Chapter 1086 Changes in people’s minds
In August of the 15th year of Jianxing, news of the fall of Shangdang reached Xuchang, and Wei General Cao Shuang was furious.
On the grounds that Sun Li, the governor of Jizhou, failed to assist Shangdang, which led to the fall of Shangdang, Sun Li was dismissed from his official position and demoted to a commoner.
Then Cao Shuang wanted to let Huan Fan, a fellow countryman, take over as the governor of Jizhou.
Moreover, Huan Fan had a violent temperament. Although he was talented, he often relied on his talents to dominate others.
After the Xiahou clan was jealous of Cao Rui, Xiahou Mao was recalled to Luoyang by Cao Rui. Huanfan, as General Zhenglu and Dongzhonglang General, sent Chijie to replace Xiahou Mao, the governor of Qing and Xu Zhujun.
During his tenure, he had a housing dispute with Xuzhou governor Zou Qi, and he attempted to kill Zou Qi using his power as an envoy.
Huanfan learned that Cao Shuang intended to make him the governor of Jizhou instead of its pastor.
And the former Jizhou Mu Lu Zhao was the general of Zhenbei, but he didn't even have a general title.
Huanfan thought he had been insulted and said to his wife Zhongchang:
"I would rather serve as the ninth minister in the court and kneel to the three princes than to be the subordinate of Lu Zizhan (that is, Lu Zhao)."
Lü Zhao, the shepherd of Jizhou before Sun Li, became an official after Huan Fan, and Huan Fan considered himself to be more talented than Lü Zhao.
Now Cao Shuang asked him to serve in Jizhou, but the official position was not even comparable to that of Lu Zhao. How could he be convinced?
Huanfan’s wife Zhong Changshi was very knowledgeable and advised him:
"The king was in charge of the military affairs of Qingzhou and Xuzhou in the east. He wanted to kill the governor of Xuzhou, but everyone thought it was difficult for him to do it."
"The general now regards you as a fellow countryman, so he ordered you to serve as the governor of Jizhou. He actually believes in you. But you are ashamed to be under the general of Zhenbei, so it is difficult for you to be the superior."
“If you find it difficult for everyone above and below you, who will be willing to be your colleague in the future?”
Huan Ben was originally complaining to his wife, but he never thought that his wife would actually say these words, which directly touched his sore spot.
Huan Fan, who had a violent personality, became angry and cursed on the spot:
“You are only a woman’s ear, what do you know?”
After cursing, he was still not relieved. He turned around and took off the saber hanging on the wall. He took the knife in his backhand and hit Zhong Changshi's abdomen with the handle.
Zhong Changshi did not expect that Huan Fan would hit him as soon as he said so.
Unprepared for a moment, he was hit in the abdomen by the handle of the knife on the spot.
She heard a scream and was knocked to the ground.
At the same time, he covered his abdomen with his hands, and his face suddenly turned pale.
Huan Fanben wanted to hit her a second time, but seeing her like this, he couldn't do it again, so he snorted, turned around and left.
Zhong Changshi stretched out his hand to stop Huan Fan. He opened his mouth, but his strength seemed to be exhausted, and in the end he couldn't make a sound.
It was not until Huan Fan left that the servant girl dared to come over and help the mistress.
“Madam, you are bleeding!”
The servant who helped Fan's wife up could not help but exclaimed when she saw blood seeping out of the mistress' lower skirt.
Fan’s wife covered her abdomen and said weakly:
“Hurry, call the medical staff...”
Before he could finish speaking, he fainted.
It turned out that Fan's wife was pregnant. Huan Fan's blow not only caused her to have an abortion, but also caused her to have bleeding.
Within two days, Fan's wife died of a collapse of blood. (Note: Huan Fan’s events are recorded in historical books and are not made up by the author.)
Huanfan refused to take office in Jizhou on the pretext of dealing with the funeral of his deceased wife.
After learning about this incident, Cao Lang Xu Yun, the Minister of Finance, went to persuade Cao Shuang:
"Huan Yuanze (i.e. Huan Fan) became an official before Lu Zizhan (i.e. the former Jizhou Mu Lu Zhao), and his talents far exceeded Lu Zizhan. Lu Zizhan served as the Jizhou Mu as the general of Zhenbei."
“But the general asked Huan Yuan to serve as the governor of Jizhou after Lu Zizhan, without the title of general.”
"The general's move is nothing more than telling the world that in the eyes of the general, Huan Yuan is far inferior to Lu Zizhan. This is not the way to employ people."
.
Huanfan was born in the Huan family of Longkang in Qiaojun, and he was also from a local wealthy family.
Although Huan Fan is not as close to Cao Shuang as the Three Dogs in Taichung, as a fellow countryman of Cao Shuang, he is also trusted by Cao Shuang.
By wooing Huan Fan, Cao Shuang was actually wooing the Huan family in Qiao County and consolidating his home territory.
This is why he wanted Huan Fan to go to Jizhou.
At this time, Cao Shuang suddenly realized what he said when he heard Xu Yun's words, so he asked:
“Huan Yuan is a man of great talent. I already knew it, but I didn’t expect him not to go to Jizhou. It turns out there is another reason for this. So what should I do?”
“Hebei Province has always been appointed by General Zhenbei. Since Lu Zizhan has returned to the court, it is not easy to serve as General Zhenbei again. He can be appointed to another position.”
The implication is that at least Huan Fan cannot be allowed to succumb to Lu Zhao.
Hearing this, Cao Shuang nodded and said, "That makes sense."
So he started to report to the emperor again and asked Huan Fan to become the general of Zhenbei and lead the shepherd of Jizhou.
After Huanfan was appointed, as Xu Yun expected, he set off for Jizhou to take office.
When Cao Shuang learned that Huan Fan had taken over the post of Jizhou Mu, he happily said to Xu Yun: "Everything is as you expected."
Xu Yun said modestly: "Yun just happens to know what Huan Yuanze is thinking."
Why did Xu Yun know Huan Fan’s thoughts?
It was all because Xu Huan and the two were close friends.
In his early years, Xu Yun married the daughter of Wei Wei Ruan Gong. After paying homage and entering the bridal chamber, Xu Yun discovered that Ruan's daughter was extremely ugly. He was so frightened that he ran out of the new house and did not dare to stay inside.
Everyone in the Xu family was deeply worried, but no matter how much they tried to persuade her, Xu Yun just refused to step into the new house.
Later, when Huan Fan came to visit, Ruan's daughter learned about it and said happily, "I don't have to worry about Mr. Huan coming to visit. He will definitely persuade A Lang to move into the new house."
After Huanfan learned about Xu Yun’s new wife, he persuaded Xu Yun:
"The Ruan family is a well-established family after all. If you marry an ugly girl to a minister, there must be a reason for it, and you should investigate it."
Xu Yun listened to Huan Fan's words and entered the new house again that night.
But when he saw the bride's face, the courage he finally mustered up suddenly disappeared, and he wanted to run out again.
Mrs. Ruan knew that if he was allowed to run out again, there would really be no chance for him to look back in this life.
So she quickly grabbed Xu Yun's clothes and refused to let him go.
Xu Yun struggled for a long time but couldn't run, so he had to ask:
“A woman has four virtues, how many of them does a minister have?”
(Four virtues: women’s virtues, women’s words, women’s appearance, women’s merits)
Mrs. Ruan's daughter replied: "The bride lacks nothing but accommodation. However, if a scholar has hundreds of skills, how many do you have?"
Xu Yunxin said, "My reputation has spread to Jizhou since I was young. Don't you know?"
So he replied: "I am ready for everything."
The Ruan daughter retorted eloquently: "My husband's first line of conduct is virtue. If you are lustful but not virtuous, what do you mean by having everything in place?"
Xu Yun, a well-known scholar, was speechless when asked by his bride.
Thinking again of the persuasion of his good friend Huan Fan, he immediately woke up and couldn't help but look at his superiors with admiration.
So, I slept in the new house that night.
When Xu Yun was appointed Minister of Civil Affairs, he recommended many fellow villagers as officials. Someone reported to Cao Rui that he was nepotistic, so Cao Rui sent Huben to arrest him.
In an emergency, Ruan's daughter ran out barefooted without even bothering to wear shoes, and said to Xu Yun:
“The master of understanding can rationalize it, but it is difficult to ask for it.”
Xu Yun nodded in understanding. After seeing Cao Rui, he calmly answered the emperor's question:
After Cao Rui inspected the school, it was found to be so, so it was released.
Seeing that Xu Yun's clothes were shabby again, he gave him new clothes.
After Xu Yun was taken away, everyone in the Xu family was wailing. Only Goddess Ruan remained calm and comforted everyone:
“Don’t worry, Alang will be back home soon.”
Then he cooked corn porridge himself.
After the porridge was cooked, Xu Yun returned to the house.
After this incident, Ruan's daughter completely won the respect of everyone in the Xu family.
Xu Yun would discuss matters with Ruan's daughter whenever he was in doubt.
On this day, Ruan's daughter was very happy to see her husband coming back from duty, and she couldn't help but ask:
“Alang seems to be in high spirits today?”
Xu Yun helped his friend get promoted, but he couldn't make it public and was feeling uncomfortable.
At this time, when I heard my boss asked about it, I naturally took the opportunity to tell everything in detail.
Unexpectedly, Ruan's daughter sighed after hearing this.
Seeing this, Xu Yun couldn't help but feel a little strange:
“Why is Mr. Xi like this?”
Nguyen’s daughter said:
"In my opinion, it is a good thing that Huan Lang avoids official duties at home."
“Alang’s move pushed him out. In order to repay the general’s kindness, Mr. Huanlang will do his best to help the general.”
Xu Yun doesn’t quite understand:
“The general is the auxiliary minister appointed by the late emperor, and Yuan Ze and the general are from the same hometown. Naturally, they want to help the general. What’s wrong with this?”
Mrs. Ruan glanced at him and said slowly:
“The Wei Dynasty has more than one auxiliary minister, the general.”
Hearing this, Xu Yun was immediately excited, and then looked at Ruan's daughter steadily:
“What do you mean by Xijun’s words?”
“How does Alang think the Wei Dynasty compares with the Han Dynasty?”
Xu Yun answered subconsciously:
“The great Wei occupies the center of the world and represents the orthodoxy of the world…”
The Ruan daughter immediately sneered.
Xu Yun coughed sheepishly, looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, and then said:
“Which of the two countries Han and Wei will be able to unify the world in the future, and who can know it?”
Ms. Ruan sneered again:
“After the First World War in Guanzhong, the general situation of the world has been decided, why should Alang deceive himself and others?”
Xu Yun was shocked and said: "Sir, be careful what you say!"
"You and I are one husband and wife, why do we need to hide it?" The Ruan woman said without changing her expression, "The Wei Dynasty has been in the center of the world for decades, but why has it been repeatedly defeated by the Han in these years and lost three states in a row?"
Xu Yun suddenly became speechless.
“The Wei Dynasty had ten states, but it couldn’t defeat the Han State, which had only one state. Now it only had seven states, so how could it defeat the Han State, which had four states?”
Xu Yun said without confidence:
“With seven states against four states, the advantage is still in the Wei Dynasty.”
Ms. Ruan sneered again:
"If Taifu Sima and General Cao can work together to assist the emperor and fight against the thieves, Alang's words will still be credible."
“However, people in the Wei Dynasty are now distracted. Although the dispute between the two auxiliary ministers has not been made explicit, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the two auxiliary ministers will inevitably be like fire and water in the future.”
“Therefore, the dispute between Wei and Han seems to be seven states versus four states, but in fact it is not an exaggeration to say that three states versus four states are.”
If Xu Yun is as violent as Huan Fan, if he hears Ruan's daughter's heart-piercing words, if he can't lose face, he will stage another drama of killing his wife in anger.
It's just that Xu Yun has always known that Ruan's daughter is very insightful, and he also knows that what she said at this time is the truth.
In addition, she seemed not optimistic about her recommendation of Huan Fan.
So Xu Yun asked for advice in a low voice:
“What do you think, Mr. Xi?”
"I have two opinions: If the Han Dynasty sends troops to the east first and takes Luoyang, Hebei Province, Huanlangjun can escape the disaster, and he will be safe."
“But if the Han Kingdom has not yet sent out troops, and the two auxiliary ministers of the Wei Dynasty decide the winner first, then Huan Langjun may be imprisoned.”
Xu Yun was shocked: "Why?"
"Given the relationship between Huan Langjun and the general, even if he loses his land in Hebei, Huan Langjun will only lose his official position at most."
"And the two auxiliary ministers are competing, who does Alang think will win?"
Xu Yun hesitated to speak.
"Alang doesn't dare to speak, so I'll let my concubine do the talking. The general is so indulgent when he first takes power, and I'm afraid he will lose his support sooner or later."
“As a veteran of four dynasties, Sima Taifu has a great reputation and is in charge of elite men. When the time is right, he will ascend to the top and call him a general. Why should he be a general?”
“As a clan member, the general can still be a wealthy man even if he loses the right to assist the government. However, those who depend on the general will probably not be able to escape the liquidation.”
"That's why I said that if things happen in the future as I expected, Mr. Huan Lang may not be able to escape from prison."
Xu Yun was at the Chancellery, so he knew that the "Three Dogs of Taichung" were seeking personal gain and did not hesitate to change the laws easily, and some people had begun to feel resentful.
Although Xu Yun usually feels that something is not right, he has not thought deeply about it.
At this time, upon hearing the analysis of my superior, I suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
He shouted out loud: "If this is really the case, then wouldn't I have harmed Yuan Ze?"
He stamped his foot regretfully, "No, I have to write to Yuan Ze and ask him to resign as Jizhou pastor!"
When Ruan's daughter saw it, she quickly stopped him:
"No, Mr. Huan Lang has always been resentful of surrendering to Lu Zhao. Now that he has finally got what he wanted, how can he easily listen to A Lang's words?"
“Alang’s letter this time may not only fail to dissuade him, but may actually make him feel resentful.”
Xu Yun remembered that a few years ago, when his good friend was supervising Qing and Xu, he was reported by the Xuzhou governor and dismissed from office.
Although he was later recommended as the governor of Yanzhou, he was not very successful in Yanzhou because of the conflict with Lv Zhao (the former Jizhou pastor Lv Zhao was from Yanzhou).
Now that he has finally survived, with his temperament, he will definitely not be able to give up easily.
Thinking of this, Xu Yun couldn't help but stamp her feet: "What should I do?"
Seeing this, Mrs. Ruan comforted him and said, "This is just my concubine's guess. Why should Alang be like this?"
Xu Yun admitted frankly: "Xi Jun must have insight in every word he says. Am I not worried?"
He looked at Ruan's daughter, "If the future is really as Xi Jun said, how can I save Yuan Ze?"
"If Alang believes that Taifu Sima can win, why not gain Taifu's trust as soon as possible? If he can make a contribution in front of Taifu, why worry about not having the chance to save people?"
Isn’t this just standing in line in advance?
Xu Yun began to hesitate again after hearing Ruan's daughter's suggestion.
To take sides at this time can be said to be a huge gamble on one's political career for the rest of his life, and there is no room for error.
“Let me think about it.”
“It has been less than a year since the Han Kingdom captured Guanzhong, and the Taifu and the General have not yet broken up with each other. Alang still has at least a few years, so there is no need to worry.”
(End of this chapter)