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

Chapter 412 The Predicament of a Prestigious Family

Boluojin Valley.

There is an abandoned camp here, left behind by Huangfu Song after he defeated Zhang Liang.

There were many skeletons on the ground, all broken and many deeply embedded in the soil.

Foxtail grass grew from the skull's eye socket, swaying in the wind.

The land, irrigated by blood and fire, was covered with lush weeds, but none of the dead trees in the area sprouted again; their bark had all been burned away, leaving only black and hollow branches.

Occasionally, a cold-blooded crow would land, its blood-red eyes and cawing sending chills down one's spine.

Huangfu Song once built a mound of skulls here.

This place is certainly not a good place; it looks no different from hell, filled with an atmosphere of deathly stillness.

"We cannot linger here..."

Qu Yi looked around and hesitated, then asked, "Minister Tian, ​​is what Lord Feng said about Marquis Shi's posthumous child true or false?"

"...Do you hope it's true or false?"

Tian Feng frowned and shook his head: "What's the point of talking about truth or falsehood? Whether it's Minister Dong, Prefect Feng, or Lord Han... they were all just trying to stop Liu Bei. If we allow Liu Bei to continue his chaotic rule, our family's thousand-year legacy will be destroyed in an instant..."

The Tian family of Julu was indeed a prestigious family with a history of thousands of years. They were the main branch of the Tian family of Qi who fled north to Jizhou during the Qin Dynasty.

Qu Yi is also from a prominent family. During the reign of Wang Mang, the family moved to Xiping and changed their surname from Ju to Qu. Now it is the largest surname in Xiping.

Yan Liang was a descendant of Yan Hui. Since the Confucius family of Lu was executed, it was impossible for the Yan family to serve Liu Bei and Cao Cao.

Wen Chou was the lowest-ranking member of this group, but they were still a powerful clan with thousands of members.

But Qu Yi wasn't from Hebei, and he didn't seem to want to die there...

"Commander Qu, in this world, anyone with insight can see that Liu Bei intends to destroy the aristocratic families. Right now, it's Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and Hebei, but if we don't stop him, the whole world will end up like Qingzhou in the future..."

Tian Feng continued, “The scholars of Qing and Xu have either been slaughtered or their clans have split apart. If a villain gains power, he will surely reduce all of us clansmen to dust, just like Gongsun Du did in Liaodong… If that happens, how will we face our ancestors after we die?”

Most of the powerful clans in Qingzhou were indeed killed—although there were reasons for it, no one had ever killed such powerful clans in the past few hundred years.

The powerful families of Qing and Xu prefectures were indeed all separated into different branches, and the massacre in Xiapi was indeed real.

The Kong family of Lu was also destroyed, and the policies promulgated blocked the recommendation of officials by aristocratic families. Official positions could only be filled through policy examinations and practical assessments. Even the schools in Qingzhou were completely changed.

To outsiders, Liu Bei did indeed seem to intend to destroy powerful and influential families, and to do so completely.

It is inevitable that powerful clans will oppress commoners or collateral branches. Once the powerful clans lose power, the collateral branches and commoners will inevitably retaliate.

Which of these centuries-old, prestigious families doesn't have a few enemies?

When a family is powerful, its enemies dare not come knocking.

However, Liu Bei's policies were bound to lead to the loss of power for powerful families, and sooner or later they would lose their power.

There's no way around it; scions of wealthy families can't let their family fortunes fall into ruin. Just like Tian Feng, he can't imagine what it would be like if the once-famous Tian family fell into decline.

Everyone has things they have to do; it's not a matter of who's right or wrong.

"It can only be stopped when Liu Bei has not yet gained full power. He is quite capable. If he waits another year or two, he will be unstoppable."

As Tian Feng spoke, he glanced back at Liu Yuanqi and his son in the camp: "Release them... We cannot coerce people like Magistrate Feng did, otherwise we would be no different from beasts."

"Ugh……"

Qu Yi also looked at Liu Yuanqi and sighed: "Why can't Liu Bei tolerate prominent families? He also comes from a prominent family... This world has been like this for thousands of years, why does he have to create chaos?"

"Everyone has their own ambitions... Liu Bei has his own ambitions to pursue, and we have our own ancestral prestige to protect. It's just a matter of how we manage to achieve them."

Tian Feng looked at the darkening sky: "But Feng Xun is not a wise ruler, nor is Lord Han... It's a pity that Lord Bo'an would rather die than establish himself as ruler, otherwise, if the Grand Marshal were to raise his voice, the whole world would surely follow..."

"Does Prefect Tian intend to seek a different post?"

Qu Yi asked, "Although Liu Bei has won a battle, his forces are limited. We have not yet been defeated, and Youzhou has already fallen into the hands of our allied forces..."

"This is not a matter of victory or defeat on the battlefield."

Tian Feng lowered his head, somewhat helplessly: "Feng Xun uses the Hu people as bargaining chips and foreign tribes to control the world. Even if he can force Liu Bei to give up Hebei, the Hu people will enter the Han territory, and it will be a land full of blood and gore... You have also fought against the Qiang and Hu in Liangzhou. If the Hu people enter the ancestral tombs of you and me, can we be considered to have won?"

“Feng Xun is not a man of careful planning. He and Lord Han are both from Yingchuan; they don’t care what happens to Hebei and Liangzhou.” Qu Yi also sighed, “Indeed, neither of them is a wise ruler… Where will Prefect Tian go?”

"I do not know."

Tian Feng smiled bitterly: "I know I lack the ability to be a leader, but I don't know where to go. Liu Hui is blinded by hatred; he has no talent and will surely fail sooner or later... I don't know who else in Hebei can stand against Liu Bei..."

Tian Feng is currently nominally Feng Xun's assistant, but in reality, he is Han Fu's subordinate official.

Tian Feng was very famous. He was recommended by Zhang Wen when Zhang Wen was the Grand Commandant and was selected as a Censor.

At that time, Han Fu was the Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Tian Feng has been Han Fu's subordinate ever since.

When Han Fu inspected Fufeng, Tian Feng did not go, but instead resigned and returned to his hometown. The official reason was that he was "resentful of the eunuchs in power and the persecution of virtuous officials." In reality, it was because Zhang Wen had lost power and Dong Zhuo and Liu Bei were fighting in Liangzhou.

The so-called "virtuous minister" who was murdered refers to Zhang Wen.

After Liu Hong's death, Yuan Shao rebelled, and Han Fu and Feng Xun secretly responded.

After Yuan Shao's allied forces were defeated, Feng Xun escorted Yuan Shao to Ji Province and installed Liu Zhong, the Prince of Ganling, as emperor.

However, Liu Bei broke through the encirclement, exterminated the Kong family, and ruined Yuan Shao's reputation, making it impossible for Yuan Shao to establish himself in Ji Province.

After Guan Yu marched north into Ji Province, Han Fu went to Ji Province to "persuade" Feng Xun to take the head of the King of Ganling and present it to him. This was considered as "abandoning darkness and embracing light to pacify Ji Province." At this time, Tian Feng was once again appointed as an aide by Han Fu.

Liu Bei could not punish Han Fu and Feng Xun at that time, because the two had made contributions on the surface. If they were not treated fairly, the situation that had just improved would deteriorate again.

Just then, Dong Zhuo was about to establish a new Yongzhou, so he transferred the two men there: Feng Xun as the governor of Yongzhou and Han Fu as the prefect of Jingzhao. In fact, this was to make things difficult for Dong Zhuo.

However, Tian Feng still did not go to Chang'an with Han Fu. The gentry of Ji Province moved westward from Bohai and other places to Changshan, Zhongshan and other places, and Tian Feng also moved there.

This time, Feng Xun originally planned to transfer Han Fu to Jizhou, but Han Fu himself did not come...

Tian Feng and Qu Yi were still Han Fu's men, but they were helping Feng Xun on Han Fu's orders. However, Feng Xun gave them the titles of Assistant Administrator and Colonel.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou were Feng Xun's subordinates.

Of course, that's only nominally true...

Feng Xun was certainly backed by Yuan Shao, but Yuan Shao was an investor, not his nominal lord.

Tian Feng knew, and he knew that all of this was Yuan Shao's idea, but he could not serve Yuan Shao, nor would anyone directly serve Yuan Shao.

Feng Xun also had a magistrate, a native of Zhongshan, named Liu Hui.

Liu Hui was a legitimate descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan and a direct descendant of the Liu clan of Wangdu, Zhongshan.

Liu Hui's father was named Liu Cheng.

That's right, it's Liu Cheng, the patriarch of the Wangdu Liu clan who was killed by Liu Bei after a thousand-mile pursuit, and the one who plotted against Su Shuang.

Liu Bei's revenge and pursuit of the murderer to offer sacrifices to his comrades was actually a form of vigilante justice. Although Yue Yin helped Liu Bei go through the formalities, Yan Liang was fully aware of the whole process.

Yan Liang witnessed firsthand how Qian Zhao used the Luan Dao to kill Liu Cheng.

Liu Hui and Liu Bei had a blood feud involving the murder of Liu's father.

In Changshan and Zhongshan, Liu Hui was actually providing hiding places and supplies for Tian Feng, Yan Liang, and others.

Everything has a cause and effect; there is no love without a reason, nor is there hatred without a reason.

Tian Feng is currently in a dilemma.

He was unwilling to gain power through foreign tribes, nor could he allow his family to fall into ruin... but he didn't know where to go or who to turn to for the victory he desired.

……

Liu Bei, on the other hand, doesn't have as many concerns right now.

He is now focused solely on fighting.

Scouts followed the footprints and reported back that Liu Bei already knew that Tian Feng and Qu Yi must be at Boluojin.

There were many places in this area where ambushes could be set up, but the area itself was not particularly large. Liu Bei's advance was slow and cautious, but the scouts still found Qu Yi's garrison location very quickly.

Tian Feng only had one night to agonize over it. The next morning, Qu Yi's men encountered scouts from Liu Bei's army.

(End of this chapter)