Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 61: The flexible bottom line of the Yingchuan Chen family

Xun Yu staggered and nearly fell. He turned back unhappily and saw Chen Qun's face full of anxiety. Beads of sweat the size of beans were rolling down his cheeks. His topknot was also disheveled as he ran. His hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his face in a messy manner.

Chen Qun's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath. "Brother Wen... Brother Wenruo, I'm not good at running."

Xun Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of imperceptible expectation flashed in his eyes, and he smiled faintly and said, "What's the matter, Changwen?"

"Please ask Wen Ruo to save the Yingchuan Chen family!"

There was a hint of urgency in Chen Qun's voice as he tightly grabbed Xun Yu's sleeve, showing no intention of letting go.

Seeing this, the servants hurriedly closed the middle door and then quickly retreated, leaving this place to Chen Qun and Xun Yu.

Xun Yu sighed, raised his hand and gently patted Chen Qun's hand that was pulling his sleeve, signaling him to let go first.

Chen Qun finally realized his own misstep, a trace of embarrassment spreading across his face. He quickly released his hand, straightened his disheveled clothes, and calmed his rapid breathing. With a look of respect and a hint of trepidation, he said, "Brother Wenruo, to be honest, I know full well that our Chen family has made a grave mistake this time. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is furious, and our Yingchuan Chen family is now in imminent danger."

"I hope Brother Wenruo can remember our past friendship and point out a clear path for our Chen family."

After saying that, Chen Qun bent his knees and knelt on the ground with a plop. This was a great gesture of courtesy between peers, which was indeed a solemn ceremony.

Xun Yu quickly helped Chen Qun up. In fact, the two had known each other for a long time.

In those days, Xun Shuang also paid homage to Chen Shi with the rites of a nephew, so the elders of the Yingchuan Xun family and the Yingchuan Chen family were familiar with each other. Xun Yu and Chen Qun were also talented young people of the Yingchuan gentry, so it was natural that they would come into contact with each other.

"Brother Wenruo, I really have no other choice."

Seeing Xun Yu's attitude, Chen Qun knew that there was still room for maneuver, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up in an imperceptible arc.

In fact, he had quietly followed Xun Yu when he left the inner courtyard, carefully hiding his figure along the way. Seeing that Xun Yu walked slowly and looked back from time to time, he guessed Xun Yu's plan.

The reason why he arrived in a hurry just when Xun Yu was about to step out of the mansion and looked sweating and panting was just to show how difficult it was for him to make the decision.

He knew very well what Xun Yu would ask him to do, but he needed a middleman who was both suitable and trustworthy.

No one is more suitable than Xun Yu!

He did not trust any other senior scholars at the moment. He had no doubt that many wealthy families wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to tear a piece of flesh from the Yingchuan Chen family to strengthen themselves.

Moreover, he could be sure that what was happening at the moment was Xun Yu's own plan and not the prince's plan.

The prince's words today seemed to indicate that he was still unsatisfied. If his father had not pretended to faint, the prince would probably have scolded his father to the point of vomiting blood and fainting.

That was a scolding without leaving any room for leniency. If the prince still wanted to use him and his son, he would definitely not do this.

However, although he could not guess what Xun Yu's plan was for, he did not mind cooperating.

After all, he also knew that this was the last chance for the Yingchuan Chen family!
In the pavilion, Chen Qun waved his hand, dismissed the servants and maids in the mansion, and talked with Xun Yu alone.

"Wen Ruo is now the new crown prince. Do you know what kind of person the crown prince is?"

As he said this, Chen Qun leaned forward slightly, staring at Xun Yu without blinking, his eyes full of inquiry.

"As for his conduct as a ruler, Duke Boxian's eight-character commentary, 'like Xiaowen in his plans, like Shizong in his hegemony,' sums it up perfectly." Xun Yu gently stroked his goatee, his movements neither hurried nor slow, as if he were sorting out his thoughts. Squinting his eyes slightly, he recalled every detail of his time with the Crown Prince and spoke slowly, "However, as for his character, the Crown Prince values ​​friendship even more than Xiaowen and Xiaowu."

"Friendship?" Chen Qun frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. His fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the stone table. He wanted to say that if the prince valued friendship, how could he do such a thing to seize the throne? But he still said cautiously: "The prince is destroying the reputation of the aristocratic family in this way. I am not worried..."

Xun Yu glanced at Chen Qun, his eyes like a sharp sword. Although Chen Qun did not finish his words, he still understood what Chen Qun meant.

"The Crown Prince's Grand Tutor is Lord Lu, and his Junior Tutor is my uncle, Lord Ciming. The entire school of ancient literature will support the Crown Prince. Yuan Yanzhou, Cai Xuzhou, and others are all renowned scholars throughout the country, and are now trusted by the Crown Prince. Even the modern literature school deeply respects Your Highness, so how could they allow anyone to criticize the Crown Prince?"

Xun Yu looked at Chen Qun with a hint of warning in his eyes. He was worried that Chen Qun would try to unite with the aristocratic families and rely on the power of public opinion that the aristocratic families have held since ancient times to discredit the prince.

Thinking of this, Xun Yu's eyes became even deeper.

"The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, the royal family, and the nobles are all standing beside His Highness. All military power is in His Highness's hands. No one will allow the Crown Prince's wisdom to be compromised. Even if the Yingchuan Chen family were to risk their lives, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. They would lose their entire family and their century-old reputation in vain."

Although Xun Yu's words were mostly warnings, Chen Qun also understood to some extent how much power the prince now held. A hint of shock flashed in his eyes, and then he fell into deep thought.

How many years has it been since the Later Han Dynasty encountered such a heroic ruler?

Such a powerful ruler would naturally not allow his subjects to use his name to gain prestige.

In fact, Chen Ji's choice was not risky for traditional scholars, and refusing the prince's invitation was not a big deal.

Back then, the Four Elders of Shangshan had rejected Emperor Taizu Gao. Even when Emperor Taizu Gao was angry, he would just curse them as "dogs" and express his urge to pee in their hats.

In July, when the crown prince issued an edict to lift the ban on political parties, Chen Ji immediately rejected the invitations from five important officials of the government, namely, the prime minister Yuan Wei, the grand marshal Yang Ci, the minister of works Zhang Ji, the general of chariots and cavalry He Jin, and the general of guards Zhu Miao. So it seems that rejecting the crown prince was nothing.
However, Chen Ji did not realize that although the power of the Later Han emperor was mostly controlled by scholars and relatives, the power held by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was already comparable to that of Emperor Guangwu of the Second Han Dynasty.

He even thought that by refusing to meet such an unfilial prince, he could further enhance his own reputation and rely on his reputation to completely make the Yingchuan Chen family rise.

This is naturally unacceptable to the prince!
"Brother Wenruo, what do you think I should do?"

After listening to Xun Yu's narration, Chen Qun completely let go of the last bit of resentment in his heart.

As a wealthy family, their bottom line is always flexible and changeable.

Hey, it's nothing more than admitting defeat.

Temporary honor and disgrace are not worth mentioning compared with the family's inheritance and survival. Who will remember today decades later?
"Lord Yuan Fang will retire from now on, Changwen will be crowned early, take over the Yingchuan Chen family, and then serve in the Prince's Palace." Xun Yu said this in a decisive tone, and his eyes as he looked at Chen Qun showed that he could not afford to discuss matters.

Chen Qun nodded. This was within his expectations and he could make the decision without even asking his father.

Now, the Yingchuan Chen family can no longer allow his father to continue to serve as the head of the family because his father has become a huge joke. It is undisputed that he, the eldest son, will inherit the position of head of the family.

It is not uncommon for children of wealthy families to be crowned and given names in advance. As for taking up an official position while in mourning for their grandfather?
The family has reached a critical juncture facing life and death, who wouldn't care about these things?

Seeing that Chen Qun had no objection, Xun Yu nodded, and the smile on his face became even warmer.

Naturally, he would not go through the motions of acting as a middleman to win the last chance for the Yingchuan Chen family, despite the prince's wrath, just because of his friendship with Chen Qun.

But based on this favor, when he competes with Xun Shuang or his son Xun Wei for the position of head of the Xun family in Yingchuan in the future, Chen Qun will naturally return the favor.

　It's also quite funny. Xun Yu and Chen Qun are about the same age, but Chen Qun became Xun Yu's son-in-law. It's fun to go from being of the same generation to being younger.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)