Compared with Cai Ji's step-by-step camp, Cao Cao's actions in Jizhou can be called bold. In terms of personnel, Cao Cao selected a group of generals with military merits from the army to hold important positions in the local government, and controlled and managed local government affairs for him. Naturally, this move aroused strong dissatisfaction among the Confucian people. Zhao Yan, the imperial historian, directly wrote to impeach Cao Cao, claiming that "although the military officials are meritorious, their virtue is not enough to be the choice of the county." In the face of the verbal criticism from Confucianism, Cao Cao did not care at all, but put forward-for-tat: "The Ming monarch is not an official and a meritorious minister, and he does not reward a man who does not fight; Governance is still virtuous, and there is a reward function. And based on this principle, a group of officials were promoted from the local firing line to enrich the court. These officials who were selected by Cao Cao were either from poor families or from noble families, but they all had the same characteristics, that is, they dared to fight against the powerful in the local area.

At the same time as the officialdom was changing blood, Cao Cao further proposed that "the government of chaos should be punished, and punishment should be the first". And Cao Cao's first "stirred rebellion" was the powerful annexation that had plagued the Han Dynasty for a long time. But just like Jia Xu's analysis to Cai Ji, the powerful people of Jizhou have long regarded the national law as nothing under the connivance of Yuan Shao, and how can they obediently be arrested. In the face of Cao Cao's real rectification and impeachment, the impeachment of the powerful clans in various places, and the boycott of the boycott. Zhang Sheng, who was powerful in Hanoi, even led his private soldiers to openly confront the government, which caused several powerful forces in Hanoi and Wei counties to respond one after another. In just ten days, the anti-Cao rebel army swelled to tens of thousands. And Cao Cao's solution is also very simple, just one word "kill".

Under Cao Cao's instructions, the Haoqiang led by Zhang Sheng were all punished by the three clans. In the process of quelling the turmoil, it was not uncommon for Cao Jun to slaughter cities and villages. Seeing the blood flowing in Hanoi and Wei County, the powerful people of Hebei remembered what Cao Cao did in Xuzhou back then, and at the same time, they finally understood what kind of demon king they were facing.

In fact, the reason why Cai Ji was able to implement the new policy in Qingdao and Xu Prefecture relatively smoothly in recent years was also somewhat stained with the light of Cao Cao's slaughter of Xuzhou. Now Cao Cao's old skills are repeated in Hebei, and the effect is naturally remarkable. In the face of Cao Jun's ruthless butcher's knife, the heroes of Hebei finally lowered their proud heads and began to cooperate with the government in a humble posture to measure land and inventory hidden households. At this time, it was July of the sixth year of Jian'an, and Cao Cao, who had been fighting abroad for nearly two years, finally returned to the dynasty as a victor. Returned to the long-lost capital city.

Liu Xie, who presided over the ceremony, stood in front of the Taimiao, watching Cao Cao holding the good news in his hand, striding across the red carpet and walking towards him step by step, his mood can be described as mixed. Jie Li was originally a kind of military salute to the Son of Heaven after the victory of the vassal states against the barbarian Rong Di. It is divided into six steps: revitalizing the brigade, offering Kaile, offering sacrifices, offering prisoners, drinking, and rewarding. Although Cao Cao's northern expedition to the Yuan clan was not a battle of Huayi, it was also a battle of life and death related to the survival of the Han family. Therefore, after learning that Cao Cao's Zhen Brigade, that is, the class teacher returned to the court, Liu Xiedang led hundreds of officials to the Taimiao Temple to pay tribute to the ancestors, and met Cao Cao here to hold a ceremony. However, when Cao Cao appeared in front of him, Liu Xie still inevitably felt the pressure from the other party. But he didn't show any displeasure or apprehension on his face. Because Liu Xie knows very well that today's Cao Cao is a veritable person above 10,000 people. No one in the vast city of Xu could challenge Cao Cao's authority. Even Liu Xie, who is the Son of Heaven, is no exception.

However, Cao Cao at this time didn't seem to have the intention of showing his might in public, but he saw him meticulously kneeling on the ground to Liu Xie and played, "Minister, Cao Cao, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, report to my emperor, on the twenty-first day of May in the sixth year of Jian'an of the Han Dynasty, the minister led the king to conquer Handan, and punished Yuan Shang for rebelling against the party." More than 10,000 enemies were killed, tens of thousands of prisoners were captured, and I would like to dedicate your majesty. ”

Cao Cao's kneeling soothed the knots in Liu Xie's heart a little. Even his stiff face glowed red. In any case, offering a prisoner in front of the temple is a thing worth celebrating. So the next moment, Liu Xie stepped forward with a smile on his face and helped Cao Cao up, "Cao Qing's family, please get up." ”

At the moment when Liu Xie helped Cao Cao up, a solemn and high-spirited Kaile sounded above the temple, and the civil and military officials present shouted in unison, "God bless the great man!" Long live our emperor! ”

After offering the captives, it is customary to drink to the reward. It is said that with the current inventory of the Han family, it is impossible to afford the banquet and drink. Although Liu Xie bears the name of the Son of Heaven, the areas that can really be directly taxed are limited to the three prefectures of Henan, Yan and Xu. Even the taxes collected from these states and counties had to be given priority to meet Cao's salaries. As for the taxes of the other states, it was up to the princes to decide whether to pay tribute. For example, remote prefectures and counties such as Liangzhou and Yizhou never paid grain to the imperial court. Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Sun Ce of Yangzhou would occasionally send envoys to pay tribute, but they often had plans for the imperial court. Liu Biao is old-fashioned and knows how to cover up a thing or two. The young and vigorous Sun Ce directly proposed conditions to the imperial court. Fortunately, among the princes, Cai Ji and Liu Bei paid tribute on time every year, and finally saved Liu Xie's face as the Son of Heaven. And the cloth and wine that Cai Ji paid tribute in the first year of the year solved the urgent need of the Han family, allowing Liu Xie to borrow flowers to offer Buddha and use wine to reward the victorious Cao army soldiers. It is rare for the Son of Heaven to be so generous. Cao Cao also opened the net, put aside the "Prohibition of Alcohol" for the time being, and let the whole army drink freely for three days.

However, not everyone is smiling at this time of celebration in the city. Yushi Zhao Yan refused to attend the ceremony on the grounds of physical discomfort. In his opinion, Cao Cao was really the king of the world, who not only held the Son of Heaven hostage to order the princes, but also rashly reformed and disrupted the dynasty. I thought of Cao Jun massacring Hebei celebrities in Hanoi and Wei County in the name of quelling the rebellion. Zhao Yan couldn't help but feel a tingling pain in his heart. But under the hood of Xun Yu, Wu Shuo and other traitors, the Son of Heaven not only did not cure Cao Cao's crimes, but also greeted Cao Cao with great fanfare in the Taimiao. Such an act of appeasement and adultery was really difficult for Zhao Yan to accept. However, while Zhao Yan refused to attend the ceremony, he did not stay in the mansion and sulk alone, but took an ox cart early in the morning to visit friends on the outskirts of the city. It wasn't until the evening that Zhao Yan returned to Xu Capital City with a little drunkenness. At this time, Xu Du was immersed in the celebration carnival, and drunk people and soldiers could be seen everywhere. However, in Zhao Yan's eyes, these scenes became evidence of Cao Jun's extravagance.

Just as Zhao Yan was secretly ridiculing Cao Cao in the car for his inability to govern the army and rebel against the "Prohibition", the ox cart suddenly stopped. Due to failing to grasp the center of gravity, Zhao Yan stumbled and hit the beam. The severe pain was accompanied by an already unhappy mood, so he jerked the curtain of the car and scolded the driver who was driving the car, "What's wrong!" ”

The coachman was drunk by Zhao Yan, and couldn't help shrinking his head and pointing ahead to explain, "Master, there is ...... Someone is in the way. ”

Zhao Yan looked up in the direction the driver pointed. Sure enough, there was a drunkard lying in front of the ox cart. Look at this person's uniform, it is clear that he is a soldier of Cao Ying. Although Zhao Yan didn't recognize this Cao Bing, in his eyes, these Qiu Ba, who was drunk on the street and had no one next to him, were the incarnation of Cao Cao. As a result, a nameless fire ignited in Zhao Yan's heart. But I saw him walking quickly down the ox cart. He commanded the servants who accompanied him, "Go! Blow this drunk away! ”

The servant who was drunk like this by Zhao Yan stepped forward to drive the Cao soldier, who was already drunk like a dead cat, away from the avenue. But who knew that lying on the ground, Cao Bing sat up slowly, lying on the ground and refusing to leave. Between the two sides, many people suddenly stopped and watched.

Just when everyone was looking at it, they suddenly heard a deafening shout from behind them, "Get out of the way!" Get out of the way! ”

As soon as some impatient do-gooders wanted to turn their heads and talk back, they saw a burly man standing on the periphery of the crowd, eight feet long, and even worse, this person was carrying two snowy halberds on his back. At present, it is not the general who can wear a sword in Xudu City. is the son of a wealthy family. For a moment, the bustling crowd suddenly fell silent, and they all made way for this strong man. And this strong man was not polite, and directly stepped forward and pointed to the three people who were scuffling and asked, "Who is making trouble on the street here?" ”

Seeing that the person who came was murderous, and with a smell of alcohol, the servant of the Zhao Mansion first shrank, and then remembered that the other party was the first to occupy the road, so he pointed at the drunken Cao Bing and responded. "This guy is drunk and making trouble, intercept the frame of Yushi!"

The strong man looked at the three of them suspiciously and asked, "Imperial History?" ”

As soon as he mentioned his master, the servants of the Zhao Mansion immediately became confident. Triumphantly introduced to the other party, "Exactly." This is the master of my family, Zhao Yushi. ”

After listening to what the servants of the Zhao Mansion said, the strong man glanced at Zhao Yan, who was standing with his hands in his hands and watching coldly, and without saying a word, he grabbed the Cao Bing, who was already drunk and out of human shape. It is said that no matter how malnourished the men at the end of the Han Dynasty were, they weighed more than 100 catties, not to mention that the other party was still a soldier who fought abroad all year round. is such a tall young man, but he was lifted by the strong man in front of him with one hand. It made the people who were watching sigh.

"Born with divine powers!"

"Where did this strong man come from?"

"I've seen this man! This person is Cao Cao's guard! ”

"Cao Cao's guards? Is it Xu Chu? Or Dian Wei? ”

Just as everyone was discussing the identity of the strong man, Zhao Yan scolded coldly, "Eunuch is ugly, and the country and the people are harmed!" ”

It is said that the strong man was about to leave with Cao Bing. At first glance, when he heard Zhao Yan scolding "Eunuch and ugly", he immediately stopped. Although Zhao Yan did not name him, he was a little well-informed and knew that this "eunuch and ugliness" was Yuan Shao's words when he scolded Cao Cao. It can even be said that it has become synonymous with Cao's.

With a pop, the strong man threw the Cao soldier in his hand to the ground. That Cao Bing was just using the strength of wine to entangle with the servants of the Zhao Mansion, and he was already scared to wake up after being lifted by the strong man's volley. At this moment, I was liberated, and I jumped up and smeared oil on the soles of my feet. And the strong man didn't care about the fleeing Cao Bing. Turning to stare at Zhao Yan and asking, "Who are you scolding?" ”

Zhao Yan raised his head and replied not to be outdone, "I am a thief!" ”

Cao thief?! Someone dared to scold Cao thief on the street in Xuducheng. As soon as Zhao Yan said this, the strong man on the other side narrowed his eyes, and even Zhao Yan's coachman and domestic servants were startled, and hurriedly stepped forward to pull Zhao Yan into the ox cart. However, at this time, Zhao Yan looked blushing and panting on the surface, but in fact, he was already drunk. In addition, several of his friends in Wei County were implicated in Zhang Sheng's rebellion and died under the butcher's knife of Cao Jun. At this time, the servant's action of calming things down, instead of persuading Zhao Yan, stimulated his long-suppressed feelings. But he suddenly shook off the servant's elbow and cursed loudly, "Cao thief brutalized Zhongliang!" Slaughter the people! How to scold! ”

Where did Zhao Yan know that his curse also stimulated the strong man opposite. It turned out that the strong man in front of him was the commander Dian Wei under Cao Cao's account. The Tiger Guard under the command of Xu Chu, a native of the country, was the elite division of Cao's army, and he saved Cao Cao from extreme danger many times. Dian Wei himself was even more brave and brave with his strength, and the three armies and Xu Zhu took turns to protect Cao Cao. Because it happened to be Xu Chu's turn to escort Cao Cao today, Dian Wei was unable to enter the palace with Cao Cao and others to participate in the imperial banquet. But Dian Wei didn't care about it. As a result, he was born poor and was not very troubled by the so-called royal etiquette. Second, he who likes the contents of the cup can also take advantage of this half-day leisure to have a good drink. But who would have thought that Dian Wei had just finished his drinking addiction in the wine shop, and turned around and ran into Zhao Yan, who was also drunk. This is just in line with the sentence that Xiu only met soldiers, and it is unreasonable.

Compared with Xu Chu, who is cautious and obedient to the law and has few words, Dian Wei's character is more chivalrous, righteous, and affectionate. In his early years in his hometown, Dian Wei once assassinated the local powerful Li Yong for his fellow villagers. Since Li Yong was once the chief of Fuchun, the guards at home were very strict. Dian Wei drove the car, carrying chicken wine, and pretended to be waiting for other people's idlers in front of the Li Mansion. As soon as he saw Li Yong leaving the house, Dian Wei immediately took out a dagger from his arms and rushed forward to intercept and kill Li Yong and his wife. After succeeding, he calmly returned to the car, took his sword, and walked away. Because Li Yong's residence is close to the city, the whole city was shocked after the incident. Although there were hundreds of pursuers from behind, no one dared to approach. Dian Wei traveled four or five miles, met Li Yong's companions, and after the two sides turned to fight, they escaped. After the assassination of Li, Dian Wei turned to serve Zhang Miao, Zhao Chong and other princes. Until he was selected by Xiahou and recommended to Cao Cao, he became an indispensable general of Cao's army.

In Dian Wei's view, Cao Cao's exemption from taxes for the people in Hebei and severe punishment for the merger of the powerful and powerful are all good things for the benefit of the country and the people. The people Cao Jun killed in Hanoi and Wei County were all bullies and thieves in the fish and meat towns. Why did the old puppet become "cruel to the loyal and good, slaughtering the people" in the mouth of the old horseman. In a hurry, Dian Wei took a step forward and pointed at Zhao Yan and reprimanded angrily, "My lord is fighting bloodily to protect the Han Dynasty, and Ru'an dares to frame my lord!" ”

Zhao Yan didn't take Dian Wei in his eyes at all, but said provocatively, "You and the others are all Pifuer, what a way!" ”

With a "click", Zhao Yan's head fell from his neck, and a mark of blood gushed out from the cranial cavity in an instant, splashing the coachman and the servant all red, and scared the two of them to sit on the ground with weak legs. The blood-stained head gurgled on the ground and stopped at Dian Wei's feet, Zhao Yan's round eyes full of astonishment.

"Kill...... Kill...... Killed! ”

The sudden upheaval plunged the onlookers into a panic. Although it is a troubled time right now, it is not a big deal to kill someone. But in the city of Xudu, killing the emperor on the street is the first time in the sky. Some of the clever people had already run to report to the officials to receive their rewards, while many more had fled like headless flies. On the contrary, it was Dian Wei, who was the initiator, holding a bloody halberd in his hand, leaning over to pick up Zhao Yan's head without changing his face, and strode towards the Prime Minister's Mansion. (To be continued)