Three Kingdoms: Liu Bei seeks the master and seeks to conquer the world

Chapter 158
Liu Bei said awe-inspiringly, "Since you are a conspiratorial uncle, I should invite you personally."

Going straight to the post house, Liu Bei saw Zhang Yi who was reminiscing with Zheng Xuan.

"Mr. Kang Cheng!"

"Father!"

Seeing Zheng Xuan present, Liu Bei and Zheng Ping hurried forward to salute.

Although Liu Bei is the shepherd of Qingzhou, he has no arrogance in front of Zheng Xuan, and still respects him.

Seeing Liu Bei and Zheng Ping coming, Zheng Xuan stroked his short beard and said with a smile: "Zixian, the old man just said that if Xuande hears about your coming, he will definitely come to invite you in person."

Zhang Yi was a little flattered: "With the face of my mentor, Yi is terrified."

Zheng Xuan recommended: "Xuande, this is Zhang Yi of Changshan, Biaozi Zixian, who is also from Gaomi, Beihai. He was a junior official in the county at the age of 13, and later resigned from his position to worship under the old man. My father saw him She is smart and studious, and she loves her very much, so she betrothed her younger sister to Zixian."

"Zixian, this is Lord Muxuande of Qingzhou, and brother Zigan's sect; this is the old man's second son, Xianmou. Speaking of which, you haven't been back to Qingzhou for nearly ten years, do you still recognize him?"

Zheng Ping said with a smile: "My uncle once gave you the gentleman's virtue sword, but my nephew still wears it to this day, how can my uncle not recognize it?"

In the old days when Zheng Xuan was imprisoned by the party, many disciples came to Gaomi County to give gifts and condolences. At that time, Shangshu Zuocheng Zhang Yi also returned to his hometown halfway, and presented Zheng Ping with a gentleman's sword.

Chat for a while.

Zhang Yidao clarified the purpose of his visit: "Mr. Xuande, this time I came to Qingzhou, I was ordered by the grandson of Changshan Kingdom to form an alliance with Qingzhou to fight against Yuan Shao."

Zheng Xuan couldn't help sighing secretly when he heard the words.

If we talk about the relationship between the Zheng family and the Yuan family, they are actually constantly cutting.

Zheng Xuan is a student of Ma Rong, and Ma Rong's daughter is Yuan Shao's aunt.

They could have lived in peace, but now they have become hostile due to the balance of their respective interests.

Zheng Ping looked at his words and saw the change in Zheng Xuan's eyes, so he suggested: "Master, since it is a business matter, let's go to the government office to hold a banquet and discuss it later."

Liu Bei hurriedly asked Zhang Yiyi: "Thanks to Xianmou for reminding me, I was rude, Mr. Zixian, how about going with me to the government office?"

Zhang Yi didn't dare to refuse. After bidding farewell to Zheng Xuan, he followed Liu Bei and left first.

Seeing Liu Bei and Zhang Yi leave, Zheng Xuan couldn't help but sighed aloud: "Xianmou, I also know that Qingzhou and Jizhou each have their own interests, but Xuande and Benchu ​​really can't value peace?"

Zheng Ping shook his feather fan lightly, his eyes were clear: "The great cause is unfinished, and it is difficult to care about personal relationships. Although the Zheng family has a relationship with the Yuan family, it is only a personal relationship, and the great cause cannot be delayed because of personal relationships."

"Fang is in turmoil today, half of which is caused by the Yuan family in Runan, and there is no reconciliation."

"Hail can only guarantee that on the premise of not delaying the great cause, some of Yuan's old feelings will be taken into consideration."

Zheng Xuan took a long breath: "Xianmou, if you want to achieve great success, your father will naturally spare no effort to support you. It's just that most of the celebrities and wealthy families in this world have some personal affairs."

"Don't press too hard and leave a stigma."

Zheng Ping chuckled: "Father, don't worry, the child knows how to measure. Do you want to go to the government office for a banquet together?"

Zheng Xuan shook his head: "Since it's a business matter, I won't go. Although I don't know how Xianmou and you have arranged the layout, Changshan Kingdom, if you can, you can keep it."

"After the matter is settled, let Zixian come to see the old man again."

Sending Zheng Xuan to the car, Zheng Ping got on his horse and arrived at the government office. Liu Bei had already prepared a banquet.

"Xianmou, isn't Duke Kang Cheng here yet?" Liu Bei looked behind Zheng Ping with some doubts.

Zheng Ping said with a smile: "Father is tired from teaching in school, so he went back to rest. I can discuss this matter later."

Liu Bei nodded, looked at Zhang Yi and asked, "Mr. Zixian, do you know how Yuan Shao got Jizhou?"

Zhang Yi sighed: "Gongsun Zan went south under the pretense of attacking Dong Zhuo, and wanted to attack Yecheng in a false way to destroy Guo; Han Fu knew that he was defeated by Gongsun Zan, so he handed over Jizhou Mu to Yuan Shao."

"Afterwards, Gongsun Zan withdrew his troops and returned to Youzhou."

Liu Bei was taken aback: "Brother Bogui? How could this happen!"

Gongsun Zan cooperated with Yuan Shao to go south, which was completely unexpected by Liu Bei.

Although Zheng Ping could guess it, he didn't tell Liu Bei this inference.

After all, Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan had an irreversible relationship. If he told Liu Bei rashly that Yuan Shao would probably unite with Gongsun Zan if he wanted to seize Jizhou, Liu Bei would never believe it.

Zhang Yi reported the information he learned to Liu Bei one by one.

"Brother Bogui, how could he be so unwise!" Liu Bei couldn't help complaining, "Brother Bogui would be stigmatized by attacking Yecheng for no reason, but Yuan Shao can gain the reputation of saving Yecheng."

Liu Bei was indignant.

Angry at Yuan Shao's calculation of Gongsun Zan, but also regretful that Gongsun Zan was easily fooled.

Zheng Ping asked aloud, "Mr. Yuan Hao, has he ever been to Changshan Kingdom?"

Zhang Yi nodded: "Duke Yuan Hao proposed to Prime Minister Sun that Changshan Kingdom should attach itself to Da Sima and prevent Yuan Shao from sending troops to Changshan Kingdom. Before I left, Duke Yuan Hao and Lieutenant Zhao had already gone to Zhuo County."

Zheng Ping stroked slightly, and had a clear understanding of the situation in Youji.

"General Gongsun went south to Yecheng, he must have been bewitched by Yuan Shao." Zheng Ping said carefully: "Now that Yuan Shao has fraudulently taken Jizhou and made General Gongsun bear the stigma, General Gongsun will not let it go."

"Youji war is about to start, so you have to make a decision as soon as possible."

Liu Bei froze: "Brother Bogui has suffered such a big loss, and he will definitely not bear this bad breath. He has [-] steps and rides, and may attack Jizhou at any time."

"This time it's Yuan Shao's fault, and I have to help Brother Bogui get rid of this bad breath."

Seeing Liu Bei's heroic spirit, Zheng Ping shook his head and advised, "Master, Qingzhou must not favor General Gongsun."

Liu Bei frowned: "Why is this? Don't favor Brother Bogui, do you favor Yuan Shao?"

Zheng Ping shook his feather fan lightly, and said in a concentrated voice: "Master, have you ever thought about why General Gongsun attacked Yecheng?"

Liu Bei said without hesitation, "Of course I was bewitched by Yuan Shao."

Zheng Ping restrained his face slightly: "Since he was bewitched by Yuan Shao, then Yuan Shao has to give out the benefits that General Gongsun wants to be able to be bewitched."

Liu Bei hesitated to speak, his eyes suddenly became complicated.

What benefits does Gongsun Zan want?
Of course it was Yecheng!

Although Gongsun Zan was tricked by Yuan Shao, it was because of Gongsun Zan's greed for Ye City that he was tricked.

"But even so, I can't just sit idly by." Liu Bei felt conflicted for a while.

Zheng Ping chuckled: "Naturally, you can't just sit idly by and let the king go to persuade you to make peace."

"Persuading peace?" Liu Bei's eyes were happy at first, then darkened, and then he shook his head and said, "No! I know Brother Bogui's personality well. If I try to persuade him, he will think that I am ungrateful and disregarding the old relationship."

Zheng Ping's bright eyes are wise: "Persuasion requires a balance of interests. If the interests are not enough, General Gongsun will naturally resent the envoy; but if the interests are enough, General Gongsun will only think that the envoy will help you out of righteousness."

Liu Bei immediately said joyfully: "It's a conspiracy, please explain it in detail."

Zheng Pingning said: "Yuan Shao knows that he has plotted against General Gongsun, so he will first go to the Grand Sima to sue General Gongsun for attacking Yecheng for no reason, and hope that the Grand Sima can restrain his subordinates."

"Grand Sima already had a quarrel with General Gongsun. Now that he sees General Gongsun attacking Yecheng under the guise of begging Dong, he will definitely be furious."

"However, even if Da Sima asks for the crime, General Gongsun will not pay attention."

"If the envoy does not intervene, the most likely thing is that General Gongsun will go south to attack Jizhou, and Da Sima will lead his troops to break his way back. General Gongsun, who has been attacked by the enemy, will turn around and attack Da Sima."

"In this way, Yuan Shao's misfortune will be diverted to the east, and Da Sima will officially break with General Gongsun."

Liu Bei was indignant: "It's not enough for Yuan Shao to disturb Jizhou, but also to disturb Youzhou, which is simply hateful!"

Zheng Ping's eyes froze: "It is inevitable that the emperor will move westward and the heroes of the Kanto region will fight for power."

"Today's Qingzhou does not really have the power to deter the heroes. It can only use tactics to balance the interests of all parties as much as possible."

Liu Bei sighed helplessly: "How does Xianmou plan to act?"

Zheng Ping looked at Zhang Yi: "Although Changshan Kingdom intends to form an alliance with Qingzhou, Qingzhou cannot directly form an alliance with Changshan Kingdom."

Zhang Yi's heart tightened: "Nephew, why is this? If you can't form an alliance with Qingzhou, how can you deter Yuan Shao?"

Zheng Ping chuckled: "Yuan Shao wanted to bring disaster to the east, so that the conflict between Da Sima and General Gongsun increased sharply, and Qingzhou was too far away from Changshan Kingdom; if Yuan Shao really wanted to send troops to Changshan Kingdom, neither Qingzhou nor Da Sima would be able to cope. "

"Since that's the case, why not let Changshan Kingdom attach itself to General Gongsun?"

"In this way, General Gongsun will benefit, and Yuan Shao will not dare to attack Changshan easily. The conflict between Da Sima and General Gongsun will not intensify, and General Gongsun will also be grateful to the envoy."

"Similarly, there is no need for war between Youji and Youzhou for the time being, and everyone is happy."

Zhang Yining said: "But when Gongsun Zan won Changshan Kingdom, it would be very easy for him to attack Wei County. Once there is a conflict, wouldn't Changshan Kingdom be plunged into war?"

Zheng Ping's eyes froze: "Uncle, the conflict between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao can only be reconciled temporarily, it is impossible to solve it fundamentally!"

"Although Shijun has great ambitions to bring peace to the world, Qingzhou now needs time to gain momentum."

"In troubled times, it is not easy to protect the environment and the people. If you can't look at the general trend of the world, even if you can survive for a while, you will only be buried by the torrent of this troubled world."

"With General Gongsun stationed in Changshan Kingdom, at least there will be no more war disasters before the autumn harvest."

"The time that Qingzhou can buy for Changshan Kingdom is limited to this."

"During the autumn harvest, the black bandits who are short of food will also plunge Changshan into war."

Although there is a solution, neither Zhang Yi nor Liu Bei is happy.

Liu Bei's eyes were complicated: "Xianmou, the war in Yanyu has not stopped, the war in Youji is inevitable, Luoyang's fight against Dong Zhan has also fallen into a stalemate, and the Han Dynasty has fallen into the disaster of war one after another. How should Qingzhou choose?"

The general situation in the world is getting more and more complicated, and Liu Bei feels a sense of powerlessness in his heart.

Although Qingzhou was barely kept, the general situation of the world changed too fast, so fast that Liu Bei, who was already walking on thin ice, had to worry about Qingzhou being difficult to keep.

Even though a large number of civil and military sages were gathered under his command, and there was an imperial decree to confer Qingzhou pastor, Liu Bei's heart was still extremely heavy at the moment.

Seeing that Liu Bei was a little depressed, Zheng Ping laughed and stood up.

Walking lightly, the mountains and rivers seem to be under your feet, and the feather fans are waving, and the mountains and rivers are in the palm of your hand.

"In the past, the royal family of Zhou was in decline. All the princes looked down on the emperor of Zhou, disrespected the royal order, and attacked without authorization. Even the barbarians around them also took the opportunity to attack. The authority of the royal family of Zhou was abandoned like a pair of shoes."

"So Duke Huan of Qi met with the princes in Kuiqiu, and declared the world as a hegemon: respect the Zhou family, ban barbarians, forbid usurpation, and suppress mergers. If there is any violation of the authority of the Zhou royal family, Duke Huan of Qi will intervene and stop it."

"This is the old story of the Spring and Autumn Period recorded in "The Legend of Gongyang in the Spring and Autumn Period": Respect the king and fight against the barbarians."

"Nowadays, the authority of the Han Dynasty is also abandoned by all the heroes in the world. The states, counties and countries do not agree with each other, and they are also attacking without authorization and pursuing their own interests."

"At this time, the envoy should follow the old example of Duke Huan of Qi's Kuiqiu meeting: respect the Han family, ban barbarians and di, prohibit usurpation, and suppress annexation!"

"If there is any violation of the authority of the Han Dynasty, the emperor can ask for an imperial edict!"

"Before persuading peace, you can send someone to Chang'an to ask for an edict, present the plan of persuading peace to the emperor, and ask the emperor to forgive the crime of exceeding his authority!"

"The attitude must be humble, and you must praise the wisdom and benevolence of the emperor more, so that the emperor has a sense of participation and accomplishment."

Liu Bei hesitated and said, "But now Dong Zhuo is in control of the government, how can this memorial be delivered to the hands of Emperor Chang'an?"

Zheng Ping said with a smile: "Although Dong Zhuo controls the government, he is still a courtier of the Han Dynasty in name, and he also needs everyone in the world to recognize the legitimacy of Emperor Chang'an."

"Sending Liu Ai to Qingzhou was originally intended to win over the envoy. As long as the orthodoxy of Emperor Chang'an is emphasized in the memorial, Dong Zhuo will not stop him!"

Liu Bei suddenly realized: "The meaning of the conspiracy is to temporarily use Dong Zhuo's power to maintain the authority of the Han Dynasty. Use Dong Zhuo's power to counter Yuan Shao and others?"

Zheng Ping held his fan and cupped his hands: "The Lord is wise! Dong Zhuo coerced the emperor to order the world, and the emperor can also respect the emperor to control disobedience."

Liu Bei pondered, thinking about the pros and cons of this strategy.

a long time.

Liu Bei asked: "But now that Master Lu is attacking Dong Zhuo in Luoyang, if I submit a memorial at this time, isn't it going against the grain of Master Lu's campaign against Dong Zhuo?"

Zheng Ping laughed and said: "Your envoy is worrying too much! Uncle begs for Dong, in the name of Dong Zhuo abolishing the emperor and violating the etiquette of being a minister. The envoy's memorandum shows that he respects the emperor of Chang'an, and the two are not in conflict!"

"Uncle is not a pedantic person. Even if he succeeds in seeking Dong, this emperor can only be the emperor of Chang'an, and will not become another clan king."

"What the envoy has to do now is to let the emperor of Chang'an and the ministers know that there is still a state shepherd who can ask for imperial edicts!"

"Of course, the difficulty of Qingzhou makes you have to mention as much as possible in the memorial."

"There is a folk saying: A crying child gets milk, but a sensible child gets no pain."

"Although the Son of Heaven is young, to his courtiers, he is still like a parent who needs to be coaxed!"

Zhang Yi on the side was stunned.

Is this to make Liu Bei learn from courtiers and flatter him?
Liu Bei pondered, he and Zhang Yi had different ideas.

Zheng Ping's theory:
High emotional intelligence: Let the emperor have a sense of participation and accomplishment, and the monarch and his subjects are in harmony.

Low emotional intelligence: flatterers who slander and flatter.

And Liu Bei's theory:

I wish I could swim with the emperor's arms, have a long talk with the emperor, and fall asleep with my feet
　There is one more before twelve o'clock

　　
　
(End of this chapter)