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

Chapter 74 Liu Ye’s Crossroads in Life (Please Read!)

Just as Lu Su said, as a member of the royal family, how could Liu Ye hate the Han Dynasty when he saw its decline?
He didn't hate the Han Dynasty. He just hated the Han Dynasty court which didn't allow him to display his talents, make a name for himself, and was not ambitious enough.

So in history, Liu Ye chose Cao Cao, as he thought he was his wise leader.

However, Liu Ye, who had been smart all his life, made the most foolish decision of his life.

As a relative of the Han royal family, how could Cao Cao, with his suspicious character, trust someone with the surname Liu?
When Liu Ye defected to Cao Cao, he was only a clerk in the Sikong Cang Cao.

That is, a civil servant who was in charge of the food supply in the office of Sikong where Cao Cao was appointed.

Despite Liu Ye's talent, Cao Cao put him in the inner court to work and did not take him to any of the subsequent battles, including the Battle of Guandu.

Putting him into the inner palace seemed like a sign of trust on the surface, but in reality it was confinement.

Cao Cao had just let Liu Bei escape and was filled with regret. He was very wary of the Han royal family.

This "confinement" lasted for sixteen years. It was not until Cao Cao began to attack Zhang Lu that Liu Ye began to have the opportunity to truly display his talents.

However, even so,
Cao Cao did not adopt many of Liu Ye's strategies.

Not only did Cao Cao not accept it, but his son Cao Pi also did not accept it.

A veteran of three dynasties of the Wei State, he ended up going insane and dying.

Ultimately, it’s just because of my surname Liu.

Liu Ye not only had to face the distrust of the Cao Wei rulers, but also had to face tremendous pressure from public opinion.

Ever since Cao Cao welcomed the emperor into Xuchang, countless people have raised the banner of anti-Cao in the name of "suppressing the Han traitors."

Later, when Cao Cao was promoted to Prime Minister, Duke of Wei, and King of Wei, many people died because of opposing Cao Cao.

As a member of the Han royal family, Liu Ye has the attribute bonus of supporting the country and assisting the Han Dynasty.

But Liu Ye wholeheartedly assisted the rulers of Cao Wei.

This inevitably made him bear a series of bad names such as "aiding and abetting the evil" and "selling out his master for personal gain".

This will naturally affect Liu Ye's image and character in the court and the country.

During the reign of Cao Pi, the Imperial Censor Bao Xun once commented on Liu Ye:

——"Flattery is disloyalty, and your Majesty Ah Shun is just making a joke."

It can be seen that Liu Ye’s image in the court was not good.

Liu Ye died in depression due to his boss's distrust and colleagues' exclusion.

The historical books give the following evaluation of Liu Ye:

——"With Ye's wisdom and discretion, if you live with virtue and righteousness, and act with loyalty and trustworthiness."

"If one relies on one's own talents and wisdom alone, without consulting other people, one will never be able to rule the world."

It is believed that with Liu Ye's talents, if he could persist in being loyal and faithful, he might be able to achieve great achievements and become a person who can stabilize the country.

Finally, he sighed: "Isn't it a pity?"

I don't know if it is a subtle criticism of Liu Ye for not choosing the Han Dynasty but choosing to associate with the Han thieves.

There is no chance of do-over in life.

Now Liu Ye is once again standing at a crossroads in life.

What choice will he make this time?

"I will first go with Zijing to Huainan to buy warships, and then we will get skilled craftsmen and huge ships and boats ready."

"How about I go back to Xuzhou with you to see Envoy Liu?"

Liu Ye knew that his previous refusal of Liu Bei's invitations was not a good idea, so he thought about making up for his sins with his merits.

Since Liu Bei wanted to build warships, he recruited skilled craftsmen.

His family still has some power in Huainan, so we might as well give them a hand.

Lu Su was delighted when he heard this:

"If that's true, then Su has fulfilled his mission!"

……

For the next month, Lu Su and Liu Ye traveled around the Huainan area.

Through Liu Ye's family's local connections, they finally managed to purchase more than 200 warships.

Among them, there are more than 30 large ships, more than 50 medium-sized ships, and the rest are all small boats.

What remained was the recruitment of skilled craftsmen. In fact, there were quite a few people from the Jiangdong area who came here from Xuzhou to escape the disaster.

Under the organization of Liu Ye and Lu Su, these people expressed their willingness to return to their hometown in Xuzhou.

As for the remaining local craftsmen, Lu Su offered double the price.

Those with rich experience and strong skills may even be offered ten times the salary.

Finally, Lu Su and Liu Ye returned to Xia Pi with a full load.

Xiapi.

At this time, Liu Bei was discussing the issue of funding with Li Yi and senior officials led by Mi Zhu.

Although Lu Su went south to buy ships and Chen Deng spent a lot of money to dig a canal.

But Li Yi still urged Liu Bei to approve another one million yuan to recruit craftsmen.

A thousand gold coins are enough to buy a horse bone, and a hundred gold coins are enough to make a knife head.

Since Xuzhou wants to build a powerful navy, it cannot be reluctant to spend money.

Although Mi Zhu's family is rich, they cannot afford to bear all the expenses of Xuzhou.

Therefore, Mi Zhu's money was usually used as a subsidy.

That is to say, all expenses are paid by the government first, and if the money is not enough, Mi Zhu will be asked to make up the rest.

This is acceptable to Mi Zhu.

Just as everyone was discussing the specific allocation of funds, a servant suddenly came to report.

It is said that Lu Su has successfully purchased warships from Jiangnan.

Liu Bei and Li Yi were both shocked. The former sighed:
“It’s so fast!”

It seems that they still underestimated Lu Su's connections. The rich guy is different.

"Zi Jing is going to Jiangnan to purchase warships. It must be very hard work. I will go to meet him in person and welcome him."

Liu Bei took Li Yi with him to meet Lu Su.

Lu Su and Liu Ye arrived together.

Liu Ye saw Liu Bei from afar and saw that his hands were longer than his knees, his ears were extremely large, and his expression did not show his emotions.

It was just as Zijing had said, with the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix, and the look of the sun and the sky, which made people secretly marvel at it.

He got off the carriage early and waited quietly by the side.

"Zijing, thank you for your hard work!"

Liu Bei walked forward, hugged Lu Su tightly, and praised him highly.

"Thanks to the great blessing of my lord, I have purchased more than 200 warships on my way to Jiangnan."

"Among them, there are nearly a hundred warships and battleships, and more than a hundred sailing ships."

"As for the skilled craftsmen in the martial arts world, we also recruited more than 400 people."

Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this, as this number far exceeded his expectations.

Although it cannot be compared with the more than a thousand warships of Liu Biao next door, this number has already made Liu Bei very satisfied.

After all, Jingzhou is a fertile land, and Liu Biao has been doing business in Jingzhou for many years.

He had just occupied Xuzhou, and Tao Qian had never paid much attention to the navy before, so he could accept falling behind.

Li Yi keenly noticed the young man behind Lu Su.

This young man looked younger than himself, but his eyes were bright, he was in high spirits, and there was a proud look on his face.

You can tell at first glance that he is not an ordinary person.

"Zi Jing's trip to Jiangnan to purchase the battlefield was so smooth. There must be some expert helping you, right?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

"...Hahaha." Lu Su also laughed.

Although the two did not interact much, they had a good understanding of each other.

Taking advantage of the topic started by Li Yi, Lu Su introduced Liu Ye who was standing next to him.

"My lord, this man is Liu Ziyang from Huainan whom you have recruited many times before."

"……oh?"

Li Yi grinned and raised his voice in a high pitch.

"So this is the expert who helped Zijing."

After saying this, he looked at Liu Bei.

Big Ear Brother, I don’t need to teach you what to do next, right?
……

……

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(End of this chapter)