I, Liu Bian, the hero

Chapter 95
Yes, Liu Bian really wanted to protect Jushou.

The reason is very simple. Firstly, he appreciates Jushou's determination in history that he would rather die than turn his back on his master. Secondly, Jushou is indeed a rare talent. Even Cao Cao praised him with emotion: "If you get together early, there is nothing to worry about in the world. "

In history, Ju Shou once advised Yuan Shao to welcome the emperor and coerce the emperor to command the princes. Unfortunately, Yuan Shao listened to Chun Yuqiong and others, and missed the opportunity to start righteousness.

During the Battle of Guandu, Ju Shou persuaded Yuan Shaomo to send Yan Liang as the general, thinking that Yan Liang was brave and intrepid, and should not be entrusted with important tasks. Unfortunately, Yuan Shao still refused to listen. As a result, Yan Liang was beheaded by Cao Cao, and the good situation was handed over.

Similar examples abound, but even though Jushou's suggestions were repeatedly rejected by Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao even suspected that he had too much power, he ordered Jushou to divide his troops between Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong. When Cao Jun captured him, he still shouted and refused to surrender.

What's more, Cao Cao had an old relationship with Jushou and couldn't bear to kill him. Even if Jushou refused to surrender and treated him favorably, he was not much better than Guan Yu later, but Jushou still stole horses at night and wanted to escape back to Yuan Shao.

How could Liu Bian not love such a loyal minister who would never betray his master as long as he recognized it?
Not to mention that in history, at the beginning of Jushou's defection to Yuan Shao, he proposed to the latter to "restore the ancestral temple in Luoyi, order the world, so that it will never be restored", hoping that Yuan Shao will become a person who helps the Han Dynasty. It can be seen that he also has the Han Dynasty in his heart .

It can only be said that Jushou's vision and talent are comparable to Xun You and Xun Yu's talents, but he was wrong in choosing the lord, or the aura of the fourth and third Yuan family was so dazzling that he couldn't see clearly. Yuan Shao's nature of being lenient on the outside and taboo on the inside delayed his talents.

Considering that Liu Bian currently has many generals under his command, but lacks visionary advisers, he naturally hopes to take this opportunity to recruit Jushou.

As for Jushou is a scholar, or his heart is for the scholar class, how does this hinder Liu Bian?
Aren't Lu Zhi, Yang Xu's father and son, Cui Lie's father and son, and Cao Song's father and son all scholars?

What Liu Bian and Emperor Ling want to suppress are those groups of scholars who try to wrestle with the imperial power, not the entire class of scholars. Groups are groups, classes are classes. Not to mention that the class of scholars will never be eliminated. If the class really disappeared, it would be equivalent to removing the backbone of the entire Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty would come to an end.

After all, in this era, it is almost impossible for ordinary people to be able to assist the emperor in governing the country. Those who are capable are basically gentry, whether they are poor or rich.

While Liu Bian was thinking, Ju Shou, Liu Yu, Huan Dian, and Cui Jun also looked at him with different expressions.

Not only Jushou felt it, but Liu Yu, Huan Dian, and Cui Jun who were beside him also saw that Liu Bian wanted to protect Jushou. After all, what Liu Bian said just now was too far-fetched, that is, Liu Bian and the prince had the same status, so it was so capricious.

After a moment of silence, Huan Dian coughed and said in a low voice, "Shihou, please take a step to speak."

Liu Bian didn't refuse either, nodded and stood up, and followed Huan Dian for a dozen steps. During this period, Liu Yu and Cui Jun looked at each other and followed.

Reckoning that this distance was enough, Huan Dian stopped, turned around and clasped his fists towards Liu Bian, and asked with a puzzled face, "Shihou, do you want to protect this Jushou?"

Seeing Huan Dian's direct questioning, Liu Bian didn't make any excuses. After all, it would be too insulting to make jokes in this situation.

"Yes, I admire this person very much." He nodded.

At this time, Cui Jun and Liu Yu also came here. Hearing Liu Bian's words, Cui Jun took advantage of his father and son's good relationship with this Marquis Shi, and teased with a strange expression: "Why? I don't think this person is here again. Has a loyal face?"

Liu Bian rolled his eyes, and said to Cui Jun angrily: "If Cui Qing always likes to talk like this, she probably got beaten by Cui Situ when she was young."

"what."

Cui Jun was amused when he heard the words, nodded and said: "Thinking about it carefully, when I was young, I was beaten by my father a lot..."

As he said that, he put away his smile, looked at Liu Bian seriously and asked, "Then, why?"

Of course Liu Bian knew that Cui Jun and Cui Zhouping were quite decent people. If his explanation could not convince the other party, even if Situ Cui Lie came forward, Cui Jun would probably not change his mind.

Thinking of this, he sternly said to Liu Yu, Huan Dian, and Cui Jun: "As far as I can see, that Jushou is the only one among Wang Fen's group who has silently pleaded guilty and has no intention of sophistry. Here, righteous men, let him be killed." It's a pity."

Huan Dian, Cui Jun, and Liu Yu frowned when they heard the words, and after being reminded by Liu Bian, the three of them also remembered the behavior of Ju Shou after he was arrested, and felt a little pity in their hearts.

Especially Liu Yu.

In fact, Emperor Ling handed over the interrogation of Wang Fen and the others to Huan Dian and Cui Jun, and it had nothing to do with Liu Yu.

But Liu Yu chose to come to listen, because he didn't want too many people to be implicated.

After all, this time involves the serious crime of rebellion and rebellion. According to the law, three families should be punished, namely, the father's family, the mother's family, and the wife's family. Considering that all the people involved this time are scholars, there should be no dozens of people in the family of the scholar family. Hundreds of people?
In other words, if one person is sentenced to three clans, hundreds or even hundreds of people will be beheaded.

As for Wang Fen's subordinates, wouldn't they want to kill everyone?
This made Liu Yu unbearable.

Therefore, after Liu Bian opened his mouth, he also stood by and said, "What Your Highness said is very true. It is a pity to kill such a righteous man. It is better to make him repent."

"..."

Huan Dian and Cui Jun frowned, and couldn't help but look at each other.

Liu Bian secretly guessed that the two of them were probably muttering about the benevolence of Liu Yu's wife in their hearts. After all, Liu Yu's words sounded too naive to him.

But this is Liu Yu, a gentleman who cherishes the beauty of the world and hopes for peace in the world.

In history, he and Gongsun Zan fought each other because of Gongsun Zan's cruel massacre of foreigners. Liu Yu kept persuading him many times, and the conflict between the two sides broke up after intensification. It was unbearable, so he sent troops to attack Gongsun Zan.

Even before the attack, Liu Yu clearly told his subordinates: "Don't hurt people too much, just kill Gongsun Zan alone."

Because of this woman's benevolence, Liu Yu, who clearly had an absolute advantage, was caught by Gongsun Zan because he couldn't bear to set fire to the houses of the people in the city when he attacked the city. The latter set fire to the city by himself and caused chaos. When the army was in a panic, they led hundreds of people to attack Liu Yu directly, and defeated the strong with the weak.

If it weren't for Liu Yu's merciless treatment of rebellious officials and rebels like Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun, it would be Song Xianggong reborn.

Of course, although he thought so in his heart, considering that Liu Yu was on his side at the moment, Liu Bian naturally couldn't say anything, waiting for Huan Dian and Cui Jun's reply.

I saw the two exchanged eyes, and then Huan Dian frowned first and said: "Your Highness, Mr. Bo An, that Ju Shou is certainly a hero, and I feel pity for him, but since this person has admitted that he has a relationship with Wang Fen If you are an accomplice, you should be punished according to the law... Otherwise, the two of us will not be able to explain to His Majesty, and the majesty of the court will not be able to deter non-subjects."

"What General Zhong Lang said is very true." Cui Jun also nodded in agreement.

Unlike the previous Zhang He, Zhang He had no one to prove that he conspired with Wang Fen, and secondly, when the rebels fought with his army last night, Zhang He did not show up much. Perhaps, as this person said, he felt affected. Wang Fen cheated and escaped first, so Cui Jun, for Liu Bian's sake, didn't matter if he let Zhang He go.

But Jushou is different. This person is the governor of the state, and he is an official of the state government. Compared with Zhang He, he is more suspected of conspiring with Wang Fen, not to mention that Jushou even admitted it.
At the end, because he didn't want to offend Shi Hou, Huan Dian said helplessly: "... unless there is an amnesty from the emperor."

Convince Emperor Ling?

What's so hard about this?
The hard part is persuading Jushou.

Liu Bian thought up his speech almost instantly, and after bidding farewell to Huan Dian and the others, he hurried back to the old house.

Ju Shou saw Huan Dian, Cui Jun, and Liu Yu coming back, but saw Liu Bian leaving in a hurry, he couldn't help asking Cui Jun, "That Your Highness...gone?"

Cui Jun looked Jushou up and down, shook his head and said, "No, Shihou has gone to plead with His Majesty for you."

Jushou was taken aback, and looked at the direction Liu Bian was leaving with emotion, but saw Zhao Chun rushing towards him, and when he came to Jushou, he frowned and said to Jushou: "Your Highness forgot when he was leaving, and specially ordered our family to warn you , be careful."

"..."

Ju Shou opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

On the other hand, Huan Dian looked a little helpless, saying to Cui Jun, "Should we try other people first? Or wait for Shi Hou to come back?"

"Let's interrogate the others first." Cui Jun smiled wryly.

So, the two ordered Huben Shi to take Jushou down and bring others for interrogation.

At the same time, Liu Bian had brought Xia Houyuan, Zhang He, a group of Yulin cavalry and eunuchs with swords to the main hall of the old house.

At this time, Emperor Ling was drinking and congratulating with the visiting officials in the main hall. Liu Bian ordered an eunuch to enter the room and said a few words to Zhang Rang, who then listened to Emperor Ling.

Not long after, Emperor Ling brought Zhang Rang outside the house under the pretext of going to the toilet. Zhang Yun's eyes were straightened, and he didn't know how to politely ask Xia Houyuan, but Xia Houyuan ignored him and could only stand silently.

But Emperor Ling didn't notice Zhang He, and slightly drunk, he smiled and argued to Liu: "Didn't my son go to watch the interrogation, why did he come back again? Could it be that there was something wrong?"

"That's not true." Liu Biangong cupped his hands and said, "Huan and Cui will interrogate in an orderly manner, but Governor Liu is a little worried."

"Liu Bo'an?" Lingdi asked in confusion, "What is he worried about?"

After all, he guessed before Liu Bian opened his mouth, and asked with a frown, "Did he intercede for those people?"

"Yes, and no." Liu Bian shook his head and said, "Inspector Liu deeply hated the traitor who really conspired with Wang Fen, and he didn't intend to plead for mercy at all, but I think what he meant was that he only wanted to kill Wang Fen and Chen Yi, forgive the rest, and may also include Wang Fen's family."

"Huh!" Emperor Ling snorted softly, but he didn't say much, presumably he knew Liu Yu's character well.

Seeing this, Liu Bian pretended to be thoughtful and said, "Father, regarding Wang Fen's remaining people, I feel that there may be a better way to attack those talkative people other than to deter them with entanglements."

"How to say?" Lingdi asked with interest.

I saw Liu Bian cupped his hands and said in a low voice: "If the father implicates all those involved in the incident, those who talk about it may criticize the court for intentionally framing Wang Fen, but if the people who previously conspired with Wang Fen turn against each other and testify against Wang Fen, It will definitely make the group of people who are talking about it in the government and the public speechless. ... Cough, shouldn't these words also come from the mouth of my son?"

"..."

Seeing that Liu Bian was still remembering the previous incident, Lingdi glanced at his son angrily, then stroked his beard and thought about what the latter said.

It is undeniable that rather than getting involved and killing people, he really hopes to discredit Wang Fen and the group of talkative people who flaunt each other.

"Those people are willing to testify?"

"Naturally." Liu Bian spread out his hands and said, "It's not that my father didn't see the ugly behavior of those people kowtowing and begging for mercy. Presumably, as long as they can survive, no matter what father asks them to do, they will not dare to disobey."

"Okay." Emperor Ling nodded when he heard the words, "Then let's save these people's lives for the time being. When we return to Luoyang, ask them to lead Wang Fen's prison car to patrol the streets and tell the world about Wang Fen's rebellion."

"Yes!" Liu Bian cupped his hands.

Just like what he had thought before, it is not difficult to convince Emperor Ling, but it is difficult to convince Jushou.

(End of this chapter)