My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 130 Yan Shi Man Chong
The next day, Liu Bei sent word that Taishi Ci would temporarily serve as Liu Feng's archery and horsemanship instructor.

Liu Feng is still young and lacks strength. He also needs to study literature and other matters on a regular basis.

As for the literary pursuit of becoming an apprentice, this is a very important matter and can be offered for a higher price; it cannot be offered for the time being.

Moreover, considering the situation in Xuzhou, there are only two people qualified to be Liu Feng's teacher: one is Zhang Zhao, who has not yet accepted the appointment.

After Liu Bei acquired Langya, he faced numerous challenges, which were gradually being resolved. He then planned to send someone to Guangling again to recruit Zhang Zhao.

Zhang Zhao was actually from Pengcheng, but his hometown had been razed to the ground by Cao Cao. Fortunately, his family had escaped and were living in Guangling, waiting for a wise ruler.

When Liu Bei first took control of Xuzhou, apart from Chen Deng and Mi Zhu who fully supported him, almost no one was optimistic about him. Zhang Zhao was no exception, and he refused to be recruited twice.

This latest appointment of a prefectural envoy marks the third such recruitment drive.

Although Zhang Zhao was a surrenderist in history, there were reasons for it.

First, Zhang Zhao was a traditional gentry member who valued the laws of the court and harbored both fear and affection for the Han Dynasty. This was one of the reasons why he strongly advocated for peace during the Battle of Red Cliffs. The other two reasons were, of course, Cao Cao's overwhelming and unstoppable power.

Finally, even if Zhang Zhao surrendered, he would still receive a high-ranking official position and generous salary.

However, it would be laughable to say that Zhang Zhao has wronged the Sun family.

It should be noted that before Sun Ce died, he gave Zhang Zhao the same last words as Liu Bei.

Zhang Zhao, however, remained steadfast in his duties as a subject, maintained control of the overall situation, and helped Sun Quan suppress dissent and quell rebellions.

The only person Sun Quan never managed to anger in his entire life was Zhang Zhao. Even though Lu Su had criticized him on his behalf after his death, only Zhang Zhao commanded Sun Quan's utmost respect and respect, and he dared not treat him with disrespect.

In the end, the only person who could make the young and vigorous Sun Quan set fire to the gate, and then put out the fire himself, was Zhang Zibu.

Moreover, Zhang Zhao's greatest strength was his ability to reconcile the relationship between the Huai-Si group and the powerful clans of Jiangdong. As a result, after Sun Quan established his kingdom, Zhang Zhao was the only one who received unanimous recommendation from the entire court. For this alone, it is no exaggeration to call him the Zhuge Liang of Jiangdong.

Liu Feng was waiting. If Zhang Zhao still refused after the third summons, then he would have no choice but to persuade Liu Bei to personally invite him.

Zhang Zhao is indeed a man of great talent. If he had stayed in Guangling, that would have been fine. But if he had continued south as history has shown and met Sun Ce, he would have been asking for trouble.

The other person was Chen Deng and Chen Yuanlong.

He was originally from a top-tier local gentry family in Xuzhou. He was exceptionally talented and knowledgeable, and was a close friend of Liu Bei. Recently, he even recruited Fu Langya and made great contributions to Xuzhou. He has surpassed Mi Zhu and become the second most outstanding person in Xuzhou in terms of both civil and military affairs.

But it was precisely because of this that Liu Bei could no longer allow Liu Feng to become Chen Deng's disciple.

Liu Bei, who had previously been furious that Liu Feng refused to become Chen Deng's disciple, now kept silent about the matter. Liu Feng knew the reason for this, and Chen Deng was also well aware of it.

Chen Deng felt a deep sense of regret, but the more he learned about Liu Feng, the more satisfied he became with him.

He actually really wanted to help Teacher Liu Feng.

But now it seems that hope is becoming increasingly slim.

Besides those from Xuzhou, there are two other suitable candidates.

One was Zheng Xuan of Qingzhou, the most famous scholar of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, a master of statecraft, and of unparalleled status. Moreover, he was Liu Bei's uncle-master, with whom he had a very close relationship, and had also helped Liu Bei gain fame.

The other person was Chen Ji of Yuzhou, the father of Chen Qun and the son of Chen Shi.

This man is exceptionally talented and comes from a distinguished family. He is a renowned scholar in Yuzhou, with a distinguished reputation.

If Liu Bei could persuade Liu Feng to become his disciple, the relationship between the Chen and Liu families would become even closer.

At the same time, the people of Yuzhou would be more receptive to Liu Bei's entry, making it easier for Liu Bei to expand into Yuzhou and solidify his foundation.

These people each have their own merits, but Liu Feng can only choose one to become his disciple; he cannot have them all.

Even Liu Bei was caught in a dilemma, pondering how to make a decision.

However, before that, Liu Bei had many other things to deal with.

For example, Man Chong and Man Boning from Yanzhou.

When Man Chong arrived in Tancheng as Cao Cao's envoy, even though he traveled with a small entourage, it still aroused the anger of the elders of Tancheng.

Countless elders of Xuzhou were slaughtered by Cao Cao. In the past, when Cao Cao twice conquered Xuzhou, the people of Tancheng were terrified several times a night and narrowly escaped death.

How could they possibly have any goodwill towards Cao Cao's envoy?

Not killing the other party on the spot is already a sign of respecting etiquette and abiding by the law.

Liu Bei dispatched Xiahou Bo with a garrison of armored soldiers to escort Man Chong into the prefecture.

Immediately afterwards, Man Chong was invited into the main hall, where Liu Bei and a group of state officials had been waiting for a long time.

Previously, Liu Bei had discussed with everyone the purpose of Man Chong's visit.

Chen Yuanlong was the first to speak, believing that Man Chong's arrival must be because Cao Cao was worried that Xuzhou would launch an attack from behind.

At this time, the war in Yanzhou was raging. Although Cao Cao had successfully counterattacked, he had only controlled one and a half counties. His main force was still fighting against Lü Bu in Dong County. The battle lines of the two sides were spreading out to Dingtao State, Shanyang County, Rencheng State and Taishan County.

Yanzhou has only eight commanderies and kingdoms in total, and now five of them are embroiled in war, causing immense suffering and loss of life.

If Xuzhou were to seek revenge at this time and betray Cao Cao, then even if Cao Cao were to be resurrected like Han Xin, he would only have one option: to retreat north to the Yellow River and seek refuge with Yuan Shao.

Therefore, others also agreed with Chen Deng, believing that what he said was true.

The question of how Xuzhou should proceed has sparked another round of debate.

Those who primarily sought revenge were led by Tian Ran, an official in charge of clerks.

Tian Ran, courtesy name Bogang, came from a top-tier aristocratic family in the East China Sea. His family had produced many county magistrates with salaries of 1,000 shi (a unit of grain). Before Chen Qiu appeared, the Tian family was definitely superior to the Chen family in Xuzhou.

However, the gap between the two companies is widening.

Not only is there a difference in reputation, but there is also a huge gap in strength.

The Tian family's main industries were concentrated in the western part of Donghai County, where they owned a large number of farmlands and workshops in Qi County, Changlu County, and Hexiang County.

When Cao Cao arrived, all these places were reduced to ashes. How could the Tian family not hate Cao Cao to the bone?

It was one thing that he was powerless to retaliate before, but now Liu Bei has actually integrated the Danyang Army, recovered Langya, and annexed the Taishan Army. His strength has increased rather than decreased compared to when Tao Qian was in power.

Meanwhile, Cao Cao was mired in a quagmire, betrayed by Lü Bu, and Yan Province was in ruins. The governor of the province was reduced to only one and a half commanderies, and his troops were exhausted, lacked food, and had no weapons.

In the eyes of Tian Ran and other people from Xuzhou, Cao Cao would be completely killed with just a gentle push. How could they not be excited? They jumped around trying to persuade Liu Bei to launch a western expedition.

"No!"

Chen Deng stood up and rebuked them, "As officials of the state, you should prioritize the interests of the public and the state. How can you let personal interests interfere with public duty?"

"Although Cao Cao was trapped in Dongjun, he still had a strong army of fifty to sixty thousand, which can be called a formidable enemy. Lü Wenhou had the help of Chen Gong, Xue Lan, Li Feng, Zhang Miao and others, but he was still on the defensive, which shows how powerful he was."

"You all want the Duke to go on a western expedition, but where will the soldiers' armor and provisions come from?

Chen Deng sneered, "Do you all think that the troops in this prefecture are all your personal guards?"

Tian Ran and the others looked embarrassed. Although they were still not convinced, none of them were willing to confront Chen Deng directly.

At this moment, Liu Bei spoke up, saying, "What Yuanlong said is exactly what I was thinking. Let's first send Man Chong to an audience and see what Cao Yanzhou is thinking."

Now that Liu Bei has made his decision, it is only right that all the state officials, including Chen Deng, should bow down.

Soon, Man Chong was welcomed inside.

As soon as he took off his shoes and stepped into the hall, someone in the hall shouted and cursed, "Cao Cao, he has no humanity, he's a beast! How does he even know to send envoys back and forth?"

The person who hurled the insults was Wang Jun, a scholar from Xuzhou, who was appointed as an official in charge of the Imperial Academy.

Man Chong sneered, "Our lord acts with tyranny. How could you mediocre people possibly know this?"

After saying that, Man Chong ignored the other person and continued walking towards Liu Bei.

Man Chong was a cruel official who followed the path of cruel officials in the Western Han Dynasty.

He once served as the Inspector of Yanzhou, and later acted as the magistrate of Gaotang County in the same prefecture. He resigned and returned home after causing the death of a prisoner through torture.

From this, we can see that Man Chong and his family wielded considerable power in Shanyang Commandery. Torture to death was a very common crime in the Han Dynasty, committed by many officials.

Some lost their official positions and titles, some simply paid with their lives, while others, like Man Chong, only needed to resign and return home, and the matter was considered over.

The last type of person often has very powerful background connections.

There is another thing that proves the overwhelming power of the Manchong family.

When he was eighteen, he was recruited by the prefect to serve as the inspector of Shanyang County. At that time, there was a powerful man in Shanyang County named Li Shuo. He was a wealthy man with a large private retinue. He was known for his tyrannical behavior and bullying of the innocent.

That was not the chaotic world we see now. Back then, it was a time of long-lasting peace, and not just anyone could raise a retinue and use it to run rampant in the countryside.

But Li Shuo dared to do it, and he even did it with a group of people.

After it was done, the prefect didn't dare to interfere and could only entrust the task to Man Chong.

After Man Chong left, the only historical record is the eight characters: "Shuo and others apologized and did not copy again."

Upon closer examination, these eight words contain a great deal of information.

If Li Shuo and his ilk were so easily brought to justice, why would the prefect need to invite Man Chong?
Moreover, Man Chong is an outstanding talent with a strong character and strict law enforcement, making him an indispensable special agent for the country.

To be honest, Liu Feng was actually quite envious of Man Chong.

This is because Man Chong was not only honest and upright, but also very intelligent.

When Cao Cao later wielded immense power and wanted to kill Yang Biao, he sent Man Chong to handle the situation.

After Man Chong arrested Yang Biao, he disregarded Yang Biao's family's three generations of high-ranking officials, Yang Biao's status as a high-ranking official, and Yang Biao's renowned reputation as a great Confucian scholar. Even when Xun Yu and Kong Rong personally wrote letters to plead for leniency, hoping that he would respect the scholars and allow questioning but not torture, he still used torture on Yang Biao and interrogated him severely.

At the time, Xun Yu and Kong Rong hated him so much they were itching to do something about it, but they just couldn't do anything about it.

However, after several days of interrogation yielded no results, Man Chong actually went to Cao Cao, who was determined to kill him, and said, "My lord, I have found out that there is indeed no evidence to prove that the other party colluded with Yuan Shu. This person is indeed innocent."

But I assure you, if you want to kill him, I'll do as you say.

But I must remind you first that you need to think this through carefully. This person is too famous. If you kill him without evidence, I am not afraid to be a scapegoat, but your reputation will be greatly affected.

In the end, these words successfully persuaded Cao Cao, saving Yang Biao's life and causing Xun Yu and Kong Rong's impression of him to instantly rebound. They even took the initiative to express their gratitude and goodwill, making him a man who pleased everyone.

In conclusion, he was an extremely clever and ruthless official, and a rare talent in the legal system.

However, there is no hope now. Man Boning is very loyal to Cao Cao, and more importantly, Shanyang is still within Cao Cao's sphere of influence. Although Lü Bu is also vying for this place, Man Chong is biased towards Cao Cao.

Liu Bei remained seated, seemingly oblivious to the conflict, and only spoke after Man Chong had finished his greetings: "What brings Cao Yanzhou here from afar?"

Man Chong held Liu Bei in high esteem and dared not be negligent in the slightest.

After bowing again, he replied solemnly, "My lord fears that Liu Xuzhou may be misled by petty men, doing things that hurt our own people and please our enemies, ruining the overall situation, and only making those cunning and treacherous men happy."

"The Manchu envoy's words are utterly laughable."

Chen Deng spoke up: "Cao Yanzhou has twice attacked our state, massacring the innocent, burning down workshops, and abandoning fertile fields. Could these actions be considered acts of goodwill? If so, then our state is willing to repay this 'favor'."

Man Chong's expression changed slightly. He was very strong in criticizing Wang Jun because Wang Jun was just an incompetent person and there was no reason for him to be blamed.

But now the one speaking is Chen Deng, who holds great power in Xuzhou, has made outstanding contributions, and is Liu Bei's trusted right-hand man. So he can't just speak casually.

Moreover, Chen Deng is a man of strong character and decisiveness. If he were to truly anger the other party, it would be detrimental to this visit.

Man Chong immediately changed his expression.

"What the clerk said is biased."

Man Chong explained to Chen Deng with a serious expression, "The conflict between Yan and Xu began with Tao Gong. If Tao Gong hadn't invaded our state first, how could Lord Cao have entered Xuzhou? Lord Cao's father lived in Langya and regarded Xuzhou as his close hometown. But who knew that he would be slaughtered by the Xuzhou army on his way back home? The hatred for one's father is irreconcilable. What wrong has Lord Cao done in avenging his father?"

Chen Deng sneered, about to retort, but Mi Zhu stopped him.

Mi Zhu earnestly advised, "If Your Excellency has come here merely to engage in verbal disputes, then you may return."

"No."

Man Chong didn't know why Mi Zhu would help him out, but he was secretly grateful. Seizing the opportunity, he said to Liu Bei, "I have come here on behalf of Lord Liu. I humbly request that Lord Liu keep his men in check, as I have a secret message to present to you."

Liu Bei glanced at Mi Zhu and Chen Deng, and seeing that neither of them objected, he ordered them to discuss the matter in a private room.

After this discussion, only Liu Bei, Man Chong, Mi Zhu, and Chen Deng remained.

Mi Zhu spoke first: "Your Excellency, please feel free to say whatever you have to say."

Man Chong gratefully cupped his hands and said to Liu Bei, "Lord Liu, I have come here today for the sake of peace between Yan and Xu. This matter is beneficial to both Yan and Xu."

Liu Bei listened without speaking, but Chen Deng sneered, "Your words are exaggerated. I only see the benefits this matter brings to Yanzhou, but I don't know what benefits it brings to my province, let alone huge benefits?"

This time, Man Chong bared his fangs and retorted, "It is precisely because you are ignorant and unable to analyze the implications that my lord fears that Lord Liu will not understand his meaning, which is why he sent me here."

Faced with such provocation, Chen Deng was not angry at all, but instead fell silent again.

Upon seeing this, Man Chong immediately turned his attention back to Liu Bei.

"My lord, I have often analyzed the current situation for you."

Liu Bei nodded slightly.

Man Chong said, "In the world today, there are two powerful figures, one in the south and one in the north. The one in the south is Yuan Shu, who occupies Lujiang, controls Yuzhou from a distance, and covets Xuzhou and Huaizhou. He has many soldiers and generals under his command and has ample food supplies. He can be called a regional power."

"The Northern Hero is Yuan Shao. He sits on the fertile land of Ji Province and controls the iron cavalry of You and Bing. North of the Yellow River, except for Gongsun Zan, all have submitted. He can be called a hero of the North."

"Although you, my lord, possess Xuzhou, you have also incurred a deadly enmity with Yuan Shu because of it. Just by looking at your self-proclaimed title of Earl of Xuzhou, one can tell that Yuan Shu and you cannot coexist."

“But Yuan Jizhou and my lord are like brothers, supporting each other. If my lord raises an army for revenge and heads west, my lord will fight to the death. If things don’t go well, he should head north to join forces with them, which would only benefit Lü Bu and Yuan Jizhou.”

"Moreover, if this happens, Yuan Jizhou will surely regard you as a mortal enemy. You will be surrounded by enemies in both the north and south, and Yanzhou will be occupied by the fickle and treacherous Lü Bu. I ask you, sir, can you still sit comfortably in Xuzhou?"

Liu Bei couldn't help but nod slightly; Man Chong's words were exactly the same as the advice his own son had given him.

Moreover, Liu Feng's words were more straightforward and clear, and even more insightful than Man Chong's.

Seeing Liu Bei nod, Man Chong was immediately invigorated: "My lord, although my lord has a grudge against Xuzhou, he has no grudge against you. Not only do we have no grudge, but we have also addressed each other as brothers. My lord also sent me here to ask if you remember our past friendship."

Liu Bei sighed and finally spoke: "Mengde, how have you been?"

Man Chong's face lit up with joy, and he replied respectfully, "Although my lord has encountered setbacks, he has never given up and is now pacifying Yanzhou and annihilating the rebels."

"My lord has entrusted an outside minister to remind you that Yuan Shu will definitely attack Xuzhou next year. Please be prepared and do not be careless."

Liu Bei remained silent for a moment before speaking, "I understand your intentions, but if that's all there is to it, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it to the people of the state."

Man Chong knew that Liu Bei was waiting for him to state his terms, so he calmly said, "My lord is willing to cede the states of Lu and Pei to you, my lord."

Liu Bei immediately laughed: "Mengde is still so cunning and shrewd. When did Lu and Pei cede themselves from Yuzhou to Yanzhou? Or has he, as the governor of Yanzhou, come to have jurisdiction over Yuzhou?"

"Your Excellency is mistaken."

Man Chong shook his head with a serious expression: "My lord, the State of Lu is located in the heart of our state. Although it is a prefecture of Yuzhou, how can Yanzhou sit idly by and watch others enter?"

"It is precisely because my lord cherishes the friendship with you, my lord, that he is willing to relinquish his influence over the State of Lu."

Man Chong said earnestly, "Your Excellency is also a governor of a prefecture; surely you can see the importance of Lu's location?"

Liu Bei remained silent without answering, but he did not refuse either.

Neither Mi Zhu nor Chen Deng spoke, and the scene fell into an odd silence.

In the end, Man Chong couldn't withstand the pressure and blurted out the most crucial sentence.

"Lord Liu, if Yuan Jizhou were to unify Hebei in the future and his army were to march south and cross the river, would you not want to submit to the north? Would you want a reliable ally to help you resist the enemy from the north?"

At this point, Cao Cao was essentially powerless, while Liu Bei was the one with shoes on. Therefore, if Cao Cao could see through the situation, he could turn the tables and blackmail Liu Bei. Because if Cao Cao collapsed, Liu Bei would not only gain nothing, but the situation would also worsen. Neither Yuan Shao nor Lü Bu were good neighbors. Cao Cao, due to his smaller size, could achieve a balance with Liu Bei, and both of them needed each other, potentially even having to join forces against Yuan Shao in the future. This is why Cao Cao was so aggressive.



(End of this chapter)