People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 204 Instigating Rebellion
"The Han Dynasty's General of Chariots and Cavalry is now cooperating with a traitor like me. Aren't you afraid of tarnishing his reputation?" Xu Chen looked at Guo Tu with amusement.

Guo Tu did not give a direct answer when he heard this, because there was no way to answer this question.

He could only pretend that he hadn't heard it and continued to say what he was saying: "Cooperation is beneficial to both parties. The Heavenly Master only needs to deploy troops to intimidate and doesn't need to actually take action. He can share Jizhou with General Yuan without spending a penny. Isn't it wonderful?"

Among the people present, Lu Ping did not pay much attention to heroes like the Han Dynasty and Yuan Shao, so he had no feelings, but Ju Shou and Xu Chen realized a lot.

Although Guo Tu avoided the question, it actually showed that he was too lazy to make any excuses or even maintain a superficial whitewash.

It seems that the majesty of the Han Dynasty is not only ignored by the heroes from all sides, but even the scholars below do not care about it.

But it is not surprising when you think about it. The heroes from all sides no longer take the imperial court seriously. For example, Yuan Shao, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, did not have a formal title at all. It was a title he took on himself, and then he used this identity openly, regardless of whether the imperial court recognized it or not.

This kind of operation was unthinkable in the past, and was almost like rebellion, but now no one cares at all. It is foreseeable that there will be more and more such cases in the future, and people all over the world will gradually get used to it.

In comparison, cooperating with the rebels is nothing.

After all, the attributes of the heroes on all sides have become increasingly close to those of the rebels.

"Land has always been acquired through swords and blood. If I, Xuan Xia, can really enter Jizhou, it must be by fighting my way in step by step. As for the joke of sharing the land, there is no need to talk about it anymore."

Xu Chen's tone was calm. He was not tempted by Guo Tu at all. This kind of behavior of making big promises was really too ridiculous.

When Guo Tu saw Xu Chen's reaction, he realized that Xu Chen was not fooled.

Since the matter failed, Guo Tu did not make any further entanglement. In fact, Yuan Shao did not have only Xuan Xia as his choice, and he would not insist on it if the talks failed.

But Guo Tu did not give up, but changed the subject.

“It doesn’t matter if the cooperation fails. Jizhou is a place that my general is determined to obtain, and Youzhou and Jizhou are closely adjacent to each other. From now on, General Yuan and Tianshi will probably be neighbors for a long time.

The world is in turmoil right now, and the people can hardly have a moment of peace. General Yuan couldn't bear to see the people suffer, so he sent me here to rebuild it.

As the saying goes, cooperation is beneficial to both sides, while conflict is harmful to both sides. I have come here more to uphold General Yuan’s attitude of friendly exchanges and to work together with your religion to achieve peace. Your religion puts the people first, and you must understand General Yuan’s painstaking efforts.

No matter how much time has passed, I just hope that You and Ji can live in peace and that both sides will not invade each other, so that the people can have a chance to breathe."

Guo Tu bowed and saluted in response, his attitude and expression appearing very sincere.

But for some reason, Xu Chen felt a little nauseous.

These guys may not be any better to the people, but they always mention the common people when they speak, as if saying this can make them righteous. This attitude is really disgusting.

What do you mean by giving the people a chance to breathe? To put it bluntly, isn't it because he is afraid that Xuan Xia will interfere with his attempts to seize Jizhou?

"Go back and tell Yuan Shao that I, Xuan Xia, am not in the mood to care about his affairs with Han Fu, but he and I will have to fight each other sooner or later, so there is no need to maintain a false friendship.

My intention to take Jizhou is just like his intention to take Youzhou. It is bound to happen. It just depends on who moves faster."

Xu Chen had no interest in playing nice with Yuan Shao, because Xuan Xia could not gain any benefit from Yuan Shao.

If Xuanxia's people's livelihood construction had not just been put on the right track, and Xu Chen did not want to interrupt this process because of the war, he really wanted to get involved in Jizhou's affairs.

But even if he has no intention of attacking Jizhou now, he does not have to be nice to Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao also has no spare energy to deal with Xuan Xia at this time.

The matter was completely made clear, and Guo Tu was stunned by Xu Chen's rude and direct response. He didn't know how to react for a moment.

You are a leader of a sect and the so-called prime minister of Xuanxia, ​​don’t you have any superficial decency?
Guo Tu was a little annoyed, and although he didn't dare to show it, he secretly complained in his heart that the Yellow Turban leader had no decency among scholars at all, and was just as crude as a country bumpkin, not worthy of being in public!
"I will convey this to General Yuan." Guo Tu glanced at Xu Chen, bowed, and left.

Although nothing was accomplished on this trip, at least they knew that the Yellow Turbans had no intention of attacking Jizhou in the short term, so Yuan Shao could rest assured to seize Jizhou.

Of course, although Xu Chen was rude in his words, he still treated the envoy with due treatment.

Guo Tu was also able to rest in Ji County for a day. Taking this opportunity, he also toured Ji County and, by the way, found out about Xuan Xia's strengths and weaknesses and saw what Xuan Xia looked like.

The Xuanxia court did not offer any obstruction, and all Guo Tu could see were superficial things, and he could not find out anything.

At most, he could learn about the living conditions of the people. He didn't need to know this information personally, and he could get it through intelligence gathering through general channels. It was of no value to Yuan Shao. After staying for a day, Guo Tu ended this failed mission and returned to Jizhou.

No one in the court was willing to interact with the old scholars, so in the end they had to send Ju Su to see them off and maintain basic etiquette.

The group was ready to set off and were waiting for Guo Tu to mount his horse and return.

Before leaving, Guo Tu looked at Ju Su for a long time, and finally couldn't help asking: "You are from a prominent family in Jizhou, why do you want to degenerate and associate with bandits? Why don't you follow me and join General Yuan to help the great cause and achieve your own success? Isn't it wonderful?"

When Guo Tu saw Ju Shou in Xuanxia, ​​he was very surprised. Although he was not familiar with Ju Shou, he had heard of his name.

Before Ju Su was captured by the Yellow Turbans, he was the Beijia of Jizhou and a close official to the governor. He had a high reputation in Jizhou. The Ju family behind him was also a prominent family in Jizhou and was well-known.

Guo Tu could not understand why such a talented person from a noble family would work for the Yellow Turbans.

Before leaving, he had already thought about Ju Shou. If he could win over Ju Shou and kidnap Ju Shou to work for Yuan Shao, it would be a great achievement that could make up for the failure of this mission.

As for whether doing so would make Xu Chen furious or offend Xuan Xia, Guo Tu didn't care, as they had already fallen out anyway.

"General Yuan is a hero of the world. I really admire him. However, Ju Su has already served his master and cannot betray him. Besides, General Yuan is surrounded by talented people, and he does not lack anyone like me. Thank you for your kindness."

Ju Su cupped his hands, and although his words were nice, his expression did not show any regret.

If I hadn't met my lord, Yuan Shao, who had three generations of nobles, might not be a bad choice, but now...
Guo Tu frowned, and his eyes turned cold when he looked at Ju Shou. He thought to himself that this guy was holding the rebel and was reluctant to leave. He must be a fool. "Gong Yu, do you really think that the Yellow Turbans can really succeed? Now you are riding fast with me. They may not be able to catch up. If you miss this opportunity, you will not be able to leave!"

Ju Shou smiled. If he wanted to leave, he would have left like Fu Xie long ago. Why would he need someone to save him? "Your Excellency does not understand Xuan Xia, let alone my Lord. But one day you will understand."

In this case, Guo Tu did not say much. He just bowed lightly, mounted his horse and left.

Ju Shou watched Guo Tu leaving and felt inexplicably touched. Between his and Guo Tu's two choices, which one was right and which one was wrong? Perhaps only time could give the answer.

He could only say that outsiders did not understand Xuan Xia and Xu Chen, but when he was in their midst, he could see many unusual things.

There are some things that I couldn't understand before, but now I slowly realize some of the subtleties in them, just like the industrial and commercial affairs that my lord started planning very early on, the more I look at it now, the more shocked I am.

After seeing Guo Tu off and finishing his day's work, Ju Shou left the office and returned home.

Now his residence is just a small courtyard where he lives with his wife and children. Next to him live some relatives, the closest of whom is his second brother Ju Zong.

Although these people were close relatives, Ju Shou could not avoid being looked down upon every time he came back.

Ju Shou certainly understood why this embarrassing situation occurred. Although these relatives came with them, their children and relatives might not be happy about it.

After all, when they came to Xuanxia, ​​they could no longer be served like before, and they had to prove their innocence and pay their property, paying a huge price, and in the end they could only be a small businessman. This was not a good thing for them.

If Ju Shou was not the leader of the clan, I'm afraid few people would be willing to follow.

But no matter what, their lives were still more comfortable than those of ordinary people. The Yellow Turbans confiscated most of their property, and the little that was left was enough to support them in their lives and business.

But this is not a long-term solution after all. Even if you do business, you should think about making it bigger so that your life will be better.

As Xuanxia began to turn to support industrial and commercial development, their opportunity came. Ju Shou, who had known about the court's plan of shifting direction early on, had already asked his second brother Ju Zong to prepare.

"Brother, the factory has been built and we have started recruiting workers, but we don't have much money left. If we don't manage it well, it will be really bad."

After returning home, Ju Shou had not even sat down when he was found by Ju Zong, who began to discuss matters with him in a worried manner.

To be honest, until now Ju Zong still doesn't know why his elder brother wants to stay in Xuanxia to develop.

Originally, people were living a good life, but after coming here, they have to worry about their livelihood. Isn't this asking for trouble?

If it weren't for the fact that Ju Shou was his elder brother, Ju Zong would never have agreed to this matter at the beginning. Now he has regretted it, but it is too late to regret.

Ju Shou was not in a hurry. After drinking a mouthful of warm water boiled by his wife, he said, "As long as the factory can start producing things, there will be no loss. Just do it with confidence."

(End of this chapter)