Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 107 Attitudes of the Parties
After Suiting debated the scriptures, Shen Chen's reputation gradually spread in the countryside and throughout Jingzhou.

All the towns and villages in the surrounding counties of Xiangyang know that there is a 12-year-old young gentleman in Suiting in Longzhong Township.

But it is limited to this at present, it is impossible to become a famous scholar overnight.This is not only related to the age of talent and learning, but also related to the promotion of the aristocratic family.

At that time, the spread of fame could not be spread very far only by the words of the countryside, and it had to rely on the appreciation of the upper class and the promotion of the aristocratic family.

Shen Chen has a reputation in the countryside, Liu Biao stands behind him, there is no problem with the countryside and the upper class.However, the aristocratic families in the middle are all dedicated to the court of Xudu, and there are also a large number of famous scholars who went south to avoid disasters, and their hearts are also devoted to the emperor.

So in their view, Cao Cao is now "supporting the Han Dynasty", and Shen Chen is against him, which is hindering the revival of the Han Dynasty.Therefore, it is obviously impossible for them to help Shen Chen become famous.

This caused Shen Chen to be famous, but it was difficult to spread it widely, and he could not get the approval of those aristocratic families, celebrities and scholars, so he could only spread it in the countryside.

But even so, to achieve such an achievement at the age of 12 is quite remarkable.When Kong Rong was a child, he was only praised by everyone for making pears, but he has been able to do many things that adults cannot do, which has attracted the attention of the world.

After Deng Hong and Liu Xian went back that day, they reported the situation to Liu Biao.

Liu Biao has always been self-reliant, and he didn't like those Confucian scholars and the middle- and lower-class families in Jingzhou who persuaded him to join him. When he heard that Shen Chen defeated their criticism, he was very happy and said: "Ah Chen is indeed very smart. Disappointed."

Deng Hong hurriedly said: "Ah Chen said that this is all because he often consulted Duke Ming for advice. The ancients said, to distinguish right from wrong, to dispel evil and strengthen righteousness. It was Duke Ming who taught him to be modest and righteous, knowing that Cao Cao was nothing but a thief who stole the country. He was the one who helped the Han family, so he retaliated angrily."

"good."

Liu Biao nodded slightly, looked around and said, "Although Ah Chen is young, he can be the number one celebrity in Nanzhou. After a few years for him, I will call him into an official position."

Deng Hong said: "Thank you Minggong, Ah Chen has long wanted to work for Minggong."

"Well, you go first."

Liu Biao waved his hand, indicating that they could leave.

Deng Hong and Liu Xian said goodbye and left.

After they left, Liu Biao narrowed his eyes and began to think.

His present intention of becoming self-reliant is known to very few people except those around him and those extremely intelligent people.

It will take two years for his intentions to be revealed to the whole world.

Zhang Xian, the prefect of Changsha, responded to the imperial court's call to fight against Liu Biao, but he calmed down and annexed Zhang Xian's troops, with more than [-] armored soldiers, and was gradually discovered when he owned Jingnan and even got involved in Jiaozhou.

Because after that, he stopped paying tribute to the imperial court, did a lot of things beyond the law and did not feel his duty, and even sacrificed to heaven and earth in the suburbs, and the etiquette was intended to refer to the monarch.

At that time, Liu Biao's heart will be known to all passers-by, and he will basically be called emperor.

But at present, there are too many people in Jingzhou who are interested in the Han family, and he dare not reveal his thoughts, so he can only support Shen Chen secretly.

However, Shen Chen is the one who advocates fighting against Cao, and he is a very powerful talent. He also thinks clearly that when the time is right in the future, he must be used well.

The dream of becoming emperor.

Liu Biao was slightly distracted, looking at the blue smoke slowly burning from the incense burner in front of him, his eyes became blurred for a moment.

.

.

Bi County is located on the southwest bank of the Han River, about 120 miles away from Xiangyang, and is ten miles north of Yicheng City in later generations.At that time, it was a very prosperous city, with Zhonglu County in the north and Yicheng County in the south.

Due to the war in the north, a large number of aristocratic families went south to avoid disaster, which made Xiangyang extremely prosperous at that time.During the influx of countless celebrities, great Confucians, aristocratic families, aristocrats, and tyrants, there are too many celebrities and great Confucians living here.

Most of the major families in the south also live in the south of Xiangyang. From Xiangyang City to Yicheng County, the south stretches for more than a hundred miles. Along the way, there are dense bamboo leaves and flowing rivers.

Looking from a distance along the Han River, one can only see gorgeous manors standing up, and watchtowers and mansions are connected together.

The road paved with bluestone slabs, the countryside stretches as far as the eye can see, Zhu Xuan is shining, the canopy stretches continuously, there are countless rich merchants and powerful families, there are countless carriages and horses, and the green and green mountains of Mount Tai in the distance are too beautiful to behold.

It is called "Guangaili" by the locals, not only because of its prosperity, but also because dozens of officials whose ancestors have paid two thousand stones have settled here.

Among the eight great families in Jingzhou, Pang, Huang, Cai, Kuai, Ma, Xi, Yang, and Xiang, several of them lived here.

In addition, there are Liaohua family, Yinguan family, Zhangti family and other small and medium clans.

Therefore, to a certain extent, along the hundreds of miles from Yicheng to Zhonglu and then to Xiangyang, among the countless rich and powerful families, there are wealthy families that can affect the entire situation in Jingzhou.

Most of these top clans tended to be neutral in politics, neither supporting Liu Biao's self-reliance, nor supporting his attachment to the imperial court, and chose the middle way.

It's not that they have no position, or that they don't want to submit to the imperial court, but that they know Liu Biao's attitude very well.

They are in the upper class of Jingzhou, and they understand Liu Biao's desire to separate themselves.

And under the rule of Liu Biao, he clearly supported Cao Cao with the influence of these top aristocratic families. If he asked Liu Biao to join him, then Liu Biao would not mind taking out his butcher knife and making Jingzhou less a few aristocratic families.

So recently, when Shen Chen gained fame in Jingzhou for fighting against Cao Cao, all the top aristocratic families were peaceful.

Including Cai Hao, Kuai Yue, who were all devoted to Cao, nothing happened, and even the two of them did not dare to be so obvious in front of Liu Biao at this time. In recent days, they even praised Shen Chen, saying that under Liu Biao's rule, there was another A teenage prodigy.

But those small and medium-sized families and famous scholars and scholars who escaped from the north don't care about this.

According to historical records, due to Liu Biao's secret relationship with Yuan Shao, there were waves of opposition from middle- and lower-level officials and a large number of celebrities and scholars. For this reason, a large number of middle- and lower-level officials resigned, and many famous scholars criticized Liu Biao.

Among them is the great Confucian Wang Jun.

When Liu Biao made a secret alliance with Yuan Shao, he was the first to express his opposition, saying, "Mr. Cao, the hero of the world, must be able to prosper and succeed in the achievements of Huan and Wen. Now Shi is close and far away. In a moment of urgency, it is not difficult to look at the rescue of Mobei from afar."

It means that Cao Cao is a hero who can achieve the same hegemony as Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin. Now that he is by your side, why do you want to be far away and form an alliance with Yuan Shao instead of submitting to the court?
You can see his attitude from here.

More importantly, Wang Jun was actually friends with Cao Cao. In the early years, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's aunt died and was buried in Runan. At that time, [-] people attended the funeral, and Cao Cao and Wang Jun were also present.

At the time of the funeral, Cao Cao said to Wang Jun that the world will soon be in chaos, and the two leading the troubled world are Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. If you want to save the world and plead for the people, it is better to kill these two people first. This will calm the chaos.

Wang Jun said to Cao Cao, if it is according to your intention, the one who saves the world must be you.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

It can be seen from this that Wang Jun admires Cao Cao very much, saying that he has the talent to help the world.

Therefore, when he heard that Shen Chen defeated Cao Cao, Wang Jun, as a admirer of Cao Cao, was naturally very unhappy. He learned that Shen Chen planned to open an academy to educate people. to destroy.

In the end, he didn't expect that the two students he sent out didn't even have the courage to go up to debate, which made him very embarrassed.

Bi County, Wang Jun's residence.

After listening to the reports of the two students, Wang Jun, who is nearly sixty years old, frowned.

Historically, he would move to Wuling two years later, and eventually die in Wuling. It was because Liu Biao’s performance in the Battle of Guandu disappointed him. He saw Liu Biao’s desire to separate himself, so he went south to Changsha to attach himself to the loyal court. Changsha prefect Zhang Xian.

Now they are very disgusted with Jingzhou's anti-Cao voice, but they can't persuade Liu Biao, so they want to suppress Shen Chen, but they didn't expect that they can't even deal with a 12-year-old child.

However, according to the two students, this Shen Chen is indeed a bit level, and the meanings of all the allusions in the Seven Classics are very clear, which is amazing.

"You go out first."

Wang Jun waved his hand and told the two students to leave first.

Hu Shang and Wen Xia left the hall.

In fact, there are not only Wang Jun in the hall, but also famous scholars Yingrong, famous scholar Kuixi, famous scholar Li Yan, famous scholar Heqia and others.

Their position is the same as Wang Jun's. Basically, they support wherever Liu Xie is. It's just that the north is too chaotic and precarious, so they rely on Liu Biao to avoid disaster temporarily, but their hearts are still toward the court.

Now Cao Cao has the ambition to support the Han family. Seeing Cao Cao flatter the emperor and help the emperor fight against bandits from all over the world, these people can't tolerate people in Jingzhou opposing Cao Cao and encourage Liu Biao to stand on his own.

After Hu Shang and Wen Xia left, Wang Jun looked around and said, "What do you guys think?"

Yingrong smiled wryly and said: "This young man is indeed very capable. He not only defeated Cao Gong, but also his scriptures are excellent. No wonder Song Zhongzi said that his scriptures have surpassed him. It seems that Song Zhongzi is also because he can't say enough. He was the one who let him go down the mountain and leave Xianshan Academy."

"Yes."

Kuixi sighed, "You are already so talented at only 12 years old, and you can still get it when you grow up? It's a pity, Mr. Cao was also confused at the beginning. Why did he slaughter Xuzhou? He also killed Shen Chen's family and forged a deep hatred. If this is not the case, why is it so, he can serve the imperial court, I am afraid that he is also a talent for helping the world."

Wang Jun shook his head and said: "Now is not the time to talk about these things. It is a fact that Cao Gong and Shen Chen have formed a deadly feud. He is fighting against Cao Gong in the name of revenge, which is to fight against the court. This is intolerable. Do you really want to fight?" Do you want to see my big man fall apart?"

"Actually, Xiao Lang is nothing. What I'm afraid of is Liu Jingsheng."

He Qia murmured: "Liu Biao is a foolish lord, judging by his words and deeds, I am afraid that he has the intention of dividing the country. In the future, Yuan Shao and Duke Cao will have a battle. I am afraid he will profit from it. If this is the case, I am afraid we will continue to go south again. Moved to the land of Wuling."

Li Yan sighed and said: "Liu Jingsheng has a secret relationship with Yuan Shao, can't everyone see it? If he really has a heart for the court, when the emperor dies, he should have led the army to serve the king. I am afraid that he is behind Shen Chen." Instigate."

"Ugh."

Several people lamented one after another.

In fact, it is different from most aristocratic families who mainly focus on family interests and want to go to Xuchang to enter the court as an official and continue the family rights.

At that time, there were still many great Confucian scholars who had their hearts attached to the Han Dynasty. They were not seeking fame and fortune, but just hoped that the country would be stable and the Han Dynasty could be reunified.

The most typical example is Kong Rong. When Liu Xie returned to Kanto, Kong Rong was summoned to Xuchang by an edict.

At first, Kong Rong admired Cao Cao very much, thinking that he was Huo Guang who could revive the Han Dynasty.

As a result, after getting in touch, the more I looked at it, the more something was wrong, and then my attitude changed drastically.

The turning point of the attitude was the Yidaizhao incident. Before that, Kong Rong's attitude towards Cao Cao was very friendly.

After Yi Dai Zhao, Kong Rong immediately understood that Cao Cao was not Huo Guang but Wang Mang. From then on, he began to ridicule Cao Cao, and was finally ordered to be executed by Cao Cao on the eve of the Battle of Chibi.

Therefore, before the Yidai Zhao, the scholars all over the world had a great impression of Cao Cao, and all the major families in Jingzhou and the famous scholars of Confucianism supported him.

Therefore, strictly speaking, there was no enmity between Wang Jun and others and Shen Chen, and they were not bad people, they simply had different positions. After the Yidai Edict, the attitude of these celebrities towards Cao Cao would probably change.

It's just that it's 197 A.D., and there are still two years to go before the Liyi Daizhao incident. Those scholars in Jingzhou who are devoted to the Han Dynasty don't know the true face of Cao Cao, so they know Liu Biao's attitude and Shen Chen's actions. Worry is also understandable.

Kui Xi pondered, "I'm afraid Liu Biao really wants to separate Nanzhou in order to stand on his own. It's best for us to seek refuge in the south as soon as possible. As for Shen Chen, don't worry about him now."

"Is there any reason to ignore it?"

Wang Jun said in displeasure: "Jingzhou is now under Liu Biao's influence, and no major family dares to disobey his wishes. Only we can fight with reason. If juniors like Shen Chen are allowed to spread the disobedience of the imperial court's will everywhere, we will have to fight against him." Liu Biao supports it, so Jingzhou has become a place of rebellion?"

He Qia frowned and said: "This junior has always claimed that he has never disobeyed the court. He just said that Mr. Cao is not a minister, and he is in the name of revenge. Even if we go to argue with him in person, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince him."

Wang Jun and Cao Cao had a close friendship, so they would not allow Shen Chen to slander him, and immediately said without hesitation: "It's okay, I don't believe that we have so many Confucian scholars who rule the classics, and they can't argue with a ten-year-old child. Didn't he say that Mr. Cao is not a human being?" Is it a minister? Today I am flattering the Son of Heaven and doing my best to be a minister, so I want to have a good discussion with him about how Mr. Cao is not a minister."

"Mr. Ziwen is going to visit him personally?"

Li Yan asked.

"nature."

Wang Jun nodded: "How can childish words bewitch the world?"

Li Yan shook his head and said: "No, our disciples and students have all lost to him. If we go now, people will say that we are old and young. Moreover, he has a grudge against Cao Cao. He only said that he would never violate the will of the emperor, and he only wanted to avenge his relatives. We couldn't help but get him."

Although Wang Jun was going to beat the young one out of the old one, Li Yan still felt it was wrong, because Shen Chen's remarks were actually valid.

He didn't attack Cao Cao's character, nor did he say that Cao Cao was not flattering the emperor, but he just told everyone that Cao Cao went south to conquer Zhangxiu, without an edict or ax, and he didn't send troops in the name of the emperor.

Since there is no imperial edict and Jieyue from the emperor, then when he deals with Cao Cao, he is not attacking the emperor's army, but avenging his clansmen and attacking the princes Cao Cao.

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, it has been very common for princes to attack each other.What's more, Shen Chen himself had hatred with Cao Cao, and it was only natural to resist Cao Cao. When Cao Cao was torn off by Tianzi Dayi's tiger skin, there was no reason for them to attack Shen Chen.

Hearing this sentence, Wang Jun frowned, because what Li Yan said was also true.

But it would be a bad thing for him to let Shen Chen continue to preach the anti-Cao thing, so he said, "Should we just watch him open an academy and spread those outrageous things?"

Kui Xi thought for a while and said: "Not necessarily, I think it's enough to wait and see first, the more he talks, the easier it is to reveal his flaws, if he says something rebellious and thieves in the future, and someone catches the evidence, It's easy for us to argue against him, but even if Liu Biao wants to cover him, it will be difficult."

"You mean, Zheng Boke and Duan Yuyan?"

Wang Jun thought about it.

"Exactly."

Kai Xi nodded: "I'll wait for a while to avoid the edge, and then attack when he is arrogant."

"good."

"I think so."

"I also agree with what Ziyagong said."

Several other celebrities also agreed with Kaixi's words.

Wang Jun pondered and said: "Okay, Ziya's words are very reasonable, so let's watch it first, and wait until the next day to make a fuss about it."

That's what sets the tone.

It's not that he doesn't want to trouble Shen Chen, but now that he has Liu Biao's support, and his reasons are tenable, it's hard to argue against the other party.

But it might not be so in the future, what if Cao Cao really helped the Han Dynasty in the future, or Shen Chen said something outrageous and outrageous, and was caught by someone?

At that time, it will be much easier to deal with him when he has reason in hand.

So they planned to wait and see the direction of the wind first, and then decide whether to personally deal with Shen Chen.

.

.

And just when these celebrities and Confucianists who were heart-to-heart to the Han Dynasty were discussing to fight Shen Chen for [-] rounds in the future, at this time Xiangyang, the prefect's mansion of Nanjun.

Kuai Yue returned to Xiangyang these two days, not because of Shen Chen, but because he had something to report to Liu Biao.

He is the prefect of Zhangling. Zhangling is the area of ​​Suizhou City in later generations. To the northeast is Xinyang City in later generations.

Recently, I got news that after Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he sent people to capture Chen Guo and Liang Guo, which are very close to Yingchuan. Kuai Yue thought that Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were about to fight, so he rushed to Xiangyang immediately to report the situation to Liu Biao.

After Liu Biao heard the news, he didn't respond. Kuai Yue persuaded him to send troops to help Cao Cao in order to gain righteous support from the emperor, but Liu Biao finally denied it.

This made Kuai Yue a little disappointed, so he went to Cai Mao to discuss.

In the Southern Army Prefect's Mansion, the two met in the side hall instead of the hall, and there was no one else in the hall except them.

Different from the imagined military general, the real Cai Mao is actually a literati. He is wearing a loose robe and sitting on the main seat, while Kuai Yue is sitting next to him, and the two are chatting.

"Yuan Shu went north to occupy the countries of Chen and Liang, obviously intending to attack Yingchuan. This man has already proclaimed himself emperor, and he is a traitor, but his strength should not be underestimated. Duke Cao may not be able to resist. I want to persuade Duke Ming to send troops to help. What a pity. I can't persuade you."

Kuai Yue shook his head, he was also a member of the Han family.

Of course, he must have cared more about the interests of the family, otherwise there would not have been Kuai Jun, Kuai Qi and others serving as senior officials in Cao Wei.

On the contrary, Cai Hao may not be entirely for the benefit of the family, because first of all, he did not become a senior official of Cao Wei.

After Cao Cao won Jingzhou, he lived in seclusion on Caizhou, unlike Kuai Yue who became one of the nine ministers, Guang Luxun, but only won the title of Marquis of Hanyang Ting and the vacant post of Changshui Captain.

Secondly, he had a very good personal relationship with Cao Cao. Cao Cao once went to Caizhou to visit Cai Mao, went directly into the inner hall, entered his private room, called his wife, just like going to his own home, and talked about old times with Cai Mao. The relationship seems to be very good.

So to a certain extent, Cai Mao supported Cao Cao. It is very likely that Cao Cao has the name of the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and the other is that Cao Cao is an old friend with him, and it is normal to support his friends.

Hearing Kuai Yue's words, Cai Mao murmured, "Duke Ming only wants to settle down in Nanzhou, so I'm afraid he won't be willing to get involved in the Kanto affairs."

"Degui."

Kuai Yue said: "Don't you really want to watch Minggong continue to make mistakes?"

Cai Mao smiled wryly and said, "I have no other choice. Duke Ming has his own opinion. If Meng De conquered Zhang Xiu this year, wouldn't he send troops?"

"Ugh"

Kuai Yue sighed, shook his head and said, "The Son of Heaven is in Xuchang, but Ming Gong has more than [-] tigers and wolves in Yuan Shu's army. Duke Cao lost troops and lost generals in Nanyang this year. I'm afraid it will be difficult to resist."

Cai Mao said: "We can only hope that Meng De will overcome this difficulty by himself. Now it is impossible to persuade Duke Ming to send troops to help."

"Pity."

Kuai Yue shook his head, suddenly remembered something, frowned and said: "By the way, De Gui, I seem to have heard that Shen Chen is very famous in Xiangyang recently."

Cai Mao smiled and said, "You also knew him in Zhangling?"

Kuai Yue said: "This junior killed Cao Ren, the younger brother of Duke Cao's family, and Le Jin, the general, and caused Duke Cao to lose his troops and generals. He really is not a son of man."

Cai Mao said: "It's just a junior. Speaking of it, he is the grandson of my niece and son-in-law. He has a blood feud with Meng De and has been advocating against the imperial court. Now there are many scholars and celebrities who are close to the emperor in Xiangyang. It’s just that the results are not as expected.”

"Then continue to let him bewitch the Quartet?"

Kuai Yue frowned.

Cai Mao shook his head and said: "I'm afraid it's impossible to suppress it. Duke Ming also sent someone there. We can't talk about letting him belong to the court in front of Duke Ming."

"Of course I know that."

When Kuai Yue heard that Liu Biao had also sent someone there, his brows became tighter: "It's just that Duke Ming has the will to stand on his own feet. This person has been fighting against the imperial court. Isn't he encouraging Duke Ming to stand up for himself? What if in the future?"

Cai Mao frowned when he heard his words, and asked, "What do you mean?"

Kuai Yue stroked his chin and said, "Let me think, let me think."

"You don't mean to."

Cai Mao stretched out a hand and made a gesture. These big aristocratic families often do things much simpler and rougher.

People who disagree with me, just click away.

For example, Liu Bei.

If Liu Bei didn't run fast, he would have been killed by them.

Kuai Yue suddenly sneered: "Forget it, forget it, just a junior, probably can't make any troubles, let alone being related to you, let's see later."

"Ah."

Cai Mao nodded.

If he really wanted to kill someone, he might not be able to explain to his younger brother.

The two chatted about something else.

Regarding Shen Chen, to them, it was just a trivial matter.

(End of this chapter)