SFS Chapter 640 Liu Bei Resists Temptation
Chapter 640 Liu Bei Resists Temptation
The four unfortunate individuals stood at the door for an entire night without eating or drinking, and by dawn their legs were weak.
When Liu Bei woke up in the morning, he scolded the four men, "You can get out of here now. If you dare to go to a place like that again, I'll break your legs. Get out of here."
The four men fled as if granted a pardon, while Liu Bei went into the palace to review memorials and begin his day's work. Before long, Xu Shu was summoned and arrived, and was invited in by Chen Dao.
Upon seeing him enter, Liu Bei immediately stood up, pulled him to sit on the sofa, and exchanged pleasantries. After a moment, his expression changed, and he asked cautiously, "Yuanzhi, tell me the purpose of Cao Pi sending you here. What is the reason for your visit this time?"
When the topic turned to business, Xu Shu's face showed some complexity. After struggling for a moment, he decided to tell the truth: "I am nominally sent by the Wei Emperor, but in reality, I am entrusted by the gentry of the Central Plains to talk to His Majesty about some matters."
After stating his three conditions, he laid out the three conditions of the Central Plains gentry, and then looked at Liu Bei, waiting for his reply.
Liu Bei picked up his teacup, pretending to drink water as he quickly fell into thought. After putting down the teacup, he sneered, "You just recommended Cao Pi as emperor and now you want to use him as a bargaining chip to negotiate with me? In other words, as long as the benefits are right, they are willing to betray their monarch? Do these Central Plains gentry still have any sense of loyalty and righteousness?"
They talk about loyalty to the emperor and love for the country, but in reality they are thinking about selling out the emperor they have installed. If they can sell out the emperor today, can they sell out the country tomorrow?
As Guan Xing recounted the historical events of later generations, such as the Northern Song soldiers fighting to the death on the front lines while the scholar-officials handed over troop deployments to the Jin army, and the scenes of military generals fighting to the death while civil officials undermined them at the end of the Ming Dynasty, a murderous glint appeared in Liu Bei's eyes.
These short-sighted people who put their own interests above the national interest all deserve to be killed.
Xu Shu looked slightly embarrassed; this was indeed quite awkward, but he had no choice but to ask, "Then what does Your Majesty mean?"
Liu Bei snorted coldly: "I will not agree to any of these three conditions. I can forgive them, I can not move them to the imperial mausoleum, and I can leave them some land to allow them to be self-reliant. But these must be based on my will and not their threats. Now that I have ascended the throne, I am the Emperor of the Great Han. An emperor cannot compromise with anyone."
In other words, we can give, but they cannot ask for it.
But what are the gentry of the Central Plains doing now? They are using a tough stance to tell Liu Bei that either he should agree to their conditions, or they will support Cao Pi to depose him. What is this if not a threat?
Although Xu Shu knew that Liu Bei would refuse, he did not expect Liu Bei to refuse so decisively, leaving no room for negotiation. He frowned and said, "Your Majesty, this matter can actually be discussed. If Your Majesty is willing, you can completely dismantle the alliance of the Central Plains gentry through negotiations, thereby reducing the resistance to the Northern Expedition. On the contrary, if the Central Plains gentry are truly united, the resistance to Your Majesty's Northern Expedition will definitely increase several times over."
Asking for an exorbitant price and then negotiating on the spot—businesses are only successful when there's room for negotiation. There's no reason to refuse a price just because you hear it.
When it comes to business, you should at least try to negotiate a price.
Liu Bei shook his head firmly and said, "There is no room for negotiation on this matter. People of all ages and regions are of one mind. The whole country is one. I have already implemented reforms in Jiangnan. If we negotiate with the gentry of the Central Plains, what will the gentry of Jiangnan think? Won't they immediately rebel?"
"Your visit to Jiangling this time will present me with two dilemmas. If I cannot resist the temptation to negotiate with the gentry of the Central Plains, it will anger the gentry of Jiangnan and cause the newly stabilized Jiangnan to become unstable again, thus slowing down the Northern Expedition."
"If we resist the temptation and firmly refuse, it will unite the gentry of the Central Plains to fight against me. No matter what the outcome, it will only benefit Cao Pi and the gentry of the Central Plains. The person who came up with this plan is truly cunning."
This is indeed the case. If Liu Bei agrees, even if he is only tempted, it will displease the gentry in Jiangnan and cause turmoil in Jiangnan again. If he refuses outright, it will unite the gentry in the Central Plains. It seems that no matter what he does, he will be wrong.
It's an open conspiracy.
Liu Bei continued, “Yuanzhi, we all came from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and we all know how much damage the Yellow Turban Rebellion caused to the court, and we know even better why it broke out. So some diseases must be cured at their root, not just treated as symptoms. It’s like building a house; tearing it down and rebuilding it is much simpler and more stable than patching it up. The court’s deep-seated problems must be completely changed. So before the Northern Expedition is successful, I will not agree to any conditions from the Central Plains gentry. If they want to deal with me, let them come at me. I will accept both open and covert attacks.”
Since Liu Bei had already said so much, Xu Shu naturally had nothing more to say. He rose and bowed, saying, "I understand Your Majesty's meaning. I will go back and tell the gentry of the Central Plains to give up any thoughts of threatening Your Majesty."
Liu Bei stood up, grabbed his hand, and said, "I don't care what Cao Pi and the gentry of the Central Plains think. What I really want to know is you, Yuanzhi, are you still willing to stay and help me accomplish this great undertaking?"
After speaking, he stared intently at Xu Shu, his eyes full of anticipation.
Xu Shu avoided eye contact, struggling for a long time before finally saying, "Your Majesty, I am naturally willing to follow you in achieving unparalleled feats, but my children are all in the Central Plains. If I do not return, I fear they..."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I still remember my promise and will never offer the Wei Emperor a single plan or strategy. Upon returning to Luoyang, I will request to be transferred to the border and will not create any obstacles for Your Majesty's northern expedition."
Xu Shu was a man of great loyalty and affection. He had left Liu Bei because of his mother, and now that his mother had passed away, he had children to rely on, which made his bond with her even stronger. If he did not return, Cao Pi and the gentry of the Central Plains would not let his family off the hook.
Upon hearing this, Liu Bei felt a pang of regret, but then thought it was a good thing. He laughed and said, "Alright, then Yuanzhi, go back and wait for news of my victory in the Northern Expedition. But there's one thing: you must not die before me. I'm still thinking of conquering the grasslands with you and establishing the Wei-Huo empire together."
After finishing their business, the two began to talk about the local customs and culture of Jiangnan, and what the fleet had seen and heard overseas. Xu Shu took his leave after chatting for half an hour.
No sooner had Xu Shu left than Liu Bei summoned Zhuge Liang to the palace to report on the situation. They decided to make public the purpose of Xu Shu's mission to Jiangling and Liu Bei's resolute refusal, so that the gentry of Jiangnan would know the court's determination to launch a northern expedition, thus putting aside any other thoughts and allowing them to focus on preparing for the expedition.
Xu Shu's mission was a unification of thought for both Han and Wei. Liu Bei expressed his stance by refusing, allowing his subjects to set aside their distractions and focus on preparing for the Northern Expedition. Cao Wei, on the other hand, used Liu Bei's refusal to make the gentry of the Central Plains abandon any illusions of peace talks and actively resist Liu Bei.
From this perspective, both sides achieved their goals.
As expected, when the news spread, all the officials in Jiangling were shocked by Liu Bei's determination. Liu Bei actually refused the temptation to compromise with the gentry of the Central Plains and thus quickly unify the world. His resolve was too strong.
However, in doing so, the gentry of the Central Plains would be on the opposite side of Liu Bei and would completely offend him. In other words, if Liu Bei were to succeed in his northern expedition, the benefits he would give to the gentry of the Central Plains would be very little. Who would fill the gap in benefits? Wouldn't it be the gentry of the Jiangnan region?
Thinking of the dazzling world of the Central Plains, the gentry of Jiangnan all rolled up their sleeves and began to eagerly prepare for action.
In this emotional state, Xu Shu bid farewell to Liu Bei and returned to Luoyang to report to Cao Pi.
On the day of his departure, Liu Bei personally went out of the city to see him off, standing by the roadside until Xu Shu's figure disappeared before returning.
Work is work, and feelings are feelings. The conflict with Cao Wei cannot affect his friendship with Xu Shu in the slightest. However, Cao Wei will definitely react after Xu Shu returns. How will Cao Pi make his move, and how should he deal with it?