Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 41: Innovation
Liu Bei didn't expect that just after finishing his business and returning to his mansion, he met Xun Wenruo in the Pingyuan County Government of Qingzhou under the introduction of his teacher Lu Zhi.

For a moment, I couldn't hide my surprise.

If we talk about a rare minister of talent in the later period, it was none other than Kong Ming.

The only person who can be singled out for mention in the early period is Xun Yu, a talented person who assisted the king.

Throughout his life, he was unable to make a choice between the Han Dynasty and Cao Cao, and finally died before Cao Mengde was crowned Duke.

Cao Cao was a very confused and petty person at times. He would kill anyone regardless of their past contributions.

Let’s not mention Xu You.

The aide Lou Gui made great contributions when defeating Ma Chao, but he lost his life because of some gossip.

After Cui Yan was unjustly killed by Cao Cao, Mao Jie, a former important minister, was dissatisfied and was imprisoned, almost following in Cao Cao's footsteps.

In contrast, Liu Bei's subordinates would not easily kill ministers even if they were guilty. The only death of Wei Yan was caused by Yang Yi's private order.

Wei Zheng, a remonstrant minister in the Tang Dynasty, happened to meet Li Shimin. If he had met Cao Mengde, he would have died many times.

Liu Bei never thought that Xun Yu would come to Qingzhou.

He had wanted to win over the nobles in earlier years, but later he saw that the powerful families decided who to associate with based on one's family background, let alone the nobles with great reputation?

So he gave up the plan.

To hammer iron, one must be strong himself. As long as your power grows bigger and bigger, you will naturally not be afraid of not having people come to join you.

There are very few people who are willing to help others in times of need, while everyone is only keen on adding icing on the cake.

Only when fame is transformed into reputation can one be considered to have a place among the gentry.

If they could prove their ability through certain things and spread it throughout the world, it would naturally come into their consideration.

The elders within the aristocratic clan would discuss and decide whether it was worthwhile to join them, and there were also considerations on which branch to join.

Now Liu Bei has been recommended as the governor of Qingzhou. Judging from his achievements in suppressing the Yellow Turbans, he has proven his ability.

In addition, he had the support of Lu Zhi, a great scholar and respected figure in the country, which to some extent made up for his lack of background.

He was half a step ahead of the other two. One was Cao Cao, who was still the prefect of Dongjun, and the other was Sun Jian, the former prefect of Changsha. Unfortunately, Sun Jian is no longer with us.

Liu Bei still felt sorry for Sun Wentai.

But there was no friendship between the two men, and the north and the south were too far apart. By the time Sun Jian heard the news, he might have been walking a long way in his nine springs.

Xun Yu observed Liu Bei, but found that he could not tell his true nature.

Based on what he heard and saw along the way from Gaotang to Pingyuan, he could tell from the small details that Liu Bei was a man with great ambitions.

By winning people's hearts through personal actions, both the nobles and the common people will be willing to follow him.

Winning people's hearts is not an easy task. It is complicated and involves different interests. It is even more extraordinary to be able to sort out the mysteries.

Xun Yu heard many things from Lu Gong, which were all refreshing to him.

Since you are here, why not meet Liu Xuande, one of the heroes of the world.

While Lu Zhi was still thinking about how to introduce him, Xun Yu took the initiative to ask Liu Bei for advice in person, and Liu Bei readily agreed.

This made Lu Zhi's words useless and caught him off guard.

"Lord Xuande defeated the Yellow Turbans several times and his reputation shook the world and spread throughout the country. Many people at that time praised him, and all the counties near Qingzhou admired him." Xun Yu saluted first, then continued to praise.

Liu Bei smiled and said, "You are overpraising me. I am ashamed to say that I cannot compare to the leader Yuan and the governors of various states who fought against Dong Kuanghan. They were full of passion, loyalty and courage."

Although I already knew what Yuan Shao and his gang were like, I still pretended not to understand.

After all, he was thousands of miles away and had no old friends in the allied army. It would be strange if he acted as if he knew everything about the world.

What's more, some things are extremely secretive.

If it weren't for coming from later generations, who could guess what these princes really thought.

Liu Bei did not even reveal to his teacher Lu Zhi what kind of moral character the princes of the world had. Xun Yu was speechless.

How did we come to Qingzhou? Everyone thought that the coalition of princes was united in fighting against Dong Zhuo for the imperial court?
Xun Yu sighed in his heart: "How many people in the world are deceived by Yuan Shao's appearance? Only after they really meet him can they see that he is strong on the outside but weak on the inside."

I couldn't help but say solemnly: "Mr. Liu, don't be too modest. I have seen and heard a lot. Many things are not superficial. Wait for the future, and the world will naturally see who is the loyal and good person in the court."

Then, he said confidently: "From Lord Xuande's governance and his love for the people, it can be seen from his various behaviors that he must have ambitions. May I ask how you view the danger of the world?"

Liu Bei heard this and said with a smile: "The rise and fall of the world is in the normal course of things. Order and chaos follow each other. It can be said that this is a natural law. Over the past three dynasties, there has been order after chaos."

Xun Yu nodded. His ancestor Xunzi also said that the laws of nature are constant and do not exist for the sake of Yao or die for the sake of Jie.

Everything in the world has its own rules.

But this was not the answer he was looking for.

Xun Yu asked: "How can we turn danger into safety and make the signs of decline into prosperity? Is it power, strategy, or the truth?"

Liu Bei did not answer directly.

Instead, he responded by quoting other people's words: "A good cook changes his knife every year to cut. A poor cook changes his knife every month to break. Now I have used a knife for 19 years, slaughtered thousands of cattle, and the blade is still as good as new."

Some chefs change their knives once a year, and use them carefully to cut meat, while some chefs change their knives every month, and use them brutely to chop bones.

And he is not just the same as both.

Liu Bei smiled and explained: "Things in the world are complicated, but if you master the rules, you can use them easily."

Xun Yu vaguely understood what was said, and asked again with some excitement: "How do we master the laws of this world?"

Liu Bei smiled and pointed outside.

Xun Yu frowned at first, but then he suddenly realized that Liu Xuande in front of him could govern Qingzhou in an orderly manner.

It can maintain the interests of all parties and make people have no complaints.

Isn't this the ability to rule the world?

Thinking of this, Xun Yu's eyes were filled with mixed emotions.

Liu Bei continued, "The world is a world of yin and yang, and rise and fall are also in transition. The key is whether there are people who can master and operate it properly, and then they can survive from a desperate situation."

Xun Yu also knew that the Book of Changes emphasizes the combination of hardness and softness.

But what should be done?
Moreover, Liu Bei was not interested in learning as rumored, and only liked dogs, horses, music, and beautiful clothes, which was totally inconsistent with the rumors!

From my ancestor Xunzi to Zhuang Zhou, and from Zhuang Zhou to the Book of Changes.

This caused Xun Yu to fall behind several times and he had to stop and think for a moment, thinking about the source of the classics.

Where did Liu Xuande get such knowledge... Who is the talented person who can assist the king?
Xun Yu thought to himself why it felt like the Liu family's background was more like that of an aristocratic family than that of the Xun family.

Could it be that Mr. Lu’s knowledge is more profound than this?

I don’t know what Xun Yu is thinking.

Liu Bei then smiled and said, "This is easy. There are many accumulated drawbacks. We just need to seek truth from facts and bring forth new ideas. If we pick up old things and use them for the present, it will easily lead to frequent disasters."

He added: "How can I honor you with this title? Since you are already familiar with me, you can just call me Xuande."

"Observe what people say and do, and there is nothing to hide from them. If new things can be done effectively, Wen may as well stay and observe the changes in Qingzhou, and then he will know."

“I know that Master Lu likes to praise me in front of others. I believe that a hero must have great ambitions, a good plan to save the world, and a will to contain the universe and swallow up the world.

Liu Bei is still far away now. How about waiting for a few decades, when the country is prosperous and the people are safe, and then discussing this world's heroes with Wen Ruo?"

Liu Bei said sincerely with a smile in his eyes.

　Thanks to Wuweishanren, Reincarnated Smile, and 20190818100953405 book friends for their monthly tickets.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)