With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Zhou Yu led his troops back to the south bank and immediately went to see Sun Quan to recount what had happened. Upon learning that Huang Gai and Jiang Qin had both died in battle, Sun Quan was heartbroken and burst into tears on the spot.

Many Jiangdong generals, however, turned their angry gazes toward Liu Bei.

Han Dang couldn't help but approach Liu Bei and loudly questioned him: "May I ask, Uncle Liu, your troops were in front and Jiang Qin's troops were behind, why are you unharmed while Jiang Qin's army was ambushed and wiped out?"

Liu Bei felt wronged and sighed helplessly, "General Han Dang, this is clearly a treacherous scheme devised by Cao Cao."

Zhang Fei was furious. He glared at Han Dang and shouted, "What do you mean by that? Whether Cao Cao wants to ambush someone or not is his own decision. What does it have to do with my brother?"

Xu Sheng snorted and said, "I'm afraid Liu Bei's heart isn't in Jiangdong. You're not on our side at all, which is why Cao Cao showed you mercy."

Jiang Qin's entire army was wiped out, while Liu Bei remained unharmed. Anyone would feel resentful in that situation.

This was exactly the result Guo Jia wanted. He wanted to make Liu Bei unhappy in Jiangdong, and ideally, to turn against Sun Quan.

Liu Bei knew that at this time, nothing he said would make a difference, so he simply remained silent.

Sun Quan's expression was also not good. This great defeat at Chibi was destined to deal a heavy blow to Jiangdong. So many soldiers were killed or wounded, and the situation ahead became unpredictable. Liu Bei, on the other hand, seemed to be unharmed, which made Sun Quan feel really uncomfortable.

Zhang Fei was straightforward and had a fiery temper. Liu Bei could remain silent, but Zhang Fei could not. He gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the group of people from Jiangdong. If anyone dared to disrespect Liu Bei, Zhang Fei would definitely not be polite.

His eighteen-foot spear is no joke!

Zhang Fei was agitated, and Guan Yu also looked unfriendly, coldly scanning the Jiangdong group with a hint of murderous intent on his face.

Lu Su hurriedly stepped forward to act as a peacemaker, advising, "Gentlemen, this must be a treacherous scheme by Cao Cao to sow discord between the Sun and Liu families. The more this is the case, the more I think the two families should work together."

As Lu Su spoke, he didn't forget to wink at Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu sighed softly, stepped towards Liu Bei, and when he got closer, he cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Just now, Han Dang and the others were a bit agitated. I hope you won't take it to heart, Imperial Uncle."

Liu Bei quickly replied, "Grand Commander, you flatter me. You have just suffered a defeat and are in a bad mood, which I completely understand."

…………

Cao Cao won a battle and hurriedly sent someone to report the victory to the emperor. However, the messenger returned very quickly.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, His Majesty has returned to Xuchang!"

"Oh?"

Cao Cao had assumed that the emperor would return to Wulin to celebrate the victory. After such a great victory, how could the emperor be absent from such an occasion?
The emperor had actually returned to Xuchang, which made the situation somewhat awkward.

Mao Jie, Guo Jia, Xun You, Dong Zhao, and others were all able to guess some of the secrets.

Guo Jia sighed and couldn't help but take a deep look in the direction of Xudu.

Cao Cao forced a smile. In front of so many people, he naturally had to pretend to be nonchalant.

"Gentlemen, His Majesty has been away from Xuchang for so long. There must be many things in the court that he needs to deal with upon his return. Issue my order to immediately clean up the battlefield. Once everything is settled, all soldiers will celebrate for three days, with plenty of wine and meat!"

The soldiers were all very happy. Cao Cao waved his hand and told Cao Ren, Yu Jin and others to hurry up and clean up the battlefield. After everyone left one by one, only Guo Jia was left by his side.

Many camps and warships were burned down, and the riverbank was bustling with activity. Cao Cao walked to the bank, looked at the vast and surging river, and remained silent for a long time before saying, "Fengxiao, His Majesty has probably seen through us. He knows that we are deliberately holding back our strength."

The battle was finally over. Guo Jia quickly took out a medicine bottle from his pocket, took a big gulp, and satisfied his craving.

Guo Jia squinted, his face filled with ecstasy. He felt as if he were floating, a light and airy sensation that made him forget all the troubles of the world.

Knowing Guo Jia's character, Cao Cao waited patiently. After a while, Guo Jia opened his eyes again, gently exhaled a breath of stale air, and immediately felt refreshed and invigorated.

“My lord, His Majesty is not short of talented people. Take Jia Xu for example, his talent is no less than mine. To be honest, it was only a matter of time before he was exposed.”

Cao Cao said very seriously, "So, after such a great victory, His Majesty has left without coming to congratulate us. This is not a good omen."

Guo Jia thought for a moment and said, “My lord, it’s nothing. His Majesty always puts the overall situation first. After all, we have won a battle. Your position will not be shaken in any way. Sun Quan has not been defeated and Liu Bei is still in Jiangdong. So we can leave the troops in Jingzhou here with a clear conscience. His Majesty will also provide us with food and other support.”

Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief. This was exactly what he wanted. As long as Sun Quan had not been defeated, Cao Cao could legitimately garrison troops and stockpile grain in Jingzhou without worrying about being punished by the emperor.

As long as Sun Quan is safe, Cao Cao will be safe!
Of course, this greatly weakened Cao Cao's control over the Central Plains.

Xun Yu, Jia Xu, and others all knew perfectly well what the emperor's return to the capital meant. They remained silent on the way, expecting the emperor to take immediate action upon returning to Xuchang. However, Liu Xie remained remarkably calm.

As soon as the team arrived in Xudu, Liu Xie dismissed everyone and gave each person three days off. Those who lived nearby could go home to visit their families, while those who lived far away could relax.

Or they could buy some things, or write a letter to their relatives and have the people at the post station take it back with them.

Several years ago, Liu Xie proposed that the post stations must be upgraded to ensure that soldiers far from their homeland could contact their families in a timely manner.

To this end, Liu Xie personally went to the post station in Xudu to conduct an on-site inspection.

Now, Liu Xie has entrusted the affairs of the post station to Lu Ji, who is Lu Xun's cousin. He is known to the public mainly because of the incident of stealing oranges, which is commonly referred to as "Lu Ji stealing oranges".

When Lu Ji was six years old, he once met Yuan Shu and stole three oranges. When he bowed to leave, the oranges accidentally fell off his body.

Yuan Shu then asked him why he stole the oranges, and Lu Ji replied, "I'm keeping three oranges to take back to my mother to enjoy!"

From then on, Lu Ji became a well-known filial son, praised by everyone.

The post station in Xudu was located in the west of the city, covering an area of ​​more than ten acres. In front of it was a row of houses facing the street, just like a shop that opened for business. There were many windows with people in charge of receiving letters or mailed items.

Behind it was a huge warehouse, with horses and carriages coming and going, making it very busy.

Liu Xie looked around and saw that it was incredibly busy. Soldiers were rushing to get to their posts, and long queues had formed in front of every window. Liu Xie shook his head. "Gong Ji, it's still too crowded. We must arrange for someone to maintain order. Also, we can add more windows."

Lu Ji nodded, holding a notebook in his hand, and hurriedly wrote down the emperor's instructions.

Someone at the scene shouted, "I can't write a letter, can someone who can read help me write a letter home?"

Someone nearby chimed in, "There aren't many literate people here, so why not just stop writing letters and send things home directly?"

Some people even said, "Even if you write a letter, your wife at home can't read. When she receives the letter, she won't know who to ask to read it to her."

Liu Xie frowned immediately. When everyone saw the emperor arrive, many people gathered around. Zhao Yun hurriedly stepped forward.

Liu Xie waved his hand at everyone and said to Lu Ji, "Recruit more people who can write and have them be responsible for writing letters for the soldiers. We should also select more literate couriers. If they can read the letters to the families, that would be even better."

Lu Ji nodded, then shook his head, looking somewhat troubled, and said, "Your Majesty, finding someone to help them write letters is not difficult, but there is already a shortage of couriers to deliver letters to various places, and it's not easy to find so many literate people in a short time."

"I know, you can do your best to arrange it."

Few poor people are literate, and most post station workers are selected from the army, so literate ones are even rarer.

People who can read and write are in extremely short supply.

Even in money shops across the country, the staff had to be literate to some extent.

If you can't read, let alone keep accounts or manage books, you might not even be able to count correctly.

Liu Xie kept this in mind. After returning from the post station, he went to the Imperial Academy again. Everywhere he could hear the sound of students reading aloud, as if he had suddenly escaped the chaotic world of war and arrived at a paradise.

Luo Jun's son Luo Tong, Zhuge Liang's third brother Zhuge Jun, Cao Chong, Xun Yun and other young and talented people were all sent to the Imperial Academy by Liu Xie at a young age.

Upon learning that the emperor had arrived, Xun Yue hurriedly put down what he was doing and went out to greet him.

"Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

Liu Xie found a pavilion and walked over, with Xun Yue quickly following.

The pavilion is surrounded by flowers and grass, the grass is lush and green, and the flowers are fragrant. The environment of the Imperial Academy is quite nice.

Liu Xie sighed and then recounted the situation at the post station to Xun Yue.

After listening, Xun Yue's face was also filled with worry. "Your Majesty knows that you are concerned about the affairs of the country and want to bring more care to the people and soldiers. However, the number of people studying at the Imperial Academy is already limited. Moreover, these people are all very promising. If we ask them to write letters of recommendation for others, wouldn't that be a waste of their talents?"

Liu Xie was amused by Xun Yue and hurriedly explained, "That's not what I meant. I was thinking, could we set up another academy so that more people can read and write?"

"Your Majesty, this..."

Xun Yue was somewhat surprised by the emperor's idea.

"These people don't need to learn too many profound things. They just need to learn some simple things that they can use in daily life. I don't need them to become officials in the future. They can do small things like calculating numbers and writing letters. As for the post station, you have also seen that it is very necessary to let more people learn to read and write."

After Xun Yue understood, he asked again, "But where can we find so many teachers who can teach people to read all at once?"

Liu Xie smiled and pointed to the rooms around him where the sound of reading could be heard from time to time. "Aren't these ready-made? Tell them that whoever performs well will be given an important position in the future."

Next, Liu Xie discussed the specific details with Xun Yue. He not only wanted to enable more people to learn to read and write, but also to use this opportunity to train the students of the Imperial Academy.

Liu Xie told Xun Yue that only those who excel in their studies are qualified to teach at the academy in their spare time, and their performance in teaching will be an important test for their future careers in officialdom.

Liu Xie didn't want them to spend a lot of time on it; he just wanted them to go whenever they had a spare moment, as long as it didn't interfere with their studies.

Xun Yue was full of admiration and nodded repeatedly.

Soon, Liu Xie instructed Xun Yu to set aside a vacant building and establish the Great Han Loyalty and Righteousness Academy.

This move caused an instant sensation in Xudu. In the past, only the rich could afford to study, and the poor had no right to study.

Moreover, this was established by the emperor himself. Someone inquired and found that the academy only accepts children of military personnel, and the requirements are quite strict.

Not just anyone can come; only the children of soldiers who have distinguished themselves on the battlefield are qualified to enter the academy.

When Jia Xu and Xun Yu were chatting, they couldn't help but give a thumbs up to the establishment of the academy.

Jia Xu said, "Wenruo, it is not hard to imagine that in the future, more and more soldiers will go to the battlefield and fight bravely, and their loyalty to His Majesty will stand the test."

Xun Yu nodded, "Making meritorious contributions not only brings rewards but also allows future generations to have the opportunity to study. His Majesty's intentions are truly commendable."

Moreover, the academy is free, and once you graduate, the imperial court will take care of your placement. No matter what, you will at least be able to make a living.

As parents, we all feel the same way about our children. No one wants their child to go hungry or starve to death on the streets. Who doesn't hope their child will be successful and have a bright future?

“Although it has caused a sensation, there is no need for the aristocratic families to be overly nervous.” Jia Xu glanced at Xun Yu, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

The interests of powerful families are aligned; they monopolize everything, with education and officialdom being the most valued, and these two aspects are firmly controlled by them.

Jia Xu stood up, paced back and forth in the study a few times, and said, "Your Majesty does this not to make those people officials, but simply to teach them some common things so they have something to do, such as simple tasks like accounting and letter writing."

Xun Yu countered, "Wenhe, aren't you overthinking this? I don't see anything wrong with it."

Jia Xu smiled, his eyes narrowed. He said slowly, "I believe you think that way! But not everyone in the world thinks that way. Don't worry, His Majesty's actions haven't affected anyone's interests. The Xun family of Yingchuan is a prominent family with a very important position. If anyone criticizes or is dissatisfied, I think Wenruo needs to stand up and express her opinion!" (End of Chapter)