My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 507 The Shi Clan Discusses Surrender
Therefore, the three prefectures where his younger brothers took office were the result of Shi Xie's careful selection.

If it weren't for the fact that he had a son late in life, his eldest son would only be in his early twenties, lacking both qualifications and reputation, and he simply couldn't be promoted. He even wanted to arrange a prefectural position for Shi Hui.

Upon hearing Shi Yi's words, Shi Xie's expression darkened. His second brother's words had touched upon what Shi Xie was most worried about.

If it were Liu Biao instead, he would definitely have raised an army to resist.

Putting aside the fact that Liu Biao has been portrayed too harshly as cowardly, even if Liu Biao were truly as indecisive, weak, and incompetent as depicted in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Shi Xie would only be even more timid and cowardly.

Moreover, Shi Xie wasn't the only coward; his whole family was cowardly, including his arrogant and irritable eldest son, Shi Hui, who was essentially a coward.

The Shi family seemed to be under a spell. Regardless of the personalities of their members, they all exhibited two distinct behaviors. When in power, they considered themselves to be of the highest esteem and prestige. When the four brothers and their direct descendants went out, bells and chimes rang out, accompanied by resounding music, flutes, and drums. Carriages and horses filled the roads, and dozens of monks were arranged to burn incense and worship among the carriages and horses. Even their wives and concubines rode in small carriages with canopies, and when their sons traveled, soldiers on horseback would guard them on both sides.

According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, such a violation was enough to warrant the extermination of three generations of one's family.

In this respect, it can be said that, apart from Yuan Shu, all the warlords in the world were outstanding and extremely loyal compared to the Shi family.

In reality, almost all four Shi Xie brothers were kind, capable, humble, and modest. Apart from their extravagant lifestyle and large entourage, they showed no signs of rebellion whatsoever.

Even the most ambitious Shi Hui would rather spend his wealth on enjoyment than on keeping warriors.

Historically, when Sun Quan launched his western expedition, Bu Zhi, a self-appointed governor of Jiaozhou, led only two thousand soldiers, and the entire Shi family surrendered to him.

At that time, the four Shi brothers had been local rulers in their respective prefectures for more than a decade, and Shi Xie had been ruling Jiaozhi for thirty years.

Let alone replacing Cao Cao, Liu Bei, or Yuan Shao, even if it were Ma Teng or Han Sui, they could have given Sun Quan a run for his money.

Therefore, at this time, Shi Xie was not thinking about resistance, but about how to ensure that Liu Feng would maintain his power.

As long as Liu Feng was willing to guarantee the power of the Shi family, Shi Xie was very willing to submit, and his younger brothers shared the same idea.

Even Shi Hui, who seemed the most daring, was actually terrified of Liu Feng. He only pretended to be wild to hide his fear.

If Shi Xie knew Liu Feng's thoughts, he probably wouldn't be so conflicted.

For Liu Feng, Jiaozhou was not a remote place; it would become an important grain and cotton producing area in the future, and was a crucial part of his future plans.

Jiaozhou now has a population of over two million, an unprecedented peak. This is the best time to vigorously develop Jiaozhou. How could Liu Feng allow Shi Xie and others to hold their positions without doing any work?

Admittedly, Shi Xie made outstanding contributions to the political, economic, cultural, and educational development of Jiaozhou. However, the problem is that most of the increased wealth, resources, and food in Jiaozhou were squandered by Shi Xie and his brothers and descendants, though they did expand the region's base of influence nonetheless.

Shi Xie and his brothers remained silent, but his son Shi Hui roared first, his face flushed and his expression furious: "Father, if what Second Uncle said is true, then we cannot surrender!"

Shi Xie was a very good-tempered and gentle man. He had six sons: his eldest son by a concubine, Shi Xin; his second son by a concubine, Shi Zhi; his eldest son by his principal wife, Shi Hui; his sons by concubines, Shi Gan, Shi Song, and Shi Gui.

Of the three sons, only Shi Hui was the legitimate son, and judging by his age, he was a son born to Shi Xie in his old age. He held a very high position by Shi Xie's side, far exceeding that of his two illegitimate elder brothers.

Shi Xie is already sixty-three years old this year and it is impossible for him to have any more sons. It can be said that Shi Hui is not only the successor of Shi Xie's career, but also the successor of the head of the entire Shi family.

Therefore, Shi Xie always doted on Shi Hui, the eldest son who was destined to inherit his career and family, to the point of spoiling him.

Therefore, although Shi Xie was dissatisfied with Shi Hui's performance, he only glared at Shi Hui and did not criticize him further.

"Tell me your thoughts."

Shi Xie was somewhat troubled. To be honest, he definitely wanted to surrender. This was not only because Shi Xie was mild-mannered and weak, but more importantly, he knew very well that the Shi family's resources were simply insufficient to fight against the powerful northern vassal states, especially one as capable and skilled in warfare as Liu Feng.

It's just that the Battle of Jingzhou ended too quickly; by the time the news arrived, the battle was already over. Otherwise, Shi Xie would definitely have sent someone to Liu Feng to offer tribute and, incidentally, to probe Liu Feng's intentions.

But there's no point in saying all this now. I just hope my brothers can offer some good suggestions.

However, his three younger brothers were almost identical to him. When Shi Yi was young, he also traveled to the Central Plains. His talent, reputation, knowledge, and personality were almost a low-end version of Shi Xie.

In his youth, Shi Yi was favored by Ding Gong, the governor of Jingzhou at the time, and promoted to the position of county inspector. When Ding Gong left office, Shi Yi was very respectful, contributing money and effort, and even personally escorting Ding Gong away from Jiaozhou to Luoyang in the north.

Ding Gong was deeply moved and greatly admired Shi Yi, promising him that if he were to become one of the Three Dukes, he would definitely summon him to the capital.

This is a very serious commitment. Only three types of people can be recruited through the Three Public Recruitment Program: those who are very powerful, those who are very rich, and those who are very talented.

Later, Ding Gong actually became one of the Three Dukes and was appointed Minister of Works. He immediately ordered Shi Yi to go to Luoyang to serve as his subordinate.

It is evident that although Shi Yi was not as talented as Shi Xie, he was still quite learned and capable.

Therefore, at this time, Shi Xie's favorite person was his younger brother Shi Yi, hoping that the other party could give him a good idea.

Feeling his brother's gaze, Shi Yi's heart sank. What could he possibly do? If he had a solution, would he have come to his brother for advice?
After hesitating for a long time, Shi Yi raised his head and said, "Brother, General Zuo is truly unstoppable. Why don't we just give in?"

Upon hearing their second brother's words, Shi and Shiwu both breathed a sigh of relief and agreed: "Eldest brother, Jingzhou's army is ten times larger than ours, with more skilled soldiers and generals, and more than ten thousand warships, yet they couldn't hold off General Zuo for half a year. Our province has only ten thousand men, and each prefecture has only a thousand or so county soldiers. Even if we recruit more, it will be too late."

"Second and third brothers are absolutely right. I have only been in the South Sea for two years, and many local strongmen are already dissatisfied. However, they are afraid of your reputation, eldest brother, and dare not openly fight me. But if General Zuo were to support them, let alone relying on them to recruit soldiers, I'm afraid..."

Shi Hui became anxious upon hearing this, jumped up, and shouted, "No, how can this be! Of the seven counties of Jiaozhou, our Shi family already owns four. Are we just going to hand them over like this?"

Even though Shi Hui was deeply loved by Shi Xie, Shi Yi, Shi, and Shi Wu were quite displeased.

Shi Yi frowned, his voice turning colder as he said, "Since you refuse to surrender, then you will lead the troops to block General Zuo's army."

Shi Hui had never been spoken to so coldly before, and immediately snorted back, "I'll go if I want to. My uncles may fear General Zuo, but I don't."

"Nonsense!" Shi Xie shouted, yelling at Shi Hui, "Get out of here!"

He rarely did this in front of his father.
Shi Hui wanted to argue a bit more, but he noticed his father's gaze was somewhat cold. His heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed back the words he was about to say. He obediently bowed to the four people in the hall, then turned and left.

Watching Shi Hui's departing figure, the fourth brother, Shi Wu, secretly observed his elder brother's expression. After confirming that he was quite dissatisfied with Shi Hui's attitude, he spoke softly, "De Zhang is all grown up now, how come he is still so frivolous and reckless, without inheriting even a trace of his elder brother's composure."

Upon hearing this, Shi Xie's gaze flickered slightly and fell upon Shi Wu, making the latter's scalp tingle.

Fortunately, Shi Xie didn't say much, but simply changed the subject: "Since you all feel that there's no way to fight, then we can only seek peace."

Surprisingly, the other three brothers had no objection to Shi Xie's plea for peace.

The families of the Shi family truly had no ambition whatsoever. Even their violations of regulations were merely due to their desire for enjoyment and ostentation, and they had no improper thoughts whatsoever.

"In this case."

Shi Xie considered it for a moment, his gaze sweeping over his three younger brothers one by one, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "Let Bo Mei make the trip."

Bomei is Shixie's eldest son from a concubine. He is now in his early thirties and is Shixie's oldest son.

Although Shi Xin was not as favored as Shi Hui, he was, after all, the eldest son of a concubine, and his status among the sons was second only to Shi Hui. Moreover, because of his advanced age, after Shi Xie took over Jiaozhi, he was taken by his father's side and participated in government affairs, and he was much more capable than Shi Hui.

However, Shi Xin and Shi Xie had the same temperament: gentle, cautious, humble, and low-key. They never had any thoughts of competing with Shi Hui. They assisted their father diligently, like an old ox.

Ideally, such an important matter should be handled by one of the brothers.

But now all three of his younger brothers are prefects, and they are not allowed to leave their prefectures without an imperial edict.

This is because the world is in chaos. If it were any other time, Shi Yi and the other two would have secretly come to Jiaozhi to see him. If the court found out, they would have lost their heads.

If Shi Yi and his group were to go and seek an audience with Liu Feng, it would be like handing over a huge handle to the other side.

Even if the other side simply beheaded Shi Yi, it would be a legitimate way for the court to rectify the local situation.

Therefore, when Shi Xie felt that his brothers couldn't go, the first person he thought of was Shi Xin.

"Bomei is composed and calm."

After pondering for a moment, Shi Yi agreed, "Elder brother's arrangement is excellent."

Seeing that the second brother had also expressed his agreement, the third and fourth brothers had even less reason to object and immediately expressed their agreement.

"Okay, that's settled."

Shi Xie was pleased to see that his younger brothers agreed with his opinion, so he arranged, "Then let Bo Mei go to my treasury to select tribute items. Once they are ready, set off immediately and pay our respects to General Zuo as soon as possible."

Shi Yi and the others nodded in agreement, adding, "Our county's treasury also has many treasures, which we will send over at that time."

For a time, the four brothers were counting their treasures, talking amongst themselves, only thinking about how to please Liu Feng so that he would be lenient and let them go home, even if it meant being dismissed from their posts, as long as the Shi family could be preserved.

It must be said that Jiaozhou at this time was extremely wealthy. If it weren't for the harsh climate and rampant miasma, it would have become a land of plenty long ago, instead of being as backward as it is now.

In just the time it takes to eat a meal, Shi Xie and his three brothers had gathered pearls, cinnamon, longan, various precious agarwood and sandalwood, ivory, Yue cloth, kudzu cloth, bronzeware, and even a famous horse. The variety and quantity were so great that it almost seemed as if the Shi Xie brothers were emptying the treasury.

Afterwards, Shi Xie summoned his eldest son, Shi Xin, and carefully instructed him to win the favor of the Left General. He told him that he could give up the other three prefectures, except for his own position as the governor of Jiaozhi.

Shi Xin nodded repeatedly, making sure he remembered all of this.

Subsequently, the Shi family mobilized more than 20 large ships to load tribute, and arranged for more than 70 warships of various sizes to accompany and escort the fleet. The total number of ships exceeded 100. The fleet set off from ports such as Jiuzhen, Jiaozhi, and Hepu, and then gathered in Panyu for final resupply. After that, it set sail north and sped towards Yangzhou.

**
Cao Ang returned to Luoyang with good news. The area along the way was all under the control of Liu Feng and Cao Cao. Except for Nanyang, which was a little chaotic, Yingchuan and Luoyang were places where Liu Feng and Cao Cao had repeatedly suppressed bandits, and the banditry had been greatly quelled.

Therefore, Cao Ang's journey was uneventful; he didn't even encounter a single bandit. If it weren't for the still somewhat desolate landscape along the way, where he often saw bones lying in the wilderness, Cao Ang would have thought that this was a time of peace and prosperity.

Upon returning to Luoyang, Cao Ang, without even washing up, quickly wiped his face, changed his clothes, and went to see Cao Cao.

As soon as Cao Ang entered the city, Cao Cao received the news and immediately sent people to invite Xiahou Dun, Xun Yu, Man Chong, Cao Ren, Cao Hong and others over.

When Cao Ang arrived, almost everyone else had also arrived.

Seeing that his son looked tired but was in high spirits, Cao Cao was very satisfied.

Cao Cao went to great lengths to treat Cao Ang, not only because Cao Ang's mother, Lady Liu, was one of Cao Cao's most beloved concubines, but also because Cao Ang was adopted by his principal wife, Lady Ding, and thus obtained the status of the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

Although Cao Cao now has seven or eight children, only Cao Ang was favored by Lady Ding and adopted; none of the others received such treatment.

Moreover, Cao Ang was intelligent from a young age and extremely filial. Most importantly, when Cao Ang began his studies, it coincided with the time when Cao Cao, due to the corruption in the court, resigned from his official post and went into seclusion in his hometown, enjoying the good times of studying in spring and autumn and hunting in autumn and winter.

At this time, Cao Cao was at ease and took Cao Ang under his wing to personally train him. The relationship between father and son was naturally different from that of his other sons, and was much deeper.

Seeing his eldest son finally become successful, Cao Cao was naturally overjoyed.

"Judging from my son's expression, has this trip brought me some good news?"

(End of this chapter)