My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 185 Guo Jia Offers Advice
The following day, Liu Bei sent Chen Qun as his envoy to the guesthouse to recruit Guo Jia as his advisor.

Guo Jia gladly accepted and went to the state capital to express his gratitude.

After the formalities were completed, Liu Bei asked with some anticipation, "Fengxiao is a wise man of our time. Do you have any words of advice for me? I hope you will speak frankly and without fear. I will be pleased to hear your criticisms. If your words are meaningful, I will certainly follow your advice."

Guo Jia was thrilled by Liu Bei's attitude; he had planned to offer advice to Liu Bei long before he arrived.

This was both a way of repaying Liu Bei's high regard and a test of his abilities.

So Guo Jia said, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, Lord Ming, how could I dare to disobey?"

After a moment's thought, Guo Jia spoke: "I have heard that in this world, the wise prevail over the weak. In the past, Xiang Yu had a million men and commanded all the feudal lords, yet he was destroyed by the Han Emperor. Why? Only because wisdom prevailed. Today, the world is in turmoil, with heroes rising up everywhere. Outlaws and ruffians alike hold sway over counties and even entire prefectures. In my opinion, Your Excellency has three important matters that you must address immediately, otherwise, they will eventually become a serious problem."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei and Liu Feng were immediately invigorated.

Although Guo Jia's words sounded somewhat alarmist, Liu Bei was not displeased because of Liu Feng's groundwork, and instead intended to listen attentively.

Liu Bei even stated, "Please feel free to speak frankly, I am all ears."

The attitude of Liu Bei and his son excited Guo Jia, but he remained calm and said, "Firstly, since the Shu Han dynasty, there has been an excessive array of rituals and ceremonies, a penchant for extravagance and waste, and a trend of comparison. This has caused officials in the prefectures and counties to neglect governing the people and instead focus on scheming and currying favor. This is one of the problems. Xuzhou was inherited by you, my lord, from Tao Gongzu, who was known for his extravagance. Everyone in Xuzhou wanted to emulate him. If you do not rectify this situation as soon as possible, sooner or later you will become complacent and lazy. At that time, you may not even be able to protect Xuzhou, let alone advance into the Central Plains."

Liu Bei remained calm and did not speak, while Liu Feng nodded slightly.

Xuzhou was indeed extravagant during Tao Qian's time. Which of Tao Qian's close ministers wasn't busy embezzling and accepting bribes to acquire property?
Cao Hong had amassed millions in wealth in Xuzhou in just a few years, while Zuo Rong was even more outrageous, actually absconding with hundreds of millions of coins and grain from Tao Qian to Yangzhou.

Cao Bao and Xu Dan were slightly better, but it was only a difference of fifty steps and a hundred steps; they were essentially the same kind of people.

As the saying goes, "If the superiors have a certain preference, the subordinates will follow suit even more." Tao Qian and his close associates were like this, so how could the officialdom of Xuzhou possibly improve?

Xu Qiuxing had already discovered many problems during his previous inspection tour of the county, which gives us a glimpse into the situation.

Guo Jia continued, "Secondly, it is about employing people. Your Excellency is eager to seek out talented individuals and treats them with respect, a reputation that has already spread far and wide. I, too, have heard of this while I was in Hebei. When I first arrived, I was unfamiliar with Your Excellency's methods of employing people, so I will temporarily use Yuan Shao's mistakes in employing people as a source of advice. The way to employ people is first about using them, and second about seeking them. If one cannot know people and use them well, the more people one seeks, the greater the internal divisions will become. Under Yuan Shao's command, people from Hebei are fighting with people from Henan, people from Ji Province are fighting with people from You and Bing, people from Yuan Tan are fighting with people from Yuan Shang, and people who are only concerned with petty gains are fighting with people who have the world in their hearts."

"Such power struggles are all because Yuan Shao seeks out people but cannot use them. Let alone allowing everyone to give full play to their strengths and make the best use of their talents, he probably can't even manage to have everyone do their job properly. If this continues, how can he not fail?"

Guo Jia's expression was sincere, and his words were heartfelt: "I hope that Your Excellency can take the troubles of Yuan Shao as a warning, prioritize the use of people, not expect everyone to be fully utilized, but simply have everyone fulfill their duties."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng was greatly shocked.

Guo Jia's words were like a dragon riding on Liu Bei's face, and he also seemed to be using Yuan Shao's problem to remind Liu Bei of something.

He couldn't help but look at Liu Bei, worried that his father would be furious.

But he saw that his father remained calm and composed, neither angered by Guo Jia's advice nor agreeing with it.

Seeing that Liu Bei remained silent, Guo Jia continued, "Thirdly, since the Shu Han dynasty, the laws of the land have become increasingly lenient, and powerful and unruly individuals have acted without restraint. Officials in various regions have abused their power for personal gain, even colluding with each other. When Tao Qian was alive, he further condoned illegal activities in order to gain the service of local powerful figures. If Your Excellency wishes to restore the Han dynasty and pacify the land, the law cannot be abolished, and officials cannot be neglected. I earnestly request Your Excellency to strictly enforce the law, rectify officials, restrain powerful figures, and bring peace to the people."

Faced with Guo Jia's grand gesture of respect, Liu Bei finally made a move.

He quickly got up and walked to Guo Jia's side, helping him up. Then, to Guo Jia's surprise, he bowed deeply and thanked him, saying, "Sir, you taught me with golden words of wisdom. I thank you for the sake of all the people of the world."

Guo Jia dared not accept Liu Bei's thanks and quickly stepped aside to avoid him.

But Liu Bei respectfully knelt down and kowtowed meticulously to express his gratitude.

"Sir, your words are not merely for preparation, but also for the sake of all people under heaven."

Liu Bei said with deep emotion, "I thank you, sir, for the sake of all the people under heaven."

Liu Feng, watching from the side, was somewhat bewildered. Indeed, the problems Guo Jia mentioned were things that Xuzhou should prioritize addressing at present.

However, Guo Jia was not someone who spoke up for the people. The reason he advised Liu Bei to solve these problems was ultimately to strengthen the power of Xuzhou and eventually conquer the Central Plains.

However, Liu Bei now regards Guo Jia as a benevolent ruler like himself, and it's hard to say whether this is a wonderful twist of fate.

Liu Bei's attitude towards Guo Jia's opinions was to accept them entirely and follow them without question.

In fact, Xuzhou had already begun to reorganize its internal governance system. Chen Deng in Langya, Xu Qiu in Donghai, and Liu Feng in Guangling all took down many heinous low-level officials.

It's just that we don't have enough talented people at our disposal; otherwise, even incompetent county-level officials should be replaced.

Liu Bei took Guo Jia's hand and said, "Fengxiao, I wish to appoint you as Military Advisor, in charge of all external intelligence operations."

Xun You had been given the choice of this position before, but he declined and chose the position of Chief Clerk instead.

In that case, Guo Jia would be a very suitable candidate.

In the original timeline, Guo Jia also did this kind of work for Cao Cao, providing him with the most accurate intelligence.

Subsequently, Liu Bei personally hosted a banquet for Guo Jia and arranged accommodations for him in the prefecture.

After the banquet, Guo Jia bid farewell to Xin Ping and went to the prefectural government to take up his post.

Three days later, Liu Bei held a ceremony in the state capital to dress Liu Feng in his first birthday robes and bestow upon him the courtesy name Zisheng.

From then on, Liu Feng, courtesy name Zisheng.

Also present at the ceremony were envoys from various regions, including Kong Rong from the north, who sent an official, who happened to be Zheng Yi, the son of Zheng Xuan.

After the ceremony concluded, the envoys from all sides began to leave Tancheng.

Xu Shao set off for the State of Chen, accompanied by Bu Zhi, who had been temporarily recalled to be entrusted with an important mission.

Bu Zhi was entrusted by Liu Bei and his son to accompany Xu Shao and Teng Zhou to the State of Chen to discuss matters such as borrowing and buying grain.

Cheng Yu returned to Yanzhou, and Xin Ping returned to Jizhou.

When bidding farewell to Cheng Yu and Xin Ping, Liu Bei, at Liu Feng's suggestion, displayed a completely different attitude.

For Cheng Yu, it was a polite and courteous farewell.

For Xin Ping, however, it was a warm and profound farewell.

Putting everything else aside, the various gifts alone were worth millions of dollars, with frosting sugar and snow salt accounting for half of the value.

Xin Ping was greatly shocked by this and repeatedly declined, but Liu Bei refused.

“Zhongzhi, we hit it off immediately. I only regret that I cannot have your assistance. These gifts are merely a small token of my gratitude. I only hope that in the future, Brother Benchu ​​will be able to sweep across the world and restore the Han Dynasty, and that we can serve as ministers in the same court. At that time, we can stay in touch and hear your wise words sooner or later.”

Xin Ping was deeply moved by Liu Bei's words: "What virtue or ability do I possess to receive such great favor from you, my lord? I hope you can take care of your health and work with my lord to eliminate the rebellious ministers and restore the Han Dynasty. There will surely be a day when we meet again."

Cheng Yu watched coldly from the sidelines, showing no displeasure at Liu Bei's favoritism.

On the contrary, Cheng Yu held Liu Bei in higher regard because of this.

If Liu Bei wanted to sow discord between him and Cao Cao, then he would be acting like a petty person.

People only know that Cheng Yu refused Liu Dai's offer of service, but they also hear that Cao Zexi was a villain.

But is Liu Dai worthy of Cheng Yu's assistance?
Cheng Yu, a man of great talent, was unable to choose his lord simply because of his humble origins.
Just because Liu Dai recruited him, he expects to be as grateful as a dog?

He had clearly helped Liu Dai, but the whole of Yanzhou said he was ungrateful and even mocked him for contradicting himself when he accepted Cao Cao's offer.

Therefore, Cheng Yu never considered himself or the lower class as one of them.

Liu Bei then instructed Xin Ping that there were gifts worth two million coins in the carriage, of which one and a half million were for Yuan Shao, three hundred thousand of the remaining five hundred thousand were for Yuan Tan, and the last two hundred thousand were for Guo Tu, Guo Gongze. He hoped that Xin Ping could pass them on.

Xin Ping was somewhat surprised. If sending gifts to Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan was the norm, then sending gifts to Guo Tu was completely unexpected. In fact, Liu Bei hadn't even considered it; it was entirely Liu Feng's instigation.

Liu Feng was all too aware of Guo Tu's influence. This Guo Tu, Guo Gongze, could be described as a paragon of virtue, even more so than Jia Xu of Hebei.

Throughout his life, Guo Gongze only cared about personal gain and loss, currying favor with Yuan Shao, trying to guess Yuan Shao's intentions, and disregarding right and wrong.

This is a complete scoundrel, far more disgusting than the selfish and cunning Jia Xu.

At least Jia Xu tried to do some good deeds without harming himself, such as dissuading Li Jue and Guo Si from massacring officials and going along with the flow to get Li Jue to agree to Emperor Xian of Han returning east.

It is evident that Jia Xu still had a conscience, albeit a small one.

The problem is that these kinds of petty people, while unable to accomplish anything, can often cause trouble.

Therefore, Liu Feng strongly advised Liu Bei to befriend Guo Tu, as Guo Tu might be able to control Cao Cao in the future.

Moreover, Guo Tu already looked down on Cao Cao. If he could add fuel to the fire, even if it only made the relationship between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao more strained, then those hundreds of thousands of coins would be well worth it.

If Liu Feng hadn't been afraid of scaring Guo Tu, he would have given him fifty million.

Since it's mainly made of frosting sugar and snow salt anyway, Liu Feng really doesn't need these few dozen kilograms of goods.

Upon hearing Liu Bei's praise of Guo Tu, Xin Ping felt a slight aversion towards Guo Tu.

He had seen through Guo Tu's true colors before, and now he saw how highly Liu Bei praised Guo Tu, almost to the point of placing him on par with himself.

This displeased Xin Ping, who even considered telling Liu Bei Guo Tu's true attitude.

However, this was just an idea, and Xin Ping certainly wouldn't actually do it. On the contrary, he wanted to thank Liu Bei for his generous gift on behalf of Guo Tu.

After seeing Xin Ping off, Liu Bei and Liu Feng returned to their residence.

At this time, only Liu Xian, the envoy from Jingzhou, and a few others such as Mi Zhu, Xun You, and Guo Jia remained in Tancheng. The others had naturally returned to their respective posts.

Liu Feng had also mentioned to Liu Bei that Mi Zhu intended to serve as the Chancellor of Pengcheng.

Liu Bei thought it was feasible. After all, Pengcheng was not a large place, but it was all fertile land, and it would be a great pity to leave it undeveloped. Not to mention that Pengcheng was located on a major transportation route, with frequent trade and travel, and it also had abundant resources such as iron ore and coal mines.

So Liu Bei consulted with Mi Zhu and confirmed that Mi Zhu did indeed want to be appointed as the Chancellor of Pengcheng, just as Liu Feng had said.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Bei recommended Mi Zhu to serve as the Chancellor of Pengcheng.

This freed up the position of Xuzhou Biejia.

When Liu Bei asked Liu Feng about his thoughts on the position of Biejia, Liu Feng simply laughed.

“Father, have you forgotten Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong? Besides these two, there are also Qin Song, Chen Duan and others in Guangling. They are all talents of the state and county, and should be recruited together.”

Upon hearing Liu Feng's words, Liu Bei's expression turned somewhat displeased.

Zhang Zhao was really being incredibly disrespectful, refusing both times he was summoned for service. Zhang Hong wasn't much better; he had previously sent someone to summon him, but Zhang Hong declined, citing old age and poor health.

Liu Bei clearly had not forgotten these things.

“Father, Zhang Hong is a talented scholar from this prefecture. In his youth, he traveled to Luoyang and entered the Imperial Academy, where he studied under the scholar Han Zong. During the reign of Emperor Ling, he was even invited by the three ministers, General He Jin, Grand Commandant Zhu Jun, and Minister of Works Xun Shuang, to serve as his aide, but he declined all offers.”

Liu Feng smiled and said, "Father, compared to these three, who is more noble?"

Liu Bei blushed and coughed lightly, saying, "It is customary for the Grand General to be appointed to assist in governing the country. How can I, as your father, compare? Zhu Jun was your father's former official. He quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion and restored order to the internal strife. His merits are outstanding and he is respected by the world. Xun Shuang was a renowned scholar in the country. He also participated in the assassination of Dong Zongye. Although he died before achieving his goal, he is still respected by the world."

"How can I, as a father, compare myself to these three?"

Liu Feng comforted him, saying, "Father, since Zhang Hong has refused the invitations of these three men, why should you worry about it? Besides, I have some idea of ​​what these two men are thinking. If you are interested, I can tell you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei became genuinely interested: "Very well, I will listen to your advice."

"These two are wise men who know how to protect themselves. Although they lack the ability to sacrifice themselves for the people and the country, they can see through the ways of the world. Therefore, they have retired from the martial world in order to protect themselves."

Liu Feng analyzed seriously: "Therefore, the reason why the two Zhangs refused Father earlier was that they did not think Father could hold the reins of Xuzhou for long. So, the one who should be ashamed now is the two Zhangs, not you, Father."

"At this time, both Zhangs were temporarily residing in Guangling, Zhang Hong in Jiangdu, and Zhang Zhao in Haixi. They were simply observing the times and acting accordingly to avoid disaster in Jiangdong."

At this point, Liu Feng laughed: "But Father, you see, our strategy is to first take Yangzhou and then secure the Huai and Si rivers. The Zhang brothers, with their discerning eyes, can naturally see this. We have already secured their escape routes, so why would they still harbor any illusions?"

Liu Bei laughed along with them. The two Zhangs realized that things were not going well, so they fled across the river. But if Yangzhou could also be obtained by him, wouldn't the two Zhangs still be unable to escape his grasp?

"But the two Zhangs are, after all, men of integrity and righteousness, and Father should treat them with courtesy."

Liu Feng explained, "When Tao Gong recommended Zhang Zhao as a candidate for the 'Outstanding Talent,' the latter firmly declined the offer, even if it meant going to jail and risking his life. This shows how strong-willed he was."

"Although Zhang Hong was not as fiery as Zhang Zhao, he still possessed the integrity of a renowned scholar."

Liu Feng continued to persuade him, "These two are renowned scholars in Xuzhou, and they have many close friends there. If we can get their help, Father's prestige in Xuzhou will rise even higher. Even if they are truly unwilling to follow me, we can let them leave freely. We must not forget the matter of Cao Yanzhou's execution of Bian Rang."

This is no joke. If Liu Bei really killed Zhang Hong and Zhang Zhao, although it might not lead to a complete rebellion in Xuzhou like it did in Yanzhou, it would be very likely that most of the scholars in Xuzhou would become disaffected.

Zhang Zhao was from Pengcheng, and Zhang Hong was from Guangling. Both were renowned scholars from Xuzhou, and their relatives and friends were all in Xuzhou. It was possible that even Chen Gui would have to personally step in to salvage the situation.

In this situation, if Liu Bei were to forcibly kill the two men, how could it not be disheartening?

Liu Bei's expression changed, and he glared at Liu Feng with annoyance: "Is your father so wicked in your eyes? How could he kill people so indiscriminately?"

Liu Feng chuckled and said, "Father, of course not. I was just saying a few words out of turn."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and then said, "In your opinion, it is clear that we should invite Zhang Zhao to serve as the Prefect and Zhang Hong to serve as the Chief Administrator?"

Liu Feng readily admitted, "That's exactly right."

Liu Bei nodded: "In that case, you should make the trip and invite these two to the provincial capital on my behalf."

Liu Feng was taken aback at first. What he was really trying to do was to ask Liu Bei to personally take action.

But now that I think about it, it would indeed be inappropriate for Liu Bei to personally take action.

Firstly, there was no precedent for this; a high-ranking official like the governor personally went to recruit a deputy governor. This had never happened before in the entire Shu Han Dynasty.

If this were done, and Zhang Zhao accepted the reprimand, then everyone would be happy.

However, if Zhang Zhao believes that Liu Bei's behavior is unreasonable and, in a fit of stubbornness, refuses to accept the offer of service, then Liu Bei will truly be caught in the middle.

Liu Bei's idea was correct. Sending his son to do the task in person showed great sincerity. Moreover, Liu Feng was a junior, so even if the recruitment failed, there would be no loss.

Liu Feng also had a lot on his plate.

Whether it was transferring troops from Guangling northward or planning to take action against the salt merchants of Donghai, Liu Feng had reported these matters to Liu Bei, who was aware of how busy he was.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei laughed when faced with Liu Feng's resentful gaze, saying, "Why should my son put on such a pretentious act? As the saying goes, the capable are always given more work."

Liu Feng had no choice but to obey.

On the bright side, however, he believed that if he went personally, his success rate would be much higher. And if he could actually bring the two Zhangs here, it would indeed greatly benefit the Liu family's rule over Xuzhou.

Strike while the iron is hot. After receiving the order, Liu Feng left Tancheng the next day, took the route through Qu County, and headed west to the sea.

(End of this chapter)