Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 294 New Factional Strife
Wang Yun came from the Wang clan of Qi County, Taiyuan, which was one of the most powerful and influential families in Bingzhou.

The Wang family of Taiyuan is divided into two branches: the Wang family of Qixian and the Wang family of Jinyang. Both branches are prominent families that have served as officials for generations, and are somewhat similar to the Cui family of Ganling.

Having a prestigious family background naturally brings a high level of prestige.

Wang Yun was known for his fierce and unyielding character when he was young. Later, he was appointed as a censor by the Grand Minister of Works, and his reputation was already quite great.

At that time, the person who recommended Gao Di and appointed Wang Yun as Minister of Works was Yuan Wei.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Wang Yun joined Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun in the war, reporting that eunuchs such as Zhang Rang and Duan Gui were colluding with the Taiping Dao. He was then appointed as the governor of Yuzhou—in fact, he became the vanguard against the eunuchs, and was then protected by Yuan Wei.

However, Zhang Rang supported He Jin in clearing out the Yellow Turbans in Luoyang and cooperated in arresting Ma Yuanyi, thus proving his innocence and regaining Liu Hong's trust.

Subsequently, Wang Yun was retaliated against by Zhang Rang, or rather, he suffered a counterattack from the eunuch faction, and was imprisoned on charges of 'false accusation and retribution'.

This was not a miscarriage of justice, because Wang Yun was indeed falsely accusing Zhang Rang.

Only thanks to the strong support of Yang Ci and Yuan Wei, Wang Yun was spared the death penalty.

After the main force of the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, a general amnesty was declared. Wang Yun was brought back to his original post by Yang Ci and Yuan Wei.

However, just one month later, he was arrested and imprisoned again for publicly insulting Zhang Feng, which was considered a crime of "slandering the emperor".

Zhang Feng wasn't someone to be trifled with. He was Liu Hong's brother-in-law, and Wang Yun's insult was "bo ru shu"—a very common vulgarity. But Liu Hong and Empress He were both Zhang Feng's relatives, so of course, one couldn't just casually "bo" him...

He Jin, Yang Ci, Yuan Wei, and others once again jointly submitted a memorial to the throne, strongly advocating for Wang Yun's survival and sparing him from the death penalty.

Wang Yun was imprisoned again, and was not released even after a general amnesty.

When Wang Yun was released from prison the following year after another general amnesty, he heard that Zhang Rang was after him.

Knowing that Zhang Rang would not tolerate his survival, Wang Yun changed his name and went to Hanoi to avoid trouble.

This time, they were very lucky, as Zhu Jun was appointed as the governor of Hanoi.

Although Zhu Jun is somewhat past his prime, he can still save Wang Yun's life.

Until recently, upon learning of the emperor's death and the successive killings of the empress, He Jin, He Miao, Yuan Wei, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Duan Gui, and others, and upon receiving Liu Bei's proclamation to attack Yuan Shao, Wang Yun changed back to his original name and actively "responded to the call to punish the rebels" to re-enter the capital.

An official who can confront the imperial faction represented by Zhang Rang head-on and escape danger several times is certainly someone who is good at seizing opportunities.

More than twenty renowned scholars, including Xun Shuang, Cai Yong, and Huang Wan, began to enter the capital one after another and were appointed as close attendants such as Attendant Gentlemen-in-Waiting, Attendant Gentlemen-in-Waiting, and Gentlemen-in-Waiting.

The followers of the famous scholars were also gathered together, and Shi Sunrui and Ma Ridi were added to the Northern Army's Archery Camp.

Many prominent figures formed a faction again, with Wang Yun as their contact.

But this was no longer the Qingliu Party; perhaps it should be called the 'Noble Family Party,' whose nominal leader was Yang Biao, a Grand Master of the Palace.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Yang Biao will assume the position of Minister of Works after Liu Hong's funeral is completed. Liu Hong has just been buried, but the tomb has not yet been sealed, and Yang Biao is in charge of the sealing process.

Liu Hong's posthumous title had already been set as 'Xiaoling', which is actually a fair assessment.

However, Liu Hong's mausoleum was named "Wenling," which was chosen by Liu Xie himself... The name of the mausoleum was clearly inconsistent with the posthumous title, but no one objected to this, because the officials were busy networking and forming factions, and no one intended to cause any trouble at this time.

Members of the imperial clan, such as Liu Biao, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, Liu Dai, the Imperial Censor, and Liu Yao, all volunteered to take up positions outside the capital in order to fight against Yuan Shao, rather than directly participate in factional strife.

Neither Empress Dowager Dong nor Jia Xu prevented members of the imperial clan from going out. Liu Biao was appointed as the governor of Jingzhou, Liu Dai as the governor of Yanzhou, and Liu Yao as the governor of Yangzhou.

The governor of Bingzhou was appointed by Niu Fu, Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, which was a normal transfer, but Niu Fu was actually still in Dong Zhuo's army.

In fact, the members of the imperial clan who volunteered to leave the palace were more inclined to support Liu Bei. However, while leaning towards Liu Bei, they also wanted to seek more benefits for themselves.

……

After receiving the message from Jia Xu in Luoyang, Liu Bei remained quite calm.

Forming cliques and vying for power has always been a constant theme in the imperial court, and it's unavoidable.

It's normal for the Empress Dowager to want to gain power; she's human too, and she doesn't want to be a puppet.

It's understandable for officials to want to vie for power; officials are human too, and no one wants to be manipulated.

Humans have desires. Wang Yun's willingness to be a leading figure in the "pure stream" faction even when Zhang Rang's power was at its peak clearly indicates a strong lust for power. Having been suppressed by Zhang Rang for several years, it's only natural for him to want to seize the opportunity to rise again. And now that Luoyang is stable, it's normal for officials to want to recruit allies to consolidate power and profit together.

Everyone's choices are based on three fundamental principles: "Whom am I more useful to? Who is more beneficial to me? Can I gain greater benefits?"

Shi Sunrui, Ma Ridi, and other famous scholars from Guanzhong would openly side with Dong Zhuo while secretly seeking personal gain—isn't that how officials are these days?

If they sided with Liu Bei, these scholars from prestigious families would find it difficult to gain greater benefits.

Liu Bei rebuilt the Jixia Academy in Qingzhou and established many colleges, which was well-known to officials and gentry.

what does this mean?
This means that Liu Bei was cultivating his own loyal followers.

The students studying at various academies in Qingzhou were not traditional children of powerful families. Many of them came from merchant families, pirate families, small landowner families, scholars without backgrounds, or even poor families.

This is not the current bureaucratic class...

The sons of aristocratic families had family and clan schools, and could easily study under famous scholars from various places. The kinship and academic relationships between famous families were already in place, so the sons of wealthy families did not need to travel thousands of miles to Qingzhou to study.

The students of the various academies in Qingzhou are scholars from poor families and those from families that are not considered respectable but want to improve their lives.

Why did Liu Bei allow many practical skills colleges, such as business schools and maritime colleges, to not charge tuition fees?

Why was Guan Hai specifically tasked with building a primary school like Yi Wu Academy?
This approach of accepting students for free and providing them with meals was obviously difficult to sustain in the long run, but Liu Bei still did it.

This was to allow as many children from poor families as possible to attend school—children from poor families, not scholars from poor backgrounds.

Even if it means bearing the burden of money and supplies, we must recruit and cultivate as many talents as possible.

The investments made by the two wealthy merchant families, the Guan and Mi families, to Liu Bei were actually all used by Liu Bei for education—this also enhanced the reputation of the Guan and Mi families, transforming them from merchants into aristocratic families, which was a mutually beneficial thing.

Even if the family couldn't afford to eat, they could send their children to be apprentices, as the academy would provide meals.

Liu Bei was willing to cultivate professional talents starting from elementary education.

The people you cultivate yourself are the ones who truly share your ideals.

Before long, Qingzhou will see a steady stream of talented people who can get things done.

The prominent families were well aware that Liu Bei was a regent minister, and if things continued this way, many future officials would likely come from the new Jixia Academy, Liu Bei's military academy, and Mi Zhu's business school...

This was obviously about undermining the interests of prominent families. Although Liu Bei didn't implement the Party Prohibitions, they weren't actually this severe...

This is a quiet, low-key transformation; it's about uprooting the prestigious lineage.

Wang Yun knew very well that as long as Liu Bei was in power, he would no longer easily appoint famous scholars, because Liu Bei would not lack people for long.

Therefore, the scholars were destined not to side with Liu Bei; this was a fundamental conflict.

If Liu Bei cannot be stopped, and if a way cannot be found to seize the power of regent from him, the status of prestigious families will gradually be shaken, and the method of recommending officials for office, which was originally monopolized by powerful clans, will be gradually divided up by Liu Bei.

This is why no one has rebuilt the Jixia Academy before. They needed to find a suitable leader to rebuild the academy, have enough money to run it, withstand the pressure of contemporary ideas, and when the academy started operating, they had to go against all the powerful families in the world.

If the aristocratic clans wanted to protect their own interests, they had to quickly contact other prominent families and form a faction against Liu Bei in Dong Zhuo's name before Liu Bei's talent pool was fully established. This was the best and only way for the scholars at present.

If Empress Dowager Dong wants to take control of the government, she must seize the opportunity given to her by Wang Yun, which is also the easiest way for her to gain support at present.

Dong Zhuo was busy with military affairs at the moment and may not have thought so much about it yet, but in any case, Dong Zhuo had to stand on the same side as Empress Dowager Dong. After all, only Empress Dowager Dong could give Dong Zhuo the right to rule, and Liu Xie and Dong Zhuo had no relationship.

We are all human beings, and people will always have their own stances and thoughts.

This was all destined, and there was no loyalty or treachery, good or evil involved. It was neither a conspiracy nor a coup d'état. Liu Bei could not have suppressed this matter with violence, because Wang Yun was using Dong Zhuo's name to win over famous scholars from various places.

If Liu Bei were to resort to force, he would turn against Dong Zhuo, which would only benefit others.

Jia Xu knew that this overt strategy wouldn't work, so in his letter to Liu Bei, besides explaining the situation in Luoyang, he also asked, "Are you planning an eastern tour?"

"can."

Liu Bei only sent a messenger back with one word.

(End of this chapter)