My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 216 The Struggle for Favor
Liu Bei frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then said somewhat unsure of himself, "I am very fortunate to have met you, Gongda. What is there that I cannot say? I have heard that good medicine tastes bitter but is good for the disease. Although I am dull-witted, I know this principle. I hope you will not hesitate to enlighten me."

Xun You keenly sensed that something was amiss, but couldn't pinpoint what it was for the time being.

Therefore, he could only return to the main point and say: "My lord, in my humble opinion, you must not fawn upon the emperor."

Liu Bei was first shocked, then puzzled, and finally confused.

"Sir, why can't we welcome the Emperor?"

"There are three reasons."

Liu Bei's reaction was much better than Xun You had imagined.

Xun You even worried that Liu Bei would be furious, but he felt deeply indebted to Liu Bei and was impressed by Liu Bei's benevolence, so he was willing to risk speaking out. If it were someone like Cao Cao, Xun You would not have dared to speak so frankly.

Of course, if Liu Bei firmly declined, Xun You would not force him.

However, it seems that Liu Bei is still very rational and calm, which makes Xun You's heart burn a little hotter.

Liu Bei straightened his posture and said, "Please speak, sir."

Xun You straightened his body, first cupped his hands to Liu Bei, and then began to explain: "Firstly, Xuzhou is a small place with few people. Your Excellency has taken in so many refugees, not only distributing winter clothing and rations, but also arranging for next year's military farms. Xuzhou's taxes and grain have been used up to the limit, and there is no longer enough to supply the central government."

"My lord, with the current central officials of the court, the empress and consorts around the emperor, plus the male and female palace servants, the consumption of money and food is no small amount."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately frowned. This wasn't because he thought Xun You's words were bad, but because he thought they were excellent.

Liu Bei knew far more about the money and provisions of Xuzhou than Xun You did.

At least Xun You had no idea that Liu Feng, this good son of his, had secretly subsidized Liu Bei with a lot of money and grain.

He had just scolded his own precious son away, but now he was asking him to contribute more money and grain, all in order to welcome the central government.

Anyway, Liu Bei felt ashamed to do such a thing, and he didn't think his eldest son would be so weak.

“What you are concerned about is very true, sir.”

Liu Bei had to admit that Xun You's words hit the nail on the head. The officials in the central government, including the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, were all high-ranking officials with salaries starting at two thousand piculs of grain. That alone was enough to frighten people.

Even if he doesn't have to pay the full salary right now, it's still an unattainable figure unless Liu Bei brings out all the seeds and rations he plans to use for next year's land reclamation.

"Secondly, the officials in the court are not virtuous ministers."

Xun You continued, “My lord, you may not know this, but I once met these high-ranking officials in Chang’an. It’s not that I’m being arrogant, but although these officials still retain their loyalty to the emperor, they have neither the methods to govern the country nor the strategies to repel the enemy. They also scheme against each other, and some even collude with border generals to bully others and kill their colleagues.”

Liu Bei was taken aback and found it hard to believe.

But Xun You told him with certainty, and even gave several names.

Liu Bei had no choice but to believe it. Then, recalling what Jian Yong had said upon his return, he realized that the entire returning team was in disarray. When they were united, they could often defeat the pursuing troops of Li Jue and Guo Si, but once they started fighting amongst themselves, they would be defeated by the rebel army of Xiliang.

The same scenario has been repeated three times already.

So much so that when the emperor fled across the Yellow River in a sorry state, there was no one to protect him.

Fortunately, they ran into Jian Yong and his group; otherwise, who knows what kind of accident might have happened.

For this reason, the emperor was very generous to Jian Yong and the others, sending them over with a wave of his hand: two prefects and a captain.

After Liu Bei accepted the reality and believed that not everyone in the central government was a virtuous gentleman, Xun You continued, "Thirdly, Your Excellency has only been in Xuzhou for less than a year, and your foundation is not yet stable."

Xun You straightened up, his eyes calm as he met Liu Bei's gaze, and asked a question that Liu Bei had never dared to ponder: "My lord, if the Emperor were to visit Xuzhou, should the people of Xuzhou be loyal to the Emperor or to you, my lord?"

"Indeed, Your Excellency is loyal to the Emperor, but if Your Excellency wishes to achieve hegemony, restore the Han Dynasty, and establish unparalleled merit, is that possible without power in your hands?"

Liu Bei stood there dumbfounded. Xun You's words struck him like a thunderbolt, reminding him of the days he struggled in Hebei.

At that time, he didn't even have the authority to lead troops independently. First Shan Jing, then Tian Kai. Liu Bei, who was living under someone else's roof, didn't even have the qualification to plan a battle independently.

Therefore, he was particularly moved by Xun You's words and truly resonated with them.

"I am grateful for your instruction, sir."

Liu Bei rose and bowed deeply to Xun You in gratitude. Such invaluable advice could only be offered by virtuous and loyal ministers, not to mention that the person offering the advice had taken a certain risk. Liu Bei was grateful for Xun You's loyalty and fearlessness.

At this moment, the distance between Liu Bei and Xun You has increased significantly.

After all, the two sides had said such outrageous things, so their relationship was obviously not the same as before.

Just as Liu Bei was seriously considering Xun You's advice, Guo Jia also came to see him.

Liu Bei immediately summoned Guo Jia.

When the latter entered the hall, he saw Xun You there, but he showed no surprise or doubt, clearly having expected it.

"My lord, I believe that the Emperor should absolutely not be welcomed!"

Not long after Guo Jia sat down, he began to offer his advice, which was even more radical and direct than Xun You's, and no less so than Hao Da'er's.

However, Liu Bei had a high tolerance for scholars. Even his most beloved third brother, after being insulted and humiliated by Liu Ba, never considered retaliating. Moreover, with his eldest son, Xun You, having laid the groundwork beforehand, Liu Bei wasn't particularly angry now. He simply asked calmly, "Why would Fengxiao say such a thing?"

Seeing Liu Bei's calm and composed attitude, Guo Jia's eyes flashed with joy, and he said with renewed vigor, "My lord, I am not trying to deceive you. If Xuzhou welcomes the emperor, three armies will surely attack. At that time, Xuzhou will be in grave danger, and the emperor will surely fall into the hands of a traitor."

Liu Bei's expression was somewhat unpleasant. Although he knew that scholars of today were prone to making grand pronouncements and deceiving others, Xun You, Guo Jia, and the two Zhangs were all pragmatists who had never done so.

Therefore, Guo Jia's remarks carry considerable weight.

Even if the other party is really just making empty boasts, Liu Bei still has to take it seriously.

Liu Bei then pressed on, asking, "Fengxiao, why are three armies attacking my Xuzhou?"

Guo Jia didn't keep them in suspense at all, directly uttering three names: "Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shu."

Even though Liu Bei was extremely shrewd, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

If these three men attacked individually, Liu Bei would not be afraid of them at all. If they attacked two men, Liu Bei would be in a difficult situation, but he would be confident that he could repel the enemy and protect himself. But if all three attacked together, then Liu Bei would really be in despair.

Because these three people complement each other so well.

Cao Cao's weakness lay in his foundation. Although Yan Province was once a powerful province, its population and output were now less than a third of their peak, especially since it had just rebelled and almost all of its grassroots forces had been wiped out.

In order to collect taxes, Cao Cao even had to grit his teeth and continue to appoint those county magistrates, county heads, and their subordinate officials, such as the stewards and village chiefs, who had just rebelled.

In addition, starting from the first year of Xingping, Yanzhou had been suffering from drought for two consecutive years, making Cao Cao a typical case of having troops but no food.

As long as there is enough food, Cao Cao can even field 100,000 men at once, of which at least 30,000 to 40,000 can be considered elite troops.

He's being honest now only because there's no food.

But Cao Cao had no food, while Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu did.

Yuan Shu, in particular, had stockpiled a lot of grain in the Huai and Si regions. Not to mention the distant past, during this period of history, he once promised Lü Bu 300,000 shi of grain in exchange for Lü Bu betraying Liu Bei.

Moreover, although Sun Ce went to Jiangdong, there were still Sun family generals such as Sun Xiang and Sun Ben in Jiangbei. Although these Sun family generals were not as good as Sun Ce, they were still not to be underestimated.

If we also consider Yuan Shao's 100,000 troops who travel south through Yanzhou and Qingzhou to the Central Plains, Xuzhou probably won't even have enough time to expand its army.

Guo Jia continued, "Back in Luoyang, Dong Zhuo wanted to depose the young emperor and install the current emperor. Yuan Shao openly opposed this and even drew his sword against him. Later, the Yuan family made concessions, agreeing to Yuan Shao's appointment as the governor of Bohai and Yuan Wei's consent to Dong Zhuo's deposition and installation, thus achieving peace. However, Yuan Shao has harbored deep resentment towards the current emperor ever since."

"After Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang and moved the emperor to Chang'an, Yuan Shao was very uneasy. With the advice of Xu You and others, he even came up with the absurd idea of ​​supporting Liu Yu as emperor. This strategy was not only fiercely opposed by Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Shen Pei and other people from Hebei in Ji Province, but also offended Liu Yu."

"In order to install Liu Yu as emperor, Yuan Shao even had Han Fu write a letter to Yuan Shu, slandering the current emperor as not being the son of the late emperor, and claiming that he should follow the example of Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, and Guan Ying in executing the deposed young emperor Liu Hong and installing Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai."

"From this point of view alone, Yuan Shao and the current emperor truly have a deep-seated hatred."

"Your Excellency is known for your loyalty, kindness, and righteousness, and you also have the virtue of respecting the Emperor. If the Emperor were to visit Xuzhou, how could Yuan Shao possibly sleep soundly from that moment on?"

"Cao Yanzhou is shrewd and capable, cunning and resourceful. His subordinates are Xun Yu (Xun Wenruo), Xi Zhong (Xi Zhicai), and Cheng Yu (Cheng Zhongde). The first two are old friends of mine from Yingchuan, and they are known in the area for their wisdom, resourcefulness, and far-sightedness. Cheng Yu is also known in Yanzhou for his strategic skills."

"Does Your Excellency believe that Cao Cao would sit idly by and watch Xuzhou hostage the Emperor in order to punish a disloyal subject? Besides, in their eyes, they would only see Your Excellency as someone who is using the Emperor to command the other lords." Liu Bei's forehead was covered in even more sweat, and he couldn't help but explain, "I have never thought of holding the Emperor hostage. I am utterly loyal..."

At this moment, Xun You suddenly interjected, "My lord, the importance of this matter is not about what you think, but about what Yuan Shao, Cao Mengde, Yuan Gonglu, and even Liu Zhengli and Liu Jingsheng think."

Liu Bei was speechless.

He also knew that some things simply couldn't be explained.

The more you explain, the more people will think you're guilty.

Just then, the voice of a close attendant came from outside the hall: "Your Excellency, the Prefect and the Chief Administrator are outside requesting an audience."

"Please come quickly!"

Liu Bei quickly stood up: "I will personally go out to greet you."

As he walked out, Liu Bei secretly wiped his forehead, revealing that one sleeve of his robe was also soaked with sweat.

Xun You and Guo Jia, naturally, could not presume to remain seated in the hall. They both rose at the same time and followed Liu Bei to the hall to greet the two Zhangs.

A moment later, Zhang Qiling, Xun You, Guo Jia, and the other two met again at the entrance to the back hall.

They turned a corner and came together again. No one felt awkward. Xun You and Guo Jia politely asked the two Zhangs to leave first before returning to the hall.

After the scholars were seated, Liu Bei sincerely asked, "Gentlemen, did you have something to say earlier in the hall? I am now flustered, so please enlighten me."

Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong came together, naturally to welcome the emperor.

The reason I withdrew from the court earlier was simply because I felt the matter was too important and I wanted to remove those who were not qualified.

Zhang Zhao was the first to advise Liu Bei, saying, "My lord, the emperor should not be welcomed, but he should also not be given to Yuan Shao."

Zhang Hong stroked his beard and nodded, clearly indicating that this was the result of his discussion with Zhang Zhao.

Liu Bei was also somewhat surprised, not expecting that his four most trusted scholars would oppose welcoming the emperor to Xuzhou.

In fact, both Zhangs had strong personalities, especially Zhang Zhao, who was fierce, brave, and resolute.

However, Zhang Zhao did indeed act as the leader of the rebels in history, and this cannot be whitewashed no matter how you try to explain it away.

Objectively speaking, although Zhang Zhao's decision to become the leader of the surrendered forces had the appearance of surrendering to the Han Dynasty rather than to Cao Cao, the underlying reason was that Cao Cao had already unified the north.

At that time, the South was nothing more than a tiny karaomis compared to the complete North.

The combined population of Jing and Yang prefectures is less than half that of Henan, not even counting the four prefectures in Hebei and Guanzhong.

Traditional gentry like Zhang Zhao would naturally not rebel against the central government for the sake of the Sun family's desire to establish a separatist regime. Moreover, Sun Quan's ability to maintain balance was so remarkable that it actually made veteran officials like Zhang Zhao quite dissatisfied.

From Zhang Zhao's perspective, we came to help your Sun family at a critical moment, to help you appease the local people and stabilize Jiangdong.

When Sun Ce died, we all did our duty and helped you, the young ruler, to establish a firm foothold in Jiangdong.

As a result, you've barely learned to walk before you start playing balance games, undermining our power.

Anyone would feel uncomfortable in this situation.

But things are different now. Although the world is now in a period of fierce competition, no single entity has become the dominant power.

Even the most powerful warlord, Yuan Shao, only had the territory of Ji Province. Although he was stronger than Liu Bei, he was not entirely invincible.

Putting everything else aside, if Liu Bei could take Yangzhou before Yuan Shao nominally unified Hebei as he did in history, he would have the resources to fight Yuan Shao.

If they could take over a portion of Yu Province, or even the entire Yu Province, their strength would surpass that of Yuan Shao.

Many people believe that before the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao was the ruler of Hebei, controlling four provinces.

This perception is actually wrong.

Even at his peak, Yuan Shao never truly possessed the four provinces of Hebei; he only nominally held that title.

To give a simple example, Yuan Shao's rule over Qingzhou had the greatest influence only on Pingyuan Kingdom north of the Yellow River. The influence on the three kingdoms of Qi, Jinan, and Le'an south of the Yellow River was only so-so. As for Beihai and Donglai, they were never truly occupied by the Yuan family.

Despite its current state, Qingzhou is the best-performing of the four prefectures in Hebei, second only to Jizhou.

The entire Youzhou was torn into three parts, each belonging to its own ruler.

The entire territory of the four commanderies and kingdoms in Liaodong was brought under the control of Gongsun Du, which meant that more than a third of the territory had been taken away.

The remaining seven prefectures and kingdoms were torn in two by the north-south dividing line.

The northern part was invaded and annexed by various ethnic minorities, including the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes, who nominally served Liu Yu's son Liu He and Xianyu Fu as their leaders.

The territory to the south belonged to Yuan Xi, Yuan Shao's second son, and even there, it was only stable thanks to the support of powerful local clans. Later, in the struggle between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, Youzhou was completely sidelined, and Yuan Xi himself even died at the hands of a local rebel general.

The worst off was Bingzhou. This vast province comprised nine commanderies and kingdoms, but in reality, Yuan Shao's nephew, Gao Gan, only controlled Shangdang and Taiyuan commanderies along the Yellow River. The other seven commanderies and kingdoms all fell into the hands of nomadic tribes such as the Southern Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan.

Yuan Shao, the ruler of Hebei, still had his largest base of operations in Ji Province. Only Ji Province could provide large-scale funding, supplies, and troops.

With the help of his eldest son, Liu Bei's Xuzhou was thriving and full of vitality. If he could have another three to five years to develop it and take over Yangzhou, he would truly be no less than Yuan Shao.

Even now, as long as Yuan Shao doesn't genuinely ally with Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, Liu Bei still has the strength to fight back.

After all, if it really came down to a one-on-one fight with Yuan Shao, he couldn't spare any strength from Youzhou in the north, nor from Bingzhou. Only Yuan Tan in Qingzhou could lend a hand.

However, Liu Bei also had allies in Qingzhou, such as Kong Rong, Lü Bu, and Zhang Miao.

After considering for a moment, Liu Bei asked, "Sir, if the Emperor cannot come to Xuzhou, how should we settle him?"

"My lord, the Emperor's return to the east this time is to relocate the capital to Luoyang."

Zhang Hong said, "In that case, why don't you grant the Emperor's wish and try to spare some manpower and funds to repair the capital? I'm sure the Emperor will be satisfied."

Zhang Hong's suggestion made Liu Bei somewhat interested.

If that's the case, it might not be a bad strategy.

“My lord, while Zigang’s view is reasonable, it does not align with the interests of our state. I have some other thoughts, and I urge you to consider them.”

Zhang Zhao spoke first, agreeing with Zhang Hong's idea, and then proposed a slight adjustment: "I think it would be more advantageous to settle the emperor in Yingchuan rather than to repair the capital."

Liu Bei silently recalled the location of Yingchuan Commandery and realized that it was indeed a good place.

As for Luoyang, it's somewhat beyond Xuzhou's reach.

Yuan Shao, on the other hand, only needed to travel through Hanoi County and then cross the Yellow River at Mengjin to reach the city of Luoyang.

It was very convenient for Cao Cao to go to Luoyang; he only needed to travel west along the Yellow River.

Only Liu Bei wanted to go to Luoyang, but the journey was long and he was also subject to the control of others.

However, if the emperor were placed in Yingchuan, he would not only be further away from Yuan Shao, but also closer to Xuzhou.

Most importantly, he believed that Cao Cao would support his proposal.

Although Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong had different opinions, they both started from Liu Bei's perspective.

This shift is inextricably linked to the current situation.

The two officials are currently only in their thirties or forties, in the prime of their lives, the golden age for being officials.

By the time of the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhang Hong was already dead, and Zhang Zhao was over fifty years old. He was also being ostracized and suppressed by Sun Quan. How could Zhang Zhao possibly still support a fight to the death?

Different ambitions, different situations, and different relationships between rulers and ministers determined that their choices were different, even diametrically opposed.

Under these circumstances, the attitudes of the two Zhangs were naturally different from those during the Jiangdong period.

(End of this chapter)