Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 193: The Children of the Noble Family Value Reputation
On the fourth day of April in the first year of Jian'an (196 AD), there was continuous thunder and then rain. The rain started at the beginning of the month and did not stop after three days.

After Liu Bei led his Huben cavalry to defeat the remaining Yellow Turban soldiers in various villages in Dan County, he prepared to go to Qiaoshui to cut wood and build a pontoon bridge to cross the river to Runan County.

Unfortunately, Grain Rain was approaching and it rained heavily for several days. The water level rose rapidly and a torrent poured down.

Lu Su, Zhou Yu, and Chen Qun all offered advice: "The army must move out of camp to attack and suppress the bandits, or gather the people. It must still respond to the weather, advance when it sees opportunity, and stop when it sees difficulty. Only by keeping an eye on the inside can we achieve victory wherever we go."

The meaning is to advise the envoy not to be anxious. Even if the main force of the Yellow Turban bandits received the news that Huang Shao's troops in Dan County were completely wiped out, they would not be able to escape in a short time.

We were blocked by the river, and so were He Yi, He Man and the others. Given the Yellow Turban bandits' organizational capabilities, it was impossible for them to build a bridge and cross the river in such bad weather, unless the enemy was not the Yellow Turbans, but a strong army as powerful as the Qingzhou Army.

Liu Bei thought about it and realized that he was indeed a little impatient. He almost made the same mistake as Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang did when he attacked Maodun, underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly. He abandoned his large army and only thought about speed.

In fact, he was feeling anxious. Yunchang had recently sent him a document stating that Yuan Shao had returned to Yecheng in mid-March and had then integrated and allocated food, fodder, and weapons from You, Ji, and Bing counties.

There was a tense atmosphere in Qingzhou and Yanzhou, as if a storm was about to come and it was about to explode.

The wealthy and powerful families in Hebei and other parts of the Central Plains held their breath and felt the urgent pressure.

Mobilizing tens of millions of people from the seven states in the north and south, spanning thousands of miles from the Qingzhou Plain to Luoyang, they controlled two-thirds of the world and were able to decide the two great princes who would rule the world. Their power was already as strong as a crossbow, making people uneasy.

From the fighting soldiers and auxiliary soldiers to the civilians transporting food and weapons, the two sides were involved in the fierce battle involving nearly one million people.

The last time such a large-scale mobilization of soldiers was used for a decisive battle was during Emperor Guangwu's campaign to conquer Hebei hundreds of years ago, but that did not frighten the noble families in Hebei and the Central Plains.

This time, if Liu family wins, the Han Dynasty will be revived, and if Yuan family wins, Zhong family will replace Liu Han. The winner will sweep the world and establish eternal peace, while the loser will go from bad to worse and perish in a flash.

At a time when people's hearts were in turmoil, Xun Yu, who was far away in Qingzhou, wrote many letters to Liu Bei, urging him to return to Qingzhou as soon as possible and rely on his own prestige to stay in Pingyuan County to quickly stabilize the whole country.

Liu Bei also assured him that no matter whether the southern princes were weakened or not, he would lead his troops back to Qingzhou within two months.

Time is limited, and the army needs to rest, so the army must return north by mid-May at the latest. Before that, all matters, big and small, in Yuzhou and Xuzhou must be properly handled.

After Liu Bei finished thinking, he bowed and smiled at the three people, "Thanks to Zijing and Gongjin, and Changwen's reminder, otherwise I would have underestimated the enemy and made a rash move."

The three of them did not dare to accept the gift and could not help but avoid it.

"Sir, the Yellow Turban bandits are nothing to worry about. The only one to worry about is Yuan Shu in Huainan. If we can defeat Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, Qiao Rui and others who are famous in Huainan, we will be able to intimidate several counties in Huainan and make the Yuan family of Runan dare not act rashly and spy on Yuzhou and Xuzhou."

"Now Yuan Shu has sent Sun Bofu and Zhang Xun to attack Xiang County, Qiao Rui stationed troops in Xiacai to protect Shouchun, and sent Ji Ling to take advantage of the gap when Yangzhou Governor Liu Zhengli mobilized soldiers from Wan County and Xunyang to Yuzhang County to resist Cao Mengde. When the gap is empty, he will lead his troops from Juchao to attack the two counties and take the entire Lujiang County."

"In my opinion, except for Sun Ce and Ji Ling, all the generals under Yuan Gonglu are useless and can only serve one person, but not capable of leading an army. After you defeat the Yellow Turbans in Qiao County, you can lead the army straight to Jiujiang, defeat Zhang and Qiao, and march to Shouchun to intimidate the southeast."

Zhou Yu bowed and said. With the information channel of Lujiang Zhou, Zhou Yu knew everything about the three princes of Yangzhou, and answered all questions fluently, especially the abilities and personalities of the generals and officials under Yuan Shu, which he had already mastered thoroughly.

He was not familiar with the Yellow Turbans of Runan, but when it came to Yangzhou, Zhou Gongjin could tell everything about it. He could make a detailed analysis of the character and abilities of anyone who was slightly famous and provide effective countermeasures.

This is also the reason why Liu Bei valued Zhou Yu. With the secret allegiance of the Lujiang Zhou family, the fog of war of Yuan Shu's forces has no effect on him. It is like opening a divine eye to see Huainan. As long as Zhou's actions are not discovered, Liu Xuande will soon know about any movement of Yuan Shu's army.

After hearing this, Lu Su couldn't help but sigh slightly. This was the aristocratic family that had been rooted for many years. The Lu family was only rooted in one county, while the Zhou family was spread all over Huainan.

The gap between the rural nobles and the gentry is like the gap from the sky to the bottom of a deep pool. If it were in normal times, I am afraid that they would not be able to catch up even in a hundred years.

If you hadn't been born in a turbulent time, how would you have had the opportunity to witness the power of the wealthy and powerful?
Lu Su looked at Zhou Yu on his left, then at Chen Qun on his right. When Chen Qun saw Lu Zijing looking at him, he smiled and nodded slightly to him.

Although I don't know what Lu Su is thinking, I can guess it a little bit at this moment.

Not to mention it before, now that he is serving under Lord Xuande, the prominent family of Yingchuan only gives him a good background. If he wants to be one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers in the future, he will have to rely on his own abilities.

Thinking about the monthly audit matters handed down by the Qingzhou officials, Chen Qun couldn't help but have a headache. If he were to come last, it would be a disgrace to the Chen family of Yingchuan, his grandfather, his lord, and his uncle. It would be better for him to be born into a wealthy family in the countryside, at least he would not have such a heavy burden.

Chen Qun couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat when he thought of beating a drum in front of the county government every month to announce the performance points of all officials in the county, and making those who ranked last known to the public.

I was afraid that others would point fingers and say, "Who is the last one in this ranking?"

"Don't you know this? This is the grandson of the famous scholar Taiqiu Chang, and the son of Chen Ji, who was also known as Chen Zi. The three Chens were all famous in the world, but it was a pity that they gave birth to an unworthy child, which brought shame to the Chen family and made the Chen family a laughing stock in Yingchuan. If I had a son like this, I would drown him in the toilet at night."

Many images flashed through Chen Qun's mind and he shuddered several times.

For the sons of the gentry who valued their reputation, and even the descendants of the prominent families among the gentry, it was more painful than killing them to bring humiliation to their elder relatives because of their incompetence as officials but be unable to refute.

There are fewer things to enjoy in the first place. When they see other children of noble families disgraced as officials in various places, the news will spread like wildfire among the nobles all over the world. It will be recorded in documents by some idle talkers. Even if their names are not recorded in history a hundred years later, they will leave a bad reputation in the world.

Chen Qun was frustrated and thought to himself, "Who on earth is giving advice to Lord Xuande? Why didn't Xun Wenruo and Xun Gongda stop it? Instead, they implemented this law everywhere. I'm afraid that those who don't have talent and virtue among the gentry won't dare to serve as officials..."

I couldn't help but think: "Could it be that the two Xuns are trying to reduce the number of officials in the counties?"

Then they should have taken action against the powerful families, why did they quietly turn their spearheads towards the gentry?

This practice has the greatest impact on prominent families with ancient books passed down from generation to generation. Previously, all sons and daughters of the family could become officials, but now mediocre people cannot become officials unless they are willing to give up their reputation.

(End of this chapter)