My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 45 Recommendation of the Grand Historian
"Feng'er, in your opinion, is it possible to kill Han Xun?"

Liu Bei originally intended to execute Han Xun outright, but upon realizing that Liu Feng did not agree, he changed his words to a question.

"You can kill him, but not now."

Liu Feng was also getting angry. He wanted to see if Han Xun had planned it himself or if he had been instructed by a mastermind.

"Father can agree to his request, but delay the process to see how things develop. In addition, he can secretly send someone to monitor Han Xun and see who he associates with closely."

Liu Bei realized that Liu Feng's plan was to lure the snake out of its hole, and he was immediately tempted.

"Alright! We'll do as Feng'er says."

After the matter was settled, Liu Bei learned that Liu Feng had only eaten half of his lunch, so he asked him to stay and have lunch with him.

"It just so happens that I also have something I wanted to discuss with my father."

"Oh?"

As Liu Bei instructed his attendants to bring the food, he asked, "What is it?"

Liu Feng replied, "I know that Father lacks talented people and is eager to find them. So these past few days I have been racking my brains, trying to find a way to relieve Father's worries."

Fortunately, it did remind me of a few people who were exceptionally talented and upright.

Father is currently lacking talented individuals; we should recruit them to fill this gap.

"Oh?"

When it comes to talent, Big Ears always gets particularly excited, his face beaming with joy: "Feng'er, tell me quickly, and I will grant your request."

Liu Feng took out several letters from his bosom: "This leader is someone my father has met before."

"Oh?"

Liu Bei pondered for a moment: "I wonder which esteemed scholar this is?"

"Donglai Taishi Ci!"

The first person Liu Feng mentioned was Taishi Ci. This was his last window of opportunity. In the second half of this year, when Sun Ce defeated Liu Yao's generals Fan Neng and Yu Mi at Jiangjin, broke through the river defenses, and advanced towards Dong'e, Taishi Ci would arrive just in time.

Judging by the timeline, Taishi Ci should have set off from Donglai around the middle of the year. If we don't recruit him now, we'll never have another chance once he goes to Jiangdong.

Although Taishi Ci was only visiting his friend Liu Yao, he never imagined that he would never return to the north and would spend the rest of his life in Jiangdong.

"Taishi Ziyi is seven feet seven inches tall, with a beautiful beard, long arms, and excellent archery skills. His arrows never miss their mark, just like Youji reborn. What's even more delightful is that this man has a heroic character, is loyal and courageous, humble and filial, and is skilled in both literature and martial arts. He will surely be able to stand alone for his father in the future."

Taishi Ci's reputation experienced a great ups and downs in later generations.

In the beginning, Taishi Ci was a loyal minister just like Zhao Yun, and many people liked him and recognized his loyalty.

In particular, the story of turning enemies into friends with Sun Ce and the credibility of returning on time have been elevated to an extremely high level.

However, later, many people came across a sentence recorded in Wu's book.

"A man should be born with a seven-foot sword to ascend the throne. Now that my ambition has not been fulfilled, how can I die?"

This statement seems problematic, especially the mention of the seven-foot sword, which has been used as irrefutable evidence to prove how arrogant Taishi Ci was, that he actually wanted to become emperor.

The fundamental logic of these people is that a seven-foot sword is not something a subject can wear; it is a royal honor.

Let's set aside the question of whether Taishi Ci would have harmed his son before his death, since he did have a son named Taishi Heng. Let's also not mention that in the entire passage in the Book of Wu, Sun Quan even added the suffix "Quan deeply mourned him."

Could it be that Sun Quan regretted that Taishi Ci died too early and could not compete with him for the throne?
Of course, the most important issue is still the seven-foot sword.

If this point cannot be explained, then Taishi Ci truly cannot be exonerated.

But there is one thing in history that perfectly explains this.

The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, in the biography of Feng Yi, records: At that time, the Red Eyebrows and Yan Cen rebelled in the Three Auxiliary Regions, and the powerful families in the prefectures and counties each commanded their own troops. Grand Minister of Works Deng Yu was unable to quell the rebellion, so he sent Feng Yi to replace Yu in suppressing it. The emperor escorted him to Henan and bestowed upon him a seven-foot-long imperial carriage with a sword.

This refers to the fact that when Emperor Guangwu of the Later Han Dynasty was suppressing the Red Eyebrow Army, in order to enhance Feng Yi's prestige and publicize his achievements, Liu Xiu personally sent a carriage to deliver a seven-foot-long sword to Henan and bestow it upon Feng Yi.

Can we say that Feng Yi wanted to become emperor?

Could it be said that Emperor Guangwu wanted to abdicate in favor of Feng Yi?

Moreover, Taishi Ci lived during the late Eastern Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty placed great importance on historical allusions, so Taishi Ci's words before his death were likely an expression of his ambition. He once imagined himself like General Feng Yi, who established unparalleled merit for the emperor, wearing a seven-foot sword bestowed by the emperor, and having the emperor descend the steps to greet him, thus achieving his ambition of becoming a minister to the king.

The seven-foot sword mentioned here was a ceremonial sword, which to some extent can be seen as a reference to the later imperial sword, rather than expressing a desire to become emperor.

Therefore, Liu Feng firmly believed that Taishi Ci was still the same loyal, courageous, and exceptionally skilled archer who was also loyal to his lord.

Upon hearing the name Taishi Ci, Liu Bei suddenly recalled the Shandong giant who had broken out of the encirclement of Kong Rong and come to him for help when they were still in Pingyuan.

Liu Bei was also deeply impressed at the time and was tempted by the other party, but he regretted that he was of low rank and official position and could not win him over.

Now that Liu Feng had spoken, I was immediately moved. It had not worked in the past, but now that I was the governor of the state, Taishi Ziyi might not refuse me again.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly, feeling somewhat regretful: "Fortunately, Feng'er reminded me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have remembered Ziyi."

Liu Bei was so busy that he was completely overwhelmed. Although he had wanted to recruit Taishi Ci before, he couldn't think of him for the moment when he actually had the ability.

It was thanks to Liu Feng that he made up for the oversight.

The first person recommended by Liu Feng greatly impressed Liu Bei, which made him even more eager to see the next two.

“Father, the second person I recommend is named Shiyi.”

Liu Feng recommended, "This man is named Shi Yi. He is honest, upright, and virtuous. He is thorough in his duties and possesses both literary talent and practical skills. He is worthy of your trust. If you can recruit him, he will be an important talent, just like the wood that supports the roof!"

Liu Bei had never heard of Shi Yi before, but since Liu Feng praised him so highly, Liu Bei was willing to entrust his trust to Shi Yi.

"That's acceptable!"

Liu Feng finally revealed the third person: "Wang Xiu of Yingling, courtesy name Shuzhi, is a native of Yingling in Beihai Commandery. He is a close friend of Kong Beihai and has helped Kong Beihai on several occasions. He is upright and incorruptible, with a far-sighted vision. He is currently the magistrate of Jiaodong County. In governing Jiaodong, he has suppressed powerful clans, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, and is fair in rewards and punishments. He is deeply loved by the people of Jiaodong. Wang Xiu's talent is immeasurable in the prefecture and county. He should be recruited as soon as possible!"

Wang Xiu's name doesn't sound like Yi. Because of his virtue and filial piety, he was very famous in Beihai and was almost recommended by Kong Rong as a candidate for the civil service examination.

Although Wang Xiu repeatedly declined, wanting to give the honor of being a candidate for the civil service examination to Bing Yuan, Kong Rong insisted on not allowing it and wrote several letters to persuade him otherwise.

This Bing Yuan is no ordinary person; he is a sage who is ranked alongside Guan Ning and Hua Xin and is known as the "Sage of Jian'an".

Wang Xiu was able to suppress Bing Yuan, which shows how good his talent and reputation were.

(End of this chapter)