This appointment is actually not much different from the past.
Liu Bei had similar arrangements for Qingzhou and Xuzhou before, and Gui Bao, the governor of Yangzhou, was from Youzhou. His original relationship with the Luoyang court was lost after Liu Bei's twists and turns. He was a duckweed with no foundation and was replaced.
It was also removed.
His own family is still in Youzhou, and Youzhou is Liu Bei's absolute sphere of influence. Whatever Liu Bei says is what he says. Guibao cares deeply about his family and does not dare to go against Liu Bei, for fear that Liu Bei will do something to his family and give him trouble.
Wear small shoes.
So when Cheng Yu came, he could only hand over his seal and ribbon honestly, give up his power, admit that he was unlucky, and go home to reflect.
Logically speaking, this personnel replacement should not cause any disturbance.
However, this replacement coincided with an internal split within the Ancient Literature School. The contradiction between the reformists and the conservatives gradually became acute and open. The conservatives repeatedly encountered obstacles in seeking help in Luoyang, and the emotions of some people inside became increasingly unstable.
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It is worth mentioning that the reformists and conservatives are also divided within themselves. There are hawks and doves in both groups, and there are also radical and moderate attitudes towards the other party.
However, within the reformists, because of Liu Bei's strength, the hawks were more powerful and their attitude towards the conservatives was more radical.
Within the conservatives, because of Liu Bei's good reputation, the hawks are relatively small and the doves are relatively powerful. The hawks headed by Zheng Tai and Jia Xi cannot be considered the mainstream even within the conservatives and cannot win much help.
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They can't win over the hard aspects, but they can take action on the soft aspects themselves.
For example, spreading rumors.
It was spread that Liu Bei's continuous expansion of power was to usurp imperial power and ultimately achieve the goal of usurping the throne.
He was no longer satisfied with being a general, but began to pursue the position of emperor.
Before spreading the rumors, they had some internal differences. The main reason was that if the rumors were spread and Liu Bei found out the source, it would be tantamount to breaking up and actually taking action.
Although Liu Bei was arrogant before, he was just talking and did not take any actual action. At best, it could only be regarded as a rhetorical gesture, not a formal war. There was still room for maneuver in everything.
If they actually take action now, isn't it equivalent to starting a war against Liu Bei before Liu Bei officially starts war against them?
Once this behavior is confirmed, once Liu Bei becomes completely desperate for them and launches a violent attack on them, can they really bear it?
Even Jia Xi had doubts about this and did not support Zheng Tai's idea of taking this opportunity to cause trouble.
"Although Liu is arrogant, he has not really taken action. Many people still have illusions about him, so the correct approach should be to wait for him to take the initiative to take action against us, and then let those who have illusions completely wake up. Then
Only then can we fight back.
If we take the initiative now, even if Liu takes action by then, we will be at fault first. People who have illusions about him will still exist and will not see his true face. By then, even if he is dead,
It’s not even a worthy death.”
Several people agreed with Jia Xi's view and advised Zheng Tai not to be so impulsive but to be more careful. It would be best to let Liu Bei be the first to take action to correct the losses.
As long as reason is on their side, they don't worry about the possibility of victory.
Zheng Tai actually felt in his heart that this was the right thing to do, but he just had some other ideas - if Liu Bei never took the initiative, but secretly expanded his power, then when he actually takes action, Does anyone still have the power to fight back?
Zheng Tai told Jia Xi and other opponents about this concern. After hearing this, they fell into silence collectively.
A fact that they were very unwilling to admit was that Liu Bei actually had the qualifications to make arbitrary decisions, but he had never done so.
The command of more than 200,000 Han troops already gave him power comparable to that of an emperor.
This is not the kind of sacred emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but the serious and authoritative emperor of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. If he really wants to move without any superstitious color, he will absolutely shake the mountains and shake the whole world. .
That's why Zheng Taicai couldn't calm down.
"I know your worries, I know you are worried about being killed by Liu Bei, but Liu Bei was just a state pastor in Liangzhou at first, then he controlled Yizhou, and then he took advantage of the death of the late emperor to gain power west of Luoyang.
At this time, he had already mastered half of the power of the Han Dynasty, and his power was overwhelming. However, he was still not satisfied, so he reached out to Hebei and controlled Youzhou, Jizhou, and then Bingzhou! At this moment, he had already mastered the power of the Han Dynasty. Two-thirds of the country!
Now, he will continue to usurp the power of the Central Plains and even the south of the Yangtze River. His power is too great, and it has reached a point where ordinary people cannot tolerate it. If it continues, it is hard to say who will be the emperor. I am very worried!
If my life can be used as an opportunity to awaken the people of the world to resist Liu Bei, I am very willing. I will spare my life to reveal Liu Bei's true face to you and let his true face be exposed to the world. In this way, the world can escape the disaster! "
Zheng Tai's brilliant words shocked many people.
"Mr. Zheng, why is this necessary? You have a very high status, so you are not going to lose your life, right? Why would Liu, who is also a member of my sect, kill you?"
"Then if he wants to kill me, and really wants to kill me, will you give up your illusions about him?"
Zheng Tai looked at everyone, and everyone looked at Zheng Tai.
No one said it clearly, but the meaning was already clear to each other.
So Zheng Tai decided to take action.
No one was willing to take action, so he arranged his own forces to take action. If he could use his attacks to test Liu Bei's true face and reveal his ugly face, it would not be a bad thing. At least, it would make him good for many years. The reputation was ruined.
Of course, how could Zheng Tai really choose to die for this?
If you die, the good future you get in exchange will belong to others. Only a fool would do such a thing. As a smart person, he would not do it.
What you need to do is to let others sacrifice in exchange for your own good future.
It's just that in this era there are too many smart people and too few fools, so Zheng Tai has no choice but to do it himself.
But before taking action, you must develop a reasonable and feasible escape route for yourself.
He was prepared to launch his own escape plan and escape victoriously once the incident happened.
Although Liu Bei has great power over the world, his control over Jiangnan is still insufficient. Although he will replace the governor of Yangzhou, Wang Rui, the governor of Jingzhou, is still in office. Jingzhou is not under Liu Bei's control, let alone the areas farther south.
The Jiaozhi area.
Zheng Tai had decided that nothing could be done, so he rushed to Jingzhou, entered Jiaozhi from Jingzhou, and hid in Jiaozhi.
At worst, he could hide in the southernmost Rinan County. He did not believe that Liu Bei's army could pursue them to Rinan County.
As long as he can't chase him, he is safe. As long as he is safe, he can do whatever he wants. He can sit back and watch the success or failure in a safe place, and watch Liu Bei become so angry that everyone turned away from his relatives after his true identity was exposed.
As long as he offends the people of the world, he will naturally be opposed by the people of the world. So what if he has an army of 300,000?
If he is only militarily powerful, but not truly powerful, he will surely fall!