People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 266 Surrender
"We are not completely ignorant of Xuan Xia. On the contrary, we know it very well. The nobles and powerful people like us are nothing but criminals in your eyes. We are not allowed to serve in Xuan Xia in this life. Even if I really surrender, I will not be employed. Wouldn't it be ridiculous for you to surrender?"

Xun Chen was not surprised at Ju Shou's recruitment. He had long guessed that the other party's purpose was exactly the same. However, he just shook his head, and the tone of his response was somewhat sarcastic.

Ju Su was not in a hurry to hear this, but pointed at himself and said: "Xuan Xia cannot serve as an official, so why not follow my example and serve my master."

Xun Chen was speechless. This was indeed feasible. Not being able to enter the officialdom in Xuan Xia did not mean that he could not serve Xu Chen himself, but was this what the gentry wanted?

Not only did Xun Chen not respond to this, but he looked at Ju Shou with a somewhat puzzled look.

It was difficult for him to understand why a man from a prominent family like Ju Shou was willing to endure this humiliation and stay by Xu Chen's side.

What scholars pursued was not only their personal future, but more importantly the interests of their family. If the family could not enter the officialdom, then no matter how successful the individual was, it would be meaningless.

How could a great talent from Jizhou like Ju Shou not understand these?

"I have thought about what you have thought about, but you may not have thought about what I have thought about." Ju Su certainly understood. He saw through Xun Chen's eyes and explained it without any hesitation.

"Given Xuanxia's treatment of the nobles and powerful, this place is naturally not a good choice for scholars. But have you ever thought that there are some things that may not be chosen? What if Xuanxia really gets the power of Shenzhou one day?"

Ju Su looked at Xun Chen meaningfully: "You should understand that Xuan Xia has the potential to compete for the world."

Xun Chen was shocked. He had never really put aside his position and thought seriously about this issue.

Subconsciously, as a member of the aristocratic family, he had neither the desire nor the will to make such an assumption. However, after hearing what Ju Shou said, he looked at Xuan Xia again from an objective standpoint and suddenly realized it.

Yes, Xuanxia is now strong and has the potential to swallow up the world.
Militarily, Xuan Xia maintained a leading position in all aspects. Not only did he successively eliminate heroes like Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan, but even Yuan Shao was repeatedly defeated in front of Xuan Xia.

In terms of people's livelihood, Xuanxia has enjoyed long-term internal stability, abundant resources, and sufficient money and grain, and the people are firmly united with the Xuanxia court.

In terms of specific sphere of influence, Xuan Xia now occupies Youzhou and two counties of Zhongshan and Changshan. If we include the Bohai County that he just captured, he has already captured half of Jizhou. It is heard that some alliance has emerged outside the northern border, which is also the masterpiece of Xuan Xia.

After seeing all this, he was shocked to realize that Xuan Xia had unknowingly become a giant in the entire northern Shenzhou.

Perhaps, we really have to seriously consider the possibility of Xuan Xia going south to seize the power of Shenzhou.
At this moment, he felt Ju Su's gaze again, still so meaningful.

Both of them are smart people, and they can understand the meaning of this atmosphere without having to say it explicitly.

A qualified nobleman will never put all his eggs in one basket.

The world's heroes are fighting each other in chaos, and no one can be sure who will have the last laugh, so the best approach is to diversify investments and at least keep a branch of the family in each place to ensure continuation.

If Xuanxia is also included in this scope, then it is self-evident what the gentry should do.

Xun Chen suddenly understood what Ju Shou was thinking. As long as Xuanxia had the possibility of success, it would not be a bad idea for the Ju family to retain a branch in Xuanxia. Even a few years ago, the Yellow Turbans at that time had shown enough potential for Ju Shou to pay attention to them.

Does the Xun family also need to make an investment in Xuan Xia like Ju Shou?

When he was struggling with his feelings, Ju Shou gave him the final words of persuasion.

"If you really understand Xuanxia, ​​you should know that although Xuanxia treated the nobles harshly, they still left a way for them to survive. As long as they did not commit any sins, they could still clean up their identities after three generations and could even hope to join the church and become officials.

Moreover, the court will leave us some money to do business and run our families. This is the path that my lord has set for the scholars of the world. Although it is not as glorious as before, it will not be miserable either."

Hearing this, Xun Chen's brows furrowed.

Seeing this, Ju Shou knew what the other party was thinking without asking. He thought back to when he had also disagreed with this way out.

It is indeed difficult to accept that the gentry should lower their status and engage in business to support their families.

However, Ju Su now had no such idea at all. He smiled faintly: "You don't have to look down on merchants. The booming business in Xuanxia today is due to the support of the court. Without the nobles and powerful families, there will be new people to replace them, and this position may be merchants."

Speaking of this, Ju Su seemed to have some feeling, and said: "I recently taught the theory of ecological chain in natural science. This is also true. The specific existence that occupies the ecological niche may disappear, but the ecological niche itself always exists, and there will be new things to fill it in the end."

Ju Su's words came from the bottom of his heart, and they reflected his own understanding of Xuan Xia's new route.

The route designed by Xu Chen has now begun to show its potential. The industrial and commercial prosperity of Xuanxia is the result, and the industrial and commercial affairs have indeed demonstrated extraordinary power.

However, Ju Shou also sensed Xu Chen's vigilance towards this new force.

Today, Xuan Xia is in a contradictory state of supporting and restraining business affairs, but he has really controlled the direction of development and there are no problems.

Xun Chen now naturally would not understand what Ju Shou was thinking. He was even confused by what Ju Shou was talking about the ecological chain.

However, he still understood Ju Shou's previous sentence. According to Ju Shou, under Xuan Xia's rule, merchants might be a new interest group that replaced the traditional aristocratic families.

If this is true, it seems to make me feel better.
There was a subtle change in the atmosphere. Ju Su keenly sensed Xun Chen's wavering emotions. He knew that at this point, the attempt to persuade Xun Chen to surrender was almost over.

After all, Xun Chen was in the predicament of being a prisoner and suffering from tortured hard labor, which was unbearable for him. As long as he could give enough reasons to shake his psychology, it would not be impossible to persuade him to surrender.

Of course, Xu Chen's strategy of "surrounding three sides and leaving one behind" in dealing with the gentry in the past also played a role.

If this loophole is not opened for the gentry and the way is completely blocked, then there would be no possibility for Xun Chen to surrender today. Perhaps for Xuan Xia, it is not important for one or two scholars to surrender, but the entire gentry group is still worth Xuan Xia giving a way out.

"I, Xun Chen, would like to see the Prime Minister."

Xun Chen finally let out a long sigh. The reasons given by Ju Su were just his way of comforting himself.

When he went back to face the torturous labor, he really wanted to die. At least he could be free after joining the army.
Ju Su laughed, grabbed Xun Chen's hand, and said, "You Ruo is indeed a smart person. From now on, you and I will serve the same master to help the great cause. When you truly see Xuan Xia's strengths, I believe you will be glad for your decision today."

Xun Chen responded with a smile, but it seemed a little forced: "I hope so."

Ju Shou chuckled and didn't care about Xun Chen's reaction.

He still has enough confidence in Xuan Xia. It is impossible to see Xuan Xia clearly from the outside. When Xun Chen takes his position, he will understand what kind of person Xuan Xia is.

The purpose of recruiting Xun Chen to surrender was, firstly, to recruit talents to assist Xu Chen in his career, and secondly, to expand the scholar group of Xuanxia so as to provide more references for scholars all over the world. The more practical use at the moment was to obtain intelligence about Yuan’s army for Xuanxia.

"If my friend says that our army is bound to fail, please tell me the reason in detail." Ju Su did not hide anything and asked impatiently.

At this time, Xun Chen naturally didn't need to hide it anymore, so he told the story in detail here.

After he said this, Ju Shou finally understood the whole story, which immediately made his scalp tingle.

Xun Chen's statement that the Yellow Turbans would surely be defeated in this battle might not be an exaggeration.

He suddenly felt very fortunate that he had successfully persuaded Xun Chen to surrender. Otherwise, if he had accepted this war without realizing it, the consequences would have been unpredictable.

Fortunately, we have learned the news in advance, so we can at least deal with it.

This guy Yuan Shao has made a big move this time. What a sinister guy!

"The war is imminent, there is no time to lose. If you come with me, let's meet my lord immediately!" Ju Su did not dare to delay at all. He pulled Xun Chen and hurried down the mountain, then went all the way to the camp.

(End of this chapter)