My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 46 The Three Warriors of Qingzhou (Third update, please support!)

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

However, this matter ultimately failed, not because Wang Xiu gave it to Bing Yuan, but because the war caused the recommendation of candidates for the civil service to be interrupted, thus delaying the process.

Liu Bei was very interested, but expressed his doubts, saying, "I have long heard of Wang Shuzhi's name, but he is so close to Kong Beihai and is now serving as the magistrate of Jiaodong County. How can I possibly persuade him to come?"

"Although this matter is difficult, there is a method we can try."

Liu Feng revealed his plan: "Kong Beihai once took care of Taishi Ziyi's mother and was kind to Taishi Ci. Taishi Ci is a man of great integrity and filial to his mother. If Kong Beihai speaks well of him, there will surely be benefits."

"This man, Shi Yi, is not valued by Kong Beihai, and should currently be serving as a minor official in the prefecture. If Father speaks up, I believe Kong Beihai will be willing to transfer him to Father."

"Father, you can write a letter to Kong Beihai and ask him to help you persuade Taishi Ci and Shi Yi. This will greatly increase the chances of success."

"Only Wang Xiu is truly outstanding. He is not only exceptionally talented and courageous in taking on responsibilities, but also has remarkable political achievements. He has helped Kong Beihai solve his problems and is a right-hand man that Kong Beihai finds hard to give up."

"This matter is easy; I will write a letter to you shortly."

Liu Bei readily agreed, but then pressed on, still not satisfied: "Wang Xiu, Wang Shuzhi, Feng'er, do you have a way to get Kong Beihai to release the man?"

Liu Feng offered a suggestion: "I have heard that Kong Beihai has two trusted confidants, one named Wang Zifa and the other named Liu Kongci, both of whom are eloquent."

"However, these two men were not on good terms with Wang Xiu, and they harbored resentment towards Kong Beihai for showing such respect to Wang Xiu."

Liu Feng revealed a malicious smile: "If Father prepares generous gifts and asks these two to help persuade Kong Beihai, I believe they will help Father achieve his wish."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was not overjoyed; instead, he frowned deeply.

"Feng'er, I have something to teach you."

Liu Bei straightened up and earnestly instructed his son: "I have no great abilities, nor a reputation for wisdom, but I have always prioritized benevolence and righteousness in my actions."

"Life is like sailing on the vast sea. You may encounter many small gains along the way, but to take small gains and forget the greater good is to lose the greater for the sake of the small."

"Kong Beihai was able to live peacefully in Beihai thanks in no small part to Wang Shuzhi. You and I, father and son, admire his virtue and talent, and it is not unreasonable for us to want to recruit him. But how can we collude with villains to slander and frame a virtuous man?"

Liu Feng knew that Liu Bei had misunderstood, but he believed that Liu Bei's words came from the bottom of his heart.

Many people in later generations criticized Liu Bei as a hypocrite.

In reality, if Liu Bei were truly a hypocrite, he wouldn't have been respected by the heroes of the land.

When Liu Bei was in Pingyuan, Kong Rong asked him for help, and he was the first person Liu Bei thought of.

When Liu Bei was in Xuzhou, Tao Qian spared no expense in offering him a large army to persuade him not to return to Qingzhou. Although Chen Deng and Mi Zhu played a role in this, there is no historical record to suggest that Tao Qian's decision to relinquish Xuzhou was fabricated or a forged will.

When Liu Bei was in Xuchang, Cao Cao treated him with great respect, not only appointing him as the Governor of Yuzhou, but also promoting him to General of the Left and granting him the title of Grand Master of the Three Excellencies.

When Liu Bei was in Ye City, Yuan Shao treated him with the courtesy due to a state guest, and had his own son Yuan Tan serve Liu Bei as a teacher and student.

When Liu Bei was in Jingzhou, Liu Biao treated him like a brother, and eventually even considered entrusting him with the responsibility of ceding Jingzhou to Liu Bei.

If Liu Bei was a hypocrite, were all these heroes and valiant men blind to his true nature?
Before his death, Liu Bei told Liu Shan that he was of poor character and felt extremely guilty for seizing Liu Zhang's legacy. This should have been his true feeling.

Throughout his life, Liu Bei strived to uphold the principles of benevolence and righteousness in most situations, treating others with kindness and integrity. It was impossible for him to feign it.

This can only be because he truly believes in benevolence and righteousness, which is why he could persevere.

Although Liu Bei was pleased with Liu Feng's many clever ideas, he was also worried that Liu Feng might place too much emphasis on strategies and go astray, losing sight of the true path.

That's why he gave Liu Feng earnest advice, his deep care and concern for him evident in his words. "Father's words are very true, I will definitely remember them."

Liu Feng knew that Liu Bei had misunderstood, but he did not try to explain himself. Instead, he obediently agreed and then explained, "Father, my original intention was to ask Wang and Liu to persuade Kong Beihai to make more preparations, befriend you, and bring him in as an external ally."

"Besides, although Wang and Liu are jealous of Wang Shuzhi, they are not villains and would not do anything underhanded. Moreover, Kong Beihai is extremely honest. If they harbored malicious intentions, how could Kong Beihai have been deceived?"

After listening to Liu Feng's explanation and thinking about it carefully, Liu Bei also found it reasonable.

At this time, Liu Bei still viewed Kong Rong through a heavily filtered lens, and held him in high esteem.

The two had never really gotten to know each other, they had just exchanged compliments from afar, and Liu Bei happened to save the other person's life once.

Kong Rong was very respectful and did not look down on Liu Bei because of his status as a frontier warrior. Instead, he praised Liu Bei highly, which greatly boosted Liu Bei's reputation.

Therefore, in Liu Bei's eyes, Kong Rong, such a famous scholar, must be quite capable.

So he believed Liu Feng's explanation, but advised the other party to use such tactics as little as possible.

When Liu Bei said to use it sparingly, rather than not at all, Liu Feng understood.

His own father was still very envious of Wang Shuzhi, and was afraid that he would give up like this, right?
Helpless, Liu Feng could only console himself, "Fine, taking the blame for my father doesn't count as taking the blame. I'll take the blame."

The two discussed the details and the contents of the letter to Kong Rong.

After the discussion, Liu Bei wrote a letter on the spot.

After finishing writing, he summoned his attendants to select gifts, and then arranged for armored soldiers to escort the envoy to Qingzhou.

Liu Feng continued, "There are two more people who also need to be recruited by Father personally. It would be best to ask Mr. Chen Qun to write a letter to help recruit them."

Although Chen Qun strongly opposed Liu Bei taking over Xuzhou, he did not leave immediately after Liu Bei took control of Xuzhou, but continued to stay under Liu Bei's command.

Even after Lü Bu successfully attacked Xiapi, Liu Bei returned and complained to Chen Qun, regretting that he had not listened to Chang Wen's advice.

At this time, Chen Qun was already a prisoner of Lü Bu, and was later forced to surrender to Lü Bu.

After Lü Bu was defeated by Cao Cao, Chen Qun and his father Chen Ji naturally surrendered to Cao Cao and were taken back to Xuchang, where they no longer had the status of ruler and subject with Liu Bei.

Things are different now. Chen Qun is still in Xuzhou, still under Liu Bei's command. As long as Liu Bei continues to hold his ground, he can even rely on the Chen family of Yingchuan to expand into Yuzhou.

I believe the Chen family would be quite happy to accept this. Back when Liu Bei was in Yuzhou, he was favored by Chen Ji and his son Chen Qun, who invested in him.

It is evident that the Chen family father and son were quite satisfied with Liu Bei.

"Do you need a long letter of reply?"

Liu Bei guessed, "Then the person you're recommending this time must be a wise man from Yingchuan?"

"Exactly!"

Liu Feng recommended, "These two are both from Yingchuan. One is named Xun You, courtesy name Gongda, a direct descendant of the Xun family. Xun Chen, the chief strategist under Yuan Shao, and Xun Yu, the chief strategist under Cao Cao, are both Xun You's uncles."

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(End of this chapter)