Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 872 Cheng Liang Runs Away
Qian Li has never been good at this kind of thing, so he just stood aside and said nothing more.

Liu He's face was solemn. After a long time, he suddenly exhaled heavily.

"Huh... rumormongers are certainly hateful, but these ignorant and corrupt scholars who cannot distinguish right from wrong and fan the flames and mislead people are even more annoying."

Xun Yu looked at him, and after a moment's silence, he said, "Your Majesty, among the scholars, there have always been those who think they are noble, those who think they are extraordinary, and those who are cynical. Since the day when Your Majesty became an enemy of the scholar leader Yuan, it was destined that you would have to go through this test sooner or later. Scholars are the leaders of all people, and Your Majesty now has the hearts of the people and the army in your hands. But if you want to truly unify the world, the hearts of the scholars are also indispensable."

Liu He looked up at him and said, "How can I win their hearts? I have asked myself, since I ascended the throne, I have never treated them badly. Whether it is the Yuan family or Chen Ji and others, they are all traitors and traitors, and they are suffering the consequences. I eliminated the traitors for the country, but I was harshly criticizing the scholars. How can this be justified? These people keep saying that they read the books of sages, but they believe in rumors and have no loyalty. What's the point of reading such books? What's the point of winning such scholars?"

Xun Yu said in an unusually firm tone, "Your Majesty is wrong. Many scholars do not know the inside story of the Yuan family and other families, so they are deceived by the lies of outsiders, which is understandable. Your Majesty should not abandon the scholars of the world because of this, otherwise you will fall into the enemy's treacherous scheme. The emperor is entrusted with the mandate of heaven and educates the people. Your Majesty has the responsibility to enlighten and teach all people, whether they are scholars, farmers, merchants or workers."

Liu He calmed down a bit and let out a long breath: "What do you think Wen Ruo should do to win over the scholars in the current situation?"

Xun Yu said: "The crux of this is not a matter of today, but a long-standing one. It cannot be solved in a short time. Scholars are different from ordinary people. What ordinary people want is to settle down and make a living. Scholars often value reputation more. The so-called respect for the wise and humble is this principle. The court values ​​them, and your majesty relies on them, so that they can become famous and stand out from the crowd. This is what they want."

"Well, I understand this, too."

Liu He sighed, "But, I have never been disrespectful to scholars in all these years. Now I don't know how to make them believe me."

Xun Yu said: "Whether you believe it or not depends on what you do, not what you say. Now the court needs wise men to govern everywhere, but it is far from enough for your majesty to rely solely on local recommendations. Many talented people have no way to serve the country because of lack of connections, arrogance, or discord with local officials. Over time, they naturally lose confidence in the court. Among these people, there are often ambitious people with hidden strategies. They are famous. Your majesty only needs to start with them. If you win one person, you can win the hearts of hundreds of thousands of scholars, and it can also show your majesty's determination to value and use talents."

Liu He frowned slightly, and after a long while, he said, "Well... what Wen Ruo said does make sense. But this approach will take too long to take effect, and it will only treat the symptoms and not the root cause."

"Your Majesty, this matter cannot be rushed. We should temporarily treat the symptoms and calm people's hearts. We can slowly make plans in the future. It is not too late."

Liu He thought about it and there was really no better way.

"Alas... this is the only way. Wen Ruo, you should immediately draft two notices, one to clarify the rumors, and the other to recruit talents..."

Before he finished speaking, Gong Saner suddenly shouted outside the door: "Your Majesty, the steward of Cheng Liang's mansion wants to see you."

Liu He's expression changed: "Third brother?"

He had a bad feeling in his heart. He had kept his third brother locked up in the mansion for half a year. Now his housekeeper came to the palace to ask for a meeting. Something big must have happened.

A man in his thirties walked in led by Gong Saner. He looked panicked. He came in front of Liu He and knelt down directly.

"Your Majesty... my master... he..."

"What's wrong with third brother?" Liu He stood up, walked in front of him, bent down and looked at him and asked.

"The master... he escaped from the mansion, taking away all his weapons, armor, mounts..." "What?" Liu He was shocked.

"When did it happen?"

"Early this morning, I saw that my master was acting out of character. He had not gotten up to eat even when the sun was high in the sky. My mistress was a little confused, so she ordered me to go and call him. Only then did I find that my master was no longer in the room, and even his bed was cold. He had not taken anything with him except his weapons and mounts."

Xun Yu immediately said, "It seems that the three generals must have escaped. Judging from what they brought with them, are they going to fight?"

Qian Li was puzzled and asked, "But now, whether it is our army, Cao's army, or Liu Yan's army, no one can do anything to the other. They are stuck in a stalemate and no one dares to take the initiative. Who are the three generals going to fight by escaping from the palace now?"

"I'm afraid this is the problem." Xun Yu's words caught Liu He's attention.

"Wen Ruo means..."

Xun Yu said: "The three generals are loyal to Your Majesty, and heaven and earth can bear witness to this. After being captured by Your Majesty, they were initially resentful, but later gradually settled down. They practiced martial arts diligently in the mansion every day and taught their children without any slackness. Whenever there was a major war, they would always send servants to go out and inquire about the military situation at the front."

"Yes, that's true. For this reason, every time there is a report from the front, I will immediately send someone to inform my third brother of the news so that he can rest assured."

Not only Liu He, but also Empress Dowager Xu would often bring some cakes to visit Cheng Liang at his mansion. Every time she went, when Cheng Liang asked, she would tell him some news she knew.

"That's it. The Third General has always been impatient. It's rare that he could endure until now after being locked up in the palace for half a year. Now that he knows that our army is not doing well in the war, how can he still endure it? And he has been very well behaved in the past few months, so the guards sent by His Majesty to watch over him naturally relaxed. I'm afraid he had secretly planned for a long time to escape this time, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to take even the warhorse away quietly."

Xun Yu’s words immediately reminded Liu He.

"Quick, send as many people out of the city to find out the whereabouts of my third brother. Also, send a message to my second brother, fourth brother, Zilong, Bo Ping, Gong Ming and the others. If they find any trace of my third brother, capture him immediately. No one is allowed to let him out before I arrive."

"According to the order."

Liu He threw the brush in his hand and said, "Wen Ruo, let's put the matter of recruiting talents aside for now. With his temper, once my third brother leaves, there is no guarantee that he will not cause any disaster. I am really worried and must go find him in person."

"Your Majesty, but..."

"Okay, no need to say more. I and my four brothers have sworn to each other, not asking to be born on the same day of the same month of the same year, but to die on the same day of the same month of the same year. The third brother was trapped by me. If he dies because of this, it would be the same as if I killed him. How can I feel at ease? All the affairs of the court will be handed over to you two to handle. I will secretly leave a few flying eagle guards in the palace. If you two have any urgent matters, you can send pigeons to send letters to me, and I will explain them."

After saying this, he ran out of the study without waiting for Xun Yu and Qian Li to answer.

(End of this chapter)