Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 871 Shaking the National Foundation
"A few..."

Liu He clasped his fists and stepped forward to salute the scholars.

Those people were naturally a little confused by the sudden greeting from such a stranger, but out of courtesy they still stood up and returned the greeting.

"I've seen him step by step."

After returning the greeting, one of the scholars, who looked to be about 30 years old, asked, "What advice do you have for me, sir?"

Liu He looked at them and said, "I just heard what you said about the Liu family. I am very curious, so I came to ask for your advice."

When these people heard him say this, they immediately became interested. The person who had just asked the question seemed quite familiar and pulled Liu He to sit next to him.

"Hey, brother, you don't know. This Liu family has had several generations of literati, and they are also well-known among the scholars. Last year during the Shangsi Festival, the eldest son of the family, Liu Liang, and a group of young talents drank wine and wrote poems by the river east of the city. There was nothing wrong with some of the poems, but they angered the emperor at the time, so he ordered the extermination of his entire family in the name of treason."

"Yes, all 37 members of the clan, young and old, were killed. No one was spared. Tsk, tsk, tsk, it was a horrible sight."

"There have been many such incidents before. Now the Liu family has followed suit, causing the annual Shangsi Festival, where all the talented people gather together to have fun, to be cancelled this year. It is really a pity."

These people spoke with such certainty and truthfulness that Liu He almost believed it himself.

However, he was neither surprised nor annoyed. He rolled his eyes and said, "I have lived in Luoyang for a long time. I usually like to pretend to be cultured and write poetry, but I have never heard of the Liu family, a great family in the south of the city. Now such a talented writer has been innocently harmed. I really can't bear it. You seem to be very familiar with him. You must know where his mansion and tomb are. Can you take me there to pay my respects?"

As soon as he finished speaking, several people's faces became a little embarrassed.

"Um...this..."

"What's the matter? Are you in trouble?" Liu He looked very concerned.

One of them smiled awkwardly and said, "To be honest, we don't actually know the Liu family."

"This is strange. From what you said just now, it's as if you saw it with your own eyes. Even if we didn't know each other beforehand, we should have known each other afterwards. How come you know where his residence and grave are? Are you worried that I have other intentions and don't want to tell me?"

After Liu He said this, several people hurriedly denied it.

"No, no, no, we are not doubting you. You are polite and well-mannered, and you look handsome. You don't seem to be someone with evil intentions. It's just that we don't know the Liu family."

Liu He looked at the expressions of these people and knew that they were not lying, and he couldn't help but be surprised.

"If that's the case, then why are you all speaking so convincingly and knowing so much about the Liu family?"

Several people looked at each other, and one of them said, "Since we are all in the same field, we will not hide it from you. We also heard these things from other scholars."

Liu He looked as if he had realized something. "Since it's just hearsay, and you didn't know there was such a family in the south of the city, then why are you so sure based on just a few words from others?"

As soon as he asked this, the other party immediately followed up his words: "Hey, is there any need to doubt this? If it is not true, who would be so bold as to make up rumors and slander the emperor behind his back? Don't you think your life is too long?"

One of them leaned forward and said in a low voice: "It's not that we are disrespectful, but the current emperor is good in every way, but he is too harsh on scholars like us. It is expected that he would behave like this."

"Oh I got it……"

Liu He completely understood the whole story.

He looked at the scholars and asked, "You all look so hurried, where are you going?"

One person replied, "Alas, we can't stay in Luoyang any longer. Sooner or later, we will suffer this sudden disaster. We are ready to leave here, either return to our hometown or go somewhere else."

"By the way, my brother Guan is also a scholar, so I would like to advise you not to stay here for too long, but to leave as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected events."

"The emperor today only likes rough warriors and lowly merchants. He treats scholars like me so badly. It really chills the hearts of the people in the world." "You are talking nonsense!"

Liu Zheng suddenly stood up from his seat in anger, pointed at them and cursed: "You can't tell right from wrong, you don't know what's right and what's wrong. You just listened to a few idle words and started to talk nonsense here. My father..."

Zhang Yu hurriedly pushed him down and covered his mouth to stop him from speaking. However, Liu Zheng's face was full of anger and he kept struggling. It was not until Liu He glared at him fiercely that he lowered his head unwillingly.

Although Liu Zheng was only twelve years old, he was nearly seven feet tall, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, thick arms and a slim waist, just like a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old. His angry glares frightened the Confucian scholars.

"This...this is..."

Liu He hurriedly comforted them: "Don't be afraid, this is my son. He was sick when he was young and his brain is damaged. He is talking nonsense for a while. Don't take it seriously."

Only then did they feel relieved and returned to their seats.

"Don't take your son out on the street in this state. It's really disgraceful."

"Yes, a man should study and learn, and keep company with poetry and prose. That is the right path. Since your son is mentally deficient, it is better for him to stay at home and be taken care of. If he comes out and scares the people, wouldn't that be against the teachings of the saints?"

Zhang Yu was also very unhappy with what the few people said, and Liu He was even more angry.

"A few pedantic scholars, gossiping is fine, but you dare to comment on my son like this. Humph, you will have a hard time after you leave the city."

But even though he thought this in his heart, his face was still full of smiles.

"Thank you for your advice. I will pay attention to it."

He took out a few coins, threw them on his desk, then left quickly without looking back. Zhang Yu and Liu Zheng hurriedly followed.

"Investigate immediately. Find out for me who is this bastard who fabricated this story and slandered the imperial court."

As soon as he returned to the palace, Liu He became furious and gave orders to Xun Yu.

However, Xun Yu picked up the bamboo slips that he had dropped on the ground, put them back to their original place, and showed no sign of leaving.

Seeing him like this, Liu He immediately realized something, took two steps forward, and asked, "Why, could it be that Wen Ruo already knew about this?"

Xun Yu said hurriedly, "I can't say I know, but there have been a lot of rumors in the city in recent days. I've been in the palace most of the time, so I haven't heard any of them. I've only heard the family members and servants talk about them occasionally."

Liu He sat down and said, "Tell me what's going on."

"According to the order."

Xun Yu walked up to Liu He and said, "At least five or six days ago, there was such criticism in the city. However, it was only discussed by a few scholars and did not have much impact. At that time, the battle of Yuzhou had just ended and Your Majesty was worried about state affairs and military affairs, so he did not report it."

"What are they talking about?" Liu He asked.

"They said that Your Majesty only values ​​warriors, but despises the virtuous and the scholars. He even promotes and employs lowly people like craftsmen and merchants, but is prejudiced against the nobles, making things difficult for them. If they are not satisfied with him, he will kill them."

"I didn't take it seriously at first, but I didn't expect that the rumor would spread so quickly. In just a few days, it seems to have spread widely in all the states and counties under your Majesty's jurisdiction. Today, I received a report that hundreds of scholars and writers have suddenly left Luoyang City recently, and the trend is getting worse. I'm afraid the same is true in other places."

After hearing what Xun Yu said, Qian Li, who was standing beside him, became a little anxious: "Your Majesty, nearly half of the official positions in the court are already unmanned. Now that this incident has happened, I am afraid that the talents recommended by various places this year and the wise men provided by the Imperial College will be greatly reduced again."

Xun Yu shook his head: "This is just a minor problem. Once these scholars and students believe these rumors and become dissatisfied with Your Majesty, they will defect to other princes and serve them. And when they go, many of them have family backgrounds, and they will inevitably take their family power with them, which will boost the prestige of the enemy. Secondly, it is inevitable that some of them will write articles and poems to accuse the court and Your Majesty, and ridicule them. This will give Cao thieves, Liu Yan and others an excuse to attack Your Majesty. In the long run, the people's hearts that Your Majesty has finally regained will gradually disperse, and this is the great trouble that will shake the foundation of the country."

(End of this chapter)