In the history of the Three Kingdoms, there are many people whose names are strange characters, and many people do not pronounce them correctly, such as Xun [xún] 彧[yù], and the funniest pronunciation is actually Gou [gǒu] or [huò]...
Not only did they often mispronounce Xun Yu's name, but they also often misunderstood Xun Yu's deeds, always saying that Xun Yu was "the last Han chen in the world" who broke with Cao Cao for bullying the Han chamber and eventually died because of his dissatisfaction with Cao Cao's bullying of the Han chamber.
In fact, this statement is a bit of a glorification of Xun Yu. Today I want to tell you about Xun Yu, if you want to explain this person clearly, you must first understand what is the Yingchuan system.
In the history of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, Yingchuan was a word that could not be jumped, and many talents emerged there, occupying a pivotal position in the world hegemony at that time.
Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Chen Qun, Zhong Xuan, and Sima Yi, I believe that those who do not know much about the Three Kingdoms should have heard of these names. Others, such as Chen Ji, Du Xian, Zhao Yu, and Fan Qin, needless to say, although they had little reputation in history, all served under Cao Cao.
When it comes to Cao Cao's starting team, in addition to the Cao and Xiahou clans, there are almost all Yingchuan people, and the representative of this group of Yingchuan people is Xun Yu.
A person may be loyal to the concept, a group of people or a group will only be loyal to the interests, Xun Yu can become the representative of the Yingchuan family, it shows that Xun Yu is on behalf of the Yingchuan family to negotiate cooperation with Cao Cao.
Such a combination of interests, how much is the loyalty factor? You can think for yourself.
Some people may say: This shows that the Yingchuan department is optimistic about Cao Cao and thinks that he will eventually be able to dominate the world. Those who hold this statement are obviously too full of inner drama and think too much.
In the second year of Chuping (191 AD), Xun Yu left Yuan Shao and defected to Cao Cao;
In the third year of Chuping (192 AD), Cao Cao took up the post of Pastor of Yanzhou and killed the famous Yanzhou soldier Bian Rang;
In the first year of Xingping (194 AD), The Yanzhou powerful chen gong led Lü Bu into the lordship, and Yanzhou almost all betrayed Cao Cao, and only three cities still hung his banner;
In the second year of Xingping (195 AD), Lü Bu in Cao Cao surrendered and was almost captured alive.
In the following years, Cao Cao attacked Zhang Xiu, and finally suffered a counterattack, the eldest son was killed; then he confronted Yuan Shao against Guandu, was beaten to the head and stomach, and finally narrowly won.
Objectively speaking: After the Yingchuan clan headed by Xun Yu defected to Cao Cao, Cao Cao was still mixed up so miserably, and with his various performances in the early days, which half of them could determine the temperament of the world? Could it be that Xun Yu is a god stick that can pinch and calculate?
Xun Yu chose Cao Cao because the Yingchuan clan chose Cao Cao; the Yingchuan clan chose Cao Cao because they were forced to leave Yuan Shao; and the reason why the Yingchuan clan wanted to leave Yuan Shao was because they were ostracized by the Jizhou clan (also known as the Hebei clan) in Hebei.
Xun Yu's approach at that time was not that he had a brilliant vision, but that "there is no grandfather here, there is a place to stay for the grandfather." ”
The Jizhou department was represented by Tian Feng, Frustrated Grant, and Trial Match, as well as Koji Yi, Zhang Gao, Gao Lan, Yan Liang, and Wen Ugly. In the face of this kind of land snake with literature and martial arts, money and grain, the Yingchuan clan was certainly not an opponent, so xun Yu and Guo Jia left.
Of course, there are also some Yingchuan people who choose to stick to Yuan Shao's side, which is a trick for the rich and powerful to diversify their investment, which is not uncommon.
The main reason why the Yingchuan clan represented by Xun Yu dared to betray Yuan Shao and turn to Cao Cao in a dignified manner, but did not worry about Yuan Shao's retaliation afterwards, was that Yuan Shao was indecisive and more lenient, and he never dared to kill the rich clan indiscriminately, and at best he was idle.
Therefore, for the Yingchuan clan that defected to Cao Cao, even if Cao Cao ultimately failed, so what? The future of the individual may not be clear, but the fate of the family will never be implicated.
If this is the case, why should we drink soup behind that group of Hebei earth turtles (Jizhou family)? It is better to follow Cao Cao and fight, and you may be able to eat meat in the future!
In this context, the Yingchuan clan, which had re-selected the speaker, began to advise Cao Cao, and was extremely attentive.
At the beginning, Cao Cao had a great talent of the Yingchuan clan by his side, named Xi Zhicai, but unfortunately died young. Cao Cao approached Xun Yu and hoped that he would re-recommend a talent to replace Xi Zhicai.
It is said that the top talents are all a turnip and a pit, which is not so easy to find, but Xun Yu did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately recommended Guo Jia to succeed him. It can be seen that most of the talents of the Yingchuan department are packed in Xun Yu's pocket: as long as there is a need, they can continue to take out like a robot cat.
When he learned that Xun Yu had come to vote, Cao Cao said a word: "My son Fang Ye!" "Xun Yu is a representative figure of the Yingchuan family, and to say that Xun Yu is like Zhang Liang is really a bit demeaning to him." Xun Yu was the golden finger that could bring a steady stream of talents to Cao Cao! Where does Zhang Liang have this ability?
Under Cao Cao, most of the Yingchuan clan represented by Xun Yu was heavily used, and although Cao Cao did not go well, he slowly survived step by step.
However, as Cao Cao's power grew, the differences between Xun Yu and Cao Cao also began to appear, and the turning point was the Battle of Chibi, which broke out in 208 AD.
Before the Battle of Chibi, we can still see Xun Yu's suggestions for Cao Cao in the history books; after the Battle of Chibi, Xun Yu seems to have disappeared from the history books, and it was not until four years later, in 212 AD, that Xun Yu reappeared and formally broke with Cao Cao.
In view of this, I think the Battle of Chibi was the beginning of the rupture between Xun Yu and Cao Cao.
Before the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao's advantage was enormous: the northern enemy Yuan Shi had died, Emperor Xian of Han's confidant Xi Huan was killed, Kong Rong was killed, and the northwest was still in the hands of Ma Han, but Zhong Xuan sat in Guanzhong and basically had no accidents. In this context, Cao Cao launched a large-scale southern expedition, surrendered Jingzhou in the shortest possible time, and shared the natural dangers of the Yangtze River with Eastern Wu.
From this point of view, Cao Caonan's expropriation of Sun Quan and Liu Bei should be simpler than picking vegetables. At least that's how I see it, and Cao Cao and Xun Yu should think the same thing.
Before Cao Cao's southern expedition, he and Xun Yu must have made a series of divisions long ago: after I finished cleaning up Sun Quan and Liu Bei, I would go back and pacify the northwest and southwest, and then we would divide the world together.
Their little abacus was very loud, but the result was unexpected: Cao Cao was hit head-on at Chibi and had to return north. After returning to the north, Cao Cao found that something was wrong inside.
The root cause of the problem in the north is that the Yingchuan system has a different view of the situation in the world at that time, and some people think that Cao Cao is old and can no longer sweep the world, and it seems that we should make another plan. But some people believe that although Cao Cao is old, his control is still very strong, and we cannot act rashly.
At such a moment, Xun Yu, who was caught in the middle, was very uncomfortable.
In Xun Yu's view, Cao Cao was definitely a good leader worth following, and he did not choose him wrongly. But Xun Yu also understood that Cao Cao was an extremely sensitive person, and Chibi's defeat was likely to force Cao Cao from a ming lord to a tyrant.
This is easy to understand: Cao Cao's team was a close follower of Cao and Xiahou, but the contribution of the Yingchuan clan to Cao Cao is undeniable by anyone.
We can even say that in many cases, Cao Cao looked more like a spokesman for the Yingchuan clan than his leader.
Cao Cao was powerless to deny this established fact. If he could win the Battle of Chibi, perhaps he would have enough courage to stand in front of the Yingchuan clan and bargain, but he lost the Battle of Chibi.
The impatient Cao Cao began to find ways to turn over the book, that is, to keep fighting, but Almost every time Cao Cao's conquest was abandoned. Why? Because Cao Cao had become sensitive, he did not trust the Yingchuan family very much, or did not dare to trust the Yingchuan system.
Readers who read my articles regularly should understand that my favorite term is the term "prisoner's dilemma" to describe both ends of power.
At this time, Cao Cao and the Yingchuan department had already fallen into the "prisoner's dilemma": Cao Cao suspected that the Yingchuan department wanted to do things, and the Yingchuan department suspected that Cao Cao wanted to cross the river and tear down the bridge. Both sides turned their eyes to Xun Yu at the same time: "Tell me!" What to do?
Many people say that Xun Yu's death was a martyrdom for the Han Dynasty, which is a big mistake. Xun Yu's death was only a solution for both Cao Cao and Yingchuan, and it can also be said that it was a step for both sides.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms records a very interesting little story: during Cao Cao's crusade against Yuan Shu, the army was short of food, so he ordered the cangguan Wang Yao to divide the grain with a small hu, and the soldiers complained bitterly. Cao Cao immediately killed Wang Yan and claimed that he had stolen official grain, and the soldiers stopped complaining. In order to save their lives, everyone tried their best in the battle, and finally turned the crisis into safety.
This short story is not recorded in the main history, but the death of Xun Yu and the death of Wang Yuan are actually similar.
If Wang Gao could speak according to Cao Cao's script, he would have said this: The brothers are about to run out of food, it is all my fault, and now I am making atonement for my sins with my life, hoping that everyone will unite around the lord (Cao Cao) and get out of the predicament as soon as possible.
Xun Yu used his own death to explain to Cao Cao: I am the representative of the Yingchuan department, I provoked everyone's dissatisfaction with you, and now I am making amends with my life, hoping that you can reconcile with the Yingchuan department.
Xun Yu used his own death to explain to the Yingchuan department: I am the representative of the Yingchuan department, but I failed to communicate well with Cao Cao, causing everyone to be afraid, and now that I am making atonement for my sins, Cao Cao will no longer doubt you.
Now I will take a step forward, and I hope that you can both go hand in hand and create brilliant achievements again.
There is also a small problem here, that is, why Xun Yu should obstruct Cao Cao's change of the Kyushu system to be a duke. According to the mainstream saying: Xun Yu was loyal to the Han Room. But in fact, this has little to do with the Han Room.
Since the Yingchuan clan and Cao Cao had fallen into the "prisoner's dilemma", Xun Yu knew that his fate was already doomed, so he would desperately obstruct Cao Cao at the last moment of his life, and there were two main reasons for this.
First, give yourself a good reputation, after all, Xun Yu is not a member of Cao Cao's shogunate, but a Han official of the Eight Classics;
In addition to this reason, it may also be full of Xun Yu's resentment towards Cao Cao: If this old guy had not suddenly gone mad, why would he have solved the problem by sacrificing his life?
Second, the title of gong is a major event, and after his death, the Yingchuan clan will support Cao Cao to claim the title of gong, in order to alleviate the contradictions between the two sides to the greatest extent.
The second point you may not understand, let me give you an example.
The old emperor felt that his time was short, so he would hide some talents from the snow, and at the same time say to his successor: "So-and-so is the talent I left for you, and now I leave him aside, you can reuse him after you ascend the throne, and this promotion grace will fall on your head." ”
Xun Yu wanted to help both sides untie the set, he was naturally bound to die, so why should he make fun of it and grab the credit for supporting Cao Cao's claim to the throne? It is better to leave the credit to the Yingchuan department, so that they can reach a real reconciliation with Cao Cao, and Cao Cao will also thank the Yingchuan department.
Take one step and look at three steps, this is the top politician, Xun Yu deserves it.
Many people may wonder: Why did you write Xun Yu so badly, was he never loyal to the Han Dynasty?
I have always believed that when a person becomes the representative of a certain group, his words and deeds are no longer his own business, but the affairs of a group.
What Xun Yu thinks in his heart, we can't know. As I said above, there were two reasons why he prevented Cao Cao from claiming public service, the first of which was to sell his reputation or his true feelings? No one can say for sure.
But one thing I'm sure of is that as a group of scholars, the Yingchuan clan will never be loyal to the Han Dynasty.
Even the famous Zhuge Liang said in the "Table of Renunciation": "I have not sighed and hated Huan and Lingye." It can be seen that the wise are as wise as Zhuge Liang, and also think that the Second Emperor Huanling is not a good thing.
Was the Second Emperor Huanling the Emperor of Xia? From the perspective of the people, it was certainly not, because the main goal of the Huanling Emperor's struggle was never them. But from the perspective of the scholars, the emperor who constantly promoted foreign eunuchs and even released the party twice was not a emperor?
From the perspective of the scholars, this does not allow us to become officials, and what good is it for the Han Dynasty to get a bunch of eunuchs and foreign relatives to compete with us for power and profit all day long? Why should I be loyal to Him?
As a representative of the Yingchuan clan, xun yu, no matter what his true feelings about the Han Dynasty, he must let go of everything and work for the benefit of the Yingchuan clan with peace of mind.
If we look at Xun Yu from the perspective of the Yingchuan family, you will find that he is definitely a qualified representative: first he led everyone away from Yuan Shao, and then when he and Cao Cao were about to tear their faces, they used their lives to reverse the situation.
The three great clans of Yingchuan: Xun, Zhong, and Chen, were always used heavily in the Cao Wei Empire. This alone is enough to show that Xun Yu has made great contributions to the Yingchuan family, and he has done his job the best.