Comrade Guevara
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in the "respect for Liu and suppress Cao" color is very strong, it is in this kind of song, Cao Cao's camp many famous ministers, the ability is "castrated" or weakened, the reputation is ignored or covered, the image is distorted or ugly, and the impression left on the world is often very unbearable. One of the typical representatives is Cao Wei Situ Wang Lang, who was scolded to death by Zhuge Liang on the battlefield of the Northern Expedition in the romance.
So, what kind of image is Wang Lang in real history?
During the reign of Emperor Liu Zhi of the Eastern Han Dynasty (146-168)[1], more than half a century before the fall of the empire, a boy named Wang Yan was born in Tan County, Donghai County (present-day Tancheng County, Linyi City, Shandong Province), thousands of miles east of Luoyang, Beijing, in the Wang family, known as the Donghai Wang, who had inherited poetry and books. Many years later, Wang Yan, who was intelligent by nature and diligent and inquisitive, changed his name to Wang Lang, obtained the expression of "Jingxing" in the year of the weak crown, and devoted himself to studying under the famous scholar Yang Ci.
Yang Ci's identity is very unusual, he was born in hundreds of years of famous family Hongnong Yang, grandfather Yang Zhen, father Yang Bing are scholars, and have been a captain, he and his son Yang Biao have also been a captain, is worthy of the name of the "four three dukes" (note: the Eastern Han Dynasty to Taiwei, Situ, Sikong Taiwei for the "three dukes", are the prime minister's position, and the status of the Taiwei is the most respected). In addition, Yang Ci also has a very famous grandson, that is, Yang Xiu, a talented man who was executed by Cao Cao for playing "clever" everywhere.
Wang Lang became a generation of Confucianism under the teaching of Yang Ci
As the saying goes, "famous teachers produce high apprentices". After many years of being by Yang Ci's side, Wang Lang finally became a knowledgeable Confucian. After becoming an apprentice, Wang Lang devoted himself to writing books and sayings, and his life's works were equal to the body, and the standard was very high, and he was the first of the mainstream of the Jingjing school - the "Wang School", especially the book "Zhou Yi Biography" written by him, which was designated by the Wei and Jin dynasties as a textbook that Confucianism must use when studying the "Book of Changes". It can be seen that Wang Lang's academic achievements far surpass those of his mentor Yang Ci, who did not have many high-quality writings.
The Eastern Han Dynasty attached great importance to the study of scriptures, and used it to select officials and scholars. After Wang Lang completed his studies, he was recruited by the imperial court and appointed as Langzhong, and soon became the magistrate of Hanqiu County. However, just when Wang Lang's career was about to enter the "fast lane", his mentor Yang Ci died suddenly in the second year of Zhongping (185). After the news reached Jiangqiu, Wang Lang immediately resigned and returned to his hometown, specially serving the mourning of his teacher for 3 years. is so affectionate and righteous, so that the corporal of the world is impressed by the young Wang Lang, and it is difficult for him to be "not popular".
After the expiration of the mourning period, Wang Lang joined the shogunate at the invitation of Xuzhou Thorn Shi Taoqian many times and held important positions in governance. At this time, the Han Dynasty had fallen apart, and the princes everywhere did not take Emperor Xian of Han, who had been puppets under Dong Zhuo and Li Dao, seriously, and only Tao Qian followed Wang Lang's advice and sent envoys to pay tribute to the imperial court to show his loyalty, which was in the fourth year of Chuping (193). In this regard, Emperor Xian of Han was very excited, ordered a generous reward for the envoys and promoted Tao Qian to the general of Xuzhou Mu and Andong, while Wang Lang was appointed as the Taishou of Huiji.
Tao Qian
Huiji County governs the northern Zhejiang region south of the Qiantang River today, and the county is governed in present-day Shaoxing City, which has been rich because of salt since the Qin and Han dynasties, and is the largest metropolis south of the Yangtze River. However, due to years of war and famine, the former prosperous Huiji County was in dilapidated condition. Wang Lang was determined to change the status quo, and upon his arrival, he hired good talents, exempted him from taxes, encouraged farming, and boiled salt, so that the previously dilapidated county of Huiji would have a new look after a few years.
While vigorously developing production, Wang Lang also actively founded schools to encourage the development of education. At the same time, Wang Lang also ordered the ban on the worship of Xia Yu and Qin Shi Huang, which had been prevalent in the same temple for more than 100 years, because the latter was cruel and cruel and did not deserve to enjoy the dedication from the people. In short, Wang Lang, who is upright, diligent and loves the people, has managed the affairs of the district in an orderly manner during the four years he has served as the chief inspector, so he is deeply loved by the people.
However, in the troubled times when swords and soldiers are everywhere and the weak eat the strong, the love of the people does not guarantee that "Wang Qingtian" will sit firmly in his position. In the first year of Jian'an (196), Sun Ce, the "little overlord" who swept Jiangdong, led his troops to attack Huiji, and Wang Lang, who thought that he was responsible for defending the territory, categorically rejected the suggestion put forward by Gong Cao Yu, and did not choose to stick to the city, but lined up in Guling to meet the enemy. Wang Lang's courage was commendable, but his fate was very bad, although he won several battles, he was finally defeated by Sun Ce, and had to flee to Jiaozhou.
Sun Ce
However, Wang Lang did not reach Jiaozhou, and was captured by the pursuers sent by Sun Ce when Dongye was about to sail to sea. Fortunately, Sun Ce respected Wang Lang's character, so instead of killing him, he sent the great strategist Zhang Zhao and others to persuade him to surrender, but Wang Lang refused. At this time, Cao Cao, who had already controlled Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, sent an envoy to Jiangdong to ask for Wang Lang to be recruited into the court as an official, but Sun Ce did not dare to disobey the order, so he had to let Wang Lang go north. Due to the long-term war, the road was impassable, so Wang Lang was able to reach Xudu after several years of travel.
Judging from the analysis of various historical materials, Cao Cao and Wang Lang's personalities, hobbies and work styles are very different, and there seems to be no intersection before, at best, they know each other's relationship. However, Cao Cao, who was eager for talent, admired Wang Lang's talents and virtues, so that as soon as the latter arrived in Xudu, he was appointed as a counselor and a military counselor[3]. In the eighteenth year of Jian'an (213), Wang Lang concurrently led the Wei County Taishou as a military sacrificial wine, and then successively served as Shaofu, Fengchang and Dali.
曹操
Dali is the highest official in charge of judicial affairs, and the verdict made by him will determine the fate of countless people. At that time, Cao Cao ruled the country with severe punishment, and executed and even exterminated all kinds of criminals at every turn, and the impact was very bad. However, during his tenure as Dali, Wang Lang tried his best to correct this atmosphere, striving to be lenient and fair in prison management, and to punish suspects lightly whenever there were doubts about the charges, with the intention of minimizing unjust, false and wrongly decided cases. Because of this, Wang Lang saved the lives of many innocent people, and was deeply praised by both the government and the opposition.
After Cao Pi claimed that the emperor built Wei, Wang Lang was worshiped as a commonplace and was named the Marquis of Leping. Sikong is the imperial historian of the Western Han Dynasty, who was in the position of correcting hundreds of officials and advising the Son of Heaven, and Wang Lang was indeed loyal to his duties during his tenure, and once advised Cao Pi not to have too much fun, and returned to the palace in the middle of the night, and was humbly accepted by Emperor Wei Wen. At that time, Situ Huaxin, Taiwei Zhong Xuan, and Sikong Wang Lang were all respected inside and outside the court because of their high morality and good conduct, and Cao Pi also sincerely praised them as "great men of a generation".
Cao Dan
After Emperor Cao Rong ascended the throne, Wang Lang was promoted to Situ and entered the Marquis of Lanling. At this time, although Wang Lang was already in his prime, he still thought about state affairs, and once wrote to Cao Rong to advise him to build a palace, and was rewarded by the emperor. In the second year of Taihe (228), Wang Lang died at home, and his nickname was Chenghou. A digression. After Wang Lang's death, he also enjoyed the temple court of Emperor Cao Cao of Wei Wu and Emperor Cao Pi of Wei Wen, and only the general Cao Zhen enjoyed the same treatment as him. Life is glorious and sorrowful, and life can be described as quite fulfilling.
According to historical records, Wang Lang had at least 3 sons and 1 daughter, of which the eldest son Wang Su was a Confucian master in the Cao Wei period, who continued his father's legacy, and once commented on the group scriptures, synthesized the modern and ancient scriptures, and was the leader of the mainstream of the Jing school in the Wei and Jin dynasties - the "Wang School". Wang Su's eldest queen Yuanji later married Sima Zhao and gave birth to 5 sons and 1 daughter, among them, the eldest son Sima Yan was the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty. For the achievements of his great-grandson, Wang Lang Ruoquan knows, should he be ashamed or happy?
Wang Lang has never met Zhuge Liang, and the phrase "scolded to death" is purely a novelist's words
Finally, let's talk about the truth of the so-called "Zhuge Liang scolded Wang Lang to death". In the same year (228) that Wang Lang died of illness, Zhuge Lian did lead his army on the Northern Expedition (the first and second) and faced off against Cao Zhen, the general of Cao Wei, on the battlefield. However, judging from the existing historical materials, there is no record of Wang Lang accompanying Cao Zhen on the expedition, and this is not in line with the system of the imperial court. Since Wang Lang has never met Zhuge Liang, the saying "scolded to death" is purely a novelist's words and cannot be trusted.
Exegesis:
[1] The year of Wang Lang's birth is unknown, but it can be inferred from his early experiences that he was born during the reign of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty and was about 70 years old when he died.
[2] Wang Lang was born in the Donghai Wang family, although this family is far less famous than the Langya Wang family and the Taiyuan Wang family, but it is a Confucian family and has produced many famous scholars.
[3] At that time, it was Cao Cao himself who served as Sikong.
bibliography
1.【晋】陈寿：《三国志》，中华书局2007年版。
2.【南朝宋】范晔：《后汉书》，中华书局2000年版。
3. [Song] Sima Guang, "Zizhi Tongjian", Zhonghua Book Company, 2015 edition.