Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 351 Xu Shu: I'm really angry
In a tavern more than 20 miles away from Xiangyang City in Jingzhou, the cold wind was blowing against the skin and there was rain and snow, but inside it was like a warm stove with firewood burning in the stove with crackling sounds.

Many scholars sat together and talked to each other, laughing and chatting, pouring wine to each other while talking, making it very lively.

I heard the cold wind howling outside, blowing against the roof.

A scholar wearing a turban on his head clasped his hands and laughed, "The cold winter has arrived, and the north wind is so cold and chilling. In my opinion, Hebei will not be able to resist the Han army."

"I'm afraid it won't be long before the Han army marches south to Jingzhou. It looks like we will have to flee the chaos and return to our hometown."

When a scholar heard his companions talking about Liu Bei, he could not help but praise them: "Guangyuan is right. If the King of Han had not braved the arrows and stones and raised his three-foot sword to pacify the world, I don't know how long the Central Plains and Hebei would have fought. In my opinion, the only hero in the world is the King of Han. The other princes are not worthy of being compared with him."

"It's a pity that I can't go back to my hometown, otherwise I would go back with you. I heard that Nanyang County will examine the county officials, township officials, and prefect Zhang Yide has written to the King of Han to increase the number of clerks in various government offices by 600. I plan to compete with the sons of the Nanyang nobles and aristocratic families. If I return home without success, please don't laugh at me."

Wearing a Confucian cap, Xu Shu no longer looked as brave and aggressive as he used to be. Instead, he seemed gentle and kind. He made arrangements in advance to avoid being laughed at by his friends in the future.

With a slightly red face, Xu Shu glanced at his good friends who were sitting together drinking, including Shi Guangyuan from Yingchuan, Cui Zhouping from Boling, and Meng Gongwei from Runan. Unfortunately, one person was missing.

Langya Zhuge Kongming was called away early by his uncle because he was young, which made Xu Shu very depressed.

Kong Ming is about to get married, why is his uncle still so strict? The four of them are good friends and not those who only care about food and drink, so why not let Kong Ming interact with them?

It’s really infuriating to think about it.

Xu Shu was feeling depressed and picked up the wine jar again. He took a big sip and instantly felt refreshed. It turned out that if he wanted to relieve his worries, he had to drink good wine.

"Why is Yuanzhi drinking so much? Is he worried that he will fail the examination next year?"

Seeing Xu Shu drinking alone, Meng Jian couldn't help but asked with a smile.

After pondering for a moment, he continued, "If the King of Han had not further reformed the official system after Zuo Gong, no matter if they were from a wealthy family, aristocratic family, a poor family, or even a small official in the countryside, they could all be promoted and appointed to positions, without having to compete with the county for one or two positions for filial and honest officials every year. This would be a blessing for the world."

"Otherwise, with our ordinary backgrounds, how can we compete with the many noble families in Nanyang County? Even the children of the Yin family and the Deng family must also be examined without any favoritism or corruption. Only Governor Zhang can use his status to forcibly suppress the Nanyang clan and give the scholars from other places a chance."

Shi Tao, Cui Jun, and Xu Shu all nodded.

This is true. If someone else were the prefect, it would be difficult to deal with the Yin family's descendants. However, Zhang Yide was able to not give face to any clan. Even if the quarrel came to Madam Yin, Zhang Fei was not afraid. At most he would just be scolded.

Xu Shu smiled and raised the wine jar, shaking his head a little, and then said: "Gong Wei's words must be right, and what he said makes sense. I will drink another bottle of wine for this!"

"Hahaha, that's very good."

"Yuanzhi's words are exactly what I want!"

"Yuanzhi, I think you want to drink. Ever since Zhuge scolded you, you have been unhappy. Are you trying to drink to forget your sorrow? What should you tell Kongming to do? Aren't you afraid that he will feel guilty?"

A group of people were chatting happily in the wine shop when they suddenly heard someone riding a horse outside, shouting loudly: "Your Majesty, you have defeated the Hebei army and taken over Jizhou and Youzhou. The world will be pacified in no time."

The reason why there were knights to deliver the news was that Liu Bei had horses in all the inns, pavilions, and post offices in the counties. As long as there was important news, he would send people to deliver it to various places where people gathered to spread the news. When the Han army took Nanyang County, they intended to let Wen Pin go, and Wen Pin knew this.

When he led his troops to retreat, he did not send anyone to burn down the relay stations, post stations, or pavilions in Nanyang.

Except for some places that needed to be added, many places did not need to be rebuilt, thus saving a lot of money and manpower. In addition to receiving state documents, news could also be spread faster along the way.

Once the notice is issued, the people of Jingzhou will not be kept in the dark by Liu Biao.

As the knight rode closer and closer, many people in the tavern immediately clapped their hands and cheered: "Good, good, good!"

"It seems that the time for the King of Han to pacify the world is not far away. Soon we will no longer have to suffer from war, and everyone will no longer have to be displaced."

At other tables in the tavern, scholars in fur robes were also discussing and laughing.

As a result, someone immediately interrupted him and advised with a wry smile: "Fortunately, you are not in Jiangling, Nanjun, otherwise you would be caught by the servants and thrown into prison to see if you are a spy sent from Nanyang."

"Although Liu Jingsheng has a good temperament, he would be unhappy to hear someone dare to speak openly about the decline of Jingzhou. He should be more careful and not speak out of turn."

The scholar in fur robes was not afraid at all and said solemnly: "The King of Han is now so powerful that he can pacify the world. Hebei has been taken, the two Yuans have been eliminated, and there are only a few powerful princes left. If the King of Han marches into Jingzhou next year, Liu Jingsheng will not be able to resist and will surrender soon."

"Once Jingzhou was lost, Jiangdong was difficult to defend. The Han army then attacked Jiangdong along the Yangtze River and finally took Jiaozhou. The war in Guandong was completely settled."

"Since Emperor Xiaoling passed away in Luoyang, the country has been in turmoil and war has never stopped. Now it is finally coming to an end."

"Right now, the people are longing for peace and their hearts are with us. This trend is hard to reverse and cannot be shaken by people like Liu Jingsheng."

In just a few words, he made his companion speechless. In the end, he could only smile bitterly and said, "Zhengping, in terms of integrity, I am far inferior to you."

"But you still have to remember that when you travel around the world, you must never be disrespectful to others, otherwise you will bring disaster upon yourself."

The scholar in the fur robe just smiled and said nothing more.

He was from Ban County, Pingyuan Commandery. When the Yellow Turbans attacked Qingzhou, the governors of various counties were panicked and fled far away. Ni Heng was among them. Although his family's farmland had been confiscated by the King of Han, he did not care much.

He still traveled around the world on his own two legs and an old horse. Even after the Central Plains was pacified, someone from his clan wrote to him asking him to go for investigation, but he was unwilling to do so. Even though he believed that Lord Xuande was a benevolent ruler of the world, he still refused to bow down.

Now that I have traveled all the way south to Jingzhou, how could I be afraid of a man like Liu Biao who only seeks fame for nothing? A real man should be upright in character when walking between heaven and earth. How can I not speak my mind and heart because of other people's preferences?

Even in front of Liu Jingsheng, he dared to say this. If the other party wanted to kill him, then he could kill him. There was no need to be afraid.

Ni Heng was so frank and sincere in his confession to his companion that Xu Shu in the tavern could not help but look back at him and thought to himself, "This man is quite quick-witted and courageous."

(End of this chapter)