Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3747 Town Qi
Fei Qian was in the formation, holding up a telescope and looking at Sishui Pass.

Above the gate, a somewhat dazzling yellow canopy fluttered in the gray sky.

This thing is slightly different from the umbrellas of later generations; it is more like the roof of a vehicle, or a canopy.

It has tassels, which look like they are made of jade, in five colors, and they shimmer with a pearly luster in the sunlight.

Beneath the canopy, a slender figure dressed in a dark black imperial robe was clearly visible...

"Hmm..." Fei Qian sighed softly, "It seems like nothing has changed..."

Did Liu Xie's appearance really not change? Not really.

In Chinese chess, the king cannot be moved arbitrarily. If the king is in the central position, even the advisor closest to the king can only move diagonally and cannot threaten the king.

But now, the king has left his throne.

What is Lao Cao trying to do?
Old Cao's approach to this is quite interesting...

Pang Tong, standing to the side, also held up a telescope and squinted as he watched.

Emperor Liu Xie of Han, who was pushed to the forefront by Cao Cao and the powerful clans of Shandong as their last line of defense, is now standing on the Sishui Pass.

The area inside the pass was bustling with noise, like a pot of boiling oil.

Long live Your Majesty!

"Execute the traitors!"

Protect our Han dynasty!

"..."

This uproar was clearly organized and premeditated; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so well-coordinated.

The slogans, carrying a carefully incited fervor, perhaps also tinged with sorrow and despair, spread from the pass on the howling autumn wind, crashing against Fei Qian's tricolor flag.

The voice contained a twisted loyalty and an unyielding sense of morality.

War is the last resort when political compromises are impossible, but the purpose of war cannot be merely destruction; it must also include post-war reconstruction.

Fei Qian's presence in the Heluo region already demonstrated this, and the presence of the imperial carriage at Sishui Pass and Emperor Liu Xie are the choices that Cao Cao and the Shandong gentry have presented...

It concerns morality and honor, the morale of the troops, and even more so, the path forward...

Will we succumb to the specter of the old order, or will we cleave through the thorns to a new, unknown future, one brimming with infinite possibilities?
Choosing is easy, but doing...

But it's not so easy to do.

Having the power to overturn the table and shouting about it is one thing, and not having the power but making noise every day are two different things.

Having the ability to overturn the table is one thing, but whether to do it, and when to do it, are all different questions.

Knowing is difficult, doing is easy, but knowing is easy, doing is difficult.

Pang Tong lowered his binoculars, glanced at Fei Qian, and then handed them to Hao Zhao, who didn't yet have binoculars. He laughed loudly, "Come, come, see what the Emperor looks like... It's not easy! In the mountains of the Great Han Dynasty, some people never see the Emperor even once in their entire lives..."

"Haha..."

Pang Tong's words elicited laughter from the military academy students, easing the previously tense atmosphere.

Fei Qian glanced at Pang Tong, waited a moment longer to give all the military officers a chance to see what the emperor looked like, then waved his hand and said, "Withdraw three she (a unit of distance)! He is, after all, the emperor; we must give him some face!"

Pang Tong, standing nearby, immediately understood and burst into laughter, "As you command, my lord! Pass the word down, to save face for the Emperor, we'll retreat three she (a unit of distance)!"

Under orders, the cavalry began an orderly retreat.

The phrase "giving face to the emperor" began to circulate in the army, so that when the cavalry retreated, the soldiers did not show any resentment or frustration, but rather felt somewhat joyful...

Upon seeing Fei Qian withdraw his troops, the Cao army soldiers on Sishui Pass couldn't help but shout and cheer with joy...

For a moment, at Sishui Pass, both sides seemed quite happy and were laughing.

It seems that a truly good atmosphere is one where everyone is happy...

The scene became somewhat eerie, since both sides in the war were laughing and happy, so who was unhappy?
……

……

Retreating three times is not simply a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of 'respect' for the old order of the Han Dynasty.

This is Fei Qian's "attitude" towards the Han Dynasty's system, and does not mean that Fei Qian was timid or had any other thoughts.

The principle that productive forces determine relations of production and that the economic base determines the superstructure is correct. The social system and ruling class of each era have their historical inevitability and relative rationality.

Fei Qian could have shouted slogans like "the victor is king, the loser is villain," but he knew that doing so would do more harm than good.

The replacement of the Spring and Autumn Period aristocracy by the powerful landlords of the Han Dynasty, which signifies the victory of the small-scale peasant economy over the early slave system, or the early feudal lord economy, was undoubtedly a step forward. However, to simply emphasize that stages of social development cannot be arbitrarily skipped is undoubtedly an oversimplification, a one-sided manifestation of the linear narrative of "the advanced replacing the backward."

Historical systems cannot be simply categorized as "good" or "bad," and the process of change is not merely a matter of "advanced replacing backward." For example, the rise of powerful landlords in the Han Dynasty was a complex process involving violent annexation, political opportunism, and integration with the old aristocracy; many new landlords themselves were transformed members of the old aristocracy. The process of replacement was also bloody and protracted; it was not simply a matter of "advanced productive forces" easily eliminating "backward productive forces."

The aristocratic clans that emerged after the Han Dynasty did not replace or defeat anything; rather, they were a special form that arose within the feudal landlord class, characterized by a high degree of hereditary succession and monopoly. The development after the Sui and Tang Dynasties mainly involved evolution in talent selection mechanisms, but it did not completely dismantle the feudal landlord class.

Most importantly, it is a very one-sided conclusion to conclude that any ruling class comes to power solely through so-called "competitive victory."

This so-called "winner takes all" mentality ignores legitimacy and social foundations.

While the rise to power of the ruling class is undoubtedly the result of victory in political and military struggle, maintaining that rule involves far more than just winning a competition. It requires establishing legitimacy, building an effective state apparatus, adjusting production relations to adapt to or promote, or at least not seriously hinder, the development of productive forces, and maintaining basic social order and stability.

Historically, many ruling groups that seized power through violence, such as some regimes during the Sixteen Kingdoms period and those implementing a large manor economy based on lords and slaves, did not necessarily have a more "advanced" ruling model than their predecessors; in fact, they may have even represented a regression and destruction of history. Therefore, the victory of a ruler does not necessarily represent a more advanced mode of production or a more advanced direction for the development of productive forces.

Therefore, advanced productivity cannot be a prerequisite for a ruler to come to power; the complexity of historical change must also be considered. The distinction between internal class evolution and class replacement cannot be blurred by the notion of "ruler's victory." Such a partially correct argument is undoubtedly dangerous and misleading.

Fei Qian understood very well that the reason why ancient China had such a stable structure was not simply due to the "winner takes all" principle, but rather the high degree of coupling and mutual reinforcement of four elements: the small-scale peasant economy, Confucian ideology, the centralized bureaucratic system, and the patriarchal social structure. Under this structure, achieving a systemic leap beyond the traditional hierarchy was extremely difficult, but it was not entirely devoid of the budding of ideas and the subtle ripples of practice.

For example, Wang Mang.

And Wang Anshi.

And the critical thought and the dawn of "enlightenment" in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties...

So why, despite the efforts of these people throughout history, has it still been difficult to achieve a true institutional leap?
On the one hand, it is necessary to address the distribution of vested interests, and on the other hand, these people do not actually possess power.

This power was not bestowed by the emperor or any powerful minister...

Others possess power but don't know which direction to channel it into, often succumbing to instinctive desires and sinking into depravity once more.

The idea that productive forces determine relations of production and that historical stages cannot be arbitrarily skipped is indeed reasonable. However, to oversimplify complex historical changes, especially the evolution of the ruling structure within the landlord class, into a linear narrative of "the advanced replacing the backward," and to equate "victory in competition" with "advanced productive forces and relations of production," is a very one-sided view.

So if Fei Qian were to remove the nails from the small-scale peasant economy, overthrow the stubborn Confucian rule, weaken the power of local clans, and then create a new centralized bureaucratic system, would he still need to follow the so-called "footprints of history" step by step?
This is undoubtedly a very interesting question.

It's also a very interesting option.

Just like right now.

……

...In the council hall of Gong County, Fei Qian sat in the main seat, his face as calm as a deep well.

On Fei Qian's desk lay a sword lying horizontally.

Zhongxing Sword.

Today, with the passage of time, this Zhongxing sword has become more decorative than practical.

Just like those famous and peerless weapons from the Spring and Autumn Period, they were nothing more than scrap metal in the Han Dynasty.

Time has passed, and circumstances have changed.

This Zhongxing sword has become a political symbol, a symbol of an old order that needs to be transcended.

Beneath the canopy of Sishui Pass stood a boy he once knew, with whom he had even shared a brief but warm connection, who had now become the heaviest and most sorrowful obstacle standing in the way he had created.

Fragments of memory, carried by the autumn wind, with years of dust and blood, suddenly flood into my mind.

Luoyang, the chaotic years when Dong Zhuo entered the capital.

He was still an unknown, marginalized figure who, by chance, caught a glimpse of Liu Xie, who was then the Prince of Chenliu.

At that time, Liu Xie was just a teenager, with a handsome face but a fear and precociousness far beyond his years.

Palace intrigues and bloodshed filled the air with fear.

Perhaps out of childlike instinct, or perhaps as an unintentional act, Liu Xie shared a delicate pastry with the young scholar who had found them amidst the cold night and bloodshed and provided them with shelter.

Fei Qian remembers being stunned at the time, not because of the preciousness of the pastries, but because of the small hands that handed them over...

At that moment, he did not see a future emperor, but an orphan trembling in the storm of power.

That pastry was less a gift and more like a single drop of honey clinging to a withered branch on a cliff.

Later, during the darkest period of Li Jue and Guo Si's rampage, Fei Qian had already begun to distinguish himself, and he held the power of the Bingbei army.

Fei Qian led his troops into the pass and rescued the emperor from his predicament.

He remembered seeing Liu Xie again in the dilapidated palace of Chang'an. The young emperor was disheveled, emaciated, and devoid of any imperial dignity, only filled with despair and numbness. Only when he saw Fei Qian did a faint light appear in Liu Xie's eyes, a kind of dependence and gratitude like that of a drowning person grasping at a piece of driftwood.

Fei Qian restored stability to the young emperor, providing him with food and clothing, and even attempted to give this nominal monarch a chance to breathe on the land he had painstakingly cultivated. He hadn't ruled out the possibility that this young emperor, who had endured hardship, might understand his vision of breaking free from constraints and establishing a new order? Even if it was only limited support?
He took Liu Xie to see the lives of ordinary people and experience the lives of those at the bottom of society, but their hopes were dashed like bubbles.

In the eyes of Liu Xie's elderly close attendants and old-fashioned Confucian officials who had followed him all the way from Luoyang, everything Fei Qian did was not a sign of vitality, but rather a deviation from the norm and a sign of the collapse of rites and music!

What they longed for was the rigid hierarchy of the Luoyang Palace, the single path to officialdom through Confucian classics, and the unquestionable order where the emperor was supreme and all officials groveled before him. In their eyes, what Fei Qian wanted to do was to undermine the dignity of the scholar-official class and desecrate the sanctity of the emperor. Panic and rejection formed an invisible cocoon around Liu Xie.

Therefore, when Cao Cao extended an olive branch, promising to "restore the old system of the Han Dynasty," Liu Xie almost without hesitation chose to leave Chang'an, leaving the sanctuary that Fei Qian had provided for him, which, though not glamorous, might lead to a new life, and plunged headlong into the cage that Cao Cao had carefully woven, which was called "the legitimate succession of the Han Dynasty" but was in fact a much harsher one.

Now that Liu Xie has left Xu County and arrived at Sishui Pass, has he left his cage?

No, he is still in prison.

The life of that boy who once handed him a pastry, his eyes filled with surprise, was it not also a great tragedy?

Born in the deep palace and raised in a chaotic world, he never truly controlled his own destiny, but was merely a pawn in the power struggles of various factions. He was like a fragile plant forcibly transplanted to different soils, each transplant causing him great harm, and in the end, he could only seek a pitiful solace in the illusion of his old soil.

Fei Qian did indeed feel sorry for him.

He would never have wanted to push this tragedy to an even bloodier end unless absolutely necessary.

He gave Liu Xie a chance.

An opportunity to break free from the old cycle and embrace a new beginning.

However, Liu Xie's very being was already deeply ingrained with the imprint of the old era. He could neither understand nor accept the power and direction that Fei Qian envisioned for breaking the feudal shackles of Chenliu.

His departure was tantamount to announcing a complete break between the old monarchical system and the new order of Fei Qian.

The faint affection between the two, the connection based on shared experiences during a chaotic era, had long been severed when Liu Xie fled east.

In Fei Qian's eyes, Liu Xie, who appeared at Sishui Pass at this moment, was more of a symbol representing the core and most stubborn aspect of that corrupt system itself.

Pity and disappointment ultimately give way to a greater responsibility and a harsh reality.

The path of "decentralization of duties," "all professions being scholars," and "harmony among all nations" promoted by Fei Qian was essentially aimed at completely deconstructing the myth of "divine right of kings," stripping away the sacred halo attached to the emperor, and shifting the focus of the nation from "one person" to "all professions" and "all people"!
Liu Xie's existence, especially his current position as a spiritual symbol of resistance against the new order, pushed to the forefront by the old forces, is itself the most direct and stubborn obstacle to the new path. This obstacle is not something that Liu Xie can control, but rather the last stand of the old world he represents.

Fei Qian's thoughts gradually drifted away from Liu Xie.

He recalled the helplessness of the rise of feudal lords after the decline of the Zhou dynasty, the lesson of the Qin dynasty's rapid demise due to its unification of the country and its suppression, and the millennia-long problem of the gradual ossification of thought after Emperor Wu of Han's exclusive promotion of Confucianism.

As history flows ever onward, old constraints must be broken so that new vitality can flourish.

Liu Xie was merely a tragic figure at this historical turning point, firmly bound to the old era and unable to break free.

Fei Qian's personal feelings towards him, whether pity or disappointment, seemed insignificant and had to give way in the face of the torrent that propelled the wheels of history forward.

Footsteps approached, and Pang Tong entered the council hall. His eyes immediately fell on the Zhongxing Sword on the table. "My lord… what…"

Fei Qian laughed heartily and gestured for Pang Tong to sit down.

"Shiyuan, what do you think of the Emperor's personal visit to Sishui today?" Fei Qian asked directly after Pang Tong was seated.

There's no need for much formality between them anymore.

Pang Tong coughed lightly, his voice somewhat grave. "My lord," he said, "the situation is urgent. I dare to offer my humble opinion first. On the walls, with the yellow canopy and the left banner, the Emperor himself is present, and the clamor is deafening. This is no ordinary challenge; it is Cao Cao's open conspiracy! His intention is nothing more than to use the Emperor as a shield and loyalty to the Emperor as a weapon to throw our army and people into chaos."

Fei Qian nodded slowly.

A simple word, "chaos," says it all.

Throughout history, all reforms and improvements have been difficult. Any measure that touches upon core interests inevitably encounters fierce backlash, including but not limited to false accusations, assassinations, incitement to rebellion, and passive resistance. In particular, the risks faced by individual reformers are extremely high, and they often meet with a bad end.

In feudal dynasties, reformers not only faced backlash from the vested interests but also from the emperor himself. The emperor was the ultimate arbiter, but his support was often precarious. He needed a bureaucratic system to maintain his rule and was frequently influenced by his relatives and eunuchs. When reforms affected too many areas, threatened stability, or when the emperor's will faltered, the reformers often became scapegoats.

The institutional reforms, social changes, shifts in thinking, and deviations in path that Fei Qian needed—where could Liu Xie be allowed to be half-hearted?

However, Fei Qian was quite surprised that Lao Cao had come up with such a strong countermeasure so quickly.

tough.

But beneath that tough exterior, something seems to be hidden...

"Hmm..." Fei Qian said slowly, "In the beginning, the universe was divided into black and yellow, and the clear and the turbid took different paths. Yet rivers do not discriminate against small streams, thus they become vast. Mountains do not reject even the smallest speck of dust, thus they stand tall and majestic. Observing the celestial phenomena, the North Star resides in its place while all the other stars revolve around it. Examining the earth, the great virtue carries all things, and all living beings depend on it. Therefore, the sage kings followed the laws of heaven and earth, promoted the supreme way, and strived to unite the different and the common people. Oh, Son of Heaven... Oh, the world... Haha..."

Fei Qian smiled. "Cao Mengde, you've truly made a brilliant move!"

Emperor Liu Xie obviously couldn't have appeared here for no reason. Without Cao Cao's approval, could Liu Xie have escaped from that cage?
Fei Qian looked at Pang Tong, "Shi Yuan, do you have any strategies?"

Pang Tong raised an eyebrow slightly. "How about... we approach directly where the cannons are positioned... and finish them off with a single shot?"

Fei Qian burst into laughter, "Shi Yuan, why test me with such words? If I wanted to assassinate the emperor, why would I wait until now?"

"If that's the case," Pang Tong chuckled, "then things will be a bit troublesome..."

Fei Qian nodded. "When in the world is there no trouble? However... if we only focus on the emperor... I'm afraid we'll fall into Cao Mengde's trap..."