[Cao Cao lost his position for nearly ten years.]

[In 188 AD, Cao Cao, who was already 33 years old, was still unemployed at home.]

[At this time, the powerful were still full of doubts about Cao Cao. You, Cao Mengde, are obviously the descendant of a eunuch, but you always hang out with the children of the gentry. Your motives are really not pure.]

[After much difficulty in getting a position as a filial and honest official, he refused to succumb to the ways of the world, angering Jian Shuo, who was in power. Most importantly, he kept telling the truth all day long, such as saying that bones were exposed in the wild and no roosters crowed for a thousand miles.]

[Can such 'treasonous' words be written in a poem? Aren't you slapping the emperor in the face? ]

[This kind of person, if put in the present, is a typical example of being disloyal to the emperor and patriotic, a walking half million! ]

[If you are in the Eagle Sauce, your house will be confiscated! 】

[So, with Cao Cao's temperament, he could be a huge thunderbolt that could explode at any time no matter where he is.]

[You said, who in the court would dare to employ a person like him? ]

……

"You are intolerable for telling the truth, but you are isolated for doing a good deed that pleases the people. What kind of bandit logic is this!"

At the banquet, Fan Kuai, who was slightly drunk, spoke without restraint and spoke up for Cao Cao.

Liu Bang was used to it. Isn't this what it should be like when a country is destroyed?
Besides, this is just the beginning. Look at the late Tang Dynasty that Tianmu mentioned earlier - those high-ranking officials from aristocratic families could lie with their eyes open and completely disregard the lives of ordinary people. That was truly absurd.

Let’s look at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao was not arrested and executed for writing this kind of "anti-poetry". The Han Dynasty was already very open-minded!

aside.

Zhang Liang and Xiao He looked at each other and sighed helplessly.

Cao Cao's deeds can prove that at that time, there were still some people with lofty ideals who hoped to save the country from collapse.

It’s a pity that the Han Dynasty’s fate has come to an end.

Even Cao Cao, the dragon slayer, was eventually forced to become an evil dragon. This is enough to show that this time, destiny was no longer on the side of the Han Dynasty.

……

[However, it was precisely because of Cao Cao's embarrassing situation that he was given a new opportunity. ]

What exactly is going on?

[At this time, the court was divided into three factions. One was the eunuch faction represented by Jian Shuo. This faction represented the emperor. Jian Shuo was also very smart and was the strongest among all the factions.]

[The second force is the aristocratic and powerful forces represented by Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao is also very capable and holds the financial power of the court in his hands. ]

[The third force is the foreign relatives force represented by General He Jin. This force represents military power, and all troops must obey the orders of the general. Han Xin, Wei Qing, and Huo Guang, who we are familiar with, are all representatives of the general.]

……

Different historical planes.

Han Xin, Wei Qing and Huo Guang all became interested.

I want to know what kind of military achievements this great general He Jin had in later generations.

……

[However, because this person has low intelligence and is a bit stupid, the power of the foreign relatives is the weakest at this time, and they are the targets that the eunuchs and clans need to win over. ]

[In order to balance these forces, Emperor Ling of Han had to appoint someone. This person had to have both eunuch blood and be involved in the circle of the aristocracy. Where could he find such a person? ]

[We have said before that Cao Cao is the descendant of a eunuch and hangs out with the children of the aristocratic families all day long. Is there anyone more suitable than him? ]

【Then the goddess of luck favored Cao Cao again. 】

[After being re-employed, Cao Cao was appointed as the Commander of the Imperial Army, one of the Eight Commanders of the Imperial Guard.]

……

Looking at the sky, Cao Cao’s thoughts seemed to drift back to the past.

I felt a myriad of emotions welling up in my heart, and I couldn't help but hold up my wine glass and speak freely in front of all the ministers:

"I was originally a simple and ignorant person. I was selected as a filial and honest official. Later, the world was in chaos. I built a house in my hometown, hoping to escape from the world and disaster. I read in spring and summer and hunt in autumn and winter, and spent my days waiting for peace to come to the world."

"I didn't want the court to recruit me into the army and appoint me as a military lieutenant. From then on, I bid farewell to my previous idle life and serve the country to fight against bandits in all directions."

Cao Cao sighed, "Now that I think about it, I still feel lucky." "If I hadn't been lucky enough to return to the court this time, I really don't know if I would be where I am today."

……

Cao Cao had originally intended to use his position as a military lieutenant as a springboard to establish a career, but things soon turned out to be different.

[First, the economy of the Eastern Han government collapsed. To put it simply, the court ran out of money and could not pay salaries.]

【The way Emperor Ling of Han dealt with the economic crisis was also very simple, that is, selling official positions and titles. 】

【Everyone can think about it, what is the purpose of a person buying an official position? 】

[You can even put yourself in the shoes of the person who bought the official position and think about what you would do after you bought the position.]

[Benefiting the people? Doesn't your conscience hurt when you say this? ]

[You can fool outsiders with this kind of lies, but don’t fool yourself. ]

[Many people who bought official positions with money need to earn back the money they spent on buying them after they take office. It goes without saying where the money comes from, right? ]

[After Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty sold official positions and titles, many people who bought their positions once again intensified the exploitation of the common people.]

[Before, the common people could not survive, so they started the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Now they can no longer survive, so more rebel armies appeared in various places.]

[In order to solve the problem of the uprising, Emperor Ling of Han came up with another "clever trick". ]

[According to the advice of a very prestigious minister, Emperor Ling of Han announced that the government system of the Eastern Han Dynasty had undergone a new version, that is, the profession of the highest local official, the Inspector, had been epically strengthened.]

[The current governor can recruit soldiers and fight on his own. After upgrading, the governor is renamed as a governor. 】

[In addition, the imperial edict also stipulated that only those ministers with great prestige could serve as governors of this state.]

……

"Idiot! Idiot!"

"How could such an idiot appear among the descendants of Naigong!"

"Is this idiot really the descendant of Naigong? I suggest checking his bloodline!"

Now even Liu Bang, who had previously said that he didn't care about the fall of the Han Dynasty, couldn't hold it in anymore.

Could anyone really be this stupid?

All power has been handed over. Isn't this still the same system of the Zhou Dynasty of enfeoffment of princes?
It's just a different form.

It would be fine if the imperial court still had its dignity, but if the imperial court lost all its dignity, wouldn’t the emperor become a mere decoration?
Wouldn't that cause chaos in the world?

Liu Che couldn't hold it anymore.

Good man, have you forgotten the lessons of the Rebellion of the Seven Kings?

Fortunately, I was not born at that time, otherwise I would have been fooled by the Seventh King.

It's outrageous that the history books have been read so thoroughly that one forgets the pain once the wound has healed.

No wonder Tianmu always says that the only lesson mankind has learned from history is that it will not learn any lessons.

Some disasters that you obviously think are ridiculous and can be avoided happen again in the future. Do you think they are funny?

……

[Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is divisive, but Emperor Ling of Han chose to believe in the power of belief.]

[——He firmly believed that these prestigious ministers would not betray him.]

[Of course, his actions were not without results. He soon came to a conclusion: human hearts are unreliable.]

[Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty ordered the governors to suppress the bandits. The governors treated the imperial edict as a fart and made all kinds of excuses, saying that their butts hurt today, it was too cold tomorrow, or they were not in the mood the day after tomorrow.]

【Anyway, everyone always has various reasons. 】

[A few months passed like this, and the rebels kept paying more and more. ]

[When Emperor Ling of Han finally realized that he had been fooled, it was too late.]

[At this time, he was already terminally ill. Facing the current situation, he couldn't do anything about it even if he wanted to.]

【However, Emperor Ling of Han never expected that this was just the beginning.】(End of this chapter)