Chapter 60: How Does a Famous General Train?

  Wen Hui tilted his head slightly, with a hint of provocation in his eyes and a slight curl at the corner of his mouth.

  Liu Xiu was calm, neither as disheartened and defeated as Liu Bei, nor excited. He smiled warmly: "You are indeed the Lang Jun of the Governor's Mansion, your views are clear and logical, different from ordinary people."

  Wen Hui smiled faintly, slightly bowed his head, and humbly said: "Brother Liu is overpraising me, I'm just telling the truth. Military affairs are a major matter for the country, and cannot be taken lightly. The current Han dynasty's ruler is neglecting governance, like an old house that has been unrepaired for years, with frequent disasters and refugees rising everywhere. It really can't withstand any more wind or rain. Starting a war is easy, but ending it won't be so simple."

  Liu Xiu was taken aback, and his gaze at Wen Hui's eyes was somewhat strange. This kid has a big enough nerve, with the phrase "the ruler is confused and deluded", this is directly accusing the emperor, doesn't he fear being beheaded? From his experience of watching dog-blood historical dramas in later generations, these four light words, as long as they reach the ears of someone who cares, let alone his father being a governor, even if he were a prime minister, it's likely that his life would be forfeit.

  But this kid said it with ease, Liu Bei was very dissatisfied with him, but did not show any reaction to the sentence, could it be that in this era, scolding the emperor is not a crime?

  Wen Hui didn't know what Liu Xiu was thinking, and his face revealed an uncontrollable worry: "I dare not deceive you, Brother Liu. After Li Jun returned from Taoyuan, Liu Shijun has already discussed this matter with my father, and their opinions are in agreement. For now, it's not suitable to lightly initiate a military campaign. It's not that we don't want to fight, but rather we can't fight. Youzhou cannot become another Liangzhou."

  Liu's eyebrows twitched, and it turned out that Governor Liu Yu and Taishou Wen Xuan disagreed with Lu Min's opinion. There was another layer of meaning to this, which wasn't just about the sage reading too many books and neglecting martial arts. He hesitated for a moment before speaking up to meet Wen Hui's pleading gaze: "Your words, I will definitely pass on to our master and elder brother. Our master is from Zhuo, surely he wouldn't want his own home to become a place of war."

  "That's for sure." Wen Hui hurriedly smiled and said: "Neither the governor nor my father has any dissatisfaction with Lu Jun and his son. Lu Zhide is a talented and virtuous person, not only is he the pride of Zhuo County, but also often praised by the governor. As for me and my father, we have long admired Lu Jun. This time when Lu Jun was teaching in Taogu Valley, I originally wanted to go and study, but unfortunately my father's body is unwell, so I can only sigh with regret."

  Liu Xiu didn't think so, who knows whether you are true or false, there is no need to discuss this issue. He continued: "Actually, after Shifu and the messenger had a talk, they also gained some insight. The messenger and your respected father, as the governor of Youzhou, must be more familiar with the situation in Youzhou. Although Shifu has a lot of enthusiasm, he knows little about the specific situation. This time, he wants to go to Shanggu to take a look, it is also to understand more about the situation, so as not to make impulsive decisions and miss the big picture. From the fundamental point of view, there is no difference between the starting points of the messenger and your respected father."

  Wen Hui furrowed his brow, Liu Xiu spoke politely, but he refused to change his mind and insisted on going to Shanggu, yet he couldn't find a reason to stop himself.

  Liu Xiu saw his expression and knew he was somewhat displeased, but didn't explain. Instead, he continued: "Also, I have some doubts about the several points you mentioned earlier, please enlighten me with your wisdom."

  Wen Hui's eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of battle intent reappeared in his eyes, "Please speak."

  "Liu Xiu furrowed his brow, a faint smile on his face as he looked at Wen Hui: 'But what I don't understand is that in the past, Yan and Zhao were places where famous generals emerged one after another. Yan had Yue Yi, Zhao had Zhao She, Lian Po, and Li Mu. So why is it that up to now, no famous generals have appeared? The east of the pass produces officials, the west of the pass produces generals, and the situation in Youzhou seems to be similar to that of Liangzhou and Guanzhong. Nowadays, Liangzhou has produced many famous generals, so why hasn't Youzhou produced even one?"

  Wen Hui was taken aback for a moment, his eyes flashing twice, and he fell silent.

  "Your Excellency just mentioned that the imperial court has discussed abandoning Liangzhou multiple times. I don't know why it's always been discussed but never actually abandoned?"

  "This is actually simple." Wen Hui smiled, "Guanzhong is where the Han family cemetery is located. If Liangzhou is abandoned, Guanzhong will inevitably be disturbed, and the emperors will be uneasy, so it cannot be abandoned."

  "What if we abandon Youzhou?" Liu Xiu smiled and said: "Will Hebei also become Guanzhong? I'm sure you won't be unaware, Emperor Xiaohuan and the current emperor are both from Hebei." He turned his head to look at Liu Bei: "Xuande, isn't the tomb of our ancestor, King Zhongshan, just outside the city?"

  Liu Bei nodded and grunted.

  "It's...not that serious now, is it?" Wen Hui cleared his throat and argued strongly.

  "Now it's not, but there are eleven counties in Youzhou. Now only Zhuo County is safe and sound. Can you say that this situation can be maintained? Liu Xiu's face sank, not allowing Wen Hui to argue, and continued: "You are from Taiyuan, even if Youzhou is lost, it may not have a great impact on Taiyuan, but the Xianbei people will surely not forget Pingzhou. Can you say they won't point their swords at Taiyuan one day?"

  Wen Hui's expression turned gloomy, and he said in a low voice: "Brother Liu, it's not that my father doesn't want to go to war because our home is not in Youzhou."

  "I believe that." Liu Xiu raised his hand, interrupting Wen Hui's words: "I believe your respected father is not the kind of person who would travel a thousand miles to be an official just for wealth, nor is he the kind of person who only seeks to avoid mistakes and does not seek achievements. But I don't understand why you are determined that only by relying on the imperial court can you ensure the safety of Youzhou?"

  "Because so far, only Fu can be done." Wen Hui coldly smiled: "If we are to fight, Youzhou will be the second Liangzhou."

  "But I think Youzhou is almost becoming a second Liangzhou." Liu Xiu asked back: "Don't you think so?"

  Wen Hui was speechless, somewhat annoyed.

  "Let's go back to those three questions." Liu Xiu waved his hand, signaling Wen Hui to calm down: "You said that the elite troops of Youzhou are mainly composed of Hu people, I don't understand this very much. Although the Hu people are good at fighting, after all, Youzhou is still a Han Chinese Youzhou. Xuande and Yide, although young, may not necessarily be inferior to those Hu youth. In the border army of Youzhou, there should still be more Han people."

  "You say that Youzhou has no grain and needs financial support from Qing and Ji provinces, but I don't understand. The Zhang family in Zhuoxian is just a middle-class household, yet they can live so extravagantly. How can Youzhou be short of money? Are they willing to curry favor with the Hu people for their own private gain rather than make an effort to protect their own homeland? Has Youzhou become the Hu people's Youzhou, and are they able to live better than now? Can the Hu people bring more financial resources to Youzhou than Qing and Ji provinces? If they have so much money, why do they need to come and plunder?"

  "Finally, you said that Youzhou has no famous generals." Liu Xiu paused for a moment, his voice was not loud, but his tone was very confident: "I believe that famous generals are not like famous flowers, which can be grown in the garden. Famous generals come from the battlefield, and only comforting will make the blood of Youzhou people lose their nature, but it won't create famous generals."

  Wen Hui curled his lip: "So you're saying that in order to cultivate a few famous generals, we have to turn Youzhou into a battlefield first?"

  "I didn't mean that." Liu Xiu shook his head: "The ones who turned this place into a battlefield are the Hu people, it's the Hu people who come to invade every year. They're the ones killing people, they're the ones plundering, they're the ones turning Youzhou into their pasture and the people of Youzhou into their sheep. I'm not saying that appeasement is unacceptable, but I believe that only using appeasement without fighting will only help the Hu people become more arrogant and definitely won't be able to keep Youzhou safe."

  He fell silent for a moment: "Since we have to fight, why can't we make some preparations first? Why wait until the Huns' horses trample our homeland before being forced to resist? Isn't it a bit late?" He smiled and said humbly: "Although I am a disciple of Master Lu, I am really ashamed. I haven't read many books, only 'The Analects' and 'The Classic of Filial Piety'. I remember that 'The Analects' says 'When the people have enough food and the army is well-equipped, they will trust you.' And I often hear people say that forgetting war is dangerous and loving war is doomed. If so, why can't preparing for war go hand in hand with pacification? Why must it be either one or the other, like fire and ice cannot coexist?"