The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 350 Volume : Cutting the Pillar State

Liu Xie stacked several letters together and went outside to take a breath.

Now the emperor's entourage went to Xu County and stayed in Cao Cao's former residence.

There were no rare treasures inside Cao Cao's mansion. It was simply decorated and there was no trace of luxury.

However, the flowers and plants in the courtyard were kept very clean, and there were two high platforms that seemed to be used for moon-watching, which looked quite elegant.

Liu Xie looked around until he saw a young girl wandering in the courtyard.

"Who are you? Why are you wandering around my place?"

Unexpectedly, the girl looked at Liu Xie and asked, "I should ask you, who are you and why are you in my house?"

your home?

Liu Xie finally understood: "Are you Cao Cao's daughter?"

"Ah."

"Cao Jie?"

"how do you know?"

Liu Xie laughed dumbly: "I know, I know."

Cao Jie had beautiful eyebrows, white teeth, and a faint fragrance, but her eyes and eyebrows also showed some of her father Cao Cao's strong character and intelligence.

Looking at Liu Xie, Cao Jie guessed Liu Xie's identity: "Is it the Emperor of the Han Dynasty who is here in person?"

"Ah."

Cao Jie bowed and saluted without being humble or arrogant.

"The commoner Cao Jie greets His Majesty."

Liu Xie sat casually in a place in the courtyard and signaled Cao Ji to stand up.

"I heard Zhongda say that among the women, you were the only one who remained calm when Cao Cao's relatives were captured. He also said that Cao Cao once taught you to respect the emperor and protect the Han Dynasty...Did Cao Cao really say this to you, or did you make it up when you saw the critical situation at that time?"

Cao Jie bowed and said, "It was indeed my father's teaching."

"Why did Cao Cao teach you this way?"

"Your Majesty, why is your question so strange? Could it be that you have learned the wrong principles of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism?"

Liu Xie asked in a different way: "As Cao Cao's daughter, you should know that Cao Cao has always been an enemy of the imperial court...Aren't you surprised that Cao Cao taught you to be loyal to the emperor and love your country, but at the same time he wanted to fight against me?"

Cao Jie nodded slightly: "I have asked the same question to my father."

"What did Cao Cao say?"

"Father said that although Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, he is deceived by villains and cannot rule the world by virtue."

"Father also said that even if your majesty defeated him with a powerful army one day, such a Han Dynasty would not last long."

After hearing this, the smile in Liu Xie's eyes gradually faded and turned into a solemn look.

It is naturally nonsense to say that a villain is deceiving people.

But the following words "The Han Dynasty will not last long" sounded a wake-up call to Liu Xie.

Now the imperial court has seized Yanzhou and Yuzhou.

Although this completed the initial strategy for the Battle of Hebei, it forced Liu Xie to start considering the governance of these two places from now on.

In the Central Plains, the power of aristocratic clans reached its peak since the rise of the Later Han Dynasty.

It will definitely not be done overnight to eradicate it now.

Just as Cao Cao had said to Cao Jie before, if this problem could not be handled properly, even if Liu Xie defeated Cao Cao with his powerful military force and occupied the land here, he would still be able to revive.

Liu Xie suddenly frowned and thought -

Could it be that Cao Cao actually wanted to eradicate this cancer of the aristocratic family, but because of its complicated roots, he finally chose to accept his fate?
At the same time, it was precisely because Cao Cao realized the stubbornness of the aristocratic forces that he concluded that even if Liu Xie defeated him, he would still not be able to truly suppress the local aristocratic forces?
……

Seeing the emperor frowning, Cao Jie couldn't help but wonder: "Could a man like the emperor have any worries?"

"It is precisely because I am the Son of Heaven that I have such worries."

Liu Xie asked Cao Jie: "If you encounter something worrying, how will you deal with it?"

"Talk to your mother."

"What if mother is gone?"

"Looking for my father."

"What if my father is gone?"

"Looking for my eldest brother."

"What if the elder brother is gone?"

"..."

Cao Jie suspected that the emperor was looking for trouble.

Liu Xie just smiled and said, "I used to have someone I could tell all my worries to, but that person is gone now."

"There will always be a time in the future when your father, mother, and elder brother are no longer around. If you have worries at that time, you can only figure it out on your own like I did."

Cao Jie was also very brave, so she spoke again: "If your majesty really has any worries, you can talk to me."

Liu Xie held his chin up, pondered for a while after hearing Cao Jie's words, and still described his problem "simply" -

"Someone has made a mistake now, and I am considering how to punish him." That's it?

Cao Jie thought that someone like the emperor would think of earth-shaking things every day, but this is the result?

……

"I have never considered how to punish others like the emperor did. I have only considered why I was punished."

"My father taught me: The most important thing in the world is to reward and punish. Reward one person to make the people of the world happy, punish one person to make the people of the world afraid. If these two things are not missed, then everything will be perfect."

"Among all the great things in the world, nothing is more important than reward and punishment. Rewarding or punishing a person makes the people of the world happy, and punishing a person makes the people of the world afraid. If these two points are achieved, then perfection will naturally be achieved."

"So, once my second brother made a mistake, my father would punish him severely! The rest of us brothers and sisters would know not to do such things again. If my father didn't punish my second brother severely, or the punishment was very light, we would most likely not take it seriously and then make the same mistake again."

……

It’s hard to comment on Liu Xie, but I just feel that Cao Pi is a very pitiful child.

"But if we punish the other party, it will probably delay important matters."

Liu Xie didn't know what he was thinking, and he actually asked Cao Jie about the important matter of governing the country, hoping that Cao Jie would give him some ideas.

Or in other words, Liu Xie wanted to hear what ideas Cao Cao would give him.

Cao Jie did not hesitate at all this time: "Zhuangzi said that right and wrong are clear, and rewards and punishments come second!"

"As long as right and wrong are clear, rewards and punishments are secondary issues!"

"Once, my second brother missed the day of the sacrifice because he was picking grapes. My father asked him why he went to pick grapes, and he said he wanted to offer fresh fruits to the ancestors. So my father thought that my second brother had good intentions, so he did not punish him."

When Sister Cao talked about this, she seemed a little disappointed, as if she felt sorry that Cao Pi escaped a beating...

At this moment, Liu Xie's eyes lit up and he had already thought of how to punish Liu Bei and Ma Chao.

"Cao Mengde is worthy of the title of 'a capable minister who can govern the world'. His words also serve as a reminder to me."

At the same time, Liu Xie also praised: "Cao Mengde has raised a good daughter. You are indeed much better than your second brother!"

Cao Jie:?
Liu Xie returned to his residence and called Yang Xiu, and finally drafted out the rewards and punishments for Liu Bei, Ma Chao and others.

Right and wrong are clear, and rewards and punishments come next.

How serious the mistakes of Liu Bei and Ma Chao were depends on their original intentions.

There is no doubt that Liu Bei's original intention was to rescue Ma Chao, fight a decisive battle with Cao Cao, and completely stabilize the situation in Henan.

There is nothing wrong with this view of right and wrong, so the punishment for Liu Bei will inevitably be lighter.

The reason why Ma Chao made the mistake was that he wanted to prove himself and justify his title of "Pillar of the Country".

For this reason, Ma Chao even ignored the emperor's order and privately mobilized cavalry to attack Cao Cao, which led to him falling into Cao Cao's trap.

Compared with Liu Bei, Ma Chao's intentions did not seem to be so justified.

but……

Right and wrong always have a source.

Ma Chao secretly sent troops to clear his name as a pillar of the country.

If Ma Chao did not have the title of "Pillar of the State", or if Ma Chao's own military achievements were already worthy of being called "Pillar of the State", would Ma Chao still be so bold as to send troops out on his own?
And who was it that helped Ma Chao to become a "pillar of the country"?

Isn’t it the emperor Liu Xie?

Therefore, after careful consideration, Liu Xie finally formulated a thorough plan for the rewards and punishments for the two people:

"Liu Bei stripped him of his title and removed him from his position as governor of Jingzhou, demoting him to governor of Yanzhou."

"Ma Chao was stripped of his position as a pillar of state and demoted to a colonel."

After Yang Xiu finished writing the edict, he could not help but ask the emperor: "Your Majesty, is the treatment of Ma Chao... inappropriate?"

To put it mildly, he was ultimately stripped of his position as Pillar of the State.

It was a heavy blow, but Ma Chao's life was saved.

Anyway, looking at the rewards and punishments, they all seem to be a little different.

Liu Xie told Yang Xiu his thoughts.

"It is wrong for Ma Chao to use the army privately just to clear his name, but it is also wrong for me to force him to rise to the top and rank him on the same level as the other pillars of the country."

"Since I am also at fault, I cannot let Ma Chao bear the blame alone."

"The soldiers who died in the Battle of Yingshui this time will receive more compensation than ordinary soldiers, and the money and food expenses will be borne by me alone."

"Any merit is mine, any mistake is someone else's... There is no such thing as this in the world. You just need to explain my intentions to Ma Chao and let him understand it."

"Besides, even if I don't think he is to blame for this, I still feel angry, so I don't want to see him this time. Just tell Ma Chao a message for me..."

"I didn't hold him accountable because I made a mistake and I was blind."

"If Ma Chao really thinks he has the strength to be a pillar of the country, then let him go with me to Hebei and make military achievements for me to see! Prove for yourself that I was wrong again."

"If he doesn't want to, then he should stay in Yuzhou and then follow me back to Chang'an after the war is over!"

Yang Xiu did not expect that the emperor would put some of Ma Chao's faults on himself, and he could not help but sigh at the emperor's benevolence.

After meeting Ma Chao, Ma Chao heard that the emperor didn't want to see him, and even his lips began to turn white.

But when he heard the emperor's final edict, Ma Chao, a young man who could remain calm even when his arm was broken, could not help but burst into tears.

"Minister Yang, please tell the emperor that I, the guilty minister Ma Chao, am willing to go to Hebei and go through fire and water for His Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)