(7) The Strange UFO After Dong Zhuo pretended to build a dam to catch fish and secretly left to study, the group of Liangzhou warriors he led continued to confront Han Sui and Ma Teng. In the blink of an eye, the standoff lasted four years, continuing until Dong Zhuo was 56 years old. And this period coincidentally was the most tragic part of the early lives of Cao Cao and Liu Bei, the two young men who had just begun to rise. During this time, Cao Cao, as a second-generation eunuch official, along with his close friend Yuan Shao, was recognized by the Grand Eunuch Jian Shuo and appointed to the position of the Commander of the Western Garden. There were a total of eight Commanders of the Western Garden, functioning similarly to the capital's martial law command center, mainly responsible for the security of the capital region. It is said that from the moment Cao Cao assumed office, he hung a five-colored rod above the city gate, declaring: “Whoever dares not obey me, believe it or not, I'll beat him to death!” — Anyone who violates this is to be beaten to death. Cao Cao's words angered his direct superior, Jian Shuo's uncle Jian Tu. So one night, Jian Tu specially rode out while Cao Cao was on duty, calling out loudly: “Little Cao, come quickly and open the gate for me…” Seeing this, Cao Cao immediately panicked and ordered: “Capture Uncle Jian and beat him to death!” He really had Uncle Jian beaten to death. After the incident, Jian Shuo was furious, but he feared retaliation. You see, Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was the godson of the Grand Eunuch Cao Teng. After Cao Teng's death, Cao Song inherited the title of Fei Ting Hou and was appointed to the rank of Colonel, possessing power comparable to Jian Shuo. Since they were all part of the eunuch faction, if Jian Shuo retaliated against Cao Cao, Cao Cao's father would surely fight to the death. If the eunuchs began to destroy each other, wouldn't that be handing power to outsiders and making a laughingstock of themselves? After much thought, Jian Shuo came up with a solution, saying: “Little Cao is a good kid, fair and impartial in enforcing the law. Such a good officer should be promoted. Well, there is a vacancy for a county magistrate in Dunqiu, Henan. Let him go there. I believe in him and let him do well.” Thus, Cao Cao was officially promoted but covertly demoted and exiled to Dunqiu, driven out of the political center. Many years later, recalling this bleak chapter of his life, Cao Cao felt a surge of emotions and wrote a letter to his son Cao Zhi, titled 'Admonitions to My Son Zhi,' saying: “In the past, I served as the magistrate of Dunqiu at the age of twenty-three. Reflecting on my actions at that time, I have no regrets today.”Now you are also twenty-three years old, can you not strive…" It means: "Child, when your father was your age, he was driven to Dunqiu by others. Did your father complain? No…just kidding. Although your father encountered such setbacks, he knew that only in a world without complaints could he open your heart, free your soul, and enlighten your wisdom…" and so on. In short, it was a very inspirational matter.
At the age of 24, Liu Bei's experiences were even more motivational than Cao Cao's. At this time, Liu Bei had just obtained the position of county magistrate, only to be dismissed by the court. Liu Bei was so furious that he tied up the official who came to announce his dismissal and beat him severely, scaring Guan Yu and Zhang Fei until their teeth chattered and their lips turned pale.
Afterward, Liu Bei simply fled, taking Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with him, becoming vagrants and wandering the land.
At this time, Cao Cao was sitting at the dilapidated Dunqiu office complaining, while Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, this unparalleled golden trio in history, were shivering in the wilderness. Suddenly, a gigantic strange star appeared on the horizon, with a rotating burning fireball at the center, dragging a tail over ten zhang long, swiftly passing over the three of them. Liu, Guan, and Zhang stood up and shouted in unison, "UFO…"
Before the words were finished, the unidentified flying object had already streaked across the Central Plains, quickly reaching the frontier regions, hovering above the camps of Han Sui and Ma Teng, stopping like a huge searchlight, illuminating Han and Ma's camps as if it were daylight.
In an instant, Han and Ma's camps were in panic, with donkeys, horses, and other livestock all braying. The soldiers, terrified, ran around like headless flies.
Han Sui rushed out of his tent, staring at the bizarre celestial phenomenon, dumbfounded: "We were fighting perfectly fine, why is there a UFO now?"
Who was pulling this prank?
While puzzled, they suddenly heard the sound of killing from all directions, and saw Dong Zhuo's soldiers seemingly emerge from the ground, appearing abruptly in the blinding light and mercilessly attacking. Han Sui and Ma Teng, without hesitation, turned their horses and fled.
It was unbearable—during the Three Kingdoms period, a UFO appeared, a freakish event that surpassed the limits of human nerves. If Han and Ma were not completely defeated, it would be unbelievable.
In this battle, Han and Ma suffered a crushing defeat and fled to Yuzhong.So, what exactly was that bright flying object in the sky that year? After checking relevant materials, long, long ago, a supernova exploded deep in the universe. When a supernova explodes, it releases tremendous energy, brighter than millions of suns. Although the light is bright, it takes a long time for the bright light to travel through the vastness of space. According to records, it was only a year later, in 185 AD, that the light of the supernova slowly reached the Earth, allowing people on Earth to see it. Dong Zhuo should have taken advantage of the bright light from the supernova explosion to suddenly attack Han Sui and Ma Teng, thus achieving military merit.
