Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 213: The Heart of the Nobles
The land measurement in Xuzhou led to the rise of powerful people, which was like a stone that caused a thousand ripples in the world.

The news spread widely among the nobles and wealthy families in various states and counties. Some people with bad intentions secretly made fun of the fact that Xuzhou was about to be turned upside down and wondered how Liu Xuande would end up. He would not lose Xuzhou in disgrace and flee back to his Qingzhou.

When the news reached Hebei, Yuan Shao could not help but say to his many staff members with great joy: "Nearly a hundred noble families in Xuzhou have rebelled against Liu Xuande. Now he can no longer hold on to Xuzhou. If Xuzhou is lost, how can the food and grass reserves of Qingzhou and Yanzhou be used to compete with our Jizhou and Youzhou? The matter of Guangdutian is enough to make him lose the hearts of the scholars in Hebei."

"In the battle of Hebei, our Yuan clan will surely win a great victory, and then we will stabilize the world and support the Han Dynasty."

Yuan Shao's thinking was not unreasonable. The power of the world was in the hands of the gentry and the wealthy families. The gentry at this moment was different from the wealthy families in that they held a large number of retainers. Although the gentry served as officials in various parts of the world, recommended each other, and intermarried with each other, they paid more attention to interpreting the classics handed down by their clans to facilitate their service as officials. They had far fewer retainers and servants than the wealthy families.

This is also the reason why the gentry produced officials of the rank of Two Thousand Stone and Three Dukes in the world, because they focused their minds on studying the "classics". As for the wealthy families who might be lucky enough to produce officials of the rank of Two Thousand Stone, they could just be happy about it.

The gentry served as officials throughout the country, while the wealthy served as local officials.

Ever since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the gentry had been living a miserable life. When the princes from the Guandong region went to fight against Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo sent his army to Yingchuan and dealt a severe blow to the gentry, making them suddenly realize that the world was in complete chaos.

In the past, they focused on classics and neglected the training of their troops. They could only survive by relying on the princes. Otherwise, if they encountered a crude and vulgar warrior like Dong Zhuo, they would have no choice but to be killed and slaughtered.

The most famous person in the world was Yuan Benchu ​​of the Yuan family at that time. As a result, Jizhou was full of followers of scholars at that time. In addition, Yuan's disciples and former officials were spread all over the world, and they had connections with almost all the noble families, big and small.

Even the gentry far away in Yuzhou ran to Yecheng, and some even moved there with their entire families. Until now, compared with other places, Hebei has the largest number of gentry serving as officials. There are so many that they have to compete for all kinds of interests. With so many people and limited resources, one cannot even get a position as a filial and honest official if they do not fight hard.

Just when many nobles thought that the situation in Hebei would continue, Liu Xuande of Qingzhou emerged as a dark horse. Not only did he force the princes to flee in fear, but he also beat the two Yuans in the north and the south so badly that they lost all their face.

As soon as Liu Bei appeared, he was invincible and victorious. After he recaptured Luoyang and offered sacrifices to the ancestral temple, his prestige reached its peak in the hearts of the gentry.

The emperor fled to Xijing in a hurry. When the country was in danger, who could return to the old capital to support the ancestral temple?

Two hundred years ago it was Emperor Guangwu, so this time...

Compared with the lineage of Emperor Xiaoling, which had brought disgrace upon the emperor, the sudden emergence of Liu Xuande made the eyes of the gentry in the world light up instantly, and they saw the dawn of pacifying the troubled times.

Compared to following the Yuan family and competing with others here, it is better to follow the old boss Liu family. After all, their ancestors were all Han officials. If given a choice, who wouldn't want to continue to be a Han official?

They are not powerful people and it doesn't matter. They have read so many classics on governing the country. Some of their clans are known as role models for the world, so they still care about their face.

What's more, there were still vacancies for the three dukes and nine ministers in the new dynasty. Therefore, many scholars who failed to pass the exam wanted to resign and return home, but they were restrained in Hebei by Yuan Shao's law. Although they did not dare to resist openly, they secretly hoped that the royal army would recapture Hebei as soon as possible and let them return to the Han Dynasty.

How could Yuan Benchu ​​not know about this undercurrent? On the one hand, the law was revised to stipulate that one could not resign from office unless it was the death of a close relative. On the other hand, even if one was to take up a post in another place, he could not bring his family with him. This effectively curbed the unrest among the people in Hebei.

Now that Liu Xuande dared to do this to the powerful families, the powerful families who had occupied countless pieces of land in Hebei would have to fight to the death.

With the full support of these powerful families, plus the support of the gentry, it was enough to confront Liu Bei head-on. How could Yuan Shao not be happy? "Mr. Yuan, Liu Xuande thinks he has the ability of Guangwu. He is now stubborn and self-righteous. The momentum of the Xuzhou land survey is so great that it can be said that he is against the will of the people. Liu Bei will be defeated by Mr. Yuan."

Chunyu Qiong walked out of his seat, first bowed, then shook his head and commented.

"Mr. Yuan, Zhong Jian's words are wrong. Liu Xuande is a hero. Even in adversity, he should not be easily ignored. Moreover, if Liu Xuande succeeds in measuring the land, with hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile land in Xuzhou, he will surely produce countless millet next year. By then, Liu will be strong and Yuan will be weak. The only way now is to act early, head west to respect the emperor, and use justice to check and balance Liu Bei."

Tian Feng couldn't stand Chunyu Qiong deceiving Yuan Gong again, so he stood up and bowed to give him some advice.

Unfortunately, he underestimated Chunyu Qiong's position in Yuan Shao's heart and overestimated his own weight.

Yuan Shao's face suddenly turned cold, and he pointed his finger at Tian Feng and said coldly, "Tian Beijia, whether Liu Xuande is a hero of the time, you don't need to publicize it in the hall. Whether Tian Jun is the Beijia of Jizhou or the Beijia of Qingzhou, I hope you will think carefully about it."

"Mr. Yuan, I am devoted to the Yuan family. How could I betray you? Every word I say is from the bottom of my heart. I am really worried and planning for you. How can those flatterers compare to me?"

Tian Feng remained firm and stood up, bowed and said.

Ever since the Yuan family took control of Hebei, Tian Feng has been running around for Yuan Gong. When Geng Wu and Min Chun, subordinates of Jizhou Governor Han Fu, resisted with knives, it was he who executed the two. He also took the lead in pacifying the officials, which enabled the Yuan family to successfully control Jizhou.

I didn't expect that today, Mr. Yuan would say such chilling words.

In a hurry, Tian Feng blurted out some words that he had kept in his heart for a long time.

Chunyu Qiong, who had not yet taken his seat, looked greatly dissatisfied. Feng Ji, who was sitting next to him, was also quite dissatisfied, thinking that Tian Feng's words were suggestive.

Thinking of the private grudge between the two, Feng Ji immediately saluted to Yuan Shao and said, "Mr. Yuan, the most important thing right now is to stabilize the people's hearts in Hebei so that we can lead the army to fight Liu Xuande to determine the world. Although Tian Biejia is stubborn, he still has good intentions. As the saying goes, every inch has its own strengths and weaknesses, and every thing has its own shortcomings. People who are rigid do not know how to be flexible. Even if he made a mistake and disrupted the morale of the army, please remember Mr. Tian's past contributions and don't blame him."

"Feng Yuantu, what grudge do I have against you that you have to slander me like this?" How could Tian Feng not hear that Feng Ji seemed to be speaking for him, but was actually adding insult to injury, and directly accused him of disturbing the morale of the army, for fear that Lord Yuan would bear a grudge against him.

I have only reported you for being unfair in your administration twice. If you are truly a famous and upright person, why would you blame me?

Tian Feng also turned sideways and glared at Feng Ji.

"Mr. Yuan, the people of Hebei have long been afraid of Liu Xuande's military might. Now Tian Biejia is doing his utmost to promote Liu Bei. If he is not punished, I am afraid that after today, the rumors that Liu is strong and Yuan is weak will be spread to the public, and it is feared that the people of Hebei will be hard to win over."

Chunyu Qiong sighed quietly and bowed.

They looked as if they were being wronged but were still willing to offer advice to Lord Yuan. There was nothing they could do since they were outsiders. Even they were old ministers and were not taken seriously by the Hebei gentry.

(End of this chapter)