The pirates in Qingzhou were put down and the coastal trade routes were restored, which was a good thing for many people. The routes from Youzhou to Xuzhou, the Liaodong Peninsula and even the Korean Peninsula were restored.
The one who benefited the most from this was not Yuan Xi, but the Gongsun family.
Because Qingzhou pirates firmly blocked the sea east of Donglai, which almost blocked the sea south of Liaodong County, Lelang County and Daifang County.
These are also the only two remaining counties among the four counties of Han Dynasty. The remaining Zhenfan County and Lintun County were abandoned long ago and were gradually occupied by Dongyi and Mahan.
Even so, when Gongsun Yuan later established the Yan Kingdom and was attacked and destroyed by Sima Yi, the Liaodong area he occupied had more than 40,000 households and 300,000 people.
Today, the Gongsun family's headquarters is in Xiangping City in Liaodong County. It is surrounded by rich water systems and has dangerous terrain, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is also far away from the Central Plains and difficult to reach by all parties. It is an important place for the long-term operation of the Gongsun family's equipment.
In the palace in the city, Gongsun Du and Gongsun Kang were sitting and talking. In addition to Gongsun Gong and other Gongsun's children, there were also generals Zhang Chang, Yang Yi, Liu Yi, Wang Lie, Han Zhong, Wang Zan, Liang Mao, Guan Ning, Bing Yuan, Guoyuan and dozens of others, many of whom are well-known people at home.
The reason why Gongsun Du had so many talents was that, firstly, during the Qingzhou Chaos, many celebrities fled across the sea to Liaodong; secondly, many of them were forced to stay by Gongsundu, and in fact they did not serve Gongsundu wholeheartedly.
For example, Liangmao, courtesy name Bofang, was born in Changyi, Shanyang. When he went to serve as the governor of Lelang, he was detained by Gongsun Du. His identity was always regarded as half a hostage, but he still refused to surrender to Gongsun Du.
For example, the original name of Bing was Genju. He was from Zhuxu, Beihai. His family was poor and he was orphaned at an early age. He was quite learned. He was first promoted by Kong Rong, the Prime Minister of Beihai. When he took refuge in Liaodong, hundreds of people came to live in Liaodong within a year. There is an endless stream of people and voices teaching knowledge.
For example, Guan Ning, also known as You'an, was a native of Zhuxu, Beihai County. Together with Hua Xin and Bing Yuan, he was called "Yilong" and could interpret poetry, calligraphy, and rituals.
These three men under Gongsun Du were the top celebrities in Liaodong, and everyone else followed them. However, these three people did not like Gongsun Du's recruitment. Because Gongsun Du was from a humble background, he was despised by the nobles, and Gongsun Du knew it well. , both sides looked down upon each other.
Gongsun Du's situation was very similar to Gongsun Zan's.
Although Gongsun Zan was born into a wealthy family, due to his mother's humble status, he could only serve as a minor official in the county at the beginning. He was looked down upon before he became rich. Once he became powerful, he began to take revenge on the gentry.
Today, these celebrities are temporarily living in Liaodong as guest ministers, just for refuge. They can only be forced by Gongsun Du's harsh punishments and are dissatisfied, but they dare not openly confront him.
After all, there is a lesson learned from the past. Li Min, a famous scholar in Liaodong, was at odds with Gongsun Du and looked down on him. "Therefore, the governor of Hanoi, who was well-known in the county, committed an evil act and threw his family into the sea for fear of being harmed. He was so angry that he dug up his father's grave, cut open the coffin and burned the body, and executed his clan."
If you offend Gongsun Du, your whole family will really be killed, so these celebrities have to hold their noses and submit.
These people lowered their heads, looking reluctant, and seemed not to hear what was said in the hall.
Gongsun Du didn't care about them. He forced these celebrities to stay in Liaodong. On the surface, he acted like a courteous and virtuous corporal. It was just to put money on his face and gain fame. As for whether these celebrities would really give him advice. , he doesn’t care.
He said to Gongsun Kang: "Although the Qingzhou pirates have been pacified, the Gongsun family has lost face this time."
"I heard that in this naval battle, the Gongsun family's warship not only failed to achieve anything, but was also beaten by the Qingzhou pirates and fled in disgrace. It was a complete embarrassment!"
"On the contrary, the fierce tiger fought vigorously. Comparing these two, who in Youzhou is willing to take refuge in my Gongsun family? I am afraid that everyone will go to him in the future!"
Liang Mao and Guan Ning in the hall were shocked. They looked at each other and then lowered their heads. The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. A few of them had actually considered escaping to Jicheng.
Gongsun Kang smiled bitterly and said: "I've heard about it too. This battle shows that our Gongsun family's navy still has many problems. The commander of the navy who led the army this time was also beheaded according to my father's order to set an example."
Gongsun Du's anger subsided slightly, "Now is a critical period for the expansion of our Gongsun family, and we must not make any mistakes."
"Now that I have the support of Fierce Tiger, I have decided to establish myself as the Marquis of Liaodong and the Mu of Pingzhou first!"
When the nobles heard this, they thought that this was too unscrupulous. They had to go to the emperor first to ask for a memorial. But now Gongsun Du wanted to kill first and then memorialize. He simply ignored etiquette.
And what is this Liaodong Hou Pingzhou Mu? He calls himself a county prince? This name is named after a county. I'm afraid it's not a county prince. Do Han people have such a title?
And Pingzhou Mu is even more ridiculous. The Han Dynasty has thirteen states, and you have created a state on the territory of Youzhou. It is really unheard of!
Guan Ning and others secretly shook their heads. Gongsun Du was not of a good background, and he always violated the Han system in his work. Didn't he care about the world's criticism?
But judging from his confident appearance, he might really not care!
Thinking of this, all the scholars kept silent, lest they offend Gongsun Du and kill the whole family.
The scholars slandered, but the people of the Gongsun family were very happy. The Gongsun family suffered both losses and prosperity. If Gongsun Du wanted to be independent, the children of the Gongsun family would naturally follow the chickens and dogs to heaven.
Moreover, the sky is high in Liaodong and the emperor is far away, so no one can suppress the Gongsun family. Gongsun professed himself as a marquis and the governor of the state, which was to build momentum for self-reliance. It is not impossible to establish a country in the future!
Gongsun Kang cupped his hands and said, "Now that Gongsun and Yuan have joined forces, do we need to inform him in advance?"
"After all, Liaodong still belongs to Youzhou. If we divide it into two halves, I'm afraid the Yuan family will also be dissatisfied."
Gongsun Du was a little unhappy and snorted, "What can he do to me? They're just using each other."
"Since you care about face, then you can write a letter to him for me."
Gongsun Kang responded and said hesitantly: "If there are no benefits, then I'm afraid it will be."
Gongsun Du sneered: "Does he still dare to attack me?"
"Forget it, doesn't he want to set up ports in Lelang and Daifang counties?"
"I have created a few places for him, but I don't care whether he has the ability to build it and whether he can deal with the harassment from Ma Han."
Gongsun Kang was a little worried after hearing this. Gongsun Du was too ruthless in his actions, but that fierce tiger was not a generous person. If he offended him, he would definitely cause trouble for the Gongsun family in the future!
Just like this naval battle, in revenge for the massacre of his merchant ship, the ferocious tiger actually killed all the Qingzhou pirates!
The Qingzhou pirates robbed passing merchant ships and even landed robberies near Liaodong. They were so notorious that they made people panic and many people were forced to move inland. However, such a ferocious pirate was all beheaded by the fierce tiger. , and also built a Jingguan on the ship!
It is said that after this incident spread, in Qingzhou, Liaodong, the name of the fierce tiger became a weapon used by women to teach naughty children at home, scaring them into crying at night.
Gongsun Du always speaks the truth, but now he wants to proclaim himself. Everyone in the hall knows that this is not a call for them to discuss, but just a formality, so they will not jump out to object without the foresight, and praise Gongsun one after another. Have a great heart.
After the matter was settled, everyone left. After Liang Mao, Guan Ning and Bing Yuan came out, they winked at each other and went to Guan Ning's house to discuss together.
The three of them sat down, and Guan Ning sighed: "Although we avoided disaster in Liaodong, we avoided the disaster of the Yellow Turban, but now it seems that under Gongsun Du, it is not a good thing."
Bing Yuan nodded and said: "Indeed, Ziyu (Hua Xin) is already the governor of Yuzhang, but we have accomplished nothing and have wasted our time so far."
Guan Ning snorted coldly: "It is a shame for us to be compared with that man!"
In this life, the three people are collectively called one dragon, Hua Xin is the head of the dragon, Bing Yuan is the belly of the dragon, and Guan Ning is the tail of the dragon. However, Guan Ning looks down on Hua Xin very much.
Because Hua Xin was very keen on fame, when Guan Ning met him, they planted garden vegetables together and hoeed the ground to see gold. Ning swung the hoe and ignored Xin, picked it up, looked at it, and then threw it down.
Another day, Ning and Xin were sitting together reading a book. When they heard the sound of shouting outdoors, a distinguished person passed by on the pavilion. Ning sat still, and Xin abandoned the book to read. From then on, Ning despised Xin as a human being, so he divided the seats and sat separately. , no longer be friends with him.
Bing Yuan smiled bitterly and said: "That's what I say, but the world is dirty. Although we can protect our reputation, we can't protect our lives."
The three of them were silent, and Liang Mao suddenly said: "It's hard to go back to Qingzhou. Yuan Tan is very cruel, and he's the same as Gongsun Du."
"How about we go and join the fierce tiger?"
Bing Yuan was startled, "Isn't that fierce tiger's behavior even more ferocious?"
"In the past few months, he first defeated the Xianbei outside the pass, then killed the pirates in Qingzhou, and built his head as a temple for the capital. He doesn't look like a nobleman, but more like a general in Bingliang!"
Liang Mao said indifferently: "These people deserve to be killed, what's wrong with them?"
Bing Yuan hesitated and said: "But he also killed nobles before, hanging on top of the city. In my opinion, he should hate celebrities like us."
Liang Mao sighed: "But do we have any good options?"
"I, the Lelang Prefect of the Han Dynasty, have become useless under Gongsun Du. How can I go on like this?"
"I heard that the fierce tiger is highly appreciated by the emperor. If I want to serve the Han court, he is the only one who can give me the words."
Bing Yuan wanted to speak out, but Guan Ning took out a tube of bamboo slips, handed it to Bing Yuan and said, "Gen Ju, take a look."
Bing Yuan took it in confusion and found that it was about Tianxia Confucianism. From a standing perspective, the views seemed a bit different, but when he thought about it carefully, every word was exquisite and had never been published before. It was really a rare masterpiece.
He opened another article and found that it was about a remote theory that the three of them had argued about before. However, this article cited scriptures and provided evidence, which made it very convincing. Bing Yuan thought that even if he wrote it himself, it would be difficult for him to do so. Write it down.
He wondered: "This is it?"
Guan Ning said in a deep voice: "This is what the professors give to the students in Jicheng Free School!"
"No matter whether you are a scholar, a poor family, or a commoner, you can learn from it!"
"What!" Bing Yuan was shocked, "What does Fierce Tiger want to do?"
"If this continues, won't our knowledge become a joke?"
Guan Ning said in a deep voice: "So I want to go to Jicheng Free School."
"The world is changing. If we remain steadfast and cling to our old ways, we may be left far behind."
When Gongsun Du's letter was delivered to Yuan Xi, he was lying on the couch in the study, resting on Cai Zhaoji's knees, enjoying a massage.
Feeling Cai Zhaoji's slender hands gently pressing on her temples, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "It is a life well spent to be able to be named as a lady in Youzhou and serve her."
He handed the bamboo slip in his hand to Cai Zhaoji, "Look at Gongsun Du's letter."
Cai Zhaoji stopped, took the bamboo slip, glanced at it, and said, "Gongsun Du is so courageous."
(End of chapter)
