Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 190: Carving the Thousand Character Classic, Liu Bei Promotes Simplified Characters (Seeking updates and monthly votes)
Lujiang.

Upon learning that Yuan Shu had sent official seals and appointment documents to Sun Jian and Lu Kang respectively, and that Yuan Shu had offered a reward for Yuan Shu's head, Liu Dai was both shocked and furious: "Yuan Shu, you dog of a traitor, how dare you deceive me!"

To try to turn Sun Jian and Lu Kang against Liu Dai in front of him is not only slapping Liu Dai in the face, but also spitting on his face.

Although Liu Dai acknowledged that after Yuan Shu arrived in Shouchun, many prefectures and counties in Yangzhou responded to him, this did not mean that Liu Dai would tolerate Yuan Shu's arrogance.

"Sun Polu, I hereby appoint you as the vanguard to launch a campaign against Yuan Shu starting today!" Liu Dai was quite angry with Yuan Shu and wished he could immediately rush to Shouchun and kill him.

Sun Jian did not respond immediately, but frowned and reminded him: "My lord, there are many people in Lujiang Commandery who secretly surrender to Yuan Shu because they admire his reputation. We can still suppress them with our troops in Lujiang. If we send troops to attack Yuan Shu, I'm afraid Lujiang will be lost."

Liu Dai was furious. Seeing Sun Jian hesitate, he said coldly, "Does Sun Polu want to join Yuan Shu's forces again? General of Chariots and Cavalry and Governor of Yu Province is indeed better than a mere General Polu."

Sun Jian's expression changed drastically, and he spoke with resentment: "I have been diligent in all matters since I entered Lujiang, so why does Your Excellency doubt me?"

Seeing Sun Jian's dissatisfaction and indignant tone, Liu Dai became even angrier: "I ordered you to be the vanguard to attack Yuan Shu, but you refused. Shouldn't I be suspicious of you?"

Sun Jian was even more furious, and was about to speak when Lu Kang stopped him.

Because Sun Jian had once helped Lu Kang's nephew, Lu Kang had a good impression of Sun Jian and, not wanting to see Sun Jian and Liu Dai continue their dispute, he spoke up:

"Lord Liu, I also believe that now is not the time to attack Yuan Shu."

Upon seeing that it was Lu Kang who spoke, Liu Dai's momentum weakened by three points.

If it weren't for Lu Kang's help in the past, Liu Dai would have ended up like Cao Cao, unable to even set foot in Yangzhou.

"Why does Prefect Lu think this is not the right time?" Liu Dai asked impatiently. "With Prefect Lu stationed at Lu Kang, Sun Polu as the vanguard, and me leading the main army behind, why should we worry about not destroying Yuan Shu?"

"Yuan Shu boasts of having an army of 100,000, but in my opinion, it's nothing but bluff. He was first killed by the General in Guanzhong, forced to cut off his beard and abandon his robe, and then he was killed by the General in Pei, forced to flee in panic. Now he's barely clinging to life in Shouchun, and we can defeat him in one battle!"

"Once Yuan Shu is defeated, those in Yangzhou who have sided with him will no longer dare to contend with me. I can then pacify all the counties of Yangzhou with a single proclamation!"

If we only consider strategy, Liu Dai's strategy was correct.

Yuan Shu may seem very strong, but in reality, he has been on the run for more than a year, fleeing from Guanzhong to Wancheng, from Wancheng to Runan, from Runan to Peiguo, and from Peiguo to Huainan.

During this period, they either cut off their beards and abandoned their robes or fled in panic. Apart from bluffing, none of their subordinates were capable of fighting.

It was only by relying on the Yuan family's century-long accumulation of resources and their locust-like approach that they created the illusion of being powerful wherever they went.

However, the problem is...

Although Yuan Shu appeared strong on the outside but was weak on the inside, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and he was still not someone Liu Dai could easily bully.

Liu Bei first sent Liu Dai to seek Lu Kang's support, and then sent Sun Jian to assist Liu Dai.

As a result, a year had passed since the Battle of Guanzhong, and Liu Dai had still not established a reputation in Yangzhou.

Even after Yuan Shu fled to Shouchun and raised the Yuan family banner, the powerful families of Lujiang County stopped listening to Liu Dai.

The paper includes Lu Kang.

In terms of martial prowess, there is Sun Jian.

Anyone else could have fought their way from Lujiang to Kuaiji.

Although Liu Dai's surname was Liu, he ultimately lacked courage.

Liu Biao, from next door, rode alone into Yicheng, and then killed fifty-five bandits at a banquet, which frightened Zhang Hu and Chen Sheng of Xiangyang into surrendering the city.

Within a year, he had taken control of Nanyang Commandery, Nan Commandery, and Jiangxia Commandery, and then issued proclamations to Changsha Commandery, Guiyang Commandery, Lingling Commandery, and Wuling Commandery.

Although there were still some dissent within Jingzhou, it can be said that they had crossed the Han River and were far superior to Liu Dai.

Sun Jian and Lu Kang also understood the situation in Yangzhou, which is why they were unwilling to send troops to attack Yuan Shu.

Otherwise, as soon as he leaves, chaos will break out in Lujiang.

Not to mention the distant future, Zhou Xin, the former governor of Danyang who was appointed governor of Xuzhou by Yuan Shu, would first lead his troops to occupy Lujiang.

That being said, Liu Dai lacked self-awareness.

Even with Lu Kang's persuasion, Liu Dai still insisted on attacking Shouchun, firmly believing: "Zhou Xin and Yuan Shu have always been at odds, so why would he help Yuan Shu?"

Seeing that Sun Jian and Lu Kang were unwilling to send troops, Liu Dai became angry and said, "If you two really want to support Yuan Shu, you can kill me and go to Yuan Shu to claim credit! If you two are unwilling to support Yuan Shu, then obey my military orders. I am the governor of Yangzhou!"

Seeing that Liu Dai was blinded by anger, Lu Kang stopped Sun Jian from getting angry and said, "In that case, let's do as Lord Liu wishes."

Despite being pulled on the sleeve several times by Lu Kang, Sun Jian suppressed his reluctance and replied, "This humble general, Sun Jian, is willing to be the vanguard!"

Liu Dai laughed loudly: "Good! With the help of Sun Polu and Prefect Lu, why worry about not being able to destroy Yuan Shu?"

They arrived outside the mansion.

Sun Jian could no longer contain his anger: "Shouchun is a fortified city, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It cannot be captured in a short time. Moreover, the troops that have been sent out are exhausted, and Lujiang is undefended. If Zhou Xin takes advantage of this, the rear will surely be unable to withstand the attack. We cannot advance and cannot retreat. If we insist on sending troops, disaster will surely follow."

"Prefect Lu is also a man knowledgeable in military affairs, so why must he agree to attack Shouchun?"

If Yuan Shu had no advantageous city or terrain, Sun Jian would have volunteered to lead the troops even without Liu Dai's order.

But now Yuan Shu is holding the fortified city of Shouchun. Even with a ragtag army of 100,000, the city's strategic location makes it difficult for Sun Jian to conquer.

not to mention.

Yuan Shu had just declared himself emperor, and his civil and military officials were all full of fighting spirit, eager for an opportunity to fight a war to establish their own kingdom. Liu Dai's decision to go and die at this time was tantamount to bolstering Yuan Shu's prestige.

If you can't beat Liu Bei, can't you at least beat Liu Dai?

“Sun Polu, I understand your feelings.” Lu Kang sighed softly and said slowly, “But now Yuan Shu has given us seals and documents, which is intended to sow discord. If the two of us do not obey Liu Shijun’s orders, we will truly fall into Yuan Shu’s trap of sowing discord.”

"The governors of Jing and Yang provinces have a blood oath. It would be better to send someone to Jiangxia to persuade the Jiangxia troops to help defend Lujiang. Even if Zhou Xin attacks, Lujiang can still be held."

Sun Jian sneered: "Lord Liu knows that there is a blood oath alliance with Jingzhou, but he is unwilling to join forces with Jingzhou to attack Yuan Shu. He must want to destroy Yuan Shu alone to achieve great merit. If Prefect Lu goes to Jiangxia to make arrangements for the troops in private, he may be hated by Lord Liu in the future."

"It's alright." Lu Kang said dismissively, "At my age, even if I'm hated, it's just a minor grudge. Defending Lujiang is the important thing. Besides, with Yuan Shu declaring himself emperor, how could the court not take action? The General will surely send orders to Jingzhou to send troops to attack Yuan Shu."

As Lu Kang predicted, Liu Bei did indeed have a countermeasure.

After Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, Zhang Jiong sent the news back to Luoyang. Therefore, on the fifth day after Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, the military order for Liu Biao and Liu Dai to attack Yuan Shu was sent to Xiangyang. Because Lujiang was far away and the road was blocked by Yuan Shu, the order had to be sent through Jiangxia, which is why it was delayed.

Although Liu Biao received the imperial edict to attack Yuan Shu, he did not send troops.

Instead, he submitted a memorial citing the numerous supporters of Liu Yu and Yuan Shu in Jingzhou, requesting that the internal troubles in Jingzhou be quelled before launching a military campaign against Yuan Shu. The blood oath remained a blood oath.

After Liu Biao took control of the seven commanderies of Jingzhou, power gave him a voice.

As a renowned scholar who had participated in the Imperial College student movement and was imprisoned by the Party, Liu Biao and Liu Bei had serious differences in their governing philosophies.

Although both Liu Biao and Liu Bei had used the method of killing clan leaders to take control of the region, Liu Biao did not agree with Liu Bei's new policies and laws, and neither did Kuai Yue, Kuai Liang, Cai Mao, and others who supported Liu Biao.

Why did the Kuai and Cai families support Liu Biao?

Isn't it just about becoming the most powerful and influential family in Jingzhou?
Liu Bei's new policies aimed to prevent powerful clans from annexing land and houses, as well as controlling private slaves.

How could Kuai Cai and others possibly agree to that?
Without land, houses, or private slaves, what difference is there between the Kuai and Cai families and the poor scholars in Jingzhou?
Because of his past reputation, Liu Biao also attracted a large number of scholars to join him. These scholars followed Liu Biao in pursuit of wealth and status, which were most directly manifested in money, grain, land, houses, and private slaves.

Therefore, under the advice of Kuai Cai and others, Liu Biao chose to ignore Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as emperor.

The intention is self-evident: Liu Bei, you are the great general, go and attack Yuan Shu, and I can keep Jingzhou from becoming chaotic.

Even when Lu Kang sent someone to request assistance in defending Lujiang, Liu Biao only had Huang Zu feign agreement.

Although they were both members of the Liu clan, Liu Biao looked down on Liu Dai.

First, Liu Dai's talent and reputation were too poor; second, Liu Dai did not achieve anything after staying in Lujiang for a year.

What Liu Biao found even more ridiculous was that in order to send troops to fight Yuan Shu, he actually asked Jiangxia to assist in the defense of Lujiang.

If you don't have the ability, don't embarrass yourself.

Liu Biao received a military order but declined it with a reason, while Liu Dai, without receiving a military order, rushed to send troops.

Although their approaches differed, they all revealed their respective ambitions.

"Just as I thought, these two are unreliable."

Upon receiving the news, Liu Bei was not angered by it.

It was expected; it was just a matter of time.

On the contrary, Gai Xun of Xuzhou sent a messenger on horseback to Luoyang to inquire whether to send troops to attack Yuan Shu.

Liu Bei did not send Gai Xun to lead troops, but instead instructed him to focus on defense.

Xun Yu was then sent to Chen County to command the governors of Pei (Yuan Huan), Liang (Chen Ji), Chen (Luo Jun), Yingchuan (Mao Jie), and Runan (Man Chong), in coordination with Zhang Liao of Xiaopei, Xu Chu of Qiao County, and the Gebei troops under He Yi, Huang Shao, and Gong Du, to defend Yuzhou.

Mao Jie and Man Chong were both appointed by Liu Bei after he defeated the rebels in the three provinces.

When Mao Jie was young, he was a county official known for his integrity and impartiality. Due to the war, he planned to go to Jingzhou to avoid the chaos. When he passed through Yingchuan, he was met by Xun Yu. After assessing his talent and character, Xun Yu recommended him to Liu Bei, who then appointed Mao Jie as the governor of Yingchuan.

Man Chong was someone Cao Cao had known after he withdrew from Shanyang Commandery and turned to attack Taishan Commandery. He was certain that Ying Shao, the governor of Shanyang Commandery, could not hold Shanyang Commandery, so he also went south to Yuzhou to avoid disaster and was recognized by Yuan Huan.

Because of his integrity, strict adherence to the law, and fearlessness of powerful figures, Yuan Huan wrote to Liu Bei, intending to recommend Man Chong for a position as Minister of Justice.

Liu Bei was worried about not having a suitable person to serve as the governor of Runan. After receiving Yuan Huan's recommendation, he personally examined Man Chong's talent and courage and appointed Man Chong as the governor of Runan.

At the same time, he was given the position of an official in General Manchong's mansion.

The reason for this was to give Man Chong a protective identity, so as to prevent him from abandoning his post and running away after executing the corrupt inspector, just like when he was acting as the magistrate of Gaoping County.

In other words, Liu Bei wanted Man Chong to act freely in Runan, with the General's Mansion to protect him from any problems.

After instructing the governors of Yu and Xu provinces to prioritize defense, Liu Bei paid no further attention to Yuan Shu, who had declared himself emperor.

The purpose of secretly having Zhang Jiong instigate Yuan Shu to declare himself emperor was not to eliminate Yuan Shu, but to make Yuan Shu fight against Yuan Shao. At the same time, it was also to get the officials, scholars, commoners, powerful families and clans in various prefectures and counties who opposed the new policies to take the initiative to speak out.

Since the new policy has been chosen, all those who oppose it must be suppressed. Only in this way can Liu Bei's new policy achieve the desired effect.

During the time he feigned illness, Liu Bei did not do nothing.

Now that Liu Yu and Yuan Shu have successively declared themselves emperors, the rebel forces have split in two and are no longer willing to submit, giving Liu Bei time to implement new policies.

This wave.

Liu Bei is about to unleash his full power.

In order to unleash the potential of nearly one million households in the seven commanderies of Siyong, Liu Bei wrote out Zhou Xingsi's "Thousand Character Classic" in simplified characters, compared it with the simplified characters of the Xiping Stone Classics, and annotated each character of the "Thousand Character Classic".

Similarly, eighteen steles were engraved on stone tablets and erected in front of the Imperial Academy Lecture Hall outside Kaiyang Gate in the south of Luoyang City. The steles were about ten feet high and four feet wide, corresponding to the forty-six steles of the Xiping Stone Classics.

The classics engraved on the Xiping Stone Classics included the Book of Changes, the Book of Documents, the Book of Poetry, the Book of Rites, the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Gongyang Commentary, and the Analects.

Liu Bei erected a stone tablet with simplified Chinese characters and the corresponding simplified Chinese characters of the "Thousand Character Classic" on the opposite side of the Xiping Stone Classic, also to facilitate students' mutual reference.

The font used was Liu Bei's most proficient style, the Slender Gold style, which had become famous at Hongdu Gate because of Jian Yong, and it corresponds to the clerical script of the Xiping Stone Classics.

The Thousand Character Classic on these eighteen steles was not created by Liu Bei alone. The simplified version of the Thousand Character Classic and its annotations were written by Liu Bei, while the version with complex characters and its annotations were completed with the assistance of Cai Yong, Lu Zhi, Wang Yun, Ma Ridi, and Yang Biao.

The carving of the steles was a task that Liu Bei accomplished by hiring over a thousand craftsmen and employing three thousand strong men, taking thirty days to complete.

Since Liu Bei wrote this himself, he could no longer use Lu Zhi's name. Lu Zhi dared not cover up for Liu Bei in front of Cai Yong, Wang Yun, Ma Ridi, and Yang Biao.

Instead, he simply said, "Xuande has achieved academic success, and I should help him to make this a great success."

The reason for seeking out Cai Yong and the other four was to leverage their reputations, especially Cai Yong, Lu Zhi, Ma Ridi, and Yang Biao, all of whom had participated in the collation of books at the Dongguan Academy and each had their own family tradition of scholarship.

Wang Yun was just an afterthought.

This was also to give the old man, who had been tricked by Liu Bei and forced to cut himself off from the powerful clans, a kind of honorary compensation.

Since Qin Shi Huang unified the written language, the Qin and Han dynasties have been simplifying Chinese characters.

The transition from seal script to clerical script was a process of continuous simplification, and Liu Bei simplified it to its extreme.

Throughout history, apart from art lovers, no one really enjoys writing complicated characters.

This powerful move has been unleashed.

The complex characters were officially replaced with simplified characters that are easier to remember and write. The Thousand Character Classic presents the commonly used characters in a way that is neat, orderly, plain, and easy to recite and remember.

Upon its release, it immediately caused a sensation in Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)