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

Chapter 277 The teacher sets the quantity, the disciple sets the balance

"It was him! He tricked us into paying with our lives. I heard he's a traitor who feigned surrender to the King of Han but secretly sided with Cao Cao!"

“This traitor who has ruined our Han country deserves to go to hell. If he hadn’t deliberately harmed us, many of our brothers wouldn’t have had to die.”

"Fortunately, the King of Han arrived and saw through his conspiracy at a glance. If it weren't for the King of Han, we would have been harmed by him without even realizing it."

"Traitors are all filthy and wicked. Fortunately, we have the Yellow Heaven above us. When the King of Han comes, it is as if the Yellow Heaven has come. He will no longer allow us believers to be bullied."

"That's right, our fellow villagers have all memorized the strategy and sixteen-character policy given by the King of Han."

Next time the enemy invades, there's no need to go to the battlefield to fight those Han rebels. Just mobilize the villagers to dig deep trenches and build high fortifications to wear down these rebels. That will be contributing to the peace and prosperity of the land.

"That's right. From now on, we'll follow the teachings of the King of Han and make sure these traitors of the false dynasty never return!"

On the execution platform, Mao Jie, bound and about to be executed, heard these cries of "Traitor to the Han!", "Traitor to the Han court!", and "Rebel against the false dynasty!" and felt a deep sorrow welling up within him.

"The Han dynasty has lost its glory, and the world is without morality, allowing evil spirits to sit in the temples and ghosts to stand in the palace."

The world is in chaos, right and wrong are indistinguishable, and people's hearts have fallen into depravity.

He was being torn to pieces, bleeding profusely. Mao Jie's face was contorted with pain as he looked up to the sky and cried out in anguish.

"On this day of my death, I repay the kindness of Cao Cao's patronage. My soul returns to the netherworld, and I curse the traitor Yuan Shao to a terrible end!!!"

With a piercing scream, his pupils were almost dilated, and he could only mutter incoherently.

"I'll be waiting for you down there!"
He deceived the emperor, committed treason, usurped the throne, and wreaked havoc on the world.

"You traitor Yuan! You rebel! Your fate will be worse than mine. I'll be waiting down there."

As his flesh was sliced ​​off piece by piece, Mao Jie's voice grew softer and softer until finally his neck lolled to the side and he fell silent.

This scene terrified Yang Feng, who was also bound nearby. The real fear and despair didn't come from the moment the executioner's blade came down.

Instead, before the knife even came down, he witnessed how his companion died.

"Lord Yuan! Prince Han! We have been wronged!"
This is Mao Jie's plan!

However, faced with the agitated crowd, he naturally had no way out; all he received in return were stones and mud thrown at him.

After these culprits who harmed everyone were tortured to death in front of the people in an inhumane way, all the people turned to them and shouted: "Great Lord Huangtian!"

Subsequently, Yuan Shu established a branch of the Martyrs' Garden on Mount Bagong at the site where his soldiers died and were buried, and offered sacrifices to the spirits of the fallen with the rites of worshipping the Yellow Heaven.

He ordered everyone to carry the clothes and hats of the deceased and go home with him.

At this point, soldiers and civilians alike were moved to tears, and spontaneously followed the banner of the King of Han, returning to Huainan together.

As for the arrangements for food and lodging for the military and civilians, and how to maintain order, Yuan Shu assigned these troublesome and trivial matters to Kongming and Pang Tong under the pretext of testing students' work.

Pang Tong was clearly very excited about this. He pulled Kongming aside and said to him:

"This is the time for you and me to demonstrate our abilities and achieve great things!"
During this period, Tong often heard people say that if one wanted to achieve anything within Yuan's camp, one had to support each other.

The men in Yuan's camp were unmoved by gold and silver, their ambitions remained unchanged by wealth and status, and their spirits were not disturbed by beauty.

The only thing that can be exchanged here is the credit for giving a helping hand!
Now we should gather others to join us and help us achieve this great undertaking.

Kongming: "."

Under Pang Tong's command, Xing Daorong and others dispatched troops to maintain order, while Cai Mao and others mobilized ships to increase transport capacity. The entire Yuan camp worked diligently and were extremely busy.

Such a scene—where those in power are not greedy for wealth, officials do not enjoy riches, and those in high positions are not interested in beautiful women, and everyone is busy chasing after the "great, medium, and small merits"—left Kongming speechless, his heart filled with complex emotions that were difficult to express.

Just then, Yuan Shu appeared behind him unnoticed, slowly approaching and saying:

What does Kongming think?

Kongming exclaimed in admiration, "Teacher's method is truly divine!"

This is called: Quantification.

Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—all who contribute to the country have their merits, and the benefits and drawbacks of their contributions should be weighed to determine their magnitude.

Gold and silver? Wealth and status? Beauty? Even official positions and fame.

If all human desires could be fulfilled through this merit, those who have merit would rise, and those who have no merit would fall; good or bad, merit or demerit, would all be measured.

In the past, the Qin Emperor established weights and measures for all things in the world; I shall establish weights and measures for the people's hearts!

Lao Tzu called it: Dao; Confucius promoted it: Li (rites); Mozi advocated it: Ai (love); Han Fei proclaimed it: Fa (law)!
This is the yardstick for measuring people's hearts; if one holds this treasure, peace will not be difficult to achieve.

However, for now, this is only in its rudimentary form and has only been tested among the generals. If it needs to be perfected, only Zhuge Liang can do it!

However, no one is perfect, and everyone has selfish desires.

During my lifetime, I may hold this scale, using my achievements as my reputation, to weigh the world.

"On the day I die, if not Zhuge Liang, who will succeed me?"

As he spoke, he handed the ruler he held—a symbol of discipline for teachers—to Kongming, and sighed, saying:

"Kongming, are you willing to uphold justice for the people and usher in an era of peace and prosperity?"

Kongming remained silent for a long time.

He looked at the nearly 200,000 soldiers and civilians before him, who were all operating in an orderly manner under Pang Tong's command.

Those officials who had mostly oppressed the people during the Han Dynasty were now personally working hard to ensure the people's safe return home.
Soldiers who had burned, killed, and looted under other lords would even help old ladies cross narrow paths in Huainan, showing an unprecedented close bond between the army and the people.

All of this is because of "merit". From then on, moral principles and good or bad behavior will be quantified into tangible "merit".

If you do well, you will be rewarded; if you do poorly, you will be punished.

Kongming was unsure how long the system envisioned by the King of Han could be maintained, but at least if it was as the King of Han said, then during his lifetime, the people of the world would indeed live much more peacefully, and the land he governed would flourish because everyone was actively striving for merit.

Soon, he thought of the military merit system that Yuan Gong had implemented in the army, his rewards for farming and warfare in the Jianghuai region, his rewards for craftsmen's inventions, and the merit book and adopted son book system in Yuan's camp.

Clearly, the King of Han was preparing to take advantage of his claim to the throne in Huainan to integrate everything into a complete system; he wanted to quantify the entire country!
However, there are countless difficulties and challenges involved in monitoring, measuring, and implementing this process.

And this is clearly the reason why the King of Han would seek out himself.

Looking at the ruler handed to him, Kongming hesitated for a moment, and finally sighed.

He was originally a carefree man from Wolonggang, but who would have thought that he could control the world with the power of Yin and Yang?

He found that the land of Huainan seemed to be somewhat intoxicating. How could someone as clear-headed as him believe in this grand dream called "Peace and Prosperity"?
He respectfully accepted the ruler and replied:
"The teacher sets the quantity, and the disciple weighs it."

Staying true to our original aspirations will bring lasting peace.

"Great kindness."

From that day on, the master and his apprentice traveled across the land of Huainan, and in each county they passed, they would send the clothes and belongings of those who had died in battle back home.

At the same time, the King of Han distinguished between good and evil, and determined merits and demerits in the local area.

Good officials are rewarded, while corrupt officials are punished; the powerful and virtuous are rewarded for doing good deeds, while those who oppress are punished; the common people who cultivate more land are rewarded, while those who neglect their fields and are lazy are punished.

Wherever he went, the people cheered and rejoiced, calling him: "Great Lord Heaven!"

Kongming served as the attendant to the "Great Lord," meticulously recording the Han King's assessments of the merits and demerits of each matter, preparing for the subsequent trial implementation of regulations. Sometimes, the master and disciple would debate the merits and demerits of a matter, and whenever this happened, the Han King would invite Pang Tong, Jia Xu, Zhou Yu, Jiang Gan, and others to consult with these wise men.

Along the way, he stopped and started, speaking out for the wishes of the people. It seemed as if the King of Han had truly become the incarnation of the Yellow Heaven Responding to the Origin and Manifesting Sage, responding to the prayers of the people.

Whenever the Yellow Emperor leaves a county, the county sends people out of its city to see him off, and the next county comes from afar to welcome him. The people lining the streets are all eager to return home.

Traveling with the people in this way, the short journey from Lujiang to Shouchun took more than a month.

When the Han King's carriage arrived in Shouchun, the people came out to welcome him. The city was already decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations to celebrate the end of the year.

"Your Majesty, you have returned."

Looking at Yan Xiang, who was kneeling tremblingly on the ground, his face deeply wrinkled and showing signs of aging.

Yuan Shu was also quite moved, realizing that the reason he was able to send 100,000 troops on a distant expedition without any worries about the rear was because of this.

In Shouchun, there was an old minister named Yan Xiang who devoted himself to the cause, working tirelessly day and night.

He hurried forward to personally help Yan Xiang up, holding his hand tightly, and said:
"You've worked hard, Lord Yan."

Yan Xiang wanted to bow again, but said, "This old minister is not tired, this old minister is guilty!"
The old minister, growing old and foolish, became increasingly senile and even listened to Mao Jie's advice, nearly ruining the king's important affairs.

This is all the fault of this old minister!
"We should follow the example of General Zhang Xun, dismiss him from his post and investigate him, in order to reassure the people."

Yuan Shu: "???"

No, it's because they heard about what I've been doing along the way, and they know I have a new good idea. They think there's a lot of work to be done, so they want to run away.
Yuan Shu remained silent; this wasn't the first time he had noticed this trend.

The fact that whenever I came up with a good idea, Lord Yan would flee to carry it out as if he didn't want to hear any more of my good ideas was a sign of this.

Lord Yan was loyal, capable, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the cause.

The only issue is that when faced with too many tasks and excessive pressure, they may experience withdrawal.

He doesn't slack off or do anything lazy. As long as the task is successfully assigned and he knows it will benefit all the people, his sense of righteousness will urge him to do his best to complete it.

But before the task is assigned, this old ox that plows the field will selectively ignore it, like a burying its head in the sand.

This time, Yan Xiang felt unprecedented pressure just from hearing some rumors about the new system, so he wanted to be dismissed before he could assign tasks.

this is not good.

Yuan Shu held his hand tightly and said with a smile:

"Lord Yan is old but vigorous, how can he be considered senile?"

An old steed in its stall may still aspire to gallop a thousand miles; this is precisely the time for an old hero to display his prowess. How can you so easily dismiss him from his post?

"Your Majesty, you are now surrounded by many talented individuals, while this old minister is advanced in years and, though willing, is unable to do so."

Seeing that he was about to refuse, Yuan Shu frowned. "This is a great undertaking that will bring peace to the world for all generations. Lord Yan, please listen to me finish speaking. After that, you will surely be full of energy and eager to do it immediately."

Yan Xiang exclaimed in alarm, "Your Majesty, this old minister is old and deaf!"

The two pushed and shoved each other as they returned to Shouchun Palace, and no one knew what they had said afterward.

On the other hand, the common people and officials who were watching were somewhat at a loss as they looked at their King Han and their chief minister, Lord Yan, who had been dragged away so abruptly.

Pang Tong looked on with admiration and said to Kongming, "Teacher and Lord Yan have such a good relationship."

Kongming frowned deeply; for some reason, he had a vague sense of foreboding.

Is today's Yan Gong (a legendary figure known for his cunning) tomorrow's Zhuge Liang (another legendary figure known for his wisdom and courage)?

Shouchun Palace, the council study.

Yuan Shu gripped Yan Xiang's hand tightly, pulled the old minister inside, and sighed softly.

"Lord Yan, who is overthinking this?"

The plan I devised this time is quite complex.

But I have also brought back for you a once-in-a-lifetime, one-in-a-million helper.”

"A once-in-a-millennium opportunity, one in ten thousand?"

Yan Xiang was surprised and asked:

"The general Bu Zhi, whom the king previously sent, has been a great help to many of his senior ministers."

How do people today compare?

Yuan Shu immediately retorted, "It's like comparing a nag to a unicorn, or a crow to a phoenix; how can the light of a firefly compete with the brilliance of the moon?"
He is the only one in the world!

Yan Xiang was astonished, "Is that really so?"

Considering that Lord Yan was indeed old, with white hair yet still worried about the country and the world, shouldering all the political affairs of Jianghuai, Yuan Shu still nodded and encouraged him.

"If this is true, it is absolutely true."

This child possesses extraordinary talent; Lord Yan still needs to encourage him.

Next, keep him by your side and, if you can refine and polish him, enable him to succeed you in your position.

"Then, though you may retire to your hometown, the world will be at peace."

Who is this person?

"Zhuge Kongming".

The emperor and his minister looked at each other, and clearly reached a consensus.

Next, Yuan Shu explained his vision of a peaceful and prosperous world to Yan Xiang, and instructed him to:
"I wish to establish the Lingyan Pavilion, where all merits and titles will be recorded, and for thousands of years to come, history will be a testament to their achievements, and they will be worshipped alongside the Yellow Heaven."

The highest rank is the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals, followed by the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, then the 365 stars of the Zhou Tian constellation, then the ranks of Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron, and finally the current twenty ranks of military merit.

The Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends, along with the Zhou Tian Stars, each represent a single rank, with one star corresponding to one person. Different star ranks enjoy different national benefits.

For example, during festivals, I would hold state banquets in the palace, and only those who held official positions could be invited to drink together.

Those ranked by merit are ordered accordingly, and the order changes annually, with those of higher merit moving up and those of lower merit moving down.

The very first thing Yuan Shu said sent chills down Yan Xiang's spine.

The Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends? The Celestial Constellations?
Just listening to the description from the King of Han, he felt a sense of impending bloodshed.

The star positions are changed annually based on the amount of merit accumulated.

The King of Han thus nipped the pre-Qin military merit system in the bud, preventing its flaws from being fully realized.

King Han, you were worried that everyone would have nowhere left to rise in rank, so you specially set up the Lingyan Pavilion.

Even if you become the top contributor in Yuan Ying's camp, you still need to work hard and continue to build up your achievements, otherwise you might be surpassed by the second-place finisher at any time.

Wow, this is too much! When it comes to making contributions, if you don't advance, you fall behind. From now on, who will dare to be careless?
Those who are listed in the Lingyan Pavilion are the Heavenly Stars and Earthly Fiends, the names of the stars in the heavens, and their fame spreads throughout the world and even to later generations.

It will further drive those who pursue fame and fortune to compete fiercely, making it difficult for them to extricate themselves.

(End of this chapter)