Chapter 65: Huangfu Song's Sincere Advice

  Zhou Jian had just returned to his tent when a personal soldier came to report that Huangfu Song had summoned him.

  Huangfu Song's military tent.

  Zhou Jian bowed respectfully to Huang Fu Song and said, "The subordinate general pays his respects to the General."

  Huang Fu's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he coldly said: "Just now, did you go to Zuo Feng's tent?"

  Zhou Jian knew he couldn't hide it and calmly said, "That's right."

  Huangfu Song's face became even more displeased, and he said in a deep voice: "What is the meaning of this?"

  Zhou Jian replied, "I dare not deceive the general. Zuo Feng had asked the two generals for money and goods in vain. I anticipated that after Zuo Feng returns to the capital, he will surely slander the two generals before the Emperor, saying they are unfavorable in battle. If the Emperor becomes enraged, he will certainly punish the two generals. At that time, if we change generals on the eve of battle, it may not be advantageous for the campaign against the rebels. Therefore, I went to Zuo Feng's camp and presented him with wealth and goods to win his heart."

  Huangfu Song's face slightly cleared, his eyebrows also relaxed, but his tone was tinged with a hint of melancholy. He sighed and said: "You are indeed well-intentioned, originally there was no fault. However, Zhang Jiao is besieged in a lonely city, defeat is imminent, even if the imperial court replaces the general on the battlefield, it will not change the fate of the Yellow Turbans' defeat. But if Zuo Feng returns to the capital and speaks of our merits in front of the Emperor, scholars all over the world will think that I and Zi Gan are in cahoots with the eunuchs, and we will surely be cursed."

  Zhou Jian was shocked, this was something he had not expected.

  At that time, I just wanted to steady Left Feng and didn't have time to consider anything else.

  Now it seems that the main reason why Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi did not give money to Zuo Feng was that they were afraid of damaging their reputation, being misunderstood by scholars as eunuchs' party members. The secondary reason is that there is a lack of food and silver in the army.

  "I was remiss in my consideration, General, please pardon me!"

  Although Zhou Jian did not agree with Huang Fu's idea, he still sincerely admitted his mistake.

  Huangfu Song said calmly: "Forget it, things have come to this, and regret is useless. I have one thing to tell you, listen quietly."

  "General, please speak. I will listen with utmost respect."

  "You have talent and bravery, and you come from a prestigious family. You should always think about making contributions to the country. Eunuchs interfering with politics is the source of chaos in the world and is not tolerated by scholars everywhere. Your reliance on eunuchs for advancement may not be disloyal or unfilial, but it's still seeking quick success and benefits, and you will be abandoned by scholars everywhere. I hope you think carefully about this."

  Zhou Jian bowed deeply and said: "Thank you, General, for your teachings. I will remember them forever."

  Huangfu Song waved his hand and said, "Go down!"

  Zhou Jian cupped his hands and bowed, then turned around and exited the military tent.

  At this time, the sunset is in the west, and the remaining light of the setting sun has dyed the sky red.

  Zhou Jian raised his head to look around, and suddenly a sense of dusk rose in his heart. What difference is there between the great Han Empire today and this setting sun that is about to fall? Even if one is reluctant, it will eventually fall.

  Recalling Huang Fu's implicit advice just now, his heart felt a bit heavy again.

  Huangfu Song is right, relying on eunuchs will indeed invite the curses of scholars throughout the land.

  However, a chaotic era is about to begin, and if one does not advance bravely, they will only fall behind others.

  If it's dragged on for a few more years, by the time Cao is firmly established, everything will be too late.

  The pros and cons of it are hard to measure.

  However, what Huangfu Song said is also right. Although relying on eunuchs does not lose the integrity of loyalty and righteousness, it is indeed not a good reputation. When the heroes divide up in the future, although they will not be resisted by the door-to-door aristocratic families, it will be difficult to get those who truly have wisdom to surrender.

  It seems that after the Yellow Turbans' rebellion is put down, we should draw a clear line with the eunuchs as soon as possible.

  However, once he broke away from the eunuchs, he would inevitably become a thorn in their eyes. If he didn't have a powerful backing in the court, with Emperor Ling's favoritism towards the Ten Eunuchs, it was likely that Zhang Rang, that eunuch villain, would find an opportunity to send him back to his hometown in Shu County to farm.

  Zhou Jian carefully considered it and had made preparations as early as when he was an official.

  However, when to part with the eunuchs, one must grasp the right moment and cannot act rashly.

  Before I knew it, I had walked quite far.

  On the left side of a military camp, there was a fierce fight going on, with clashing metal and loud noises that shook one's ears.

  Zhou Jian turned his head and looked over, only to see Guan Yu and Zhang Fei struggling to kill, his heart moved, he immediately walked over.

  "Ahh!"

  "Hah!"

  Two extremely majestic figures collided violently with each other.

  In the midst of a thunderous clash of gold and iron, the figures quickly separated, each standing with sword in hand, staring at each other.

  Their martial arts had no redundant fancy moves, all were straightforward and fierce techniques, simple yet practical. Although they looked a bit rough, they actually eliminated the unnecessary and retained the essence, hiding their ferocity, each move was enough to be fatal.

  "Come again."

  Zhang Fei's hair and beard stood on end as he let out a loud roar and once again charged forward with his sword.

  Guan Yu's long beard fluttered without wind, his red phoenix eyes opened and closed with piercing light, and he also held a sword to greet him.

  The two men's martial arts skills were evenly matched, and their strength was also comparable. After killing over a hundred people, they still couldn't determine the winner.

  Zhou Jian hadn't fought with Dian Wei and Xu Zhu for a long time, after watching for a while, he couldn't help but feel a little itchy.

  Guan and Zhang fought fiercely as if no one was around, finally putting away their swords and standing still.

  At this time, a tent next to it opened, and Liu Bei walked over with a sigh, turning his head and seeing Zhou Jian standing outside the camp watching Guan Zhang's skills, he was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly walked over quickly.

  "I'm prepared, I've met General Zhou."

  Liu Bei walked up with big strides, made a long bow, almost falling to the ground, and his etiquette was extremely meticulous.

  Zhou Jian returned a courtesy and said, "Just now I passed by this place and saw the two of you brothers competing in martial arts. I'm quite fond of martial arts myself, and for a moment I was completely absorbed in watching. If I have offended you in any way, please don't take it to heart."

  "How could I dare? General Zhou is being polite."

  Liu Bei hastily made a bow and greeted them politely before turning to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, saying: "My two sworn brothers, quickly come and pay your respects to General Zhou."

  Guan and Zhang were still in plain clothes, but as a military officer, their position was not low. The two did not dare to be slow, and they quickly stepped forward to pay their respects, "We have seen General Zhou."

  "There's no need for formalities between us."

  Zhou Jian also nodded his head, carefully sizing up the two men, seeing one with a red face and one with a black face, their physiques were extremely robust, not inferior to Xu Chu. He couldn't help but praise: "Yunchang, Yide are truly mighty warriors!"

  Guan Yu and Zhang Fei bowed again and stood behind Liu Bei in silence.

  Liu Bei warmly said: "General has already arrived here, why not enter the tent and drink a cup of wine to rest for a moment?"

  "Please don't be polite, I have military duties to attend to and dare not linger. I bid you farewell here."

  Liu Bei's face showed a hint of disappointment, but he couldn't persuade him to stay, so he could only see off Zhou Jian with great courtesy.

  Zhou Jian walked out dozens of steps, and when he turned back to look, he only saw Liu Bei still standing in front of the camp, looking around. A wisp of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and it was indeed true that Liu Bei was extremely skilled in the art of winning people over. No wonder even Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, two brave men, were willing to be used by him.

  The only thing lacking is that this person's origins are somewhat inferior.

  Even with the great righteousness of being a Han dynasty descendant, a declining Han dynasty descendant is still far from enough to make those aristocratic families who monopolize learning and official careers look at them differently. To become a champion in a chaotic world, one has no idea how much effort needs to be made.

  In fact, Liu Bei's life was indeed very bumpy. In order to get a place to settle down, he was driven out by warlords such as Cao Cao and Lü Bu, and had to flee in distress until he entered Jingzhou and obtained Xichuan with the help of Zhuge Liang, before he could finally stand firm.

  Compared with Liu Bei's difficulties, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were born into noble families and rose to power relatively smoothly in the chaotic times.

  But...

  What kind of person Liu Bei is, others may not know, but Zhou Jian is very clear.

  Zhou Jie thought that if he wanted to make a name for himself in the Central Plains, he would eventually become an enemy of Liu Bei's caliber. Since such a potential opponent was already known, it made no sense to let him go.

  Whenever there is an opportunity, Zhou Jian will absolutely eliminate potential enemies without hesitation.

  So-called sympathy and pity are nothing but a joke for ambitious heroes who can't bear to hurt each other.

  However, the top priority at present is still to capture Guangzong as soon as possible, and defeat the Yellow Turban rebels' main base in one battle. Otherwise, the longer the war drags on, the more unfavorable it will be for the government army. After all, the court is not peaceful, and no one knows what changes may occur.

  For a commander-in-chief, the most feared thing is not the shortage of food and grass, even if the army is facing a desperate situation, the commander-in-chief still has a way to think about it, but if the turmoil at home affects the expeditionary force, the commander-in-chief has no way to think about it.

  With the Yellow Turban rebels on the brink of defeat, it is really not suitable to create more trouble at this time.

  Zhang Fei watched Zhou Jian leave, and couldn't help but clench his fist tightly, saying: "They say General Zhou is exceptionally brave and skilled in martial arts, able to hunt and kill fierce tigers with ease. Hmm, I really want to have a match with him."

  Liu Bei was shocked to hear this, knowing that Zhang Fei was impulsive and fearing he might stir up more trouble. He hastily said: "Wing-de, don't be rash! He is a high-ranking general in the army. You and I are just ordinary people now, without any achievements or official titles and wealth. We must not lightly offend him, lest we create powerful enemies."

  Zhang Fei's eyes widened in anger and he said discontentedly: "Big brother, I was just casually saying that, why are you taking it seriously."

  Guan Yu said: "Yide, be careful with your words, brother is also thinking for you."

  "Hey!"

  Zhang Fei's right fist heavily struck his right palm, and he let out a loud "hiss" before falling silent, his eyes wide with an unpleased expression.

  ;