People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 396 Persuading Surrender
In the study of Xun Mansion in Xuchang, the capital of Wei, Xun Yu finished reading the paper letter in his hand, and his expression did not change until he closed the letter. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking at this moment.

Also in the study was a woman with a solemn expression. She was Xun Yu's wife, Madam Tang.

And there was a servant-looking man standing in front of the two of them.

The atmosphere in the study was a bit depressing. Mrs. Tang keenly sensed that Xun Yu's emotions were a bit complicated. Sure enough, not long after, she saw Xun Yu take off the boiling kettle, and then placed the letter in the stove, letting it turn to ashes.

Mrs. Tang gave Xun Yu a reproachful look, as if blaming him for not showing her the letter. However, even if Xun Yu refused to show it to her, she could still ask directly.

While she was making tea for Xun Yu, she began to talk: "You Ruo is in the north and serves Xu Chen, the master. You two brothers are on opposite sides. This situation is sensitive. He sent someone to deliver a letter at this time. Aren't you afraid that you will arouse suspicion?"

Xun Yu turned his gaze back after seeing the letter completely burnt, and shook his head: "Although His Majesty is suspicious, he can distinguish between public and private matters, and he is very open-minded towards his subjects. Even if he knew about our brotherly exchanges, he would not say much."

Mrs. Tang's expression eased a little. Based on Xun Yu's understanding of Cao Cao, she knew that since he said he was fine, there was no need to worry too much.

Moreover, it is not strange for people of the gentry to serve different masters under the same surname, and the various princes also acquiesce in this. Otherwise, there will be few talents that can be used.

"What exactly did Youruo say in the letter?" Mrs. Tang became curious.

Xun Yu glanced at the servant standing quietly beside him, and after hesitating for a moment, he spoke frankly: "The letter mostly talks about the situation of the Youruo branch in Xuanxia, ​​and also tells you a lot about the current situation of the people and the country in Xuanxia. Of course, it also talks about his thoughts and feelings for me and other relatives."

Mrs. Tang was smart, and understood immediately: "You Ruo is trying to persuade you to change your family, this..."

After saying this, Mrs. Tang immediately understood why Xun Yu wanted to burn the letter.

Although the meaning conveyed by Xun Chen in the letter was very obscure, it could not be hidden from the eyes of smart people. If the content of the letter were to be circulated, it might not cause too much reaction from Cao Cao, but he would still have some doubts in his heart.

Cao Cao was indeed a capable leader who was courteous and generous to his subjects, but his suspicious nature was also well known.

Fortunately, this is a private occasion, and the servant is an old man of the Xun family who is completely trustworthy, so the couple will not have any scruples when talking.

Madam Tang hesitated for a moment and looked at Xun Yu again: "What do you think, my husband? If the You Ruo clan is in Xuan Xia, it's still okay. I think this matter may not be out of consideration. After all, Xuan Xia is fierce and there's no guarantee that they will attack at any time. The Wei Kingdom seems to be on its last legs. How can it resist Xuan Xia?"

Xun Yu said in a deep voice, "According to what You Ruo said in the letter, his family is actually doing well in Xuan Xia. Although they are engaged in business and cannot compare with the powerful families, they can still live in peace. At least, they are not as harsh on the nobles as the Xuan Xia court has been rumored to treat."

Madam Tang sighed when she heard this: "If it was in the past, it would be fine. We, the nobles, would not have to suffer grievances. But the situation today is different after all. Xuan Xia is coming with such force that we cannot resist. We should make plans early. Even if we have to suffer some grievances in Xuan Xia, it is better than being crushed to death by their wheels."

Xun Yu frowned, looked at Madam Tang deeply, and shook his head: "Madam, don't say such things again in the future!"

Madam Tang was stunned, and her expression became even more helpless: "I can keep silent, but the reality is like this. Do you want to deceive yourself? It is said that the Yellow Turbans are cruel to the nobles, but today it seems that they also follow the rules. Now no one can beat them, so they have to obey even if they don't want to."

At this point, Madam Tang's face was unhappy, and her tone was even more sarcastic: "Does my husband really expect the Three Kingdoms to be able to defeat the bandits? I just don't see the possibility. Cao, Liu, and Sun are heroes, but compared to the one in the north, they are just dogs. Sooner or later, their country will be destroyed and their people will die."

"Shut up!"

Xun Yu was furious and slammed the table and stood up.

Mrs. Tang finally stopped arguing, but judging from her expression, she was obviously still not convinced.

The room fell into silence. Xun Yu wanted to say something, but in the end all he could do was sigh.

In fact, it is not Mrs. Tang's fault. If they had a choice, how could the people from the gentry be willing to give up their power and go to Xuanxia to be a businessman? This would undoubtedly be a huge class fall. It is not easy to accept that the nobles and ordinary people sit at the same table.

In fact, before the previous war between the North and the South, Mrs. Tang was still firmly hostile to Xuan Xia. However, after this war, everyone could clearly see that the fortunes of the North and the South had reversed, and Mrs. Tang naturally became pessimistic about the so-called Three Kingdoms Alliance.

To rely on the south or the north, this has become an unavoidable issue facing the southern gentry.

If one takes the initiative to surrender to Xuan Xia at this time, although he will fall into a lower class, at least after the crimes are settled, the family can still survive, and a certain amount of property can be retained for development, so he can still live a relatively decent life.

Even if they cannot enter the government, it will only limit three generations, so they just need to survive. But if they fight to the death, not to mention the possibility of being crushed by Xuanxia's iron hoof, the captured nobles will not be treated as leniently as if they took the initiative to surrender. By then, they will be penniless and have no property to start with. They will directly fall from the nobles to poor people, or even worse.

Intellectually speaking, Xun Yu also knew that what his wife said was not wrong, and now was the time to consider a way out.

However, he could not do such a thing, not for any other reason, but because he was Xun Yu.

"My generation of scholars put loyalty and righteousness first. Now that the Han Dynasty no longer exists, I have served in the Wei Kingdom and should be loyal. How can I betray the Wei Kingdom? Even if Xuan Xia really wants to kill me one day, I will sacrifice my life for my country and will never surrender!"

Xun Yu's expression was calm but resolute. After he finished speaking word by word, he looked at Madam Tang seriously and said, "Madam, you must not mention this matter again, even if we discuss it in private!"

Mrs. Tang suddenly felt aggrieved, and could only turn her head away and snort: "You have fulfilled your loyalty, and then everyone in your family will be buried with you."

Xun Yu's expression changed slightly, and he finally sighed: "If that day really comes, you can just let them take you captive. Although Xuan Xia is known to be cruel, his methods are actually humane. At least there is no collective punishment. As long as you are not involved in any crime, Xuan Xia will at most punish you with hard labor and will not treat you harshly. If you can help us a little bit in the future, we can always live on."

After hearing this, Mrs. Tang's anger disappeared, and she became a little sad instead.

To some extent, Xun Yu's words can be regarded as an arrangement for his final affairs.

It was because she understood Xun Yu's temperament too well that she knew she could not persuade him at all. If Xuan Xia really destroyed Wei State one day, her husband would only choose to die with the State.
Seeing Madam Tang turned her head away and began to wipe her tears, Xun Yu shook his head and looked at the servant who had been silent all the time: "Please remember what I said just now and tell Youruo exactly. This is my attitude, so there is no need to write another reply."

When the servant heard this, he immediately agreed.

Xun Yu thought for a moment and then said, "Besides letters, is there anything that you would like to say that is inconvenient to be included in letters?"

The servant nodded and said, "The boss asked me to tell you that Xuanxia's social system is very different, and business is prevalent. Although business is not very respectable now, it may be the cornerstone of society in the future. After three generations, the Xun family may rise again. The strength of the north and the south is clear now. I hope you can make plans early."

Hearing this, Xun Yu smiled without comment. This guy was actually worried that he couldn't understand the deep meaning of the letter, so he asked someone to convey it verbally.

But soon, Xun Yu frowned, he found that there was something wrong in the servant's words.

He stared at the servant and asked in a deep voice, "How do you address the master?"

The servant raised his head and glanced at Xun Yu, and said with some uneasiness: "In Xuanxia, ​​the sale of slaves is prohibited. All labor must be contracted as hired labor, so there is no longer a master-servant relationship. The boss has also signed a labor contract with me, and he insists that I call him the boss."

After explaining the reason, not only did Xun Yu remain silent with a strange expression on his face, but even Mrs. Tang stared at him.

For them, the personal dependence relationship between master and servant is what is in line with their cognition. On the contrary, this form of employment is difficult to accept. This kind of thing is still too advanced for them.

Xun Yu carefully observed the demeanor of the "hired worker" and could feel that the worker seemed to have adapted to this new relationship, which made him feel a little sad.

It seems that many of the new concepts and rules advocated by Xuan Xia have begun to take root in people's hearts.

The things in the Natural Book seem to have been put into practice and have yielded results. Now it seems to be really feasible.
"The world is really going to change," Xun Yu sighed, then patted the hired worker on the shoulder, left a word and turned away: "The boss is the boss, since Youruo asked you to make this exchange, you should do it, and forget the title of master from now on."

After he finished speaking, he was about to walk out of the study, but Xun Yu paused and turned around.

Under Mrs. Tang's puzzled gaze, Xun Yu found something in the corner of the bookshelf. It turned out to be an old paper book with three big characters "Natural Classic" written on it.

Coming to the desk, Xun Yu dusted off the books, then picked up a volume on the table, put the book down, and then looked at Mrs. Tang.

"From now on, all the children in your family must be familiar with this sutra, but this alone is not enough. I will find a way to get the official Xuanxia textbook, and you can learn and teach at home."

As Xun Yu spoke, he sighed in his heart. He could live and die with Cao Wei, but he had to make some plans for his family: "Of course, this matter should be kept secret and not known to outsiders."

(End of this chapter)