Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 99: Using Yuan Hao as a mirror, you can understand your gains and losses!
As soon as the prince finished speaking, the hall fell into silence. The air seemed to freeze and you could hear a pin drop.

The hairpin-shaped brush in the historian's hand seemed to be suddenly strangled by an invisible hand and stopped abruptly in mid-air. The drop of ink hanging on the tip of the pen was shaky, as if it would fall at any time, breaking the suffocating silence.

He was a historian, and the principle of a historian was to record everything.

As the historian beside the prince, he was only responsible for writing records. How the history books would be recorded had to be discussed and considered repeatedly by the Grand Historian and a group of colleagues who compiled the history books before it could be determined.

But faced with the prince's earth-shattering confession, he felt his heart churning, and for the first time in his life he had the thought of deleting some negative material.

But he was a historian after all, and a historian from the family of the Grand Historian of Ju County. He would never allow the fairness of a country's history to be destroyed because of his own feelings.

During the meal, Tian Feng sat there stiffly like a wooden sculpture, his eyes empty, and he didn't say a word for a long time. He was also deeply shocked in his heart.

As a scholar, the education we received since childhood is that as a son, we should be filial to our parents, and as a minister, we should be loyal to the emperor.

But what the prince said was like a heavy hammer, hitting the ideas he had held for many years, making him fall into extreme confusion and bewilderment.

Could it be that the ideas he has been pursuing for many years are all wrong?
After a long while, Tian Feng finally came back to his senses from his long thoughts. The confusion in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a complicated expression. He nodded and sighed, then slowly stood up and knelt on the ground, apologizing to the prince: "What I said was biased. Please punish me, prince."

Tian Feng's voice was a little hoarse, but extremely sincere. However, Liu Bian shook his head slightly and did not intend to pursue Tian Feng's rebellious words.

Isn't he angry?
Of course he was angry!
But can he kill all the people in the world?
Those high-ranking officials in the court didn't say it out loud, but in their hearts, weren't they mocking him for being unfilial and disloyal, and mocking the character of their Liu family?

In a fit of rage, Liu Bian actually felt that a man as resolute and upright as Tian Feng was much more pleasing to the eye than those high-ranking officials who were sweet-mouthed but treacherous.

Tian Feng was stubborn and rebellious, but at least he was sincerely concerned about the country and the people. He believed that an immoral crown prince would set a negative example for the people of the world and future rulers, so he criticized him to his face.

But those high-ranking officials and wealthy families chose to accept him as the prince because of his political compromise and considerations of their own interests?

Liu Bian waved his hand, perhaps releasing all the pent-up resentment within him, but instead feeling a sense of relief he had never felt before. He slowly said, "You're not speaking to insult me, nor are you seeking fame. I can discern your true intentions. If you truly believe you are guilty, then after the other two questions, you can serve me and atone for your sins."

However, Tian Feng also shook his head. He felt that there was no need to ask any more questions. He bowed and said, "If Your Highness does not mind, I am willing to lead the horse and hold the stirrups by your side."

At this moment, he had already accepted His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in his heart.

In terms of personal morality, it is undeniable that the prince is ultimately wrong to keep his emperor and father under house arrest.

But when it comes to the great virtue and the ambition revealed in these words, one can't help but feel excited and yearn for it.

Liu Bian helped Tian Feng up and said with a smile, "Good! Finding Yuan Hao is like finding a precious mirror!"

"Treasure mirror?" Tian Feng frowned slightly, not knowing what the prince meant.

"A man uses a bronze mirror to adjust his attire; he uses history as a mirror to understand the rise and fall of things." Liu Bian pulled Tian Feng's arm, turned sideways to face the crowd, pointed at Tian Feng, and said loudly, "And I use Yuan Hao as a mirror to understand my gains and losses."

"So, if I had obtained Yuan Hao, wouldn't that be like obtaining a precious mirror?"

Hearing the prince's praise, Tian Feng, who was awe-inspiring without being angry, blushed a little.

Tian Feng has always hated flattery from others, but this is the prince, the monarch, praising him, the minister... Well, is there any such thing as a prince flattering his minister?

Therefore, the prince's praise must be sincere!
Thinking of this, Tian Feng forced himself to remain calm and glanced at the historian who was still writing furiously.

This guy must have remembered the prince's praise, right?
Seeing Tian Feng's little trick, Liu Bian couldn't help but laugh inwardly. He hadn't expected that even someone as upright as Tian Feng couldn't escape such vulgarity. Who would complain about not having enough fame?
Just based on what he just said, even if Tian Feng died suddenly immediately, he would still be remembered in history.

"There are a few vacancies in my Crown Prince's Palace, and I would like to ask Yuan Hao to temporarily serve as the Crown Prince's Secretary. After returning to Luoyang, I will appoint him to a more important position."

Tian Feng nodded dazedly, his eyes still a little dazed, as if he had not yet fully recovered from the influence of the words "Use Yuan Hao as a mirror to understand gains and losses."

Moreover, with this sentence, he was willing to be a prince's attendant with a rank of 200 stones.

Not only was Tian Feng happy, but Liu Bian was also delighted to have such a talented person like Tian Feng, even though he had been angered by Tian Feng's words before.

Even if he had no memory of his previous life, Tian Feng was still a wise minister whom he would not miss.

In the fifth year of Xiping (176 AD), the twenty-year-old Tian Feng was recruited by the Grand Commandant Xu Xun and was selected as an outstanding talent.

Maocai means scholar, which is a taboo name for Emperor Guangwu.

There is only one Xiaolian among every 200,000 people in each state. In comparison, the value of Maocai is far higher than that of Xiaolian.

The provincial governor recommended one Maocai every year, and the three ministers recommended one Maocai each. That is to say, there were only sixteen Maocai in the entire Han Dynasty every year.

Those who are selected as filial and honest people may be virtuous but not necessarily talented. However, those who are selected as outstanding talents must be both virtuous and talented.

Because Maocai needs to go through three rounds of assessment, the initial review is the nomination, and the recommender "lists his behavior and abilities and reports them to the emperor", and the re-examination is presided over by Guanglu Xun, which assesses the "four subjects". The four subjects are classics, eloquence, filial piety, and miscellaneous affairs. The last round is the palace examination, and Maocai needs to go to the palace and present his policies before he can be given the title of Maocai.

If not, why was Tian Feng, who was upright and rebellious in history, valued by Yuan Shao and appointed as the deputy governor of Jizhou and the chief strategist in the army?

However, Tian Feng's appointment also made Liu Bian realize a problem, that is, there were not enough official positions in the Prince's Mansion.

Previously, he was anxious to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion and had not given it much thought, allowing Jia Xu and others to continue to hold official positions in the Prince's Mansion. However, this could no longer be done after he returned to the court.

Just like Tian Feng in front of him, fortunately there are five vacancies for the Prince's Secretary. Apart from Zhong Yao, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong and Xun Yu, there is still one vacancy. Otherwise, he really doesn't know what position to appoint Tian Feng to.

After Tian Feng was selected as a talented person, he was appointed as a counselor with a rank of 600 dan, and then promoted to a Palace Censor with a rank of 600 dan. Appointing him as the Prince's Secretary with a rank of 600 dan was already considered an unfair treatment, otherwise he would not have to make such an explanation to Tian Feng.

In fact, Liu Bian could have directly granted these talents other official positions in the court, but he hoped to first brand them as the prince's retainers.

Civil officials were appointed to positions in the Prince's Palace, and military generals, in addition to positions in the Prince's Palace, could also join the Northern Army, the Huben Guards, the Yulin Lang, and the Yulin Left and Right Cavalry.

After conquering Tian Feng, Liu Bian did not ask Tian Feng to follow him, but asked him to settle his family affairs first. He then led a group of people to the second stop of his journey - Zhending County, the seat of Changshan County.

The State of Changshan was abolished and became Changshan County, but the people were not affected at all.

After arriving in Zhending County, Liu Bian did not rush to visit the wise men. Instead, he led a hundred guards from the Prince's Palace to clear the way with great fanfare. He then led four hundred guards from the Prince's Palace to spread out the Prince's ceremonial guard and entered the city with great fanfare. He came to a house with a white lantern with the ink-black word "甸" (Dedication) written on it hanging outside the door.

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(2348 words)
PS: Sorry, sorry, I originally wanted to write the last 500 words in the morning, but I didn’t expect that I would be busy with my boss from early morning until now. I will continue to update in the evening and try to add another chapter.

(End of this chapter)