In the seventeenth year of Jian 'an (AD 2 12), Yu Xun, who was praised as "great honor" by Cao Cao, died. About his death, the History of the Later Han Dynasty (Volume 30), Chen Shou's History of the Three Kingdoms (The History of the Three Kingdoms) said that he was worried about his death, while Pei's annotation quoted Wei's Spring and Autumn Annals as saying that "Mao gave food, but he was empty, so he died of drinking medicine", which was recorded in the History of the Later Han Dynasty and Biography. Although various historical books have different records about Xun's death, whether it is thought that he died of "worry" or "medicine", Yu Xun's death is considered to be the inevitable result of his opposition to Cao Cao's promotion of Gong Wei and the addition of Jiu Xi. Since the second year of Chuping (A.D. 19 1), Yu Xun deserted Yuan Shao and defected to Cao Cao. For 20 years, he spared no effort to unify the world for Cao Cao. His brothers, sons and nephews are all officials in Cao Shi, and they are all married to Cao Cao. They can be said to be the core members of Cao Cao, and they know Cao Cao like the back of their hands. Why did Cao Cao resolutely oppose it when he was about to embark on the peak of his life and was full of ambitions, thus ending in death?
Vilen's Di Xian Chun Qiu records the spread of Yu Xun's death in Wu and Shu, from which we can see people's views on Xun's death. I quote:
"(Xun) Mi died in Shouchun, and Shouchun's deceased sued Sun Quan, saying that Mao Ling (Xun) Mi did not obey after killing Fu, so he committed suicide. Sun's power was exposed to Shu, and Liu Bei heard of it, saying,' The old thief never dies, and the disaster is not over.' "
Vilen is the grandson of Yuan Di, a celebrity of Sun Wu. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Remo Yuan traveled with Lu Xun, the younger brother of Sun Wu's prime minister. From this, it can be inferred that the story of Yu Xun's death in Yuan Ye, written by Wu and Shu, must be based, not fabricated. Dixian Chunqiu is also found in Sui Shu Economic Ji II, which is just as famous as Xun Yue Han Ji and Justin Hou Han Ji. As can be seen from the above quotation, Shouchun escaped prisoner lied about Yu Xun's death, which shows that he is not the senior of ICY. Not high-level people pay attention to Yu Xun, and regard Yu Xun's death as loyalty to the Han Dynasty (refusing to kill Queen Xian Di), which shows that Yu Xun has an image of loyalty to the Han Dynasty in the area ruled by Cao Cao. This misinformation was undoubtedly accepted by Sun and then "spread to Shu". Liu Bei's words also showed that he recognized Yu Xun's loyalty to the Han Dynasty. Shouchun fugitives, Sun Quan and Liu Bei respectively represent the three parties of the separatist regime. Although Yu Xun played for Cao Cao, his image of loyalty to Han was unanimously recognized by the three parties and was considered to be the cause of Yu Xun's death.
We can also prove this point from the performance of Emperor Xiandi after Yu Xun's death. According to the biography of Yu Xun in the later Han Dynasty, "the emperor mourned it, and the ancestors abandoned it, calling it respecting Hou". Ancestor worship day is a day to worship ancestors, so you should know music. However, Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty "abandoned music" in the most sacred ceremony because of his death, which shows his "pity" for it. Moreover, whether it is the History of the Three Kingdoms or the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, it is written that "Cao Cao will become Wei Gongyun next year" after Xun's death, in order to highlight the resistance that Xun brought to Cao Cao's promotion to Gong Wei. Only after his death did Cao get promoted to Wang Wei.
Later generations' discussion about Xun's death mostly admitted that Yu Xun was loyal to the Han Dynasty. However, what puzzles theorists is that since they are loyal to Han, why should they assist Cao Cao? Isn't this a contradiction? This has caused a long discussion among theorists in past dynasties.
The so-called "theory of the world" is recorded in Pei's biography of the Three Kingdoms Yu Xun: "The theorists of the world often satirize the Wei family for dumping the Han Dynasty; The exchange of monarch and minister is a real reason. Although the evening sacrifice was innovative, there was no rescue migration; Merit is both antonym and anti-knowledge. " The "people in the world" hold a contemptuous attitude towards his death, thinking that his life is divided into two periods, the first one is Wei, and the later one is loyal to Korea out of guilt.
Pei Songzhi was born in Jin and Song Dynasties, nearly 200 years after Xun's death. The so-called "world theorist" refers to the discussants of this period. The gentry in Wei, Jin and Southern Dynasties came down in one continuous line, and the theory of clan was closely related to family status, especially the rise and fall of family status. This "theory of the world" is related to the special political situation between Jin and Song Dynasties, which is quite doubtful. At that time, the conditions of door-to-door politics disappeared and the old family pattern was changing. Xun Bozi, the descendant of Yu Xun, went to the table many times to accuse Wei and Jin of ranking the old things. "Everything that has been played has been disintegrated, and it is a deep slander, extending to your ancestors." He also "has always admired the beauty of his family" and said to Wang Hong, "The beauty of the world is only in the ears of the monarch and the officials." Not enough people are enlightened. ""Xuan Ming "immediately thanked the ruling Chen Jun, for Xunbozi's practice," the world took this as a mistake. Yu Xun's scorn and Xu Xu are people's revenge for Xun Bozi's "deep slander and ruin, delaying his ancestors".
In the Tang Dynasty, Du Mu's Biography of Xun said: "If Xun Wen takes Yanzhou as his exercise, he will be higher than it and will not abandon Guanzhong and Hanoi; Guandu does not make a commitment, which is higher than Chu and Han. ..... and you have to do everything yourself. If you want to invite the Han family, can you be loyal? " Du Mu held a completely negative attitude towards Xun's death, and he thought that "inviting names" was the motivation for Yu Xun to set up the evening festival. Sima Guang retorted that this statement is inhuman: "Everything that is written for history must be written in words. However, those who are higher than others, lighter than others, higher than Chu and Han, and written by history are all evil! Use is a shame, not a crime. And made Wei Wu emperor, then help life, with Xiao He; This is not good for this, but inviting names is good for killing people! "
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Wang Fuzhi explained Yu Xun's behavior of preventing Cao Cao from being promoted to Gong Wei from the perspective of "conscience". He said: "The discussion between husband and Jiuxi is prosperous, and the Liu clan society has declined. When the time comes, Xun Fei's conscience will be exhausted, and there will be no people who are not interested. I can't help it, because I know that death is imminent, but I can't control myself. ..... the embarrassing loss is to devote yourself to practice and seek it. " Sun Mingjun believes that he died of the split between reason and sensibility: from reality, he realized that Han could do nothing, so he supported Cao Cao to rebuild the world, but he was emotionally divorced from the old dynasty, so he died of confusion and contradiction. Starting from personal mentality, this theory has more understanding and sympathy for Xun, which is different from the understanding of the ancients, but it can still be regarded as a continuation of Wang Fu's view in modern academic discourse.
All the above scholars regard Yu Xun's official career as his last choice in the face of troubled times, which is a relatively favorable choice for both "ordinary people" and "Han family". Compared with the first view, the second view has the color of "understanding sympathy" and is more profound. In fact, whether the former view or the latter view, the focus of discussion is on Xun's personal mentality, ambition and strategy. Such a discussion will only limit the meaning of Yu Xun's death to the meaning of his personal life. Yu Xun's death is not an isolated phenomenon. It caused such sustained and extensive concern at that time and even later generations, which shows that Xun's death has typical significance and can be said to be a symbol of the mental state of the times. Therefore, the understanding of Xun's death must be placed in the context of the overall trend of literati in the late Han Dynasty, in order to see the significance of the times implied by Yu Xun's death.
Second, the aspirations of literati in the late Han Dynasty
After the Yellow Scarf Uprising and Dong Zhuo Rebellion, the Eastern Han Dynasty imperial court existed in name only, but people's hearts stayed here. Justin said:
"The spirit of sex in the Han Dynasty, the monarchy lost its grip, the mausoleum was sluggish, and the sea was chaotic. Weakness leads to disadvantages, and abuse is not as good as people. Liu Zhize is unfinished, and the hope of the world has not changed. Therefore, the conqueror served the Han Dynasty, and the Lord called himself the emperor, and every day he was not Han. "
Although Justin's explanation about the return of people's hearts to the Han Dynasty is open to question, he is keenly aware that the literati class still hopes to restore the ruling order in the name of the Han Dynasty. After the Yellow turban insurrectionary uprising was suppressed, Zhong Yan advised Huang Fusong, who was in power, not to be a minister. Huang Fusong sternly refused to "entrust loyalty to this dynasty and keep its courtiers' day". After Dong Zhuo's chaotic government, Yuan Shao and other Kanto generals pushed Liu Yu, mainly because they didn't know whether Xian Di could survive. Liu Yu also scolded him for "working together for the royal family".
Even in the era of the rise of heroes, people who want to replace Han Chinese are strongly opposed, and the voice of opposition often comes from their relatives and friends. For example, when Yuan Shu wrote a letter to his old friend Chen Gui, Chen Gui immediately wrote back: "Although there was no riot in Qin, ... I thought the first step should be to persuade people to conquer the Han Dynasty with one heart, but the plot was not good, and doing their best would hurt me!" If you are confused, you can still avoid it. When Yuan Shu wanted to proclaim himself emperor, his subordinates "dared not be right" and expressed their opposition with a negative attitude. The main book even directly said that "although Han is small, he is not poor in Yin" and discouraged him. At that time, Sun Ce, a subordinate of Yuan Shu, had been in Jiangdong and wrote a letter urging Yuan Shu to be loyal to the Han Dynasty:
"Today, the Lord is not evil in the world. He is threatened by his youngest son, which is different from Tang Wu's time. I also heard that the young master is intelligent and has the virtue of success. Although the world has not owed him, he is salty. If supplemented, the beauty of Dan and Yan will can be expected. Let the monarch be handed down from generation to generation, serving as the assistant of the Han Dynasty, sharing weal and woe. It is better to be loyal to the royal family. "
After Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he wanted to marry Lu Bu. Chen Gui threatened Lu Bu with the idea that "in the name of injustice in the world, there will be danger of laying eggs", so Lu Bu sent Yuan Shu emissaries to Xudu. Another example is Yuan Shao, who wants to stand on his own feet on behalf of the Han Dynasty after he owns the land of four states. He used the words of the main book Geng Bao to test the families of the military government. However, Yuan Shao knows that "the people are not living well" and that "it is necessary to kill Geng Bao to trace it".
The Yuan family in Runan is "Shu En IV, and one's protege and followers are all over the world". In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the relationship between one's protege and the teacher's deceased master was like the relationship between monarch and minister, even so. However, Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao's intention to set up their own homes was repeatedly opposed by their families. If we compare Yu Xun's discouragement of Cao Cao's promotion to Gong Wei with the above things, we will find similarities: on the one hand, as a family member, he can be loyal to the government. For example, Yu Xun, a family member of Cao Cao, has saved Cao Cao Group many times. In Cao Cao's words, it is "to survive by death and to make good by misfortune". On the other hand, when the government owner showed his disloyalty, he resolutely opposed it, and Yu Xun even spared his life. This similarity shows that what Yu Xun did was the general choice of the literati at that time, and it was by no means an innovative move.
We can also compare their words when discouraging the government. Yu Xun said:
"Tso this Xingyi soldiers, in order to rectify the Han Dynasty, although Schoenberg Yong Chong, still grasp the festival of loyalty. Gentleman's love can't be physical. "
This statement limits the legitimacy of Cao Cao's power to "Zhenguan Han Zhenchao" and then blames it on "Loyalty and Righteousness Festival". Its logic is the same as Chen Gui's warning to Yuan Shu not to "plot evil" from the opposite side, and Sun Ce's urging Yuan Shu to "repay the imperial loyalty" from the front. "Zhenguan" was an unshakable political principle in the context at that time.
It was only after Cao Cao's tactic to greet Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty that it was possible for Cao Cao to "hold the emperor to make the princes". For example, Yuan Shao wanted to conquer Cao Cao in the south, and Ju Shou thought that "Cao Cao welcomed the son of heaven and built many palaces, and it is against heaven to move south today". However, when Cao Cao wanted to levy Jizhou, which Yuan Shi was based on, he thought that "Hande had failed, but his destiny had not changed. Now Cao Gong can defeat a million people, but he built the world by relying on the son of heaven. " It can be seen that the "Han Dynasty" plays an important role in people's minds. As the saying goes, "the common people have the ambition to recover their lost land, so those who help the Han people cooperate with them, while those who support Liu are obedient." This established the loyalty of the people, which was due to Qin and Han Dynasties, and Wei's rebellion was due to Zi Si. "
Thirdly, "choose what you want, and wait for the time to move"-the way for scholar-officials to realize their ambition to rehabilitate.
The question before the scholar-officials is. The regime of the Eastern Han Dynasty has collapsed, and the "ambition to recover" cannot be realized by the imperial power itself. The political idea of a unified regime that they are used to and adapted to has lost support. If they don't realize the change of the current situation and insist on maintaining the authority of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in the traditional way, it will often be counterproductive.
Dong Zhuo is in chaos, and he is afraid of Huang Fusong, who holds the relieving power and has great prestige. So in the name of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, Huang Fusong was called as a captain of the city gate, in fact, in order to disarm him. Huangfusong was loyal to the emperor's orders, regardless of the application of reality, making Guanzhong and Longyou become Dong Zhuo's sphere of influence. On the contrary, it encouraged Dong Zhuo's arrogance and made the court situation worse. After Dong Zhuo's death, Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty was controlled by Cui Li in Guanzhong. And other Kanto generals urged Zhu Ruo to ask Li to meet them, and Li also welcomed them in the name of the imperial court. Zhu thought that "you can't wait to drive, and the king of the country can give orders", so he didn't go to Chang 'an from Tao Qian. At the same time, Situ Wangyun handled problems in the imperial court, and Wang Hong served as Zuo Fengyi and You Fufeng respectively, providing foreign aid to the imperial court. Li Lizhu killed Wang Yun, and first recruited Wang Hong into the DPRK. Wang Hong thought that "since the two men left home, they were not in danger of princes, they should be recruited today, and every family will be there tomorrow", but they insisted on "the king's life is inevitable" and applied, so they were killed immediately, which objectively condoned Cui Li and others' chaos in Guanzhong.
It can be seen that when the title of the imperial court was stolen by the powerful minister, pedantic loyalty was actually the original intention of the powerful minister, which trapped the imperial court in a more unfavorable position. Therefore, if you want to be rehabilitated, you must first face the troubled times. In the political situation at that time, relying on the separatist regime and relying on their own strength became the only choice for those literati who tried to revitalize the Han Dynasty.
When Dong Zhuo fell into chaos, Rizo "wanted to unite his disciples and the whole world to punish Zhuo". Zhang Zhao advised, "Now, if we are outnumbered, we should start at once, attack in groups, and attack in groups. If you don't put your heart into practice, it will be difficult to succeed. Outstanding resistance is meaningless and cannot last long; If you don't choose what you want, just wait for the time to do what you want. " Seeing that his strength is weak, Zhang Zhao advocates "doing whatever he wants". However, the purpose of "persistence" is to "wait for the time and move", and ultimately it is "like ambition", that is, to realize the ambition of restoration.
Yu Xun's official position is Cao Cao for the same reason. The Biography of Yu Xun in the History of the Later Han Dynasty said that he "saw the collapse of the Han Dynasty, and he always felt left-handed", "heard that Cao Cao had great plans, but he could not achieve great things in the end" and "went to Shao and followed Cao Cao". Yu Xun has an insight into the current situation, and "choosing what he wants to attach" means choosing power to be an official, and its purpose is to realize "the intention of rectifying the left". It can be seen that the combination of Yu Xun and Cao Cao is by no means a simple official relationship, but also a personal attachment relationship, which implies the intention of political cooperation. Therefore, Fan Wei said: "Look at his decision, make a statement, cherish the king's strategy, and make the country anxious and difficult. How can it go against the right plan because of chaos and hypocrisy? " Fan Wei regarded Yu Xun's official career as a strategy of Cao Cao. And affirmed the justice of this strategy.
Throughout Yu Xun's life, "Chongming Lue Wang, the national disaster is urgent" is the most typical performance of his urging Cao Cao to meet Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Although comparing Yu Xun's words to Jin Wengong's King Xiang of Zhou and Liu Bang as righteous emperors, it is suspected of winning people's hearts, but considering his true nature, it is actually thought by the displaced Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty:
"Today driving chariot, Tokyo hazel weeds, just have the idea of saving this, people feel old and increase their worries. As a result, when you serve the Lord, you will obey the people's expectations and obey the people; Grasping the public to serve the hero, roughly; Fu is handsome and virtuous. Although there are contradictions in the world, we must not be tired. "
It can be seen that Yu Xun's first consideration is to preserve the foundation of the Han Dynasty, obey the people's "love for Han" and prevent the world from rebelling. Therefore, Fan Wei thinks that he is not "false righteousness because of chaos" and "against the correct plan". This move was also highly praised by Pei Songzhi: "The affinity between Meng and Liu Zongyan in the second century is not the original picture of Xun Sheng, but how far is benevolence?" Besides praising Yu Xun's contribution to "the whole life". Outside Pei Songzhi, Pei particularly emphasized the extension of the second generation of the Han Dynasty, which he thought was "original picture" and "benevolence and forgiveness".
The giant hand is also very close to Yu Xun. At the beginning of Yuan Shaochu's heyday, Ju Shou advised him to take "welcoming the imperial residence in the west, that is, the imperial residence is the capital of all powers" as the goal, and then urged Yuan Xianghan to be Xian Di, thinking that "it is timely and appropriate to welcome the imperial residence with righteousness today".
It can be seen that Yu Xun chose a tortuous road to achieve the goal of "rectifying the left", which is by no means his isolated personal behavior, but consistent with the general trend of scholars in troubled times at the end of Han Dynasty. As Fan Wei said: "Scholars stand at attention, but also seek economic benefits." For scholars who are determined to rehabilitate themselves, this trick is "loyalty-oriented, honesty-oriented" and will eventually "righting".
Fourthly, the plight of the scholar-officials and the inevitability of Yu Xun's death.
Although the scholar-officials wanted to "wait for the time" and "be like their ambition", they had their own political stance, and they might not be able to unite with the scholars with the ambition of restoration, and they went beyond the control of the scholar-officials in the process of "seeking economic benefits". As Fan Wei said in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty Zang Hongchuan, "The reason why husbands and heroes are interesting is his loyalty? If it is a conspiracy, it is just the advantage of Gaiwei. " Xiong Hao's reliance on "profit potential" is different in principle from the scholar-officials' insistence on "righteousness" and practice of "rectifying the righteousness of the left"
In Yuan Shao's war to unify Hebei, Cang Hong resisted Yuan Shao with an isolated city. In his reply to Chen Lin's surrender, he accused Yuan Shao of "being true and trying to unify Shandong ... so he suppressed and abolished the imperial edict and worshipped the inheritance system". He compared himself with Chen Lin, who was attached to Yuan Shao: "One step is to go abroad well, Zang Hong is at your command, I am at the command of the leader, and Zang Hongce is named Chang 'an", which further shows that Yuan Shao is not a minister on his own, and he is absolutely incompatible with the position of a scholar-bureaucrat who is loyal to Chinese and righteous to save your father.
In addition to the fundamental opposition of political positions, it is more important that literati cannot guide the development direction of separatist forces. Justin, Fan Wei and Pei Songzhi all saw the plight of the literati at this time. Justin said: "Xun Sheng's plan, if appropriate, will be glorious, and Xun Long will move to Han"; Wei Fan said, "Fang's luck has met. If you are not a hero, you can't help him drown. If you have high power, then the emperor will move. " This is also incompatible. "
Not only that, but even the personal rights of literati attached to the separatist regime cannot be guaranteed. In the Cao Cao Group, according to the biography of the reflection of the Three Kingdoms, "Mao (Cao Cao) is strict, for business, and often adds a member; (Why? I swear to death. " Xiong Hao holds the power of life and death, and can kill scholars at any time at will. For example, Cui Yan, a celebrity, was wrongly punished as a slave, and Cao Cao made people look at him. Cui Yan "refused to blow his words." Cao Cao ordered: "Although the punishment is severe, you can communicate with the guests. If the door is like a city person, you must look directly at the guests. If there is anything wrong." Cui Yan was executed on the pretext of holding a grudge. This incident made Mao Yan "unhappy", Cao Cao was furious and put Mao Yan in prison. Later, when Chen Qun and Cui Lin talked about Jizhou people, they belittled Cui Yan with "no wisdom", while Cui Lin argued that "a friend is a friend of a gentleman". Cui Lin's defense revealed his helplessness in not knowing his fate.
In this case, due to Yu Xun's prevention, Cao Cao was promoted to Gong Wei and slept with Jia Jiuxi, but Cao Cao was "restless", so Yu Xun's death was inevitable.
Regarding the significance of Yu Xun's death, Fan Hua thought that "the right thing, the right thing to die" was a faithful expression of individual morality. Pei Songzhi paid special attention to the educational significance of Yu Xun's death to present and future generations on the issue of "ambition and righteousness": "There is a long way to go, and then I will die for a martyr, move people with emotion, and be sincere to a hundred generations." "All Universities in the Same Year" obviously regards the death of Yu Xun as the moral declaration of contemporary scholars, while "Sincere Hundred Generations" praises the historical significance of Yu Xun's death from the perspective of moral education.
Ye Fan and Pei Songzhi spoke highly of Yu Xun's death from a moral point of view. However, judging from the works, as Pei Songzhi said, the scholar-bureaucrat's ambition to rehabilitate is still in the stage of "a long way to go". The death of Yu Xun indicates that the ambition of the scholar-officials to rehabilitate themselves has not been realized, and their efforts to restore the political activities of the Han Dynasty have failed. Yu Xun spent his whole life practicing the political ideal of restoring the Han Dynasty, which was also the common ideal of literati in the late Han Dynasty. Facing the situation that "the four seas are drifting, one foot of soil and one person is not Han", Yu Xun tried to realize his political ambition with the help of Cao Cao. Yu Xun took this road, which was also the common choice of scholar-officials with the ambition of revival at the end of Han Dynasty. When the separatist regime tried to stand on behalf of the Han dynasty, the literati would resolutely stop it in order to continue the Han dynasty, even though they were courtiers and had a sense of monarch and minister. When Cao Cao tried to promote the owners of Gong Wei, Jia Jiuxi and Liu Zhizong at a critical juncture, Yu Xun stood up and resolutely opposed it, making it the "second time", which was the most colorful stroke of this kind in the late Han Dynasty, and Yu Xun put an end to it with his life.