I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 290 Yuan Shu feels regret
After an awkward silence, Yuan Feng suppressed his dissatisfaction, took a deep breath, and spoke slowly.

"Mr. Zhang is right. However, Your Majesty has just ascended the throne and does not know much about state affairs. Moreover, your health is not good and your cough has not healed. I have arranged for many famous doctors to treat Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will recover as soon as possible. As long as Your Majesty recovers, you can discuss state affairs with us. But for now, let Your Majesty have a good rest!"

In fact, up to this point, Yuan Feng had already given Zhang Jian a reasonable answer, and it was not a big deal to just let the matter go so smoothly.

But the problem was that Zhang Jian didn't seem to think that the answer given by Yuan Feng was sufficient to explain the matter, so he continued to ask Yuan Feng questions.

"If that's true, it's good, but the emperor is already over 30 years old. Although he has never experienced state affairs before, he is an adult after all, and at least he can distinguish right from wrong. Yuan Sikong is loyal to the emperor and the country, eradicates rebellion, eliminates traitors, and continues the Han Dynasty. He should be a role model for the world, and he should respect the emperor and put the emperor first in everything, isn't it?"

After Zhang Jian finished speaking, more people started to look unhappy.

Liu Biao, who was sitting behind Zhang Jian, looked left and right and found that many people had unhappy expressions. Some officials who were very close to the Yuan family looked at Zhang Jian as if he were an enemy, which made him feel that something was wrong.

Liu Biao was a smart man. After thinking about it for a while, he felt that Zhang Jian had gone a bit too far, so he quietly reached out and tugged at Zhang Jian's sleeve, signaling him to stop talking.

Zhang Jian lowered his head and looked at his sleeves without turning back. He knew it was Liu Biao behind him, but he didn't care. He still stared at Yuan Feng, as if he wanted Yuan Feng to give him a suitable answer.

Yuan Feng forced himself to suppress his emotions.

He felt that he had spent half his life's cultivation on this matter. If he hadn't had this half-life's cultivation, he was worried that he would jump up immediately and smash the bamboo slips in his hand into Zhang Jian's face.

How much risk did the entire Yuan family take in order to save you?

You turned against me?!

You want to go against me?!

Yuan Feng did not express his anger too clearly. He resisted the urge to jump up and tear Zhang Jian apart. He just pulled the corners of his mouth and forced a slight smile.

"Mr. Zhang is right. I have learned my lesson. From now on, I will pay more attention to the emperor's health and have people take good care of him. When he recovers, I will definitely respect him, be loyal to him and care about the country, and always put him first in everything."

This bland sentence was Yuan Feng's final answer to Zhang Jian.

It seemed that Zhang Jian also sensed some strange atmosphere and did not pursue the issue further.

Afterwards, the matter of forming a new army was naturally arranged. The Grand Minister of Agriculture and the Secretariat would work together to help Yuan Shu build up this army and provide food, wages, and logistical supplies.

Of course, Liu Kui’s approval is not needed.

After this brief meeting, when leaving the Secretariat, many officials of the Yuan Group looked at Zhang Jian with dissatisfaction as they passed by him. Some officials even deliberately waved their sleeves in front of Zhang Jian to express their dissatisfaction with him.

They didn't care at all about Zhang Jian's identity as the leader of the party. This identity was useful during the Factions and Factions Persecution, but in this period after the eunuchs had been violently eliminated by the Yuan family, the party members were seen by the Yuan family as trash that they had to save. How could they still have such a lofty status?
It's just giving some face.

But Zhang Jian was so shameless that it was no wonder that the officials of Yuan’s group treated Zhang Jian badly.

Zhang Jian seemed to be oblivious to all this, as if he didn't see it, and continued to walk on the road until Liu Biao caught up with him and walked side by side with him.

Liu Biao obviously saw the hidden dangers that Zhang Jian's actions would bring to him, so he kindly reminded Zhang Jian.

"Mr. Zhang, why did you say those words at the meeting just now? Can't you see who has the final say in the court? Don't you know how the current emperor got the throne?"

Zhang Jian turned his head and looked at Liu Biao.

"Jingsheng, this doesn't sound like something you should say. You are a member of the Han royal family. How come you don't look worried at all when the emperor loses power? As a member of the Han royal family, are you willing to watch the emperor lose power and the Yuan family monopolize power?"

Liu Biao smiled bitterly when he heard this. "Mr. Zhang, we don't need to make some things too clear. It's enough to know them in our hearts. Why do we have to say them out loud? In today's world, what if you are a relative of the Han Dynasty? What if you are not a relative of the Han Dynasty? Compared to this, I am more worried about your situation!"

"My situation? What's wrong with my situation?"

Zhang Jian smiled nonchalantly and said, "I don't think my situation is bad. Even if we have to talk about the situation, it's not me who should be worried, but Yuan's father and son. If they weren't worried about their situation, why would they be so anxious to form a new army? Jingsheng, you also know that the military power of Luoyang is almost in their hands, so why do they want to form a new army?"

Liu Biao pondered for a moment and sighed again.

"Mr. Zhang, you know that's not what I meant. I wanted to ask you why you questioned Yuan Sikong in public? Even if you really feel that this matter is inappropriate, you can ask Yuan Sikong in private!

Why do you have to ask in public? If you ask in private, even if there are any problems, there is still room for redemption, but if you ask so directly in public, do you know how many people will be dissatisfied with you?
More importantly, how would Yuan Sikong view this matter? How would Yuan Zijia view this matter? You have directly offended both of them! You have offended both the father and the son, how can this be tolerated?"

When Zhang Jian heard this, his face immediately showed indifference.

"There are so many people who are dissatisfied with me. I have offended countless people, but I am still alive today. As for those people, how many of them are still alive now? Cao Ji chased me all over the world and wanted to kill me. Did he succeed?"

"But that's the problem!"

Liu Biao said helplessly, "Mr. Zhang, you should not have forgotten who lent you a hand when Cao Jie was hunting you all over the world, right? It was Yuan Shi! It was Yuan Sikong! It was Yuan Zijia!
If it weren't for Yuan Sikong who sent someone to escort you from Qingzhou to Guanzhong, and if it weren't for Yuan Sikong who also sent someone to escort me to Guanzhong, would you and I still be able to stand here and talk? Would you and I still have this chance to return to Luoyang?
It has been so many years, and we have been able to survive under the protection of the Yuan family. Now even the eunuchs were eliminated by the Yuan family. This favor is really great. Shouldn't you think twice before acting?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian looked Liu Biao up and down again, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes.

"Jing Sheng, this is inappropriate. Saving my life is a private matter, and the power of the court is a public matter. Private matters are private matters, and public matters are public matters. I am grateful to Yuan Sikong for saving my life, and I will definitely repay Yuan Sikong.

But this is a private matter, not a public one. This matter cannot be confused with his attempt to dethrone the emperor. Privately, Yuan and his son have done me a favor, and I will repay them in private. Publicly, their actions are against the way of a minister, and I want to point it out. "

When Liu Biao heard Zhang Jian say this, he was stunned.

It took Liu Biao a while to react, with an indescribable expression on his face.

"I do admire Mr. Zhang's ability to separate private affairs from state affairs, but..."

"There is no but. National affairs cannot be compromised. The emperor is always the emperor, and the ministers are always the ministers. The emperor is the leader of the ministers. This is the truth and cannot be shaken! Jingsheng, stop talking!"

Before Liu Biao could finish his words, he was interrupted by Zhang Jian, who then delivered a long lecture on profound principles, leaving Liu Biao speechless.

Liu Biao couldn't convince Zhang Jian, so he had no choice but to shut up and stop trying to persuade him. However, he still felt uneasy, as he always felt that Zhang Jian's actions were going to cause trouble.

To put it in a positive way, this behavior is called distinguishing between public and private affairs. To put it in a negative way, it is ungrateful!
Why is Old Zhang so unreasonable?

Coincidentally, Liu Biao saw it this way, and Yuan Shu's opinion was similar to Liu Biao's.

He also felt that Zhang Jian was targeting the Yuan family and was very angry.

After the meeting, Yuan Feng called Yuan Shu to his side to discuss with him and told Yuan Shu that Zhang Jian had publicly questioned him at the meeting.

Yuan Shu was not surprised by this, but he was still very angry and felt an indescribable rage.

"I don't find it strange that some people oppose Yuan's rule. It would be strange if these party members did not oppose it. But I didn't expect that the first person to oppose it was Zhang Jian! He has been eating white rice in my Liangzhuang for four years, four years!
I could have fed a horse with that much food, and it would have made a fat and strong warhorse, but he ate it all, and he got full and fat, and turned against us! Why did I save him? I should have just thrown him out and let the eunuchs kill him, and he wouldn't have to go against us now!"

(End of this chapter)