My younger brother Zhuge Liang
Chapter 268 Brother Zhengfang, a man who knows the times is a hero
Chapter 268 Brother Zhengfang, a man who knows the times is a hero
Xu Shu tried his best to persuade Zhang Fei to give him a chance.
He did not dare to delay and immediately ventured to the foot of Chanling City and shouted to Li Yan on the top of the city wall, asking him to let him into the city.
"Brother Zhengfang! An old friend is here to visit, why don't you let me into the city to have a chat! I am Mr. Shuijing's disciple, Xu Shu from Yingchuan, and I am here for your future!"
After hearing this, the defenders on the city wall immediately reported it. Li Yan was also anxious at the moment, struggling between his own conscience and his own desires, fearing that if he really provoked Zhang Fei, the other party would cause trouble again, and he would not be able to guard against it.
When he heard that Xu Shu was coming to visit, he immediately ordered: "Order the soldiers to lower a basket from the tower and bring Xu Shu up - remember not to open the city gates for the time being, beware of fraud in the dark."
"Yes!" The gatekeeper immediately agreed and went to do it.
After a while, Xu Shu went up to the tower, dusted off the dust he had rubbed off in the hanging basket, looked around and found Li Yan, and walked forward leisurely to salute:
"Brother Zhengfang, we have met several times before. It is really touching to meet you again here today. You are upright and do not want to be a follower of Cao's gang. I admire you very much!"
Li Yan was born a minor official and had not been selected through any imperial examinations, which was not considered a legitimate career path in the Han Dynasty.
However, he started his career very early. At the age of 25, he already had seven or eight years of work experience, rising from the most basic clerk to the county magistrate.
Such people often have obsessions similar to the "adult education/junior college to undergraduate" in later generations. After becoming an official, they still want to go back to make up for the shortcomings in their resumes, visit famous scholars to ask for advice, and gild themselves.
Two years ago, Li Yan went to visit Sima Hui and met Xu Shu by chance. Later, he met him again at Pang Degong's place.
At this moment, Xu Shu brought up their former friendship, and Li Yan couldn't save his face, so he led the other party into the city wall for a detailed discussion.
The two of them sat down as host and guest, and Xu Shu got straight to the point and persuaded them to surrender:
"Brother Zhengfang, in times of crisis, you were able to uphold the integrity of a Han official and not associate with Cao's followers, which shows your loyalty. Ten days ago, the General of Chariots and Cavalry was shocked to hear that Zhang Xian had responded to Cao's rebellion and was harming southern Jing, so he hurriedly sent General Zhao Yun, General Zhang Fei, and General Gan Ning to the south to quell the rebellion.
Fortunately, General Zhang traveled day and night and headed straight to Wuling, and finally arrived at Chanling before Jin Xuan broke into the city and rescued the soldiers and civilians of Chanling. Since you are willing to support the Han Dynasty, why don’t you join forces with General Zhang to eliminate the traitors? In the future, when the rebellion is suppressed, General Zhang will introduce you to the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and you will definitely have a promising future. "
At first, Li Yan did not dare to confirm Zhang Fei's identity, fearing that there was another conspiracy in the dark. After listening to Xu Shu's persuasion, he explained his initial concerns.
"...I am not resisting General Zhang. This is really about the fate of the soldiers and civilians in the city. It is hard to see clearly in the dark, so we cannot act rashly."
Xu Shu heard that his tone was relaxed, and he immediately took advantage of the situation: "Oh? So, after dawn, you are willing to open the city to welcome us? You are a righteous man, don't break your promise."
After hearing this, Li Yan was speechless and thought to himself, when did I ever agree to this?
Li Yan said sternly, "How can such a big thing be taken lightly? Although my position was appointed by Jin Xuan, it was also largely due to the mediation of Lord Jing Sheng. Now that Jin Xuan has joined the rebellion, I should serve Lord Jing Sheng as a vassal and stop the thieves in Jiangnan. How can I surrender to someone else at will? Wouldn't that make me a fickle villain?"
Xu Shu shook his head and said sincerely, "Brother, you only know one side of the story. Haven't you heard that good birds choose trees to inhabit and good ministers choose masters to serve? Although Duke Jingsheng is also a gentleman of morality and can tolerate others, he tolerates others but cannot use them.
Moreover, because he rode alone into the state, he compromised and tolerated at the beginning, which planted the seeds of disaster, resulting in the Cai and Kuai clans stealing most of the power in Jingzhou. Now Cai and Kuai have been in power for nearly ten years, and the situation is difficult to reverse.
Although I feel grateful for Lord Jingsheng's kindness, I want to repay him. But your sincerity only protects the interests of Cai Mao and Kuai Liang. How much can you repay Lord Jingsheng? Moreover, I heard recently that Cai used the marriage as an excuse to spread slander and wanted to marry Cai Mao's daughter to Lord Jingsheng's second son.
If this is accomplished, wouldn't the Cai family have the final say in all matters in Jingzhou in the future? Zhang Han thought he was loyal to the Qin Emperor, but in the end he was used by Zhao Gao. Once a woman servant interferes in the government of a ruler, it will inevitably lead to disasters and harm loyal and good people. This is inevitable.
Let's not talk about the distant past, but how much of the reason why our dynasty fell behind the Han Dynasty was due to the misfortune of the eunuchs interfering in government affairs? With your knowledge, you should know this, right? Why don't you see things clearly? "
Cai Mao's daughter married Liu Cong, which happened in the eighth year of Jian'an, two and a half years ago. However, it was common for ancient people to discuss marriages and make arrangements long before children got married.
There are similar rumors circulating in Jingzhou now, and when Xu Shu mentioned this, Li Yan didn't think he was talking nonsense.
Li Yan was slightly shaken when he thought that he was loyal to Liu Biao and grateful for his recognition, and that in the end he might only be loyal to the Cai family.
Seeing him hesitate, Xu Shu knew that the opportunity was almost there. He firmly believed that these scholars who had not been selected would definitely be attracted by the appeal of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, so he took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire and continued to persuade them with Liu Bei's benevolent policies:
"Brother, you should have heard that since Lord Xuande took over Jiangxia last year, he has been benevolent and caring for the people. He has been generous and kind, building roads and dredging rivers, and improving craftsmanship. Now Jiangxia is thriving in all industries, and the mining and technical industries are feeding back to agriculture. In addition, the government has invested money and grain to print books and sell them cheaply to the counties of Jingzhou, benefiting poor scholars.
Since last winter, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun have been making up excuses to seal off the Yangtze River and conduct investigations to prevent Cao Cao from spying, but in fact they have achieved nothing! Now Cao Cao has sent Huan Jie to Changsha to persuade Zhang Xian to surrender and join the rebellion!
Although Cai Zhang and others were incompetent in sealing off the river and conducting an investigation, they were adept at taking advantage of the opportunity to hoard and monopolize the printing of books! The books printed by the Wuchang Academy were sold at a price of more than ten times or even more in Nanjun and Wuling, and then resold for profit. As for other goods such as celadon and steel-casting utensils that were hoarded for profit, there were too many to mention! Isn't it chilling that your brother's sincerity was used by such a ruthless person? If Cai Mao and Zhang Yun had been a little bit attentive to the official business, why didn't they immediately transfer the troops from Xiangyang and Nanjun to the south to quell the rebellion after Zhang Xian started the rebellion? When Chanling was besieged by the rebels, why did General Zhang, sent by the General of Chariots and Cavalry, arrive first? It is clear who is attentive to state affairs! "
Li Yan was overwhelmed by Xu Shu's series of reasonings and was indeed unable to resist.
He also thought about what he had heard about Liu Bei's benevolent policies over the past six months, as well as the perverse actions of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun who deceived their superiors and concealed the truth from their subordinates, and he felt a surge of resentment in his heart.
However, Li Yan still had a last bit of struggle in his heart, so he said reluctantly:
"Although Lord Jingsheng was held hostage by Cai Zhang and the Kuai family, making it difficult for loyal and righteous people to display their talents, he was still kind to me and promoted me to an official position. Even if I cannot display my talents, I cannot do anything to harm him! The worst that can happen is that I will humble myself and do my duty, and not seek fame and fortune."
Xu Shu: "Of course! I admire your integrity! But how can I say that I have 'harmed Duke Jingsheng' by serving the General of Chariots and Cavalry and working with General Zhang to suppress the rebellion? The General of Chariots and Cavalry and Duke Jingsheng are like brothers, and we are allies in the fight against Cao Cao!"
Li Yan heard this and showed a hint of awkwardness in his eyes: "Brother Yuanzhi, we are all smart people, why do you keep using such clever words to prevaricate! Although the General of Chariots and Cavalry is nominally working together with Duke Jingsheng to fight Cao, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain. They will definitely annex us in the future! How can I help outsiders annex my benefactor!"
Seeing that the other party had finally spoken out his deepest concerns, Xu Shu was no longer worried. Xu Shu knew very well that as long as he explained this point more thoroughly, Li Yan would definitely be convinced.
So Xu Shu took a deep breath, adjusted his mentality, slowly organized his words, and said: "Brother, you worry too much! The magnanimity of the general is beyond comparison. You will know it later.
Moreover, think about it, did Lord Jingsheng annex Zhang Xiu? No, when Zhang Xiu surrendered, Zhang Jixin was shot dead in Rangcheng, and was alone and helpless, but Lord Jingsheng still allocated military equipment and food to him, and allowed him to station and raise troops in Wancheng. With the tolerance of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, how could he not allow an alliance with Lord Jingsheng? "
When Li Yan heard this, he suddenly became serious: "So, in the future, the General of Chariots and Cavalry might want to use the method that Lord Jingsheng used with Zhang Xiu to stop the enemy coming from the north of Jingzhou?"
Xu Shu: "I didn't say that! It will certainly be more lenient than this method, but it can't be more harsh than this method. Brother, think about it: Lord Jingsheng now appoints the eldest son as the governor of Jiangxia and stationed in Hanyang.
The general of chariots and cavalry had been holding out across the river for more than half a year, and the situation was orderly. The general of chariots and cavalry also frequently hosted banquets with the eldest son, exchanging what they had with each other, like an uncle and nephew. If one wants to correct the world, how can his tolerance be measured by ordinary people?
The General of Chariots and Cavalry wanted to eliminate the bandits and save the country, so he would use any kind of person. But Duke Jingsheng was already old, nearly sixty years old. With the deception of the superiors and subordinates by Cai Zhang and the Kuai family, they would surely puppet Liu Cong for their own benefit a hundred years after Duke Jingsheng died.
The General of Chariots and Cavalry is also the head of the clan, so he must correct the disorder of the relationship between the elders and the younger ones in the clan! Only by following the General of Chariots and Cavalry can we ensure that the eldest son will succeed the title of Duke Jingsheng in the future, and prevent Cai and Kuai from stealing the real power in Jingbei!"
Xu Shu's final, somewhat far-fetched words actually relieved Li Yan's inner moral concerns.
Li Yan suddenly realized that being loyal to Liu Bei was a roundabout way to help the eldest son take over Liu Jingzhou's position in the future, and was actually helping the Liu family regain power.
However, directly pledging allegiance to Liu Jingzhou is actually pledging allegiance to Cai, Kuai and other corrupt officials in Jingzhou who deceive their superiors and subordinates, and is helping them steal power.
Li Yan was already in a state of extreme hesitation, and this last straw finally made him decide to follow his heart.
……
The next morning, Li Yan officially opened the city gate and personally went to the gate to welcome Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei, who had been camped outside the city for a night, was not angry. He reorganized his troops and marched into the city proudly.
Xu Shu had already gone out of the city to reply at midnight yesterday, telling him the situation and asking him to act as a "benevolent and righteous army that does not harm the people in the slightest." Zhang Fei also knew that this was necessary. After all, this was the first city that his elder brother surrendered to after he came to Jingnan to quell the rebellion, so he had to leave a good reputation.
Zhang Fei had great respect for scholars. Hearing that Li Yan was a righteous man with some integrity, he was willing to treat him with courtesy.
Li Yan had someone bring a jar of wine and personally offered it to Zhang Fei: "General Zhang, please don't blame me. The army has its own rules. I didn't dare to open the door in the middle of the night because I couldn't distinguish between the enemy and us. I'm sorry for neglecting you."
Zhang Fei reluctantly took the wine bowl and drank a glass. Li Yan immediately asked someone to refill it, but Zhang Fei became impatient and directly picked up the wine jar from the servant next to him and blew into the jar.
"We discipline our troops strictly, and we understand. No need to say more. Magistrate Li is a loyal and righteous man. Let's go into the city."
(End of this chapter)
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