Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 357 You have connections above you? There aren't many people above the Emperor!

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries with Wang Yun, maintaining a semblance of harmony between the ruler and his subject, Liu Bian walked towards the familiar figures behind him.

As his gaze swept over these familiar faces, he was momentarily transported back to the Crown Prince's residence.

Of the six commanderies and kingdoms in Yuzhou, excluding Chenguo, the chancellors of Peiguo were Tian Feng, Ju Shou of Luguo, and Chen Gong of Liangguo. All three were former officials from the Prince's residence.

Liu Bian helped the three of them up one by one, his eyes gleaming with the joy of a long-awaited reunion.

These former officials, who had shared the same experience in the Prince's residence, ultimately had different bonds.

Liu Bian stopped in front of Tian Feng, examined him for a moment, and said with concern, "Yuan Hao has actually lost a lot of weight."

Then Liu Bian turned his gaze to Ju Shou, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes, and teased, "Gongyu has also gotten quite tanned, becoming the 'Black Gentleman'."

Upon hearing this, Ju Shou blushed slightly, unsure of how to respond.

Immediately, Liu Bian glanced at Chen Gong, his gaze falling on his chin, and asked in surprise, "Where is Gongtai's beautiful beard?"

Chen Gong subconsciously raised his hand to touch his chin, which now only had a goatee. A trace of helplessness and emotion flashed across his face as he replied, "Thank you for your concern, my country. I am too busy with official duties to take care of my beard, so I simply cut it off. I hope the country will forgive me."

Liu Bian's face showed a hint of surprise and regret as he said, "Alas, such a beautiful beard, how can I bear to part with it..."

Tian Feng was slightly overweight, but he has become much thinner in the past two years.

Ju Shou had fair skin, no less than that of a woman, and some people used to jokingly call him "White Gentleman". Therefore, Liu Bian jokingly called him "Black Gentleman".

Chen Gong loved to grow a long beard. As a popular fashion among scholars, there were many people in the court who loved to grow beards. Chen Gong had even discussed beard care techniques with Guan Yu and others, and even made his own herbal ointment to maintain his beard.

Although the emperor's words of concern were simple, the true feelings they contained were known only to the emperor and his four ministers, and the nuances of the matter were not something that could be explained to outsiders.

For the subjects, the emperor's favor was far beyond what ordinary rewards could offer.

With Jian in the Emperor's heart, what worries are there about the future?

Seeing the Emperor chatting and laughing with Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Chen Gong, showing no signs of estrangement despite not having seen each other for a long time and speaking with great concern, Wang Yun, who was watching quietly from the side, found his fingers unconsciously curling slightly in his sleeve, and a complex sense of relief welled up in his heart.

During his tenure as the governor of Yuzhou, he had many disagreements with Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Chen Gong regarding their political views.

Although all three were over thirty years old and held the positions of prefect and chancellor with a salary of two thousand piculs of grain, they were generally considered to be of a steady and reliable nature.

But their status as former officials of the Prince's residence gave them a confidence and courage that others did not have.

As former core members of the Crown Prince's residence, the three naturally knew that the Emperor's ambition lay in expanding the land.

Their assignments to remote areas were not only for training, but also to launch preliminary battles for the emperor's land survey.

With the emperor backing them up, they naturally acted without restraint and their methods became even more ruthless.

Oh, you have connections?
There aren't many people left above the emperor!

If they falsely reported land acreage, concealed population, or evaded taxes, Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Chen Gong would often act swiftly and decisively, dealing with them all according to the law, imposing fines or executing them in public if necessary, without any leniency, ensuring that there was a legal basis for action and that all violations would be punished.

If it involves the transportation of grain and metals of various forms to the State of Chen, then it shall be treated as treason. Even if it causes temporary unrest within the prefecture, the matter must be resolved completely without any leniency.

In Wang Yun's view, this was far too harsh and unacceptable. Wang Yun always believed that a balance of firmness and leniency was essential for long-term stability and peace.

Therefore, when he governed Yuzhou, he mainly used punishment and education, hoping to warn these lawless powerful families with material punishments, but he rarely killed people, let alone exterminated entire clans that would involve many people.

Wang Yun's governing style was based on experience and a mature approach to governing the country.

This is the result of the influence of Confucian culture on the scholars of the Han Dynasty over the past four hundred years.

This is certainly true in times of peace and prosperity, so although Liu Bian was not pleased, he never reprimanded him for it.

But times have changed. The powerful and influential families of the Han Dynasty have become the biggest obstacle to its revival. They are like a leech clinging to a giant, greedily sucking its blood and growing ever larger, until they become too big to handle.

Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Chen Gong all began their careers as officials in the Crown Prince's court, serving under Liu Bian for a long time, and naturally, they inevitably picked up some of his radical governing style.

Faced with an uncontrollable situation, the three unanimously chose to painfully cut off their tails in order to survive.

This was a clash between two governing philosophies, which directly led to conflicts between the governors of provinces and the officials in charge of prefectures and kingdoms.

Although the prefectural governor and the prime minister were subordinate to the governor of the state, they were not entirely subject to the governor and also had the right to report directly to the Ministry of Personnel.

Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Chen Gong were even able to bypass the Ministry of Personnel and send their memorials directly to the Emperor!
This was the greatest reliance of the former officials from the Prince's residence.

Therefore, even though Wang Yun was very dissatisfied, he had to force himself to endure it and did not dare to escalate the conflict completely.

Liu Bian exchanged a few words with the three men, then stopped talking.

Although he intended to have a good chat with the three men, this was not the time for idle talk. So he walked past them and went to Yang Qi, the governor of Runan County, and the commandant of Yingchuan County, who were still kneeling on the ground, and helped them up.

Liu Bian grasped Yang Qi's hand, patted it gently, and said with a smile, "You've done a great job in Runan!"

Yang Qi was the great-grandson of Yang Zhen, and a descendant of Yang Mu, the eldest son of Yang Zhen's first wife. In terms of legitimacy, he was more legitimate than Yang Zhen. A certain "Pu Liu Ru Jian" even tried to claim him as his tenth ancestor to consolidate his own lineage.

However, Yang Qi achieved remarkable political achievements during his three years as the governor of Runan.

Before Yang Qi took office, more than half of the twenty-four weirs in Runan, which were built by Zhao Xinchen of the Former Han Dynasty, had become silted up. Yang Qi conscripted refugees and laborers to repair them, restoring 3,000 hectares of farmland.

This achievement has basically laid the foundation for Yang Qi's promotion. In addition, considering his other achievements over the past three years, his year-end performance evaluation as a civil servant who was promoted to the top rank and then to the middle rank, as well as the merits he made in this campaign, Yang Qi's promotion is an obvious fact.

Then, Liu Bian glanced sideways at the Commandant of Yingchuan Commandery.

The man was tall and upright, with a refined and humble appearance, unlike the rough and rugged appearance of an ordinary martial artist.

When the emperor's gaze fell upon him, the man immediately bowed again and said in a clear voice, "Your subject, Huang Gongheng, Commandant of Yingchuan Commandery, pays his respects to the State!"

Seeing this, Wang Yun stepped forward and quietly introduced Huang Quan to Liu Bian: "This is Huang Quan, the Commandant of Yingchuan Commandery, a native of Ba Commandery. Because the Commander Yin Yuanji (Yin Xiu) needs to lead troops to garrison this commandery, he was sent to lead the army to join the expedition."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian's eyes flashed with a hint of inquiry, but he only nodded slightly and did not ask any further questions on the official road. He merely lingered his gaze on Huang Quan for a moment before saying to the crowd, "You have all worked hard. Please follow me back to Wuping City first, and we will talk again later."

Then, everyone mounted their horses and led the way towards Wuping City.

(End of this chapter)