Chapter 26: No Good Banquets

  Liu Zhang let out a deep breath and coldly asked Fa Zheng: "Xiao Zhī, have you considered your own heart when saying these words? I only ask you two questions. First, are you from a noble family or a humble background? Second, why were you not reused in the past?"

  Fa Zheng was taken aback for a moment before saying, "Although Fa Zheng comes from a humble background, for the sake of supporting the Han dynasty, he dare not harbor resentment towards the aristocracy due to his humble origins. In any case, throughout the entire Han Empire, the power held by the aristocratic families is crucial and cannot be ignored. As for why he was not reused in the past..."

  Fa Zheng hesitated and did not continue, while Liu Zhang smiled softly and said: "Are you thinking of saying that I am muddle-headed, unable to recognize people, and cannot promote talents? You can say it out, I won't blame you, because this is a fact. However, Xiaozhi, you have neglected the most important point. In the past, I was indeed muddle-headed, but why were those aristocratic sons still given important positions? Isn't it because these aristocrats hold power and oppress the humble families?"

  Fa Zheng was shocked and said: "I didn't think of this before, I just felt resentful that my talent had not been recognized. Now that Liu Zhang has mentioned it, I suddenly realize."

  Liu Zhang continued: "Xiao Zhi, you have great talent, I dare say your ability is not inferior to Guo Jia, Cao Cao's first strategist. But why can't you see through some things? You said that the powerful families hold sway because of their strength, but why do they hold sway? It's because everyone, from ordinary people to officials and rulers, including you oppressed scholars, fear their power and cater to them everywhere. The aristocracy expands indefinitely, and the more they expand, the more you cater to them, the more you fear them, until today when it's too late."

  Liu Zhang remembered that in history, there were many aristocratic families in Jiangdong, and Sun Quan balanced the interests of all parties, stabilizing the Jiangdong regime. However, although the interests were balanced, the influence of each family grew stronger and stronger, until Eastern Wu was eventually hijacked by the aristocratic families, and the Sun family could only be trapped in Jiangdong, waiting for its downfall.

  Later, the Eastern Jin was completely controlled by the aristocratic families, resulting in repeated failures in the northern expeditions and eventually leading to the collapse of the dynasty, which marked the beginning of a two-hundred-year period of chaos and division between the Northern and Southern Dynasties in Chinese history. It seemed that catering to the interests of the aristocratic families could consolidate the rule, but in reality, it was like drinking slow-acting poison. Now, cutting off the aristocratic families is like cutting off an arm, while continuing to indulge them would lead to the proliferation of corrupt elements and eventually turn the whole thing into a heap of rotten flesh.

  "No need to persuade me anymore, this batch of officials is doomed, and those aristocratic families will not let them go either. I don't believe there's anything absolute in this world. If the Shu army encounters resistance from the aristocratic families when they leave Sichuan in the future, either I'll trample them one by one or die under their siege. I won't regret today's decision."

  Fa Zheng stood there in stunned silence, unable to respond, but his heart was filled with anxiety.

  Liu Zhang ordered in a calm tone: "Yang Huai, take people to investigate the Jiangzhou government treasury and see if there are only less than a few thousand guan of money. Also, check the income and expenses of Jiangzhou. Follow the officials and verify the problems reported by the Jiangzhou officials one by one. Whether they are true or not, report them all to me."

  Zhang Ren, you are steady in your work. Investigate the family property and sources of wealth of those officials, and also secretly visit the prominent families who act lawlessly. Yan Yan, you are familiar with the affairs of Jiangzhou, make a list of the main officials who collude with Zhao Wei, no need for conclusive evidence. You have ten days to complete this task.

  "Your Excellency..." Zhang Ren and others wanted to persuade him again.

  Liu Zhang said in a cold voice: "This is a military order. If you are unwilling to obey, all of you can resign and return home."

  Everyone present could no longer say a word, Liu Zhang hummed and walked out the door. At this moment, Wang Lei suddenly rushed over on his knees, hugged Liu Zhang's thigh and shouted: "Master, you absolutely cannot do this! If you give this order, southern Shu will surely be in great chaos, and your reputation will be completely ruined! I would rather die than let you do such a foolish thing!"

  Liu Zhang said in a low voice: "Zhang Ren, pull him away."

  Zhang Ren hesitated for a moment. During the conversation between Liu Zhang and Fa Zheng, Zhang Ren had already gone through intense struggle in his mind. Compared to loyalty, what did killing a few aristocratic sons count for? If he were to conquer the world one day and encounter resistance from the aristocracy, would shedding blood on the battlefield be of any significance? What Liu Zhang was doing now was not the act of a foolish ruler, but rather, disregarding his own interests, he wanted to replace himself with a wise and enlightened ruler. As a military general, what reason did he have to resist?

  "Yes, my lord." Zhang Ren finally decided to follow Liu Zhang's order, went forward and dragged Wang Can away with one hand, handed him over to Leng Bao, and followed Liu Zhang out. Behind them, the sound of Wang Can's heart-wrenching screams could be heard.

  Liu Zhang's ears were pierced, and for the first time he felt that loyal words were indeed unpleasant to hear, especially from someone like Wang Lei. If he hadn't already known that Wang was a great and loyal minister, he would have really wanted to kill him.

  "Zhang Ren, send someone to invite the heads of the various prominent families and clans in Jiangzhou to come to the government office. Just say that the official wants to host a banquet for them."

  "Master, surely..."

  "I'm not so rash." Liu Zhang knew what Zhang Ren was going to say.

  "Yes." Zhang Ren took his orders and left.

  In the evening, the prefectural government set up a grand banquet. The heads of those Jiangzhou aristocratic families had already received news from officials that although the governor had won great victories in the battles of Fu City and Wu Creek, he was still a muddle-headed master who could be easily fooled, so they all came to attend the banquet with alacrity.

  But as soon as they saw the dishes on the table, they couldn't help but frown. Each person had a small table with one meat dish and one vegetable dish, a small bowl of egg soup, and a plate of salted vegetables. The meat dish was just fatty pork stir-fried with mushrooms, completely unappetizing. This wasn't even as good as the meals these wealthy people would have at home on ordinary days. Everyone lost their appetite.

  Liu Zhang sat in the main seat, raised his wine cup and stood up: "This official deeply apologizes, because the treasury officer Han said that Jiangzhou's finances are tight, so it's not good to be extravagant either. Please don't blame all of you, each of you is a pillar of southern Shu, making outstanding contributions to the livelihood and governance of southern Shu. As the governor of Yizhou, this official should toast each of you, cheers."

  Liu Zhang took a sip of wine, and the clan leaders below also bowed to Liu Zhang, drained their cups, and the female attendant filled them up one by one. Liu Zhang took a bite of food, saw that all the clan leaders were not moving their chopsticks, raised his head in doubt and said: "Everyone eat, I heard that Jiangzhou's people are struggling to make ends meet, the finances are not enough to cover expenses, the taxes are meager, can it be that you all eat better at home than here?"

  A group of gatekeepers looked at me, I looked at them, everyone despised the food in front of them, but who dared to say it clearly, just to fool Liu Zhang, they could only cry out in distress.

  "It's nothing, my family usually only has one vegetarian dish." The head of the Han family picked up a large piece of fatty meat and put it in his mouth, chewing with an indescribable aroma, but the greasy oil flowing into his mouth caused stomach acid to churn, which only he knew.

  "My family is even more miserable, every meal only has one dish of salted vegetables, and we can only eat fresh greens during festivals." The head of the Yuan family also picked up his chopsticks, but after thinking for a moment, he took a big sip of soup instead, savoring it as if it were dragon bone soup.

  Liu Zhang saw that the leaders of various tribes had moved their chopsticks, but he didn't say a word. He just focused on eating his rice, and in three to five mouthfuls, he finished all the food in front of him, then looked at everyone else.

  The various tribal leaders also stopped, and Liu Zhang hurriedly said: "Everyone, please continue eating, the people of Jiangzhou are struggling to survive, wasting food is really not right, you should finish your meals."

  "Yes, yes." The tribal leaders reluctantly agreed, and could only force themselves to pick up those fatty meats that seemed to have been soaked in water, with endless grievances in their hearts. They had never seen a prefectural governor who, when treating local tyrants to a banquet, only ate and didn't speak.

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