flstandardbreds Chapter 491 Wanting Both and Wanting
Chapter 491 Wanting Both and Wanting
Neutrality is also a stance. When you are fighting a bloody battle with the enemy, if your friend remains neutral, he is essentially on the enemy's side, and if the enemy remains neutral, he is actually on your side.
During the crossing of the Yangtze River in white robes, the gentry of Jingzhou, who were Liu Bei's subjects, remained neutral. Wasn't that a betrayal of Liu Bei?
However, the Jingzhou gentry, led by Huang Chengyan, did not hold official positions at the time and were, in a sense, ordinary people. It was perfectly reasonable for them not to get involved in the Liu-Sun conflict.
But Pan Jun is different. You are the second-in-command of Jingzhou. You are receiving high-ranking official positions and generous salaries from Liu Bei, yet you are smashing Liu Bei's pots and pans. This is unacceptable anywhere.
Upon hearing this, Liu Bei said with a murderous look on his face, "You are right. I entrusted Pan Jun to assist your father out of trust, but Pan Jun remained indifferent when the Wu army attacked and Mi Fang surrendered the city. Even Wang Hong, a mere county magistrate, knew to resist. Yet he, a high-ranking official, stood by and watched Jiangling fall. If this is not betrayal, then what is? Such a person must be killed to vent my hatred."
“But I have already spared the two main culprits, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren. It would be somewhat inappropriate to kill Pan Jun as well. Besides, his son Pan Zhu made contributions in the great battle to eliminate Yu Jin. Even for Pan Zhu’s sake, I cannot kill him.”
“We can spare his life, but we can’t give him important responsibilities. He’s no longer trustworthy, but we can’t just leave him unused either. Pan Jun is a great talent, and it would be a waste to leave him unused.”
"So I was thinking about whether I could find him a job that would allow him to be punished, uphold the laws of the court, play a role that would bring us benefits, and that would not require me to relinquish power or spend money, like Mi Fang and Fu Shiren."
Guan Xing: "..."
They want him to be punished, yet they also want him to create value, but they don't want him to spend any coins.
My Prince of Hanzhong, where did you learn this "wanting it all" mentality from?
Guan Xing said weakly, "Why don't we let him take charge of the land reform in Jingzhou? It's a tough job that will offend people. If he succeeds, he will offend all the gentry in Jingzhou. If he fails, you'll have a reason to punish him!"
The land reform in Jingzhou was different from the land reform in Jiangdong. Guan Xing's land reform in Jiangdong was considered sabotage within enemy territory, and he could do whatever he wanted.
Jingzhou, however, was Liu Bei's own territory, and many of his officials came from Jingzhou gentry families. The land reform could not ignore their feelings.
When doing things on one's own turf, maintaining stability is always the top priority. Even if land reform is to be carried out, stability must be the premise, and too much turmoil cannot be caused. Therefore, land reform in Jingzhou is really difficult to carry out.
Liu Bei shook his head and said, "That's a good idea, but as I just said, we can't give Pan Jun any power. It's fine to let him be in charge of land reform, but I don't want to give him any power. However, land reform can't be carried out without power, so let's find someone else."
Guan Xing said, "Then why don't we send him to Nanzhong to carry out land reform? We can abolish the chieftain system in Nanzhong, eliminate all the tribal leaders in Nanzhong, distribute the land to the local people, and then send officials to govern the area, turning the counties in Nanzhong from tributary states into areas directly controlled by the Han Dynasty."
Liu Bei said speechlessly, "You still know that Nanzhong is a tributary state? You really dare to think of carrying out land reform in a tributary state. But this also requires power, and a lot of power. I don't want Pan Jun to act recklessly in Jiangdong like you, or even become a warlord. Then I'll replace him with someone else."
Frankly speaking, Guan Xing's actions in Jiangdong were far too outrageous, exceeding the limits of a subject's authority. But nobody cared, not even the victims among the Jiangdong gentry. At most, they would curse him privately or submit a few memorials to Liu Bei to badmouth him.
The reason is simple: firstly, Guan Xing was Liu Bei's good nephew, and secondly, he was a hero who turned the tide when the army was defeated, achieving an unprecedented victory in Jiangdong. Victory is justice.
Secondly, Jiangdong and Liu Bei were in a state of hostility at the time, so it was normal to use any means necessary to deal with the enemy. Moreover, the Jiangdong gentry had also actively resisted, so what could they do if they were not as skilled as the enemy?
Even the gentry had their bottom line; once they were at the gambling table, they were naturally prepared to accept the consequences.
But Nanzhong is different; it's Liu Bei's territory. Even tributary regions are still territory. No matter how foolish Liu Bei is, he wouldn't let anyone mess with his own territory like Guan Xing messed with Jiangdong.
Moreover, Pan Jun was a traitor, so how could Liu Bei possibly grant a traitor the privileges of a governor who held both military and political power?
Guan Xing was speechless. This won't work, that won't work, what do you want?
After pondering for a long time, Guan Xing said, "Then we can only let Pan Jun get out of here like Mi Fang and Fu Shiren."
"As for where to go, back then, in order to fight against the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu sent Wei Qing and Huo Qubing on continuous expeditions, while also sending Sima Xiangru to Yelang to repair the Lingguan Pass and develop the southwestern barbarians, attempting to pass through the south, bypass the Kushan Mountains, and reach the Western Regions to contact the Yuezhi to jointly fight against the Xiongnu."
"The reason why Emperor Wu had such a fantastical idea of going through Nanzhong and Kushan to the Western Regions was because Zhang Qian discovered the unique Shu cloth and Qiong bamboo canes in the Parthian Empire. He learned that the Shu merchants had brought them from Kushan. Thus, he learned that it was possible to go through Nanzhong and Kushan to the Western Regions. So he sent Sima Xiangru to build the road. But the Xiongnu were too weak. Before Sima Xiangru could finish building the road, the once invincible Xiongnu Empire was defeated by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. The Lingguan Road project was left unfinished."
It must be said that Emperor Wu of Han was truly great. In addition to breaking the backbone of the Xiongnu when they were at their strongest, he also opened up a large territory in the south.
More importantly, Emperor Wu of Han opened the eyes of the Han people to the world, letting them know what the world outside of Han was like, and giving future generations a greater goal to strive for.
Liu Bei frowned and said, "You want Pan Zhu to repair the road?"
Guan Xing shook his head and said, "Road construction also requires a lot of power, which does not meet your expectations. What I mean is to send Pan Jun as the Han envoy, starting from Bashu, passing through Nanzhong to Kushan, and after arriving in Kushan, continue westward to Parthia, making a loop from the Western Regions to Liangzhou, and then returning to Bashu from Liangzhou. He should thoroughly explore the route and record all the terrain, soil, climate, crops, customs and other things that the court needs."
“Mi Fang and Fu Shiren will travel by sea, while Pan Jun will travel by land. The Han envoys do not need power, only the banner of the Han Dynasty. If they are slaughtered by the countries along the way, we will not only suffer no loss but also have a legitimate reason to fight. However, if we return safely from the Western Regions, Your Majesty will make a fortune.”
Liu Bei slapped his thigh excitedly and said, "Great idea! No one would want to do this kind of hard job except to redeem themselves by performing meritorious service. It's perfect to send Pan Jun. His death won't be a loss to me, but if he comes back alive, it will make me famous in history. Let's do it."
After saying that, he patted Guan Xing on the back of the head and laughed, "You dare to use anyone, and you can use them just right. Impressive."
The handling of Mi Fang, Fu Shiren, and Pan Jun had always been Liu Bei's biggest headache. Unexpectedly, Guan Xing not only solved the problem easily, but did so perfectly, even though the strategist had no good solution.
Sending the three men on a perilous mission not only upheld the laws of the court and served as a deterrent, but also preserved their own reputations—a win-win situation.
Another point is that the three people dying on the road would not cause him any loss, but if they returned safely, he could make a fortune. Who wouldn't want to do such a deal?
Liu Bei said, "I will immediately send someone to draft a formal order, appointing Mi Fang as the chief envoy and Fu Shiren as the deputy envoy to go overseas and spread the prestige of our nation, and appointing Pan Jun as the chief envoy to go to Kushan, so that they can go thousands of miles away to expand the territory of the Han Dynasty."
"Once this matter is resolved, we should deal with other things. The most urgent task right now is Jiangling City. Jiangling has become a ruin and definitely needs to be rebuilt, but I'm so poor that I'm almost begging for food. How am I going to rebuild it?"