Chapter 47: Guo Jia and Xun You

"Xun Gongda has been remarkably clever since childhood, possessing inner wisdom and discernment. Even in his youth, he could distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous."

"A few years ago, Xun You served as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gates in Chang'an, where he conspired with the Imperial Censor Zheng Tai, the Chief史 (Chief Clerk) He Yong, the Palace Attendant Zhong Ji, and the Colonel of the Cavalry Wu Qiong to assassinate Dong Zhuo."

"Unfortunately, someone among them was indiscreet and the plot leaked, leading to Xun You's immediate imprisonment for trial."

"He Yong, imprisoned alongside him, committed suicide, yet Xun You ate and drank as usual, managing to survive until Dong Zhuo was executed and a general amnesty was declared across the realm, whereupon he was acquitted and released."

"Now, he has sought the position of Administrator of Shu Commandery, but due to blocked roads, he is stranded in Xiangyang, Jingzhou. This is a heaven-sent opportunity for you, Father, to issue a formal summons and recruit him."

Liu Bei listened in stunned silence. He actually wanted to ask his son how he came to know all this.

Yet, the words reached his lips and were swallowed back.

Upon careful reflection, Liu Bei knew the answer without asking.

It was spoken by the immortals in a dream.

If Liu Feng had not been living right under the same roof with him, Liu Bei would have found it hard to completely believe, even if the person in question was his own son.

Yet now, he had no choice but to choose belief.

"Very well, this afternoon I shall draft a letter to Changwen, and then dispatch men to Xiangyang to summon Xun You."

Liu Bei continued to ask, "And what about the other person?"

"The other person is surnamed Guo, given name Jia, courtesy name Fengxiao. He is from a distant branch of the Yingchuan Guo family, currently serving as a minor official under Yuan Shao, where his ambitions remain thwarted."

"Speaking of which, after meeting Yuan Shao, this Guo Fengxiao made two remarks to his kinsman Guo Tu and his relative by marriage Xin Ping. In my view, they hit the nail right on the head, exposing all of Yuan Benchu's weaknesses."

Hearing this, Liu Bei immediately felt an itch of anticipation. One must know that Yuan Shao was a colossal entity on the verge of unifying northern China. His Big-Eared Brother couldn't even defeat Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan, and had been beaten so badly that he even lost Pingyuan State.

Now that someone actually dared to speak ill of Yuan Benchu, listening to it would be immensely gratifying.

"What did this Guo Fengxiao say?"

Liu Feng replied, "He said that Yuan Benchu loves to gather scholars but knows not how to employ them, and loves to devise strategies but grasps not their principles. Thus, though he gathers multitudes, he cannot utilize each to the fullest; he is full of schemes yet lacks decisiveness. Should he encounter a great disaster, he will inevitably be in grave peril."

Liu Bei smacked his lips and slowly nodded. "What Guo Fengxiao says is not false; Benchu indeed possesses the flaw of devising grand strategies without the decisiveness to execute them. Back in Luoyang, Cao Mengde bitterly urged Benchu to rally the northern and southern armies, ally with Ding Yuan, and drive out the rebel Dong. Yet Benchu stubbornly refused, merely asking us to allow him three days to reflect. It was truly infuriating."

Liu Feng glanced at Liu Bei, seeing his father's face filled with indignation over missed opportunities, and chuckled inwardly.

Guo Fengxiao's words were best taken with a grain of salt, as there was bound to be quite a bit of exaggeration mixed in. Why were you resonating with them so deeply?

Back when Yuan Shao was in Luoyang, how could he possibly have joined forces with you to drive out Dong Zhuo?

One must remember that at that time, Dong Zhuo was essentially a retainer of the Yuan family. Yuan Shao's own paternal uncle, Yuan Wei, was Dong Zhuo's patron. From the perspective of the Yuan clan, the troops under Dong Zhuo's command were far more loyal and reliable than Cao Cao or Liu Bei.

However, judging by the Big-Eared Brother's tone, during the upheaval in Luoyang, he had indeed been inside the Eastern Capital and even maintained deep friendships with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

This inevitably reminded Liu Feng of certain later analyses: back when Liu Bei was studying under Lu Zhi, he had already become acquainted with figures like Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu.

No wonder Liu Bei was so warmly welcomed wherever he went in later days; after all, they were old acquaintances, friends made in their youth.

Liu Bei truly was an inspirational veteran who grew more successful the longer he struggled.

Extremely satisfied, Liu Bei showered Liu Feng with praises and could not help daydreaming aloud, "If the wise scholars recommended by Feng can all gather under one roof, why worry that Xuzhou will not flourish!"

Liu Feng hurriedly poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

"Father, these men are all paragons of their era. Securing even one of them would be Xuzhou's great fortune; we dare not harbor extravagant hopes of gathering them all under our command."

Liu Feng said nothing of this aloud, but in his heart, he had already calculated the odds.

When Taishi Ci had first met his father, he still held a certain level of respect for him, and the impressions on both sides were indeed quite favorable.

However, Taishi Ci was a man of lofty ambitions, and his starting point was not low either. By the age of twenty, he was already a major official in the commandery, and later he risked his life to aid the Administrator, spreading a glorious reputation across Qingzhou.

Afterward, to repay Kong Rong's kindness, he repeatedly fought his way through the besieging Yellow Turban forces, displaying valor that surpassed three armies and spreading his martial fame far and wide.

At this present time, wishing to recruit Taishi Ci would require a foundation package consisting of at least a six-hundred-shi Colonel of a Separate Command or a Martial-Mighty Major.

Otherwise, Taishi Ci might suspect that you were not trying to recruit him, but rather insulting him.

To be safer, one would need to offer the position of a Commandery Colonel or a County Magistrate.

Currently, Liu Bei had only a meager force of soldiers and a constrained treasury, making an empty title of Colonel entirely lacking in sincerity.

Therefore, Liu Feng's advice to Liu Bei was to offer the post of County Magistrate combined with a Separate Command Major, matching the treatment given to Zhao Yun and Tian Yu. In addition, the position of Martial-Mighty Major could also be offered for Taishi Ci to choose from, which could be considered overflowing with sincerity.

After all, Taishi Ci ranked quite high in Liu Feng's mind and was one of the primary targets for recruitment this time.

As for Shi Yi, the probability of securing him was the highest.

After all, at this time he had not yet gained a great reputation, nor did he hail from a prominent and powerful clan. Coupled with the fact that he was not favored by Kong Rong, he was believed to be the easiest to poach.

However, the protagonist remembered that Shi Yi also left Kong Rong this year and headed south to join Sun Ce.

Therefore, whether Shi Yi could be secured depended entirely on whether he had already set out for Jiangdong.

Wang Xiu possessed the greatest fame, the strongest demonstrated capability at present, and held the highest official rank. Even with Kong Rong's assistance, he was likely the hardest to acquire.

Whether Wang Xiu could be persuaded depended on whether the letters meticulously prepared by Liu Feng could move the other party's heart.

As for Xun You and Guo Jia, these two men were simply too clever. Even with his claimed two thousand years of hindsight, Liu Feng dared not guarantee he could outsmart them in a contest of wits.

Liu Feng persuaded Liu Bei to demonstrate absolute sincerity while hoping that Xun You would continue to adhere to the family principle of diversified investments, considering joining the opposing side to Xun Chen and Xun Yu, and choose to stay and assist Liu Bei.

Therefore, the recruitment letter sent out not only maintained a sincere tone but merely invited the other party to visit Xuzhou as a guest for an inspection, leaving the discussion of whether to take up an official post in Xuzhou for a later time.

By the time they finished discussing official business, the food had already grown cold.

Yet neither Liu Bei nor Liu Feng had the attendants clear the table; instead, they ate the cold rice washed down with hot water.

Buoyed by their high spirits, the two quickly swept the food clean.

While Liu Bei was unquestionably busy, Liu Feng likewise had a mountain of matters to attend to.

Once the meal ended, the two parted ways.

Liu Bei went to the front hall to continue handling state affairs, while Liu Feng headed to the back courtyard to deal with trivial chores.

When Liu Feng said he was busy, he truly was not deceiving Liu Bei.

Right at that moment, he had several critical matters waiting for his attention.

Among them, the most important task was expanding the Liu Children Camp.

Previously, due to constraints in funds and provisions, maintaining the hundred-odd youths he already had was already stretching Liu Feng to his limits, leaving him with no spare capacity for further expansion.

One had to know that the appetites of these youths were truly formidable, easily rivaling those of full-grown men.