frightfiction Chapter 631 Ideological Conflict, Class Contradictions
Chapter 631 Ideological Conflict, Class Contradictions
For decades, the Central Plains were embroiled in war, leaving nine out of ten houses empty and the population dwindling. The gentry and common people alike were collectively weary of war and truly did not want to fight anymore.
Moreover, the Han Dynasty had only been destroyed for half a year, and the officials of Cao Wei were mostly Han officials who still had deep feelings for the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei was also a member of the Han imperial family. If he could truly restore the Han Dynasty, the gentry of the Central Plains would not be opposed emotionally. The only point of conflict was interests. As long as the interests were sufficient, the gentry of the Central Plains would have no psychological burden in surrendering to Liu Bei.
In other words, the gentry of the Central Plains, represented by Zhong Yao, genuinely wanted to negotiate with Liu Bei. As long as Liu Bei could guarantee their interests, they would immediately betray Cao Pi and return to the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, the envoy sent to the pseudo-Han regime had to be carefully considered. First, the envoy had to have a certain reputation. He couldn't just send an ugly person and make Liu Bei feel slighted. Second, the envoy had to be someone Liu Bei knew and could talk to. To be precise, the envoy's opinions could be listened to by Liu Bei. After thinking it over, Zhong Yao thought of Xu Shu.
This was an old acquaintance of Liu Bei. He had served as Liu Bei's strategist, helping him defeat Cao Cao's army and flee in disarray. When they parted ways, he also recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei. Liu Bei had a very deep affection for him.
In other words, Liu Bei would definitely listen to what Xu Shu said, making him the perfect candidate to negotiate with Liu Bei.
Zhong Yao continued, "The chief envoy is Xu Shu, the Right General of the Household, and the deputy envoy is Liu Jun, the current magistrate of Pingyang County in Hedong Commandery. What does Your Majesty think?"
Cao Pi was so enraged that he almost spat in Zhong Yao's face.
It's one thing for the chief envoy to send Xu Shu, but the deputy envoy actually sent Liu Jun. Are you too lazy to even hide your intention to surrender to the big-eared traitor?
Who is Liu Jun? He is Liu Yuanqi's grandson and Liu Deran's son.
Liu Yuanqi was not only Liu Bei's uncle, but also the one who sponsored Liu Bei's studies in his early years. His son, Liu Deran, was not only Liu Bei's cousin, but also a classmate of Liu Bei who went to study with Lu Zhi.
It is no exaggeration to say that Liu Bei's first pot of gold was funded by his uncle Liu Yuanqi. If Liu Yuanqi had not provided money, effort, and connections to send Liu Bei to study under Lu Zhi, Liu Bei would never have been where he is today. Now, if you ask Liu Yuanqi's grandson to negotiate with Liu Bei, would you negotiate or surrender directly?
You've even resorted to emotional blackmail; it seems you have very high expectations for Liu Bei.
Faced with Zhong Yao's suggestion, Cao Pi felt a deep sense of powerlessness. When faced with a situation where your teammates are about to be sold out, what else can you do but give up?
Cao Pi retorted sarcastically, "Since the Grand Tutor chose to send Xu Shu, he should know about the relationship between Liu Bei and Xu Shu. Aren't you afraid that Xu Shu will not come back?"
Zhong Yao shook his head and said, "Times change and people's hearts are fickle. Xu Yuanzhi may have sincerely wanted to help Liu Bei restore the Han Dynasty back then, but now, he would never want to see Liu Bei become the new Emperor Xiaowu."
Xu Shu didn't offer Cao Cao any strategies during the years he was tricked back to the Central Plains by Cao Cao, but that doesn't mean he didn't work for Cao Cao. Xu Shu was, after all, an official, and he had to do his job. Since he did his job, he had contributed to Cao Cao. Over the years, he had developed some feelings for Cao Wei. Moreover, he now had children and family ties, so he couldn't act as freely as he did when he was a wandering knight.
More importantly, back then, Liu Bei only wanted to restore the Han Dynasty and didn't think about anything else. What is Liu Bei doing now? He is changing the entire social order, redistributing all the land of the gentry and nationalizing all the mines. How is this any different from Wang Mang?
Even if Liu Bei's methods were more sophisticated and had a better chance of success than Wang Mang's, shouldn't he still ask for other people's opinions and whether they were willing to change?
There are always some people in the world who are afraid of new ideas and trends, afraid of everything unknown, and only want to follow the original order step by step. Zhong Yao was like that, and Xu Shu is still like that now.
It should be noted that Xu Shu was also nearing sixty years old. Such a stubborn old man was the most conservative and could not be easily changed. In contrast, Liu Bei, who was over sixty years old and still messed around recklessly, was a madman who wanted to change the world.
Therefore, Liu Bei and Xu Shu have now diverged in their ideologies. These ideological differences are irreconcilable, meaning that even if Xu Shu were to return to Liu Bei's side, they would not be as close as before, but would instead break off their relationship due to their differing ideologies.
Zhong Yao believed he had a good eye for talent and would not have appointed Xu Shu as envoy without absolute certainty.
Zhong Yao continued, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I guarantee with my life that Xu Shu would never agree with Liu Bei's theories, much less defect to Liu Bei and turn against us."
Cao Pi stroked his beard and laughed, "I understand now. Grand Tutor, you want to turn the struggle for hegemony between our Great Wei and the pseudo-Han into a struggle for reform between the old laws and the new laws, right?"
The battle for supremacy is only about fighting for the world and doesn't involve anything else. If you can't win, you can surrender. But in the battle for reform, there is no such thing as surrender; it's a fight to the death.
Referring to the reforms of Shang Yang during the reign of Duke Xiao of Qin, it was a fight to the death between the conservatives and the reformers.
Zhong Yao bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
Cao Pi continued, “Grand Tutor’s idea is good, but the problem is that there are many people in our Great Wei who support Liu Bei’s reforms. Those poor scholars who have no hope of entering officialdom and the sons of illegitimate branches of the aristocratic families will definitely support this so-called imperial examination system. Aren’t you afraid of playing with fire and getting burned? You might kill yourself before the pseudo-Han even attacks?”
This was a rather blunt statement, but Cao Pi didn't care. Liu Bei was the biggest threat right now, and he had no time to be subtle in the face of that threat.
Zhong Yao replied, "There is indeed this hidden danger, but it's better to bring these people out into the open or kick them to Liu Bei's side than to let them hide within the court and cause trouble, isn't it?"
"Furthermore, since there are those within the Great Wei who support the pseudo-Han, there must also be those within the pseudo-Han who support our Great Wei. I do not believe that all the gentry in Jiangnan are willing to be manipulated by Liu Bei."
"Once the battle lines are drawn, the Great Wei will gather all its gentry, and the pseudo-Han will gather all its commoners. Let's see who is more ruthless."
In this way, the ideological conflict turned into a class conflict, and the two sides became even more irreconcilable. The Central Plains gentry, represented by Zhong Yao, really went to any lengths to protect their family interests.
Upon hearing this, Cao Pi was intrigued. If that were the case, he might be able to fight Liu Bei. Indeed, he should occasionally try to squeeze these old foxes from the aristocratic families. You'll never know how much potential they have if you don't squeeze them.
More importantly, this move can prevent backstabbing to the greatest extent. With everyone and everything on the table, there is no need to worry about anyone causing trouble behind the scenes. In this way, when fighting Liu Bei on the front lines, one does not have to worry about the gentry stabbing one in the back. After all, no matter what, the enemy behind you is the most dangerous.
Cao Pi pondered for a long time before saying, "Let's do as the Grand Tutor suggests. Let Xu Shu go as an envoy to the puppet Han first, and we'll deal with the rest after Xu Shu returns from the puppet Han."
The only option is to wait for Xu Shu to return from the puppet Han regime. If Xu Shu doesn't return, the gentry will not give up on Liu Bei, and they will not cooperate with Cao Pi's work. Only when the gentry completely give up on Liu Bei will they wholeheartedly follow Cao Pi.
As the saying goes, people are inherently naive; they'll always think they're invincible until they've been thoroughly beaten. Only after suffering enough beatings will they realize that home is the best place.
Take his dead father, Cao Cao, for example. In his early years, Cao Cao couldn't resist beautiful women and slept with every one he saw. He even caused the death of his eldest son, Cao Ang, because of this. In his later years, he realized that his first wife, Lady Ding, was the best. He wanted to return to Lady Ding's side, but unfortunately, she divorced him, and he could never go back.
The same applies to the gentry of the Central Plains. Only when they realize that they are not on the same path as Liu Bei will they truly support Cao Pi and the Great Wei.
"Yes..." Zhong Yao, having achieved his goal, bowed and took his leave.