Chapter 355 The So-called Destiny

The simple meeting ended with many aspects discussed, yet it seemed as if nothing was discussed.

Huan Jie walked down the stairs and stood in front of the railing on the platform, looking at the flock of geese five or six miles away.

Regarding this mission to Guanzhong, Huan Jie felt that his mission was accomplished, yet it seemed that it was not completely completed.

After all the twists and turns, it turned out that the so-called diplomatic strategy of establishing Changsha State to split Jingzhou, weaken Liu Biao and his son, and balance Jingzhou was promoted arbitrarily by people like Fu Xun, Pei Qian, and Xu You.

Perhaps Yi Ji or other scholars from Jingzhou who were interested in Guanzhong were also involved. In short, from the beginning to the end, the Grand Marshal did not care at all whether the State of Changsha could be established.

They don’t care whether Changsha State will become independent or separate in the future after its establishment.

He also said that Xu Shuo didn't care about the position of the entire Jingzhou.

Huan Jie thought about it and didn't find it strange.

After all, the enemy almost wiped out all the tribes in Hexi during this expedition outside the Great Wall, and even killed the two kings of the Xianbei who were attacking them, forcing the new Xianbei king Budugen to send envoys to beg for surrender.

The various Hu tribes were so weak that they could not withstand a fight, let alone the heroes inside the Great Wall who had families with them and had nowhere to escape.

The more Huan Jie thought about it, the more lost he became.

A trace of resentment grew in his feeling of loss. The entire Jingnan, Changsha State, and Jingzhou were all despised like this, so what was he, a famous scholar from Jingnan, to?
Just when Huan Jie was overwhelmed with emotion, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and Wang Xiu came together.

The three of them chatted with the others on the platform who were reluctant to leave. When they did not see Kong Rong, Wang Xiu asked the clerk Xu Gan, "Where is Si Zhi Gong?"

Xu Gan had no qualifications to enter and was just waiting here with other officials.

Seeing Wang Xiu asking, Xu Gan calmly replied, "The Minister of Justice is still reporting on his affairs."

Wang Xiu probably understood it. After all, Kong Rong's job was an offensive job. Whether he wanted a good reputation among the scholars or a title of an efficient official was entirely up to Kong Rong's own choice.

Wang Xiu looked around again, but could not find Yang Fu from any of the departments, nor any of the other secretaries in the Huangge.

At this time, Sima Zhi of the East Cao looked over and when their eyes met, Sima Zhi took the initiative to step forward and said, "Huang Ge will stay in Hexi to govern. For the time being, the East Cao will be in charge of communicating all matters."

"I see."

Wang Xiu took out three scrolls of bamboo slips and handed them over: "Two envoys from Lord Xuande request an audience, and here is the oath of Lord Yuan of Jiaozhou."

"The oath from Jiaozhou?"

Sima Zhi was slightly puzzled and somewhat distrustful of Yuan Tan's credibility, but he still flipped through the three bamboo slips and saw that there was no offense between the lines, so he said, "Please wait a moment, I will go in and report."

"Thank you."

Wang Xiu bowed deeply and watched Sima Zhi turn around and go into the building. Wang Xiu noticed that Cui Zhouping was looking at him.

Wang Xiu stepped forward and bowed: "Master Changshi, how are you?"

"Thank you for your concern. I wonder what the scenery in Jiaozhou is like?"

Cui Zhouping asked and found out that Wang Xiu had returned to Guanzhong for more than a month, but had not come to Ganquan Mountain.

Wang Xiu responded pointedly: "The people of Jiaozhou who were fleeing from the chaos heard that the Grand Marshal had successively defeated the various Hu tribes, and they were all excited. Many of them moved back with their families. The people of Jiaozhou were also very impressed."

Cui Zhouping nodded and said, "The title of Huainan is coming soon. I think Hebei will change. What do you think?"

Wang Xiu frowned in thought, and when he saw Jian Yong, he stepped back half a step and introduced him: "This is Jian Yong, Jian Xianhe, a man of Youzhou who is good at debate. You can consult him, Mr. Changshi."

"Jian Yong from Zhuo County, nice to meet Mr. Cui."

Jian Yong stepped forward and bowed, then said: "I have not known about the affairs of Yan and Zhao for a long time, so I dare not say much, please forgive me."

Cui Zhouping went to see Wang Xiu. Wang Xiu was calm and didn't care about Cui Zhouping's look at all.

A dozen other shogunate officials stood on Cui Zhouping's left and right, but they all exchanged glances without speaking.

Soon, Sima Zhi came downstairs quickly, his feet creaking on the wooden ladder, and came to Wang Xiu: "Mr. Shuzhi, Mr. Xianhe, and Mr. Gongyou, please follow me to the side hall to wash your hands. Your Majesty invites you three to dinner."

Wang Xiu glanced at Cui Zhouping and said with a smile, "I didn't expect to have such a good fortune."

Sima Zhi just smiled warmly and went to see Cui Zhouping with an apologetic look.

He also didn't expect that Black Bear would suddenly call Wang Xiu and the others to have dinner together, so he could only take the three of them to wash up again. When they came out of the bathroom in the side hall, Cui Zhouping and some Cao officials had already left.

Seeing Sima Zhi's embarrassment, Fu Gan, a clerk from the Western Cao, just shook his head and smiled, bowed in greeting, and led a group of officials down the stone steps of the platform.

There was no other choice, Sima Zhi had to lead Wang Xiu and the other two upstairs.

In the lobby on the second floor, Black Bear was chatting with Kong Rong when the four of them arrived. The thick scroll of bamboo slips presented by Kong Rong had been read and was folded in half and placed on the table like a broken tank track.

Black Bear held the sweet rice wine, bit the straw in his mouth and took a sip. After swallowing, he said, "Sizhi, what needs to be corrected is the style of the shogunate. From now on, don't interfere in the affairs of county officials and subordinates."

Kong Rong's face was stern, and he said, "But, Your Majesty, everything I have investigated is true."

"I didn't say I won't deal with it. They broke the law, so the county inspector should investigate. The school officials under the Sizhi should just keep an eye on the local area, and the local authorities should take care of it."

Black Bear wanted to pick up the seven or eight kilograms of bamboo slips and smash them on Kong Rong's head. He tried to speak in a gentle tone and said, "Many of the criminals have meritorious service. I will punish them after I confer the title."

Using titles to atone for one's crimes is a recognized tradition and there is nothing to discuss.

But in this case, many officials on the verge of death penalty would have a great chance of saving their lives and being sent to the front line as soldiers.

Perhaps it is a good thing for many criminal officials.

Seeing Sima Zhi and his men coming, Black Bear motioned for them to take a seat, and then said to Sima Zhi: "Zihua, the counties have inspectors to inspect, and there are not many cases of officials breaking the law. Nowadays, many hundred households in various places mistreat men and women, and slaves are killed or disabled. Go back and nominate a dozen people and make a list for me. I will send these people to inspect the hundred households in various places. When selecting people, we should focus on leniency, strictness, and knowledge of the law."

"Yes, I accept your order."

Sima Zhi bowed in agreement and then arranged for someone to deliver the three bamboo slips brought by Jian Yong, Sun Qian and Wang Xiu.

Black Bear read them one by one. Among the three, Sun Qian arrived the earliest. Seeing the documents he brought, Black Bear couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

I didn't expect Xu You to be so capable that he actually tricked Liu Bei into mortgaging his two daughters to him.

Let’s look at the new official document brought by Jian Yong. This is a report on the battle situation from Liu Bei’s perspective.

In short, the situation is getting better day by day, which makes Black Bear worried: "Mr. Xianhe, how many troops does Envoy Liu have under his command now?"

"Reporting to the Grand Marshal, the troops of General Liu in Nanyang number more than 18,000. There are also 15,000 troops from Jingzhou who are helping in the battle. The troops recruited from Wankou Road also number 5,000. Now, according to the plan, there are 8,000 troops from Nanxiang. If we add the volunteers from the Central Plains, there are no less than 10,000 people."

Jian Yong still made a conservative estimate of the possible volunteer troops in the Central Plains, and concluded: "According to my humble estimation, the number of troops under the command of our Lord Xuande should be between 50,000 and 60,000."

Black Bear just nodded and picked up Yuan Tan’s new oath that Wang Xiu brought.

Ever since Yuan Tan left Hebei, Black Bear discovered that this guy was getting better and better at swearing and writing oaths.

In today's world, who still cares about Jiaozhou's position?

After all, this was the gift Wang Xiu brought to Guanzhong. Black Bear nodded, closed the oath, and asked everyone, "Do you know what the destiny is now?"

When asking, Black Bear held the bamboo slips in his right hand and pointed at the sky on the roof. Everyone looked at each other in surprise, and then looked at Kong Rong, who had the highest reputation and current highest official position.

Kong Rong bowed and said, "Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty."

"Since the Yellow Turbans, the destiny has been defined by four words: defeat the many with the few!"

Black Bear placed the bamboo slips in his hand on the table and said to Sun Qian, who was more familiar with him, "After breakfast, Mr. Gongyou or Mr. Xianhe will return to the Central Plains overnight. Lord Xuande has a large number of troops and they are in disarray. I am afraid that Cao Cao will take advantage of them."

Sun Qian and Jian Yong looked at each other, and Jian Yong found it difficult emotionally to accept Black Bear's prediction.

He didn't really believe in the so-called destiny. He just thought that Black Bear had predicted the war and asked them to remind Liu Bei in a joking tone.

Kong Rong no longer cared about the victory or defeat of Cao and Liu in the Central Plains, so he asked, "Your Majesty, what makes you think you are saying this?"

"Liu Shijun commands 3000 to 5000 men, and moves like a dragon. He is hard to find an opponent in the world. Guan Yu, Zhang Yide, and Zhao Zilong each command several thousand soldiers and are also invincible. Unless Cao's army gathers tens of thousands, no one can stop him."

"From the very beginning, Envoy Liu was wrong. He shouldn't have joined forces with Cao Cao to fight against him."

Black Bear couldn't understand Liu Bei's obsession with taking over the Central Plains. He had already smelled the goose meat, so he continued, "Cao's army is now demoralized because of the murder of the emperor, and it is difficult for them to fight alone. Liu Shijun should attack from several directions, just focus on capturing cities and territories, and ignore Cao Ren and Cao Cao's garrisons. This way, Cao's army will collapse without a fight."

Jian Yong's face looked grim, while Sun Qian's expression tended towards despair.

He was more convinced of Black Bear's military capabilities and fell into deep pessimism.

(End of this chapter)