The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 104 Ju Shou has become a teacher, Yuan Xi doesn't want him but Liu Bei does (2nd update)
The news that Liu Bei had returned to Lousang Village in Zhuo County to pay homage to his ancestors spread throughout Zhuo County like wildfire.

As expected.

Although the Liu family of Zhuoxian has declined, it still maintains close ties with other clans in Zhuoxian.

When the Liu family of Zhuoxian rose to prominence again, various clans that had lost contact with them in the past prepared generous gifts to renew their kinship with the Liu family of Zhuoxian, who were from the same county.

The world is bustling with activity, all driven by the pursuit of profit.

This is true both in ancient and modern times.

News also spread that Liu Bei would send troops to quell the rebellious forces in Dai Commandery, Shanggu Commandery, Guangyang Commandery, Yuyang Commandery, Youbeiping Commandery, and Liaoxi Commandery after settling tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.

The various clans in Zhuo County were filled with a mixture of joy and fear, and some short-sighted individuals even secretly sent messages to the six prefectures, trying to please both sides.

Liu Bei didn't care at all.

The weak, if they want to survive, can only maneuver among the strong and find a way to live in the cracks.

After all, Liu Bei himself was mediating between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, so how could he blame the people of Zhuo County who were afraid of getting into trouble?

Liu Bei's idea was simple: you do your mediation, I'll do my fighting. Once I've wiped out all the dissenting forces, you'll naturally only have me to submit to.

From a military perspective: if a powerful dragon wants to suppress a local snake, it must first lure the snake out of its hole, and once the local snake's vital points are exposed, then strike that vital point with a stick and kill it in one blow.

Youzhou is a vast and sparsely populated region, and the various prefectures are deeply entrenched in their own power. If we were to send troops to fight them one by one, it would take an unknown amount of time and involve countless dangers and unforeseen events.

If we can lure the snake out of its hole, then things will be simple.

Governor's Mansion.

Yuan Xi's expression was very complicated.

The news that Liu Bei was going to conquer the six counties reached Yuan Xi's ears early in the morning.

For Yuan Xi, this news was like "waking up to find the sky had fallen."

Clenching his fists, Yuan Xi slammed it on the wine table in anger, his tone a mixture of rage and helplessness: "Liu Bei has only been in Zhuojun for a few days, yet he's already stirring up trouble in Youzhou. If Liu Bei wins, I, as the governor of Youzhou, will have no choice but to submit to him from now on; if Liu Bei loses, I will also be driven out of Zhuojun by Xianyu Fu, Yan Rou, and the others. How infuriating!"

Faced with Yuan Xi's anger, whether it was the Prefect Han Heng or the generals Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan, they all lowered their heads and dared not meet Yuan Xi's gaze.

Liu Bei's display of power and magnanimity ten miles from the city still inspires awe and respect in Han Heng, Jiao Chu, and Zhang Nan. In particular, the legendary Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, whose names are still widely known, make the three of them dare not utter a sound whenever they are mentioned.

What good would Yuan Xi's complaints do?
Could Yuan Xi possibly stand a chance against Liu Bei?
If Yuan Xi wins, Xianyu Fu, Yan Rou, and others will applaud; if Yuan Xi loses, Yuan Shao will definitely transfer Yuan Xi away from Zhuojun.

Whenever Yuan Xi fought against Liu Bei, he always lost!

Yuan Xi understood the principle.

Understanding the reasons doesn't mean you can let go of the resentment; the pent-up anger made Yuan Xi restless and anxious!

Yuan Xi was ultimately too narrow-minded.

If Yuan Xi had possessed strategic vision, he wouldn't have hesitated at this point, but would have done his best to build public opinion in favor of Liu Bei.

Once enough momentum is built up, Yuan Xi will be able to claim the moral high ground.

When the forces of the six counties of Youzhou are destroyed, Yuan Xi can directly submit a memorial to Yuan Shao to claim credit. This will not only win Yuan Shao's favor but also pass the hot potato of Liu Bei to Yuan Shao to deal with. Yuan Xi can also play the good guy in front of Liu Bei and shift the blame to Yuan Shao for having villains around him.

Unless Liu Bei emulates Xiang Yu and kills King Huai of Chu, Yuan Xi, backed by the entire Yuan clan, can remain as stable as Mount Tai in Zhuojun. However, given Yuan Xi's limited capacity, it is highly unlikely that he would even consider this possibility.

"Why don't you ask Supervisor Ju first, my lord?" Han Heng suggested cautiously, unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere.

However, Yuan Xi snorted coldly and left in a huff, leaving Han Heng standing there dumbfounded.

"Prefect Han, you really do always manage to come up with suggestions that will infuriate the magistrate." Seeing that Han Heng still didn't understand, Jiao Chu couldn't help but laugh.

Zhang Nan was even more blunt: "With Ju Shou's foul temper, if you don't prepare generous gifts and invite him three times, Ju Shou will definitely claim illness and refuse to see you! You're already in a bad mood, and you want to make you suffer Ju Shou's grievances again? Have you read too many books and made yourself stupid?"

Han Heng blushed and argued forcefully: "A ruler should treat the virtuous with respect and be humble. If you, my lord, prepare generous gifts and invite us three times, we can spread the word that you are eager to seek out talented people. Scholars from all directions will surely flock to you upon hearing this."

Han Heng's idea was correct.

The more difficult it is to invite Ju Shou, the better for Yuan Xi. Regardless of whether Yuan Xi can persuade Ju Shou, his reputation for being eager to seek out talented people will attract scholars from all directions.

But Yuan Xi was not that kind of person!
Seeing Han Heng acting like a bookworm again, Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan both shook their heads and stopped arguing with him.

Han Heng's wise words were not heeded by Yuan Xi, but Zhuge Liang's wise words were remembered by Liu Bei.

After returning from Lousang Village, Zhuge Liang suggested that Liu Bei visit Ju Shou.

In Zhuge Liang's view, although Ju Shou had been causing trouble for Liu Bei in Liyang, it was only due to differences in stance. A wise man who dared to speak frankly was worthy of respect.

Even if we cannot recruit Ju Shou to our side, we can at least prevent Ju Shou from sabotaging us behind our backs when Liu Bei is conquering the six commanderies.

To show his sincerity, Liu Bei brought ten cartloads of books directly to the literary museum in Zhuo County.

The cartload contained a hundred volumes of books, all annotated by Zheng Xuan. This generous gift was worth far more than a thousand pieces of gold.

"Liu Bei, General of the Left of the Han Dynasty, Marquis of Yicheng, Prefect of Zhuojun, and Commander-in-Chief, has come to pay his respects to you, sir."

In front of the Literature Hall, Liu Bei stood solemnly, bowing and paying his respects. This not only surprised the officials of the Literature Hall but also caused the surrounding scholars and commoners to stop and discuss.

"General Zuo actually came to visit a mere literary official in person?"

"What literary pursuit? That's the renowned scholar from Hebei, Ju Shou!"

"Is it really Master Ju? How did Master Ju end up working as a literary official in Zhuojun?"

"Lord Ju has always been honest and outspoken. He must have offended some petty person to be transferred to Zhuojun as a literary official. But this is also a blessing for us. Now that Lord Ju has become a literary official, we can often consult him."

"."

Inside the literary museum, upon hearing that Liu Bei had brought ten cartloads of books to visit, Ju Shou's bad temper flared up again: "A weasel paying respects to a chicken—he's up to no good! Go tell Liu Bei that I have nothing to say to him! Stop pretending to be so friendly!"

Ju Shou was cursing Liu Bei without restraint in the literary academy. The officials in the literary academy dared not actually relay the message. If they did, it was hard to say whether they would see the sun rise the next day!

Seeing that no one dared to go, Ju Shou became even more furious: "Where is your scholarly integrity? You all read the classics, how can you be afraid of powerful people?"

The officials were extremely frustrated.

Is this a matter of the integrity of scholars?
General Zuo invited us with courtesy, and we not only didn't return the courtesy but also cursed back. What's the difference between us and hooligans?
Seeing the officials remain silent, Ju Shou raised his foot to leave: "Since you all dare not, I will go and speak to them myself. You are afraid of Liu Bei, but I am not!"

　Asking for monthly ticket
　　
　
(End of this chapter)