Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 388: The Brilliance of Red Cliff (Part )

The winter of the second year of Yuan'an must have been cold for the people of Dayu.

After all, two of the three major forces in the world have announced their cooperation, giving up their old grievances and starting to form an alliance.

They jointly raised the banner of "Great Han" and began to declare that they belonged to the real Great Han and inherited the legacy of the Great Han, so the scholars of the world should be loyal to them.

This statement was indeed recognized by some scholars, or rather, by a large majority of scholars.

These people miss the powerful Han Dynasty who dominated the world and was unstoppable. They miss the glory of the past. They hope that the new Han Dynasty can stand at the top of the world again and make their past enemies continue to fear them.

They claim to be orthodox.

Before the battle even started, they had already declared their victory.

The winter of the second year of Yuan'an was also the winter of the seventeenth year of Chengtai and Jian'an.

Liu Bei, the right prime minister of the Han Dynasty, and Cao Cao, the left prime minister of the Han Dynasty, went to Guandu City together. They wanted the Chen family to recognize the legitimacy and restoration of the Han Dynasty. They also wanted the current head of the Chen family to serve as the prime minister of the Han Dynasty again.

Both of them publicly stated that their talents were nothing compared to the "flawless jade" Chen Zexi. If Chen Zexi was willing to serve as the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, then from then on, the Han Dynasty would still have only one prime minister.

They were willing to have one of them serve as "Situ" and the other as "Sikong" to assist Chen Zexi.

Of course, they themselves knew that this was impossible.

It was just a temporary deception to make Chen Zexi the "leader" of this alliance.

When Dayu really perishes, this "Han" will still split into two parts, and then they will try to devour each other.

Of course, the one who succeeds in the end will still ask Chen Zexi to be the prime minister.

So, this is both cheating and not cheating.

Guandu City

In the Guanfeng Pavilion
Chen Zexi took a handful of fish food and scattered it into the pond with an admiring look on his face.

Behind him, Liu Bei and Cao Cao were waiting for this "head of the Chen family" who did not play by the rules. The reason why they could be so rude in the past was because they were good friends of Chen Zhulou, who was the head of the Chen family at that time.

Their meeting was more like a meeting between three good friends than a meeting with the head of the Chen family.

Chen Zexi returned to the Guanfeng Pavilion and sat down, with a calm look on his face: "Why did you two come together at this time? You can't really be here to mourn your deceased friend, right?"

The most typical thing about Chen Zexi compared to Chen Zhulou is that he does not believe in "emotions", he only believes in interests.

So he said these words directly, asking Liu Bei and Cao Cao not to say that he came for emotional reasons, because he didn't believe it.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei looked at each other, and then Liu Bei spoke first. He was the right prime minister and a relative of the Han royal family. He might even have a little bit of Chen blood in him, so it was most appropriate for him to speak first at this time.

Liu Bei took the gentle approach. He looked at Chen Zexi and told him all his thoughts. Then he made a promise. The specific content was nothing more than some words about reviving the Han Dynasty and supporting the Han Dynasty.

Chen Zexi's expression did not change at all when he listened. After Liu Bei finished speaking, he shook his head and said, "What does supporting the Han Dynasty and restoring the Han Dynasty have to do with me?"

"This is your Liu family's business."

He said bluntly: "The Chen family's focus has never been on a certain dynasty, but on the people of the world."

"If the emperor of the Han Dynasty is not good to the people, then replace him with an emperor who can treat the people well; if the Han Dynasty is corrupt, then replace him with a dynasty that is not corrupt."

"If the Han Dynasty can be revived again, the Chen family will still be willing to serve the emperor of the Han Dynasty for the sake of the stability of the people of the world."

"but?"

Chen Zexi chuckled and said, "Let me ask you two something. Among the Han people today, whether it's Cao Han or Liu Han, which one of them truly cares about the people?"

He pointed at Cao Cao and said, "Let's not talk about you, Cao Mengde. You massacred the whole city just to avenge your father. Obviously, you are not a qualified ruler. Let's just talk about you, Liu Xuande."

Chen Zexi had a look of disdain on his face.

Even if everyone in the world said that Liu Bei and Cao Cao were heroes of the world, he still looked down on these two people.

"Have you, Liu Bei, managed your men well?"

"Let's not talk about other people, just your third brother."

Chen Zexi's expression was very gloomy, as if he had just walked out of the rain.

He took out the prepared memorial from his sleeve, which recorded everything Zhang Fei had done: "Your third brother was born a butcher, and he didn't do anything good in his hometown in his early years."

"I won't talk about all that. I'll just talk about what happened after he became a general and led the troops."

"Let's not talk about loving soldiers like sons, which is a personal choice. It's just that he often beats and scolds his soldiers, promotes his own confidants, and indulges his confidants to rob the credit of other soldiers."

"When he was fighting, he drank day and night. How many times did he violate military rules and regulations?"

Chen Zexi looked at Liu Xuande and said, "Xuande, do you really have a clear conscience?"

"Ok?"

He looked at Liu Xuande, stretched out his hand, and stopped Liu Bei from saying anything else. He just asked, "Let's put all this aside for now, and put aside the issue of using trusted people. After all, everyone has their own selfish motives."

"I just want to ask you one thing."

Chen Zexi looked into the eyes of Liu Bei and Cao Cao and asked a "hypothesis".

"Today you and Cao Mengde both said that the Han Dynasty would be revived, and that you both wanted to support the Han Dynasty."

"You also show that you are willing to do everything to support the Han Dynasty."

"I just want to ask you one thing."

"If during the war against Yu today, your cousin Xiahou Dun of Cao Mengde killed Xuande's second and third brothers for some reason, what would you two choose?"

He asked Liu Bei: "Will you choose to swallow this anger, and then continue to attack Dayu with Meng De, and then fight between the two of you, or will you choose to be furious and demand an explanation from Meng De, and then send troops to Langya to avenge this?"

Then, without waiting for Liu Bei to answer, he looked at Cao Cao and said, "If something like this happened, would you obey the overall situation and kill Xiahou Dun directly and let Xuande deal with him, or would you choose to take advantage of this opportunity to destroy Xuande and Dayu together?"

Liu Bei and Cao Cao both fell silent.

Chen Zexi's attack had not stopped yet. He just smiled and said, "You two, do you know why Dong Lin went to Jingzhou in the first place?"

Cao Cao and Liu Bei both raised their heads.

Cao Cao had some guesses about this matter, but Liu Bei was completely clueless. Chen Zexi told them all of Chen Zhulou's analysis of the two people, and then said, "Donglin's analysis of you was not wrong at all. Your so-called concerns about the overall situation are just the knife not stabbing you."

To be honest, if Dayu had not appeared, and the world was divided into three parts as in the beginning of history, namely "Shu Han", "Cao Wei" and "Sun Wu", then the Chen family would most likely choose "Shu Han".

Or in other words, you would choose "Liu Bei".

Although Liu Bei would put his personal feelings above the world and might even turn against his allies for revenge, this kind of "righteousness" is exactly what a benevolent monarch should have.

After all, compared to Sun Ce, Sun Quan, and Cao Wei, which are obviously inclined towards the noble families, Liu Bei, who is of noble birth and has a benevolent heart towards the people, is the best choice for the people.
As for the world?

Naturally, there are Chens in the world who will consider how to balance the two.

If others can't do it, can't Chen do it?
But now that there is "Dayu", a good option in all aspects, why did Chen choose Liu Bei who obviously has shortcomings?
After hearing this, Cao Cao and Liu Bei fell silent again.

After a long while, Cao Cao finally asked, "So, will Chen choose to help Dayu?"

Chen Zexi shook his head again: "No."

Do not?
This surprised Liu Bei and Cao Cao even more, as Chen's choice should not have been like this.

After all, the Chen family really cares about the people. They must want the division and war to end quickly. Then why would they, like some other aristocratic families, not take action and just watch the chaos continue?

Chen Zexi just smiled. He looked at Liu Bei and Cao Cao and said, "What I said before only represents my personal opinion. I alone cannot represent the Chen family."

"Don't even mention me. Even if Zhu Lou's eldest son inherits the position of the head of the family, as the eldest descendant of the Chen family and the head of the family, he cannot represent all the people in the Chen family."

"The Chen family will only choose to be consistent when faced with certain bottom-line issues."

"The Chen family has many disciples. Although the Chen family does not want to get involved in the disputes in the world, since the Chen family sits in this position, they should show corresponding courage."

"The Chen family will let their children make their own choices, just like they did at the end of the Qin Dynasty."

"If you want to save the people of the world from danger, then get involved. If you want to be an official and guard a place, then do it. If you want to join a certain force to fight for the world, then do it as well."

Chen Zexi said: "The Chen family motto is 'have a clear conscience'. Everyone has his or her own path, and the Chen family will not interfere with their decisions."

"Everyone in the world must know this."

"Everyone in the world should know this."

When these words fell into the ears of Cao Cao and Liu Bei, they took on another meaning.

The two looked at each other and understood Chen Zexi's choice. They nodded immediately: "In this case, we understand Chen's choice."

After the two men left, Chen Zexi sighed again and said, "The world is in turmoil and turmoil."

"Isn't it for the purpose of protecting the people of the world that the Chen family's children have completed their studies?"

"It's up to them to choose."

Spring of the third year of Yuan'an.

When the world was in turmoil, twenty or thirty direct descendants of the Chen family came out and stated that they did not represent the Chen family, but themselves.

Some of them chose Dayu, some chose the Han people of Langya, some chose the Han people of Chang'an, some simply went to local places to serve as officials and guard one side, and some of them traveled around the world, constantly working hard to help the people of the world.

Among this group of people, there are disciples of politicians, Confucianists, Mohists, and doctors.

That's all there is to it.

The third year of Yuan'an, between summer and autumn.

Chang'an and Langya once again expressed the hope that Dayu would surrender voluntarily. On behalf of the Han Dynasty, they could confer the title of "King of Yu" on the emperor of Dayu, just like the title of king of the Liu family, but Dayu would remove the country's name and just be a title of king of the Liu family.

Established "Dayu" within the territory of the Han Dynasty.

The Emperor of Dayu flatly refused.

Moreover, the Emperor of Dayu stated that his purpose of becoming emperor was the same as that of his father, which was not to become emperor or for wealth and glory, but for the people of the world, so he would absolutely not allow the corrupt Han Dynasty to continue.

Such words successfully angered both Chang'an and Langya, and the war broke out in the summer and autumn of that year.

Led by many great generals such as Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Xiahou Dun, Yu Jin, Le Jin, Zhang He, and Zhang Liao, the army was roughly divided into two groups, one for the Chang'an Han and the other for the Langya Han.

Among them, they are divided into several forces.

And what about Dayu?

Dong Zhongying, Zhao Yun and Lu Bu were divided into three groups. Dong Zhongying had generals such as "Taishi Ci", "Ding Feng" and "Zhu Zhi" under his command, while Zhao Yun had generals such as "Zhang Xiu", "Pang De" and "Gan Ning" under his command. Lu Bu only wanted "Yan Liang and Wen Chou".

During the Three Kingdoms period, the most important war was about to break out.

In the third year of Yuan'an, war broke out.

At the beginning, Dayu and the Cao-Liu alliance fought back and forth, and both sides were anxious. Except for the most important capitals and counties of the three parties, other places might be yours today, or they might become mine tomorrow.

By the fourth year of Yuan'an, the situation began to slowly shift towards Cao and Liu.

After all, Cao and Liu occupied most of the Central Plains and had countless fertile fields. The two forces supported the supply of food and grass, and they still had an advantage over Dayu.

At this time, the role of the people's migration to the south began to slowly become apparent.

Although the north covers a large area and Cao and Liu occupy most of the fertile land, the developed wasteland can temporarily support Dayu.

If it weren't for this breath, Dayu might have been defeated long ago.

In the fifth year of Yuan'an, the war continued to be intense, but at this time "war" no longer broke out frequently. Most of the time, there was a strange tranquility and peace.

At the end of this year, Cao Liu made a bold decision.

They are about to launch an unprecedented war.

This war can be compared with the "Five Great Wars" in history, and it was even more brutal. This war determined the situation in Kyushu for the next three hundred years.

Countless famous generals and talented people died in this war.

its name is
"Battle of Red Cliffs"

(End of this chapter)