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

Chapter 37 Chen Deng presents a thousand volumes of books; Liu Bei leads ten thousand people north.

"I have an important matter to advise you on in Kuangqi."

“I know that Yuanlong likes to eat raw fish and often considers raw fish sashimi as a delicacy from the river and sea.”

"However, many fishy foods contain insect eggs. If eaten raw, these eggs will eventually cause internal carbuncles."

"I also heard from Wu Pu that Yuanlong had fallen ill several months ago from eating raw fish, and that he had several liters of worms in his stomach, which almost developed into an internal gangrene."

“Yuanlong must not take advantage of his youth and good health and refuse to watch his diet, lest his old illness relapse.”

Liu Bei spoke sincerely, and there was also worry in his eyes.

True friends are hard to find in this world.

Chen Deng was about the same age as Liu Bei, and their personalities were similar. Their literary and martial talents and courage were unmatched by ordinary people.

Liu Bei already deeply regretted not being able to work with Chen Deng in Hebei, and he truly did not want to hear the devastating news of Chen Deng's death from illness one day in the future.

Seeing the surprise on Chen Deng's face, Zhuge Liang added:
"The general originally intended to go north, but then he heard that Prefect Chen had fallen ill from eating raw fish and was very worried. Liang advised the general to write a letter to persuade him, but the general was afraid that something unexpected might happen, so he decided to go in person."

Zhuge Liang was a man of words.

It perfectly expresses Liu Bei's worry about Chen Deng.

[Lord Xuande has considered things so carefully for me!]

When Chen Deng learned that Liu Bei had come all the way to persuade him to give up his habit of eating raw and fishy foods, he was deeply moved.

If it weren't for the heavy burden of family responsibilities, Chen Dengzhen would have wanted to resign from his position as governor of Guangling and follow Liu Bei north.

“I will remember Lord Xuande’s kindness.”

"From this day forward, I will no longer eat fish."

Chen Deng's expression turned solemn, and his tone became firm.

"With Yuanlong's words, I can rest assured."

Liu Bei let out a long sigh of relief.

Chen Deng always kept his promises; once he made a promise, he would never break it.

Having seen the person he longed to see and heard the promise he desired to hear, Liu Bei rose again to bid farewell to Chen Deng:

“I originally intended to drink and chat with Yuanlong, but tens of thousands of people in Xiapi still have their lives and fortunes in my hands. I cannot delay their journey north because of personal matters.”

"If I can establish a foothold in Hebei in the future, I will definitely come to Guangling again and drink with Yuanlong until we are drunk!"

Although reluctant, Chen Deng understood that Liu Bei's current situation was not suitable for drinking and merrymaking.

However, Chen Deng felt he had been impolite to let Liu Bei return empty-handed.

Mind this.

Chen Deng then said, “If Lord Xuande is going back to Zhuojun to teach, how can he be without books? In my mansion in Xiapi, I have a collection of a thousand volumes, including commentaries on the Five Classics and treatises by various philosophers. Lord Xuande can take them all.”

The Five Classics Commentaries are the annotated versions of the Book of Poetry, the Book of Documents, the Book of Rites, the Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals.

The works of the Hundred Schools of Thought include Legalism (legalism and legal techniques), Taoism (the Huang-Lao school of thought), military strategy and tactics, diplomacy and policy of the School of Diplomacy, biographies of historical figures, divination and numerology of the Yin-Yang school, medical classics of the medical school, and agricultural calendars of the agricultural school, etc.

The transmission of classical studies in the Han Dynasty was mostly limited to private instruction between teachers and students and relied on manual copying, which often meant that even money could not buy them.

Cai Yong, a renowned Confucian scholar, only had a collection of ten thousand books.

Chen Deng presented a thousand volumes of books with a single gesture, demonstrating the generosity of his gift.

The thousand volumes of books that Chen Deng treasured were worth no less than ten thousand taels of gold.

The value was so great that even Liu Bei was greatly surprised: "How could I possibly covet Yuan Long's collection of books?"

See this.

Chen Deng laughed and said, "Mencius said: 'The value of acquaintance between people lies in understanding each other, and the value of understanding each other lies in knowing each other's hearts.'"

“Friends with a strong sense of loyalty, even if they have different names and come from different hometowns, can entrust their wives and children to each other. Their bond is stronger than that of blood relatives. That is why the story of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya dividing gold is a well-known tale.” “Lord Xuande was worried about my life and went to Kuangqi without hesitation. This kind of loyalty is even greater than that of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya dividing gold. Although the books are valuable, they are not as valuable as the friendship between me and Lord Xuande.”

These sincere words deeply moved Liu Bei.

Zhuge Liang also advised, "Prefect Chen has used his thousand-volume collection of books to plan the foundation of your enterprise. You must not fail to appreciate his kindness. Once you have achieved your great ambition, you can return the thousand-volume collection to Prefect Chen, and even the entire collection of books in the world."

Chen Deng said that loyalty to friends is more valuable than a thousand volumes of books.

Zhuge Liang said, "You give me a peach, I'll repay you with a precious jade."

Although they take different perspectives, they both point to the same core: to forge lasting friendship!

finally.

Liu Bei accepted Chen Deng's generous gift.

As Chen Dengyan said: If I want to return to Zhuojun to teach, how can I be without books?

The best way for Liu Bei to cultivate his influence in Hebei was through education.

In the Han Dynasty, education was not something that could be achieved by simply spouting flowery words and attracting scholars to flock to it.

The most crucial element is: books!

Especially annotated books!

Why was Ma Rong able to have over a thousand disciples, including Lu Zhi and Zheng Xuan?

The key lies in Ma Rong's synthesis of various schools of thought, his extensive annotations of the classics, and the availability of numerous annotated books for his disciples to copy.

In an era when 99.5 out of 100 people were illiterate, only those who could read and understand books had the opportunity to change their impoverished background.

Even a warrior as invincible as Zhang Fei and a capable general as Zhang He were fond of indulging in refined pursuits and associating with scholars.

Neither of them wanted their descendants to spend their lives earning military merits by risking their lives on the battlefield; only books could truly be passed down through generations and establish a lasting legacy.

Battle-hardened generals like Zhang Fei and Zhang He were well aware of the importance of reading, let alone others.

Although Liu Bei was not a great scholar who had annotated all the classics, he possessed a collection of thousands of books from the Chen family of Xiapi, which was enough to make scholars in Hebei, especially those from poor families, vie for his possession.

What Chen Deng gifted was not just a thousand volumes of books, but also part of the foundation for Liu Bei's establishment of his career in Hebei!

a few days later.

Liu Bei returned to Xiapi and took all the thousand volumes of books that Chen Deng had given him.

Looking at the books that filled ten carts, Liu Bei was filled with emotion: "I have received a great favor from Yuanlong, and I will never fail him."

Pang Tong, Xu Shu, and others were also pleasantly surprised upon hearing the news.

With this collection of thousands of books, Liu Bei found it easier to establish his business in Hebei.

During the few days that Liu Bei was away, Pang Tong and others completed their preparations for heading north.

Bringing tens of thousands of people to Hebei was no easy task; the transportation, military and civilian supplies, routes, provisions, and other necessities all had to be carefully calculated and rationally allocated.

Tens of thousands of people, with their families in tow, traveled more than ten miles a day, circling the East Sea, passing through Langya, crossing the North Sea, and entering Zhuojun. The entire journey would take at least half a year.

If rain or other unforeseen events occur along the way, the arrival time will be further increased.

Recalling the memory of Liu Bei leading his people across the river only to be pursued by Cao Cao's troops, resulting in the deaths and injuries of many soldiers and civilians, and even the near loss of Liu Bei's own son, Zhuge Liang dared not be careless.
Mind this.

Zhuge Liang advised Liu Bei, "Since you have killed Che Zhou and led ten thousand people north, I predict that Cao Cao will definitely send troops to stop you."

"Changxi of Donghai and Zangba of Langya have no prior grudges against the general, and have even received generous gifts from him. I believe the two of them will not do their best to stop me."

"Only Wang Zhong of Changlu County is a confidant of Cao Cao. If he receives an order from Cao Cao, Wang Zhong will definitely lead his troops to intercept him."

"To avoid suffering for the people, the general can send an army to seize Xiaopei first to resist Wang Zhong and buy time for the people to march north."

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(End of this chapter)