My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 206 Commentary on the Request to Punish Xu
"Zhongzhi, how was your journey? It must have been arduous."

The first thing Yuan Shao did after sitting down was to inquire about Xin Ping's health.

In terms of his conduct as a ruler, Yuan Shao has always performed quite well.

Many people think he was too ruthless towards Tian Feng, Ju Shou and others, but few people know that Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Shen Pei and other famous scholars from Hebei almost always charged at Yuan Shao with flying dragons.

Yuan Shao always tolerated it, but how could he possibly like it in his heart?

Even someone as wise and powerful as Li Er (Emperor Taizong of Tang) had a time when he needed to kill this country bumpkin.

In comparison, the scholars from Henan spoke much more politely. After all, they had left their homes and families to join Yuan Shao, and had almost no foothold in Hebei, so their words were indeed less forceful.

To be fair, Yuan Shao was really quite patient.

But the Hebei faction simply refused to back down.

To some extent, Feng Ji's framing of Tian Feng was indeed a fact.

Tian Feng did indeed say that a great victory means life, while a great defeat means death.

Yuan Shao was indeed not a wise ruler in this respect. When he suffered a major defeat at Guandu, instead of thinking about how to deal with the crisis, he ruthlessly killed his own strategist and a famous scholar in Hebei. He was truly foolish.

If Tian Feng had spoken properly and hadn't always been so disrespectful to Yuan Shao, Feng Ji's provocations might not have had any effect.

Perhaps this is the difference between the North and the South: Yan and Zhao are known for their brave warriors, while Ru and Ying are known for their talented scholars.

Northerners are straightforward, while Southerners are more tactful.

Among the scholars of Hebei, Ju Shou, Tian Feng, and Shen Pei were all hot-tempered, but none of the scholars of Henan, Xun Chen, Guo Tu, Feng Ji, Xin Ping, Xin Pi, and Xu You, were willing to directly confront Yuan Shao.

"As for this trip south, it was for the sake of the prefectures and counties, and I dare not say that it was arduous."

Xin Ping immediately rose and bowed in gratitude, humbly thanking Yuan Shao for his concern.

Yuan Shao smiled and nodded, then got to the point: "Zhongzhi, what will happen to Xuzhou, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shu after you go?"

Xin Ping organized his thoughts, then stood up, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Yuan Shao, and said something surprising: "I urge you, my lord, to immediately send troops to Beihai, occupy Qingzhou, and then march south to Xuzhou."

Yuan Shao was indeed shocked by Xin Ping's words.

He had been leaning lazily against the armrest, but now he straightened up and stared intently at Xin Ping.

Xin Ping, however, remained unfazed and continued, "Throughout my journey, I have witnessed the restoration of people's livelihoods and the encouragement of settlement in various parts of Xuzhou. The people live in peace and prosperity, renowned scholars gather in the state, and powerful figures bow down to them. Liu Bei has only been in charge of Xuzhou for a year, yet he has already gained the support of local officials, scholars, and heroes. If this continues, I fear that Liu Bei may become a great enemy of Jizhou."

It turned out to be the case.

Yuan Shao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had originally thought Xin Ping would say something shocking, but it turned out he was only reminded of the threat to Xuzhou.

Yuan Shao was well prepared for the threat posed by Xuzhou.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have hinted to Xin Ping that Ji Province's bottom line was to have the four counties of Qing Province, while Beihai and Donglai could remain untouched for the time being.

In fact, in the original timeline of history, Yuan Shao's rule over Qingzhou was extremely crude and superficial.

The situation in Qingzhou was more chaotic than in most other prefectures and counties; it was not simply a matter of defeating the local warlords to achieve control.

The remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, powerful clansmen, mutinous soldiers, and bandits in various parts of Qingzhou were not very convinced of Yuan Shao's authority.

This directly led to the fact that the officials Yuan Shao sent to Qingzhou often disappeared without a trace, either being killed by local mobs or being sidelined and driven out by local powerful figures.

Later, it even got to the point that officials appointed by Yuan Shao in Qingzhou refused to cross the Yellow River, hoping only to seek official positions in the plains north of the Yellow River.

In fact, a part of Beihai Commandery was soon taken over by the Yellow Turban rebels, while Donglai Commandery and part of Beihai Commandery were quickly divided up by the Taishan rebels of Xuzhou and Gongsun Du of Liaodong.

This is the fundamental reason why Zang Ba was able to sweep into Qingzhou and utterly defeat Yuan Tan during the Battle of Guandu.

Zang Ba has a stronger local power base than Yuan Tan. What makes Yuan Tan think he can fight him?

Imagine if Yuan Shao's rule in Qingzhou were very stable, would Zang Ba and Gongsun Du have dared to do this?

After listening to Xin Ping's opinion, Yuan Shao nodded, but did not rush to ask for the reason. Instead, he looked at the others.

Shen Pei was the first to stand up and strongly object, saying, "My lord, it was with your support that Lord Liu was able to take over Xuzhou, and he has not done anything wrong so far. If we were to launch a military campaign against him simply because he has governed the prefectures well, it would not only be morally wrong and without any justification, but it would also provoke the people of Xuzhou to resist to the death."

Shen Pei's strong opposition was certainly not because he liked Liu Bei or Xuzhou.

This has nothing to do with Shen Pei seeing through Xin Ping's scheme.

Shen Zhengnan was never a shrewd or wise man. The reason he was the first to jump up and resolutely oppose it was simply because he supported Yuan Shao's youngest son, Yuan Shang.

Because Yuan Shao and his second wife, Lady Liu, both doted on their youngest son, Yuan Shang, Yuan Shao, influenced by Lady Liu's influence, actually conceived the idea of ​​deposing the eldest son and establishing the younger one in favor of the eldest.

Having keenly discerned this, the vast majority of the Hebei gentry sided with the young master Yuan Shang.

Because of Yuan Shao's favoritism, Yuan Shang, as the third son, was left in Ye City, while Yuan Tan, as the eldest son, was sent to Qingzhou.

Qingzhou borders Xuzhou. If Yuan Tan were to truly unify Qingzhou and then conquer Xuzhou, his power would expand to a terrifying level.

Even if Yuan Shao's main force marches south to attack Xuzhou, Yuan Tan, who is stationed in Qingzhou, will undoubtedly be the first choice to lead the vanguard.

This still gave Yuan Tan a huge opportunity to make meritorious contributions, which was something that Yuan Shang's faction and the people of Hebei could not tolerate.

Therefore, Shen Pei, in his overconfidence, saw through Xin Ping's scheme. This fellow clearly wanted to create an opportunity for Yuan Tan to make meritorious contributions and to strengthen Yuan Tan's power.

Unfortunately, such a trivial trick could not fool me, Shen Zhengnan.

Therefore, Shen Pei made a decisive and clear statement of his opposition.

After hearing Shen Pei's words, Yuan Shao nodded but remained silent.

Encouraged by Yuan Shao, the scholars in the arena all came down to the stage.

Most of the opinions were supported by scholars from Henan. They felt that they should not let a tiger grow and that even if they could not defeat Liu Bei, they should take all of Qingzhou to put pressure on Liu Bei and prevent him from freely expanding his territory.

Contrary to this view were the scholars of Hebei, Shen Pei, Tian Feng, and Ju Shou, who all believed that the problem of Gongsun Zan had not yet been resolved, so how could they be distracted by heading south? Moreover, Xianyu Fu of Youzhou had only allied with Yuan Shao because of Gongsun Zan, and had not actually submitted to Yuan Shao.

Therefore, if Xianyu Fu's 100,000-strong allied army of foreign tribes can attack Gongsun Zan today, they can attack Ji Province tomorrow. What if the army marches south to Qing and Xu, and Xianyu Fu takes the opportunity to march south?
In fact, this concern was not without reason. Later, during the Battle of Guandu, Xianyu Fu clearly sided with Cao Cao and sent troops south, which tied down Yuan Shao's 70,000 to 80,000 troops in the north.

Seeing that the scholars from Hebei strongly opposed the southward attack on Xu, Xin Ping, Guo Tu, and Xin Pi were not particularly angry, but simply kept refuting the objections.

But the more they acted this way, the more the scholars in Hebei felt there was a conspiracy involved, and the more fiercely they opposed it.

Whether to march south to attack Xu or deal with Gongsun first appears to be a debate about strategy, but it is actually a battle for resources.

Although the people from Hebei still contributed money and grain to the campaign against Gongsun, it was still a recaptured county in Jizhou.

The people of Hebei contributed money and grain to attack Qing and Xuzhou, thus strengthening the power of the people of Henan. The last time the people of Hebei were this foolish was when Emperor Guangwu rode into Hebei alone.

What was the final result?

The people of Hebei have regretted this for two hundred years.

People from Hebei would never want to do the same stupid thing again.

"Gentlemen, please hear me out."

Just as the crowd was getting more and more heated, Biejia Tian Feng spoke up.

The crowd still showed some respect to this person who was theoretically the second best in Ji Province.

Tian Feng turned to Xin Ping and asked, "Mr. Zhongzhi, you've returned from Xuzhou. Have you accomplished anything about the task that the Lord entrusted to you?" As soon as Tian Feng said this, everyone suddenly remembered that Xin Ping had gone south with a mission.

Xin Ping's direct advocacy for war provoked a strong backlash from the crowd, while Tian Feng was the first to bring up the real issue.

Everyone turned to look at Yuan Shao in the main seat, only to see that the ruler of Ji Province had already relaxed and was leaning back on the armchair, watching them argue incessantly with amusement.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Yuan Shao finally spoke up and asked, "Zhongzhi, what the Prefect said is correct. What was the outcome of the responsibility you took this time?"

Xin Ping, however, remained calm and composed, replying, "After discussing with Liu Bei, we have reached a conclusion. Liu Bei wants to preserve Kong Beihai's position and add Donglai County to the list. In this way, he will no longer interfere in the affairs between my state and Tian Kai."

After hearing Xin Ping's words, Yuan Shao smiled with satisfaction: "Excellent, Zhongzhi has lived up to your mission. You've had a hard journey."

Xin Ping continued, "There are two other matters I wish to report to you, sir."

Yuan Shao was quite satisfied with the result. Hearing that Xin Ping had something else to say, he generously said, "Oh, what is it? Zhongzhi, please tell me."

Xin Ping said calmly, "Liu Xuande wishes to recommend the eldest son as a talented scholar, and also wishes to recommend the eldest son as the governor of Qingzhou."

The discussion room fell silent immediately.

Unbeknownst to him, Yuan Shao straightened up again, his gaze fixed intently on Xin Ping.

"Your Excellency, to express his gratitude to you, Liu Bei is willing to reserve this year's opportunity for the title of 'Outstanding Scholar' in Xuzhou for the eldest son. At the same time, in order to prove to me that he will absolutely not interfere in the affairs of Tian Kai in Qingzhou, he hereby recommends the eldest son as the governor of Qingzhou."

Inadvertently, Xin Ping boasted about his achievements.

Yuan Shao asked in a deep voice, "Is this true?"

Xin Ping stated unequivocally, "There is absolutely no falsehood."

Yuan Shao immediately burst into laughter.

Yuan Shao was very pleased with Liu Bei's gesture of goodwill.

This is equivalent to giving a gift that truly touches the heart. Although it may not be as precious as providing timely help, it is definitely the pinnacle of adding the finishing touch to something already wonderful.

Yuan Shao was always troubled by the issue of Yuan Tan.

He had considered giving Yuan Tan a title of "Outstanding Scholar" or even just a "Filial and Incorruptible Official," but he simply couldn't find a suitable position.

It's important to know that the quota for the "Filial and Incorrupt" recommendation was extremely rare. Of the thirteen prefectures in the empire, each prefecture only had one quota per year. Even for the "Filial and Incorrupt" recommendation, each prefecture or kingdom with a population of at least 200,000 had only one quota, while those with fewer than 200,000 might only have one quota every two years.

Although Yuan Shao is now the governor of Ji Province, he cannot appoint or dismiss these positions at will.

He had to consult with the powerful families of Ji Province; he was lucky if he could actually appoint one or two people at will. The vast majority of the appointments would have to be chosen from within the local prefectures and kingdoms.

This can be considered a disadvantage of Jizhou being relatively well-preserved.

For example, when Sun Ce later swept through Jiangdong with great force, he had a lot of autonomy over the talented and virtuous officials in Yangzhou, because the local gentry had been frightened by his killings and dared not openly resist him.

But Yuan Shao could not do that, as doing so would be tantamount to destroying his own foundation.

At such a critical moment, Liu Bei was able to offer the quota of "Outstanding Talent" from Xuzhou to Yuan Tan.

Not only did Yuan Tan owe Liu Bei a great debt of gratitude, but Yuan Shao himself also owed Liu Bei a debt of kindness.

"Excellent! Very good! Zhongzhi has done a great service."

Yuan Shao repeatedly praised Xin Ping, then sighed, "Liu Xuande is truly a kind and honest man."

This moved Yuan Shao deeply. He had been Cao Cao's top sworn brother for many years. In the past two years, Cao Cao had lost most of Yan Province, and without his grain aid, he would not have been able to support his army.

Even so, Cao Cao never considered giving the title of "Outstanding Scholar" in Yanzhou to Yuan Tan.

Even though he hinted at it several times, Cao Cao pretended not to understand and showed no reaction.

On the other hand, Liu Bei had only gone along with Yuan Shao's support in succeeding him as governor of Xu Province, and yet he had received such a great gift in return. How could Yuan Shao not admire Liu Bei as an honest man?
"My lord, Liu Xuande is indeed a kind and benevolent man."

Xin Ping cupped his hands in praise, saying, "He not only knows how to repay kindness, but also treats his subjects with the utmost courtesy. This time when he returned, he entrusted me to bring back gifts for you, my lord. When I entered the prefecture just now, I sent them all into the treasury. This is the gift list, my lord may take a look."

After speaking, Xin Ping took out a silk scroll and had his attendant take it away to Yuan Shao.

As Yuan Shao opened the document for a closer look, another person spoke up, with a hint of sarcasm: "Liu Xuande treated you with such courtesy, yet after you returned, you asked me to send troops to attack Xuzhou. Is this how you repay Liu Xuande?"

The speaker was Shen Pei Shen Zhengnan, a man of strong and straightforward character who hated evil.

In his eyes, Xin Ping's behavior was no different from that of an ungrateful wretch, and how could he tolerate such a villain deceiving the Duke?
As soon as Shen Pei finished speaking, Cui Yan, a renowned scholar from Hebei, added, "Zheng Nan is quite right. If Liu Bei were a villain, then Your Excellency's southward campaign would be justified. However, Mr. Zhongzhi also said that Liu Bei is a gentleman, respectful to the virtuous, kind to the people, and grateful to Your Excellency. I fear that Mr. Zhongzhi's actions may be seen as repaying kindness with enmity."

Despite the siege by Hebei scholars, Xin Ping remained fearless.

Even more strangely, the other scholars from Henan remained silent.

Xun Chen, Chen Lin, and the others remained silent, which was understandable, since they were usually very low-key.

Xu You was greedy and relied on his close relationship with Yuan Shao, so he formed his own faction and generally disregarded others.

It's quite strange that Guo Tu, Xin Ping's close friend and relative by marriage, and Xin Pi, Xin Ping's brother, didn't support Xin Ping.

Just as Ju Shou and Tian Feng were having some doubts, Guo Tu suddenly spoke up: "Xin Zhongzhi is loyal to Your Excellency and is capable in his duties. There must be an underlying reason for his remarks, so why should you doubt him?"

Xin Pi echoed, "My brother was respectful at first but arrogant later. There must be a reason. I humbly request Your Excellency to inquire about it."

By this time, Yuan Shao had finished reading the gift list. There weren't many items on it, but each one was priceless. For example, frosting sugar and snow salt were quite famous in Hebei at the time, and Liu Bei had given him several shi (a unit of dry measure) of them, including two shi of frosting sugar. This made Yuan Shao very happy.

In a good mood, and also because he felt that Xin Ping had other reasons, after hearing Xin Pi's words, he took the initiative to ask, "Zhongzhi, everyone suspects that you have repaid kindness with enmity. Why don't you defend yourself?"

Xin Ping bowed to Yuan Shao in submission, but after standing up, he said, "My lord, I have indeed repaid kindness with enmity this time."

These words shocked everyone present, who wondered what Xin Ping was up to.

Such an act of repaying kindness with enmity would be a devastating blow to the reputation of a renowned scholar. If he had stood by and watched, Xin Ping's future career would have been completely ruined.

Yuan Shao was surprised, knowing that Xin Ping would surely have a follow-up, so he looked at him with his eyes.

But Xin Ping looked serious and said eloquently, “I am your subject, and my first duty is to be loyal to you. Liu Bei is indeed a kind and benevolent man, and he has treated me with great courtesy. However, this favor is given to you because of you. If I were to show favoritism to outsiders and speak on their behalf, that would not be loyalty to you!”

Yuan Shao was startled. The scholars of the Hebei faction, known for their wisdom and quick thinking, such as Ju Shou and Tian Feng, knew something was wrong and vaguely sensed that they had fallen into a trap.

Ke Xinping's performance wasn't over yet. He continued, "It is precisely because Prefect Liu is able to treat the virtuous with respect and treat the people with kindness that Xuzhou has recovered so quickly, leaving me speechless and arousing my vigilance. Prefect Liu of Xuzhou is now on good terms with you, so he can certainly be your ally. But if he has other ambitions, wouldn't he become your formidable enemy?"

"Therefore, I earnestly request Your Excellency to send troops south and sweep through Qing and Xu."

"Therefore, we must nip potential enemies in the bud."

After listening, Yuan Shao nodded slowly and sighed, "Zhongzhi is a man of long-term vision."

The scholars from Hebei exchanged glances, but Shen Pei stood up and objected, saying, "My lord, Xin Zhongzhi is making empty boasts and deceiving people."

"Our army has just suffered a heavy defeat at Yijing. Yet Xin Ping wants you to abandon Gongsun Zan and march south to attack Liu Bei. Wouldn't this force Liu Bei into Gongsun Zan's camp? If so, why did we support Liu Bei's takeover of Xuzhou last year?"

"Moreover, since Liu Bei took over Xuzhou, he has always been friendly to our province and there has been no conflict between us. Now Qingzhou has also been divided, and our province occupies four counties, while he only wants Beihai and Donglai, and uses these two places as a buffer. He is truly a benevolent and virtuous man."

Shen Pei shouted, "To raise an army without a cause to attack a righteous person is not a loyal statement."

Ju Shou and Tian Feng exchanged a glance. Although Shen Zhengnan was impatient and lacked foresight, there were some things that only he was suitable to say.

(End of this chapter)