Volume 1 Jiangdong Fengyun Chapter 12: Friends of the Noble Family
"Can it be considered disrespectful to 'command the emperor to command the disobedient'?"
After hearing Bai Tu's words, Liu Bei, Chen Gong, Cao Bao... and an old man at the table were stunned at first, and then a thoughtful look appeared in their eyes.
Are you disobeying the emperor's orders?
It sounds wonderful, but the man with a quick mind has vaguely heard another voice roaring: Using the emperor to control the princes!
"Isn't that a good thing? Speaking of which... if he is 'disloyal', then Cao Cao dared to do that kind of thing to the people of Xuzhou. He is the biggest 'disloyal', right?" Zhang Fei said.
No one paid any attention to this fool, even Guan Yu just patted Zhang Fei on the shoulder.
"Brother Benchu, will you really just sit there and do nothing?" Liu Bei said with some hope.
"Is there any difference?" Bai Tu asked back.
There is a difference. In the short term, if Emperor Xian falls into Yuan Shao's hands, he will be even more miserable!
The two Yuans are now the only two warlords who can "stand firm" because of their family advantage of three generations of officials.
The situation where Cao Cao and Liu Bei had no one to use their resources and were constrained everywhere would not happen to them. The Yuan family had three officials in four generations and was one of the largest families. The power they occupied could be integrated quickly without the pain of the "start-up period".
The saying "holding the emperor hostage to command the other princes" was first used by Ju Su to persuade Yuan Shao, and when Mao Jie persuaded Cao Cao, he actually used "holding the emperor hostage to command the disobedient"!
Regardless of whether it was "hostage" or "obedience" in the future, the background of Yuan and Cao destined that Cao Cao would respect the Han emperor more, at least in the short term.
The sentence "Is there any difference?" shattered Liu Bei's last hope.
"Well, as long as they treat the emperor well, they will be the pillars of the Han Dynasty!" Liu Bei said helplessly.
Although he was extremely reluctant, he understood that if Cao Cao really welcomed the emperor, he would have to give up his revenge on Xuzhou.
Bai Tu disagreed in his heart - even Emperor Zhaolie at this time had only this much vision.
His inner goal was nothing more than to become a pillar of the Han Dynasty, a general or a prime minister, and he even believed that the same was true for other princes. Even though he knew that Cao Cao had the possibility of "holding the emperor hostage", at best he just thought "whether he wanted to be like Huo Guang", and he would never think that he wanted to be like Wang Mang!
After all, many emperors of the Han Dynasty were unlucky. Foreign relatives, eunuchs, and powerful ministers took turns to abuse power, and only a few emperors could make their own decisions.
In addition to Bai Tu, there was only , wondering if this was another sign of the collapse of the Han Dynasty...
However, this matter was still quite sensitive. After all, Liu Bei and Lu Bu were not "one family", and it was impossible for them to discuss anything in detail afterwards. The banquet soon returned to the theme of "welcoming guests".
Bai Tu had just pointed out the current situation, which undoubtedly proved his true ability. In addition, Chen Gong had previously "created momentum" for him, and now he is actually quite popular at the banquet.
At this time, the banquet in the governor's mansion still followed the system of separate meals. Everyone knelt behind a small table. After toasting Lu Bu, many people took the initiative to toast Bai Tu from a distance.
This also made Bai Tu realize that the old man who had "reacted quickly" before was none other than Chen Gui, the head of another influential family in Xuzhou - the "Chen family".
"Mr. Bai has a keen eye. If he is free someday, the Chen family will certainly welcome him." Chen Gui did not hide his affection for Bai Tu.
But Bai Tu knew that he was just listening to these words. This old fox... was not easy to deal with!
Although Liu Bei picked up Xuzhou, this start was definitely more nightmarish than Cao Cao's. Cao Cao could at least guarantee that the people under his nose and in the real core area were all his confidants, while Liu Bei could not even fully control the city of Xuzhou.
After three rounds of drinking, Liu Bei suddenly said to Lu Bu: "Wen Hou, before Lord Tao died last year, he entrusted Xuzhou to me. Now... I feel more and more powerless."
"Brother! Just follow your heart!" Zhang Fei was so drunk that his tongue was swollen, but when he heard this, he quickly reacted and wanted to stop Liu Bei from speaking any further.
"What do you want to say, envoy?" Lu Bu stared at Liu Bei with shining eyes.
He had an expression that said, "Is this big-eared guy trying to test me?" At the same time, he was also angry in his heart and thought to himself: If you really dare to say it, I really dare to answer it!
"Marquis Wen... I would like to entrust Xuzhou to you, is that okay?" Liu Bei asked sincerely.
Bai Tu watched for a long time but did not find any pretense in Liu Bei. Even if it was true that Liu Bei was "overwhelmed" by the people in Xuzhou and had to give up Xuzhou, Bai Tu would believe it.
Lu Bu didn't care about that, especially when he found Zhang Fei glaring at him and Guan Yu's eyes were half open and half closed, as if making a silent threat. The only thought left in his mind was "rush forward"!
"Hahaha, if you have this intention, of course..."
When Zhang Fei heard Lu Bu call Liu Bei "good brother", he was about to slam the table and stand up.
"Are you very happy?" Bai Tu suddenly interjected before Chen Gong had a chance to reply.
When Lu Bu heard Bai Tu interrupting him, he instinctively looked at him, then followed Bai Tu's gaze and found that when he said "very happy", he was not talking about himself, but the people "opposite" - the gentry of Xuzhou!
The people being looked at all lowered their heads to eat their meat, without any eye contact at all.
[What are they so happy about? Am I really so popular among the people in Xuzhou?] This thought flashed through Lu Bu's mind, but he strangled it immediately.
Every failure makes you wiser. Lu Bu is not smart, but he is not a fool either. Didn’t this happen not long ago?
He was also so popular when he was in Yanzhou!
Aristocratic families from all over the country welcomed him to settle in Yanzhou. At that time, he really thought that his titles of "Marquis Wen" and "Flying General" had worked. However... in the end, he was stabbed in the back by the aristocratic families. When he was in Puyang, the aristocratic families sold him to Cao Cao in the same way they welcomed him.
Bai Tu couldn't help it this time.
Lu Bu is indeed a "friend of the aristocratic families". The Yanzhou aristocratic families relied on Lu Bu to rebel against Cao. Now the Xuzhou aristocratic families are also relying on Lu Bu to rebel against Liu?
Do these people really think highly of Lu Bu? You must be kidding!
Some people simply think that this straight man who only knows how to fight and kill is easy to fool. Some are even worse, and may have put a price on Lu Bu in their minds... For example, an old man named Chen who does not want to reveal his name.
Yanzhou is the best example! Now that Cao Cao has returned, not only has he not cleared up the chaos, but he has also adjusted his relationship with the aristocratic families. He no longer dares to act rashly like before, and no one is looking forward to Lü Bu's rescue as much as before.
The same is true for the Xuzhou gentry right now. They are still a little wary of Liu Bei, so they don't fully cooperate, but they are very welcoming to Lu Bu... Could it be because of trust?
It's just that they think Lu Bu is easy to fool and control!
Please be human!
I can't even look at the white picture anymore...
"Haha, envoy, it doesn't matter whether it's Xuzhou or not. I think it's more practical to fight against the bandits Cao! I, Lu Bu, will be stationed in Xiaopei and form a pincer attack with you...how do you think?" Lu Bu also reacted at this time, sneered, and said in his heart: You guys can just fight each other!