People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 328: North and South
After walking out of the general's mansion, Guan Yu immediately followed closely. He felt something was wrong as soon as he saw Liu Bei's face. Although Liu Bei appeared very calm on the surface, as brothers, he could still feel the worry in his elder brother's eyes.

This made Guan Yu suddenly worried. Although Cao Cao knew his eldest brother, they were only casual acquaintances. Today's invitation seemed strange and sudden.

"What happened in the mansion? Why are you so uneasy, elder brother?" Guan Yu asked bluntly. There was no need for the two brothers to be shy about anything.

Liu Bei did not respond at the first moment, but continued walking forward calmly.

Guan Yu immediately understood and kept silent. He just followed Liu Bei quietly until they reached an open area in the street. When there was no one around, the two brothers really started talking.

Hearing Liu Bei recounting the conversation in the mansion, Guan Yu's brows furrowed and his eyes became slightly cold.

"Cao Cao spoke so righteously, but in the end he just wanted to drive my elder brother away. I didn't expect that Cao Mengde, whom the emperor regarded as a loyal minister, was such a petty and suspicious person."

Guan Yu was actually a smart man. After hearing what was said, he understood what was going on.

However, Guan Yu was naturally very indignant that his brother was driven away by Cao Cao in this way. He felt that it was not worth the emperor's trust in Cao Cao. The so-called loyal minister seemed to be just a selfish person.

It is hard to say that he is loyal if he even wants to exclude a close minister of the emperor who only has a thousand soldiers.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei could only sigh and shake his head. After hearing Cao Cao recounting the heroes of the world in his mansion, he couldn't help but feel that the Han Dynasty was full of monsters and none of them were useful. But in fact, how good could Cao Cao be?

"Cao Cao is ultimately no better than Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao. He claims to serve the emperor to punish his enemies, but in reality he still regards the emperor as a tool, and a tool that cannot be shared. So naturally he will regard us as thorns in his side and wish to remove us as soon as possible."

However, Liu Bei saw it more accurately. This matter had nothing to do with the number of troops he had, but rather that Cao Cao had regarded the emperor as his private property and would not allow anyone else to get involved or get close to him.

Cao Cao can use the emperor's orders to command others. For example, his plan this time is to replace the less obedient Liu Biao with Liu Bei, who is more obedient to the emperor. In the future, he can use the emperor's orders to drive Liu Bei.

What Cao Cao wanted was for the emperor to command others, rather than for others to actually stay by the emperor's side and serve him.

Guan Yu snorted coldly, "It's fine to chase us away, this is Cao Cao's territory, there is no room for us here, the world is vast and we have a lot of places to go, but Cao Cao wants you to develop in Jingzhou, but he only sends you a few thousand soldiers. It's better not to send them at all, it really makes people look down on you!"

"It's better to have something than nothing. Xu Chen of Youzhou was able to create a great cause with a few thousand remaining soldiers, and Sun Ce was also able to rise in Jiangdong with a few thousand soldiers. Why can't I, Liu Bei, create a cause with these few thousand soldiers!"

Liu Bei didn't care about this, instead he felt proud: "Although Cao Cao's move was out of selfishness, it may not be a bad thing for you and me. Staying by the emperor's side, you and I are destined to be useless. The vast world outside is where a real man belongs. When I, Liu Bei, have made achievements, it will not be too late to serve the emperor!"

When Guan Yu heard this, his eyes suddenly brightened up, and the depression in his heart was dispelled a lot.

The reason why I was willing to follow my elder brother, in addition to the loyalty and courage between brothers, was his indomitable perseverance.

Only true brothers can know that although the eldest brother may appear honest and dull on the surface, he is actually a man of great ambition and passion!

"Brother will surely succeed. Guan Yu swears to follow you till death!"

Although the result of this visit to Cao's mansion was not so pleasant, Liu Bei and Guan Yu did not just complain and feel resentful. Instead, they regrouped and planned for the future. They swept away their depression and laughed at each other's hands.

The matter was thus settled, although it was not the turn of Cao Cao, a minister, to decide whether Liu Bei should stay or go, as only the emperor had the right to say.

However, there is a huge gap between ideal and reality. Yanzhou is Cao Cao's territory. Only Cao Cao can decide everything that happens here. The so-called emperor is just a tool in Cao Cao's hands.

Cao Cao is certainly a loyal minister. He must be a loyal minister so that he can do things for him in the name of the emperor and drive the court team to act according to his will.

But this kind of loyal minister was destined to be superficial, and it turned out that Cao Cao was not the kind of loyal minister that Liu Xie thought he was.

When Cao Cao asked the emperor for permission to issue an edict to attack Lu Bu and asked Liu Bei to send troops to Jingzhou, Liu Xie saw Cao Cao's tough attitude and the fact that many ministers had to follow suit under pressure, and he finally came to his senses.

It turns out that this loyal General Cao doesn't seem to be much different from Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao and the like.

Only this young emperor who once placed great trust in Cao Cao knew how angry and aggrieved, how sad and disappointed he was after he came to his senses.

But no matter what mood the emperor was in or how he would react, it was not something Cao Cao cared about. The emperor was just a tool in his hands, and the tool's thoughts were not important, so Cao Cao didn't care about it at all.

Perhaps it was due to Xuan Xia's influence, or perhaps it was the powerful inertia of history, the situation in the world began to evolve in a familiar direction, and the heroes who truly belonged to this era had already begun to fight for their own foundation.

And what lingered on their heads was the huge pressure exerted by a man in the north. This time, the man won a great victory on the battlefield. If nothing unexpected happened, a terrifying existence would soon appear in the north, occupying the four states of Youzhou, Jizhou, Bingzhou, and Qingzhou. It was a brand new country called Xuanxia, ​​but without an emperor.

The man standing at the highest point of Xuanxia only needs to gaze to the south, and the whole world will tremble.

The man standing at the highest point of Xuanxia only needs an attitude to make all the nobles in the world tremble in fear.

A bigger problem is that people in the world can no longer view such a huge country as traitors, because such an enemy can no longer be easily eliminated.

Even if the big man can stand up, the best he can do is probably to live with the other party for a long time.

Whether the destiny was really transferred from the Han Dynasty to Xuan Xia, perhaps people in the world could not be completely sure, but they could at least be half sure.

According to the best predictions, the Han Dynasty could only be divided into the north and south with Xuanxia, ​​turning into a situation of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the destiny would at least be shared by the two.

Xuan Xia's manifesto had real support, and the smart ones among the scholars of the world had already realized that Xuan Xia was a member of the Northern Dynasty.

After all, Xuanxia was not a simple local vassal, but a country with a complete system that had truly changed its institutions. The people under its rule had basically forgotten their Han identity and regarded themselves as citizens of Xuanxia. This was very different from Yuan Shao, who occupied the same position in history.

No matter what Yuan Shao was like, he still respected the Han Dynasty and was nominally a Han minister, but he was just a local warlord, far inferior to the Xuan Xia that has been reorganized today.

Yuan Shao, at the most extreme level, could only be a traitor to the Han Dynasty, and after Xuan Xia completed this leap in strength, it became an enemy of the Han Dynasty in all reality. There was no inheritance in the relationship between the two sides, but rather one side completely annihilated and covered the other, and they were two entities of equal status.

After reaching this point, scholars all over the world had to start facing Xuan Xia. They would slowly adapt to the existence of this "Northern Dynasty" over time, and they would even unconsciously think about the possibility that the "Northern Dynasty" would one day march south and unify the country.

In fact, in the eyes of the world, this is already a very likely thing to happen. After all, compared with the "Northern Dynasty" that is now in full swing, the "Southern Dynasty" of the Han Dynasty seems to be divided and in chaos.

The elite scholars of the world, looking at the general situation of the world, can all see that the north is strong and the south is weak.

From the standpoint of the scholars, whether from the perspective of aristocratic origin or from the academic perspective of Confucianism, it is difficult for them to have any good impression of the "Northern Dynasty" of Xuanxia. Naturally, the current situation will cause concern among many knowledgeable people.

"A strong man has risen in the north, and Xuanxia is rich and powerful, with peace both inside and outside, and the people are loyal to it. It is now in the prime of its development.

On the other hand, our Han Dynasty was in a critical moment with the collapse of the imperial system, the decline of people's livelihood, endless wars, and the loss of people's hearts.

If this trend continues, the strong in the north and south will become stronger and the weak will become weaker. I am afraid that the world will really change its ruler. Although Xuanxia’s reform system may be feasible for a while, it will not be good or bad in the long run. If the destiny really changes, I don’t know whether it will be a blessing or a curse. "

In a thatched hut among the mountains and forests of Jingzhou, several young scholars in coarse clothes sat around a stone table. There were many books and papers on the table, and they talked to each other about them.

They would pick up books to argue, and always end up arguing until their faces were red.

Or they may just agree with each other, praise each other, and have a great time.

And now, after one of them picked up the newspaper and read it, his face was full of worry again. After speaking, the others also looked depressed.

The man who was speaking had a handsome face and a tall stature, and there was a gleam of light in his eyes, which made him seem like the leader of the group.

His identity was soon revealed by Xu Shu, who was sitting at the same table.

"Kong Ming is right. The situation of the Han Dynasty is extremely precarious. The various princes are brave enough to fight among themselves but are afraid of the Yellow Turbans. If this continues for a long time, the north wind will surely prevail over the south wind."

When he said this, Xu Shu could not help but stand up, his tone was full of hatred for his lack of fighting spirit: "I have seen heroes all over the world, but there is not a single one I can trust. Although scholars like me are willing to work hard, we are also serving those without a background and our words are not taken seriously."

The man named Kong Ming waved his feather fan, put down the newspaper in his hand that congratulated Xuan Xia on his victory, and just looked up at the sky: "Time has changed, and time waits for no one. We have not yet made a breakthrough. Although we have the intention, it is not enough to shake the overall situation."

Xu Shu seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes gradually became firm: "Although I am young, I cannot sit idly by and watch the world decay. Since all the princes in the world are not trustworthy, I might as well support someone else who can be trusted, even if his power is weaker. I heard that Liu Bei is now stationed in Xinye, Jingzhou. Perhaps I can go and take a look. What do you think?"

When Zhuge Liang heard the name Liu Bei, he thought for a moment and finally nodded slightly.

(End of this chapter)