Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 16 of the Analects states: "A gentleman who is not dignified will not command respect."

At the banquet, Yuan Shu entertained Taishi Ci, personally poured him wine, and raised his cup, saying:

"I have great faith in Ziyi's literary and military talents, but now that you have just been demoted, I am afraid that the army will not be convinced if you are suddenly promoted to a higher position."

I intend to appoint you as the "Supervisor of the Secretariat," an official under my command, to serve by my side for now. After you have rendered meritorious service, I will then bestow upon you official rank and title.

Taishi Ci was not valued by Liu Yao and was just a minor military officer. He encountered setbacks everywhere and was looked down upon. He had never seen anything like this before.
His own lord, Yuan Shu, a man from a family that had held high office for four generations, personally poured him wine. If Yuan Shu hadn't supported him, he would have almost knelt down to pay his respects. Now that he heard these heartfelt words, how could he refuse?
"Since you have considered my situation so much, how could I, Ci, be ungrateful? I will do my utmost to help you pacify Jiangdong, in order to repay this special favor."

At the subsequent banquet, Yuan Shu also met with representatives of powerful families such as Gu, Zhu, and Bu. Unlike Taishi Ci, they had all contributed to the conquest of Qu'a from within and without, and the complete pacification of Jiangdong would still depend on them in the future.

Yuan Shu then appeased Qiao Gong by agreeing to the price they had previously agreed upon when discussing the marriage details.

He first raised his glass in a toast from afar, saying that Gu Yong would surely become a pillar of the country in the future and be capable of shouldering great responsibilities.

This was indeed the case in Yuan Shu's memory. Historically, Gu Yong had served as the prime minister of Eastern Wu, which shows his talent and knowledge. At present, he was nearly thirty years old, which was the prime of his life with plenty of energy.

He then appointed Gu Yong as the Prefect of Lujiang to govern the region, and he was to take up his post soon. He urged Gu Yong to hurry up and replace Liu Xun, that treacherous and ungrateful wretch, so that he would not continue to wreak havoc on his people.

This is also a historical problem left by Yuan Shu, the predecessor. Liu Xun was a trusted general on the surface, but in the future he would become powerful and disobedient, and even secretly collude with Cao Cao to seize territory.

Fortunately, it is too early to say. After Sun Ce conquered Lujiang for his predecessor, he offered the imperial seal to Liu Xun because he had been promised the position of prefect. Liu Xun then wanted to cross the river and establish himself as emperor.

Therefore, Liu Xun had only recently arrived in Lujiang and wanted to amass military power, but he did not yet have the strength to do so.

Take this opportunity to recall him. Later, when the opportunity arises, send him to fight against mounted archers and infantry archers, and then deal with him.

Liu Xun, as my trusted and beloved general, you wouldn't be afraid of a mere horse archer and dare not go into battle, would you?

After Gu Yong came Zhu Huan and Bu Zhi, both of whom were capable ministers of Eastern Wu. Zhu Huan's highest historical position was General of the Vanguard and Governor of Qingzhou, a title bestowed by Eastern Wu.

Recalling this, Yuan Shu didn't know what to say to Sun Quan. "This thing, is Qingzhou yours? You're all over the world from Eastern Wu, and you only give it to Sun Quan as governor?"

However, this shows that Zhu Huan's abilities were not bad either, so Yuan Shu appointed him as the Colonel of the Suppression of Bandits and had him serve in the army.

As for Bu Zhi, although he was also an outstanding talent who served as the prime minister of Eastern Wu in history, unlike Gu Yong who was nearly thirty, he was still a young and talented man in his early twenties.

After a moment's thought, Yuan Shu appointed him as the Chief Administrator, sending him back to Shouchun to serve as Yan Xiang's deputy. This would both help alleviate some of Yan Xiang's pressure and allow him to learn from Yan Xiang how to govern and manage affairs.

With such rewards bestowed upon them, all the powerful families were delighted. However, Yuan Shu, observing their smiles, remained wary. He knew that despite their happiness today, if Cao Cao were to lead an army of 800,000 south in the future, it would be the same people who persuaded him to surrender.

This is what a prestigious family is like!
This was the basic state of affairs in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

Fortunately, the representatives selected by these prominent families in Jiangdong were all truly talented and learned.

Moreover, as the foremost aristocratic family, as long as the Yuan family remains prosperous and does not give Cao Cao the opportunity to grow stronger and even move south, they will be able to protect their vital interests and thus gain their loyal support.

As long as Yuan Gonglu can hold the Huainan front and not show any signs of weakness, the capable ministers and officials emerging from these Jiangdong aristocratic families will continuously provide him with war resources to govern a large rear area that is popular with the people.

However, relying solely on powerful families would also make him vulnerable to their influence. For the long term, he still needed to cultivate truly trusted and capable individuals to prevent powerful families from becoming too dominant and repeating the mistakes of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Just as Yuan Shu was pondering this, the Lu family became the representative of the powerful families.

Because Lu Kang, the original governor of Lujiang, died earlier after Sun Ce conquered Lujiang, the person representing the Lu family at the banquet was Lu Kang's eldest son, Lu Jun.

Seemingly mindful of the previous conflict between the two families at Lujiang, and having heard that Sun Ce had been adopted by Yuan Shu as his son, he appeared quite nervous at this moment.

"Jun greets Lord Yuan."

Seeing him step forward, Yuan Shu seemed to remember something, and without answering, his gaze swept over the Lu family members attending the banquet. He quickly spotted a familiar figure from his predecessor's memories, and chuckled as he said:
"It's been a long time. Young master, are you still hiding oranges today?"

The person he called "Young Master" was none other than Lu Ji, the protagonist of the "Gift of Oranges to Parents" story in the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars. As for the other protagonist in the story, it was Yuan Shu himself.

Last year, Lu Kang brought Lu Ji to visit Yuan Shu. Lu Ji secretly hid two oranges in his pocket. As they were leaving, the oranges rolled to the ground. Yuan Shu laughed and said, "Young Lu, why do you carry oranges as a guest?"

Lu Ji replied: "The oranges from Lord Yuan are sweet; I wish to keep them with me and send them to my mother."

Yuan Shu's predecessor was quite surprised to see that he was only six years old, and thus was deeply impressed.

However, Yuan Shu knew that compared to Lu Jun, the eldest son of the Lu family who had faded into history, Lu Ji was the truly capable and outstanding talent in the future, hence his question.

As expected, compared to his older brother's nervousness and trepidation, the young Lu Ji answered fluently.

“As the sage said, ‘It is better to be frugal than extravagant in etiquette.’ Although we have no oranges to offer to our mother today, the delicacies here, sir, are even more delicious than oranges. I should save some for myself.”

The seven-year-old child's words and speech were full of wit and cleverness, which made Yuan Shu clap his hands and laugh.

"The sage didn't teach you to sneak around. What's the point of a few delicacies?"

As he spoke, he looked at Lu Jun and said, "Take some back with you to support your mother before you leave. If you need anything in life, just tell me. Don't be shy."

I have known your father for many years. The conflict in Lujiang was inevitable, and it was not my wish. Now that he is dead, I will raise you, a widow and her orphans, in his place.

"Thank you, Mr. Yuan."

Just as Lu Jun was about to reply, he saw Lu Ji's playmate, the eleven or twelve-year-old boy in white, step forward and bow down!
The Analects says, "A gentleman who is not dignified will not command respect." Since Lord Yuan wears the Imperial Seal of the State, he should bear the weight of this sacred artifact.

Before he could finish speaking, Yuan Shu suddenly stood up, his expression changed drastically, and his long sword was already drawn from its sheath!
"Who are you? How dare you spout such nonsense here!"

"Children speak without thinking, Lord Yuan, please calm your anger!"

Lu Jun's face turned pale with fright, and he almost knelt down, hurriedly tugging at the young man's sleeve.

"Lu Boyan! What nonsense are you spouting? Apologize to Lord Yuan right now!"

(End of this chapter)