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CCTV10] Yi Zhongtian’s Sixth Story of the Three Kingdoms - Making Mistakes Again and Again At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, just when Cao Cao initially showed his political foresight and heroism, another Some people are showing their arrogance and stupidity. It was their arrogance and stupidity that made Cao Cao's unparalleled achievements. Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu, these three heroes in troubled times, why did they fail in the end? "Yi Zhongtian's taste of the Three Kingdoms - One Mistake Again" will be broadcast soon, so stay tuned.

In Chinese history, how to treat the emperor is a major political issue, and a slight mistake can lead to disaster. Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu, these three heroes in troubled times, made mistakes again and again on this major political issue. As a result, they were criticized by thousands of people and their reputations were ruined. So, what mistakes did they make regarding the throne? Professor Yi Zhongtian of Xiamen University will use a contemporary perspective to give us a wonderful reading of the Three Kingdoms - "One Mistake Again."

Yi Zhongtian:

In the last episode we mentioned that in the ten years from 190 AD to 200 AD, only Cao Cao could be worthy of being called a "Hero of Troubled Times" ". And what about those other people? Among them, the most powerful, capable, ambitious and ambitious Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu can only be called "heroes of troubled times", and they made serious mistakes on a major political issue. The question is how to treat the current emperor.

Why is this a major political issue? Because we know that the system at that time was an imperial system, with the emperor as the head of state and national symbol, so the attitude towards the current emperor was a major political issue at the time. If anyone made a mistake on this issue, he might You will be completely defeated and will never be able to recover. Then let's take a look at what Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu did.

* In 189 AD, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty died, leaving behind Queen He and two underage sons. Orphans and widowed mothers simply could not hold on to their country, and both the scholar group and the official group that controlled the power suffered in the court struggle. At this time, Dong Zhuo took advantage of the situation, marched into Luoyang, took control of the government, and placed the capital of the empire under his bloody rule. At this time, his ambition to become emperor was fully exposed. So, how did Dong Zhuo treat the current emperor?

Dong Zhuo's attitude towards the current emperor was the most barbaric. His approach was to "abolition and establishment", that is, to abolish the current emperor and establish another emperor. To depose Liu Bian, the emperor at that time, who was called the Young Emperor in history, who should he establish? He would establish Liu Bian's younger brother, Chenliu King Liu Xie. Dong Zhuo proposed this plan as soon as he entered Beijing. So why did Dong Zhuo want to change this emperor? His own statement was that the young emperor Liu Bian was cowardly and ignorant, and was not worthy of being a master, while King Chenliu Liu Xie was smart and wise, with the image of an emperor and even a holy lord, comparable to Yao and Shun.

This statement is not unreasonable at all. What was the situation like at that time? Before Dong Zhuo entered the capital, the eunuch group and the scholar group started fighting. The general He Jin who planned Dong Zhuo's entry was killed by the eunuchs. The eunuchs then kidnapped the then emperor and his brother Liu Xie and escaped from the capital. These eunuchs could not defeat Yuan Shao's army on the way, and they fled to death. Then the young emperor and the two brothers Chenliu Wang, one fourteen and nine years old, lived among the people. After going through many hardships, they finally returned to the capital. At this time, Dong Zhuo The army had already arrived at the edge of Luoyang City, so they came to pick them up. At that time, the Young Emperor and King Chenliu had been found by the officials, and a team walked into the capital. The leader was Cui Lie, the man who spent money to buy an official position we talked about earlier. When Cui Lie saw Dong Zhuo's army coming, Cui Lie Lie then shouted: "Dong Zhuo avoids me, the Holy Master is here." Dong Zhuo said, you people can't even manage a country well, so what right do you have to ask me to avoid you? Then he walked up to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I am Dong Zhuo." Liu Bian cried loudly, "I want my mother."

Dong Zhuo thought, this, this, how does this look like an emperor? Then he walked up to Chenliu King Liu Xie and said, Your Majesty, I am Dong Zhuo, you can ride my horse. Dong Zhuo carried Liu Xie onto his horse, and then asked what happened recently. Nine-year-old King Chenliu answered questions fluently and eloquently. Alas, Dong Zhuo said he looked like an emperor, so he went back and replaced him.

This should not be said to be the real reason why Dong Zhuo wanted to change the emperor, because Dong Zhuo's intention was very clear. He wanted to hold the emperor in his hands and make him a puppet. Since he is a puppet, wouldn't it be better to be stupider, and wouldn't it be better to be less like the emperor? Why should he be replaced by someone smarter and more like him? Of course, it is not impossible for someone like Dong Zhuo to change based on his own temporary likes and dislikes, but I think his real reason is to establish personal prestige and control the central government. Because Dong Zhuo was a warlord from the northwest, he was very barbaric and had no foothold in the capital. Of course Dong Zhuo also understood this truth, and knew that the army he brought was not enough to accomplish great things. He also had to rely on the celebrities and scholar-officials of the dynasty at that time, so Dong Zhuo recruited a large number of these celebrities and scholar-officials after entering Beijing. However, celebrities and scholar-bureaucrats were unwilling to cooperate with him and looked down on him deep down. Dong Zhuo had no choice but to act barbaric. For example, he hired Cai Wenji's father, Cai Yong, a famous scholar, and asked Cai Yong to serve as an official. Cai Yong said, "Oh, I won't go." Dong Zhuo said, "Don't you want to go?" I don't have a good temper and I like to destroy people from nine tribes. Cai Yong had no choice but to become an official. How could such a person cooperate with the gentry class at that time - in today's terms, the intelligentsia?

Dong Zhuo is a barbaric man, but he also has a cunning side. How many people did Dong Zhuo bring with him when he came to Luoyang? Three thousand people. Dong Zhuo immediately understood that these three thousand people could not be suppressed. What method did he take? He asked these 3,000 people to change into civilian clothes and leave the city every night. The next morning, they put on military uniforms and entered the city with great fanfare. This happened every day for four or five days. The city of Luoyang didn't know how many people Dong Zhuo had brought, because every day there were Dong Zhuo's The army moved in. So he is also very cunning. After he did this, he found that he had succeeded in deceiving him. He also found that the scholar-bureaucrats and intellectuals in Luoyang City were not as great as he had imagined before, and they could be deceived. So I will deceive the big ones this time. , change the emperor. Dong Zhuo thinks you all won’t listen to me, don’t you think? Don’t I have no prestige? Don’t you all worship the emperor? Don’t you all listen to the emperor? If I can even change the emperor, let’s see who you listen to! But Dong Zhuo did not expect that the emperor could not be replaced casually, so Dong Zhuo's proposal was strongly opposed and protested by the entire scholar-bureaucrat, who forced him to go on a killing spree. This was to replace the emperor. But from then on, he became an enemy of the people. People all over the country were saying that Dong Zhuo changed the emperor casually. He was not a traitor or a traitor! Because in the eyes of people at that time, the emperor was the king of a country and the foundation of a country. Changing the emperor would shake the foundation of the country and would only cause chaos in the world. This is absolutely unacceptable, even if the one you replace is still Liu. no.

This has actually been done before. In the last years of Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a Jizhou governor named Wang Fen who was planning to change the emperor. He planned to conspire to kill Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty when he was on tour. Get rid of him and replace him with someone named Marquis of Hefei as emperor. Who is this Marquis of Hefei? I don’t know now, I can’t figure it out, but it’s still a clan member of their Liu family. Among those involved in this matter was Xu You, who later betrayed Yuan Shao and went to Cao Cao, and was eventually killed by Cao Cao, so Cao Cao and Xu You were indeed old friends. They did this to get Cao Cao to join their gang, so they wrote to Cao Cao. Cao Cao immediately responded with a letter, beginning with:

"The most unlucky thing in the world is to abolish the emperor."

Even the removal of the emperor is the most unlucky thing, and it is also the most unlucky thing to do. The most risky. Cao Cao said, think about the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms". King Wu Liu Bi united with six other kingdoms under the name of "Qing Jun Side" to overthrow Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and become emperor himself. What was the result? He was unpopular and completely defeated. .

Cao Cao asked you to think about it. You, Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, are you as powerful as the "Seven Kingdoms" back then? Is the identity, status, popularity, and prestige of the Marquis of Hefei you want to establish comparable to that of Liu Bi, the King of Wu? Isn't it self-destruction if I still do it when I'm not as good as you? If you don't listen, you continue to do it. As a result, the conspiracy is exposed, Xu You absconds in fear of crime, and Wang Fen commits suicide in fear of crime. Therefore, although Dong Zhuo succeeded in his work, he left an eternal infamy and became a "target" that was criticized by all the people in the country and punished by all the people in the world. This was one of the reasons for Dong Zhuo's final demise.

* Dong Zhuo relied on deposing the emperor to dream of being an emperor who was not the emperor, but he never expected that his approach paved the way for his failure and eventually led him to perish. It's a pity that there is one person who doesn't understand the principle of "the mistakes of those who have gone before can serve as lessons for those behind", and he actually makes Dong Zhuo's mistakes again. This person is Yuan Shao. But Yuan Shao's approach may not be smarter than Dong Zhuolai's. So, how does he treat the current emperor?

Since the formation of the "Kwantung Allied Army", Yuan Shao became the leader, and his ambitions suddenly grew. I am now the commander-in-chief of the "Kwantung Army". But this man was not very ambitious. He did not dare to lead the "Kwantung Allied Forces" to attack Luoyang and Chang'an. What solution could he come up with? Why don't I just leave this place alone? Dong Zhuo just does it like this, let him do it, and I will establish another emperor in my territory. If I succeed in establishing this emperor, I will be the founding father of the country in the future. Who does he want to appoint, Liu Yu as pastor of Youzhou? But Yuan Shao's approach did not succeed. The first Liu Yu himself quit. Liu Yu said that I was loyal to the Han Dynasty. I was a courtier of the Han Dynasty and had no ambitions to rebel or usurp. You Don't do this with me. So Yuan Shao went to Liu Yu again and again about this matter, of course because he wanted to make Liu Yu emperor, and Liu Yu had to agree. And Yuan Shao also had a so-so excuse. He just said that the emperor is so young now, and in Dong Zhuo's hands, we don't know whether he is dead or alive. A country cannot live without a king for a day, and you are the head of the clan. Or, you should come out and organize a government. Liu Yu said, don't force me. If you force me again, I will go to the Huns. I would rather defect to the Huns than do this.

Then Cao Cao did not agree. Yuan Shao had discussed this matter with Cao Cao, but Cao Cao knew very well that what Cao Cao knew to do was actually to establish a "government in exile." Strictly speaking, it is not impossible to establish a "government in exile". It is also a means of political struggle. We know from history that during national emergency periods, "governments in exile" can be established outside Kyoto or even abroad. ", but it has a premise that the current government must have actually been overthrown and no longer exists, or the enemy country has occupied the capital and destroyed the existing government, or it has been destroyed by domestic rebels. Even if the current government no longer exists, then you can establish a "government in exile"; if the current government still exists, at least Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty is still the nominal emperor of the Han Dynasty, and Dong Zhuo is still the nominal emperor of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty is not dead. If you establish a new emperor at this time, you will establish a new central government. If you establish a new central government, you will create a split. Cao Cao firmly opposed separatism and advocated national reunification. Moreover, Cao Cao knew very well that Yuan Shao could not achieve great things at all, so he refused.

Then Yuan Shao did not give up. Yuan Shao also told Cao Cao about this matter at least twice. The second time Yuan Shao invited Cao Cao to drink and took out a seal from his pocket, a jade seal. This was in ancient times. What's it called? It's called Xi, which is used by the emperor. Show it to Cao Cao. Look, I have this. I estimate that this seal was carved privately by Yuan Shao, and it was impossible for him to actually obtain the emperor's jade seal. Look, I have this, what about, brothers, let’s do it together, because at this time Yuan Shao still regards Cao Cao as the boy who went to steal the bride with him. Cao Cao thought, huh, you think stealing the country is the same as being a bride. But since you still regard me as your childhood friend who stole the bride, Cao Cao chuckled, "I won't listen to you, I won't listen to you, I won't listen to you."

Yuan Shu’s death is called deserved. When he asked for honey water and couldn’t get it, I don’t know if he thought about what the people of Jianghuai lived under his rule during the years he was a fake emperor. day? There was no food to eat at all, children were sold, daughters were sold, and even people were cannibalized. But under such circumstances, Yuan Shu was still extravagant and extravagant, and finally sat on everything and had nothing to lose. While Yuan Shu was enjoying delicacies from the mountains and seas in his own camp and palace, their soldiers were eating river mussels, and they couldn't even eat river mussels. If such a person does not perish, then it is called the law of heaven. Of course, from a political point of view, the most stupid thing Yuan Shu did was to take the initiative when the world was in chaos and all heroes were rising up. Everyone wanted to be the emperor but no one dared to say it. Everyone knows that if the first bird is shot, the first rafter will be destroyed first. Yuan Shao is a little smarter than him. Yuan Shao also wants to be the emperor, but he knows that he can't do it at this juncture, so he came up with the bad idea. I will pretend to establish another one, and when the time comes, I will replace him. This approach Although he was looked down upon by Yuan Shu and considered useless by Yuan Shu, he was actually better than Yuan Shu in terms of strategy.

Cao Cao's heart became clearer. I personally think that Cao Cao of this era still has no intention of becoming an emperor. He still wants to support the current emperor and use the current emperor's banner to unify China. But in the later stage, I personally think that Cao Cao must also have this idea. And in Cao Cao's later years, he already had this condition. Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty gave him the highest treatment. He was granted the title of king and used the emperor's ceremonial guard. He had his own kingdom, capital, prime minister, and government. He had everything. . Moreover, the so-called political power of the Han Dynasty at that time was completely in his hands. Even if he already had the status of emperor, he only owed the name of emperor. In this case, Cao Cao would not proclaim himself emperor. At that time, Sun Quan wrote a letter to Cao Cao called "Encourage Jin Biao", urging Cao Cao to take the title of emperor. What did Cao Cao say? This boy, he wants to put me on the fire. So Cao Cao knows it best, but Yuan Shu doesn't understand this. Yuan Shu thinks that the title of emperor is like a trademark under our current market economy conditions. It needs to be registered first. He thinks that if he registers the emperor's trademark first, others can't do anything to it. Unexpectedly, he became the "target of public criticism".

So we now know clearly that Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu all made mistakes in their attitudes towards the current emperor. Dong Zhuo abolished and established another, Yuan Shao established another, and Yuan Shu established himself, but they were all inferior to Cao Cao. In fact, the most stupid thing about the two brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu is that they did not understand one primary issue: who is our friend and who is our enemy. They don't understand that Cao Cao is their real opponent in the fight for the world. So what is Cao Cao's brilliance? Please see the next episode - foresight.