As Comrade Wang Mang implemented a series of policies filled with heroic nationalism, an embodiment of fortune, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, made a dazzling entrance.
Liu Xiu is the epitome of ancient motivational history, a classic rags-to-riches story, where a poor, ordinary man rises to become a wealthy and handsome gentleman, with beautiful women throwing themselves at him. His life was smooth sailing, achieving fame and becoming a model of his generation...
Liu Xiu's background was actually that of a small landlord family in the countryside—suddenly there's a strange sense of familiarity—and his father was just a low-level government official, already retired and returned home. Although he was a relative of the Liu clan, he was from a very distant branch.
When Liu Xiu reached marriageable age, a beautiful and wealthy woman came to him—Yin Lihua. Li Bai praised Yin Lihua's beauty as "Lihua's beauty is like jade, the Han woman's delicate red cheeks." Besides her stunning beauty, Yin Lihua was also a true heiress from a wealthy family...
Moreover, Liu Xiu had been imprisoned. While others would either die or be severely weakened after imprisonment, Liu Xiu emerged unscathed. Not only was he not successfully reformed, but he immediately rebelled...
At that time, there was a major rebel group, the Chimei Army, and a smaller one, the Lulin Army. Liu Xiu joined the smaller one, and without Liu Xiu, the larger Chimei Army was easily defeated by Wang Mang, crying for mercy...
Later, when Wang Mang's local and central elite troops encountered Liu Xiu, something bizarre happened. Four hundred thousand regular troops faced twenty thousand local militias and bandits, not only failing to win but suffering a crushing defeat, with only three thousand of Wang Mang's four hundred thousand troops escaping...
The exact details of what happened cannot be fully reconstructed from the fragmented records, but it's clear that Wang Mang, who was smoothly walking the path of benevolent rule, stumbled over Liu Xiu, this stumbling block, and never recovered. The new dynasty of heroic nationalism was ended, and history continued on the track of feudal society.
So, the more Li Ru read, the more anxious he became. The more he understood the past, the more uneasy he felt about his original plan. Li Ru had planned to spend about twenty years laying the groundwork for Dong Zhuo, building his reputation and deepening his foundation. But when he saw the stories of Wang Mang and Liu Xiu, he realized he couldn't do better than Wang Mang, and yet Wang Mang had mysteriously failed. Could he guarantee that a second Liu Xiu wouldn't appear when he walked the path of benevolent rule?
Benevolent rule is slow, while authoritarian rule is fast. If he chose the authoritarian path, Li Ru estimated that if everything went smoothly, he could, within three years, at least neutralize most of the opposing forces, if not all. The remaining minor threats would be negligible. Of course, the premise was to withstand the risks that would erupt during these three years.
Li Ru called Jia Xu over mainly to hear his opinion. After showing Jia Xu the records, he quietly watched him, waiting.
Jia Xu, of course, knew what Li Ru wanted to ask. But how could he answer? Should they choose long-term steady development, dealing with small problems first, but potentially facing insurmountable troubles in the future? Or should they choose the other path, facing significant troubles now, which could be solved with human wisdom, and rapidly expanding their influence to its maximum in the shortest time, completing their transformation before the unsolvable problems arrived?
Jia Xu counted on his fingers, muttering to himself. Even with his intelligence, he couldn't immediately weigh the pros and cons of the two paths.
This wasn't as simple as choosing between noodles or rice for dinner. Choosing a path meant facing the future and paying a price that wasn't just about one's own life and death, but potentially the lives of thousands of followers...
It was tough. Jia Xu's head was heating up from thinking, and he couldn't help but scratch his scalp with his greasy fingers.
Li Ru's eye twitched again. Sometimes, if it weren't for their shared teacher-student relationship, he really couldn't stand this unkempt Jia Xu.
At that moment, a servant came to the hall, presenting a name card, saying that Langguan Fei Qian had arrived as invited, and asked if Li Ru would see him.
"Take him to the side hall to wait," Li Ru instructed, then looked at Jia Xu. "There's no rush. Take your time to think it over."
Jia Xu rolled his eyes. "If there's no rush, why did you call me? Hmph, how much time do you estimate we have? Ah, this is really troubling. Neither path seems easy now..." They were at a crossroads between benevolent and authoritarian rule. Choosing a path now was flexible, but as time passed, switching paths wouldn't just mean retracing steps but also paying an unimaginable price, potentially shaking their foundation.
"At least ten days," Li Ru replied, knowing what Jia Xu was asking. The court had just experienced turmoil, and everyone was watching each other's positions and attitudes, realigning and choosing sides. They were also waiting for Dong Zhuo, who held military power, to show his direction. But this period wouldn't last long, and Li Ru estimated ten days was the maximum.
"Only ten days!" Jia Xu held his head. "There's so much to recalculate. Ten days is nowhere near enough! Why do you look so unhurried? Ah, where are you going?"
Li Ru stood up and walked out, saying lightly, "To meet an old acquaintance."
"You have an old acquaintance in Luoyang? Wait, I'll come too to see who it is."
************
Fei Qian was quite uneasy. How did he get involved with Li Ru, Dong Zhuo's chief strategist? Although this invitation was likely more auspicious than ominous—since if they really wanted to deal with a reserve official like him, they wouldn't need to send a Yulin Lang to invite him; a minor official would suffice—but still, one couldn't be entirely sure, right?
This was Fei Qian's first interaction with a famous figure from the Three Kingdoms period, and his heart was pounding. After all, Li Ru was the wise man who had pulled Dong Zhuo from a local minor officer to the top warlord holding court power at this moment.
Just as Fei Qian's heart was in turmoil, he saw someone enter from the back hall and quickly stood up, bowing his head respectfully. While the person's gaze wasn't on him, he quickly glanced up and saw a man with a tall hat and broad belt, looking refined and extraordinary.
Was this Li Ru?
It completely subverted Fei Qian's perception. In later movies and TV shows, Li Ru was always portrayed as extremely unattractive, not only vulgar but also with a constipated expression. How could that be connected to the handsome man in his thirties before him?
In fact, Fei Qian wasn't entirely aware that ancient times had high standards for officials' appearances. While they didn't necessarily need to be stunningly beautiful, they had to at least be somewhat presentable. Those unfortunate enough to have less appealing looks were not well-received, and if one's appearance was truly horrifying, it was better to give up on the idea of becoming a civil servant early on.
Therefore, Li Ru did not have the sleazy appearance often depicted in later movies and TV shows. On the contrary, having spent many years in Xiliang and leading a group of Qiang people, his diet included more meat than that of the Central Plains people, making him quite robust, unlike some scholars who looked as if they might be blown away by the wind.
Li Ru knelt properly on the mat, signaling Fei Qian not to stand on ceremony. Fei Qian thanked him and sat down quietly.
Li Ru quietly observed Fei Qian without speaking.
Fei Qian also knelt steadily. In such situations, only Li Ru had the right to speak first. If Fei Qian spoke first, it would be considered a breach of etiquette.
Li Ru looked at Fei Qian's facial features, which vaguely matched the impression of someone from twenty years ago. "Are you twenty years old this year?"
"Yes."
"Is your birthday on the 26th of November?"
"Yes." Although Fei Qian was unclear why Li Ru was asking these personal questions, he answered honestly.
Li Ru nodded, confirming it was correct. "You are currently a Langguan. Have you been assigned an official position?"
"Not yet." Fei Qian was just one of the many reserve officials in the court and had not yet been formally assigned a specific duty. During the Han Dynasty, the number of Langguan reached over five thousand at its peak. Although Langguan could barely be called "officials," those without actual duties were merely holders of a prestigious title, even inferior to some clerks under high-ranking officials.
Li Ru stroked his beard and said to Fei Qian, "In that case, there is currently a vacancy for the position of a General's Office Clerk. Would you be willing to take it?"
Upon hearing this, Fei Qian felt as if ten thousand alpacas were galloping through his heart. What was going on? Li Ru was offering him an official position? The General's Office Clerk was essentially an assistant to Li Ru, the Chief Clerk of the General's Office. It wasn't a high-ranking position, but it wasn't insignificant either, especially since Dong Zhuo was currently at the height of his power. Moreover, Dong Zhuo would later install Liu Bian as emperor and ascend to the position of Chancellor, so his officials would naturally rise in status as well.
This position seemed promising, with a bright future ahead. However, Fei Qian knew that, according to history, Dong Zhuo would ultimately meet a bad end. So, how much of a future could there be in following Dong Zhuo? It was possible that in a few years, he might be executed...
But what if he refused Li Ru's offer?
At this stage, Dong Zhuo was the undisputed authority. Fei Qian remembered that several high-ranking officials who had opposed Dong Zhuo were immediately arrested and executed on the spot, without even waiting for an autumn trial. Although it was only Li Ru asking for his opinion now, there was no guarantee that refusing might anger Li Ru, making him think Fei Qian was ungrateful and disrespectful, which would be disastrous...
Could he stall for time? Fei Qian suddenly realized he didn't even have a good excuse to delay. Others might use the excuse that such a matter required discussion with their parents, but Fei Qian's parents were deceased, and he was from a distant branch of the family with no elders at home. If he said he needed to consult someone, who would believe him?
What should he do? Fei Qian was so anxious that he was almost sweating.
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A/N: Liu Xiu truly had a life full of good fortune. Beautiful and wealthy women threw themselves at him, and in the early days, his elder brother took the spotlight and the bullets, while he reaped the benefits behind the scenes. That battle of 20,000 against 400,000? It was like he had cheats enabled—a meteor shower rained down, and Wang Mang's forces were completely annihilated... By the way, after Wang Mang's death, his head was cut off, his tongue removed, and then preserved as a specimen. This was an unprecedented treatment, and in history, you really can't find another emperor who was dealt with like this...