Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 61 Highway Question
Wang Chen brought Zhang Yu to pay a visit to Yuan Shao, which was similar to the later practice of paying homage to the emperor.

Liujiu City gathers almost all the famous princes and nobles from all over the world. Although the Wang family of Qi County is a prominent family in Bingzhou, it is only a medium-level family in the whole world.

Some people in Yuzhou might give Wang Yun some face, but there were countless people in the six nine cities who had higher status and reputation than Wang Yun, not to mention the Ten Eunuchs who were in power in the court and their lackeys.

The visit to Yuan Shao now does not mean that Zhang Yu will become Yuan Shao's disciple, but it allows him to get to know Yuan Shao and establish a good rapport with him, which will make it more convenient for him to move around Luoyang City in the future.

Yuan Shao chatted with Zhang Yu for a few words at the beginning, and then he chatted with Feng Ji and Xu You about the affairs of the court and the country in front of Zhang Yu.

Yuan Shao looked indignant and said, "In today's court meeting, the eunuchs used Zhu Jun's long siege of Wancheng as an excuse to say that he was incompetent and uneducated, and wanted to depose him. If it weren't for Zhang Wen, the Minister of Works, who used Bai Qi's attack on Changping and Yue Yi's conquest of Qi as examples to persuade Your Majesty, I'm afraid General Zhu Jun would have to be dismissed and returned to Luo!"

"Eunuchs are causing chaos in government and interfering in military affairs." Feng Ji frowned and said, "The reason why the current Hebei military has been protracted is mostly because the eunuchs made false accusations, causing Your Majesty to dismiss Lu Zigan and then replace him with Dong Zhuo. If Lu Zigan had been retained, the Hebei bandits would have been wiped out by now!"

Xu You stroked his beard and thought, then asked, "General, do you have any questions?"

Having said that, Xu You glanced at Zhang Yu and stopped talking.

Yuan Shao smiled and said, "Although I have just met Ji'an, he is not a member of the eunuch party. Ziyuan, please feel free to speak."

Yuan Shao had heard about Zhang Yu's background, and he was able to advance with the help of the Wang family of Qi County. However, Wang Hong and Wang Yun of the Wang family of Qi County were both anti-eunuchs, so Zhang Yu was destined to be unable to join the eunuchs. In this case, Yuan Shao was not worried that Zhang Yu would speak nonsense.

Xu You continued to ask: "General, do you have any intention of restoring order and rectifying the chaos?"

Yuan Shao hesitated for a moment and said, "The general has only been in office for a short time. Even if he wants to make plans, he is powerless to do so."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu had a clear understanding of the situation in the court based on his knowledge of history and what he had learned since entering the Central Plains.

Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, after two rounds of attacks, the power of the aristocratic families was severely suppressed, and the Ten Eunuchs in the court controlled the government.

During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, in order to ensure that scholars would not side with the Yellow Turban Army, the party ban was lifted and a large number of scholars entered officialdom. He Jin, who was a member of the imperial family, was appointed by Emperor Ling of Han.

Under such circumstances, three political forces emerged in Luoyang's political arena. The party members, who had been suppressed by the eunuchs for a long time, would definitely attack the eunuchs for their ideals, rights and revenge. Although He Jin was a general, he was certainly unwilling to be powerless and would definitely take action.

As beneficiaries of the old order, eunuchs would certainly not give up their rights. Moreover, they knew very well that once they failed in the political struggle, they would be doomed to die according to the lessons learned from the past.

Although Yuan Shao was still talking, Zhang Yu's mind was already spinning. He basically understood the impact of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. It was not only a prelude to the rise of local forces, but also the prelude to the famous palace coup several years later.

From this perspective, it was a good idea for Emperor Ling of Han to maintain a single faction to rule the country. After all, eunuchs could make money for him and maintain the stability of the court.

However, Emperor Ling of Han probably never thought about how the eunuch group he personally supported exploited the people in the local area and caused widespread public resentment. He also didn't know that the eunuch group was actually connected with Zhang Jue.

Having little wisdom but not great intelligence is a very appropriate description of Emperor Ling of Han!

While Zhang Yu was thinking, Yuan's servant came over and said, "My lord, Mr. He is outside the house!"

"Mr. He is here?"

Yuan Shao was delighted and prepared to go out to greet him.

Seeing that Yuan Shao had another guest, Wang Chen stood up and said goodbye, saying, "It's getting late today, Chen and Ji'an will go back home first."

Yuan Shao tried to persuade him to stay, and said politely: "Why don't you stay and have dinner with us?"

Zhang Yu heard the intention of sending him away and said, "I need to prepare for the annual election, so I dare not stay for long. Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Yuan."

"good!"

After Zhang Yu and Wang Chen left Yuan Shao's mansion, Zhang Yu saw Yuan Shao coming out to greet a middle-aged man, and they walked into the mansion arm in arm. The two seemed to have a very close relationship, and Zhang Yu became curious.

Zhang Yu asked, "Who is Mr. He?"

Wang Chen held the reins and said, "Mr. He's name is He Yong, and his courtesy name is Boqiu. He is very talented and has made friends with many famous scholars. Later, he was framed by eunuchs and fell into the Party Imprisonment. He had to flee to Runan County. Brother Benchu had a close relationship with him and often consulted with him on matters."

"Now that the Yellow Turban Rebellion has begun, the party members have resumed their official positions, so Mr. He was recruited by Zhang Sikong. Since Mr. He took office, he has been highly valued by the three ministers because of his outstanding strategies, and all the subordinates regard him as their leader."

Wang Chen smiled and said, "If Ji'an has any contact with Mr. He in the future, you can ask him to comment on you."

"Reviews?"

"When I was in Yingchuan, I heard Xu Shao's Yuedanping." Zhang Yu said.

Wang Chen shook his head and laughed, saying, "Monthly Review, reviewing scholars on the first day of every month, this is so ridiculous, how can it convince the scholars? This statement is not credible. Mr. He traveled around the Central Plains and was a guest of honor for all ethnic groups. Now he is a guest in front of the three ministers. How can the Xu brothers be better than Mr. He?"

Zhang Yu was influenced by Cao Cao's request for comments from Xu Shao, and thought that "Yuedanping" was a top column in the late Han Dynasty. Little did he know that when Cao Cao asked for comments, he was still a low-ranking official. After Cao Cao entered the officialdom, in order to move up to a higher level, he asked for comments from two famous scholars, Qiao Xuan and He Yong.

The reason why Xu Jing was able to become the Grand Tutor of Shu Han was not only because of his own fame, but also because he lived long enough and outlived many people who were more famous than him, and also because Shu Han was located in the southwest.

If we compare the Yuedan comments written by the Xu Shao brothers with those written by He Yong, the Yuedan comments are similar to the elementary level in the commentary circle, while He Yong's comments belong to the intermediate and advanced level in the commentary circle.

When Zhang Yu first understood the trend of scholars commenting, he couldn't help but sigh that the ancients were very good at public opinion propaganda. They used their reputation as endorsement, turned commenting into a business, and even became famous because of their comments. This was very similar to the art circles in later generations, who colluded with each other for profit and monopolized the right to speak.

After all, it is difficult to visualize the level of art and talent, and there is a lack of unified evaluation standards. Outsiders cannot understand the situation in the circle, so they mainly worship authority. Therefore, whoever has the right to speak in the circle has the power of life and death.

As they rode along, they saw a mansion that was even more luxurious than Yuan Shao's on the same street. Zhang Yu became curious. Pointing at the mansion, Zhang Yu asked, "Who owns this mansion? It's even more magnificent than Yuan Shao's!"

Wang Chen glanced at the mansion and said, "This is the mansion of Henan Yin Yuan Gonglu. He chose this place to compete with Yuan Benchu for fame!"

Zhang Yu was speechless. He did not expect that Yuan Shu, in order to prove that he was stronger than Yuan Shao, would take the initiative to move his house not far from Yuan Shao's residence. This kind of fighting seemed too frivolous.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Yu said, "Brother, please go back home first, and let me visit Yuan Gonglu."

"Visiting Yuan Gonglu?"

Wang Chen frowned and said, "Today is your first visit to Brother Benchu. It may not be appropriate to visit Yuan Gonglu again. And without an introduction, I don't know if Yuan Gonglu will meet you!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Yuan Gonglu and Yuan Benchu are competing for fame. I asked for an audience, but Yuan Gonglu refused. Isn't it just a false reputation?"

After meeting Yuan Shao today, Zhang Yu became interested in Yuan Shu, who was competing for fame with Yuan Shao.

After a few words, Wang Chen couldn't persuade Zhang Yu, so he had to agree to let Zhang Yu go to visit Yuan Shu, while he would return home first.

Zhang Yu walked to the gate of the mansion, bowed and said, "I am Xiaolian Zhang Yu, who heard of Mr. Yuan's name, and came to pay a visit. Please take the trouble to report to him."

"Here is the business card!"

The servant was kind and after accepting the business card, he extended his hand and said with a smile, "Mr. Zhang, please wait inside the mansion."

One of the followers brought Zhang Yu in, while another one reported to Yuan Shu.

After a while, another person led Zhang Yu into the garden, where he saw a man drawing a bow and practicing archery. Although his appearance was not as good as Yuan Shao's, he had an aristocratic air. He wore a jade belt around his waist and brocade clothes, and had the air of a nobleman.

"Whoosh!"

After shooting the arrow, Yuan Shu turned and looked at Zhang Yu, his eyes moving up and down as he sized up Zhang Yu's tall figure.

"Zhang Ji'an?"

Yuan Shu muttered for a moment and said with a smile: "If I remember correctly, you should have visited Yuan Benchu just now!"

Apparently Yuan Shu had someone spying outside Yuan Shao's mansion and learned that Zhang Yu had met Yuan Shao first.

"Of course!"

Zhang Yu said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "I have heard that the two Yuans are the most respected people in Luoyang. I dare not not come to pay a visit to Mr. Yuan!"

"Then why did you ask to see Yuan Benchu first instead of coming to see me?" Yuan Shu asked intentionally making things difficult.

Zhang Yu smiled faintly and said, "Outsiders should know the order of respect and inferiority when meeting the master!"

Yuan Shu was stunned for a moment, then realized what Zhang Yu meant. He laughed a few times and said, "In terms of speaking, how can Yuan Benchu compare with me when it comes to respect and inferiority?"

Yuan Shu's mood improved, and he sat casually in the corridor and asked, "What can you do?"

Zhang Yu pointed at the bow and said, "Yu came from Yunzhong. He has been riding and shooting since he was young, and he is especially good at archery!"

Yuan Shu was very interested and asked, "How is your level?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, pointed to the farthest target, and said, "Shoot with your left or right bow, and you can hit the center with one arrow!"

"If Yuan Jun doesn't believe it, Yu can give it a try."

Yuan Shu saw that Zhang Yu did not seem to be lying and said with a smile: "Ji'an dares to say such words, I dare not disbelieve it."

Zhang Yu looked at the arrow on the target and said, "Mr. Yuan's archery skills are not ordinary. I think he has practiced for many years."

Yuan Shu was slightly pleased and said with a smile: "Leisure and entertainment are nothing compared to Ji'an!"

"rare!"

Zhang Yu followed Yuan Shu's words and flattered him, saying, "I have learned archery since I was young, and I have often fought against the Hu people, so my archery skills are very good. If you can spend the same effort as I did, your archery skills will be better than mine."

Yuan Shu laughed happily a few times, and then started a discussion with Zhang Yu about archery.

After chatting for a while, Yuan Shu suddenly asked, "Ji'an has met Yuan Benchu and me, so I wonder who is better between the two Yuans in Luoyang?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest, you two have your own strengths. You are indeed worthy of being from the family of the Three Dukes. I admire you deeply. However, you two are many years older than me, and I come from a humble background. I am not able to judge you easily, so I dare not comment on you!"

Yuan Shu nodded and smiled, very satisfied with Zhang Yu's words and deeds. Although he fought with Yuan Shao, he was not someone Zhang Yu could easily comment on.

Seeing Yuan Shu's expression, Zhang Yu let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he did not fall into Yuan Shu's language trap, but jumped out of the circle to answer. Otherwise, Yuan Shu would probably ask some strange questions again.

(End of this chapter)