Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 199 The Qiang people are skilled archers, so it's not surprising that Zuo Fengyi died from a stray arrow, is it? (Bonus chapter! Requesting monthly votes)

(Happy May Day, dear readers! Here's an extra 1000 words for now, and I'm still asking for your monthly votes!)
Luoyang, Yong'an Palace

Liu Bian looked at the several urgent reports from Beidi County and thought that something big had happened.

But after reading it, Liu Bian only wanted to pull Zuo Fengyi Song Xiao in front of him, take off the Jinxian crown on his head, untie the jade belt at his waist, and urinate on the Jinxian crown.

"Your subject, Song Xiao, of Zuo Fengyi, respectfully reports that Liangzhou lacks scholarship, which has led to repeated rebellions and violence. I now wish to have more copies of the Classic of Filial Piety made so that every household can study it, so that people may understand righteousness."

Song Xiao attributed the repeated rebellions in Liangzhou to insufficient education, so he suggested that every household in Liangzhou copy the "Classic of Filial Piety" to teach them about etiquette and morality.

To this, Liu Bian can only say... Are you out of your mind?!

If the warehouse is solid, you will know etiquette; if you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace.

So you old codger are planning to skip the "full granaries" stage and directly force the people of Liangzhou to "know etiquette"?
I believe that since the deaths of Lü and Wang Mang, there have been no more such foolish idealistic Confucian scholars in the world!
You even copied the Classic of Filial Piety? Do you believe that the people of Liangzhou could carve a copy of the Classic of Filial Piety onto your body with a knife?
In his memorial, Song Xiao also impeached Liu Bei, the Commandant of the Changshui School, for arbitrarily killing Ma Teng, a surrendered general from a prestigious family, and used Ma Teng as an example to illustrate the feasibility of spreading the Classic of Filial Piety in Liangzhou.

Song Xiao said that Ma Teng was impoverished in his early years and had no opportunity to be influenced by the emperor's policies. He had to live with the Qiang people who wore their hair loose and their robes fastened on the left, which eventually led him astray and caused him to rebel against the court.

Now he explained the meaning of the Classic of Filial Piety to Ma Teng. Ma Teng was deeply moved by the teachings and immediately expressed his willingness to submit to the court and serve the Han Dynasty to the death.

Ma Teng: Oh right, right, right, whatever you say is right if you spare my life!
However, Liu Bei ordered Guan Yu, the commander of the Changshui Army, and Zhang Fei, the commander of the Huqi Army, to forcibly take Ma Teng out and behead him as a warning to the public.

In his memorial, Song Xiao condemned and impeached Liu Bei's egregious behavior, arguing that it would lead to no one daring to submit to the rebel generals in Liangzhou in the future, thus chilling their hearts.

Liu Bian almost laughed out of anger. So, the hearts of the generals who are loyal to me can be chilled?

Liu Bei's memorial was quite interesting. He first apologized to him, taking full responsibility for the death of nine hundred men in Guan Yu's troops due to Ma Teng's night raid.

Liu Bei then impeached Song Xiao, stating that Song Xiao had repeatedly opposed him since the start of the campaign.

The official rank of Zuo Fengyi was 2,000 shi, which was the same as that of the prefects of other prefectures, but in reality, it was more prestigious.

The Three Rivers and the Six Commanderies of the Three Auxiliary Regions held a special position in the Han Dynasty. The administrative officials of these six commanderies actually held a rank half a grade higher than officials of the same level.

Therefore, Song Xiao was actually quite resentful of being subordinate to Liu Bei, a military officer with a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain), and he made no secret of his contempt for Liu Bei in the army.

Song Xiao often told the soldiers of Zuofufeng Commandery that the Commandant of Changshui was just a lucky member of the imperial family who was fortunate enough to be a student of Lu Zhi and thus gained the Crown Prince's trust by being a fellow student. He was nothing more than a treacherous and opportunistic man.

The reason why Song Xiao targeted Liu Bei was not only because he was subordinate to Liu Bei, but also because Liu Bei was not well-versed in the classics!
And how can such an "illiterate" be worthy of being a disciple of the giants of their ancient literature school?
Along with everyone else, Song Xiao also criticized Guan Yu for his pretentious behavior, holding a copy of "Zuo Zhuan" but only reading the words without understanding the meaning, clearly just being a pretentious affectation.

He also said that Zhang Fei was a boorish and vulgar man who spent his days practicing calligraphy and painting but did not study the classics. Even Fu Xie could not escape his foul mouth.

Fu Xie was a student of Liu Kuan, who was a member of the imperial family but also a giant of the New Text School. Liu Kuan was particularly ruthless when criticizing Fu Xie.

Liu Bian was greatly shocked by this. He thought, "You really dare to curse. You're just lucky to have met upright figures like Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Fu Xie, who disdain to resort to underhanded tactics."

Otherwise... the Qiang people are skilled archers, so it wouldn't be surprising if Zuo Fengyi died from a stray arrow, would it?
Fu Xie's memorial stated that Liu Bei, considering the overall situation, had always been quite restrained and tolerant, and had turned a blind eye to Song Xiao as long as he did not openly disobey his military orders.

However, if the generals and commanders are at odds, the morale of the army will inevitably be disrupted, and in the long run, it will be the soldiers who are loyal to the court who will suffer losses.

Liu Bian rubbed his head, he really couldn't understand how such an idiot could become the Left Fengyi. Could it be that his father had accepted this guy's "money to buy the official position" back then? He turned to Gao Wang and said, "Go and summon the Minister of Personnel!"

Before long, Gao Wang led his men into the hall. Liang Hu came running, panting, his hat askew from running. He hurriedly wiped the sweat from his forehead that was about to drip into his eyes with his sleeve, and bowed, saying, "Your subject Hu, Minister of Personnel, pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Liang Hu was a confidant of his foolish father. The reason he was able to serve as the Minister of Personnel was entirely because his foolish father wanted to sell official positions.

The Minister of Personnel was in charge of selecting officials and conducting sacrificial rites. In order to facilitate the sale of official positions, he naturally needed to appoint a trusted confidant.

Although Liang Hu was a treacherous minister, he was indeed quite capable. Even though Liu Tao, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, disliked him and despised his character, he had to admit that if Liang Hu hadn't cooperated with the emperor in selling official positions, he would have been a capable minister.

Moreover, Liang Hu was also skilled in calligraphy. His father, a foolish emperor, loved calligraphy and summoned hundreds of people from all over the country who were good at calligraphy to study at Hongdu Gate.

Among them, the one whose calligraphy skills were hailed as the best in the world was Shi Yiguan, who was Liang Hu's teacher.

Shi Yiguan's calligraphy ranged in size from a single character a foot in diameter to a single square inch containing a thousand words. The powerful and wealthy considered it an honor to possess his authentic works. Moreover, he was known for his unrestrained and dissolute lifestyle, and his extreme fondness for drinking. Often, he would drink until he owed taverns a large sum of money, at which point he would write calligraphy on the tavern walls, attracting a constant stream of customers. Once the amount of wine these customers bought was enough to offset his debts, he would scrape the calligraphy off the walls.

Liang Hu's calligraphy skills are widely considered to have surpassed those of his teacher. In comparison, Shi Yiguan excelled in small characters, while Liang Hu excelled in large characters.

Overall, Liang Hu's calligraphy is more vigorous and magnificent. Many palace plaques and the residences of important officials in the court were written by Liang Hu.

Liu Bian leaned against the armrest, propping his cheek with one hand, and said, "Meng Huang (Liang Hu's courtesy name), Song Xiao from Youfufeng, is currently the Left Fengyi. Was he promoted by you?"

Liu Bian treated Liang Hu with a friendly attitude, and he was tolerant of capable ministers who were willing to serve him.

Liang Hu, who was able to become the emperor's confidant, was naturally a quick-witted person who was good at reading people's expressions and immediately understood the crown prince's unspoken meaning.

After a moment's thought, Liang Hu, who had served as the chief administrator of the Three Auxiliary Regions for the past two years, replied, "Your Highness, although this person was promoted through my efforts, he did not buy his position."

But after speaking, Liang Hu hesitated slightly, as if he was wondering whether to continue.

Of course, this act was deliberately staged for Liu Bian's benefit.

My boss pressed me for answers, so I had no choice but to reply; you can't blame me for that.

Liu Bian shook his head slightly, not wanting to expose his little scheme. He then instructed Gao Wang to hand Song Xiao's memorial to Liang Hu, who immediately prostrated himself on the ground to beg for forgiveness, saying, "I am guilty. I failed to distinguish talent for the country and promoted such a pedantic scholar."

Although Liang Hu was from Anding County in Liangzhou, he had been forced by his foolish father to violate the Three Mutual Laws and become the governor of Liangzhou. Therefore, Liang Hu was quite familiar with the situation in Liangzhou and naturally understood why the crown prince had summoned him.

Liu Bian casually tapped the armrest of the armchair with his well-defined fingers, looking at Liang Hu with a frivolous air, yet possessing a certain imposing presence. He said, "Alright, stop beating around the bush. Whether these things are your problem or someone else's, I know perfectly well."

Everyone knows perfectly well who these "others" are.

Liang Hu wiped his sweat. He was still a little unaccustomed to the Crown Prince's bluntness, but he didn't say anything more and had someone bring Song Xiao's resume.

Based on Song Xiao's resume, we can basically conclude that he had no talent other than studying the classics.

He had served as a county magistrate and prefectural governor multiple times, but his tenure was mostly chaotic and his political achievements were a complete mess. However, two years ago he was suddenly promoted to Zuo Fengyi.

Liang Hu watched Liu Bian flip through Song Xiao's file, a wry smile on his face, and said, "Your Highness, this man is the younger brother of the late Commander of the Imperial Guard, Song Feng."

But Liu Bian still didn't understand what this had to do with Song Xiao's brother. There were plenty of brothers among the high-ranking officials in the court, but none of them had been promoted so exceptionally by his foolish emperor.

Liang Hu secretly glanced up to observe the Crown Prince's expression. Seeing Liu Bian's furrowed brows and puzzled look, he couldn't help but inwardly groan.

He racked his brains, carefully choosing his words, but dared not speak frankly, for there were some things he truly could not say, otherwise he might offend Empress He.

Therefore, Liang Hu had no choice but to turn his pleading gaze to Gao Wang, who was standing next to the Crown Prince.

He was very skilled at this kind of thing. He would leave the things that were inconvenient to say to Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong. Although these two were eunuchs, they really did their jobs when they were paid!
These kinds of problems that arise unexpectedly can simply be submitted later.

However, Gao Wang had a clearer understanding of his own position than Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong.

He was the Crown Prince's servant, and a servant is a servant. He shouldn't associate with officials outside the court, much less do Liang Hu any favors.

Moreover, the Crown Prince and the Emperor have different temperaments. He dislikes eunuchs interfering in politics and has no need to use eunuchs to fight for power.

As long as the crown prince maintains his closeness and trust in him, he will not lose his favor and may even be buried with the emperor in the future.

So Liang Hu's little scheme should have failed, but who could blame him when this matter involved the Crown Prince's mother, the current Empress?

It would indeed be more appropriate for him to explain to the Crown Prince.

Gao Wang walked to Liang Hu's side, then took five or six steps away from Liang Hu, bowed to the Crown Prince, and said, "Your Highness, the former Imperial Guard Commander Song Feng is the father of the deposed Empress Song."

(3054 words)
PS: The Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Xiao was troubled by many bandits and rebels. He said to Gai Xun, "Liangzhou is lacking in scholarship, which is why it has repeatedly caused rebellions and violence. Now I want to make more copies of the Classic of Filial Piety and have every family study it, so that people may understand righteousness."

(End of this chapter)