Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 14 Be Steady

Liu Bei has his own yardstick to measure who can truly serve him and who is just pretending to be useful.

People like Yunchang, Yide, and Zilong, who came from the lower classes, were of the same mind as him, so Liu Bei felt at ease only after entrusting them with the power to command the troops.

Haven’t you seen that after Cao Rui succeeded to the throne of Wei, Cao Cao’s meritorious generals died or grew old?

The princes and relatives must be on guard and not be entrusted with important tasks.

The Xiahou and Cao families lacked talented people, so even a mediocre person like Cao Shuang was able to ascend to a high position.

Cao Wei's central army and border armies gradually fell into the hands of the gentry.

If the military power falls into the hands of others, then the whole thing will be ruined. No one can stand working hard for decades only to make wedding clothes for others.

Zuo Zhuan said: The most important affairs of a country are sacrifices and war.

One person cannot command an army. A large number of officers and clerks are needed, and military operations require officers who can read and write.

There are only one literate person in the world among a hundred, and most of them come from gentry, wealthy families, merchants. Even the street vendors are rarely literate, let alone the common people who are poorly clothed.

Liu Bei pondered for a while, then turned to Qian Zhao and said, "Zijing, I asked you to select young men who have no elder relatives or children whose families are poor and unable to raise them. How do you do?"

Qian Zhao replied, "We have selected 1,431 people and settled them in the suburbs of Pingyuan County."

Qian Zhao then said worriedly, "Xuan De, I know you want to raise your child, but last year's expedition to Jinan cost a lot of money, and the resettlement of refugees and surrendered soldiers has almost run out of money and food."

"Otherwise I wouldn't have urged you to end the conquest as soon as possible last year."

"We have to govern Jinan again this year. I'm afraid we have to invest all the money we earned from the military campaign last year into this. It's really not worth it to support thousands of people who eat dry food!"

Qian Zhao tried his best to persuade him.

As a Gongcao, he had no way to refute his lord, so he had to hint at Liu Bei to understand that the county was in real financial difficulty.

Every penny must be counted carefully. If it weren't for the profits from salt and sugar, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do anything this year.

Because the money is gone, maintaining the army and the officials requires considerable expenses, and nothing can be done without money.

Liu Bei shook his head and refused. Even if he had to tighten his belt, he had to raise these children as this matter was of fundamental importance.

After thinking about it, he decided to reveal a little bit of the truth so as not to confuse the officials below.

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and said, "I want to follow the example of my teacher Lu Zigan and set up a youth hall. Unfortunately, I am not well versed in Confucianism, so I can only ask the officials to teach them how to read. I will teach them martial arts in my spare time so that they can have a skill."

"I studied under Master Lu. Without him, there would be no Liu Bei today."

What Liu Bei said was true. Many wealthy families in Zhuo County used their connections to send their children to study under Lu Zhi. Unfortunately, he did not attract the attention of Master Lu and stand out among the other students when he was studying, but being able to get to know Gongsun Zan was still a great gain.

"Send military officers to the hall to supervise the young people to learn calligraphy and martial arts on weekdays, and let the young people help the people with farm work in their spare time."

Liu Bei glanced at Qian Zhao and smiled again.

Qian Zhao had a complicated expression. He instinctively felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Seeing that Liu Bei brought up the famous story of Lu Zhi as an excuse, he became even more powerless to convince others.

Lu Zhi's reputation was so great that Liu Bei, as his disciple, followed the example of his teacher, and no one from the wealthy and aristocratic families could find any fault with him.

Qian Zhao had no choice but to agree: "Yes!"

Liu Bei shook his head and sighed secretly.

The monopoly of reading and literacy is in the hands of the gentry and powerful families, and no one can be taught without their consent.

Unless Liu Bei was willing to teach the people of Qianshou to read and write. The Western Han Dynasty began to select talents for the country, and Emperor Xiaowu set up many official schools for people to learn laws.

After completing your studies, you can become a minor official and earn a living from the government.

However, the admission criteria required that the candidate must be the son of a wealthy family or a descendant of an official, and common people were not included in the rules.

Etiquette does not extend to common people. It does not simply mean that the people are neglected, but that etiquette has nothing to do with the common people. The common people only need to serve, pay taxes, and then live.

As for enjoying preferential treatment, that is the treatment only available to "scholars" of a higher level.

From then until now, the rules and laws have never changed, and naturally the concepts have not changed either.

Liu Bei smiled and gently stroked Qian Zhao's back, knowing that Qian Zhao was actually worried that he would offend the world.

People guessed that he had ill intentions and wanted to destroy others' foundation, thus ruining his hard-earned reputation.

Not to mention the distant past, Dong Zhuo was now in disgrace.

He thought he had the military power in his hands, and wanted to abandon his former master Yuan and become a powerful official in control of the court. He even offered official positions and titles to win over the gentry. However, he was eventually abandoned by the gentry. After taking office, the princes formed an alliance to attack him.

Unable to stay in Luoyang, Dong Zhuo had to run back to Chang'an in Guanzhong, near Liangzhou, in shame.

After all, no matter how good the soldiers were at fighting, they still had to rely on the nobles and the wealthy families to govern the country. The rough soldiers under his command only knew how to draw their swords and chop people, and then rob women and money.

But this method needs time to settle. If you are lucky, you can stabilize the situation. After one or two generations of the family, when the money is transformed into knowledge, there may be officials available.

But does Dong Zhuo have that kind of plan and the time to wait?

No.

He was desperate and killed people to vent his anger, burning the palace and digging up the emperor's tomb. It was satisfying, but he had to bear the consequences himself, leading his generals and soldiers like a charcoal in a furnace, with no way to advance or retreat.

Even if Lu Bu had not turned against him, he would not have been able to control the situation for long. Melting gold to make coins was just a helpless measure.

Liu Bei had met Dong Zhuo once from a distance before and heard that he was very righteous. Even though he knew that his old lord Zhang Huan, who had promoted him, he still sent his brother to send a hundred pieces of fine silk.

However, after reaching the top, I completely forgot my previous style of work.

Liu Bei didn't know that Dong Zhuo had been acting for too long and only showed his hand when he had the strength, or that he was blinded by the power that was within his reach.

In short, Liu Bei took it as a warning and warned himself to control his desires.

Don't fall down when the champagne is being opened. Learn more from Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, who entered Xianyang, saw the beauties of the six kingdoms and the treasures of the world, and still had the courage to retreat.

Don't rob orphans and widows. Only feel at ease when others offer themselves up willingly.

He is too fond of other people's wives to satisfy his psychological habits, and thinks that it is better to rob them than to accept them. The defeat of Cao Cao in Wancheng in history is a lesson for us.

Now that Madam Yin has reached the best childbearing age, it may be time to devote some of her energy to offspring.

Liu Bei nodded slightly.

Then he remembered something and told Jian Yong, "Before my uncle passed away, he asked me to take good care of De Ran. The world is in turmoil right now, and my uncle's family is far away in Zhuo County."

"Xianhe, send some more people to take them to Pingyuan for me, and let Deran fill the vacant position of the county official."

Liu Bei was silent for a moment, then sighed, "When you come back, please offer sacrifices to my uncle in hemp clothes and white banners, and tell him that I am now the governor of Pingyuan County and can support the Liu family. Please don't worry about me anymore."

Jian Yong looked into his eyes sincerely, grinned and nodded.

(End of this chapter)