The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 159: Tigers and wolves run wildly against each other, and foxes and demons bully each other

When talking about Zhang Xiu's issue, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

At this time, Cao Cao did not know that Zhang Xiu had been secretly communicating with Xuzhou. He only thought that Li Yi made this arrangement for strategic considerations.

Li Yi said sternly:
"Hebei is now very powerful. Even if we join forces with Henan, we may not have much chance of winning."

"Zhang Xiu rose up from Liang Province with his bravery and he has many strong men under his command. If we can recruit them as reinforcements, we can take over the troops in Hebei together."

"It is a blessing for Henan."

Li Yi formally proposed to Cao Cao to bring Zhang Xiu into the anti-Yuan alliance.

Although Zhang Xiu had a grudge against Cao Cao for killing his son, Cao Cao did not immediately raise any objections at this moment.

By this age, Cao Cao had already become a mature politician.

When politicians think about issues, they only consider interests, not emotions.

In the Battle of Yushui, Zhang Xiu demonstrated his outstanding bravery and command ability.

Cao Cao witnessed it with his own eyes and knew how powerful he and his troops were.

If we can really get him into the anti-Yuan alliance, then the chances of winning against Yuan Shao will increase a little bit.

"Fengxiao, what do you think of this proposal?"

Cao Cao still asked Guo Jia for his opinion first.

Guo Jia said solemnly:
"Zhang Xiu is a local warrior who managed to survive in this chaotic world. He is just a hero, so why should we worry about him?"

"If you can put aside the past grudges, recruit his troops to surrender, and bring him together to fight against Yuan Shao."

"After Yuan Shao is destroyed, we will attack all of Hebei."

"The survival of Zhang Xiu in Nanyang depends entirely on your decision."

What this means is that Yuan Shao is currently the biggest enemy.

Cao Cao should unite all forces that can be united.

As long as he destroyed Yuan Shao, annexed his territory and political legacy, he would be able to strengthen his own power.

What kind of threat could a mere Zhang Xiu pose by then?

With Guo Jia's assurance and Li Yi's analysis, Cao Cao said:
"...Good, since Xuande and Mr. Li have said so, how can I be a petty person?"

"Then I submitted a petition to the court, requesting that Zhang Xiu be made General Yangwu."

"Next year or the year after, if we really want to mobilize troops in Hebei, we must let Zhang Xiu lead his troops across the Yellow River."

With Liu Bei and Xuzhou as guarantees, Cao Cao believed that Zhang Xiu would not dare to stab him in the back.

But he still required Zhang Xiu to participate in the war against Yuan in the future.

After all, Zhang Xiu was not far away, and most of his men were cavalry, so it was not a problem for them to rush to the Hebei front to join the war.

The Zhang Xiu issue is resolved.

Cao Cao also discussed with Liu Bei the proposal to strengthen cooperation between Yan and Xu states.

It was even proposed that Yanzhou and Xuzhou hold a joint military exercise in Baima County next year, mainly to demonstrate to Hebei.

……

at the same time,

Just after Cao and Liu had secretly arranged the forces in the north and south.

Liu Biao of Jingzhou was also speeding up his actions.

Any prince with a little political acumen could realize that things have been getting increasingly unstable in recent years and that something big was about to happen.

Not long ago, he received a proposal from Liu Xun of Lujiang to surrender the city.

Although Liu Biao knew that Liu Xun was a two-faced person, he did not want to miss the opportunity to get involved in Yangzhou.

He sent Huang Zu of Jiangxia to ask Liu Xun for Xunyang County in Lujiang, an important gateway to Jing and Yang states.

To Liu Biao's surprise, Liu Xun agreed very readily.

He expressed his willingness to cede Xunyang County, but to show his sincerity, Jingzhou had to buy it with 300,000 hu of grain.

Only then did Liu Biao realize that Liu Xun couldn't make it anymore and came to him to buy land.

But this also once again confirmed the statement of the counselor Kuai Yue, "Although Liu Xun is stronger than those between the Jiang and Huai regions, food is scarce."

Liu Xun had a large army but could not afford to feed them, so he wanted to cling to Liu Biao and ask for support.

This was not a difficult task for Liu Biao.

After all, Liu Biao’s favorite thing is to spend his own money to buy other people’s blood.

He had already kept a mistress named Zhang Xiu in Nanyang to guard the north gate of Jingzhou for him.

What's wrong with keeping another Liu Xun as your sponsor to guard the east gate of Jingzhou?

However, Liu Biao did not want to be a scapegoat. He was sure that Liu Xun was short of food and the initiative was in Jingzhou.

So he sent someone to bargain with Liu Xun, saying that he was only willing to give 100,000 hu of grain.

And the food will only be given after Xunyang is delivered.

Liu Xun was not stupid either. He knew that the most valuable place in his Lujiang was Xunyang.

It’s not how rich this place is, but its geographical location is important, especially for Liu Biao of Jingzhou.

So the two began bargaining again.

At this time, Cao Cao's men came to persuade Liu Xun to surrender the city to him.

That’s right, Cao Cao did not want to send troops to Lujiang.

On the one hand, it is to prepare for the war against Yuan Shao next year or the year after.

On the other hand, Cao Cao and Liu Xun had an old acquaintance and their relationship was pretty good.

So Cao Cao wanted to try his luck and persuade Liu Xun to surrender to him.

After all, the Art of War states, "To conquer the enemy without fighting is the best of all tactics."

Moreover, Cao Cao was confident that Liu Xun would submit to him.

After all, his forces were too weak and he occupied half of Lujiang. He had to either submit to Liu Bei or to Sun Ce.

But he also owned half of Lujiang and had an old relationship with Liu Xun.

Given the choice between three, there was no reason for Liu Xun not to choose himself.

But what Cao Cao never expected was that Liu Xun chose four - Liu Biao of Jingzhou.

According to historical records, Liu Xun did voluntarily surrender to Cao Cao.

But Cao Cao was not Liu Xun's first choice.

Liu Xun's first choice has always been Liu Biao.

Historically, he decided to cling to Liu Biao because he could not defeat Sun Ce.

As a result, Liu Biao sent people to help, but still failed to defeat Sun Ce.

Liu Xun had no choice but to go north to join Cao Cao.

However, Sun Ce in this dimension is far less powerful than in history, and the forces around Huainan are also more complex and changeable.

This gave Liu Xun a sense of luck, thinking that perhaps he could use the power of other princes to his advantage and gain the support of both sides to preserve his Lujiang.

Being a slave to others is no match for being a king.

Cao Cao took the initiative to extend an olive branch to Liu Xun, which allowed Liu Xun to seize the opportunity.

He once again issued an ultimatum to Liu Biao, stating that if Liu Biao did not immediately agree to provide food, he would go north to join Cao Cao.

He also sent the letters sent to him by Cao Cao to Jingzhou and showed them to Liu Biao.

This move was indeed effective. Liu Biao was really afraid that Liu Xun would defect to Cao Cao. After all, he occupied Lujiang in the north and had the advantage of being close to the water and getting the moon first.

He then discussed with Liu Xun again and decided to give him 50,000 hu of grain first.

After taking Xunyang and the Jingzhou troops have fully settled in, the remaining 50,000 hu of grain will be delivered.

Liu Xun knew that this was Liu Biao's bottom line, so he stopped testing him further.

The two finally reached an agreement, and Liu Xun officially surrendered to Jingzhou in Lujiang in the south and became a vassal of Liu Biao.

Liu Biao's expansion path also made new progress, and he successfully established his own power in Yangzhou.

But then, there was a problem that gave him an even bigger headache.

Liu Xun surrendered to him, and Lujiang became his sphere of influence.

But what's the price?

The imperial court personally appointed Xiahou Dun as the governor of Lujiang, and Cao Cao had long regarded Lujiang as his own exclusive territory.

Lujiang is in Cao's pocket and a garden of flowers in the back.

Liu Xun was also a person that Cao Cao had been recruiting.

Now that I have intervened and accepted Liu Xun first, will Cao Cao let it go?
If Cao Cao was provoked and sent troops to southern Lujiang, Liu Xun would definitely not be able to stop him.

When the time comes, should I save him or not?

If he were to rescue him, he would be dragged into the war with Cao Cao.

This went against Liu Biao's foreign policy of not letting Jingzhou participate in the war.

If I don't save him, then all my work will be in vain.

The Yangzhou forces that were built up with great difficulty were once again uprooted.

Based on this, Liu Biao summoned the ministers of Jingzhou to discuss the subsequent strategic plan for protecting Lujiang.

"Cao Cao regards Lujiang as something within his grasp. If I accept Liu Xun, I will certainly offend Cao Cao."

"This generation was defeated at the Yu River not long ago. The Cao family and I are already at loggerheads."

"We must make plans early. If you have any good ideas for me, please implement them as soon as possible."

Liu Biao looked around and looked at the four major families in Jingzhou, headed by Cai, Kuai, Pang and Huang.

The power of Jingzhou is basically in the hands of these four families.

Huang She, the governor of Zhangling, was the first to advise:
"Protecting Lujiang means protecting Jingzhou. Recently I heard that Sun Ce sent an envoy to the court to meet the emperor."

"I expect him to seek the land of Jiangdong. If Sun Ce takes over Jiangdong, our Jingzhou and Jiangxia will be in danger."

"Now we should make diplomatic relations with Cao Cao and Liu Bei, and then join forces with Liu Xun to deal with the Sun family. This is the best strategy for Jingzhou."

Huang She was the son of Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia, and also came from the Huang family, a prominent family in Jingzhou.

The father and son, one served as the prefect of Jiangxia and the other as the prefect of Zhangling, and both held military power. Their strength should not be underestimated.

Since Zhangling was adjacent to Xiangyang, Liu Biao also summoned Huang She to Xiangyang to discuss matters.

Firstly, it shows his respect for the Huang family, and secondly, Zhangling and Jiangxia are important war zones in Jingzhou.

Liu Biao must pay attention to this, and he knows that the Huang family must also attach great importance to it.

Once the order is issued,
Huang She represented the Huang family. They set out from Zhangling and arrived in almost one day.

Because his father Huang Zu once shot and killed Sun Jian, he had a grudge against Sun Ce for killing his father.

Once Sun Ce wanted to attack Jingzhou, the Jiangxia war zone located to the east of Jingzhou would be the first to bear the brunt.

This concerns the core interests of the Huang family, so Huang She must attach great importance to it. He rushed to Xiangyang to discuss the matter almost overnight.

"Of course I know the threat from Sun Ce, but this Xie'er is quite brave."

"I don't want Jingzhou to be dragged into the war."

Liu Biao expressed his attitude, "So I want to support Liu Xun with money and food."

"Send him out to intercept Sun Ce's troops at Pengze Lake and the mouth of the Yangtze River."

"Prevent them from crossing the river to Jingzhou."

"Jiangxia can send out warships and sailors to assist Liu Xun in Lujiang and train boatmen and sailors."

"I wonder what you think?"

It’s still the routine of spending money to buy blood, Liu Biao’s usual method.

Although he was asking "gentlemen" what they thought, his eyes were actually looking at Huang She.

Although the major families in Jingzhou did not have major conflicts on the surface, they were independent of each other and incompatible with each other.

Of course, this is also the result that Liu Biao hopes to see.

In this way, he could use the power of others to check and balance the major families, so as to avoid undermining his position as the lord of Jingzhou.

Since the Lujiang issue concerns the interests of the Huang family.

Then Liu Biao naturally discussed it with Huang She.

The counselor Kuai Yue stepped forward and said:

"If we can provide Liu Xun with money, food, and sailors, we should be able to stop the Jiangdong troops."

"But Mr. Huang's suggestion of making friends with Cao Cao and Liu Bei is really difficult to implement."

"Liu Bei trades with Jingzhou on the surface, but he has a military alliance with Cao Cao."

"Lujiang belongs to the Cao family. Now that Liu Xun has been accepted for no reason, how can Cao Cao let it go?"

"If they send more troops to Lujiang, they will go to war with Cao and Sun at the same time, which will not be a blessing for Jingzhou."

"And Liu Bei of Xuzhou may not be willing to break his alliance with Cao Cao for Jingzhou."

Kuai Yue pointed out the problem very clearly.

How can the trade alliance between Liu Biao and Liu Bei compare to the military alliance between Cao Cao and Liu Bei?
The two families are now in the same boat, and will definitely work together to deal with Yuan Shao in the future.

Given the current environment in Jingzhou, Xuzhou’s strategic value is definitely not as great as Cao Cao’s.

So rather than solving the Cao-Liu problem, it is better to solve the Cao Cao problem first.

As long as Cao Cao agreed, Liu Bei had no reason to disagree.

After all, Liu Bei had nothing to do with Lujiang.

But the problem is that Cao Cao would never agree.

He had just fought a battle with the guest generals hired by Liu Biao, and his eldest son and a general were killed.

Now, for him to give Lujiang to Jingzhou for nothing, Cao Cao would have to be crazy.

"This is difficult..."

Liu Biao stroked his forehead with a worried look on his face.

I couldn't find a good solution for the time being.

He himself still hopes to resolve the Lujiang issue through diplomatic means.

If Jingzhou can avoid being defeated, it should do so.

Huang She said loudly:

"If Cao Cao uses his troops in Lujiang, our Huang family is willing to go through fire and water for Jingzhou!"

When it comes to his family's interests, Huang She is very passionate.

"But if we have to resist the troops from both Cao and Sun at the same time, the front line will be in great trouble. We need to ask Xiangyang to provide us with some money and food."

The last sentence was Huang She’s real intention, to ask Liu Biao for money and food.

Although this reason is justified, after all, the Huang family is guarding the land for Liu Biao.

But it has not been said that it must be launched now. Even if there is a war in the future, it does not necessarily mean that we will go to war with both Cao and Sun at the same time.

This was the beginning of asking for money and food, which of course made Liu Biao unhappy.

His eyes wandered over the ministers and finally fell on the attendant Pang Ji.

"Minister Pang will surely have some good advice for me?"

Liu Biao pointed out Pang Ji.

This person came from the Xiangyang Pang family, one of the four major families in Jingzhou.

When Liu Bei rode alone into Jingzhou, he borrowed the power of the Pang and Kuai families.

After killing some local tyrants, he made himself famous in Jingzhou.

Pang Ji was the one who was responsible for going alone to persuade Zhang Hu and Chen Sheng to surrender.

Liu Biao knew that he was brave and resourceful, so he took the initiative to seek his opinion.

Pang Ji hesitated for a moment, then stepped out and said:
"Cao Cao is now powerful and Sun Ce is brave."

"You can only attack one at a time, never attack both at the same time."

Once these words were spoken, the answer was obvious.

It’s to deal with Sun Ce.

Although both of them had grudges against Cao Cao, Sun Ce's hatred was obviously deeper. Liu Biao could at least shift the blame for Cao Cao's killing of his son to Zhang Xiu.

"If this is the case, Minister Pang must have a plan to appease Cao Cao?"

Liu Biao asked again.

Pang Ji shook his head, "This is difficult..."

When everyone heard this, they all sneered.

Liu also seemed unhappy and was about to send him away.

Pang Ji then added:

"Although there is no way to appease Cao Cao, we can use external forces to check and balance Cao Cao."

"It's difficult for him to interfere in Liu Xun's affairs."

With external help?

Liu Biao wondered what external force Jingzhou could still rely on now?

Yuan Shao in the north, or Ma Teng and Han Sui who rose in the west?
"…It's Liu Bei of Xuzhou."

Pang Ji explained.

Huang She said with some disdain:
"Liu Bei has already signed a military alliance with Cao Cao. How could he offend Cao Cao for the sake of Liu Xun alone?"

Huang She specifically mentioned Liu Xun instead of Liu Biao.

After all, Liu Xun was just a vassal. If it involved the interests of Liu Biao and Jingzhou, there might be some value in negotiation.

But it is unlikely that Liu Bei would get involved in the affairs of a vassal.

"The world is bustling for profit, and the world is bustling for profit."

Pang Ji analyzed:
"As long as it is beneficial, I believe Liu Bei will be willing to come forward and guarantee Lujiang."

Liu Biao frowned and asked:
"Even if Liu Bei really came forward to guarantee Lujiang, how can Cao Cao be appeased?"

Pang Ji replied:
"That's what Liu Bei should worry about."

Yes, as long as Liu Bei comes forward to guarantee Lujiang, then it will be his business to appease Cao Cao.

Is it true?
Liu Biao asked:
"Minister Pang thought that it would take a lot of price to bring Liu Bei down."

Pang Ji frowned and sighed:
"Liu Xuande is known for his benevolence and righteousness. He can save people in times of emergency. It's not a big deal if he's the only one."

"It's his military advisor Li Yi, who always puts profit first."

"If we don't impress him first, it will be difficult to persuade Liu Bei to intervene in Lujiang's affairs."

Liu Biao also knew that Li Yi was difficult to deal with, so he could only say:

"Well, tell me, how much food do you need?"

Liu Ming understood clearly that the interests that Pang Ji was talking about were what Xuzhou needed most.

There is only money and food, especially food.

If the Cao-Liu alliance was determined to deal with Yuan Shao, then food and fodder would be the strategic materials that they would stockpile at all costs in the past two years.

“…It’s hard to say.”

"We have to wait until we meet Li Yi before we can have a face-to-face meeting."

Pang Ji looked embarrassed.

Whatever!

Liu Biao waved his sleeves and said, "Since Minister Pang has proposed this proposal, you will go to Xuzhou as an envoy and speak to Xuande for me."

After a slight pause and a little thought, he made a decision:
"As for the money and grain, Jingzhou can only provide 300,000 bushels of grain at most."

“This is my bottom line!”

"No matter how many, I would rather solve the Lujiang problem myself without Xuzhou intervening."

After the discussion, Pang Ji took the order, packed his bags, and prepared to take a boat to Xuzhou.

As for Huang She, the prefect of Zhangling, he also planned to return to his post after settling everything.

He had just arrived at the carriage prepared by the servants and was about to see a good friend, who waved at him with a smile.

Seeing this, Huang She also smiled happily and walked forward to greet the man.

"Why did Zhengping come to this?"

Huang She stepped forward and asked him.

It turns out that this person is the famous scholar in Qingzhou, Ni Heng and Ni Zhengping.

This young man is a talented person with great literary talent and eloquence.

However, he has a straight-forward and arrogant character, is overly critical, likes to point out current events, and looks down on others.

Despite this, he and Huang She are close friends.

Both of them enjoyed reading Cai Yong's articles.

Huang She particularly liked the inscription on Cai Yong, but he was unable to write it down.

Ni Heng said, "Although I only glanced at it, I can still recognize it, but the two characters on the stone are missing and I can't understand it."

So he wrote the article according to his own memory, and later Huang She sent someone to copy the inscription and brought it back.

It was exactly the same as what Ni Heng wrote, so Huang She admired Ni Heng even more.

The two became close friends.

"I came here to study. I heard that Brother Huang was in Xiangyang, so I came to meet him."

Ni Heng explained the reason to Huang She.

Huang She was delighted and held Ni Heng's hand and said:
"Zhengping is here to find me. How about going back to Zhangling with me and going on a trip together?"

“…Don’t worry.”

Ni Heng grinned and asked:

"I saw that Brother Huang abandoned his duties at Zhangling and rushed back to Xiangyang in a hurry. There must be something important going on."

"Can you talk to Heng Yi?"

Because Huang She had a good relationship with Ni Heng, he did not hide anything and told Ni Heng the truth about the meeting held by Liu Biao in Xiangyang.

Oh?
Ni Heng raised his eyebrows and asked, "Pang Gong wants to go to Xuzhou and ask Liu Xuande to guarantee Lujiang?"

"exactly."

Huang She nodded. "Cao Cao is very powerful. Liu Jingzhou doesn't want to be enemies with him, so he only came forward to mediate with Liu Xuzhou."

After saying this, he warned Ni Heng:

"This is a confidential matter. I have already told Zhengping about it. Please don't leak it out."

"Brother Huang, please be at ease. Heng knows the truth."

Ni Heng agreed repeatedly, but his eyes rolled around as if he was thinking about something.

Huang She did not notice anything, he just held Ni Heng's hand and invited him to get in the car.

"Well, it's rare for you and me to meet each other."

"Come back to Zhangling with me, I will drink with you, read articles with you, and we will not leave until we are drunk!"

As soon as he said this, he grabbed Ni Heng's sleeve and tried to pull him into the car.

But before he took two steps, Ni Heng held Huang She's hand and said repeatedly:
"Brother Huang, please wait! Please wait!"

"Heng has something to ask of you."

Huang She was stunned and said:
"Why do we have to be so distant with each other, brothers?"

"If you have any difficulties, please speak up. I will certainly help you."

Ni Heng was overjoyed when he heard this:

"With Brother Huang's words, Heng feels relieved."

"Brother Huang just said that Liu Jingzhou sent Pang Gong to Xuzhou as an envoy to meet Liu Xuande."

"To be honest, I heard that Xuzhou has established a university in the past two years, and Confucianism is flourishing, with many scholars and tourists."

"In the past two years in Xuzhou, the crowing of cocks and the barking of dogs can be heard everywhere, and the streets and alleys are bustling with activity."

"The fields are fertile and the land is lush, and there is no worry of floods or droughts."

"When a country is rich and its people are prosperous, there will be orchestral music from time to time."

"The products produced are as abundant as mountains."

"The people of Xuzhou, old and young, are all happy and contented."

"Heng has also been fascinated by this for a long time and plans to go to Xuzhou to take a look."

"It's a good opportunity for Minister Pang to go on a diplomatic mission to Xuzhou. How about giving me a ride? Brother Huang, what do you think?"

The implication was that he hoped that Huang She, the prefect of Zhangling, would come forward.

Add one more person to the diplomatic delegation from Jingzhou.

This is certainly not a difficult task for someone of Huang She's status.

But Huang She seemed a little disappointed and sighed:
"It's a rare opportunity to meet Zhengping, but you don't want to go back to Zhangling with me, but you want to go to Xuzhou."

"After this separation, I don't know when we will meet again."

Ni Heng said happily, "From what Brother Huang said, do you agree?"

Huang She rolled his eyes at him and thought to himself, you really don't want to stay here with me.

"Since Zhengping has said so, he must be determined to leave. What can I do to keep him?"

"...Hahaha, in that case, thank you very much, Brother Huang."

Ni Heng bowed to express his gratitude and then began to explain:
"It's not that Heng doesn't want to spend more time with brother, but brother Huang also knows that I have been traveling around the world to study in recent years."

"Xuzhou Imperial College was prosperous, and there were many scholars and visitors."

"I heard that this was because of Kong Beihai."

Huang She nodded:

"I also heard that Kong Beihai was taken to Xuzhou by Liu Xuande."

"Kong Beihai founded the Imperial College in Xuzhou and taught students."

"If Zhengping can go to Xuzhou to study, it will be of great benefit to your studies."

Ni Heng said happily:

"I have heard of Kong Beihai's great name for a long time and have always wanted to meet him."

"Xuzhou is so prosperous, it must be the credit of Beihai."

Although Ni Heng was extremely arrogant.

But the only two people he truly admired were Kong Rong and Yang Xiu.

Someone once asked Ni Heng who he thought was the most talented, and Ni Heng replied:

——"My eldest son is Kong Wenju, my youngest is Yang Dezu, and the rest of my sons are mediocre and not worth mentioning."

Many people mistakenly believed that Ni Heng compared Kong Rong and Yang Xiu to his own sons, and humiliated both of them.

This is obviously a literal interpretation.

The "儿" here refers to a boy.

The word "da'er" means a real man and a hero.

That is, Ni Heng believed that only Kong Rong was a man of great talent, Yang Xiu was a man of minor talent, and the rest were mediocre people who were just filling in the numbers.

Kong Rong is a famous scholar and a great Confucian scholar in the world.

Before Cao Zhi came of age, Kong Rong's articles basically represented the ceiling of this era.

Ni Heng, who was also an outstanding writer, would certainly admire Kong Rong.

Huang She smiled and said:
"Is Zhengping wrong?"

"I heard that Xuzhou became rich because Liu Xuande used Li Ziyu as his strategist."

"He opened up military farms, collected refugees, and pacified the counties."

"It was this man's idea that Kong Beihai came to Xuzhou to study."

"Why did you leave the credit for Xuzhou's prosperity to Kong Beihai alone?"

Unlike Ni Heng, Huang She was a politician who thought about problems more rationally.

According to the information he received, Li Yi was helping Liu Bei govern Xuzhou.

This led to the rapid development of Xuzhou's handicrafts and agriculture.

The productivity has basically returned to the level of the Tao Gongzu period.

As a wanderer who traveled around the world, Ni Heng thought about problems in a more emotional way.

as predicted,

Ni Heng's face changed and he shouted:

"Brother Huang, don't talk nonsense."

"I happened to hear that Li Ziyu was born in the countryside, did not study classics, and did not learn Confucianism."

“Is there anyone in the world who can govern a country without reading?”

"I think this person is a fraud who is trying to gain fame and is not worth even a sneer at."

"When I was passing through the plains, the Yellow Turbans rebelled."

"Kong Beihai established cities and towns, founded schools, promoted Confucianism, and established the Imperial Academy."

"The number of officials and civilians who were misled by the Yellow Turbans reached over 40,000 men and women."

"I saw this with my own eyes. Is it different from the governance in Xuzhou?"

This……

Huang She really wanted to refute Ni Heng, but he knew that if he started debating with him, there would be no end.

What's more, Ni Heng has his own limitations.

As a student traveling abroad, what he saw and heard was information-gap.

What people hear and spread is, at most, only 50 percent true.

The real information is in the hands of the ruling class.

They tell the people what they want them to hear.

As for the bad information, it is enough for the ruling class to just listen to it.

For example, winning a battle and annihilating 10,000 enemies.

Naturally, we have to announce to the outside world that we have annihilated 100,000 enemies.

This is for the common people to hear, to boost the morale of officials and people.

As a senior city official, Huang She naturally had access to much more complete information than Ni Heng.

At that moment, he did not argue with Ni Heng, but just said:

"Forget it, I won't argue with you."

"The truth will be known when Zhengping arrives in Xuzhou."

"Come with me to see Minister Pang first. The ship will not leave until tomorrow morning, so we still have time to go now."

So Huang She took Ni Heng to the port to find Pang Ji.

At this time, the diplomatic ship was docked at the shore, but Pang Ji was not busy counting the luggage. Instead, he was arguing with someone.

"Uncle, please take me with you. What difference does it make if there is one more person or one less person?"

A young man stood in front of Ponji, trying to argue.

Pang Ji said helplessly:

"I am not going to Xuzhou for fun, but for official business."

"Shiyuan, you should stay in Xiangyang and study with peace of mind. I will test your studies when I come back."

……

(Thanks to our group member Hitomi Asano for drawing this, this is the current map of the Central Plains and the South)

(Two colors represent vassal forces)

(The forces only target the princes who are the focus of the novel, for your convenience)

(If you want to see other princes’ power maps, please comment)
(End of this chapter)