Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 913 Liu Bei snatches people
Yang Xiu was puzzled. "Father, you have been sick at home for the past few years and rarely participated in court meetings, which made Wang Yun the center of attention. Now everyone outside is saying that the Wang family of Taiyuan has become the leader of the aristocratic families in the world, the Yuan family of Runan has been destroyed, and my Hongnong Yang family has also declined. Why aren't you anxious?"

Yang Biao rolled his eyes and said, "Urgent? Why should I be in a hurry? Is the position of the leader of the nobles so comfortable?"

"Of course." Yang Xiu said without hesitation.

"The Wang family of Taiyuan was originally a low-ranking family in Bingzhou. Not to mention compared with our Yang family, even compared with the Xun family of Yingchuan, the Zhong family, and the Lu family of Fanyang, they are not as good. But now that Wang Yun is in power, the Wang family is at its peak. Many families have flocked to it to attach themselves to it. Many famous scholars and local officials have become its disciples. It is in the limelight and has a lot of support in the court. How can it be useless?"

Yang Biao listened to his extremely generous words, and his expression suddenly became extremely serious.

"Xiu'er, you are already twenty-one this year, and you will soon be serving the court in Sili, or even in Luoyang. There is one thing you must keep firmly in mind."

Seeing how serious he was, Yang Xiu also sat up straight and said, "My son, please give me some advice, father."

Yang Biao stood up, opened the window and looked at the sky outside.

"The Book of Changes says: The sun zenith and then wanes, the moon waxes and wanes, the heaven and earth wax and wane, changing with the times. Even this little world is like this, let alone you and me? Whether you are a person or an official in the court, you must remember not to be too prominent, and you must avoid getting carried away, otherwise you will suffer disaster."

Yang Xiu fell into a brief contemplation, then said: "Father, what you mean is... the Wang family of Taiyuan is now too popular, and is about to encounter disaster?"

Yang Biao closed the window again and nodded at his son. "Since Emperor Guangwu of this dynasty, the gentry and the imperial power have shared the world. Later, as the world changed, foreign relatives and eunuchs created chaos one after another. After the two Party Imprisonment disasters, the gentry suffered a great blow and almost never recovered. Especially after Dong Zhuo, the scholars of the world were terrified and walked on thin ice, with almost no place to stand."

"Well, I have heard my father, uncles, and teachers talk about this since I was young, and I hate it. I hate that the previous emperors listened to slander and stayed away from wise men, which led to so many disasters. That's why many families chose wise leaders, trying to take advantage of the chaos to restore order. And my father and others chose the current emperor."

Yang Xiu also knew all these things well.

Yang Biao said solemnly, "That's right. Although the emperor of today seems to be extremely harsh and even a little cruel to the nobles, and has repeatedly slaughtered the nobles, and now he has specifically increased taxes on us, your majesty is a rare ruler in hundreds of years. As a father, I have seen heroes all over the world, and the one who will achieve great things and unify the world in the future must be your majesty. This is the general trend, and we can only preserve the honor of our family by following the will of heaven. If we go against heaven for a little bit of petty profit in front of us, we will be crushed to pieces, our property will be confiscated and our family will be exterminated, and I am afraid that we will leave an eternal infamy in the history books."

Yang Xiu listened attentively, nodding his head unconsciously: "I remember, the sage said: Those with little virtue but high position, little wisdom but big plans, little strength but heavy responsibilities, rarely fail. I'm afraid that Wang Situ is such a person, right?"

Yang Biao glanced at him and did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "The rise and fall of a family, honor and disgrace, are not in the present, but in the long run. The way to establish oneself in the long run is to be loyal to the cause, not to the person. What the Yang family is loyal to now is not just Your Majesty, but to the goal of pacifying the four directions and recreating a prosperous era. If we work hard for this matter, no matter who is in power, we can assist the wise monarch and make achievements, or we can stay at home and preserve the family reputation."

Yang Xiu's face brightened up, as if he had suddenly realized something: "Father's words are like a bolt of enlightenment for me. But..."

"But what?" Yang Biao asked.

"Hehe..." Yang Xiu grinned, "But I was transferred back to Luoyang this time. Now that I think about it, my father must have done a lot of work behind the scenes, right? Otherwise, how could His Majesty remember me, a minor official who has been sent out for less than half a year? My father must have wanted me to show up in front of His Majesty more often. Once Wang's family is in trouble, it will implicate many people and the court will inevitably be turbulent. His Majesty will definitely promote many newcomers to take charge of the central government. That will be a good opportunity for my Yang family to make a move again after lying dormant for many years..."

"Nonsense." Yang Biao's face darkened and he scolded, "You should read more books by saints and stop showing off your eloquence here. Your Majesty doesn't like ministers to rely on such cleverness to show off in front of the Holy King."

"Yes, yes, I will go back to study now."

Yang Xiu left the study with a smug look on his face.

Xuzhou, Donghai County, Tan County City.

"Hahahaha...Brother, I have already given that damned Kuaiji Yu family member to..."

Zhang Fei's loud voice was only halfway through. When he saw Tian Feng sitting next to Liu Bei, his voice stopped abruptly, and he looked embarrassed. Liu Bei, Jiang Huan and Taishi Ci kept winking at him, but Zhang Fei didn't understand.

Tian Feng took the initiative to ask: "The Yu family of Kuaiji? Could it be the family of Yu Fan, the great scholar of classics in Kuaiji County, Yangzhou, and Yu Zhongxiang?"

"Ah...this..." Zhang Fei hesitated.

"Haha, Yuan Hao was right, it's this person." Liu Bei waved to Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei, as if he had found a savior, trotted over and sat next to Jiang Huan.

Tian Feng was surprised and asked, "I heard that this person used to work in Yangzhou. How come he is in Xuzhou?"

Liu Bei's face turned a little angry: "Humph, this man is known as a master of Confucianism, but he doesn't know loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness. At this time of national crisis, he abandoned the governor of Yangzhou, Liu Yao, and went to Yuzhou to serve as an official in response to Cao Cao's invitation. What kind of chief clerk is this in the general's mansion? Isn't this abominable?"

"Oh? Is this true?" Tian Feng was surprised but also a little angry when he heard it.

However, he immediately showed doubts on his face. When he was about to ask, Liu Bei interrupted him and said, "I received a letter from my brother Liu Yao, saying that this man has a great reputation in Jiangdong. I am afraid that after he surrenders to Cao Cao, he will attract many talented people from Jiangdong to come to him, so he asked me to rob and kill him on the way. Therefore, I ordered my third brother to take only more than ten riders to Guangling County and enter Yangzhou to stop this man's carriage and kill him."

"I see." Tian Feng's suspicions were all gone. "This Liao sold out his country for fame and fortune, and joined the traitor. He deserves this fate. But the three generals took the risk alone, and it was really hard work."

"It's not hard, not hard, hahaha. If big brother and military advisor want to reward me, just give me a jar of good wine and let me get drunk to my heart's content."

Zhang Fei grinned, which made everyone in a good mood.

However, while Zhang Fei was laughing, he also complained: "This Yu guy, he gave up his position as a Han official and went to work for Cao, he deserves to die. Even if Luoyang is far away, it is good for him to come to Xuzhou to work for my elder brother. He really doesn't know what is good for him."

"Hey, Third Brother, don't say that. I am a person of little talent and virtue, and I rely on the grace of the emperor to lead a region. I am already very humble and terrified. Now the court is recruiting talents, and as a minister, I should recommend talents to Your Majesty. How can I recruit talents for my own use? Isn't this a rebellion against the court?"

Liu Bei said this with great humility and sincerity.

Jiang Huan said, "Brother, you are wrong. You are of royal blood and the emperor, so you are also called the emperor. Now you are in charge of Qing and Xu, fighting against Cao Cao, so you need talented people to assist you. If Cao Cao issued a call for talents, why can't you do it, brother?"

"Yes, lord. Instead of letting Cao Cao recruit the talented people from Xu, Yang, Yu and other places to oppose the court, it is better for you to recruit them yourself. They will still contribute to the Han Dynasty. Why should you shirk your responsibility? It's so straightforward."

Zhang Fei also started shouting.

"This……"

Liu He stroked his beard, glanced at Tian Feng's face, and said, "I wonder what Yuan Hao thinks?"

Tian Feng lowered his eyebrows and thought for a moment before speaking: "What the two generals said is not unreasonable. Nowadays, many scholars in the world have misunderstood Your Majesty and have become disloyal. This time, Cao thieves took advantage of the opportunity of the court's tax reform to slander Your Majesty in order to recruit talents from all over the world. This is indeed a cunning trick. If you can win the hearts of people in Qing, Xu, Yang and other places and use them for yourself, although it may be suspected of competing with the court for talents, it is better than letting Cao thieves get them."

Seeing him say so, Liu Bei no longer had any doubts: "Okay, pass the order down, issue a notice... to recruit talents!"

(End of this chapter)