the assassination of Li Shi at the beginning of the year shocked the government and the public. Both Dong Zhuo's sons died at the hands of moth thieves. But in private, everyone discussed: Chen Tingjian has always been known for his resourcefulness, how could something like this go wrong? , he must be resentful because of the Julu incident, so he used the Yellow Turban to take revenge!
Dong Zhuo obviously thought so too. The veins on his forehead were bulging and his eyes were almost wide open. He said almost without concealment: "I want to eat Chen Tingjian's flesh. Mr. Cai speaks for a good son-in-law like this. He is not afraid of my anger. Will the clan be wiped out?"
Cai Yong encouraged Yu Yong to remonstrate, but he did not expect Dong Zhuo to hate Chen Chong so much. He tried his best to reply: "Jun Zhou said just now that you should not avoid relatives and enemies when recommending virtuous people. When you recommend a son-in-law, you should not avoid relatives when you are promoted internally. Dong Gong promoted Tingjian, and he also did not avoid enmity in his external actions. Tingjian has been studying for nearly ten years, and has become famous in all nine states. His disciples are all over the world, and he is also capable of practicing literature and martial arts. A few months ago, he defeated Xianbei and achieved a victory that had not been seen in ten years. Both emotion and reason should be rewarded and put to good use, not to mention that with Chen Chong's ability, the shepherds and guards in Bingzhou are overqualified and underutilized."
When Dong Zhuo heard this, his eyes were about to burst, and he was furious. He was about to draw his sword and move forward. Cao Cao stepped forward and said: "Dong Gong, please calm down. Didn't Gong Dong hear that Gaozu was granted the title of Yongchi?" When Gaozu raised an army to rebel against Qin, Yong Chi rebelled against Gao Zu and defected to Wei, leaving Gao Zu with nowhere to return. He had no choice but to defect to Xiang Liang. When Gao Zu achieved great success, his subordinates believed that Gao Zu's reward was unfair and wanted to rebel. Gao Zu rewarded Yong Chi, whom he hated most. Everyone saw Yong Chi. The teeth can be sealed, so I don't have to worry about being rewarded, and the chaos is eliminated, creating a good story.
Dong Zhuo also knew about this period of history. After hearing this, his anger disappeared and he apologized to Cai Yong. However, he still had a grudge and was unwilling to discuss the appointment of Chen Chong. Cao Cao continued: "I heard that Liu and Chen were entangled with Xianbei. If he is determined to regain the territory, Dong Gongzheng can appoint Chen Chong as the shepherd of Bingzhou, order him to restore all the counties in Bingzhou, and then send Kong Rong, Bian Rang and other loyal and upright people to guard Bingzhou to assist him. In this way, the country will expand If the soil is still under control, why would Mr. Dong not do it?"
Bian Rang and Kong Rong were both well-known upright people in Beijing. Kong Rong, in particular, had been arguing with Dong Zhuo these days, speaking fiercely, but he was well-known. Dong Zhuo did not want to be blamed for killing virtuous people, so he could only hint to the Three Dukes to place him in an area where the Yellow Turbans were common. At this time, Cao Cao suggested that the two of them be transferred to Bingzhou. The implication was that Kong Rong would throw these thorns at Chen Chong. The suggestion that Dong Zhuo let Chen Chong fight to the death with the Xianbei people again was also a hint to Dong Zhuo that if Chen Chong succeeded in expanding the territory, Dong Zhuo would be wise in employing people. If Chen Chong failed, he could also be captured and imprisoned, which could be said to kill two birds with one stone.
Dong Zhuo then turned from anger to joy and smiled at Cao Cao: "What Meng De said makes sense." He took a pen and added five lines at the end of the list:
Bingzhou Mu Chen Chong, Wuyuan Prefect Kong Rong, Yanmen Prefect Bian Rang, Dingxiang Prefect Sheng Xiaozhang, Shuofang Prefect Yao Gong.
