Cao Cao felt that not only would he be happy, but his people would also be ecstatic, and celebrated for three days and three nights.
And he himself was so excited that he almost lost himself. He finally controlled his emotions. He still felt that some things needed to be released, otherwise he would explode.
"Xuande, how should I repay you for such kindness? What do you want? Tell me!"
Cao Cao excitedly held Liu Bei's hand and stared at Liu Bei with his eyes, as if he was looking at some peerless beauty.
Liu Bei just smiled at Cao Cao's thanks.
"When I first arrived in Luoyang, Meng De was the only one who treated me kindly and taught me a lot. He also gave me a year's worth of spices so that I could eat delicious barbecue every time. How could I not repay such a great kindness? What? This is my reward for Mengde, Mengde doesn’t need to worry."
When Cao Cao heard this, he couldn't hold himself any longer.
His expression was suddenly very confused, and he was also very confused.
He grabbed Liu Bei's hand tightly.
"This...this...what is this? What is that little spice? Even if all the spices Xuande needs in his life are mine, including the meat, it is still not worth this kindness. What if! Money can buy spices and meat, but it cannot buy these! Xuande, you..."
His anxious mood is normal in Liu Bei's opinion. Barbecued meat and spices are valuable, and his status as Liu's personal disciple is priceless. The two do not exist on the same level and should not be put together. compare with.
But Liu Bei did this.
"No more words."
Liu Bei shook his head and said with a smile: "If Meng De treats me as a friend, don't talk about this matter again. It's enough for you and me to understand each other tacitly. This is just the first step in our journey, and for the future, I still need to talk to Meng De." Support each other.”
Cao Cao looked at Liu Bei's calm smiling face, his expression slowly changed from excitement to calmness, as if he had made some determination, and nodded seriously.
"If Xuande said so, I will know that you and I have a tacit understanding and support each other. Even if there are all kinds of difficulties, we will never abandon you. If you abandon me, I will not die well, and I will not be able to enter the ancestral graves after my death!"
Cao Mengde is not Sima Yi, and he would not swear on Luo Shui and break his promise. Before Sima Yi, such an oath was still very intimidating. Cao Cao dared to make such an oath. In Liu Bei's view, it represented some kind of determination on behalf of the Cao family. .
Is this good?
This is good.
"Why is Mengde like this? I have never doubted Mengde's words."
Liu Bei laughed and invited Cao Cao to eat and drink together, having fun and enjoying himself.
Sure enough, Cao Cao went home and told his father, Cao Song, the chief minister of the dynasty, about the incident in private. Cao Song was also very surprised.
He thought about whether he should visit Liu Bei personally to thank Liu Bei for his kindness, but Cao Cao dissuaded him.
"Xuande and I have a tacit understanding and support each other. It is enough for everyone to know about this matter. It is not appropriate to announce it to the outside world for the time being, so as not to cause other people to have opinions about Xuande."
Cao Cao was seriously considering Liu Bei.
After hearing this, Cao Song nodded repeatedly, thinking that what Cao Cao said made sense, so he kept silent and just kept his joy in his heart, not wanting to cause any trouble to Liu Bei.
As Cao Cao said, there are some things that the Cao family cannot buy no matter how much money they spend.
Even if they gave the huge wealth accumulated by their family over the years to those high-ranking noble families, they would not be able to get them to treat them differently. Instead, they would take it for granted and send them away like a dog.
Scholars have too many things, and they are not lacking in many things, and they have a huge appetite. They even feel that all the beautiful things in the world should belong to them and belong to them in the first place.
The input-output ratio is pitifully low.
Cao Song himself didn't know how the Cao family should continue on this road.
As a result, in the midst of confusion, another village has become clear.
Liu Bei, the son of luck, broke out, and the Cao family followed him and "chickens and dogs ascended to heaven".
Without saying a word, Liu Bei directly promised Cao Ang a future. This kind of kindness cannot be measured by money.
Therefore, as a high-ranking official of the current dynasty, Cao Song felt that he should have the opportunity to repay Liu Bei's kindness to the Cao family in the future.
From now on, whenever we encounter official matters related to Liu Bei, we will definitely open the door to him and give him what he asks for. We will never accept or take advantage of him, and we will do our best to help him achieve great achievements and ascend to high positions.
From now on, the prosperity of the next generation of the Cao family and their escape from the quagmire may depend on him.
Cao Cao and Cao Song were happy, and Liu Bei was also happy.
There are benefits to charging into this extremely fierce death battle between the ancient literature school and the modern literature school, risking one's life, and the benefits are particularly great.
Having made such a great contribution at a time when the Ancient Literature School was in the ascendant, he was directly promised the position of a high-ranking scholar in the future!
The experiences of these days also made Liu Bei realize why the Yuan family was able to have four generations and three princes, and disciples and former officials all over the world. He also truly felt what this kind of [raise your arms, the world gathers to respond, win food and the scenery follows] Such a feeling.
This is a strong binding between communities of interests, where everyone is prosperous and everyone loses. Everyone has to work hard in the same direction, so that the entire large group can benefit. When the large group benefits, the small individuals within it can benefit. More benefits.
Moreover, it is unimaginable to imagine the political resources that a family that masters family classics of an official nature can leverage.
At least, this family has the energy to promote its disciples to become officials, and is almost invincible in academics, politics, and in the field of public opinion.
If you study with me, work for me, and work hard for me, I can make you an official, I can make you rich, and the stability of your family's inheritance will also be greatly improved.
Who wouldn’t be tempted by such political resources?
Being at the top of the chain of social contempt, Liu Bei deeply understood what such political and academic status meant.
Apart from anything else, Zhen Yan has already gotten up and returned to Wuji County, preparing to take the news home to let her family know that their family has hope of prosperity again, and is ready to push the family to fully surrender to the Liu family in Zhuo County, and to have a close relationship with Liu Bei. Binding.
Not to mention the Cao Cao family, the tragic wish of the entire Cao family for three generations is about to be realized in the next generation. They have obviously decided to cooperate closely with Liu Bei, and even in this state of cooperation, Liu Bei is still vaguely in a dominant position.
In addition to the Cao family and the Zhen family, there are also several third-rate gentry descendants from the ancient classics school who have always had a good relationship with Liu Bei. They also received Liu Bei's promise.
The outstanding core children of each of their families will become Liu Bei's disciples, follow him to study "Zuo's Spring and Autumn Annals", and will receive his political support and follow him to move up.
With such a commitment, these families will inevitably use their family power to support Liu Bei, provide him with enough motivation, and try their best to help him ascend to a high position, no matter the cost.
When Liu Bei chooses the families to be included in his sphere of influence, he will also consider the political background and economic strength of these families. He will not just let any family enter his circle, which will make his resources too cheap.
Need more money!
Although his ultimate goal is not to create a family entity with disciples and former officials all over the world, he needs to assume such a posture and gather the power that can be used by him so that he can hit an unimagined path in the future.
He needs such power.
Of course, Liu Bei's biggest reliance at present is not his yet-to-be-formed family circle of influence, but Emperor Liu Hong.
Relying on his status as a clan member of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei gained Liu Hong's trust, which was crucial.
Liu Hong is the one who can give him a high position, and his own power is what consolidates the high position.
If you cannot gain Liu Hong's trust and appointment, even if you have a high academic status, you will not get political status. This is why many families have many disciples but little political status.
Liu Bei never thought that he would become a simple scholar. This was just a stepping stone to achieve his ultimate goal. He needed this position to leverage political resources.
Whether he can make perfect use of political resources depends on Liu Hong and whether Liu Bei himself can make enough contributions.
(End of chapter)
