Chapter 44: Han Xun Deserves to Die

"If you do not accept it, then you will be a complete and utter rebel. By then, all the factions within Xuzhou will have a legitimate reason to oppose you. The surrounding warlords can even use this as a pretext to launch a punitive expedition against you. Amidst these internal troubles and external pressures, how long can you hold out in Xuzhou? And how can you possibly use Xuzhou as a base to develop and grow? But if you do accept it, then this foundation of Xuzhou must be immediately handed over to someone else. By then, not only will Xuzhou be lost, but you won't even be able to return to Yuzhou. What foothold will you have left then? In this situation, will you recognize the imperial court's appointment or not?"

Liu Feng's words struck like a giant bell, exploding in Liu Bais's mind. It was not that Liu Bei was truly foolish, but rather that his vision, experience, and intelligence were limited. Liu Bei had not realized that after allying with Yuan Shao, he had effectively become a rebel in the eyes of Emperor Xian of Han. Yuan Shao had never acknowledged Emperor Xian from the very beginning; initially, he was a staunch member of the Young Emperor's faction, going so far as to draw swords with Dong Zhuo to prevent the deposition of the Young Emperor. After escaping Luoyang, even though Dong Zhuo had successfully replaced the emperor, Yuan Shao still refused to recognize Emperor Xian. For this reason, he even wanted to enthrall Liu Yu as emperor in Hebei. To some extent, Emperor Xian perhaps despised Yuan Shao even more than the Liangzhou warlords like Li Jue and Guo Si. Under such circumstances, what good could possibly come of Liu Bei, an ally of the die-hard rebel Yuan Shao, rushing off to the capital to pay homage?

Indeed, Tao Qian had tried this once before. Acting on the advice of Zhao Yu and Wang Lang, he sent Zhao Yu as an envoy to Chang'an, and it was a great success. Not only did Zhao Yu bring back imperial edicts promoting Tao Qian to the Governor of Xuzhou and General Who Pacifies the East, and conferring upon him the title of Marquis of Liyang, but he also appointed Zhao Yu as the Administrator of Guangling and Wang Lang as the Administrator of Wu.

Yet who was Tao Qian? Tao Qian was an ally of Yuan Shu, a warlord who superficially supported the central imperial court. Most importantly, Tao Qian could never see eye to eye with Yuan Shao, and deep animosity existed between the two. In the eyes of both Emperor Xian and the Liangzhou warriors, Tao Qian was a prime candidate well worth winning over. This was the fundamental reason why Tao Qian so easily won the favor and rewards of the imperial court. Even so, the imperial court still planted obstacles within Tao Qian's sphere of influence, appointing Zhao Yu as Administrator of Guangling to split Tao Qian's power, and Wang Lang as Administrator of Wu to poach the talent under Tao Qian's command.

Presently, the Guanzhong region had descended into utter chaos, with Li Jue and Guo Si first fighting a bloody war against Ma Teng, Han Sui, and Liu Yu. Having won that conflict, they immediately turned on each other in an internal power struggle—first slaughtering Fan Chou at a banquet akin to the Feast at Hongmen, then frightening Zhang Ji into fleeing, and finally engaging in a brutal civil war between Li and Guo. Under such conditions, it was questionable whether an envoy could even survive the journey to Chang'an.

Furthermore, the most crucial reason was that Liu Feng knew very well that Cao Cao would go to receive the Emperor next year. Once the Emperor arrived in Xuchang, Cao Cao would immediately and proactively bestow official posts and titles upon Liu Bei without the slightest risk. Waiting just one more year meant gaining far greater rewards with zero risk. Yet now, they were being asked to risk losing Xuzhou and send gifts all the way to Chang'an across a thousand miles. If this wasn't sheer stupidity, then someone must be setting a trap to stab Big-Eared Liu in the back.

Then again, perhaps it wasn't a deliberate attempt to frame Liu Bei; perhaps they simply wanted to achieve their own ends, completely indifferent to Liu Bei's fate. Regardless of which possibility it was, Han Xun could no longer be trusted, and a thorough investigation had to be conducted to see if someone was pulling his strings from behind the scenes. If he were merely stupid, it could be forgiven, but if he acted out of malice, was this an attempt to bully the Liu family into thinking they wouldn't unsheathe their swords?

"Han Xun deserves to die!"

Liu Bei's hair stood on end with fury, his eyes blazing like a fierce tiger's, causing all beasts to submit in terror. Liu Feng, standing nearby, was thoroughly startled by this sudden murderous aura. After all, Big-Eared Liu was a seasoned hero who had spent half his life on the battlefield; the number of enemies he had slain with his own hands far exceeded a hundred. It was just that Liu Bei usually concealed this ruthless killing intent beneath an eager thirst for talent. In truth, he possessed a violent temper at his core and was the type to flip out at the slightest disagreement—he was by no means the meek, tear-shedding punching bag portrayed in the romance.

In history, the one who truly flogged the imperial inspector was not Zhang Fei, but rather this domineering father of Liu Feng. At the time, Liu Bei had even wanted to beat the inspector to death on the spot, and it was actually Zhang Fei who pleaded bitterly on the side, ultimately saving the inspector's life.

Liu Feng felt a pang of sympathy for his Third Uncle Zhang. It clearly wasn't him who administered the beating, and he had even acted as the peacemaker, yet he had taken the blame for over a millennium. No wonder his face was as dark as the bottom of a wok—it was undoubtedly the result of carrying the blame for too long. However, Luo Guanzhong had not entirely fabricated this; he had simply employed a clever grafting technique, turning Liu Bei's extreme attitude toward talented scholars into a mask while concealing his violent temper, thereby reducing benevolence into a mere caricature of Liu Bei.

Right now, Liu Bei's genuine anger had been truly aroused. He was indeed inept at political struggles; no matter his innate talent, this domain required long-term accumulated experience, elevation of perspective, and a wealth of worldly wisdom and intelligence. Liu Bei possessed none of these three prerequisites, which naturally made it effortless for others to lead him into a trap.

Liu Bei looked at Liu Feng with lingering fear. Fortunately, he had his son by his side; the mere thought of losing Xuzhou sent shivers down his spine. Do not assume that Liu Bei's repeated deferrals before taking over Xuzhou meant he genuinely didn't want it—he simply lacked confidence at the time. Prior to this, the only place Liu Bei had personally governed was a single county, and even that was a temporary, exceptional promotion and acting appointment. Later on, his title as the Chancellor of Pingyuan was merely a nominal command, equivalent to holding a rank while actually having lost even Pingyuan County itself.

For him to suddenly take charge of such a vast territory as Xuzhou, with a population of millions, it was inevitable that Liu Bei felt a sense of imposter syndrome. Yet his desire to possess it was equally genuine. One only needed to look at how, after feigning modesty, he hypocritically proposed Yuan Shu for the position to realize just how many hidden calculations Liu Bei harbored.

Do not underestimate this recommendation; many failed to perceive how insidious Big-Eared Liu's suggestion of Yuan Shu truly was. A few naive souls even foolishly believed that Liu Bei was sincerely recommending Yuan Shu. In reality, Liu Bei's move to recommend Yuan Shu had a profound underlying purpose: he was forcing people to take a side, specifically compelling the heavyweight Chen family of Xiapi.

Many people were unaware that the Chen family of Xiapi shared a deep, irreconcilable blood feud with Yuan Shu. The most famous members of the Xiapi Chen family were naturally the father and son, Chen Gui and Chen Deng. However, that was the perspective of later generations; during the campaign against Dong Zhuo by the warlords at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, the truly prominent figures were Chen Gui's cousin, Chen Deng's uncle, and Chen Qiu's biological sons, Chen Yu and Chen Cong.

Unlike Chen Gui, these two had long since attained high official ranks of two thousand shi, and both brothers held them simultaneously. One was the Administrator of Ruyin, and the other was the Governor of Yangzhou. Yet both had been utterly destroyed by Yuan Shu. As it happened, both men had managed to escape back to Xiapi. Could the Chen family possibly let bygones be bygones with Yuan Shu? Let alone invite Yuan Shu into Xuzhou to serve as its governor.

However, Liu Bei had been harboring overly romantic illusions at the time. Initially, he thought he was taking over a complete and intact Xuzhou, only to discover upon stepping into office that it was such a hopeless mess.