The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 23: Simplifying Complex Problems (Please Read!)
Tian Yu's situation was not much better than Zhao Yun's.

Because he had deeper feelings for Gongsun Zan, he did not stay in his hometown like Zhao Yun, but returned to Gongsun Zan.

However, Gongsun Zan did not make use of Tian Yu and only arranged for him to be the magistrate of Dongzhou County.

In the later war with Yuan Shao, Tian Yu was directly marginalized and was completely unable to participate.

This was a big blow to Tian Yu, who had great ambitions since childhood and had outstanding abilities.

After the fall of Gongsun Zan, Tian Yu surrendered to Cao Wei and was sent to the border to guard against the nomadic peoples in the north.

For the rest of his life, he always adhered to a tough ethnic policy based on suppression.

Strike back the powerful and win over the weak.

They also took full advantage of the conflicts between the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes, and used a policy of sowing discord to lure them into attacking each other.

As a result, the nomadic peoples in the north were never able to pose a substantial threat to the Central Plains.

Tian Yu was a man of integrity, wisdom and courage. He was an excellent general who prevented the Wuhuan from rising again and disrupted the unification process of the Xianbei.

It brought nearly a hundred years of peace to the northern border.

However, because of his special relationship with Liu Bei, he was never valued by the rulers of Cao Wei.

Therefore, we never saw Tian Yu appear on the battlefield between Shu Han and Eastern Wu.

The historical books' evaluation of it is also quite regrettable:

——"Tian Yu was only in a small state, and his talents were not fully utilized."

It is believed that Tian Yu was not able to display his true talents throughout his life.

Li Yi was willing to let Tian Yu go back because he knew Gongsun Zan would not use him.

When Tian Yu saw Gongsun Zan making sworn brothers with small merchants and employing mediocre people, he must have felt disappointed.

At this time, Liu Bei only needs to give Tian Yu and Zhao Yun a way out, and they will come back.

"……I see."

After listening to Li Yi's analysis, Liu Bei finally realized that there was a "generation gap" between him and Tian Yu and others.

Of course, this is also related to Liu Bei's later loss of Xuzhou.

If Liu Bei had not fled to the north, even Zhao Yun would not have had the chance to come and join him again.

Speaking of Xuzhou, Liu Bei's expression gradually became serious.

In fact, this is what he should really worry about next.

It was late at night and even the dog had gone to sleep.

Only the lights were still on in the lobby, and Liu Bei told his servants not to serve him and to go down and rest.

"Sir, you have the talent to manage the country and save the world. Xuzhou is surrounded by powerful enemies outside and the aristocratic families are monopolizing power inside."

"The fields are barren and the people are gone."

"Chen Changwen had this in mind before, so he advised me not to accept Xuzhou."

"But you urged me to take over Xuzhou. I think you must have a solution."

"That's true, sir. Please give me some good advice. I'm all ears."

Liu Bei sat upright and sincerely asked Li Yi for advice.

Li Yi is a night owl and is used to working overtime in the company. Although it is early in the morning, he is still full of energy.

"What do you think is the most urgent problem in Xuzhou right now?"

Li Yi patiently asked Liu Bei a question.

The most urgent question?
Liu Bei frowned slightly and pondered for a moment.

"Sir, you once said that to fight against foreign aggressors, we must first stabilize the internal affairs. I agree with you."

"The Xuzhou issue should be considered an internal issue first."

Oh?
Li Yi raised his eyebrows and smiled softly:

"There are two internal problems in Xuzhou. One is that the fields are barren, the population is gone, and the productivity has been greatly damaged."

"Another problem is that Xuzhou has many aristocratic families, and power has fallen into the hands of these scholars and nobles."

"What do you think comes first?"

Liu Bei blurted out, "Of course, the scholars and nobles of Xuzhou come first." That's right!

Li Yi nodded with satisfaction.

Even if there are a thousand or ten thousand problems within Xuzhou, Liu Bei must solve the most important one.

That is to keep the real power firmly in one's own hands.

As for how to control it, it is naturally to control it indirectly through the hands of these wealthy families in Xuzhou.

Liu Bei was originally welcomed into Xuzhou by scholars and nobles, so naturally he had to manage Xuzhou through them.

Xuzhou is a dungeon of hell difficulty.

Although Liu Bei in history was indeed unable to pull it off.

But did Liu Bei really not do well enough?
Externally, he united with the most powerful Yuan Shao to ease the relationship with Cao Cao, and struck a heavy blow against the ambitious Yuan Shu.

Internally, he relied heavily on Cao Bao from the Danyang faction, moved the government seat to Xia Pi, and won over the Chen clan.

The purpose of Liu Bei's doing this was also to hope that the new and old people could live in harmony and gradually integrate.

However, Liu Bei failed to handle the relationship between Zhang Fei and Cao Bao well. In the end, Cao Bao and Lu Bu launched a surprise attack on Xuzhou, and Liu Bei was defeated.

In fact, if we look closely at what Liu Bei did after taking office in Xuzhou, he really did a very good job. He did everything he should do and really tried his best.

But unfortunately, this level is too difficult and any mistake will lead to failure.

The water in Xuzhou is too deep, and Liu Bei has no room for error.

"The aristocratic families of Xuzhou supported Bei as the governor of Xuzhou in order to defend him against foreign enemies."

"Your Excellency has a keen eye, as sharp as seeing through fire, that's exactly the case."

The reason why Liu Bei was able to gain the support of the noble families in Xuzhou was because they needed a thug.

But Liu Bei came to Xuzhou to dominate and build great achievements. How could he be led by the nose by the aristocratic families?
"In this case, sir, what good advice do you have for me?"

Li Yi replied:

"There are many aristocratic families in Xuzhou. They seem to distrust each other, but in fact their interests are tied together."

"For example, when Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou for the second time, it was their common interests that were harmed."

"If we want to rule Xuzhou well, we must rely on their strength. We can neither act recklessly nor do anything chaotic."

Li Yi pointed out the problem very directly.

If you want to rule Xuzhou, you still have to try your best to win over these powerful families.

After all, it is unrealistic to "fight the local tyrants and divide the land" in this era.

The most important thing is to consolidate one's own rule and maintain the stability of the regime.

Liu Bei understood Li Yi's meaning, so he asked:

"Then how do we win them over?"

Li Yi pondered and said:
“It’s easy. It simplifies a complex problem.”

"Oh?" Liu Bei raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean by simplifying a complex problem?"

"There are many aristocratic families in Xuzhou, and each family has different interests. It is impossible for us to meet the needs of each of them one by one."

"So I think we only need to win over the biggest families. As long as they are loyal, how much trouble can the remaining families stir up?"

This is the simplification of a complex problem.

In fact, there is a routine to complicate complex issues.

That is to adopt the method of separation of powers to divide Xuzhou's military power, administrative power, and supervisory power.

This method of separation of military and political power was very effective in dealing with the barbaric Xuzhou families.

But the disadvantage is that the project is too huge and takes too long.

Lao Liu, or Xuzhou, certainly can't wait.

There are countless wolves outside watching.

The simplest and most effective way is to directly use the power of others to win over the powerful families in Xuzhou.

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(End of this chapter)