I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 536 The Southward Migration of the Elite
"explain?"

Liu Miao listened with suspicion to Lu Su's report.

"What explanation? Yuan Shang issued that ridiculous 'Edict to expel the Hu people,' and Xuande kindly helped him clean up his mess. Now he wants an explanation from me?"

Just as Liu Bei had predicted, Liu Miao waved his hand dismissively: "When they ceded territory, I only said not to let Yuan's army go to Youbeiping, but I didn't say not to let the Han army go to Youzhou!"

"Tell Yuan Shang that if he's not satisfied, he should come to Jinling to see me in person! If he doesn't dare to come, then whatever I do, he'll have to obediently stand up and accept it!"

Lu Su was not surprised by Liu Miao's reply; he simply needed to find the right words to transform Liu Miao's crude remarks into a proper and respectable official document...

"Furthermore, tell the generals along the coast that if any people from Hebei come, they should be accepted."

"He may not have enough land in Hebei, but he'll always have enough land in the Central Plains!"

Liu Miao was unwilling to cause trouble for the people of the Han Dynasty, but that didn't mean he was unwilling to cause trouble for Yuan Shang and his group.

On the contrary, Liu Miao would do anything that would give the other party a headache!

"Also tell Xuande that since there are few people in the Northeast, he can rest assured to attract more people. He doesn't need to worry about the rest!"

If Yuan Shang really dares to send troops to Youzhou, Liu Miao is confident that the Han cavalry will arrive at Yecheng before Yuan's army arrives at Liucheng!

Lu Su roughly understood how the two letters were written. Coming back to his senses, he looked at Liu Miao and said enviously, "Your Majesty is so leisurely..."

Liu Miao was now resting his head on Zhen Mi's round and full thighs, while Cai Yan was tuning the Jiao Wei Qin (a type of zither) next to him. Lady Lü, Lady Wu, and others were sitting around him, all dressed in light gauze. If a painter were to paint this scene and pass it down to future generations, the first impression it would give would definitely be that of a tyrannical ruler indulging in wine, women, and food.

"Is being idle wrong? Shouldn't people be born to live a peaceful and carefree life? Why do you always create trouble for yourself?"

Liu Miao stuck out his tongue, took the grape that Zhen Mi handed him from her mouth, and chewed it gently. The sweet and sour juice burst out, which invigorated Liu Miao!
"I recently had a chat with Gongwei and Jingxing, and they have made some progress in their research. If you are interested, Zijing, you can visit their residences."

Lu Su asked curiously, "What did Your Majesty discuss with the Minister of Works and the Minister of Education?"

Liu Miao stretched out his finger and wrote a large character in the air with a stroke and a dot—

"people!"

------

Qinghe, Dongwu City, Cui Mansion.

The owner of the house was named Cui Yan, a disciple of the great Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan.

When Yuan Shao was still the Grand General of Han, he heard of Cui Yan's reputation and summoned him. At that time, Yuan Shao's soldiers were tyrannical and cruel, even digging up graves. Cui Yan advised him, saying, "Xun Kuang once said, 'If soldiers are not disciplined in ordinary times, their fighting strength will not be strong. Even people like Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou could not win battles by relying on them.' Now, the corpses are exposed on the roads, and the people have not witnessed your virtuous governance. You should order all the counties to bury the corpses to show your love for the dead and follow the benevolent actions of King Wen of Zhou."

Yuan Shao agreed with this and appointed Cui Yan as Cavalry Commandant. Later, after the establishment of the Northern Zhao, Cui Yan became a Gentleman of the Palace, in charge of central affairs.

However, after Yuan Shang succeeded to the throne, he found out that the person who sent Yuan Tan back to Ye City was Cui Yan. He then found a pretext to dismiss Cui Yan and remove him from his post.

When Cui Yan served as a court official, his residence was always bustling with visitors.

However, since being dismissed from his post, the Cui family of Qinghe has become deserted, with almost no one interacting with each other.

However, today, with a lavishly decorated sedan chair parked in front of the gate, someone who was the last person Cui Yan expected arrived.

"Why is Zheng Nan here? No, he should be called Judge Shen now! In this world, you are second only to the emperor!"

Shen Pei, dressed in plain clothes, who usually held a sword, stumbled in as he leaned on a cane.

Hearing Cui Yan's teasing, Shen Pei remained as calm as ever.

"Ji Gui looks very energetic."

"Moreover, if we're talking about being second only to the emperor... then isn't there still Zhang Zibu, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, in the south?"

Cui Yan thoughtfully added another person to the Shen Pei pairing.

"Have you forgotten Xu You, Xu Ziyuan? He also served as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat under Yuan Tan!"

"..."

When Shen Pei heard Cui Yan mention Xu You, he refused to acknowledge him.

Cui Yan didn't want to make a fool of himself, so he simply didn't bring up the matter. Instead, he smiled and said, "As for having more energy... I've certainly had more energy since I was dismissed from my post! Zheng Nan, you say being an official is so tiring, so why does everyone still try so hard to become one?"

"Because being an official isn't about what you have to do, but rather about what you can choose not to do in many situations."

Hearing this, Cui Yan was quite surprised.

"That's not something you, Shen Zhengnan, should say."

"Given your usual personality, shouldn't you be spouting a bunch of sage sayings right now? What's wrong? Have you run into some trouble lately?"

"..."

After Shen Pei took his seat, Cui Yan brewed him a strong cup of tea.

"Tea from Jiangdong?"

"Authentic Wu tea! Worth a fortune."

"..."

Shen Pei touched his lips together and took a small sip.

"So, how could grass leaves, which neither fill the stomach nor cure diseases, manage to smuggle so much money from Hebei to the south?"

Cui Yan frowned slightly.

"Due south."

"First of all, people cannot only think about eating and treating illnesses, nor can they say that as long as eating and treating illnesses are done well, the world is well governed."

"Secondly, aren't you being a bit too selfish? Where the money from Hebei goes is none of your business. Do you really treat Hebei as your private property?"

"Under the whole world, is it not the king's land."

"Then go and take back the Central Plains and Jiangdong!"

"..."

Shen Pei silently took another sip of tea.

"Ji Gui, you've changed so much since we first met."

"The world has changed so much, let alone you and me?"

Cui Yan lazily opened his shirt, revealing his belly, showing no manners whatsoever.

"Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king? But now there are three emperors in this world, so who does this world truly belong to?"

"The world belongs to the virtuous, and Your Majesty is undoubtedly the most virtuous."

Cui Yan's lips twitched.

Of the three emperors, your scandal is the biggest, Yuan Shang. How dare you lie through your teeth?

As Shen Pei said this, even he, who was usually so tough, felt a little guilty, and his eyes lowered slightly when facing Cui Yan.

"So you see, Liu Miao, who was morally corrupt and stole another man's wife, could become emperor. Yuan Tan, who forged an imperial edict and disobeyed his father and brothers, could become emperor. What else is impossible in this world?"

Cui Yan spoke these words with a carefree tone, but her expression still unconsciously carried a hint of confusion.

For the first time, the scholar-officials, who had once been the backbone of the empire and the cornerstone of the dynasty, faced such a division.

It is not a division of nations, but a division of ideologies.

Compared to Liu Xiu, who was once considered a perfect man, the three emperors now all look rather incompetent...

Moreover, recent events have left more and more scholar-officials, like Cui Yan, feeling lost and powerless.

Compared to Cui Yan, Shen Pei clearly didn't have as much energy to think.

He is now like a tinker, mending the house in Hebei that is about to collapse at any moment, and has no time to think about many other things.

Of course, his visit to Cui Yan was not really for catching up or having a chat.

"Has Ji Gui heard about the order to relocate the Hu people?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Yan sneered: "You mean the 'Hu Relocation Order' that drove the Han people of Hebei to the brink of despair?"

"..."

Shen Pei did not deny Cui Yan's assessment.

"We just took some detours."

"Ah."

“Ji Gui, there’s no need for this. You’re different from others; you’ve served as a court official. You should know that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.”

"Moving the Hu people into Ji would not only save a lot of military expenses on the border, but also prevent the Wuhuan and Southern Xiongnu from being won over by traitors like Yuan Tan..."

Cui Yan interrupted Shen Pei at the opportune moment.

"So, if there's poop on your clothes, everyone will find it disgusting, so you think that eating poop will solve everything as long as no one sees it?"

"..."

Shen Pei grew increasingly helpless: "How come Ji Gui speaks as crudely as Liu Miao now?"

"Isn't it better to talk like this? Simple! Easy to understand! Saves us from all the scheming and infighting!" Unable to argue any further, Shen Pei could only continue, "As Zheng Xuan's disciple, and with a wide circle of friends, I wonder if Ji Gui could step forward and discuss this with everyone?"

"What to discuss?"

"Let them gather some Hu people. After all, most of them have private armies..."

"Pfft!"

But these words made Cui Yan laugh in anger.

"What? Are you starting to think the Hu people aren't pushovers and want to suppress them by force?"

“Zheng Nan, although I am no longer in the central government, I still advise you not to do this.”

"The Hu people are not Han people; they won't tolerate this so easily! If we really push them too far, even without Yuan Tan or Liu Miao's intervention, the entire Hebei region will inevitably collapse on its own!"

Clearly, Cui Yan had already discerned Shen Pei's intentions.

It's simply that they felt the Hu people couldn't control themselves, so they wanted to use Han Chinese aristocratic families to control them.

Since the Eastern Zhao court invited them into Hebei with the attitude of a master, they shouldn't treat the Hu people like grandsons!

Han people are hardworking and easy to discipline, but when the Hu people get angry, they are very likely to plunder extensively and then leisurely return to the grasslands beyond the Great Wall!

"Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back! If you want to quickly replenish your able-bodied men and strengthen your troops, you must endure, bear it, and suppress it!"

"Otherwise, don't do something so foolish in the first place! In this world, is there anything that's perfect?"

Faced with Cui Yan's interrogation, Shen Pei seemed to age ten years in an instant.

Just then, a servant from the manor walked by, leading two fine horses.

Upon seeing the BMW, Shen Pei asked curiously, "Is Ji Gui going on a long trip?"

These two fine horses were a gift from Yuan Shao to Cui Yan, and were considered treasures. They were not usually shown to others.

"Ah."

Cui Yan casually agreed.

"I plan to go to Jingzhou to take a look."

"Jingzhou?"

When Cui Yan saw Shen Pei's suspicious expression, he was speechless.

“Zheng Nan, in this world, there are not only enemies and friends.”

"I've heard from merchants traveling to and from Hebei that Xiangyang has gathered many great Confucian scholars, and that they have no taboos and can speak freely, just like the Jixia Academy of old, making it a holy land for scholars!"

"My purpose in going there is merely to explore knowledge; I have no other intention."

Xiangyang...

But Shen Pei still asked, "Scholarship? Where can't we pursue scholarship? Is Yecheng unsuitable? Is Qinghe unsuitable?"

"Alright! Then let's talk about the matter of all land under heaven belonging to the king!"

"..."

Shen Pei's physique became even more hunched.

At this moment, it was as if he were holding a handful of quicksand; the harder he tried, the more intently he put in, the faster the sand slipped through his fingers.

Both he and Yuan Shao only wanted to restore the world to its former order and peace, but why was it so difficult?
Cui Yan couldn't bear to see Shen Pei, who was once so spirited, reduced to this state.

“Zheng Nan, I am different from you.”

"When I was young, I was slow to speak, but I loved fencing and admired martial arts."

"It wasn't until I was twenty-three that the village, according to regulations, officially promoted me to a regular soldier, and I began to study diligently, reading the Analects and the Han Poetry. It wasn't until I was twenty-nine that I befriended Gongsun Fang and others, and went to study under my mentor..."

"Everyone says that I am a late bloomer, but only I know that I am not a late bloomer. I just couldn't bear the hardship of being a soldier, so I worked hard to find an easier job in the future."

Shen Pei was slightly taken aback.

This was the first time he had ever heard that Cui Yan went to school for such a reason...

Who would have thought that the real purpose of going to school was not to save the world or serve the country, but simply because they couldn't bear the suffering?

"Don't look at me like that. If you really lived the life of an ordinary person for a few days, you wouldn't be able to stand it either! When I say living a normal life, I don't mean just pretending to wear coarse clothes and eat grains mixed with sand. That kind of life isn't just about not knowing where your next meal is coming from, or constantly worrying about being bullied. The most important thing is that the suffering seems to have no end in sight!"

Cui Yan patiently recounted her past to Shen Pei.

Fortunately, my family background was good, which allowed me to escape that miserable situation.

"Later, I learned a lot under my mentor. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, I traveled to many places, wandering around the outskirts of Qing, Xu, Yan and Yu provinces. I went east to Shouchun and almost reached Yunmeng in the south. I met many people I was not supposed to meet and read many books that I was not allowed to read. That's how I broadened my horizons."

"South! This world is vast! And there are countless people! No one can establish a set of unchanging systems once and for all, nor can anyone teach everyone to become a gentleman! The Duke of Zhou couldn't, nor could Confucius! Let alone you?"

What is taught in books and what happens in the real world are completely different things.

"We've been through the Yellow Turban Rebellion and all the great changes that followed. If we can't even see these things clearly, then we might as well not live."

Cui Yan made no attempt to conceal his purpose in going to Jingzhou—

"I've heard of Liu Miao; he's really a bad person."

"But the Han Dynasty he has established is quite remarkable."

"The Han people today are not just killing some people and feeding others; they are trying many new things."

Cui Yan asked, "Do you know what the first thing Liu Miao did after he became emperor was?"

Shen Pei shook his head in confusion.

At the time, he was helping Yuan Shao prepare for war and was unaware of this matter.

But it's nothing more than those few things.

Therefore, Shen Pei guessed, "Is this a way to win people's hearts by granting a general amnesty?"

"Ha! Wrong! On the contrary, since Liu Miao ascended the throne, he has never granted a general amnesty!"

Cui Yan shook his head and said, "Although I don't know what Liu Miao was thinking, I personally believe that he felt it was better to keep law-abiding citizens at peace than to deal with criminals who have already made mistakes."

"Indeed, the first thing he did after ascending the throne was to promulgate the 'Zhangwu Laws and Decrees'!"

“I have read that law. It is much simpler than the laws of the Han Dynasty, and the punishments are also much lighter. It protects precisely those good people who were most ravaged by the ‘Edict to Move the Hu’.”

“You treat the people with even more hardship, while he treats them with even more kindness… What will happen if this continues? I really can’t say!”

Hearing Cui Yan's praise of the Han Dynasty, Shen Pei made no attempt to hide his disgust: "It's only because he's about to conquer the world that he can be so relaxed and at ease."

"Oh~ So when he was caught between Huainan and Jiangdong, he wasn't in such a hurry, scrambling and crawling?"

Seeing that Shen Pei still failed to grasp the point that "the people are of utmost importance, and the state is secondary," Cui Yan stopped trying to persuade him.

"Anyway, let's be serious!"

Cui Yan bid farewell to Shen Pei.

"This era is truly a time of unprecedented change! Zheng Nan, how I wish you would also abandon your political duties and travel with me to see just how drastic the changes in this world really are!"

"We, who have read extensively in the classics, do we seek to toil away at our desks all day, or to continue the lost learning of our predecessors and usher in an era of lasting peace?"

……

Shen Pei sat alone for a long time, so long that he forgot the time.

It wasn't until a gust of wind blew through the room, lifting the ink and paper on the table, causing the swirling, dark clouds of ink to flutter and rustle, that Shen Pei was brought back to reality.

What is the purpose of reading?
Cui Yan initially only wanted to avoid forced labor.

But I...

But with a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, Shen Pei still sighed.

"I can't bear to leave."

He is second only to the emperor and above all others.

Who can bear to do that?

People like Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu, are always in the minority.

Shen Pei took his cane, propped himself up, and went back to continue mending the dilapidated Eastern Zhao court.

Cui Yan officially parted ways with Shen Pei and arrived at the ferry crossing.

The sights and sounds along the way left Cui Yan deeply impressed.

The nomadic tribes roamed freely across the land of Hebei, while the Han people lined up, preferring to leave their homes and secretly travel to Henan...

"When the gentry flee south, it is a sign that the nation is doomed!"

(End of this chapter)