Yang Xiu, courtesy name Dezu, was born in Hongnong Huayin (now Huayindong, Shaanxi). He was born in 175 AD and died in 219 AD. He was forty-four years old at the time of his death. . Yang's family is a famous family in the Han Dynasty. His ancestor Yang Xi was a meritorious figure during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and was granted the title of Marquis of Chiquan. The great ancestor Yang Zhen, the great ancestor Yang Bing, the ancestor Yang Ci, and the father Yang Biao four successively held the positions of Sikong, Situ, and Taiwei. They were as famous as the Yuan family in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" says: "From Zhen to Biao, he was the fourth Taiwei, and his virtues and careers were successively achieved. Together with the Yuan family, he became a famous family in Tokyo." The Yang family also has a long history of family learning. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records that Yang Zhen's father "studied Ouyang Shangshu. In the era of mourning and peace, he lived in seclusion and taught", while Yang Zhen "was rarely eager to learn, and was educated by "Ouyang Shangshu". When Huan Yu was in Taichang, he read extensively about the Ming Dynasty and studied all of them. Confucian scholars said: "Confucius Yang Boqi from Guanxi. "He often lives in the lake and does not answer the orders of the state and county for decades..." Zhenzi Yang Bing "Bingzhujie, rarely passed down his father's business, and also Ming Dynasty "Jingshi Yi", Botong book biography, often lived in seclusion as a professor... Emperor Huan After ascending the throne, he was recruited into the Ming Dynasty's "Shangshu" to persuade..." Bingzi Yangci "... rarely passed down family knowledge, and was dedicated to learning and learning. He often retreated into hiding and taught disciples... At the beginning of Jianning, Emperor Ling should be educated. , Zhao Taifu and Sangong selected those who have the same name as Huan Jun Zhang Ju in "Shang Shu", Sangong gave it to him, and he served as a lecturer in Huaguang Hall...", and gave it to his son Yang Biao, "... the young man passed down his family knowledge... Xi In ordinary times, I studied old news extensively, and went to the bus to pay homage to Yilang..." It is because of the Yang family that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the reputation for talent and learning was almost as good as that of the Kong family, but the official rank was more prominent.
Yang Xiu was quite famous at that time because of his family background and intelligence. (Note: It is often said that "Yang Xiu was nine years old and very smart" in "Shishuo Xinyu". Kong Junping met his father, but he was not here. Yang Xiu set it up for Junping when he was there. There are bayberries, and Junping shows his cultivation: This is the fruit of Jun's family. Echo. The answer is: I have never heard that peacocks are the master's domestic birds. "Yang Xiu in one article mistakenly refers to Yang Xiu, but it is not true. The record in "Qi Yan Lu" clearly states that this Yang Xiu is "Jin Yang Xiu", and Kong Junping is also the same. Jin people, things are quite clear, so the two Yang Xiu are not the same person). In Jian'an, he was promoted to be filial and honest. In addition to being a doctor, he was also appointed as the chief secretary of the Prime Minister's Mansion. "Three Kingdoms" says, "At that time, the military and the country were troubled. General Xiu knew both the outside and the inside, and everything was satisfactory." Later, he was executed by Cao Cao in the autumn of the 24th year of Jian'an (Yang Xiu's tomb is now near Hewan Village at the foot of Huashan Mountain. The only remaining The tombstone is erected on the site of the Great Wall of Wei in the southwest of the village). Cao Cao also died about three months after Yang Xiu's death.
According to the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Yang Xiu died because he "relyed on his talent and let the Kuang go", and was jealous of his talent by Cao Cao, so he was killed on the excuse of being "a useless person" for Cao Cao during the conquest of Hanzhong. In fact, otherwise, Yang Xiu did not die in Hanzhong in history, and Yang Xiu's death was more due to political reasons, not just because of his talent.
First of all, let's talk about where Yang Xiu died and whether Cao Cao killed him in Hanzhong because of his "tasteless" incident. The so-called "chicken ribs" do exist. They can be found in the appendices of Yang Biao and Yang Xiu in "The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" and "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty" and "The Biography of Yang Zhen". The meaning is the same but the words are slightly different. The full text in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" is as follows: "Xiuzi De" Ancestor, who was eager to learn and talented, was the chief official of the Prime Minister Cao Cao, and served the Cao family. He wanted to attack Liu Bei but was unable to advance, and it was difficult to defend the army. Wei Cao said: "Chicken ribs". Mo Nengxiao, Xiu Du said: "If you eat chicken ribs, you will get nothing. If you discard them, it will be a pity. I will make a decision." "I ordered Waibai to be a little more strict, and I will return to my master here. There are many tricks like this in Xiu. Xiu also tried to go out, and when I was preparing for Cao Cao, I asked about foreign affairs, so I responded and ordered to guard the house: "If there is an order, , pass them in turn. "It turned out to be true. The third one was to blame his speed, make him honest, know the situation, and avoid repairing it. In addition, Yuan Shu's nephew was worried about being a trouble in the future, so he killed him for some reason. Repair the poems, odes, steles, etc. "Fifteen chapters of praises, poems, lamentations, expressions, notes, and letters." The article does not say that Cao Cao killed Yang Xiu because of the "tasteless" matter, especially the sentence "There are many such cases among Xiu's decisions" at the end, which shows that This incident is just an example. When talking about Yang Xiu's death, it only says "kill him for reasons." Then this matter can have many "things", and it is not necessarily a "tasteless" thing. According to Pei's notes in "Three Kingdoms" and "Cao Zhi's Biography": "In the autumn of the 24th year, Gong Xiu leaked his teachings before and after, and handed over to the princes, so he was killed. ... After Xiu's death, Taizu passed away more than a hundred days later." , it is clearly stated that Yang Xiu died in the autumn of the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an. After further checking "Three Kingdoms" and "Wudi Ji", we learned that Cao Cao's activities in the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an were as follows: "In the first month of the spring of the twenty-fourth year, Ren Tuwan was killed and beheaded. Xia Houyuan fought with Liu Bei in Yangping, and was killed by Bei. In March, the king left Xiegu from Chang'an, and the army was about to approach Hanzhong, so Bei refused to defend Chang'an due to danger. In the seventh month of Autumn, his wife Bian was sent to Jin to help Cao Ren attack Guan Yu. In August, the Han River overflowed and the army was destroyed. Yu was captured, so he sent Xu Huang to rescue him. Yao sat in the west and Cao sent Wei Xi back to Luoyang. In the tenth month of winter, Sun Quan sent an envoy to ask Guan Yu for help. The king marched south from Luoyang to attack Yu, but before he arrived, he attacked Yu and defeated him. Encirclement. In the first month of the spring of the twenty-fifth year, Wang Jun arrived at Luoyang and passed on his leader Gengzi. According to this record, Cao Cao marched into Hanzhong in March. "Summer May" had already returned to Chang'an. In August and September, he went south from Luoyang to rescue Cao Ren and arrived at Mobei. Guan Yu had been defeated, so he returned to Luoyang in winter October and never returned to Hanzhong.
Since Yang Xiu died in the autumn of the 24th year, and Cao Cao died more than a hundred days after his death, according to Cao Cao's death on the Gengzi day of the first month of the 25th year, Yang Xiu should have died around the 24th day of the year when Cao Cao rescued Cao Ren. In mid-September of the year, no more than "winter October". Therefore, Yang Xiu should not die in Hanzhong because of the "useless" thing. And because after Yang Xiu's death, Cao Cao once wrote a letter to Yang Biao to express his condolences: "Cao Cao and his subordinates share the same righteousness at home and abroad, and they will not spare any effort, and they will be assisted by virtuous sons. Although China is peaceful, there is no barbarity outside. Today, the army is engaged in a major campaign, and the people are harassing me. I control the sound of the bells and drums, and the master should keep the record. However, relying on the power of his powerful father, he wants to fight against me, and Gu Po hates it. If he can change it, he will be relaxed and relaxed. He will be punished because he is tired of his family. It is not necessarily unlucky to express his condolences to his father. , an eight-section silver-horned peach stick, three green felt mattresses, five hundred pieces of official silk, six hundred thousand money, a painting wheel with four views, a seven-scented chariot, two green oxen and two oxen, eight hundred miles of horse. One horse, ten sets of gold saddles and bridles, and a bell, driving two people, and a collar of colorful Luohu fur from the royal family. Although the offer is small, it shows my intention. I will accept it with a single step, and I will not go back and forth." There is a sentence in the book, "The army is in a big battle, and the people are harassing me. The master should keep it." He died in the military, so we can be sure that Yang Xiu died in Cao Cao's "Jun Mobei" army when he conquered Guan Yu.
The crime of Yang Xiu's death is now unknown, but the cause of his death is relatively complicated, and the main reason is due to two major political factors.
First, Yang Xiu violated a taboo in ancient royal power struggles and participated in the battle for the right to inherit the throne.
Second, the identities and political views of Yang Biao and Yang Xiu conflict with the interests of the Cao Wei regime. Mrs. Yang Biao is the daughter of Yuan Shu, and Yang Xiu is Yuan Shu’s nephew. However, the political views of Yang Biao and Yang Xiu Youdu was in the same group as Kong Rong, Mi Heng and other Qing Dynasty restorationists, so they were jealous of each other.
When Yang Xiu first became the prime minister, he should be said to be relatively trusted by Cao Cao. "Three Kingdoms" and "Cao Zhi's Biography" say: "When Xiu was twenty-five years old, he was named as a young master with talents and as a prince. "Ancestor's weapon", and "At that time, there were many things in the military and the country, Xiu always knew the outside and inside, and everything was satisfactory. Since the prince of Wei came down, he fought for and made good friends." Looking at these two paragraphs, two problems are explained. First, Yang Xiu is extremely talented, so he appointed Cao Cao as the director of "general knowledge of the outside world and the inside", and "everything is satisfactory". In this way, Cao Cao is At this time, he should be valued and trusted, otherwise, this position would not be given to him. Second, from the sentence "Since the crown prince of Wei has descended, we have fought and made good friends with each other". It can be seen that even the crown prince of Wei Cao Pi wanted to curry favor with him at that time, and the words "merger" and "struggle" in it also show that many people were currying favor with him. He was not the prince alone, so one can imagine his important status at that time. On the other hand, this can prove that Yang Xiu should be a government official whom Cao Cao trusted and relied on at this time, and the relationship was relatively close, otherwise there would be no reason for the situation of "since the prince of Wei has descended, and they have been fighting for friendship".
At that time, Cao Cao was quite hesitant about which of the two, Cao Pi or Cao Zhi, would be the crown prince to succeed the King of Wei.
Cao Zhi, courtesy name Zijian, was a talented writer and a famous writer in the history of our country. Although Cao Pi's writing is also impressive, in terms of literary talent, he is better at writing letters, and his attainments in poetry are still far behind his younger brother Cao Zhi. Therefore, as a military strategist and statesman during the Three Kingdoms period who had excellent literary talent, Cao Cao, who has many names such as poet, poet, etc., may begin to be more inclined to Cao Zhi in his heart. Because Cao Cao had the wild and unruly temperament of a poet, Pei Songzhi quoted from "The Biography of Cao Man" and said: "Taizu was a man of no dignity. He was good at music and advocated excellence. He often used the sun to reach the evening. His clothes were light and silk. He wears a small bag to hold fine things in his handkerchief, and sometimes wears a hat to see guests. Every time he talks to others, teases and recites, he never hides anything, and laughs happily until his head is buried in the cup. The dishes and dishes are all stained, and the clothes are so easy." And Cao Zhi was quite like his father. "The Biography of Cao Zhi" said that he was "simple in nature, not dignified, and his horses and clothes were not gorgeous." It was also said that he had grown up since he was a child. He is good at composition. "When he was more than ten years old, he recited hundreds of thousands of poems, treatises and poems. He was good at writing. Taizu tasted his writing and said to Zhi: "You are evil? Zhi knelt down and said, "What you say is what you say, what you write is what you write, and you are just an interviewer. How can you be such a beautiful person?" "At that time, in the new city of Tongjuetai in Ye, Taizu put all his disciples on the stage and asked each of them to write a poem. Zhiyinbi was established, which was impressive. Taizu was very different. Whenever he came in and asked questions, he answered them." So Cao Cao said to him " Special favor". This biography records that "(Cao) Zhi was distinguished by his talent, and Ding Yi, Ding Xian, Yang Xiu, etc. became his wings. Taizu was suspicious, and there were only a few who were almost princes." In other words, Cao Zhi almost became the prince several times. Among them, Ding Yi, Ding Xi, Yang Xiu and others, who were the backbone of Cao Zhi's think tank group, played a big role. However, Ding Yi, Ding Xi brothers and Cao Pi originally had The cause of the incident was that Cao Cao wanted to marry his daughter to Ding Yi because he felt that Ding Yi's father had persuaded him to welcome the Han Dynasty to the emperor. However, Cao Pi dissuaded him by saying that Ding Yi's eyesight was not good and the matter was stopped. Therefore, Ding Yi did not marry. After arriving at Princess Wei, the Ding brothers held a grudge and began to strongly support Cao Zhi in seizing the legitimate son (1). As a close confidant of Cao Cao, Yang Xiu must be the target of competition between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi. As a world-famous talent, Cao Zhi may have been more attracted to Yang Xiu. At this time, Cao Zhi was "specially favored" and took the initiative to show his favor. Yang Xiu followed the trend and joined Cao Zhi's side to participate in this cruel battle for the throne (2 ).
However, between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi, although Cao Zhi is superior in literary talent, Cao Pi should be said to be superior in political and military talents. Moreover, the composition of the think tanks around the two men is also different. Cao Pi's think tanks are Sima Yi, Chen Qun, Wu Zhi, and Zhu Shuo. "Book of Jin" says that these four people are known as the Four Friends around Cao Pi. Among these four people, Sima Yi, Chen Qun's political talent and strategy should be recognized as the best choice among counselors and ministers of the Han and Wei dynasties. Wu Zhi was profound in scheming and talented in literature. There is no record of Zhu Shuo's affairs, but his official position was the leader of the Central Army, which is equivalent to the current The position of political commissar should not be an easy one to get along with. However, Cao Zhi's think tanks were all scribes with little political or military experience. They were far inferior to the sophistication of Sima Yi, Chen Qun, Wu Zhi and others, so they were naturally inferior in the struggle. In the annotations of "Three Kingdoms" and "Cao Zhi's Biography", there are records that Yang Xiu, who was known as "talented", and Wu Zhi, who was only the leader of Chaoge at the time, were defeated in a battle of wits. This directly led to Cao Cao's disapproval of Cao Zhi's character. Suspicion: "In the twenty-fifth year of the year of Xiu, he was named a young master who was talented and was favored by Taizu. He and his brother Ding Yi all wanted to have Zhi as their heir. The prince suffered from it and used the chariot to carry the discarded jian. Wu Zhi, the chief singer of the inner dynasty, and Conspiracy. Xiu Yibai Taizu failed to test it. The prince was afraid and asked, "What's the problem?" Tomorrow, if you use the silk chariot again to confuse it, if you repair it, it will be white again, and if it is white again, it will be pushed back. If it is not tested, then he will suffer. "The prince followed him, and the results of his cultivation were white, but there was no one, so Taizu was doubtful." There is a saying in the art of war. If you know yourself and the enemy, you will not be in danger in a hundred battles. It can be said that Wu Zhi knew himself and his enemy, but Yang Xiu was not as talented as Wu Zhi. Unfortunately, he was not as cunning as Wu Zhi. His thoughts and deeds were predicted by him, so he was plotted against him, and his master Cao Zhi was also suspected. It was really hard to tell. Others include explaining that Cao Cao's addition of the word "Huo" in the newly built garden gate was too broad, Cao Cao's writing "Yi He Su" was interpreted as "one person bites the cake", and Cai Yong's inscription on Cao E's stele written by Handan Chun said "Yellow Silk Young Woman, Grandson" The horoscope of "齑鞴" means "excellent words" and so on (3), all of which can only show Yang Xiu's intelligence, but it can only be said to be a little cleverness. To put it bluntly, it can even be said that he is just good at guessing word riddles, and not I don't see him and the Ding brothers making any political or military achievements to speak of. After that, Cao Pi was so worried that he was no match for Cao Zhi because of his excellent literary talent, so that he "lost himself in despair". Wu Zhi once again reversed the situation, causing Cao Cao to have another opinion about Cao Zhi: "The king of Wei tried to go to war. The prince and Linshan Hou Zhi walked to the side of the road. Zhi praised his merits and made his speeches clear. The prince was delighted and lost his sight. Wu Zhi'er said: "The king should do it, but it's okay to shed tears." "When he said his words, the crown prince wept and bowed, and the king and his left and right officials were in awe, so they all used rhetoric that was too colorful, but not sincere." (4) Wu Zhi can be said to be empathic, and his skill is comparable to Yang Xiu's skill in solving crossword puzzles. Much more practical.
Under the planning of his four friends, Cao Pi gradually gained the upper hand in the battle to seize the direct descendants. At the same time, he launched a public relations offensive in a timely manner to shape his own image. "Emperor Wen used his skills to control him, pretended to be pretentious, and (Cao Cao's) palace officials controlled and spoke for him" (5). At the same time, he won over Cao Cao's important adviser Jia Xu and others, coupled with the frequent outbursts of the poet's wild style in Cao Zhi, "Zhi acts willfully, does not encourage himself, and drinks alcohol without restraint" (6), Cao Zhi began to gradually fall out of favor. Another big event happened at this time, that is, Cao Zhi was running in the middle of the road in Yecheng, the capital of Wei State. Chi Dao was Cao Cao's exclusive road as the king of Wei. By doing this, Cao Zhi could be said to have regarded himself as the king of Wei. Therefore, Cao Cao was furious. The result was that he was ordered to sit on the bus and die. This was to impose restrictions on the feudal princes and favor Zhi. decline” (7). The most important role in Cao Pi becoming the crown prince was the words of Cao Cao's counselor Jia Xu. "Three Kingdoms" and "Jia Xu" say: "At that time, Emperor Wen was the general with five sense organs, and Linshan Hou Zhi was famous, and each had his own party and party. There was a proposal to seize the clan. Emperor Wen sent people to ask Xu about the art of self-improvement, and Xu said: "I hope the general will continue to respect virtue and devote himself to the work of a scholar, working day and night, and not violating the principles of his son. That's all. " Emperor Wen followed this and worked hard on himself. Taizu also tried to exclude the left and right and asked Xu, but it was wrong. Taizu said: "Why don't you answer your words? "Xu said: "It's appropriate to think about it, so it's not right. Taizu said: "What do you think?" Xu said: "Thinking of Yuan Benchu, Liu Jingsheng and his son." "Taizu laughed, so the prince decided." From this we can know that although Cao Cao has the temperament of a poet, he is first and foremost a politician. Jia Xu allowed him to see the pros and cons and lessons learned in that era when it came to abolishing the elder and establishing the younger generation. For him, it was important to maintain his power after his death. Stability and longevity come first, and everything else can give way, including your own personal likes and dislikes. Among the evaluations of his strengths by Guo Jia, Xun Yu and others were the words "good judgment", so he immediately made a decision and made Cao Pi the Crown Prince of Wei in the 22nd year of Jian'an. After Cao Zhi fell out of favor, Yang Xiu deliberately alienated Cao Zhi. However, because Cao Zhi was Cao Cao's son after all, he did not dare to be too obvious and maintained a certain density of contacts. From this we can also see that he is relatively lacking in political adaptability.
However, after Cao Cao dealt with the issue of establishing an heir, he immediately started from a political perspective and considered that the consequences of Cao Zhi and Cao Pi's heir struggle should not be underestimated, because they were surrounded by a group of counselors, and Cao Cao knew very well that Because of his strength as a counselor, in the autumn of the 24th year of Jian'an, Lieutenant General Yang Xiu who was rescuing Cao Ren was probably beheaded on any charge. "Three Kingdoms" says this: "Taizu was concerned about the changes in the end and the beginning, and thought that Yang Xiu was quite talented, and he was also the nephew of the Yuan family, so he punished Xiu."
Here, the "final change" is mentioned first, and Yang Xiu is "talented" and "Yuan's nephew", so he was killed. It can be seen that in addition to being killed because of his participation in the seizure of the legitimate son, Yang Xiu was also killed because he was "talented" and "nephew of the Yuan family".
But Cao Cao will not be beheaded just because he has talent. Under Cao Cao, there are countless advisers and capable ministers like carps crossing the river. Jia Xu, who is full of strange changes, Xun Yu, Xun You's uncle and nephew who are well versed in the art of war and politics, Cheng Yu, who is courageous and resourceful, etc., these people have great military and political achievements. His ability was far greater than that of Yang Xiu, but none of them were killed by Cao Cao because of their talent. The "nephew of the Yuan family" alone will not be killed. For example, Pang De already has a reputation for bravery under Ma Chao, and his brother is an official under Liu Bei. Cao Cao also used him and Cao Ren to deal with Guan Yu (9) It can be seen that Even if he is talented and is Yuan Shu's nephew, he will not be killed. This second reason is actually because Yang Xiu, Cao Cao and others had different political views, so they were tabooed.
Yang Xiu’s father, Yang Biao, was an orthodox Confucianist, while Cao Cao was an informal reformer. In the first year of Jian'an, when Cao Cao welcomed the Han Dynasty and presented the imperial capital to Xuchang, Yang Biao was the minister, which was equivalent to the role of prime minister, and he already had opinions about Cao Cao. "In the first year of Jian'an, Xu came from the east capital. At that time, the emperor had moved to the new place. Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou and the governor of Yanzhou, came to the palace. He was not happy when he saw Biao. He was afraid of this. He didn't get a banquet. He went to the toilet because he was sick and returned to the camp." , and "In the fourth year of Jian'an (Jian'an), he returned to worship Taichang, and was exempted from it for ten years. In the eleventh year, all those who had been favored as princes seized the title. Seeing that Han Zuo was about to die, Biao said that he could no longer walk due to leg cramps, and had accumulated ten years "(10), in the case of "Three Kingdoms", in May of the 18th year of Jian'an, the emperor sent Xi Lu, the imperial censor, to make Cao Cao the Duke of Wei. In the summer of the 21st year, he was promoted to the king of Wei. "In the eleventh year of (Jian'an)... Biao saw that Han Zuo was about to die, so he said that his legs were cramped and he could no longer walk for ten years." This shows that it was not just because Yang Biao did this because he "saw Han Zuo was about to die". The reason is that in the first year of Jian'an, Cao Cao was "displeased" when he met the emperor. So Cao Cao immediately implicated Yang Biao with the incident of Yuan Shu assuming the title of emperor in the second year of Xingping. The reason was that Mrs. Yang Biao was Yuan Shu's daughter, and he intended to get rid of this political enemy. At this time, Kong Rong, another minister who was always politically opposed to Cao Cao and had good relations with Yang Biao, heard about it. He didn't even have time to put on his court uniform, so he came to Cao Cao and said: "The fourth generation of Duke Yang is so virtuous that everyone in the world sees it." "Book of Zhou" said that the crimes of father and son were not related, and "Yi" said that "accumulation of good deeds will make people happy". "Cao Cao argued: "This is what the country meant. He said: "If King Cheng kills Duke Shao, will Duke Zhou be able to speak without knowing what is wrong?" He continued to threaten Cao Cao, "If you kill innocent people today, the whole country will watch and listen. Who will not disintegrate! Kong Rong, a man from the Lu Kingdom, will leave tomorrow. No more court." At this time, Cao Cao's foundation in the court was not yet stable, and his wings were not yet full. He had to rely on celebrities such as Kong Rong to win people's hearts, so he had no choice but to "get rid of Biao." But Kong Rong was also a wild man who was good at talking. He had trouble with Cao Cao several times when Cao Cao implemented new orders. And sarcasm. At that time, due to frequent wars and famine, the people were in dire straits, so Cao Cao ordered a ban on alcohol to save food. Kong Rong wrote a letter to satirize Cao Cao, saying: "There are stars in the sky with wine flags, and counties with wine springs on the earth. People have the virtue of wine. Therefore, Yao could not become a saint if he did not drink Qianzhong. Moreover, Jie and Zhou destroyed the country with sex, and marriage is now prohibited." When the imperial censor Xi Lu knew about this, he was "exempted from official duties." Knowing that he "lost power at home" , and the guests are filling the door day by day." He also "often sighed and said: "The seats are always full of guests, and the wine in the bottle is not empty, so I have no worries." After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, Cao Pi married Shao's son Yuan Xi's wife Zhen. Wife, he joked again: "King Wu defeated Zhou and gave Daji to Duke Zhou. "Because Kong Rong was knowledgeable, Cao Cao thought it was recorded in a biography, so he asked Kong Rong where it came from, and Kong Rong said: "It's natural to think of it today" (11), so Cao Cao finally found an excuse to kill Kong Rong. Mi Heng, who was most compatible with him, was exiled to Liu Biao because he looked down on Cao Cao. As a result, he was not liked by Liu Biao and was killed by Liu Biao's general Huang Zu. When Mi Heng commented on the people of Xuchang, he said: "The elder Kong Wenju, the younger Yang Dezu", that is to say, they only respect these two people, and the others are not important. Kong Rong respected Liu Bei more than Cao Cao, and they looked down on Cao Cao and Cao Wei's important ministers such as Xun Yu, Chen Qun, and Sima Yi. (12), so it can be said that he opposed the Cao Wei regime everywhere, but unfortunately he did not have the ability and strength to fight politically and militarily, so he had to take advantage of words, and was eventually killed one by one by Cao Cao, so Yang Xiu died. The second reason is that he was a member of the political camp opposite to Cao Cao, and he did not die just because he was talented and Yuan Shu's nephew.
Speaking of this, the cause of Yang Xiu's death. That’s basically it. Let’s talk about the two stories about Yang Xiu mentioned before.
One is about Cao E’s stele written by Handan Chun inscribed by Cai Yong, “Yellow Silk Young Woman, Grandson.” "Ji Jiu" incident.
The investigation of this matter comes from Liu Yiqing's "Shi Shuo Xin Yu". The original text is: "Wei Wu tasted Cao E's monument, and Yang Xiu followed. On the back of the stele, there is an inscription of "Yellow Silk Young Woman, Grandson Junjiu". Wei Wu said to Xiu: "Can you explain it?" The answer was: "Explanation". A few words, "Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Biography of Cao E": "In the first year of Yuanjia, the county chief minister buried E next to Jiangnan Road and erected a stele." The inscription on Cao'e's stele contains the words "compiled by Zili, Handan Chunzi, a disciple of Boping, the magistrate of Shangyu County" (13), Shangyu, the name of the county, was established in the 25th year of the First Emperor of Qin Dynasty and was formerly under the jurisdiction of Kuaiji County.
Therefore, this stele is in Kuaiji, and according to the "Shangyu County Chronicle" written by Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty: "The Cao'e Temple is on the west bank of the Cao'e River in the Ten Capitals. It used to be in the east of the Yangtze River and belonged to Shangyu. Later, it was destroyed by a storm and moved to its current location, under the jurisdiction of Kuaiji." , so this monument is located in what is now Shangyu, Shaoxing. Cao Cao has never been to Jiangnan in his life. It can be clearly inferred that this matter is purely fictitious. Perhaps Luo Guanzhong also discovered this problem, so in his "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he evolved this matter to Cai Wenji's home in Lantian, where Cao Cao passed by, and saw the rubbings of the inscription to cover up this obvious flaw, which can be considered a good intention. As an aside, the Cao E stele still exists, and I once visited it. However, the stele that was still erected in Shangyu County in the first year of Han Yuanjia (AD 151) has long been lost. Later, in the second year of Dongshengping (358 AD), Wang Xizhi also went to the temple to write on Cao'e's stele. The text was engraved by Wu Maoxian of Xin'an. The handwriting on the silk tablet of this stele is now in the Liaoning Museum. It is inscribed by Xu Sengquan, Manqian, Huaichong and others of the Liang Dynasty, as well as by Han Yu, Song Gaozong and others. The existing stele of Cao E was written by Cai Bian, Wang Anshi's son-in-law, in the eighth year of Yuanyou's reign in the Song Dynasty (1093 AD). This stele is 2.3 meters high and 1 meter wide. It is written in regular regular script and has a powerful and smooth writing style. It has a high status in the history of Chinese calligraphy. Since it has been around for thousands of years, it can be said to be extremely precious.
The second one is about Yang Xiu’s interpretation of Cao Cao’s “Yihesu” as “one person, one bite”. I was asked to write this article by a friend who works in middle school, so I found that in the current junior high school text "The Death of Yang Xiu", there is a sentence: "Cao himself wrote the three words 'a box of cakes' on the box and placed it on the desk." . Here, I think the word "box" should be the word "合". Because according to "Han Shu·Lü Li Zhi": "Ten liters are a sheng, and ten liters are a bucket." The "one he" here should be a unit of measurement, not the "one bag" or "one bag" in our usual sense. The meaning of "a box"; also, the "Dictionary of Commonly Used Ancient Chinese Words" notes: "合" is also pronounced as gě, which is the unit of capacity; and the "Shuowen Jiezi" only contains the word "合" and does not include the word "box" "Shuowen Jiezi" was compiled by Xu Shen (about 54 AD - 149 AD), so the word "box" should not have existed during the Three Kingdoms period; moreover, the ancients wrote vertically, If the word "box" is used, it should be pronounced as "one person, one cup of cake", which makes no sense. Only the word "合" can make sense; therefore, the word "box" may have come into being because later generations took the word "plate". The word's meaning of storage is derived from the combination of one of the meanings of the word "合". Perhaps the editor of the text only considered the standardization of the wording and did not consider that the word "box" did not exist in ancient times, so the word "box" was used. However, as a historical story, I think we should respect the historical usage of words, and the current usage cannot reasonably explain this story, so I still use the word "合" and add a note to explain it at the end. Better, otherwise, it will inevitably be misleading.