About Cao Cao's reincarnation as the emperor's uncle

Chapter 1: The Broken Dream of the Bronze Sparrow

In the winter of the 25th year of Jian'an, Tongque Tower in Luoyang.

The north wind brought light snow into the house, and the candlelight in front of the couch flickered, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

The man on the couch looked haggard, with white hair. His former heroic appearance had turned into a look of vicissitudes of life and fatigue.

The arms that once drew a strong bow could no longer hold a wine bottle, and the wine splashed everywhere as they shook.

He forced his eyes open, his eyes full of attachment and unwillingness.

He raised his army in Chenliu, fought against Dong Zhuo, defeated Yuan Shu, killed Lu Bu, subdued Zhang Xiu, destroyed Yuan Shao, and conquered the Wuhuan...

He defeated all the heroes along the way, obeyed the emperor and commanded the disobedient people, and finally achieved hegemony.

I sigh that time is so unforgiving. Now I am ill and can no longer bear it. I know that the end is near.

In a trance, the carved beams of Tongque Tower gradually disappeared, and the smoke of Guandu emerged.

Yuan Shao, wearing a black cloak, stood with his hands behind his back. His once arrogant face now showed a hint of relief:

"Mengde!"

The sound is just like that of old times, as if it were the time when I was young and loved to be a knight, riding horses with Shao, Miao and other gentlemen in the rivers and lakes, shouting and laughing.

No time to answer.

Suddenly I heard a rough voice and lost my mind for a moment.

"Lord!"

Looking back, he saw Dian Wei standing there holding two halberds, his armor stained with blood, but his laughter was heroic.

Cao Ang and Cao Chong stood behind him, their faces unchanged, and they called out in unison:
"Father!"

Just about to reach out.

Another figure walked slowly towards them, Zhou Yu waving his feather fan lightly, a smile on his lips:
"Prime Minister Cao, are you enjoying the East Wind at Red Cliff?"

As soon as the words fell, the war began.

Chen Gong immediately frowned, his eyes frosty, but he didn't say a word.

Cao Cao wanted to get up, but a fishy and sweet taste surged in his throat, and the blood he coughed up dyed the brocade handkerchief red.

Suddenly I heard the words "Cao Gong" again.

Looking up, Guo Jia was sitting leaning against a wine jar, smiling.

Xun Yu stood holding the food box, as if he had a thousand words to say, and then he sighed.

Guan Yu held his long sword horizontally, stopped his horse, and bowed from afar, as if they were meeting for the first time.

"Fengxiao...Wenruo...Yunchang..."

Cao Cao was almost out of breath and reached out to shake hands, but his hand was empty.

Suddenly, there was a clear sound of a piano, and the light and shadows of the past came back to mind.

The young man aspired to be the General of the Western Expedition of the Han Dynasty.

When he was middle-aged, he welcomed the emperor and said, "You all face north, and I will face west."

In his old age, he held a spear and sang "Duke Zhou spits out food to feed his guests, and the whole world is at peace."

What crime did he commit to deserve to be called a "traitor"?
Cao Cao struggled to stand up halfway.

Touching the sword, it seems as if all the achievements of life are engraved on it.

"If there were no orphans in the world..."

Laughter mixed with blood foam.

"I don't know how many of them are emperors and how many are kings!"

All the phantoms turned to ashes, leaving only the howling wind and snow.

As he took his last breath, the wind and snow swept past the corners of his eyes.

I can't tell whether it's tears or snow, I can only murmur:

"There is no lonely person in the world... There is no lonely person in the world..."

The Yitian fell to the ground and, along with the dying sparks in the charcoal stove, merged into the long night of the 25th year of Jian'an.

……

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his head as if a copper awl was drilling into his bones. The person on the couch sat up abruptly, his clothes soaked with cold sweat.

Looking up, I saw that the curtains of the green hut were unfamiliar, and the lights nearby were flickering.

The bronze mirror on the table reflected a strange face, with sharp eyebrows and a face full of vitality.

"What happened to me?"

As my head was splitting, thousands of images emerged like illusions.

Not those sixty-six years of wind, frost, snow and rain.

But...

A dilapidated mansion.

Dead leaves rustled down.

In front of him, his mother and brother stood side by side.

I saw that my brother had his hands clenched tightly and his expression was gloomy.

In his mother's hand, she was holding a fishy and bitter pill, and she forced it into his mouth.

"Fang'er, you must remember..."

"Your brother will soon ascend the throne and become the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, but you...from now on, will be a bastard who dies young."

The mother sobbed and her tears fell like rain.

He stared at his mother, gritted his teeth, and nodded silently.

Soon, he felt a chill in his bones and fell stiffly on the blue bricks.

One last look.

Only the white flags were seen fluttering in the wind.

……

Liu Fang?

Brother Liu Hong? Mother Dong?
This……

Emperor Ling and Empress Dowager Dong?

Did I become Liu Fang? Emperor Lingdi's younger brother?

Why have I never heard of this person?

Cao Cao closed his eyes, suppressed his palpitations, and combed his thoughts carefully.

……

In the wilderness, under a lonely grave.

He pushed open the coffin lid with all his might and fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

My mother's advice echoed in my mind.

The palace was dangerous, and in order to preserve his bloodline, he had no choice but to fake his death and escape.

Once the situation settles down, I will take him back to reunite with us.

I thought that the return date would be a long way off, and we might even be separated forever.

But not long after that, a carriage arrived at night.

From then on, he changed his clothes and became an official, living in seclusion in the palace.

However, the palace walls are like a prison, full of dangers.

The only thing we can do is to turn a deaf ear and go with the flow.

……

That day, he saw his brother from afar.

My brother wore a crown and sat in the middle of the hall.

He hid behind the curtain of the side hall, his back tense.

That night, it snowed heavily.

Inside the secret room deep in the palace, the two brothers looked at each other in silence.

The young emperor suppressed his emotions and spread the huge map on the table.

The veins of the thirteen states and counties of the Han Dynasty were reflected in the eyes of the two young men in the flickering candlelight.

Every stroke is hard to describe.

The aristocratic families were deeply rooted in the government, and the Dou family's foreign relatives controlled the government.

In the whole court, only the eunuchs can be commanded.

The young emperor had been trapped in a cage for a long time, and he was the only one he could confide in.

He was also willing to become the shadow that was born with his brother...

From then on, Liu Fang changed his name to "Ma Yuanyi", wore a Taoist robe, drove a green ox and a white cart, and traveled all over the post roads of Kyushu.

Wherever he went, he spread the miraculous Dharma of peace, enlightened the people with profound principles, and inspired heroes with his benevolent heart.

During this period, he even secretly communicated with the eunuchs in the palace and mediated between the various forces.

After several years, it finally became a huge net.

……

Cao Cao slowly opened his eyes, pondering this unfamiliar memory. "Liu Fang? Ma Yuanyi?"

If we look at it from the perspective of our past lives...

Ma Yuanyi, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, was in charge of the Songshan and Luoyang areas. He often traveled to Luoyang and had secret relations with the eunuchs and imperial guards.

Before the Taiping Dao uprising, Tang Zhou was arrested for informing on others and was torn to pieces by chariots in Luoyang, which led to Zhang Jiao's hasty uprising and chaos in the world.

……

The trouble caused by the aristocratic families has become more and more serious since the restoration of Emperor Guangwu.

The emperors of the Han Dynasty have suffered from their aristocratic families for a long time.

What is the trouble with aristocratic families?

They annexed land, concealed the tax and labor service, monopolized official positions, established their own states and counties, and interfered with government affairs and disrupted the court...

After Emperor Ling ascended the throne.

He executed the Dou clan of Qing, re-established the Party Imprisonment Campaign, used eunuchs to control scholars, implemented the Three Mutuals Law, and established new schools...

More desire...

"Only by destroying and then rebuilding can there be peace?"

Cao Cao slowly stood up and stood under the window with his hands behind his back.

The cold wind rustled his clothes, and he couldn't help but sigh as his thoughts were lingering.

Lost in the vast twilight, he seemed to see...

"Ma Yuanyi" had a secret conversation with the eunuchs in Luoyang and dispatched troops between Songshan and Luoyang, but unexpectedly, his plan was ruined due to Tang Zhou's betrayal.

In my previous life, the execution by quartering in Luoyang City...

What was torn apart was not only the body of Liu Fang, the emperor's younger brother, who was named "Ma Yuanyi".

It also tore apart the peace plan of the two brothers in the royal family.

As a result, Zhang Jue had no choice but to launch the rebellion ahead of time.

However, the aristocratic families quietly grew stronger in this chaos.

All of Liu Hong's schemes and Liu Fang's mediation plans were eventually lost in the dust of history.

If the policy of peace is achieved, the shackles will be broken and the rules and regulations will be re-established.

Perhaps Liu Hong could really extend this man's life for another hundred years, or even...

A wise king named Liu Fang will also be recorded in the history books.

Unfortunately, it failed...

In the end, history books only recorded one "Ma Yuanyi" who was torn to pieces by a chariot.

How can a simple phrase like "Yellow Turban Rebellion" fully capture all the complexities and twists and turns involved?

Think about how Cao Mengde spent half his life conquering and dividing the land to become a king.

But in the end, wasn't he trapped in the web woven by the aristocratic families?

Just like Xun Yu’s death, it was not only because of different philosophies, but also he was a victim of the intensified conflict between him and the aristocratic family.

……

Cao Cao sat quietly at the table, thinking for a long time, and the memories of the two lives gradually converged into one place.

"Is this the third year of Xiping?"

"If we count from the 25th year of Jian'an, that would be 46 years ago..."

He remembered it very clearly. It was in this year that he was selected as a filial and incorrupt official, and later became the Northern Commander of Luoyang.

However, at this moment, there was a secret letter from the palace on the desk:
"Cao Cao, the Northern Commander of Luoyang, grandson of Cao Teng and son of Cao Song."

"The noble families want to use it as a knife to chop off our wings."

"We should use Jiantu as bait. Once we break this knife, we can also serve as a warning to the noble families."

"Although Jian Tu was Jian Shuo's cousin, he was a stubborn and bad-tempered man who often stirred up trouble and caused numerous incidents."

"However, his status as a noble relative can be used as a weapon to threaten me..."

His fingertips slid across and stopped at the words "Cao Cao, the Northern Commander of Luoyang".

In Liu Fang's memory...

Cao Cao, the newly appointed Northern Inspector of Luoyang, is young and ambitious, always wanting to make a difference.

In particular, "Cao Cao" often interacted with children from aristocratic families, and was also resentful of his origin as a descendant of eunuchs.

Therefore, he became an excellent candidate that could be utilized in the eyes of the aristocratic families.

Liu Fang, who used the pseudonym "Ma Yuanyi", held banquets for several days to entertain Jian Tu.

When they were drunk and excited, they often used words to provoke each other, and those words seemed casual...

However, it was Liu Fang who was planning how to use Jian Tu's head to stop the aristocratic families from trying to control "Cao Cao".

In other words, the incident in his previous life where he beat Jian Tu to death with a stick was actually a game between eunuchs and aristocratic families.

If what is remembered is correct, the young and frivolous "Cao Cao" will be unable to bear it tonight.

Tomorrow, the news that the Northern Commander of Luoyang, unafraid of power, beat to death the eunuch Jian Shuo's uncle Jian Tu with a stick will spread throughout Luoyang.

Cao Cao was holding the secret letter and thinking about it when he suddenly heard the sound of boots knocking on the corridor.

He turned around and threw the secret letter into the charcoal brazier, which instantly curled up into ashes, with sparks rising in his eyes.

A servant hurried in, bowed and said:
"Jian Tu was already drunk, and was about to ride his horse and break the forbidden road."

"I... I already know. Please leave."

Cao Cao waved his sleeves and waited for the attendants to leave before he picked up the sword on the desk.

As the firelight flickered, the young face became brighter and darker, but it could not conceal the sharpness surging in his eyes.

I wonder what it would be like for this new "Ma Yuanyi" to meet the former Cao Aman?

……

In the hazy moonlight.

But I saw a man dressed as a scholar, with stars on his body, striding out of the door.

……

In front of the Luoyang Northern Weifu Yamen.

Colorful lacquered sticks were hung on the four doors, and the five colors of blue, red, yellow, white and black glowed coldly under the lights.

Suddenly, a clear shout pierced the night:
"Who violated the ban?"

The sound was like a sword being drawn from its sheath, startling the birds perched on the eaves.

"Master Wei, it's Jian Tu..."

The night watchman stumbled over, head lowered, not daring to look up:
"He...was drunk and running into the street during curfew again..."

The ending sound was almost drowned in the white air exhaled.

Luoyang was an important place in the capital, where nobles gathered and many powerful people violated the rules.

This five-colored stick was specially made to intimidate lawless people.

"What about Uncle Jian Shuo?"

I saw a young man in blue clothes jump on the horse, and the stick hit the saddle bridge with a "clang".

He raised his hand to hold the crossbar in front of the saddle, his eyes swept over the crowd, and his voice was full of coldness:
"Today, I will teach the nobles of Luoyang that there are no special privileges under the Five-Colored Stick!"

There was a long neigh from the crotch of Qingyi, and the officers and soldiers started to line up.

With the sound of horse hooves and torches like dragons, a group of people broke through the night and galloped towards the street corner.

Note:

①Liu Hong

In the first year of the Yongkang reign (167 AD), Emperor Huan of Han, Liu Zhi, died without an heir.

In the first year of Jianning (168 AD), Liu Hong succeeded to the throne and was known as Emperor Ling of Han.

②Cao Teng

Cao Song's adoptive father, Cao Cao's grandfather

He served four emperors, supported Emperor Heng, and was granted the title of Marquis of Feiting.

Promoted to the position of Grand Chamberlain (rank of 2,000 stones).

He died in the second year of Yan Xi (159 AD).

③Cao Song

Cao Cao’s biological father.

In the early years of Emperor Ling, he served as:
Da Honglu (in charge of diplomatic etiquette).

Grand Minister of Agriculture (in charge of national finances).

④Jian (jiǎn) Shuo
Served as a eunuch for a long time.

During the period of the Eight Colonels of Xiyuan, he served as the Colonel of the Upper Army and was in charge of all the armies.

⑤ Jiantu

This incident is recorded in "The Biography of Cao Man".

"Zizhi Tongjian" quoted its records.

The name "Jian Tu" mentioned in "Appreciation of the Three Kingdoms" is used here.


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(End of this chapter)