Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 57 Come on, let’s hurt each other!

Cao Yan was confused. He didn't expect his brother to suddenly throw the question to him.

He secretly replaced [Ancient Evil], [Diligent Study] and [Hard Practice],
Then I installed the entries [Glib tongue (purple)] [Quick wit (purple)] [Eloquent (blue)], and immediately I felt confident and ready to start the argument.

After clearing his throat, Cao Yan stood up.

Seeing this, Zhang Miao couldn't help but sneer in disdain.

Zhang Miao knew very well what kind of person Cao Yan was.

Apart from cockfighting and dog fighting, he also fights crickets. He spends his days idling around and has no skills.

These new policies in Dongwuyang were probably thought up by some poor person to gild Cao Yan's reputation. In any case, it is impossible that he came up with them himself.

Zhang Miao was making up his mind when he heard Cao Yan ask, "May I ask your name, sir?"

However, before the man could reply, Cao Yan interrupted him and said, "Forget it. He's a nobody anyway. It doesn't matter whether he speaks or not."

"How rude of you!" The scholar's face immediately turned red with anger.

Bian Rang raised his eyebrows slightly and reminded softly: "Calm down, don't fall for his cholera mind trick."

Seeing that Bian Rang had seen through his plan, Cao Yan didn't care and continued to ask, "Do you know about Wu Qi and Wei Wuhou's boat trip on the West River?"

"Huh?" Zhang Miao was startled when he heard this, and thought to himself, "You brat can actually quote from the classics?"

"Of course I know." The man replied, suppressing his anger.

Cao Yan didn't give the other party a chance to explain, but spoke first: "The land of the Sanmiao is naturally rugged, yet how was Dayu able to conquer it? How was King Tang of Shang able to destroy King Jie of Xia when he controlled the world? How did King Zhou of Shang overthrow the Shang Dynasty when King Zhou of Shang controlled Chaoge? It was all due to virtue, not the terrain."

The man finally seized the opportunity and sneered back, "A three-year-old can recite such an old-fashioned story. Why does Cao Zhonglang need to show off?"

Cao Yan, still looking completely unconcerned, continued, "When my elder brother and I first arrived in Dongwuyang, we saw refugees digging up roots to satisfy their hunger, women eating mud balls to fill their stomachs, and fathers weeping until their voices were hoarse while holding their starving children... They are what you scholars are now calling 'accomplices of the bandits.'"

The young men of the noble families in the hall were whispering to each other, and the man who asked the question frowned even more tightly.

Cao Yan got up from his seat and walked straight to the center of the hall. He said, "Everyone says that the Yellow Turbans are bandits, but have you ever thought about why they are willing to be bandits?"

"It's nothing more than natural and man-made disasters that have forced the people to lose their livelihood."

"If they were given good land capable of growing three dou of wheat per acre, and the harvest could be exchanged for five rolls of silk, who would be willing to risk their lives in rebellion?"

Cao Yan paused, then continued, "As the saying goes, 'An iron wall can be breached by internal conflict, but a wooden gate cannot be broken by the will of the people.'"

"But now in the Han Dynasty, the people's hearts and order have long collapsed. They can't even survive. Who would care about etiquette and law?"

Cao Yan shook his sleeves, shaking off the dust, and continued, "When the people's hearts are strong, internal order will flourish!"

"Everything my elder brother did was to help the Han people regain their hearts and restore order!"

"Finally, I have a message for you: the people are like water, and the king is like a boat. Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room fell silent.

It turns out that those ordinary people who were regarded as insignificant by them actually have such great power?

The man who asked the question first turned pale and retreated with a bow.

Then, Bian asked another scholar in a blue robe beside him to stand up and asked, "The common people are the common people, and the bandits are the bandits. How can they be confused?
If they were our own people, we would have no problem providing them with money and food.

But why should the bandits take our food?"

His voice was a little shrill and sounded very uncomfortable.

Cao Yan glanced at him and said, "They are obviously refugees who were taken hostage by Sima Ju, Xu He and others. What right do you have to call them thieves with empty words?

Seeing that Sima Ju, Xu He and others were about to be expelled from Yanzhou by my elder brother, at this critical moment,
But because of your questioning, I had to temporarily stop fighting and come back to argue with you!

If the Yellow Turban rebels make a comeback, the people of Yanzhou will face great disaster again!
Why don't you speak up for the innocent people of Yanzhou?"

"You...are making excuses!" Qingshan Wenshi was so angry that his face turned blue.

It's obviously you who are slacking off!

Why did he abandon the war and return home just to consider us?
Can you shake your hands a little bit?

Cao Yan did not wait for him to catch his breath and continued, "My elder brother measured the land and accepted the refugees, just to let those who till the land have their own land.

Of the grain they grow, one percent goes to the government, seven percent is kept for survival, and the remaining two percent can be exchanged for some money to improve their lives. Living and working in peace and contentment, what's not to like?!"

"If you think accepting surrender is inappropriate, why not go outside Dongjun and take a look—those old and weak, half-clothed men, can't even hold their swords or spears steady, and struggle to lift a hoe. How could they possibly have the energy to cause rebellion?"

As Cao Yan was saying this, Xiahou Yuan had just driven a group of elite Yellow Turbans to the courtyard of a small landlord...

Ahem… Cao Yan cleared his throat and suddenly raised his voice, “It’s certain people who, under the pretext of investigating bandits, have collected the common people’s land deeds into their own warehouses, forcing the originally innocent farmers to become their tenants!”

The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Cao Cao leaned back in the main seat, rubbing the back of his hand with his fingertips, staring at Cao Yan with burning eyes, "Well said, very well said! Even I hadn't thought of this!"

The scholar in blue knew he was no match for his opponent, so he sighed and retreated with a bow.

Then, another scholar wearing a black cloth cap stepped forward and said sinisterly, "Cao Zhonglang is eloquent, but he is deliberately avoiding talking about land.

My Yanzhou nobles have been managing farmland for generations. You are clearly trying to seize someone else's property by measuring the farmland!

"May I ask where your family's land comes from?"

"This..." The man suddenly felt guilty.

"Apart from the local people's own land, the rest of the people in Dongjun have obtained new land through their own labor to reclaim wasteland. Now that the new land is completed, do you have any new ideas about it?" Cao Yan sneered.

"Impossible! Stop slandering me!" The scholar's face changed.

"Bah!" Unexpectedly, Cao Yan suddenly spat at the man, then pointed at him and cursed:
"I fucking know you!
Wei Jin, the illegitimate son of Wei family from Chenliu!

A few years ago, dozens of families were forced to sell their ancestral property at low prices!
If it weren't for the fact that you and Brother Zixu are from the same clan, my elder brother would have captured you and slaughtered you to feed the dogs!"

"Rude! Extremely disrespectful!" Wei Jin's face turned purple. He glanced guiltily at the head of the family, Wei Zhen, and retreated in embarrassment.

Cao Yan refused to give up and continued to ask: "I would like to ask everyone, how much of your fertile land and beautiful houses are ownerless wasteland that was forcibly occupied? How much of it is the land of refugees that was annexed?"

He pointed to the door and said:

"Last year, a locust plague killed over 30,000 people in Dongjun. Did you open your granaries to release grain?
When the 100,000-strong Black Mountain Army attacked Dongjun, did you ever offer even a grain of food or contribute even a bit of effort?
Of course, Mr. Li of the Cheng clan is an exception. He came with his entire clan to defend his country and was deeply respected by my eldest brother."

After Cao Yan finished speaking, he bowed to Li Qian who was standing in the crowd.

Li Qian also bowed deeply to Cao Yan and Cao Cao, with a proud look on his face.

At this time, a middle-aged scholar with a long sword at his waist stepped forward and asked, "I heard that General Cao is vigorously promoting the new household registration system under his rule... May I ask, General Cao, are you going to follow Wang Mang's reform?"

You bastard, you just put the blame on others when you can't argue, right?
"No!" Cao Yan said, waving his sleeves. "The Han household system has long since become a mere formality due to the war. My elder brother borrowed from the old system and, in order to manage the constant influx of refugees, adapted it to reality and temporarily implemented a new one."

"Then it has been changed?" the middle-aged man sneered.

"Times have changed, and how can we adapt by clinging to the old ways?" Cao Yan couldn't help but sneer. "Our predecessors overcame the old and established the new, so why didn't you question it? Today, we're breaking with the old and creating the new, and you're calling it 'reform'? Such stubbornness will eventually lead to history's rejection!"

The scholars in the hall looked at each other, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

(End of this chapter)