Let's talk about Yuan Shao's experience on the other side. After he fled back to Runan, he took the initiative to show weakness. He only returned to his hometown in Ruyang for one day, and then went south, wandering between the Huai River and the Dabie Mountains all day. At that time, he had observed the mourning for his parents for six years, made friends with the wise men of the world, and secretly raised thousands of dead men. At this time, when they heard the news that Yuan Shao had fled Luoyang, they all said: Yuan Jun worked day and night for the government, and did his best, all in the world. Who does Dong Zhuo look like in his eyes? How dare you steal the throne and disrupt the government? This is exactly when Yuan Jun needs me to wait. So many people shipped their goods and moved their homes to follow Yuan Shao. Although Yuan Shao lived in seclusion in the mountains, he lived in groups and traveled in groups, which even the Three Dukes could not match.
Dong Zhuo was also wary of this and ordered Runan officials to report Yuan Shao's whereabouts every day. However, the officials in Runan had been favored by the Yuan clan and did not dare to resist Dong Zhuo. However, they also sympathized with Yuan Shao and secretly colluded with each other. They reported back to Dong Zhuo and said: Yuan Shao lives in seclusion in the mountains and forests, and the clans do not dare to get close. They stay alone all day long, walking together. This single shadow has become detached from its bones in the past few days. Dong Zhuo then put down his guard and followed Wu Qiong and Zhou Ai's advice.
By the time Xun Chen came to Runan with the edict in hand, Yuan Shao had already known the result. He left the Dabie Mountains and entered Zhaoling County. He openly led his people into the Chen Family Courtyard in Zhaoling to discuss with Chen Wen the military affairs. . The Chen family in Zhaoling and the Yuan family in Ruyang are family friends. The two families have been advancing and retreating together since the time of Emperor An. However, twenty-four years ago, the patriarch Chen Xiang, who was the Eighth Prince, was dismissed from office by the party. As a result, the Chen family in Zhaoling declined day by day and became less powerful. forward.
Chen Wen was hesitant to raise an army because of his weak family reputation. He asked Yuan Shao: "Now Dong Zhuo has not yet lost power, and he is sitting on the throne of the emperor, occupying the capital of Guanzhong. The time, place and people are all right. We are acting in such haste, how can we say anything? What about a sure victory? Why not wait a little longer, accumulate strength, and then attack again while he has lost the people's support?"
Yuan Shaohu was sitting on the horse. After experiencing the setbacks of the coup, he acted more restrained and had a more mature temperament. He looked out the window at the bleak autumn wind, but his tone was ordinary. He said to Chen Wen: "Now that Dong Zhuo hastily abolished the throne, it is Our best righteousness, if we don't raise our troops at this time, sit back and watch the emperor lose respect and humiliate his morals, and want to regain power, in what name can we command the world? What's more, Dong Zhuo relies on only a corner of Guanzhong, and there is Chen Tingjian in the north For fear of our own worries, after we occupy Hebei, we will use Youyan's elite cavalry to imitate the story of Guangwu's entry into the pass, and we can quell the disaster with just a snap of our fingers. Don't have any doubts, Yuan Ti."
At this time, Xun Chen came with the imperial edict and read out Dong Zhuo's appointment of party members to Yuan Shao and Chen Wen. Chen Wen knelt down to accept the imperial edict and accepted the seal and ribbon of the Yangzhou governor. Looking back at Yuan Shao's smile, he seemed to be living in a In a dream. Yuan Shao turned over the seal in his hand with one hand, and then said to Chen Wen with a smile: "Dong Zhuo pretended to be lenient, but he didn't know about political affairs. Now everyone inside and outside the shogunate is devoted to me. When he launched an army to attack, Dong Zhuo was caught off guard and attacked Luoyang in one fell swoop. This is bound to happen, Yuan Ti, are you confident now?"
In this way, Yuan Shao had both the right people and the right time. Even if he could not succeed, he would not be defeated. Chen Wen no longer had any reason to refuse and immediately agreed to Yuan Shao's plan to raise an army. However, he added thoughtfully: "At the beginning, you Now that I am sure, how can I dare to disobey the order? Just to raise troops to attack Kyoto, we also need to send a message to the prefectures and counties to inform the armies. Only then can the soldiers and the people know the righteousness and join forces to attack together. The morale of the military comes first, this is the message. Who are you going to let do it?”
Yuan Shao deeply agreed, and he had already thought about this: If he wanted to raise an army to attack Dong and give orders to the princes, he should have someone else write the message to show that he was selfless and dedicated to serving the public good. If he wanted to have someone else pass on the message, that person would He must be highly virtuous and highly respected, and he must be respected by the princes, but he must not set up another sect like Dong Zhuo, and his words must be true and trustworthy so that the world will not doubt him. After much thought, he found only one suitable person.
Qiao Mao is a son of the former Taiwei Qiao Xuan, and Qiao Xuan was one of the few three men recognized by the late emperor and respected by the party members. Now Qiao Mao is first the governor of Yanzhou and then the prefect of Dongjun. He has been His political achievements were mediocre, but he still had high hopes for the world due to the legacy of his clan father. During the Luoyang coup, Qiao Mao led his army to occupy Chenggao under the orders of the general. Naturally, no one would question what he said about the affairs of Luoyang.
When he arrived in Bohai County and took office, he immediately sent a message to Qiao Mao, the prefect of Dong County, asking him to write a message for the conquest of Dong Zhuo.
Qiao Mao happily agreed. He pondered for four days and finally wrote the message. The full text is as follows:
"In the year of Jisi in Guangdong, in the month of Jianhai, Dong Zhuo was deposed and Luoyang collapsed. Yu Nai led his army into Gao and wandered in the countryside. He was afraid of Zhuo's force and could not move forward. The capital was burned and wept, and the Han Dynasty was exhausted. 1 Farewell to Henan, one night the country was destroyed, the emperor was imprisoned in a room, and Confucius surrounded Chen Cai. In the court, Yuan Gongkai, Huang Gongwan, Ding Gonggong, Liu Gonghong and other princes sent a message to me, saying: "Seeing persecution, there is no way to save oneself, hoping for righteous soldiers to relieve the country's troubles." I looked at the letter and saw tears. What a pity! Jing Ke came to Yishui when the cold came, Jingwei sank into the sea, stabbed the dragon in Xianyang, and filled the sea for hundreds of years. , although the work is successful, the spirit is very impressive.
The country is governed by loyalty and filial piety, and the ancestors are determined by three chapters. The universe was unified, and the six kingdoms were unified. It will last four hundred years until now. Three generations up and down, no one can match it. It can be said to be an eternal event and an immortal cause. Although there was a slight loss of control of the party and the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there were loyal ministers on the outside and people with lofty ideals on the inside, and we have repeatedly overcome dangers and barbarians, and we have survived together to this day. Only then did we know that there are things in the world that we should not do, and the common people have the desire to win. Dong Zhuo, an old gege, had a lawless mind. He refused the imperial court's request to annex the army and marched to the east of the river. Later, he abolished the throne and forced Ling Gongqing to do so. In the past, Wang Mang established a child as emperor, and later committed the crime of usurpation and rebellion. Today, the Dong Zhuo clan kills relatives of the country, first revealing the heinous evil.
Therefore, although Mao is a mediocre person, he is willing to imitate the virtues of Jianghou, so that the sun and moon can regain their brightness, and the righteous way can be revived. Are there only loyal ministers in the world? Yuan Shao, the former captain of the Sili School, had a high reputation and was the most responsible for clearing up official troubles. Now he has the important responsibility of Bohai. He remembers the emperor's old love and renovates his military halberd to build his legacy. How can we watch from the sidelines even if we have two thousand stones of food for each other? The army of King Qin is about to rise, but the succession has not yet been accomplished, and the country is rising and falling. Who is there? "
After the Qiao Mao was written, he ordered his subordinates to copy it and circulate it to all states and counties in the world. For a time, the states were turbulent, and all the knights and warriors in Guandong competed to circulate it, debate the rights and wrongs of the government, and request the shogunate of each county to send troops to respond to Yuan Shao. Many prime ministers originally wanted to sit back and observe the situation, but with such strong public opinion, they had no choice but to go along with the tide and agree to challenge Dong.
Cao Cao is still on the way to escape. After he massacred Lu Boshe and his family, he continued to flee to Yanzhou. Unexpectedly, he looked in a hurry on the way. When he passed by Quze Pavilion, the chief of the pavilion saw something was wrong, so he ordered Qiuting and the pavilion guards to lock up Cao Cao and escort him all the way to Zhongmou City. . However, the county magistrate of Zhongmou had no intention of ending the prison, and actually threw Cao Cao in prison for more than ten days.
Fortunately, Cao Cao spoke well and the jailers did not dare to bully him. In addition, he hid a piece of gold cake in the sole of his shoe and bribed it to the jailer. The days in prison were not difficult, but Yin spent the whole day in jail with tears. Washing his face made him look more depressed, and his words and deeds became more sensitive. Finally, he stared at the window of the county jail in silence.
It was not until mid-October that Cao Cao finally found peace. The magistrate of Zhongmu County went to the prison to inspect the prisoner before the trial and recognized his identity at a glance. The magistrate had admired him for a long time and immediately released him from prison and gave him food and clothing as a gift. , said to Cao Cao: "Mr. Cao has noble moral character and is loyal to the country. Although I don't know why Mr. Cao fled, I know that Mr. Cao will never do anything to betray the country. Now that the country is in turmoil, I hope you will take care of it."
Hearing such kind words, Cao Cao was speechless. He could only thank the gift, then took the horse and saluted, and continued on the road with Yin. By the time they reached their hometown of Qiao County, Peiguo, it was already the end of October. When he saw Cao Song again, Cao Song was sorting out his family property. The palace courtyard was filled with all kinds of dazzling jewelry. Outside the attached courtyard were rolling carriages, and the old men were all in a hurry with their belongings in their arms. Seeing that his eldest son had returned safely, Cao Song asked happily: "The war in Guandong and Guanxi is inevitable. I'm afraid Yanzhou and Yuzhou will become battlefields in the future. I can't stay in my hometown. I plan to move to Xuzhou. You have to go with me." ?"
Cao Cao had read Qiao Mao's message at this time. He advised his father: "Trouble will not come unless you avoid it. Troubled times have arrived. There will be no paradise anywhere. There are still yellow turban thieves in Qingzhou and Xuzhou. Your Excellency, How can you expect to live a peaceful life there? What's more, bringing all this wealth with you and not having enough soldiers to protect you is a recipe for disaster. It is better to disperse your wealth, recruit soldiers, and participate in the affairs of King Qin. If you can establish With all the meritorious service, what’s the pity for the Xu family’s wealth?”
Cao Song had always said that he could not be compared with Cao Cao, but he had obviously made up his mind and said to his eldest son: "Young boys have their own reasons, and adults have their own reasons. I am old, how can I still be loyal to the country? But I don't expect to survive for a long time." I just want to die in the countryside, but what you said makes sense, I will leave half of my family property to you. If you can make a career in the world, it will not be too late for me to live with you in peace."
Seeing that his father was decisive, Cao Cao knew his temperament, so he stopped trying to persuade him. However, he had a premonition that he and his father would never see each other again. Would he die in battle? Thinking this, Cao Cao felt that it was not a bad thing for his father to go to Xuzhou, so he made an agreement with his father to divide the family property into two. When Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Cao Hong and his brother-in-law Qin Shao heard that Cao Cao was going to raise an army to attack Dong, they all said they would follow him. When the people of Qiao County saw this, they sighed: They all say that elders are virtuous, why? Are the young people of the Cao family different? It seems that Cao will make a fortune in this generation.
In an instant, the building was empty. The Cao family's garden in Qiao County occupied an area of nearly 30 acres. Now there were only about 30 people left. Cao Cao discussed with his brothers in the clan and simply moved his family members out of the courtyard and stayed in the same county. In the family of Xiahou family.
The Xiahou family and the Cao family have been married for generations. It is said that Cao Song is also Cao Teng's adopted stepson from the Xiahou family. Therefore, all the Xiahou family's children are as close as brothers to Cao Cao. Unexpectedly, when he arrived in the clan, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan brothers had packed their bags and were wearing Wearing military uniform and a knife hanging from his waist, he petitioned Cao Cao to challenge Dong when he saw him.
Cao Cao was very moved. He said to all his clan members: "I don't know how long it will be until I leave the forest and the rain of swords. I, Cao Cao, will leave my life and death to you."
