My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 127 Buy one get one free
"What virtue or ability do you possess to warrant such a welcome from Your Excellency outside the city?"

Taishi Ci dismounted and bowed deeply in the direction Liu Bei had come from.

This bow contained trepidation, shame, hope, and longing.

Having spent half his life adrift, Taishi Ci is now thirty years old.

At the age of thirty, he has yet to achieve anything significant, his name is no more than that of Donglai, and he is nowhere to be seen beyond Qingzhou. To this day, he remains a commoner and no one is giving him important responsibilities.

The earnest expectations of his deceased father and elderly mother filled Taishi Ci with remorse. In the quiet of the night, he would occasionally recall the past incident of cutting and destroying the manuscript, and ask himself if he regretted it.

But the result each time is the same: a true man acts only to have a clear conscience.

He also had a role model in mind for Taishi Ci, who was confident in his outstanding talents and skilled in archery and horsemanship.

This person was Feng Yi, the Great Tree General, who ranked seventh among the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai during the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In Taishi Ci's view, if Kou Xun was the Xiao He of Emperor Guangwu, then even in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, when generals were gathered in great numbers, Feng Yi was no less than Han Xin of Emperor Guangwu, and was even more humble and loved the people than Han Xin.

After Liu Xiu conquered Hebei, the two biggest enemies he faced when he became emperor were the 300,000-strong Gengshi Army garrison in Luoyang and the hundreds of thousands of Red Eyebrow Army soldiers in Guanzhong.

Both of these major military groups were defeated by Feng Yi, and both were victories achieved by the weak over the strong, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers surrendering.

Emperor Guangwu even bestowed a seven-foot-long sword upon Feng Yi to bolster his prestige and give him control over the generals.

Taishi Ci's dream was that a true man should walk in troubled times, carrying a seven-foot sword, ascending to the emperor's throne, and fulfilling the emperor's duties.

"Ziyi, I've been waiting for you for so long."

Liu Bei also dismounted, threw off the reins, stepped forward, grabbed Taishi Ci, and helped him up.

"Between you and me, there is no need for such vulgar formalities."

Liu Bei grabbed Taishi Ci's shoulder and looked him up and down. He felt that the other man was still as dazzling as he was three years ago, with long arms and a slender waist, and a profound and majestic temperament that made people like him at first sight.

If that weren't the case, why would Liu Bei, with his social skills and worldly wisdom, have taken the liberty of inviting me?

Taishi Ci clasped his hands together and bowed, saying, "I am late, and I humbly beg Your Excellency to punish me."

What is the meaning of Ziyi's words?

Liu Bei smiled broadly and took the other man's hand, saying, "Ziyi, I fell in love with you the moment we met on Pingyuan. But I regret that I was too humble and had no position to offer you, so I had to reluctantly let you go."

In fact, Liu Bei's official position at the time was sufficient to recruit Taishi Ci, but unfortunately, Liu Bei's title of Chancellor of Pingyuan was merely a nominal one, and he did not actually govern the Pingyuan Commandery. Even the three thousand elite troops that Liu Bei brought to rescue Kong Rong were not his own.

Otherwise, Taishi Ci would not only have politely declined Liu Bei's offer, but would have even taken the initiative to showcase himself in hopes of winning Liu Bei's favor.

It should be noted that Taishi Ci had previously gone so far as to destroy memorials to secure his position as governor of a prefecture, which shows that Taishi Ci's demands were not actually high. It was just that Liu Bei had too little at the time, and even Taishi Ci, who did not have high demands, could not be satisfied.

Upon hearing Liu Bei's words, Taishi Ci's face showed shame: "I am but a mortal with limited vision, unable to recognize a hero. I never expected that Your Excellency would be like a dragon hidden in the abyss, taking flight in a single day, your fame spreading throughout the East Sea. Only now do I realize that I am but a shrimp swimming in the water."

Liu Bei laughed heartily and patted Taishi Ci on the back forcefully: "I never knew Ziyi was so witty. I was just a brave man from the north, how could I be considered a hidden dragon in the abyss? This time, I was just upholding the righteous path, and I was fortunate that Lord Tao did not abandon me and entrusted me with an important task."

Liu Bei was actually deliberately bringing up old matters; he had only been in contact with Taishi Ci for a short time when he discovered the resentment in Taishi Ci's heart.

Although this resentment stemmed from his own self-blame, if it wasn't resolved, it would remain like a thorn, constantly embedded in the hearts of Liu Bei and Taishi Ci, and only getting deeper.

So Liu Bei simply removed this thorn from Taishi Ci's side.

"Let alone you, Ziyi, even Yunchang, Yide, Xianhe, Zilong, and Guorang would never have imagined that things would turn out this way."

Liu Bei sighed, "In truth, even I feel as if I am in a dream. I am deeply afraid of failing Tao Gong's kindness and being unable to bring peace to the people of Xuzhou."

Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci quickly comforted him, saying, "Your Excellency's northern expedition against Langya and the recapture of Zangba, as well as your pacification of the people and the establishment of agricultural settlements in Donghai, have earned you a great reputation in Qingzhou. I, being in Donglai, have also heard of you. The local scholars and people greatly admire Your Excellency, and only regret that they could not have been born under your rule."

"You flatter me, Ziyi, you flatter me."

Liu Bei laughed and said, "Now that Ziyi has come to join us, with your assistance, I am even more confident in protecting the territory and ensuring the safety of the people, so that the people of Xuzhou can enjoy peace."

Zhang Fei rushed out and shouted at Taishi Ci, "My elder brother is right, Ziyi, you should work with my elder brother!"

Guan Yu stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Ziyi, I have truly been waiting for you for a long time."

The Third Master and the Second Master also spoke up, expressing their welcome to Taishi Ci.

The warm welcome from Liu Bei and his two brothers dispelled the last bit of hesitation in Taishi Ci's heart. He immediately bowed and offered to serve Liu Bei with utmost loyalty.

Poor Liu Feng only arrived with the carriage at this time, and saw his father proudly helping Taishi Ci up.

In fact, Liu Feng could also ride a horse. After all, the powerful families in the north, unless they were so poor that they couldn't afford to eat, all knew a little bit about riding.

Liu Bei was described by Cao Cao as a man who weaves mats and sells shoes, yet he was still an expert horseman.

Of course, Cao Cao could look down on Liu Bei for weaving mats and selling shoes, but modern people cannot.

Because in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, if you didn't have a powerful family backer, you weren't qualified to weave mats and sell shoes, which was a lucrative business.

"Let's go, Ziyi!"

Liu Bei happily pulled Taishi Ci along, saying, "Let's go back to the city first. I've prepared a banquet to welcome you back. When we're at the banquet, you must have a good drink."

Taishi Ci readily agreed, but suddenly he stopped, as if he had remembered something, and bowed to Liu Bei, saying, "My lord, I have someone I would like to recommend to you."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately became interested. Taishi Ci was a local strongman with outstanding talent; ordinary mortals would not even catch his eye.

Those whom Taishi Ci would recommend must be truly capable individuals.

Liu Bei is currently lacking capable confidants. Putting aside other matters, there are a dozen or so counties in Langya and eight counties in Pengcheng, totaling a total of twenty-one county magistrates who could be replaced.

However, Liu Bei did not have enough manpower, so he could only temporarily replace them with the original officials.

This is where Liu Bei's wisdom lies: by temporarily replacing officials with the original ones, he could maintain stability and ensure this year's tax revenue, while also preventing the local powerful clans of Xuzhou from interfering.

If we replace them all now, it will only benefit the local gentry and powerful families of Xuzhou. It will be easy to get them to give up their money, but it will be difficult to get them to hand it over.

When we have enough manpower, we can start replacing people. Replace as many as you have. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Therefore, Liu Bei was very pleased to hear that Taishi Ci had a talented person he wanted to recommend.

"If Ziyi has any virtuous men he wishes to recommend, please name them all, and we will follow your advice without exception."

Liu Bei's words were quite generous, giving Taishi Ci ample face.

Taishi Ci was secretly grateful, but he reminded himself to be more careful in making recommendations in the future, so as not to tarnish the reputation of the Duke.

"The person recommended by Ci is in the caravan. His name is Yi. He is from Yingling County, Beihai Commandery. He has served as a county magistrate and commandery magistrate. He is calm, low-key and humble, upright and dares to speak out. He is now heading south to Yangzhou to seek refuge with Liu Yao, the magistrate."

Taishi Ci looked sincere and strongly recommended, "I believe this man is of great talent, and is also loyal and humble. I earnestly request Your Excellency to observe and employ him."

"Is it a ritual?"

Liu Bei felt the name sounded familiar and looked around.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and the others were naturally confused, as were the other attendants. Only Liu Feng came over and whispered, "Father, this person is one of the other two virtuous men we recruited together with Uncle Taishi."

Taishi Ci was standing right next to Liu Bei and heard everything clearly, which startled him.

Could it be that Liu Bei has already recruited Shi Yi? If so, why hasn't Shi Yi mentioned this to me?
Taishi Ci instinctively thought that Shi Yi was deceiving him, but then he thought again that Shi Yi was not that kind of person.

Now Taishi Ci felt a bit anxious and regretted his loose tongue earlier, mentioning that Yi wanted to go and seek refuge with Liu Yao.

What if this displeases Liu Bei and ruins Shi Yi's career?

"Ah! It is indeed this person."

Liu Bei suddenly realized, and his face lit up with joy. He grasped Taishi Ci's hand and asked, "So Ziyu has also arrived in Tancheng, and he came with Ziyi. This is truly heaven's help!"

"Where is Ziyu now? Ziyi, take me there quickly, I must personally welcome the sage." Liu Bei's face was full of smiles, quite beaming, which warmed Taishi Ci's heart.

"My lord, Ziyu is in the following convoy. Please follow me."

After answering, Taishi Ci took the initiative to lead the way, bringing Liu Bei towards the rear convoy where Shi Yi was.

At this moment, Shi Yi was sitting in the carriage when he saw from afar that Liu Bei had personally come out of the city to welcome Taishi Ci.

After they met, they held hands and chatted happily, their hearts filled with envy.

Thinking that he was already over thirty years old, yet had accomplished nothing, and even had to leave his hometown to go to Jiangdong to seek refuge with Liu Yao and escape the war, his heart was in turmoil, filled with mixed feelings.

Yi leaned against the carriage, his eyes stinging, forcing him to close them.

They say a true man has a heart of iron and stone, but I really can't be a true man.

Just as Shi Yi was mocking herself to alleviate her self-pity, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out outside.

Shi Yi thought it was Taishi Ci who had returned, so she quickly wiped her eyes, composed herself, and sat upright in the carriage.

But then they heard an unfamiliar voice outside the carriage.

The voice was gentle and kind, with a hint of expectation, and called out to Shi Yi in the carriage: "Is the person in the carriage Mr. Ziyu? I am Liu Bei, the governor of Xuzhou. I humbly request that you alight from the carriage to meet me."

Shi Yi immediately became restless and carefully confirmed that there had indeed been a person outside the carriage who claimed to be the Governor of Xuzhou.

Shi Yi dared not be negligent; he had neither the right to be arrogant nor the personality to be arrogant.

So he lifted the carriage curtain and looked out.

But then they saw a broad-faced, extremely large-eared northern man standing at the shaft of the cart, a smile on his face.

This man was none other than Liu Bei, the governor of Xuzhou.

As soon as Liu Bei saw him, he bowed and said, "I have been appointed Governor of Xuzhou and have long admired your name. I specially sent an envoy to invite you to serve. I did not know that you were traveling with Ziyi. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly."

Upon closer examination, Liu Bei's words were merely a favor. Since he had come to pick up Taishi Ci, it wouldn't be a problem to pick up Shiyi as well, right?

Moreover, Yi was brought by Taishi Ci, who had just personally recommended him to Liu Bei.

Giving face to Yi is giving face to Taishi Ci; doing one favor for two people is truly a huge profit.

At this moment, Shi Yi was somewhat confused. Fortunately, he was usually a slow-paced person. After a moment of stunned silence, he slowly got off the oxcart and bowed to Liu Bei.

"I was unaware of your arrival, Your Excellency, and failed to greet you properly. This is a breach of etiquette, and how dare I blame Your Excellency?"

Shi Yi slowly said, "I know nothing about the matter of being recruited. I originally intended to go south, but the road was blocked. I happened to meet Ziyi. Ziyi is a chivalrous and hospitable man. He invited me to go with him. Only then did I learn that Ziyi had been recruited by the magistrate. As for myself, I have never received a letter of recruitment and know nothing about this matter."

After Yi finished speaking, Liu Bei suddenly realized that they must have just missed each other.

Qingzhou was in chaos due to war; if you weren't in Kong Rong's jurisdiction, you really might not be able to find anyone.

Liu Bei stepped forward, took Shi Yi's hand, and helped him up: "This must be the fault of the governor, but with the chaos of war, it is really no wonder he is not to blame."

At this point, Liu Bei turned to look at Taishi Ci and said gratefully, "Fortunately, Ziyi met Ziyu on the road, otherwise I would have missed out on a talented person."

Taishi Ci was overjoyed, never expecting that he had unintentionally done such a great deed. Just from the way the magistrate treated him, it was clear that the magistrate valued talent above all else and did not care about regional origins.

After all, Taishi Ci knew perfectly well what kind of family Yi came from.

Yi had calmed down, but he was still moved by Liu Bei's words and said with a face full of apology, "Yi, I am unworthy of such praise."

Liu Bei laughed and grasped the other's hand: "Why do you not dare to accept such a title, sir? Could it be that you look down on my humble name and lack of virtue, and are unwilling to stay in Xuzhou?"

Of course, Yi would never say that, and he quickly denied it: "Yi is only afraid that his talent and learning are too shallow to assist the magistrate."

"Ziyu is too modest!"

Liu Bei laughed heartily, then took Shi Yi's hand with his left hand and grasped Taishi Ci's hand with his right: "Today I am overjoyed to have gained two virtuous men, and I shall drink until I am drunk. Gentlemen, let us return to the city together."

Liu Feng wore a bitter expression, determined to practice his riding skills more, at least to satisfy his father.

Otherwise, he would dare to keep himself in the carriage or oxcart next time, which would be too much of a waste of time.

Helpless, Liu Feng had no choice but to follow the main force back to the city.

Once inside the main hall of the prefectural government, the host and guests took their seats.

Liu Bei smiled and said to Taishi Ci and Shi Yi, "Ziyi and Ziyu, I have recruited you two for great purposes. In my opinion, I intend to appoint Ziyi as a general and Ziyu as the administrator. What do you two think?"

Taishi Ci and Shi Yi exchanged a glance and knelt down together: "We dare not disobey Your Excellency's arrangements. We will follow Your Excellency's lead."

"well."

Liu Bei nodded happily and said to Taishi Ci, "Ziyi, I see that you have brought several hundred brave men. These are all heroes of Qingzhou. You need to lead them personally. I want to organize them into a unit and appoint you as a captain. At the same time, to show my regard, I will also appoint you as a martial arts officer. You can be promoted to colonel after you have made some contributions. Are you satisfied, Ziyi?"

Liu Bei's arrangement was extremely thoughtful.

First, he continued to assign Taishi Ci's fellow villagers to his command, giving him a base of support he could control. Then, he was given additional troops and appointed as a Commandant. In peacetime, a Commandant was considered a high-ranking military officer, with a salary equivalent to a thousand bushels of grain, comparable to a county magistrate.

Not content with that, they further bestowed upon Taishi Ci the title of "Martial and Fierce Attendant" to demonstrate their close relationship, showing their meticulous care.

Taishi Ci was no ordinary person; he couldn't understand Liu Bei's arrangement.

It was precisely because of this that Taishi Ci was moved by Liu Bei's arrangements.

Taishi Ci immediately rose from his seat and bowed deeply: "Your Excellency has shown me deep affection and care, and I have no way to repay you. I am willing to go through fire and water for you without hesitation."

"Ziyi, please rise quickly."

Liu Bei smiled broadly: "Why should things come to this between us? Do you think I don't know Ziyi's character? Ziyi, our relationship as ruler and subject is long and arduous, and we still need to support each other."

Taishi Ci was also deeply moved and said with tears of gratitude, "What you say is very true, my lord. I feel the same way and will definitely stay with you to the end."

"well."

Liu Bei laughed heartily and nodded repeatedly, inviting Taishi Ci to return to his seat.

Then, Liu Bei looked at Shi Yi and said, "Zi Yu, what position do you wish to hold? There are no outsiders here, so Zi Yu can speak freely, and I will choose a good position for you."

Shi Yi was also very grateful. In his opinion, he was just a local official, and he didn't know why he had caught Liu Bei's eye.

Given that Liu Bei and Kong Rong were close friends and had frequent interactions, could it be that Kong Rong recommended him?
Upon hearing Liu Bei's question, Yi composed himself, bowed, and said, "I have already accepted the appointment. Your Excellency is my lord, and I am but a subject. How can a subject be so picky about what position to hold before his lord? Your Excellency may assign me any position as you see fit. Whatever the position, I will faithfully perform my duties and serve Your Excellency faithfully."

Shi Yi's words were quite humble and expressed his loyalty to Liu Bei, but at the deepest level, they also demonstrated his own abilities.

If a person is not capable enough or not well-rounded, how can they be competent in all positions?
The fact that Yi dared to say these words shows that he was also very confident in his abilities.

Liu Bei, being a shrewd man, could easily understand Shi Yi's meaning. He nodded to Shi Yi with satisfaction, while falling into deep thought.

Since Yi wants to demonstrate his abilities, it's best to put him in a challenging position so that he can achieve results.

"The state is still lacking an official in Langya Commandery. I wonder if Ziyu would be willing to take the position?"

As soon as Liu Bei said this, everyone present turned to look at him.

Although the position of Commandery and Kingdom Official is not comparable to the Four Great Officials, it is still a very high-ranking position. It is set up within the state, with one official in each commandery and kingdom. The duties are to supervise the internal correspondence and reporting of documents within the commandery and kingdom, and to investigate and report illegal acts of officials to the governor and regional governor.

Currently, within Xuzhou, only Pengcheng, Langya, and Guangling are temporarily without any prefectures or kingdoms to manage affairs for various reasons.

Now that Langya has been brought under the jurisdiction of the prefecture, it is natural to re-establish the Langya Commandery. Originally, the local gentry of Xuzhou wanted to obtain this position, but unexpectedly, Liu Bei granted it to Shi Yi.

Although Shi Yi was not from Langya, he was from Beihai Commandery, which was a neighbor of Langya. Perhaps Liu Bei took this into consideration when he made this decision.

(End of this chapter)