Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 231 Liu Bian: Alas, you have really caused me great suffering!
Liu Bian walked slowly to the corridor, but did not immediately step into the side hall where the meeting was to be held. Instead, he stood under the eaves, held his breath, and listened carefully to the sounds inside the hall.

In fact, Liu Bian's anger was far less intense than it appeared on the surface.

Many things are one thing in your mind, but quite another in how you actually do them.

Didn't Tian Feng praise him for being "affected and stoic"?

If someone could so easily discern his thoughts, then he, as a ruler, would be far too lacking in cunning.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the hall was heavy and oppressive. Xun Shuang sighed softly, patted Zheng Xuan's back to help him breathe, and couldn't help but recall the historian who had been writing furiously earlier. He smiled bitterly and said, "It's truly the first time in history that a monarch has been driven away by his subject."

This history will be recorded in the annals, and these people will all be remembered with a bad reputation.

Although Zheng Xuan's suggestion was reasonable, which Confucian scholar in later generations would tell the emperors that it was for the sake of majesty and to better establish their own legitimacy? They would only say, "Look at these famous Confucian scholars who usually talk about benevolence and morality, they actually advised the emperor to carry out large-scale construction projects, which angered the emperor so much that he even wanted to quit and go on strike. They are really disrespectful to the emperor and are simply a bunch of treacherous officials."

Hmm... Xun Shuang said these words on purpose to distance himself from the matter of driving away the Crown Prince.

Cai Yong, however, didn't have so many thoughts on this. He patted his old friend Zheng Xuan on the shoulder and said, "Kangcheng, it is our duty as ministers to advise His Highness, not to offend him. What do you think we should do now?"

Zheng Xuan held his head high, ignoring their words.

Seeing this, Fu Qian couldn't help but sigh and said, "Are we just going to keep waiting like this?"

The benefits brought by the Crown Prince's ascension to the throne are far too great. If His Highness the Crown Prince does not ascend the throne, their school of classical literature will find it difficult to become the official school. Therefore, they are more eager than His Highness the Crown Prince to ascend the throne as soon as possible.

If it were someone else, these giants of the classical literature school might have remained calm and composed.

Who wouldn't want to be emperor?
If you, Liu Bian, didn't want to be emperor, why did you stage a palace coup in the first place?
The problem is that this Crown Prince, who has inherited the style of Emperor Gaozu, is indeed different from ordinary people in temperament.

He said he didn't want to be emperor anymore, and he really might not. Do you think he's joking about being frivolous and lacking in dignity?
Anyway, His Highness the Crown Prince is still young, only fourteen years old this year. These old fogies might all turn into dust in twenty years, while the Crown Prince is still in his prime. He can outlive them all to death.

Ma Ridi nudged Lu Zhi, who remained silent, and gestured towards the corridor leading to the rear hall, saying, "Zigan, you are the Crown Prince's most respected teacher, and your teacher-student relationship is extremely deep. Why don't you go and persuade His Highness to come back?"

Lu Zhi glanced at Ma Ridi, shook his head slightly, and said, "His Highness has his own thoughts. He is not a child, and it is not something I, as a teacher, can interfere with."

"There is a distinction between ruler and subject, and even between teacher and student. If one loses one's sense of propriety and acts improperly, it will be undignified and one will lose the emperor's favor sooner or later."

When Lu Zhi said this, he glanced at Zheng Xuan, clearly trying to remind this "spirit".

Zheng Xuan was a Confucian scholar whose attainments in the study of classics were unparalleled. Even a thousand years later, few people could rival him in the study of classics. However, in terms of being a good minister, Zheng Xuan was far inferior.

No, even those people in the hall are far from it, or rather, they don't understand His Highness the Crown Prince enough.

Based on his understanding of the Crown Prince over the past year, would the Crown Prince really turn against Zheng Xuan, whom he had always respected and had a close relationship with, for the sake of a platform for the abdication of fifty million coins?

Even if the Crown Prince and Zheng Xuan had occasional disagreements, he would not be so angry as to act in this way, even for the sake of his reputation.

They plotted with Emperor Xiaowen and were like Emperor Shizong in their ambitions.

Since the crown prince is so similar to Emperor Xiaowen and Emperor Xiaowu, Emperor Xiaowen must have done certain things because there was something to gain.

Emperor Xiaowu placed great emphasis on pragmatism, disregarding other drawbacks for the sake of practical benefits. He was willing to bear the reputational damage caused by employing cruel officials, as long as the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

So what benefits could possibly justify the Crown Prince's actions?
Just as Lu Zhi was pondering, a loud shout suddenly came from under the corridor.

"His Royal Highness is here!"

Everyone turned to look, then returned to their seats and bowed to the Crown Prince, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Yes, everyone's here." Liu Bian looked around and, seeing that no one was missing, nodded slightly. "That's good, saves me the trouble of sending someone to summon you."

Liu Bian entered the hall, but instead of going to his seat, he turned his gaze to Zheng Xuan and said, "Lord Kangcheng, why are you so eager to hold me hostage?" (Note 1)

But after Zheng Xuan finished his greeting, he turned his head away, avoiding eye contact with the Crown Prince. Liu Bian was not annoyed. Instead, he walked step by step towards Zheng Xuan, clasped his hands together, and bowed respectfully. "Your Highness!"

This gesture startled Zheng Xuan so much that he could no longer maintain a stern expression and immediately knelt down to return the gesture to the Crown Prince.

The others in the hall were also somewhat astonished, but Lu Zhi seemed to understand even more.

Liu Bian bent down slightly, reached out his hands to help Zheng Xuan up, let out a long sigh, and said with a faint smile, "Lord Kangcheng, I was wrong just now. Although I still think that the twenty-zhang abdication platform is too wasteful, I should not have prevented my subject from fulfilling his duty to advise the king. I will not do it again in the future."

"Your Highness!" Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Throughout history, apart from His Highness the Crown Prince, how many monarchs have been able to tolerate such a dispute with him?

Liu Bian looked at the simple old man, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and chuckled, "Hey, Lord Kangcheng, don't cry, otherwise outsiders might think that I disrespected you and made you cry."

Zheng Xuan solemnly shouted, "Anyone who dares to slander His Highness, I will fight them to the death!"

"Hahaha, very good. I'm afraid no one in the world can beat Kang Cheng Gong in debating the classics. Does that mean no one will dare to criticize me in the future?"

“But I think there should still be different voices in the court. If you think I’ve done something wrong, then you should remonstrate with me. The same applies to you.” Liu Bian clapped his hands and laughed, then turned to face the crowd and said, “If you think I’ve done anything wrong in the future, then speak up and remonstrate with me. I will no longer forbid any of you from speaking up.”

Liu Bian did not make a definitive statement; his casual remonstrances only included the few prominent figures of the classical literature school present, without mentioning anyone else.

It is not a good thing for censors to run rampant and for them to report on rumors.

These giants of classical literature may have their own selfish motives and personal feelings, but at least overall they are still prioritizing the interests of the court. Even if their advice makes him uncomfortable, it is at least out of a sense of public duty.

Without giving anyone a chance to reply, Liu Bian turned the topic back to the discussion of the regulations for the abdication platform, saying, "What does Kang Cheng think about halving the regulations for the abdication platform?"

"Ten zhang?"

Zheng Xuan frowned slightly, but did not rush to refute. Instead, he waited for the Crown Prince to give his reasons.

Liu Bian was very satisfied with Zheng Xuan's reaction, which was completely different from before, and said with a faint smile: "The national treasury only has 5.5 billion coins now, and the expenditure this year is about 10 billion. I really do not want to live beyond my means and collect taxes in advance, nor do I want to owe money to grain merchants and craftsmen. I have decided to take out 8 billion coins from the Crown Prince's treasury to advance the funds, so please grant my request, Duke Kangcheng."

Zheng Xuan remained silent for a moment, then said, “Nine is the extreme of Yang numbers, the number of supreme authority. Ten suppresses nine, which is more in line with the supreme intention of the emperor.”

Liu Bian held Zheng Xuan's hand, beaming with joy.

See, this is the benefit of having great Confucian scholars debating the classics.

The reason why the ancients disliked "ten" and regarded "nine" as the ultimate yang number is because of the principle that water overflows when it is full and the moon wanes when it is full. Perfection inevitably means decline after reaching its peak, so the slightly imperfect number "nine" is more auspicious.

Seeing that the Crown Prince and Zheng Xuan had reconciled and were even closer than before, everyone clapped and laughed. Only Lu Zhi's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at the historian whose hand was leaving afterimages as he wielded the brush. He had basically confirmed the Crown Prince's thoughts.

The contrast between initial suppression and subsequent elevation makes people appreciate benevolence and virtue even more.

From now on, it seems Zheng Kangcheng will become His Highness's most loyal follower.

Lu Zhi then bowed to the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness is magnanimous in accepting advice and cherishes the people's strength; you are truly a benevolent ruler!"

Everyone echoed, "His Highness is magnanimous in accepting advice and cherishes the people's strength; he is truly a benevolent ruler!"

Liu Bian looked at the crowd bowing down, a slight smile playing on his lips, but said nothing.

Look, how wise it is that I personally use my own money to solve the country's financial problems!
As for this abdication platform, it was not my idea to build it so luxuriously. I argued with reason and even had a fierce argument with Duke Kangcheng, but who could blame Duke Kangcheng and the others for believing that only magnificence could uphold the dignity?

Oh, you've really made my life miserable!

Historians record events truthfully, and not a single word can be changed!

(2801 words)
(End of this chapter)