Overthrowing Wei: Starting with Cao Cao's "I'd rather betray the world than surrender

In Yuzhou after the onset of winter, the sky was very low.

The gray clouds skimmed the ground, as if they had no strength left to rise. The wind was not strong, but it was cold and gloomy. As it swept across the wasteland, it carried an indescribable dampness that seeped into the seams of clothes and lingered for a long time.

The morning in Lüjiazhuang begins as usual.

Smoke rose earlier than usual as the refugees went to work in shifts: some repaired the dikes, others chopped firewood, and those who stayed behind turned the soil outside the village. There was no commotion, and no one stood idly by. Even the newly arrived refugees were quickly organized into groups and knew where they were supposed to go.

It was precisely this overly "proper" order that made the courier horse outside the village stand out so conspicuously.

The sound of hooves was neither hurried nor slow, but there was only one rider.

They were not business travelers, nor were they refugees, and they certainly did not seem to be looking for relatives or asking for directions.

The able-bodied men patrolling the outer perimeter spotted the people first.

They didn't shout or draw their swords. They just exchanged a quiet glance, one turned back to the village, another took a few steps forward, and the rest stood in the middle of the road with their hands on their sword hilts.

The courier dismounted, shook off the frost from his body, and took out the documents from his pocket.

"Lüjiazhuang, within the jurisdiction of Pingyu County."

He read it very clearly: "The official document has been delivered."

Without giving Zhuangzi a second glance or probing him, he simply handed over the intact, wax-sealed document.

At that moment, the wind outside the village seemed to stop for a moment.

The ancestral hall quickly filled with people.

The clan elders, the steward, several highly respected elders, and Xun Heng were present.

Lu Ding sat at the lower end of the table, in an inconspicuous position, yet no one could ignore him.

The document was placed on the table, but no one immediately opened it.

It's not that I'm afraid, it's that I don't know whether I should or shouldn't.

In the end, Xun Heng reached out and gently pressed his fingertip against the wax seal, slowly peeling it off.

The sound of the paper being unfolded was exceptionally clear in the ancestral hall.

"The governor of Yuzhou was transferred to Pingyu County."

"Investigate the matter of private estates within your jurisdiction accommodating displaced people and order them to report truthfully."

Article 1.

No one spoke in the ancestral hall.

"Secondly, check the night patrol's military equipment to prevent suspicion of private soldiers."

Article .

Someone subconsciously took a breath.

Thirdly, check the accounts and registers to clarify the population and grain tax.

Article 3.

Xun Heng closed the document and looked up at the crowd.

This is not an accusation, nor is it a crime.

But that's precisely why it makes people feel even more uneasy.

"Are they going to use us as scapegoats?" someone asked in a low voice.

"No," Xun Heng shook his head, "If I were really going to take action, I wouldn't have written it like this."

"This is about measurement."

"Measure what?" the clan elder asked in a deep voice.

"How heavy are we?"

In chaotic times, the most feared thing is being measured.

If you measure too lightly, it will scatter in the wind; if you measure too heavily, it will be noticed.

The argument quickly escalated.

Some advocated retreating, some advocated hiding, and some whispered that it would be better to disperse some of the people first and then stop the night patrol.

Lü Ding remained silent.

He was looking at that document.

Look at the wording, the seal, and the level of the signature.

This is a document from the prefectural government, not something the county government did on its own.

But it's just "investigation," not "determination."

This illustrates one thing—

They are still hesitating.

"There's no need to evacuate," Lu Ding finally said.

The voices were not loud, but they gradually brought the argument to a halt.

"Withdrawing means you're feeling guilty."

"What we did was not something that could be done in the light of day."

"Recruiting people is for survival; patrolling at night is for self-preservation; keeping a register is to prevent chaos."

"These things are laid out one by one, and we are not afraid for people to see them."

Someone frowned: "But what they want is the law."

"Then use the law to retaliate."

The roster has to be redone.

Night Patrol was renamed.

The accounts were copied again.

Grain must be declared truthfully.

This is welcoming, not avoiding.

But just when everyone thought the matter would be investigated layer by layer—

The officials entered the village again the next morning.

This time, it's not an investigation.

It's roll call.

Is Lü Ding here?

At that moment, the footsteps outside the ancestral hall slowed down in unison.

The documents were reopened.

"By order of the county government, Lu Ding of Lujiazhuang is to go to the county immediately for questioning."

It was not an arrest.

But it wasn't a matter for discussion.

Xun Heng looked up at Lü Ding.

Lü Ding simply nodded.

"All matters concerning the estate shall proceed as discussed yesterday."

"The roster, accounts, and night patrols must not be disrupted because of me."

He spoke calmly, as if he were recounting something he had long anticipated.

The sound of horses' hooves rose again, and Lü Ding left the village with the officials.

The gate slowly closed behind them.

It's not because I'm reluctant to part with it, but because I don't know whether I should close it or not.

The officials walked ahead at a leisurely pace, as if deliberately trying to make themselves known. Lü Ding walked in the middle, his hands free, without shackles or any pushing or shoving. He glanced back at the estate.

This glance was very brief.

But it's enough for those standing inside the door to remember for a long time.

The sound of the wooden door closing wasn't loud, but the wooden latch falling felt like a knock in the village.

For the next half hour, Zhuangzi continued as usual.

Work continues as usual, and assignments continue as usual.

The lights in the accounting room were turned on on time, the roster continued to be copied, and the night patrolmen arrived on time.

But everyone could feel it—

Something was taken away.

not human.

That was the final, decisive sound.

The first to loosen their grip were not the refugees.

Instead, it was the group of people who were originally the most stable.

The stewards stood outside the ancestral hall for a long time, but no one went in first.

It's not that I don't know what to do, but that I don't know if I still have the right to make that decision.

In the past, there was no need to ask questions.

With just one sentence: "Go ask Lü Ding."

Now, that sentence is gone.

So some people ask one more question, while others take one less step.

What should have been a 35-minute procedure was stretched to an hour.

It's not that no one is doing the work.

Everyone is waiting.

In the afternoon, the first crack appeared.

An argument broke out at the warehouse.

It wasn't a case of stealing grain; it was just that an extra bushel was added when the grain was weighed.

Normally, it would be a simple matter of saying a few words.

This time, however, the manager hesitated.

He didn't know whether this fight should be strict or lenient.

The argument was quickly suppressed.

But the sound was heard by those around them.

The night patrols continue.

The steps were no longer in sync.

Originally, they were in groups of three, but now they are in groups of two, and occasionally they bring an extra person along.

It's not that I'm breaking the rules, it's that I'm afraid of getting into trouble.

They were afraid of something going wrong, and also afraid of crossing the line.

On the third day, the county officials came again.

Don't investigate, just observe.

Observe people coming and going, the number of torches at night, and whether the procession is orderly during the day.

They didn't say anything.

I wrote down everything.

The people in the village gradually realized—

They weren't waiting for the wrong thing.

It's chaotic.

That night, Xun Heng summoned several stewards.

They didn't go into the ancestral hall, but stayed in the accounting room.

The lights were lowered very low.

"From today onward," he said, "everything will proceed as usual."

"The old precedent?" someone asked in a low voice. "The old precedent is Lü Dingding's."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Xun Heng looked at the account books on the table and said slowly, "That's why we should keep it the same."

"Not because he's there."

"Because—he's no longer here."

The night patrol was regrouped.

Not too many, not too few.

The next day, the work process was rearranged.

It slowed down a bit, but it didn't stop.

The cracks did not disappear.

They were just being held down.

On the sixth day, someone knocked on the door at night, saying that some refugees wanted to leave.

It's not about causing trouble, it's just fear.

They were afraid that the estate wouldn't be able to hold on, and that they would be purged.

Xun Heng only said one sentence: "Let them go."

There was no attempt to persuade them to stay.

The next morning, more than a dozen people left the village.

No one stopped them.

His departure, ironically, calmed those who remained.

They realized—

This place doesn't make a living by stopping people.

On the seventh day, a message came from the county.

It's not about releasing people.

They just need to "check the roster again".

No time limit.

This is the real knife.

drag.

That very night, a lamp appeared beside the official road.

It wasn't an official lantern, nor was it from the village.

It lit up all night, then quietly went out.

The county's attitude changed the next day.

The questioning continued.

But it never happened again.

There were a few more casual remarks and fewer deliberate pauses.

Lü Ding has not yet been released.

But Zhuangzi did not collapse again.

Because they have proven one thing—

Even if they take the people away, this village won't immediately disband.

And in places further afield, some already know:

The result of this weighing...

It wasn't just Lü Ding.

It was an entire village.

Can one stand firm in a chaotic world?