" To be honest, Lord Ding, I have heard of Yan Pu's reputation. I even wanted him to take up the post of the County Magistrate of Ba County, but he actually rejected me." He Kang was still indignant when he mentioned this matter. It seemed that He Kang was a person who cared a lot about his face. He Kang was still brooding over Yan Pu's firm rejection.
Originally, He Kang and Ding Huai were both prefects and had the same official position. However, Ding Huai had the identity of Marquis Yunting, so He Kang had to address himself as a lowly official when he talked to Ding Huai.
Ding Huai heard He Kang's words and found it funny. People in the late Han Dynasty placed too much importance on this identity and status. With the limitations at that time, He Kang would not, and would not have thought of lowering his status to personally visit Yan Pu and ask him to take up the post of the county magistrate of Ba County. Not only would He Kang not, but the people of the Three Kingdoms Era would not.
Perhaps everyone would say," Do you know anything about the history of Mount Huangshan? Didn't Liu Bei ask Zhuge Liang for help?" In fact, this matter was very suspicious because there were two explanations in history. One was that Liu Bei went to invite Zhuge Liang, and the other was that Zhuge Liang went to recommend himself.
However, Huang Shan believed that the second explanation was more accurate. Of course, if it was indeed Liu Bei who went to ask Zhuge Liang to come out of the mountain, regardless of whether it was three times or not, it could only be said that Liu Bei was really in a very poor state in Jingzhou at that time. He had Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and other peerless generals under him, but he did not have a decent strategist. If he could not invite Zhuge Liang, he would probably be eliminated from the stage of the struggle for power at the end of Han Dynasty. Therefore, Liu Bei gave up his noble status as an imperial uncle. He didn't care that he was twice as old as Zhuge Liang, so he lowered his head and went to invite Zhuge Liang. If you had to choose between face and the world, I think Mr. Liu Bei would definitely choose the world without hesitation. After all, Liu Bei's ambition has always been the greatest among the three magnates of the three countries.
"I'm also prepared to invite Mister Yan to take up the post of Hanzhong County Deputy," Ding Huai said."As long as Sir He can tell us where Mister Yan lives, I'll naturally pay you a visit.”Although Ding Huai had some opinions about He Kang, this old fogey, He Kang was from the late Han Dynasty after all. His thoughts could not be compared to Ding Huai, who came from a future civilization. However, Ding Huai had a rather good impression of He Kang. He felt that He Kang was much more open-minded than his own Yang Ci, Huangfu Song, and his father, Ding Yuan.
However, He Kang still couldn't accept the idea of Ding Huai going to personally invite Yan Pu. After hearing Ding Huai's words, he was simply dumbfounded. He looked at Ding Huai as if he was looking at a strange animal and said,"This... How can I let Lord Ding condescend to surrender? Lord only needs to send a piece of paper to invite him. If he still doesn't agree, I will order someone to bring Yan Pu to Hanzhong.”
Ding Huai was really afraid that He Kang would do this. If that was the case, he would probably forget about getting Yan Pu and would only push it to Zhang Lu in the future, although Zhang Lu might not become the Hanzhong prefect in the future. Ding Huai hurriedly explained,"I reckon Lord He knows about the situation in Hanzhong. As for those bandits, Ding Huai had a few generals who were good at fighting. In less than a year, they would definitely be able to wipe out all the bandits in Hanzhong. However, none of Ding Huai's subordinates were proficient in internal affairs. Ding Huai could only recite poems, paint, and lead troops to war. He knew nothing about internal affairs, which was why Ding Huai was in a hurry to find a talent like Mr. Yan. For the sake of the people of Hanzhong, he would not even frown even if he were to lose his title as Marquis of Cloud Pavilion or his position as the prefect of Hanzhong, much less lower himself to ask Mr. Yan to come out of seclusion.”
These words were indeed beautifully said. He Kang immediately felt even more respect for Ding Huai. There were too few people in the Great Han Dynasty who could think of the common people like this. He Kang was also a good official who loved the people like his own children, but He Kang was confident that he could not be like Ding Huai, who could give up fame and official positions.
After bidding farewell to He Kang, Ding Huai brought Cheng Lian and Pang De to Nan Chuan. This was because Ding Huai had already learned from He Kang that Yan Pu was currently living in Nan Chuan County.
Nanchuan was about a hundred miles southeast of Jiangzhou. The three of them rode good horses from Bingzhou, so it only took them a day to reach Nanchuan County. When they reached Nanchuan County, it was already late. Ding Huai, Cheng Lian, and Pang De found a relatively large local hotel to stay in. It seemed that Yan Pu's reputation in Nanchuan County was still quite good. Ding Huai had only casually asked the shopkeeper about Yan Pu's residence, and the shopkeeper was able to tell the exact location of Yan Pu's residence in great detail, even though Yan Pu lived in a village in the suburbs of Nanchuan County.
Hearing that the Hanzhong Prefecture and Marquis Yunting had come to visit, Yan Pu didn't dare to be negligent and hurriedly went out to welcome them.
He was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He was short and thin, and his face was plain. However, his small, sparkling eyes could tell that this person was not simple. His loud voice did not match his height and body. This was Ding Huai's first impression when he saw Yan Pu. If he did not know that this person was Yan Pu, Ding Huai would never take the initiative to befriend him. Perhaps it was because he had been in the late Han Dynasty for a long time, or perhaps it was because everyone liked good-looking people, Ding Huai had already developed a common problem in the late Han Dynasty in these few short years. He hated those who looked particularly wretched. However, because the person in front of him was Yan Pu, Ding Huai could no longer judge his likes and dislikes based on his appearance.
"Haha, I've long heard of Mister Yan's great name. I hope Mister Yan won't take offense to Ding Huai's sudden visit today.”Ding Huai's first sentence made Yan Pu feel that this young Hanzhong Mayor, Marquis Yun Ting, was actually so approachable, without the slightest bit of arrogance.
"Yan Pu is a scholar, but he only has a name. How would he dare to make the prefect come?”Yan Pu was also polite, but he knew the purpose of Ding Huai's visit today and was thinking of a countermeasure. However, when he saw Cheng Lian and Pang De behind Ding Huai, Yan Pu couldn't help but praise them in his heart. What a pair of fierce generals. To have such fierce generals under him, it seemed that although this prefect was young, he wasn't simple. The thoughts in his heart couldn't help but change. Of course, these changes in his heart didn't affect Yan Pu from letting Ding Huai and the other two into the house.
After both parties took their seats, Ding Huai did not stand on ceremony and went straight to the point."Mister Yan is such a talented person, yet he is forced to stay here and not be able to display his talents. This is not only Mister Yan's regret, but also a loss for the Great Han Dynasty.”Ding Huai's first sentence after entering the room was to flatter Yan Pu.
How could Yan Pu be fooled by these few words? He smiled slightly and said,"My lord is wrong. Firstly, Yan Pu is arrogant and has never been disciplined. He is not suitable to be an official. Secondly, Yan Pu was not like the rumors outside. In fact, Yan Pu did not have much real talent. If he really became an official, it would be a mess. Moreover, Yan Pu liked this kind of free and unrestrained life outside the world the most.”
Ding Huai had expected Yan Pu to reject him like this. After all, he did not know him well, so he said,"I'm afraid that you won't be able to live like this for long.”
Yan Pu asked curiously," Why do you say that, Your Excellency? The world is at peace now. The country is prosperous and the people are at peace. Although there are few disasters or riots in some places, they are only local and will not last long."”
Ding Huai said," The Ten Generals of the Imperial Court control the government. The Emperor's debauchery is excessive, causing the government decrees to be chaotic. The people of the world have suffered so much. How can it be said that it is only temporary or partial?" Moreover, based on Ding Huai's guess, the world would definitely be in chaos in less than three years. At that time, would Sir still be able to be so free and unfettered?”
Yan Pu was truly shocked when he heard Ding Huai's words. It was one thing to speak ill of the Ten Attendants, but Ding Huai actually dared to directly attack the Emperor. This was a great crime that could exterminate nine families. Moreover, Ding Huai had said that the world would be in chaos three years later, which made Yan Pu even more suspicious. He knew that a person of Ding Huai's status would not casually lie.
Yan Pu's brain spun quickly, and he said,""How did you know that the world would be in chaos three years later? Since you know about the rebels, why didn't you report it to the Imperial Court? It's a precaution that can save the people of Great Han from the suffering of war.”
Ding Huai was still young after all. He had kept his cool and only wanted to recruit Yan Pu as his subordinate. Unknowingly, he had not only attacked the Spirit Monarch directly, but he had also almost mentioned the Golden Uprising. However, this had already made Ding Huai regret it enough. Now, with Yan Pu's question, Ding Huai simply didn't know how to answer. In fact, even Cheng Lian and Pang De, who were behind him, were also wondering how their lord knew that the world would be in chaos in three years. Immediately, the eyes of the four people in the room gathered on Ding Huai, making it even more difficult for Ding Huai to respond.
Ding Huai smiled slightly and reached out to pick up the teacup on the table. He took a sip of tea and pretended to be mysterious. In fact, Ding Huai was stalling for time, thinking about how to say the next sentence because it was not easy to continue. It could be said that this was the last sentence. If he said it brilliantly, Yan Pu would naturally join him. If not, he would probably return to Hanzhong with his tail between his legs.
Ding Huai put down his teacup and looked up at Yan Pu, whose gaze had never left him. He said,"The country's ruler is fatuous, the eunuchs are dictatorial, the corrupt officials all over the country take money as their profession, and the landlord despotic even take pleasure in deceiving the people. The lives of the people are difficult, and it can be said that the people are in dire straits. Everywhere in the Thirteen Prefectures of the Great Han Dynasty, there were incidents of " wine and meat stink at the vermilion gate, and frozen bones on the road ". If this continued, how could the common people not rebel? In recent years, not only was the court in chaos, but disasters had also occurred everywhere. The common people could no longer make a living by farming. The taxes in various places only increased and did not decrease. The landlord and the powerful even increased their exploitation. Therefore, within three years, there would definitely be a large-scale riot.”
Yan Pu was dumbfounded by his words." The wine and meat in the vermilion gate stink, and the bones frozen to death on the road ". What a vivid description. Yan Pu was not an ordinary person, so how could he not understand the current situation of the world? It was just that he had never met a wise ruler that he could follow. Now that this person seemed to have appeared, Yan Pu couldn't help but feel excited.
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