Tiger Guards

Chapter 608 Ten Boxes of Blue Paper
After Guan Yu returned to Xiapi, he began training both new and old soldiers in the military camp outside the city.

The news that Xu Du was about to bestow a marquisate upon him spread quickly here thanks to the efforts of certain individuals, and the attitudes of the officials in Xiapi began to waver.

A local official is more powerful than a distant one, and besides, Guan Yu did no worse than Liu Bei when he governed a region.

Especially since Guan Yu was from Hedong, although Zhao Fan resigned as the Chancellor of Langya, Zhang Zhao also brought his family members from the four tribes of Qingzhou to rely on Zang Ba, and many of the county magistrates appointed by Zhao Ji also voluntarily resigned.

Although it seems that the Zhao family's influence in Xuzhou has been completely wiped out, the majority of the gentry in Xuzhou still support the Zhao family and the Empress Dowager.

They weren't really familiar with the so-called Emperor Xudu.

In particular, after Zhao Ji killed Cao Cao and shattered Cao Cao's army, he won the favor and support of most of the people of Xuzhou who had a blood feud with Cao Cao's army.

Whoever can avenge them is their true family.

Therefore, when Guan Yu took over the administration of Xuzhou after Liu Bei entered Xudu, he actually received cooperation from all sides.

When the news of Guan Yu being granted the title of Marquis of Xudu arrived, the officials and people of Xuzhou wavered in their stance, naturally not wanting Guan Yu to be granted the title of Marquis of Xudu.

In the military camp, Guan Yu supervised the officers and soldiers' drills.

During his break, his subordinate and fellow townsman Guo Mu hurried over: "Lord Yunchang, a letter has arrived from Xudu."

Guo Mu handed over the silk scroll, which Guan Yu picked up, spread out, and began to read with lowered eyes. After only a few glances, he crumpled it up and tossed it back to Guo Mu, saying, "There's no need to bring letters like this in the future. Awarding titles and honors based on merit is the prerogative of the court. Why bother asking my family's opinion?"

Guo Mu remained silent as he accepted the silk scroll, clearly understanding Guan Yu's predicament.

Guan Yu's son is already fourteen years old. He was studying at Anyi University in Hedong, but this year, due to Guan Shang's meritorious service, he was transferred to Longcheng University in Taiyuan.

From his own perspective, as a proud and arrogant warrior, Guan Yu was confident that he could challenge the oath made on the white horse.

For someone like Guan Yu, achieving merit and being ennobled was merely the pursuit of an ordinary warrior.

A true hero should achieve unparalleled feats, break free from the constraints of the White Horse Oath, and be granted the titles of king or duke—this is the ultimate pursuit of martial artists of our time.

As for going further, the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horses should become the emperor... this somewhat challenges Guan Yu's ethical principles.

Therefore, Guan Yu was also very conflicted in terms of personal feelings. On the one hand, he disliked Lü Bu and Zhao Ji's departure and independence, and even the establishment of a regent empress... Even if he supported the eldest son Liu Feng as the new emperor and remotely honored Liu Xie as the retired emperor, Guan Yu would not be so disgusted.

On the other hand, the court's reluctance to reward Zhao Ji for his merits has caused dissatisfaction and resentment not only among Zhao Ji's troops, but also among any person from the border regions with a conscience.

Also, to avoid suspicion, Guan Yu did not intend to participate in this war to quell the rebellion.

Otherwise, if someone like him went to the front lines, he might be maliciously annexed by other friendly forces.

After all, his background was too intertwined with Zhao Ji's; and the fighting spirit and stance of his Xuzhou soldiers were not so firm.

As allies, any general who is even slightly cautious in planning and decisive in action would have tried to relieve Guan Yu of his military command and dismantle the Xuzhou troops.

Therefore, staying in Xuzhou and waiting for the war situation to develop and change became the best choice for Guan Yu and the people of Xuzhou.

Because Guan Yu was unsure of the true stance of his Xuzhou soldiers, it was highly likely that once they arrived at the front lines and saw Zhao Ji on the battlefield, the Xuzhou soldiers would collectively turn against him.

Even now, no one in Xuzhou dares to speak ill of Zhao Ji or the Empress Dowager in public, let alone spread malicious rumors.

With Zang Ba around, if you maliciously spread rumors and someone close to you kills you, the person can run to Zang Ba, and no one can get the criminal back from Zang Ba.

The situation in Xuzhou is not optimistic. To eliminate the influence of the Zhao family, it is necessary to take action against Zang Ba.

However, Zang Ba is not so easy to defeat; relying solely on the internal forces within Xuzhou is insufficient to resolve the situation.

If reinforcements are borrowed from other states, they will inevitably encounter resistance from the people of Xuzhou.

Therefore, Xuzhou is essentially unsolvable and is effectively neutral, waiting for an opportunity to turn against the Zhao family and join their camp.

Under these circumstances, Guan Yu could only do what he could.

He must stabilize Xuzhou and make it appear as if Xuzhou is obedient to Liu Bei's orders. Only with the support of Xuzhou can Liu Bei leverage his strength in Xudu and maneuver among various parties.

If they lose Xuzhou, Liu Bei will be in a very passive position in Xudu.

Did you really think Liu Bei didn't want to compete for the position of prime minister?
Once you become the prime minister, you must shoulder the responsibilities that come with being the main force of the anti-rebel coalition.

Judging from the consensus of the people of Xuzhou, it was acceptable to follow Liu Bei and live a simple life, but it was absolutely unacceptable to go and fight Zhao Ji.

Therefore, some people in Xudu thought that by offering Guan Yu the title of county marquis to lure him into turning against them, they could gain military power and material support in Xuzhou... They were simply being too optimistic and wishful.

As the evening drum sounded in the camp, Guan Yu led his guards out of the military camp outside the city and returned to the city to spend the night.

Guan Yu did not trust the people of Xuzhou, and even in Xiapi, where the Chen family had a deep influence, there was still a possibility of mutiny.

In the prefectural governor's mansion in the city, as Guan Yu was taking off his boots to wash his feet, Guo Mu came to see him again, holding a visiting card in his hand. After the servant washing his feet had left, Guo Mu said, "Lord Yunchang, this is a visiting card from my old friend Hu Ban."

"Wenxu?"

Guan Yu narrowed his eyes and stared intently: "Why is he here?"

Given the situation in Yanzhou and Xuzhou, there were naturally no obstacles for Zhao Ji's envoy to come to Xiapi to see him.

"I don't know, should I refuse?"

Guo Mu asked softly, and Guan Yu was about to nod when he suddenly raised his hand: "Bring him to see me."

Seeing that Guo Mu hadn't left, Guan Yu asked again, "Anything else?"

"Lord Yunchang, Hu Ban and I have presented our congratulatory gifts. This is the gift list."

Guo Mu handed over the visiting card, with a piece of paper with a patterned watermark sandwiched between the two wooden tablets.

Guan Yu wiped his hands, picked up the paper, and saw it read: 'One set of Mingguang armor, one Zhanma sword, two Ferghana horses, four boxes of Pingyang blue paper, and six boxes of books.'

There was no gold, silver, cloth, or Shu brocade as he had imagined, so Guan Yu breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Wenhe, have you seen the books?"

"He deliberately showed off, and it was all new books."

Guo Mu said in a low voice, "It is said that it was compiled by Grand Tutor Zhao and Master Cai based on the classics collected in the Three Auxiliary Regions and printed on Pingyang blue paper. The book is of very high quality and is truly a treasure passed down by various families."

"Okay, take Wenxu to the backyard to rest first. I'll change my clothes and look at these books later."

Guan Yu stood up, looked down at Guo Mu and gave him instructions. He had heard a lot about the restoration of the paper industry promoted by the Zhao family and the printing and distribution of books, and he couldn't help but be curious.

If Guan Shang's letter to him was not a lie or exaggeration, then books printed on blue paper were already being used at Anyi and Longcheng Universities.

"Here."

Guo Muxin readily agreed and went to greet Hu Ban with light steps.

Guan Yu quickly changed into civilian clothes, not wearing official robes, to make it clear to Hu Ban that he was meeting Hu Ban as a private friend, old acquaintance, and relative.

Guan Yu only hoped that Zhao would not make any demands that would put him in a difficult position. If the demands were normal and acceptable, Guan Yu would be happy to cooperate.

If a complete falling out with the Zhao family occurs, Xuzhou could potentially descend into civil war.

The people of Xuzhou who support the Zhao family will no longer tolerate this. If they were to raise their banners and rise up, then all the surrounding factions would certainly have to first besiege and suppress the Zhao family's associates in Xuzhou before engaging in war with the Zhao family.

If that happens, Liu Bei's foothold in Xuchang will be severely damaged.

Before meeting Hu Ban, Guan Yu went to the storeroom first.

He picked up the Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo) from the top shelf of the bookcase, and was captivated by the aroma of the paper and ink.

Then I picked up the following volumes, which were different versions of annotations of the Zuo Zhuan; these volumes were a set.

Then, there's another set of "Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals" and related annotations; flipping further down, you'll find all the common classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections.

Guo Mu stood silently to the side, clutching a thin volume of the "Catalogue" in his hand, unsure whether he should hand it to Guan Yu now.

Guan Yu took out the Records of the Grand Historian, glanced at it a few times, then closed it and placed it neatly among the other books.

He took a few steps back, took a deep breath, and turned to look at the night sky outside the door: "I understand, the Zhao family..."

There were some things I couldn't say, and I was also afraid that Guo Mu, this young man, might accidentally reveal them.

Once the information is leaked, the parties involved, who were already dragging their feet and being perfunctory, are very likely to go to great lengths to destroy the Zhao family.

What he wanted to do, Zhao Ji is doing!

In order to do these things, Zhao Ji has already placed himself in opposition to all the prominent and respectable families in the land.

Guan Yu turned to look at the ten boxes and said coldly to Guo Mu, "Wenhe, remember this: when Wenxu came to see me, he only brought ten boxes of Pingyang green paper, not any books!"

"Here."

Guo Mu agreed with a start, only belatedly realizing that the thin volume of the "Catalogue" in his hand could drive any prominent family to madness.

If the Zhao family were to perish, these six boxes of books would be the only copies available.

Whoever manages to acquire even one set, or even just two volumes, can make it a family heirloom and establish the foundation of their clan!
(End of this chapter)