Chapter 42: What is Exploitation?

  "General, Yangzhai has been surrounded by our troops. When will we attack the city? Please decide, General." Cao Cao stepped into Huangfu Song's large tent and bowed.

  "Hey, Meng De, wait a bit. This Xufeng is a ruthless man. On the first day of entering the city, he slaughtered three generations of a family, over 1,000 people, and they all died in one night. The imperial court was greatly shocked by this incident. General He Jin has already sent several urgent reports, demanding that we calm down Xufeng and prevent him from killing again. If we attack the city and the enemy becomes desperate, they might slaughter all the families in the city. Wouldn't our guilt be too great?"

  Although they had surrounded Yangzhai, Huangfu Song was not happy at all. For several days in a row, he couldn't eat or sleep, and his body became much thinner. His eye sockets also sank deeply due to day and night thinking.

  "But once Xufeng has recovered, and Zhang Liao's army responds in kind, trying to eliminate him will be as difficult as ascending to heaven." Cao Cao advised again. Cao Cao had always been decisive and ruthless, and was very dissatisfied with Huangfu Song's hesitant and indecisive approach, but he was just a small cavalry captain who came to assist in the battle, without absolute authority, so his anxiety was in vain.

  "Why don't we do it this way: I'll hold down Xu Feng here, and you can join forces with General Zhu to march south and assist the governor of Nanyang, Qin Yi, in eliminating Zhao Hong. After Zhang Mancheng's death, unexpectedly, Zhao Hong was elected as the new commander-in-chief, and within a short period of time, he gathered over a million troops. The city of Wan is already in danger. The governor of Jingzhou, Xu Xun, has repeatedly urged me to send troops to rescue them, but the situation in Yingchuan is at an impasse, and I really have no power to withdraw."

  "Now, General, rest assured. With me, Cao Mengde, I will definitely bring back Zhao Hong's head for you." Cao Cao was secretly delighted when he heard this. Originally, he thought that in Yingchuan, he could capture the bandits and establish merit. However, Cao Cao found that whether it was Huangfu Song or Zhu Zan, they were all hesitant and cautious, making it difficult for him to exert his ambitions. Going to Nanyang to assist in the battle would allow him to break free from their restraints, spread his wings and soar, leap over the dragon gate, fully display his talents, establish achievements, make a name for himself on the battlefield, bring glory to his ancestors, gain official positions and titles, and achieve multiple benefits without any harm.

  Cao Cao marched away with his troops in high spirits, but another man from Zhuo County, Liu Bei, had the same ambitions and was not willing to be ordinary. However, he was treated very differently. After Lu Zhi left, the imperial court quickly sent Dong Zhuo, the governor of Xiliang, to Jizhou. Dong Zhuo was incompetent and did not understand strategy or military affairs. He was defeated in his first battle against Zhang Jiao and fled in disarray. If it were not for Liu Bei and Guan Yu's timely assistance, Dong Zhuo would not have survived to see the next day. However, when he found out that they were ordinary men, Dong Zhuo not only did not show gratitude but also repeatedly mocked them. Liu Bei, a descendant of the Marquis of Zhongshan, was ignored and left on the sidelines, without even being given a chance to participate in battles.

  "Big brother, Dong Zhuo is so arrogant, I'd rather just kill him with one slash and be done with it. It's unbearable for me to see his condescending look under his command." Guan Yu paced back and forth in front of Liu Bei for a long time before finally saying this.

  "Second brother, don't be impatient, you're anxious and big brother's heart isn't feeling well either. However, with Yuanchuan Huangfu Song holding down the fort, I heard that Xu Feng has been winning battle after battle, achieving many victories, and Huangfu Song is having a hard time dealing with him. In Yan City, the Yellow Turbans are like an unstoppable storm, gathering over 100,000 people in just one month. What can we two brothers do, without any soldiers or troops under our command? Even if we went there, what kind of waves could we stir up? These three brothers, Zhang Jue, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang, are the leaders of the Yellow Turbans, a major threat to the imperial court. If we can eliminate these three men, you and I will have achieved great merit. In the future, when the imperial court rewards our achievements, they won't neglect us two brothers... Ah, in this chaotic world, it's hard to achieve anything without fame or reputation..."

  "Just wait a bit, there will be an opportunity." Looking at Guan Yu's majestic and powerful figure, Liu Bei's eyes flashed with inspiration. His second brother had the bravery of a thousand men, as long as he seized the chance to cut off the enemy general's head, he could also make a name for himself. One Guan Yu was worth more than tens of thousands of elite soldiers; this, Liu Bei firmly believed.

  "Xu Feng, one day, I will avenge this severed arm of mine, and it will be repaid tenfold, a hundredfold from your body." Liu Bei's cold gaze, gazing at the empty right sleeve, flashed with a terrifying glint.

  "Ah, sorry everyone." Xu Feng, standing on the stage, cleared his throat and was about to start speaking when he suddenly shivered with cold. He hastily apologized to the crowd with an embarrassed expression, but in his heart, he thought, "Which idiot is secretly stabbing me in the back again?"

  "First of all, everyone must understand what exploitation is. Exploitation, by definition, is inequality, it's taking advantage of others, oppressing others. Exploitation occurs when some individuals or groups, relying on their possession or monopoly of the means of production, freely take the surplus labor and products of those who do not have or lack the means of production. And you, sirs, sitting here, I'm afraid most of you belong to the first category. To put it bluntly, you are the exploiters, while those poor common people are the ones being exploited." Xu Feng said, looking down at the young masters in the audience who were dressed in luxurious clothes and adorned with silver accessories.

  "Nonsense! Just because we dress well and eat well, they say we are exploiters. Rubbish!" Xun Yu retorted immediately.

  "What exactly are the means of production?" a slender and handsome young man with a somewhat pale face asked.

  "Good question, to understand the essence of exploitation, the key is to understand what production materials are. So-called production materials refer to all material conditions necessary for people to engage in physical production, also known as means of production. Including land, machinery, equipment, tools, raw materials, auxiliary materials, etc. Let's talk about the most basic ones, this land, it's the most important production material, without land, where does grain come from? Without grain, what do you eat, how can you be warm and full? I ask you, whose hands is this land in?"

  Xu Feng's question suddenly stunned the crowd, although most of them only knew about romance and poetry, but in their families, every household had an astonishing number of fields, and each year they hired thousands of peasants to work for them.

  "Even if these fields are in our hands, but those hired people, we have given them money, haven't let them work for nothing."

  "It's true, it's true. Not only did they give us money and goods, but also wine and meat during festivals. We didn't exploit or mistreat them."

  "Take Li Ermao from our village who works on our land, I even helped him get married last year, is this also exploitation?"