The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 65 Liu Bei repays injustice with straightforwardness, and the Battle of Baima comes to a conclusion.
Hua Yan appears clever, but is actually narrow-minded. How can Yuan Tan expect virtuous men to follow him if he employs such a narrow-minded person as his chief clerk? A ruler should be close to virtuous ministers and keep away from petty men. Without the magnanimity to conquer the world, how can one compete with the heroes of the land?

A hint of disdain flashed in Zhuge Liang's eyes.

Although the Hua family of Pingyuan produced Hua Xin, who possessed the virtue and talent of three dukes, he was worlds apart from Hua Yan: Hua Xin was like the clouds, while Hua Yan was like the mud.

There are ways to deal with gentlemen.

There are ways to deal with petty people.

Zhuge Liang deliberately feigned drunkenness to "remind" Liu Bei that he should present Hua Yan with generous gifts to express his gratitude for Hua Yan's care in Pingyuan.

Liu Bei understood and ordered that generous gifts be presented.

He said, “I originally intended to return to Zhuojun, but due to the fact that tens of thousands of people are not used to the climate, I have to stay in Pingyuan for the time being. During this period, I have troubled Hua Gongcao a lot, and I feel really uneasy. These are just some small gifts, please accept them as a token of my respect.”

Hua Yan was about to politely decline, but when he saw that Liu Bei's generous gift was a large box of gold and silver coins, his refusal turned into "I would rather accept your offer."

There's nothing more effective than directly gifting gold and silver coins to deal with the ever-greedy Hua Yan.

Having received Liu Bei's generous gift, Hua Yan's attitude changed instantly. He stopped trying to sow discord openly and secretly, and instead patted his chest and said, "If General Zuo has any needs, I, Hua Yan, will do my best."

When the banquet came to an end.

Hua Yan also revealed a secret to Liu Bei: "The Grand General has not yet sent anyone to welcome the Left General, simply because Ju Shou is hostile to the Left General and believes that the Left General's entry into Hebei is a trick by Cao Cao, which must be guarded against."

"I have never met Ju Shou before, nor do I have any grudge against him. Why would Ju Shou slander me?" Liu Bei asked with a frown, unsure whether the information Hua Yan had revealed was true or false.

Hua Yan sneered, his tone mocking Ju Shou: "General Zuo, don't overthink it. Ju Shou is arrogant and looks down on the people of Hebei. He's a mad dog who will bite anyone he can get his hands on."

The implication is that it wasn't that Ju Shou was specifically targeting Liu Bei, but rather that Ju Shou viewed everyone with the same suspicion that they were treacherous officials, and Liu Bei wasn't the first to be targeted.

Hear the words.

Liu Bei frowned.

Ju Shou, who oversees both internal and external affairs and commands great respect within the army under Yuan Shao, is now being targeted by Ju Shou, which will undoubtedly add another layer of uncertainty.

"Strategist," Liu Bei said, looking at Zhuge Liang with a questioning expression.

Seeing Liu Bei's worry, Zhuge Liang chuckled and waved his fan: "Some might ask: What do you think of repaying evil with kindness? Confucius said: What will you repay kindness with? Repay evil with justice, and repay kindness with kindness. Why don't you send someone to Liyang to deliver a letter to the Grand General, explaining in detail the matter of receiving the imperial edict to suppress the rebels?"

The difference between repaying evil with kindness and repaying evil with justice lies in:

The former focuses more on personal goodwill; even if you harbor resentment towards me, I will still treat you with unconditional tolerance.

The latter focuses more on social rules. Even if you have a grudge against me, I will respond with integrity and fairness in order to maintain the overall situation, neither condoning evil nor deliberately seeking revenge.

From Liu Bei's perspective: Although the General doubts me because of Ju Shou's words, I don't care. I only care about whether I can work with the General to fight the traitor.

Once this letter was sent, no matter how much hostility Ju Shou harbored towards Liu Bei, Yuan Shao would be able to sense Liu Bei's "sincerity." As long as Yuan Shao sensed Liu Bei's "sincerity," Ju Shou's hostility towards Liu Bei would be futile.

"The strategist is brilliant!"

Liu Bei's brows relaxed, and he smiled:
“Ju Shou is very talented, but he is too stubborn and cannot get along with the scholars. He will eventually be disliked by the scholars in Hebei. Now I will repay evil with justice. If Ju Shou is still hostile to me, those who are not on good terms with Ju Shou will definitely defend me.”

With Ju Shou as a comparison, Liu Bei admired Zhuge Liang even more.

From the moment Zhuge Liang came to join him, everyone, including Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Huang Zhong who came with him, as well as Liu Bei's former subordinates Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, and the Mi brothers, and later Cao Xuan, Chen Zhen, and others, were all convinced of Zhuge Liang's sincerity.

The worst thing a team can do is fight amongst itself.

Although Ju Shou was highly talented, he could not get along with his advisors. He could be a strategist but not a master strategist. Otherwise, if his advisors fought amongst themselves, it would eventually become a major problem.

Zhuge Liang, on the other hand, possessed both great talent and the ability to harmonize with his subordinates, making him the undisputed chief strategist under Liu Bei. Immediately.

Liu Bei ordered someone to bring him pen and ink, wrote a letter to Yuan Shao, and asked Hua Yan to send someone on horseback to deliver the letter to the Liyang camp as quickly as possible.

The journey from Gaotang to Liyang is several hundred miles long, with checkpoints along the way.

If Liu Bei were to send a message, it would take many days; but if Hua Yan were to send a message, the message could be delivered via post stations and horses, and could arrive in as little as a day or so.

Hua Yan received a large box of gold and silver coins from Liu Bei, and seeing that Liu Bei's letter was intended to remind Yuan Shao, he immediately promised: "This letter will definitely reach the General in two days at most! The Left General, by repaying injustice with honesty, will surely be ashamed upon hearing this."

To show his sincerity, Hua Yan not only arranged for a fast horse to deliver the letter to Liu Bei, but also wrote a separate letter in Yuan Tan's name to Xin Ping, who was always close to Yuan Tan, asking Xin Ping to speak well of Liu Bei to Yuan Shao.

And during this period.

The first battle between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao has also come to an end.

Cao Cao adopted Xun You's strategy of dividing his troops, luring Yuan Shao to divide his forces at Yanjin. Yuan Shao then ordered Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong to lead their troops westward into Yanjin, leaving only Yan Liang as the general at Baima.

Although Yan Liang possessed great courage, his ability to command troops in battle was not outstanding.

By the time Yan Liang discovered Cao Cao's surprise attack, they were less than twenty li apart.

If the general stationed at Baima were a calm and composed leader, the distance of more than ten miles would be enough for him to hold out and await reinforcements, or at the very least, to retreat safely.

But just as Ju Shou described Yan Liang as "impatient and narrow-minded," Yan Liang became anxious on the spot after learning that Cao Cao was planning a surprise attack on Baima.

Allowing Cao Cao's surprise attack troops to advance more than ten miles was an insult to Yan Liang's ability to command troops!

This was the first time Yan Liang had truly taken on the role of a general and was in charge of a command on his own, so naturally he didn't want to be looked down upon.

Therefore.

Faced with Cao Cao's rapid attack, Yan Liang, despite being at a disadvantage due to poor intelligence, still relied on his bravery. Instead of holding his ground and waiting for reinforcements or temporarily withdrawing his troops, he adopted a head-on "fierce general mode," attempting to defeat Cao Cao's surprise attack with his bravery.

however.

What Yan Liang didn't expect was that Cao Cao's surprise attack was not led by a valiant general leading a detachment, but by Cao Cao himself leading a group of valiant generals to lead the elite main force!

In front of them were Zhang Liao, behind them were Xu Huang, and there were also Xu Chu, Cao Cao, Xiahou and other valiant generals from both outside and within their own clans.

How about going head-to-head with Cao Cao's group of valiant generals?

Even Lü Bu wouldn't dare to speak so recklessly!

Fortunately, Guan Yu was not there, otherwise Yan Liang would have become the only "general" recorded in the history books of the late Han Dynasty who could "take the head of a general from among ten thousand troops as easily as taking something out of a bag".

Although he narrowly escaped with his life, Yan Liang's troops at Baima were almost completely wiped out.

Only Yan Liang led a hundred or so riders in a panic and fled back to Liyang, where he carried thorns on his back to apologize.

"Now that you have been defeated, Ju Shou will surely laugh at me for not heeding his good advice, and I will lose face!"

The main tent in Liyang.

Looking at Yan Liang, who was carrying thorns to apologize, Yuan Shao's face was gloomy, filled with a sense of disappointment and frustration.

　I slept all afternoon, but my throat still hurts. Could it be COVID again? That's terrifying.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)