Chapter 364: Cutting hair and taking the first place
A man with lofty ideals will not drink from a stolen spring, and an honest person will not be fed by someone who complains about it. ------------Fan Ye's "Le Yangzi's Wife" from the Southern and Northern Dynasties
It is said that although Guo Tu was captured alive, he was determined to die. He failed to commit suicide and wanted to die in front of Chen Long. Even Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang were influenced by him and refused to surrender. Chen Long then used a plan to provoke him and made a bet with Guo Tu to capture Yecheng within ten days, taking advantage of his opponent's knowledge that he had less than ten days of food and grass.
Guo Tu didn't believe that anyone in the world would contribute to Yecheng within ten days, so he gritted his teeth and agreed to the bet. Chen Long waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."
Hearing such a gentle word, others could not react for a moment. To Guo Tu's ears, it sounded like a thunder. He twisted his body and turned to face Chen Long, his body still covered with mud from falling off the high platform. Guo Tu asked in a seductive voice: "What did you say?"
Chen Longzheng glanced at Guo Tu and thought that the land of Yanzhao has been full of tragic people since ancient times. Although these Hebei counselors are not top-notch in strategy, their loyalty is the best choice. He raised his big hand and shouted: "If you come, why don't you bring a horse to Commander Guo!"
This time Guo Tu heard it clearly, but he couldn't move and stood there blankly, wondering if he was considered a favor from Longzhu. As the saying goes, "A man with lofty ideals will not drink from the stolen spring, and an honest man will not be fed by the stolen spring." Should I leave or should I leave? Alas, I can't die even if I want to.
A military horse was pulled to the front of the slope. Guo Tu moved slowly, hesitating whether to say a few words. Suddenly turned around, looked at Chen Long, pointed at Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang and asked: "Commander Long, will they let them go?"
This was the first time that Guo Tu called out the word Marshal Long. Chen Long shook his head and said: "When I capture Ye City, I will naturally let them both go. I don't want to, when I attack Ye City, I have to Beware of the arrows of the two generals Lu." After saying this, he smiled slightly.
When Guo Tu heard this, he realized that he was let go because he couldn't shoot arrows. Isn't this ironic to me? After thinking about it carefully, I felt something was wrong. It seemed that the person opposite didn't want to put any psychological burden on me. Such a delicate coach is hard to find in the world.
Guo Tu couldn't move anymore and slowly went downhill to mount his horse. Suddenly he saw several soldiers carrying a long knife and carrying it to Tao Sheng. Tao Sheng's face turned earthy and he knelt on the ground.
Chen Long raised his foot and kicked Tao Sheng away, pointed at the long knife and said, "I originally wanted to reward you with a new knife, but your knife is white and clean, not even curled at the edge, not even stained with blood. Take it back." Keep using it!”
How could Tao Sheng dare to say a word? He lay on the ground with his head in his pocket and begged for mercy: "Great Military Advisor, please forgive me for the many years I have followed Marshal Zhang. I still have several children at home who need to be raised. It’s a big family.”
Lu Chang, who was behind him, couldn't stand it for a long time. He pulled out his dagger and shouted: "You are greedy for life and afraid of death! You still have the nerve to plead for mercy! Great military advisor, your military skills are as good as a mountain, please pass on the order!"
Although Chen Long also wanted to be ruthless, like Cao Cao, who was ruthless but had clear rewards and punishments. When things came to a close, he could not say anything about the execution. Suddenly remembering the story of Cao Cao cutting off his hair to replace his head, he pulled out a dagger and cut off his bun.
Everyone was shocked and frightened, and fell to their knees on the ground, at a loss. Chen Long held up his long hair and shouted: "The army's discipline is not strict and the soldiers are not brave in fighting. It is the commander's fault. If you want to be the first to behead, my head should be beheaded. Today, I will use my hair instead of my head. I will remember it as a big mistake." "
Tao Sheng's face was filled with shame. He looked at Chen Long with regret in his heart. He might as well have died with honor while facing Bai Yao, who was dead with no body intact. Chen Long continued: "Tao Sheng was greedy for life and afraid of death. He dismissed his position as a partial general and immediately returned to Puyang to raise army rations to transport the soldiers." Tao Sheng did not expect that he could still survive, so he kowtowed desperately.
Guo Tu, who was watching the excitement from the side, took a wide look. This dragon ball has clear rewards and punishments, but it is not easy to kill. It is really rare to be willing to save the lives of others. It's a pity that this bit of kindness from a woman may not have any good results in this bloodthirsty and powerful society. Thinking of this, Guo Tu shook his head slightly and mounted his horse.
The original text of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" about the story of cutting off one's hair and taking over as head is as follows: Cao left Xun Yu to dispatch soldiers and generals in Xudu and marched on his own unified army. During the march, I saw that the wheat was ripe along the way. The people were fleeing because of the arrival of the soldiers and did not dare to cut the wheat. Cao sent people from far and near to tell the villagers, elders and officials who were guarding the area, saying: "I obey the Emperor's clear edict to send out troops to fight against the rebellion and eliminate harm to the people. Now when the wheat is ripe, we have to raise troops as a last resort. All the generals, big and small, are passing through the wheat fields. But those who trample on them will be beheaded. The military law is very strict, so the people should not be surprised or suspicious." After hearing the edict, the people all praised him happily and worshiped as they looked at the dust covering the road. When the officers and soldiers passed by the wheat field, they all dismounted from their horses and held the wheat with their hands, passing it one after another without daring to trample on it. Cao was riding his horse along when a dove suddenly appeared in the field. The horse was blind and jumped into the wheat, trampling a large piece of the wheat field. Cao Sui, the commander of the marching army, proposed to commit the crime of wheat himself. The chief secretary said: "How can the Prime Minister discuss the crime?" Cao Cao said: "I make my own law, and I commit the crime myself, how can I convince the public?" He took the sword he was wearing and wanted to kill himself. Everyone, please help. Guo Jia said: "The ancient "Spring and Autumn" means: "The law is not imposed on the respectable. How can the Prime Minister and the president kill himself?" Cao pondered for a long time, and then said: "Since the "Spring and Autumn" has the meaning of 'the law is not imposed on the respectable', My aunt is spared from death." He cut his own hair with a sword and threw it to the ground, saying: "Cut off the hair to replace the head." He sent a message to the three armies with his hair, saying: "Prime Minister Jianmai, he should have ordered to behead, but now he will cut off the hair to replace the head." ." So the three armies were horrified and all obeyed the military orders.
This story has been circulated as an example of Cao Cao's strict self-discipline, but it is a manifestation of his privilege. Many officials in later generations also played the game of cutting off hair to replace the head. When discipline or even the law was violated, just like Cao Cao's horse made the mistake because it was frightened. It was excusable. Who has not "cut the hair to replace the head"? But what about the original "love"?
Mao Lun and Mao Zonggang, the father and son who had annotated "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", saw this and cursed Cao Cao for being a "treacherous hero": Well, you Cao Cao, you are exempt from the death penalty!
In fact, hair cutting was really a form of punishment in ancient times, called "Kun punishment". Ancient people had long hair and fixed it with hairpins. And there is only one kind of person with short hair: slaves! In ancient times, the Yue people all had short hair, so they were said to be barbarians. In the eyes of the Central Plains people, short hair was a symbol of inferiority. Including Cui Yan, Cao Cao's subordinate, was punished as a slave by Cao Cao, but it is impossible for a dignified scholar to dig coal! This was the punishment he received.
This kind of punishment does no harm to the body, but it is a great punishment for the soul. Especially in ancient times, when the class division of labor was obvious, this kind of punishment was better than killing him when he was inflicted on a scholar!
This is evident from the fact that Cao Cao did not kill Cui Yan but only inflicted this punishment on him. On the other hand. As a monarch, Cao Cao was able to punish himself as a slave, which was rare.
Confucianism has been the mainstream since the Han Dynasty, and one of the Confucian thoughts is that "the body's hair and skin are received from parents, and they dare not damage them, which is the beginning of filial piety." It can be seen that hair cutting was very serious at that time.
"All the troops under Cao Cao were frightened" and no one dared to disobey Cao Cao's orders. It was precisely because of this. Chen Long cut off his hair and took his place as the leader. All the troops were shocked and Tao Sheng was ashamed. After cutting off his hair and taking the lead, Chen Long finally took the lead over Cao Cao and became the new history of the New Three Kingdoms.
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
