Xuande

Chapter 41 A Useful Acquaintance

Cao Cao felt that getting along with Liu Bei was very pleasant.

He seems to have regarded Liu Bei as his good friend, a good friend who can speak intimately, and feels sincerely happy about it.

but……

Liu Bei thought in his heart that it would be difficult for him and Cao Cao to be together after all.

No matter how much he appreciates the shining points of Cao Cao, Cao Cao does not have the same low-level vision as he does.

Cao Cao never really set his sights on those struggling people, otherwise he would never be able to write poems while slaughtering cities.

He is smart, he is wise, he is forbearing, and he is tenacious.

But he is unpopular.

Liu Bei looked at Cao Cao who was excitedly exchanging his views on literature with him, and there was no disturbance in his heart.

The bones of the dead are exposed in the wild, there is no rooster crowing for thousands of miles, and there is only one living person, and the thought of it breaks people's hearts.

If you, Cao Mengde, were really sad, why did you kill the soul of Xuzhou again?

When you wrote this poem, did you ever think about how many of the 90.00% of the nine dead people died because of your brutality?
Surely not?

You wrote this poem just to catch up with the trend of five-character poems, to show off your literary talents, and to show your benevolence and righteousness, right?
At the end of the Han Dynasty, in order to defend the dignity of their parents and teachers, rangers would fight and kill those who spoke rudely. This was a common trend in the Eastern Han Dynasty under the guidance of Gongyang Chunqiu Theory.

It was in line with the values ​​of the time that Cao Cao avenged Tao Qian to avenge his father.

Then you can just kill Tao Qian?

Killing his nine clans at most, is it enough for you to vent your anger?

What do you mean by slaughtering Xuzhou?
He was not strong enough to kill Tao Qian, so he attacked the people under his rule. Do you think this can punish Tao Qian?

Liu Bei silently mocked Cao Cao who showed off his skills.

This poem was written by Cao Cao, which has the same meaning as that it was written by Li Shen.

They all understand the truth, they understand it better than anyone else, and they can't understand it any more. They all understand the brother, the king, and the grand master.

But just understand.

Understand, does not mean to do it.

They know what to do is right, and they know what to do to save lives, so they decisively chose to make themselves and future generations more comfortable.

Talking and doing are two different things. If the operation is better, it will simply be parallel lines and never intersect.

There is a gap as wide and boundless as the Milky Way between them and the bottom. Except for a few weirdos, they will never be able to truly empathize with the bottom.

Obviously, Cao Cao is not a miracle.

He would only write one or two poems with boundless arrogance to flaunt his benevolence and feelings, and wipe a few tears symbolically, saying that I have already suffered from today's share, is it okay?

Cao Cao was born in a family of officials for three generations. He was well-clothed and well-fed since he was a child.

His distress was caused by the existence of the fifth and sixth generations of officials who were more senior than him, and was caused by Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

This is a kind of high-level depression, the kind of depression that new money faces when old money is faced, and it is the depression that the people at the bottom are never qualified to "enjoy".

His anguish was too extravagant.

Even depression is such a luxury, so they have never regarded the bottom people as the same existence as them. In their eyes, the bottom people are just means of production.

Liu Bei knew that Cao Cao in front of him was serious.

Because the words he said were very misleading, perhaps it made Cao Cao think of himself who was discriminated against by Yuan Shao, and mistakenly thought that Liu Bei, who had become a scholar, could empathize with himself who was born as an eunuch.

He subconsciously put himself on a level lower than Liu Bei, and when he saw that Liu Bei could empathize with him, he was so moved that he felt that he had met a bosom friend.

But Liu Bei was just playing around.

Because the most ridiculous thing in this world is the empathy between the bottom and the top.

you too?
Liu Bei felt that he was not good enough as a low-level person, so he didn't plan to empathize with Cao Cao, not now, nor in the future.

This time, he just ate a barbecue, drank a bowl of old wine, and made a useful acquaintance.

No matter how Cao Cao views Liu Bei, for Liu Bei, Cao Cao is a useful acquaintance, and for this, a certain emotional cost needs to be paid.

That's it.

After a pleasant afternoon, Cao Cao felt that he had found an old friend who had been lost for many years, and his friendship with Liu Bei accelerated like a rocket.

In order to thank Liu Bei for his empathy, Cao Cao, who was so excited, arranged for someone to deliver a year's worth of spices to Liu Bei's home, which was brought by car.

The eyes of Liu Bei and his family members stared at the expensive gold-like spices.

As expected of a local tyrant.

As expected of a useful acquaintance.

When you are away from home, the more acquaintances you have, the better.

Liu Bei thinks so.

On the second day after returning from making friends with Cao Cao, Liu Bei went to work at Shangshutai. On the way to accompany Lu Zhi to work in Henan Yinfu, Lu Zhi spoke.

"Xuande, I heard that Yuan Benchu ​​invited you to meet at his home?"

"It is true, what does the teacher have to teach?"

Liu Bei thought that Lu Zhi didn't care about this matter, but after so many days, he still asked.

"It's not for advice, nor is it to stop you from doing anything. You are an official now, so you should have your own opinions. It's just...you know Yuan Benchu's background, right?"

"Naturally, four generations and three lords, the Yuan family in Runan, and the family of the Meng family Yi, is a typical family of Jinwen classics reading, a high-ranking family, students and old officials all over the world."

Liu Bei explained Yuan's power very clearly.

Lu Zhi nodded.

"Then do you know why Yuan Benchu ​​invited you?"

Liu Bei pursed his lips.

"Because Yuan Benchu ​​needs disciples."

"Oh?"

Lu Zhi didn't expect Liu Bei to say that.

In Lu Zhi's view, it is his freedom to be friends with Liu Bei, and Lu Zhi does not want to interfere, but Liu Bei is smart, but after all, he is young, only 20 years old, and the joints of many things are unexpected. A knife in someone else's hand.

How could Lu Zhi's direct disciple become a knife in someone else's hand so casually?
But from what Liu Bei said, he seems to have seen through all of this?
"Tell me how you feel about this matter?"

Liu Bei nodded, and told Lu Zhi what he thought about the Yuan family and Yuan Shao's situation.

Especially some contradictions within the Yuan family that are not humane, Liu Bei told Lu Zhi his own thoughts.

Lu Zhi sighed greatly after hearing this.

Of course he knew all this, and only knew.

"I never thought that you would link these things together by yourself... Xuande, if you are born in a noble family, your future will be limitless."

"Even if it's not the Fanyue family, the disciples still have the ambition of being a man who can stand up to the sky."

Liu Bei bowed respectfully to Lu Zhi: "The teacher's kindness has given the student the qualification to be in the eyes of others. The student is very grateful, but in the future, the student cannot rely entirely on the teacher. The student comes from a humble background and does not want to bring too much trouble to the teacher. , so Yuan Benchu's solicitation cannot be refused by disciples."

Lu Zhi looked at Liu Bei for a long time, surprised at his frankness, and sighed at his frankness.

"Xuande, although you are not the only disciple of mine, your talent is something I have never encountered before. You are right. Although you did not come from a senior family, if you were from a senior family, you would be more talented. Maybe I will lose this talent.”

"One cannot decide one's own origin, but one can decide one's own ambition."

Liu Bei laughed and said, "Instead of feeling sorry for yourself because of your humble background, it's better to work hard and devote all your time and energy to doing things that meet your ambitions. Even if you lose completely, you have no regrets."

Lu Zhi had nothing to say, and reached out to pat Liu Bei's shoulder.

"Luoyang is dangerous, so you must be careful, but in the end, you are a disciple of the teacher, and anyone who wants to attack you must pass the test of being a teacher first. A teacher still has a little face in Luoyang City. "

"Disciple remember."

Looking at the high spirits on Liu Bei's face, Lu Zhi was in a daze, unable to figure out the future path of this disciple.

From this moment, Lu Zhi realized that Liu Bei was not a pure scholar.

It is impossible for him to continue his political career as a pure scholar. Liu Bei, who is good at making friends, will definitely become an unexpected person who can influence the Han Empire.

Compared with his academic talent and achievements, Lu Zhi was surprised to find that this disciple seemed to be more talented in politics, and his stage should not only be the debate stage at the reception.

By the way, at this moment, Lu Zhi also realized that Liu Bei is a clan member of the Han family.

The identity of being a clan member of the Han Dynasty was meaningless when Liu Bei was just a weaver of mats and shoes, but when he stepped onto the political stage and shined, this identity would bring him unexpected results.

What is the future of this disciple?

Lu Zhi didn't know, but he knew that he could no longer decide the future of his outstanding disciple without authorization.

(End of this chapter)