Chapter 593 Cao Mengde wants to repay Han’s kindness
After Cao Cao said a few words, there was silence outside the ancestral temple. The young people looked excited, while the older people looked at each other with admiration in their eyes.
There are some people in this world who are born to achieve great things.
Because they have great character that ordinary people do not have, including perseverance, the will to never give up, the courage to be the first and the fearlessness of difficulties.
Cao Cao is such a person. He has many qualities that only people who can accomplish great things can possess, such as persistence and perseverance.
For most things in this world, from God's perspective, it is clear how they should be done, but later comers can always arbitrarily judge a person's wisdom.
But in reality, when you are in an environment full of darkness and fog, not knowing whether there are opportunities or dangers ahead, how many people dare to do something firmly?
Raising an army to support the king is easy to say but extremely difficult to do.
It is unimaginable how much resources are consumed in order to form a combat-capable army. It is no exaggeration to call it a money-eating beast.
Moreover, once an army is formed, wars will always have to be fought, and winning is easy.
If we lose the war, all our investments will be wiped out and we will lose everything in an instant.
Even with the Cao family's background, if they formed an army to support the king, they would at most experience two failures.
If there are more, the entire family will go bankrupt. A family is a complex of political and economic groups linked by blood ties. Without family wealth, it is only a matter of time before the family falls into complete ruin.
Why didn't those top noble families fight on their own, but instead supported the princes?
Is it because he thinks the power of the princes is too great?
Or is it that the throne is not so attractive?
Why not invest in a certain group of princes on your own, but instead pull the nobles in your county or state to invest together?
Is it out of kindness that he hopes others will share his profits and power?
Of course not!
The purpose is to minimize the losses caused by failure while ensuring the distribution of power. Moreover, the more investors are attracted, the greater the probability of success and the lower the possibility of investment coming to nothing.
It is no exaggeration to say that even a top-level aristocratic family could not withstand several failures of the princes.
According to the survival rules of the gentry, Cao Cao's behavior was inappropriate.
Because the Cao family is no longer an ordinary powerful person who needs to put the lives of his entire family on the line.
Only those powerful people of low status would risk their lives and property to gamble on an unknown future.
But this is the charm of Cao Cao. He is not a gambler, but he clearly tells people what the family should do and how the family should do it.
Cao Cao's words echoed in everyone's ears. "It was because Emperor Xiaocheng of the previous Han Dynasty loved his family so much that they were able to rise to prominence. Now that the Han Dynasty is in danger, can the family just sit back and do nothing?"
I, Cao Mengde, want to serve the monarch and defend the Han country. Are you willing to follow me?
This deafening sound echoed inside and outside the ancestral temple. In such an environment, it seemed as if the ancestors of the Cao family were speaking.
Questioning!
Do you still remember why our Cao family became prosperous?
It’s Emperor Xiaocheng!
"I am willing to follow my brother, serve the emperor, and defend the Han Dynasty!"
When the first brother knelt on one knee on the ground, it was not just a courtesy between brothers, but a courtesy from a subject to his monarch, and everything changed.
The best sons of the family were willing to follow him and shouted in unison.
The elder's brows relaxed. A family's greatest resource is its people. When the future of a family is willing to follow him.
What are those so-called financial and grain resources worth?
Cao Cao's father sighed slightly and was about to speak when he heard a loud voice, "Meng De said it well!"
Everyone in the Cao family turned their heads or looked around, and saw a group of people walking in, young and old, some wearing crowns and robes, and some wearing tight clothes.
Everyone in the Cao family was familiar with this group of people. They were from another big family in Qiao County, the Xiahou family.
When they saw the Xiahou family, the Cao family members smiled. The head of the Cao family went up to them and asked the purpose of the Xiahou family's visit.
The ancestor of the Xiahou family was a hero in the founding of the country, Xiahou Ying, Marquis of Ruyin. The Xiahou family that is still active today, no matter in which county or prefecture, are all branches without exception.
The Xiahou family was prominent for hundreds of years, then experienced a century of decline, living off their ancestors' wealth until the end of the pre-Han Dynasty when they completely declined, and then split up and wandered around the counties.
The Xiahou family of Qiao County, Pei Prefecture was a powerful local family, but because they had no family tradition of inheriting Confucian classics, they were not considered a noble family.
But the Xiahou family was a family of generals. They had a complete method for training generals, and they owned a lot of land, so they were very prosperous in Qiao County.
The Xiahou and Cao families were intermarried, and their relationship was so complicated that they were almost like a family.
It can be said that if the emperor wanted to exterminate three clans, the Xiahou family would not be able to escape.
After the head of the Xiahou family exchanged a few words with the head of the Cao family, he walked directly towards Cao Cao. Looking at Cao Cao, who was not tall but had a heroic face, he was full of admiration. He patted Cao Cao's shoulder heavily and said, "The Cao family will prosper with a son like Meng De.
With a man like you, Qiao County can save itself from the Taiping Army.
It’s a pity that my Xiahou family doesn’t have a son like you.
What you said just now, Meng De, was very good. A family was founded on loyalty and righteousness. The Xiahou family has been blessed by the emperor for generations, and has come to where it is today. How could we fall behind?
The task of serving the king must never be neglected.
My dear nephew Meng De, please look at your brothers and see who you like. I will let them go with you and serve you as their master."
As soon as the head of the Xiahou family said this, everyone was shocked instantly. What he gave to Cao Cao was not just a few children of the Xiahou family, but an investment from the Xiahou family. The connection between the Xiahou family and the Cao family was already very close, and now it was going to be further strengthened!
The head of the Xiahou family himself didn't think there was anything wrong. He just had high hopes for Cao Cao. He saw that even if the Taiping Rebellion was quelled, various places would still have to raise their own troops and form a situation of princes. In this case, if his own family can hold on, he would naturally help his own family.
Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard this. If he could get the help of the Xiahou family, he would be more confident in serving the king and making contributions.
He had been planning to contact the Xiahou family, and thought it would take some effort, but he didn't expect that the head of the Xiahou family would actually offer to help him.
This moved him deeply. He looked at his brothers from the Cao clan, and then at the smiling people from the Xiahou clan. He felt quite emotional for a moment.
It is true that brothers fight together in battle, and fathers and sons fight together in war. If you want to achieve great things, you must rely on your brothers in the clan. Everyone today will be my right-hand man in the future.
If after pacifying the Taiping Rebellion, he was really awarded the title of General of the Western Expedition for his merits, he would certainly launch more expeditions and make these people his generals.
Thinking of this, Cao Cao immediately bowed deeply, his face solemn, as if swearing: "I will never let you down."
…
"The country is in turmoil, the country is in turmoil, the Taiping rebels are rising up everywhere, approaching Luoyang, and the royal family is in danger.
Cao was just a common man in the county with a humble reputation and mediocre talents. Fortunately, he was favored by the emperor and was promoted to the rank of counselor and later to the rank of captain.
In times of strong winds, you can see the strong grass; in times of turmoil, you can see the loyal ministers. Are there any heroes in the counties who are willing to work with Cao to serve the king?
Cao is willing to spend all his wealth to recruit brave warriors, each armed with weapons, to fight bravely and save the Han Dynasty."
During the three hundred years of the Han Dynasty, everyone in the world realized how precious reputation is.
Cao Cao once wandered around Pei County, and later he was selected as a talented person and went to Luoyang, where he made a name for himself.
Now the reputation he had accumulated over the years finally came into play. With just one call from him in Pei County, coupled with the reputation of the Cao and Xiahou families in Pei County, many heroes from the counties and prefectures came to join him.
There were thousands of young and strong people in the county who came to join the army. In the entire Pei County, there were probably more than 10,000 militiamen who could be recruited.
After Cao and Xiahou made up their minds, Cao Cao sent out invitations to heroes to all the counties in Pei County, stating that he wanted to build an army to support the king and enter Luoyang to support the king.
This time we are not recruiting local militia, but inviting nobles and powerful people to join. The signal is very clear. What are you waiting for?
Are you waiting for the Taiping Army to capture the county town and then skin and rob all of you?
You all know how good a fighter I, Cao Mengde, am, right?
Yuan Shao from Runan Yuan family, one of the top wealthy families in Luoyang, is my brother.
Of the Five Surnames, the Prince of Qi and I are on close terms with each other, and you should know that.
After searching all over Pei County, is there anyone more promising than me?
If you don't come and surrender to me, don't blame me for not saving you when the Taiping Army reaches the city.
Cao Cao's move of using the tiger's skin as a banner produced remarkable results. People from all counties joined the army enthusiastically. The most important thing was that many powerful landlords with some wealth came to join him.
In the era of Confucian classics, these people had no status in officialdom and were certainly not considered commanders. However, many of them were rare and powerful generals. Some of them, such as Dian Wei, could even be called a match for ten thousand men based on their martial arts skills alone.
Even the governor of Pei County, who was the lord of a county with a salary of 2,000 stones, could not achieve this scene.
You have to know that in this era, the county governor was regarded as the king. This shows the prestige of the Cao and Xiahou families in Pei County, and it shows the importance of Cao Cao's reputation back then!
Everything is ready, raise the banner and set sail to serve the king!
————
Emperor Wu was a native of Qiao County, Pei Commandery. His surname was Cao, his taboo name was Cao, and his courtesy name was Mengde. He was a descendant of Marquis of Qiao of the early Han Dynasty. Marquis of Qiao was the son of the Queen Mother of Pei and the brother of King Xiao of Pei from the same mother.
Emperor Wu was bold and cunning when he was young. He lived in Pei County and was unrestrained and undisciplined. He had the spirit of chivalrous. All his cousins respected him. An old man in the clan was surprised and said to Emperor Wu: "The Cao family has been promoted by grace for 150 years. Now that we have a son of a unicorn, can he be promoted to a high official?"
Emperor Wu was filled with emotion and said, "The unparalleled Marquis Wu Xiang once said, 'A man born between heaven and earth should wield a three-foot sword and accomplish unparalleled feats, rather than being depressed by writing."
When I die, I will carve the inscription "The Tomb of General Qiao Hou Cao of the Han Dynasty" so that I will not let my life down."
The more he was known among his clan, the more famous he became. At the age of twenty, he was selected as an outstanding talent! - "Book of Wei: Chronicle of Emperor Wu"
(End of this chapter)
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