As the saying goes, if you have ambitions in your youth, whether a person can establish a career and realize the lofty ideals he has set up depends to a large extent on whether they have real talents and practical learning, and the size of their age actually has little to do with it.
In the Three Kingdoms era of heroes, there is such a figure, although he set a lofty ambition as early as a young age, but he waited until he was too old to realize the dream of building a meritorious career, but it was this talent who experienced the test of a long period of time that finally attacked the State of Wu for the Jin Dynasty in one fell swoop, completely ending the history of the three families of Wei Shu and Wu fighting each other, he was the famous general of the Early Jin Dynasty who ended the Three Kingdoms era - Wang Mao.
The family is prominent, and the youth is wandering
Later, Wang Mao, who was famous for his exploits in destroying Wu, was born in the family of officials and eunuchs in Hongnong County, and several generations of his family had served as high-ranking officials of more than two thousand stones, Wang Mao grew up in such a favorable family environment, and was a veritable son of an official eunuch, and because of this, Wang Mao was able to read a lot of books and thus become proficient in the art of war, according to common sense, Wang Mao, a typical rich and handsome figure, should easily get the praise and praise of others, but this is not the case.
It turned out that although the young and crazy Wang Mao had quite good knowledge and talent, he was still a beautiful man with a handsome appearance and a table of talents, but he did not pay much attention to his personal moral cultivation, and he was very promiscuous, and it was naturally difficult for Wang Mao, who had nothing to do all day and wandered in the countryside, which was naturally difficult to please.
Therefore, although Wang Mao was indeed talented, he was often despised and belittled by the townspeople because of his misconduct, believing that Wang Mao was frivolous and unscrupulous, talented and virtuous, until Wang Mao was determined to change his past mistakes and determined to use his talents to establish a meritorious deed, his personality gradually began to change, and Wang Mao, who was no longer wandering, began to receive praise from the people.
Set your mind and enter your career
Interestingly, when Wang Mao, who was still a grass dweller at that time, actually took the initiative to repair and widen the road in front of his house, which was tens of steps wide, someone "reminded" Wang Mao that it was useless to expand his own road too wide, but Wang Mao replied quite proudly: "I plan to make the road able to accommodate the honor guard of the long halberd banner." When the townspeople heard this, they laughed at Wang Mao's arrogance, and Wang Mao sneered at each other that they were "Yan Que An Zhi Hong Hu Zhi Zhi".
Later, Wang Mao accepted the conquest of the local prefecture and county, left home to take up the post of Hedong, and officially began to enter the career, at this time, Wang Mao's status was only a petty official who did not enter the stream at all, but he was able to govern strictly, act decisively, and refuse anyone's request, and over time, Wang Mao's reputation for honesty and integrity grew, and once some corrupt officials heard that Wang Mao was going to come to them as a superior, they would be frightened to give up their official positions and flee into the wilderness.
Meet Bole and walk in the clouds
After several years of experience in the official field, Wang Mao's talent gradually received people's recognition and praise, coinciding with the time when the Zhenshou side was heavily used by Sima Yan, the Emperor of Jinwu, to recruit Wang Mao as an aide, and after some investigation and understanding, he admired Wang Mao's talent and intended to promote him.
However, Yang Hu's nephew Yang Ji was not impressed with Yang Hu's idea of reusing Wang Hao, thinking that Wang Hao might have certain talents, but his personality was arrogant, not a great talent, not worth cultivating, fortunately, the experienced Yang Hu had the wisdom of the people, knew that Wang Hao's military talent was rare, and thought that as long as he was appointed, he could pacify the world for the Jin Dynasty.
Therefore, under the recommendation and cultivation of Yang Hu, the Bole, Wang Hao was able to be appointed by a low-level official as a Zhonglang general, and finally went to Bashu to serve as the Taishou of Ba County, becoming a parent official, and it was with the help of Yang Hu, the official Bole, that the unknown Wang Mao got the opportunity to emerge.
Governing the place and making a name for itself
Wang Mao, who came to Ba County to take up his post, found that because Ba County bordered the Wu Kingdom, the people had experienced many years of war and chaos, and the local population had decreased sharply, and the local people were suffering from heavy servitude, unwilling to have children, and even if they had children, they would cruelly abandon them, so as not to increase the burden on the family. Therefore, Wang Mao ordered the formulation of strict laws and regulations to protect the babies that parents could not support, while reducing taxes and servitude, caring for the people's livelihood, and actively promoting the resumption of production of the people.
In the eighth year of the Tai Dynasty, Zhang Hong, the yamen general of Yizhou, was dissatisfied with the rebellion launched by his superior Yizhou Assassin Shi Huangfu Yan, killed Huang Fuyan, and connived at the soldiers and horses to plunder the people, at this time Wang Mao, who had been transferred to the Guanghan Taishou, was not afraid of danger, followed the advice of his subordinates, and took the initiative to gather troops to participate in the counter-rebellion, although it was the first time to lead the army to fight, Wang Mao quickly showed superior military ability and designed to kill the rebellious Zhang Hong.
Thanks to Wang Mao's efforts, the rebellion in Yizhou was soon put down, and in order to praise Wang Mao's exploits and to eliminate the Wu state that was still divided in Jiangnan, Bole Yanghu strongly recommended that Wang Mao serve as the assassin of Yizhou, hoping that Wang Mao would train a water army in Yizhou and complete the cause of cutting down Wu together.
Run Yizhou and train the water army
After Wang Mao took office as the assassin of Yizhou, he clearly knew the mission he was shouldering, and at the same time, he was eager to fulfill his long-cherished wish of making meritorious achievements by destroying the State of Wu, as the end of the chaotic world, Wang Mao's merits must be enough to stand in the annals of history, so Wang Mao dutifully handled government affairs, persuaded nongsang, encouraged the people to develop production, and gradually ran Yizhou, which had experienced rebellion and looting and withered away from hundreds of industries, into a prosperous rear, with sufficient money and food. At the same time, Wang Hao began military preparations for the wu.
After receiving instructions to plan the annihilation of Wu, Wang Mao began to vigorously train the water army and build warships, and Wang Mao knew that the reason why wu was able to confront the Jin Dynasty in a quiet corner was to rely on the natural dangers of the Yangtze River and the sophisticated water army, so he had to face up to the strength of the Wu army, and he also had to train a well-equipped water army that could fight a good battle to complete the plan to destroy Wu.
Under the unremitting efforts of Wang Mao, the Jin army built each ship large enough to accommodate more than two thousand people, and there were city towers and watchtowers on the ships, and even riding horses, the scale was unprecedented, and the jin army even floated on the river in order to build ships.
However, although Wang Mao's preparations for the annihilation of Wu were enormous, the imperial court had been inconclusive after a long debate over whether to cut down Wu, and even after the death of Yang Hu, who advocated preparing to destroy Wu, Wang Hao did not receive instructions to march into the State of Wu, which undoubtedly made Wang Mao, who was eager to make meritorious achievements, anxious.
Write to the war, as you wish
Since Wang Mao was appointed as the Assassin of Yizhou, he had been preparing for the wu against Wu for many years, but until Wang Mao was more than seventy years old, he did not receive the order from the imperial court to agree to send troops, and the unbearable Wang Mao finally could not contain his excitement and took the initiative to write to Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, saying that he must send troops to cut down Wu. In his notes to Emperor Wu of Jin, Wang Mao first objectively analyzed the situation of the State of Wu, believing that the State of Wu was now ruled by the cruel and unmerciful Emperor Sun Hao, and that the alienation of the State of Wu from Sun Hao from top to bottom was very conducive to the dispatch of the Jin army, but if it was repeatedly undecided, once Sun Hao died, the State of Wu replaced the throne with a wise and virtuous monarch, and not only was the opportunity to cut down Wu lost, but the State of Wu might also become our strong enemy.
Secondly, Wang Mao said that he had been painstakingly operating in Yizhou for many years, and the naval warships had been prepared early, but if the opportunity to send troops was repeatedly delayed, the hard-built warships might gradually decay and damage with the passage of time, and the previous efforts would be wasted.
Emperor Wu of Jin was deeply convinced of Wang Mao's proposition and understood that the time was ripe to cut down Wu, and under the further impetus of Du Xian, Zhang Hua and other ministers, Emperor Wu of Jin finally made up his mind and issued an order to cut down Wu, and the opportunity for Meritorious Service that Wang Hao had waited for many years finally appeared.
Down the river, the Wu Army was destroyed
In the first year of Taikang, Emperor Wu of Jin formally issued an order to attack the State of Wu, and the Jin army was composed of the Western Route Army under the command of Wang Mao, the Middle Route Army under the command of Du Qian, and the East Route Army under the command of Wang Hun.
And the Baba County babies who were able to survive under Wang Mao's government have now reached the age of military service, many of them are serving in Wang Mao's ranks, and their parents have advised them to remind them that they must not forget Wang Mao's kindness, and must bravely kill the enemy and repay Wang Mao's life-saving grace, so that the Morale of the Jin army led by Wang Mao is high, and they regard death as a homecoming, laying the foundation for subsequent victories.
Wang Mao led his army from Yizhou, down the river through the Three Gorges, defeated the Wu army defender Sheng Ji in a battle, and approached Jingzhou, the Wu army in order to delay the attack of the Jin army, arranged iron cables and sharp iron cones in the Yangtze River, hoping to intercept and destroy the Jin army's water army warships, Wang Mao, after getting the information from the front, quickly came up with a way to crack it, Wang Mao first ordered people to make dozens of large rafts, the raft was planted with scarecrows, and before marching, the raft was first allowed to open the way, and the sharp iron cones prearranged by the Wu army were pierced on the raft and taken away by the rushing river. Then, Wang Mao ordered someone to make a huge torch, pour sesame oil in advance, and when he encountered the iron cable, he lit the torch and threw it on the iron cable, and the raging fire of the torch burned the iron cable that obstructed the channel effortlessly.
Therefore, Wang Mao saw the tricks and dismantled the moves, easily broke the obstacles set up by the Wu army, led the army to conquer Jingmen, Lexiang and other places one after another, and destroyed the main forces of the Wu army, because Wang Mao repeatedly won battles, the Wu army along the Yangtze River as long as it saw Wang Mao's banner, it was invincible and did not dare to fight again, so Wang Mao soon led the Eastern Route Army to jiankang, the capital of the State of Wu.
The momentum is like a bamboo, destroying Wu in one fell swoop
The old and strong Wang Mao led his army to advance both land and water, down the Yangtze River, approaching the capital of the State of Wu like a bamboo, and at this time, the Eastern Route Army, commanded by Wang Hun, although it also achieved some successes, was afraid of ambush and did not cross the river to encircle The city of Kangcheng, but instead put forward the request that Wang Mao lead the army to meet with him first.
According to Emperor Wu of Jin's arrangement, Wang Hun, who was in charge of commanding the Eastern Route Army, was also the commander of the three armies and was Wang Mao's superior, and Wang Hao was supposed to obey orders. However, wang Hao, who was determined to make a contribution, saw that he was about to be completed, and decisively refused Wang Hun's order, but took the lead in sending troops to surround the city of Jiankang, at this time, the last emperor of the State of Wu, Sun Hao, who knew that the great power had gone, was afraid that Wang Hao would attack Jiankang, and it was difficult for him to save his life, and finally decided to surrender to Wang Hao.
Therefore, Sun Hao led the emperors of the State of Wu out of the city to surrender to Wang Hao, and the city of Jiankang was not attacked and destroyed, so Wang Hao accepted Sun Hao's surrender and fulfilled his long-cherished wish to destroy the State of Wu and make meritorious achievements in one fell swoop.
Success and fame, slander
After the end of the War against Wu, on the one hand, Wang Mao finally realized his dream of making meritorious achievements in his youth, received the title and reward of Emperor Wu of Jin, and became a great general of the auxiliary state with outstanding merits, but on the other hand, Wang Hun and others who were red-eyed about his merits began to maliciously slander Wang Mao, accusing Wang Hun of not obeying the orders of the combined army as a blind man, and disobeying Wang Hun's military orders to attack Jiankang City "privately" was the following crime and should be punished.
Logically, Wang Mao was a great contributor to the pacification of the State of Wu, and Emperor Wu of Jin naturally would not easily listen to rumors to punish Wang Mao, however, perhaps Wang Mao's mood of wanting to make meritorious service was too eager, and he exaggerated his merits from time to time in the war reports submitted to the imperial court, and even lied about his military achievements, which made Wang Hun and others seize the handle.
In addition, unlike Wang Hun's career as a soldier, Wang Hun was born in the Taiyuan Wang clan, was the leading family clan at that time, and had great power in the dynasty, so Wang Hun's party jointly wrote a letter, believing that Wang Hun did not listen to orders, lied about his military achievements, and claimed that Wang Hao should be sent to prison for interrogation, but fortunately Emperor Wu of Jin did not believe the rumors, but only cut off some of the rewards originally given to Wang Mao.
Indignant, he defended himself many times
Wang Mao thought that he was the greatest hero in pacifying the State of Wu, but because he had offended Wang Hun, he was falsely accused and slandered by Wang Hun and his cohorts four times, and his heart inevitably felt indignant, in order to keep his reward and official title, Wang Mao refuted the false accusations of Wang Hun and others every time, and repeatedly defended his behavior to Emperor Wu of Jin. However, Wang Mao, who was indignant in his heart, may have been too excited, and when he distinguished his behavior from Emperor Wu of Jin, he would even forget the etiquette norms between the monarchs and his subjects, and sometimes he would not pay tribute to Emperor Wu of Jin, it can be said that Wang Mao's behavior was already contempt and disrespect for the king, and Emperor Wu of Jin was able to understand Wang Mao's mood and did not bother with him.
Fan Tong, Wang Mao's close confidant, sensed that Wang Mao's behavior had gone out of line and reminded him, "The work you have established can be said to be very grand, that is, the behavior has gone out of line." Wang Hao explained that the reason why he wanted to do this was because he was afraid that like Deng Ai, he would die because his merits would not be known to the king and be unjust, so he had to remind the emperor repeatedly that he had to pacify the merits of the Wu kingdom.
Fan Tong also understood Wang Mao's situation, and suggested that when others asked about the matter of Pingwu, he only said that the emperor's virtue and the soldiers' lives were able to be completely successful, and never mentioned his own merits, so that Emperor Wu of Jin would certainly feel ashamed because he did not reward Wang Mao, and Wang Hun and others would not dare to act rashly, so that they could save themselves. He never complained to outsiders that the imperial court was not fair enough to reward him, and sure enough, the rumors gradually subsided.
Indulge in indulgence and spend your old age in peace
Sure enough, Wang Mao's attitude of not arguing and not rushing made Emperor Wu of Jin feel guilty that he did not reward Wang Mao heavily, and Dr. Qin Xiu, the prince Of Taixue, Prince Jiema Mengkang, and others also stood up to speak for Wang Mao, and Wang Mao's days of being besieged by Wang Hun and others finally came to an end. Emperor Wu of Jin later further made Wang Mao a general of the rear army and a regular attendant of the Jiashan Horse. Wang Mao's bold ambitions in his youth came true, and the road he broadened in front of the door finally came in handy, and because he had already achieved fame, Wang Mao's later years also began to indulge in indulgence, eating mountains and seafood, wearing silk satin, and living a leisurely life.
Of course, the knot between Wang Hun and Wang Hun caused by the struggle for merit was not unraveled, and if Wang Hun came to Visit Wang Hun's home, Wang Hun would arrange a tight defense before meeting Wang Hun, and the two sides maintained this tit-for-tat defense until Wang Hun died.
In the sixth year of Taikang, Wang Mao died of illness at the age of eighty, although Wang Mao did not really realize his ideal of building a meritorious career until the age of ancient rarity, but he did explain to posterity the meaning of "having ambitions not to be high in the year", wang Mao, who set up a lofty ambition in his youth, waited for half a lifetime to finally make a meritorious career, and Wang Mao, who pacified the Wu kingdom, became the terminator of the Three Kingdoms era, and the credit is not insignificant. However, in the face of other people's slander and slander, Wang Mao, who was in a difficult situation, also had to be a man with his tail between his legs and carefully protect himself.
Obviously, he is a hero who has made great achievements, but he has to do everything in his power to save himself, and Wang Mao's later experiences in his later years do make people feel indignant, but it is gratifying that Wang Mao knows how to protect himself, so as to avoid the fate of rabbits and dead dogs, and finally achieve a good beginning and a good end, and a comfortable old age. Then again, no matter how the people at that time defined and rewarded the achievements of the battle against Wu, history would eventually record the merits of Wang Mao, after all, this is the case, which no one can take away and cannot erase.